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Three scenario-based experiments were conducted to explore the influence of the base option’s price format (just-at vs just-below) on tourists’ upgrade intention. The findings of this research indicated that tourists are more inclined to upgrade the option when the base option’s price is presented in a just-at condition due to the mediating role of tourists’ price perceptions of the upgrade option. This study discovered that the just-at (vs just-below) pricing strategy can lower tourists’ price perceptions of the upgrade choice. This research further explored the moderating of tourists’ mindsets. It was found the threshold-crossing effect will disappear for tourists with fixed mindsets. This study also provides practical implications for travel service providers to set up appropriate pricing strategies to attract tourists to make upgrade decisions.

This study examines how dynamic capabilities (DCs) impact global value chain (GVC) upgrading and assesses the mediating role of innovation.

The study uses a quantitative research method. The data are collected using an online questionnaire administered to respondents working in Chinese automobile manufacturers in China and Laos. The data are analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and related software.

The results show that DCs and innovation capabilities (ICs) positively affect GVC upgrading and that ICs plays a mediating role between DC and GVC upgrading. Dynamic capabilities evolution (CE) mediates the relationship between DCs, ICs and GVC upgrading. Finally, differences exist in the effects of the three dimensions of DCs on ICs and GVC upgrading.

Focusing on the absorption and transformation of knowledge, enterprises could experience a clear enhancement of IC and CE and be more likely to obtain higher marginal returns. The study provides insights for emerging market firms to gain higher added value in internationalization.

This study demonstrates that different dimensions of DCs have different effects on GVC upgrading. In terms of theory, the impact of IC is considered in terms of the mediating effect of CE on IC. Differences are highlighted concerning the impact of learning capability, integrating and coordinating capability and sensing capability on the mediated relationships.

Technology upgrade has been adopted as a strategy for technology vendors to modify and improve their incumbent technologies. However, user resistance is widespread in practice. In order to understand user technology upgrade behavior, this study integrates the retrospective and prospective sides of actions and proposes an inertia-mindfulness ambidexterity perspective to explore the antecedents of technology upgrade.

An online survey was conducted to collect data from 520 Microsoft Windows users to test this research model. Structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to evaluate measurement model and structural model.

Inertia can induce individuals' psychological reactance and thus reduce their intention to upgrade. In contrast, mindfulness can decrease users' psychological reactance and then motivate them to upgrade to a new version of technology. Finally, individuals' dissatisfaction with the current version of technology would weaken the negative impact of psychological reactance on upgrade intention.

This study generates an inertia-mindfulness ambidexterity perspective to investigate the factors that influence user technology upgrade intention from both retrospective and prospective sides and then identifies psychological reactance as underlying mechanism to explain how inertia and mindfulness work. Finally, this study posits that user dissatisfaction with current version of technology can moderate the relationship between psychological reactance and technology upgrade intention.

This paper analyzes the effect of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on firm green innovation upgrading using data on Chinese firms between 2009 and 2021.

The author adopts the staggered difference-in-difference (DID) method to estimate regressions, treating the proposal of the BRI in 2013 as a policy shock. Our analysis yields few findings.

The author yields few findings. First, the BRI can significantly promote Chinese firms green innovation upgrading. Specifically, the BRI can promote firm green innovation upgrading by 0.9%. Second, the BRI mainly promotes firms green innovation upgrading by promoting firms to increase green entrepreneurship, cooperative innovation and environmental investment. Finally, the BRI has a greater impact on the green innovation upgrading of firms in the digital industrialization industry rather than digital industry and firms with low pollution emissions rather than firms with high-pollution emissions. This research indicates that the BRI is not only an important platform for sustainable development and also an important opportunity for green entrepreneurship.

First, due to the low quality of data and the lack of detailed information on some firms' patents owned after 2018, fully applying data of all years for regression was not possible. Second, the author did not construct a theoretical model to explore the impact of the BRI on green innovation upgrading of firms from the perspective of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), which is also the direction of future research. Finally, there are still some unexplored mechanisms of the BRI on firms green innovation upgrading, which should be further explored in the future.

First, from the micro perspective, the author measures the quality of firms' green patents, further measuring the firms' green innovation upgrading. Second, the author discusses the impact of the BRI on firm green innovation upgrading with the method of staggered DID, so that the policy effect of the BRI can be more accurately evaluated. Third, the author comprehensively analyzes the mechanism of cooperative innovation and green infrastructure investment, as well as analyzing the heterogeneity from the perspective of industry digital transformation and firm pollution emissions. Lastly, the author provides specific paths for firms to make high-quality investment from the green BRI construction.

