Innovation Productivity Research Articles

Corporate ESG Performance, Green Innovation, and Green New Quality Productivity: Evidence from China

In recent years, China has placed significant emphasis on sustainable economic and social development, actively implementing the concept of green development. In 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed that all regions should actively develop new-quality productivity, signifying a deepening of green and sustainable development principles. As an internationally recognized indicator for measuring corporate sustainability, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria may influence the enhancement of new-quality productivity across regions, particularly in relation to green new quality productivity. This paper investigates the effects of corporate ESG performance on the levels of green and new-quality productivity using data from China’s A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2022. The findings reveal the following: (1) corporate ESG performance significantly enhances the level of green new quality productivity; (2) mechanism tests indicate that corporate ESG performance enhances green new quality productivity by promoting firms’ green innovation; and (3) further analysis shows that the effect of ESG performance on green new quality productivity is more pronounced in firms with low levels of financing constraints, high media attention, and elevated green awareness among executives. These findings provide empirical evidence for strengthening corporate ESG performance, promoting green innovation, elevating regional levels of green and new-quality productivity, and advancing sustainable development, thereby offering valuable insights for developing countries.

Corporate sustainability commitment in the Middle East and North Africa region: Impact on innovation and firm performance

AbstractThis study examines the effects of corporate sustainability factors (CSFs)—specifically gender diversity, energy practices, and environmental practices—on innovation and their subsequent impact on firm performance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. By integrating Absorptive Capacity Theory, we explore how these CSFs drive innovation, contributing to broader sustainable development goals. We analyze the impact of innovation on firm performance using the resource‐based view (RBV). Utilizing secondary data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES), we employ a two‐stage instrumental variable regression (IV‐2SLS) to address endogeneity and establish causal relationships. Our findings reveal that stakeholder engagement through gender diversity, energy practices, and environmental practices significantly enhances innovation, which, in turn, drives firm performance. Diverse leadership fosters creativity and innovation, while energy‐efficient and environmentally sustainable practices reduce costs, improve brand reputation, and align with sustainable development goals. These insights underscore essential policy implications for promoting environmental policy, clean production, and sustainable innovation ecosystems. Encouraging MENA firms to engage stakeholders and adopt sustainable practices can drive economic prosperity and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Empirical Determinants of Innovation in European Countries: Firm-level Analysis Based on CIS 2018

This study examines the role of perceptions about environmental regulations and their influence on the innovative performance and productivity of firms in Germany, Southern Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. Utilizing the CDM model for innovative performance and data stemming from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS), we explore the alignment with the Porter hypothesis, which posits that well-designed environmental regulations can stimulate technological innovation and enhance market competitiveness. Our findings present a mixed view: in Germany, positive perceptions about environmental regulations correlate with the initiation of innovation activities, contributing to an increase in labour productivity. This supports the Porter hypothesis, evidencing that regulations can lead to beneficial ‘innovation offsets’ such as reduced resource use and pollution. Conversely, in Southern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe, the perceptions about these regulations on innovation activities are insignificant, with no considerable correlation observed between perceptions about environmental regulations and innovation output. Our findings are crucial for policymakers, environmental regulators, and business leaders aiming to leverage environmental regulations to boost innovation and competitiveness within their regions.

Metaheuristic Optimization of Agricultural Machinery for the Colombian Carnation Industry

The flower-growing sector in Latin America presents significant health risks for workers, which highlights the need for technological updates in their production processes. Likewise, outdated machinery leads to losses that need to be avoided. The method of productive innovation developed in this document involves optimizing a mechanism of agricultural machinery used in carnation classification. The optimization is achieved by minimizing the jerk of the mechanism’s movement using metaheuristic methods. The results of three metaheuristic methods are compared against a brute force methodology. Optimization using these metaheuristic methods allows for achieving satisfactory results with up to 98% time reduction in the optimization process. This jerk optimization gives a longer useful life to the machinery, reduces the production stops needed for maintenance from once an hour to once every three hours, and reduces the damage done by the machine to the carnation stems.

