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The Public–Private Partnership (PPP) modality plays an important role in the procurement of global infrastructure projects. Regarding PPP's complex transaction structure, pricing of a PPP project is critical to both parties where the government pursues a high value for money (VFM) and the investor strives to maximize its financial gains. Despite the straightforward win–win principle, a formidable compromise is often the case to end up with a fairly acceptable price, subject to many determinants such as the risk profile, expected return, technological innovation and capacities of both parties. Among them, this study chooses to examine the “managing flexibility” (MF) capacity of investors in pricing of a PPP project, in light of the widely recognized importance of a real-option perspective toward the long term, complex and uncertain PPP arrangement. This study addresses two major questions: (1) how is MF in PPP projects to be valued and (2) how are PPP projects to be priced when considering a project's MF value.

A binomial tree model is used to evaluate the MF value in PPP projects. Based on the developed MF pricing model, net present value (NPV) and adjusted VFM value are then calculated. Finally, a multi-objective decision-making method (MODM) was adopted to determine the optimal level of returns based on invested capital (ROIC), return on operation maintenance (ROOM) and concession period.

The applicability and functionality of the proposed model is investigated using a real project case. For a given return, extended NPV and adjusted VFM value were calculated and analyzed using sensitivity analysis. Factor influence is shown by the model to be dependent on factor impact on cash flow. Subsequently, a multi-objective decision-making (MODM) model was adopted to determine the optimal level of returns, where the solution approximates the real-world bidding price. Results confirm that the pricing model provides a reliable and practical PPP proposal pricing tool.

This study proposes an integrated framework for valuing MF in PPP projects and thus more accurately determine optimal pricing of PPP projects than revealed in extant research. The model offers a practical tool to aid in the valuation of PPP projects.

The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected China’s tourism industry. Tourism small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with limited crisis response ability, might be difficult to recover after the pandemic. Regarding the impacts of the pandemic on rural tourism, income for rural attraction sites was almost zero; sightseeing, agri-tourism activities were ceased; and large amount of rural bed-and-breakfasts (B&Bs) faced business closure. However, through three cases, our study found that through either content innovation or process innovation, some B&Bs are able to recover speedily from the pandemic and develop sustainably. These innovations are important for their business strategy adjustment. Innovation creates more value for tourists and stakeholders by developing new service products or adjusting existing products. This chapter discusses the linkages between innovation and leadership. Through the investigation and analysis of three cases, the researchers found that the advantages of transformational leadership were reflected in the post-crisis management in different ways and effectively improved the innovation ability and sustainable development of post-crisis organizations. This study has enriched the literature on transformational leadership and post-crisis recovery of small tourism enterprises and has practical reference value for managers of small rural tourism companies.

This study aims to examine the role of message appeals (concrete vs abstract) posted by greenfluencers in determining their behavioral intention toward the sponsored sustainable product. This study examined the underlying mechanism of message authenticity and product sustainability image in this relationship. This study also investigated the boundary condition of product type (utilitarian vs hedonic) in the effect of sustainability message appeal on purchase intention.

Four studies were carried out. One field experiment on Facebook and three scenario-based online experiments were conducted to test the proposed relationships.

This study found that a concrete message appeal results in a higher purchase intention of the promoted product than an abstract message appeal. This effect is a result of message authenticity and product sustainability image. Furthermore, product type moderates the impact of message appeal on behavioral intention via message authenticity and product sustainability image.

This study contributes to the literature on influencer marketing, sustainability communication and the persuasion process.

This study’s findings provide insights for greenfluencers and firms that leverage greenfluencers to promote their sustainable products on social media. Specifically, it lays out how the sustainability message should be framed to be persuasive.

This study findings offer novel insights for greenfluencers and firms in developing effective message strategies to promote sustainable products on social media.

The authors address a two-dimensional (both customer acquisition and retention) incentive in a decentralized service chain consisting of a risk-neutral brand and agent (or averse). 

The authors focus on the relationship between acquisition and retention, that is, retained customers (repeated purchases) are based on and come from the acquired (new) customers in the former period. The authors also design a two-period separate incentive on both dimensions.

The authors found that a targeted incentive strategy should be applied for achieving more revenue when the incentive intensities are relatively small. Otherwise, the brand needs to adjust the targeted incentive strategy into incentivizing the opposite dimension, particularly on acquisition. Under the optimal contract, the brand needs to be very careful with deciding the fixed part of the incentive salary and the incentive intensities on both dimensions. For example, the fixed salary initially decreases and then increases in the incentive intensities. For the optimal incentive policies, the brand should incentivize acquisition but outsource retention if the agent is risk-neutral. When the agent is becoming risk-averse, the brand should lower its incentive intensity as the risk degree and variances become larger. Interestingly, the brand may benefit from introducing risks.

