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The rapid development and high penetration of digitalization have triggered profound changes in the energy sector. The purpose of this study is to integrate the government digital transformation into the analysis framework and discuss its impact on urban energy efficiency and its realization mechanism.

Using the “Information Benefit Pilot City” (IBC) policy as a quasi-natural experiment, and drawing on data from 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2019, this paper discusses how digital government affects urban energy efficiency by using difference-in-differences (DID).

The results show that digital governance significantly improves energy efficiency, and this conclusion remains reliable even after a series of robustness tests, endogeneity processing and sensitivity analysis. Heterogeneity results show that resource-based, eastern, high economic development level and high urbanization rate city digital government construction are more conducive to improving energy efficiency. The mediating effect shows that the influence mechanism of digital government on energy efficiency mainly includes reducing carbon emission, promoting green technology innovation and attracting talents.

(1) From the perspective of government digital transformation, this study supplements the way to improve energy efficiency and also expands the social dividend of government governance transformation. (2) Through quasi-experimental analysis of IBC policy, this paper solves the problem of difficulty in quantifying the government's digital transformation indicators. (3) The impact heterogeneity and realization mechanism are further discussed and the specific ways of digital government's impact on energy efficiency are revealed.

Robots are widely used in industrial manufacturing and service industries around the world. However, most of the previous studies on industrial robots use data at the national or industry level in the context of developed countries. This study examines the impact of imported industrial robots on firm innovation at the firm level in China.

Drawing on a large dataset of more than three million records in China, including non-publicly traded small and medium firms, the authors adopt a difference-in-differences method to investigate the impact and channels of industrial robots on firm innovation.

The authors find that the application of industrial robots increases firm innovation. Two possible channels are identified through which robots promote innovation: alleviation of financial constraints and the improvement of human capital. Further analysis shows that the effect of robots on innovation is more pronounced for firms that are highly dependent on external financing, belong to high-tech industries, import high-end robots, have insufficient supply of skilled labor and private firms (non-SOEs). The authors also find that industrial robots increase the firms' innovation quality and the marginal contribution of innovation to firms' total factor productivity.

This study provides big data evidence of the unintended positive consequences of industrial robots on firm innovation. The results are helpful to clarify the controversy of industrial robots. It also has important implications for government industrial policy making, firm innovation and human resource management.

An electrochemical method based on the open circuit potential (OCP) fluctuations was put forward. It can be used to optimize the alloy compositions for improving the corrosion resistance of rust layer.

The potential trends and potential fluctuations of carbon steels in seawater were separated by Hodrick–Prescott filter. The Spearman correlation coefficient and max information coefficient were used to explore the correlation of alloy compositions and potential fluctuations.

After long-term immersion, potential fluctuation resistance (PFR) can be used to characterize the corrosion resistance of metals and its rust layers. In the 1,500 to 2,500 h exposure period, Fe, C and S compositions have strong negative correlations, whereas PFR and P composition have weak negative correlations. Mn, Cu and Ti alloy compositions help the rust layer of carbon steels have higher PFRs. These elements that exhibit higher PFRs in this period have been confirmed to have the effect on improving the corrosion resistance of rust layer.

A new computing method for alloy composition optimization of carbon steels based on the OCP fluctuations was put forward. This method combines electrochemical monitoring with the long-term actual seawater environmental tests of various carbon steels.

The purpose of this study is to explore how and when ethical leadership enhances bootlegging. To achieve this purpose, the authors proposed a moderated dual-path model in this study.

The model was tested on two related studies. Study 1 was based on three-wave, collected data from a sample of 511 employees of Chinese companies. Data used in Study 2 was collected by survey from employees and their direct leaders of multiple departments of companies in China.

In Study 1, the authors found that moral efficacy and moral identity mediate between ethical leadership and bootlegging. Findings from Study 2 provide convergent support of moral efficacy’s and moral identity’s impact on the mediation relationship between ethical leadership and bootlegging. Moreover, the results of Study 2 further reveal that the relationship between ethical leadership and moral efficacy (or moral identity) was more significant among leader–follower with different genders.

This study not only enriches the literature on ethical leadership and gender (dis)similarity, but also helps managers to better understand the function of bootlegging.

As the information asymmetry and credit rationing are existing, SMEs are finding it difficult to gain bank credit. Trade credit, as a one off substitution, gives another access to SME finance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects between inter‐corporate relationships (including the direct‐relationship and indirect‐relationship) and trade credit.

