Frontiers in Economics and Management (FEM) is a monthly online, international, peer-reviewed journal. All articles published are rigorously and fast reviewed meeting the Journal Quality standards. FEM is dedicated to publish empirical, academic, theoretical and review research articles that contribute to the practice in economics, management, and related topics. All articles published are rigorously and fast reviewed meeting the Journal Quality standards.
The Impact of the Digital Economy on Regional Economic Development
The rapid development of the digital economy has reshaped the way economic activities are organized and has increasingly influenced regional development patterns. In the process of China’s transition toward high-quality development, differences in regional development capacity remain a practical concern. This study constructs an indicator system to measure digital economy development and regional economic development, and examines their relationship using panel data from selected Chinese provinces and cities during 2016–2022. Fixed effects models, robustness tests, and heterogeneity analysis are applied to explore whether and how digital economy development affects regional economic performance. The empirical results show that digital economy development does have a positive and significant relationship with regional economic development. That said, the effects are not the same across all regions. The eastern region sees the strongest impact, the western region comes next, and the central region shows a relatively weaker effect. These differences, as it turns out, may have a lot to do with variations in economic foundations, digital infrastructure conditions, and regional digitalization capabilities. What the findings really suggest is this: if we want to achieve more coordinated regional development, it would be important to improve digital infrastructure, strengthen regional digital integration, and also take local development conditions into proper account.
Digital Economy; Regional Economic Development; Panel Data; Heterogeneity Analysis; Regional Disparities.
Copyright (c) 2026 Frontiers in Economics and Management https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Performance Analysis of Green oriented M&A in Thermal Power Enterprises: A Case Study of Huaneng Power International
Under the "dual carbon" goal, green and low-carbon transformation of thermal power enterprises has become a general trend, and green‑oriented M&A is an important way for enterprises to quickly acquire clean energy assets. This paper is based on the green‑oriented M&A event of a certain enterprise in 2020. It selects data from 2018 to 2025, constructs a performance evaluation system from the dimensions of financial performance and environmental performance, and conducts a horizontal comparative analysis with t[he same industry. The research shows that green‑oriented M&A can quickly increase the proportion of clean energy installed capacity, optimize the power source structure, and thus improve the environmental performance by directly acquiring existing grid - connected clean energy assets. Constrained by factors such as the scale of M&A and the cyclical fluctuations of coal prices, the short - term financial synergy effect is weak. In the long run, the incorporated clean energy assets can continuously optimize the enterprise's business structure and alleviate the profit fluctuations of the thermal power business to a certain extent. The research conclusions can provide practical references for thermal power enterprises to implement green‑oriented M&A and promote low - carbon transformation.
Thermal Power Enterprises; Green oriented M&A; Performance Analysis.
Systematic Risk and the Applicability of the CAPM across Digital Economy Sub-industries: An Empirical Study
This research employs 75 stocks from China A-share market from Shanghai and Shenzhen's digital economy stock markets as a typical example. Utilizing monthly figures spanning January 2015 to December 2024, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is applied in an unbalanced sampling approach to evaluate the systematic risk and relevance of the model in five distinct digital economy sectors. The results show that the average beta coefficients of all sub-industries are greater than 1, indicating that the digital economy sector as a whole has relatively high market sensitivity. Although there is some divergence in beta across sub-industries, the inter-group differences do not reach statistical significance. Simultaneously, discrepancies are noted in the sub-industries concerning and the proportion of significant alpha coefficients, indicating an inconsistency in the explanatory power of the CAPM among these sub-industries. Additional portfolio-level regressions based on beta sorting further show that beta coefficients increase monotonically from the low-beta portfolio to the high-beta portfolio, while all portfolio betas are significantly positive and no significant abnormal returns are observed. Generally, the risk attributes in the digital economy sector vary, implying that within China's capital market, the single-factor CAPM continues to have limitations in accounting for return changes in the digital economy sector.
Digital Economy; CAPM; Systematic Risk; Model Applicability; Sub-industry Differences.
Study on the Driving Forces, Implementation Process, and Effects of Financialization from the Perspective of Youngor's Corporate Life Cycle
The effect of financialization on nonfinancial corporations changes depending on the corporation's life cycle stage. In the case of Yagor, the paper analyzes reasons, means, and implications of financialization at different life cycle stages. The research results in an identification of the fact that Yagor went through three separate phases of financialization-"reservoir", "investment substitution", and "strategic course correction". A moderate degree of financialization was helpful during the growth stage. However, excessive financialization took place during the maturity stage and diverted money from R&D activities, thereby increasing risks. The policy of definancialization, which involves reducing financialization on purpose, was applied during the decline stage. It is demonstrated in the study that the influence of financialization varies depending on the stage in the life cycle, and that success hinges on a resource allocation strategy based on prioritizing the core business while finance plays an enabling role. It is imperative for companies to adjust their strategies according to their life-cycle stage and for regulators to provide them with appropriate advice. The findings of this paper help understand how industrial firms can combine their industrial and financial activities, although additional case studies would be required.