Taking a mental accounting theory perspective, this study explores how pricing strategy (all-inclusive vs partitioned) influences consumers' perceived residual value of a product and their subsequent intentions to upgrade to a newer model.

A pilot study and two formal experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses.

A partitioned (vs all-inclusive) price causes consumers to later recall a lower total cost and perceive lower residual value for the existing product, thereby increasing upgrade intentions. This finding holds for both utilitarian and hedonic products. Perceived residual value mediates the impact of the pricing strategy on upgrade intentions. The pricing strategy effect is stronger for state-oriented individuals than for action-oriented individuals.

This study extends understanding of the impact of pricing strategies from consumers' short-term immediate demand to long-term upgrade intentions. It also identifies a previously uninvestigated moderator (action-state orientation), clarifying the boundary conditions of pricing strategy effects. The study's conceptual framework links pricing strategy, sunk costs, perceived residual value and upgrade intentions, providing rich insights and potential research paths. These findings further enhance understanding of upgrade intentions.

The purpose of this paper is to gain knowledge on the renovation status for Norwegian dwellings that can be used to design attractive energy efficiency measures. Norwegian dwellings are exposed to a windy, cold and moist climate and the technical condition of existing dwellings depend on the owners priorities regarding maintenance and renovation. The paper focuses on the renovation status and technical condition of privately owned detached houses built in Norway in the 1980s constituting 10 per cent of the total Norwegian dwelling stock. These houses are high-energy spenders and are at a stage in their lifetime where major renovation such as new windows and ventilation system is expected.

The status for redecoration, maintenance and renovation as well as the technical condition of 91 dwellings are mapped and analysed.

An analysis of the empirical data identified four categories of houses when considering home upgrades and technical condition: the as built, the aesthetic, the well kept and the do it yourselves houses. There is no correlation between the observed technical condition and the home upgrade level for the houses in the study. Significant resources may have been used for redecoration and unskilled renovation while not dealing with the need for maintenance and repair.

The knowledge on homeowner categories can be used to tailor policy instruments to accelerate energy efficiency rates for privately owned dwellings.

There are no previous studies on Norwegian private homeowners and the technical condition of their homes.

The purpose of this paper is to econometrically examine whether indigenous enterprises can upgrade under open economy by using micro-firm data.

In order to make clear the impact of outward development on the indigenous manufacturing export enterprises' productivity from micro level and to propose policy recommendation, the research group selected indigenous manufacturing export enterprises in Kunshan China as research objects and made a large-scale survey. Based on micro-firm data from survey, the paper carries out empirical analysis.

After controlling some other variables including innovation activity, human capital and enterprises scale, empirical result shows that export activity, establishing connections with FDI enterprises, industry clusters formed under open economy all have significant and positive effect on upgrading of indigenous enterprises.

This paper is the first to use micro-firm data obtained from survey to examine factors affecting indigenous enterprises' upgrading capability of China.

The purpose of this paper is to exam the financial impact on the owner/lessor who is considering a partial energy upgrade to an existing medical office building. The owner who leases the building using a triple net lease does the upgrade prior to leasing the building, with the expectation of earning higher rents. How much should the owner who leases the property spend for a given rent per square foot increase?

The empirical study highlights the impact of key financial variables on the dependent variable medical office construction spending put in place in the USA. The independent variables prime interest rate, cost of natural gas per therm and electricity cost per KWH, resale building prices are significant variables when predicting medical office construction spending. A case study using a cost-benefit model is developed. It inputs corporate income tax rates, incorporates a debt service coverage ratio, prime interest rate, analyzes investment tax credit (ITC) and rebate scenarios and varies the level of rental income and energy savings. The case study results provide insight into which factors are enabling higher net construction spending when considering a green energy retrofit project. Both the regression model and the case study model focussed on the owner of a building who rents medical office space to tenants using a triple net lease. The owner/lessor paradigm analyzes revenue enhancements, the tax implications of having these savings and benefits associated with borrowing when financing the green retrofit. The availability of low cost borrowing, increases in the ITC percent and rebates and increases in rent per square foot have an impact on potential energy upgrade spending.

