Product Upgrading Research Articles

Analysis on Risk of Debt of Leveraged Financing in Cross-border M&A

The reform and opening up and economic globalization have enabled China’s economy to achieve rapid growth, which directly promoted the upgrading of China’s national consumption capacity and the modernization transformation of various industries. Under the background of this era, most domestic enterprises have carried out cross-border mergers and acquisitions and made a lot of advanced achievements. Effectively dealing with risk of debt in the process of leveraged financing of cross-border M&A can not only improve the efficiency of cross-border M&A, but also promote the transformation and upgrading of enterprise production and operation activities. Based on the relevant research results and years of practical experience, this paper will discuss the common ways, specific risk influencing factors, main risk of debt and optimization measures of leveraged financing for cross-border mergers and acquisitions from various aspects. Finally, I hope that through the analysis and discussion of this paper, I can provide reference for related enterprises.

Guidelines for Green Design of Televisions

This paper regulates the purposes and basic principles of green design of televisions, and provides the green design requirements and procedures of televisions. This paper will provide the guiding targets for the television manufacturer, standardize the enterprise behavior of televisions, and lead the television product enterprise to implement the product green design, which is of great significance in promoting the transformation and upgrading of television product, enhancing the green manufacturing level and increasing the green product supply.

Guideline for Green Design of Computer Products

This paper regulates the purposes and basic principles of green design of computer products, and provides the green design requirements and procedures of computer products. This paper will provide the guiding targets for the computer product manufacturer, standardize the enterprise behaviour of computer product, and lead the computer product enterprise to implement the product green design, which is of great significance in promoting the transformation and upgrading of computer product, enhancing the green manufacturing level and increasing the green product supply.

Asymmetric membranes for gas separation: interfacial insights and manufacturing.

State-of-the-art gas separation membrane technologies combine the properties of polymers and other materials, such as metal-organic frameworks to yield mixed matrix membranes (MMM). Although, these membranes display an enhanced gas separation performance, when compared to pure polymer membranes; major challenges remain in their structure including, surface defects, uneven filler dispersion and incompatibility of constituting materials. Therefore, to avoid these structural issues posed by today's membrane manufacturing methodologies, we employed electrohydrodynamic emission and solution casting as a hybrid membrane manufacturing method, to produce ZIF-67/cellulose acetate asymmetric membranes with improved gas permeability and selectivity for CO2/N2, CO2/CH4, and O2/N2. Rigorous molecular simulations were used to reveal the key ZIF-67/cellulose acetate interfacial phenomena (e.g., higher density, chain rigidity, etc.) that must be considered when engineering optimum composite membranes. In particular, we demonstrated that the asymmetric configuration effectively leverages these interfacial features to generate membranes superior to MMM. These insights coupled with the proposed manufacturing technique can accelerate the deployment of membranes in sustainable processes such as carbon capture, hydrogen production, and natural gas upgrading.

Indonesia Robusta Coffee Value Chain: Mapping and Upgrading Opportunities

Coffee, one of the agricultural commodities, aligns with specific relevant SDGs in addressing its sustainability challenges. This study aims to map and analyze the value chain to identify areas where upgrading interventions could be implemented to enhance the chain’s sustainability. This research was conducted in Bogor Regency, West Java, and Pagar Alam City, South Sumatra, in 2022. 112 farmers and 23 downstream actors participated in this study as respondents. The research utilized the qualitative descriptive method, incorporating the M4P (Making Markets Work for the Poor) approach, Ishikawa analysis, and Gereffi concept. The research discovered that a wide range of actors is involved in the chain, including small farmers, intermediaries traders, cooperative, processing industries, roasteries, retail, and coffee shops. The finding reveals robusta value chain includes several stages of transformation: input, production, processing, trading, roasting, and marketing. Four types of upgrading can be carried out. First, process upgrading by increasing productivity through implementing Good Agricultural Practices and improving post-harvest handling and processing that optimizes water usage and minimizes waste. Second, product upgrading involves product differentiation by producing red-picked green beans. Third, functional upgrading through coffee industrialization by enhancing partnerships in the production network. Fourth, inter-sectoral upgrading by finding new coffee markets. Implementing these interventions is expected to improve the sustainability of Indonesia robusta coffee value chain.

