Beyond symbolic and substantive: Strategic disclosure of corporate environmental information in China

Under increasing regulatory pressure to disclose environmental impacts, corporate environmental information disclosure (EID) is becoming more prevalent. However, the motives for EID and disclosure approaches (i.e., symbolic or substantive) remain controversial. Using a sample of data for 742 listed manufacturing firms in China across 3 years, we provide evidence to show that the level of EID is significantly positively associated with a firm's advertising intensity and that firms in moderately competitive industries have a higher propensity for adopting an EID‐based differentiated strategy than firms in stronger or weaker competitive industries. We also find that firms that are more sensitive to environmental issues strategically understate their environmental impact when directly facing consumers. Our results suggest that the implementation of corporate EID is strategic and that firms have strong market motives, even under regulatory pressure to demonstrate legitimacy. We discuss this study's contributions to research on EID theory and implications for strategic EID management.     

The aesthetic fidelity effect

Product aesthetics is a powerful means for achieving competitive advantage. Yet most studies to date have focused on the role of aesthetics in shaping pre-purchase preferences and have failed to consider how product aesthetics affects post-purchase processes and consumers' usage behavior. This research focuses on the relationship between aesthetics and usage behavior in the context of durable products. Studies 1A to 1C provide evidence of a positive effect of product aesthetics on usage intensity using market data from the car and the fashion industries. Study 2 corroborates these findings and shows that the more intensive use of highly aesthetic products may lead to the acquisition of product-specific usage skills that form the basis for a cognitive lock-in. Hence, consumers are less likely to switch away from products with appealing designs, an effect that is labeled as the ‘aesthetic fidelity’ effect. Study 3 addresses an alternative explanation for the ‘aesthetic fidelity effect’ based on mood and motivation but finds that the ‘aesthetic fidelity’ effect is indeed determined by usage intensity. Finally, Study 4 identifies a boundary condition of the positive effect of product aesthetics on product usage, showing that it is limited to durable products. In sum, this research demonstrates that the effects of product aesthetics extend beyond the pre-consumption stage and have an enduring impact on people's consumption experiences.     

耕地流转与规模经营改善了农业环境吗？ ——基于耕地利用行为对农业环境效率的影响检验

研究目的:基于2007—2016年26省农业生产数据,测算"面源污染"和"碳排放"两类非期望产出下的农业环境效率,构建"耕地流转—利用规模—利用方式与利用强度—农业环境效率"的传导路径并进行计量检验。研究方法:超效率SBM模型,中介效应模型。研究结果:(1)耕地流转并未显著提高农业环境效率,但耕地利用规模对农业环境效率的影响呈倒U型;(2)耕地流转有助于扩大耕地利用规模,进而在样本中对农业环境效率呈现负向影响。与此同时,耕地流转对农业环境效率也存在正向的直接效应,正负效应基本抵消;(3)耕地利用规模主要通过改变化肥和机械投入强度进而负向影响农业环境效率。研究结论:农业环境效率受耕地流转、利用规模、利用方式和强度等多重因素影响,呈现明显的传导路径,因此,为了提高农业环境效率,在积极推行土地流转和规模化经营政策时,要注意结合地区农业生产力和地理环境,避免盲目扩大经营规模,同时鼓励规模经营主体引进农业绿色环保技术,注重农业生产资料的合理利用。     

Impact of foreign direct investment on greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture of developing countries

This research analyses the impact of foreign direct investment on greenhouse gas emissions in the agriculture sector of developing countries. Panel data from 63 developing countries for the period 2005 to 2014 was used to estimate a dynamic econometric model by applying a system‐generalised method of moments. The empirical results indicate a positive impact of foreign direct investment in agriculture on the carbon dioxide equivalent emission intensity in developing countries. The results provide weak support for the pollution havens hypothesis and imply the importance of coordination between foreign direct investment and environmental policies.     

基于神经网络的建筑业碳排放强度预测——以京津冀为例

通过统计分析得出影响建筑业碳排放强度的13个影响因素,基于收集的京津冀相关数据,运用逐步回归分析找出其中6个关键因素.借鉴五折交叉验证解决数据稀缺问题,采用神经网络对京津冀建筑业碳排放强度进行预测.利用敏感性分析简化模型,筛选出4个核心因素.结果表明,此模型预测精度高达99％,同时根据挖掘出的核心因素和关键因素,提出建筑业节能减排的建议.     

