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Which venture capital is more beneficial in the product innovation of entrepreneurial ventures? The authors study the drawbacks and different effects of corporate venture capital (CVC) and independent venture capital (IVC) on the effectiveness and efficiency of product innovation in entrepreneurial ventures to answer this question.

This study uses a panel dataset of 502 high-tech ventures and runs the Heckman model to correct potential endogeneity issues.

The authors find that CVC increases the product innovation effectiveness of entrepreneurial ventures, but decreases their efficiency. IVC reduces innovation effectiveness and enhances efficiency. However, CVC performs less positively, while IVC performs more positively in terms of innovation effectiveness and efficiency in the B2B market than in the B2C market.

This study provides insights into how to leverage venture capital to develop new products effectively and efficiently.

This study moves beyond the current understanding of the finance-marketing interface. It delineates the two faces of venture capital and reveals the joint effects of equity stakes and market stakes between different types of venture capital and transaction markets in product innovation.

Digitalization and supply chain collaboration are central to the successful servitization of manufacturing firms. However, how digitalization interacts with supply chain structure to affect servitization decisions in manufacturing firms has been understudied. In this study, we bridge resource dependence theory (RDT) and information processing theory (IPT) to examine how supply chain concentration interacts with digitalization to affect servitization decisions in manufacturing firms.

We tested the hypotheses using a panel dataset of 1,261 publicly listed machinery manufacturing firms in China. We addressed the endogeneity concerns using the control function approach and conducted multiple tests to ensure the robustness of the results.

We find that both supplier and customer concentration are negatively related to servitization, indicating that concentrated supplier and customer bases are hindrances to manufacturing servitization. Digitalization weakens the negative impact of customer concentration on servitization, but it strengthens the negative impact of supplier concentration on servitization.

The findings extend our understanding of supply chain structure and digitalization as determinants of servitization. This research also offers a nuanced view of how digitalization mitigates the negative impacts of supply chain concentration.

This article aims to unfold digital servitization by exploring the key resources and resource orchestration (i.e. resource configuration and interaction).

This article conducted an explorative two-stage research strategy of Chinese servitized manufacturers using a preliminary case study and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) design. The data collection was conducted between 2016 and 2021.

This article identifies five key resources – radical, complex technological resources, complementary, specific market resources and digital resources – and their configurations – leveraging market opportunities, leveraging innovation integration and leveraging resource advantages – to facilitate servitization in the digital age. The findings underscore the interaction between technological and market resources as well as the role of digital resources in promoting the servitization journey.

This article contributes to the understanding of servitization in the digital context by examining the key resources and their interactions involved. It builds upon the configurational logic of servitization, expanding the existing framework in the digital context and highlighting the significance of technological and market resource orchestration and interaction in servitization research. Moreover, the paper contributes through its exploratory two-stage approach, going beyond a conceptual understanding of servitization by focusing on both the factors that enable servitization (WHAT) and the configurations that lead to servitization (HOW). Additionally, the article investigates the attributes of resources as lower-level components, addressing the need to explore the micro-level practice of resource realignment. By providing clarity on the configurations of servitization, the paper offers practical guidelines for practitioners on how to effectively utilize resources and benefit from digital servitization.

Environmental degradation resulting from human activities may adversely affect human health in multiple ways. Until now, policies aimed at mitigating environmental problems such as climate change, environmental pollution and damage to biodiversity have failed to clearly identify and drive the potential benefits of these policies on health. The conducted study assesses and demonstrates how specific environmental policies and instruments influence perceived human health in order to ensure input for a data-driven decision process.

The study was conducted for the 2004–2020 period in European Union (EU) countries with the use of dynamic panel data modeling. Verification of specific policies' impact on dependent variables allows to indicate this their effectiveness and importance. As a result of the computed dynamic panel data models, it has been confirmed that a number of significant and meaningful relationships between the self-perceived health index and environmental variables can be identified.

There is a strong positive impact of environmental taxation on the health index, and the strength of this relationship causes effects to be observed in the very short term, even the following year. In addition, the development of renewable energy sources (RES) and the elimination of fossil fuels from the energy mix exert positive, although milder, effects on health. The reduction of ammonia emissions from agriculture and reducing noise pollution are other health-supporting factors that have been shown to be statistically valid. Results allow to identify the most efficient policies in the analyzed area in order to introduce those with the best results or a mix of such measures.