Corporate Financialization; Enterprise Life Cycle; Motivators and Outcomes.
Study on the Impact of Intellectual Property Protection on Digital Trade
Using panel data of 250 Chinese municipalities from 2011 to 2022, we will employ threshold regression methods to examine the effect of intellectual property protection on digital trade via the progress of digital technology and changes in the commercial environment. Intellectual Property Protection Promotes the Development of the Digital Economy and Enhances Regional Power. Innovation and institutional environments have improved, and as educational attainment has increased, so too has this situation. The three results are the first three policy recommendations for economic development.
Intellectual Property Protection; Electronic Commerce; Digital Technology Development; Business Environment; Tipping Point Effect.
Does the Short-Selling Mechanism Enhance Corporate ESG Performance?
Using the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010-2024, we use the model of " Margin Trading and Securities Lending" as an experimental model. The adoption of the Staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) model is used to investigate the effect of short selling on ESG performance and their basic channels. These results show that short sales can greatly enhance ESG performance. This finding is still reliable following a series of robust controls, such as concurrent trend trials, excluding COVID-19 epidemics, omitting companies located in municipalities directly under the central government, estimates of PSM-DID and placebos. Based on the mechanism, it is found that short sales can increase ESG's performance by two main ways, namely, improvement of inner management and reduction of asymmetric information. The heterogeneous analysis also shows that short sales have a greater impact on ESG results in SOEs, smaller companies and more competitive sectors. The research has provided a new demonstration of how capital market monitoring mechanisms can enhance corporate sustainability, and has also offered useful insights into how to improve the design of margin trading and securities lending regimes and apply differentiated regulatory policies.
Short-Selling Mechanism; ESG Performance; Internal Governance; Information Asymmetry.
The Impact of Digitalization on the Financial Performance of the Baijiu Industry: A Case Study of Wuliangye.
With the development of information technology and the emergence of new digital technologies such as blockchain, cloud computing, and big data, digitalization has gradually been used by many modern enterprises to promote all-round development. Wuliangye, a leading enterprise in China's baijiu industry, is selected as the research object, and financial data from 2015 to 2024 are used to calculate composite scores for four dimensions under the entropy weight method: profitability, growth capability, solvency, and operating capability. Based on the above evaluation results, this paper will explore how digitalization has affected the financial situation of Wuliangye. Among the above results, profitability and growth potential have risen significantly, but solvency and operating capacity are still fluctuating.
Digital Transformation; Wuliangye; Financial Performance; Entropy Weight Method.
The Impact of Digital Transformation on the Market Value of Sports Enterprises: An Empirical Study based on A-share Listed Sports Companies
As the digital economy keeps evolving, the way we value sports enterprises is changing fast-and it’s shaping where the industry heads next. In this paper, I dig into how digital transformation lifts the market value of these companies and figure out what’s really fueling that growth. First, I use Python to scrape annual reports and pull out the data that matters. Then I put those numbers to work with a two-way fixed-effects model, testing the core ideas directly. The results stand out: digital transformation isn’t just a buzzword-it’s a big reason why sports enterprises see their market value climb, and this effect remains strong even after rigorous checks. Mediation tests further indicate that digital transformation boosts market value through three mechanisms: relaxing financing constraints, elevating total factor productivity, and stimulating innovation expenditure. To capture the interplay among different digital technologies, we additionally employ fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). From a configurational standpoint, several distinct paths leading to high market value are uncovered – such as the "big-data-and-cloud-computing-led" path – confirming the "multiple conjunctural causation" nature of digital transformation outcomes. Theoretically, this research enriches studies on digital transformation in specialized industrial contexts. Methodologically, it combines econometric regression with configurational analysis and thereby provides a new analytical perspective. Practically, the findings offer concrete guidance for sports enterprises in formulating differentiated digital transformation strategies and optimizing resource allocation, while also providing empirical support for relevant policymaking.
Digitalization; Sports Enterprises; Market Value; fsQCA.
