Chinese Manufacturing Research Articles

Equifinal configurations of shaping ambidextrous environmental strategy and the subsequent performance outcome

PurposeThis study explores the antecedent configurations shaping ambidextrous environmental strategy (AES) and the subsequent performance outcomes. The lack of literature from the configurational perspective and inconsistent performance results suggest that this study has significant implications for practitioners, policymakers and the public. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how different antecedent conditions interact to shape AES and subsequent performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the research aims, the current research utilize research techniques based on technology–organization–environment framework and configurational perspective. This study collects data from 317 Chinese manufacturing enterprises and tests the theoretical framework using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis and propensity score matching.FindingsPerceived institutional pressure, green supply chain integration and digital technology adoption form four paths that lead to the existence of AES. There are four sets of replaceable conditions between distinct paths. In addition, except for configuration P3, all other configurations promote environmental, operational and financial performance.Research limitations/implicationsOur results provide new insights for enterprises to shape AES and achieve multiple performances, and new ideas for promoting environmental policies and public environmental awareness.Originality/valueThis study adds literature on AES and confirms multiple drivers, revealing their interaction mechanisms and key antecedent conditions. In addition, this study promotes the performance practice of AES by examining different AES configurations that achieve triple performance and insignificant operational performance.

Young or old CEOs: digital transformation level influences IT investment performance feedback of manufacturing firms

PurposeSince IT investment constitutes a significant portion of a firm’s budget, evaluating IT investment performance is important for both research and firms’ operations. In the digital era, there are significant disparities in the effects of IT investment on firm performance.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the resource-based view and upper echelons theory, we investigate the effect of IT investment on the business performance of manufacturing firms. We also explore the moderating role of digital transformation and dual moderating effect of digital transformation and CEO age in this relationship.FindingsAnalyzing a sample of Chinese manufacturing firms spanning 2016–2020, we find that IT investment by Chinese manufacturing firms has a negative effect on business performance. However, this negative effect is moderated by digital transformation. Furthermore, digital transformation has a more pronounced inverse moderating influence on this negative effect for firms with older CEOs.Originality/valueHence, we reveal that the key factors for reducing the negative effect of IT investment on China’s manufacturing firms are digital transformation and the appointment of older CEOs who actively lead firms’ digital transformation.

Стратегическое развитие российских нефтегазовых компаний в условиях экономических санкций

The article examines the positive and negative impact of external environmental factors on the Russian oil and gas business in Russia. PESTLE-analysis by the expert method was carried out, on the basis of which the most significant risks for the gas business – reduction of sales in the European market and ban on oil and gas equipment supplies – were identified using quantitative assessments. The impact of sanctions on the operational results of PJSC “Gazprom” was investigated, revealing a substantial decline in revenue and profit from sales, primarily due to the imposition of anti-Russian restrictive measures. These negative trends were partially mitigated by an increase in gas supplies to China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as growing domestic market demands, which altered the geographical structure of sales volumes. Within the framework of a long-term development program, the article substantiates the potential for diversifying gas export supplies to Asia-Pacific countries and identifies revenue growth reserves through the gasification of Russian regions using statistical methods. Additionally, the advantages of redirecting supplies of key oil and gas equipment to Chinese manufacturers were identified, which could significantly reduce both the delivery time and costs by up to 40 %.

Exploring the effects of big data analytics capability on service innovation performance of manufacturing enterprises

ABSTRACT Manufacturing enterprises are actively using big data analytics to pursue service innovation opportunities for sustainable development. However, the mechanisms underlying this influence require further discussion. Based on dynamic capability theory, this study aims to investigate how big data analytics capability affects service innovation performance of manufacturing enterprises by exploring the mediating effect of resource bricolage and the moderating roles of various learning orientation factors (learning commitment, open-mindedness and shared vision). The hypotheses were tested using questionnaire data from 245 manufacturing enterprises in China. The results show that big data analytics capability enables manufacturers to improve their service innovation performance both directly and via resource bricolage. In addition, open-mindedness boosts the effect of resource bricolage on service innovation performance, while learning commitment and shared vision do not. Our study enriches the big data analytics and servitization literature, and offers practical guidance for Chinese manufacturers that want to engage in service innovation in the digital era.

