Search results

Introduction: The study examines how fintech has revolutionized the financial industry, with a focus on the uptake of cutting-edge innovations like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. It highlights fintech’s increasing relevance in the changing economic landscape by discussing how it improves cybersecurity, global financial inclusion, and service efficiency.

Purpose: This text provides an in-depth analysis of fintech’s transformative role in the financial sector, covering innovative business models, various subjects, evolution, contemporary developments, significant data impact, challenges, and future trends, including quantum computing, sustainable finance, and ESG investing.

Methodology Approach: This study uses the secondary from the existing literature. The researcher reviewed the various research papers, books, chapters, and government websites to provide a projection of future trends. This study addresses future opportunities in fintech and focuses on efficiency, costs, customer satisfaction, regulatory changes, innovations, cyber-security, decentralized finance, legal issues, and sustainable finance.

Findings: The study reveals that fintech has a profound impact on enhancing the efficiency of financial services, reducing costs, improving consumer satisfaction, and driving substantial economic growth. Additionally, it effectively tackles difficulties related to cybersecurity and regulatory compliance.

To determine the electrical, structural, optical and transport properties calculated using WIEN2k code.

By employing the WIEN2k code, we have theoretically examined the physical properties of the full-Heusler Te₂AcGa alloy. The FP-LAPW technique is utilized for theoretical calculations.

An indirect bandgap of 0.42 eV is seen with the GGA potential. An enhancement in bandgap with a value of 0.97 eV is observed with mBJ potential. The density of states is determined to verify the band structure profile. The dynamical and structural stability is attained through the computations. The electron density contour plot is utilized to explore the bonding nature of the compound. Optical properties have been calculated with respective potentials showing significant absorption in the visible region. Furthermore, thermoelectric properties have been evaluated to confirm the potential of Te₂AcGa for thermoelectric devices. At elevated temperatures, the ZT with mBJ potential obtained a large value of 0.8.

High absorption and ZT values make the Te_2AcGa alloy have potential for optoelectronic and renewable energy devices.

In the submitted manuscript, first principle calculations are carried out for the first time to study the structural, dynamic, electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties of the full-Heusler Te₂AcGa alloy. Modified Becke–Johnson (mBJ) exchange-correlation potential provides very accurate results. The bandgap profiles and related properties are calculated in the present work. The entire work gives useful results of fundamental importance, which can be utilized for the fabrication of optoelectronic and thermoelectric applications.

The aim was to investigate the effect of normal load on the tribological performance of laser cladded FeCoCrMoSi amorphous coating, which might choose the appropriate normal load for the friction reduction and wear resistance.

A FeCoCrMoSi amorphous coating was prepared on 45 steel using laser cladding, and the tribological performance of obtained coating under the different normal loads was investigated using a ball-on-disk tribometer.

The FeCoCrMoSi amorphous coating is composed of M₂₃C₆, Co₆Mo₆C₂ and amorphous phases, where the M₂₃C₆ hard phase enhances the coating hardness to increase the wear resistance and the Co₆Mo₆C₂ with the vein shape forms the strong mechanical interlock to play the role of friction reduction. The average coefficients of friction of containing amorphous FeCoCrMoSi coating under the normal loads of 3, 4 and 5 N are 0.68, 0.65 and 0.53, respectively, and the corresponding wear rates are 17.7, 23.9 and 21.9 µm3•N⁻¹•mm⁻¹, respectively, showing that the appropriate normal load is beneficial for improving its friction reduction and wear resistance. The wear mechanism is composed of adhesive wear, abrasive wear and oxidative wear, which is attributed to the high hardness of amorphous coating by the amorphous phase.

The FeCoCrMoSi amorphous coating was first applied for the improvement of 45 steel, and the effect of normal load on its tribological performance was investigated.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2024-0304/

The manufacturing industry and the producer service industry have a high degree of industrial correlation, and their integration will cause changes in the complex industrial network topology, which is an important reason for the synergistic effect. This paper describes the topology of industrial systems using complex network theory; further, it discusses how to identify the criticality and importance of industrial nodes, and whether node characteristics cause synergistic effects.

Based on the input-output data of China in 2007, 2012 and 2017, this paper constructs the industrial complex network of 30 Chinese provinces and cities, and measures the regional network characteristics of the manufacturing industry. The fixed-effect panel regression model is adopted to test the influence of agglomeration degree and centrality on synergies, and its adjustment mechanism is explored.

The degree of network agglomeration in the manufacturing industry exerts a negative impact on the synergistic effect, while the centrality of the network exerts a significant promoting effect on the synergistic effect. The results of adjustment mechanism test show that enhancing the autonomous controllable ability of the regional industrial chain in the manufacturing industry can effectively reduce the effect of network characteristics on the synergistic effect.

Based on input-output technology, this paper constructs a complex industrial network model, however, only basic flow data are used. Considerable in-depth and detailed research on the economic and technological connections within the industry should be conducted in the future. The selection of the evaluation index of the importance of industrial nodes also needs to be further considered. For historical reasons, it is also difficult to obtain and process data when carrying out quantitative analysis; therefore, it is necessary to make further attempts from the data source and the expression form of evaluation indicators.

