Transactions on Economics, Business and Management Research
Transactions on Economics, Business and Management Research (TEBMR) aims to publish peer-reviewed proceedings from conferences on the theories and methods in all fields of economics, business and management.
The Influence of Environmental Regulation on Industrial Structure Upgrading in Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration
This study examines the impact of environmental regulations on industrial structure upgrading in urban clusters through an economic theory framework. Using panel data from 10 prefecture-level cities in the Beibu Gulf Urban Cluster (2010-2021), we measure industrial upgrading through three dimensions: comprehensive structural transformation, industrial sophistication, and rationalization. Through a fixed-effects model, empirical analysis demonstrates that environmental regulations drive comprehensive industrial upgrading while partially hindering rationalization. The findings suggest establishing a multi-tiered regulatory system to strengthen coordinated pollution control across the cluster, ensuring holistic industrial rationalization. Policy recommendations include improving environmental infrastructure to reduce corporate pollution costs, and removing barriers to comprehensive industrial upgrading.
industrial structure upgrading; environmental regulation; Beibu Gulf city cluster.
Copyright (c) 2025 Transactions on Economics, Business and Management Research https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
The Influence of A Financial Professional Background on Family Pension Insurance Decisions
Based on data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) spanning 2015 to 2019, this study empirically examines the impact of a household member’s financial professional background on the family’s decision to purchase commercial endowment insurance. A key innovation of this research lies in its use of multi-period micro-survey data to investigate how individual occupational backgrounds influence retirement-related decision-making,while employing a two-way fixed effects model to mitigate endogeneity issues. The empirical findings indicate that the presence of a financial professional within a household significantly increases the likelihood of the family obtaining commercial endowment insurance. This conclusion remains robust after undergoing a series of robustness tests and model specification checks. Furthermore, this study focuses on analyzing the heterogeneous characteristics of the impact exerted by financial professional backgrounds on retirement decisions, which, to some extent, expands the existing literature in the field of health economics. Results from the heterogeneity analysis reveal that the positive effect of having a financial professional is more pronounced in urban households, high-income households, and households where the head of the household has a higher level of education. This research provides a new perspective for understanding household decision-making regarding endowment insurance and offers empirical evidence to support the improvement of China’s multi-level elderly care security system.
CHFS, Financial Professional Background, Pension Insurance.
Globalization and The Acceleration of Wealth Digital Platforms, Artificial Intelligence, and Collaborative Entrepreneurship
The current world economy has experienced colossal levels of fluctuations in regards to how wealth is being created which is absent in this section of the globe at any given moment, and this is leading to a paradigm shift of monetary to financial wellbeing. The article unfolds the speed with which the 21 st century is accelerating wealth creation as globalization and digital platforms, artificial intelligence and swarm innovation start to take over. As the article demonstrates, we discovered that in diverse situations (companies, industries or nations) we clarify the process through secondary and cases studies that during the crash of these technical development track economic new paradigms boom as a result of the rapid wealth accumulation. Such findings of research have suggested that individuals and companies can now earn enormous sums of money within a shorter period compared to the previous system of business and at increased penetration rate comes novel forms of economic disparity and risk. The research is also able to project some insight on the manner in which the digital revolution and global connectivity are alleviating the entrepreneurial regions, and income distribution.
Globalization, Digital Platforms, Artificial Intelligence, Collaborative Entrepreneurship, Wealth Acceleration, Digital Economy.
Empirical Evidence on Mispricing, Trading Volume, and Expected Stock Returns
This study investigates the impact of stock mispricing (MISP) on expected returns in China’s A-share market, using monthly data from March 2008 to March 2025. The analysis further examines the moderating effect of trading volume, measured by turnover. Empirical results show that mispricing exhibits strong predictive power for future returns: undervalued stocks generate higher subsequent returns, while overvalued stocks yield lower returns. Moreover, trading volume plays an amplifying role—high volume accelerates price correction, making the relationship between mispricing and returns more pronounced.
Mispricing (MISP); Expected returns; Trading volume; Amplification effect.
