Sustainability

Research

11 pages, 244 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determinants of Selection of R&D Cooperation Partners: Insights from Korea

by Sung Hyo Hong

Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9637; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179637 - 27 Aug 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1744

These days, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face more severe competition in foreign markets due to the globalization of the economy (e.g., FTA). They usually lack technological capabilities and often depend on external R&D activities. Thus, it is worth exploring what factors facilitate [...] Read more.

These days, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face more severe competition in foreign markets due to the globalization of the economy (e.g., FTA). They usually lack technological capabilities and often depend on external R&D activities. Thus, it is worth exploring what factors facilitate SMEs’ R&D collaboration with partners. This paper empirically analyzes the determinants of SMEs’ selections of R&D cooperation partners in Korea. According to the regression results, SMEs with a larger labor force in R&D, larger sales, younger CEOs, more advanced technologies, and less R&D equipment are more likely to cooperate with external R&D partners. When SMEs produce a product that is not easily imitated by others, they are more willing to cooperate with universities or research institutions but not with suppliers or customers. In sum, for Korean SMEs, the arguments of appropriability and resource complementarity appear to work in their R&D activities. However, the former is more important for collaborations with universities or research institutions, and the latter is more influential to those with suppliers and customers. This paper contributes to the literature in two aspects—quantitative studies on the collaborative innovation of SMEs are still limited, and the differences in cooperation determinants across types of partners are explored due to the richness of the dataset. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

21 pages, 1459 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Psychological Needs, Physiological Needs and Regional Comparison Effects

by Xuepin Wu and Jiru Han

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9464; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169464 - 23 Aug 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2757

Abstract

This paper innovatively constructs a panel extended linear expenditure system (ELES) model including the theory of internal and external habit formation and analyzes the time effect of consumption habits and the regional differences of the comparison effects on rural residents in a variety [...] Read more.

This paper innovatively constructs a panel extended linear expenditure system (ELES) model including the theory of internal and external habit formation and analyzes the time effect of consumption habits and the regional differences of the comparison effects on rural residents in a variety of consumption expenditures from a temporal and spatial perspective. This research demonstrates the following. Firstly, overall, rural residents have least internal habits in terms of subsistence spending, followed by developmental spending and the most in enjoyment spending. Secondly, China’s rural residents consider the “actual use value” of commodities in “introverted” consumption expenditures; but in “export-oriented” consumption expenditures, besides the “actual use value” of the goods, they also seek to fulfill their “emotional demands”. Thirdly, there is the largest comparison effect on food and housing consumption expenditures for rural residents in coastal economic developed regions, and the smallest comparison effect on clothing, transportation, cultural and educational expenditures. It is the largest comparison effect on clothing and medical care expenditures for rural residents in underdeveloped regions of the central and western, and the smallest comparison effect on food and housing consumption expenditures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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13 pages, 769 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Reduction of Contribution Rate Affect the Sustainability of China’s Basic Endowment Insurance Fund?—Based on the Background of National Pooling and Collection Responsibility Transformation

by Pengjun Chen and Lunhui Shang

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8757; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168757 - 5 Aug 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2403

Abstract

Sustainability is an urgent issue in the basic endowment insurance system in China. The advancement of the national pooling and the transfer of collection responsibility from the social security department to the taxation department are the policy measures taken to ensure the sustainable [...] Read more.

Sustainability is an urgent issue in the basic endowment insurance system in China. The advancement of the national pooling and the transfer of collection responsibility from the social security department to the taxation department are the policy measures taken to ensure the sustainable development of the endowment insurance system. In this circumstance, this paper discusses the solvency of the national pooling account fund of basic endowment insurance when the enterprise contribution rate drops to 16% by constructing an improved theoretical actuarial model. The conclusion shows that under the national pooling mode of peeling off historical debt and personal account, even if the contribution rate drops to 16%, the basic endowment insurance fund in China will still have strong solvency in the long run. In addition, due to the transfer of the collection responsibility of the basic endowment insurance, the proportion of the actual number of payers to the number of in-service insured will gradually increase to 100%, and the calculation results in this paper show that the bankruptcy scope of China’s basic pension insurance funds will be postponed to the year of 2113. This study enriches the relevant literature and solves a policy concern in the reform of China’s basic endowment insurance system: Does reduction of contribution rate affect the sustainability of the basic endowment insurance system? Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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20 pages, 2644 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impacts of Technology Shocks on Sustainable Development from the Perspective of Energy Structure—A DSGE Model Approach

by Dongqing Sun, Fanzhi Wang, Nanxu Chen and Jing Chen

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8665; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158665 - 3 Aug 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2906

