Digital transformation, smart technologies, and eco-innovation are paving the way toward sustainable supply chain performance

The era of digital trade: Exploring new mechanisms and threshold effects for green upgrading of manufacturing companies

The green transformation of manufacturing companies is of strategic importance for promoting sustainable development, optimising energy structure and improving environmental quality. This article empirically examines the impact of digital trade on the green transformation of manufacturing companies and the role of green technology innovation using panel data of Chinese A-share listed manufacturing companies from 2011 to 2021. The findings are as follows: digital trade significantly accelerates the green transformation of manufacturing companies, and this effect is more obvious in mature companies, highly competitive industries and non-renewable energy companies. The mechanism study shows that the development of digital trade can promote the green transformation of manufacturing companies by improving the quantity, quality and continuity of green technology innovation. Threshold effect studies show that there is a single threshold effect for the cumulative effect of green technology innovation. When the threshold is crossed, digital trade will optimise the green transformation of manufacturing companies. This article provides important theoretical support for policymakers and business leaders to promote digital trade and achieve green transformation of companies.

Institutional Quality in Green and Digital Transition of EU Regions - A Recovery and Resilience Analysis

This paper assesses the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) of EU member states and regions to uncover commonalities and differences between green and digital transitions, focusing on the role of institutions, among additional socio-economic drivers, in modeling them. To that end, relevant indicators have been assembled, and several econometric models have been developed and tested to evaluate institutional performance in relation to green and digital transformations. The study reveals discrepancies in the two explored transition fields and highlights the power of institutional factors in boosting them. Specifically, the findings demonstrate that the green transition in EU regions is positively associated with variables such as life expectancy, institutional quality, tertiary education attainment, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with innovative activities, while the fruits of digitalization are mainly allied to population with higher studies, core creative class employment, accountability of institutions, and innovative SMEs. These insights offer valuable guidance for decision-makers to draw lessons from high-performing or successful regions and strategically assign resources. This includes paying attention to regional financial allocations and their alignment with territorial planning and long-term policies.

Sustainable performance in SMEs using big data analytics for closed-loop supply chains and reverse omnichannel

The study aims to examine the advantages of utilizing big data analytics (BDA) on circular economy (CE) dual systems, which are closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) and the reverse omnichannel (ROC), aiming to enhance sustainable firm performance (SFP) of the small and medium based enterprises (SMEs). The product return knowledge (PRK) can reinforce the proposed network of relationships and facilitate the approach of active returns in CE. Using the structural equation model (SEM) in AMOS v24, the researchers examined the hypotheses using data from a simple random sample of 232 SMEs in Pakistan. Though ROC solutions provide rare performance-related benefits, however, BDA makes the CE system more efficient. CLSC gets strengthened when the PRK is developed. The improved PRK facilitates the CLSC network and enhances its performance. This study adopts a novel approach to studying CE by considering the dual system of CE in the forms of CLSC and ROC. The research investigates whether the BDA facilitates improved product return processes by improving CLSC operations and achieving service capabilities using ROC. Finally, the proposed framework is the first to investigate the benefits evolving from the PRK, which enhance the capability to sense, seize, and reconfigure the process and facilitate the approach of active return in CE. The findings suggest that firms must decide carefully between CLSC and ROC. Choosing CLSC requires higher operational capabilities, whereas deciding on ROC requires higher service capabilities. Lastly, PRK is necessary for achieving the firm's performance objectives.

Nuclear energy in Bangladesh: A SWOT analysis

Zero-emission energy sources like nuclear energy are taken into account worldwide due to the negative environmental consequences of fossil fuels and their limited availability over the years. Bangladesh plans to add nuclear energy to its portfolio of energy sources by 2024. Under the scope of this study, the country's nuclear energy strategy was looked at in terms of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This was done using a method known as SWOT analysis. It has come to light that Bangladesh has a significant number of aspects in terms of strengths as well as opportunities that make the possibility of doing an investment in the construction of a nuclear power plant a realistic choice. Difficulties such as a culture of poor maintenance, financial burden, lack of skilled manpower, a poor power grid, radioactive waste management, and corruption are the weaknesses and threats to the effective construction, operation, and maintenance activities of the nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. By mitigating these difficult aspects, Bangladesh's journey to adopt nuclear energy can be more smooth.

