Search Results (6,480)

This study examines the impact of digitalisation, innovation activity, demographic factors, and macroeconomic variables on employment in European Union countries within the framework of sustainable development. The empirical analysis is based on Eurostat panel data for 2015–2023 and applies regression analysis to identify the key determinants of employment. The results indicate that digitalisation demonstrates the strongest positive statistical association with employment, confirming its important role in labour market transformation and inclusive economic development. Expenditures on research and development also show a positive effect, highlighting the significance of innovation activity for employment growth. At the same time, GDP per capita does not exhibit a statistically significant relationship with employment, while education expenditure demonstrates a negative short-term effect. The findings suggest that digitalisation and innovation contribute not only to employment growth but also to the expansion of labour market participation opportunities for diverse social groups. The study contributes to the analysis of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by identifying the structural factors associated with employment dynamics in the digital economy. Full article

The high-value utilization of construction and demolition waste is critical for sustainable development in the building sector. However, in construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling supply chains, existing studies lack a systematic analysis of pricing mechanisms for such recycled CDW as substrate products, particularly regarding interest coordination and the quantification of green value. To reveal the bargaining mechanism between farmers as recyclers and processors and supermarkets as retailers under an asymmetric bargaining structure, this study applies Nash bargaining theory to construct a dynamic game model. The study revealed that (1) when the green degree of a product reaches a certain level, it can obtain a sustainable market premium and create a stable income space for both parties. (2) The relative strength of the bargaining power between the two sides significantly affects the impact of market base scale changes on profit distribution. When the bargaining power of the supermarket is lower than the threshold and the bargaining power of the farmers is higher than the threshold, the difference in profit between the farmers and the supermarket is negatively correlated with the market base scale of the CDW as a substrate. (3) The green sensitivity level of consumers affects the difference in profit of the main body with the government subsidy to farmers. This level is determined by the value of the green sensitivity coefficient of consumers and presents a differentiated adjustment effect in different value ranges, which in turn affects the transmission direction of government subsidies to profit distribution. (4) When the green sensitivity coefficient and the green communication intensity of farmers and the investment level are lower than the corresponding critical values, the difference in social welfare with or without subsidies is positively correlated with the amount of the subsidy. This study provides decision support for farmers and supermarkets in designing rational bargaining strategies and offers insights for improving coordination and sustainability in construction and demolition waste recycling supply chains. Full article

This study examines whether stricter enforcement of mandatory social insurance contributions affects corporate income tax behavior in China. In the Chinese institutional context, mandatory social insurance refers to payroll-based employer and employee contributions to five statutory programs: basic pension insurance, basic medical insurance, work-injury insurance, unemployment insurance, and maternity insurance. These programs are directly related to social sustainability because they finance old-age income security, medical protection, workplace injury compensation, unemployment support, maternity protection, and labor-market stability. Using China’s 2018 social insurance collection reform as a quasi-natural experiment, we analyze A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2024 through a difference-in-differences design based on differential exposure between private firms and state-owned enterprises. To assess the reliability of the identification strategy, we employ firm and year fixed effects, event-study analysis, placebo tests, alternative measures of tax avoidance, and propensity score matching difference-in-differences robustness checks. The findings show a tax-fee seesaw effect: private firms subject to extensive regulatory scrutiny respond to more rigorous enforcement of social insurance contributions by increasing corporate income tax avoidance. Analysis of the mechanisms shows that the Whited-Wu index of financial constraints partially explains this phenomenon. The effect is more pronounced in firms with higher labor costs and greater administrative expense intensity, indicating that the increased response is driven by labor cost exposure and organizational discretion. By contrast, the effect is weaker among firms audited by the Big Four accounting networks—Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG—indicating that high-quality external audits constrain aggressive tax planning. Regionally, the effect is most pronounced in eastern China, where markets, labor costs, and tax-planning services are more developed. The findings contribute to the sustainable development literature by demonstrating that reforms designed to strengthen social insurance sustainability can unintentionally weaken tax compliance if payroll contributions, tax administration, and corporate financial pressures are not coordinated. The study highlights the importance of integrated fiscal governance for achieving socially sustainable and fiscally balanced development. Full article

