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This study investigates firms' innovation behaviour under environmental change. Therefore, it examines the effect of trade disputes on corporate technological innovation and how product market competition moderates this relationship.

This research tests the hypotheses using the fixed effects model based on panel data of publicly listed enterprises in China from 2007–2020.

The empirical results validate the positive association between trade disputes and corporate research and development (R&D) intensity as well as the U-shaped relationship between trade disputes and radical innovation. Additionally, the moderating effect of product market competition is verified: a concentrated market with less competition flattens the U-shaped curve of radical innovation induced by trade disputes; as the market becomes more concentrated and less competitive, the U-shaped relationship eventually turns into an inverted U.

First, this study contributes to the corporate innovation and trade dispute literature by expanding the environmental antecedents of technological innovation and the firm-level consequences of trade disputes. Second, this study enriches the theoretical framework of the environment–innovation link through an integrated perspective of contingency theory and dynamic capabilities view. Third, instead of the traditional linear mindset which had led to contradictory results, this study explores a curvilinear effect in the environment–innovation relationship.

The purpose of this paper is to study the corrosion behavior of Q235 steel in saturated acidic red and yellow soils.

The corrosion behavior of Q235 steel in saturated red and yellow soils was compared by weight-loss, SEM/EDS, 3D ultra-depth microscopy and electrochemical measurements.

R_p of the steel gradually increases and i_corr gradually decreases in both the red and yellow soils with time. The R_p of the steel in the red soil is lower, but its i_corr is higher than that in the yellow soil. The uniform corrosion rate, diameter and density of the corrosion pit on the steel surface in the red soil are greater than those in the yellow soil. Lower pH, higher contents of corrosive anions and high-valence Fe oxides in the red soil are responsible for its higher corrosion rates and local corrosion susceptibility.

This paper investigates the difference in corrosion behavior of carbon steel in saturated acidic red and yellow soils, which can help to understand the mechanism of soil corrosion.

The precast concrete slab track (PST) has advantages of fewer maintenance frequencies, better smooth rides and structural stability, which has been widely applied in urban rail transit. Precise positioning of precast concrete slab (PCS) is vital for keeping the initial track regularity. However, the cast-in-place process of the self-compacting concrete (SCC) filling layer generally causes a large deformation of PCS due to the water-hammer effect of flowing SCC, even cracking of PCS. Currently, the buoyancy characteristic and influencing factors of PCS during the SCC casting process have not been thoroughly studied in urban rail transit.

In this work, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is established to calculate the buoyancy of PCS caused by the flowing SCC. The main influencing factors, including the inlet speed and flowability of SCC, have been analyzed and discussed. A new structural optimization scheme has been proposed for PST to reduce the buoyancy caused by the flowing SCC.

The simulation and field test results showed that the buoyancy and deformation of PCS decreased obviously after adopting the new scheme.

The findings of this study can provide guidance for the control of the deformation of PCS during the SCC construction process.

This study aims to use corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting focused on poverty alleviation in China as a case to demonstrate a unique interplay between the state and private enterprises. It illustrates how CSR reporting has influenced both the mechanisms and outcomes of their interactive relationship, contributing to the construction of symbolic power.

Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic power, this study explores how symbolic power has been constructed and reinforced between the state and private enterprises. It highlights the unique role of CSR reporting in facilitating an alignment between private enterprises objectives and state goals, ultimately reinforcing symbolic and social order. The empirical materials examined are the CSR reports prepared by the top 20 private enterprises in China from 2017 to 2022.

Major private business enterprises in China actively engage with the state’s objectives on poverty alleviation as reflected through their CSR reporting practices. This engagement is evidenced by shifts in keywords, dominant language and reporting structure, which closely align with the state’s stance on the issue. As a result, these enterprises receive heightened public recognition, which in turn helps reinforce the symbolic power and its influence on corporate behaviour.

This paper contributes to the CSR accounting literature by revealing a strategic role of CSR reporting that extends beyond conventional compliance levels commonly observed in Western liberal democratic societies. It serves as a function that facilitates interaction between the state and private enterprises in a symbolic power relationship, where both parties mutually benefit from the alignment of interests in poverty alleviation and social positioning.