Digital Transformation and Business-Finance Integration: Mechanisms, Challenges, and Pathways in the Era of Intelligent Finance
As digital technologies fundamentally reshape corporate management paradigms, the integration of business operations and financial management-commonly termed "business-finance integration"-has emerged as a critical pathway for achieving value creation and competitive advantage. However, systematic understanding of how organizations can bridge the persistent divide between operational execution and financial oversight remains limited. In this paper, we systematically investigate the theoretical mechanisms, implementation challenges, and strategic pathways of business-finance integration within the broader context of digital transformation. Adopting a multi-method research design, this paper integrates theoretical modeling, systematic literature synthesis, and case-based analysis. Drawing upon synergy theory, data governance theory, and dynamic capabilities theory, we construct a dual-cycle conceptual framework characterized by bidirectional data flows, wherein operational data informs financial intelligence and financial insights reciprocally guide operational optimization. The analysis yields four principal findings. First, business-finance integration creates value through a forward cycle transforming operational data into structured financial information and a feedback cycle channeling financial signals back into operational decision-making. Second, three interrelated barriers impede integration: technological fragmentation, organizational inertia, and capability deficits in hybrid talent. Third, integration effectiveness is contingent upon organizational scale, industry characteristics, and digital infrastructure maturity. Fourth, successful integration requires a tripartite strategic approach encompassing intelligent platform deployment, agile organizational restructuring, and systematic talent cultivation. This paper contributes to the literature by proposing an integrative theoretical framework that synthesizes previously fragmented perspectives, providing a systematic barrier diagnosis extending beyond technological determinism, and deriving actionable strategic pathways for practitioners. These findings offer evidence-based guidance for corporate managers navigating digital transformation journeys and highlight the imperative of cultivating interdisciplinary talent pipelines to support enterprise-level transformation.
Business-Finance Integration; Digital Transformation; Data Governance; Intelligent Finance; Organizational Change.
Geopolitical Risk and Supply Cycle Disruption: A Case Study of the Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz crisis in 2026 provides a classic case for studying how geopolitical risks disrupt the global supply chain cycle. The conventional view regards supply interruption as a binary event, that is, once the transportation channel is reopened, the operation will immediately return to normal. This article questions this hypothesis. We believe that the geopolitical shock has a lasting impact, which far exceeds the reopening of transportation routes. Using air freight rates, popular goods and data disclosed by enterprises, we have built an analytical framework containing three transmission paths: direct transportation delays, loss of production capacity and shipping network reorganization. We also introduced the concept of "asymmetric recovery" to describe the phenomenon that the time required for supply chain recovery far exceeds the duration of the initial shock. Case studies on aluminum, petrochemical products, helium and fertilizers show that the Strait of Hormuz is not only an energy channel, but also a multi-commodity industrial corridor. Among them, it will affect many industries such as agriculture, semiconductor manufacturing, automobiles and medical and health at the same time. These findings show that geopolitical risks cannot be simplified into a simple on or off state in the supply chain model. Enterprises must take measures such as diversifying supply sources, adjusting inventory strategies and strengthening organizational resilience to cope with long-term uncertainty.
Geopolitical Risk; Supply Cycle; Strait of Hormuz; Supply Chain Resilience; Asymmetric Recovery.
Study on the Equilibrium of the Closed Loop Supply Chain Network Considering the Quality of Old Products based on E-commerce Opening up the Second hand Market
Using variational inequalities to study the closed-loop supply chain network equilibrium under the participation of old products in the second-hand market opened up by network sellers. By considering the profit impact of the quality of old products at all levels of the closed-loop supply chain, it is found that the more old products a manufacturer recycles, the greater the profit they receive; The change in product quality coefficient has little impact on the recycling cost for online sellers when their products meet the recycling conditions. The more old products can be recycled, the more profits they will earn. And the higher the quality coefficient of second-hand products, the greater the positive impact of the supply chain under the participation of the second-hand market on online sellers and manufacturers.
Supply Chain Network; Second Hand Market; Variational Inequality.
Close-Clean Government-Business Relations Empowering Investment and Financing of Specialized, Refined, Distinctive & Innovative Enterprises: Mechanisms and Optimization Paths
Under the background of cultivating new types of productive forces, specialized, innovative, and high-tech enterprises serve as the micro-support for the modern industrial system. However, due to the long investment cycle of scientific and technological innovation and the high proportion of intangible assets, these enterprises often face practical challenges such as financing constraints, imbalanced investment structure, and mismatch between investment and financing terms. This paper adopts literature research and normative analysis methods to systematically review the existing literature on the relationship between government and business and the financing of specialized, innovative, and high-tech enterprises. It distinguishes the differentiated functional logic of the "close" service dimension and the "clean" supervision dimension, and analyzes the current shortcomings of the government-enterprise governance system in alleviating the financing problems of scientific and technological enterprises. The research finds that "close" mainly alleviates enterprise financing constraints through information communication, policy resource supply, and government-bank-enterprise collaboration; "clean" mainly improves long-term investment by reducing rent-seeking, ensuring fair resource allocation, and stabilizing policy expectations. Based on the research conclusions, it proposes adaptive optimization measures from the aspects of government services, financial supply, and enterprise compliance operations, providing a reference for local areas to smooth out the financing bottlenecks of specialized, innovative, and high-tech enterprises by relying on the new type of government-enterprise interaction system.
