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The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether and how intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IFTs) affect technological innovation.

China’s provincial panel data from 2007 to 2019 are used in an empirical study to examine the effect of IFTs on technological innovation and the role of fiscal spending policy in the relationship between the two by using the spatial Durbin model.

Results show an evident spatial correlation for the effect of IFTs on technological innovation, indicating that IFTs have a significant negative influence on technological innovation in local and surrounding regions. IFTs also inhibit technological innovation by negatively affecting science and technology spending and education spending.

These findings can aid policymakers in advancing technological innovation by improving the system of fiscal transfers and optimizing the structure of fiscal spending.

Although the determinants of technological innovation have been analyzed, no studies have investigated the effect of IFTs on technological innovation. Thus, this paper aims to address this gap.

This study aims to understand and explain factors that influence how, when and under which conditions local governments adopt digital technologies for citizen collaboration. It discusses what these findings mean for city digital twin adoption.

This research uses the systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) process to collect and evaluate evidence needed to answer the research questions. It uses the technology–organisation–environment (TOE) framework and proposes an additional dimension: “stakeholders” as the analytical framework.

Critical influential factors identified include the technology dimension: security and privacy; organisation dimension: top management support; environment dimension: political influence; and stakeholders’ dimension: technological experience.

This research extends the TOE framework and comprehensively analyses those factors which relate to citizens but significantly impact local government’s decision to adopt digital tools for collaboration purposes. This research posits that in the context of local government technology adoption for collaboration, both the organisation and stakeholders’ dimensions are critical.

This research contributes to the government-citizen discourse and provides a constructive understanding of technological transformation in collaborative planning. The findings are helpful for local governments, researchers and geospatial industries as they offer a critical understanding of digital technology adoption, particularly city digital twins, for collaborative planning.

This study extends the TOE framework to include aspects relating to citizens. It provides a nuanced understanding of the influential factors and intricacies of technology adoption by local governments for citizen collaboration. It also discusses relevant issues of city digital twins’ adoption by local governments for citizen participation.

Based on strategic choice theory, this study examines the impact and mechanisms of intellectual property demonstration city (IPDC) policy in China on corporate ESG performance.

This study uses China’s A-share listed companies’ data from 2009 to 2019 and conducts a difference-in-differences (DID) to explore the causal relationship between IPDC policy and corporate ESG performance.

Baseline regression results indicate that the IPDC policy can significantly improve corporate ESG performance. Mechanism tests reveal that the IPDC policy expands firm green technology innovation, enhances firm human capital investment and increases government innovation subsidies, thereby promoting corporate ESG performance. Moderating effect results show that the promotion impact on corporate ESG performance of the IPDC policy is diminished by government fiscal pressure. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the IPDC policy has a stronger impact on corporate ESG performance in key cities, firms in high-tech industries, firms with a higher reliance on intellectual property protection (IPP) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The findings enrich the theoretical research on the influencing factors of corporate ESG performance and provide practical references to strengthen IPP and implement a more thorough intellectual property development strategy.

The importance of sustainable public procurement is growing in many countries and industries, including higher education institutions (HEIs) in China. However, in China, the practice of sustainable public procurement is currently limited due to various reasons. This study aims to identify the main challenges faced by Chinese HEIs when it comes to sustainable public procurement. The identification of the challenges encountered by HEIs in sustainable public procurement practices not only has practical significance in terms of improving efficiency, sustainability, competitiveness and guiding policymaking but also has theoretical significance in terms of enriching the knowledge body, facilitating the dissemination of sustainability and supporting international comparative research. To identify these challenges, the study gathered data from a small sample of procurement supervisors, experts and commissioners in HEIs using the Delphi method. The study concludes that Chinese HEIs can address the challenges of sustainable public procurement through measures such as fundraising, technology and equipment upgrading, supply chain optimization, regulatory compliance and raising awareness and providing training.

To pinpoint the challenges of sustainable public procurement faced by HEIs in China, this study began by obtaining data from a small sample of procurement supervisors, experts and commissioners in HEIs who are knowledgeable about the issue through the Delphi method. Secondly, the collected challenge factors were also subjected to a literature review to identify the most common challenges in recent papers published around the world. Thus, it was possible to assess the relationship between the challenges mentioned by researchers in China and other countries.

The main challenges faced by HEIs in China in implementing sustainable public procurement are the focus on economic efficiency, the experience and awareness of procurement staff, policy ambiguity as well as culture, management mechanisms and leadership attitudes in the organizations. The study concludes that Chinese HEIs can effectively overcome the challenges of implementing sustainable public procurement through a variety of measures, including fundraising, technology and equipment upgrading, supply chain optimization, regulatory compliance and awareness raising and training.

Some limitations should be considered in this study. Judging by the sample size, it is clear that the results of the study are limited. Although the number of experts involved in the study is required, caution should be exercised when generalizing the results, as this may not be representative of the entire population. In future studies, the use of a larger sample size could be considered to overcome this problem. Related to this limitation is the uneven geographical distribution of the sample, and this study only considered the situation of HEIs in Jiangsu Province, China, which is not representative of the national region.

The practical significance can be seen in two aspects. First, accurately identifying challenges can help HEIs optimize the implementation of their sustainable purchasing policies, leading to more efficient resource allocation and reduced unnecessary resource consumption. Second, by addressing these challenges, HEIs can better fulfill their social role in sustainable development, contributing to the triple bottom line of the economy, environment and society. Implementing sustainable procurement strategies not only enhances the social image of HEIs but also attracts a broader student base and financial support, ultimately improving their competitive position in the education market. A deeper understanding of these challenges provides policymakers with a basis to develop a more operational and targeted policy framework to support sustainable procurement in HEIs.