The results of the authors' research clearly indicate the health benefits of measures primarily aimed at improving environmental factors, such as environmental taxes in general. The authors have also discovered an unexpected negative impact of an increase in the share of energy taxes in total taxes on the health index. The presented study opens several possibilities for further investigation, especially in the context of the rapidly changing geopolitical environment and global efforts to respond to environmental and health challenges. The authors believe that the outcome of the authors' study may provide new arguments to policymakers pursuing solutions that are not always easily acceptable by the public.

This study aims to analyze the influence of farmers’ degree of participation in collective action on their adoption decisions and waiting time regarding soil and water conservation (SWC) measures.

The Probit model and Generalized Propensity Score Match method are used to assess the effect of the degree of participation in collective action on farmers’ adoption decisions and waiting time for implementing SWC measures.

The findings reveal that farmers’ engagement in collective action positively influences the decision-making process regarding terrace construction, water-saving irrigation and afforestation measures. However, it does not significantly impact the decision-making process for plastic film and ridge-furrow tillage practices. Notably, collective action has the strongest influence on farmers’ adoption decisions regarding water-saving irrigation technology, with a relatively smaller influence on the adoption of afforestation and terrace measures. Moreover, the results suggest that participating in collective action effectively reduces the waiting time for terrace construction and expedites the adoption of afforestation and water-saving irrigation technology. Specifically, collective action has a significantly negative effect on the waiting time for terrace construction, followed by water-saving irrigation technology and afforestation measures.

The results of this study underscore the significance of fostering mutual assistance and cooperation mechanisms among farmers, as they can pave the way for raising funds and labor, cultivating elite farmers, attracting skilled labor to rural areas, enhancing the adoption rate and expediting the implementation of terraces, water-saving irrigation technology and afforestation measures.

Drawing on an evaluation of farmers’ degree of participation in collective action, this paper investigates the effect of participation on their SWC adoption decisions and waiting times, thereby offering theoretical and practical insights into soil erosion control in the Loess Plateau.

Emergencies have become a growing concern for organizations, which require flexibility to respond to changes in emergencies based on their contingency, dynamic evolution rapidly and other characteristics. In order to enhance the ability of engineering project organizations to cope with emergencies, this study explores the mechanism of its influence on knowledge innovation under emergencies from the perspective of bricolage theory, and provides a new perspective for the traditional preplanning-based handling of emergencies by improvising to enhance the ability and results of improvisation.

Firstly, a structural equation model of the relationship between bricolage and knowledge innovation was constructed by introducing improvisational behavior and serendipity as mediating and moderating variables of the relationship between bricolage and knowledge innovation based on bricolage theory; secondly, drawing on previous well-established measurement scales about bricolage, improvisational behavior, knowledge innovation and serendipity, a questionnaire survey was conducted with different types of engineering project managers and technicians in Gansu Province as the research subjects, and 238 valid questionnaires were returned; finally, validation factor analysis and correlation analysis were performed, and the hypothesized relationships were verified using AMOS 24.0 software.

The results show that bricolage positively influences improvisational behavior; improvisational behavior positively influences knowledge innovation; bricolage positively influences knowledge innovation; bricolage influences knowledge innovation through the mediating role of improvisational behavior and serendipity positively moderates the impact of resource bricolage on knowledge innovation.

It reveals the mechanism of knowledge innovation of engineering project organizations in response to emergencies and the innovation mechanism of the episodic nature of emergency decision-making, extends the applicable context of bricolage theory and provides a new perspective for engineering project organizations in response to emergencies.

Motivated by concerns and the ongoing debate regarding auditors’ independence and impartiality, this paper aims to examine the impact of the financial crisis on non-audit services (NAS) provision and audit quality (main and robust variables) in the four largest Eurozone countries together during the global financial crisis (GFC).

The authors used a time trend OLS model with a dummy variable as well as a baseline model with a dummy and control variables accounting for multicollinearity, considering the characteristics of the GFC.

