Product Upgrading Research Articles

Advances in Tandem Strategies for CO2 Electroreduction: from Electrocatalysts to Reaction System Design

The electrochemical reduction of CO2 (CO2RR) offers the opportunity to store renewable energy in the form of chemicals and fuels while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions. Compared to low‐carbon products such as carbon monoxide and formic acid, multicarbon products have demonstrated greater value in terms of economic feasibility. To date, various strategies have been developed to enhance electrocatalytic performance, with tandem strategies emerging as a promising approach, particularly for the formation of multicarbon products. In this review, current tandem strategies regarding CO2RR are thoroughly discussed, covering electrocatalyst designs from atomic‐scale tandem electrocatalysts to macroscale electrode configurations as well as reaction system designs. Additionally, the internal reaction processes involving reduction product upgrades, the application of multi‐physical tandem fields, and the tandem reaction systems are further summarized. This review aims to provide more fundamental insights into tandem strategies for CO2RR applications and inspire more creative ideas in the research community of CO2RR in light of this promising approach with its wide versatility, diversity and flexibility.

Financial Statement Analysis of BYD Company Limited

This paper takes BYD as an example to analyze its financial indicators and conduct a comprehensive DuPont analysis for the period from 2019 to 2023. The analysis reveals that the company achieved significant financial growth during this period. Both operating revenue and net profit showed an upward trend, with particularly strong growth momentum in 2022 and 2023, as net profit increased substantially. The gross profit margin and net profit margin also improved, indicating enhanced operational efficiency and effective cost control. At the same time, BYD's continuous increase in R&D investment has driven technological innovation and product upgrades. The total assets have continued to grow, reflecting the company's business expansion and strengthened capabilities. The cash flow position remains healthy, with net operating cash flow steadily increasing, providing stable financial support for the company. However, BYD faces challenges such as intensified market competition and fluctuations in raw material prices, which necessitate ongoing optimization of business strategies and operational models to maintain its leading position and competitiveness. Overall, BYD has performed outstandingly in the new energy vehicle sector, with promising prospects for future development.

Product upgrade and advanced quality disclosure in a supply chain

Retailers frequently preannounce the quality of upcoming products, highlighting the importance of information disclosure in supply chains. This study examines the interaction between advanced quality disclosure and product upgrades within a supply chain, where a supplier can release either upgraded products exclusively or alongside regular products in a subsequent period. Using a game-theoretical model, we investigate how the supplier’s upgrade decisions and the retailer’s disclosure strategy affect consumer behaviour, particularly strategic waiting and product cannibalisation. Our results show that when only upgraded products are offered, the retailer discloses quality in advance if the innovation level is high. When both regular and upgraded products are available, the retailer chooses advanced disclosure when the innovation level is either high or low. Even when the product improvement is minimal, advanced disclosure reduces cannibalisation and attracts more consumers to the upgraded products, thereby boosting the retailer’s profits. Additionally, the supplier may choose not to upgrade products when the innovation cost is moderate. These insights suggest that advanced disclosure can mitigate both cannibalisation and consumer waiting, particularly in high-tech industries or incremental innovation scenarios, such as electronics and smart home sectors, where the preannouncement of product information is crucial.

Ni-decorated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) derived from ethanol for electrooxidation of furan derivatives featuring H2 production.

This study explores advancements in concurrent biorefinery and hydrogen production using Ni-decorated CNTs derived from bioethanol as electrocatalysts, showing the complete conversion of furan derivatives to the desired products with 95-97% selectivity and a hydrogen production rate of 75 μmol h-1. These findings highlight the simultaneous upgrading of biomass-derived compounds and hydrogen production.

