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This paper examines the effect of board reforms on managerial risk-taking incentive provision in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) whose managers are undue risk-averse.

We use the staggered implementation of board reforms in Chinese central government-controlled state-owned enterprises (CSOEs) as an exogenous shock to board governance. We collect data on board reforms for a set of pilot CSOEs during the period 2005 to 2020 from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) website by hand. We use a generalized difference-in-difference (DID) design to test the effect of staggered board reform adoption on managerial risk-taking incentive provision.

We find a positive relationship between board reforms and risk-taking inventive provision, i.e. pay-performance sensitivity, promotion-performance sensitivity and performance target difficulty. The documented relationship is stronger when the value of risk-taking is higher. We also find that board reforms lead to greater risky but value-enhancing investments and that managerial risk-taking incentive provision acts as an important channel through which board reforms improve value-enhancing risk-taking.

Our findings suggest that board reforms that improve board governance are effective in addressing risk-related agency conflicts in emerging markets. The findings also highlight the importance of managerial risk-taking incentive provision in inducing risky but value-enhancing investments.

Grounding the research in the stimulus-organism-resource (S-O-R) framework, this study aims to address the research gap of explaining and predicting the relationship between price discounts, interactivity and professionalism on college students’ purchasing intention in live-streaming shopping. It also attempts to understand if trust plays the role of mediator in the effect of these relationships.

This study collected data using a questionnaire protocol adapted and refined from the original scales in existing studies. The partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze data collected from 258 college students in China. Other than assessing the path model’s explanatory power, this study examined the model’s predictive power toward predicting new cases using PLS predict.

Results indicated that all three predictors have a positive significant relationship with trust, while only price discounts demonstrate a significant relationship with purchase intention. Simultaneously, the mediation results provide support to the S-O-R framework demonstrating that external factors (professionalism, interactivity and price discounts) can arouse organism (trust), which in return, generate a behavioral outcome (purchase intention).

This study is the first few studies that focus on college students’ behavioral responses in an online shopping environment. At the same time, this is the first study supplement the explanatory perspective with a predictive focus, which is of particular importance in making sound recommendations on managerial decision-making.

The collaborative filtering algorithm is a classical and widely used approach in product recommendation systems. However, the existing algorithms rely mostly on common ratings of items and do not consider temporal information about items or user interests. To solve this problem, this study proposes a new user-item composite filtering (UICF) recommendation framework by leveraging temporal semantics.

The UICF framework fully utilizes the time information of item ratings for measuring the similarity of items and takes into account the short-term and long-term interest decay for computing users’ latest interest degrees. For an item to be probably recommended to a user, the interest degrees of the user on all the historically rated items are weighted by their similarities with the item to be recommended and then added up to predict the recommendation degree.

Comprehensive experiments on the MovieLens and KuaiRec datasets for user movie recommendation were conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed UICF framework. Experimental results show that the UICF outperformed three well-known recommendation algorithms Item-Based Collaborative Filtering (IBCF), User-Based Collaborative Filtering (UBCF) and User-Popularity Composite Filtering (UPCF) in the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and F1 metrics, especially yielding an average decrease of 11.9% in MAE.

A UICF recommendation framework is proposed that combines a time-aware item similarity model and a time-wise user interest degree model. It overcomes the limitations of common rating items and utilizes temporal information in item ratings and user interests effectively, resulting in more accurate and personalized recommendations.

The purpose of the article is to extend the node-based smoothed point interpolation method (NS-PIM) for soil consolidation analysis based on the Biot’s theory.

The shape functions for displacements and pore pressures are constructed using the PIM separately, leading to the Kronecker delta property and easy implementation of essential boundary conditions. Then, a benchmark problem of 2D consolidation under ramp load is solved to investigate the validity of this application. Meanwhile, convergence features of different solutions are studied. Furthermore, the incompressible and impermeable condition under instant load is investigated. The results calculated by the NS-PIM solution with different orders of shape functions are compared. Finally a 2D consolidation problem in construction period is solved. An error estimation method is applied to check the mesh quality.

The results of the NS-PIM solution show good agreement with those certified results. Useful convergence features are found when comparing the results of the NS-PIM and the FEM solutions. A simple method is introduced to estimate the errors of the model with rough grids. The convergence features and error estimation method can be applied to check the mesh quality and get accurate results. More stable results can be obtained using the NS-PIM solution with lower order of pore pressure shape functions under the incompressible and impermeable condition.

It cannot be denied that the calculation of NS-PIM solution takes more time than that of the FEM solution, and more work needs to be carried out to optimize the NS-PIM solution. Also, in further study, the feasibility of more complicated and practical engineering problems can still be probed in the NS-PIM solution.

This paper introduced a method for the consolidation analysis on the situation of construction loads (“ramp load”) using the NS-PIM which is quite indispensable in many foundation problems. Also, more stable results can be obtained using the NS-PIM solution with lower order of pore pressure shape functions than that with same order of shape functions.