Mobile payment services are increasingly embedded in everyday digital consumption, yet their sustainability relevance should not be assumed solely from technological adoption. This study conceptualizes sustainable mobile payment consumption as a relational and digital sustainability issue, reflected in the continuity, trust, diffusion, and resilience of mobile payment ecosystems rather than as a direct measure of environmental sustainability. Drawing on perceived value theory, relationship marketing, social exchange theory, and trust-based consumption logic, this study examines how mobile payment perceived value (MPPV) is associated with customer advocacy through customer experience and customer loyalty, while considering customer trust as a boundary condition. Survey data collected from 382 mobile payment users in Lebanon were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings suggest that MPPV is positively associated with customer experience, customer loyalty, and customer advocacy. Customer experience is positively associated with loyalty while loyalty is positively associated with advocacy. The sequential mediation results are consistent with the proposed relational pathway in which holistic perceived value is linked to advocacy through experience and loyalty rather than through transactional evaluations alone. Customer trust strengthens the associations between MPPV and both loyalty and advocacy, suggesting that trust amplifies value-based relational outcomes in high-uncertainty financial environments. The central finding is that holistic perceived value becomes sustainability-relevant when channeled through accumulated experience and loyalty into advocacy, and that this relational pathway is contingent on trust, a mechanism particularly consequential in Lebanon’s high-uncertainty financial environment. By positioning advocacy as a sustainability-relevant relational outcome, this study clarifies how perceived value, experience, loyalty, and trust jointly contribute to sustainable digital consumption in an emerging economy. Full article

The coupling coordination among digital village development, agricultural modernization, and agricultural carbon emission efficiency is critical for achieving green and high-quality agricultural development. Using panel data of 30 Chinese provinces (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Tibet) from 2011 to 2024, this study measures agricultural carbon emission efficiency via the super-efficiency SBM model, evaluates the levels of digital village development and agricultural modernization using the entropy method, constructs a coupling coordination degree model to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the three systems, and employs the Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model to reveal the spatiotemporally heterogeneous effects of governmental, market, and social factors on the coupling coordination degree. The results show that: (1) The three systems exhibit unbalanced development. The digital village development index increased from 0.430 to 0.634; agricultural modernization grew slowly from 0.308 to 0.411; and agricultural carbon emission efficiency surged from 0.146 to 0.655. (2) The coupling coordination degree of the three systems rose continuously from 0.382 to 0.661, transitioning from near disorder to primary coordination. Spatially, the eastern and northeastern regions led while the western region lagged, though Xinjiang reached good coordination (0.786) in 2024. (3) The GTWR model reveals that the marketization index (ranging from −0.0362 to 0.0559), agricultural land transfer rate (ranging from −0.1630 to 1.7952), fiscal support for agriculture (ranging from −0.0003 to 0.0232), and agricultural socialized services (ranging from −0.0019 to 0.0012) have positive effects with significant spatial heterogeneity. Rural infrastructure exhibits a “positive in the south, negative in the north” pattern (ranging from 0.0540 to 1.0460), while the overall social consumption level (ranging from −0.9680 to 0.6548) exerts a negative inhibiting effect. These findings provide a theoretical basis for understanding the spatial heterogeneity of the coupling coordination among the three systems and emphasize that differentiated, regionally tailored strategies are key to promoting green and high-quality agricultural development. Full article

Large Language Models (LLMs) offer opportunities for processing heterogeneous information streams relevant to energy-market decision-making, but their practical role in forecasting-oriented analytical workflows remains uncertain. This paper presents an exploratory feasibility study of LLM use across four energy-market tasks: geopolitical event monitoring for Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) market context using Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT)-based data, structured summarisation of commodity-intelligence articles, prompt-engineered solar-power and grid-load forecasting for Austria, and a short-horizon exploratory TTF price-estimation case. The study is positioned as a pilot investigation and hybrid workflow blueprint rather than as a statistically conclusive forecasting benchmark. A four-layer reference architecture was devised, including structured market data, semi-structured news intelligence, web-scraping concepts, and implemented Twitter/X and GDELT monitoring layers. The empirical cases indicate that LLMs are most useful for text-heavy reasoning, event-context integration, source triage, and structured interpretation. In the 20-article summarisation corpus, Gemini 1.5 Pro achieved higher commodity-direction accuracy than GPT-4, while GPT-4 showed stronger output-format stability. In selected solar case checks, OpenAI models produced plausible generation curves close to the Fraunhofer ISE Energy Charts reference, while Energy Charts remained more accurate for aggregate load estimation in the available benchmark comparison. The two-day TTF experiment illustrated that LLMs can incorporate qualitative geopolitical context into short-horizon reasoning, but it did not establish reliable price-forecasting capability. The Twitter/X monitoring layer is retained as a documented negative pathway, showing the limitations of informal social-media scraping for reproducible market intelligence. Full article

With the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, human-like AI service agents have been increasingly applied in service marketing. Online travel agency (OTA) platforms provide an important application context for such service agents in consumer-facing service interactions, such as travel planning and related services. Drawing on social cognitive theory and control theory, this study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying consumers’ intentions to adopt AI service agents. One pretest and two experiments involving 521 participants were conducted to investigate the effects of the AI service agent role on consumers’ willingness to use substitute vs. assist AI. The results show that consumers are more willing to use assist AI service agents than substitute AI service agents. This effect is mediated by human identity threat and sense of control. Moreover, higher consumer technology readiness moderates these effects, mitigating the preference for assist over substitute AI service agents. This study extends the conceptual framework of AI service agents in human–computer interaction research and offers practical implications for the effective design and deployment of AI service agents in OTA applications. Full article

