Proceedings of Business and Economic Studies

Carbon Trading Policy, Institutional Pressure Heterogeneity, and Enterprise Total Factor Productivity: Empirical Evidence from a Multi-Period Difference-in-Differences Approach

Yunshan Xie — 2026-06-16

As China advances its green transition, increasing attention has been paid to whether carbon emissions trading policies can improve both environmental performance and economic efficiency. Using panel data for Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2024, this study applies a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the effect of the carbon emissions trading system on firms’ total factor productivity (TFP). The results indicate that the carbon trading policy is associated with a significant increase in enterprise TFP. Further analysis shows that different policy arrangements during quota accounting, quota allocation, and quota trading affect firms in different ways. In particular, baseline-based accounting methods, paid quota allocation, and higher carbon prices are found to have positive effects on TFP. The heterogeneity analysis further suggests that the positive effect of the carbon trading policy is more evident among non-state-owned enterprises and firms outside high-carbon and heavily polluting industries.

The Institutional Dilemma and Systemic Reconstruction of Revenue Distribution Rules for Rural Collective Economic Organizations: Normative Analysis Based on Article 42 of the Rural Collective Economic Organization Law

Hanyu Zheng — 2026-07-03

The income distribution of rural collective economic organizations is the core link to realize collective ownership, and it is also the key system to connect collective assets and members’ rights and interests, coordinate efficiency and fairness, and balance collective public welfare and individual private interests. Although Article 42 of the “Rural Collective Economic Organization Law” establishes the basic framework of “extracting the public welfare fund first and distributing the remaining part according to the share held by the members,” the principle of standardization and systematization is insufficient. In practice, the definition of distributable income is vague, the distribution basis is binary opposition, and the alienation of distribution procedures is prominent. Based on the nature of collective ownership and the special legal person attribute of rural collective economic organizations, this paper uses normative analysis and empirical investigation methods to clarify the legal attributes and dual value logic of income distribution, reconstructs the rule system from the three dimensions of entity, procedure, and relief, and provides theoretical support for legislative refinement and practical improvement.

Research on Financial Dilemmas and Breakthroughs of Chinese Pharmaceutical Enterprises: Taking Dizhe Pharmaceuticals as an Example

Rongyan Mao — 2026-07-14

In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed frequent policy adjustments, intensifying market competition and continuous growth in R&D investment. Innovative pharmaceutical enterprises are generally under great financial pressure. As a typical innovative drug R&D enterprise, Dizhe Pharmaceuticals inevitably faces difficulties such as capital shortage, high R&D investment, and slow commercialization. Adopting the combined method of case analysis and financial indicator analysis, this paper systematically sorts out the financial breakthrough paths of Dizhe Pharmaceuticals. The research concludes that Dizhe Pharmaceuticals relieves financial pressure and resists financial risks through pipeline focus, accelerated commercialization, capital structure optimization, and external strategic collaboration, and effectively improves its long-term value creation capability. This case provides a reference for similar innovative pharmaceutical enterprises.

Analysis of the Obstacles and Solutions for Digital Media-Driven Business Management Transformation

Wenxi Wu — 2026-07-15

Digital media is profoundly driving the comprehensive transformation of business management, but enterprises face multiple obstacles in practice. This article systematically analyzes the current situation of digital media-driven business management transformation, and deeply explores the main obstacles in the transformation process from four dimensions: technology, organization, talent, and culture. Research has found that lagging technological infrastructure, rigid organizational structure, shortage of versatile talents, and insufficient acceptance of change are key factors that constrain the effectiveness of transformation. In response to the above obstacles, this article proposes systematic solutions such as technological upgrading and infrastructure construction, management mode optimization and organizational restructuring, systematic talent cultivation, and corporate culture shaping. Research has shown that only through four-dimensional collaborative promotion can enterprises truly unleash the driving potential of digital media and achieve substantial transformation in business management.