Abstract

Considering that the effect of different types of energy on sustainable development differs, the optimization of energy structure is commonly seen as a decisive factor for sustainable development. In this study, we focus on energy structure and construct a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium [...] Read more.

Considering that the effect of different types of energy on sustainable development differs, the optimization of energy structure is commonly seen as a decisive factor for sustainable development. In this study, we focus on energy structure and construct a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) analysis framework including the environment, society, and the economy. Furthermore, we analyze the effect of different technology shocks on sustainable development when the proportion of clean energy is separately set at 10%, 20%, and 40%. To demonstrate the conclusions of the DSGE analysis framework, we construct the sustainability index and measure the relationship between the sustainability index scores and the proportion of clean energy of 68 countries in 2017, and the

R^{2}

of the linear relationship between the sustainability index score and the proportion of clean energy was 0.30. Results show that the technology shock of clean energy exhibits more benefits for sustainable development than that of non-clean energy. Moreover, we find that the optimization of the energy structure can be helpful for the enhancement of sustainable development capacity. This study is helpful to expand the DSGE analysis framework from the perspective of energy structure. This study also provides effective ways and reference suggestions for local governments to optimize energy structure and improve sustainable development capability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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16 pages, 1546 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Measurement and Influencing Factors of Total Factor Productivity in the Chinese Rural Distribution Industry

by Chaoxun Ding and Ruidan Zhang

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8581; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158581 - 31 Jul 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2335

Abstract

Total factor productivity (TFP) is critical to the sustainable development of the rural distribution industry. Improvements in productivity of the rural distribution industry can promote the high-quality development of the Chinese distribution industry. Studying the characteristics and influencing factors of total factor productivity [...] Read more.

Total factor productivity (TFP) is critical to the sustainable development of the rural distribution industry. Improvements in productivity of the rural distribution industry can promote the high-quality development of the Chinese distribution industry. Studying the characteristics and influencing factors of total factor productivity in regard to the rural distribution industry in China is significant for promoting the transformation and development of the rural distribution industry. This paper uses the DEA–Malmquist Index to measure the total factor productivity (TFP) of the Chinese rural distribution industry and its decomposition index, and uses a panel data model to empirically study its influencing factors. The results show that, from 2008 to 2018, the TFP of the Chinese rural distribution industry showed a trend of rising first and then fluctuating and declining, with an average annual growth rate of 2.93%; the fluctuation direction of the TFP of the rural distribution industry in the eastern and western regions of China is basically the same, which has had a reverse change relationship with the central and northeast regions for many years. The industrial structure, urbanization rate, rural informatization rate, and conditions of the transportation facilities have significant impacts on the TFP of the rural distribution industry, among which the informatization rate has the greatest positive impact. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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11 pages, 2663 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Potential Infection on the Relationship between Temperature and Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in China

by Weiran Lin and Qiuqin He

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8504; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158504 - 29 Jul 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1534

Abstract

Considering the impact of the number of potential new coronavirus infections in each city, this paper explores the relationship between temperature and cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in mainland China through the non-parametric method. In this paper, the floating population of each city [...] Read more.

