Purpose This article investigates the effecting paths of virtual streamers' AI-generated positive emotions on consumers' purchase intention in livestreaming commerce. Design/methodology/approach Using a scenario-based experimental approach, this study empirically tested their hypotheses by collecting data (n = 303) from live-streaming consumers who participated in the survey. Findings The results reveal that: (1) At a subconscious level, the AI-generated positive emotions exhibited by virtual streamers can evoke similar positive emotions in consumers, thereby bolstering their purchase intention; (2) At a conscious level, the AI-generated positive emotions expressed by virtual streamers enhance consumers' purchase intention via the mechanism of positive disconfirmation; (3) Consumers' emotion assimilation competency and their sense of power moderate the subconscious and conscious pathways, respectively. Originality/value Based on emotional contagion theory and expectation disconfirmation theory, this study reveals a dual emotional contagion pathway (i.e. subconscious primitive contagion and conscious emotional comparisons) for the effects of virtual streamers' AI-generated positive emotions on consumer purchase intention. The findings also contribute to a more nuanced understanding of emotional contagion in this context by unraveling important boundary conditions.
Purpose This study examines how digital supply chain capabilities (IoT, blockchain, etc.) streamline firms' regionalization initiatives. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a rigorous qualitative, cross-industry research design. Forty semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers from 11 manufacturing firms (4 pharmaceuticals, 4 food and beverage and 3 electronics firms). Participating firms were in the initial-to-mid stage of regionalizing their supply chain operations. Findings The cross-industry analysis reveals that the reported regionalization outcomes/benefits are enabled through digitally embedded information-processing and evidence-production routines rather than geographic proximity alone. The data analysis revealed six reported outcomes across three industries, including enhanced resilience (recoverability), stronger supplier ecosystem, ESG outcomes, quality compliance and switching flexibility, revenue protection and market access. The data also revealed mechanisms leading to these outcomes, including reduced data-to-decision latency, coordinated response routines, traceability and audit-ready documentation, digital quality governance, reusable qualification, data-driven communication, continuity signalling and structured exception/assurance communication, amongst others. Research limitations/implications This study develops theory from a qualitative sample of 40 interviews and is therefore not intended to produce statistically generalizable findings. In addition, because the participating firms were in the initial-to-mid stages of their regionalization initiatives, reported outcomes were still emerging rather than fully realized or measurable. The findings should therefore be interpreted as explaining the mechanisms through which digital supply chain capabilities support regionalization rather than as providing definitive evidence of long-term performance effects. Practical implications Managers can use the identified mechanisms to design regionalization programmes around faster exception communication, reusable qualification evidence and audit-ready traceability routines. The results also guide industry-specific priorities such as compliance evidence cycles in pharmaceuticals, qualification/engineering information integration in electronics and information-enabled cold-chain control loops in food and beverage. Originality/value Prior regionalization research mainly treats digitalization as technology adoption, offering limited process-level insight into how digital supply chain capabilities bolster regionalization. This study advances the literature by theorizing digital supply chain capability (DSSC) as a set of information-processing and evidence-production mechanisms that explain regionalization outcomes under varying regulatory intensity, technological specificity and perishability.
Purpose This study investigates the interaction between service configuration and the demand information sharing mechanism in the context of a hybrid tourism platform supply chain under culture–tourism integration. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, a supply chain that includes a tourism service provider and a tourism platform is constructed, in which context both parties engage in hybrid sales through agency and wholesale channels. Using a dynamic game approach, the equilibrium strategies for service configuration and demand information sharing are derived. Findings The results of this research reveal that under the service provider configuration strategy, the platform shares information; under the platform configuration strategy, it shares demand information only when the commission rate is moderate. Moreover, the platform always prefers the service provider configuration strategy. Interestingly, the service provider is incentivized to bear service investment costs even under conditions involving a high commission rate. Under certain conditions, when the information advantage resulting from the service configuration fails to offset cost pressure, an “information advantage trap” emerges, thus leading the service provider to abandon demand information rather than incur service costs. Originality/value This study extends the literature by examining service configuration or demand information in isolation with the goal of investigating their interaction, thereby revealing optimal combinations in a hybrid tourism platform supply chain under culture–tourism integration and ultimately expanding the findings of previous research on this topic. It also provides practical guidance for service configuration and demand information sharing in a hybrid tourism platform supply chain.
