Manufacturing Enterprises In China Research Articles

Research on the impact and mechanisms of lean management on the green development of traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises

AbstractTo achieve the “dual carbon” goals, manufacturing businesses must pursue green development. Compared to larger enterprises, the path towards green development is fraught with difficulties for the numerous traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises. Lean thinking offers new solutions to the pain points and challenges of green development for these enterprises. However, existing research primarily focuses on large enterprises, with limited studies on traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises; moreover, the conclusions on lean green development remain contentious and fail to effectively guide these enterprises through their green development bottlenecks. Therefore, this paper constructs a lean green development mechanism model for traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises based on the grounded theory research method and the “resource‐behavior‐performance” model. It validates the model with empirical data from 333 traditional small manufacturing enterprises in China. The results show that in the actual development process of traditional small and micro enterprises, implementing lean organization and lean production significantly improves environmental performance, but the impact on economic performance is complex. Additionally, the influence of lean strategies on green development performance is not significant, not fully realizing their potential guiding role. Further in‐depth analysis of traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises with a mature level of lean management reveals that as the level of lean management improves, the guiding effect of lean strategies begins to emerge; both lean organization and production have a significantly positive impact on economic performance. The findings are theoretically and practically significant for overcoming the green development challenges faced by traditional small and micro manufacturing enterprises, help to broaden the research scope of lean green development, and provide decision‐making and theoretical support for promoting the seamless implementation of lean green development in the traditional manufacturing sector.

How Does the Digital Transformation Affect the Carbon Emissions of Manufacturing Enterprises in China? The Perspective of Green Technology Innovation

With the continuous intensification of competition among major countries and the resurgence of anti-globalization trends, countries around the world have strengthened their strategic deployment for digital transformation in the manufacturing industry. Digital development enables enterprises to transform and upgrade, and the digital transformation and green transformation of enterprises have a historic intersection. This study uses the panel data of 1900 A-share listed companies to explain the theoretical mechanism of digital transformation to promote carbon emission reduction from the perspective of green technology progress. In addition, the threshold model is used to analyze the nonlinear relationship. The results show that the digital transformation has significantly reduced the carbon emission level of Chinese manufacturing enterprises, and the conclusion is still true after the instrumental variable estimation and robustness test. Heterogeneity analysis found that the carbon emission reduction in state-owned enterprises is more obvious. Green technology innovation capability shows the technology dividend effect, which is an important way for digital transformation to promote carbon emission reduction. This study expands the research on the sustainable development of China’s manufacturing industry and provides guidance for policy makers and business decision makers.

Action Speaks Louder: The Role of Proactive Behavior between Creative Leadership and Employees' Creativity.

Drawing on social learning theory, this study presents a moderated mediation model to examine the role of proactive behavior and conformity value in the positive relationship between creative leadership and employees' creativity. Two-wave data are collected from 230 employees and their leaders in an automobile manufacturing enterprise in China, in which employees are encouraged to be creative because they need to implement novel designs and proposals to attract consumers. Statistical analysis reveals that proactive behavior partially mediates the influence of creative leadership on employees' creativity. Conformity value moderates not only the relationship between creative leadership and proactive behavior but also the indirect effect of creative leadership on employees' creativity via proactive behavior. The relationship and the mediating mechanism are stronger in the presence of employees' higher conformity value. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications as well as future research directions of the findings.

Exploring the mechanism of digital technology affordance on manufacturing enterprises’ digital competitive advantage

PurposeDigital technology is crucial to improving a firm’s core competitiveness. However, the existing research on the relationship therein shows heterogeneity. Using digital technology can enhance competitive advantage, which is crucial for enterprises and scholars. Thus, based on the digital technology affordance theory, this study explores the relationship between digital technology affordance and digital competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 509 large and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in China, and multiple regression and structural equation modelling were used to test the hypotheses. Specifically, we discuss the mediating role of digital business capability and the moderating role of organisational legitimacy.FindingsEditability, association and visibility positively affect digital competitive advantage, and their coordination is strong. Further, they can help enterprises gain a competitive advantage through the mediating role of digital business capability (digital strategy, digital integration and regulation). However, the influence effect and action path differ per in different dimensions. Organisational legitimacy positively moderates the mediating effect of digital integration and regulation, and there is a moderated mediating effect. However, the moderating effect on the mediating effect of digital strategy is not significant.Originality/valueExisting studies neglect the relationship between the coordination of digital technology functions and digital competitive advantage. This study provides a new theoretical explanation for an in-depth understanding of these issues. These findings promote the development of innovation theory and provide valuable insights for guiding the application of digital technology in enterprises.