The Impact of Green Industrial Park Policies on Carbon Emissions under the Dual-Carbon Goals: Evidence from Prefecture-Level Cities in China
Traditional industrial parks (IPs) are characterized by high energy consumption, significant greenhouse gas emissions, and severe pollution, posing substantial pressure on achieving the dual goals of 'carbon peak and carbon neutrality' and the dual strategy of 'Beautiful China.' Therefore, it is imperative to explore the impact of the green low-carbon transformation of industrial parks, specifically the effects on the 'quantity' and 'quality' of carbon emissions in green industrial parks (GIPs). This study constructs a difference-in-differences (DID) model and a spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model to analyze the impact of green industrial park policies on carbon emissions and carbon productivity in 277 prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2021. The results indicate that the green industrial park policies significantly reduce urban carbon emissions while improving carbon productivity. To address endogeneity concerns, the study employs the data on the opening of Railways during the Republic of China era as an instrumental variable, ensuring the robustness of the results. Moreover, the study examines the heterogeneous effects of the policy and its mechanisms, finding significant differences in policy responses between resource-based cities and eastern cities. The policy achieves emission reduction and enhances carbon productivity through mechanisms such as improving energy efficiency, promoting innovation, and facilitating industrial agglomeration, and exhibits positive spatial spillover effects. The research provides empirical support and policy recommendations for China to achieve its 'dual carbon' goals.
Green industrial park, carbon emission reduction, endogenous issues, difference-in-differences model, spatial spillover effects.
Impacts of Digital Finance on International Trade Competitiveness
Digital inclusive finance utilizes digital technology and financial innovation to provide financial services for enterprises, and competitiveness is the embodiment of a country's comprehensive national power such as the level of technology and innovation. This paper selects the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020 to explore the impact of digital finance on international trade competitiveness. It is found that digital finance and international trade competitiveness show a positive correlation, i.e., the development of digital finance is conducive to the improvement of international trade competitiveness. The level of technological innovation and industrial structure shows a positive correlation with international trade competitiveness, which is conducive to the improvement of the country's trade competitiveness, but the level of development of the domestic market and the level of urbanization shows a negative correlation with international trade competitiveness, which is not conducive to the enhancement of international trade competitiveness to a certain extent, but the degree of negative influence is relatively weak. Finally, this paper puts forward relevant suggestions from the aspects of promoting the development of digital finance, encouraging scientific and technological innovation and promoting industrial advancedization to promote the development of digital finance, so as to enhance China's international trade competitiveness.
Digital finance; International trade competitiveness; Technological innovation.
Overview of Performance Appraisal and Future Prospects
In modern enterprise management, performance appraisal is a crucial tool for measuring employee performance, motivating personal capability improvement, and facilitating the achievement of corporate strategic goals. This paper reviews the theoretical foundation, key influencing factors, and main methods of performance appraisal, analyses the current status of domestic and international research in this field, and discusses future development trends. The paper first defines the concept of performance and emphasizes the central role of performance appraisal in corporate human resource management. It then explores individual and organizational factors affecting employee performance, as well as two core performance appraisal methods: the Balanced Scorecard and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) method. The paper notes that foreign performance management theory and practice are more mature, while domestic research is developing rapidly. Finally, it looks forward to how big data and artificial intelligence technologies will make performance appraisal more intelligent and personalized, and how future appraisal will tend towards continuous feedback and multi-dimensional evaluation.
performance appraisal; balanced scorecard; KPIs.
In recent years, "de-dollarization" has gained momentum globally, with major economies like China, Russia, Germany, the UK, Japan, and Canada implementing policies to reduce reliance on the US dollar. This trend challenges US dollar hegemony and fosters a shift toward a new world monetary order. This paper examines the "de-dollarization" trend, recognizing it as a persistent long-term phenomenon. While the US dollar's dominance may persist in the short term, its influence within the international monetary system continues to wane. Looking ahead, the trend toward diversification in international currencies will intensify, shaping a more varied global monetary landscape
De-dollarization, Dollar Hegemony, Digital Currency, International Monetary Diversification.
