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Continuous development of digital technology makes it necessary for digital entrepreneurs to pivot to cope with the environmental changes. However, limited research has focused on the important strategic orientation of digital new ventures in digital contexts, digital orientation, which depicts the tendency of new ventures to utilize digital technologies to create value. This research aims to explore the relationship between digital orientation and pivoting, along with the mediating role of dynamic capabilities as essential organizational competencies. Additionally, the study investigates the influence of boundary conditions related to the environmental dynamism and the prior experience of entrepreneurs.

The data of this study were gathered by a two-phase survey of 328 Chinese digital new ventures in China with the assistance of entrepreneurial service organizations, entrepreneurship parks and entrepreneurial training institutions. The current study used regression analysis to verify the hypotheses and factor analysis to evaluate the validity and reliability of the measurement by using MPLUS, SPSS and PROCESS macro.

The findings of this research indicate that digital orientation enhances pivoting of digital new ventures, with dynamic capabilities acting as a crucial mediator in this process. Additionally, the dynamic environment and prior entrepreneurial experience influence both the relationship between digital orientation and dynamic capabilities, as well as the mediating effect of dynamic capabilities.

This study significantly contributes to the existing literature by exploring the relationship between digital orientation and pivoting in digital new ventures. This broadens the scope of research on pivoting and enriches the literature on digital orientation in the digital context. By emphasizing how these factors shape pivoting, our research provides valuable guidance for entrepreneurs responding to the dynamic environment and technological advances.

This research illuminates the relationship between digital orientation and pivoting based on the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities theory (DCT). It explores the antecedent of digital orientation on digital new ventures’ pivoting activities, reveals the internal mechanisms and boundary conditions and enriches the literature related to RBV and DCT in the digital entrepreneurship context.

Recently, the concept of frugal innovation (FI) has gained relevance in both academic and societal discourse. Whether disruptive frugal digital innovation is contributing to the growth of small and medium-sized businesses in Africa is a subject of debate. Generally speaking, frugal inventions are linked to developing nations where sizable consumer groups at the base of the pyramid have unfulfilled needs. Africa, a continent with growing economies, has witnessed a surge in disruptive FI, which makes this chapter an important discourse. Digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), social media, cloud computing, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are finding their way in the market, and how it is affecting human development and small enterprises has been a subject for debate. This book chapter presents findings on how FI has led to sustainable human development and growth of micro, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as revealed by a review of existing literature on the subject. According to findings from the literature, MSMEs' connections and interactions with partners, suppliers, and consumers have improved as a result of the adoption of disruptive digital platforms. Additionally, while operating in challenging settings in Africa, digital technologies offer certain intrinsic traits and information technology capabilities that allow firms to grow and flourish. Digital platforms are viewed as transparent, collaborative instruments that provide economic opportunities throughout the ecosystem. The results also show that disruptive digital technologies offer MSMEs an inexpensive, simple-to-use, and simple-to-deploy solution in order to compete with stronger incumbents across a range of industries.

The continuing development of digital technologies creates expanding opportunities for information transparency. Consumers use social media to provide online reviews that are focused on changing levels of consumer trust. This study examines the effect of perceived risk that prompts consumers to search for online reviews in the context of food safety.

Commitment-trust theory forms the theoretical lens to model changes in consumer trust resulting from online reviews. Consumer-based questionnaire surveys collected data to test the structural model, using structural equation modelling (SEM).

The findings show when consumers perceive high levels of risk, they use social media to obtain additional product-related information. The objective, unanimous, evidential and noticeable online reviews are perceived as informative to consumers. Perceived informativeness of positive online reviews is found to increase consumers trust and, in turn, increase their purchase intentions.

The findings contribute to the knowledge of online review-based trust literature and provide far-reaching implications for information system (IS)-practitioners in business.