Demand cannibalization during product rollovers in the presence of strategic customers

This paper studies how different types of demand cannibalization take place during product rollovers and their effects on a firm’s profitability. Due to continuous product upgrades, demand cannibalization among various generations of products has become a common practice, raising interesting investigations from professionals and academics. Within this context, we model firms’ and customers’ decision-making as a two-period sequential game and derive equilibrium results under a dual rollover strategy, with and without a trade-in program. We find that demand cannibalization is essentially caused by customers’ strategic comparison of available purchase options. Our analysis further reveals that both the cannibalization effect and the postponement effect resulting from customers’ waiting for upgraded products are necessary for firms to improve profits. On the contrary, the postponement effect due to waiting for a discount is entirely detrimental to the firm. We propose effective launch strategies to avoid unfavorable demand cannibalization under different conditions. In addition, offering trade-in programs helps not only suppress strategic waiting, but also foster demand for an upgraded product. These strategies are particularly effective when the firm holds a greater quantity of inventory or when the degree of incremental innovation is high.

Upgrading of kraft lignin pyrolysis products: Managing sulfur impurities

Pyrolysis stands as a powerful method for the valorization of biomass like kraft lignin, an aromatic-rich and sulfur-containing polymeric by-product from the pulping industry. Sulfur in the raw matrix is released during thermal processes and is redistributed in pyrolysis products. However, the presence of sulfur lowers the quality of products due to its corrosive and toxic character. In this work, commercial activated carbons have been used as adsorbents to remove the main sulfur compounds from the gas phase (i.e., CH3SH, COS, H2S). The analysis of sulfur content in biochar has been performed through SEM-EDXS, while the sulfur content in oils has been obtained by GC–MS analysis. The adsorption of sulfur on the activated carbon bed results in an enhancement of the release of sulfur in the gas phase from 34 % without activated carbon to 44 %. Up to 88 % of H2S removal is achieved after the adsorption step, together with a reduction of the overall sulfur content in the bio-oil rich in intermediates such as guaiacols and alkylated phenols. The residual sulfur contained in the liquid product is lowered to 3 % of the total sulfur in the system, thus improving the quality of the liquid pyrolysis product. This process limits the amount of sulfur in the gas and improves its quality and market value. At the same time, this results in a redistribution of sulfur in pyrolysis products such as bio-oil, improving its range of application as a source of chemical intermediates from kraft lignin.

Smart city construction and quality upgrading of export products: Evidence from China

Smart cities, as an advanced form of urban development in the digital age, are likely to profoundly affect the operations of local businesses. This paper analyzes the impact of smart city construction on the quality of firms’ export products by exploiting a quasi-natural experiment based on a smart city pilot policy in China and employing the staggered difference-in-differences (DID) method. Our empirical results reveal that the implementation of the policy significantly improves the export product quality of local firms, and this finding remains quite robust after a series of sensitivity tests. Mechanism analysis shows that the improvement of innovation efficiency and the reduction of transaction costs are two effective channels through which smart city construction enhances export product quality. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the policy effects are more prominent in high-tech industries, cities with high administrative levels, the eastern and central regions, non-state-owned firms, and general trade firms, which enjoy greater policy dividends than their counterparts.

Biocrude oil Production Upgrading by Catalytic Assisted Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Underutilized non-edible seed Biomass

Biocrude oil Production Upgrading by Catalytic Assisted Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Underutilized non-edible seed Biomass

Situation Analysis of Midea Company

Midea Group, one of the famous companies in China, is known for its outstanding achievements in the field of household appliance. Under the guidance of diversification strategy, it has successfully occupied a broad market share and shown remarkable growth potential. Looking into the future, with the in-depth development of global economic integration and the continuous progress of science and technology, Midea will continue to adhere to the innovation-led development, constantly promote the upgrading of products and services, and is committed to building the world’s leading provider of household appliances and intelligent solutions. This article is aimed to conduct a comprehensive situation analysis of Midea. In this article, the overall information of Midea will be displayed, including its ownership structure, vision, mission, and core values, etc., so that readers can have a detailed understanding of the company. In addition, Midea’s product analysis, industry and market analysis will be performed, so that its marketing situation and competitive advantages can be further analyzed. Finally, two critical success factors of Midea will be listed to identify the reasons for its current success and strong market share. Also, in order to ensure its future performance growth, industry-related concerns and market-related concerns will also be discussed to analyze some potential risks and strong competitors.