Close and Harmonious Relationship between Government and Business; Specialized, Innovative and Distinctive Enterprises; Financing Constraints; Investment and Financing Behaviors.
Structural Evolution and Differentiated Pathways of the Provincial-Level Dual Circulation
As the new development paradigm of the “dual circulation” is strategically implemented, provinces serve as the core units of implementation. Consequently, the patterns of evolution and distinctive characteristics of each province’s circulation structure naturally provide a crucial lens through which to understand the broader picture.Drawing on the “four-part classification” approach, this paper divides the dual circulation into four categories: intra-provincial, inter-provincial, international, and interactive circulation. Using data from China’s multi-region input-output tables for 1987–2017, the study systematically examines the structural changes and differentiation pathways of provincial-level dual circulation across five dimensions: national, regional, provincial, industrial, and case studies.At the national level, between 1987 and 2017, the share of intra-provincial circulation tended to decline but remained firmly established; inter-provincial circulation rose significantly and benefited a wide range of areas; foreign circulation first rose and then fell; and interactive circulation fluctuated upward. In terms of regional patterns, the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions exhibited distinct gradients of differentiation.At the provincial level, regions can be categorized into four distinct development models; in terms of industrial structure, a significant trend toward synergy between high-end manufacturing and production-oriented services can be observed. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Guangdong have taken different development paths due to variations in their geographical conditions, industrial foundations, and policy environments. This paper provides multidimensional empirical support for the optimization of the provincial dual circulation and offers valuable reference for implementing tailored policies.
Dual Circulation; Provincial Economy; Structural Evolution; Differentiated Pathways.
Research on Carbon Emission Reduction Benefits of Construction Waste Resource Utilization in Anhui Province based on LCA
Against the backdrop of the dual carbon goals, the resource utilization of construction waste serves as a critical pathway for the construction industry to conserve energy, cut carbon emissions and advance circular and green development. To accurately quantify the low-carbon value of regional construction waste recycling and address the issues of extensive disposal of construction waste and insufficient localized carbon emission reduction data in Anhui Province, this paper adopts the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. It defines the life cycle accounting boundary of construction waste and establishes a localized carbon accounting framework tailored to Anhui’s energy structure, transportation conditions and industrial characteristics. Three typical disposal scenarios, namely traditional landfilling, on-site resource recovery and industrial recycled aggregate production, are set up to systematically calculate the full-chain carbon emissions of each model. Taking the landfilling scenario as the benchmark, the carbon emission reduction benefits of resource recycling are quantified, and sensitivity analysis is conducted to identify core influencing factors. The results show that resource utilization modes deliver prominent carbon reduction advantages compared with traditional landfilling, while the emission reduction efficiency differs significantly between on-site recovery and industrial resource recycling. Transportation distance, energy structure and recycled product substitution rate are key factors affecting regional emission reduction benefits. Based on the research findings, low-carbon optimization countermeasures are proposed from the perspectives of transportation optimization, upgrading of resource recycling industry, promotion of recycled products and improvement of policy regulation. This study can provide data support for low-carbon governance of construction waste resource utilization in Anhui Province, and offer methodological references for low-carbon resource utilization of solid waste in similar central China cities.
Construction Waste; Resource Utilization; LCA; Carbon Emission Reduction Benefit; Life Cycle; Anhui Province.
Empirical Analysis of the Cost of Equity for Costco Wholesale Corporation Using the CAPM Framework
The cost of equity of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) is estimated empirically. Cost of equity is the cornerstone of modern finance that stipulates expected return required by investors for taking on systematic risk. However, this project quantifies COST’S cost of equity, conducts sensitivity analysis, and crosschecks its results with known benchmarks by utilizing available public information such as Costco’s 5-year beta coefficient, US 10-year Treasury yield, and US market risk premium. Empirical estimates derived from the input assumptions show that Costco’s cost of equity ranges from 8.8% to 9.8%. This result is contextualized by explaining how corporate finance theory applies to Costco’s cost of equity within the framework of the company’s risk structure, business stability, and financial strategy. The conclusion of the study is that CAPM works well as a first-order valuation model, but faces practical challenges that need modifications and fine tuning before it can be used for helpful first-order decision-making.
