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Given the great upheaval in the international situation and the increasing operating risk in international business, research on corporate diplomacy is thriving. However, it still lacks clear conceptualization and operationalization. Based on social capital theory, our study conceptualizes corporate diplomacy as a three-dimensional construct and quantifies its distinct and combined impacts on multinational enterprises’ (MNE) subsidiary performance.

This research analyzes 134 responses collected from a questionnaire survey among key informants in Chinese MNEs using the regression method.

This research finds that corporate diplomacy is positively correlated with MNEs’ subsidiary performance. Specifically, compatriot-oriented diplomacy is the most effective, followed sequentially by host-partner-oriented and host-regulator-oriented diplomacy. In addition, compatriot-oriented diplomacy substitutes for host-partner-oriented diplomacy but complements host-regulator-oriented diplomacy in enhancing subsidiary performance.

Our research enriches the conceptualization and operationalization of corporate diplomacy and provides a nuanced view of its distinct and combined effects on MNEs’ subsidiary performance.

This research focuses on the Metaverse's evolving trend and the potential application of blockchain technology in the accounting of virtual assets in this digital domain. The Metaverse introduces a new economy in which users may earn real-world revenue through virtual activities, necessitating the need for efficient and dependable virtual asset accounting. Blockchain technology, with its decentralized and immutable record, appears to be a viable answer to these problems. This chapter discusses the present status of blockchain technology for accounting for virtual assets in the Metaverse as well as its potential role for businesses and the economy. It also determines the technology's issues and limits and makes recommendations for further development. The findings indicate that blockchain technology has the potential to transform virtual asset accounting in the Metaverse by improving security, transparency, and consistency. However, scalability and legal/regulatory issues must be overcome before it can completely achieve its promise. Accounting experts, developers, and stakeholders interested in the convergence of blockchain technology and the Metaverse economy will find this chapter useful.

Gears are prone to instantaneous failure when operating under extreme conditions, affecting the machinery’s service life. With numerous types of gear meshing and complex operating conditions, this study focuses on the gear–rack mechanism. This study aims to analyze the effects and optimization of biomimetic texture parameters on the line contact tribological behavior of gear–rack mechanisms under starvation lubrication conditions.

Inspired by the microstructure of shark skin surface, a diamond-shaped biomimetic texture was designed to improve the tribological performance of gear–rack mechanism under starved lubrication conditions. The line contact meshing process of gear–rack mechanisms under lubrication-deficient conditions was simulated by using a block-on-ring test. Using the response surface method, this paper analyzed the effects of bionic texture parameters (width, depth and spacing) on the tribological performance (friction coefficient and wear amount) of tested samples under line contact and starved lubrication conditions.

The experimental results show an optimal proportional relationship between the texture parameters, which made the tribological performance of the tested samples the best. The texture parameters were optimized by using the main objective function method, and the preferred combination of parameters was a width of 69 µm, depth of 24 µm and spacing of 1,162 µm.

The research results have practical guiding significance for designing line contact motion pairs surface texture and provide a theoretical basis for optimizing line contact motion pairs tribological performance under extreme working conditions.

This study investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance of the banking sector from the prospective of emerging countries.

This study obtained balance sheet and income statement data for 173 banks in 20 emerging countries from the Bankscope database from 2005–2018. The CSR-related data were taken from the Thomson Reuters ASSET4 database. Moreover, macroeconomic controls such as GDP per capita, inflation, and financial development are attained from the GFDD. The series of institutional quality indices (Political Stability, Rule of Law, Control of Corruption, Government Effectiveness, and Regulatory Quality) is obtained from the WGI. At the same time, national culture and bank regulation are attained from Hofstede Insights and Barth et al. (2013). We used the panel fixed-effects model in our baseline estimations, while 2SLS and GMM were applied to control for endogeneity.

The finding shows that CSR activities significantly improve bank performance, but the effect varies across the bank. Only environmentally friendly activities have shown a significant positive relationship with banking performance for CSR dimensions. However, the social and government dimensions did not significantly affect bank performance. Moreover, a sound institutional and regulatory environment and national norms play an important role in the nexus of CSR activities and bank performance.

This study provides empirical evidence that sheds light on CSR and bank performance in an emerging market context.

This study aims to develop an interface management risk interaction modeling and analysis methodology applicable to complex systems in high-speed rail construction projects, reveal the interaction mechanism of interface management risk and provide theoretical support for project managers to develop appropriate interface management risk response strategies.

This paper introduces the association rule mining technique to improve the complex network modeling method. Taking China as an example, based on the stakeholder perspective, the risk factors and significant accident types of interface management of high-speed rail construction projects are systematically identified, and a database is established. Then, the Apriori algorithm is used to mine and analyze the strong association rules among the factors in the database, construct the complex network, and analyze its topological characteristics to reveal the interaction mechanism of the interface management risk of high-speed rail construction projects.

