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In recent years, a great deal of work has emerged on eco-cities in China. Specifically, writers have discussed the role of the entrepreneurial state in the construction of eco-cities and have noted the role of these cities in the production of high-end real estate and new forms of capital accumulation and land acquisition. Whilst this chapter supports these arguments, we argue that the emergence of eco-cities in China is tied up with broader socioeconomic and cultural discourses and discourses of governance. We explore these ideas through a qualitative investigation of an eco-city known as the North Lake (Beihu) Ecological New Town (NLENT) located in the city of Jining, Shandong province. Specifically, this project, which involved the collection of documents, photographs and 20 semi-structured interviews, aims to understand the role that discourses of class, taste and consumption play in the fashioning of Chinese eco-cities. In exploring discourses of ‘green conduct’, this chapter also seeks to understand the role of eco-cities in the governmental fashioning of Chinese subjects and bodies. In this regard, this chapter suggests that whilst new forms of green development have played a part in urban expansion, new green real estate zones such as the NLENT have a powerful role to play in the construction and shaping of Chinese identity and behaviour.

This study aims to examine the mechanism of action of ethical leadership by testing the direct and indirect effects of ethical leadership on employee work outcomes (i.e. individual job satisfaction, work engagement and customer-oriented behavior) and the moderating effects of group job satisfaction on the relationship between ethical leadership and its consequences.

A hierarchical linear model is used. The valid sample is composed of 285 front-line service personnel in 56 work groups from five hotels and five golf clubs in South China.

Results indicate that group job satisfaction has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between ethical leadership and employee work engagement. That is, compared with that in groups with high job satisfaction, the relationship between ethical leadership and employee work engagement is significantly more positive in groups with low job satisfaction. Employee work attitudes (including individual job satisfaction and work engagement) mediate the effect of ethical leadership on employee customer-oriented behavior.

The main limitations are as follows. First, some of the reported relationships may be affected by common method bias, as our study collected data from a single source. Second, whether the findings can be generalized to other industries in other countries remains unknown. Third, as the current study is based on a cross-sectional design, establishing causality is difficult among the study variables.

The findings show that the managers in hospitality and tourism companies should adopt ethical leadership to enhance employee customer-oriented behavior by improving positive work attitudes. At the same time, hospitality and tourism companies should improve group job satisfaction as a substitute for ethical leadership in the absence of ethical leadership.

A key contribution of this research is demonstrating how and when the effects of ethical leadership occur by analyzing the mediating and moderating effects in the same study. This study systematically examines the mediating effect of employee work attitudes on the influence of ethical leadership on employee work behavior and discusses the moderating effect of the group-level variable. The findings extend ethical leadership theory and make a contribution to the existing research on discussing the substitutes for the leadership model.

The aim of this paper is to research the acceptance mechanism of building information modeling (BIM) technology and to explore the differences among Architecture/Engineering/Construction (A/E/C) professionals with different individual characteristics. The proposed acceptance mechanism of BIM technology is intended to be used by industry stakeholders to propose decisions and measures, and improve the degree of BIM adoption.

Traditional hypothesis testing is adopted by the current study to empirically research the specific mechanism of A/E/C professionals accepting BIM technologies. In the one phase, a conceptual model based on technology acceptance model (TAM) and technology organization environment (TOE) theory was established and a large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted. In the other phase, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze acquired sample data, so as to empirically test the validity of the proposed linkage.

The results show first that perceived ease of use has no significant influence on perceived usefulness, and perceived usefulness has no significant effect on behavior intention as well. Second, BIM technical features and government BIM policies have positive effects on perceived usefulness, BIM technical features and organization supports have positive effects on perceived ease of use. Third, the BIM acceptance mechanism of A/E/C professionals is diverse from respondents with different characteristics, e.g. regions and working time.

The authors highlight the large sample size, as well as the nationwide context, of the questionnaire survey. Meanwhile, acceptance differences among A/E/C professionals with different demographic characteristics have been clarified using profound data and t-test. The findings of this study enrich the research on the acceptance mechanism of BIM technology, and contribute to relevant stakeholders taking targeted measures to promote the effective application of BIM technology nationwide.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of micro-nano mixed super-hydrophobic structure on corrosion resistance and mechanism of magnesium alloys.