The impact of green finance on carbon productivity: The mediating effects of the quantity and quality of green innovation

While China's economy is developing rapidly, the problem of carbon emissions is indeed more prominent. The development of green finance is conducive to supporting environmental improvement and enhancing carbon productivity. Most of the existing literature examines the relationship between green innovation and carbon productivity from the perspectives of industrial structure, technological innovation, and economic growth. However, the mechanism by which green finance (GF) affects carbon productivity and whether there is heterogeneity remains unclear. Therefore, this study utilizes panel data from 277 cities from 2010 to 2020 and employs a mediation effect model to investigate the relationship between GF and carbon productivity. The results of the study found that GF has a positive U-shaped association with carbon productivity. The quantity and the quality of green innovation have a mediating effect on the above relationship. It may be due to the fact that GF promotes the green transformation and sustainable development of the economic structure by supporting green industry and technological innovation, which provides strong support to enhance carbon productivity. In non-resource cities, the impact of GF on carbon productivity is more obvious through improving the quality of green innovation, probably because non-resource cities have the advantages of a diversified industrial structure, stronger innovation capacity, and easier access to policy support and market mechanism support than resource cities. The quantity and the quality of green innovation in the eastern, central, and western regions all play a mediating role. The findings provide policymakers with recommendations for utilizing GF in a two-carbon environment to achieve sustainable low-carbon development.

Unlocking Innovation in Crop Resilience and Productivity: Breakthroughs in Biotechnology and Sustainable Farming

Recent advancements in agricultural biotechnology and sustainable practices are revolutionizing crop production and resilience, addressing global food security challenges. This review highlights cutting-edge innovations in plant sciences, including genetic engineering, genome editing technologies, and biotechnological interventions that enhance crop resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. It discusses the integration of precision agriculture and digital farming tools that optimize resource use and boost productivity, providing data-driven insights for better crop management. Additionally, sustainable agricultural practices such as agroecology, organic farming, and integrated pest management are examined for their potential to reduce environmental impact while maintaining high yield. The review investigates the key practices like conservation tillage, crop rotation, and biological pest control, emphasizing their roles in enhancing soil health, biodiversity, and agricultural resilience. Significant contributions of biotechnological interventions, including genetic engineering and genome editing, are explored for developing stress-resistant and high-yield crop varieties. Moreover, the integration of precision agriculture and digital farming technologies is discussed for their potential to optimize resource utilization and improve crop management through advanced data analytics.

Pathways to Enhance New Quality Productivity in New Liberal Arts Education Through Artificial Intelligence

This paper explores the pathways through which artificial intelligence (AI) enhances new quality productivity in new liberal arts education. By analyzing the role of AI in personalized learning, interdisciplinary integration, and the application of virtual reality/augmented reality technologies, it reveals how AI technology promotes the development of students’ innovative capabilities and productivity in the context of new liberal arts education. The study shows that AI is not only a technical tool but also a driving force for transforming educational models and fostering knowledge innovation. Further exploration of the deep integration of AI and new liberal arts education is necessary to promote comprehensive social progress.

Green recovery in BRICS economies: The role of mineral resources, energy productivity, and green innovation in sustainable development

Mineral resources are important for economic development, significantly impacting industrial growth and presenting complex challenges such as resource scarcity and environmental sustainability. In this context, the present study explores the linkage between natural resources rents, energy productivity, eco-innovation, and carbon emissions considering BRICS economies. Using data from 1990 to 2021, the result of the present study shows that natural resources rent, and economic growth contribute to environmental pollution, indicating that revenues from natural resources in BRICS economies are used for economic expansion, thus leading to carbon emissions. In contrast, green innovation and energy productivity significantly reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental quality. Similarly, renewable energy supply also contributes to the improvement of environmental quality. Our research highlights the critical need for policies that not only restore natural resources and enhance green innovation to boost energy productivity but also address the negative impact of these innovations on carbon emissions while acknowledging that natural resource rents can exacerbate these emissions.

A study on media and information and traffic convergence in the digital age on consumption

The digital age is the age of productivity innovation. It is the era of industrial transformation and market development to satisfy the public's eyeball economy. Under traditional productivity, new products are often produced and introduced to the market and the public accepts and adapts to the new products, and those products that are not accepted by the public will be eliminated by the market. Now, in the emerging digital era, through data and its analysis, the product and market have begun to analyse the user and market pain points, according to user data to design and develop products for the needs of the user to enjoy at the same time for the data and traffic payment. This is "information consumption" and "data consumption". Poor information is the tool to make money in the current era. How to grasp the information and data of the user group and consumer demand becomes the key. Emerging media is the key to unlocking users' needs. The purpose of this study is to find the role of this key in the integration of information and traffic into consumption. The significance of this study is to deduce the relationship between media and the convergence of information and traffic to consumption in the digital age by analysing the case of the company. The result of this study is that the digital era has created advanced productivity, and the development of productivity has led to innovations in the means and tools of the media industry, which have contributed to the development of user needs. The media is the key to creating and capturing the needs of user groups. It is also the cornerstone for creating "information consumption" and "traffic consumption".

