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The aim of this study is to simulate the self-organized evolution mechanism of inner innovation of large-scale construction enterprises (LSCE) under different contexts. Based on NK stochastic combinatorial optimization model with two parameters (N, K), this study proposes three modules—ambidexterity, punctuated equilibrium, and automation—to simulate the change behaviors of the inner innovation system. Furthermore, this study analyses the influence of factor correlation on inner innovation performance under discusses nine different combination situations. The research results show that (a) regardless of how the relationship strength changes, fitness increases with an increasing K value; and (b) the comparison of optimization modes show that the punctuated equilibrium mode can guarantee the long- and short-term inner innovation performance LSCE. This study therefore reveals the mutual effects of the factors in the inner innovation system in LSCE and provides an effective model for internal systems analyses in the construction industry and in other sectors.

Sustainability is a managerial trend that plays an important role in the contemporary organizational strategy. A company’s capability to make sustainability more dynamic and integrated with strategies, transforming it into a business asset, has yet to be studied. This process of adaptation is reflected through innovative practices. However, there is still a gap between these practices and the organization’s strategies and capabilities. The aim of this work was to conduct a systematic literature review of the dynamic capabilities for sustainability. Afterward, it was possible to systematize the available knowledge, assessing the current lack of research integrating both themes. The mainstream literature was classified and coded, resulting in a framework for what has been done to date, with recommendations to guide future research. Results show that more research is needed on dynamic capabilities for sustainability, especially in emerging economies in general. Future studies should also consider mixed methodologies and comparative perspectives in multiples sectors or in the services sector. There’s also space to discuss managerial innovations toward sustainability through research alliances between different institutions around the world. In short, there are few studies that connect both themes— corporate sustainability and dynamic capabilities—and for this reason there is an opportunity for future studies seeking to identify what kind of dynamic capabilities can be developed to more effectively overcome the emerging sustainability challenges.

Globally, sustainable procurement is seen as a crucial component of public sector sustainability initiatives. This research investigates the internal and external barriers to the implementation of sustainable procurement in China’s public sector. Primary data for this research were gathered using survey techniques from 287 respondents who were procurement officials at higher education institutions that are part of the public sector. Twelve hypotheses were developed based on the conceptual model and literature review and evaluated using SEM-AMOS in order to look at the correlations between the variables. The study’s findings demonstrate that employee competency, employee motivation, training programs, financial aspects, management commitment, government rules and regulations, unavailability of green products, supplier capacity, and third-party pressure statistically influence the sustainability of public procurement. At the same time, green practices, the ineffectiveness of green products, and prices of green items had statistically no significant influence on sustainability in public procurement. This is a crucial effort to identify the factors that influence sustainable purchasing in China’s public colleges. This study draws interest from stakeholders and adds to the scant body of knowledge on sustainability in developing nations. In addition, this research is crucial for creating a roadmap for China’s long-term sustainable development in the area of procurement.

This paper takes Taoxichuan Cultural and Creative Street as a case study. It explores how enterprises activate the value of “industrial heritage” resources and achieve sustainable development from the perspective of affordance theory. Research findings indicated that: (1) the creation of a culturally recognized context performs a vital role in activating the industrial heritage; (2) the evocation of industrial heritage resources is a dynamic process from the realization of fundamental values to the actualization of high-level values; and (3) the evoked industrial heritage resources can achieve sustainable corporate development. Additionally, the research findings provide reference for enterprises to realize high-level values of industrial heritage resources by creating contexts to transform them into sources of innovation in the post-pandemic era.

