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The sustainable transition towards the circular economy requires the effective use of artificial intelligence (AI) and information technology (IT) techniques. As the sustainability targets for 2030–2050 increasingly become a tougher challenge, society, company managers and policymakers require more support from AI and IT in general. How can the AI-based and IT-based smart decision-support tools help implementation of circular economy principles from micro to macro scales?

This chapter provides a conceptual framework about the current status and future development of smart decision-support tools for facilitating the circular transition of smart industry, focussing on the implementation of the industrial symbiosis (IS) practice. IS, which is aimed at replacing production inputs of one company with wastes generated by a different company, is considered as a promising strategy towards closing the material, energy and waste loops. Based on the principles of a circular economy, the utility of such practices to close resource loops is analyzed from a functional and operational perspective. For each life cycle phase of IS businesses – e.g., opportunity identification for symbiotic business, assessment of the symbiotic business and sustainable operations of the business – the role played by decision-support tools is described and embedding smartness in these tools is discussed.

Based on the review of available tools and theoretical contributions in the field of IS, the characteristics, functionalities and utilities of smart decision-support tools are discussed within a circular economy transition framework. Tools based on recommender algorithms, machine learning techniques, multi-agent systems and life cycle analysis are critically assessed. Potential improvements are suggested for the resilience and sustainability of a smart circular transition.

Starting from the theoretical mechanism of profit sharing between finance and the real economy, this paper reviews and analyzes the profitability of China's banking industry and makes a horizontal comparison with the banking industry of the United States, Japan, and Germany.

Based on the panel threshold model, it is found that there is a dual-threshold asymmetric effect between banking profit and the growth of real economy. When the net profit rate of the banking industry is lower than 0.491%, the increase in banking profitability will inhibit the growth of real economy due to profit grabbing; when the rate falls within the range of 0.491–0.801%, the increase in bank profitability is conducive to the growth of real economy.

Finance and the real economy are in the most comfortable symbiotic state; when the rate is higher than 0.801%, the continued increase in bank profitability will weaken the promotion effect of finance on the real economy, but bank profitability and the growth of real economy are still in a symbiotic state of positive promotion.

The promotion effect of China's bank profitability to the growth of real economy has shifted from the suboptimal state to the optimal range as a whole, which is attributed to the strong deleveraging and strict supervision of the Chinese government after 2016, the timely and decisive “stepping on the brakes”, pulling the financial sector back from the “illusion” caused by “self-circulated” profits and preventing it from harming the real economy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most recurrent variables characterizing the collaborative relationships of industrial symbiosis (IS) (hereinafter also referred to as “anatomic” variables) established in the attempt to adopt circular economy (CE) by collecting evidence from a rich empirical set of implementation cases in Italy.

The current literature on IS was reviewed, and a content analysis was performed to identify and define the “anatomic” variables affecting its adoption in the circular economy. We followed a multiple-case study methodology investigating 50 cases of IS in Italy and performed a content analysis of the “anatomic” variables characterizing each case.

This research proposes the “anatomic” variables (i.e. industrial sectors involved, public actors involvement, governmental support, facilitator involvement and geographical proximity) explaining the cases of IS in the circular economy. Each “anatomic” variable is discussed at length based on the empirical evidence collected, with a particular reference to the impact on the different development strategies (i.e. “bottom-up” and “top-down”) in the cases observed.

Current literature on IS focuses on a sub-set of variables characterizing collaboration in IS. This research builds on extant literature to define a new framework of five purposeful “anatomic” variables defining IS in the circular economy. Moreover, we also collect and discuss a broad variety of empirical evidence in what is a still under-investigated context (i.e. Italy).

This research aims to investigate the symbiotic relationship between work and family life among doctors in India, with a focus on work–family enrichment (WFE) as a positive interplay. The study seeks to examine the impact of two aspects of WFE, namely, work-to-family enrichment (WTFE) and family-to-work enrichment (FTWE) on job satisfaction (JS) and life satisfaction (LS), while exploring the mediating role of self-efficacy (SE).

The research employs a comprehensive survey to gather data from Indian doctors. The survey includes measures of WTFE, FTWE, JS, LS and SE. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the proposed connections among the research constructs, using IBM AMOS v.23.

The findings reveal that WTFE significantly impacts both JS and LS. However, FTWE does not show a direct influence on JS, though it does positively impact LS. SE plays a noteworthy role, having a strong direct influence on both job and life satisfaction. In terms of indirect influence, WTFE impacts job and life satisfaction through the mechanism of SE. Nevertheless, no significant indirect effect was found between FTWE and both types of satisfaction through SE.

This research presents several original contributions to the study of work–life balance among healthcare professionals. Firstly, its unique geographic focus on North India distinguishes it from existing literature, offering fresh insights into the experiences of doctors in this region. Moreover, the study's multifaceted examination of WFE, SE, JS, and LS introduces a comprehensive perspective seldom seen in current research.

