External Openness Research Articles

Digital Sharing of Social Public Resources and Its Influencing Factors: Insight from China

Digital sharing of social public resources (SPRs) is an approach of resource-allocation that can effectively compensate for the limitations of time, space and communication modes in accessing SPRs and achieve the balanced allocation of them. The purpose of this paper is to study the development level of digital sharing of SPRs and its influencing factors. The panel data of 31 Chinese provinces from 2015 to 2020 are collected. A comprehensive evaluation index system for digital sharing of SPRs is constructed to evaluate its development level using the Global Entropy Weight Method (GEWM). And the influencing factors of the sharing level are systematically identified based on the stepwise regression model. The results show that: the development level of digital sharing of SPRs varies significantly among Chinese provinces and cities, but the overall development level is gradually increasing. The government fiscal expenditure capacity, industrial structure, regional economic development level, scientific and technological innovation capacity, and urbanization level can promote the digital sharing of SPRs. The degree of external openness and regional population size have negative effects on the digital sharing of SPRs.

Financial Globalization and Vulnerabilities:

This paper examines and measures the state of external financial openness and financial integration of Bangladesh and the impact of external policy changes and financial integration on the economic growth of Bangladesh. This study also focuses on the experiencesof crisis affected economies for identifying vulnerabilities of reforming Bangladesh under free capital mobility in near future.

The Eurasian Space in Chinese Official and Academic Discourses

The «Belе and Road Initiative» (BRI), proposed by China, marked a new phase in its external openness and growing desire to influence regional and global processes. However, BRI should not be viewed solely as a Chinese blueprint for restructuring Eurasia. The broad interpretative and geographical scope set by Chinese authorities allows flexibility in adapting the initiative to specific regions and countries, which is strategic for modifying or withdrawing commitments as needed. This paper examines why BRI has not become the foundation for a Chinese concept of Eurasia despite its significant impact on regional geopolitics.Our analysis begins with a critical examination of President Xi Jinping's speech at Nazarbayev University in 2013, identifying the nuanced usage of «Eurasia» that primarily refers to the post-Soviet space rather than the entire Eurasian continent. We delve into the subsequent official documents, noting the delay and ambiguity in defining the geographical and conceptual boundaries of BRI. The 2015 document, "Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road," illustrates the initiative's extensive and vague geographical scope, indicating that China did not initially aim for a broad Eurasian strategy.By employing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), we uncover how China's official rhetoric strategically frames BRI. The analysis reveals that Chinese discourse emphasizes bilateral rather than multilateral engagements within Eurasia, reflecting a «point-to-point» rather than a networked approach. This strategic ambiguity allows China to navigate its relationships with key regional players, notably Russia and the Central Asian states, without committing to a comprehensive Eurasian integration framework.The findings highlight the cautious and adaptive nature of China's engagement with Eurasia. The shift from a regional to a global scope in BRI discourse underscores China's pragmatic approach in balancing its regional ambitions with global aspirations.

Does the selection of high-quality scenic spots promote the growth of tourism economy? evidence from China's 5A-rated tourist attractions.

To stimulate the regional tourism economy, local governments often seek to increase the number of 5A-rated tourist attractions. However, there have been few analyses examining the economic benefits and influence mechanisms of 5A-rated attraction selection. Using the quality signaling theory and data from 282 prefecture-level cities spanning 2002 to 2019, this study examines the impact of 5A-rated attraction selection on the local tourism economy with the difference-in-differences method. This study's results demonstrate that the selection of 5A-rated attractions significantly contributes to the growth of the local tourism economy. The robustness test results confirm the validity of this conclusion. A mechanism analysis reveals that 5A-rated attractions positively impact the tourism economy via investments in infrastructure, popularization of informatization, and increased external openness. Furthermore, the study suggests that the effect of 5A-rated attractions is more pronounced in economically underdeveloped regions and low-level cities. The results of this study contribute to the sustainable development of China's tourism economy and may provide guidance for the establishment of tourism evaluation systems in other international locations in order to foster economic growth.