The Impact of Digital Transformation on the Performance of Listed Automobile Manufacturing Enterprises in China

The Impact of Digital Transformation on the Performance of Listed Automobile Manufacturing Enterprises in China

A Conceptual Development of Digital Trade Adoption among Manufacturing Companies in China: A Technology Acceptance Model Approach

The proliferation of digital technologies has brought about transformative changes in various sectors, including manufacturing. In the context of China, a prominent manufacturing hub, the adoption of digital trade practices has emerged as a critical determinant of competitiveness and sustainability for manufacturing companies. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for understanding the factors influencing the adoption of digital trade among manufacturing firms in China, employing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a theoretical lens. Drawing upon extant literature and empirical insights, this conceptual paper identifies key constructs within the TAM framework, such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward digital trade, and behavioral intention, and adapts them to the specific context of digital trade adoption in the Chinese manufacturing sector. It explores how factors such as organizational readiness, technological infrastructure, government policies, and cultural factors influence the perceived usefulness and ease of use of digital trade platforms among manufacturing companies in China. Moreover, this paper extends the traditional TAM model by incorporating additional constructs such as trust in technology, perceived risk, and organizational innovativeness, which are deemed essential in understanding the complexities of digital trade adoption in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. It underscores the significance of trust-building mechanisms, risk mitigation strategies, and organizational culture in facilitating the successful implementation of digital trade initiatives within manufacturing enterprises in China. The proposed conceptual framework contributes to both theoretical and practical understandings of digital trade adoption by elucidating the interplay between technological factors, organizational dynamics, and contextual influences within the Chinese manufacturing context. By offering insights into the determinants of digital trade adoption and the mechanisms for enhancing acceptance and utilization of digital trade platforms, this paper aims to inform policymakers, industry practitioners, and scholars engaged in the promotion and facilitation of digital transformation within the manufacturing sector in China and beyond.

A study on the action mechanism of digital transformation on the output quality of technological innovation

The fourth Industrial Revolution is in full swing, the whole world is pondering the same question: Where is the core breakthrough? With the continuous breakthrough and extensive application of cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and other next-generation information technologies, One sign has emerged: digital economy is becoming a new driving force for global economic growth. The impact of digital transformation on enterprises is to improve the quality and efficiency、Improve information quality, Or spread out limited resources and reduce productivity, There is no consensus among academics. To fill that gap, this paper aims to sort out the internal mechanism of how digital transformation improves the output quality of the technological innovation of enterprises from a theoretical perspective, and to establish a digital transformation index at the micro level. On this basis, this study empirically examines how digital transformation affects the output quality of technological innovation.we adopts panel data. It uses data collected from 159 manufacturing enterprises in China. By adopting the methods of PLS structural equation and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), it empirically tests the research model and conducts a mediation analysis through regression analysis. The findings indicated that, Digital transformation can help manufacturing enterprises to improve the output quality of their technological innovation; digital infrastructure plays a significant mediating role between digital transformation and the output quality of technological innovation; the investment of manufacturing enterprises in software and hardware digital infrastructure have a positive impact on the output quality of technological innovation. There is a complementary relationship between the two. The paper was conducted in the context of Chinese culture and can be generalized to other Asian countries. We believe that the research conclusions of this study have important practical significance for how manufacturing enterprises can effectively carry out digital transformation and improve the output quality of technological innovation.

