Sustainable Development Capability Research Articles

Construction and optimization of ecological spatial network in typical mining cities of the Yellow River Basin: the case study of Shenmu City, Shaanxi

BackgroundIn resource-based cities, long-term irrational exploitation of resources has caused severe damage to ecosystem functions, mainly manifested in the significant decline of biodiversity, land degradation, water pollution, and the deterioration of air quality. This has led to a significant decline in the cities' sustainable development capabilities. Establishing and optimizing an ecological spatial network (ESN) can promote the effective transmission of material energy and enhance the ecosystem functions, which holds fundamental importance in ensuring the ecological integrity of the region and promoting sustainable urban development. In this study, by combining the ecological environment with the landscape to determine the ecological sources, we constructed the ESN of Shenmu City, a mining city, based on the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model, and conducted a correlation analysis between the topological structure of the ESN and the significance of ecosystem functions. Then, the optimization strategy scheme based on ecosystem functions was proposed. Finally, robustness was used to determine the effect before and after optimization.ResultsThe results showed that the high-value ecosystem service areas in Shenmu City were predominantly located in the central and western parts, with the highest value in the southeast. There was a strong correlation between the importance of ecosystem functions and the degree and feature vector of ecological nodes.ConclusionsThe ESN can be optimized effectively by adding stepping stone nodes and new corridors. Through the robustness of the optimized ESN, we found that the optimized network has more robust connectivity and stability and can show better recovery ability after ecological function damage. This research presents an effective method for the construction and optimization of the ESN in the mining area and provides a theoretical basis for realizing the sustainability of the mining economy, regional development, and ecological protection in Shenmu City.

The impact of SRDI policy for SMEs on corporate innovation under the COVID-19: evidence from China

ABSTRACT This study focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China, and examines whether and how the SRDI (Specialized, Refinement, Differential and Innovation) policy support impacts SMEs’ innovation under the COVID-19. We find that the R&D investment and innovation outputs in SMEs supported by the SRDI policy gets significantly increased, which results from the increase in government subsidies and the implementation of digital transformation. Furthermore, the positive impact of the policy on SMEs’ innovation is more significant after the outbreak of the COVID-19. It shows that resource support from government and digital transformation can help reduce the external adverse impact of the COVID-19 on SMEs’ innovation and enhance the risk-taking and sustainable development capabilities of SMEs when the Black Swan incident occurs.

Asset risk assessment and management of large-scale electricity enterprises under the concept of financial sharing

The power grid is an important industry that is crucial to national security and economic development, and its importance in society continues to grow. As an emerging concept, financial sharing enables internal resource sharing and optimization, thereby improving the efficiency and effectiveness of asset management. This study investigates and analyzes the current situation of asset management in large-scale electricity enterprises in X Province, China, and proposes a comprehensive asset management strategy optimization plan based on the concept of financial sharing. The proposed plan integrates management models such as PDCA and designs an entire information management architecture to enhance resource utilization efficiency, reduce environmental pollution risks, and optimize asset allocation and operational decisions. In addition, it also utilizes the status of assets to assess the risks associated with fixed assets in the power grid. The results indicate that the asset risk assessment method under the concept of financial sharing can reduce power grid asset losses, effectively enhance the competitiveness and sustainable development capabilities of electricity enterprises.

SOR 이론을 기반으로 한 복합형 오프라인 서점에서 사용자의 몰입감에 영향을 미치는 요인에 관한 연구

This study focuses on the challenges faced by traditional offline bookstores and the rising t rend of composite offline bookstores. It aims to explore the factors that affect customer sati sfaction in composite offline bookstores and reveal their influencing mechanisms. The impa ct of visual, auditory, environmental and technological factors on customer immersion and satisfaction in a complex offline bookstore was studied through questionnaires and observati on methods. Research results show that visual factors, auditory factors, environmental facto rs and technological factors have a direct impact on user immersion, and immersion also h as a direct impact on user satisfaction. Furthermore, immersion mediated the relationship b etween visual, auditory, environmental and technological factors and satisfaction, with full mediation between sound factors and satisfaction. Based on the research results, this study puts forward strategic suggestions such as optimizing the bookstore environment design, str engthening the sound experience, and focusing on creating a sense of immersion, in order to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, and enhance the bookstore's competitiveness and sustainable development capabilities.