This paper attempts to combine the application of artificial intelligence in predicting and evaluating the classification of surrounding rock grades and provides guidance for subsequent support design and reinforcement support operations.

This paper discusses the use of BPNN as the primary tool, combined with three swarm bionic optimization algorithms (GA, PSO, GWO), to solve stability evaluation and grade prediction of surrounding rock in ultra-deep roadway excavation.

Taking the Great Wall ore group as the core and the Shanghaimiao mining area as the extension, the optimal model is applied to the classification of surrounding rock grade in ultra-deep roadway engineering. Prediction results show that the performance of BPNN models is excellent.

Due to the limitations of geological conditions and construction environment in deep coal mines, the period of roadway excavation is too long, resulting in less data collection.

The prediction results can provide guidance for the excavation method, support scheme correction and reinforcement support scheme design of deep coal mine roadway engineering.

It provides guidance for deep mining of coal mine (the premise of surrounding rock support stability), so as to ensure the economic and safety benefits of coal enterprises.

The neural network is applied to rock mechanics in a deep site for the first time, which is used to solve the prediction direction of surrounding rock grade evaluation. The index of the input layer is determined by combining the “three high and one disturbance” with the on-site construction situation, which is closer to the actual project. The swarm intelligent bionic algorithms are selected to optimize the hyperparameters of back propagation neural network, so as to improve the accuracy of the models. The classification and evaluation system of surrounding rock for the Great Wall ore group is constructed, which is the core of Shanghaimiao mining area in the northwest of China, guiding the dynamic adjustment of on-site excavation and support operations.

As China is on an inevitable march into the digital era, firms have accumulated abundant digital assets, such as algorithms and data. Facing the possibility of using digital assets as a new type input, besides traditional inputs such as capital and labor, would powerful managers perform better? Would managerial power help managers increase the efficiency of how a firm combines traditional and digital inputs and converts them into outputs? Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether powerful managers promotes corporate productivity by using digital assets as a new input.

Using data from listed Chinese firms between 2008 and 2020, the authors constructed panel regressions with three-way fixed effects to examine whether and how managerial power influences corporate productivity in the current digital context, particularly under market uncertainty.

The findings reveal no consistent relationship between managerial power and corporate productivity. The results explain this from two contrasting effects: while managerial power promotes technological change it hinders technical efficiency – two components of total productivity. Moreover, this study identifies market uncertainty as a significant external contingency. In uncertain markets, strong managerial power positively impacts corporate productivity.

The results extend extant theoretical insights in the literature on how managerial power might influence corporate productivity.

With an increasing array of new technologies and devices emerging as novel approaches to museum narratives, scholars are intrigued by the narrative effect they produce. Within this context, this study aims to conduct a quantitative case study on the influencing mechanisms among technology embodiment, technology attachment, museum narrative effect and perceived museum image based on embodied cognitive theory (ECT).

By introducing the Opium War Museum, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China, as an empirical case study, the authors collected data, through questionnaires, from 425 visitors who had experienced virtual reality (VR) technology in the museum. The data was then analyzed by using the maximum likelihood estimate for structural equation modeling.

Technology embodiment and technology attachment have significant positive correlations with the museum narrative effect. Technology attachment provides a partial mediating effect between technology embodiment and the museum narrative effect. The perceived museum image moderates such mediating effects of technology attachment.

This study brings the emerging idea of developing visitor experiences with VR through expanding the applications of ECT in the museum scenario. First, the authors identified the underlying interaction patterns between various factors that influence the museum narrative effect. Second, the authors verified that technology can optimize the museum narrative effect and help the creative transformation of cultural relics and culture. This study also provides practical recommendations to improve the technological service experience and strengthen the “audience-centric” management concept of museums

随着越来越多的新技术和设备作为博物馆新颖的叙事方法出现, 学者们对它们产生的叙事效果感到兴趣。在这一背景下, 我们基于具身认知理论对技术具身感、技术依恋、博物馆叙事效果和感知博物馆形象之间的影响机制进行了定量案例研究。