Considering the impact of the number of potential new coronavirus infections in each city, this paper explores the relationship between temperature and cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in mainland China through the non-parametric method. In this paper, the floating population of each city in Wuhan is taken as a proxy variable for the number of potential new coronavirus infections. Firstly, to use the non-parametric method correctly, the symmetric Gauss kernel and asymmetric Gamma kernel are applied to estimate the density of cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China. The result confirms that the Gamma kernel provides a more reasonable density estimation of bounded data than the Gauss kernel. Then, through the non-parametric method based on the Gamma kernel estimation, this paper finds a positive relationship between Wuhan’s mobile population and cumulative confirmed cases, while the relationship between temperature and cumulative confirmed cases is inconclusive in China when the impact of the number of potential new coronavirus infections in each city is considered. Compared with the weather, the potentially infected population plays a more critical role in spreading the virus. Therefore, the role of prevention and control measures is more important than weather factors. Even in summer, we should also pay attention to the prevention and control of the epidemic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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20 pages, 858 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Financial Hoarding on Economic Growth in China

by Yizheng Fu, Zhifang Su and Qianqian Guo

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8434; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158434 - 28 Jul 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2487

Abstract

In recent years, more and more funds circulate internally in the financial field, which is called “financial hoarding”. After calculations, the scale of China’s financial hoarding was 242,178 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2003 and jumped to 1,801,706 billion yuan in [...] Read more.

In recent years, more and more funds circulate internally in the financial field, which is called “financial hoarding”. After calculations, the scale of China’s financial hoarding was 242,178 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2003 and jumped to 1,801,706 billion yuan in the fourth quarter of 2016, which increased by nearly 7.4 times in the past 14 years and accelerated after 2014. The phenomenon that large amounts of money deviate from the real economy to virtual economy is called “shift from real economy to virtual economy”. The large scale of financial hoarding will inevitably influence the economic growth in China. Does financial hoarding promote or inhibit the economy? Does the relationship change with the economic growth rate? To address this issue, this paper first provided theoretical analysis of the relationship between financial hoarding and economic growth. Then, it used the data of the first quarter of 2003 through the fourth quarter of 2016 in China for empirical analysis. The results revealed two facts. Firstly, the simultaneous equations model showed that financial hoarding and economic growth promote each other in the long run and financial hoarding can be conducive to economic growth. Secondly, the MS-VAR model showed that the relationship between financial hoarding and economic growth changed with the economic growth rate. In addition, financial hoarding had a positive effect on the economic growth under both medium and high economic growth regimes, but to a greater extent in high economic growth regimes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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22 pages, 3854 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on High-Quality Development Efficiency and Total Factor Productivity of Regional Economies in China

by Xiangyu Hua, Haiping Lv and Xiangrong Jin

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8287; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158287 - 24 Jul 2021

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 3773

Abstract

Different from the developmental mode of western developed countries, China’s economy has changed from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development, where the people’s growing needs for better lives can be met, embodying this new concept of development. The [...] Read more.

Different from the developmental mode of western developed countries, China’s economy has changed from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development, where the people’s growing needs for better lives can be met, embodying this new concept of development. The aim of our study is to evaluate the high-quality development efficiency and total factor productivity (TFP) of regional economies in China, and to explore the characteristics of spatial-temporal pattern evolution and their influencing factors. By using the slacks-based measure of directional distance functions (SBM-DDF) model, based on the undesirable output perspective, the high-quality development efficiency and TFP of regional economies in China, from 2000 to 2018, are evaluated in this paper. The exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and Tobit models are then used to identify the spatial-temporal correlation patterns and influencing factors of high-quality development efficiency and TFP. The key results show the following: (1) from 2001 to 2018, the greatest high-quality development efficiency and TFP belonged to China’s eastern region and the least to its central region. (2) U and inverted-U trend lines show that high-quality development efficiency has significant regional difference in the east–west direction, presenting a significant feature of spatial imbalance. (3) Government, urbanization rate, and marketization level play a positive role in their impact of TFP, whereas financial development, infrastructure, foreign direct investment, and capital labor ratio play a negative one. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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13 pages, 880 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Green Traffic Development in Zhoushan Based on Entropy Weight TOPSIS

by Zuiyi Shen, Qianqian Zhao and Qimin Fang

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 8109; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13148109 - 20 Jul 2021

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2709

Abstract

Green transportation is a kind of urban transportation system with low pollution and multiple urban environments. At present, the development of green transportation in China is progressing and gradually occupying a relatively important position. In order to understand the development of green transportation [...] Read more.