Costco; CAPM; Cost of Equity; Beta; Systematic Risk; Empirical Analysis.
Mechanism and Realization Path of Digital-Physical Integration Empowering Digital Transformation of Specialized, Refined, Distinctive and Innovative Enterprises
Digital-physical integration is a critical driving force for fostering new productive forces and optimizing the modern industrial system. As vanguards among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Specialized, Refined, Distinctive and Innovative (SRDI) enterprises play a pivotal role in segmented industrial chains, and their digital transformation serves as a core foothold to deliver tangible outcomes of digital-physical integration. Nevertheless, SRDI enterprises are still plagued by multiple dilemmas in digital upgrading. Based on the Resource-Based Theory, Technology Empowerment Theory and Collaborative Governance Theory, this paper dissects the functional mechanism through which digital-physical integration fuels the digital transformation of SRDI enterprises. Through two-way internal and external empowerment channels, digital-physical integration can effectively mitigate five prevailing transformation predicaments of enterprises: being unwilling to transform, fearing transformation, lacking capacity to transform, suffering defective transformation results, and advancing transformation at a sluggish pace. Accordingly, this paper proposes targeted realization paths, including constructing tiered empowerment platforms, developing integrated digital industrial chain ecosystems, upgrading regional digital infrastructure and policy frameworks, and perfecting talent cultivation and cybersecurity safeguards. The research outcomes can offer references for local governments to formulate differentiated supportive policies and accelerate the digital transformation of SRDI enterprises.
Digital-Physical Integration; Specialized, Refined, Distinctive and Innovative Enterprises; Digital Transformation; Functional Mechanism.
Children's Education Expenditure and Household Financial Asset Allocation
Children's education expenditure and household financial asset allocation are core issues of households' intertemporal financial planning, yet existing literature has not reached a consistent conclusion on their correlation. This paper constructs a theoretical framework to analyze the transmission paths and constraint conditions through which education expenditure affects financial asset allocation. The study reveals that education expenditure bears dual attributes of consumption and human capital investment, and exerts an overall positive driving effect via three mechanisms: intertemporal planning, information acquisition, and asset structure adjustment. Such positive effect is restricted by housing mortgages, health risks, household wealth stock, and urban-rural financial supply gaps. This paper provides theoretical support for the synergy between family education investment and household wealth accumulation.
Children's Education Expenditure; Household Financial Asset Allocation; Intertemporal Planning; Theoretical Mechanism.
Research on Financial Performance of Chain Supermarkets During Strategic Transformation
Over the past few years, conventional retail companies have been subjected to double pressure coming from the emergence of online e-commerce sites and community group-buying, and therefore have found themselves in the midst of a transformation cycle where stock restructuring and quality improvement have become a norm. This paper takes the strategic transformation of “quality retail” in 2024 in Yonghui Superstores, which adopts the Pangdonglai model of transformation, as an example and examines the company’s annual statements for the period 2021-2025 and Q1 2026, analyzing financial changes through the lens of profitability, solvency, efficiency, and growth potential. The results show that the transformation of Yonghui is following a “pain for short-term, little improvement” pattern, which is based on three major financial contradictions: huge expenses incurred for transformation reducing profit; high leverage and rigid debts leading to liquidity problems; and improvements in efficiency based on shutting down the stores. In order to solve these problems, this study will offer actionable strategies in three major areas: upgrading proprietary supply chain brands, optimizing capital structure, and improving the operations of existing retail outlets. These suggestions seek to assist Yonghui in dealing with the financial risks arising from its transformation process and improve its operational efficiency, providing an empirical benchmark in the process for assessing such transformations from the financial perspective.
Yonghui Superstores; Chain Retail; Strategic Transformation; Financial Performance; Liquidity Risk.
