Abstract:How to improve individual learning effectiveness has always been an important research question. In practice, there is an interesting phenomenon of knowledge fortuitous re-encountering, which most people experience occasionally. However, there is no theoretical research in this field. Based on empirical observations, it has been found that people may re-encounter the same or similar knowledge by chance in different situations. This knowledge is presented in various rich forms, which will bring about affective and cognitive changes, ultimately influencing the learning effect. This concept, knowledge fortuitous re-encountering, is proposed as an important supplement to systematic, rational, and predictable individual learning. Its influence on learning is then introduced and systematically expounded upon from the perspectives of affection and cognition. In terms of affection, knowledge fortuitous re-encountering is believed to help strengthen individual affective perception, including general and specific perceptions. Specifically, knowledge fortuitous re-encountering helps individuals to recognize the importance of knowledge and the sense of “Yuan Fen” of knowledge. In the aspect of cognition, the characteristics of knowledge are first classified based on time-space theory. Furthermore, it is pointed out that knowledge fortuitous re-encountering is conducive to strengthening individual cognitive inspiration, encompassing divergent heuristics and convergent heuristics. Specifically, knowledge fortuitous re-encountering contributes to individuals’ cognition of the richness and unity of knowledge. Paying attention to knowledge fortuitous re-encountering and creating favorable conditions to create potential opportunities are important methods and keys to improving learning effectiveness. Furthermore, practical implications for creating potential opportunities for fortuitous re-encountering are put forward from the perspectives of internal and external causes. The theoretical development of related fields is advanced from three aspects. First, the concept of knowledge fortuitous re-encountering is clarified, emphasizing both fortuitous happenstance and differential re-encountering, aspects which has not been addressed in existing studies. Second, the influence mechanism of knowledge fortuitous re-encountering on learning is put forward. Specifically, it systematically analyzes this influence mechanism from the perspectives of affection and cognition, thereby advancing research in related fields. Third, the study of knowledge fortuitous re-encountering contributes to providing a new research perspective for individuals, teams, and organizations on how to improve learning effectiveness. In summary, the theoretical and practical discussion of learning from knowledge fortuitous re-encountering in this study aims to provide new ideas for improving learning effectiveness and inspire detailed exploration of individual learning research.

Abstract:Family firms tend to be independent or collaborative in their R&D decision preference. What preferences are presented in the selection of partners? This is an important theoretical issue in the research of innovation strategy. Based on resource-dependent theory and social emotional wealth theory, this paper analyzes the influence of family control on R&D decision preference and the selection of partners, and discusses the boundary conditions between them using a forward-looking feedback model. Based on data from Chinese pharmaceutical listed companies, this study finds that, family firms are more inclined to choose a collaborative mode than non-family firms. In order to maintain social emotional wealth, they tend to avoid cooperation with state-owned institutions and prefer to cooperate with related enterprises. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the R&D decision preference of family firms are also influenced by the level of social trust and property rights protection. The performance expectations plays a significant regulatory role in the R&D decision preference regarding family control and invention patents. That is, the performance expectation inhibits the willingness of family firms to collaborative in R&D, especially with state-owned institutions, but significantly increases their motivation to cooperate with related enterprises. This study provides new insights into the R&D decision preference of family firms.

Abstract:Entrepreneurial failure often subjects entrepreneurs to social stigma. Entrepreneurs can employ impression management strategies to purpose fully influence the audience’s legitimacy judgments of their failures, thus mitigating social stigma. However, few studies have explored which impression management strategies can garner legitimacy judgments from the public in the context of entrepreneurial failure. Drawing on grounded theory, this paper analyzes public narratives and corresponding online comments post-failure to identify three types of impression management strategies: Decision mistakes, action mistakes, and comprehensive reflection. It also identifies three types of legitimacy judgments: Content legitimacy, entrepreneur legitimacy, and entrepreneurial venture legitimacy. The study investigates the mechanisms through which impression management strategies affect legitimacy judgments and constructs a model of impression management strategies for Chinese entrepreneurs to obtain legitimacy from online audiences after failures. The findings reveal unique connotations and operational rules of impression management strategies in the Chinese context that differ from previous studies. The research elucidates mechanisms by which entrepreneurs’use of impression management strategies can influence online audiences’ legitimacy judgments, making significant contributions to theories related to impression management and legitimacy following entrepreneurial failure. It also provides crucial insights for entrepreneurs in selecting appropriate impression management strategies to handle online audiences’ legitimacy judgments after failures.