Green transportation is a kind of urban transportation system with low pollution and multiple urban environments. At present, the development of green transportation in China is progressing and gradually occupying a relatively important position. In order to understand the development of green transportation in China, based on the concept of green transportation, this paper analyzes the development of green transportation in Zhoushan as an example, and selects the data from three aspects: basic indicators, means of transportation and road construction in Zhoushan City. The entropy weight method is used to determine the entropy value and weight of each index, and the index evaluation system is established. In addition, the ideal solution method was used to calculate the relative closeness degree to analyze the development of green transportation in Zhoushan city from 2016 to 2018. According to the relative proximity degree calculation data, it can be shown that the calculation value of 2017 is larger than that of 2018. The results show that the development of green transportation in Zhoushan in 2017 is the best, followed by 2018. The above results help to understand the current development status of Zhoushan green transportation, further understand the existing problems and the important factors affecting the development of Zhoushan green transportation. In order to promote the development of urban green transportation in China, suggestions are put forward on the basis of the analysis of the development of Zhousan’s green transportation to promote the development of green transportation in Zhoushan from four aspects: strengthening the construction of urban road transportation system, optimizing transportation, improving the infrastructure of new energy vehicles and promoting the concept of green transportation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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24 pages, 563 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Timely Loss Recognition Helps Nothing

by Hung-Wen Lin, Kun-Ben Lin, Jing-Bo Huang and Shu-Heng Chen

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7815; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147815 - 13 Jul 2021

Viewed by 1899

Abstract

This paper digests the relationship between the manipulation of losses and price reversals in the Chinese stock market. Timely loss recognition is involved in detecting the manipulation of losses, while price reversals are investigated by momentum profit. In addition, two-way sorting momentum portfolios [...] Read more.

This paper digests the relationship between the manipulation of losses and price reversals in the Chinese stock market. Timely loss recognition is involved in detecting the manipulation of losses, while price reversals are investigated by momentum profit. In addition, two-way sorting momentum portfolios are employed to connect manipulating losses with price reversals. Companies with low timely loss recognition aggressively manipulate their losses, and our results indicate that they generate much more significantly negative momentum profits. As a consequence, they cannot build up any immunity against reversal risks and encounter much higher reversal risks than other companies. Such findings still hold after the risk adjustments using asset pricing models come into play and when controlling for the calendar effect. This research indeed suggests that investors should exercise caution when dealing with companies whose financial information is too positive. Such companies may dress up their financial reports, thereby significantly increasing the risks associated with price reversals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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14 pages, 490 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Practices to Increase the Workforce Agility and to Develop a Sustainable and Competitive Business

by Anca-Ioana Munteanu, Nicolae Bibu, Marian Nastase, Nicoleta Cristache and Cosmin Matis

Sustainability 2020, 12(9), 3545; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093545 - 27 Apr 2020

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 7558

Abstract

The current business environment is volatile and complex. Companies must constantly identify creative and environmentally friendly solutions. The emphasis on employees and workforce agility has become an attribute of sustainable and competitive organizations simultaneously. The purpose of our study is to validate the [...] Read more.

The current business environment is volatile and complex. Companies must constantly identify creative and environmentally friendly solutions. The emphasis on employees and workforce agility has become an attribute of sustainable and competitive organizations simultaneously. The purpose of our study is to validate the hypothesis that there is a direct positive relationship between ranking as important top position of human resources in a company and the extent to which specific practices to increase workforce agility were adopted. Our survey is based on an original questionnaire, with a 92% response rate. We focused on large, independent decision-making companies from Western Romania, for which the implementation of sustainable principles is more difficult than for multinationals. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS23 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The results indicate an average extent of the adoption of management practices aiming to increase workforce agility (45%) and a ranking of human resources in first place as the most important resource (31.7%). Using the Pearson Chi-Square Test, the hypothesis was confirmed (significance = 0.026). Our main conclusion is that if managers intend to develop a sustainable and competitive business, they should attribute a strategic role to employees and adopt practices to increase their agility. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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18 pages, 1472 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Investment Performance of U.S. Islamic Mutual Funds

by Francisco Climent, Paula Mollá and Pilar Soriano

Sustainability 2020, 12(9), 3530; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093530 - 26 Apr 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4676

Abstract

Islamic investment funds have become increasingly important because of high demand from many investors, including those outside the Muslim investment community. This article compares the performance and risk sensitivity of Islamic mutual funds in the United States with that of their conventional peers. [...] Read more.