The Impact of Carbon Emissions Trading on Urban Green Development
Under the background of China's "dual carbon" strategy (i.e., the goals of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060) and urban green transformation, carbon emissions trading, as a typical market-oriented environmental regulation policy, has become an important starting point for balancing economic development and ecological protection. This article takes the balanced panel data of prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2024 as the research sample, and regards the pilot policy of carbon emissions trading as a quasi-natural experiment. Two-way fixed-effects difference-in-differences (DID) model is used to empirically test the overall impact and regional heterogeneity of carbon emissions trading on urban green development. Furthermore, the intermediary effect model is constructed to explore the transmission mechanism of green innovation between them. The results show that: First, carbon emissions trading policy can significantly improve the green development level of pilot cities. This conclusion is still valid after multiple robustness tests, such as lagging explanatory variables, random sampling samples, parallel trend test and placebo test. Second, the policy effect of carbon emissions trading has obvious heterogeneity of economic development level. Policies only play a significant role in promoting cities with high economic development level, but the effect is not significant in cities with low economic development level. Third, green innovation plays a significant intermediary role between carbon emissions trading and urban green development. Carbon emissions trading can indirectly promote the green development of cities by stimulating the output of green patents and enhancing the regional green innovation ability. Based on the research conclusion, this article puts forward policy suggestions from the aspects of perfecting the national carbon market construction, implementing differentiated regional policies, and strengthening green innovation incentives, with the aim of providing experience reference and decision-making basis for fully releasing the carbon emissions trading policy dividend and helping the green and high-quality development of cities.
Emissions Trading; Urban Green Development; Difference-in-differences Model; Green Innovation; Mediation Effect.
Research on the Financial Performance of Longking's Reverse Mixed-Ownership Reform
Against the backdrop of ongoing deepening mixed-ownership reform and widespread financing constraints and transformation pressures faced by private environmental enterprises. Reverse mixed-ownership reform, whereby state-owned capital invests in private enterprises, has become an important path for private firms to resolve operational difficulties and realize industrial upgrading. This paper takes Zijin Mining’s strategic takeover of Longking in 2022 as the research object, selects financial data from 2019 to 2025, and adopts literature research, case study and financial index analysis to explore the impacts of reverse mixed-ownership reform from four dimensions: profitability, operational capacity, solvency and growth capacity. The study finds that substantive reverse mixed-ownership reform featuring in-depth participation of state-owned capital as well as integrated governance and business operations can significantly improve the comprehensive financial status of private enterprises. This paper enriches case studies concerning reverse mixed-ownership reform in the environmental protection industry and offers practical references for similar private enterprises to introduce state-owned capital.
Reverse Mixed-ownership Reform; Financial Performance; Environmental Protection Enterprises.
The Financial Embedding of Generative AI: A Comprehensive Review of DeepSeek’s Innovation Dividends and Negative Externalities
Generative artificial intelligence is increasingly integrated into the financial sector. While offering substantial commercial benefits, it also introduces notable negative externalities, reflecting the dual nature of its application. Most prior studies focus solely on either the technological potential or the associated risks of generative AI in finance, lacking a comprehensive framework that simultaneously considers both innovation dividends and negative externalities. To address this gap, this study uses DeepSeek as a representative technological model, adopting a 'financial embedding' perspective to analyze how generative AI creates value and evolves risks within financial scenarios. By reviewing existing research, the paper reconciles fragmented findings from narrowly focused studies. Considering the technical features and practical deployment of domestic large language models, it clarifies the relationship between smart finance innovation and risk constraints, identifies value generated through technological support and business model upgrades, and examines operational challenges such as algorithmic errors, data security issues, and regulatory delays. Using a dual-in-one analytical approach, the study integrates prior research to propose a framework adapted to the local financial context, offering theoretical guidance and governance strategies for the sustainable and compliant integration of generative AI into financial systems.
Generative Artificial Intelligence; Financial Embedding; Innovation Dividends; Negative Externalities; DeepSeek.
Performance Evaluation of Baosight Software's Digital-Intelligent Transformation based on E-BSC
Using Baosight Software as a single case, this study examines how the performance of digital-intelligent transformation can be assessed in an industrial software enterprise. The traditional Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is kept as the basic framework, but it is not fully sufficient for this case, because platform construction, software product restructuring, AI applications, and technological output are central parts of the transformation. A digital-intelligent capability dimension is therefore added, forming a five-dimensional Enhanced Balanced Scorecard (E-BSC). Based on public materials, indicators for 2020-2025 are collected; the CRITIC method is used to determine objective weights; and composite and dimensional scores are calculated through weighted scoring. The results are not a simple story of steady improvement. After Baosight Software released its Digital-Intelligent Transformation Plan (2022-2024), the composite score increased during 2022-2024 and reached its highest value in 2024. It then dropped noticeably in 2025. The decline was mainly associated with adjustment in the downstream steel industry, higher customer concentration, project recognition timing, and weaker profitability. Dimensional scores offer a clearer reading of this change. The financial, customer, and internal process dimensions weakened in 2025, while learning and growth and digital-intelligent capability stayed at high levels. In other words, the company was still accumulating technology, talent, and platform capability, but these inputs had not yet been fully converted into financial results. For industrial software enterprises, transformation performance should be interpreted together with financial outcomes, technological accumulation, customer structure, and external industry conditions.
