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Jiandong Lu, Xiaolei Wang, Liguo Fei, Guo Chen and Yuqiang Feng
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, ubiquitous social media has become a primary channel for information dissemination, social interactions and recreational…
Abstract
Purpose
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, ubiquitous social media has become a primary channel for information dissemination, social interactions and recreational activities. However, it remains unclear how social media usage influences nonpharmaceutical preventive behavior of individuals in response to the pandemic. This paper aims to explore the impacts of social media on COVID-19 preventive behaviors based on the theoretical lens of empowerment.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, survey data has been collected from 739 social media users in China to conduct structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis.
Findings
The results indicate that social media empowers individuals in terms of knowledge seeking, knowledge sharing, socializing and entertainment to promote preventive behaviors at the individual level by increasing each person's perception of collective efficacy and social cohesion. Meanwhile, social cohesion negatively impacts the relationship between collective efficacy and individual preventive behavior.
Originality/value
This study provides insights regarding the role of social media in crisis response and examines the role of collective beliefs in the influencing mechanism of social media. The results presented herein can be used to guide government agencies seeking to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Regarding human resource and labour relations management, academia focuses mainly on cities; however, rural areas are an integral part of China's economic structure. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Regarding human resource and labour relations management, academia focuses mainly on cities; however, rural areas are an integral part of China's economic structure. This study focuses on the movie projection industry in China's rural areas and explores how human resource practices (HRPs) are transformed and the labour process is reconstructed in digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
We adopt a case study of a rural movie projection company. The company's HRPs reconstructed the labour process of movie projection, and they have been promoted as national standards. Data were collected from in-depth interviews, files and observations.
Findings
Rural movie projection companies combine high-performance and paternalistic HRPs in the media industry's digital transformation. HRPs and digital technology jointly reconstruct the labour process. First, the HRPs direct labour process practices towards standardisation. Second, the digital supervision platform guides the control style from simple to technical, placing projectionists under pressure while increasing management efficiency. Third, rural movies made using digital technology have disenchanted rural residents. Accordingly, the conventional relationships between the “country and its citizens,” “individuals themselves,” and “models and individuals” have been removed, and a new relationship between “individuals themselves” is formed thanks to the novel HRPs.
Originality/value
This research plays a crucial role in exposing researchers to the labour process of rural movie projection, which is significant in China but often ignored by Western academia and advances the Chinese contextualisation of research on labour relations.
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Xiaojing Zheng and Xiaoxian Wang
This study aims to examine the effect of board gender diversity on corporate litigation in China’s listed firms. The key questions this study addresses are: what are the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of board gender diversity on corporate litigation in China’s listed firms. The key questions this study addresses are: what are the effect of board gender diversity on corporate litigation in terms of both the frequency and severity of consequence, is there any heterogeneous effects of the relationships across firm performance?
Design/methodology/approach
A sample consists of 25,668 firm-year observations from over 3,340 firms is examined using logistic regression analysis and negative binomial regression analysis. The authors also use event study method and ordinary least square (OLS) regression to explore female directors’ effects on reducing the negative consequences of litigation. The logistic regression and OLS regression are reestimated with interaction terms when examining the firm performance heterogeneity.
Findings
The authors document that firms with greater female representation on their boards experience fewer and less severe corporate litigations. Moreover, in high-performing firms, board gender diversity plays a more potent role in reducing the frequency and consequences of corporate litigation than low-performing firms.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to examine the relationship between board gender diversity and the comprehensive corporate litigations under Chinese context. It sheds new light on China’s boardroom dynamics, offering valuable empirical implication to Chinese corporate policymakers on the role of female directors.
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Rongxin Chen and Tianxing Zhang
In the global context, artificial intelligence (AI) technology and environmental, social and governance (ESG) have emerged as central drivers facilitating corporate transformation…
Abstract
Purpose
In the global context, artificial intelligence (AI) technology and environmental, social and governance (ESG) have emerged as central drivers facilitating corporate transformation and the business model revolution. This paper aims to investigate whether and how the application of AI enhances the ESG performance of enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies spanning the period from 2012 to 2022. Through a multivariate regression analysis, it examines the impact of AI on the ESG performance of enterprises.
Findings
The findings suggest that the application of AI in enterprises has a positive impact on ESG performance. Internal control systems within the organization and external information environments act as mediators in the relationship between AI and corporate ESG performance. Furthermore, corporate compliance plays a moderating role in the connection between AI and corporate ESG performance.
Originality/value
This paper underscores the pivotal role played by AI in enhancing corporate ESG performance. It explores the pathways to improving corporate ESG behavior from the perspectives of internal control and information environments. This discussion holds significant implications for advancing the application of AI in enterprises and enhancing their sustainable governance capabilities.
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Yuxin Shan, Vernon J. Richardson and Peng Cheng
A country’s institutional environment influences every facet of its business. This paper aims to identify institutional factors (state ownership, government attention on…
Abstract
Purpose
A country’s institutional environment influences every facet of its business. This paper aims to identify institutional factors (state ownership, government attention on employment and employees’ educational background) that affect the asymmetric cost behavior in China.
Design/methodology/approach
Using 2,570 listed firms’ data between 2002 and 2015, we use empirical models to explore the effects of state ownership, government attention on employment and employees’ educational background on the asymmetric cost behavior in China.