The effects of digital economy development on social insurance funds revenue: Evidence from China

China has experienced rapid development in the digital economy. Using data from 30 provinces in China between 2011 and 2017, this paper constructs a two-way fixed effects model to study the effects and mechanisms of the digital economy development on social insurance funds revenue. An increase of one unit in digital economy development led to a 0.56% increase in basic endowment insurance funds revenue and a 0.33% increase in basic health insurance funds revenue. The digital economy increased the social insurance funds revenue by promoting employment and increasing income. Furthermore, the effects of digital economic development on social insurance funds revenue were heterogeneous for different levels of economic development and urbanization. The conclusions stood after robustness tests by changing the method of weighting the digital economy indicators and using instrumental variables. This paper confirmed the positive role of the development of the digital economy in increasing the revenue of social insurance funds from the perspective of quantitative research and explored the mechanisms in depth. In order to increase social insurance funds revenue, it is essential to accelerate the development of the digital economy, especially in regions with lower economic development and urbanization, and to address the needs of the technically unemployed and those engaged in flexible employment.

Mapping sustainable supply chain innovation: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis

This comprehensive bibliometric study investigates Sustainable Supply Chain Innovation (SSCI) research, examining its evolution, identifying key contributors, and unveiling emerging trends. Analyzing 1158 English-language SSCI articles using the robust Scopus dataset exposes noteworthy journals, authors, institutions, and global contributions. The findings suggest a consistent increase in research output since 1999, with a notable surge in the past decade. Network analysis and density-based spatial clustering identified six SSCI research clusters: Sustainability and Responsibility in Business, Navigating Innovation and Disruption, Sustainable Business Strategies, Environmental Sustainability and Innovation, Sustainable Food Systems and Environmental Impact, and Sustainable Business Dynamics. These clusters highlight the diverse nature of the evolving Sustainability and Supply Chain Management (SCM) field, contributing to a thorough understanding of the SSCI research landscape and emphasizing interconnections between sustainability and SCM themes, potentially leading to more comprehensive theoretical models. Furthermore, this understanding aids businesses in anticipating emerging trends and implementing optimal practices in SSCI. Moreover, recognizing active institutions and global contributors provides practical insights for fostering strategic collaborations.

Unboxing the dilemma associated with online shopping and purchase behavior for remanufactured products: A smart strategy for waste management

Despite an unprecedented shift in favor of sustainable consumer purchase patterns globally, the overall adoption of refurbished products is still scarce. Earlier empirical investigations have tested aspects affecting consumer purchase intentions concerning remanufactured products, yet they largely ignored risks hindering consumers from opting for them. In order to fill the given theoretical gap, the study tests both inhibiting and igniting factors affecting consumer's remanufacturing products purchase behavior through the use of Stimulus Organism Response (SOR) theory. SOR assists in better understanding consumers' digital purchase behavior toward remanufactured products. Moreover, the study extends the knowledge by examining the impact of Perceived Environmental Benefits, Seller's Reputation, Price Sensitivity, and Social Influence on Consumer's Purchase behavior for remanufactured products. It also investigates the mediating role of the Perceived Risk of Remanufactured Products, followed by the moderating role of Consumers Trust. A useable sample data of 361 was collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results indicated the inverse relationship between increased price sensitivity and purchase behavior concerning remanufactured products, and all other stated variables reflected a significant association with consumer purchase behavior. Likewise, both mediating and moderating roles were found to be significant. Along with theoretical contributions, the study contains numerous practical directions for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers to increase consumers' purchase behavior toward remanufactured products.