The Underlying Mechanisms and Implementation Pathways of New Quality Productive Forces in Empowering the High-Quality Development of Rural Industries: Based on a “Technology–Factors–Value” Analytical Framework

Lang Xiong — 2026-07-14

As an advanced form of productivity driven by technological innovation, new quality productive forces provide fundamental impetus for rural industries to break through traditional development bottlenecks and achieve high-quality growth. Based on a three-dimensional analytical framework of “technology-factors-value,” this paper systematically elucidates the internal mechanisms by which new quality productive forces empower the high-quality development of rural industries. It delves into the practical challenges at the levels of technological adaptation, factor allocation, and value transformation, and proposes implementation paths including localized technological innovation, restructuring of the factor system, and improvement of institutional safeguards, aiming to provide references for the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

Data Island and Algorithm Fragmentation Dilemmas in Supply Chain Demand Forecasting and Federated Learning Optimization Pathways

Junhua Xue — 2026-07-15

In supply chain demand forecasting, data is scattered and stored in various enterprise nodes, forming data islands. The independent operation of prediction algorithms by each node is not coordinated, resulting in algorithm fragmentation. The interaction between the two reinforces the amplification of prediction bias, the intensification of the bullwhip effect, and resource mismatch. Traditional centralized modeling is difficult to implement due to data privacy and commercial confidentiality constraints. Federated learning, as a distributed machine learning paradigm, allows models to train collaboratively without moving data, breaking data silos through cross-node parameter aggregation, and unifying algorithm logic and alleviating algorithm fragmentation through iterative mechanisms of global and local models. Embedded differential privacy and security aggregation technologies, while protecting sensitive enterprise information, achieve joint modeling, simulation validation shows that this path reduces prediction error by 22% to 30% within a controllable accuracy loss range, thereby providing a decentralized solution for supply chain demand forecasting that balances both security and collaboration.

AI-Driven Longevity Health and Pension Business Model Innovation: Based on the Integration of Insurance and Health Care

Yang Yue — 2026-07-14

Amid accelerating population aging and the advent of the longevity era, the traditional insurance and healthcare industries confront a host of prominent practical challenges. These mainly manifest as fragmented service systems, structural supply-demand imbalance, sluggish operational efficiency, and insufficient synergy in industrial value chain allocation. Powered by core digital technologies such as big data, machine learning, and intelligent perception, artificial intelligence is comprehensively reshaping the whole-industry chain logic of value creation, value delivery, and value capture in the integrated insurance and healthcare sector. It has further served as a core endogenous driver for the iterative evolution of business models in the industry. From an interdisciplinary perspective, this paper innovatively proposes the Longevity, Health, and Pension Life Symbiosis Theory and further constructs a systematic theoretical framework characterized by three-dimensional participants, double-loop nesting, and full-domain AI empowerment. Adopting the benchmarking comparative research method, this paper selects three globally leading health and pension institutions including Nippon Life (Japan), Brookdale (the United States), and ORPEA (Emeis) (France), and explores the localized practices of Taikang Life in the Chinese mainland. This paper systematically summarizes the operational features and development experience of domestic and foreign benchmark enterprises, explores the internal mechanism and typical application scenarios of AI-enabled business model innovation in the longevity, health, and pension sector, identifies key bottlenecks restricting industrial development, and accordingly puts forward targeted optimization approaches and operational countermeasures. The research conclusions can not only provide practical references for China’s insurance industry to deepen the integrated development of the health care industry and realize high-quality development relying on digital technology, but also supplement original theoretical support for the improvement of the people’s livelihood guarantee system in the longevity society.

Research on the Protection of Rights and Interests of the Elderly from the Perspective of Digital Justice

Wanliang Liu — 2026-07-14

In the digital society, the concept of justice has transcended physical boundaries and extended into virtual spaces composed of data and algorithms. Due to the digital divide, algorithmic black boxes, and lack of ethical norms, the elderly are becoming a “digitally vulnerable group,” and the rights dilemmas they face are essentially a multidimensional digital injustice. This study uses digital justice as the analytical framework to reveal the composite violations suffered by the elderly in terms of data justice, algorithmic justice, and intergenerational justice, specifically manifested as the loss of information rights in data collection, technological exclusion in algorithmic decision-making, and structural imbalances in intergenerational resource allocation. In response, a stepwise protection system should be established from “relief” to “empowerment” and then to “reshaping.” At the relief level, traditional services should be preserved, and channels for rights protection should be kept open; at the empowerment level, differentiated digital literacy education should be implemented; at the restructuring level, algorithmic ethics review should be promoted, and intergenerational compensation mechanisms should be established. Through this stepped protection pathway, we can correct the unjust patterns in the digital realm, ensure that technological achievements fairly benefit all people, and ultimately achieve the grand goal of digital justice.