Government Subsidies and Corporate Innovation
Government subsidies play a crucial role in addressing market failures in corporate innovation. Using 2007-2021 data of Chinese A-share listed companies, excluding non-innovation subsidies, this study applies a two-way fixed effects model to analyze government subsidies’ impact on enterprises, and uses R&D investment as a mediator to explore its role in the government subsidies-corporate innovation relationship. The research findings are as follows: First, government innovation subsidies can significantly increase enterprises’ innovation output. Second, government innovation subsidies have a significant incentive effect on the substantive innovation output of private enterprises and enterprises in the growth and maturity stages. Third, R&D investment exerts a partial mediating effect in the relationship between government subsidies and corporate innovation.
Government subsidies; corporate innovation; R&D investment; mediating effect.
Research on Enterprise G's Green Innovation Performance Evaluation
Current research on green innovation performance evaluation primarily focuses on four levels: national, regional, industrial, and corporate. While studies at the national, regional, and industrial levels are relatively comprehensive, evaluation systems specifically at the corporate level remain underdeveloped. Building upon existing theoretical foundations and literature, this study selects Enterprise G within the photovoltaic equipment industry as a case study. An evaluation indicator system for green innovation performance is constructed based on an input-output perspective, incorporating the enterprise's green innovation management. This system comprises three dimensions: green innovation resource input, green innovation management support, and green innovation output benefits. Subsequently, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is employed to determine the indicator weights for Enterprise G's green innovation performance evaluation system. The TOPSIS model is then applied to evaluate and analyze Enterprise G's green innovation performance, identifying existing problems. Based on the findings, targeted recommendations are proposed for Enterprise G's green innovation initiatives to facilitate its further development.
Green innovation performance evaluation; AHP-TOPSIS method.
This paper discusses the audit risks faced by T Company during its initial public offering (IPO) on the STAR Market. As an important segment of China's capital market, the STAR Market plays a crucial role in supporting innovative technology enterprises. Therefore, the management and control of IPO audit risks are of great significance. As a representative of listed companies on the STAR Market, the study of T Company's IPO audit risks is of great importance to the healthy development of the entire STAR Market. This paper first analyzes the basic characteristics and formation mechanism of IPO audit risks on the STAR Market, pointing out that audit risks mainly stem from multiple aspects such as the company's own operational risks, internal control deficiencies, and changes in the market environment. Then, taking T Company as an example, it analyzes a series of potential audit risks that may arise. Through in-depth research on T Company, it is found that there are problems in the company's implementation of audits. Therefore, this paper combines the analysis to propose solutions. The first is that the company must strengthen internal management, encourage internal personnel to learn, and ensure the competence and professionalism of the cooperating audit institutions. The second is to pay attention to the company's related-party transactions and significant dependencies to prevent audit risks caused by related-party transactions.
Research on Audit Risks and Corresponding Mitigation Strategies in the Sales and Collection Cycle of Company Y
The pharmaceutical manufacturing industry has experienced rapid growth in output value over the past decade, becoming a significant component of the national economy. Despite numerous regulatory policies, many pharmaceutical companies have been penalized by regulatory bodies, with a substantial number of cases involving fraud or financial misstatement in the sales and collection cycle. This paper addresses this issue by examining the case of Company Y to investigate two key questions: the significant risk points in the sales and collection cycle of pharmaceutical manufacturers, and the corresponding audit risk response measures for this cycle within the industry. Current research focusing on the audit of pharmaceutical manufacturing, particularly at the level of the sales and collection cycle, is limited. Therefore, this paper centers on the sales and collection cycle, integrating theory with case study based on the audit risk model. By analyzing risk factors related to both the risk of material misstatement and detection risk in Company Y's sales and collection cycle, it summarizes response measures for audit risks in this business segment of the industry. Through statistical description of penalty cases in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and a specific analysis of the Company Y case, this paper aims to provide empirical data and guidance for auditors conducting audits in this area.
Music sentiment and the cross-section of stock returns in the US
This paper examines the role of music sentiment, which endogenously measures investor sentiment, in the cross-sectional pricing of individual stocks in the US. We estimate individual stocks' exposure to country-level music sentiment and find that, following periods of low music sentiment, stocks with the highest sentiment beta significantly outperform those with the lowest sentiment beta on a daily basis in the future on a risk-adjusted basis. However, this return spread is not significant following high-sentiment periods, demonstrating an asymmetric pricing effect. This finding is consistent with the argument that overpricing following high-sentiment periods is more prevalent than underpricing following low-sentiment periods because of short-sale constraints.