THE POLICY EFFECT OF CARBON EMISSIONS TRADING ON GREEN TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION — EVIDENCE FROM MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES IN CHINA

Based on the panel data of listed Chinese manufacturing enterprises from 2007 to 2019, this study uses the difference-in-differences-based propensity score matching method (PSM-DID) to explore the policy effect of carbon emissions trading on green technology innovation in manufacturing from the perspective of independent innovation of enterprises. The conclusions of this study show that: (1) Carbon emissions trading has significantly improved the level of green technology innovation of manufacturing enterprises; (2) the policy effect of carbon emissions trading on the green patent application is more than twice as much as on green utility model patent application. Compared with green utility model patent, the pilot policy of carbon emissions trading has a more significant and greater policy effect on the green invention patent application; (3) the private enterprises are more sensitive to the pilot policy of carbon emissions trading than state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The carbon emissions trading in China effectively promotes low-carbon and green development of enterprises.

How flexible leadership ability affects manufacturing enterprises' digital transformation willingness: The role of innovation commitment and environmental dynamics.

Existing studies have recognized the significance of leadership ability on enterprises' digital transformation. However, few of them pay attention to the mechanism of flexible leadership ability (FLA) on digital transformation willingness (DTW). This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of FLA on DTW based on the ability-behavior-purpose logical framework. Survey data is collected from 509 large and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in China, and multiple regression and PROCESS Macro methods are used for hypothesis testing. This study mainly discusses the impact of FLA on DTW, as well as the mediating role of innovation commitment (IC) and the moderating role of environmental dynamics (ED). Results show that FLA promotes DTW directly (β = 0.574, p<0.001) and indirectly, that is, through IC (the main effect decreased from (β = 0.574, p<0.001) to (β = 0.40, p<0.001). Additionally, the moderating role of ED affects the direct path of FLA on DTW (β = 0.167, p<0.001) as well as the two indirect paths (β = 0.196, p<0.001; β = 0.104, p<0.01). The findings contribute to the advancement of flexible leadership theory, and provide practical advice for enterprises on how to implement digital transformation.

The Effect of Data Empowerment on Channel Resilience: The Roles of Ambidextrous Learning，Guanxi Inertia and Enterprise Openness

ABSTRACT Data empowerment is a critical component of enterprises’ digital transformations and plays a pivotal role in the creation of enterprise channel resilience. This paper investigates the process mechanism of how data empowerment affects enterprises’ channel resilience by utilizing the theoretical perspectives of ambidextrous learning and resource conservation. To test the hypothesized relationships and conceptual model, survey data was collected from 263 manufacturing enterprises in China, and SPSS PROCESS macro was used for analysis. The empirical findings revealed that data empowerment has both a direct positive impact on channel resilience and an indirect effect through the mediating role of ambidextrous learning. The relationship between ambidextrous learning and channel resilience was moderated by guanxi inertia and enterprise openness. This study contributes to understanding the process mechanism and contextual boundary of the relationship between data empowerment and channel resilience. The findings also offer practical guidance for enterprises to improve channel resilience and foster win-win cooperation among channel members.

Characters Construction of HRBP Competency Model for Chinese Intelligent Manufacturing Enterprises in the Era of Digital Economy

To adapt to the digital economy era, many intelligent manufacturing enterprises in China are transitioning from traditional professional transactional management to a human resource business partner model with customer value as the core concept. However, the lack of clear HRBP role definition can pose a challenge in selecting an HRBP who fully aligns with the business department's needs, ultimately resulting in human resources management mode transformation failures. This study employs both empirical analysis and survey research to investigate the specific practices of HRBP positions within intelligent manufacturing enterprises. The HRBP competency model for intelligent manufacturing enterprises is preliminarily constructed through job analysis, behavioral event interview, and questionnaire survey methods. The initial model has undergone reliability and validity tests, with the weights of competency dimensions determined by both subjective judgment and importance proportion methods. The paper presents a HRBP competency model for intelligent manufacturing enterprises, which comprises of 6 competency dimensions and 21 specific indicators. Based on the model, targeted strategies are proposed to enhance HRBP competencies in intelligent manufacturing enterprises. This model serves as practical guidance for human resource management in rapidly growing intelligent manufacturing enterprises in China.

How to drive strategic green innovation behavior? A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) based on Chinese manufacturing enterprises.

