The convergence of corporate digitalization and sustainability is a new context and hot topic in today′s academic research. However, there is still a lack of consensus among academics on the concept, dimensions and measurement of the variables of corporate digital sustainability. This study aims to construct a measurement system for corporate digital sustainability. Firstly, on the basis of reviewing existing studies on the connotation of corporate digital sustainability, the concept of corporate digital sustainability was defined in terms of "digital first" and "digitally-enabled", and its characteristics of integration, long-term and scalability were refined; second, a rooted approach was adopted to develop a methodology for measuring enterprise digital sustainability, which is based on the concept of "digital sustainability". Secondly, we adopted a rooted approach to develop a conceptual model of corporate digital sustainability centered on "digital asset sustainability, digital economic value, digital social responsibility and digital environmental management". Finally, we developed an initial scale for measuring corporate digital sustainability, and after a series of analysis and testing, we finally established a second-order, four-factor, fifteen-question optimal measurement model of corporate digital sustainability. In addition, the predictive validity test showed that the scale is a good predictor of corporate competitive advantage. The study will help to make up for the lack of existing research scales on corporate digital sustainability, not only laying a solid foundation for quantitative research on corporate digital sustainability, but also providing a useful reference for the implementation of corporate digital sustainability in the real world in the Chinese context.

    Leading enterprises play a pivotal role in advancing modernization of industrial chains. To better understand the research status and progress in this field, this study employed a scientific knowledge mapping approach to conduct visual analyses—including keyword co-occurrence, author co-occurrence, and keyword burst detection—on relevant literature. The paper systematically reviewed existing research from three dimensions: an overview of leading enterprises′ role in industrial chain development, key research themes, and emerging trends. The findings revealed that existing studies primarily focus on three themes: organizational models, leadership mechanisms, and industrial performance. In terms of research perspectives, there is a discernible shift from meso-level to micro-level and back to meso-level analyses. Regarding research contexts, the focus has transitioned from traditional organizational settings to emerging ones. Future research explored the impact of leading enterprises on crossindustry integration, innovation paradigms, and industrial performance under new organizational contexts and diverse industrial environments. This study has clarified the intellectual framework and research boundaries of leading enterprises′ role in industrial chain development, and it will provide insights for establishing a governance structure of industrial chains led by core enterprises. 

   Specialized, refinement, differential, and innovation (SRDI) "Little Giant" enterprises exhibit remarkable growth potential, but research on the underlying mechanisms enabling their high-speed growth in digital contexts remains insufficient. Based on the data from 77 SRDI "Little Giant" enterprises in the high-end equipment manufacturing industry, this study employed the fsQCA method to analyze the configurational effects of competitive strategies (specialization strategy, differentiation strategy), business models (content, structure, governance), and digital technology innovation on enterprise growth. A validation analysis using typical cases was also conducted and the findings revealed as follows: (1) A high specialization strategy is a common core condition for achieving high growth in SRDI "Little Giant" enterprises. (2) There are four types of high-growth configurations: content-dominated specialization type, structure-dominated specialization type, digital governance specialization type, and structure-dominated differentiation type. These configurations can be further categorized into two patterns: specialization-oriented and differentiation-structured models. (3) Under high digital technology innovation, the fit between a high specialization strategy and strong business model governance promotes enterprise high growth. Under low digital technology innovation, high-speed growth can be achieved through the fit of a high specialization strategy with strong business model content or the fit of high specialization / differentiation strategies with strong business model structure. (4) Non-high-growth configurations indicate that when both specialization strategy and digital technology innovation are weak, even if other individual conditions are strong, enterprises still struggle to achieve high growth. These findings have not only uncovered the mechanisms by which SRDI "Little Giant" enterprises achieve high-speed growth in digital contexts but also will provide important managerial insights for the sustained growth of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises.

