Search Results (139)

Digital transformation is reshaping construction asset compliance, but fragmented information and weak evidence trails still constrain effective management. This systematic grey literature review (2014–2025) identifies technologies supporting asset management and compliance assurance and compares adoption maturity across the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), Singapore, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Using multi-channel search strategies and the AACODS appraisal (Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance), 131 records were identified; 92 full texts reviewed; 82 eligible; and 43 sources retained. Coding identified a recurring five-technology “core digital stack”: Building Information Modelling (BIM), Digital Twins (DT), Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML), and Blockchain (BC). Within the retained corpus, BIM and AI/ML were the most frequently referenced technologies, whereas BC was referenced more selectively and discussed mainly for tamper-evident traceability. DT and IoT were typically discussed alongside BIM, while IoT also frequently co-occurred with AI/ML in analytics-led compliance workflows. A (Region × Technology) maturity matrix suggests higher, policy-led maturity where mandates and audit-ready information align with national frameworks (UK, Singapore), and more uneven, project-led adoption in decentralised contexts (US, GCC). Overall, the findings emphasise that effective compliance relies on integrated, evidence-focused digital stacks supported by standardised information governance rather than isolated tools. Full article

Does the digital transformation of major customers foster collaborative financing for upstream suppliers, or does it amplify their bargaining power for rent extraction? This study investigates these competing hypotheses by examining the digital spillovers from major customers to supplier trade credit. Using a unique hand-collected dataset linking Chinese listed suppliers with their top five customers by accounts receivable from 2010 to 2021, we document a “dual enhancement effect”: major customer digitalization significantly increases trade credit scale and improves trade credit quality, effectively rejecting the rent extraction hypothesis. Specifically, trade credit quality is reflected in lower bad debt provision ratios, shorter receivable aging, and lower material default risk. Mechanism tests suggest that improved information transparency and stronger customer market competitiveness are important channels through which digitalization affects supplier trade credit. Cross-sectional analyses show that these effects are more pronounced for non-state-owned or low-asset-specificity suppliers, and for customers with higher asset specificity or lower importance. After ruling out alternative explanations, we further find that this digital spillover strengthens supply chain resilience. Overall, the evidence is more consistent with the collaborative financing view than with the rent extraction view, suggesting that major customer digitalization may help foster more sustainable and cooperative financing relationships within supply chains. Full article

Cross-domain data exchange is an important technical approach for realizing the value of data assets. However, lacking a single trusted root CA across domains, cross-domain schemes often encounter difficulties in authentication, controlled data flow, and fine-grained authorization. We propose a cross-domain data sharing scheme that uses decentralized identifiers and threshold proxy re-encryption. This scheme adopts the intra-domain leader node to verify the user identity, and the inter-domain multi-agent nodes collaborate in a threshold manner to handle cross-domain registration requests and re-encryption requests. Through threshold cooperation, the problem of single point of failure is effectively solved. The hash value of cross-domain registration information is stored on the blockchain, leveraging the immutable and traceable characteristics of blockchain to achieve trusted cross-domain data sharing. In addition, we introduce a ciphertext version tag to enable fast updates of re-encryption keys and use zero-knowledge proofs to verify re-encrypted ciphertext correctness. The security analysis indicates that our scheme has IND-CCA2 security under the DBDH assumption and can effectively resist collusion attacks. Performance analysis shows that our scheme is efficient, and can better meet the needs of cross-domain data sharing. Full article

Mountain regions across Europe face demographic decline and institutional fragmentation that hinder sustainable tourism development. This study analyzes the territorial governance system of the Val Canale and Canal del Ferro valleys (Italian Alps) with the aim of designing a stakeholder-based Organizational Model (OM) to strengthen sustainable tourism coordination in a peripheral mountain context. A qualitative single-case study approach integrates Stakeholder Analysis, Actor-Linkage Matrix, Appreciative Inquiry, and spatial contextualization to examine relational, institutional, and territorial dynamics. The findings reveal a territory rich in environmental and cultural assets—characterized by protected areas and extensive trail networks—yet constrained by fragmented inter-municipal cooperation and limited supra-municipal coordination. Governance fragmentation, rather than resource scarcity, emerges as the primary barrier to coherent territorial development. In response, the proposed multi-level Organizational Model introduces a valley-level coordination unit designed to institutionalize collaborative governance, enhance administrative capacity, and align local initiatives with regional strategies. By operationalizing stakeholder theory within a structured territorial framework, the study contributes to place-based governance literature and offers transferable insights for peripheral mountain regions facing similar coordination challenges. Full article