Green innovation is an important way for manufacturing enterprises to achieve green and high-quality development. The existing literature has ignored the heterogeneous motivations for enterprise green innovation. The strategic green innovation behavior (SGIB) aiming at seeking strategic differences and building core competitiveness is the necessary measure for enterprises to realize green transformation. Furthermore, the existing research studies the influencing factors of green innovation from a single perspective, ignoring the interaction of institutional and resource factors. Based on this, this study uses QCA to identify the driving mechanism of enterprise SGIB. The research collected questionnaire data from 199 manufacturing enterprises in China. The main results show that a single factor will not constitute a necessary condition for positive SGIB, but the not-high green dynamic capability is a necessary condition for negative SGIB. Positive SGIB includes four configuration paths: institution-ethics synergy, normative pressure oriented, environmental ethics oriented, and institutional incentive oriented. Lack of institutional pressure is the only configuration path that leads to negative SGIB. Further analysis found that environmental ethics and institutional pressure are the main forces to promote SGIB. After a series of robustness tests, the above basic conclusions did not change significantly. Based on the above conclusions, we believe that government departments, industry associations, and enterprises should form a joint force to enhance the level of institutional pressure and enterprise environmental ethics, promoting the implementation of strategic green innovation.

Antecedent configurations and performance of business models of intelligent manufacturing enterprises

Tackling climate change crises needs intelligent manufacturing and effective business models. This paper uses the adaptive structuration theory (AST) and configuration perspective to investigate the effects of digital infrastructure, digital orientation, top management team heterogeneity, servitization, government support, and customer demand uncertainty on the business model of intelligent manufacturing enterprises in China. The fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was employed to analyze the data. The study found that there were five configurations of business model formation, which classified business models into five types: executive-led enhanced, digital leadership-enhanced, adaptive, extended, and complex business models. There was an intrinsic relationship between the five models with respect to the dimensions of digitalization and servitization. Further analysis revealed that executive-led, digital leadership-enhanced, and adaptive business models were positively associated with enterprise performance. The paper discusses the potential implications of these findings.

Sustainable Enterprise Development in the Manufacturing Sector: Flexible Employment and Innovation in China

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the scope and market size of flexible employment in sustainable enterprise development have significantly increased worldwide, yet academic literature offer little information about the outcomes and moderators of flexible employment in China. The paper advances current knowledge and empirically addresses this gap by examining the effects of flexible employment on enterprise innovation input and output, with information technology capability and labor regulation as unexplored moderators. Based on data from 1179 manufacturing enterprises in China, this paper uses the OLS method to conduct empirical tests. The results show that (1) flexible employment has positively contributed to sustainable enterprise development by facilitating innovation inputs and outputs; (2) superior enterprise information technology capabilities and strict labor regulations were significant moderating factors in this relationship. The findings provide credible evidence for enterprises to pursue flexible employment as an inexhaustible impetus for sustainable economic and enterprise development.

Industry and Regional Peer Effects in Corporate Digital Transformation: The Moderating Effects of TMT Characteristics

Currently, the research on corporate digital transformation is mainly explored from the perspective of independent decision-making, but pays less attention to the interactive impact among peer firms. Taking the listed equipment manufacturing enterprises in China as its research sample, this paper uses theoretical analysis and empirical tests to test the impact of peer effect in corporate digital transformation and the moderating effect of top management team (TMT) characteristics. The results show that there are industry peer effects and regional peer effects in corporate digital transformation in which TMT characteristics play a moderating effect. Furthermore, the higher the proportion of females, the younger the average age, the higher the average education, and the longer the average tenure in TMT, the more significant the positive impact of industry peer effect and regional peer effect in corporate digital transformation. The above conclusions remain valid when using change variables, Tobit tests, lag period tests, and IV methods for robustness tests. Further analysis of the results shows that there is a non-linear impact between digital transformation and green technological innovation, and there are multiple mediating effects among industry and regional peer effects, digital transformation, R&amp;D, and green technological innovation. In addition, it is necessary to further examine the social network peer effect in corporate digital transformation as well as the mechanism and economic consequences of peer effect in the future. These findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the driving factors that affect the digital transformation of equipment manufacturing enterprises in China and provide new evidence and theoretical contributions for enterprises to enhance the efficiency of digital transformation and strengthen the construction of a TMT.

How does social network in patent provide changes in the Chinese manufacturing firm market value?