Research on the Problems and Optimization of Data Asset Accounting Confirmation and Measurement

Xuan Meng — 2026-07-14

The inclusion of data assets in financial statements can quantitatively reflect the value of data factors on corporate financial reports, consolidate enterprises’ asset base, push enterprises to pay attention to the development, management, and utilization of data resources, and provide more comprehensive accounting information for stakeholders such as investors and regulatory authorities. Nevertheless, differing from traditional tangible assets and intangible assets, data assets bear distinctive particularities. They are intangible with complicated ownership relations; their values fluctuate under the influence of technological iteration, market demand, data quality, and multiple other factors, and their costs can hardly match values precisely. As a result, the conventional accounting confirmation and measurement system cannot fully adapt to the accounting treatment requirements of data assets. Therefore, systematically studying existing problems in the accounting confirmation and measurement of data assets and putting forward scientific and reasonable improvement measures carry important theoretical and practical significance.

Research on Differentiated Characteristics and Collaborative Optimization of Child-Friendly Facility Demands in Parent-Child Tourism in Chongqing

Qi Huang — 2026-07-15

Driven by demographic structural changes and an upgrade in quality consumption, the parent-child tourism market is transitioning from extensive supply to refined services. Child-friendly facilities are key carriers for enhancing the parent-child tourism experience, with their demands showing significant differentiation across various family structures. Existing research often treats “families” as homogeneous entities, overlooking the demand variations arising from differences in family structures. This study takes Chongqing, a mountain city, as a case study, focusing on four types of families: those with multiple children, intergenerational combinations, single-parent families, and dual-income core families. It employs a mixed-methods approach to reveal the differentiated patterns of demand for child-friendly facilities, identifying four core issues such as supply-demand mismatch and inadequate terrain adaptation. Based on these findings, optimization paths are proposed from four dimensions, including facility layout and service design, providing practical guidance for the high-quality development of parent-child tourism in Chongqing and similar mountainous cities.

Differentiated Access under China’s National Reimbursement Drug Negotiation: A Comparative Case Study of Three Innovative Pharmaceuticals

Fankeya Su — 2026-07-15

China’s National Reimbursement Drug Negotiation (NRDN) mechanism is the primary pathway for innovative drugs to enter the national reimbursement list. However, different drug categories may follow distinct institutional pathways and yield different pricing outcomes. This study preliminarily explores how three categories of innovative pharmaceuticals—competitive biologics, breakthrough high-cost therapies, and rare disease drugs—navigate China’s reimbursement system, and examines differentiated pricing dynamics and affordability outcomes. A multiple-case comparative design was used, focusing on sintilimab (PD-1 inhibitor), axicabtagene ciloleucel (CAR-T therapy), and risdiplam (SMA oral drug). Data were collected from Drugdataexpy, corporate annual reports, and policy documents (through April 2026). Sintilimab followed conventional negotiation with tiered price reductions (86% cumulative reduction). Axicabtagene ciloleucel (1.2 million CNY) has not entered basic insurance but gained early access via the newly established Commercial Health Insurance Innovative Drug Catalog (December 2025). Risdiplam took a rare disease priority pathway with a pre-negotiation voluntary price cut (94% cumulative reduction). These three cases suggest a possible trend toward stratified governance within China’s drug access system. However, the commercial catalog’s effectiveness remains unverified due to short implementation time. Causal inferences are limited by data availability and case study design.

