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This paper aims to find a suitable solution to degrade the C.I. Reactive Red 24 (RR24) dyeing wastewater by using sodium persulphate to recycle water and inorganic salts.

The effects of temperature, the concentration of inorganic salts and Na₂CO₃ and the initial pH value on the degradation of RR24 were studied. Furthermore, the relationship between free radicals and RR24 degradation effect was investigated. Microscopic routes and mechanisms of dye degradation were further confirmed by testing the degradation karyoplasmic ratio of the product. The feasibility of the one-bath cyclic dyeing in the recycled dyeing wastewater was confirmed through the properties of dye utilization and color parameters.

The appropriate conditions were 0.3 g/L of sodium persulphate and treatment at 95°C for 30 min, which resulted in a decolorization rate of 98.4% for the dyeing wastewater. Acidic conditions are conducive to rapid degradation of dyes, while ·OH or SO₄⁻· have a destructive effect on dyes under alkaline conditions. In the early stage of degradation, ·OH played a major role in the degradation of dyes. For sustainable cyclic dyeing of RR24, inorganic salts were reused in this dyeing process and dye uptake increased with the times of cycles. After the fixation, some Na₂CO₃ may be converted to other salts, thereby increasing the dye uptake in subsequent cyclic staining. However, it has little impact on the dye exhaustion rate and color parameters of dyed fabrics.

The recommended technology not only reduces the quantity of dyeing wastewater but also enables the recycling of inorganic salts and water, which meets the requirements of sustainable development and clean production.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which interdisciplinary (HASS, i.e. non-STEM) factors—in particular, accounting, stakeholder management and accountability—enable, influence and motivate large human exploration ventures, principally in maritime and space fields, utilizing Columbus’s and Chinese explorations of the 1400s as the primary setting.

The study analyzes archival data from narrative and interpretational history, including both academic and non-academic sources, that relate to two global historical events, the Columbus and Ming Chinese exploration eras (c. 1400–1500), as a parallel to the modern “Space Race”. Existing studies on pertinent HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) enablers, influencers and motivators are utilized in the analysis. The authors draw upon the concepts of stakeholder theory and the construct of accountability in their analysis.

Findings suggest that non-STEM considerations—politics, finance, accountability, culture, theology and others—played crucial roles in enabling Western Europe (Columbus) to reach the Americas before China or other global powers, demonstrating the pivotal importance of HASS factors in human advancements and exploration.

In seeking to answer those questions, this study identifies only those factors (HASS or STEM) that may support the success or failure in execution of the exploration and development of a region such as the New World or Space. Moreover, the study has the following limitation. Relative successes, failures, drivers and enablers of exploratory ventures are drawn almost exclusively from the documented historical records of the nations, entities and individuals (China and Europe) who conducted those ventures. A paucity of objective sources in some fields, and the need to set appropriate boundaries for the study, also necessitate such limitation.

It is observable that many of those HASS factors also appear to have been influencers in modern era Space projects. For Apollo and Soyuz, success factors such as the relative economics of USA and USSR, their political ideologies, accountabilities and organizational priorities have clear echoes. What the successful voyages of Columbus and Apollo also have in common is an appetite to take risks for an uncertain return, whether as sponsor or voyager; an understanding of financial management and benefits measurement, and a leadership (Isabella I, John F. Kennedy) possessing a vision, ideology and governmental apparatus to further the venture’s goals.

Whilst various historical studies have examined influences behind the oceangoing explorations of the 1400s and the colonization of the “New World”, this article takes an original approach of analyzing those motivations and other factors collectively, in interdisciplinary terms (HASS and STEM). This approach also has the potential to provide a novel method of examining accountability and performance in modern exploratory ventures, such as crewed space missions.

The purpose is to provide decision support for tourists recommending scenic spots and corresponding suggestions for the management of scenic spots.

Based on the Baidu index data generated, this paper analyzes the temporal and spatial characteristics of network attention of 5A scenic spots in Sichuan Province. The online comment data are used to build the assessment model of scenic spots based on network attention, and the comment information of tourists is mined and analyzed through statistical analysis. At the same time, the key attributes of scenic spots from the perspective of network attention are evaluated and analyzed by using the probabilistic linguistic term set. Finally, this paper further constructs a recommendation model based on the key attribute set of scenic spots.

This paper uses different types of tourism network information, integrates multi-types of data and methods, fully excavates the value information of tourism network information, constructs the research framework of “scenic spot assessment + scenic spot recommendation” from the perspective of network attention, analyzes the network attention characteristics of scenic spots, evaluates the performance of scenic spots, and implements scenic spot recommendation.