This study examined the influence of Environmental, Social, and Governance factors on the financial performance of companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). Employing a panel data approach, the analysis covers 450 firm observations collected annually during the period 2018–2023. Financial performance is measured using Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE), while ESG disclosure scores are disaggregated into their three constituent pillars. Firm size, revenue per share, and leverage are incorporated as control variables. The fixed effects regression results reveal that social factors demonstrate statistically significant positive relationships with both ROA and ROE, supporting the stakeholder theory-based perspective that strong social practices enhance operational efficiency and investor confidence. Conversely, environmental and governance factors exhibit no significant association with either financial performance metric within the study period. Leverage shows a significant negative relationship with ROA but not with ROE, while revenue per share consistently demonstrates strong positive associations with both performance measures. These findings contribute to the limited literature on ESG–performance linkages in Gulf Cooperation Council markets and offer important implications for corporate managers, investors, and policymakers seeking to advance sustainability objectives within the framework of Saudi Vision 2030. Full article

Corporate governance serves as the institutional foundation that aligns managerial decisions with stakeholder interests and sustainable growth. It provides the accountability mechanisms necessary for translating environmental and social initiatives into measurable firm value. This paper examines how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) pillars individually influence firm performance in Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCCs). The paper analyses a balance panel dataset comprising 84 listed firms observed over a five-year period from 2019 to 2023 with 392 observations. The paper employs two-way fixed effects with Driscoll–Kraay robust standard errors to ensure consistent inference by correcting for heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation, and cross-sectional dependence. Firm performance is assessed by Tobin’s Q, return on assets (ROAs), and sustainable growth rate (SGR), reflecting market valuation, accounting profitability, and long-term sustainable growth, respectively. Tobin’s Q results show that GCC firms’ performance is enhanced by higher environmental pillar scores, whereas it responds negatively to increases in social and governance scores. Findings remain qualitatively similar for ROA but of a smaller magnitude. These findings challenge the conventional assumption that ESG dimensions uniformly enhance firm value, revealing instead that governance and social investments may impose agency costs or compliance burdens in emerging markets where institutional frameworks and stakeholder expectations differ fundamentally from developed economies. The environmental pillar exhibits a positive and significant association with firms’ long-term sustainable growth, whereas the social pillar exerts an adverse effect. Conversely, assessing firm performance with SGR reveals that the influence of the governance pillar is statistically insignificant. Theoretically, this paper contributes by demonstrating that ESG pillars operate through differentiated value-creation mechanisms in institutional contexts characterised by weak stakeholder activism and nascent ESG disclosure norms. Findings suggest GCC firms should prioritise environmental initiatives while carefully evaluating costs and benefits of governance and social programmes. Full article

This study analyzes how the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has converted structural vulnerability into diplomatic capital through the strategic practice of niche diplomacy. Despite its limited material power, Jordan has emerged as a resilient middle power that leverages credibility, moderation, and institutional resilience to sustain its influence in a turbulent regional environment. Focusing on three interrelated domains—regional mediation, water diplomacy, and refugee governance—the article demonstrates how Amman transforms constraints into strategic assets. By institutionalizing trust-based mediation, reframing water scarcity as a platform for cooperative innovation, and integrating humanitarian commitments into foreign policy, Jordan exemplifies the fusion of moral authority with pragmatic statecraft. The analysis contributes to middle-power theory by illustrating how small states can redefine influence through specialization, normative entrepreneurship, and consistent engagement. Ultimately, Jordan’s experience shows that in a fragmented Middle East, stability and credibility constitute enduring sources of diplomatic power. Full article

