Sustainable digital transformation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs): A review on performance

Does corporate digitization affect shadow banking business? Evidence from Chinese listed companies

How to govern non-financial enterprises engaged in shadow banking activities is of great practical significance. This study investigates whether and how corporate digitization affects shadow banking. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies for the period 2012-2022, we find that corporate digitization has a significant negative effect on shadow banking business. Mechanism tests show that corporate digitization is conducive to enhancing product core competencies, broadening market channels, and improving operational efficiency, thus inhibiting firms from engaging in shadow banking activities. Moreover, the negative impact of corporate digitization on corporate shadow banking is especially noticeable for non-state-owned companies and in areas where local governments have more stringent financial risk regulations. The findings contribute to enriching the literature on the determinants of corporate shadow banking business, and deepen our understanding of the economic consequences of corporate digitization.

From Industry 5.0 to Forestry 5.0: Bridging the gap with Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

Purpose of the Review

Recent technological innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have successfully revolutionized many industrial processes, enhancing productivity and sustainability, under the paradigm of Industry 5.0. It offers opportunities for the forestry sector such as predictive analytics, automation, and precision management, which could transform traditional forest operations into smart, effective, and sustainable practices. The paper sets forth to outline the evolution from Industry 5.0 and its promising transition into Forestry 5.0. The purpose is to elucidate the status of these developments, identify enabling technologies, particularly AI, and uncover the challenges hindering the efficient adoption of these techniques in forestry by presenting a framework.

Recent Findings

However, the gap between potential and practical implementation is primarily due to logistical, infrastructural, and environmental challenges unique to the forestry sector. The solution lies in Human-Centered AI, which, unlike the Industry 4.0 paradigm, aims to integrate humans into the loop rather than replace them, thereby fostering safe, secure, and trustworthy Human-AI interactions.

Summary

The paper concludes by highlighting the need for Human-Centered AI development for the successful transition to Forestry 5.0 - where the goal is to support the human workers rather than substituting them. A multidisciplinary approach involving technologists, ecologists, policymakers, and forestry practitioners is essential to navigate these challenges, leading to a sustainable and technologically advanced future for the forestry sector. In this transformation, our focus remains on ensuring a balance between increased productivity, nature conservation and social licence, worker safety and satisfaction.

Digital transformation as the driving force for sustainable business performance: A moderated mediation model of market-driven business model innovation and digital leadership capabilities

Global organizations are still facing challenges in achieving sustainable performance despite the surge in digital technologies. It is imperative that firms invest in digital capabilities to secure sustainable market performance in the face of a barrage of novel inventions. Today, ensuring a resilient future demands business to focus on digital ambidexterity capabilities (i.e., exploitation and exploration), digitalized strategy adoption, and digital transformation. This study investigates the intricate dynamics between digital capabilities and digitalization strategies and their impact on sustainable business performance. The research employed a questionnaire-driven methodology to gather data from managerial personnel within industries. Results show that digital exploitation and exploration capabilities significantly enhance sustainable business performance. The research also establishes the beneficial effect of adopting a digitalization strategy on business performance and innovation. Market-driven business model innovation emerges as a critical factor, not only driving sustainable performance but also serving as a mediating link between various digital strategies and business success. Moreover, the study highlights the importance of digital leadership capabilities, further strengthening the relationship between innovative business models and sustainable performance. The findings underscore the synergistic effect of digital competencies and strategic digitalization in promoting sustainable and innovative practices in today's digital-driven business landscape.

Effects of digital transformation on firm performance: The role of IT capabilities and digital orientation

Organisations undertake profound changes to fit in a rapidly evolving digital setting. However, although the IT capabilities of the organisational members play a critical role in this, the mechanism driving IT capabilities towards enhanced firm performance is not fully understood. A theoretical model to analyse the role of digital orientation and digital transformation in this relationship is introduced and tested on a set of 246 firms through the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling method (PLS-SEM). This research contributes to the literature by introducing the social aspect to the study of technology management, delving also into the antecedents of digital transformation. Results confirm a positive effect of IT capabilities on firm performance through the development of a digital orientation and the digital transformation of the organisation.

Unlocking digital potential: Exploring the drivers of employee dynamic capability on employee digital performance in Chinese SMEs-moderation effect of competitive climate

While dynamic capabilities have been described as crucial for achieving organizational performance in dynamic environments, there has been limited scholarly distinction between dynamic capabilities and employee dynamic capabilities (EDC), especially in the digital era. Consequently, a knowledge gap has emerged. To address this void, this paper aims to investigate the driving factors of EDC and their impact on employee digital performance (EDP). Simultaneously, incorporating the competitive climate (CC) as a moderating variable between employee dynamic capabilities and employee digital performance addresses theoretical gaps in specific regions in China, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study utilizes survey data from SMEs in four Chinese provinces: Shanghai, Guizhou, Guangdong, and Anhui. It employs CB-SEM (AMOS) to analyze the new conceptual framework. Firstly, the research uncovers that the positive relationship between digital capabilities and employee digital performance necessitates employee dynamic capabilities as a mediator. Secondly, there exists a direct and indirect relationship between organizational learning and employee digital performance. Finally, this study discerns that the competitive climate moderates the relationship between employee dynamic capabilities and employee digital performance. This finding demonstrates remarkable alignment with the competitive culture in specific regions of China. The research results encourage SMEs to seize the opportunities presented by emerging digital technologies and industry digitization trends. They should commit to embracing new digital technologies, enhancing digital capability, strengthening organizational learning, fostering a positive competitive climate, and focusing on the development of employee dynamic capability to enhance their competitive edge. The findings of this research contribute not only to academic inquiry but also furnish pertinent decision-making references for relevant departments.