This paper integrates multi-source data and multidisciplinary theoretical methods to form a scenic spot research framework of “assessment + recommendation” from the perspective of network attention.

This is a special issue of Chinese Management Studies and this study aims to engage with debates on innovation in China and to provide new insights for innovation research in the context of China, seeking to develop a greater understanding of the concept of “innovation with Chinese characteristics”.

This study reviews the Chinese innovation management literature in general and the selected papers in this special issue in particular and proposes two new directions for future research.

The nine papers that constitute this special issue present research on important aspects of innovation in China, ranging from the effectiveness of government subsidisation for innovation, the impact of fiscal decentralisation on innovation, the role of management behaviour in promoting (or discouraging) innovation and the effects of differing business models on innovation. These papers shed valuable new light on the theory and practice of innovation in China. The papers are discussed in the context of four primary arguments about innovation management in China identified from the broader literature in the field. These relate to the pattern of China’s innovation performance over time, the reasons for its effectiveness, the role of alliances and influences of indigenous factors. It is also shown that management of the internationalisation of innovation and of efficient internal innovation are two important directions for future research on Chinese innovation in an era of de-globalisation.

The studies presented here provide valuable contributions to theory building in innovation research, as well as some important ideas for directions of future research on innovation in China in the new era of de-globalisation.

The purpose of this study is to explore the interfacial adhesion between superhydrophobic coatings FC-X (X = 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%) and the concrete substrate, along with the impact of FC-X on the water repellency characteristics of the concrete substrate.

One synthetic step was adopted to prepare novel F-SiO₂ NP hybrid fluororesin coating. The impact of varying mass fractions of F-SiO₂ NPs on the superhydrophobicity of FC-X was analyzed and subsequently confirmed through water contact angle (WCA) measurements. Superhydrophobic coatings were simply applied to the concrete substrate using a one-step spraying method. The interfacial adhesion between FC-X and the concrete substrate was analyzed using tape pasting tests and abrasion resistance measurements. The influence of FC-X on the water repellency of the concrete substrate was investigated through measurements of water absorption, impermeability and electric flux.

FC-4% exhibits excellent superhydrophobicity, with a WCA of 157.5° and a sliding angle of 2.3°. Compared to control sample, FC-X exhibits better properties, including chemical durability, wear resistance, adhesion strength, abrasion resistance, water resistance and impermeability.

This study offers a thorough investigation into the practical implications of enhancing the durability and water repellency of concrete substrates by using superhydrophobic coatings, particularly FC-4%, which demonstrates exceptional superhydrophobicity alongside remarkable chemical durability, wear resistance, adhesion strength, abrasion resistance, water resistance and impermeability.

Through the examination of the interfacial adhesion between FC-X and the concrete substrate, along with an assessment of FC-X’s impact on the water repellency of the concrete, this paper provides valuable insights into the practical application of superhydrophobic coatings in enhancing the durability and performance of concrete materials.

This study aims to provide a series of drivers that prompt the blockchain technology (BT) adoption decisions in circular supply chain finance (SCF) and also assesses their degrees of influence and interrelationships, which leads to the construction of a theoretical model depicting the influence mechanism of BT adoption decisions in circular SCF.

This study mainly uses the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, which focuses on the aspects based on the nature of innovation, intra-organizational characteristics and extra environmental consideration, to identify the drivers of blockchain adoption in circular SCF context, while the significance and causality of the drivers are explained using interpreting structural models (ISMs) and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method.

The findings of this study indicate that government policy and technological comparative advantage are the underlying reasons for BT adoption decisions, management commitment and financial expectations are the critical drivers of BT adoption decisions while other factors are the receivers of the mechanism.

This study provides theoretical references and empirical insights that influence the technology adoption decisions of both BT and circular SCF by practitioners.

The theoretical research contributes significantly to current research and knowledge in both BT and circular SCF fields, especially by extending the existing TOE model by combining relevant enablers from technological, organizational and external environmental aspects with the financial performance objectives of circular SCF services, which refer to the optimization of the financial resources flows and financing efficiency.

This paper aims to explore how firms enter or exit B Corp certification faced with the tension between local and B Corp institutions, providing a better understanding of the unique impact of institutional complexity on B Corps' decision-making.

This paper applies multi-case analysis to 20 Chinese firms in various stages of B Corp certification, including eight certified B Corps, six decertified firms and six candidates. The qualitative data was used to code separately for two research questions.