Drawing on the pleasure-arousal-dominance (PAD) emotion model, the emotional states of consumers embedded in online reviews can be described through three dimensions, that is, pleasure, arousal and dominance, rather than only the one-dimensional positive and negative polarity, as in previous studies. Therefore, this study aims to explore the effect of online review emotion on perceived review helpfulness based on these three basic emotional dimensions.

A lexicon-based method is developed to analyze PAD emotions of online reviews from JD.com. The zero-inflated negative binomial regression is utilized to empirically validate the study hypothesis. The authors examine the influence of pleasure, arousal, dominance, emotion diversity and emotion deviation on review helpfulness, as well as the moderating effect of product type on the relationship between all independent variables and online review helpfulness.

The study results show that the pleasure emotion impairs the helpfulness of online reviews, while the arousal and dominance emotions have a positive impact. Moreover, the authors find that compared with search products, the effects of pleasure, arousal and dominance on perceived helpfulness are strengthened for experience products. However, the emotional diversity and emotional deviation have opposite effects on the helpfulness of search products and experience products. Additionally, the results show that dominance emotion plays a more important role in the interaction effect.

The empirical findings confirm the applicability of PAD in the online review context and extend the existing knowledge of the influence of review emotion on helpfulness. A feasible scheme for extracting PAD variables from Chinese text is developed. The study findings also have significant implications for reviewers, merchants and platform managers of e-commerce websites.

This paper aims to propose a novel wheel-based multiaxis force sensor designed to detect the interaction forces and moments between the planetary rover’s wheel and the terrain, thereby assisting the rover in environmental perception.

The authors’ design approach encompasses the mechanical structure design, decoupling methods and component integration techniques, effectively incorporating multiaxis sensors into the forward-sensing wheel. This enables high-precision and high-reliability detection of wheel–terrain interaction forces and torques.

The designed wheel-based multiaxis force sensor exhibits a nonlinearity error of 0.45%, a hysteresis error of 0.56% and a repeatability error of 0.49%, meeting the requirements for practical applications. Furthermore, the effectiveness and stability of the designed wheel-based multidimensional force sensor have been validated through hardware-in-the-loop experiments and full-vehicle model testing.

Unlike previous methods that directly integrate multiaxis sensors into the forward-sensing wheel, the authors have designed the force sensing wheel with consideration of its limited design space and the need for high measurement accuracy. The effectiveness of the designed wheel-based multidimensional force sensor was ultimately validated through static calibration, hardware-in-the-loop experiments and full-vehicle model experiments.

This study aims to develop a measurement instrument for green internal marketing (GIM) in a knowledge-intensive industry (Higher Education).

This study consists of four phases, using a mixed-methods design. Study 1 used a systematic literature review, interviews and focus group discussions (n = 30) to identify five categories and 29 initial items. Study 2 used exploratory factor analysis for scale purification and refinement. The study confirmed a 20-item and five-dimensional scale. The final data collection (n = 576) was conducted for Study 3 using the quantitative approach and establishing the scale’s predictive validity. Study 4 checked the impact of GIM on knowledge worker performance using Smart-PLS 4.

This study found that GIM has five dimensions, which work as a catalyst in the knowledge-intensive sector. The study also found a significant impact of GIM on knowledge worker performance.

The study’s innovative approach involves the development of a multidimensional scale and an examination of its effect on the identification of variables by GIM, specifically on the academic performance of knowledge workers in higher education. The study provides valuable recommendations for professionals and academics on achieving knowledge worker performance within higher education institutions effectively.

Compared to the occurrence of conflict in general teams in organizations, conflict occurrence in entrepreneurial teams is more prevalent and intense. However, previous studies have found inconsistent relationships between entrepreneurial team conflict and performance, and the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain in the “black box.” Drawing on the motivated information processing in groups theory, this study aims to investigate how and when entrepreneurial team conflict influences entrepreneurial performance.

The authors collected survey data from 190 entrepreneurs across 58 entrepreneurial teams in China. The hypothesized relationships were examined through path analysis using the Mplus7.0 program.