Intrafirm collaboration network dynamics, external cooperation network embeddedness, and firm knowledge search

ABSTRACT In the context of open innovation, firms urgently expand knowledge search and acquisition externally, forming complex interactions between internal networks and their knowledge exploration behaviours. However, prior research has overlooked network dynamics and treated internal networks as static. Drawing upon social network theory and the knowledge-based view, our study constructs a theoretical model that links intrafirm collaboration network dynamics with knowledge search within firms. We also investigated external contextual mechanisms such as the relationship strength, relationship breadth, and network centrality of corporate external networks. These moderate the relationship between intrafirm collaboration network dynamics and firms’ knowledge search. We empirically test the hypotheses using data from listed firms in the Chinese computer, communication, and electronic equipment manufacturing industry (C39) between 2014 and 2021. The results indicate that the intrafirm collaboration network dynamic has an inverted U-shaped effect on firms’ knowledge search breadth and depth. Relationship strength and network centrality weaken these effects.

Urban Green Innovation and the Export of Low‐Carbon Products by Firms in Emerging Markets: Evidence From Chinese Manufacturing Firms

ABSTRACTGiven the backdrop of global warming and the rise of more stringent green trade barriers, such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, we utilize data from firms in the world's largest emerging market to theoretically analyze and empirically test the effects of urban green innovation on the export of low‐carbon products by firms. First, urban green innovation significantly boosts the export of low‐carbon products by firms. Second, our analysis of the mechanisms shows that urban green innovation enhances firms' export of low‐carbon products by lowering production costs, easing internal financing constraints, and helping them navigate green trade barriers in host countries. Third, urban green innovation contributes simultaneously to reducing firms' energy consumption and pollution emissions, and it plays a significant role in expanding the export variety of low‐carbon products by firms, as well as increasing the number of host countries they serve. Our heterogeneity analysis reveals that the more differentiated the low‐carbon products, the greater the impact of urban green innovation. Moreover, urban green innovation has a more significant effect on promoting the export of low‐carbon products by non–state‐owned firms compared to state‐owned ones.

The Rise of Online Celebrity and Its Influence on Online ShoppingA Case of Li Ziqi

This article explores the impact of online celebrities, or influencers, on global online shopping and consumer behavior, focusing on the case of Li Ziqi, a well-known Chinese internet celebrity. Li Ziqi has gained a substantial following through her expertly produced videos showcasing traditional Chinese products, attracting consumer interest both locally and internationally. The paper delves into Li Ziqi's journey to fame, her video production techniques, commercial endeavors, and social influence, while also discussing the broader economic implications of online celebrities. Moreover, the article compares livestreaming economies across countries and provides strategic recommendations for optimizing the effectiveness of influencer marketing within regulatory guidelines. The study concludes that online influencers like Li Ziqi significantly impact e-commerce and cultural exchange. Despite facing challenges, they must adapt to trends to sustain their influence. Ensuring consumer privacy and ethical advertising is crucial for balancing commercial interests with consumer rights, thereby sustaining the digital marketing paradigm.

Transformation Through Servitization: How Buffer Resources and Social Capital Support Transformation in Manufacturing Companies

Servitization has profound implications for the sustainable development of manufacturing, the economy, and the environment. Drawing upon the literature on servitization, resource-based theory, and social capital theory, this study examines the influence of diverse forms of slack resources in manufacturing firms on their transition to a service-oriented business model, as well as the threshold effects of two types of social capital in this process. By conducting an empirical study, using the sample of 538 listed companies in the Chinese manufacturing sector, we confirm that both absorbed and unabsorbed slack resources have a positive effect on servitization, with the former playing a more significant role. Moreover, as political social capital increases and exceeds a specific threshold, the positive influence of both forms of slack resources on servitization is enhanced. Conversely, the positive effect of absorbed slack resources is negated when business social capital exceeds a certain threshold. In addition, the heterogeneity analysis shows that both types of slack resources significantly promote servitization in non-high-tech firms, while their effects are insignificant in high-tech firms; both types of slack resources effectively promote servitization when the industry is highly competitive, and vice versa; for the eastern region, both types of slack resources significantly promote servitization, while their effects are insignificant in the central region, and the negative effects of unabsorbed slack resources are significant in the western region. This study innovatively integrates the dual factors of intra-organizational slack resources and extra-organizational social capital, offering deeper insights and more concrete practical guidance for enterprises in formulating their servitization strategies.