乌鲁木齐土地利用碳排放强度时空演变研究

[目的]土地利用二氧化碳排放强度是土地低碳利用的重要指标,对其时空调控是协同促进城市二氧化碳排放总量达峰的重要路径。[方法]文章研究基于乌鲁木齐市2005年和2012年1km高空间分辨率排放网格数据(CHRED)和土地利用矢量数据,采用GIS空间分析法,探讨乌鲁木齐市7个城区土地利用二氧化碳排放强度的时空演变特征。[结果](1)从时间上看,乌鲁木齐市7个城区的土地利用变化整体表现为"5增2减"的现象;二氧化碳排放总量从3 431.49万t上升到5 147.96万t,其中以城镇村及工矿用地二氧化碳排放增长最大,由2005年的2 885.15万t增加到2012年的4 139.15万t。(2)从空间上来看,城市向北部和东南部扩展明显,未利用地和耕地迅速减少,城市扩展区的二氧化碳排放量有明显增加;中心城区和城市扩展区二氧化碳排放强度上升最快。(3)从土地利用转移上看,土地利用结构的变化明显,整体呈现草地、耕地和未利用地向城镇村及工矿用地、交通用地、园林地和水域等类型转移。草地、耕地和未利用地向城镇村及工矿用地转移导致的碳排放强度增长最显著,均超过700万t/万hm~2。[结论]绿洲城市不同的土地利用类型二氧化碳排放强度时空差异较为显著,其中城镇村及工矿用地扩张是导致二氧化碳排放增长的主要原因之一。因此,合理控制绿洲城市扩张规模,优化城市用地布局,建立土地利用二氧化碳排放强度核算体系与综合调控政策,将是促进低碳城市建设的重要路径。     

Cox Point Processes: Why One Realisation Is Not Enough

We review a rich class of point process models, Cox point processes, and illustrate the necessity of more than one observation (point patterns) in performing parameter estimation. Furthermore, we introduce a new Cox point process model by treating the intensity function of the underlying Poisson point process as a random mixture of normal components. The behaviour and performance of the new model are compared with those of popular Cox point process models. The new model is exemplified with an application that involves a single point pattern corresponding to earthquake events in California, USA.     

How Collective Engagement Creates Competitive Advantage for Organizations: A Business-Level Model of Shared Vision,Competitive Intensity,and Service Performance

We argue that collective engagement can serve as a unique value-creation capacity at the business level by linking shared vision and service performance. We also propose that competitive intensity will be a market indicator by which management can enhance the effect of shared vision on collective engagement, and indirectly strengthen service performance (through collective engagement). Furthermore, we argue that this distinctive value-creation capability, embedded in collective engagement, generates competitive advantage; specifically, one that competing organizations will struggle to replicate. We examine our moderated-mediation model by using a three-time-point method derived from five different sources in 198 retail-service branches. Our findings indicate that collective engagement, fueled by shared organizational vision, improves service performance. Furthermore, as this conditional indirect effect of shared vision on service quality and customer satisfaction was solely generated through collective engagement rather than other mechanisms (i.e., commitment and involvement), it creates a competitive advantage for engagement-oriented organizations.     

How to reduce energy intensity to achieve sustainable development of China's transport sector? A cross-regional comparison analysis

China's transport sector has been attracting great attention for its excessive energy consumption and ever-increasing pollution emissions. Thus, reducing energy intensity is one of the top priorities of China's ongoing transport upgrade. In this paper, by establishing a panel data regression model derived from the Cobb–Douglas cost function, we focus on investigating the impacts of energy price and transport productivity on transport energy intensity at the national and regional levels. The study uses the provincial panel data for 2005–2016 to perform regression analysis. The results show that: (1) energy price has a significantly negative effect on transport energy intensity in the whole China and the eastern region, whereas it has no significant impacts in the central and western China. (2) Improvements in transport productivity can effectively decrease transport energy intensity in the whole China and the three major regions. (3) Applying an extended data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, we decompose transport productivity into four components (i.e., technical change, technology gap change, scale efficiency change, and pure efficiency change) and further differentiate their impacts in different regions. The results indicate that these four components have substantially different impacts in each region. These results provide some valuable insights for policymakers and enterprise entities aiming to adopt measures to reduce energy intensity and achieve sustainable development in China's transport sector.     

国家审计能促进国有企业全要素生产率增长吗?

如何促进国有企业治理改善，实现高质量发展，是当前国有企业审计亟须解决的问题。基于2010—2018年审计署公布的中央企业财务收支审计结果公告，采用双重差分模型实证检验国家审计对中央企业控股上市公司全要素生产率的影响及其作用机理。研究发现，国家审计能提高中央企业控股上市公司全要素生产率，主要体现在被审计当年及之后两年，通过扩大国家审计监督内容覆盖广度、拓展国家审计目标深度和加强国家审计权限行使力度实现。进一步发现，国家审计能通过促进中央企业控股上市公司增加研发投入、提高内部控制质量、抑制高管超额在职消费、缓解第一类代理问题等改善公司治理水平，提高全要素生产率。这对优化国有企业审计治理机制，提高全要素生产率，助推经济高质量发展具有启示意义。