   This paper explored the hierarchical mechanisms through which innovation network embeddedness, network structure, and network content influence corporate technological innovation. By integrating the patent data, alliance network data, and financial data from Chinese biopharmaceutical firms, we constructed the panel data and employed the social network analysis methods and fixed-effects negative binomial regression models to examine the impact of alliance network embeddedness, network structure, and network diversity on corporate innovation performance. The results revealed that: (1) Local embeddedness, overall embeddedness, structural holes, and diversity of alliance types all positively influence corporate innovation performance; (2) Structural holes exhibit varying moderating effects across different levels of embeddedness; and (3) Alliance type diversity negatively moderates the relationship. By introducing the PageRank algorithm, the study confirmed differentiated mechanisms at local and whole network levels during the innovation process. The embeddedness mechanism highlights the importance of strong connections and network cohesion while the structural hole effect underscores the strategic value of network break and weak ties in the network. Moreover, the diversity effect suggests that network complexity hinders innovation benefits from the network. Therefore, managers, when formulating network innovation strategies, should distinguish between ego and whole network strategies, and incorporate information about relationships between alliance partners and types of alliances into the strategic decision-making process.

    The breakthrough of core and key technologies by latecomer enterprises is crucial for achieving national technological self-reliance and industrial upgrading. This study adopted a longitudinal singlecase research approach, and examined Changan Auto′s engine technology to construct an evolutionary process model of breakthrough paths for core and key technologies in latecomer enterprises. The research findings are as follows: (1) the impetus for core and key technology breakthroughs stems from a dual-driven mechanism that combines exogenous and endogenous factors; (2) the breakthrough path follows an "explicit technology traction-implicit capability leap" model, exhibiting a four-stage dynamic evolutionary goal; (3) explicit technological practices evolve progressively through the sequence of "extensive search-knowledge absorption-deep accumulation-knowledge creation-system integration-local leadership",  driving the implicit capability system to achieve hierarchical leaps from "technical foundation building-innovation capability cultivation-integration capability construction-global competitiveness ascension"; (4) technological innovation capability develops following the logic of "knowledge absorption-deep accumulation-knowledge creation", establishing latecomer enterprises′ dual momentum for outward breakthroughs and inward refinement; and (5) the "explicit technology-implicit capability" breakthrough model triggers bidirectional restructuring between "firm-market" systems, organizationally shifting practices from imitation and adaptation to standard-setting while structurally disrupting conventional market architectures, manifesting a "creative destruction" dynamic. This study will offer latecomers a practical paradigm for breaking the chokehold on core and key technologies, thus forging their own autonomous innovation chains, and facilitating the micro-level upgrading of industrial value chains.

   Successive shocks are the key exogenous factors triggering construction of supply chain resilience in Chinese advanced manufacturing enterprises. We employed an exploratory longitudinal single-case study method to analyze the process mechanism of Huawei′s supply chain resilience cultivation under the US economic and trade sanctions and revealed and refined the intrinsic motivation, action mechanism, and evolutionary process of advanced manufacturing enterprises′ dynamic construction of supply chain resilience. Our study found that: first, reducing the uncertainty of external resource acquisition is the direct motivation for Chinese advanced manufacturing enterprises to construct supply chain resilience; second, when the policy shock affects the resource dependency relationship between the case enterprise and its supply chain partners, the enterprise adopts differentiated continuity management measures to reduce uncertainty step by step; and third, in the case of successive shocks, the enterprise achieves the enhancement and optimization of the supply chain resilience capability portfolio through the dual mechanism of capability creation and capability preservation. By integrating resource dependence theory and business continuity management, this paper will provide effective thinking for understanding the motivation of enterprise supply chain resilience construction from a relationship perspective. At the same time, we will open the black box of the relationship between changing dimensions of the resource dependence relationship and selection of constraint absorption strategies, thus cracking the intrinsic mechanism of the supply chain resilience iterative development of advanced manufacturing enterprises.

   Enhancing the independent innovation level of enterprises is of great significance to the sustainable development of industries. This paper selected A-share listed enterprises in China from 2010 to 2022 as a sample and explored the impact mechanism of corporate cooperative R&D on the corporate independent innovation level from the dynamic externality perspective. The results showed that: (1) corporate collaborative R&D helps to improve the level of corporate independent innovation and optimize the innovation structure of enterprises. This conclusion is still valid after endogeneity and robustness tests. (2) The mechanism test showed that corporate cooperative R&D improves the level of independent innovation of enterprises through three externality mechanisms: technology spillover effect, innovation cohort effect, and alleviation of financing constraints. (3) Further analysis showed that cooperative R&D of state-owned enterprises promotes the level of independent innovation more than that of non-state-owned enterprises, and cooperative R&D of high-tech industry, new energy automobile industry, and highly intelligent enterprises promotes the level of independent innovation less than that of other industries; cooperative R&D of enterprises has a medium- and long-term impact on the level of independent innovation. The findings of this paper have validated the promotional effect of cooperative R&D on the independent innovation level of enterprises, enriched the research perspective of cooperative R&D of enterprises, and will provide empirical evidence for the relevant R&D strategies of enterprises.

