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The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of online reviews on answer adoption in virtual Q&A communities, with an eye toward extending knowledge exchange and community management.

Online reviews contain rich cognitive and emotional information about community members regarding the provided answers. As feedback information on answers, it is crucial to explore how online reviews affect answer adoption. Based on signaling theory, a research model reflecting the influence of online reviews on answer adoption is established and empirically examined by using secondary data with 69,597 Q&A data and user data collected from Zhihu. Meanwhile, the moderating effects of the informational and emotional consistency of reviews and answers are examined.

The negative binomial regression results show that both answer-related signals (informational support and emotional support) and answerers-related signals (answerers’ reputations and expertise) positively impact answer adoption. The informational consistency of reviews and answers negatively moderates the relationships among information support, emotional support and answer adoption but positively moderates the effect of answerers’ expertise on answer adoption. Furthermore, the emotional consistency of reviews and answers positively moderates the effect of information support and answerers’ reputations on answer adoption.

Although previous studies have investigated the impacts of answer content, answer source credibility and personal characteristics of knowledge seekers on answer adoption in virtual Q&A communities, few have examined the impact of online reviews on answer adoption. This study explores the impacts of informational and emotional feedback in online reviews on answer adoption from a signaling theory perspective. The results not only provide unique ideas for community managers to optimize community design and operation but also inspire community users to provide or utilize knowledge, thereby reducing knowledge search costs and improving knowledge exchange efficiency.

This paper investigates the ways digital media applications in rural areas have transformed the influence of social networks (SN) on farmers' adoption of various climate change mitigation measures (CCMM), and explores the key mechanisms behind this transformation.

The study analyzes data from 1,002 farmers’ surveys. First, a logit model is used to measure the impact of SN on the adoption of different types of CCMM. Then, the interaction term between digital media usage (DMU) and SN is introduced to analyze the moderating effect of digital media on the impact of SN. Finally, a conditional process model is used to explore the mediating mechanism of agricultural socialization services (ASS) and the validity of information acquisition (VIA).

The results reveal that: (1) SN significantly promotes the adoption of CCMM and the marginal effect of this impact varies with different kinds of technologies. (2) DMU reinforces the effectiveness of SN in promoting farmers' adoption of CCMM. (3) The key mechanisms of the process in (2) are the ASS and the VIA.

This study shows that in the context of DMU, SN’s promotion effect on farmers' adoption of CCMM is strengthened.

This paper aims to propose the mechanism of cross-network effect embedded, which can help cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) platforms strengthen cooperative relationships with sellers more equitably and effectively by using the network structural characteristics of the platforms themselves.

A two-stage evolutionary game model has been used to confirm the influence factors. The mathematical derivation of evolutionary game analysis is combined with the simulation method to examine the role of cross-network effect in cooperation. The evolutionary game model based on the cross-network effect is proposed to achieve better adaptability to the study of cooperation strategy from the two-sided market perspective.

The evolutionary game model captures the interactions of cross-network effect and the influence factors from a dynamic perspective. The cross-network effect has a certain substitution on the revenue-sharing rate of SMEs. CBEC platforms can enhance the connection between consumers and the website by improving the level of construction, which is a good way to attract sellers more cost-effectively and efficiently.

This study provides a new method for the validation of the cross-network effect, especially when data collection is difficult. But this method is only a numerical simulation. So the conclusions still need to be further tested empirically. Besides, researchers are advised to explore the relationship between the added user scale and the cross-network effect in some specificCBEC platforms.

This study provides a new method for the validation of the cross-network effect, especially when data collection is difficult. But this method is only a numerical simulation. So the conclusions still need to be further tested empirically. Besides, researchers are advised to explore the relationship between the added user scale and the cross-network effect in some specific CBEC platforms.

