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This study employs firm-level data to evaluate how the knowledge economy impacts the financing constraints of businesses across 106 low- and middle-income nations, focusing on the influence of technological transformation on corporate financing choices.

The research centers on privately held, unlisted firms and examines the distinct effects of knowledge at both the within-country and between-country levels using a panel dataset. Rigorous sensitivity and endogeneity analyses are conducted to ensure the reliability of the findings.

The findings indicate that greater levels of the knowledge economy correlate with reduced financing constraints for firms. However, this effect varies depending on the location within a country and across different geographical regions. Firms situated in larger urban centers and more innovative regions reap the most significant benefits from the knowledge economy when seeking external funding. Conversely, firms in smaller cities, rural areas and regions characterized by structural and institutional inefficiencies in knowledge generation experience fewer advantages.

The impact of knowledge exhibits variability not only within and among countries but also between poor and affluent developing nations, as well as between larger and smaller countries. The knowledge effect on firms' access to external finance is influenced by factors such as financial openness and development, educational quality, technological absorption capabilities and agglomeration conditions within each country.

Enterprises in the digital context attach importance to the participation of heterogeneous subjects in co-creation activities. As the core source of organizational innovation, employees are bound to assume responsibilities or provide role value in the process of digital innovation. While employee-driven digital innovation frameworks are being explored, together with research on employee innovation behavior mostly focusing on the “net effect” of single-level variables on outcomes.

Following the interaction logic of employee level and organizational level, this study applies ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO) theory and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to explore the influence of various digitization related factors' conditional configuration on employees' digital innovation behavior.

The results indicate that type of “self-motivation with multiple supports”, “organization-driven with digital oriented” and “digital-driven with ambidextrous complementary” constitute the configuration that drives high digital innovation behavior, while type of “cognitive deficit with environmental slack” and “fuzzy motivation with opportunity misapplication” constitute the configuration that drives nonhigh digital innovation behavior.

This conclusion enriches the theoretical research on digital innovation that regards individuals as action potentials and provides important guidance for how to cultivate and activate employees' digital innovation behaviors in management practice.

The purpose of this study is to make an exploratory analysis of the impact of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) as defined by Acs et al. (2014) on opportunity-driven senior entrepreneurial activity in Latin America.

The research uses data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute of five Latin America countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico), providing a total of 15,019 observations of people that are 50+ years old, between the years 2013 and 2017. A multi-level logistic regression model was used to estimate the relation between the total entrepreneurial activity by opportunity of seniors and some EE indicators. A total of three equations were estimated on the data set described.

This research confirms the relevance of some elements of EE on senior entrepreneurship in Latin America. Entrepreneurial attitudes have a positive relationship with senior entrepreneurs, generating higher levels of entrepreneurial ventures. The combination of institutions that support these attitudes on the EE enhances senior entrepreneurial activity. It also demonstrates that a higher level of entrepreneurial education at postschool stages is relevant to increasing senior entrepreneurial activity.

This research makes some interesting contributions in the field of measuring the impact of EE on senior entrepreneurship by opportunity in developing countries, filling a literature gap. It allows us to glimpse some measures that policymakers could take to improve the entrepreneurial activity of this segment in the region, such as implementing programs that facilitate networking opportunities and mentorship, along with providing training in business and financial literacy.

In less than a decade to Sustainable Development Goals, the urban solid waste (USW) emanating from households, especially in developing countries, calls for concern. Several policies have been suggested and some implemented, but the challenges facing USW management remain, especially in developing nations. Past studies demonstrated that the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies can be used to improve urban public services. The role of 4IR in mitigating the challenges of USW is yet to receive in-depth research in Nigeria. Thus, the study investigated 4IR role regarding mitigating the challenges facing USW.

Seven cities across Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory, were used as the study area to achieve the research objectives via a qualitative research design. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted from selected regulators, households, legislators, ICT experts, NGOs and waste managers. A thematic approach was adopted to analyse the collated data.

Findings group the USW challenges into five categories. The 4IR technologies can be used to manage USW; thus, they create an opportunity to integrate and promote sustainable clean cities.

This study is confined to the 4IR role concerning mitigating the encumbrances facing USW in Nigeria and proffered feasible policies to enhance a sustainable healthy environment.

Proffered policy solutions will stir policymakers and construction practitioners to think outside the box and offer and better understand how 4IR technologies can be utilised to mitigate those challenges. The outcome will create sustainable clean cities as part of the implication contribution to the body of knowledge.

Evidence from the reviewed literature shows a paucity of literature focussed on 4IR roles in mitigating the encumbrances facing USW in Nigeria. Therefore, this study contributes to the existing research work on 4IR concerning its role in enhancing USW in Nigeria and, by extension, to other developing countries.