Study on urban green development efficiency of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian in China: a mixed network SBM approach

PurposeBy studying the green development efficiency (GDE) of 33 cities in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian in China, this study strives to conduct an analysis of the sustainable practices implemented in these developed regions, and derive valuable insights that can foster the promotion of green transformation.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the urban green development system (GDS) was decomposed into the economic benefit subsystem (EBS), social benefit subsystem (SBS), and pollution control subsystem (PCS). Then, a mixed network SBM model was proposed to evaluate the GDE during 20152020, with Moran’s I and Bootstrap truncated regression model subsequently applied to measure the spatial characteristics and driving factors of efficiency.FindingsSubsystem efficiency presents a distribution trend of PCS > EBS > SBS. There is a particular spatial aggregation effect in EBS efficiency, whereas SBS and PCS efficiencies have no significant spatial autocorrelation. Furthermore, urbanization level contributes significantly to the efficiency of all subsystems; industrial structure, energy consumption, and technological innovation play a crucial role in EBS and SBS; external openness is a pivotal factor in SBS; and environmental regulation has a significant effect on PCS.Originality/valueThis study further decomposes the black box of GDS into subsystems including the economy, society, and environment. Additionally, by employing a mixed network SBM model and Bootstrap truncated regression model to investigate efficiency and its driving factors from the subsystem perspective, it endeavors to derive more detailed research conclusions and policy implications.

China’s Opening to the World: Models, Stages, and Directions

The article includes four sections: the historical stages of China’s opening-up, the developmental patterns of China’s opening-up, the open policy of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and the bilateral opening-up developments between China and Russia. Starting with elaboration of the primary processes of China’s opening-up since the era of reform and opening-up, summarizing the distinct historical stages of China’s opening-up and the main features of each developmental phase. Subsequently, it analyzes the characteristics of China’s external development in spatial patterns, and selects two typical cases of China’s external development, namely Hainan Free Trade Port and Chongqing, for further analysis. Furthermore, it meticulously reviews the opening initiatives in key sectors of the GBA’s development and its contributions to China’s high-level external openness. Finally, the article briefly introduces the main measures and outcomes of enhancing bilateral openness between China and Russia under the current international circumstances.

Spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of urban industrial carbon emission efficiency in the Mid-Yangtze River urban agglomeration of China

Carbon emissions from energy consumption caused by industrial production have become an important factor in global warming, and China now has the highest global carbon emissions, with enormous pressure to reduce emissions. The Mid-Yangtze River urban agglomeration (MYRUA), which is an important region for China, also faces the contradiction of balancing environmental protection and economic production. Currently, there is little discussion on low-carbon pollution research in the MYRUA in China. Therefore, this study takes the MYRUA as the research object, uses a slack-based model (SBM) and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to explore the spatiotemporal evolution of the industrial carbon emission efficiency (ICEE) of the MYRUA in China from 2006 to 2019, and empirically analyses the factors influencing the ICEE based on a spatial econometric model. The results show that (1) in the period 2006–2019, the ICEE in the MYRUA region generally exhibited a “jagged” trend of decreasing, then increasing until finally decreasing again. Spatially, ICEE generally exhibited a dynamic trend of being low throughout, with high-efficiency areas tending to move to the center and low-efficiency areas being scattered. (2) The global Moran's I coefficient for ICEE ranged between 0.002 and 0.213, with the highest Moran's I value and significant spatial correlation occurring in 2006, after which the value gradually decreased. On the local autocorrelation, the ICEE in 2006 exhibited an agglomeration effect and weakened after 2010. (3) In 2019, the level of industrialization (LI) and the level of external openness (LEO) in the MYRUA changed from nonsignificant to significant positive correlations, and the LEO had the largest impact. The energy consumption structure (ECS) was always significantly negatively correlated. The levels of social development (LSD) and environmental regulation (ER) changed from showing a significant positive correlation to showing a nonsignificant correlation. In conclusion, ICEE is affected by interactions of multiple factors. In the future, the ECS of the MYRUA should be continuously optimized and replaced by clean energy. In addition, foreign investment compensates for the lack of production and technology research funds, which can increase investment and promote the digitalization of manufacturing enterprises.