Music sentiment; Asset pricing; Asymmetry; Cross-sectional stock returns.
Audit Case Study of Revenue Projects at China Merchators Transportation Technology
With the increasing reliance of the whole society on audit reports in recent years and the growing attention paid to the audit industry, accounting firms should make new progress in the new era. Since the implementation of the new revenue recognition standards for all listed companies in China from January 1st, 2020, there have been many deficiencies in revenue auditing. In 2022, the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA) issued the ‘Notice on the Audit of Annual Reports of Listed Companies for 2022,’in which the first item in the listed high-risk audit areas was revenue audit. Based on this background, this paper starts from the audit case of revenue projects of China Merchants Transportation Technology (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as: CMTT) by Shine Wing Certified Public Accountants. By analyzing the revenue audit process and the deficiencies occurring in the revenue audit of the accounting firm, it puts forward suggestions on how the accounting firm can better promote the audit work, in order to reduce audit risk, improve audit efficiency, and increase the reliability of the audit report. This paper describes the revenue audit process of CMTT and analyzes the shortcomings of the accounting firm in the audit work from various work behaviors. Secondly, guided by the goal of improving audit efficiency, it proposes suggestions for optimizing audit work, perfecting audit procedures, and improving audit quality. This paper discusses the practical application of the revenue audit of CMTT by the accounting firm, providing a reference for similar enterprises.
Financial Statement Audit; Revenue Project Audit; Audit Efficiency.
The Time-Varying Impact of Climate Policy Uncertainty on the Volatility of China's New Energy Stock Market
This paper systematically examines the differential time-varying impacts of Chinese and U.S. climate policy uncertainty (CPU) on the volatility of China's new energy stock market. Utilizing a Time-Varying Parameter Stochastic Volatility Vector Autoregression (TVP-SV-VAR) model, this study conducts a comparative analysis of the mechanisms through which CPU from both countries influences the volatility across different time horizons. The results indicate that the impacts of both Chinese and U.S. CPU on the volatility of China's new energy stocks are time-varying. Specifically, Chinese CPU suppresses stock price volatility in the short run, with its effect gradually diminishing to zero in the long run. In contrast, shocks from U.S. CPU persistently amplify market volatility without showing significant decay. Furthermore, the study finds that the influences of these shocks exhibited significant divergence during extreme events, such as China's accession to the Paris Agreement in 2016 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Based on these findings, this paper proposes corresponding policy recommendations pertaining to international policy coordination and the construction of market stabilization mechanisms.
Climate Policy Uncertainty; New Energy Stock Market Volatility; TVP-SV-VAR Model.
A Study of the Audit Failure of Kedi Dairy from the Perspective of CPA Due Diligence
This study employs the literature research and case analysis methods. First, through a comprehensive literature review, it synthesizes existing domestic and international scholarly findings and perspectives on audit failures and CPA due diligence. Then, it innovatively applies a due diligence perspective to examine the Asia Pacific Firm's audit failure in the Kedi Dairy case, analyzing the company's fraud techniques, the specific manifestations of the auditors' failure to fulfill their due diligence responsibilities, and the resulting regulatory penalties. By integrating the findings from the regulatory sanction announcements, the study specifically identifies the causes of the audit failure from three levels, including regulators, accounting firms, and individual CPAs, and proposes corresponding preventive recommendations based on this analysis.
Audit Failure; Certified Public Accountant (CPA); Due Diligence; Kedi Dairy.
Research on the relationship between the effectiveness of internal control and corporate value
As one of the important governance mechanisms of a company, the internal control system plays a pivotal role in enhancing corporate value. the convening of the 20th National Congress, the Ministry of Finance, in conjunction with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has decided to promote listed companies and enterprises preparing listing to strengthen their internal control systems. This paper, based on the panel data of ten leading enterprises in the new energy industry among the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed in 2023, employs a fixed effects model to empirically analyze the relationship between internal effectiveness and corporate value. The results show that effective internal control can promote the improvement of value. After drawing the above conclusion, this paper proposes suggestions based on the development trend of new energy enterprises, aiming to strengthen their internal control and enhance corporate value.