Analysis of Local Innovation Productivity Agents Within Micro and Small Businesses in The Trade, Industry and Services Segments of The Federal District

Objective: To analyze the effects of the Local Innovation Agent – ​​Productivity program on the adoption of innovative practices and its impacts on the productivity of small businesses monitored in the Federal District in 2023. Theoretical Framework: Innovation is a central element for economic development, a strategy to make companies efficient and competitive in the markets in which they operate, through various types of changes in management and production processes, with results that impact productivity and commercial performance. Method: This research adopted a quantitative-exploratory approach based on the ALI Management System database, which uses the Innovation Radar tool to measure the impact on SMEs and bibliographic research focused on the culture of innovation in organizations. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that the companies monitored during the program generally improved their scores in the dimensions analyzed. The results demonstrate that the commerce, industry and services sectors have different impacts and that innovation is still a topic that requires support and access for small businesses. Research Implications: The data collected in this study show the effectiveness of the Local Innovation Agent Program - Productivity in inducing the adoption of innovative practices by small businesses. It is a fact that by adopting measures to monitor entrepreneurs, it is possible to encourage reflection on the part of managers of these businesses so that they prioritize innovative measures that assist and result in business management capable of facing the adversities of market competition. Originality/Value: This study is valuable for analyzing the effectiveness of public innovation policies, with a focus on small businesses. It is clear that other studies are needed to compare results from different territories to better understand the needs of small businesses.

Farm Mechanization Innovation Capacity and Rice Productivity: Evidence from Small Scale Rice Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Rice is a staple diet eaten by more than fifty percent of households in the whole world. There is a deficit currently in the demand- supply production of rice when carefully observed and this is traceable to the use of crude implements and traditional methods of farming. It is to this effect that this study addresses farm mechanization innovation and rice productivity using small scale rice farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. A total of 261 rice farmers were used for this study out of which only 78 rice farmers adopted the farm mechanization innovation while 183 rice farmers did not. The focus group discussion (FGD) employed revealed that majority of the rice farmers do not have capacity for farm mechanization, hence the low adoption of the innovation. The FGD revealed that 65.90percent of the rice farmers had medium innovation capacity, 28.74percent had low innovation capacity and 5.36percent had high innovation capacity. Employing the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method to evaluate the impact of farm mechanization on the productivity of rice farming households in Kwara State, Nigeria; the rice farmers that adopted the use of farm mechanization have a higher productivity of 12.68 kg/m2 as against the rice farmers who do not adopt the use of farm mechanization in their farming activities with their own productivity standing at 6.31kg/m2 . This outcome implies that farm mechanization has a positive impact on the productivity of the farmers. It is therefore recommended that quality extension services be put in place in the study area on the benefits of adopting farm mechanization. Also, the government should provide machineries for lease to the rice farmers so as to boost their productivity.

Global value chain embedding and enterprise energy efficiency: A worldwide firm-level analysis

Global value chain embedding brings growth opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, despite their continuously controversial environmental effects. This study examines the impact of global value chain embedding on the energy efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises using a worldwide firm-level micro data. Results support that global value chain embedding significantly improves enterprise energy efficiency, and this conclusion holds even after self-selection and endogeneity are considered. Global value chain embedding promotes enterprise innovation and labor productivity through market scale and induced learning effects and improves the energy efficiency. Moreover, the evidence only supports the lock-in effect of low value-added, while the lock-in hypothesis of pollution link and foreign technology is invalid. The positive impact of global value chain embedding on energy efficiency is greater for non-high-tech industries, mainly coming from export learning effect and innovation effect. Furthermore, there is no industry heterogeneity in the lock-in effect. Country heterogeneity in the effect of global value chain embedding on energy efficiency characteristics of regional embedding and industrialization, but not to economic development and human capital.