In a practical sense this has certain reference value for the formulation of manufacturing industrial policies the optimization of regional industrial layout and the improvement of the industrial development level. It is necessary to formulate targeted and specialized industrial development strategies according to the characteristics of the manufacturing industry appropriately regulate the autonomous controllable ability of the industrial chain and avoid to limit the development of industries which is in turn limited by regional resources. Industry competition and market congestion need to be reduced industry exchanges outside the region encouraged the industrial layout optimized and the construction of a modern industrial system accelerated.

The above research results hold certain reference importance for policy formulation related to the manufacturing industry, regional industrial layout optimization and industrial development level improvement. Targeted specialized industrial development strategies need to be formulated according to the characteristics of the manufacturing industry; the autonomous controllability of the industrial chain needs to be appropriately regulated; limitation of regional resources needs to be avoided as this restricts industrial development; and industry competition and market congestion need to be reduced. Agglomeration of production factors and optimization of resource allocation is an important part of a beneficial regional economic development strategy, and it is also an inevitable choice for industrialization to develop to a certain stage under the condition of a market economy. In alignment with the research conclusions, effective suggestions can be put forward for the current major industrial policies. In the process of promoting the development of the manufacturing industry, it is necessary for regional governments to carry out unified planning and guidance on the spatial layout of each manufacturing subsector. Regional governments need to effectively allocate inter-industry resources, better share economies of scale, constantly enhance the competitive advantages and competitiveness of development zones and new districts and promote the coordinated agglomeration and development of related industries with input industries. Industrial exchanges outside the region should be encouraged, the industrial layout should be optimized and the construction of a modern industrial system should be accelerated.

Complex network theory is introduced to study the industrial synergy effect. A complex industrial network of China's 30 regions is built and key network nodes are measured. Based on the dimensionality of the “industrial node – industrial chain – industrial complex network”, the research path of industrial complex networks is improved.

Aqueous zinc-ion battery has broad application prospects in smart grid energy storage, power tools and other fields. Co₃O₄ is one of the ideal cathode materials for water zinc-ion batteries due to their high theoretical capacity, simple synthesis, low cost and environmental friendliness. Many studies were concentrated on the synthesis, design and doping of cathodes, but the effect of process parameters on morphology and performance was rarely reported.

Herein, Co₃O₄ cathode material based on carbon cloth (Co₃O₄/CC) was prepared by different temperatures hydrothermal synthesis method. The temperatures of hydrothermal reaction are 100°C, 120°C, 130°C and 140°C, respectively. The influence of temperatures on the microstructures of the cathodes and electrochemical performance of zinc ion batteries were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry curve, electrochemical charging and discharging behavior and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test.

The results show that the Co₃O₄/CC material synthesized at 120°C has good performance. Co₃O₄/CC nanowire has a uniform distribution, regular surface and small size on carbon cloth. The zinc-ion battery has excellent rate performance and low reaction resistance. In the voltage range of 0.01–2.2 V, when the current density is 1 A/g, the specific capacity of the battery is 108.2 mAh/g for the first discharge and the specific capacity of the battery is 142.6 mAh/g after 60 charge and discharge cycles.

The study aims to investigate the effect of process parameters on the performance of zinc-ion batteries systematically and optimized applicable reaction temperature.

The aim of this study is to analyze and evaluate the awareness of hotel businesses in the Cappadocia region within the scope of responsible tourism. In this direction, the case study method, one of the qualitative research designs, was taken as a basis, and the vignette (short stories) technique was utilized. In this context, the question “What are the awareness of hotel businesses within the scope of responsible tourism?” guided the research study. Then, vignettes taken from real-life stories were created to support the theoretical basis. These vignettes were directed to 14 managers working in managerial positions in hotel businesses operating in the Cappadocia region and who agreed to participate in the research study. The managers were asked to answer the questions at the end of the vignettes. The data obtained as a result of the research determined that the managers of tourism enterprises have knowledge about responsible tourism. In addition, with the answers given to the vignettes, it has been determined that the preferability of socially sensitive businesses in terms of responsible tourism has increased, and this situation is reflected in customer comments, which is important for the sector.

Heterogeneous graphs, composed of diverse nodes and edges, are prevalent in real-world applications and effectively model complex web-based relational networks, such as social media, e-commerce and knowledge graphs. As a crucial data source in heterogeneous networks, Node attribute information plays a vital role in Web data mining. Analyzing and leveraging node attributes is essential in heterogeneous network representation learning. In this context, this paper aims to propose a novel attribute-aware heterogeneous information network representation learning algorithm, AAHIN, which incorporates two key strategies: an attribute information coverage-aware random walk strategy and a node-influence-based attribute aggregation strategy.

