Since 1999, China’s higher education has experienced significant growth, with the government dramatically increasing college enrollment rates, thereby enhancing the overall quality of education. However, most existing studies have primarily focused on the quantity of education, with little attention having been given to the impact of higher education quality (HEQ) on economic growth. This study aims to explore how higher education quality (HEQ) contributes to regional economic growth through scientific and technological innovation (STI) and human capital accumulation. Using panel data from 31 Chinese provinces from the period 1999 to 2022, panel regression models and instrumental variable methods were employed to analyze both the direct and indirect impacts of higher education quality (HEQ) on economic growth. The results confirm that improving higher education quality (HEQ) is crucial for sustaining China’s economic growth. More specifically, higher education promotes regional economic expansion both directly, by enhancing labor productivity, and indirectly, by facilitating scientific and technological innovation. Furthermore, the study suggests that the balanced distribution of educational resources across regions should be prioritized to support coordinated regional development. This research provides insights for policymakers on how balanced regional economic development can be achieved through educational and technological policies. This work also lays a foundation for future studies.
Consumers waste significant amounts of food. Food waste presents a substantial problem for the environment, society and economy. Addressing the food waste challenge is crucial for fostering sustainable behavior and achieving the Sustainability Development Goal 12.3 agenda. Norms are a significant determinant in motivating consumers to prevent food waste and could be activated by other factors. Religiosity has the potential to influence norms related to food waste behavior. This study investigated how religiosity affects the intentions of consumers to minimize food waste. The interplay of religiosity, personal norms, subjective norms, and intention to avoid food waste was examined by the extended norm activation model. Data were obtained from Muslim consumers in Indonesia. Structural equation modeling evaluation showed that religiosity positively affects the intention to prevent food waste. The intention to avoid food waste is more closely associated with personal norms compared to subjective norms. Personal norms mediate the religiosity and food waste reduction intention relationship. Consumer awareness activates personal norms by making them feel accountable for food waste’s negative impact. These findings provide insights to stakeholders in developing policies to mitigate the food waste issue.
This research explores the factors influencing consumers’ intentions and behaviors toward purchasing green products in two culturally and economically distinct countries, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Drawing on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the study examines the roles of altruistic and egoistic motivations, alongside environmental knowledge, in shaping green consumer behavior. Altruistic motivation, driven by concern for societal well-being and environmental sustainability, is found to have a stronger impact on green purchase intention and behavior in both countries, particularly in Pakistan. Egoistic motivation, which focuses on personal benefits like health and cost savings, also contributes but with a lesser influence. The research employs a cross-sectional survey design, collecting data from 1000 respondents (500 from each country) using a stratified random sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationships between variables and test the moderating effects of environmental knowledge. The results reveal that environmental knowledge significantly moderates the effect of both altruistic and egoistic motivations on green purchase intention, enhancing the likelihood of eco-friendly consumption. These findings underscore the importance of environmental education in promoting sustainable consumer behavior. The originality of this study lies in its comparative analysis of green consumerism in two distinct contexts and its exploration of motivational factors through the TPB framework. Practical implications suggest that policymakers and marketers can develop strategies that appeal to both altruistic and egoistic drivers while enhancing consumer knowledge of environmental issues. The study contributes to the literature by expanding TPB to include the moderating role of environmental knowledge in understanding green consumption behavior across diverse cultures.
An important element in dealing with HIV/AIDS is to disclose of its status to others. One of the problems faced by HIV/AIDS sufferers in disclosing their status is finding people they can trust, who can keep information about their HIV/AIDS status and not divulge it to other parties without their permission. Not many people can accept them without prejudice and stigma. This article discusses the communication efforts carried out by female AIDS activists in the community as co-owners who receive information from people with HIV/AIDS and subsequently become confidants and assist them in medical and psychological and social aspects. This study used a qualitative method. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with 9 Community AIDS activist women from 7 regions. The results of the study reveal the process of housewives transforming into community AIDS activists, how they get personal information about the status of HIV/AIDS and eventually become co-owners of information who eventually become confidants, have responsibilities and help people with HIV/AIDS in health, psychological and social aspects.
The Science and Technology Innovation Center holds a pivotal position in the national science and technology innovation system, and a scientific evaluation of the “Sci-tech Innovation Center” will guide its construction direction. This study found the advantages and disadvantages of the four cities through comparison; Hence improvement suggestions were proposed for the weaknesses of the four cities. There are two main paths for the government to drive technology innovation: STI (Science and Technology Innovation) mode and DUI (Doing, Using, Interacting) mode. With the aid of the evaluation index system of the Sci-tech Innovation Center, this article uses fuzzy sets, rough sets and fuzzy dynamic clustering methods to comprehensively evaluate the effects of driving technology innovation in the four cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The results found that Shenzhen has a significant effect in DUI, and Beijing has a significant effect in STI. The choice of path is related to the abundance of innovation resources.
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) manage significant portion of world economy, including in the developing countries. SOEs are expected to be active and play significant role in improving the country’s economic performance and welfare through enhancing innovation performance. However, closed innovation process and lack of collaboration hinders SOEs to reach satisfying innovation performance level. This paper explores the construction and role of innovation ecosystem in the strategic entrepreneurship process of SOEs, of which is represented by dynamic capability framework, business model innovation, and collaborative advantage. Based on the analysis, this paper concluded that the collaboration between actors in the Innovation Ecosystem (IE) has positive effect to strengthening SOE’s Sensing Capabilities (SC) related to the process of exploring and identifying innovation opportunities. The increase of Sensing Capabilities (SC) will play significant role as input or antecedent on formulating proactive Innovation Strategy (IS) in orchestrating SOE’s innovation process. SOEs which has implementing proactive Innovation Strategy (IS) will be able to build collaboration and finding right Business Model Innovation (BMI). Finally, by building collaboration with other actors through the innovative business model has significant role to increase SOE’s Collaborative Advantage (CA), which considered as a proxy for competitiveness of SOEs.
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