Abstract:This study uses the transition of China’s mobile phone industry from Shanzhai (copycat) to branding as a case study to distill the theoretical path for latecomer integrated firms to achieve independent innovation and promote the upgrading of the local industrial chain when core components are “bottlenecked.” Based on the Lancaster framework, this paper deconstructs the industrial chain of multi-technology products and constructs a four-stage game theory model that includes two types of components, three types of suppliers, and three innovation models, focusing on analyzing the innovation and outsourcing strategies of integrated firms. The paper finds that under the dual advantages of technology and market of upstream suppliers, the key to the transformation and upgrading of downstream integrated firms lies in expanding their knowledge boundaries to deeply participate in the research and development of components and increase investment in integrated innovation. This will lead to a shift in innovation activities in the industrial chain from supplier-led to upstream and downstream collaborative innovation, as well as the localization of non-core and core component supply chains in sequence. This study provides an important reference for the development of China’s multi-technology product industry.

Abstract:To achieve a lean operation, fresh e-commerce enterprises need to grasp users’demands timely and accurately. This research aims to find consumers’heterogeneous preferences and implicit demands from reviews of fresh products on e-commerce platforms. Considering the social influence of implicit feedback information from reviews on customers’ purchasing decisions, this study designs a Mixed Logit model incorporating the impact of reviews on customers’ utility to simulate the different purchase behaviors and capture customers’ implicit requirements and heterogeneity effectively. Firstly, this research collects the online reviews of fresh products and then adopts natural language processing (NLP) technology to extract the customers’ implicit requirements from the reviews. Secondly, the implicit requirements are combined with customer attributes and fresh product attributes to construct the utility function and establish the customers’ choice behavior model. Finally, an example analysis is conducted based on the actual data from a fresh product e-commerce platform. The results show that the explicit attributes of fresh products cannot fully capture customers’ demands, and more invisible demands are hidden in other customers’ comments, which would affect the purchase decisions of potential customers. By incorporating the implicit feedback information in online reviews, the discrete choice model which considers the social impact of reviews is well interpreted and suitable for purchasing scenarios of fresh product e-commerce platform. This model shows a higher degree of goodness of fit compared with the model without considering the social influence of reviews. Thus, the implicit feedback in online reviews has been demonstrated to present more practical value for influencing customers’ choice behavior. The proposed method could provide valuable insights for fresh product e-commerce enterprises on precision marketing, business strategy adjustment, and product optimization.

Abstract:Based on the situation of promoting the effective development of hierarchical healthcare services through hospital associations, this paper studies the contractual mechanism of cooperation between the government and hospitals in coordinating the allocation of high-quality medical resources as well as the mechanism of the operations of hospital associations. By developing a four-stage game-theoretic queueing model, this paper analyzes the dynamic interaction relationships among patients, multiple community hospitals, and tertiary hospitals in a hospital association, and government. Next, this paper presents the equilibrium decisions in terms of patients’ arrival rate, community hospitals’ capacity planning, the tertiary hospital’s resource sinking rate, and the government’s subsidy price, and each community hospital’s profit-sharing price. It finds that, in the absence of resource sinking, the more community hospitals there are, the more conducive they are to reducing the congestion of tertiary hospitals and the healthcare system and improving the welfare of patients. Furthermore, the medium number of community hospitals is more conducive to the improvement of social welfare. By contrast, the fewer the community hospitals, the more favorable the hospital association is to promoting the implementation of the resource-sinking program and improve the effectiveness of the system. When the community hospital’s capacity cost per unit is higher, the maximum number of members in the government-formed consortium should be the smaller. Numerical experiments show that in the process of compensating a tertiary hospital, when the concerned degree of the increase in the rate of patients visiting community hospitals is relatively low or high, the government could save subsidy funds. Specifically, in the case of limited subsidy budgets, this is particularly beneficial for the improvement of social welfare. This paper proposes the contract mechanisms for coordinating the effective allocation of high-quality medical resources in a hospital association. This provides theoretical decision support for the government to establish a scientific hierarchical healthcare delivery system. At the same time, this paper has a high application reference value for improving the overall efficiency of healthcare services.

Abstract:Blockchain technology (BCT) can alleviate information asymmetry between banks and enterprises while enhancing product traceability in dual-channel supply chains. Considering both the mitigation of information asymmetry and market potential incentives offered by BCT, this paper constructs a game model of the capital-constrained dual-channel supply chain consisting of a manufacturer, a retailer, and a bank. The equilibrium decisions and profits of each participant in the two scenarios: No BCT adoption (Scenario N) and with BCT adoption (Scenario T)are derived. Further, the impact of BCT adoption on the retailer’s financing environment and the equilibrium results are obtained through comparative analysis. Several findings are obtained: First, BCT can improve the financing environment for the retailer by reducing financing gaps and costs. Second, the market potential incentive effect of BCT positively affects all participants, as it allows for increased market potential in both channels. Third, the information asymmetry mitigation effect does not positively affect all participants: It is always favorable to high-quality retailers and banks, while it is always unfavorable to low-quality retailers. It is favorable to the manufacturer only when the retailer’s own capital is relatively large. Finally, smart contracts can help the bank avoid moral hazard and further boost the positive effects of information asymmetry mitigation on both the high-quality retailer and the bank. The findings may have implications for BCT adoption decisions to facilitate inclusive finance and supply chain traceability.

