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The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the innovation ability of universities (IAU) on the efficiency of University–Industry knowledge flow and investigate whether the level of provincial innovative agglomeration (PIA) moderates the relationship between IAU and the efficiency of the University–Industry knowledge flow.

This study uses the super-efficiency data envelopment analysis model to measure knowledge research efficiency (KRE) and knowledge transformation efficiency (KTE) and then studies the influencing mechanism of the two kinds of efficiency using the spatial Tobit model with panel data from 2008 to 2017.

The results show that the overall KRE in Chinese universities is higher than the KTE. IAU has a significantly positive impact on KRE and KTE. PIA has a significantly inverted U-shaped influence on KRE and KTE and positively moderates the promoting effect of IAU on KRE and KTE.

Due to the limitations of the data, this paper only selects several secondary indicators to measure KRE and KTE with reference to previous studies.

This study enriches the future research of University–Industry cooperation and knowledge flow and it is conducive to promoting the efficiency of University–Industry knowledge research and transformation from the perspective of universities, enterprises and local governments.

This study proposes the concept of University–Industry knowledge flow and divides the knowledge flow into the knowledge research stage and the knowledge transformation stage based on the knowledge supply chain theory. Moreover, the paper expands the theoretical framework of the impact of IAU on the efficiency of University–Industry knowledge flow and provides findings on the moderating effect of PIA.

This paper aims to examine the influence of individual and combined effects of the mode focused on scientific and technological-based innovation (STI) and the mode based on learning by doing, by using and by interacting (DUI) on firms’ innovation performance and whether information technology (IT) moderates the relation between different innovation modes and firms’ innovation performance.

A conceptual model linking innovation modes, IT (including IT infrastructure and the frequency of IT usage) and firms’ innovation performance was developed, and the proposed hypotheses were tested empirically using World Bank’s micro survey data collected from manufacturing firms in an emerging market (China).

The results show that individually both STI mode of innovation and DUI mode of innovation have a significant positive effect on firms’ innovative performance, whereas the combined STI and DUI mode of innovation has a negative impact. IT infrastructure moderates the relation between STI (or STI and DUI) mode of innovation and firms’ innovation performance, while the frequency of IT usage has no moderating effects on the relationship between any kind of innovation modes and firms’ innovation performance.

Although some results are quite different from what is expected, these are insightful for both academics and policymakers. The use of cross-sectional data has its limitations. Therefore, future studies based on longitudinal data should be conducted. This study points toward the need to conduct the meta-analysis to better explain the existing inconsistencies in the findings of relevant quantitative studies.

This study provides firm managers with practical implications. The conclusions of this study imply that the impact of the combined STI and DUI mode of innovation is likely to be contextual, so firms should make contingent decisions on whether to engage in STI mode of innovation and DUI mode of innovation simultaneously according to their own organizational conditions. Moreover, face-to-face contacts are particularly important when a firm engages in DUI mode of innovation. In addition, the focus of IT strategy of firms engaged in STI mode of innovation should be on perfecting their IT infrastructure rather than increasing the frequency of IT usage.

This paper provides new evidence for the relation between business innovation modes and firms’ innovation performance, and it is one of the few empirical studies that focus on emerging markets. More importantly, this paper proposes a persuasive explanation framework for understanding the heterogeneous impacts of the combined STI and DUI mode of innovation on firms’ innovation performance. This is the first study that examines the moderating effect of IT on the relationship between business innovation modes and a firm’s innovation performance.

The embedding of digital technology and the fuzzy organizational boundary have changed the operation of platform innovation ecosystem (PIE). Specifically, as an important energy of PIE, the internal logic of knowledge flow needs to be reconsidered in the context of digital age, which will be helpful to select the cultivation and governance strategy of PIE.

A dual case-analysis is applied to open the “black box” of knowledge flow in the PIE from the perspective of enabled by digital technology, by taking the intellectual property (IP) operation platform as cases.

The research findings are as follow: (1) The knowledge flow mechanism of PIE is mainly demonstrated through the processes of knowledge acquisition, knowledge integration and knowledge spillover. During this process, connectivity empowerment and scenario empowerment realize the digital empowerment of the platform. (2) Connectivity empowerment provides a channel of knowledge acquisition for the digital connection between participants in PIE. In the process of knowledge integration, scenario empowerment improves the opportunities for accurate matching and collaborative innovation between knowledge supplier and demander, and enhance the value of knowledge. The dual effect of connectivity empowerment and scenario empowerment has accelerated the knowledge spillover in PIE. Particularly, connectivity empowerment expands the range of knowledge spillover, and scenario empowerment affects the generativity of the platform, resulting in the enhancement of platform’s capability to embed and expand its value network. (3) Participants have been benefitted from the PIE enabled by digital technology through three key modules (knowledge acquisition, knowledge integration and knowledge spillover), as the result of knowledge flow.