The integration of digital technologies is increasingly recognized as a critical enabler of lean practices in prefabricated construction projects. However, a systematic understanding of the underlying factors that drive this lean–digital transformation remains limited. To address the gap, this study identified 18 factors through an in-depth review of 30 papers and a follow-up questionnaire survey. The factors are divided into five dimensions, i.e., organizational, social, technological, economic and environmental, according to an extended framework of the Socio-Technical Systems (STS) and Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE). These 18 factors were then analyzed via a back propagation (BP) neural network model. The empirical data were collected from 148 practitioners across 11 regions in China where PC industrialization, digital technology adoption, and lean-related practices are relatively mature. These regions were selected because digitalization-driven lean practices are more observable in such contexts, allowing the BP model to capture the comprehensive contribution of key factors more effectively. The findings reveal that the effective implementation of the smart lean practices via digitalization is primarily driven by a systematic process, where greater attention should be directed toward simulation-based process optimization, robust information management, integrated design and construction, lean management systems, and the workers’ digital skills. Although the empirical evidence is derived from relatively mature PC and digital construction markets in China, the identified factors provide reference insights for broader PC projects including less mature regions to make effective measures to improve lean implementation. This study contributes to the existing knowledge body of lean in PC by extending the theories of STS and TOE to advance the understanding of digital drivers. Additionally, the results serve as a reference for stakeholders by informing strategic priorities such as resource allocation for workforce development, advancing the realization of smart lean prefabricated construction. Full article

This study examines the relationship between individuals’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their job-seeking intentions, with a particular focus on the mediating role of personal values and attitudes toward social responsibility. The research was conducted in Romania’s south-west region between June and September 2025, using a stratified sample of 453 respondents. Data were analyzed using SMART-PLS 3.0 through structural equation modeling. The results indicate a positive association between perceived CSR and job-seeking intention, with personal values and attitudes toward CSR significantly mediating this relationship. The findings suggest that participants in this study who perceive organizations as socially responsible also report higher levels of organizational attractiveness, particularly when there is alignment between personal and organizational values. At the same time, the results highlight that consistent CSR practices are associated with stronger perceptions of employer attractiveness. Overall, the study suggests that CSR is closely linked to employment-related attitudes and intentions, supporting the view that alignment between individual values and organizational ethical principles represents an important dimension of contemporary human resource strategies. Full article

This study examines the relationship between managerial overconfidence and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance through firm-level financial policy channels in an emerging-market context. Using panel data from non-financial firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2015–2024, this study adopts a multidimensional channel-based perspective in which managerial overconfidence is indirectly reflected through financing, liquidity, and investment decisions. Fixed-effects estimation with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors is employed as the baseline approach and complemented by lagged specifications, system GMM estimation, alternative measurements, and quantile regressions to assess robustness. The findings suggest that managerial overconfidence does not exert a direct and uniform influence on ESG performance but operates indirectly through heterogeneous financial policy behavior. The financing channel provides weak and unstable evidence, whereas the liquidity channel shows a relatively stronger positive association with ESG performance. The investment channel appears most sensitive to measurement and model specification, indicating that different operationalizations may capture distinct dimensions of managerial overconfidence. This study contributes to the behavioral corporate finance and ESG literature by showing that managerial overconfidence influences sustainability outcomes indirectly through heterogeneous financial policy mechanisms in an emerging market setting while highlighting the importance of temporal dynamics, endogeneity, and measurement sensitivity. Full article

Background: Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies are increasingly proposed to strengthen traceability, governance, visibility, and coordination in mining and mineral supply chains, but mining-specific evidence remains fragmented. Methods: We conducted a systematic mapping review of peer-reviewed articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science to examine application contexts, functional roles, technical architectures, evidence types, and adoption constraints of blockchain-enabled systems in these settings. Results: The review shows that blockchain is used across five functional domains: traceability and provenance; governance and secure data control; operational monitoring and inspection; energy and market coordination; and sustainability and environmental surveillance. Permissioned and consortium-based architectures predominated and were commonly combined with sensors, external storage, identity mechanisms, and smart contracts. Evidence was strongest for technical feasibility under simulated, experimental, comparative, or bounded pilot conditions, whereas durable economic, social, and governance outcomes remained less substantiated. Conclusions: Blockchain is most credible in mining contexts when it supports controlled coordination, auditable recordkeeping, and process integrity. Its practical value depends on reliable physical-to-digital data capture, workable governance arrangements, interoperability, and validation under real institutional and operational conditions. Full article