Effectiveness of internal control; corporate value; empirical analysis.
The Impact of Business Environment on Innovation Performance in High-Tech Industries: Mediating Role of Debt Financing Costs and Modulating Role of Industrial Policy
High-tech industries are pivotal engines for future technological progress and industrial innovation, playing a strategically important role in advancing China’s modernization. Using the 2010 Decision on Accelerating the Fostering and Development of Strategic Emerging Industries as a benchmark, this study examines the impact of high-tech industrial policies on corporate innovation performance and their underlying mechanisms. The analysis employs panel data from non-financial companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges between 2007 and 2019, applying a Propensity Score Matching combined with Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DID) approach. The results indicate that high-tech industrial policies have a significant positive effect on corporate innovation performance. In terms of mechanisms, these policies enhance innovation performance primarily by reducing corporate debt financing costs. Moreover, a favorable business environment positively moderates the relationship between industrial policies and corporate innovation performance, and strengthens the effectiveness of such policies in lowering corporate debt financing costs.
High-tech industrial policy; Innovation performance; Debt financing costs; Business environment; PSM-DID.
Aesthetic quality of product display images on fresh e-commerce platforms Research on the Impact of Consumer Trust
The competition in the fresh e-commerce market is becoming increasingly fierce, and merchants are using carefully designed and beautified images for promotional displays. Although this practice attracts consumers and increases sales, improper use is suspected of false advertising and can easily trigger a crisis of consumer trust. This approach not only causes inconvenience to consumers, but also has a negative impact on industry operations and reputation. Based on this, this study starts from the perspective of fresh e-commerce display images, investigates the impact mechanism of aesthetic quality on consumers' perceived value and perceived risk, and ultimately how it affects consumer trust. On this basis, the moderating variable of product involvement was introduced to verify its boundary effect between the aesthetic quality of fresh e-commerce display graphics and consumer trust. On the one hand, this article can enrich the research theories related to product images and visual marketing on e-commerce web pages; On the other hand, it also provides scientific practical advice and guidance value for fresh food e-commerce enterprises on how to correctly choose and handle product images, ensuring the success of fresh product e-commerce.
Fresh food e-commerce; Aesthetic quality of images; Perceived value; Perceived risk; Consumer trust; Product involvement.
Can Green Investors Improve the Quality of ESG Information Disclosure?
In recent years, the public has been paying increasing attention to the issue of ESG information disclosure. Previous studies have mainly focused on the impact of internal and external environmental factors (such as politics and culture) on the quality of ESG information disclosure, while few scholars have conducted research from the perspective of heterogeneous institutional investors. This paper selects A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2012 to 2024 as research samples, and empirically analyzes the impact of green investors on the quality of ESG information disclosure. The study finds that green investors can promote the improvement of the quality of corporate ESG information disclosure. This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests, including variable replacement, lagged explanatory variables, instrumental variable method, and difference-in-differences method. Furthermore, this paper reveals that the promotional effect of green investors on the quality of ESG information disclosure is more significant in non-state-owned enterprises, large-scale enterprises, and non-heavily polluting enterprises. This conclusion provides new theoretical support for improving the quality of ESG information disclosure.
Green Investors; Quality of ESG Information Disclosure.
Correlation Analysis between the Futures Price and Spot Price of the CSI 300 Stock Index in China
The introduction of stock index futures meets investors' needs for diversified investments and enhances the diversity of China's investment market. With the development of stock index futures, investors are increasingly focusing on the correlation between spot and futures prices. This paper employs a 4-lag VAR model, Granger causality tests, and other methods, utilizing daily data of China's CSI 300 stock index futures and spot prices from January 4, 2002, to June 14, 2024, to analyze their interrelationship. The results indicate a stable long-term relationship between the CSI 300 index futures and spot prices, and confirm that the CSI 300 index futures price possesses a price discovery function.
