Jing-Ping Li, Zheng-Zheng Li, Ran Tao and Chi Wei Su
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the non-linear threshold effects between trade openness and female labours to participate in the labour markets.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the non-linear threshold effects between trade openness and female labours to participate in the labour markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors consider data for nine Asian countries from 1990 to 2016 period and perform the panel threshold regression method.
Findings
Empirical results indicate that the threshold value is occurred. With the increase of trade openess, the female labour force participation rate shows a trend of rising first and then declining. Furthermore, exports also have an asymmetric threshold effect on female labour force participation, which is partly in accordance with the discrimination model (Becker, 1957). On the other hand, imports dependency will hinder female labour force participation regardless of a threshold effect. The authors obtain similar results when the authors consider the female employment rate as substitution.
Practical implications
Specifically, increased trade openness may contribute positively or negatively towards overall female labour force participation rate (FLFPR), attributed to the relative importance of these opposing effects. Thus, when the cost reduction effect, resulting from intensified competitive pressure and comparative advantages would enhance the participation rate, the technology channel operates in the opposite direction. Therefore, from the perspective of female employment, trade openness is not the more the better.
Originality/value
This study innovatively discusses the non-linear correlation between trade openness and FLFPR and distinguishes the different contributions from exports and imports. The advanced threshold regression model assumes the existence of threshold value from trade to female employment. Thereby, targeted policies for the government should be applied to promote active female in the labour market.
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Zheng-Zheng Li, Chi Wei Su and Ran Tao
This study aims to examine the unemployment hysteresis effects from the perspective of the heterogeneity of genders within Asian countries.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the unemployment hysteresis effects from the perspective of the heterogeneity of genders within Asian countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use the annual unemployment rate dataset of 12 Asian countries ranging from 1991–2020. Traditional unit root tests are initially employed to investigate the unemployment hysteresis effect. Considering the structural break and cross-section dependence problems, the sequential panel selection method (SPSM) and the Kapetanios–Snell–Shin (KSS) panel unit root test with Fourier functions have proven to be more applicable.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that the unemployment rate is stationary in most Asian regions for both females and males, which confirms the mean reversion process of the natural unemployment hypothesis. This suggests that these countries' unemployment rates are flexible to quickly revert to its long-run equilibrium determined by the labor markets. However, only the female unemployment rate in Pakistan and Nepal and adult female unemployment rates in these two economies present non-stationary series. In line with the unemployment hysteresis effect, it means shocks will leave a permanent impact on their labor market.
Practical implications
On the one hand, in most of the Asian countries, it can be inferred that the trade-off between inflation and unemployment is temporary because the natural unemployment hypothesis holds. Therefore, policymakers may consider using monetary policy as a tool to control inflation and stimulate growth during a recession. Such policy measures should not have a long-run impact on unemployment or cause a permanent shift in the natural unemployment rate. On the other hand, the government should implement active labor protective programs such as education or training schemes, job search assistance programs and maternity protection, especially for female adults, to reduce the negative shocks in the economic downturn, which is beneficial for them away from being long-term unemployed. It is also necessary to improve the labor unions to reduce the discrimination between female and male labors.
Originality/value
This paper innovatively concentrates on the heterogeneity performances between genders about the unemployment hysteresis effect within Asian countries. Furthermore, taking into account the age-specific characteristics, the youth and adult unemployment rates have been investigated. Additionally, the approximation of bootstrap distribution and the advanced panel KSS unit root test with a Fourier function are employed. Thereby, targeted policies for the government can be applied to reduce the discrimination and negative shocks on female adults in the labor market.
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Zheng Li, Jun Li, Jin Chen and Tsvi Vinig
This is a special issue of Chinese Management Studies and this study aims to engage with debates on innovation in China and to provide new insights for innovation research in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This is a special issue of Chinese Management Studies and this study aims to engage with debates on innovation in China and to provide new insights for innovation research in the context of China, seeking to develop a greater understanding of the concept of “innovation with Chinese characteristics”.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reviews the Chinese innovation management literature in general and the selected papers in this special issue in particular and proposes two new directions for future research.
Findings
The nine papers that constitute this special issue present research on important aspects of innovation in China, ranging from the effectiveness of government subsidisation for innovation, the impact of fiscal decentralisation on innovation, the role of management behaviour in promoting (or discouraging) innovation and the effects of differing business models on innovation. These papers shed valuable new light on the theory and practice of innovation in China. The papers are discussed in the context of four primary arguments about innovation management in China identified from the broader literature in the field. These relate to the pattern of China’s innovation performance over time, the reasons for its effectiveness, the role of alliances and influences of indigenous factors. It is also shown that management of the internationalisation of innovation and of efficient internal innovation are two important directions for future research on Chinese innovation in an era of de-globalisation.