Purpose Doctors' knowledge contribution (DKC) in online healthcare consultation is crucial for addressing patients' information needs and ensuring service quality. While existing studies often adopt a doctor-oriented perspective, limited attention has been paid to how DKC varies across different doctor–patient interaction contexts. This study aims to address this gap by examining the factors influencing DKC from a doctor–patient interaction perspective. Design/methodology/approach Based on signaling theory and self-determination theory, this study develops a theoretical model examining how patients' communication behaviors, including instrumental communication intensity (ICI), negative emotional expression (NEE) and response time (RT), serve as interactional signals shaping DKC, and how external rewards, including monetary rewards (MR) and psychological rewards (PR), moderate doctors' responses to these signals. This model is empirically tested using a dataset from a leading Chinese online healthcare consultation platform. Findings Patients' ICI and NEE positively influence DKC, while RT has a negative effect. Both MR and PR strengthen the positive impact of ICI, and PR weakens the negative impact of RT. However, neither reward moderates the relationship between NEE and DKC. Furthermore, these effects exhibit heterogeneity across doctors with different attributes and across medical contexts. Originality/value By investigating the role of patients' communication behaviors and their interaction with external rewards in shaping DKC during online doctor–patient interactions, this study advances the literature on knowledge contribution, doctor–patient interactions and the interplay between external rewards and patient-generated signals in online healthcare. It also provides practical guidance for managing online healthcare platforms and enhancing service quality.
PurposeAs global supply chains shift from linear to circular models, resilience in reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chains (RL and CLSC) remains underexplored and fragmented, despite its critical role in mitigating disruptions. This study addresses this gap by systematically reviewing and synthesising the existing literature. Design/methodology/approachA review of 194 studies published between 2005 and 2024 was conducted, reflecting the earliest study returned by the search. Through thematic analysis and synthesis, a three-component conceptual framework was developed, comprising: (1) risk types, (2) mitigation strategies for different risk types and (3) mitigation development approaches. FindingsThe review identifies 16 risk types specific to RL and CLSC, with waste management, collection processes and natural resource scarcity risks being particularly distinctive. Proactive mitigation strategies dominate the field, but there is a need for greater emphasis on real-time and reactive approaches to enhance adaptability. Quantitative, especially model-based techniques, prevail in mitigation development, while data-driven methods remain largely underutilised, signalling an opportunity for future research. Originality/valueThis study consolidates fragmented RL and CLSC resilience literature into a comprehensive framework, mapping key interactions across risk types, mitigation strategies and development approaches. It also highlights seven research directions: (1) developing risk identification and classification systems; (2) investigating risk interdependencies using complex systems and network analysis; (3) focusing on concurrent mitigation strategies; (4) integrating real-time, concurrent and reactive resilience strategies; (5) exploring new data sources for resilience enhancement; (6) applying and developing data-driven methods; and (7) conducting cross-sectoral comparative studies to generate both generalisable and contextual insights.
Purpose This study synthesizes the emerging empirical literature on the relationship between digital transformation and corporate greenwashing. It estimates the average association between digital transformation and greenwashing and examines whether this association varies according to construct operationalization, empirical design, and firm size. Design/methodology/approach The meta-analysis draws on 24 empirical effect-size estimates covering 269,857 firm-year observations. The evidence base is concentrated in Chinese listed firms. Random-effects models were used to estimate the pooled association. Moderator analyses examined differences by greenwashing measure, digital transformation measure, technology-family classification, empirical analysis type, and sample-group composition. Publication-bias and robustness checks included funnel-plot inspection, Duval and Tweedie's trim-and-fill procedure, Egger's regression test, leave-one-out diagnostics, and influence-based exclusion tests. Findings The results show a statistically significant but small negative association between digital transformation and greenwashing. Firms with higher levels of digital transformation tend, on average, to report lower levels of greenwashing. However, the relationship is highly heterogeneous. Moderator analyses indicate that the estimated association differs by greenwashing measure, technology-family classification, empirical analysis type, and sample-group composition, whereas the simple distinction between direct and indirect digital transformation measures does not significantly explain between-study variation. Robustness checks indicate that the pooled association remains negative across estimator-restricted sensitivity analyses and leave-one-out diagnostics. Originality/value This study provides one of the first meta-analytic syntheses of the digital transformation-greenwashing relationship. Its contribution lies less in establishing a universal anti-greenwashing effect of digital transformation and more in clarifying that the observed association is small, heterogeneous, measurement-sensitive, and currently grounded mainly in China-based firm-level evidence.