This study succeeded in answering two research questions that provide practical implications for public procurement practitioners, researchers and policymakers. Although HEIs in China do not practice sustainable public procurement at a high rate, however, with the spread of sustainability and environmental awareness, more and more HEIs are beginning to realize the importance of sustainability and are gradually taking it into account in their procurement.

The findings of the study not only significantly enrich the existing body of knowledge on sustainable public procurement, but also support the selection of challenge variables that must be addressed first to facilitate the application of sustainable procurement in China’s HEIs.

Climate change poses risks to society and the demand for carbon literacy within small and medium-sized enterprises is increasing. Skills and knowledge are required for organizational greenhouse gas accounting and science-based decisions to help businesses reduce transitional risks. At the University of Copenhagen and the University of Northern British Columbia, two carbon management courses have been developed to respond to this growing need. Using an action-based co-learning model, students and business are paired to quantify and report emissions and develop climate plans and communication strategies.

This paper draws on surveys of businesses that have partnered with the co-learning model, designed to provide insight on carbon reductions and the impacts of co-learning. Data collected from 12 respondents in Denmark and 19 respondents in Canada allow for cross-institutional and international comparison in a Global North context.

Results show that while co-learning for carbon literacy is welcomed, companies identify limitations: time and resources; solution feasibility; governance and reporting structures; and communication methods. Findings reveal a need for extension, both forwards and backwards in time, indicating that the collaborations need to be lengthened and/or intensified. Balancing academic requirements detracts from usability for businesses, and while municipal and national policy and emission targets help generate a general societal understanding of the issue, there is no concrete guidance on how businesses can implement operational changes based on inventory results.

The research brings new knowledge to the field of transitional climate risks and does so with a focus on both small businesses and universities as important co-learning actors in low-carbon transitions. The comparison across geographies and institutions contributes an international solution perspective to climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

This study investigates drivers of local governments’ digitalization, focusing on contextual factors that can help explain the level of e-government development. Concretely, it examines financial, socioeconomic, and political factors that represent the local context where e-government initiatives are implemented.

A composite e-government index was used, adopting a holistic perspective to capture various features of e-government initiatives. The OLS estimator for linear regressions was used for the analysis based on a sample of Italian municipalities in 2023. The Tobit estimator was additionally implemented to check for the robustness of the results.

Empirical findings suggest that municipalities with higher indebtedness tend to show lower digitalization levels. Economic and social variables are also relevant factors, while the political orientation of the governing party is not significant. This indirectly documents that e-government initiatives play a strategic role despite the political ideology.

This study avoids referring to a technological determinism perspective and examines the role of the institutional and operational context, highlighting the need to unveil and explain differences among local governments rather than focusing on similarities.

The purpose of this study is to determine research areas that are most favorable in supporting the development and manufacturing of electric vehicle (EV) components locally in Indonesia for 2025–2035. Therefore, will provide direction for the formulation of the related government policies and programs. Consequently, an EV technology research priority must be identified.

A technology foresight (TF) procedure which consists of a STEEPV analysis, followed by scenarios development and expert elicitation techniques, was conducted to determine an EV technology research priority that may direct future specific local component innovations, and therefore businesses.

The results of this study indicate that research in a range of EV battery technologies, technologies relating to a variety of key components (to increase local content) and autonomous systems were important to support the local development and manufacturing of EV components in Indonesia.

In this study, the scenarios development process was conducted based on selected available experts, mostly internally from BRIN. Some biased opinions may be present.

There have not been any TF studies regarding the development of EV technology research priority in Indonesia.

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing property tax reassessment performance in West Malaysia. It specifically examines intangible aspects, such as intellectual capital and process innovation among valuation officers. The primary concern in this study is the variability in how effectively local authorities carry out property tax reassessment, with a significant number of them not conducting revaluations regularly.

The data was collected using self-administered and electronic questionnaires using a purposive sampling method. The 154 useable responses were further analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling in SmartPLS 4.

The result shows that process innovation mediates the relationship between structural capital and property tax reassessment performance as well as the relationship between relational capital and property tax reassessment performance. This suggests that local authority systems and policies are indirectly related to reassessment practises by introducing new methods of reassessment in the form of administration and technology. The result shows that building good relationships with stakeholders and other institutions encourages staff to develop innovative ideas for their reassessment activities, thus enhance the performance of property tax reassessment.

The study provides insightful information for local authorities managers and stakeholders in crafting a better policy for periodic property tax reassessment. The study suggests the need for new administration and technological innovation in developing effective property tax reassessment strategies through the integration of organisational structure and relationship building.

The study developed a new model for property tax reassessment performance that incorporates intangible assets with the introduction of process innovation as a mediator.

This article investigates the practical implementation of the ecosystem approach in different branches of public management within an urban context. It explores how ecosystem thinking is introduced, disseminated and applied in a local government organization.

We utilize a qualitative case study methodology, relying on official documents and expert interviews. Our study focuses on the city of Espoo, Finland, which has actively embraced ecosystem thinking as a fundamental framework for its organizational development for almost a decade.

The case of Espoo highlights elements that have not been commonly attributed to the ecosystem approach in the public sector. These elements include (1) the significance of complementary services, (2) the existence of both collaborative and competitive relationships among actors in public service ecosystems and (3) the utilization of digital platforms for resource orchestration. Our study also emphasizes the need for an incremental adoption of ecosystem thinking in organizational contexts to enable its successful implementation.

The study provides valuable insights into the introduction and dissemination of ecosystem thinking in public management. It also further develops previously developed hypotheses regarding public service ecosystems.