Originality/value
The studies presented here provide valuable contributions to theory building in innovation research, as well as some important ideas for directions of future research on innovation in China in the new era of de-globalisation.
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Abstract
Purpose
Facing the global public health emergency (GPHE), the conflict of cultural differences and the imbalance of vital resources such as knowledge among different organizations are becoming more severe, which affects the enthusiasm and sustainability of firms' innovation heavily. It is an urgent problem to be solved for firms how to make use of internal knowledge and external power to help firms' sustainable innovation (FSI). Thus, the purpose of this study is to deeply analyze how firms' internal knowledge diversity (KD) and external ego-network structures [ego-network density (ED) and honest brokers (HB)] affect FSI, as well as how the ego-network structures (ED and HB) moderate the relationship between KD and FSI based on the perspective of the ego network.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the data of the alliance innovation networks of China's new energy industries in 2009–2019, this study uses the social network analysis method and negative binomial regression model to explore the effect of KD and ego-network structures (ED and HB) on FSI, as well as the moderating effects of ego-network structures (ED and HB) on the relationship between KD and FSI based on the perspective of ego network.
Findings
This study finds that KD, ED and HB can boost FSI. Moreover, ED plays a negative moderating role in the relationship between KD and FSI. However, the negative moderating effect of HB on the relationship between KD and FSI is not significant.
Research limitations/implications
This study presents fresh empirical evidence and new insights for firms on how to make full use of firms' internal KD and external ego-network structures to facilitate FSI.
Originality/value
First, this study not only enriches the research on the consequences of KD but also expands our understanding of the knowledge-based view to some extent. Second, this study not only enriches the motivation research of the FSI based on the perspective of ego-network in the context of the GPHE but also expands the application scope of social network theory and sustainable innovation' theory in part. Third, this paper is a new attempt to apply social network theory and knowledge-based view at the same time.
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Siying Yang, Zheng Li and Jian Li
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether fiscal decentralization has impacts on city innovation level and to examine the moderating effects of the preference for government…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether fiscal decentralization has impacts on city innovation level and to examine the moderating effects of the preference for government innovation in China.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a panel data of China’s 278 cities from 2003 to 2016, the authors first use fixed-effect model and quantile regression to analyze the impact of fiscal decentralization on city innovation level and the variations of impacts conditional on different innovation levels, followed by a mediating effect model to test the moderating effects of the preference for government innovation and its temporal and spatial heterogeneity.
Findings
The paper finds that fiscal decentralization significantly inhibited city innovation, and with the improvement of city innovation level, the inhibition demonstrated characteristics of “V” type variation. When the degree of fiscal decentralization is between 0.377 and 0.600, the inhibition of fiscal decentralization on city innovation level is the weakest. We further show that fiscal decentralization also inhibits the government's preference for innovation, reduces the proportion of fiscal expenditure on innovation and has a negative impact on city innovation. In addition, the influence of fiscal decentralization on city innovation present clear heterogeneity in space and in time. On one hand, the inhibition of fiscal decentralization on city innovation level in eastern China is significantly weaker than that in central and Western China; on the other hand, after the implementation of China’s innovation-driven development strategy in 2013, the negative impact of fiscal decentralization on city innovation disappeared.
Research limitations/implications
The research findings have certain policy implications. That is, in the process of decentralization reform, on the one hand, the central government should strengthen the supervision over the fiscal expenditure of local governments and ensure that the central government can play a leading role in the local development strategy, on the other hand, the central government should guard against the distortion of fiscal decentralization on local governments' fiscal expenditure behavior. In addition, the central government should also focus on the heterogeneity of the impacts of fiscal decentralization on cities under different strategic backgrounds and different levels of innovation.
Originality/value
This paper extends prior research by bringing the decentralization system reform into the study of city innovation system and analyzing its mechanism and its temporal and spatial heterogeneity.
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Zheng Li, Xizhen Zhou, Samuel Jung and Jun Li
The purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of policies and practices of innovation in China for the past 40 years.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of policies and practices of innovation in China for the past 40 years.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a review paper. It adopts a different multi-dimensional, qualitative methodology to examine China’s trajectory of innovation from the economic reform since 1978, highlighting “China” experiences in the developing innovation-driven economy, also pointing the challenges that China faces in this transition process and future prospects. The analysis of China’s innovation performance was based mostly on secondary data from sources and institutions that use statistical data to build country rankings, such as the global innovation index and global competitiveness index.
Findings
It is found that the institutional foundations of the national innovation system in China are already being laid, and so far, China has made extraordinary progress regarding innovation performance from country to region and from business to individual. However, some critical challenges in its innovation-driven development still need urgent attention and effective efforts to reinforce them.