Purpose The rapid development of connected vehicle technologies has significantly enhanced the intelligence of the automotive industry, but it has also introduced critical cybersecurity challenges. Given the significant impact on society, Internet of Vehicles (IoV) platforms and manufacturers are increasingly investing in security, supported by government subsidies. This paper aims to model the strategic interactions among the government, the IoV platform and the manufacturer, specifically analyzing how optimal government subsidy policies influence cybersecurity investment decisions. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops a Stackelberg game model to analyze the impact of government subsidies on the strategic cybersecurity investment decisions of the IoV platform and the manufacturer under two business models: pay-as-you-go and data sharing. Findings This study demonstrates that government subsidies yield a triple-win by improving cybersecurity levels, profits, and consumer surplus of the platform across both business models. Specifically, consumer surplus is augmented by increased subsidies, cybersecurity attack probability and risk sensitivity, but is mitigated by rising technical service costs. Besides, the research highlights a critical link between subsidy and pricing model selection of the IoV platform. Originality/value This study identifies the optimal efficiency of government subsidies in boosting cybersecurity investment and determines the optimal service business model between manufacturers and IoV platforms. These findings provide decision-making guidance and a theoretical foundation for governments and industry stakeholders in the safe development of the IoV and intelligent vehicle sectors.
Purpose Efficient investment is a strategic imperative for a firm's sustainable growth, as persistent inefficiencies lead to severe capital misallocation. Although the technology integration of digital and real economy industries (digital-real integration) holds significant potential to address such inefficiencies by structurally upgrading firms' information architectures, our understanding of the underlying micro-level mechanisms remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to uncover how substantive technological integration improves firm investment efficiency by mitigating information asymmetry and agency conflicts. Design/methodology/approach Using Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2023, an indicator based on patent citations is constructed to quantify the digital-real integration. Investment deviation models are applied to assess investment efficiency, and fixed effects models are employed as the baseline specification. Multiple endogeneity and robustness tests are conducted to validate the results. Findings The digital-real integration significantly increases investment efficiency, and this finding remains robust across alternative measurements. Mechanism analyses show that the improvement arises mainly from reduced financing constraints and enhanced internal control quality, both of which mitigate inefficient investment. Additional tests reveal heterogeneous effects: the enhancement is more salient for high-growth firms and for firms with moderately concentrated ownership. Originality/value This study bridges the macro-micro gap by explicitly linking digital-real integration to firm investment efficiency, offering a novel pathway to resolve the digitalization paradox and mitigate inefficient investment. It unpacks the value-creation black box via financing constraints and internal control mechanisms. Furthermore, identifying non-linear boundary conditions extends traditional linear frameworks in corporate finance. These insights practically guide policymakers and high-growth firms in optimizing data-driven resource allocation.
PurposeIn the dynamic landscape of contemporary business, the wave in data and technological advancements has directed companies toward data-driven decision-making processes. Despite the vast potential that data holds for strategic insights and operational efficiencies, significant challenges persist in managing data quality, security and integration, particularly within the complex and dynamic field of operations and supply chain management (OSCM). These challenges underscore the critical need for effective data governance (DG) tailored to the unique requirements of OSCM. This paper aims to improve understanding of DG in the OSCM context. Design/methodology/approachWhile research on DG in the information systems (IS) and information management (IM) domains is relatively developed, its role in OSCM remains underexplored. Existing studies focus on technical and enterprise-wide aspects rather than the unique challenges of operational complexities in OSCM. To bridge this gap, this study conducts a systematic literature review to synthesize and assess existing DG research in OSCM. FindingsThis study scrutinizes the collected literature from both OSCM and DG perspectives, offering a comprehensive foundation for advancing DG in OSCM. Originality/valueFrom an academic standpoint, it enhances the theoretical understanding of DG by mapping existing research and identifying key challenges and research gaps. It also suggests future research directions that align DG with the dynamic needs of OSCM environments. From a practical perspective, the analysis results offer practical insights and inspirations that can guide organizations in improving DG practices and maximizing the value of their data assets.