ESG-Integrated Performance Evaluation of Regional PPP Infrastructure Projects: An Analytical Framework Based on the Entropy-TOPSIS Model

Jyh-Harng Shyng — 2026-07-15

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models play a pivotal role in advancing infrastructure development at the local level, particularly in town and rural areas. Scientific, comprehensive, and objective performance evaluation of such projects is crucial for optimizing resource allocation and enhancing long-term sustainability. This study introduces the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework to construct a multidimensional evaluation index system. The Entropy Method is employed to determine objective indicator weights, combined with the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), to evaluate several typical local town and rural PPP construction projects in Guangdong. The evaluation results clearly demonstrate project performance rankings, identify key strengths and weaknesses, and provide theoretical and practical references for project performance management and ESG-oriented optimization of PPP models.

Research on the Impact of Data Asset Recognition and Bookkeeping on Corporate Profitability: An Empirical Analysis Based on Listed Technology Enterprises

Jihong Zhu — 2026-07-15

With the rapid advancement of digital and artificial intelligence technologies in the digital economy era, the capitalization of data into assets has gradually become a core driver for enterprises to enhance competitiveness and achieve high-quality development. This paper adopts the data of 16 listed technology enterprises from 2023 to 2025 as the research sample. Taking gross profit margin, operating profit margin, and return on equity as the evaluation indicators of corporate profitability, this study applies trend analysis and horizontal comparison methods to explore the impact of recognizing and recording data assets in financial statements on enterprise profitability. The research results indicate that the influences of data asset bookkeeping vary across different enterprises, and generally present a U-shaped trend of decline followed by growth. With the improvement of data product development capabilities, enterprises are able to build digital business service models, cut operational costs, and boost overall profitability. Based on the research findings, this paper puts forward targeted suggestions, so as to provide references for the development of the digital economy and the improvement of the institutional rules for data asset recognition and bookkeeping.

Research on the Path of Empowering the In-Depth Development of the Cultural Industry with Digital Economy

Zhichun Sui — 2026-07-15

Against the backdrop of the intertwined evolution of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, the digital economy is reshaping the development paradigm of the cultural industry at an unprecedented depth and breadth. This paper introduces the cultural data lifecycle theory into the interdisciplinary research on digital economy and cultural industry, and constructs a full-cycle empowerment model covering the entire process of cultural data including generation, collection, organization, utilization, persistence, and extinction. It puts forward a “dual-creator” collaboration mechanism to resolve the dilemma of fractured cultural inheritance in the era of generative artificial intelligence. From the perspective of urban-rural integrated development, the paper reveals the spatial spillover effects and regional differentiation characteristics generated when the digital economy empowers the cultural industry, which provides more accurate empirical evidence for policy formulation. Taking the coupling relationship between the digital economy and the cultural industry as the core research object, this study breaks the limitations of traditional single-dimensional analytical frameworks and establishes a four-dimensional analysis model consisting of the demand side, supply side, circulation side, and governance side. With a four-wheel drive system of technology, content, institution, and talent, it systematically elaborates the internal operating mechanisms and practical paths for the digital economy to drive the in-depth development of the cultural industry. This research possesses important theoretical values and practical significance for facilitating the cultural industry to grow into a pillar industry of the national economy and supporting the construction of a culturally powerful country.

Employing Interval Grey Relational Analysis in ESG Investment Decision-Making Based on Ratings

Zhaoyi Zheng — 2026-07-15

ESG ratings have gradually become an important reference basis in investment decisions. Currently, different rating agencies often give significant differences in ESG scores to the same enterprise based on their own assessment criteria, data sources, and weight settings. The inconsistent scores caused by such multi-source heterogeneous data increase the cognitive uncertainty and decision-making complexity of investors when utilizing ESG information, affecting the accuracy and reliability of investment judgments. In this paper, by introducing the Interval Number Grey Relational Analysis (IGRA) method, an enterprise investment ranking model based on multi-source ESG scores is constructed. The scores from different rating agencies are integrated into the form of interval numbers, effectively reflecting the fluctuation range of the scores. And with the help of the grey system theory, the similarity degree between enterprises and ideal reference objects is measured. Realize the comprehensive processing and scientific ranking of multi-dimensional uncertain information. An empirical analysis was conducted based on the ESG rating data to verify the effectiveness of the method. This research provides methods for ESG investment practices and also offers theoretical references for dealing with uncertain investment issues.