Corporate social responsibility-an antidote for sustainable business performance: interconnecting role of digital technologies, employee eco-behavior, and tax avoidance

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have consistently contributed significantly to the economy's gross domestic product (GDP). Organizations are motivated to achieve sustainable performance by mitigating the adverse impacts of company operations by improving productivity and optimizing resource utilization. In order to achieve this objective, the businesses are making all their efforts and developing the systems to ensure sustainable performance. Based on the prevailing research gaps, the current study examines the role of a portfolio of responsible digital technologies (DT), which provides a competitive advantage and helps achieve sustainable firm performance (SFP). Using a simple random sampling technique, data from 294 textile manufacturing SMEs is collected and analyzed using the structural equation model (SEM) in AMOS v.24. The results indicated that digital technologies, tax avoidance, green employee behavior, and corporate social responsibility facilitated improving the SFP of SMEs. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the link connecting TA and SFP is unaffected by CSR activities aimed at the environment. This finding, however, should not lessen the importance of TA, which deserves significant attention and thought from management.

Ecotoxicological evaluation of organic contamination in the world's two significant gateways to the Black Sea using GIS techniques: Turkish Straits

This study was carried out to determine the spatial-temporal distributions of limnological parameters of Çanakkale Strait (ÇS) and İstanbul Strait (İS), Turkiye. Fluvial (n = 11) and lacustrine (n = 4) habitats water samples were collected in the dry and rainy seasons of 2022-2023. Among limnological parameters, the highest mean electrical conductivity values of 6063 μS/cm were noted in the İS basin during the rainy season and the lowest was 0.04 mg/L for nitrite in the ÇS basin. Generally, the levels of organic contaminants and ecological risk indices were as follows: rivers of İS > rivers of ÇS > Alibey Dam Lake (İS) > Atikhisar Dam Lake (ÇS). The highest non-carcinogenic health risks of 0.88 were noted for children in the ÇS basin during the dry season and the lowest of <0.01 in Atikhisar Dam Lake during the rainy season. Multivariate statistical techniques were applied to data to categorize investigated ecosystems and sources apportionment of contaminants and geospatial distribution.

How to promote the sustainable development of virtual reality technology for training in construction filed: A tripartite evolutionary game analysis

In recent years, virtual reality training technology (VRTT) has been considered by many scholars as a new training method instead of traditional training (TT) to reduce unsafe behaviors ascribed to construction workers (CWs) and corporate accident rates. However, in this process, a conflict of interest arises among the government, construction enterprises (CEs), and CWs. Therefore, this study introduces a quantitative research method, the three-party evolutionary game and creatively combining them with the product life cycle (PLC) to solve this problem by analyzing the equilibrium and evolutionarily stable strategies of the system. Finally, collaborative players' decision-making behaviors and their sensitivity to critical factors are examined. This paper will illustrate these in each stage through numerical simulations. The results of the study indicate that the government plays a dominant role in the VRTT introduction stage. When the government gives CEs appropriate subsidies, CEs will eventually realize the importance of VRTT for CWs. Then the government will gradually reduce the amount of the subsidies in this process. In addition, we also find that the continually high cost will lead to negative policies by the government, which requires the active cooperation and attitude change from CEs and CWs. Ultimately, the government, CEs and CWs adopt the best strategy in the evolutionary process to facilitate the promotion, application and sustainability of VRTT in the construction industry.

Optimal government and manufacturer incentive contracts for green production with asymmetric information

Governments commonly utilize subsidy policy to incentivize manufacturers to produce green products, promoting sustainable development. However, in the presence of information asymmetry, some manufacturers may dishonestly misrepresent the green degree of their products to secure higher subsidies. This study examines different incentive contracts between the government and a green product manufacturer who keeps private information of a product's green-degree in a principal-agent model. Lump-sum transfer and fixed- and flexible-proportion benefit-sharing contracts are proposed to investigate screening and improving green-degree issues. To further enhance the flexible-proportion benefit-sharing contract, we construct a non-linear coordinated contract based on the Nash bargaining solution. The revelation principle and Nash bargaining are performed for comparison and analysis of the contracts. We find that the lump-sum contract reveals true green-degree information but fails to impel manufacturers to improve product's green-degree in developing countries where green product development is in initial stages. In contrast, both fixed- and flexible- proportion benefit-sharing contracts are effective in reveling and enhancing green-degree. The non-linear coordination contract optimizes resource allocation and achieves Pareto improvement. An applied case study for inkjet printer operations and numerical experiments corroborate our model findings.