It documented a positive (negative) relationship between NAS provision (audit quality) and crisis in four Eurozone countries, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, in the context of a baseline approach, supporting the hypotheses that there are higher non-audit fees and a lower audit quality. Moreover, it is revealed that NAS provision and audit quality behave similarly, using a time trend approach, during the GFC. Considering the role of the auditor specialization or not (Big4 vs non-Big4) in companies, a significant effect from crisis on non-audit fees and audit quality for the four countries under the baseline approach is found. In general, the findings persist for NAS provision and audit quality using the robust methods of the time trend and panel OLS approaches. Multicollinearity was not found to affect the findings of the regressions.

The study provides important implications for firm managers, auditors and regulatory authorities.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first time that the impact of the crisis on non-audit fees and audit quality is investigated during the GFC with two sets of OLS models (a time trend OLS with a dummy and a panel OLS with a dummy and control variables) in four largest Eurozone countries together.

Many countries struggled to respond to the pandemic burden; in fact, most suffer from healthcare incapacity generally. Therefore, they need to find innovative systems to compensate for their deficiencies in dealing with current and future problems. One such goes down the public-private partnership (PPP) route. It is important to note, however, that PPP is not a magic wand, and some of these projects have been criticized for overruns that exceed the value created. Aiming to promote the value created in healthcare PPP projects, this study aims to identify factors and critical points related to their implementation.

A two-stage literature review was conducted to shape semi-structured interviews. Based on this, the questions to be asked in the interviews were prepared. The interviews were conducted with twelve experts. The transcripts of the twelve semi-structured interviews were analyzed using manual thematic analysis to reveal the most critical value-creation factors (VCFs). The VFCs were validated by comparing them with the studies in the literature and by having focus group discussions (FGDs) with the experts. Finally, in an FGD, the experts discussed how these factors affect value creation in healthcare PPP projects.

The findings show that VFCs can be categorized into four dimensions: assets, partnership synergy, cooperation environment and processes. Based on the frequency of codes during the thematic analysis, the most frequently addressed VFCs in each category were identified. These were complementary skills and resources, attitude, early establishment of the operational body and effective design development, respectively.

This research contributes to both society and practice by unveiling VCFs and effective ways to achieve them in healthcare PPP projects. Thus, practitioners can generate more value and bring value to the forefront of healthcare PPPs, which can then enhance the value gained by society.

Studies to date have offered little about VCFs and how to realize value in PPP projects by considering the factors involved in them. Moreover, value creation in PPP healthcare projects has largely remained unexplored, despite PPPs being adopted and investigated quite commonly.

This chapter critically evaluates whether football can attain recognition as a national sport in China. Article No. 11, released by the Chinese government in 2015, aimed to develop a new national strategy centralised on the sport of football to foster consumption and enhance national soft power. Consequently, this also means encouraging Chinese football fans to support the national football team. Comparing the significance of local football clubs and the national football team to Chinese football fans is deemed meaningless and unable to generate useful information to comprehend Chinese people's attitudes towards local and national communities. Through literature comparisons with established Chinese national sports such as Chinese martial arts, badminton and table tennis, the discussion reveals that football currently falls short of meeting the general criteria of invention and popularity to be considered a Chinese national sport. In the specific Chinese context, it also proves that football fails to meet the criterion of politics, hindering its identification as a national sport. Consequently, the chapter rebuts the assumption and advocates for the validity of comparing how fans assess their fandom for local and national football teams.

This study aims to investigate whether auditors compromise their independence for economically important clients in family business settings.

The authors empirically examine the research question based on China for the years 2011 to 2020. The dependent variable is the auditors’ propensity to issue modified audit opinions, which is a proxy for auditor independence. The authors use relative client audit fees as a proxy for client importance. To address endogeneity issues in the selection of family firms, the authors use the two-stage least squares regression model and, subsequently, the propensity score matching and Hausman firm fixed effect modeling.

This study reveals that the propensity to issue modified audit opinions is positively correlated with client importance. Big-N auditors are more likely to issue modified audit opinions for their economically important family firm clients, whereas such evidence is not found for non-Big-N auditors. Results are consistent and robust to endogeneity test and sensitivity analysis.

This study enriches the literature on auditor independence and the effect of family firms’ ownership structure factors on audit reporting behavior for their economically important clients. Findings may prove useful for managers and practitioners interested in family business.