Will the imposition of carbon tariffs enhance or worsen the carbon performance of China's export industries? A reality check based on 28 manufacturing industry segments.

Carbon tariffs are directly linked to carbon performance and have an impact on export sectors. This paper examines the relationship between carbon tariffs and carbon performance based on China's manufacturing sector, helping to visually quantify the impact of carbon tariffs and to adopt more favourable strategies to address the impact. This paper uses data from 28 manufacturing industry segments in China from 2009 to 2019, estimating carbon performance using an SBM model incorporating non-desired outputs. The panel Tobit model is also used to explore the driving role of carbon tariffs and related variables on carbon performance. The results show the following: First of all, China's manufacturing carbon performance is generally on an upward trend but is mainly driven by improvements in the light textile and machinery manufacturing industries. Secondly, in terms of drivers of carbon performance, the imposition of carbon tariffs will increase the carbon performance of China's manufacturing sector. Furthermore, R&D investment is positively correlated with carbon emission performance. The significant positive impact of export dependence is manifested in the light and textile industry. Energy intensity has a significant positive impact on the textile industry and a significant negative impact on the resource processing industry. Environmental regulations have a negative impact on the light textile industry. China should optimize the industrial chain of resource processing industry. At the same time, China should increase R&D investment in emission reduction and product upgrades, encourage the export of light and textile industrial products, increase the import of resource processing industrial products. Also, the government should formulate environmental regulatory policies that are close to the nature of the industry.

How does sharing economy advance cleaner production? Evidence from the product life cycle design perspective

The sharing economy is a recent worldwide development; however, its impact on sustainability remains unclear, particularly in regards to the advancement of cleaner production. In order to explore the potential and contribution of specific sharing economy business practices in the transition to cleaner production, this study empirically analyzed how China's free-floating bike-sharing (FFBS) improved environmental sustainability through optimization of product life cycle design. Specifically, the impact on climate change and human health of three generations of shared bike products was quantitatively analyzed by using product environmental footprint (PEF) approach. The results show that sustainable product lifecycle design can effectively improve the sustainability of FFBS. Through optimized design and product upgrades, the environmental impact intensity of FFBS has decreased by approximately 25.09% –34.34%. This causes FFBS to gradually evolve from exerting negative impacts on climate change to achieving considerable climate benefits (22.18 CO2-eq/pkm). The environmental benefits on ozone depletion and photochemical ozone formation also increased by about 2.46 μg CFC11eq/pkm and 85.77 mg NMVOC eq/pkm with the upgrade of shared bikes from the first generation to the third generation. In addition, although the negative effects of FFBS on respiratory inorganics, non-cancer human health effects and cancer human health effects have been significantly reduced, the corresponding positive environmental benefits still need to be achieved by significantly increasing the utilization rate of shared bikes. Furthermore, this suggests that the sustainable production life cycle design of FFBS can follow the principles of safety, ease of maintenance, durability, ease of use, universality, resource conservation, and recyclability. This empirical study can not only help authorities, managers and the public better understand the contribution of the sharing economy to cleaner production, but also provides new insights and valuable references for improving the sustainability of the sharing economy.

