Yu Gao

The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of intellectual capital (IC) and its components on firm financial performance using data from Chinese agricultural listed companies during 2015–2020. The moderating role of board diversity in the relationship between IC and firm financial performance is also tested. The modified value-added intellectual coefficient (MVAIC) model is used to measure IC, and board diversity is measured by several indicators, such as diversity in gender, experience, professional background, and educational background. The results suggest that the overall IC and only one element (human capital) positively influence firm financial performance. Diversity in gender, professional background, and educational background positively moderate the relationship between IC and financial performance, while experience diversity has a negative moderating effect. Among IC components, experience diversity, and educational background diversity negatively moderate the relationship between human capital and financial performance. In addition, gender diversity and experience diversity have a negative moderating effect on the relationship between physical capital and financial performance, while professional background diversity and educational background diversity have a positive moderating effect. This study can provide some new insights for managers to devise strategies to improve IC performance and strengthen corporate governance in order to achieve sustainable development of the agricultural industry. It also can guide policymakers in making policies to improve IC efficiency and firm performance.

Sustainable development has become a corporate goal all over the world, and innovation as a crucial prerequisite for sustainable development has attracted much attention. This study investigates the relationship between the business environment and corporate innovation in Chinese A-share listed enterprises from 2017 to 2020. We use a complex indicator to measure the business environment and use multiple regression models to conduct the analysis. The findings suggest that a favorable business environment promotes corporate innovation by reducing financing constraints and environmental uncertainty. Compared to non-state-owned enterprises, the positive impact of the business environment on corporate innovation is enhanced in state-owned enterprises. Concentrated ownership enhances the positive impact of a favorable business environment on corporate innovation. Our study provides a new analytical perspective on the relationship between the business environment and corporate innovation in the context of China.

The rapid advancement of information technologies, such as the Internet of Things and big data, has created favorable conditions for digital transformation, which has main effects on the sustainable development of enterprises. Drawing upon stakeholder theory, this article employs text analysis to construct indicators for corporate digital transformation using data from A-share listed companies between 2015 and 2022. Meanwhile, ESG performance is utilized as a measure of corporate sustainable development. Through both theoretical inquiry and case study, this study investigates the influence of digital transformation on sustainable development in enterprises and arrives at the following conclusions: (1) Digital transformation exerts a substantial positive effect on the sustainable development of enterprises. Board diversity plays a moderating role in this relationship; age diversity and gender diversity weaken its promoting effect while experience diversity enhances its positive influence. These findings remain robust after conducting various tests to ensure validity and addressing endogeneity concerns; (2) Heterogeneity tests reveal that compared to non-state-owned enterprises and high-tech firms, digital transformation has a more pronounced promoting effect on sustainable development levels within state-owned enterprises and non-high-tech companies. This article offers novel research perspectives on how digitization drives corporate sustainability in the digital era while providing practical insights for companies aiming to achieve both digital transformation and sustainable development.

This study examined the factors affecting learners’ adoption of an educational metaverse platform using an extended UTAUT (unified theory of acceptance and use of technology) model and incorporating perceived risk. Data were derived from a survey of 495 respondents from China and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results revealed that (i) performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions had significantly positive effects on learners’ satisfaction with the Eduverse; (ii) learners’ satisfaction had a positive effect on their continued usage intention; (iii) learners’ intention to use the Eduverse was reduced after they perceived risks. Our study provided empirical evidence of the validity of the UTAUT model in explaining learners’ adoption of the Eduverse. Our findings have significant practical implications for enterprises, educational institutions, and governments.

This study used 2017-2019 Chinese A-share-listed automobile manufacturing companies as research samples to analyse the impact of the government-business relationship on eco-innovation. We found that a healthy government-business relationship had a positive impact on enterprise eco-innovation. The mediating effects test verified that a healthy government-business relationship affected enterprise eco-innovation through financing constraints. In addition, managerial ownership significantly increased the positive impact of a healthy government-business relationship on enterprise eco-innovation. We also found that a healthy government-business relationship had a more substantial impact on enterprise eco-innovation in non-state-owned enterprises when considering corporate property rights. The study results provide empirical evidence for the influence of the government-business relationship on enterprise eco-innovation and deepen our understanding of eco-innovation in China’s automobile manufacturing industry.

This article interprets how firms' reactions to the dual (institutional and market) influential forces in China's mid-range economy would together determine their innovation performance. In particular, this article investigates the curvilinear effects of the benefits (formal institutional capital and informal institutional capital) firms obtained from their reacting to the institutional voids on innovation performance, and examines how firms' reacting to the market influences (exploratory market learning and exploitative market learning) would moderate the relationships between institutional capital and innovation performance. Based on the multiple informant responses of 303 firms in China, we find that formal institutional capital has a U-shaped effect on innovation performance, while informal institutional capital has an inverted U- shaped effect on innovation performance. Exploratory market learning would sharpen the U-shaped/inverted U-shaped effects of formal institutional capital/informal institutional capital on innovation performance, while exploitative market learning would weaken the inverted U-shaped effects of informal institutional capital on innovation performance.