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After three decades of reform and opening up, China’s economy has experienced huge changes. Against the background of economic globalization, foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an important role in China’s economy. China has become one of the world’s largest FDI inflow countries, which has had an important impact on its economic development. FDI has preferred the industrial sector, which also has serious environmental pollution. This study will consider vertical and horizontal FDI location choice theory and conduct theoretical analysis concerning the FDI location choice within the industrial sectors, as well as empirical analysis to test the distribution of FDI in pollution-intense industries. Furthermore, the “Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment” is one of China’s important industrial policies to guide foreign investment. Since being implemented in 1995, it has made five adjustments. The analysis of the distribution of FDI in the polluting industries and the impact of the change process will provide advice instructive for the government to amend the catalog.

The chapter is devoted to considering the aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic influence on the global and Russian electronics industry. The work aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the electronic industry in the world and Russia from various angles. As a result of the study, the main features of the global electronic industry are highlighted, including leadership of Western European countries, Japan and the United States in the segment of high price electronics; the leadership of the new industrial countries in a lower price segment; active development of microelectronics as an electronics industry segment and its colossal role in the economy of modern countries; the trend towards acquisitions of small companies by large corporations and other industry. Key problems of the Russian electronics are identified, including a small fraction of the global electronics dependence of Russian industry on imported electronic components, a huge backlog of electronic industry of Russia in comparison of world leaders and the newly industrialized countries, technological backwardness of many enterprises of electronic industry, the low level of qualification as a whole industry. The novelty of the research is highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the electronics industry. The study highlights both negative consequences (decline in production of many electronic enterprises, disruption of supply chains, insufficient financing of the industry) and positive aspects (active growth of the segment of household appliances and electronics), as well as an impetus to the development of new directions of world electronics (radio-photonics, optoelectronic and quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, laser technology).

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0 for small and medium size of enterprise in Japan and Brazil.

The authors conducted a quantitative survey (20 companies in Japan and 30 companies in Brazil) combined with a qualitative interview (2 companies in Japan and 15 companies in Brazil).

According to the quantitative study, 90% of them practice Lean manufacturing and 40% of them practice Industry 4.0. In the qualitative study in Brazil, four managers responded that the Lean manufacturing is a prerequisite for Industry 4.0 since any production process with waste cannot be productive, even with sophisticated digitalization technology.

The authors explored further the relationship between “defensive Digital Transformation (DX),” which is based mainly on Lean manufacturing, and “offensive DX,” which relates to customer value creation through Industry 4.0. This study clarifies the relationship and plays as a roadmap to develop better the manufacturing from current status to the vision of Industry 4.0.

This study aimed to investigate and analyze the level of awareness and adoption of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) within the Nigerian construction industry. The focus was on addressing the current state of DLT utilization, identifying challenges and opportunities and proposing strategies to enhance the integration of DLTs into the construction processes and practices of Nigerian professionals and organizations.

The research was underpinned by a robust theoretical and conceptual framework, drawing from established theories of technology adoption. A comprehensive literature review guided the identification of various DLT types. This informed the development of a well-structured questionnaire, which was then distributed to Nigerian construction professionals. The collected data underwent analysis using percentages, frequencies, mean scores, the Kruskal–Wallis H-test and the Shapiro–Wilk test.

A significant finding of this study reveals a generally low awareness and implementation of DLT among construction professionals in Nigeria. These findings emphasize the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to bridge the gap between awareness and adoption of DLT within the Nigerian construction industry.

Industry associations, regulatory bodies and educational institutions can collaborate to develop specialized programs aimed at familiarizing professionals with the benefits and applications of DLTs. Additionally, technology providers and policymakers can leverage these findings to design user-friendly interfaces and guidelines for seamless DLT integration into construction processes.

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing a comprehensive assessment of the awareness and adoption of DLTs specifically within the Nigerian construction industry. While the global recognition of DLT’s potential in construction is acknowledged, this research delves into a regional context, shedding light on the specific opportunities within Nigeria. Furthermore, the study’s identification of a gap between awareness and implementation highlights a critical area for future exploration and development in the field of construction technology adoption.

In this paper, we evaluated the impact of the US “Chip Act” on the participation of the Chinese electronics industry in the global value chain based on the dynamic CGE model. This is a meaningful attempt to use the GTAP-VA model to analyze the electronics industry in China.

We employ a Dynamic GTAP-VA Model to quantitatively evaluate the economic repercussions of the “Chip Act” on the Chinese electronic industries' GVC participation from 2023 to 2040.

The findings depict a discernible contraction in China’s electronic sector by 2040, marked by a −2.95% change in output, a −3.50% alteration in exports and a 0.45% increment in imports. Concurrently, the U.S., EU and certain Asian economies exhibit expansions within the electronic sector, indicating a GVC realignment. The “Chip Act” implementation precipitates a significant divergence in GVC participation across different countries and industries, notably impacting the electronics sector.