Research on the Implementation Effect of Diagnosis-Related Groups Point Payment Policy

Ting Wu — 2026-07-15

This study explores the implementation effect of the diagnosis-based point payment policy in medical insurance. A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of discharged patients. Taking January 1, 2018, as the time boundary for policy implementation, three core indicators before and after the policy reform, including average length of hospital stay, average hospitalization cost, and readmission rate, were compared. The results showed that the average hospital stay and average hospitalization cost were significantly reduced after the implementation of the diagnosis-based point payment policy. In conclusion, the medical insurance payment reform based on disease points can effectively shorten patients’ hospital stays and reduce inpatient treatment costs, thereby offering favorable practical value. Nevertheless, the policy’s implementation still faces deficiencies in refined management. It is essential to improve the refined management system for disease classification and further enhance the implementation quality and comprehensive effectiveness of medical insurance payment policies.

Research on the Dynamic Relationship among National Gross Income, Government Consumption, and Fixed Asset Investment Based on the VECM Model

Xiaohua Zou — 2026-07-15

To explore the intrinsic dynamic interconnections among China’s economy, consumption, and investment, this study focuses on the relationships between national income, government consumption, and fixed assets investment. Utilizing the VECM model, it conducts an in-depth analysis of their dynamic linkages. Data on gross national income (GNI), government consumption (ZC), and total fixed assets investment (TINF) from 1990 to 2023 were selected. ADF tests identified the non-stationarity of the original series, which was transformed into a stationary state through first-order differencing. Johansen cointegration tests precisely pinpointed a unique cointegration relationship at the 5% significance level. After determining the optimal lag order according to the AIC criterion, the VECM model was successfully constructed, and a cointegration equation was derived. The results indicate that in the long run, national income is positively correlated with government consumption but negatively correlated with total fixed assets investment. When considering strategies to boost GNI, while government consumption holds potential for positive traction, expenditure decisions must carefully weigh multiple derived effects. Given the negative coefficient warning for fixed assets investment, decision-making should be approached with utmost caution, prioritizing the optimization of investment structure and efficiency. Additionally, close coordination with key variables such as inflation and employment is essential. Centered on the cointegration relationship as the foundational cornerstone, meticulous formulation of sound economic policies is crucial to effectively promote steady economic growth and maintain dynamic equilibrium.

Coupling Coordination Relationship and Influencing Factors between Green Finance and the Digital Economy

Wuting Zhang — 2026-07-15

Against the backdrop of the “Dual Carbon” goals and high-quality development, Green Finance and the Digital Economy are of great significance to China’s high-quality development. Taking Sichuan Province as the research object, this paper employs panel data on green finance and the digital economy from 2011 to 2024. The Entropy Weight Method is applied to construct the indicator systems of the two subsystems and calculate their development indices. Furthermore, the Coupling Coordination Degree Model is adopted to analyze their interactive relationship. The findings indicate that: (1) both subsystem indices exhibited a steady upward trend, with the digital economy index increasing from 0.025 to 0.693 and the green finance index rising from 0.219 to 0.654; (2) the coupling coordination degree advanced from severe imbalance (D = 0.10 in 2011) to high-quality coordination (D > 0.90 since 2020), undergoing a three-stage evolution of “imbalance–transition–coordination.” Based on these findings, this study proposes policy recommendations, including strengthening the synergy mechanism between digitalization and greening and optimizing the structure of green finance, with the aim of contributing to the green, low-carbon, and high-quality development of Sichuan Province.