Abstract:In recent years, China has significantly raised its minimum wage standards, resulting in a substantial increase in labor costs that undoubtedly affect the operational and financial behaviors of firms. This study, based on manually collected data from 339 cities nationwide and focusing on A-share listed companies, reveals that increases in minimum wage standards prompt companies to increase their cash holdings. For every ￥100 increase in the monthly minimum wage standards in the company’s location, its cash reserves increase by 299〖WTXT〗%〖WTBZ〗. Mechanism analysis suggests that the upward adjustment in minimum wage standards reinforces both transactional and precautionary motives for cash holdings. Companies primarily rely on internal financing to boost their cash reserves, notably by enhancing working capital management efficiency. Further investigations show that the positive effect of minimum wage standards hikes on cash holdings is more pronounced in companies facing stringent financing constraints, weaker corporate governance, lower marketization levels in their locations, and higher proportions of low-educated workers. Additionally, the positive impact of minimum wage standards increases on cash holdings exhibits persistence, and the cash accumulation behavior is beneficial for the company’〖KG-*5〗s market value under such circumstances. This research indicates that improving operational capital management efficiency to increase cash holdings serves as an effective strategy for companies to cope with the pressure of rising minimum wage standards and associated risks.

Abstract:Based on expected utility theory, this paper constructs a theoretical model of leverage and household economic vulnerability, and discusses the impact under different external shocks. Applying the survey data, this paper finds a significant positive relationship between household leverage and vulnerability, which remains valid even after the instrumental variable regression, the propensity score matching, and the replacement of the core explanatory variables and dependent variables. The positive effect of household leverage on vulnerability mainly lies in tightening household liquidity constraints and amplifying financial risk. Moreover, two external shocks: Housing prices and the unemployment rate are selected to conduct the sensitivity analysis. The simulation results show that negative external shocks will significantly amplify the effect of leverage on household economic vulnerability, while positive external shocks alleviate the effect, especially for higher leverage households. Our study can accurately evaluate the impact of leverage on urban household economic vulnerability, to better understand the welfare status of urban households, and to provide a quantitative basis for improving targeted poverty alleviation and effectively implementing household risk management strategies.

Abstract:To address the shortcomings of the existing trend and cycle decomposition methods, we propose a new method based on the MS-FCVAR model. This new method considers the possible long-term memory of economic variables, the fractional cointegrated relationships among variables and their structural changes. Based on the principle of “letting the data speak for itself”, the new method obtains the following findings in the system of real GDP, fixed asset investment, consumption, and export, which are consistent with the development history of China’s economy. 〖JP2〗With the fourth quarter of 2010 as the cut-off point, not only has China’s〖JP〗 economic growth decelerated and shifted gears, but also the growth momentum has shifted. Since the economy entered “a new normal”, especially the supply-side reform, the declaration of China’s economic growth is mainly caused by the trend rather than the cycle of GDP. More importantly, compared with the existing decomposition methods, the prediction deviation and mean square error of the new method are the least when making out-of-sample predictions. Overall, the new method has both good robustness and can be widely applied to research on many economic and management problems, such as long-term trend judgment and short-term fluctuation analysis.

Abstract:Starting from addressing two types of externality problems, this paper establishes a general equilibrium analysis framework to examine the coordinated realization of carbon reduction and non-fossil energy development goals under the two policies of carbon tax and non-fossil energy subsidy. Additionally, it comprehensively evaluates the impacts of these two policies on economic development and energy structure. The results show that: First, levying differentiated carbon tax rates on various sectors results in a lower unit emission reduction cost compared to levying a uniform carbon tax rate all sectors. Second, the carbon tax mainly exerts a direct inhibitory effect on the output and consumption of traditional fossil energy sectors. This can significantly inhibit the growth of energy-intensive industries, thereby having a significant effect on the optimization of industrial structure. In contrast, non-fossil energy subsidy is more effective in promoting the production and consumption of non-fossil energy sources. Third, both a uniform carbon tax rate and differentiated carbon tax rates on carbon emission sources can achieve the goal of carbon peak by 2030. However, to simultaneously achieve the goals of reducing carbon intensity and increasing the share of non-fossil energy, carbon tax revenues should be further used to subsidize non-fossil energy consumptions. Fourth, a carbon tax is likely to bring losses to GDP, whereas non-fossil energy subsidy can increase GDP. Using carbon tax revenues to further subsidize non-fossil energy consumptions can offset the negative impact of a single carbon tax policy on the economy, and may even generates a significant positive effect. In the future, China should levy differentiated carbon tax rates on carbon sources not covered by the existing carbon market, and allocate the carbon tax revenues to subsidize non-fossil energy consumption. By adopting this combination of constraints and incentives, China can fully leverage the advantages of policy integration to achieve both carbon reduction and non-fossil energy development goals.