Through a meticulous temporal analysis, this manuscript unveils the nuanced economic shifts within the GVC, substantially bridging the empirical void in existing literature. This narrative accentuates the profound implications of policy regulations on global trade dynamics, contributing to the discourse on international economic policy and industry evolution.

We evaluated the impact of the US “Chip Act” on the participation of the Chinese electronics industry in the global value chain based on the dynamic CGE model. This is a meaningful attempt to use the GTAP-VA model to analyze the electronics industry in China.

The interaction between policy regulations and global value chain (GVC) dynamics is pivotal in understanding the contemporary global trade framework, especially within technology-driven sectors. The US “Chips Act” represents a significant regulatory milestone with potential ramifications on the Chinese electronic industries' engagement in the GVC.

The significance of this paper is that it quantifies for the first time the impact of the US Chip Act on the GVC participation index of East Asian countries in the context of US-China decoupling. With careful consideration of strategic aspects, this paper substantially fills the empirical gap in the existing literature by presenting subtle economic changes within GVCs, highlighting the profound implications of policy regulation on global trade dynamics.

This paper investigates how gender, ethnicity, and network membership interact to influence how small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner-managers become aware of finance support programmes developed by government policy and/or support schemes advanced by the banking industry.

Drawing on expectation states theory (EST), we develop eight sets of hypotheses and employ the UK SME Finance Monitor data to test them using bivariate probit regression analysis.

In general, network membership increases awareness, but more so for government programmes. We also find no differences between female and male owner-managers when in networks. However, we identify in-network and out-network differences by ethnicity, with minority females seemingly better off than minority males.

Business networks are better for disseminating government programmes than industry-led programmes. For native White women, network membership can enhance policy awareness advantage further, whilst for minorities, networks significantly offset the big policy awareness deficits minorities inherently face. However, policy and practice need to address intersectional inequalities that remain in access to networks themselves, information access within networks, and the significant out-network deficits in awareness of support programmes afflicting minorities.

This study provides one of the first large-scale empirical examinations of intersectional mechanisms in awareness of government and industry-led enterprise programmes. Our novel and nuanced findings advance our understanding of the ways in which gender and ethnicity interact with network dynamics in entrepreneurship.

Although social media has gained prominence as a communication and marketing tool in various sectors, its adoption and utilization within the construction industry remain relatively underexplored. Therefore, this study fills this gap by evaluating the level of awareness and the extent of adoption of social media within the Nigerian construction industry, shedding light on its current status and potential impact.

This objective was attained via a quantitative research approach that utilized a structured questionnaire to obtain responses from construction professionals such as architects, builders, engineers, quantity surveyors and estate managers. Frequencies and percentages and the mean item score (MIS) were used to analyze the questionnaire responses and assess the overall awareness and adoption of social media among construction professionals. Additionally, the Kruskal–Wallis H-test provided valuable insights into the variations in social media adoption levels among different professional categories within the construction industry.

The results indicate that construction professionals possess a generally high level of awareness regarding various social media platforms. However, despite this awareness, the extent of adoption does not align with the level of awareness, suggesting that adoption rates are not as widespread as anticipated.

The findings of this study underscore the importance of not just awareness but also effective adoption and utilization of social media platforms. While awareness is a crucial first step, construction firms should focus on implementing strategies to encourage greater adoption and integration of these platforms into their daily operations. This can go a long way in bridging the awareness – adoption gap which was revealed in this study.

While the limited existing research on social media in the construction industry has predominantly concentrated on areas such as marketing, addressing the root causes of fatalities, data environment tools and business branding, none have undertaken a thorough evaluation of social media awareness and adoption within the sector. This study fills a critical gap by narrowing its focus to the adoption dynamics and the technology’s potential impact on communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing among construction professionals.

The effect of dynamic capabilities on operational excellence and the moderating effect of environmental dynamism on the relationship between operational excellence and dynamic capabilities in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka were investigated while developing new psychometric scales to assess operational excellence and dynamic capacities constructs.

We followed the exploratory sequential research design with a mixed-method research approach, aligning with the pragmatic research philosophy. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were followed.

Dynamic capabilities positively affect operational excellence, and environmental dynamism moderates the relationship between operational excellence and dynamic capabilities in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka such that when a higher environmental dynamism exists, a weaker positive relationship exists between dynamic capabilities and operational excellence. The two main dimensions of the operational excellence construct are continuous improvement of sustainable operational performance and sustainable competitive advantages. It empirically confirmed that sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capabilities are the three main dimensions of the dynamic capabilities construct.