This study focuses on the knowledge flow mechanism of PIE enabled by digital technology, which enriches the PIE theory, and has enlightenments for the cultivation of digital platform ecosystem.

Business management, entrepreneurship, strategic management and business environment.

Undergraduate and Masters level business and management programmes.

This case features a small labour intensive Chinese company, Bags of Luck (BoL), located in the south-eastern Fujian province. BoL makes ladies fashion handbags, unisex fashion backpacks and trendy lightweight cases for laptop and netbook computers for export to the US market. BoL have done very well over the years as a small private enterprise focusing on low-tech manufacturing and have managed to stay afloat through the most difficult period of the recent world recession. Currently troubled by fast changing market trends, rising material and employment costs, continuing appreciation of the Chinese currency, severe labour shortage, declining production volume and profitability, dated machinery, passive and reactive nature of business model, ineffective management structure and a complete lack of strategic vision, BoL is in deep crisis with its fate now hanging on the balance.

The case provides encourages students to: research into a range of current business management issues; analyse the impact of environmental changes on the survival and growth of a business organisation; develop their strategic thinking informed by real life and real-time research and assess the impact of exchange rate changes on the Chinese economy and the sustainability of Chinese model of economic growth.

Teaching note.

This study aims to examine whether and how gender diversity on corporate boards is associated with voluntary nonfinancial disclosures, particularly water disclosures.

This study uses corporate water information disclosure data from Chinese listed firms between 2010 and 2018 to conduct regression analyses to examine the association between female directors and water information disclosure.

Empirical results show that female directors have a significantly positive association with corporate water information disclosure. Additionally, internal industry water sensitivity of firms moderates this significant relationship.

This study determined that female directors can promote not only water disclosure but also positive corporate water performance, reflecting the consistency of words and deeds of female directors in voluntary nonfinancial disclosures.

This study aims to reduce the warping deformation of the stainless composite plate after removal strake by using a finite element method. A three-dimensional thermo-mechanical coupled elastic-plastic finite element model has been suggested by using ABAQUS to simulate the multi-pass hot rolling of stainless composite plate.

A three-dimensional thermo-mechanical coupled elastic-plastic finite element model has been suggested by using ABAQUS to simulate the multi-pass hot rolling of stainless composite plate. Warping deformation rules of 316L/Q345R stainless composite plate after removal strake have been analyzed. Moreover, the influences of some different rolling parameters on this deformation have been discussed.

The warping deformation just varies in the range of cladding ratio from 0.1 to 0.25. Therefore, cladding ratio does not have a great influence on warping deformation.

The results show that higher heating temperature, larger final thickness and less rolling passes are beneficial for reducing the warping deformation.

During the 20th century, the United States rapidly developed its research capacity by fostering a broad base of institutions of higher education led by a small core of highly productive research universities. By the latter half of the century, scientists in a greatly expanded number of universities across the United States published the largest annual number of scholarly publications in STEM+ fields from one nation. This expansion was not a product of some science and higher education centralized plan, rather it flowed from the rise of mass tertiary education in this nation. Despite this unprecedented productivity, some scholars suggested that universities would cease to lead American scientific research. This chapter investigates the ways that the United States’ system of higher education underpinned American science into the 21st century.

The authors present a historical and sociological case study of the development of the United States’ system of higher education and its associated research capacity. The historical and sociological context informs our analysis of data from the SPHERE team dataset, which was compiled from the Thomson Reuters’ Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) database.

We argue that American research capacity is a function of the United States’ broad base of thousands of public and broadly accessible institutions of higher education plus its smaller, elite sector of “super” research universities; and that the former serve to culturally support the later. Unlike previous research, we find that American higher education is not decreasing its contributions to the nation’s production of STEM+ scholarship.

The chapter provides empirical analyses, which support previous sociological theory about mass higher education and super research universities.

The political influence on the determinants of capital structure has been under-researched for a long time. Taking the turnover of secretary of municipal committee as a political factor in China, this paper studies the effect of local government officials' turnover on firm's capital structure.

Starting with all A-shares listed firms in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2001 to 2018, this paper implements the OLS estimation, staggered difference-in-difference approach to investigate the effects of political turnover on the choice of capital structure.

The results show that, driven by government officials' turnover, firms will significantly reduce their leverage. When comparing between formal finance (bank loans) and informal finance (payables), the reduction of capital structure is mainly driven by banks, not by suppliers. Furthermore, two possible channels have been investigated. First, the reduction effects are mainly driven by the SOEs when classifying the types of corporate ownership into SOEs and non-SOEs. Second, the reduction effects exist in areas with the more intense government intervention when considering the heterogeneity of the development of institutional environment in provinces.

This paper first contributes to the literature on the determinants of corporate choice on capital structure. Second, this paper enriches the studies on the economic consequences of local government officials' turnover.