Purpose Given the critical role of internet tools in the multi-channel context, we propose that interactions enabled by inter-organizational systems (IOS) and social media can effectively mitigate multi-channel conflict. Furthermore, drawing upon task-technology fit (TTF) theory, we aim to explore the moderating roles of firms’ IT infrastructure capability and channel personnel's IT usage capability in influencing the effectiveness of these two types of interactions. Design/methodology/approach Utilizing a dataset comprising 484 survey responses from manufacturers, we employed the hierarchical multiple regression method to empirically examine the research hypotheses. Findings IOS- and social media-enabled interactions negatively correlate with multi-channel conflict. In addition, an alignment is observed between the two types of interactions and firms’ IT capabilities. Specifically, the negative relationship between IOS-enabled interaction and multi-channel conflict is more pronounced for firms with a high level of IT infrastructure capability. Meanwhile, the negative relationship between social media-enabled interaction and multi-channel conflict is stronger when channel personnel possess high IT usage capability. Originality/value This study is the first to investigate how IOS- and social media-enabled interactions can effectively alleviate multi-channel conflict, extending prior research on mitigating such conflicts and contributing to the literature on IOS and social media. Furthermore, this study enriches TTF research by highlighting the strategic alignment between these two types of interactions and IT capabilities.
Purpose This study focuses on analyzing the core contradiction that while AI investment reduces consumers' misfit costs, it also exacerbates the risk of privacy leakage. By analyzing the interplay between government subsidies and penalties, this research aims to elucidate how regulatory designs can effectively steer platforms' privacy-protection behavior and suppliers' AI investment toward a socially optimal outcome. Design/methodology/approach This study constructs a Stackelberg game involving a supplier, an e-commerce platform, and consumers, integrating government regulatory instruments of subsidies and penalties, the supplier's AI investment decision, and the platform's privacy protection choice. We compare four scenarios to derive optimal strategies for all parties and to analyze the effects of key parameters. Findings The findings reveal that government regulation should prioritize subsidies with supplementary penalties to best incentivize platforms' privacy protection. Furthermore, the supplier's AI investment depends on the stringency of government regulation. Finally, well-matched government regulatory designs can reduce privacy risks and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes, balancing privacy protection with intelligent upgrading of the e-commerce supply chain. Originality/value This study contributes to research on consumer privacy protection, AI investment in e-commerce supply chain management, and government regulation strategies. We incorporate AI-induced consumer privacy breach risk as an externality into suppliers' investment analysis, explaining how such risk offsets AI-driven demand growth. In addition, we compare subsidy and penalty policies, and propose risk-matched regulation to balance privacy protection, innovation incentives, and social welfare.
Purpose In response to increasing stakeholder and societal demands for environmental responsibility, some firms may engage in greenwashing to balance reputational pressures with cost considerations. Drawing on upper echelons theory, this study examines the impact of CEO military experience and AI implementation on firm greenwashing. Design/methodology/approach This study utilizes a panel dataset comprising 1,286 Chinese A-share listed firms traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges over the period from 2015 to 2022. To identify causal effects, a difference-in-differences (DID) estimation strategy is employed. Findings The findings reveal that firms led by CEOs with military backgrounds are significantly less likely to engage in greenwashing. Moreover, this negative relationship is amplified by the level of AI implementation within the firm. Both the breadth and depth of AI implementation enhance the mitigating effect of CEO’s military experience on greenwashing. Additional heterogeneity analyses indicate that the effect varies by firm ownership structure and industry pollution intensity. Originality/value These findings contribute to the literature on corporate sustainability by highlighting the role of executive characteristics and technological innovation in shaping environmental disclosure practices.