Findings
This study found that the asymmetric cost behavior of central state-owned enterprises (CSOEs) is greater than local state-owned enterprises (LSOEs). Meanwhile, the empirical results show that government attention on employment is reflected in five-year government plans, and employees’ educational backgrounds are positively associated with asymmetric cost behavior.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the economic theory of sticky costs, institutional theory and asymmetric cost behavior literature by providing evidence that shows how government intervention and employee educational background limit the flexibility of corporate cost adjustments. Additionally, this study provides guidance to policymakers by showing how government long-term plans affect firm-level resource adjustment decisions.
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Min Ji, Detian Deng and Guangyu Liu
Charitable giving in China has moved from being subjected to government attention and public skepticism to receiving government encouragement and public support. The role played…
Abstract
Purpose
Charitable giving in China has moved from being subjected to government attention and public skepticism to receiving government encouragement and public support. The role played by political connections in philanthropy is indisputable, although very few studies have explored their association from the perspective of the country’s first Charity Law of 2016. This study aims to contribute to the ongoing debate about the 2016 Charity Law and offers an understanding of the future trends in corporate charitable giving.
Design/methodology/approach
Using empirical analysis of data collected from listed companies in China, this study analyzes the impact of political connections on corporate charitable giving before and after the 2016 Charity Law. The study adopts three leading theories from previous research into corporate charitable giving and political connections: corporate social responsibility, resource dependence theory and stakeholder theory. A conceptual framework is outlined, and hypotheses are formulated accordingly.
Findings
The results show that political connections have a substantial positive impact on corporate charitable giving, both before and after the implementation of the 2016 Charity Law, which has significantly promoted and increased the amount and proportion of charitable giving. Although the 2016 Charity Law attempted to weaken the political connections of enterprises, the influence of political connections on corporate charitable giving has proved difficult to diminish or eliminate, as charity is dominated by the state.
Originality/value
This study explores the association between political connections and corporate charitable giving from the perspective of China’s Charity Law of 2016.
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Geming Zhang, Lin Yang and Wenxiang Jiang
The purpose of this study is to introduce the top-level design ideas and the overall architecture of earthquake early-warning system for high speed railways in China, which is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to introduce the top-level design ideas and the overall architecture of earthquake early-warning system for high speed railways in China, which is based on P-wave earthquake early-warning and multiple ways of rapid treatment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the key technologies that are involved in the development of the system, such as P-wave identification and earthquake early-warning, multi-source seismic information fusion and earthquake emergency treatment technologies. The paper also presents the test results of the system, which show that it has complete functions and its major performance indicators meet the design requirements.
Findings
The study demonstrates that the high speed railways earthquake early-warning system serves as an important technical tool for high speed railways to cope with the threat of earthquake to the operation safety. The key technical indicators of the system have excellent performance: The first report time of the P-wave is less than three seconds. From the first arrival of P-wave to the beginning of train braking, the total delay of onboard emergency treatment is 3.63 seconds under 95% probability. The average total delay for power failures triggered by substations is 3.3 seconds.
Originality/value
The paper provides a valuable reference for the research and development of earthquake early-warning system for high speed railways in other countries and regions. It also contributes to the earthquake prevention and disaster reduction efforts.
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Weiliang Zhang, Sifeng Liu, Junliang Du, Liangyan Tao and Wenjie Dong
The purpose of this study is to advance a novel evaluation index system and evaluation approach for ability of older adults in China.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to advance a novel evaluation index system and evaluation approach for ability of older adults in China.
Design/methodology/approach
This study constructed a comprehensive older adult ability evaluation index system with 4 primary indicators and 17 secondary indicators. Grey clustering analysis and entropy weight method are combined into a robust evaluation model for the ability of older adults.
Findings
The result demonstrates that the proposed grey clustering model is readily available to calculate the disability level of elderly individuals. The constructed index system more comprehensively considers all aspects of the disability of the elderly.
Originality/value
This study provides a quantitative method and a more reasonable index system for the determination of the disability level of the elderly.
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Jianan Ma and Fangxuan (Sam) Li
Proenvironmental hotels and hotels with green initiatives are emerging as a method to address environmental issues and respond to tourists’ environmental concerns. To better…
Abstract
Purpose
Proenvironmental hotels and hotels with green initiatives are emerging as a method to address environmental issues and respond to tourists’ environmental concerns. To better understand what can encourage reservations in proenvironmental hotels, this study aims to investigate the connection between the performing arts watching experience and the preference for such a hotel.
Design/methodology/approach
Five scenario-based experiments were conducted. A total of 1,024 participants for the five studies were recruited with the help of Credamo, a commonly used Chinese data collection platform.
Findings
The results indicated that viewing performing arts could increase tourists’ preferences for proenvironmental hotels. This phenomenon occurred due to the fact that performing arts watching experience can induce a psychological state of self-transcendence in individuals, which, in turn, can raise their levels of altruism, and ultimately lead to proenvironmental hotel choices. This effect will not occur, however, when people watch performing arts with either an extrinsic motivation or in an analytical state.
Practical implications
The findings of this study provide hotel managers with a novel approach to market the proenvironmental attributes of their hotels and to promote tourists’ proenvironmental behaviors.
Originality/value
This study proposes performing arts viewing experiences as a novel way to encourage proenvironmental hotel choice. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the impact of the performing arts watching experience on tourist behavior.
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