Impact Of Infrastructure Research Articles

The impact of information infrastructure on firm market value: evidence from Chinese listed firms

ABSTRACT Based on the data of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2017, we empirically study the impact of information infrastructure on firm market value. Using the construction of 4 G base stations since 2014 as a quasi-natural experiment, we prove that information infrastructure significantly increases firms’ market value through the continuous difference-in-differences method. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the policy effect is more pronounced for large firms, non-state-owned firms, and firms in high-competitive industries. The underlying mechanism is that information infrastructure can promote digital transformation of firms, enhance firms’ level of innovation and production efficiency. Our study provides new perspectives and policy implications on how information infrastructure development can enhance firms’ market value.

Has digital infrastructure accelerated enterprises' specialization? Evidence from China

PurposeThis paper intends to explore the impact and mechanism of digital infrastructure development on enterprises vertical specialization. The following questions are discussed: (1) What is the impact of digital infrastructure on enterprise vertical specialization? (2) If the digital infrastructure serves to raise the level of vertical specialization of enterprises, does the impact differ depending on the level of city, industry and enterprise?Design/methodology/approachThe research employs the “Broadband China” strategy as a quasi-natural experiment for digital infrastructure development, with a multi-period difference-in-difference model constructed to test the research hypothesis. The study examined data from Chinese A-share enterprises listed between 2007 and 2019.FindingsThe study’s findings indicate that the construction of digital infrastructure significantly increases firms' vertical specialization. According to the mechanism analysis, digital infrastructure can increase vertical specialization by lowering market transaction costs. This study employs group regressions in terms of cities, industries and companies to gain a better understanding of the heterogeneity of this effect. The results indicate that digital infrastructure contributes more significantly to higher levels of vertical specialization among enterprises in areas with higher levels of innovation and entrepreneurship as well as in eastern and central cities, service industries, and mature firms.Research limitations/implicationsThere are two shortcomings to this study that warrant investigating further. The first limitation is the mechanism. This study simply looked at the mechanism between variables in terms of transaction costs, using existing theories. As the level of technology continues to improve, the process of digital infrastructure’s impact on vertical specialization requires greater investigation. Another weakness of this study is its country-specific focus. The effect of digital infrastructure on vertical specialization differs by country, reflecting disparities in economic growth. Further discussion of cross-national comparative studies is required.Originality/valueThe study’s marginal contributions are largely represented in the two aspects listed below: (1) This paper includes a comprehensive theoretical study of the influence of digital infrastructure development on vertical specialization, focusing on transaction costs. This provides a theoretical foundation for the empirical study presented in this paper; (2) this study fills the gap in earlier research in this field, and the findings broaden research findings in areas such as digital infrastructure development and vertical specialization.

Leveraging digital infrastructure for sustainable grain production: evidence from China

IntroductionAgriculture faces significant challenges in ensuring global food security while minimizing resource costs and environmental impacts. The development of digital infrastructure offers transformative potential for agricultural systems and aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This study examines the role of digital infrastructure in enhancing grain production capacity in China, a key player in the global food system.MethodsWe analyzed data from 277 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2021. A double machine learning model was employed to empirically assess the impact of digital infrastructure on grain production capacity, allowing for robust insights into causal relationships.ResultsResults reveal that digital infrastructure significantly enhances grain production. Mechanism analysis results indicate that digital infrastructure construction drives agricultural technological advancements and farmland scale, contributing to increased production capacity. Heterogeneity analysis results show that the impact of digital infrastructure construction is significant in major grain-producing regions and the central-eastern regions, while its effects are relatively limited in grain production-consumption balanced regions, main grain consumption regions, and the western regions.DiscussionThe results underscore the importance of strengthening digital infrastructure in rural areas to improve grain production capacity. Tailored policy implications are suggested to enhance sustainable food production and contribute to global food security, particularly in regions with varying agricultural dynamics.

Research on the Impact of Digital Infrastructure on Urban Breakthrough Green Innovation: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China

Breakthrough green innovation acts as a critical leverage point and a fundamental driver of the development of new productive forces. This study employs a sample of 108 cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2011 to 2021 to investigate the impact of digital infrastructure on urban breakthrough green innovation and its underlying mechanisms. The findings are as follows: (1) Digital infrastructure construction facilitates urban breakthrough green innovation, with a notably more substantial impact on strategic breakthrough green innovation. This result is validated through robustness and endogeneity tests. (2) Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the enhancement effect of digital infrastructure on breakthrough green innovation is more prominent in non-resource-based cities, cities with higher levels of marketisation, and those with weaker environmental regulations, with a particularly significant influence on substantive breakthrough green innovation. (3) Mechanism analysis reveals that upgrading industrial structures, optimising market resource allocation, and increasing public environmental awareness are critical mechanisms through which digital infrastructure strengthens urban breakthrough green innovation capacity. Additionally, as improvements occur in industrial structure, market resource allocation efficiency, and public environmental awareness, the impact of digital infrastructure on urban breakthrough green innovation capacity displays a nonlinear effect.