The evaluation and optimization of the agricultural sustainable development based on a data-driven approach: A case from Northern Anhui

The sustainable advancement of agriculture stands as the fundamental cornerstone of sustainable human progress. This study introduces a data-centric methodological framework founded upon the holistic delineation of measurement, feature assessment, and pathway enhancement for agricultural sustainability. Initially, the research articulates a comprehensive evaluative schema incorporating sub-dimensions encompassing agricultural production, agricultural economics, the agricultural resource environment, and rural society, grounded in sustainable development theory. Subsequently, it devises a methodological apparatus for assessing and enhancing sustainable development capabilities, employing entropy evaluation methods and exploratory spatial data analysis techniques. Employing North Anhui as a case study, the viability of this approach is substantiated. The empirical inquiry conducted within this article operationalizes comprehensive evaluation and explores pathways for optimizing agricultural sustainability, focusing on the period spanning 2011 to 2020 in Northern Anhui. The findings affirm the feasibility and efficacy of the data-driven approach. Recommendations derived from the empirical exploration of agricultural sustainability pathways at the local level offer valuable insights for governmental authorities and policymakers. This research endeavor could be extrapolated to other geographical locales worldwide, fostering innovative strides in the sustainable development of regional agriculture.

Multiscale coupled development and linkage response evaluation of China's carbon neutrality and sustainable development capability–A quantitative analysis perspective

The carbon neutrality is closely related to ecological environment quality and sustainable development. But the coupling mechanism between the carbon neutral capacity (CNC) and the sustainable development capacity (SDC) is currently unclear. In this research, we innovatively proposed a quantified carbon neutral capacity model (QCNCM) based on net ecosystem productivity to assess regional CNC, and established a framework for quantifying the relationship between CNC and SDC by integrating the gravity model, coupled coordination degree model, Moran's index and Spatial Durbin Model (SDM). Meanwhile, the synergistic development trend and coupling mechanism between CNC and SDC of China were explored. The results show that (1) China's CNC high-value zones are mainly located in the northeast and southwest, while SDC high-value zones are mainly located in the more developed cities, most of which are located in the southeast coastal region. (2) The coupled coordination degree between CNC and SDC is at a high level, indicating a high correlation between the two and a trend of coordinated development. (3) The sustainable development goals have significant spatial-temporal responses to CNC, and also exhibit differentiation in regional heterogeneity analysis. By establishing a quantitative relationship framework between CNC and SDC for the first time, this study provides a deep insight into the synergistic development process of sustainable development goals and carbon neutrality target, which is of great significance to the study of the spatial-temporal coupling and synergistic development of CNC and SDC in China.

A Study of the Impact of Human Capital Investment on Organizational Performance

Human capital investment is a process in which a company, after obtaining external resources, learns and develops the knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes of its members, thus enhancing the company's core competitiveness and sustainable development capability and ultimately improving organizational performance. Employee quality is an important part of human capital investment, but the effect of human capital investment on performance improvement is affected by the low level of internal management. The article researches the relationship between human capital investment and enterprise performance,and puts forward corresponding suggestions on the quality of employees and performance improvement.

知识经济时代企业会计的发展趋势研究

With the profound changes in the global economic landscape, the knowledge economy era has arrived and gradually become the main driving force for global economic development. In this major era, enterprise accounting, as an important recording and management tool for economic activities, is also facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities in its development trend. The unique resource attributes, value creation methods, and competitive environment of the knowledge economy era have put forward new requirements for the functions, accounting objects, and management objectives of enterprise accounting. Enterprise accounting is no longer just a traditional digital recorder and financial report preparer, but has transformed into a participant in strategic decision-making, an optimizer of internal management, and a creator of enterprise value. Therefore, in-depth exploration of the development trend of enterprise accounting in the knowledge economy era is not only of great significance to the accounting profession itself, but also crucial for guiding enterprises to adapt to the development of the knowledge economy, enhance competitiveness and sustainable development capabilities.

Study on the Structure, Efficiency, and Driving Factors of an Eco-Agricultural Park Based on Emergy: A Case Study of Jinchuan Eco-Agricultural Park