First, the transition probability of the next node is determined by comparing the attribute similarity between historical nodes and prewalk nodes in a random walk, and nodes with dissimilar attributes are selected to increase the information coverage of different attributes. Then, the representation is enhanced by aggregating the attribute information of different types of high-order neighbors. Additionally, the neighbor attribute information is aggregated by emphasizing the varying influence of each neighbor node.

This paper conducted comprehensive experiments on three real heterogeneous attribute networks, highlighting the superior performance of the AAHIN model over other baseline methods.

This paper proposes an attribute-aware random walk strategy to enhance attribute coverage and walk randomness, improving the quality of walk sequences. A node-influence-based attribute aggregation method is introduced, aggregating neighboring node attributes while preserving the information from different types of high-order neighbors.

The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of success in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending campaigns, especially amid global financial disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing a notable gap in current research, we explore how factors such as firm uncertainty, loan characteristics (interest rates and maturity) and venture quality (human, social and intellectual capital) influence P2P lending effectiveness. Using multiple regression analysis on data from 523 projects on the October platform, our study aims to enhance the understanding and operational efficiency of P2P platforms, contributing to a more resilient financial ecosystem.

This study employs a quantitative research design using multiple regression analysis to examine the impact of specific variables on the success of P2P lending campaigns. Data were collected from 523 concluded P2P lending projects on the October platform, spanning from 2015 to 2021. Variables of interest include the level of uncertainty of the firm, loan characteristics such as interest rate and maturity and the quality of the venture assessed through human, social and intellectual capital. This method allows for a robust analysis of the factors contributing to the success of P2P lending within a dynamic financial context.

The findings of this study reveal that the success of P2P lending campaigns is significantly influenced by the level of uncertainty of the firm, the interest rate of the loan and the quality of the venture. Specifically, higher uncertainty in firms correlates negatively with campaign success, while competitive interest rates positively impact funding outcomes. Furthermore, ventures that demonstrate robust human capital, particularly those with management teams that possess diverse skills and high qualifications, tend to attract more funding. These results underscore the critical role of strategic financial and human resource planning in enhancing the effectiveness of P2P lending platforms.

This study contributes uniquely to the literature by integrating multiple variables – firm uncertainty, loan characteristics and venture quality – into a comprehensive analysis of success factors in P2P lending. It addresses the scarcity of research examining the combined effects of these factors, particularly in the context of global financial disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic. By focusing on a specific European platform during a dynamic period, this research provides new insights into how P2P lending can adapt to and thrive amid financial crises. The findings offer valuable guidance for both practitioners and policymakers aiming to optimize P2P lending practices in uncertain economic landscapes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the underlying mechanisms influencing the social entrepreneurial intentions of individuals in China, adopting social capital theory, bottom-up and people-based approach. The interrelated effects of intellectual capital (social community trust, social capital bonding and social participation) on social innovation tendency were measured.

We recruited 502 Chinese individuals by utilising a reliable survey platform in China. This study used structural equation modelling as an analytical approach to examine the influence of social capital on social innovation and social entrepreneurship intention.

The findings showed that social innovation tendencies mediate the relationship between social community trust, social capital bonding and social participation and the social entrepreneurial intentions of individuals. The findings support the tested hypotheses that social innovation tendencies are the key mechanism to translate into stronger social entrepreneurial intentions. An iterative framework emphasising transparency and open collaboration among stakeholders, which are vital for fostering social entrepreneurial intentions, was proposed.

This is a novel empirical study to apply social capital theory to the field of social enterprises in the Chinese context using structural equation modelling, bottom-up, people-based approach and iterative model. The findings offer valuable practical insights for entrepreneurial and SME practices to foster social entrepreneurship through a people-based approach, emphasising the importance of fostering trust, strengthening social bonds, and encouraging active social participation.

This study aims to investigate factors that drive or deter audit firms (AFs) from disclosing audit quality (AQ) information to stakeholders in Iran. Furthermore, information items that should be contained in their disclosures are examined.

The study followed an interpretive approach. In this regard, 21 semi-structured and face-to-face interviews were conducted to explore the viewpoints of audit partners and investment managers. Interviewees were selected by snowball sampling method. The transcripts of audio records were prepared, and a thematic perspective was applied to evaluate transcriptions.

Participants’ interpretations indicate that certain factors, such as signaling to stakeholders, active audit committees and investor demand, promote transparency among Iranian AFs. Nonetheless, this inclination is deterred by some concerns, including poor AQ, lack of financial resources, lack of legal enforcement, fear of raising stakeholders’ expectations, inactive professional associations and contextual factors which should be addressed. Interviewees believe five items should be contained in AFs’ disclosures to enhance transparency.

This study contributes to recognizing factors explaining AFs’ behavior in the context of an Islamic country. Furthermore, the type of disclosure that should be contained can provide good insight for standard setters or oversight bodies.

The semi-structured interviews shed light on the contextual factors that influence transparency within the accountancy profession, either enabling or hindering it. Additionally, it is crucial to consider each country’s unique characteristics when determining the disclosure items in transparency reports.