A super-hydrophobic surface was fabricated on AZ91 and WE43 magnesium alloys by laser etching and micro-arc oxidation (MAO) with SiO₂ nanoparticles coating and low surface energy material modification. The corrosion resistance properties of the prepared super-hydrophobic surfaces were studied based on polarization curves and immersion tests.

Compared with bare substrates, the corrosion resistance of super-hydrophobic surfaces was improved significantly. The corrosion resistance of super-hydrophobic surface is related to micro-nano composite structure, static contact angle and pretreatment method. The more uniform the microstructure and the larger the static contact angle, the better the corrosion resistance of the super-hydrophobic surface. The corrosion resistance of super-hydrophobic by MAO is better than that of laser machining. Corrosion of super-hydrophobic surface can be divided into air valley action, physical shielding, pretreatment layer action and substrate corrosion.

The super-hydrophobic coatings can reduce the contact of matrix with water so that a super-hydrophobic coating would be an effective way for magnesium alloy anti-corrosion. Therefore, the corrosion resistance properties and mechanism of the prepared super-hydrophobic magnesium alloys were investigated in detail.

Prior literature indicates conflicting effects of online product information, which may complicate or simplify consumer purchase decisions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how different online product information (i.e. the choice set size and the popularity information and its presentation) affect consumers’ decision making and the related market outcomes.

This research relies on information-processing theories and social learning theory. By stepwise conducting two 2×2 within-subject factorial design experiments, this research examines the effects of the choice set size, product popularity information and product presentation on consumers’ decision making and the aggregated market outcomes.

The results show that product popularity information led consumers to either simplify or complicate their decision strategy, depending on the size of the choice sets. Additionally, presenting products by their popularity in descending order resulted in consumers making decisions with a larger decision bias. The results also show that the presence of product popularity was more likely to forge a “superstar” structure in a large market.

The research suggests that e-retailers and e-marketplace operators should carefully utilize product popularity information. Multiple mechanisms that shape different shopping environments with different orders are necessary to create a long-tailed market structure.

This study found the mixed effects of product popularity information when it is presented in different environments (i.e. the large/small choice set and the sorted/randomized product presentation). The overuse of popularity information may induce consumers’ decision bias.

This study aims to investigate the role of aluminium (Al) in marine environment and the corrosion mechanism of galvalume coatings by conducting accelerated experiments and data analysis.

Samples were subjected to accelerated corrosion for 136 days via salt spray tests to simulate the natural conditions of marine environment and consequently accelerate the experiments. Subsequently, the samples were examined using various test methods, such as EDS, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and the obtained data were analysed.

Galvalume coatings comprised interdigitated zinc (Zn)-rich and dendritic Al-rich phases. Corrosion was observed to begin with a Zn-rich phase. The primary components of the corrosion product film were Al₂O₃ and Zn₅(OH)₈Cl₂·H₂O. It was confirmed that the role of Al was to form a dense protective film, thereby successfully blocking the entry of corrosive media and protecting the iron substrate.

This study provides a clearer understanding of the corrosion mechanism and kinetics of galvalume coatings in a simulated marine environment. In addition, the role of Al, which is rarely mentioned in the literature, was investigated.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between government subsidies, R&D expenditures and overcapacity, and to explore the heterogeneity effects in different time periods and different types of companies. It can provide theoretical and practical guidance for the development of the photovoltaic industry.

This paper constructs a mediation model to explore the impact of government subsidies on overcapacity and on R&D expenditures, and to propose an indirect way to disentangle the impact of government subsidies on the creation of overcapacity from the positive aspect of increased R&D expenditures. A total of 94 listed enterprises in the Chinese photovoltaic industry were selected as the sample over the period 2012–2019.

There was significant overcapacity in the photovoltaic industry. Government subsidies had a positive effect in promoting overcapacity and R&D expenditures. The influence of government subsidies on excess capacity increased and on R&D expenditures decreased over time. Compared with large enterprises, government subsidies the small enterprises received had a greater positive impact on the overcapacity and a smaller positive impact on R&D expenditure. R&D expenditures restrained the influence of government subsidies on overcapacity, but the suppression effect was limited and decreased over time. The indirect effect in small enterprises was greater than that of large enterprises.

This paper studied government subsidies, R&D expenditure and overcapacity in the same framework and used bias-corrected bootstrapping to explore the path of “government subsidies–R&D expenditures–overcapacity”. The heterogeneous effects in different periods and different types of firms are discussed.