To maximise acoustic comfort in a classroom, the acoustic conditions of the space should be variable. So, the optimal acoustic state also changes when the classroom changes from a study environment into a lecture environment. Passive Variable Acoustic Technology (PVAT) alters a room’s Reverberation Time (RT) by changing the total sound absorption in a room. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the improvements to classroom acoustic comfort when using PVAT.

The study is conducted in an existing tertiary classroom at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. The PVAT is prototyped, and the RTs are measured according to international standards before and after classroom installation. The acoustic measurement method used is a cost-effective application tool where pre- and post-conditions are of primary concern.

PVAT is found to offer statistically significant improvements in RT, but the key benefits are realised in its’ ability to vary RT for different classroom situations. It is predicted that the RT recommendations for two room types outlined in the acoustic standard AS/NZS 2107:2016 are satisfied when using PVAT in a single classroom space. By optimising RT, the acoustic comfort during both study and lecture is significantly improved.

When PVAT is combined with an intelligent system – Intelligent Passive Room Acoustic Technology (IPRAT) – it can detect sound waves in real time to identify the optimal RT. This paper details a pilot case study that works towards quantifying the benefits of IPRAT, by prototyping and testing the PVAT component of the system.

1. A pilot case study outlines the development and test of a variable acoustic prototype in a tertiary classroom

2. A method is adopted to measure acoustic conditions, using three under-researched Android applications

3. The benefits of PVAT are realised in its ability to vary RT by adjusting the prototypes’ sound absorption

4. By using PVAT in a single space, the recommended RTs for two room types outlined in the acoustic standard AS/NZS 2107:2016 can be satisfied

5. The improvements in acoustic comfort due to PVAT are statistically significant

A pilot case study outlines the development and test of a variable acoustic prototype in a tertiary classroom

A method is adopted to measure acoustic conditions, using three under-researched Android applications

The benefits of PVAT are realised in its ability to vary RT by adjusting the prototypes’ sound absorption

By using PVAT in a single space, the recommended RTs for two room types outlined in the acoustic standard AS/NZS 2107:2016 can be satisfied

The improvements in acoustic comfort due to PVAT are statistically significant

As an emerging socio-technical paradigm, high-speed railways profoundly change individuals' lifestyle and allow for the shift toward a green transportation. Digital technologies open an opportunity window for the development of enterprises. This study aims to clarify the impact of firm digitalization on the innovation efficiency of the Chinese high-speed rail industry. In addition, human capital is the important non-physical capital of enterprises. The authors also elucidate the moderating role of human capital on the above relationship.

Based on the data of Chinese high-speed railway listed companies from 2015 to 2021, this study explores the impact of digital transformation on the innovation efficiency, and further clarifies the boundary role of human capital with two-way fixed effect regression models.

The empirical results indicate that digital transformation has a positive impact on the innovation efficiency of the Chinese high-speed railway enterprises. Furthermore, human capital significantly enhances the above relationship. In addition, digital transformation fosters the innovation efficiency of small- and medium-sized enterprises and private-owned enterprises, but the correlation coefficients between digital transformation and the innovation efficiency of large enterprises and state-owned enterprises are not significant.

This is one of the earliest studies to explore how digital technologies shape R&D activities. From the perspective of relative efficiency, this study evaluates the effectiveness of digital transformation and provides empirical evidence for the formulation and implementation of corporate digital strategies. Moreover, this study links human capital with digital transformation and identifies condition factors that affect the effectiveness of digital transformation, thereby supplementing existing knowledge.

In socio-technical transition theory, resistance by existing technology and regime resistance plays a key role. The resistance is in the form of intentional improvements; eventually, the regime destabilizes and adopts the new technology, referred to as the sailing-ship effect. Researchers used a structural view and examined it as a strategic action and its relationship with new technology (competitive/symbiotic) in non-fast-changing sailing systems. This study uses a microlevel view and examines it in a fast-changing where products/services are developed by integrating existing technology with new product innovations; their success depends on addressing technical/market uncertainty. This study examines the sailing-ship effect in a fast-changing system and contributes to the socio-technical transition theory.

The authors need to examine the phenomena of the sailing-ship effect in its setting, and a case-study method is appropriate. The selected case provided diverse analytic and heuristic perspectives to examine the phenomena; therefore, it was a single case study.

In an IT scenario, the strategic actions decide and realize agility and competitive advantage by formulating appropriate goals with required budgets and coevolutionary changes to resources at product, process and organizational levels, addressing technical/market uncertainty. Moreover, the agility displayed by strategic actions determines the relationship with new technology, which is interspersed. Finally, it provided insights into struggle, navigation and negotiations, forming strategic actions to display the sailing-ship effect.

The study selected a Banking Financial Services and Insurance product of an IT Services company. As start-ups exhibit inherent (emergent) agility, the authors can examine agility as a combination of emergent and strategic actions by selecting a start-up.