Development of a multidimensional scale to measure organizational creative capabilities

AbstractAlthough the literature's case and longitudinal studies provide ample evidence of organizational routines that foster creative behaviors, it still lacks an integrative model of organizational creative capabilities (OCCs) and the quantitative evidence to validate such a model. This research is aimed at conceptualizing and developing a reliable and valid scale for OCCs. First, we define the OCC construct's domain by conducting an extensive literature review. We then generate a list of items for the five dimensions of OCCs through a qualitative study involving a group of 24 practitioners (Study 1a) and by surveying nine senior researchers (Study 1b). We refine the OCC scale using a sample of 269 responses collected in France and Canada (Study 2), and we conduct a first‐order confirmatory factor analysis (Study 3). Finally, we perform a second‐order confirmatory analysis (Study 4a) on samples of 220 responses collected mainly in the United States and Europe, generalize our results to a sample of 205 responses, and strengthen the predictive validity (Study 4b). Our results provide significant evidence that OCCs can be conceptualized around five dimensions: internal socialization routines, idea management routines, external openness routines, creative equipment routines, and internal agility routines. Furthermore, the research confirms the scale's good psychometric qualities, thus ensuring that researchers can be confident in the reliability of any future academic research design using the scale. We also validate the OCC scale's predictive validity by verifying that a five‐dimensional reflective scale with 16 indicators has a significant positive effect on the creative outcome. This OCC scale can be used by practitioners to better understand the organizational routines they have to develop in order to strengthen their organization's creativity. It also provides a way for longitudinal studies to observe how OCCs evolve over time.

Research on the Performance Path of Industrial Green Total Factor Productivity in the Context of High-Quality Development—Based on Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Improving industrial green total factor productivity (GTFP) is essential for achieving high-quality industrial development in China. To explore this perspective, we examined 30 provinces as case samples and applied a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis in order to analyze the factors of technological innovation, human capital, green consumption, environmental regulation, the Internet, and external openness in relation to industrial GTFP. The findings of this study show that the configuration path of industrial GTFP has multiple concurrencies. Specifically, three paths were identified as leading to high industrial GTFP, namely, the “total factor type”, “open-technology drive type”, and “technology-human drive type”. Meanwhile, the two configuration paths of non-high-industrial GTFP displayed an asymmetric relationship. Overall, these findings are crucial in revealing the path to improving industrial GTFP and achieving high-quality industrial development in China. The “total-factor-type” and “open-technology-drive-type” paths were the most prevalent in the eastern region, while the central area leaned more towards the “technology-human drive type”. This study offers valuable recommendations and insights for policymakers and scholars interested in promoting the development of industrial GTFP.

Improving Innovation Performance by Means of Open Innovation: The Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Information Technology Capability

Prior studies indicate that firms yield varying results while adapting to open innovation (OI). They suggest an optimum OI level using the concepts of external search breadth and depth, whose antecedents’ relationships with innovation performance (IP) have been inadequately examined. This study explores how information technology capability (ITC) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) influence a firm’s external search strategies and impact its IP. A survey of listed German firms ([Formula: see text]) found no support for a curvilinear relationship between open external search strategies and IP. Moreover, the assumption that ITC positively affects the relationship between external search strategy openness and IP was unsupported, proposing a negative moderating impact of ITC. The study observes that EO has differential moderating and direct effects on external search strategy effectiveness and its collective impact on IP.

Absorptive capacities and external openness in underdeveloped innovation systems: a patent network analysis for Latin American countries 1970–2017

Abstract This paper contributes to the literature on innovation and development by analysing the absorptive and connectivity capacities of Latin American innovation systems between 1970 and 2017. Applying network analysis to a USPTO database containing Latin American inventors, we build and analyse collaboration networks in the process of invention and knowledge appropriation. The structural properties and the evolution of such networks allow us to measure critical attributes of the Latin American innovation systems. Specifically, the networks exhibit low absorptive capacity and high external openness, which are critical linkages with external nodes in the network growth process. We identify different trajectories of innovation systems within the region, analysing specific paths of capability (de)accumulation and network maturity against the backdrop of national development trajectories.

The Holy See and its role in the international system A study in the soft power of the religious actor in international relations

The study analyzes the role of the Holy See in the international system, by analyzing the soft power of the religious actor in international relations, and the unconventional nature of the diplomacy of the Holy See based on the intertwining of the religious and the political.
 The study reviews the most prominent examples of the role of the Holy See in international crises, since the adoption of the policy of external openness to all world powers after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), and the attempt to reduce historical differences with some countries such as China and the Soviet Union, and move away from Western and American preferences with regard to Russia, and the use of the Holy See’s privileged position in the United Nations to influence a wide range of global issues, His mediation of conflict between a variety of nations reveals impressive possibilities for the use of faith-based diplomacy.