Regional digital infrastructure and carbon neutrality: A technology–structure–efficiency perspective

The synergistic development of digital transformation and carbon neutrality is a key path to global sustainable development. This study utilized the Broadband China pilot policy and a multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) design to comprehensively evaluate the impact of digital infrastructure on carbon neutrality using panel data from 291 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2021. The results indicate that regional digital infrastructure contributed to carbon neutralization innovation, carbon-intensive industry innovation, and carbon-emission efficiency in the pilot areas. This held true after analyzing the results with propensity score matching, coarsened exact matching, robust estimators, and instrumental variable regression. Specifically, the results of the mediation effect model indicate that digital infrastructure promotes the process of carbon neutrality through several mechanisms, including promoting the rationalization of industrial structure, promoting digital economic development, and inducing innovation in digital technology. In addition, cities with better economic development, lower resource dependence, and weaker environmental constraints have a greater carbon neutrality dividend effect from regional digital infrastructure. These findings indicate a need to optimize policies to unleash the dividends of digital infrastructure in carbon neutrality, which can drive technological, structural, and efficiency changes through digital empowerment. In addition, cities with heterogeneous endowments need to develop targeted measures.

Enhancing bikeshare planning and operation: Strategic use of web-based public feedback

Bikeshare system operators have leveraged online platforms to gather user feedback on station experiences and service quality. This crowdsourced data presents a valuable opportunity to enhance bikeshare planning and operations. However, planners have limited methods to analyze those qualitative data given the sparse nature of this data, which is insufficient for training comprehensive machine learning models. Addressing this challenge, our study employs a novel approach combining spatial analysis and Factor Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD) to delve into bikeshare users’ perceptions and expectations. Focusing on Chicago’s bikeshare system, we utilize its limited online comments to demonstrate the robustness of our algorithm and its applicability to both large and small datasets. Our findings reveal a geographic pattern in feedback: negative comments on bike rebalancing, station locations, and facilities are concentrated in the city center, while dissatisfaction with the cycling environment is consistent across both urban and peripheral areas. Moreover, we discovered that the demographic and employment characteristics of areas surrounding bikeshare stations significantly influence positive feedback, overshadowing the impact of station design and local infrastructure. Overall, this study offers a quantitative framework for leveraging limited crowdsourced feedback effectively, providing strategic insights for refining bikeshare planning and operational decisions.

Multi-Scale Effects of LCZ and Urban Green Infrastructure on Diurnal Land Surface Temperature Dynamics

The impact of urban green infrastructure (UGI) on land surface temperature (LST) has been widely discussed as a strategy to improve urban thermal environments. However, most studies have focused primarily on daytime conditions. Due to the limitations of polar-orbiting satellites like the Landsat series, the influence of UGI on LST over a 24-hour cycle remains unclear. To assess the relative influence and interdependence of UGI characteristics on LST across four different grid scales over the diurnal cycle, this study, conducted within Beijing's Fifth Ring Road during the summer, utilized a random forest (RF) regression model. The results indicate that: (1) UGI's impact on LST follows two distinct patterns: daytime (morning and afternoon) and non-daytime (night and dawn), which indicates the intensity of sunlight as a key driving factor; (2) tree landscape pattern indices are the most significant factors affecting LST; (3) during non-daytime periods (night and dawn), cropland's cooling effect is equally important as that of trees. These findings are valuable for prioritizing and strategically placing different types of UGI in urban planning. However, as this study focuses on a specific area, future research should include comparative studies in cities with different climatic conditions.