Current industrial production is driven by increasing globalization, which has led to a steady increase in production volumes and complexity of products aimed at the pursuit of meeting the needs of customers. In this context, one of the main tools in the management of customer value is Lean Manufacturing or Production, though it is considered primarily as a set of tools to reduce the total cost of the resources needed to achieve such needs. This philosophy has recently been enriched in the literature with case studies that link Lean Management (LM) with the improvement of environmental sustainability. The consequence is an expansion of the Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM); indeed, CIM, currently, combining and integrating the key business functions (e.g., business, engineering, manufacturing, and information management) with a view of the life cycle, does not highlight the strategic role of the environmental aspects. In order to deal with the increasingly rapid environmental degradation that is reflected in society, in terms of both economy and quality of life, Industrial Ecology (IE) introduced a new paradigm of principles and instruments of analysis and decision support (e.g., Life Cycle Assessment—LCA, Social Life Cycle Assessment -SLCA, Material Flow Account—MFA, etc.) that can be considered as the main basis for integrating the environmental aspects in each strategy, design, production, final product, and end of life management, through the re-engineering of processes and activities towards the development of an eco-industrial system. This paper presents the preliminary observations based on a analysis of both theories (LM-IE) and provides a possible assessment of the key factors relevant to their integration in a “lean environmental management”, highlighting both positives (lights) and possible barriers (shadows).

Clarifying the relationship between cooperative management and cultivated land use eco-efficiency (LUEE) is of great significance to promoting the green and low-carbon transition of agriculture. To explore the role of cooperative management in the green and low-carbon transition of agriculture of smallholder farmers in the western Tarim River Basin, in this study, based on the field survey data of 444 farmers in 2021, the carbon emissions of cultivated land were used to measure the LUEE with the slack-based model (SBM) with undesirable outputs. Then, propensity score matching (PSM) was used to test the relationship between cooperative management and LUEE. Additionally, the mediating effect of farmers’ green development willingness (FGDW) and the moderating effect of farmers’ part-time off-farm employment (POE) on the relationship was explored. The present study hypothesized that joining cooperatives has an improving effect on the LUEE, which can be achieved by increasing FGDW, and this effect can be enhanced by farmers’ POE. The results show that: (1) The LUEE was generally low (average LUEE value: 0.2678), and there was a significant difference between farmer households (the difference between the maximum and minimum values was as high as 2.8716). (2) Cooperative management had a significant improving effect on the LUEE. The LUEE of cooperative farmers (ACF) increased by 8.6% compared with that of non-cooperative farmers (NACF). (3) Joining a cooperative could improve the LUEE by improving FGDW. (4) POE could enhance the improving effect of cooperative management on the LUEE. Overall, all three hypotheses were supported: cooperative management could achieve scale effects that small farmers cannot achieve, which had a positive effect on improving the LUEE. This study provides a new ecological perspective for the analysis of the relationship between agricultural cooperatives and LUEE and decision-making reference for the rational utilization of cultivated land in northwest China.

Studying the sustainability of the financial performance of Chinese listed companies is an assessment of their future development capability and a comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of the companies over the past period of time. Based on the financial data of manufacturing industry of Chinese listed companies from 2008 to 2015, this paper uses the AHP (Analytic hierarchy process) method to determine the weight of each secondary indictor, calculate the sustainable development capability of financial performance, and analyze and compare the sustainable financial performance of manufacturing sub-industries. The long-term trend and the periodical trend of the sustainable development of the manufacturing industry in Chinese listed companies are analyzed through the HP (High-Pass) filter method. The results show that the long-term sustainable financial performance of the manufacturing industry of Chinese listed companies is basically maintained. Through the comparison of regions and ownership, it has been found that the sustainable financial performance of Chinese listed companies in the eastern and central regions is rising, while that of the western region is declining; the long-term sustainable financial performance of non-state-owned enterprises is rising, while that of state-owned enterprises is declining.

In this paper we study to what extent electric propulsion is disrupting ‘the order’ in the automotive industry with six extensions to Christensen's notion of disruptive innovation (1997). For decades the automotive sector has relied on the internal combustion engine (ICE) as the established propulsion technology, but due to environmental regulation and geo-political scarcity problems associated with fossil fuel use, electric propulsion is increasingly applied as sole or additional power source. We elaborate the Christensen typology, rooted in industrial analysis, with a regime evolution framework based on changes in technology and the institutional context of production and use, with special attention to consumer perspectives and government regulation. We offer a hypothesis for structural conditions for market disruption and test this hypothesis against the development trajectory of full-electric vehicles (FEV). Drawing on evidence from a range of recent FEV studies, our analysis suggests that the disruptive niche of full-electric mobility is currently insufficient to displace the ICE regime.