Narrowband IoT in Livestock Farming: A Technological Innovation for Productivity and Sustainability

The integration of technology in livestock farming is crucial for enhancing production efficiency and animal welfare. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the implementation of a Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT)-based automated monitoring system in poultry farming. Using an experimental design, the research involved 30,000 day-old chicks at PT. Anugerah Teknologi Ternak in Central Java, Indonesia. The NB-IoT system collected real-time data on environmental parameters and poultry activity. Time-series analysis revealed non-stationary data, while correlation analysis showed a strong negative relationship between temperature and humidity (r = -0.8521). Anomaly detection identified 13.33% of observations as anomalous, demonstrating the system's capability for early issue detection. Regression modeling (R-squared = 0.7261) indicated that temperature and humidity significantly influence poultry productivity. The study concludes that NB-IoT implementation in poultry farming has significant potential for enhancing productivity through real-time monitoring and early anomaly detection, supporting more efficient and sustainable precision farming practices. However, limitations in data stationarity and sample generalizability suggest the need for further research to improve long-term predictions and broaden applicability across diverse farming contexts.

Evaluation of digital innovation in smart homes – based on bibliometrics and rooted theory

PurposeTo evaluate the level of digital innovation in the smart home industry.Design/methodology/approachBy employing bibliometric analysis and grounded theory, this study aims to assess the innovation capabilities of leading manufacturing enterprises and establish a digital innovation evaluation system for smart homes.FindingsScientific arguments show that the cultivation of innovation capability should focus on three aspects of knowledge innovation, product innovation and technological innovation. Utilizing the four first-level indicators and 15 second-level indicators derived from the previous sections, we conducted TF-IDF (Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency) words frequency matching on the annual reports of A-share smart home listed companies. The resulting score for the company across these four primary indicators was then considered as the score for the digital innovation level indicator.Originality/valueThe evaluation system includes first-level indicators such as technological innovation, production innovation, management innovation and sales innovation and second-level indicators such as digital technology, intelligent manufacturing, industrial Internet, green intelligent manufacturing, flexible robot production and cross-border integration, which provides smart home enterprises with a reference to understand the level of digital innovation, improve the deficiencies and promote the development of the smart home industry.

Research on Development Strategies of Anhui Papermaking Craft in the Era of Image Economy

This paper analyzes the challenges and opportunities faced by Anhui papermaking craft in the era of the image economy and explores the strategies for cross-disciplinary integration of creative imagery with paper craft. By conducting in-depth research on the protection and inheritance of papermaking craft, innovative design and image fusion, market expansion and brand promotion, digital production and technological innovation, as well as the integration of cultural industries, this paper puts forward strategies and suggestions to promote the sustainable development of Anhui papermaking craft in the era of the image economy.

Selection of potential location for technopark based on pineapple SMEs using AHP-GIS techniques in Kampar Regency

Kampar Regency, as the largest pineapple producer in Riau Province, has yet to provide significant added value for the surrounding SMEs. The limitations in technology and innovation, infrastructure support, and market access have prevented this potential from being optimally utilized. A Technopark can provide the necessary facilities and infrastructure to enhance production efficiency, innovation, and product quality, thus driving local economic growth. The objective of this study is to identify and determine potential locations for the development of a pineapple-based Technopark in Kampar Regency. This study is crucial as a fundamental consideration in selecting the technopark location and assessing the effectiveness and success of the technopark area. The method used in this study is AHP-GIS to analyze relevant parameters in the site selection process for the technopark area. Parameters considered in this study include slope, land use, availability of raw materials, accessibility of roads, access to water resources, proximity to universities, market access, population density, and landfill. The analysis results indicate that the percentage of land highly suitable for the technopark location is 0.78%, covering an area of 8943 hectares. Based on the analysis, it is recommended that potential locations for the development of a pineapple SMEs-based technopark in Kampar Regency are dispersed in Tambang District, encompassing three villages: Rimbo Panjang, Kualu Nenas and Tarai Bangun. The findings of this study align with the spatial planning of Kampar Regency.

Exploring the effect of digital transformation on firm resilience: Evidence from China

Digital transformation has become a new driving force for the high-quality development of China's economy, and is also an important pivot point to safeguard the development of enterprises and promote the recovery of industries in an uncertain environment. In this paper, we apply textual analysis to measure the digital transformation index using the data of listed companies in China and explore the impact of digital transformation on corporate resilience. The results, which are based on a robustness test and endogeneity test, lead to the conclusion that digital transformation can have a significantly positive impact on enterprise resilience. Mechanism analysis finds that enterprise green innovation and total factor productivity (TFP) are important channels through which digital transformation significantly affects a firm’s resilience. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the effect is more pronounced among state-owned enterprises (SOE), non-high-tech enterprises, labor-intensive enterprises and technology-intensive enterprises. These findings will help guide policies that promote digital transformation in order to resist the negative effects of external shocks.