    Faced with the deep embeddedness in the industrial chain, highly customized value activities, and precise segmentation of customer groups, customization has become an essential strategy for "SRDI" (abbreviation for "Specialized, Refined, Differential and Innovation") enterprises to gain competitive advantages. Based on the value co-creation theory, this paper explored the impact mechanism of customization strategies on the performance of "SRDI" listed companies in China from 2017 to 2022 through text analysis using big language models. The empirical results indicated that: (1) Customization strategy has a promoting effect on the performance of "SRDI" enterprises, and this conclusion still holds after robustness testing; (2) The concentration of suppliers and the degree of digitization enhance the positive impact of customization strategy on the "SRDI" enterprises′ performance; (3) Customer concentration weakens the promoting effect of customization strategy; (4) "SRDI" enterprises with high innovation capabilities are more profitable when using customization strategy; (5) The impact of regional heterogeneity of enterprises on customization strategy is not significant; and (6) Compared to external customization, internal customization has a significant positive impact on performance. This paper has innovatively analyzed and empirically tested the impact of customization strategy on "SRDI" enterprises′ performance, thus emphasizing the importance and feasibility of customization strategy, expanding and enriching theoretical insights into the behavior and performance of "SRDI" enterprises. The research conclusions will provide theoretical basis and empirical reference for "SRDI" enterprises to achieve high-quality development.

   Innovation resilience is a key driving force for enterprises to cope with external uncertainty shocks and achieve innovative development. With the rapid advancement of digital technologies, the micro-network connections between enterprises have deepened, bringing new opportunities for enhancing innovation resilience. This paper, from the perspective of knowledge element-enterprise two-mode network and starting from the peer effects of digital technology, selected the data of A-share listed companies in strategic emerging industries from 2011 to 2023 as the research sample, and used the fixed effects models to empirically test the impact of digital technology peer effects on enterprise innovation resilience, as well as the moderating effects of upward digital technology distance and network characteristics on this relationship. The study found that: (1) the digital technology peer effects have a positive impact on enterprise innovation resilience; (2) the effect of digital technology peer on innovation resilience varies significantly across different environments, industries, and enterprise characteristics; and (3) the upward digital technology distance, network centrality, and structural hole efficiency, reinforces the positive influence of digital technology peer effects on enterprise innovation resilience. The conclusions of this study will enrich the theoretical research on peer effects and enterprise innovation resilience from a network perspective, and provide empirical evidence and valuable insights for enterprises to strengthen innovation resilience through digital technologies in practice.

   A thorough exploration of the microinnovation effects of financial regulation holds significant theoretical and practical importance for advancing high-quality financial development in China and facilitating the innovative transformation of real economy enterprises. This paper selected A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2012 to 2020 as samples to examine the impact and mechanism of financial regulation on corporate technological innovation. The findings are as follows: Firstly, financial regulation has a notable promoting effect on the innovation of real economy enterprises, with conclusions remaining robust after using the generalized Difference-in-Differences (DID) model and multiple measurement methods to address endogeneity issues. Secondly, financial regulation can effectively correct the financialization bias in corporate investment, prompting more funds to be invested in research and development, thereby enhancing corporate technological innovation capabilities. Thirdly, the investment correction effect of financial regulation on corporate technological innovation is significant only in the context of short-term financial asset allocation and financialization motivated by "speculative arbitrage", but not in long-term financial asset allocation or financialization motivated by "capital reservoir" strategies. In addition, the investment correction effect of financial regulation on corporate innovation is more pronounced in samples where executives have financial backgrounds and in regions with more developed shadow banking systems. These research conclusions will theoretically enrich academic research on the microeconomic performance of financial regulation and the factors influencing corporate technological innovation, while practically providing empirical evidence for optimizing and improving China′s modern financial regulatory system and promoting corporate innovation and development.