On the 3D printed catalyst for biomass-bio-oil conversion: Key technologies and challenges

The devastative effects of traditional fossil fuel consumption have made biomass (e.g., plants, wood, and waste) a widely used renewable source of energy. The variety in biomass properties makes tunable catalysts an essential ingredient to promote reactions for desired molecule outputs. Catalysts with optimal catalytic performance are typically structured with complicated morphology, such as high porosity and sophistic pore network, which makes it challenging for catalyst fabrication. Recent progress in utilizing 3D printing as the fabrication method has demonstrated great potential of handling the complex structure while improving catalytic performance; however, rare work has focused on biomass-bio-oil conversion (BBC). With the aim of developing the optimal structured catalysts for BBC applications, this paper particularly reviewed 1) typical catalysts used for biomass conversion applications, 2) 3D printed catalysts, and 3) design and optimization of structured catalysts. It is found that the BBC is often isolated from manufacturing and focused more on different catalyst composition with transition metals to provide the desired catalyst architecture and further to improve upgrading of the BBC product. Current work on 3D-printed catalysts also show deficiency in several aspects including formation of coke and catalyst deactivation, lack of a comprehensive design for the catalyst structure (e.g., mostly 2D structures), absence of manufacturing constraints in design operation, and insufficient resolution of 3D printing methods. To solve these issues, several potential research directions and opportunities are discussed at the end of the study.

The Analysis of the Marketing Strategy of Lululemon Athletica

Nowadays, people are more and more aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and how balancing daily life and exercise has become a problem for people to consider. This leads athleisure to become a new trend that allows people to have clothes that were designed for everyday wear but also fit for exercise. In this social context, the brand Lululemon is at the forefront of this trend, as a company that started by selling yoga products, it uses health ideology as a tool for business success. Can the way they use it be a reference for other brands, or is this a unique method for this brand. This thesis is an analysis of lululemon's marketing strategy, the push of the general environment, and their own product changes and upgrades. Lululemon is active in both online and offline marketing. They have expanded their market, which was originally focused on North America, to Asia and Europe to promote their concept and brand to this world and make more consumers recognize and feel a sense of belonging to the brand.

Developing a local supply chain network: The case of Magyar Suzuki in Hungary

AbstractThis study examines the role of Magyar Suzuki in the Hungarian automotive industry. It is the oldest foreign vehicle manufacturer and a symbol of modernisation in the post-communist era in Hungary. Due to EU's local content rule, Magyar Suzuki, in comparison with its counterparts in the region, has established a locally embedded supply chain network. Magyar Suzuki has facilitated process and product upgrading of the local suppliers in Hungary. Nevertheless, functional upgrading is relatively limited due to automotive multinational corporations' recognition of Hungary as a low-cost production location, a low level of R&D operation, and a small domestic market.

Separation of waste tantalum capacitors by supercritical methanol: Recovery of high-purity metal tantalum and producing of bisphenol/diphenyl chemicals

With the rapid upgrading of electronic products, a large amount of waste tantalum capacitors (WTC) were generated. The recovery and purification of the WTC attracted widespread interest due to the high-value rare metal tantalum and resin materials. However, the recovery and purification of the WTC was difficult due to the heterogeneous complex composition including metal tantalum, nickel–iron, silver, and organic resins. High-temperature and the potential formation of the hazardous compounds such as dioxins are the main bottleneck of the traditional thermochemical treatment methods for the WTC. In this study, a novel and high-efficiency supercritical methanol (SCM) process was developed for the recovery and purification of tantalum and resins from the WTC based on the low hydrogen bonding numbers and dielectric constant of methanol. The tantalum could be recovered as pure metal tantalum, and the resins were converted into oil by the SCM process. The temperature, time, and solid-to-liquid ratio have significant effect on the conversion ratio of resins. Under the optimal SCM conditions (350 °C, 90 min, and 1:20 g/mL), 97.1% of the external resins of capacitor were converted into oil (99.5%) and gas (0.5%), and the high-purity metal tantalum could be fully recovered. GC–MS and FT-IR analysis showed that the products converted from the resins in the WTC mainly included high level of aromatic derivatives of bisphenol and diphenyl (88.02%), which could be used as fuel or chemical feedstock after proper upgrade. The SCM method is an environmentally friendly process for the recovery and purification of the WTC without any discharge of waste water and off-gas due to that the treatment medium methanol could be recycled. The conversion mechanism of resins in the WTC by the SCM process was proposed.