Following the mainstream of qualitative and quantitative research, this paper examines the relationship between SMEs and their analysis of the commercial credit financing. In the empirical research, through text‐analysis to build the variable of “the number of unions that enterprises take part in”. First, find the relate union through “baidu and googel” by the keywords of enterprise's name and the Union; then two persons select and determine which the enterprise may take part in and calculate the number. For that which cannot make sure, ask the third person. Learning from the HHI‐index, the paper calculates according to the amount and times of the enterprise related transactions to build the variable of “the concentration of enterprises related transactions”. Based on three years panel data (from 2007 to 2009) of 196 small and medium listed companies, this paper establishes the empirical models and examines the effects between inter‐corporate relationship and trade credit through the random effect model.

The paper finds that: SMEs must pay attention to inter‐enterprise relationship management. Without the power and status owned by large enterprises, SMEs have to learn how to survive in the complex and changing environment. The managers of SMEs have to develop their skills to manage the inter‐enterprise relationship. It finds the effects between inter‐enterprise relationship and trade credit seem like a “U” shape. SMEs should take part in associations wittingly and establish the relationship with the others, as all economic activities are embedded in the social network. This research shows that participating in the business associations, especially provincial associations, has a positive impact to gain trade credit.

This paper breaks through the traditional SMEs' financing theories. In this paper, the individual level theories have been extended to the organizational level. This paper also expands the study of the social capital theory and gives a more tolerable empirical test.

The purpose of this paper is to study how the government stimulates incineration plants to participate in waste classification management, and how to adjust the subsidy strategy for them.

Considering that the classification behavior of residents will produce herd effect, and waste classification can reduce the disposal cost of incineration plants, the authors constructed a differential game model between the government and waste incineration plants, and analyzed the input strategy of the government and incineration plants when they cooperate in the management of municipal waste classification.

Increasing the input level of supervision or raising subsidy price, the government can promote incineration plants to increase the input level of incentive. Moreover, from a long-term perspective, increasing the input level of supervision is more effective. Compared with government supervision, the method of incineration plants incentive can more effectively increase the amount of waste disposal. Furthermore, the government supervision and the incineration plants incentive have a positive interaction effect on improving the amount of waste disposal. Increasing the input level of incineration plants incentive or the level of waste-to-energy technology can increase the amount of waste disposal, and from a long-term perspective, increasing the level of R&D investment is more beneficial to increasing the amount of waste disposal.

The results are helpful to improve the investment in the management of waste classification, and also provide a certain theoretical basis for the government's subsidy policy for incineration plants, so as to reduce the financial pressure of the government.

The purpose of this paper is to design a climbing robot connected by a connecting rod mechanism to achieve multi-functional tasks such as obstacles crossing and climbing of power transmission towers.

A connecting rod type gripper has been designed to achieve stable grasping of angle steel. Before grasping, use coordination between structures to achieve stable docking and grasping. By using the alternating movements of two claws and the middle climbing mechanism, the climbing and obstacle crossing of the angle steel were achieved.

Through a simple linkage mechanism, a climbing robot has been designed, greatly reducing the overall mass of the robot. It can also carry a load of 1 kg, and the climbing mechanism can perform stable climbing. The maximum step distance of the climbing robot is 543 mm, which can achieve the crossing of angle steel obstacles.

A transmission tower climbing mechanism was proposed by analyzing the working environment. Through the locking ability of the screw nut, stable clamping of the angle steel is achieved, and a pitch mechanism is designed to adjust the posture of the hand claw.

The analysis carried out in this study can provide guidance for manufacturers and researchers to design a piston for the development of engines.

Running conditions for pistons have become very severe because of the high combustion pressure and increase in piston temperature in the past 10 years. The precision of the model has a great effect on the power transmission, vibration noise emission. In this paper, the model was established with lubrication and dynamic governing equations, which were solved using finite element method coupled with Runge–Kutta method. A piston of an inline six-cylinder engine was studied, and some structural parameters were used to investigate its effect on the friction loss with lubrication and dynamic motion theory.

Based on the analyses, the effect of the friction load at the oil groove and thermal deformation of piston skirt were added to the model, and some useful information about the friction loss and dynamic characteristics were compared.

All the results will provide guidance for the development of the piston and reduction in the friction loss and wear.