The determinants of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) adoption: a cross-country study

AbstractThis paper investigates the determinants of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) adoption using the Technology-Organizational-Environment framework. This framework explains how the process of adopting and implementing XBRL is influenced by the technological context (country's firm-level technology absorption and technological capacity), organizational context (education) and environmental context (level of economic development; degree of external economic openness; investor protection; accounting system and the burden of government regulation). Using a sample of 78 countries during the period 2009–2017, we find that countries with high levels of technology absorption, higher levels of economic development and strong investor protection are more likely to adopt XBRL.

Spatial-temporal variation and driving forces of the synergy of “pollution reduction, carbon reduction, green expansion and economic growth”: evidence from 243 cities in China

IntroductionPollution reduction, carbon reduction, green expansion and economic growth—the synergistic effects of the four—have become essential in maintaining urban ecological security and promoting a green and low-carbon transition. And it is inherently consistent with the globally accepted concept of sustainable development. MethodsBased on the evaluation index system and the coupling mechanism of the four, we adopt the entropy method and the coupling coordination model to measure the synergistic level of “pollution reduction, carbon reduction, green expansion and economic growth” in 243 cities above prefecture level in China from 2005 to 2020. Furthermore, the study examined the temporal and spatial evolution and regional differences by utilizing the center of gravity-standard deviation ellipse, Dagum Gini coefficient method, Kernel density estimation, and Markov chain. In addition, the spatial econometric model was used to analyze the driving factors affecting the synergistic development.ResultsThe results show that the overall synergistic level is rising, the spatial distribution characteristics of “high in the east and low in the west.” The standard deviation ellipse shows a “northeast–southwest” pattern, and the center of gravity moves in a “southeast–northwest–southwest” migration trend. Regional differences are mainly rooted in inter-regional differences. The intra-regional differences are East > West > Central, with the most prominent East–West inter-regional differences. Without considering the spatial factor, the synergistic level shows a steady increase and has continuity. Under the spatial condition, the synergistic level has a positive spatial correlation. However, the positive spatial correlation decreases significantly as the years go by. Also, the probability of “rank locking” of synergistic development has been reduced, and there is a leapfrog shift. In terms of driving factors, the innovation level, level of external openness, population size, and industrial structure positively drive synergistic development. While government intervention negatively affects synergistic development. DiscussionsBased on the above findings,policy recommendations are proposed to strengthen the top-level design and build a policy system, play the radiation linkage, apply precise policies according to local conditions, and optimize the industrial structure fully. Which is of great significance for improving the urban ecological resilience and helping to achieve the “double carbon” target.

Digital Economy, Technological Innovation and Urban Resilience

As an emerging economic form, the digital economy is a crucial force in promoting high-quality economic development, resolving regional development incoherence, and improving the level of urban resilience. In this paper, the urban resilience indicator system is composed of four dimensions: social resilience, economic resilience, infrastructure resilience, and ecological resilience. Meanwhile, the digital economy indicator system is composed of five dimensions: Internet penetration rate, number of Internet-related employees, Internet-related output, number of mobile Internet users, and digital financial inclusion development. The development level was measured using the entropy value method and principal component analysis. On this basis, the impact of the digital economy on the urban resilience of 185 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2019 was analyzed using a benchmark regression model, spatial econometric model, and mediating effect model. This study shows the following: (1) The development of the digital economy has a positive impact on improving urban resilience. (2) The digital economy affects urban resilience with positive spatial spillover effects, and the temporal heterogeneity and heterogeneity of external openness levels are significant, while the regional heterogeneity is not significant. (3) The digital economy can improve urban resilience through the intermediary role of technological innovation. In the future, we should strengthen digital construction, deeply integrate the relationship between the digital economy, technological innovation, and urban resilience, give full play to the engine role of the digital economy, and further promote the enhancement of sustainable urban development.

Spatial association network of economic resilience and its influencing factors: evidence from 31 Chinese provinces

The spatial correlation pattern of economic resilience is an important proposition for China’s sustainable economic development. This paper measures the economic resilience of 31 provinces in China from 2012 to 2020, and explores the spatial correlation of economic resilience from the overall, group and individual perspectives and its influencing factors. The results show that first, a tightly ordered hierarchy of economic resilience formed in each province of China after 2016. Among them, Jiangsu, Shandong, Guangdong, Hubei, and Shaanxi are the most important clustering points and radiation centers in the spatial correlation framework of economic resilience. Second, being adjacent to marginal and core provinces will maintain the province’s centrality index category to the greatest extent, while being adjacent to sub-core and general provinces leads the province to gain more opportunities for upward transfer. Third, the essence of the interprovincial economic resilience subordination linkage in China is manifested in the aggregation of city clusters or economic circles. The northern economic resilience linkage system with the Bohai Rim as the core contains more provinces but is less stable. Provinces located in the Yangtze River Delta region are the opposite. Fourth, the proximity of geographical location and the difference in human capital level drive the formation of spatial association networks, while the difference in external openness and the difference in physical capital inhibit the formation of networks.

