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Carbon offset policies are an effective means of coordinating regional ecological conservation, promoting environmentally friendly economic development, and achieving carbon neutrality; they are being gradually implemented in all regions of China. This study analyzed the decision-making behavior of local governments before and after the introduction of incentive and restraint mechanisms. To this end, it constructed a dynamic evolutionary game model for local governments with a carbon surplus and those with a carbon deficit. The results indicate that it is difficult to implement carbon offset policies between regions without the intervention of the central government. They also show that the effects of different incentive and restraint mechanisms vary significantly. Specifically, a mechanism that targets both carbon surplus and carbon deficit local governments and a unilateral mechanism that targets only carbon deficit local governments are shown to be effective. Finally, the results indicate that the implementation costs of incentive and restraint mechanisms differ, and their implementation intensity affects the time required for carbon offset policies to be rolled out in all regions. Based on these findings, we propose policy recommendations for promoting the implementation of carbon offset policies in all regions of China and alleviating carbon emission pressure.

All language users recognize the undeniable value of speech, which is widely reflected in the expression of national ancestry – proverbs and sayings. By briefly and expressively expressing their thoughts on different aspects, the speakers express various predicates related to these activities. In Russian, paremias that emphasise the importance of a reasonable approach to speech make up a large group. When analysing proverbs with the component "word", where it most often appears in the meaning of "speech (a fragment of speech, phrase, remark)", it is possible to identify stereotypical ideas about the importance of the manifestation of seriousness, discretion by the subject of speech, about a positive assessment of balanced, leisurely, thoughtful, concise speech, about the need to follow some rules for communication – such as respectful attitude towards the interlocutor, etc. Using the methods of semantics, language culture, and comparative analysis of 404 Russian paremias and 360 Chinese paremias, we can see universal attitudes that coincide among Russians and Chinese, as well as nationally coloured ideas expressed in paremics of only one of the languages. Russian and Chinese linguocultures reveal a lot of similar attitudes (the importance of the case, when comparing to the word; the impossibility of taking back what was said; the need to be careful when choosing words, etc.). However, the ways of their verbalisation may differ between Russians and Chinese. Chinese proverbs emphasise the importance of paying more attention to interlocutors.

AbstractAsian Americans became targets of increasingly hostile behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. What motivated this? Fears of contagion arising from a behavioral immune system may have motivated hostility toward Asian Americans, especially among those Americans vulnerable to COVID-19. Additionally, stigmatizing rhetoric from right-wing figures may have legitimated anti-Asian behavior among those Americans who held stronger anti-Asian sentiments to begin with or who were more receptive to right-wing rhetoric. We explore these possibilities using a behavioral game with a representative sample of Americans at two points: in May and October 2020. Participants were partnered with a U.S.- or Chinese-born American in a give-or-take dictator game. The average American discriminated against Chinese-born Americans in May but not October 2020, when China was no longer a COVID-19 hotspot. But among Republicans, who may have held stronger anti-Asian sentiments to begin with and who were likely more receptive to right-wing rhetoric, discrimination—that is, differential treatment—was both stronger in May compared to non-Republicans and persisted into October 2020. Notably, Americans who were more vulnerable to COVID-19 were not especially likely to discriminate.

PurposeIn the context of the digital economy, information technology (IT) investment has become a necessary way for enterprises to transform digitally. However, why and how IT investment can enhance digital transformation is lacking in the literature. Based on the resource-based view (RBV), this study explored the impact mechanism of IT infrastructure on the digital transformation of enterprises from the perspective of the digital transformation strategy. Further, this study examined the moderating role of top management on the relationships between IT infrastructure and digital transformation strategy and between digital transformation strategy and enterprise's digital transformation.Design/methodology/approachThrough a questionnaire survey of Chinese enterprises, 180 sample data were collected, and the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to test the hypothesis.FindingsDigital transformation strategy fully mediates the relationship between IT infrastructure and enterprise digital transformation. Furthermore, top management has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between IT infrastructure and digital transformation strategy, as well as the relationship between digital transformation strategy and digital transformation.Originality/valueThis study explores the moderating role of top management in the relationship between IT and enterprise performance, as well as the mediating role of digital transformation strategy in the relationship between IT infrastructure investment and digital transformation performance. As a result, the study adds significantly to the body of knowledge on IT business value, digital transformation and strategic management. The authors' findings can help update managers' perceptions of IT value and provide theoretical guidance on deriving digital transformation performance from IT infrastructure investments.

AbstractDrawing on consumer inferences theory, our research examines the spillover effects of positive reviews from a multi‐generation product perspective and mainly explores the moderating role of time interval and price growth rate. The results show the spillover effects of positive reviews would be affected or even changed by entering timing and prices of new products. We find that the number of a previous‐generation product's positive reviews has an inverted U‐shaped relation with sales performance of a next‐generation product when the time interval between the two generational products is short. Further, we reveal that this relation is positive when the time interval between the two generations is long. Moreover, the positive influence of the number of a previous‐generation product's positive reviews on the sales performance of a next‐generation product will be weaker as the price growth rate of a next‐generation product rises. We test our hypotheses using online sales data of the Chinese mobile market. Our empirical analysis contributes to the research of multi‐generational products and online reviews, and enriches the consumer inferences theory.