CSI 300 Index; Stock Index Futures; Correlation; Price Discovery
A Study on the Impact of Social Crowding on Consumers' Compensatory Consumption Behavior
With the acceleration of global urbanization, social crowding has become a prevalent environmental phenomenon in consumers' daily lives, exerting a significant influence on their psychological states and consumption decisions. However, existing research rarely explores the intrinsic connection between social crowding and compensatory consumption behavior, and the underlying mechanism of this relationship remains unclear. This study systematically integrates theories including Compensatory Control Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Regulatory Focus Theory to construct a theoretical model. It examines the impact of social crowding on consumers' compensatory consumption behavior, verifies the mediating role of sense of control loss, and identifies the moderating effects of group relationship (in-group vs. out-group) and regulatory focus (promotion focus vs. prevention focus). This study enriches the research on social crowding in the marketing field and expands the application scenarios of compensatory consumption theory. It also provides practical insights for enterprises to optimize marketing strategies in crowded scenarios (such as shopping malls and promotional events) and for governments to mitigate the negative impacts of social crowding.
Social crowding; Compensatory consumption behavior; Sense of control; Group relationship; Regulatory focus.
The Impact of Supply Chain Network Embeddedness on Firms’ General-Purpose Technology Innovation
With the gradual refinement of the division of labor in the market, suppliers in the upstream of the supply chain and customers in the downstream have become increasingly closely connected, forming a supply chain network among firms. As one of the important components of the social network in which firms are located, the supply chain network also affects the innovation activities of firms. Under the severe situation of “bottlenecking” of key common technologies in the industry, it is especially important to study the innovation effect and mechanism of the embedded position of firms in the supply relationship structure. In this theoretical and practical context, this study focuses on collecting supply chain data of the biopharmaceutical industry, constructing a biopharmaceutical supply chain network, using tools such as UCINET for social network analysis, identifying key core common technologies of the biopharmaceutical industry based on patent data, and finally constructing and validating the research model. The research process mainly explores two key issues: firstly, the impact of firm centrality on firm General-Purpose Technologies (GPTs) innovation; and secondly, the impact of structural holes on firm General-Purpose Technologies.
Supply chain network; Complex networks; General purpose technologies; Technological innovation.
The Innovation and Ecological Formation of New Quality Productive Forces Driven by the Digital Economy
This article comprehensively explores the connotations and characteristics of the digital economy and new productivity, as well as their mutually empowering, spiraling, and deeply integrated relationship. It also analyzes the innovation-driven mechanisms of the digital economy on new productivity through the three dimensions of technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and value creation. By constructing an indicator system for new productivity and the digital economy and determining their weights, building a regression model, and conducting empirical analysis, we ultimately establish a quantitative relationship between the digital economy's impact on new productivity and identify its key driving forces. Based on this research, we offer policy recommendations to promote the integrated development of the digital economy and new productivity.
Digital economy; new productivity; innovation-driven.
This study empirically examines the impact of locally hired CEOs on corporate climate risk awareness, using a sample of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2007 to 2023. Findings reveal that firms employing local CEOs exhibit significantly higher levels of climate risk awareness. Mechanism analysis indicates that the impact of local CEOs on corporate climate risk attention is more pronounced in regions characterized by stronger CEO hometown attachment and greater media oversight pressure. Supplementary analysis reveals that this association is particularly significant in highly competitive regions and among companies with higher institutional investor ownership.
Local CEO, Climate Risk Awareness, hometown identity.
The impact of social responsibility on financial performance of listed companies in the food manufacturing industry - the mediating role of debt financing costs
Whether food manufacturing enterprises can fulfill their social responsibilities to ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of food is very important for people's health. However, the fulfillment of social responsibility can tie up the resources of a business. Enterprise resources are inseparable from the development of enterprises. At the same time, due to the information asymmetry in the market, there are information barriers between some creditors and enterprises. As a result, companies may incur higher debt financing costs in order to obtain funds from creditors. The fulfillment of corporate social responsibility can often convey information to creditors and break down information barriers. In summary, it is of certain significance whether the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility can affect financial performance and debt financing costs. This paper takes listed companies in the food manufacturing industry from 2017 to 2021 as the research object, and analyzes the relationship between social responsibility, financial performance, and debt financing cost, so as to provide a certain reference for enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities.
social responsibility; financial performance; debt financing costs.