Financial Performance Analysis of New Tea Industry: Taking Naixue Tea as an Example

Xueying Jiao — 2026-07-15

The new tea industry relies on offline stores to achieve large-scale development, which has three typical characteristics: store-driven, high-frequency and low customer orders, and a sensitive supply chain. The financial performance evaluation system is obviously different from the traditional catering and Internet industries. Taking Naixue (NaiSnow), a Hong Kong-listed company, as a case study, combined with the annual report of the company from 2023 to 2024 and the public data of the industry, this paper constructs a financial performance evaluation index system suitable for the new tea industry from three dimensions: profitability, operational efficiency and growth ability, focusing on the core indicators such as the same-store sales growth rate, gross profit margin, store expansion speed and single-store profit model. The research shows that in 2024, due to the weak consumer market, intensified industry competition, fluctuations in raw material prices, and other factors, Naixue’s tea performance declined in a short period of time; In the first half of 2025, enterprises achieved a recovery in performance by shutting down inefficient stores, adjusting product structure, and promoting refined operations. At this stage, the new tea industry has bid farewell to extensive scale expansion and officially entered the development stage of improving quality and efficiency. The profitability of a single store, the ability of supply chain management and control, and the repurchase rate of users will become the core competitive factors of the enterprise.

The Impact of Digital Product Imports on the Export Resilience of Chinese Firms

Chunrong Yan — 2026-07-15

Imports of digital products have become an important channel for Chinese firms to enhance export resilience and cope with external shocks. Using matched data from the Annual Survey of Industrial Firms and China Customs, this paper empirically examines the impact of digital product imports on firms’ export resilience and its underlying mechanisms, with the 2008 global financial crisis serving as the external shock scenario. The results show that imports of digital products significantly improve the export resilience of Chinese firms, and this finding remains robust after a series of robustness tests. The findings of this study provide implications for China to leverage digital trade to strengthen firms’ export resilience and promote the development of a trading nation.

Research on the Resilience Evaluation and Improvement Strategies of Dalian Port Incorporating the Dimension of Low-Altitude Economy

Na Li — 2026-07-15

This paper takes Dalian Port as a starting point to explore evaluation ideas and optimization plans for port resilience. Based on a review of existing literature and on-site investigations, an evaluation system is constructed from four perspectives: infrastructure, operation and management, low-altitude economy, and sustainable development. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) methods are employed to comprehensively assess the overall resilience level of Dalian Port. The calculation results indicate that Dalian Port has significant advantages in infrastructure, stable operation and management, and sustainable development, but lags relatively behind in the development of the low-altitude economy. Based on the current issues, specific suggestions are proposed in the paper: continuously strengthening infrastructure construction, improving operation and management mechanisms, promoting the deep integration of the low-altitude economy with the port, and continuously implementing green development plans, etc. The conclusions drawn from this analysis can provide certain reference value for Dalian Port and other ports to enhance their resilience through the low-altitude economy.

Foreign Capital, Digital Finance, and Regional Productivity: Spatiotemporal Evidence from China

Jiarui Huang — 2026-07-15

This paper compares how foreign direct investment (FDI) and digital finance (DFI) are related to regional total factor productivity in China. Using panel data for 31 provinces from 2017 to 2024, we combine a random forest model with GeoTimeShapley decomposition to separate the standalone contributions of the two variables from their interactions with location and time. The interaction terms account for most of their model-based relevance. FDI has a larger contribution, but it is spatially concentrated and varies markedly across years. DFI follows a more gradual pattern and becomes more relevant as digital infrastructure and financial inclusion expand. External capital and domestic digital finance are therefore associated with productivity under different regional and temporal conditions.

Research on the Coupling Mechanism between Industrial Digitalization and Digital Industrialization

Tao Fu — 2026-07-15

The digital economy has emerged as a new engine driving China’s economic growth. The support of the digital economy for regional high-quality development relies on the synergy, matching, and coupling between industrial digitalization and digital industrialization. Based on an in-depth review of the literature, this paper delves into the interaction mechanism between industrial digitalization and digital industrialization. Furthermore, it explores the formation mechanism and implementation path of coupling, and from the perspective of promoting regional high-quality development, proposes targeted countermeasures and suggestions to facilitate the coupling of the two.

