Validity of sustainability framework for China’s mining cities – a structural equation modelling approach

Many studies developed their framework for sustainability through indicator systems, but the interactions and relationships within these indicators have not been studied yet. In this article, based on indicator systems, we use a sample of 78 mining cities in China and employ structural equation modelling (SEM) method to explore the validity of sustainability framework. Our empirical results show that resources abundance positively affects urbanization level significantly but negatively affects cleaner production level and environmental protection level significantly; economic strength positively affects urbanization level significantly; cleaner production level has a significant effect on economic strength and non-mineral resources conversion efficiency. We also find that when economic strength is low, resources abundance might weaken the positive effect of economy on urbanization.     

Why firm size matters: investigating the drivers of innovation and economic performance in New Zealand using the Business Operations Survey

The performance of the New Zealand (NZ) economy is something of an enigma. Although ranked one (of 144 countries) for four important ‘growth fundamentals’ NZ is ‘middle of the pack’ when it comes to economic growth, productivity and process innovation. Using four iterations (2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011) of the Business Operations Survey, this research seeks to shed some new light on this conundrum by using a multivariate probit regression (mvprobit) approach applied to pooled samples in excess of 22,000 unit record observations of NZ firms. The results suggest that factors including firm size, high perceived quality, investment/research and development (R&D) capability, major technology change, application of formal IP protection and new export markets are systematically and positively related to innovation; while many external issues, such as those related to geography, market structure, business environment, have little influence. At the firm level, innovations in NZ are highly dependent on the firms’ internal ability to develop new technologies and market demand. The (very small) size of firms does matter in NZ, which lacks a major ‘home market’ or a major trade block on its doorstep, such that ultimately, government may need to be involved to maintain a viable scale for domestic R&D.     

The effects of foreign strategic investors on business models in China’s commercial banks: does ownership structure matter?

Introducing foreign strategic investors (FSIs) is a vital step in the ownership reforms of China’s banking industry. Using China’s data from 1995 to 2014, we employ propensity score matching and difference-in-differences approaches to investigate the effects of FSIs on the business models of Chinese banks, including income structure and funding structure. We find that FSIs significantly influence income structure. The bank’s non-interest income (NII) share significantly rises after introducing FSIs. The higher ownership shares of FSIs are associated with the higher NII share. And the NII share has been increased when FSIs assign directors or senior managers to Chinese banks. We also report that the effects of FSIs on income structure are weaker in state-owned banks than those in other banks, and ownership concentration weakens the links between FSIs and income structure. Finally, this article shows that FSIs have no significant influence on funding structure. These findings will be informative and relevant to both policymakers and practitioners.     

A Pathway Forwards for the Social Capital Metaphor

A major topic in economics is the analysis of a broad class of phenomena associated with interpersonal relationships, a topic that originally grew from theories of “social capital.” While the concept has been instrumental in bringing increased attention to social effects on economic outcomes, it has increasingly been replaced with approaches that consider instead networks and discrete interactions rather than aggregate measures of social capital. This has been an analytical improvement, but a great deal of work remains to bring empirical validity and relevancy to social network analysis. This paper presents two important approaches for achieving this, statistical analysis and agent-based modeling, and discusses their benefits, limitations, and complementary nature. Rather than waiting for either approach to achieve an ambiguous quality of maturity, integrating statistical analysis with simulation models of networks must begin now to push the frontiers of social network analysis forward.     

企业家社会责任行为方式创新对其形象评价的影响机制研究

运用扎根理论探究了企业家创新性社会责任行为的特征及作用机制。基于扎根理论,就企业家微公益行为对其形象评价的影响机制进行了探索性研究。通过深度访谈与二手数据的扎根分析,提出了企业家微公益行为对其形象评价影响的理论框架：企业家微公益行为具有权威性、互动性与多样性,会通过情感和认知两大层面来获取消费者认同感,并影响消费者对企业家微公益行为动机的感知,进而影响其形象评价。该研究是对企业家社会责任理论的有益拓展,同时为希望通过社交网络进行公益活动的企业家提供了实践参考。     

多维企业家社会资本、企业吸收能力与企业绩效研究

基于社会资本理论,将企业家社会资本划分为市场、制度及金融3个维度,利用139家中国创业板上市公司数据,对企业家社会资本、企业吸收能力、企业财务绩效及创新绩效的内在关系进行实证分析。实证结果表明,企业家市场社会资本对企业财务绩效和创新绩效具有显著的正向影响,企业吸收能力与企业财务绩效及创新绩效显著正相关。企业吸收能力正向调节企业家市场社会资本与企业财务绩效和创新绩效的关系,也正向调节企业家制度社会资本与企业创新绩效的关系。     

西方学者对模式3知识生产的多视角理论阐释

遵循科学知识生产逻辑演进规律,在模式1和模式2知识生产发展的基础上,模式3知识生产已初见端倪。近年来,西方学界从多视角对模式3知识生产进行了理论阐释。从高等教育学视角来看,泰勒学派强调模式3知识的缄默性,巴内塔学派强调模式3知识的不确定性;从知识哲学视角来看,昆尼曼学派强调模式3知识生产的道德伦理性;从创新生态学视角来看,卡拉亚尼斯学派强调模式3知识生产的创新生态系统性;从社会生态学视角看,吉门尼兹学派强调模式3知识生产的社会生态性。     

创业乐观中介下社会网络对新创企业绩效的影响

社会网络不仅能够带来物质等方面的硬性支持,同时也能够带来情感、心理、认知等方面的软性支持,然而这种软性支持并未引起学者们的足够重视。旨在探讨社会网络与新创企业绩效关系及其作用机制,构建了包括社会网络、创业乐观、新创企业绩效、创业环境和创业经验在内的理论模型,以142名新创企业者为研究样本,使用SPSS、AMOS等统计软件对数据进行统计分析。结果表明,社会网络对新创企业绩效有显著正向影响,社会网络对创业乐观有显著正向影响,创业乐观对新创企业绩效有显著正向影响,创业乐观在社会网络与新创企业绩效关系间起部分中介作用,创业环境在社会网络与创业乐观关系间以及在创业乐观与新创企业绩效关系间起正向调节作用。     

China's Transport Infrastructure Investment: Past,Present, and Future

China has been heavily investing in transportation infrastructure since the 1990s. Consequently, connectivity has been significantly improved, both within China and between China and other countries. Such large‐scale investments have been made possible by various financing mechanisms from the central government, local governments, and the private sector. Research findings generally indicate that these infrastructure investments bring economic prosperity to the country, affect the distribution of economic activities, reduce poverty to a certain extent, and promote economic integration. The future trends of connectivity changes in China and relevant policy recommendations are also discussed in this paper.     

The emergence of convergent price clusters in China

This paper reports new evidence on the existence of both large and small price divergent clusters for China's energy markets, 2000–2009. The largest convergent price clusters suggest that the coal and gasoline markets are well integrated, however, small convergent price clusters suggest that electricity and diesel markets are proving harder to integrate. The paper argues that the traditional approach to price convergence analysis should be applied with caution, especially in a transitional economy such as China where questions to be asked should relate to the ‘degree of market‐orientation’ and not simply whether it is a market‐based economy or not.