The Influence of Reverse Technology Spillover of Outward Foreign Direct Investment on Green Total Factor Productivity in China’s Manufacturing Industry

Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) is an important channel for China to obtain advanced technology spillover to promote green production upgrading. As a pillar of the national economy and also a large-scale pollution emission industry, can the manufacturing industry benefit from the reverse technology spillover of OFDI and improve its green total factor productivity (GTFP)? Based on the provincial data of China from 2005 to 2019, this paper analyzes the effect and moderating mechanism of reverse technology spillover of OFDI on domestic manufacturing GTFP theoretically and empirically. The results show that the reverse technology spillover of OFDI cannot significantly promote the growth of manufacturing GTFP in the sample period. The heterogeneity analysis further proves that the inhibition effect similar to that of the whole sample appears in the eastern region, but in the central and western regions, the reverse technology spillover of OFDI can significantly improve the manufacturing GTFP, and this positive effect in the central region is greater. Additionally, absorptive capacity characterized by human capital, economic development and financial development can actively adjust the impact of reverse technology spillover of OFDI on manufacturing GTFP, of which the positive moderating effect of financial development is the most significant.

On the effect of upgradable products design on circular economy

In the current paper, we develop a quantitative model that examines the impact of upgradable product design on each of the three pillars of sustainability as well as on newly manufactured and remanufactured products' sales. Our model takes into consideration technological innovation, as well as the positioning of heterogeneous consumers towards alternative types, versions and prices of products and related social and cultural issues. Our analysis examines three alternative system settings and it is conducted in two stages; first, we evaluate the quantities of product types and versions available in the market and sequentially, we configure and compare sustainability indices for the alternative systems. Our findings verify that remanufacturing provides improved social, environmental and financial performance compared to the case where only manufacturing is allowed. Product update also outperforms manufacturing, but when compared to remanufacturing it is not always preferable. Interestingly, we find that under some circumstances the system with product update results in the best overall financial performance. Therefore, there can be enough motivation for manufacturers to engage in product update, without necessitating government intervention. This financial motive can be helpful in aligning R&D objectives with Circular Economy principles and in promoting sustainability and Circular Economy in general. • Integrated quantitative treatment of the three-fold aspect of Sustainability. • Product update reduces returns availability and remanufactured products market. • Remanufacturing and Update outperform Manufacturing socially and environmentally. • Increased profitability of product update motivates upgradable products design.

Suggestions on High-quality Development of Cultural and Tourism Integration in the Yangtze River Delta

In recent years, the cultural tourism industry has been developing rapidly, becoming an important driving force in leading China's consumption upgrade and bringing many dividends to economic growth, and promoting the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry has become an indispensable key element in the integration strategy of the Yangtze River Delta. The article analyses the current situation of cultural and tourism integration in the Yangtze River Delta and finds that there are currently deficiencies with the integration in the Yangtze River Delta, such as the lagging development of product formats, insufficient extension of industrial chains, insufficient investment in elements and weak regional linkages. The article suggests strengthening innovation, promoting the iterative upgrading of cultural tourism products and modes, integrating resources to expand the cultural tourism industry chain, increasing investment in elements to build the foundation of the cultural tourism industry, and taking advantage of each other's strengths while coordinating planning, in order to promote the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry in the Yangtze River Delta region, with the dividends radiating to the surrounding areas.

Biomass pyrolysis mechanism for carbon-based high-value products

The utilization of biomass, the only carbon-bearing renewable energy source, is critical for environmental and energy sustainability as well as carbon neutrality. Pyrolysis is the efficient conversion of biomass to fuel gas, liquid oil, and solid char. It is necessary to understand the mechanism of biomass pyrolysis for valuable and efficient utilization. In this review, recent progress with respect to biomass pyrolysis properties, the pyrolysis process, and product upgrading strategies focusing on carbon-based high-value liquid fuels and carbon-bearing materials are summarized. First, the correlations between the pyrolysis behavior and biomass structure and process conditions are considered. The mechanisms of the biomass pyrolysis of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin as well as the potential effect of inorganic matter on biomass pyrolysis are discussed. Furthermore, the regulation and controlling strategies for the biomass pyrolysis of high-value products are outlined. Finally, the challenges and prospects are discussed in order to provide a comprehensive picture of biomass pyrolysis development, which is significant for the understanding of biomass pyrolysis and the development of biomass utilization technology.