The study findings reveal that: (1) Participants who can obtain expected social and economic benefits by innovating their operational mode to efficiently deal with this tension attempt to continuously pursue B Corp certification. A self-renewal model was developed to show how firms hybridize the two institutional logics; (2) Participants who find it hard to mitigate this tension tend to compromise with the local institution and conform less with the B Corp institution due to high opportunity and accounting costs, low short-term benefits and collective culture.

By highlighting the different responses of firms to institutional complexity, this study contributes to B Corp research, social identity theory and institutional complexity, providing practical implications for B Lab strategies in China.

Due to their limited capacity for adaptation and dependence on natural resources for economic growth, developing countries (DCs) tend to be more prone to climate change. It is argued that climate finance (CF) is a significant financial innovation to mitigate the negative effects of climate variation. However, the heterogeneous impacts of CF on environmental sustainability (ES) and social welfare (SW) have been masked. Thus, this study aims to investigate the heterogeneous effects of CF on ES and SW in 80 CF receipt DCs from 2002 to 2018. This study also aims to investigate the effects of CF on ES and SW based on population size, income heterogeneity and the type of CF.

The method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) with fixed effects is utilized. Alternatively, the fully modified least square (FMOLS) and dynamic least square (DOLS) estimators are used for the robustness test.

The findings revealed that DCs with the lowest and middle quantiles of EF, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and human development exhibit large beneficial impacts of CF on ES and SW. In contrast, the positive effects of CF on ES breakdown for countries with the largest distributions of EF and CO₂ emissions. Besides, the impacts of CF on ES and SW depend on income heterogeneity, population size and the type of CF.

This study calls for a framework to integrate CF into all economic development decisions to strengthen climate-resilient SW and ES in DCs.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the effects of CF on ES and SW in a wide range of DCs. Thus, it complements existing related literature focusing on the effects of CF on ES and SW.

This study considers a contracting problem between a fairness concerned entrepreneur (EN) and a fair-neutral venture capitalist (VC) to explore the effects of asymmetry, agency conflicts and fairness concerns.

The authors construct the model by assuming the EN's risk aversion degree is private information, which is more realistic but ignored in most studies. Under the principal–agent framework, the authors solve the VC's optimal contracting models by identifying the ranges of feasible solution, where the optimal solutions of these models are explicit and nicely reconcile the “private equity” puzzle. Moreover, validity of the optimal solutions is verified by numerical simulations.

In accordance with empirical evidence, information asymmetry lowers the optimal equity share that the VC provides to EN but raises EN's profit due to lower effort disutility and information rent. Moreover, the authors find that the fairness concerns is beneficial for the EN, where it not only increases the EN's optimal equity share, but also enhances the certainty equivalence of the EN's utility regarding its profit. Relative to the benchmark model where the EN's risk aversion degree is common knowledge, the EN's efforts recommended by the optimal contract is less sensitive to the EN's fairness concerns degree when the EN does not actually announce its risk aversion degree.

First, the authors incorporate asymmetry to study a two-period contracting problem and explore how it affects the equity shares allocated to the contractual parties. Second, the authors incorporate fairness concerns and analyze its effect regarding the decision-makings and profits.

The study aims to explore how fashion visual symbols influence consumers' inclination for repurchasing. It attempts to investigate the intricate interplay among three essential variables (social presence, collective excitement and cultural identification) from the perspective of Interaction Ritual Chains theory. Meanwhile, an attempt is made to reveal the underlying patterns in these relationships, fully harnessing the positive impact of fashion brand visual symbols in brand marketing.

This study employs a quantitative research methodology, administering an online survey in China, from which 381 valid responses were collected by simple random sampling. The acquired data were subjected to structural equation model and hypotheses testing.

The analysis reveals that heightened visual symbol perception significantly strengthens consumers' social presence, consequently elevating the probability of collective excitement. This establishes a mediated chain model, reinforcing repurchase intention. Additionally, the moderation effect analysis indicates that cultural identification negatively moderates both direct paths in the mediated chain model, with particularly pronounced effects for low cultural identification.

This study establishes a closed-loop system in fashion brand product marketing, continuously enhancing the intimacy and interactive willingness between consumers, as well as between consumers and the brand. The objective is to increase brand repurchase rates. Additionally, the research provides valuable recommendations and strategies for fashion brands to adapt to Chinese consumer demands, strengthen emotional attachment between consumers and the brand, and achieve sustainable development in the realm of fashion consumption.