Purpose Innovation networks provide the dominant lens for understanding contemporary innovation processes and shape adaptability and performance. A key mechanism explaining their evolution is preferential attachment (PA), whereby central organizations attract disproportionate collaborations, influencing resource distribution and cumulative advantages. While prior studies have focused on the structure and treated PA as uniform, they have overlooked heterogeneity and contextual moderation. Therefore, this study proposes a novel framework to examine PA in regulated innovation networks.Design/methodology/approach The framework integrates network structure analysis and mechanism testing into an analytical process, examining PA at both the overall and individual levels. Drawing on the virtual breeding environment (VBE) perspective, we analyze the global new energy vehicle industry patent cooperation data (2001-2024).Findings The network exhibits a hub-dominated structure consistent with PA, and three nodes' evolutionary patterns emerge: PA, partial PA and non-PA.Practical implications Firms and policymakers should strategically manage node positions and evolutionary trajectories to optimize collaboration portfolios, and balance centralization, diversity and ecosystem stability.Originality/value By integrating the VBE perspective, the study reframes PA as a selectively enabled process rather than a uniform structural law, demonstrating how heterogeneous evolutionary paths coexist within PA-driven networks and extending understanding of differentiated actor trajectories.
Purpose Given the increasing challenges confronting the food supply chain and its vulnerability, researchers are increasingly focusing on developing supply chain resilience. This study examines the impact of blockchain technology, a new formal governance mechanism, and relational governance, a conventional informal governance approach, on the food supply chain's resilience. The role of supply chain traceability as a mediator and environmental dynamism as a moderator is evaluated. Design/methodology/approach An empirical analysis of survey data from 231 Chinese food enterprises using structural equation models was conducted to test the theoretical hypotheses. Findings This research suggests that supply chain traceability mediates the impact of relational governance and blockchain technology on supply chain resilience and that the mediating effect of blockchain technology on supply chain resilience is weakened when environmental dynamism is high. Blockchain technology is found to enhance supply chain traceability through relational governance. Originality/value These findings provide a deeper understanding of the impact of relational governance and blockchain technology as two different governance mechanisms on supply chain resilience, offering managerial insights into the adoption of effective governance mechanisms by food enterprises to increase supply chain resilience.
Purpose Environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure is widely regarded as a key instrument for promoting corporate accountability and sustainable development; yet, its effectiveness is often undermined by greenwashing and imperfect information authentication. Although blockchain technology is increasingly advocated to enhance ESG transparency through immutability, it does not guarantee the authenticity of information before data entry. This study examines whether and how blockchain-enabled ESG reporting can incentivize costly ESG improvements and improve welfare when ESG authentication is imperfect and publicly understood. Design/methodology/approach We develop a supply chain model with an upstream supplier and a downstream retailer, in which ESG performance is imperfectly authenticated and recorded on a blockchain. The retailer observes noisy ESG authentication outcomes and offers outcome-contingent wholesale prices to incentivize the supplier’s ESG improvement. Consumers are aware of authentication imperfections and update their beliefs accordingly, which affects market demand. Equilibrium outcomes are derived analytically. Findings We show that (1) under medium authentication accuracy, the supplier’s ESG investment is non-monotonic, with investment only at low or high improvement levels due to weak demand responses. (2) Increasing authentication accuracy affects profits asymmetrically: the retailer’s profit follows a U-shaped pattern, while the supplier’s profit is hump-shaped, reflecting a trade-off between incentive costs and informational rents. (3) We further identify conditions under which blockchain-enabled ESG reporting yields a “win-win” outcome, improving both supply chain profitability and environmental performance. Originality/value This study explicitly incorporates imperfect ESG authentication into blockchain-enabled reporting and highlights the economic role of blockchain in aligning ESG incentives, consumer demand and sustainable investment.