通过引入中国广东省东莞市鸦片战争博物馆作为实证案例研究, 我们从体验了博物馆VR技术的425名参观者中收集了问卷数据。然后, 我们使用极大似然法估计结构方程模型对数据进行了分析。

(1) 技术具身感和技术依恋与博物馆叙事效果存在显著正相关关系。 (2) 技术依恋在技术具身感与博物馆叙事效果之间起到了部分中介作用。 (3) 感知博物馆形象调节了技术依恋的上述中介效应。

本研究通过扩展具身认知理论在博物馆场景中的应用, 提出了利用VR优化访客体验的新兴理念。首先, 我们识别了影响博物馆叙事效果的各种因素之间的潜在互动模式。其次, 我们验证了技术可以优化博物馆叙事效果, 并有利于文物和文化的创造性转化。本研究还提出了实际建议, 以改善技术服务体验, 并加强博物馆“以观众为中心”的管理理念。

The purpose of this study was to investigate how and when exploitative leadership hinders hospitality employees’ service innovative behavior. Based on the conservation of resource theory, the authors examined the mediating role of relational energy and the moderating impact of sensitivity to interpersonal mistreatment on this relationship.

Two-wave data collection from 54 hotel leaders and 266 subordinates in China resulted in 266 supervisor–subordinate matched data sets. Structural equation modeling analyses were used for data analysis.

Exploitative leadership is negatively related to hospitality employees’ service innovative behavior via diminished employee relational energy. Furthermore, employees with high sensitivity to interpersonal mistreatment experience intensified negative impact of exploitative leadership on relational energy and subsequent service innovation behavior.

Hotel management must recognize and mitigate the effects of exploitative leadership to foster an environment conducive to service innovation. In addition, hotel managers should be attuned to the employees’ relational energy, recognizing its essential role in driving innovative behavior.

This research contributes insights into how exploitative leadership style impedes employee service innovation behavior. It further illuminates the role of relational energy as a critical mediator in this relationship.

The concept of frugal innovation has been scholarly discussed from different perspectives. It is a concept that has in the recent years been receiving much attention. In this view, much of the scholarly attention has been given to the benefits of frugal innovation. However, sparse and little attention has been given to the possibilities and challenges of frugal innovation in attaining sustainable development in African Nations. Much of the work has explored the benefits of disruptive frugal innovation. Given this background, this chapter, therefore, seeks to contribute to disruptive frugal digital innovation by highlighting the challenges and possibilities frugal innovation brings in an attempt to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially SDG 1 that aims to end poverty in all forms as well as SDG 8 that aims to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation. Hence, this chapter aims to unleash some possibilities and challenges that can be brought by frugal innovation. Using literature analysis from 21 articles from Google Scholar, the chapter pre-empts key definitions and highlights the SDGs, the possibilities and challenges brought by frugal innovation in achieving economic and social sustainability in Africa. It is through these insights that the chapter seeks to inform theory, practice and policy in the context of SDGs in Africa.

The brake pipe system was an essential braking component of the railway freight trains, but the existing E-type sealing rings had problems such as insufficient low-temperature resistance, poor heat stability and short service life. To address these issues, low-phenyl silicone rubber was prepared and tested, and the finite element analysis and experimental studies on the sealing performance of its sealing rings were carried out.

The low-temperature resistance and thermal stability of the prepared low-phenyl silicone rubber were studied using low-temperature tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic thermomechanical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. The sealing performance of the low-phenyl silicone rubber sealing ring was studied by using finite element analysis software abaqus and experiments.

The prepared low-phenyl silicone rubber sealing ring possessed excellent low-temperature resistance and thermal stability. According to the finite element analysis results, the finish of the flange sealing surface and groove outer edge should be ensured, and extrusion damage should be avoided. The sealing rings were more susceptible to damage in high compression ratio and/or low-temperature environments. When the sealing effect was ensured, a small compression ratio should be selected, and rubbers with hardness and elasticity less affected by temperature should be selected. The prepared low-phenyl silicone rubber sealing ring had zero leakage at both room temperature (RT) and −50 °C.

The innovation of this study is that it provides valuable data and experience for the future development of the sealing rings used in the brake pipe flange joints of the railway freight cars in China.