Moving toward Bank 4.0 in India: a qualitative thematic analysis and future research agenda

Purpose The banking sector is more revolutionized than ever, with advanced technologies driving a seismic change in the financial industry. This study aims to understand how digital technologies influence banking sector employees and their perception of working in an era of Banking 4.0. Design/methodology/approach This study incorporated qualitative analysis to gain different insights from diverse respondents from banking industries. A purposive sampling method was adopted, and semistructured interviews were conducted, taking a sample of 72 respondents. All the transcripts were then analyzed using NVivo. Findings The findings focus on challenges related to understanding technology phenomena, managing changes, infrastructure, skills, competitiveness and regulatory mechanisms. This is further followed by the favorable impact of Banking 4.0 on employees and future avenues, such as innovation in financial services, work productivity, career opportunities and change management, banking 4.0 and banking 5.0, and banking 4.0 management strategies identified as the significant findings. Practical implications This study provides guidelines for Banking 4.0 provision strategy and conceptual reference toward the development of Banking 4.0. It also supports the Enhanced Access and Service Excellence 4.0 program, driven by the Indian Bank’s Association, to focus more on digitization, automation and data analytics. Originality/value The novelty of this research provides a qualitative hierarchy of significant challenges, favorable impacts and future research avenues of Banking 4.0 in the Indian banking sector.

Technological Innovation and Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria Amidst Oil Transition: ARDL Analysis

In contemporary discourse, Nigeria’s reliance on its oil sector is proving insufficient for sustained economic growth. The volatility of oil prices, geopolitical tensions, technological advancements, and environmental sustainability concerns have exposed the vulnerabilities of an oil-dependent economy, emphasizing the need for diversification and a renewed focus on agriculture. This study investigates the relationship between technological innovation and agricultural productivity in Nigeria, contrasting it with the oil sector. Using the ARDL estimation technique, our findings reveal a significant negative influence of immediate lagged agricultural productivity (AGTFP(−1)), indicating technological constraints. Technological innovation, proxied by TFP, shows a substantial impact on agricultural productivity, with a negative long-term effect (−90.71) but a positive, though insignificant, impact on agricultural output (0.0034). The comparative analysis underscores that the agricultural sector tends to benefit more from technological innovation than the oil sector. This highlights the critical need to prioritize technological advancements in agriculture to drive sustainable growth and economic resilience in Nigeria.

Are farmer organizations effective intermediaries and facilitators of agricultural innovations processes? Evidence from Tunisia

Integration of productivity, resource management, and institutional innovations is crucial across different system levels. Traditional research and extension services face challenges in disseminating innovations effectively, leading to the emergence of the agricultural innovation system (AIS) approach. AIS involves collaboration among various stakeholders to improve the technological, managerial, and institutional aspects of agriculture. Intermediary actors play a pivotal role in facilitating innovation exchange and learning processes. In Tunisia, farmer organizations (FOs) such as Groupements de Développement Agricole (GDAs) and Sociétés Mutuelles de Services Agricoles (SMSAs) are key intermediaries. However, there is a lack of comprehensive assessments of FOs' innovation roles, which this study aims to address using the social network analysis (SNA) method. The findings aim to shed light on FOs' effectiveness as innovation intermediaries and identify potential challenges and benefits associated with their roles in innovation processes through the comparison of three farmers' groups divided by their membership status to detect the effect of FO presence or absence on innovation facilitation and actor's configuration. The studied sample involves 592 farmers from the Kef and Siliana governorates in northwestern Tunisia. The results show that FOs are playing a crucial role in facilitating collaboration and knowledge exchange among farmers and other agricultural actors. However, their effectiveness varies depending on membership status and is always contextually influenced. While FOs contribute to reshaping sales channels and optimizing access to services, they face limitations in promoting inclusivity and equitable knowledge sharing. The recommendations include strengthening FOs' social dimension, addressing trust barriers, and investing in reinforcement measures, especially in human capital, to enhance their functionality. Strengthening measures can take many forms, such as facilitating regulation and investing in capacity building. Long-term strategies should re-evaluate the effectiveness of collective action and focus on fostering a culture of shared learning and local empowerment.