Digital Economy Enabling Industrial Structure Upgrading: The Mediating Role of Human Capital and Regional Heterogeneity

Yue Deng — 2026-07-15

As a key driver of high-quality economic development in the new era, the mechanism through which the digital economy influences industrial structure upgrading warrants in-depth investigation. Based on panel data from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government in China from 2011 to 2021, this study employs a two-way fixed effects model to systematically examine the impact of the digital economy on the advancement and rationalization of industrial structure, with a particular focus on the mediating role of human capital and regional heterogeneity. The main findings are as follows: (1) The development of the digital economy significantly promotes both the advancement and rationalization of industrial structure. This conclusion remains robust after a series of robustness checks, including variable substitution. (2) Human capital accumulation serves as an important transmission channel through which the digital economy drives industrial structure upgrading, exhibiting a significant partial mediating effect. Specifically, the digital economy indirectly facilitates industrial structure optimization by enhancing the level of human capital. (3) There is notable regional heterogeneity in the impact of the digital economy on industrial structure upgrading. Compared with the eastern region, the digital economy exerts a more pronounced positive effect on industrial structure upgrading in the central and western regions, suggesting that these regions possess greater potential for industrial structure optimization through digital empowerment. This study provides novel empirical evidence for understanding the intrinsic relationship between the digital economy and industrial structure upgrading, and offers policy insights for tailoring digital economy development strategies to local conditions to accelerate industrial structure optimization and upgrading.

Marketing Mix Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction with X Brand Cosmetics in Nanning

Yan He — 2026-07-15

Against the backdrop of China’s booming affordable beauty market and the transformation challenges confronting local DTC brands, this study takes Brand X—a representative local brand that experienced explosive growth followed by a sharp decline—as the research subject, carries out an investigation in the second-tier city of Nanning, and examines the impact of the 4P marketing mix on consumer satisfaction, so as to address the literature gaps in regional market difference analysis and brand trajectory-specific research. Adopting a descriptive-correlational quantitative design, the study collects valid data from 385 consumers who purchased Brand X products in the past 12 months via a structured questionnaire, and conducts descriptive statistics and simple linear regression analysis using SPSS 26.0. The findings indicate that the overall consumer satisfaction with Brand X in Nanning is at a medium-to-high level (M = 3.711), with the place dimension scoring the highest (M = 3.743) and the promotion dimension scoring the lowest (M = 3.657); all four dimensions of the 4P marketing mix exert significant positive effects on consumer satisfaction (P < 0.01), and ranked by influence magnitude in descending order, they are place (β = 0.842), product (β = 0.787), promotion (β = 0.783) and price (β = 0.765); meanwhile, the core advantages of Brand X are identified as efficient logistics and convenient online channels, while its weaknesses include inconsistent product efficacy claims, a low-end brand image and uncreative promotion forms. This study challenges the traditional perception that product factors dominate consumer satisfaction in the beauty industry, enriches the contextual application of 4P theory in second-tier city scenarios, and provides actionable strategic references for local affordable beauty brands to achieve the development transition from “traffic-driven” to “value-driven.”

An Examination of the Distribution of Surplus Value in Digital Labor Based on Marx’s Theory of Labor Justice

Danni Yang — 2026-07-15

As an emerging mode of production, the distribution of surplus value created by digital labor is an important component of current capitalist production relations. This process highlights the profound inequality in the production process. Platform companies utilize their digital intermediary roles to enable digital capital to effectively control digital labor through big data, algorithm rules, and platform rules. Innovated the way of obtaining surplus value. Causing problems such as exploitation, objectification, and lack of protection for digital workers in their labor. This article revolves around Marx’s perspective on labor justice theory. Explored the unfair phenomena in the distribution of surplus value of digital labor. Proposed optimization strategies for resetting the justice of digital labor surplus value distribution from four dimensions: institutional, technological, organizational, and cultural. To achieve justice in the distribution of surplus value of digital labor, it is necessary to be guided by the Marxist concept of labor justice. Through institutional restructuring and technological ethical regulation, the relationship between surplus value distribution can be transformed. On this basis, build a benefit-sharing mechanism that is conducive to the win-win situation of workers, platforms, and society.