The study contributes to the literature by considering the following points. First, the authors extend the principal-agent incentive model by considering two-period decisions of customer acquisition and retention. Second, based on the two-period principal-agent problem, the authors design separate incentive intensities on acquisition and retention, respectively. While, most of the literature focused on acquisition incentives. Third, different from other works focusing on either risk-neutral or risk-averse environments, the authors consider both and compare the cases of risk-neutral and risk-averse to analyze the impact of risk on the optimal decisions and the brand's expected profit.

This study aims to explore the social networks and network interactions of bed-and-breakfast (B&B) entrepreneurs in rural China. In addition, it evaluates how such network interactions relate to rural resilience.

In-depth interviews were performed in two locations: Ningbo and Dujiangyan, China. Purposive sampling was combined with snowball sampling to select interviewees. The 154 interviews involved 29 B&B owners and relevant social actors. All codes and data were analyzed using the discourse analysis framework.

The B&B owners’ social networks were identified based on strategic goals, revealing a business operation network, business development network and business citizenship network. Challenges in seeking financial support for rural B&Bs during the pandemic were specified along with network interactions. The institutional adaptation approach was used to evaluate network interaction in rural B&B business. It was argued that other networks would react based on primary network members’ goal compatibility and the effectiveness of the primary network in addressing obstacles.

This study indicates that the rural B&B entrepreneurs’ interactions with various networks could influence on business resilience, community resilience as well as rural resilience.

By combining the institutional adaptation typology with social network theory, this study generates a new typology of network interactions for rural B&Bs. The typology helps to explain how and why B&B entrepreneurs make decisions and provides a broader scope of social networks involved in these business operations.

This paper aims to investigate how and when different dimensions of trust and contracts interact to influence the development to negotiation strategies. Specifically, it explores how different dimensions of trust and contracts are combined to influence dispute negotiation strategies when cooperation parties have or do not have expectations of continuity.

This paper theoretically identified and empirically examined the interaction effect of trust and contract on dispute negotiation strategies in contractor–subcontractor relationships, by developing a conceptual framework and conducting a questionnaire survey comprising more than 300 disputes in the Chinese construction industry. Hierarchical regression analysis was mainly used to test the hypotheses.

This paper finds that contractual control may weaken the effect of goodwill trust in fostering interest-based strategies in the presence of expectations of continuity, while it may strengthen the effect in the absence of expectations of continuity. Contractual coordination negatively moderates the relationship between goodwill trust and interest-based strategies only when parties have little expectations of continuity. Moreover, contractual control enhances the effectiveness of competence trust on fostering interest-based strategies.

This paper provides insights for practitioners to wisely use different governance mechanisms to manage negotiation strategies and generate desired outcomes of dispute resolution.

This paper provides a nuanced understanding of how the two types of governance mechanisms interact, by considering trust and contract as multi-dimensional constructs. It explicit the boundary conditions of both the substitute and complementary relationship between them.

This paper aims to adopt a moderated mediation model to examine the mediation roles of employee engagement and hindrance time pressure; the moderation roles of personality in the relationship between strengths-based psychological climate and employee innovation performance.

Applying snowball sampling and a self-administered survey, the data were collected from employees and immediate supervisors working in Chinese small-medium-sized enterprises. The PROCESS macro for SPSS was applied to examine the moderated mediation model.

The results show that a strengths-based psychological climate significantly influences employee engagement and hindrance time pressure, which, in turn, affects employee innovation performance. Both extroversion and emotional stability moderate the relationship between strengths-based psychological climate, employee engagement and hindrance time pressure but also the indirect effect of strengths-based psychological climate on employee innovation performance through employee engagement and hindrance time pressure.

Drawing on job demands and resources models, this research focusses on maximizing employee strengths instead of weaknesses and includes both two intermediating mechanisms in-between strengths-based psychological climate and innovation performance. Personality variables are applied as moderators, as the study assumes the effectiveness of the strengths-based interventions may vary depends on individual differences.

This study proposes that a strengths-based psychological climate may shift focusses from employee weakness to strengths to maximise their talents. Also, personality variables are suggested to be considered in the related human resource practices (e.g. hiring and performance appraisal) to increase the fit between employees, their jobs and the organisations.

This study develops a moderated mediation model to investigate the possible mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions in relation to the impact of strengths-based psychological climate on employee innovation performance.