Unlocking sustainable supply chain performance through dynamic data analytics: a multiple mediation model of sustainable innovation and supply chain resilience

This article provides a theoretical framework for comprehending the connections between dynamic data analytics capability (DDAC), innovation capabilities (IC), supply chain resilience (RES), and sustainable supply chain performance (SSCP). Since this is the first empirical investigation of the sequential mediation effect between DDAC and SSCP through IC and RES, it fills a critical need in the supply chain literature. A quantitative methodology was used, involving a survey questionnaire distributed to 259 large Pakistani manufacturing firms. We used PLS-SEM to test for the expected associations. Findings show that using DDAC has a beneficial effect on both innovative and resilient capabilities, which in turn leads to better SSCP. The research illuminates the sequential mediating roles of product, process, and resilience, underlining the need of combining data-driven innovation with resilience in order to achieve sustainable supply chain performance. These results provide useful guidance for businesses that want to boost their sustainability results by taking a more all-encompassing approach to data-driven innovation and resilience.

Meta theories of technological innovation based on the analysis of classic texts

This study aims to investigate the classification of technological innovation meta-theories based on classical texts, as well as the relationships between various classifications. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. From the perspective of technological innovation, using scientometric methods, 105 pieces of classic texts from the 1930s-2010s are extracted from the references of 3862 pieces of high-quality literature from the 1900s-2020s. As a result, based on a combination of qualitative data analysis and topic model analysis, we developed a typology with eight meta-theories of technological innovation, including performance-based, resource-based, knowledge-based, capability-based, network-based, technological-innovation-system, dual-innovation, and dynamic-sustainability views. Then we analyzed 1) the evolution, reification, and confusion relationships between different meta-theories; 2) the causes of technological innovation's concept jungle; and 3) an integrated framework of technological innovation meta-theories. This study analyzed the benefits of the meta-theoretical analysis on the future study of technological innovation. Additionally, the results of this study can help to measure technological innovation, construct new theories, and improve the efficiency of the connection between the practical problems of innovation and potentially useful theoretical frameworks.

Sustainable development goals applied to digital pathology and artificial intelligence applications in low- to middle-income countries

Digital Pathology (DP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be useful in low- and middle-income countries; however, many challenges exist. The United Nations developed sustainable development goals that aim to overcome some of these challenges. The sustainable development goals have not been applied to DP/AI applications in low- to middle income countries. We established a framework to align the 17 sustainable development goals with a 27-indicator list for low- and middle-income countries (World Bank/WHO) and a list of 21 essential elements for DP/AI. After categorization into three domains (human factors, IT/electronics, and materials + reagents), we permutated these layers into 153 concatenated statements for prioritization on a four-tiered scale. The two authors tested the subjective ranking framework and endpoints included ranked sum scores and visualization across the three layers. The authors assigned 364 points with 1.1-1.3 points per statement. We noted the prioritization of human factors (43%) at the indicator layer whereas IT/electronic (36%) and human factors (35%) scored highest at the essential elements layer. The authors considered goal 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure; average points 2.33; sum 42), goal 4 (quality education; 2.17; 39), and goal 8 (decent work and economic growth; 2.11; 38) most relevant; intra-/inter-rater variability assessment after a 3-month-washout period confirmed these findings. The established framework allows individual stakeholders to capture the relative importance of sustainable development goals for overcoming limitations to a specific problem. The framework can be used to raise awareness and help identify synergies between large-scale global objectives and solutions in resource-limited settings.