The impact of digital infrastructure on organizational digital innovation in China

The impact of digital infrastructure on organizational digital innovation in China

Remote Work Dynamics in Semiconductor MNCs in Klang Valley: The Impact of Work Environment, Technological Infrastructure, and Work-Life Balance on Employee Productivity Moderated by Gender

The shift towards remote work has become a prominent feature of contemporary workplaces, driven by technological advancements and changing organizational paradigms. This study investigates remote work dynamics within semiconductor multinational corporations (MNCs) in Klang Valley, focusing on the interplay between work environment, technological infrastructure, work-life balance, and employee productivity. Social Exchange Theory (Blau, 1964), Operational model of analysis (Leitão et al., 2019) and Task-to-Performance Chain Theory (Goodhue and Thompson, 1995) guides the exploration of how these factors influence productivity, while Predictors and outcomes of LMX Model (Tziner et al., 2020) informs the examination of gender as a moderating factor. Utilizing a quantitative research approach, data was collected through structured surveys administered to employees of semiconductor MNCs in the Klang Valley region. The survey instrument captured key variables related to the work environment, technological infrastructure, and work-life balance. Statistical analyses, including regression modeling and moderation analysis, were employed to examine the relationships between these variables and productivity while considering gender as a moderating factor. The findings provide empirical evidence regarding the impact of the work environment, technological infrastructure, and work-life balance on employee productivity in remote settings within the semiconductor industry. Additionally, investigating gender as a moderating factor uncovers potential disparities in remote work experiences and outcomes between male and female employees. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of remote work dynamics, offering insights into organizational policies and practices to optimize productivity and foster inclusivity in remote work arrangements.

Data Delivery Indicators in EIDA: Designing a Consistent Metrics System in a Distributed Services Environment

The European Integrated Data Archive (EIDA) is a data service within Observatories and Research Facilities for European Seismology (ORFEUS) which distributes seismological waveform data across, presently, 12 federated data centres, so-called EIDA nodes. EIDA is also integrated into the European Research Infrastructure EPOS (European Plate Observing System). The increasing need of quantifying the scientific impact of such Research Infrastructures at all levels of operations has led EIDA to develop a unified system able to provide global indicators for data delivery across all EIDA nodes. To achieve this goal, EIDA implemented a system where the numbers are collected and aggregated by each EIDA node and ingested in a centralised database, accessible through an online API. The successful implementation of the system stems from carefully identifying the relevant indicators for well-defined groups of users. The implementation combines simplicity and robustness whilst respecting the distributed design of EIDA. The architecture and implementation choices may be of interest to other multi-site data distribution research infrastructures that face the challenge of providing meaningful key performance indicators.

Exploring the drivers of ecological footprint: Impacts of road transportation infrastructure, transport tax, and environment technologies

This study explores the dynamic effects of road transportation infrastructure, transport taxes, economic growth, trade openness, and environmental technologies on the ecological footprint using three quantile regression techniques: Simultaneous, Powell, and Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR). These variables are selected for their significant influence on both economic outcomes and environmental sustainability, reflecting the interconnectedness of transportation systems, government policies, and technological advancements in shaping ecological impacts. Based on panel data from 19 European countries between 1995 and 2020, the results reveal that investments in road infrastructure and higher transport taxes contribute to reducing ecological footprint. At the middle and high quantiles, advancements in environment-related technologies further decrease the ecological footprint, whereas trade openness tends to worsen ecological quality. Importantly, the relationship between GDP and the ecological footprint follows an inverted U-shape, confirming the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis across all quantiles, which suggests that economic growth can support environmental sustainability in the long run. These findings are validated by robustness checks using fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), and canonical cointegration regression (CCR) models. Key policy implications include the need for targeted investments in road infrastructure and transport tax strategies, tailored to national contexts, along with technology-driven strategies to curb environmental degradation. Lastly, the panel causality test reveals unidirectional causality from economic growth, road transportation infrastructure, and environment-related technologies to ecological footprint, highlighting their significance as short-term contributors to environmental improvement.

Impact of Ethical Infrastructure on the Performance of Executive Power Administrative Units in Bulgaria

In the last 30 years, issues related to ethics in the public sector have become increasingly relevant in Bulgaria. Since the democratic changes, the interest in ethics in public structures has increased. A number of studies by international and national institutes and organisations have brought the state of the ethical environment in Bulgaria into the focus of research interest, and have highlighted the problems of corruption and the absence of adequate countermeasures. Corruption is the most obvious manifestation of the lack of a functioning ethical infrastructure or adequate control over administration in our country. Reactive behaviour towards cases of corruption is not an effective mechanism for curbing corruption. Rather, actions need to be based on proactive approaches. Yet, to make adequate choices, it is essential to analyse the level to which the elements of the ethical infrastructure which have an impact on organisational performance and affect the ethical climate have been developed. This research analyses the level of development of ethical infrastructure and its impact on the performance of administrative structures in Bulgaria, while also exploring the respondents’ attitudes towards these issues. It defines the applied models of ethical infrastructure and problem areas in the ethical environment of executive administrations in Bulgaria.