This study was limited to the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. This research phenomenon should be explored in other industrial sectors worldwide to generalize the findings. The practitioners in the apparel sector may improve the organizational dynamic capabilities to achieve operational excellence and keep a strong positive relationship between dynamic capabilities and operational excellence in a highly dynamic environment if they address out-of-family situations with out-of-the-box thinking.

We generated two new empirical findings: (1) dynamic capabilities positively affect operational excellence, and (2) environmental dynamism moderates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and operational excellence. Also, we introduced validated new scales for assessing operational excellence and dynamic capabilities.

Despite the well-recognized importance of recycled water, the study of industry-peer pressure on recycled water is relatively new. This study investigates how organizations experience and react to industry-peer pressure to set recycled water targets. Additionally, this study investigates the role of board chairs involved in sustainability committees in contributing to responses to industry-peer pressure.

Using Eviews 12, this study employed a pooled logistic regression model to analyze data from 1,346 firms on Taiwan and Taipei exchanges (2017–2020).

The findings revealed that frequency-based imitation drives recycled water target-setting diffusion. However, there is no direct relationship between outcome-based imitation and recycled water target-setting. Notably, outcome-based imitation drives the adoption of recycled water target-setting of firms with board-chair membership in sustainability committees.

This study faces certain data limitations. First, this study primarily focuses on water recycling. Future research could explore other ways to reduce water usage, such as using water-efficient equipment. Second, this study gathered information solely on the presence or absence of a board chairperson on the sustainability committee. Future researchers could explore the impact of the composition of sustainability committee on recycled water target-setting. Lastly, the sample used in this study is restricted to Taiwan's corporations that existed during 2017–2020. Future researchers may consider adopting a longitudinal design in other economies to address this limitation.

The findings of this study offer several guidelines and implications for recycled water target-setting and the composition of sustainability committees. It responds to an urgent call for solutions to water shortages when pressure from governments and nongovernmental organizations is relatively absent. The number of industry peers that have already set recycled water targets is indispensable for motivating firms to set their own recycled water targets. In terms of insufficient water-related regulatory pressure and normative pressure, this study found evidence suggesting that the direct motivation for setting recycled water targets stems from mimetic pressures via frequency-based imitation. The evidence in this study suggests that policymakers should require companies to disclose their peers’ recycled water target information, as doing so serves as an alternative means to achieving SDG 6.3.

Recycled water target-setting might be challenging. Water recycling practices may face strong resistance and require substantial additional resources (Zhang and Tang, 2019; Gao et al., 2019; Gu et al., 2023). Therefore, this study suggests that firms should ensure the mindfulness of board members in promoting the welfare of the natural environment when making recycled water target-setting decisions. To reap the second-mover advantage, firms must consider the conditions in which board members can more effectively play their role. Corporations may help their chairpersons in setting recycled water targets by recruiting them as members of sustainability committees. Meanwhile, chairpersons tend to activate accurate mental models when the water conservation performance of pioneering industry peers is strong enough to indicate the potential benefits of adopting recycled water target-setting. Investors’ and stakeholders’ understanding of how the composition of sustainability committees is related to recycled water target-setting may help to identify the potential drivers of firms’ water responsibility. Investors and stakeholders should distinguish firms in terms of the board chair’s membership of their sustainability committee and focus on water-use reduction outcomes in the industry. This study provides insights into circumstances whereby chairpersons help to restore the water ecosystem.

This study explains how frequency-based and outcome-based imitation are two prominent mechanisms underlying the industry-peer pressure concerning recycled water target-setting. Moreover, this study fills literature gaps related to the moderating roles of board-chair membership in sustainability committees concerning industry-peer pressure on recycled water target-setting.

The integration of industry 4.0 has become a priority for many organizations. However, not all organizations are suitable and capable of implementing industry 4.0 because it requires a dynamic and flexible implementation strategy. The implementation of industry 4.0 often involves overcoming several tensions between internal and external stakeholders. This paper aims to explore the paradoxical tensions that arise for health-care organizations when integrating industry 4.0. Moreover, it discusses how a paradox lens can support the conceptualization and proposes techniques for handling tensions during the integration of industry 4.0.

This qualitative and in-depth study draws upon 32 semi-structured interviews. The empirical case concerns how two health-care organizations handle paradoxical tensions during the integration of industry 4.0.

The exploration resulted in six recurring technology tensions: technology invention (modularized design vs. flexible design), technology collaboration (automation vs. human augmentation), technology-driven patient experience (control vs. autonomy), technology uncertainty (short-term experimentation vs. long-term planning), technology invention and diffusion through collaborative efforts among stakeholders (selective vs. intensive collaboration) and technological innovation (market maintenance vs. disruption).

A paradox theory-informed conceptual model is proposed for how to handle tensions during the integration of industry 4.0. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to introduce paradox theory for quality management, including lean and Six Sigma.