The empirical model finds the independent variables to be significant. Utility cost, resale value of office buildings, the prime interest rate, business bankruptcy court filings and unemployment rate fluctuations adequately explain movements in medical office building spending for the years 2000 through 2015 yielding a R2 of 73.8 percent. The feasibility case study indicates that the energy saving levels and ITCs not income tax rates are the primary drivers for a partial energy retrofit.

Market incentives are a function of the cost of energy. If the cost of energy drops, then the profit incentive to conserve energy becomes less important. The role of tax credits, rebates, property tax reductions and government directives, then become primary incentives for installing energy upgrades. The owner of an empty building assumes all of the operating costs normally paid by a tenant under a triple net lease. This possibility was not included in the replacement cost-benefit model used in this paper.

The feasibility of doing an energy upgrade to an existing building requires that a cost-benefit analysis be undertaken. The independent variables that are significant when doing a regression model or proxies for these variables are incorporated into a present value model. The results in Table V can be used as an initial template for determining how much to spend per square foot when doing an energy upgrade. The square foot amounts can be applied to different size office buildings. The corporate income tax rate or a personal income tax rate has minimal impact on energy construction upgrade spending.

More energy efficient office buildings reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Energy efficient buildings also conserve on scarce fuel reserves. ITCs and rebates limit the role of government in directing decisions to do energy upgrades. The market mechanism to some degree can help encourage energy conservation through asset upgrades.

The paper incorporates an empirical model which is a form of technical analysis to examine independent variables that explain medical office building spending with a case study structured on expected revenues and costs which takes a fundamental approach to understanding the relationship between the dependent variable and its independent variables. The regression model combines factors that impact the demand for energy efficient medical buildings from an owner/lessor perspective which includes resale values of existing buildings, business bankruptcy filings and unemployment rates. Supply independent variables include the prime interest rate and electricity per KWH and natural gas per therm. The regression model found these variables to be significant. The case study uses the same independent variables or close proxy variables to determine the maximum financially feasible per square foot spending that can be invested in energy upgrades.

Upgraded water and better sanitation are essential for human health, but it is still a challenge to get admittance to these facilities and the concerns of public health becomes most victims. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the socioeconomic and demographic forecaster linked with admittance to safer water and upgraded sanitation facilities in Rwanda. The study uses the cross-sectional data from the 2014 to 2015 Rwanda Demographic Health Survey and uses linear generalized models for the analysis.

The logit and probit regressions were used to analyze whether or not any forecaster variables influenced the predicted variable.

The findings showed that the households with the highest education background were 11.55 times more probable to have admittance to upgraded water sources compared to those who had none level of education. Likewise, the respondents with secondary and higher education were, respectively, 9.55 times and 4.09 times more probable to have admittance to upgraded latrine facilities. The authors found the increase of household size as significantly associated with admittance to the upgraded water source and latrine facilities compared to those families with fewer household members. The results also found that wealthier households had a larger odds ratio significance in getting admittance to upgraded water sources and sanitation facilities compared to poorer households. The study results found the greatest gap in access to upgraded water sources and sanitation facilities in rural areas compared to urban areas.

The implications of the study results call for water policy formulation and implementation in Rwanda, as well as generally for other developing countries.

In Rwanda, this is the first study that empirically inspected the relationship between socioeconomic and demographic forecasters on admittance to upgraded water and sanitation facilities.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-07-2019-0452

Operational energy use in buildings accounts for 28% of global energy demand. One method to reduce operational energy is upgrading old appliances to more efficient ones. In Australia, the most common residential heating type is reverse-cycle heating, followed by gas heating. This article aims to determine the energy balance resulting from a gas heating upgrade through a life cycle assessment (LCA).

Extensive primary data were collected for operational energy performance of 61 ducted gas heating upgrades. To address the scarcity of data on material composition, one ducted gas heater was deconstructed and assessed in terms of material composition (types and weights). The comparison between embodied energy and operational energy savings allows us to establish whether operational energy savings offset the embodied energy incurred with the upgrade. The end of life stage of the old appliance, as well as the production, construction and use stage of the new appliance were assessed.

The results show that the operational energy savings offset the following impact categories: global warming, ozone layer depletion, aquatic acidification, nonrenewable energy and carcinogens. Only the mineral extraction is not offset by the operational energy savings. The results clearly demonstrate that operational energy savings outweigh the embodied energy and therefore contribute positively to the environment.

This study is the first to focus on the LCA of building services through extensive primary data collection and a focus on a high number of appliances. This supports ongoing energy efficient upgrades in Australia and paves the way for further, similar studies to confirm or disprove these findings in other parts of the world.