The results show that the network is both scale-free and small-world, implying that construction accidents are not random events but rather the result of strong interactions between numerous interface management risks. Contractors, technical interfaces, mechanical equipment, and environmental factors are the primary direct causal factors of accidents, while owners and designers are essential indirect causal factors. The global importance of stakeholders such as owners, designers, and supervisors rises significantly after considering the indirect correlations between factors. This theoretically explains the need to consider the interactions between interface management risks.

The interaction mechanism between interface management risks is unclear, which is an essential factor influencing the decision of risk response measures. This study proposes a new methodology for analyzing interface management risk response strategies that incorporate quantitative analysis methods and considers the interaction of interface management risks.

In the stock market, herding behavior occurs when investors mimic the actions of others in their investment decisions. As a result, the market becomes inefficient and speculative bubbles form. This study aims to investigate the relationship between information, overconfidence, market sentiment, experience and national culture, and herding behavior among Malaysian investors. A total of 400 questionnaires are distributed to bank institutions' investors. The survey design based on cross-sectional data is analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model. The results indicate that information, market sentiment, experience, and national culture are positively related to herding behavior, while overconfidence has no effect. With this, the government should strengthen regulations to prevent the dissemination of misleading information. Moreover, investors are encouraged to overcome narrow thinking by expanding their understanding of different cultures when making investment decisions.

This study investigates the mediating role of wage and workforce adjustments, along with the moderating influence of collective bargaining system and employees’ localization, in elucidating the relationship between the COVID-19 shock and workplace employee relations (ER) tension.

Survey data from 1,483 enterprises across 21 prefectural cities in China’s Guangdong Province are collected. The hypotheses are tested by logistic regression.

The study reveals a positive correlation between the COVID-19 shock and workplace ER tension across crisis-hit enterprises, irrespective of their size or industrial sector. Wage reduction and mass layoffs emerge as significant mediators, while the collective bargaining system (CBS) and employees’ localization act as moderators.

The measurement of ER is limited in a single-item scale. Representation of China is also limited since the study exclusively focuses on Guangdong province. The study offers some contributions that firm-level data reveal the pathway through which COVID-19 creates ER tension.

On the one hand, the authors recommend the establishment of an effective communication system between employers and employees. On the other hand, managers should consider the role of informal institutions. Furthermore, the authors suggest implementing tailored strategies at the enterprise level.

Intense external shocks result in widespread layoffs and increased wage reductions within workplaces, and under such circumstances, formal or informal institutions may be insufficient to alleviate ER tension. In this case, the state authorities – including governments and other public agencies or bodies – are necessary to intervene in to organize tripartite dialogue.

While numerous emerging studies on COVID-19 explore how different countries manage industrial relations tension at the national level, few focus on ER at workplace level, particularly in developing countries. Understanding how workplace ER evolve during external shocks and identifying institutional measures to mitigate their negative impact is crucial for future crisis management.

The normalization of COVID-19 disease prevention has presented a major opportunity for the transformation and upgrade of cultural and tourism products in Taiwan. This paper aims to explore the attractiveness of Taiwanese military dependents’ villages, known as juancun, two studies were conducted to test the path relationships of juancun experiencescape, authenticity, memorability and revisit intention.

This research conducted two studies by using a mixed sampling of snowball sampling and purposive sampling for the questionnaire survey. Based on the 397 valid questionnaires retained in Study 1, a cultural heritage site experiencescape was developed and validated; in Study 2, 393 valid questionnaires were collected, and structural equation modeling was conducted to test hypotheses that were developed drawing on the stimulus–organism–response model and theory of buyer behavior.

It is revealed that cultural heritage site experiencescape include natural and cultural, social, sensory and functional factors and that the experiencescape affects authenticity positively; “existential authenticity–memorability” mediates the relationship of experiencescape and revisit intention, whereas co-creation behavior has the positive moderating effects on the relationship of experiencescape and authenticity.

The research developed an experiencescape scale for cultural heritage sites and described the managerial implications for destination management organizations regarding product development and service design.