Investigations that study cooperation strategy from the cross-network effect perspective in CBEC are limited. The research figured out which influence factors are affected by the cross-network effect in cooperation. A two-stage evolutionary game model was proposed to explain the interaction of the factors. The evolutionary game analysis with a simulation method was combined to highlight the role of cross-network effect on cooperation strategy to give a deeper investigation into the sustainable cooperation ofCBEC.

This study aims to explore the extent to which Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) rely on supranational institution – the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – versus host country institutional quality to navigate their foreign location choice.

This study uses a conditional logit regression model using a sample of 1,302 greenfield investments by Chinese MNEs in 54 BRI participating countries during the period 2011–2018.

The results indicate that as a supranational institution, the BRI serves as a substitution mechanism to address the deficiencies in institutional quality in BRI participating countries, thereby attracting Chinese MNEs to invest in those countries. In addition, the BRI’s substitution effect on host country institutional quality is more pronounced for large MNEs, MNEs in the manufacturing industry and MNEs in inland regions.

This study expands the understanding of the BRI as a supranational institution for MNEs from emerging markets and reveals its substitution effect on the host country institutional quality. Furthermore, it highlights that MNEs with diverse characteristics gain varying degrees of benefits from the BRI.

Gamification is a strategic approach employed by practitioners to foster meaningful engagement and enhance the acceptance of recommendations. Gamification affordances (e.g. achievement, self-expression, interaction, and cooperation) catalyze significant psychological processes in consumers, leading to behavioral changes. Despite its application, a gap remains in understanding how these gamification affordances in e-commerce contexts impact customers' perceived values and drive recommendation acceptances.

Employing affordance theory and perceived value theory as our foundation, we have crafted a comprehensive framework that addresses the multifaceted nature of e-commerce gamification, thereby unifying the fragmented knowledge in this area. We implemented a quantitative research design to empirically test the proposed model.

The research reveals that the four principal affordances of gamification – achievement, self-expression, interaction, and cooperation – significantly enrich consumer values across hedonic, utilitarian, and social dimensions. This enrichment facilitates an increased propensity for accepting recommendations.

This study provides a novel lens through which to view the influence of gamification affordances on recommendation acceptance within gamified e-commerce settings. It delineates the effects of each affordance on consumers' perceived value and highlights the pivotal affordances that shape gamified e-commerce experiences. These insights yield actionable strategies for practitioners aiming to refine e-commerce gamification designs and cultivate more engaging consumer interactions.

Based on the density dependence theory, this paper attempts to explore how two types of interdependence among firms located in the same national high-tech zones (NHTZs) – mutualism and competition – affect entrepreneurship in the NHTZs. The authors suggest that increasing firm density can help enhance legitimacy and form mutual networks. However, as the competition becomes fierce, the above positive relationship will weaken when the firm density exceeds a certain level. In addition, the authors are interested in whether the age of NHTZs would affect their sensitivity to legitimacy and competition and whether firm density affects entrepreneurship.

This article formulates two hypotheses from the theoretical deduction. The hypotheses are examined using the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with a unique, unbalanced panel dataset of Chinese NHTZs spanning from 2014 to 2021. Considering potential endogeneity risk among the variables, the authors attempt to lag variables and ultimately find the results are still robust.

Drawing upon the density dependence theory, the empirical results show firm density is conducive to promoting entrepreneurship, while the positive relationship between community density and NHTZs' entrepreneurship gradually weakens as the firm density surpasses a certain level. The dynamics between mutualism and competition have different impacts on NHTZs' entrepreneurship. In addition, the results demonstrate that the linkage between firm interdependence and entrepreneurship is stronger for younger NHTZs. Firm density has an impact on entrepreneurship through legitimacy and excessive competition effects.

On the one hand, the research period of this paper is 2014–2021, as the China Torch Statistical Yearbook only started to publish operating revenues in 2014, so the data period of this paper is relatively short. More research can be done in the future when more data is disclosed. On the other hand, the qualitative analysis cannot be conducted because of the limited data and materials. In future research, the qualitative analysis of entrepreneurial activities in NHTZs, such as questionnaires or case studies, needs to be supplemented, which will be an interesting direction.