Cultural heritage is increasingly recognized as a pivotal driver of sustainable rural tourism, helping destinations diversify their offerings, reduce seasonality, strengthen local identity, and bring socio-economic benefits to depopulating communities. This study investigates its role in Šibenik-Knin County (Croatia), a Mediterranean region characterized by abundant tangible heritage (archaeological sites, medieval fortresses, sacral monuments, dry-stone architecture) and rich intangible traditions (gastronomic practices, klapa and ojkanje singing, local customs), yet still affected by a pronounced coastal–hinterland tourism imbalance. Through semi-structured interviews with ten key stakeholders from museums, tourist boards, academia, cultural institutions, and rural entrepreneurship organizations, complemented by literature review and analysis of policy and statistical data, the research reveals unanimous agreement that cultural heritage constitutes the county’s strongest competitive advantage and the most authentic foundation for year-round rural tourism products. However, systematic under-valorization persists due to chronic underfunding, weak cross-sectoral cooperation, limited professional capacity, and the absence of dedicated hinterland destination-management structures. The findings indicate that targeted investment, high-quality interpretation, and genuine community engagement can rapidly transform heritage resources into viable tourism assets, as demonstrated by existing successful cases. Realizing this potential requires coordinated governance, improved interpretive and digital infrastructure, and active resident involvement. Full article

For a long time, low efficiency in the transfer of rural collective land use rights and the ambiguous attribution of collective land property rights have not only restricted the mobility of rural labor factors but have also hindered the release of vitality in the rural collective economy. This has resulted in lagging growth in the income that rural residents obtain from collective economic factors, contributing to the persistent widening of the urban/rural income gap. As an important institutional innovation to address these issues, the effects of the reform of the rural collective property rights system urgently need to be clarified. The reform of the rural collective property rights system constitutes a major initiative in the transformation of the rural land system. Centered on asset verification and valuation, as well as the demarcation of membership rights and the restructuring towards a shareholding cooperative system, it aims to establish a collective property rights regime characterized by clearly defined ownership and fully functional entitlements. This study takes the national pilot reform of rural collective property rights launched in 2016 as a quasi-natural policy experiment, systematically examining the impact of this pilot policy on the internal income gap within households and its spillover effects on the urban–rural income gap. Based on microdata from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) and the China Longitudinal Night Light Data Set (PANDA-China), this study constructs a five-period balanced panel dataset covering 2304 rural households across 25 provinces. A relative exploitation index based on the Kawani index is constructed, and empirical analysis is conducted using a combination of multi-period difference-in-differences (Multi-period DID), discrete binary models, and propensity score matching-difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) models. The results show that: First, the pilot reform significantly reduced the level of income inequality within rural areas in the pilot regions, and its policy benefits further generated positive spillovers via market-driven factor allocation mechanisms, effectively bridging the urban–rural income gap. Second, institutional reforms activated the potential of rural non-agricultural economic factors, establishing new channels for a two-way flow of urban and rural factors, becoming an important path to achieve the goal of common prosperity. Third, the policy effects exhibited significant heterogeneity, specifically manifested in the attributes of major grain-producing regions, initial household income levels, and the human capital characteristics of household heads having significant moderating effects on reform outcomes. This study not only provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for deepening rural property rights reforms under the new rural revitalization strategy, but it also reveals the driving role of institutional innovation in factor mobility, thereby influencing the transmission mechanism of income distribution patterns. This finding offers a China-based solution for developing countries to address the imbalance in urban–rural development and the widening income gap. Full article