Patent thickets create external resource constraints that reduce the market value of enterprises. In the process of technological innovation, it is no longer possible to obtain competitive advantage by relying on individual resource endowment alone. Patent cooperation is considered an important institutional element in social network relations, through which enterprises can integrate external innovation resources to counteract their shortcomings and obtain competitive advantages. In this study, 419 electronic equipment manufacturing enterprises in China between 2009 and 2019 are used as the research objects, and panel data include the financial data of enterprises, the number of patent citations, and the number of patents jointly applied for by enterprises. Based on the patent fragmentation index, social network analysis is used to construct a patent cooperation network. Using UCINET and Gephi tools, the structure of corporate patent thicket networks and their evolutionary characteristics can be obtained. A panel regression model is used to empirically test the social network effect and the effect of patent thickets on the market value of firms in the context of patent cooperation. The findings show that patent thickets can discount the market value of enterprises. However, if a firm is at the center of patent cooperation, it can obtain more innovation resources. If it is at the intermediary of cooperation, it can absorb external knowledge and technology and occupy a richer structural hole, which can positively regulate the negative effect of the patent thicket. In addition, the negative effects of patent thickets are weaker for firms with more than five years of patent maintenance compared to those with less. Our study has important implications for improving the efficiency of patent cooperation and helping governments and firms to effectively cope with patent thickets.

The joint effect mechanism of two types of corporate social responsibility attribution on organizational identification

We built a model to study the moderating and direct effects of corporate social responsibility altruistic attribution and corporate social responsibility egoistic attribution on organizational identification. Data were collected from 205 employees of two manufacturing enterprises in China. We found that corporate social responsibility altruistic attribution and corporate social responsibility egoistic attribution were not in an either–or relationship, but could coexist. Further, the interaction effect of corporate social responsibility altruistic attribution and corporate social responsibility egoistic attribution was different from that of a single attribution. Finally, corporate social responsibility egoistic attribution had both positive and negative effects. This study offers a fresh viewpoint for future discussions of the effect of corporate social responsibility attribution on employees' attitudes and behaviors from the perspective of their combined effects.

Relating green information acquisition, absorptive capacity, institutional pressure, and firm performance: an environmentally sustainable perspective.

Numerous Chinese manufacturing organizations are grappling with the challenge of absorbing and using greeninformation acquisitionacross the supply chain to achieve excellent firm performance. Utilizing the organizational learning theory's indirect stream of research, we address this research gap by developing a moderated-mediation framework to investigate the impact of green information acquisitionand institutionalpressure on a firm's performance. Hypotheses are evaluated by takinga sample of 567 manufacturing enterprises in China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) has been applied to analyze and investigate the proposed hypotheses. Empirical results indicate that absorptive capacity significantly mediates the relationship between green information acquisition and firm performance. In a similar vein, institutional pressure significantly moderates the relationship between green information acquisition and firm performance. Study findings have essential managerial recommendationsfor Chinese manufacturing enterprises, proposing that they considerably enhance their absorptive capacity and continuously monitor institutionalpressure to reap the advantages of green information acquisitionon firm performance.

A case study of intelligent manufacturing transformation framework for manufacturing enterprises

Based on the development trend of smart manufacturing, this paper analyzes the key factors affecting the transformation of smart manufacturing enterprises in China through enterprise cases and constructs a framework for the transformation of smart manufacturing enterprises in China. The framework includes "smart production" based on "digital technology+ new generation of information and communication technology", "operation digitization" based on "process digitization+ value network synergy", "business digitization" based on "management process reengineering+ organizational structure reshaping" and "organization reengineering" based on "value network reengineering+ data-driven". Among them, the first three factors mainly affect the smart manufacturing transformation of enterprises from the perspectives of resources, demand and environment.

Application of 5s field management in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises

5S field management is the cornerstone of lean production management system, which originated in Japan in the 1950s [1]. Since 5s field management was introduced from Japan, it has been favored by many small and medium-sized manufacturers in China. At present, the competition of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises is becoming more and more fierce, and the competition of productivity and cost, management level is becoming more and more the key to the success of enterprise competition. Practice has also proved that 5s field management has a good positive effect on enterprises, which is specifically manifested in that it can improve the quality of employees and improve the productivity of enterprises. Therefore, this paper takes some small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in China as the research object, analyzes the current application status of 5s field management in enterprises, analyzes the problems arising in the implementation process, and puts forward scientific improvement plans.