COVID-19疫情防控的常态化为台湾的文化和旅游产品升级转型提供了巨大的契机。为了明确台湾眷村的旅游吸引力, 本研究操作两个研究设计以检定眷村体验景观、真实性、难忘性及重游意图之间的路径关系。

本研究操作的两个研究设计皆采用滚雪球抽样和目的性抽样的混合抽样方法进行问卷调查。基于研究设计一回收的397份有效问卷, 发展和验证了眷村文化遗产地体验景观量表; 运用研究设计二回收的393份有效问卷, 操作结构方程模型分析以检定基于刺激-机体-反应理论和买方行为理论发展的假设。

本研究揭示了文化遗产地体验景观包含自然与文化、社会、感官、功能性因素; 体验景观正向影响真实性; “存在主义真实性-难忘性”中介调节体验景观和重游意图的关系; 共创行为正向调节体验景观与真实性的关系。

本研究发展了文化遗产地体验景观量表, 并就产品发展和服务设计为旅游目的地管理组织提供了实务建议。

Esta investigación llevó a cabo dos estudios mediante un muestreo mixto de bola de nieve y muestreo intencionado para la encuesta por cuestionario. A partir de los 397 cuestionarios válidos retenidos en el Estudio 1, se desarrolló y validó el experiencescape del patrimonio cultural; en el Estudio 2, se recogieron 393 cuestionarios válidos y se realizó un modelado de ecuaciones estructurales para probar las hipótesis que se desarrollaron a partir del modelo estímulo-organismo-respuesta y la teoría del comportamiento del comprador.

La normalización de la prevención de la enfermedad COVID-19 ha supuesto una gran oportunidad para la transformación y mejora de los productos culturales y turísticos de Taiwán. Para explorar el atractivo de las aldeas de los familiares de militares en Taiwan, conocidos como juancun, se realizaron dos estudios para probar las relaciones de trayectoria del experiencescape del juancun, la autenticidad, la memorabilidad y la intención de volver a visitarlo.

Se revela que el experiencescape del patrimonio cultural de la aldea militar incluye factores naturales y culturales, sociales, sensoriales y funcionales, y que el experiencescape afecta positivamente a la autenticidad; la “autenticidad existencial-memorabilidad” media en la relación del experiencescape y la intención de volver a visitarlo, mientras que el comportamiento de cocreación tiene los efectos moderadores positivos en la relación del experiencescape y la autenticidad.

La investigación desarrolló una escala de experiencescape para el patrimonio cultural del sitio y describió las implicaciones gerenciales para las organizaciones de gestión de destinos en relación con el desarrollo de productos y el diseño de servicios.

Short-form videos have gradually become important marketing tools for tourist destinations. However, chaotic sources and homogenized content have led to poor user experiences. Taking Kulangsu and Xi'an City Wall in China as examples, this study explored the influence of matching short-form video sources with destination types on user engagement and visit intention.

This study selected three short-form videos from different sources for each destination on TikTok and conducted an empirical research using a 3 × 2 experimental design to examine the proposed research model.

The results showed that the matching effect between short-form video sources and destination types will positively affect user engagement and visit intention. (1) the short-form videos with user-generated content (UGC) or professional user-generated content (PUGC) in hedonic destinations can obtain higher user engagement and visit intention; (2) the short-form videos with professionally generated content (PGC) or PUGC in utilitarian destinations can obtain higher user engagement and visit intention and (3) perceived credibility and perceived usefulness played mediating roles in these interactions.

This study considers short-form video sources as antecedent variables influencing user engagement and visit intention and confirms the matching effect between short-form video sources and tourism destination types. The findings will help researchers and marketers better understand the impact of short-form video on destination marketing.

This study reveals the green building development path and analyzes the optimal government subsidy equilibrium through evolutionary game theory and numerical simulation. This was done to explore the feasible measures and optimal incentives to achieve higher levels of green building in China.

First, the practice of green building in China was analyzed, and the specific influencing factors and incentive measures for green building development were extracted. Second, China-specific evolutionary game models were constructed between developers and homebuyers under the market regulation and government incentive mechanism scenarios, and the evolutionary paths were analyzed. Finally, real-case numerical simulations were conducted, subsidy impacts were mainly analyzed and optimal subsidy equilibriums were solved.

(1) Simultaneously subsidizing developers and homebuyers proved to be the most effective measure to promote the sustainability of green buildings. (2) The sensitivity of developers and homebuyers to subsidies varied across scenarios, and the optimal subsidy level diminished marginally as building greenness and public awareness increased. (3) The optimal subsidy level for developers was intricately tied to the building greenness benchmark. A higher benchmark intensified the developer’s responsiveness to losses, at which point increasing subsidies were justified. Conversely, a reduction in subsidy might have been appropriate when the benchmark was set at a lower level.

The expeditious advancement of green buildings holds paramount importance for the high-quality development of the construction industry. Nevertheless, the pace of green building expansion in China has experienced a recent deceleration. Drawing insights from the practices of green building in China, the exploration of viable strategies and the determination of optimal government subsidies stand as imperative initiatives. These endeavors aim to propel the acceleration of green building proliferation and materialize high-quality development at the earliest juncture possible.

The model is grounded in China’s green building practices, which makes the conclusions drawn more specific. Furthermore, research results provide practical references for governments to formulate green building incentive policies.