This study examines whether sustainability information disclosure (SID) in the Arab Gulf acts as a substantive strategic tool that enhances corporate outcomes or merely serves as a symbolic gesture to maintain legitimacy. Using data from 92 listed firms across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) from 2020 to 2023, the study distinguishes between the level (volume) and quality (credibility) of disclosure. It examines their respective impacts on return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and financial reporting quality. The results reveal a consistent positive association between disclosure levels and financial performance, suggesting that volume-based corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting may support short-term legitimacy and market confidence. In contrast, disclosure quality shows weaker and less consistent effects, highlighting a potential disconnect between visibility and substance. This pattern reflects the strategic use of disclosure for symbolic compliance in the GCC, where ESG reporting is often adopted to satisfy external expectations rather than to support internal transformation or long-term value creation. The findings position sustainability disclosure as an underleveraged tool for strategic knowledge management. While current practices enhance legitimacy, they fall short of driving performance gains through internal learning or reporting integrity. Policy implications include the need for harmonised disclosure frameworks, mandatory assurance standards, and improved alignment with international ESG guidelines to strengthen the credibility and impact of corporate sustainability communication in emerging markets. Full article

As a key component of sustainable economic development, digital transformation has become a fundamental driver for developing and upgrading the modern economic system. While existing research has identified resources and dynamic capabilities as foundational elements, a critical yet underexplored factor lies in the cognitive foundations that enable firms to strategically direct and leverage these assets. Based on 19,062 observation samples of more than 3000 listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2010 to 2023, this paper constructs a theoretical framework of entrepreneurship, organizational attention and digital transformation from the Attention-Based View, and examines a moderated mediation model of the relationship between entrepreneurship and digital transformation. The results show that entrepreneurship significantly promotes digital transformation; organizational attention to “cooperation orientation” and “future orientation” plays a mediating role in it; and the regional innovation atmosphere positively strengthens the “cooperation orientation” path, facilitating the diffusion of innovative knowledge and technologies within the region. Meanwhile, online media reports negatively regulate the “future orientation” path, reflecting that short-term public pressure may weaken enterprises’ attention to long-term sustainable technology investment. In addition, different dimensions of entrepreneurship have varied effects on digital transformation. Heterogeneity analysis revealed significant variations across ownership type, scale, region, industry competition intensity, and technological intensity. This study expands the theoretical mechanism of entrepreneurship and digital transformation from the perspective of attention allocation, and provides theoretical and empirical foundation for fostering a strategic cognitive orientation and advancing digital transformation. Full article

Anti-Poverty Programmes (APPs) are closely linked to rural livelihoods, yet comparative evidence on how participants and non-participants differ in livelihood-capital composition and income-generation patterns remains limited in ecologically fragile pastoral regions. This study draws on a cross-sectional household survey conducted in Northern Tibet in July 2020, covering 696 households—including 225 APP participants and 471 non-participants. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and the entropy weight method, we construct multidimensional livelihood-capital indices (human, social, natural, physical, and financial capital) and compare the two groups. We further apply Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions to examine factors associated with per capita net income. The results reveal substantial heterogeneity in livelihood capital and income across both groups. APP participants exhibit higher human-capital scores, largely driven by a higher share of skills training, whereas they show disadvantages in physical and financial capital relative to non-participants. Natural capital shows no statistically significant difference between the two groups under the local grassland contracting regime. Significant differences are observed and identified in certain dimensions of social capital. Regression results suggest that income is positively associated with skills training, contracted grassland endowment, and fixed assets, with skills training showing the strongest association. For participants, herd size and labour capacity are not statistically significant correlates of income; for non-participants, larger herds and greater labour capacity are associated with lower income. Taken together, the findings indicate that APP participation is associated with stronger capability-related capital (notably training) alongside persistent constraints in productive assets and financial capacity. Policy implications include improving the relevance and quality of training, strengthening cooperative governance and market linkages, and designing complementary packages that connect skills, inclusive finance, and productive asset accumulation. Given the cross-sectional design and administratively targeted certification of programme participation, the results should be interpreted as context-specific associations rather than strict causal effects. Full article