Most existing research has not distinguished the differences between NHTZs (Wang et al., 2019), especially the differences in legitimacy and access to resources caused by the age of NHTZs. This article considers the heterogeneity between NHTZs, which helps to provide theoretical and practical evidence for a transition economy like China to make trade-off decisions on balancing absorbing new entrants with promoting the efficient allocation of resources based on the density and age of NHTZs.

Drawing upon density dependency theory, this paper enriches the literature on agglomeration and entrepreneurship with a new perspective and extends the study to NHTZs.

First, this paper provides new evidence on how agglomeration affects entrepreneurship from an ecological perspective with the help of mutualism and competition interdependence. Most studies have explored the role of agglomeration in entrepreneurship, focussing on social networks, knowledge spillovers or resource endowments (Acs et al., 2013; Capozza et al., 2018; Yu, 2020). Drawing upon density dependency theory, this paper enriches the literature on agglomeration and entrepreneurship with a new perspective and extends the study to NHTZs. Second, the emphasis of science parks has been primarily on qualitative or case studies (Salvador et al., 2013; Guo and Verdini, 2015; Xie et al., 2018). We have diversified the quantitative research between agglomeration and entrepreneurship by using panel data from Chinese NHTZs from 2014 to 2021. Third, most existing research has not distinguished the differences between NHTZs (Wang et al., 2019), especially the differences in legitimacy and access to resources caused by the age of NHTZs. This article considers the heterogeneity between NHTZs, which helps to provide theoretical and practical evidence for a transition economy like China to make trade-off decisions on balancing absorbing new entrants with promoting the efficient allocation of resources based on the density and age of NHTZs. Finally, this paper meticulously investigates the profound influence and underlying mechanisms of firm density within NHTZs on entrepreneurship. It discerns two distinct mechanisms at play: the legitimacy effect and the impact of excessive competition resulting from firm density. This comprehensive analysis significantly contributes to our comprehension of the intricate interplay between firm density and entrepreneurship, shedding light on the dynamics of competition and mutual benefits.

This study aims to empirically analyze the impact of technological innovation on the quantity and quality of employment in the hospitality industry.

Using the data of 30 provinces in China from 2010 to 2020, this paper makes an empirical analysis through the fixed effect model.

The results show that process innovation has a significant positive impact on employment quantity, while product innovation has a significant negative impact on employment quantity. The creative effect of process innovation and the substitution effect of product innovation offset each other, so in the long run, the impact of technological innovation on employment quantity is not significant. However, technological innovation has significantly improved the employment quality of the hospitality industry.

Because technological innovation has replaced part of the labor force, hospitality could guide the labor force in a positive direction. To promote innovation and retain talents, hotels should train employees’ digital thinking and attract high-skilled talents.

This research is unique in using process innovation and product innovation as the main measurement indicators of technological innovation, unlike previous studies that often relied on technological progress to conclude.

Drawing on information foraging theory and the SERVQUAL model, this study built a research model to investigate the roles of middle-aged and elderly short-video creators' online attributes in attracting short-video viewers to be their followers.

Taking Douyin (a famous short-video platform in China) as an example, this study used a sequential triangulation mixed-methods approach (quantitative → qualitative) to examine the proposed model by investigating both creators and viewers.

Viewers who clicked the “like” button for the middle-aged and elderly creators' videos are more likely to follow the creators. Viewers will believe that middle-aged and elderly creators who received more likes are more popular. Thus, middle-aged and elderly creators with more likes usually have more followers. Viewers usually believe that middle-aged and elderly creators who more frequently publish professional and high-quality videos have invested more effort and who have official verification also have a high level of authority and are recognized by the platform. Thus, middle-aged and elderly creators with more professional videos and verification usually have more followers. Moreover, verification, the number of videos and the professionalism of videos can enhance the transformation of viewers who liked middle-aged and elderly creators' videos into their followers, and thus strengthen the positive relationship between the number of likes and the number of followers; however, the number of bio words will have an opposite effect.