SWLC-DT: An Architecture for Ship Whole Life Cycle Digital Twin Based on Vertical–Horizontal Design

With the development of IoT technology, the digital twin has been applied in many fields. It is the key to realizing the integration of physical information space and an effective means for intelligent upgrading of products, providing a novel idea for the whole life cycle management of complex products. As a pillar industry at the national strategic level, the shipbuilding industry is in the stage of informatization transformation and upgrading and needs to improve its own competitiveness. The ship whole life cycle includes design, construction, operation, and maintenance, as well as scrapping and recycling, but each stage has a certain independence, which makes it prone to the problem of information islands. However, the current research on the product full lifecycle digital twin has not yet considered the impact of historical data of successive generation products on each stage of the current product lifecycle. To address the above issues, this paper firstly proposes the vertical–horizontal design idea from the perspective of the product whole life cycle and combining historical experience (vertical) with real-time data (horizontal) to realize the construction and evolution of digital twin models at all stages of the life cycle. Then, on the basis of the vertical–horizontal design idea, a framework for the ship whole life cycle digital twin is proposed. Finally, the operation mechanism of the framework is elaborated from the four stages of the ship life cycle, with a view to providing a reference for the transformation and upgrading of the future ship industry.

Managing product upgrades and rollover under demand uncertainty

We study the optimal product upgrades and rollover strategies of a risk-averse firm that is uncertain about future demand. For this purpose, we develop a two-period model based on whether the firm makes upgrading investments and if so which product rollover (solo or dual) strategy it adopts. Analysis of the equilibrium outcomes shows that if the firm is moderately risk-averse, it is unprofitable to upgrade and therefore only sells the first-generation product over two periods. Otherwise, the firm benefits from upgrading investments. In this case, the (solo-) dual-rollover guarantees the maximum total payoff if the degree of risk aversion is (low) high. Our sensitivity analysis demonstrates that: (i) the dual-rollover strategy can be seen as a hedge against increased demand uncertainty; (ii) the firm has a higher likelihood of using the dual-rollover strategy as cannibalization intensifies or intertemporal demand spillovers increase; and (iii) a lower payoff discount rate generally discourages the firm from upgrading the product. When upgrading investments happen, the optimal product rollover strategy is contingent upon the degree of risk aversion and the payoff discount rate.

Assessing baseline water footprints of natural fiber textile products in China

Water resources play an indispensable role in the textile and apparel industry. The setting of baseline water footprint for textile products is crucial in water management activities. In this study, we propose a novel method to calculate and evaluate the baseline water footprints for natural fiber textiles based on the ISO 14046 methodology. The baseline water footprints here refer to the maximum values of the water footprints that satisfy the required regulations managed by the government or the industry. It means that, the lower the baseline water footprint of the product, the lower the environmental impact of the product on water resources. The indicators including the water scarcity footprint, the water eutrophication footprint, and the water ecotoxicity footprint are considered in the water management assessment. The original data of 25 typical textile products from different enterprises were obtained from the series water withdrawal and pollutant discharge standards issued by the Chinese government. The baseline water footprints for three enterprises in different management levels (namely existing enterprises, new and expanding enterprises, and advanced enterprises) were calculated and assessed. To verify the validity of the obtained baseline values of the different categories of textile products, six typical textile enterprises were investigated. The results show that the established baselines allow for a clear classification of enterprises into reasonable levels according to the water footprint results of their representative products. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that water footprint baselines for textiles have been developed. The development of these baselines can help textile manufacturers, textile industry and government to recognize the similarities and differences in water quantity and quality among different products, and to effectively enabling the transformation and upgrading of products within the industry. It also informs the further development of regulatory and management-related measures and policies, as well as provides a reference for water management and research in the future.