The Limits of Criminal Law Protection for Corporate Data Rights in the Context of New Economic Crimes

Yue Tan — 2026-07-15

The development of the digital economy has made data a critical production resource for enterprises. Against this backdrop, new forms of economic crimes have emerged, targeting data and utilizing technology as their tool, resulting in severe violations of corporate data rights. Criminal law serves as the ultimate safeguard for various rights and plays a crucial role in protecting corporate data rights. However, overemphasizing data security measures may hinder data flow and technological innovation. Conversely, it would encourage criminal acts and harm the interests of the enterprise. Therefore, given the specific characteristics of emerging economic crimes, it is essential to clarify the appropriate level of constitutional protection for corporate data rights, analyze existing issues, and propose corresponding recommendations. This approach will ensure adequate protection of corporate data rights while facilitating data circulation and technological innovation, thereby enabling more effective responses to the challenges posed by these new types of economic crimes.

The Digital-Intelligent Empowerment and Transnational Marketing in the Prepared Dishes Industry: A Case Study of Quick-Frozen Dumplings

Hengrui Zhang — 2026-07-15

Taking into account the digital economy and the search for new quality productive forces, digital intelligent empowerment has become one of the most important driving forces in the prepared dishes sector in China to counteract the issue of cross-border marketing and enhance its competitive status in the international market. Quick-frozen dumplings are offered as the best export item because they are an indicator of all the export results of the industrial sector in the state due to the developed production process and the existence of a specific market segment. Case study and literature review, industry induction and case analysis of the approach to participation of prepared dishes industry in cross-border marketing by means of digital-intelligent empowerment form the basis of the current paper. It also encompasses four major weaknesses, including bad performance of digital marketing, absence of localization, failure to create a brand, and inability to reach professionals owing to the low degree of digitalization, fragmentation of information, lack of proper training, and poor relationship with the industry. The proposed five-dimensional solutions, i.e., adoption of deep tech, talent development, localization, building of a brand, and industry coordination, are rather realistic. The results offer valuable recommendations to the industry in order to operate in the world markets, develop new quality productive forces, and contribute to high-quality international development.

Research on Marketing Strategies under the Live Streaming E-Commerce Model

Ping Yang — 2026-07-15

With the vigorous development of the digital economy and the popularization of mobile internet technology, live streaming e-commerce, as an emerging e-commerce model, has witnessed explosive growth in recent years. This paper systematically combs the latest research achievements in China’s live streaming e-commerce field from 2023 to 2025, and conducts a comprehensive review from multiple dimensions including the development status of live streaming e-commerce, classification of marketing models, influencing mechanisms of consumer behavior, anchor characteristics and trust mechanisms, platform strategies, and future development trends. The study finds that live streaming e-commerce has reconstructed the transaction logic of traditional e-commerce through real-time interaction, scenario-based display and social attributes, and an anchor’s professionalism, credibility, interactivity and affability have become the key factors affecting consumers’ purchase decisions. Finally, this paper puts forward practical suggestions for optimizing the marketing strategies of live streaming e-commerce, providing a theoretical reference for the healthy development of the industry.

A Review of Short Video Marketing Development at Kaifeng Wansuishan Scenic Area

Beibei Li — 2026-07-15

The convergence of short-video platforms and cultural tourism has reshaped destination marketing. Kaifeng Wansuishan Martial Arts City, propelled by the viral “Wang Po’s Matchmaking” phenomenon, achieved 15-fold revenue growth within three years, becoming a representative case. This paper examines the evolution and operational logic of its short-video marketing, revealing a transition from accidental virality to systematic UGC-centric operations that generated substantial returns. However, four dilemmas persist: single-IP over-reliance, management lags, content homogenization, and traffic-to-retention conversion difficulty. Countermeasures are proposed, including a diversified IP matrix, refined management, cultural differentiation, and systematic capacity building, aiming to facilitate the shift from “internet celebrity” to “everlasting popularity” and offer practical references for cultural tourism marketing.