Purpose The effectiveness and success of low-price viral marketing, which leverages consumers’ social networks to help disseminate the low-price information, hinge upon consumers’ motivation to participate in low-price viral marketing. Whereas discovering a good low-price deal may lead consumers to be perceived as smart shoppers, it may synchronously trigger an undesirable social image of cheapness. Drawing on impression management theory, our study reconciles this paradox by empirically examining the opposing effects of these two social image concerns on consumer intention to participate in low-price viral marketing campaigns. Design/methodology/approach Using regression analysis and structural equation modeling, this study investigates the opposite effects of perceived cheapness and perceived smartness on consumer willingness to forward low-price viral marketing information. It further examines the moderating roles of third-person personification (“My friend” rather than “I”) in low-price viral marketing message design and consumers’ social status. Findings The results indicate that consumers’ perceived cheapness negatively, whereas perceived smartness positively affects their intention to participate in low-price viral marketing. Moreover, third-person personification weakens the effects of perceived cheapness and perceived smartness on intention to participate. Social status significantly strengthens the relationship between perceived cheapness and willingness to participate in viral marketing. Originality/value This study extends impression management theory to low-price viral marketing, advancing the understanding of how social image concerns initiated by low prices affect the effectiveness of low-price viral marketing and offering practical insights for firms seeking to develop more effective low-price viral marketing strategies.
PurposeDespite growing interest in value co-creation (VCC) in service innovation, few studies have examined how logistics enterprises collaborate with SaaS platforms and manufacturing companies to overcome geographical, organizational and technical barriers. This study fills this gap by developing a tripartite evolutionary game model to analyze the strategic interactions and evolutionary dynamics among logistics enterprises, SaaS platforms and manufacturing companies.Design/methodology/approachA tripartite evolutionary game model is constructed to capture the strategic decision-making behaviors of logistics enterprises, SaaS platforms and manufacturing companies from a value co-creation perspective. Numerical simulations in MATLAB R2018a are conducted to evaluate the influence of key factors - service innovation revenue and costs, resource integration risks and absorption capacity - on the evolutionary stability of VCC strategies.FindingsThe simulation results identify the system's optimal stable state when all parties adopt the strategy (Service Innovation, Participate, Participate), indicating that VCC participation increases when net benefits exceed those of non-participation, enhanced resource absorption capabilities promotes cooperation and stability, while high costs and risks inhibit long-term engagement though the system remains sustainable when total benefits outweigh total costs, with potential losses from non-participation further incentivizing active involvement.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that logistics enterprises should enhance resource integration and leverage SaaS platforms to improve customer insights and operational efficiency. SaaS platforms ought to act as innovation bridges, refining products via real-world feedback and facilitating cross-party integration, while manufacturing companies can achieve greater transparency, customization and cost efficiency through SaaS-enabled logistics innovations, thereby strengthening their motivation to engage in value co-creation.Originality/valueThis research introduces a novel evolutionary game-theoretic perspective on VCC in logistics service innovation, incorporating the concept of resource-absorption capabilities. It reveals how asymmetric capabilities among stakeholders shape collaborative incentives and outcomes, offering theoretical and practical insights into aligning logistics and manufacturing sectors through SaaS platforms.
Purpose Motivated by the observed real-world practices that either manufacturers or platforms are actively introducing smart products (SPs), this paper investigates a practically important question in platform-based supply chains: whether SPs should be introduced by manufacturers or by platforms? Design/methodology/approach We develop a Stackelberg game framework to investigate three potential strategies for introducing SPs (i.e. no SPs, SPs are introduced by the manufacturer and SPs are introduced by the platform) within a platform-based supply chain consisting of one manufacturer and one platform. The equilibrium decisions and profit outcomes under the three supply chain models are analytically derived and systematically compared. Findings Either the manufacturer or the platform may possess a cost advantage in introducing SPs. Regardless of the introducer, the platform always benefits from the introduction of SPs. In contrast, when SPs are introduced by the platform, the manufacturer may be worse off. As a result, a strategic conflict may arise, since both the manufacturer and the platform achieve higher profits when they introduce SPs themselves. Interestingly, we identify conditions under which the platform optimally acts as a free rider by allowing the manufacturer to introduce SPs, thereby eliminating the conflict. Originality/value Departing from the products innovation literature and traditional store-brand encroachment literature that focuses on manufacturers' traditional products (TPs) innovation or retailers/platforms' TPs encroachment, this study develops an analytical framework to compare alternative introduction strategies for SPs in platform supply chains. The analysis identifies the conditions under which manufacturers or platforms optimally introduce SPs, clarifies how consumer valuation would affect pricing decisions, demand allocation and welfare outcomes and provides managerial implications for firms operating in digitally enabled markets.