Study on the Impact of Digital Inclusive Finance on The Level of Entrepreneurship in The Yellow River Basin

Based on the number of new enterprises registered for business each year to define the level of entrepreneurship, fixed effects are applied to study the mechanism of the impact of digital inclusive finance development on the level of entrepreneurship in the Yellow River Basin provinces from 2011 to 2020. It is found that:digital inclusive finance development as a whole is beneficial to enhance the entrepreneurship level of the provinces in the basin, mainly through three dimensions: breadth of coverage, depth of use and digitalization; further, it is found that the level of external openness and the level of resident consumption play a moderating role in the process of digital inclusive finance for entrepreneurship development. Therefore, it is suggested that achieving the level of entrepreneurship development in the Yellow River Basin requires the joint efforts of the government and market players, improving the level of external openness, and promoting the coordinated development of the upper, middle and lower reaches of the basin.

Non-linear Effects of Trade Openness on Economic Growth

This paper analyzes the effects of trade openness on economic growth in a panel of thirty developed and developing countries. The fixed effects model was estimated using the PSTR technique on data covering the period 1980-2019. The results show that the relationship between trade openness and economic growth is non-linear, and that the effects of external openness on growth depend on the thresholds of national income per capita. Below the estimated national income threshold of 35 118 USD per capita, trade openness has no significant effect on economic growth. Above this threshold, trade openness contributes positively to economic growth. It is suggested that the political authorities implement policies that contribute to increasing national income and improving purchasing power

A comparative study of green growth efficiency in Yangtze River Economic Belt and Yellow River Basin between 2010 and 2020

The Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin are important economic regions and ecological barriers in China. Promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and promoting ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin are major regional strategies implemented by the Chinese government, and the green growth of the two regions is important for the high-quality sustainable development of the whole China. To investigate the regional differences in green growth efficiency of the same type of geographical units, this paper measures the green growth efficiency and decomposition indicators of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin from 2010 to 2020 using a three-stage DEA model and the Malmquist index method and establishes a panel Tobit model to identify the influencing factors of green growth efficiency. The results show that: ①After using the three-stage DEA model to remove the influence of external environment and stochastic factors, the mean values of green growth efficiency of Yangtze River Economic Zone and Yellow River Basin from 2010 to 2020 are 0.996 and 1.089, respectively. The change of green growth efficiency of Yangtze River Economic Zone is slightly higher than that of Yellow River Basin. ②The Malmquist indexes of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin have generally increased, with the Technological Progress Index, which characterizes technological innovation, being the main endogenous driver of green growth efficiency in the Yellow River Basin, while the technical efficiency index, which characterizes factor mix and management level, is more significant in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. ③The Tobit model regression results show that the factors influencing green growth efficiency are also different in the two regions. Among them, the urbanization rate has a significantly positive effect on the two regions, while the effects of environmental regulation and research intensity are not significant. External openness has a suppressive effect on green growth efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, while the level of financial development and human capital negatively affect green growth efficiency in the Yellow River Basin. Therefore, green development in the new era should pay attention to the differences between different regions, and make appropriate development policies according to the local conditions of the development status of different regions.

Trade policy uncertainty and new firm entry: Evidence from China

This study offers novel evidence that reduced trade policy uncertainty (TPU) in the destination market promotes domestic entrepreneurial activities in a large developing economy. Exploiting China’s WTO accession as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that Chinese manufacturing industries with greater TPU reduction are associated with relative increases in the new firm entry rate. The TPU effect is more pronounced in industries with lower entry barriers or larger irreversible investments. In addition, TPU reduction fosters new entrants through both the exporting and non-exporting margins and contributes to strengthening regional agglomeration forces. Heterogeneity across regions with varying exporting costs and entry barriers is also identified, illustrating the important synchronization between external openness and internal reform for developing economies. Last, we show that reduction in TPU intensifies industry-level competition, induces better-quality entrants, and that new firm entry plays a non-negligible role in linking TPU reduction to improved economic performance.