   As finance is a critical component of national core competitiveness, strengthening financial regulation comprehensively and mitigating financial risks effectively are essential directions for achieving the goal of enhancing the efficiency and quality of financial support for the real economy. Using the New Asset Management Regulations (NAMR) as a quasi-natural experiment, this study selected A-share non-financial and non-real estate listed companies from 2014 to 2022 as the research sample and employed a difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the regulatory effects and mechanisms of the NAMR in curbing corporate investment preferences for financialization over real economic activities. The findings indicated that the implementation of the NAMR significantly increased corporate innovation investment. The mechanism tests revealed that the main channels through which the NAMR enhances corporate R&D investment include reducing the scale of financial assets, refocusing on core business activities, and expanding the employment of high-quality talent. Further analyses showed that the NAMR′s effect on boosting innovation investment is more pronounced among non-state-owned enterprises, firms located in regions with higher financialization levels, and industries with lower competition levels. Moreover, additional research found that the NAMR′s promotion of corporate R&D investment contributes to improved innovation output and significantly enhances corporate value. The study′s conclusions will help clarify the relationship between financial regulation and corporate innovation, thus providing valuable insights for formulation and implementation of financial regulatory policies and promotion of corporate innovation activities.

   In the context of central-local decentralized governance, effective synergy of industrial policies across government levels is critical for fostering technological innovation in emerging sectors. Using the data from 9,492 listed companies in China, this study employed the fixed-effect and mediation effect models to explore the impact of central-local industrial policy synergy on new energy technology innovation and its underlying mechanisms. The key findings are as follows: (1) Central-local industrial policy synergy exerts a positive impact on corporate new energy technology innovation, with the effect of actual support synergy being significantly stronger than that of attitude encouragement synergy. (2) The mechanism tests indicated that central-local industrial policy synergy, primarily under actual support synergy, enhances corporate new energy technology innovation through three pathways: R&D investment, R&D subsidies, and tax environment optimization. (3) The Heterogeneity analysis showed that central-local industrial policies have a more pronounced effect on promoting new energy technology innovation in non-state-owned and small enterprises. This study has expanded and enriched the research on the synergistic effects of central-local industrial policies in the field of emerging technology innovation, and it will provide valuable insights for optimizing policy coordination to drive enterprise innovation in emerging technologies.

   Corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents a transformative evolution in the values of commercial civilization, and the quality of CSR reports serves as the strategic cornerstone for companies to build sustainable competitiveness. By analyzing 4514 CSR reports from China′s A-share listed companies between 2021 and 2023, and based on authoritative frameworks including the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines issued by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the China CSR Reporting Guidelines developed by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), we constructed a CSR quality evaluation system which comprises six first-level indicators (completeness, responsiveness, accessibility, credibility, innovation, and comparability) and 18 second-level indicators. Moreover, by leveraging text mining techniques—specifically, text sentiment analysis and word frequency statistics, we automatically scored CSR report quality across dimensions. Then, the TOPSIS-entropy weight method was employed to determine indicator weights, followed by dimension- and industry-specific analyses. The key findings include: (1) CSR report quality improved significantly from 2021 to 2023, with industry-wide practices demonstrating positive growth; (2) firms excelled in report accessibility and responsiveness, while innovation and comparability remained widespread weaknesses; and (3) inter-industry disparities in CSR report quality were pronounced, with the financial sector leading comprehensively and the entertainment industry requiring urgent improvement. This research has facilitated efficient, objective quantification of CSR report quality, and it will offer valuable references for government policymaking, corporate optimization of report preparation, enhancement of CSR implementation capabilities, and elevation of industry-wide CSR standards.

   Driving digital technology innovation and fostering digital competitiveness are important issues for high-quality enterprise development. Grounded in the legitimacy theory, this study examined the relationship between ESG responsibility fulfillment and digital technology innovation in Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2023, as well as the mechanisms underlying this relationship. The findings indicated that (1) ESG performance has a statistically significant positive effect on digital technology innovation, and this conclusion holds under multiple robustness tests; (2) ESG performance upgrades internal resource allocation by increasing government subsidies, enhancing financing capacity, and improving human capital, thereby effectively driving digital technology innovation. External digital attention significantly strengthens the positive effect of ESG performance on digital technology innovation; (3) The positive impact of ESG performance on digital technology innovation is influenced by contextual heterogeneity, being more prominent in high-tech, heavily polluting, and safety-sensitive industries, in growth-stage enterprises, and in regions with more advanced digital infrastructure. This study has identified the legitimacy-based mechanism linking ESG performance and digital technology innovation, explored how ESG integrates with corporate digital strategies, and it will offer some theoretical and practical guidance for policymakers and enterprises seeking sustainable innovation.