The eco-agricultural park is a new comprehensive agricultural technology system integrating agricultural production, rural economic development, ecological environment protection, and efficient resource utilization. Therefore, an in-depth analysis of the ecosystem structure of eco-agricultural parks will help achieve the goal of coordinated symbiosis between human development and environmental protection. This study takes the research area of the Eco-agricultural Park of Jinchuan Town, Huinan County, a typical town in the Changbai Mountains of Northeast China. Based on field surveys, market research, farmer consultation, and related data collection, emergy theory and methods are used to construct an emergy model for the park. The value evaluation index system integrates the unique emergy index of the agricultural ecosystem with the traditional emergy index system to conduct a targeted evaluation of the park’s functional structure and sustainable development capabilities in order to improve the efficiency of material and energy use and provide technical reference for ecological construction and comprehensive development of agricultural industry in mountainous areas in northern China. The research results show that: (1) The annual input total emergy of the eco-agricultural park is 4.04E+24 sej/a, and the emergy of labor input, electricity input, and topsoil loss is relatively high. The park is in a labor-intensive stage. The annual output total emergy is 5.09E+24 sej/a, the park is dominated by planting and forestry industries. (2) The park’s emergy utilization intensity is high—production efficiency is high, economic development is advanced, and the system’s self-control, adjustment, and feedback functions are vital—and plays a significant role in promoting the development of the regional economy. However, the park relies more on investment from external resources, and production in the park puts pressure on the environment. (3) The current sustainable development capability of the study area is weak, and the factors affecting the sustainable development capability are mainly energy loss and uneven distribution of industrial areas in the park. Effective measures to promote the transformation of the park to develop technology-intensive industries and improve the sustainable development performance of the park were proposed. These include: adjusting the proportion of industries in the park; reducing high-energy external input emergy, such as industrial auxiliary emergy; reducing the loss of non-renewable natural resources through ecological engineering measures, such as reducing the depth of slope runoff in the park; and combining modern resource-based production technology and environmentally sound management methods to reduce energy loss and rational use of natural resources.

ESG performance and business risk—Empirical evidence from China's listed companies

Under the dual-carbon background, enterprises' ESG performance and sustainable development capability have become a topic of great concern to all sectors of society. The ESG industry in China is very young, and there isn't much research looking at how ESG performance relates to business risk for corporations. This paper empirically tests the impact of firms' ESG performance on their business risk. It discusses the mechanism from the viewpoints of financing constraints and agency costs, the moderating role of economic policy uncertainty, and the analysis of differences in corporate size. The results indicate that firms with strong ESG performance experience a significant reduction in business risk. These firms face lower financing constraints and agency costs, which contribute to the mitigation of business risk. Furthermore, economic policy uncertainty moderates the link between ESG performance and business risk. Additionally, the influence of ESG performance on business risk is more significant in larger-scale companies.

Examining the Interplay between CEPSA’s ESG Performance and Financial Performance: An Overview of the Energy Sector Transformation

This study delves into the financial performance of the Compañía Española de Petróleos, S.A.U. (CEPSA) within the context of the ongoing ESG transformation in the Energy Sector. The primary aim of this research is to understand the critical dimensions essential for evaluating energy companies’ ESG performances. The research assesses the changes in CEPSA’s financial indicators over the last five years (2018–2022). The report uses DuPont analysis to evaluate CEPSA’s environmental and social responsibility performances. The study examines several financial performance metrics, including return on net assets, profitability, and corporate financing structure changes. The methodology of this study comprehensively assesses CEPSA’s sustainable development trajectory and ESG management system. The analysis reveals that CEPSA has consistently improved its sustainable development capabilities over the last five years by establishing a comprehensive ESG management system. While return on net assets and profitability indicators have shown positive trends, the financing structure has changed significantly. Notably, the proportion of debt financing has increased substantially, and there is a slight decline in the net profit margin. The formal transformation in 2020 further influenced increases in liabilities and fixed assets for CEPSA. The study focuses on CEPSA’s sustained improvements in ESG management and the associated shifts in financial metrics, adding originality to the study and offering a nuanced perspective on the evolving landscape of sustainable practices. The study reveals the financial implications of ESG transformation in the energy sector and offers valuable insights for stakeholders. Moreover, this research contributes to the existing literature by employing the DuPont analysis system to explore the intricate relationship between ESG performance and financial indicators in the energy sector.

Evaluation of sustainable development capacity of water sources: a case study of China.

The issue of water scarcity has drawn attention from all over the world. The coordination of the interaction between ecological and environmental development of water sources and socio-economic development is currently an essential issue that needs to be solved in order to safeguard the water resources environment for human survival. In this essay, we suggest a paradigm for assessing the sustainable exploitation of water resources. First, three ecological, economic, and social factors are investigated. Twenty essential evaluation indexes are then constructed using the Delphi approach, along with an index system for assessing the potential of water sources for sustainable development. The weights of each evaluation index were then determined using the combination assignment approach, which was then suggested. The coupled degree evaluation model of the capability for sustainable development of water sources was then developed. In order to confirm the viability and validity of the suggested model, the model was used to assess the Liwu River water source's capacity for sustainable growth in the context of the South-North Water Transfer in Shandong, China. It is believed that the aforementioned study would serve as a helpful resource when evaluating the capacity of water sources for sustainable development.