This study first focuses on the situation of construction loads (“ramp load”) in the NS-PIM consolidation analysis which is quite indispensable in many foundation problems. An error estimation method is introduced to evaluate the mesh quality and get accurate values based on the convergence features of the FEM and NS-PIM solutions. Then, the incompressible and impermeable condition under instant load is investigated, and the analysis show that the NS-PIM with lower order of pore pressure shape functions can get stable results in such conditions.

This study aims to explore the interdependent impacts of online word-of-mouth (WOM) and online ads on digital product adoptions, as well as their dynamic changes throughout the product life cycle.

This study adopted an empirical approach by using a unique data set of five mobile games launched between 2012 and 2014 provided by Renren Games Ltd. in China.

The results indicated that advertising generally has a positive impact on WOM. During the product life cycle, the influence on volume and variance gradually decreases, whereas the impact on valence increases over time. WOM (including WOM volume and WOM valence) and advertising both have positive impacts on game adoptions. They complement each other to shape adoptions throughout the product life cycle: advertising is more effective in encouraging adoptions in the early and later stages of the demand evolution process, whereas WOM has a greater impact on adoptions in the mid-stage.

This study provided detailed managerial recommendations on how to effectively integrate different types of marketing communication and optimize the investment strategy of online ads and online WOM in different stages of the product life cycle.

First, the study enriched the theory of digital marketing communication by studying the relationship between mass media (online ads), interpersonal media (online WOM) and product adoptions in the network context. Second, it provided an empirical basis for the inference of the dynamic development of media effect in the new product diffusion theory. Third, the results will be helpful to end the debate in current theoretical literature on whether there is a complementary or alternative relationship between the two effects. Last but not least, it enriched research on the antecedents and dynamic effects of online WOM.

This article intends to explore the sustainability accounting practices that emerge from the business of artificial forestry in the Qingshui River society of southwest China in the 18th-19th centuries.

Using a historical approach, we set out to discuss the systematic use of “folk contract” as a tool of tracing accountability in timber trading and in the collective management of community forests in this region, based on the archives of Qingshui River Manuscripts.

The findings indicate that active transactions of small forest plots facilitated by the prevalent use of folk contracts allow both the landlords and the tenants to easily acquire cashflow needed any time before the harvest, and in turn prevent premature logging and deforestation for crop farming. An “open ledger” bookkeeping system emerged from the extensive contracting practices guarantees the functioning of a dualistic accountability system, where both market value of timbers and “face” value of community members' reputation are preserved for long-term sustainability of local economy, society and ecological environment.

From the perspective of economic anthropology, this study forms the link between the folk contract practice in sustainable forestry of the Qingshui River society and the emancipatory accounting literature.

The purpose of this paper is to review the development of the processed feed industry in China through the lens of one of its most successful and earliest entrants, the Hope Group's “New Hope” enterprise. With the feed industry in China now facing a transition phase, the paper looks at the root causes of the problems facing China's feed industry, analyzes the transition strategy undertaken by New Hope and others, and discusses the opportunities for industry growth in the world's most populous country, where urbanization and standards of living are still on the rise and per capita use of feeds is still low by world standards (e.g. one‐fifth of that in the USA). The case also addresses the potential industry impact of mandates outlined in China's Twelfth Five‐Year Plan, such as the imperative to modernize agriculture and improve peasants’ economic well‐being.

The paper draws on expert knowledge of the CEO of New Hope Group's sister agribusiness company, West Hope Group, as well as New Hope Group annual reports and global economic data.

The study reveals future challenges to China's processed feed industry as being price of labor, raw materials, and energy rises; companies undergoing integration; and established companies shifting from product marketing to service marketing models.

This paper is useful for academics interested in industry perspectives, policymakers, practitioners, and business people considering investment in China.

How China's processed feed and breeding industries modernize will impact the economic well‐being of each link in the nation's agribusiness chain (from small producers to conglomerates), the cost and quality of animal‐based proteins, and the world's “food vs. fuel” conflicts.

The paper offers a rare insider's look at one of China's largest private companies and a global player in agribusiness.

The recent shift towards accommodating flexibility in manufacturing companies and the complexity resulting from product variety highlight the significance of flexible assembly systems and designing products for them. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the requirements of a flexible assembly system for product design from the assembly system’s standpoint.

To fulfil the purpose of the paper, a literature review and a case study were performed. The case study was conducted with an interactive research approach in a global market leader company within the heavy vehicle manufacturing industry.

The findings indicate that common assembly sequence, similar assembly interfaces, and common parts are the main requirements of a flexible assembly system for product design which reduce complexity and facilitate various flexibility dimensions. Accordingly, a model is proposed to broaden the understanding of these requirements from the assembly system’s standpoint.

This study contributes to the overlapping research area of flexible assembly systems and product design.

The proposed model is largely based on practical data and clarifies the role of product design in facilitating flexibility in an assembly system. It can be used by assembly managers, assembly engineers, and product designers.