A Relationship between Physical Infrastructure and Patient Satisfaction: A Case Study of Kantipur Dental Hospital

This study investigates the impact of physical infrastructure on patient satisfaction at Kantipur Dental Hospital, a prominent dental care facility in Nepal. With the increasing demand for high-quality healthcare services, understanding the factors influencing patient satisfaction is crucial for healthcare providers. The research aims to explore how various aspects of the hospital’s infrastructure—specifically, the use of state-of-the-art equipment, cleanliness and hygiene, sterilization practices, and convenient location—affect patients' perceptions of care quality. A quantitative research design was employed, utilizing a structured questionnaire distributed to 117 patients who had received treatment at Kantipur Dental Hospital within the last six months. The questionnaire measured patients' perceptions of the clinic's infrastructure and their overall satisfaction, with a focus on two key dimensions: confidence after treatment and the acceptability of service fees. Data analysis was conducted using Spearman’s rho correlation to assess the relationships between the perceived infrastructure variables and patient satisfaction outcomes. The findings reveal significant positive correlations between perceptions of the hospital's physical infrastructure and patient satisfaction. Specifically, the use of modern equipment and a clean, hygienic environment were strongly associated with increased patient confidence post-treatment. Furthermore, the accessibility of the hospital location was also found to influence perceptions of service fee acceptability. Notably, while sterilization practices contributed positively to patient confidence, they did not significantly impact fee perceptions, suggesting that patients prioritize cleanliness and modernity in their overall evaluation of care. These results underscore the critical role of physical infrastructure in enhancing patient satisfaction at Kantipur Dental Hospital. The study recommends that healthcare facilities continue to invest in modern technology and maintain high standards of cleanliness to foster patient confidence and satisfaction. This research provides valuable insights for clinic management and policy-makers, emphasizing that improving physical infrastructure is essential for delivering quality healthcare services and ensuring positive patient experiences.

Can Transport Infrastructure Improve Enterprise Energy Efficiency? Evidence From China

As an advanced social development capital, transportation plays a vital role in promoting regional development. Concurrently, the business activities of enterprises intimately relate to these transportation services. Utilizing road construction to improve the energy efficiency of enterprises, therefore, becomes a critical way to promote the transformation of the economy from high-speed development to high-quality development. Existing studies primarily focus on the impact of transport infrastructure on productivity, while few papers focus on the impact mechanism of transport infrastructure on energy efficiency. To delve deeper into the internal relationship between transportation and regional economic development, this paper explores the effect of transport infrastructure on energy utilization efficiency at the enterprise level. Based on the environmental pollution data of Chinese industrial enterprises from 2001 to 2011, this paper analyzes the impact of transport infrastructure on enterprises’ energy efficiency and verifies the impact mechanism. The results show that the construction and improvement of urban road facilities can significantly improve firm energy utilization efficiency. Compared to low-energy consumption sectors, the impact of transportation infrastructure on the energy efficiency of high-energy consumption industry enterprises is notably more pronounced. A closer examination of the impact mechanism revealed that both industrial agglomeration and the cost effect are pivotal mechanisms through which transportation infrastructure affects enterprise energy efficiency. JEL Classification: D21, L91, Q40, Q51

Digital Infrastructure and Firm Resilience: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT We examine the impact of digital infrastructure on firm resilience. Analyzing panel data from listed companies across 306 Chinese cities from 2017 to 2021, we find that firms located in cities with better digital infrastructure experience less severe declines in employment and profits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results further show that digital infrastructure bolsters firm resilience by alleviating financing constraints and fostering business innovation. The digital infrastructure effect is particularly strong in non-state-owned, small-scale, low-cash-reserve, and labor-intensive firms.

Impact of Corporate Daycare Facilities on the Productivity of Female Employees: Evidence from Bangladesh

Purpose: The current study aims to identify the impact of corporate daycare facilities on female employees’ productivity in the organizations of Bangladesh. Methodology: A structured questionnaire has been developed and distributed to the current daycare facility users to collect information on the research framework. Data collected from 203 respondents have been analyzed using smartPLS4 to establish the possible relationship between four daycare service factors and the productivity of female employees. Findings: The results show that corporate onsite daycare facility has a significant positive impact on the productivity of female employees. Whereas the impact of cost-efficient corporate daycare, infrastructure, and quality of daycare services have not been statistically significant. Practical Implications: The study has great practical implications as the findings will help organizations in designing an appropriate daycare service facility for female employees in Bangladesh. Originality/Value: As corporate daycare is an inclusion strategy that attracts female employees to the workforce. Organizations are trying to provide daycare facilities to retain more women employees as supported by previous research. However, the productivity in the workplace of female employees, who have been provided with daycare facilities remains unresolved in the developing economy. So the study will fill the gap in the existing literature on onsite daycare systems. Research Limitations: The current study is based on urban settings limiting the cultural diversity in the responses and based on convenient sampling, which might limit the generalizability of the findings.