A 2TLNS-based exponential TODIM-EDAS approach for evaluating sustainable development of cross-border e-commerce platforms under uncertainty

In the context of globalization, cross-border e-commerce platforms have become the main way for enterprises to achieve international trade transformation and overseas investment. From this, it can be seen that cross-border e-commerce platforms are of great importance to the development of enterprises, and the development of cross-border e-commerce platforms is also a necessary choice for the development of the times. In the new era, in order to make cross-border e-commerce platforms better serve enterprises and bring economic benefits to their development. The sustainable development capability evaluation of third-party cross-border e-commerce (TPCBEC) platform is a MAGDM. Recently, the Exponential TODIM (ExpTODIM) technique and Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) technique has been employed to cope with MAGDM issues. The 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic sets (2TLNSs) are employed as a tool for portraying uncertain information during the sustainable development capability evaluation of TPCBEC platform. In this paper, the 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic number Exponential TODIM-EDAS (2TLNN-ExpTODIM-EDAS) technique is implemented to manage the MAGDM under 2TLNSs. Finally, a numerical study for sustainable development capability evaluation of TPCBEC platform is constructed to validate the implemented technique. Thus, the main advantages of the proposed 2TLNN-ExpTODIM-EDAS technique are outlined: (1) the proposed 2TLNN-ExpTODIM-EDAS technique not only handles the distances information from the 2TLNNAS, but also portrays the DMs’ psychological behavior during the sustainable development capability evaluation of TPCBEC platform. (2) the proposed 2TLNN-ExpTODIM-EDAS technique analyze the behavior of the TODIM technique and EDAS technique as MADM techniques when they are hybridized.

Achieving sustainable development with sustainable packaging: A natural‐resource‐based view perspective

AbstractSustainable packaging is a pivotal aspect of sustainable development, involving multi‐faceted issues such as stakeholder management and environmental policy compliance. Despite the efforts to find packaging solutions, the extant literature is largely fragmented, featuring a high level of heterogeneity among studies that spread across different disciplines, with the majority examining important packaging issues in isolation. A study that systematically consolidates findings of different important areas of sustainable packaging implementation is lacking. This challenges companies' adoption of research findings in business strategy development. Thus, this paper conducts a systematic literature review combining keyword co‐occurrence analysis, thematic analysis and qualitative content analysis to uncover major research domains, consolidate important findings and reveal unsolved research gaps, which are crucial to advancing sustainable packaging management. The findings reveal four major research domains: (1) sustainable packaging materials and properties, (2) management practices of sustainable packaging, (3) consumer behaviours towards sustainable packaging and (4) packaging waste management. Drawing on the natural‐resource‐based view (NRBV) theory and the review findings, this study proposes four future research directions: (1) identifying ways to enhance the commercialisation of sustainable packaging technological innovations, (2) uncovering reasons for insufficient social aspect investigation in sustainable packaging research, (3) exploring strategies to enhance stakeholder integration in sustainable packaging management and (4) examining contingency factors of packaging waste management effectiveness. The research agenda is important to provide practical and managerial insights for business strategy development in sustainable packaging to achieve pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development capabilities to gain future growth and competitive advantage.

Evaluating the impact of China's MSW sorting pilot policy on urban sustainable development: Empirical evidence from 95 cities.

The escalating challenge of municipal solid waste (MSW) critically tests the sustainable development capacities of urban centers. In response, China initiated pilot policies in 2017 aimed at bolstering MSW management. The effectiveness of these initiatives, however, necessitates empirical scrutiny. This study leverages panel data spanning 95 cities at the prefectural level or higher, covering the period from 2006 to 2020, to assess the impact of the MSW sorting pilot policy on urban sustainable development using a difference-in-differences approach. The research found that the MSW sorting pilot policy has significantly increased the processing volume of MSW, thereby enhancing the sustainable development capabilities of cities. Further, the study identifies augmented fixed asset investments as a key mechanism through which pilot cities have enhanced their MSW management capabilities. Notably, the policy's stimulative effects are more pronounced in less densely populated and economically lagging regions. These findings provide critical insights for developing nations in shaping MSW sorting strategies and advancing urban sustainability.