The key originality of this paper compared to the previous studies lies in presenting a novel assembly-oriented design model. The model enhances understanding of a flexible assembly system’s requirements for product design with regard to reducing complexity and managing variation in a flexible assembly system. These requirements can be applied to product design across various product families within a company’s product portfolio.

Drought is the primary disaster that negatively impacts agricultural and animal husbandry production. It can lead to crop reduction and even pose a threat to human survival in environmentally sensitive areas of China (ESAC). However, the phases and periodicity of drought changes in the ESAC remain largely unknown. Thus, this paper aims to identify the periodic characteristics of meteorological drought changes.

The potential evapotranspiration was calculated using the Penman–Monteith formula recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, whereas the standardized precipitation evaporation index (SPEI) of drought was simulated by coupling precipitation data. Subsequently, the Bernaola-Galvan segmentation algorithm was proposed to divide the periods of drought change and the newly developed extreme-point symmetric mode decomposition to analyze the periodic drought patterns.

The findings reveal a significant increase in SPEI in the ESAC, with the rate of decline in drought events higher in the ESAC than in China, indicating a more pronounced wetting trend in the study area. Spatially, the northeast region showed an evident drying trend, whereas the southwest region showed a wetting trend. Two abrupt changes in the drought pattern were observed during the study period, namely, in 1965 and 1983. The spatial instability of moderate or severe drought frequency and intensity on a seasonal scale was more consistent during 1966–1983 and 1984–2018, compared to 1961–1965. Drought variation was predominantly influenced by interannual oscillations, with the periods of the components of intrinsic mode functions 1 (IMF1) and 2 (IMF2) being 3.1 and 7.3 years, respectively. Their cumulative variance contribution rate reached 70.22%.

The trend decomposition and periods of droughts in the study area were analyzed, which may provide an important scientific reference for water resource management and agricultural production activities in the ESAC. However, several problems remain unaddressed. First, the SPEI considers only precipitation and evapotranspiration, making it extremely sensitive to temperature increases. It also ignores the nonstationary nature of the hydrometeorological water process; therefore, it is prone to bias in drought detection and may overestimate the intensity and duration of droughts. Therefore, further studies on the application and comparison of various drought indices should be conducted to develop a more effective meteorological drought index. Second, the local water budget is mainly affected by surface evapotranspiration and precipitation. Evapotranspiration is calculated by various methods that provide different results. Therefore, future studies need to explore both the advantages and disadvantages of various evapotranspiration calculation methods (e.g. Hargreaves, Thornthwaite and Penman–Monteith) and their application scenarios. Third, this study focused on the temporal and spatial evolution and periodic characteristics of droughts, without considering the driving mechanisms behind them and their impact on the ecosystem. In future, it will be necessary to focus on a sensitivity analysis of drought indices with regard to climate change. Finally, although this study calculated the SPEI using meteorological data provided by China’s high-density observatory network, deviations and uncertainties were inevitable in the point-to-grid spatialization process. This shortcoming may be avoided by using satellite remote sensing data with high spatiotemporal resolution in the future, which can allow pixel-scale monitoring and simulation of meteorological drought evolution.

Under the background of continuous global warming, the climate in arid and semiarid areas of China has shown a trend of warming and wetting. It means that the plant environment in this region is getting better. In the future, the project of afforestation and returning farmland to forest and grassland in this region can increase the planting proportion of water-loving tree species to obtain better ecological benefits. Meanwhile, this study found that in the relatively water-scarce regions of China, drought duration was dominated by interannual oscillations (3.1a and 7.3a). This suggests that governments and nongovernmental organizations in the region should pay attention to the short drought period in the ESAC when they carry out ecological restoration and protection projects such as the construction of forest reserves and high-quality farmland.

The findings enhance the understanding of the phasic and periodic characteristics of drought changes in the ESAC. Future studies on the stress effects of drought on crop yield may consider these effects to better reflect the agricultural response to meteorological drought and thus effectively improve the tolerance of agricultural activities to drought events.

This study aims to explore the social networks and network interactions of bed-and-breakfast (B&B) entrepreneurs in rural China. In addition, it evaluates how such network interactions relate to rural resilience.

In-depth interviews were performed in two locations: Ningbo and Dujiangyan, China. Purposive sampling was combined with snowball sampling to select interviewees. The 154 interviews involved 29 B&B owners and relevant social actors. All codes and data were analyzed using the discourse analysis framework.

The B&B owners’ social networks were identified based on strategic goals, revealing a business operation network, business development network and business citizenship network. Challenges in seeking financial support for rural B&Bs during the pandemic were specified along with network interactions. The institutional adaptation approach was used to evaluate network interaction in rural B&B business. It was argued that other networks would react based on primary network members’ goal compatibility and the effectiveness of the primary network in addressing obstacles.

This study indicates that the rural B&B entrepreneurs’ interactions with various networks could influence on business resilience, community resilience as well as rural resilience.

By combining the institutional adaptation typology with social network theory, this study generates a new typology of network interactions for rural B&Bs. The typology helps to explain how and why B&B entrepreneurs make decisions and provides a broader scope of social networks involved in these business operations.