Originality/value
This paper aims to fill the gap in the literature by providing an overview of the evolution of the policies and practices of innovation development in China since the 1978 economic reforms and explores the Chinese experiences in transforming into an innovation-driven economy.
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Min Zhao, Fuan Li, Francis Cai, Haiyang Chen and Zheng Li
This study aims to examine the ability of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4 (GPT-4), one of the most powerful large language models, to generate a literature review for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the ability of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4 (GPT-4), one of the most powerful large language models, to generate a literature review for peer-reviewed journal publications. The objective is to determine whether business scholars can rely on GPT-4’s assistance with literature reviews and how the nature of human–artificial intelligence (AI) interaction may affect the quality of the reviews generated by GPT-4.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of 30 experienced researchers was conducted to assess the quality of the literature reviews generated by GPT-4 in comparison with a human-authored literature review published in a Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journal. The data collected were then analyzed with analysis of variance to ascertain whether we may trust GPT-4’s assistance in writing literature reviews.
Findings
The statistical analysis reveals that when a highly structured approach being used, GPT-4 can generate a high-quality review comparable to that found in an SSCI journal publication. However, when a less structured approach is used, the generated review lacks comprehensive understating and critical analysis, and is unable to identify literature gaps for future research, although it performed well in adequate synthesis and quality writing. The findings suggest that we may trust GPT-4 to generate literature reviews that align with the publication standards of a peer-reviewed journal when using a structured approach to human–AI interaction.
Research limitations/implications
The findings suggest that we may trust GPT-4 to generate literature reviews that align with the publication standards of a peer-reviewed journal when using a structured approach to human–AI interaction. Nonetheless, cautions should be taken due to the limitations of this study discussed in the text.
Originality/value
By breaking down the specific tasks of a literature review and using a quantitative rather than qualitative assessment method, this study provides robust and more objective findings about the ability of GPT-4 to assist us with a very important research task. The findings of this study should enhance our understanding of how GPT-4 may change our research endeavor and how we may take a full advantage of the advancement in AI technology in the future research.
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Danna Tang, Liang Hao, Yan Li and Zheng Li
The study aims to explore the composition and microstructure of clay functionally graded materials under the process of double-gradient direct ink writing (DIW).
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to explore the composition and microstructure of clay functionally graded materials under the process of double-gradient direct ink writing (DIW).
Design/methodology/approach
The investigation focused specifically on the pore characteristics of barite-kaolin clay composite after three-dimensional (3D) printing and sintering as well as its bionic application in geophysical model.
Findings
The model with pore and material variations brought about spatial and nonlinear mechanical properties. Moreover, the vertical gradient and connected pores in the upper kaolin part simulated the natural phenomenon of the landslide model (take Chinese Majiagou landslides as an example). Both the thermal debinding behavior and the kaolin powder particles characteristics [large pore volume (0.019 cm3g–1) and pore size (29.20 nm)] were attributed to the interconnection channels.
Originality/value
Hence, the macroscopic and microscopic pores achieved by dual-gradient DIW process make it possible to control the permeability and details of properties, precisely in the geological model.
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Danna Tang, Yushen Wang, Zheng Li, Yan Li and Liang Hao
The low-temperature sintering of silica glass combined with additive manufacturing (AM) technology has brought a revolutionary change in glass manufacturing. This study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The low-temperature sintering of silica glass combined with additive manufacturing (AM) technology has brought a revolutionary change in glass manufacturing. This study aims to carry out in an attempt to achieve precious manufacturing of silicate glassy matrix through the method of slurry extrusion.
Design/methodology/approach
A low-cost slurry extrusion modelling technology is used to extrude silicate glassy matrix inks, composed of silicate glass powder with different amounts of additives. Extrudability of the inks, their printability window and the featuring curves of silicate glassy matrix are investigated. In addition, the properties of the low-temperature sintering green part as a functional part are explored and evaluated from morphology, hardness and colour.
Findings
The results showed that the particle size was mainly distributed from 1.4 µm to 5.3 µm, showing better slurry stability and print continuity. The parameters were set to 8 mm/s, 80% and 0.4 mm, respectively, to achieve better forming of three-dimensional (3D) samples. Besides, the organic binder removal step was concentrated on 200°C–300°C and 590°C–650°C was the fusion bonding temperature of the powder. The hardness values of 10 test samples ranged from 588 HL to 613 HL, which met the requirements of hard stones with super-strong mechanical strength. In addition, the mutual penetration of elements caused by temperature changes may lead to a colourful appearance.
Originality/value
The custom continuous AM technology enables the fabrication of a glass matrix with 3D structural features. The precise positioning technology of the glass matrix is expected to be applied more widely in functional parts.