The biochemical and antioxidant capacities comparative analysis of pre- and post-processing traditional Chinese garlic products by metabolomics

The biochemical and antioxidant capacities comparative analysis of pre- and post-processing traditional Chinese garlic products by metabolomics

A comprehensive multi-stage decision-making model for supplier selection and order allocation approach in the digital economy

The increasingly serious environmental issues and fierce competition caused by globalization have brought pressure on supply chain managers who seek to allocate multiple purchase demands comprehensively, highlighting the significance of supplier assessment considering sustainability and technique. Moreover, many multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods fail to quantify the risk preference of decision-makers (DMs) when conducting the supplier assessment process. Indeed, a hybrid supplier selection and order allocation model that integrates such requirements is yet to be proposed. Thus, this work develops a comprehensive decision-making model that constructs a deep learning model to forecast the potential demand and addresses the sustainable supplier selection based on cumulative prospect theory (CPT) and multi-material order allocation problem simultaneously. The proposed order allocation model is solved by the second generation of adaptive geometry estimation based many-objective evolutionary algorithm, with the technique of order preference similarity to the ideal solution used to filter out the best Pareto solution for DMs as the reference. Through implementing an illustrative case study of a leading Chinese engineering machinery manufacturer followed by a sensitivity analysis, the relatively strong applicability and scalability of the proposed model and methods are demonstrated. The results show that introducing Weibull distribution to estimate the theoretical obsolescence rate of historically sold accessories can result in higher demand prediction accuracy for consumable mechanical accessories. Integrating CPT into the MCDM framework allows us to evaluate suppliers more comprehensively by capturing the effect of DMs’ risk preferences and gain or loss sensitivity.

Carbon governance or trade gaming: China's approach to addressing the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism

The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) poses a significant challenge for developing countries, especially China, a key player in the global market and a major carbon emitter. We use the GTAP-E model to evaluate CBAM's impact on China's economy and carbon reduction efforts, and propose two response strategies: carbon governance approaches and international trade gaming. Our findings show that CBAM may lead to a slight decrease of 0.003% in China's GDP and a 0.004% reduction in carbon emissions. It also generates ripple effects across the supply chain, notably affecting energy-intensive upstream industries. We find that the combination of carbon pricing and trade agreements is more effective than trade protection measures in minimizing economic losses from CBAM. This is achieved through mechanisms such as sharing carbon reduction costs and promoting decarbonization on both the supply and demand sides. Furthermore, improving carbon governance can enhance the green competitiveness of Chinese products. Going forward, China should maintain trade agreements with developing countries and enhance its carbon pricing mechanism to better align with global climate governance. Our study offers valuable policy insights for developing countries as they navigate the challenges posed by CBAM.

Ecosystem-related digital capabilities and radical service innovation: evidence from the Chinese manufacturing industry

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of ecosystem-related digital decoupling capability (DDC) and digital integrative capability (DIC) on manufacturing firms’ radical service innovation (RSI) and the moderating effect of strategic flexibility, specifically resource flexibility (RF) and culture flexibility (CF).Design/methodology/approachThis study employed empirical survey data collected from 238 Chinese manufacturing firms to test all hypotheses through hierarchical multiple regression analyses.FindingsDDC and DIC have positive effects on RSI, with DDC exerting a stronger impact. RF and CF strengthen the positive effect of DIC on RSI, whereas CF diminishes DDC’s positive effect on RSI, and RF does not moderate this effect.Practical implicationsManufacturing firms should prioritize developing ecosystem-related DDC and DIC to drive RSI, especially DDC. Managers should improve firms’ RF and CF when leveraging DIC to drive RSI. However, they should minimize the negative impact of CF when leveraging DDC to drive RSI.Originality/valueThis study shifts the service innovation capabilities from the firm to the ecosystem level, opening a new perspective for exploring RSI’s driving mechanism. With RF and CF as the moderators, the findings reveal the contingent impact mechanism of ecosystem-related digital capabilities on RSI, which provides profound insights into the complex role of strategic flexibility in the new contexts.