Production and catalytic upgrading of 2,3-butanediol fermentation broth into sustainable aviation fuel blendstock and fuel properties measurement

With the increasing demand for sustainable supplies of aviation fuel and need to address climate change, new conversion technologies are needed to efficiently process biomass, produce high quality jet fuel blendstock, and meet carbon emission targets. This study demonstrates the synthesis, conditioning, and catalytic upgrading of 2,3-butanediol (BDO) fermentation broth into a jet fuel blendstock candidate. A high-titer 2,3-BDO fermentation broth (i.e., ∼90 g/L) was produced at a 100-L scale and pretreated via nanofiltration to decrease the impurities level in the broth from 4.6 to 0.6 wt%. A novel process for catalytic upgrading of aqueous 2,3-BDO into a jet fuel blendstock candidate was developed, and each step was efficiently demonstrated. The catalytic steps include 1) 2,3-BDO dehydration into methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) over AlPO4, 2)MEK conversion into olefins over Zn1Zr10Ox, 3)oligomerization of olefins over a zeolite beta, and 4) hydrogenation over platinum/carbon. Both the model feed and real 2,3-BDO fermentation broth were tested for upgrading 2,3-BDO to MEK. With the real feed, a continuous loss of conversion (i.e., >50 % loss over ∼140 h time-on-stream [TOS]) was partly attributed to reversible deactivation from coking species. However, the conversion remained stable with the model feed, which demonstrates the efficiency of the first step for converting aqueous 2,3-BDO (10 wt% in water). For upgrading MEK to olefins, high selectivity to olefins (i.e., 82.5 %) was obtained at high conversion levels (i.e., 93–98 %) with stable conditions being achieved for > 70–hours TOS. Oligomerization of light olefins, which was demonstrated for > 270 h TOS, mainly led to the formation of dimers (C8-10) and trimers (C13–14). The oligomerized product was hydrogenated and distilled to recover the jet fraction (35mass% or 40.9 % carbon based yield), which consists mostly of desired isoalkanes (31.7 wt%), n-alkanes (24.5 wt%), and cycloalkanes (29.6 wt%). While some improvement is still needed to meet ASTM D7566 specifications for viscosity and final boiling point temperature, freezing point, density, aromatics content, and sulfur content of the jet blendstock candidate were within acceptable ranges, thus highlighting the potential of this process for production of jet fuel blendstock.

Language interpretation in travel guidance platform: Text mining and sentiment analysis of TripAdvisor reviews.

The opinions and feelings expressed by tourists in their reviews intuitively represent tourists' evaluation of travel destinations with distinct tones and strong emotions. Both consumers and product/service providers need help understanding and navigating the resulting information spaces, which are vast and dynamic. Traditional sentiment analysis is mostly based on statistics, which can analyze the sentiment of a large number of texts. However, it is difficult to classify the overall sentiment of a text, and the context-independent nature limits their representative power in a rich context, hurting performance in Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks. This work proposes an aspect-based sentiment analysis model by extracting aspect-category and corresponding sentiment polarity from tourists' reviews, based on the Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers (BERT) model. First, we design a text enhancement strategy which utilizes iterative translation across multiple languages, to generate a dataset of 4,000 reviews by extending a dataset of 2,000 online reviews on 1,000 tourist attractions. Then, the enhanced dataset is reorganized into 10 classifications by the Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) method. Finally, the aspect-based sentiment analysis is performed on the enhanced dataset, and the obtained sentiment polarity classification and prediction of the tourism review data make the expectations and appeals in tourists' language available. The experimental study generates generic and personalized recommendations for users based on the emotions in the language and helps merchants achieve more effective service and product upgrades.