The tracking of assets or cargo is one of the main objectives of global logistics and transportation systems, ensuring operational efficiency, security, and timeliness. Currently, battery-operated GPS (Global Positioning System)-based tracking devices are used for this purpose. The main shortcoming of these devices is the lifetime of the batteries because they cannot be replaced or recharged, or because this is simply not economically feasible. Therefore, efficient methods are needed to prolong battery life as much as possible. Various existing energy-saving techniques can be applied to solve this problem. However, none of these consider situations in which multiple tracking devices are transported together and can cooperate to further increase their energy efficiency. In this study, we propose and evaluate the novel lightweight peer-to-peer energy-saving method for nearby wireless battery-powered trackers based on their cooperation. The proposed method is based on the short-range BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) device discovery mechanism and the dynamic election of the leader tracker (with the highest battery capacity) to report the location of its own and other neighboring trackers to the central server. The experimental evaluation of the proposed method shows that, compared to the traditional approach, where each tracker sends its location individually, the proposed method allows a reduction in the average battery charge required for one position report from 19% to 240% per each cooperating tracker. The average energy consumption for one location report per node decreased from 4.68 mWh using the traditional approach to 3.93 mWh for 2 cooperating devices and 1.92 mWh for 15 cooperating devices. Full article

The proliferation of Digital Twins (DTs) across industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics is leading to the formation of complex ecosystems where heterogeneous DTs must cooperate. In such environments, establishing trust becomes paramount. However, trust in DTs remains an under-investigated problem, with current research predominantly focused on security and privacy, which are prerequisites but not sole constituents of trust. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for analyzing and enhancing the trustworthiness of Digital Twins. First, we propose a novel five-layer symmetrical reference architecture (Asset, Synchronization, Data, Application, Integration) that models physical and digital twins as peers, improving reusability and maintainability. Using this architecture as a foundation, we then develop a multi-dimensional taxonomy to categorize DT trust issues from three critical perspectives: (1) an architectural perspective, which identifies and maps trust issues (e.g., model accuracy, data latency, application usability) to specific layers and behavioral attributes like conformance and dependability; (2) a massive twinning perspective, which explores emergent challenges in ecosystems of cooperating DTs, such as relationship complexity and data management; and (3) a stakeholder perspective, which addresses the need for both qualitative and quantitative trust assurances. Our analysis reveals that trust is a composite property requiring a holistic approach beyond conventional security. The paper concludes by synthesizing these perspectives into a unified view of DT trust and outlining critical open challenges and future research directions, providing a foundational roadmap for developing truly trustworthy Digital Twin systems. Full article

To address the triple challenges of data sparsity, highly nonlinear dynamics, and maneuver uncertainty in tracking non-cooperative targets in cislunar space, we propose a collaborative framework combining Particle Filter (PF) and Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). This framework optimizes search efficiency through a two-phase strategy: in the search phase, PF constructs the target reachable domain and leverages undetected information to dynamically shrink the search scope; upon target detection, the framework switches to UKF for high-precision and low-overhead tracking. To overcome the computational bottleneck in high-dimensional reachable domain integration, we integrate a non-product-type Designed Quadrature (DQ) method—one that generates minimal quadrature point sets to replace traditional Monte Carlo sampling by matching the moment conditions of mixed distributions via Gauss–Newton optimization. Distinct from existing single-filter or reachability modeling approaches, the key novelties of this work lie in a two-phase PF-UKF switching framework tailored to the unique cislunar environment resolving the trade-off between search capability and computational efficiency and integration of the non-product DQ method to break the dimensionality curse in high-dimensional reachable domain computation ensuring both moment-matching accuracy and real-time performance. This work holds potential to support space domain awareness and cislunar mission safety: reliable tracking of non-cooperative targets is a key prerequisite for avoiding collisions, safeguarding space assets, and enabling effective space defense, and the proposed framework provides a feasible technical path for this goal through simulation validation. Simulations demonstrate that on a three-dimensional Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) observation platform, successful recapture of cislunar transfer orbit targets can be achieved. Under fifth-order accuracy conditions, the system exhibits a position error of $3.745\times {10}^{-1}\mathrm{km}$ and a velocity tracking error of $9.703\times {10}^{-3}\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$ for target search-and-tracking tasks, with a system response time of 1.8343 h. Compared with the traditional PF + numerical integration method, our proposed PF-UKF framework achieves an 86.7% reduction in time cost and a 24.1% reduction in position error. Full article