Islamic investment funds have become increasingly important because of high demand from many investors, including those outside the Muslim investment community. This article compares the performance and risk sensitivity of Islamic mutual funds in the United States with that of their conventional peers. This article also analyzes the performance of Islamic funds, and compares this performance with that of socially responsible investment (SRI) mutual funds. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)-based methodology was used for the analysis. The results suggest that over the entire study period (1987–2018), Islamic funds outperformed conventional funds with comparable characteristics. However, over the most recent period (2000–2018), there were no significant differences in performance. Moreover, Islamic funds achieved levels of adjusted performance that did not significantly differ from those of SRI funds. Conversely, for the earlier period (1987–2000), Islamic funds performed worse than SRI and conventional funds with similar characteristics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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23 pages, 460 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Entrepreneurial Risk-Taking in Sustainable Energy: University Spin-Off Firms and Market Introduction in Northwest Europe

by Razieh Nejabat and Marina Van Geenhuizen

Sustainability 2019, 11(24), 6952; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11246952 - 5 Dec 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3706

Abstract

Universities are cradles of innovation, with many start-ups involved in sustainable energy solutions. The extent in which such solutions reach the market and the kind of risk-related factors young firms encounter, are hardly known and understood. We aim to clarify market introduction and [...] Read more.

Universities are cradles of innovation, with many start-ups involved in sustainable energy solutions. The extent in which such solutions reach the market and the kind of risk-related factors young firms encounter, are hardly known and understood. We aim to clarify market introduction and focus on the empirics of firms’ risk-taking behavior related to strategic choices, competences, and interactions with (national) ecosystem conditions. We use a unique dataset of almost 110 university spin-off firms and a small selected sample from this set. A total of 60% of spin-offs are able to reach the market, most of them in the first five years of spin-offs’ lives. Wind energy provides the best chances, as compared to such things as solar photovoltaics (PV) and advanced biomass. In-depth results suggest the high probability of quick market introduction in ‘Innovation Leader’ countries, like Sweden and Denmark, if combined with employing rich collaborative networks. A second set of favorable influences includes a practical mindset and accessing substantial investment capital. In contrast, strong risks tend to be connected to activity in fundamental inventions, highly specialized technology, weakly developed (sub) markets, poorly built networks, and short refunding time of substantial investment. This study provides a unique contribution to understanding the market introduction of sustainable energy solutions and risk-taking in this effort by young high-tech firms, among others, connected to differences between countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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21 pages, 272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Do CEO Rhetorical Strategies Affect Corporate Social Performance? Evidence from China

by Chang Liu, Shouming Chen and Qiuyue Shao

Sustainability 2019, 11(18), 4907; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11184907 - 8 Sep 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3745

Abstract

How can chief executive officers (CEOs) persuade employees to participate in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, so as to enhance firms’ corporate social performance (CSP)? The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between CEO rhetorical strategies and firms’ CSP. According [...] Read more.

How can chief executive officers (CEOs) persuade employees to participate in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, so as to enhance firms’ corporate social performance (CSP)? The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between CEO rhetorical strategies and firms’ CSP. According to Aristotle’s classification, we divide CEO rhetorical strategies into three categories: pathos, ethos, and logos, using the text analysis method. We apply a Probit model to predict whether CEOs use rhetorical strategies and then adopt fixed-effect multiple regression models to measure the impact of various rhetorical strategies on CSP. An empirical analysis based on data on the listed manufacturing companies in the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2016 shows that both CEO pathos strategy and CEO logos strategy have positive effects on CSP; however, the relationship between the CEO ethos strategy and CSP is not significant. Our findings contribute to upper echelons theory and CSR research and provide suggestions for CEOs to apply proper rhetorical strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Firms and Economies)

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