Baosight Software; Digital-Intelligent Transformation; E-BSC; CRITIC Method; Performance Evaluation.
Research on Audit Risks and Countermeasures for Integrated Plant-Network Wastewater Treatment Projects under the Concession Model
Audit risks in integrated plant-network wastewater treatment projects under the concession model occur most frequently in the pricing process. Constrained by a dual structure characterized by information asymmetry between government and enterprises, the concealment of sewer-network assets, and the difficulty of quantifying performance, the prevailing cost-plus pricing model can easily lead to inaccurate pricing, such as strategic cost inflation by enterprises and delayed price adjustment. These problems further intensify fiscal fund risks and government-enterprise bargaining. As the central hub maintaining the closed funding loop of the project, the pricing mechanism connects investment and financing, cost authenticity, and performance achievement. Therefore, auditing should shift from routine compliance review to whole-process auditing. The audit threshold should be moved forward to the investment, financing, and construction stages. Technical methods such as geological comparison and geophysical spot checks should be introduced to conduct penetrating verification of the authenticity of equity capital and the cost of hidden works, thereby locking in the cost base. Meanwhile, the integration of business and finance and digital auditing should be promoted. Network performance indicators, including COD collection concentration and structural integrity rate, should be set as preconditions for price adjustment. In this way, a regulatory closed loop of pricing based on true costs and payment based on comprehensive performance can be established. At the institutional level, concession agreements and life-cycle cost benchmarking models should be optimized so as to safeguard fiscal security and improve the effectiveness of water environment governance.
Concession Model; Integrated Plant-Network Wastewater Treatment; Pricing Mechanism; Audit Risk; Whole-Process Audit.
Study on the Application of Lean Six Sigma in Supply Chain Management
With the deepening of the national fitness strategy, the rise in consumer health awareness, and the growing trend of sports and leisure, the demand for sportswear brands has continued to expand. However, as the sportswear market becomes increasingly saturated, competition among brands is getting tougher, and they are also facing the serious challenge of upgrading and optimizing their supply chains. Lean Six Sigma, as a mature quality management tool, has significant effects on optimizing enterprise supply chain management. Therefore, this article will discuss how to apply Lean Six Sigma management methods to the apparel industry. Using the well-known sportswear brand L as an example, it addresses a series of supply chain issues within L, proposing strategies such as quality control, optimizing supply chain inventory, improving innovative design, and transforming operational models. The goal is to help L optimize its supply chain processes, achieve lean management, and realize sustainable development.
Lean Six Sigma Theory; Supply Chain Management; Apparel Companies; Inventory Optimization.
Research on the Influencing Factors and Problems of Financial Asset Allocation of Family Care
In recent years, China's population aging has become increasingly severe due to the continuous decline in birth rates and the extension of average human life expectancy. Consequently, some residents have begun to pay attention to and systematically allocate personal and family pension financial assets. However, given the profound degree of population aging, the relatively low financial literacy of residents, and the limited financial inclusiveness of pension services in China, there remain certain challenges in how families manage their pension financial assets.This paper selects the 2019 data from the China Household Financial Survey (CHFS) and constructs the residents 'financial literacy index and the financial inclusiveness index of elderly care services using factor analysis. It employs the Probit model and Tobit model to study the impact of population aging, financial literacy, and the financial inclusiveness of elderly care services on the allocation of household financial assets for elderly care. The study reveals: (1) China has a deepening degree of population aging, with residents' overall financial literacy level being relatively low and the financial inclusiveness of elderly care services being insufficient; (2) Improving the national financial literacy level and enhancing the financial inclusiveness of elderly care services are conducive to increasing the proportion of elderly care finance in household total assets.
Aging; Financial Literacy; Pension Finance; Asset Allocation.