Entrepreneurial team relationship conflict is negatively related to entrepreneurial performance mediated through team behavioral integration. Conversely, there exists a curvilinear (U-shaped) relationship between entrepreneurial team task conflict and entrepreneurial performance, also mediated through team behavioral integration. Furthermore, the curvilinear relationship between entrepreneurial team task conflict and team behavioral integration is strengthened by team contractual governance, whereas the relationship between entrepreneurial team relationship conflict and team behavioral integration is not moderated by team contractual governance.

This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between entrepreneurial team conflict and performance by identifying the mediating mechanism and boundary condition. The finding of a U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurial team task conflict and entrepreneurial performance underscores the uniqueness of the entrepreneurial team context, offering new empirical insights for future conflict research.

This study investigates the nonlinear relationship between inventory leanness and ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance, exploring how market concentration and digital transformation moderate this connection in manufacturing enterprises.

Using a large panel data collected from Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises over the period from 2012 to 2021, this research employs the instrumental variable method combined with two-stage least squares estimators to explore the U-shaped relationship between inventory leanness and ESG performance. Furthermore, the moderating roles of market concentration and digital transformation are demonstrated.

The results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between inventory leanness and ESG performance, indicating that moderate lean inventory management enhances ESG outcomes, but excessive reduction hinders them. Additionally, market concentration and digital transformation positively moderate this relationship, suggesting that competitive market conditions and technological advancement mitigate the adverse effects of overly lean inventories.

Managers are advised to balance inventory management with market dynamics and embrace digital transformation to optimize ESG performance. Policymakers can leverage these insights to guide firms in sustainable inventory practices.

This study contributes to the literature by unveiling the nonlinear dynamics between inventory leanness and ESG performance and highlighting the moderating roles of market concentration and digital transformation.

This study aims to examine the complex effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on China’s agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) from 2005 to 2020. It also explores the role of absorptive capacity as a moderating factor during this period.

Employing provincial panel data from China, this research measures agricultural TFP using the Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA)-Malmquist method. The impact of FDI on agricultural productivity is further analyzed using a nondynamic panel threshold model.

The results highlight technological progress as the main driver of agricultural TFP growth in China. Agricultural FDI (AFDI) seems to impede TFP development, whereas nonagricultural FDI (NAFDI) shows a distinct positive spillover effect. The study reveals a threshold in absorptive capacity that affects both the direct and spillover impacts of FDI. Provinces with higher absorptive capacity are less negatively impacted by AFDI and more likely to benefit from FDI spillovers (FDISs).

This study provides new insights into the intricate relationship between FDI, absorptive capacity and agricultural productivity. It underscores the importance of optimizing technological progress and research and development (R&D) to enhance agricultural productivity in China.

International trade and its effects on the environment are increasingly discussed both in academia and by policymakers. To counter negative effects of international trade on the environment, so called environmental provisions have been integrated in trade agreements aimed at businesses and economies. However, as both the intent and effectiveness of these provisions are controversial, this paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of research and identified key factors influencing their effectiveness.

The authors conduct a systematic literature review of 44 papers on the effects of environmental provisions in international trade agreements on the environmental performance of businesses, as well as economies from 1992 to mid-2024.

The integration of environmental provisions into trade agreements generally has positive effects on the environment while their effectiveness is influenced by their design and several boundary conditions. Alongside the importance of effective enforcement mechanisms, reputation concerns of businesses and lobbyism are discussed as intermediary factors in the design and impact of environmental provisions.

The insights can benefit policymakers to optimize future environmental provisions and advance the effectiveness of policies aimed at balancing the effects of trade liberalization with environmental protection.

Social sustainability is increasingly relevant for creating more sustainable trade policy while societal mechanisms seem to be an adequate tool to ensure effective enforcement of ecological provisions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is the first of its kind to provide a systematic overview of the literature on the effectiveness of environmental provisions that combines the micro-level of businesses and macro-level of economies, although the importance for trade in general and environmental protection, in particular, has been recognized in the academic literature.