This study aims to explore the effect of innovation ecosystem stability (IES) on innovation performance of enterprises through the mediating role of knowledge acquisition (KA), and to study how these effects are moderated by unabsorbed slack.

This study draws on data from 327 Chinese enterprises and adopts the multiple linear regression method and bootstrapping method to explore the mediating effect of KA and its moderated mediating effect.

The results demonstrate that IES is positively associated with innovation performance of enterprises, and KA plays a partially mediating role. Moreover, unabsorbed slack negatively moderates the relationship between IES and KA as well as the mediating effect of KA.

This study investigates the relationship between IES and innovation performance, and the mechanism of influence, which has not been previously studied in the field of innovation ecosystem. This study also examines the interaction between unabsorbed slack and IES and further clarifies the mechanism and boundary conditions of the impact of IES on innovation performance.

The purpose of this paper is to model the impact of geotourism on geoconservation by observing two popular geotourism activities, namely, rock climbing and hiking. It proposes that as much as geotourism activities have potential negative impacts, they can also bring about positive modification of critical ecosystems like that of Hell’s Gate National Park.

This research opted for an exploratory research design using both open and close-ended questionnaires from 351 respondents and was complemented by documentary analysis. The statistical relationship between geotourism activities and geoconservation was modelled through linear regression.

As predicted the computation using hiking and rock climbing to predict geoconservation were significant with p = 0.004 < 0.05 and p = 0.002 < 0.05, respectively. Implying that selected geotourism activity(s) are positively related to geoconservation

Recognizing the symbiotic relationship, values and relevance of geotourism to geoconservation as a dynamic approach to preservation of protected area management is central to promoting ecosystem stewardship and contributes to the achievement of United Nations development goals.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how geotourism activities can be used to preserve/conserve the ecological environments and geoheritage of a destination

The purpose of this study is to explore the status and potential of industrial symbiosis in fostering sustainable entrepreneurship among micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Uganda.

This study is cross-sectional and qualitative in nature. It involved conducting in-depth interviews with MSEs owners in Kampala, and data were analyzed using Atlasi Ti.

The results indicate that industrial symbiosis is a phenomenon that, notably, all MSE owners interviewed were practicing unknowingly, including recycling waste into sellable products, as well as sharing utilities, specialized machines and personnel for the smooth running of their businesses. In addition, participants expressed optimism that industrial symbiosis would be a major tool for business growth, innovation, employment opportunities, diversification and environmental protection for the benefit of the current and the future generations.

This study offers initial evidence on the status and potential of industrial symbiosis in fostering sustainable entrepreneurship among MSEs in Uganda.

This article explores leadership studies as a complementary and integrating discipline in undergraduate liberal education curricula. A significant historical purpose of liberal education was to liberate and prepare its graduates to be active and capable participants and leaders in social, economic, religious, and political realms. This historical purpose has become resurgent in recent critical examinations of liberal education. Some now argue that the undergraduate liberal education should return, in part, to preparing citizens for leadership responsibilities necessary to strengthen our communities, nation, and democratic institutions.

There appears to be a symbiotic relationship between liberal education and leadership studies. The knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for effective leadership appear to be closely aligned with the desired learning outcomes of a liberal arts education, regardless of major. This article concludes that leadership studies may be an important and beneficial component of undergraduate liberal education curricula.

The relationship between government and market is the key to the economic development performance of market economy countries. Due to the limits such as the state/market dichotomy, the focus on static allocation efficiency and the ignorance of the diversity of the market economy and the relationship between government and market, economic liberalism and state interventionism can hardly position and explain the role and evolution of government and market in the real world accurately.

China’s economic transition has always adhered to the reform direction of the socialist market economy and the development goal of a modern socialist country as well as the symbiosis and positive and progressive evolution of government and market, blazing a “third way” in handling the relationship between government and market.

The “China’s experience” shows that the key for emerging market economies to achieve good economic development performance lies in whether they can build a new relationship of the mutual integration between and common prosperity of government and market regarding target selection, production organisation, technological innovation, institutional change and regulatory adjustment.

The second part of this paper analyses the inherent defects of economic liberalism and state interventionism as well as the reasons why they can hardly be adopted as the theoretical guidance for emerging market economies to handle the relationship between government and market. The third part analyses how China has transcended the inherent thinking of liberalism and interventionism and shaped the new relationship between government and market through goal-oriented, active and progressive, two-way interactive exploration and practice to ensure the success of China's economic transition.

Participants in leadership development programs take part in multiple developmental experiences that can influence the composition of their social network and enhance social capital. However, further investment in such practices may be limited because little is known about the relationship between leadership development approaches, networking ability, and social capital. This study explores how common developmental approaches may contribute to social capital, taking into consideration the role networking ability plays in this relationship. This descriptive, correlational study included a sample of graduates (N= 231) from 15 statewide agricultural-based leadership development programs. Our findings reveal that: 1) Networking is an antecedent to social capital, 2) skill building and personal growth approaches to leadership development are significant predictors of networking ability, and 3) networking ability is a significant predictor of social capital.