Aim: Social media has become an influential force in plastic surgery, shaping patient expectations, marketing strategies, and professional conduct. Despite its growing impact, the evidentiary foundation guiding digital engagement in the specialty remains poorly characterized. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of the 100 most cited publications addressing social media in plastic and reconstructive surgery, with a secondary assessment of methodological quality, to evaluate publication trends, thematic focus, and levels of evidence. Methods: The 100 most cited publications related to social media in plastic and reconstructive surgery were identified using Web of Science and Scopus (December 2024). Extracted variables included citation metrics, publication characteristics, country of origin, journal, and thematic focus. Methodological quality was assessed using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM) Levels of Evidence (LOE). Results: The 100 articles accumulated 4278 citations (range 16–180; mean 42.8 ± 32.0). Most studies were published during the 2010s (n = 63) and originated from the United States (n = 64). Dominant themes included marketing and physician behavior, with ‘Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery’ and ‘Aesthetic Surgery Journal’ as the most frequent publication venues. The literature was largely composed of low-level evidence (LOE 5, n = 26; LOE 4, n = 34; LOE 3, n = 34; LOE 2, n = 5), with only one randomized controlled trial (LOE 1). Validated patient-reported outcome measures were reported in a single study. Conclusions: Highly cited social media literature in plastic surgery demonstrates substantial visibility but limited methodological rigor. The predominance of low-level evidence and minimal use of validated outcomes highlights a disconnect between digital influence and scientific quality. Strengthening the evidence base is essential to ensure credibility, ethical practice, and alignment with evidence-based medicine. Full article

The advent of social media has transformed brand communication to put storytelling at the center of building engagement and awareness. But the role of long-term brand value in virality is an essential challenge. This paper conducts a bibliometric and thematic analysis from the fields of marketing, psychology, and media studies published between 2015 and 2025, examining the correlation between narrative design and audience response, separating short-term popularity and long-term consumer appeal. The analysis was based on a structured literature review and qualitative methodological framework, using the literature sourced through Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar published between 2015 and 2025. Thematic coding searched for emotional tones, devices used in the narration, types of metrics, and contextual factors in inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings indicate a divide in quantitative measures, such as likes and shares, and qualitative measures, such as sentiment and resonance stories. Story elements such as authenticity, the depth of the characters, and video-based content had a major effect on the two types of engagement. Storytelling effectiveness was also mediated by influencer participation, algorithmic interactions, and audience demographics. The results confirm that meaningful storytelling with hybrid metrics contributes to stronger brand–consumer relationships. Future studies ought to shift to predictive modeling and focus on the ability of AI to dictate personalized brand stories in diverse cultures. Full article

Several studies show that financial vulnerability is not determined solely by low levels of wealth, but also by behavioural and social factors that shape financial behaviour. From this perspective, the social environment and financial knowledge can influence how investors evaluate their investment experiences. However, most of the literature has focused on how these aspects affect participation in financial markets, rather than on how they shape perceptions of the investment experience itself. This study explores how interactions with one’s social environment and both objective and subjective levels of financial knowledge contribute to how people evaluate the outcomes of their investments. To do so, we analyse a sample of undergraduate students using multivariate regression and Oaxaca–Blinder decompositions across three social environments—family, workplace, and banking advisors—and three types of financial assets: stocks, investment funds, and pension funds. The results show that perceptions of investment experience are shaped not only by individual factors but also by financial knowledge and the social environment—and these effects differ between men and women. There are also differences across types of financial assets, suggesting varying levels of vulnerability. These findings highlight the importance of personal characteristics, financial knowledge, and social context in explaining investment perceptions and differences in financial vulnerability. Full article

This article provides a critical evaluation of Giorgio Agamben’s argument that Adam Smith’s metaphor of the invisible hand is representative of economic theology and providential control. Although Agamben’s analysis does not explicate a nuanced view of the invisible hand, it does reveal the embedded economic theology in its misuse by neoliberal economists who characterise the invisible hand as a fundamental mechanism of market coordination consistent with a providential order. Conversely, this study argues that such perspectives fail to account for the intricacy and ambivalence inherent in Smith’s philosophy. Through textual analysis of the invisible hand in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, The Wealth of Nations, and The History of Astronomy, the manuscript highlights that Smith presents three distinct perspectives and that the theological interpretations do not adequately capture this divergence. Rather than endorsing a providential or theological framework, Smith’s use of the invisible hand is shown to be a conditional and intricate metaphor that serves as a critique, a form of social engagement, ethical commerce, and empirical analysis of irrational belief in markets that support the common good. Therefore, this interpretation transcends economic theology and reductive neoliberal economics, offering a more nuanced understanding with important implications for contemporary economics. Full article