Green credit policy and firm’s labor productivity: evidence from Chinese heavily-polluting enterprises

Taking the “Green Credit Guidelines” (also known as “Green Credit Policy”, GCP) in 2012 as a quasi-natural experiment, this study adopts the panel datasets between 2010 and 2019 for Chinese manufacturing firms listed publicly to examine the effects of GCP on the labor productivity of Chinese heavily-polluting companies. The findings indicate that: (1) Upon introducing GCP, it can improve labor productivity of Chinese heavily-polluting companies, a result of the promotion effect of GCP on commercial credit and technological innovation. (2) The implementation of GCP can enhance the commercial credit of Chinese heavily-polluting enterprises and relieve its financing constraints to some degree. (3) The implementation of GCP can further the innovation activities of Chinese heavily-polluting companies and realize the re-test of the “Porter effect”. (4) The heterogeneity test indicates that GCP exerts a pronounced promoting influence on state-owned and large heavily-polluting enterprises in eastern China. Those conclusions are still valid after robustness tests. This research offers empirical evidence and policy wisdom for promoting the green conversion of manufacturing enterprises.

Exploring the Dual Impact of AI on Employment and Wages in Chinese Manufacturing

Purpose- This study investigates AI's impact on employment and wage dynamics within the manufacturing sector.Design/Methodology- Utilizing data from 3,522 manufacturing firms between 2007 and 2021, we analyze the effects of AI adoption on labor markets. Findings- AI adoption correlates with reduced employment numbers yet enhances wage rates, with some employees seeing wage increases as high as 83.86%. Heterogeneity analysis reveals variability in these impacts, dependent on contextual factors. The deployment of artificial intelligence in manufacturing sectors leads to an upgraded wage structure, emphasizing the importance of advancing individual professional skills to capitalize on these wage improvements. Additionally, compared to larger firms in the eastern region, small and medium-sized enterprises in the central and western regions stand to gain more substantially from the integration of artificial intelligence technology.Practical Implications- Policymakers need targeted interventions to address job losses while leveraging wage growth benefits, emphasizing reskilling and inclusive AI integration strategies. The study provides empirical evidence on AI's dual effect on employment and wages, offering nuanced insights into sector-specific AI consequences.

Analysis of the Impact of Import and Export Trade on the Innovation Ability of Chinese Industrial Enterprises

In recent years, the process of economic globalization and industrial globalization has been accelerating. In order to consolidate their competitiveness in the international market, countries have deployed and implemented innovative development strategies. At present, although China has become a major industrial and manufacturing country in the world, and the only country in the world with all industrial categories, compared with the advanced level in the world, it still needs to strengthen independent innovation, improve the scientific and technological content and informatization level, improve the level of industrial structure, and promote high-quality economic development. With China's accession to the World Trade Organization, it continues to "go out and introduce", pushing Chinese manufacturing to the world, and also continuously bringing high-quality foreign resources and advanced technology into China. At present, a large number of scholars have also studied the innovation capabilities of enterprises and high-tech industries, but the selection criteria are not the same. This article is based on the innovation capability evaluation system proposed by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, combined with the entropy weight method, and weights 10 secondary indicators selected from the evaluation system to calculate the comprehensive score of high-tech industry innovation capability for each province from 2010 to 2019. Select import and export trade as the core explanatory variable to study the impact of import and export trade on China's high-tech industry innovation capacity, and propose policy recommendations for this.