   Intellectual property protection, as a core motivator of innovation development, drives green innovation to enhance corporate ESG performance, thereby contributing to high-quality growth. Accordingly, it is crucial for China to evaluate corporate ESG performance in intellectual property demonstration (IPD) areas to provide a reference for future policy and institutional frameworks. This study employed IPD areas as a quasi-natural experiment, using the multi-period difference-in-differences approach to examine the impact of intellectual property protection on corporate ESG performance. The research found that: (1) Intellectual property protection policies, as exemplified by IPD, can enhance corporate ESG performance; (2) The mechanism analysis showed that IPD promotes the green innovation performance and its flow within enterprises, which enhances the ESG performance of the enterprises; and (3) The heterogeneity analysis showed that, in the IPD area, the non-state-owned enterprises and family businesses, as well as the ones in high digital level or high marketization indices places, are sensitive to IP protection policies and improve more in ESG performance ratings. This study has not only verified the positive impact of IP protection policies and IPD on ESG performance but also further confirmed the significant role of IPD in green innovation performance and its fluency. In addition, it will provide essential insights for the efficient promotion of IPD, the realization of enterprises′ ESG value, and the revitalization of our future industrial economy.

   The ESG concept, as a key to the sustainable development of enterprises, has garnered significant attention. Drawing from the social identity theory and based on the panel data of A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022, this study employed a fixed-effects model to analyze how the identity of standard setters influences corporate ESG performance within the Chinese context. The findings indicated that national standard setting has a positive impact on corporate ESG performance, with the most pronounced effect on the environmental (E) dimension, a conclusion that holds after addressing endogeneity issues and conducting robustness tests. In terms of the mechanisms, external pressure, internal control quality and corporate ethical culture are identified as three pathways through which standard-setting companies enhance their ESG standards. The heterogeneity analysis revealed that, (1) externally, companies in regions with strong environmental regulations and industries with intense market competition benefit more from standard setting in terms of ESG improvement; (2) internally, the positive effect of standard setting is more evident in non-state-owned enterprises, those with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and companies in the maturity stage; and (3) additionally, standard setting has an industry spillover effect on corporate ESG practices but has not yet generated regional spillover effects. This paper will enrich the research on the social benefits of standard setting and the drivers of corporate ESG performance, thus offering insights into how to actively leverage the leading role of standards to unleash the momentum for corporate sustainable development.

   Confronted with the complex and severe situations of development, maintaining the economic feature of ‘strong resilience’ is an important guarantee for realizing Chinese modernization. Based on the panel data of 285 cities from 2008 to 2021, this paper adopted intellectual protection as an entry point, and used the staggered difference-in-differences model to explore its impact on urban economic resilience. It is found that the construction of intellectual property demonstration cities has an effect of significantly improving urban economic resilience, with the level of public services and innovation capacity being important channels of interaction between the two, and premiumization of innovation preferences contributing to the effect. The heterogeneity analyses showed that the policy′s promotional effect is more pronounced in the western region, in cities with lower investment in education, lower attractiveness and lower domestic investment. In addition, the economic effects analyses found that the construction of intellectual property demonstration cities could further unleash the consumption dynamics of the region after enhancing urban economic resilience. The conclusions of this paper will explore the boundaries of the impact of intellectual property protection while opening up new ideas for strengthening economic resilience, thus providing references for the construction of soft environment in the new stage of economic development.

   The study of export upgrading empowered by intellectual property strategies is of great significance for solving the problem of "low-end locking and high-end squeezing" and achieving high-quality development of foreign trade. This paper selected 3024 samples from 252 cities from 2007 to 2018, and used the multi-period DID model to test the impacts of the intellectual property model city (IPMC) policies on export upgrading. The results showed with a series of robustness tests that IPMC policies significantly promote export upgrading. This promotion effect is realized through government S&T support and high-tech cultivation. The promotion effect has long-term impacts. Innovative cities, good legal environment, high level of financial development, and high level of FDI can significantly enhance the effect of IPMC policies on export upgrading. Based on this, optimizing the innovation, legal, financial, and investment environment is beneficial for enhancing government S&T support and the efficiency of high-tech cultivation, and strengthening the export upgrading effect of IPMC policies. The research has enriched the effect evaluation of IPMC policies and the path of export upgrading, and will provide empirical evidence and beneficial enlightenment for promoting the construction of IPMC and high-quality development of foreign trade.