Effect of Household Investment in Human Capital On Economic Development in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of “Household Investment in Human Capital on Economic Development in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State” using health care, poverty reduction and political participation as proxies for development. It made use of primary data collected using the instrument of questionnaire administered to the residents in the area. Statistical tools such as frequency distribution table, percentages and mean were used to present and analyze the data while the chi-square was used to test the formulated hypothesis. The study showed a significant positive effect of household investment in human capital investment on economic development in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State. It therefore recommended that households should be granted some tax reliefs to increase their disposable income capability for sustained human capital investment and sustainable economic development. The government is also advised to redouble their investment on infrastructure and the educational sector to support the effort the households.

The Impact of ESG Performance on Corporate Value

As environmental problems have been increasingly serious, the concept of "sustainable development” has gradually taken hold. ESG, which reflects a company's sustainable development capabilities, has become a trend and attracted widespread attention in the academic community. However, there is still a lack of a unified understanding of the specific association between ESG and corporate value. This article analyzes literature in the international financial field related to ESG in recent years and explores the way ESG influences corporate value from the perspectives of impact, influencing mechanism, and heterogeneity. The aim is to provide insights into future research directions in this field. This article found that there are three impacts of ESG performance on corporate value: promotion, inhibition, or irrelevance. ESG performance mainly affects corporate value from four aspects: financing constraints, green innovation, corporate efficiency, and corporate risk. The heterogeneity of ESG performance mainly depends on factors such as property rights, marketization degree, information transmission efficiency, company size, and industry environmental sensitivity. Future research on ESG should be centered on empirical research that examines ESG’s comprehensive influence and regional heterogeneity of ESG performance.

Exploring the Relationship Between Non-Financial Information and Corporate Financial Performance: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

With the increasing impact of climate change and resource depletion, society is confronted with significant environmental and social challenges, which have made sustainable development a focal point for the entire community. ESG, as a vital metric for measuring a companys sustainable development capabilities. The development of ESG evaluation system can promote enterprises to pay more attention to ESG, thus contributing to the sustainable development of society and environment. Furthermore, the development of ESG practices has the potential to positively influence a companys financial performance, thereby serving as a driving force for economic advancement. A sample of 342 listed companies is analyzed using descriptive statistics and OLS regression analysis. The results show that ESG performance has no significant impact on the financial performance of enterprises, and it can neither help enterprises obtain more profits nor make enterprises bear more financial pressure. Based on these findings, the paper suggests the following recommendations: (1) Enhance the management and integration of ESG evaluation systems. (2) Foster increased societal attention towards the ESG performance of companies.

Research on the Mechanism and Implementation Path of Enhancing Innovation Capability in Manufacturing Enterprises Based on Human-Machine Collaboration

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, manufacturing enterprises face the challenge of enhancing their innovation capabilities to remain competitive. This research aims to investigate the mechanism and implementation path of enhancing innovation capability in manufacturing enterprises through human-machine collaboration. By examining the case of Xingyu Co., Ltd., this study explores the effects of human-machine collaboration on production efficiency, cost reduction, product quality improvement, and employee innovation potential. Additionally, it discusses the need for further research to explore the long-term impact of human-machine collaboration on innovation capability, the differences in innovation capability among enterprises of different scales and industries, and the relationship between human-machine collaboration and innovation capability in conjunction with other factors such as organizational culture and management models. The findings suggest that human-machine collaboration significantly enhances innovation capability in manufacturing enterprises, and future research should focus on optimizing implementation strategies to enhance competitiveness and sustainable development capabilities.

Green Innovation, Environmental Certification, and the Sustainable Development of Enterprises in China

Purpose - Achieving sustainable development has always been the most important issue for enterprises. Owing to global warming and environmental deterioration, environmental management is increasingly becoming a major concern for enterprises and the external world, especially stakeholder behavior. This study explores whether enterprise environmental management can contribute to its sustainable development, and how stakeholder behaviors can influence this relationship.
 Design/Methodology/Approach - This study uses a fixed effects regression model to empirically test the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2020, and investigates the impact of corporate environmental behavior (i.e. green innovation and environmental certification) on the sustainable development of enterprises. It also explores the moderating role of government support and analyst attention in the impact of environmental management on corporate sustainability.
 Findings - The research results showed that enterprise environmental management, namely, green innovation and environmental protection certification, can promote sustainable development capabilities. Simultaneously, government support and proper attention from analysts can have a positive moderating effect on green environmental management and improve sustainable development.
 Research Implications - This study enriches relevant theories on enterprise environmental management and sustainable development, proposes the importance of government support and external institutional supervision, and provides a reference for sustainably developing enterprises from the perspective of stakeholder behaviors.