Empirical Test of the Impact of R&D Expenditures on the Price-to-Earnings Ratios of Photovoltaic Enterprises
Amidst China's "dual carbon" goals and accelerating global technological evolution, photovoltaic (PV) enterprises are intensifying their research and development (R&D) investments to secure advantages in technological pathways and cost competitiveness. However, the capital market has historically shown divergence in its valuation of R&D expenditures: R&D can be perceived as an investment to build technological moats or interpreted as "hollow storytelling" that inflates valuations. The Price-to-Earnings Ratio (PER) is a crucial metric for stock valuation. Therefore, this paper utilizes A-share listed PV companies as samples to construct a panel fixed-effects model to examine the impact of R&D expenditure ratio on PER, and further investigates lagged effects and heterogeneity. The results indicate a significant positive correlation between R&D expenditure ratio and PER, and the R&D expenditure ratio from the previous period also shows significant positive influence, suggesting a certain delay in the recognition of R&D value. The positive impact of R&D on PER is stronger within the high R&D group, while it is not significant in the low R&D group. The conclusion for state-owned enterprise samples is unstable due to limited sample size. This paper discusses the aforementioned findings from the perspectives of industry cycles and information environments, and provides implications for corporate R&D resource allocation and investor valuation recognition.
Photovoltaic Enterprises; R&D Investment; PER; Fixed Effects; Heterogeneity.
Study on the Influencing Factors of Consumers' Purchase Behavior of New Energy Vehicles
Against the backdrop of the global implementation of carbon neutrality goals and the in-depth practice of China's green development philosophy, the new energy vehicle industry has become a core engine driving the high-quality development of China's economy. Although a series of industrial policies have propelled its market size to achieve leapfrog growth, consumers' purchase behavior remains the pivotal core variable that determines whether the industry can realize sustainable, healthy, and high-quality development. This paper systematically reviews relevant domestic and international research findings and analyzes the influencing mechanism of new energy vehicle purchase behavior in China from four dimensions: consumers' individual characteristics, core product attributes, policy support system, and social perception environment. The study reveals that: sound charging infrastructure and stable policy support are the core prerequisites for the growth of new energy vehicle consumption; the 25–35 age group has shown significantly higher attention to intelligent connected and high-level intelligent driving functions than to price factors; social media word-of-mouth and user community operation can effectively stimulate potential consumer demand; range anxiety and battery safety concerns remain the key pain points restricting the comprehensive popularization of the industry. This research can provide a reference basis for automobile enterprises to optimize market strategies and government departments to improve industrial policies.
New Energy Vehicles; Purchase Behavior; Influencing Factors.
The Impact of Local Government Overtime on Urban Economic Growth: Evidence from 313 Cities in China
Existing research on overtime work has primarily focused on the corporate level, with insufficient attention paid to overtime phenomena at the government level-and even less to their impact on urban economic growth. Therefore, this study aims to explore the influence of local government overtime(LGO) on urban economic growth(UEG) and its micro-level mechanism of action. Employing a two-way fixed effects model, we analyze panel data of 313 cities in China from 2012 to 2025. Empirical results indicate that LGO exerts a significant inverted U-shaped relationship with UEG. Mechanism analysis reveals that LGO affects UEG mainly by altering government innovation capacity. Moderating effect analysis demonstrates that government digital transformation plays a moderating role in the relationship between LGO and UEG.
Local Government; Overtime Intensity; Urban Economic Growth;
The Short Selling System Improve the Quality of Corporate Disclosure?
With the rollout of margin trading and short-selling regulations in China's capital market around 2010, this paper applies a two-step DID framework to analyze how short-selling activities affect the quality of firms' information disclosure. The study finds that the liberalization of short-selling mechanisms leads to a significant delay in the disclosure of annual reports, particularly among non-state-owned enterprises and those with poor internal controls. Further analysis indicates that while short-selling mechanisms affect the timeliness of annual report disclosure, they simultaneously enhance the reliability of accounting information. The results suggest that the relaxation of short-selling regulations implies higher requirements for the reliability of accounting information, thereby increasing corporate prudence in information disclosure and leading to a strategic delay in the release of annual reports.
Short-selling Regulations; Timeliness of Annual Report Disclosure; Ownership Structure; Internal Control.
A Discussion on Cross-Border E-Commerce Marketing Strategies for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Era of Big Data
The global e-commerce competitive environment is experiencing significant shifts as a result of how big data technologies allow a business to analyze an individual consumer’s actions more thoroughly than ever before. Cross-border e-commerce companies are beginning to make their marketing decisions based on data rather than just intuition. Large companies with the inherent capability of gathering large amounts of data from the marketplace have taken leading positions in this shift while SMEs are facing increasing competitition as a result of limited resources. Businesses are changing how they interpret their consumers’ demands in addition to changing the ways in which they communicate marketing messages to their consumers; as a result, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) have to reassess their strategic marketing strategies. Therefore, creating a marketing strategy that is aligned with the limited resources of SMEs in this big data environment is both an urgent practical imperative and an important area for future research.
Big Data; Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises; Cross-Border E-Commerce; Marketing Strategies; Targeted Marketing.