Automating Infrastructure Management: Benefits and Challenges of Ansible and Terraform Implementation Across Sectors

This article examines the implementation and impact of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices using Ansible and Terraform across various industries. Through a mixed-methods approach combining case studies, surveys, and quantitative analysis, we investigate how these tools enable more efficient, scalable, and repeatable infrastructure deployments. Our findings reveal significant benefits, including reduced operational costs (average 30% reduction), improved resource utilization (up to 40% increase), and enhanced disaster recovery capabilities (50% faster recovery times). However, challenges such as skills gaps, security concerns, and legacy system integration persist. The article provides insights into industry-specific applications, highlighting how finance, healthcare, and telecommunications sectors leverage these tools to meet unique demands. We present best practices for successful implementation, emphasizing continuous monitoring, data governance, and cross-functional collaboration. This article contributes to the growing body of literature on IaC and offers practical recommendations for organizations seeking to optimize their infrastructure management strategies in an increasingly digital landscape.

Instrumentation and automatic evaluation of event indicators alongside railway lines: a first attempt to comply with article 90 of the French mobility legislation on transport

According to the Article 90 of the French Mobility Orientation Law (LOM) No. 2019-1428 (December 24, 2019), the Testing and Measurement Laboratory (LEM) of the Régie Autonome Des Transports Parisiens (RATP) 1 has been at the forefront in determining and evaluating indicators of annoyance due to event-related noise from railway transport infrastructure. Six measurement points located near tramway, metro, and suburban trains transport infrastructures were equipped with specific instrumentation allowing for measuring and automatically detecting railway and non-railway sound events (road traffic, alert sirens, and other sound activities), this multiplicity of noise sources necessitated a comprehensive approach to data collection and analysis, ensuring accurate assessment of the impact of railway transport infrastructure on surrounding area. Measurements were carried out continuously for 15 days. A post-processing system was also developed to analyze over a dozen noise indicators for each category of sound events. This article presents the technical solutions developed and deployed by the laboratory in a few months to address the regulatory challenges posed by the experimental phase of Article 90 of the LOM law.

Impact of metro vibrations on people: critical aspects of designing vibration mitigation interventions

A methodology for assessing and mitigating the impact of metro infrastructure generated vibration and ground-borne noise on people is described. This methodology combines techniques for analyzing vibration measurements and predictive modeling to identify effective mitigation interventions. These interventions require working on existing railway track systems and involve interruption of service, unlike noise mitigation interventions that can be implemented without interfering with rail and road infrastructure. For this reason, it is important to identify the most effective mitigation techniques to minimize the impact on the population and simplify on-site implementation. The methodology was applied in Milan metro lines where the vibration level was estimated, and a vibration mitigation system was designed. The vibration phenomenon was quantified through accelerometric measurements taken in several buildings affected by the disturbance from vibration. The measured vibration levels were compared with reference level established by standards. The maximum difference obtained from this comparison was used as input data for the design of the mitigation intervention. The vibration mitigation interventions involve increasing the total mass and elasticity of the existing system. Their effectiveness was verified through numerical calculation using parametric software confirming the required amount of mitigation.

Has the Development of Broadband Infrastructure Improved Household Energy Consumption in Rural China?

Digital infrastructure plays a crucial role in shaping household energy consumption behaviors, especially in the context of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals in China. In this study, we explored the impact of broadband infrastructure on household energy consumption and clean fuel choices, using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). In a difference-in-differences (DID) framework, our findings indicate that the promotion of broadband infrastructure significantly increases rural household energy consumption and facilitates a transition to cleaner energy sources. Notably, households with better socioeconomic status, particularly those with higher education and income levels, benefit more from enhanced broadband internet access. Mechanism analysis reveals that the “Broadband China” policy can positively influence household consumption through several potential channels: fostering technological innovation, enhancing energy efficiency in cities, and improving overall environmental awareness. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of broadband infrastructure in shaping household energy consumption patterns and have important implications for policymakers, particularly in the context of sustainable development and energy transition efforts.