Single rollover or dual rollover: How a monopoly NEV manufacturer responds to NEV credit policy

The NEV credit policy plays a crucial role in advancing the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry and environmental conservation. This study investigates the monopoly NEV manufacturer’s optimal rollover strategy (Single Rollover (SR) vs. Dual Rollover (DR)) and pricing scheme (skimming vs. penetration) under the government’s stricter calculation criteria for NEV credit policy, considering a two-period market with strategic consumers. We find that the NEV manufacturer typically adopts a skimming pricing scheme in DR strategy, while a penetration pricing scheme in SR strategy. The choice between SR and DR strategy hinges on the government’s calculation criteria for NEV credits, product upgrade speed, and vehicle environmental performance improvement. When the calculation criterion for NEV credits is moderate, or when it is low, coupled with fast product upgrade speed and marginal improved environmental performance of the new vehicle, SR strategy is beneficial to the NEV manufacturer to avoid the cannibalization between new and old vehicles. In contrast, the NEV manufacturer can benefit from DR strategy through price discrimination between new and old vehicles to attract consumers from different market segments. However, stricter calculation criteria for NEV credits do not always result in higher social welfare.

Research on the Path of Realizing Transformation and Upgrading of Chinese Small and Medium-sized Enterprises from the Perspective of Management Innovation

Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an important force in the development of the national economy and society. Therefore, adjusting the management concept and improving the management level through innovative management mode has become an important task for the survival and development of contemporary Chinese SMEs. This paper is divided into three parts; the first part introduces the theory related to management innovation, the role of management innovation and the driving factors of management innovation. The second part introduces the concepts and theories related to the transformation and upgrading of SMEs. The third part combines the content of the first two parts and summarizes three paths for Chinese SMEs to realize transformation and upgrading under the perspective of management innovation, which are the transformation and upgrading of processing trade to independent research and development, the transformation and upgrading of providing products to providing services, and the transformation and upgrading of product sales to brand marketing, which are the three specific directions. This study explores management innovation in SMEs, aiming to address their transformation and growth challenges by providing practical solutions. The research intends to contribute significantly to the development and success of SMEs within the national context.

Air pollution and corporate financial assets allocation: Evidence from China

Understanding the relationship between air pollution and corporate investment strategy has significant implications for both environmental sustainability and economic development. Utilizing data from China's A-share listed companies spanning from 2014 through 2022, we investigate the causal relationship between air pollution and corporate allocation of financial assets. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find that worse air quality has a positive effect on corporate financial asset allocation. Specifically, a 1% increase in the number of air pollution days tends to result in a 0.002% increase in the share of financial assets held by firms. This effect prevails through diverse robustness tests. Furthermore, as companies encounter more stringent financing constraints and environmental regulations, the trend of air pollution promoting the increased financialization of assets becomes more pronounced. Based on the findings, this paper suggests providing more support for enterprises to facilitate the upgrading of production and operation to meet environmental standards.

A synergistic approach for lignin biofuel production: Integrating non-catalytic solvolysis with catalytic product upgrading

Enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) is a large-scale industrial waste generated from the bio-ethanol production process. Its complex and heterogeneous nature as well as its low solubility in common solvents, has posed a persistent barrier to its effective utilization. Here, EHL was converted into biofuel through a two-step process, involving non-catalytic solvolysis followed by catalytic product upgrading. The non-catalytic solvolysis step achieved complete EHL liquefaction in a mixture of isopropanol and H2O without char formation. In this step, H2O disrupts the hydrogen bonds in EHL and isopropanol break π-π stacking interactions between the aromatic rings in EHL·H2O also enhances EHL depolymerization, while isopropanol, as a hydrogen donor solvent, provides hydrogen that stabilizes active intermediates. In the catalytic product upgrading step, the liquid product of the first step was transformed into biofuels rich in cycloalkanes, arenes and alkylphenols, with a total carbon yield of 45.6 %. Isopropanol-H2O reforming reactions provided hydrogen for the upgrading process, avoiding the introduction of H2. This work demonstrates an effective approach for converting EHL into biofuels.

Quality and pricing decisions for product upgrade: Does valuation uncertainty always hurt the vendor?