The Economic Growth Effect of National-level New Areas: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Cities
As a crucial regional development strategy in China, the actual policy effects of National-level New Areas require rigorous scientific evaluation. This paper, based on a panel dataset of Chinese cities from 2003 to 2021, treats the establishment of these new areas as a quasi-natural experiment. By employing a Difference-in-Differences (DID) model, we strictly identify the causal effect of this policy on urban economic growth. The research finds that the establishment of National-level New Areas has a significant overall promotional effect on the economic growth of their host cities,confirming the policy's macroeconomic effectiveness.However,further heterogeneity analysis reveals a clear regional divergence in the policy's impact: its stimulating effect on the economy is far stronger in the eastern region than in the central and western regions. This conclusion not only provides core empirical evidence for a comprehensive evaluation of the National-level New Area policy but also offers important insights for optimizing future regional policy layouts, promoting regional coordination, and fostering high-quality development.
National-level New Area; Economic Growth; Difference-in-Differences Model.
The Impact of Digital Transformation on Innovation Capability in Manufacturing Enterprises: An Empirical Study Based on Structural Equation Modelling
Amidst the global surge in digital economic development, advancing digital transformation has become pivotal to corporate innovation and growth. Building upon a review of existing literature, this study employs Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to conduct reliability and validity testing, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and mediation effect testing on a sample dataset from manufacturing enterprises. It explores the influence mechanism of digital transformation on innovation capabilities within manufacturing firms and examines the mediating role of innovation climate between these two variables. Findings reveal that digital transformation exerts a direct positive effect on innovation capability, while also exerting an indirect positive influence through the mediating variable of innovation climate. These conclusions provide crucial evidence for managers to advance digital transformation strategies and enhance corporate innovation capability.
digital transformation; structural equation modelling; corporate innovation capability; innovation climate.
A Study on the Impact of Institutional Investors' Green Attention on ESG Ratings
Against the backdrop of the global green transition and China's dual carbon strategy, the governance role of institutional investors has become increasingly prominent. Existing research predominantly focuses on their shareholding ratios while overlooking the impact of specific environmental governance behaviours. Drawing upon agency theory, resource dependence, and the attention-based perspective, this study constructs an ‘institutional investor green attention’ indicator using Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share companies from 2012 to 2023 as its sample. It empirically examines the influence mechanism of this indicator on ESG ratings. Results indicate that green attention conveyed through site research by institutional investors significantly elevates corporate ESG ratings, with findings holding up under multiple robustness tests. Mechanism analysis reveals that green attention indirectly drives ESG performance by enhancing ‘management environmental awareness,’ forming a transmission pathway of ‘external pressure – internal cognition – substantive response.’ This study reveals the micro-level mechanism through which institutional investors influence corporate sustainability from a behavioural perspective, offering significant insights for deepening active ownership practices and advancing capital markets' role in serving green development strategies.
Institutional investors' green focus; ESG ratings; management's environmental awareness.
The Impact of Agricultural Digitalization on the Export Quality of China’s Agricultural Products
As a key factor in promoting the prosperity of international trade, the quality of export products has increasingly become a focal point in the economic and trade development strategies of many countries. Based on provincial panel data from 30 provinces in China during the period 2011–2022, this paper employs the demand-information-inference method to estimate the export quality of agricultural products and applies panel data regression models to systematically analyze the impact of agricultural digitalization on export quality. The empirical results indicate that agricultural digitalization significantly enhances China’s agricultural export quality, and this conclusion is validated through various robustness checks, including controlling for multiple influencing factors, instrumental variable estimation, and robustness tests. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effect of agricultural digitalization is more pronounced in the central and eastern regions, in processed agricultural products, and at the levels of digital infrastructure and industrial digitalization. Mechanism analysis reveals that agricultural digitalization primarily drives improvements in export quality indirectly through two pathways: enhancing agricultural technological innovation and improving financial development. Based on these findings, this study recommends, at the policy level, accelerating the construction of digital agricultural infrastructure, strengthening the driving force of technological innovation, optimizing the rural digital financial system, implementing region-specific development strategies, and prioritizing the digital transformation of deep-processing sectors so as to comprehensively improve the export quality of China’s agricultural products.
Agricultural Digitalization; Export Quality of Agricultural Products; Agricultural Technological Innovation; Financial Development.