Robots and accounting comparability: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing

AbstractThis paper focuses on how the employment of robot influences accounting comparability in Chinese manufacturing and provides evidence of a positive link. Promoting operating stability and reducing earnings management are two underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, the positive link is more significant in firms within high‐tech industries or owing higher skilled labour, with firms being covered by analysts or the legal environment being enhanced, and the positive link becomes more significant. Overall, our study brings substantial evidence that supports the spillover effect of robots on financial reporting.

The green innovation effect of industrial robot applications: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing companies

Artificial intelligence has emerged to revolutionize society in China. Investigating whether industrial robot applications (IRAs) can contribute to Chinese economic prosperity has significant theoretical and practical significance. For this purpose, this study estimates the impact of IRAs on green innovation by decomposing the industry robot stock to the corporate level using global industry robot data and manufacturing data from Chinese manufacturing listed companies by constructing a Bartik instrumental variable. The results show that IRAs notably promote corporate green innovation. However, IRAs do not contribute equally to all corporations in green creation. Its effects on green innovation are mainly observed in larger corporations, technology-intensive industries, and corporations located in developed cities. Digital transformation, management efficiency, and CEO's information technology (IT) background can further strengthen the green innovation effect of IRAs. We conclude that the rational exploitation of artificial intelligence drives the economy towards green development.

The green transformation effect of foreign patent applications in China: evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises

The green transformation effect of foreign patent applications in China: evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises

The interaction between industry-talent integration and two-phase green innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing companies: Moderating effects of corporate financing constraints and executive short-term compensation incentives

In the era of green economy, the synchronous resonance of industry-talent integration and green innovation is crucial for the high-quality development of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, but few studies have explored the interaction between the two factors and its situational conditions. To fill this gap, this study decomposes green innovation into green technology research and development (R&D) and achievements commercialization phases based on the two-phase value chain. Meanwhile, a sample of 99 listed Chinese A-share pharmaceutical manufacturing companies from 2013 to 2022 is examined to demonstrate the interaction between industry-talent integration and two-phase green innovation. The results show: (1) There is a reciprocal effect between industry-talent integration and two-phase green innovation efficiency; green technology R&D efficiency has a greater enabling effect on industry-talent integration, and industry-talent integration has a stronger driving effect on green achievements commercialization efficiency. (2) Midwestern and non-state-owned companies have yet to realize a mutually reinforcing response to industry-talent integration and green achievements commercialization efficiency; state-owned companies have not formed a positive interaction between industry-talent integration and green technology R&D efficiency. (3) Enhanced corporate financing constraints can weaken the driving effect of industry-talent integration on two-phase green innovation efficiency; increased short-term compensation incentives for executives will also weaken the facilitating effect of two-phase green innovation on industry-talent integration. In future, pharmaceutical manufacturing companies should alleviate financing constraints and dynamically adjust executive incentive mechanism, so as to promote the mutual response of industry-talent integration and two-phase green innovation through precise measures.

Empirical Investigation of Digital Collectibles Purchase Intention: The Roles of Value, Risks, Identification, and Scarcity

China’s digital collectibles utilize blockchain technology to create unique digital certificates for specific works and artworks that consumers can purchase, collect, and use. Digital collectibles are localized Chinese digital products, similar to non-fungible token (NFT), but with differences. This study explores the influencing factors and mechanisms of consumer purchase in digital collectibles. Our study developed a research model based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) paradigm and the integration of perceived value theory and social identity theory. We used a questionnaire survey method and obtained 333 valid samples. Then, we used PLS-SEM to test the model. The empirical results are as follows: (1) Our study constructs and validates a multidimensional structure of perceived value and perceived risk; (2) consumers’ perceived value influences their purchase intentions through the mediating roles of consumer-digital collectibles cognitive identification and affective identification; (3) both supply-based scarcity and demand-based scarcity have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between cognitive identification and purchase intention. Our study reveals the pathway mechanism of the purchase intention and demonstrates the moderating roles of supply-based and demand-based scarcity. In addition, our study can provide practical suggestions for platforms and industries to conduct marketing activities and avoid risk.