AbstractProduct upgrade is an effective method for vendor to maintain and grow its market share. Consumers encounter difficulties in evaluating product utility or value because of product quality and misfit uncertainty. Considering valuation uncertainty, we study the vendor's upgrade strategy (including quality and pricing decisions) for repeat purchase products. The results show that the vendor can benefit from a decline in quality uncertainty. Misfit uncertainty impacts the vendor's profit nonmonotonically, depending on consumers' quality evaluation. As quality evaluation improves, the reduction in misfit uncertainty may hurt the vendor's profit. The results provide guidelines for vendor's product updates and upgrades.

Price and durability decisions on successive generations of electronic durable goods under incremental innovation

ABSTRACT This research explores the decision-making processes of manufacturers regarding pricing and durability of electronic durable products across successive generations. By constructing a two-stage model, we derived the optimal pricing strategy and production strategy for manufacturers. Specifically, we considered the impact of price reductions on older products and pre-launch activities for new products on consumer behavior, especially that of strategic consumers. An interesting finding is that traditional sales strategies of discounting older products do not increase revenue, but rather harm overall profits. Our results provide guidance for manufacturers of electronic durable goods in formulating strategies for product upgrades and new product sales strategies.

A Company Analysis of XPENG Based on the Internal and External Environment

This paper examines the strategic evolution of XPENG Automobile within the burgeoning new energy vehicle sector. Through a SWOT analysis, it identifies the company's robust market momentum juxtaposed with pressing challenges in product upgrading and differentiation. Leveraging internal and external environmental evaluations, the study emphasizes the necessity for XPENG Automobile to bolster capital profitability, innovate core technologies, and diversify market strategies to enhance its competitive positioning. Furthermore, the paper delves into the multifaceted development risks facing XPENG Automobile, encompassing internal limitations in financing and after-sales services, necessitating a drive towards operational efficiency optimization. It advocates for proactive risk mitigation and the exploitation of emerging opportunities to reduce reliance on mainstream market trends and foster pioneering innovations. The paper sheds light on industry-wide dynamics by drawing insights from XPENG Automobile's journey as a trailblazer in China's new energy vehicle landscape. It underscores the company's resilience in navigating policy shifts and venturing into new markets, serving as a guiding example for the broader advancement of new energy vehicles in China.

Designing product upgrades in the presence of online consumer reviews

AbstractWhen consumers decide whether to buy an experience good, they usually search for online reviews to reduce quality uncertainty. In this paper, we consider that consumers may strategically wait for the new generation product and consult reviews of the previous generation product in the same series while facing sequential launching products. We develop a two‐period analytical model analyzing how the presence of intergenerational reviews influences the firm's decision on product upgrades. Our analysis obtains three main findings. First, when online reviews are less efficient and consumers are more strategic, the firm should skip the old product due to the severe product cannibalization effect. Second, negative reviews discourage the firm from quality improvement, and positive reviews drive the firm to provide quality improvement at a high price. Third, the firm chooses a decreasing price path without online reviews. However, an increasing price path is preferred in the presence of online reviews when online reviews are positive, the efficiency of consumer reviews is high, and consumers are more strategic. Our study indicates that online reviews have important influence on product generation design, and the firm should carefully evaluate online reviews of the old product when designing its new generation product.

Social influence and the choice of product upgrades: evidence from virtual product adoption in online games

PurposePrevious studies on social influence and virtual product adoption have mainly taken users’ purchase behavior as a dichotomous variable (i.e. purchasing or not). Given the prevalence of competing versions (basic vs upgraded) of a virtual product in online communities, this paper investigated the differences in the effect of social influence on users’ adoption of basic and upgraded choices of a virtual product. It also examined how the effect varies with users’ social status and user-level network density.Design/methodology/approachA natural experiment was conducted in an online game community. Two competing versions (basic vs upgraded) of a virtual product were provided for in-game purchase while a random set of users selected from 897,765 players received the notification of their friends’ adoption information. A competing-risk model was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsSocial influence exerts a stronger positive effect on users’ adoption of the upgraded virtual product than of the basic virtual product. Middle-status users have the greatest (least) susceptibility to social influence in adopting the upgraded (basic) virtual product than low- and high-status users. User’s network density enhances the effect of social influence on adoption of both virtual products, even more for the upgraded one.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the social influence and product adoption literature by disentangling the different effects of social influence on basic and upgraded versions of a virtual product. It also identifies the boundary conditions that social influence works for each version of the virtual product.