The study highlights the strategic actions specific to an IT services company. It developed its product and services by steering clear from IT innovations such as native cloud and continuous deployment. It improved its products/services with necessary organizational changes and achieved the desired agility and competitive advantage. Therefore, organizations devise appropriate strategic actions to combat the sailing-ship effect apart from setting goals and selecting IT innovations.

The study expands the socio-technical transition theory by selecting a fast-changing system. It provided insights into the relationship between existing and new technology and the strategic actions necessary to manage technical and market uncertainty and achieve the desired competitive advantage, or the sailing-ship effect.

The purpose of this study is to explore the antecedents of digital technology adoption by firms, specifically the role of strategic leader social ties such as board networks and executive academic connections in promoting digital transformation. Moreover, the authors also aim to examine the moderating effect of exploratory innovation strategy on the relationship between board networks, academic connections and digital transformation.

This study uses the panel data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2019. Through text analysis of data such as company annual report, media interaction, asset annotation and International Patent Classification, the authors measure degrees of digital transformation from four dimensions: management attention, media discussion, digital input and digital output. Further, this study employs social network analysis and instrumental variable method to examine the causal relationship between strategic leader social ties and digital transformation.

The study finds that an expansive board network can significantly promote the digital transformation process of companies, in which academic connection of senior executives plays a positive synergistic role with board network. Additionally, firms with exploratory innovation strategies are more likely to utilize board networks to accelerate their digital transformation process.

One limitation of this study is the use of Chinese A-share listed companies as the sample, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other contexts. Additionally, the study focuses only on two types of strategic leader social ties and does not consider other potential antecedents of digital transformation.

This research provides insights for governments to promote digital economy and industrial upgrading. Policymakers can facilitate industrial digital transformation by creating a supportive policy environment that encourages university–industry collaboration. By fostering academic entrepreneurship and cross-border knowledge transfer, governments can create a thriving ecosystem for digital innovation, thereby enhancing industrial competitiveness and economic growth.

This study helps to improve social welfare. By reducing production costs and enhancing customer experience, digital transformation increases economic surplus for both consumers and manufacturers, enabling society as a whole to benefit from the digital dividend. By promoting collaboration across borders and embracing a digital-friendly culture, businesses and governments can achieve long-term success in the digital age and contribute to building more prosperous and sustainable societies.

This research makes several contributions to the literature on digital transformation and leadership. Firstly, this paper empirically examines the role of board network and executive academic connection in promoting the adoption of digital technology, filling the research gap of leadership antecedents of digital transformation. Secondly, the authors put forward a relatively comprehensive measure for digital transformation, which could help to advance the literature on digital transformation and provide a more nuanced perspective on this topic. Finally, the paper enriches the theoretical understanding of board network and executive academic connection from the perspective of social capital theory and organizational learning theory.

This study aims to investigate the structural characteristics, spatial evolution paths and internal driving mechanisms of the knowledge transfer (KT) network in China’s patent-intensive industries (PIIs). The authors' goal is to provide valuable insights to inform policy-making that fosters the development of relevant industries. The authors also aim to offer a fresh perspective for future spatiotemporal studies on industrial KT and innovation networks.

In this study, the authors analyze the patent transfer (PT) data of listed companies in China’s information and communication technology (ICT) industry, spanning from 2010 to 2021. The authors use social network analysis and the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) method to explore the problem of China’s PIIs KT from the perspectives of technical characteristics evolution, network and spatial evolution and internal driving mechanisms.

The results indicate that the knowledge fields involved in the PT of China’s ICT industry primarily focus on digital information transmission technology. From 2010 to 2021, the scale of the ICT industry’s KT network expanded rapidly. However, the polarization of industrial knowledge distribution is becoming more serious. QAP regression analysis shows that economic proximity and geographical proximity do not affect KT activities. The similarity of knowledge application capacity, innovation capacity and technology demand categories in various regions has a certain degree of impact on KT in the ICT industry.

The current research on PIIs mainly focuses on measuring economic contributions and innovation efficiency, but less on KT in PIIs. This study explores KT in PIIs from the perspectives of technological characteristics, network and spatial evolution. The authors propose a theoretical framework to understand the internal driving mechanisms of industrial KT networks.

This systematic review aims to examine integrating innovative work behavior through transformational leadership in the Saudi healthcare sector. A thorough literature research was carried out to address this problem.

A total of 50 papers reporting research on innovative work behavior, healthcare organizational performance and transformational leadership were included in the review.

As employees are motivated and developed, their innovative work behaviors are boosted, which improves organizational performance. It can be concluded that innovative work behavior and transformational leadership are correlated. The capacity of a healthcare company to create and execute benefits to the employees may assure service delivery efficiency in employees' performance.

This systematic review will allow contemporary advancements, efficient health status monitoring and reliable solutions that aid optimal, equal and effective treatment in Saudi’s healthcare industry.

In an innovative workplace, workers may pitch fresh ideas to their management. Hence, employees see their employer as more transformational.