These findings have implications for platform managers, middle-aged and elderly creators and the brands aiming to develop a “silver economy” by attracting more followers.

This study researches short-video platforms by using a mixed-methods approach to develop an understanding of viewers' decision-making when following middle-aged and elderly creators based on information foraging theory and the SERVQUAL model from the perspectives of both short-video creators and viewers.

This study aims to examine whether a change in the regulatory requirement toward gender quota for corporate leadership significantly affects the demand and therefore, it increases the presence of women directors and women CEOs. Examining the supply-side, the study also examines whether the supply for women directors and women CEOs based on the presence of qualified women who currently hold upper, middle, or lower management positions is positively related with the presence of women directors and women CEOs. Furthermore, based on the critical mass hypothesis, this study examines whether the presence of women CEOs and critical mass for women directors bring significant impacts on firms' financial and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance during the subsequent period.

Using the multivariate regression analysis, this study empirically examines the impact of the shift in the demand for women directors and CEOs from the enactment of the Greek Law 4403/2016 on gender quota for corporate leadership. This study also examines the impact of the supply for women in corporate leadership, measured by the percentage of women who hold upper, middle, or lower management positions, on the presence of women directors and CEOs. Then, this study examines the impact of women directors and women CEOs on firms' subsequent financial and ESG performance.

Based on a sample of 71 publicly listed Greek firms and 20 Cyprus listed firms as a control group during 2006–2019, the study finds evidence that both the supply-side and the demand-side bring positive effects on greater women participation in corporate boards. However, there is no evidence that the supply and demand affect the presence of women CEOs. The presence of women CEOs has a positive effect on ESG through environmental and social pillars. The study finds evidence to support the critical mass hypothesis that firms with three or more women boards tend to have higher financial and ESG performance.

Understanding the supply and demand for gender diversity in corporate leadership in countries that are considered as lagging is critical to foster the global objective to level the playing field for women to participate in corporate management leadership as important part the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) 5.5. The positive impact of women directors on corporate financial and social performance can be achieved, especially when the critical mass is reached. This highlights the importance of greater gender representations in corporate boards and top executive level in order to make a meaningful social change.

This study demonstrates that the supply of women who currently hold corporate management positions has positive influence on the presence of women boards. This study also demonstrates that a national legislation that promotes gender diversity for corporate board has a positive impact on board gender diversity among Greek listed firms. This study also highlights the importance of integrating the critical mass perspective in considering the impact of supply and demand for women in corporate leadership on firms' financial and ESG performance.

The rapidly growing e-commerce industry with its special characteristics brings new challenges to the optimization of the supply chain and inventory management. This study aims to investigate the inventory-related optimization of an e-marketplace official store that works on a business-to-customer system when cashback promotion is used to attract more customers. Also, it proposes a new inventory model to maximize the e-commerce profit by optimizing the cashback amount and delivery period.

The proposed model assumes that customer demand is a function of price and delivery time and that price is affected by the cashback amount. The e-commerce operator has a profit-sharing contract with an e-payment company that facilitates the payment. E-commerce also builds collaboration under a cost-sharing contract with a supplier to ensure product delivery. A mathematical model is developed and the related theories are investigated. A numerical example illustrates the validity of the model and a sensitivity analysis is carried out to give useful insights.

A new inventory model for an e-market system has been introduced which shows the impact of a cashback promotion on the e-commerce business. This study shows that managers can optimize the cashback amount and its delivery time to get the maximum profit. In certain cases, the manager may set a high cashback amount (e.g. 100%) to attract customers to place more orders.

This study presents a new inventory model for today’s fast-growing e-commerce business; therefore, the results contribute to the understanding of promotion program practices and inventory management and provide insights to develop efficient e-commerce managerial decisions.