Cymensifin A: a promising pharmaceutical candidate to defeat lung cancer via cellular reactive oxygen species-mediated apoptosis.

Background: The upgrade of natural products for cancer treatment is essential since current anticancer drugs still pose severe side effects. Cymensifin A (Cym A) isolated from an orchid Cymbidium ensifolium has shown its potential to induce the death of several cancer cells; however, its underlying molecular mechanisms are hitherto unknown. Methods: Here, we conducted a set of in vitro preliminary tests to assess the cytotoxic effects of Cym A on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells (A549, H23, H292, and H460). A flow cytometry system and Western blot analyses were employed to unveil molecular mechanisms underlying cancer cell apoptosis caused by Cym A. Results: Cym A at 25-50μM caused the death of all NSCLC cells tested, and its cytotoxicity was comparable to cisplatin, a currently used anticancer drug. The compound induced apoptosis of all NSCLC cells in a dose-dependent manner (5-50μM), proven by flow cytometry, but H460 cells showed more resistance compared to other cells tested. Cym A-treated H460 cells demonstrated increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and downregulated antioxidants (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and thioredoxin). The compound also upregulated the tumor suppressor P53 and the pro-apoptotic protein BAX but downregulated pro-survival proteins (BCL-2 and MCL-1) and deactivated survival signals (AKT and ERK) in H460 cells. Cym A was proven to trigger cellular ROS formation, but P53 and BAX were 2-fold more activated by Cym A compared to those treated with hydrogen peroxide. Our findings also supported that Cym A exerted its roles in the downregulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (a regulator of cellular antioxidant activity) and the increased levels of cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and cleaved caspase 3/7 during apoptosis. Conclusion: We propose that Cym A induces lung cancer cell death via ROS-mediated apoptosis, while the modulation of cellular ROS/antioxidant activity, the upregulation of P53 and BAX, the downregulation or deactivation of BCL-2, MCL-1, AKT, and ERK, and the increased cleavage of PARP and caspase 3/7, were the elucidated underlying molecular mechanisms of this phytochemical. The compound can be a promising candidate for future anticancer drug development.

Exploring ionic liquids for the extraction separation of aromatic hydrocarbons from diesel via multiple interaction analyses coupled with experimental evaluation

The separation of aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum fractions is of great significance for both the quality upgrading of products and value-added utilization of aromatic compounds. However, the separation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives from diesel remains challenging because of their lower solubility and selectivity as compared to the monocyclic aromatic compounds. In this work, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][TF2N]) was screened from 320 ionic liquid (IL) candidates through solvent capacity predication using COSMO-RS method. Liquid-liquid equilibrium experiments were carried out using a series of tetralin/n-decane mixtures with different tetralin concentrations to evaluate the extraction performance of several solvents. The results indicate that [EMIM][TF2N] has high selectivity up to 95.73 for tetralin over n-decane, which is 4.5 and 3.9 times higher than that of dimethyl sulfoxide and sulfolane. During five regeneration cycles, the [EMIM][TF2N] exhibits consistent extraction performance and nearly complete recovery. Molecular polarity index (MPI) analysis indicates that tetralin has larger dissolving affinity to solvents as compared to n-decane. Combined analyses of interaction energy, energy decomposition, and visualization of weak interaction reveal that the crucial role of weak hydrogen bond in dominating the complex solvent–solute interactions. Compared to n-decane, tetralin shows a stronger interaction with the solvents due to the existence of C-H···π and hydrogen bond interactions. The great difference in interaction energy between {[EMIM]+ + tetralin} and {[EMIM]+ + n-decane}, therefore, endows [EMIM][TF2N] with high selectivity for tetralin. Given the dominant role of cation, a IL, [CN1 = C2SCCS2(CC = C)C1][TF2N] having both high selectivity and high solvent capacity was subsequently explored using the cation generation method based on the SeqVAE model. Furthermore, present study proposes a strategy for the design of ILs for separation and other specific application circumstances.