Search

As China's national digital strategy proceeds into its implementation phase, there is an urgent need to further deepen the integration and synergy between technology and education to take the full advantages of digital education in this new era. Technological innovation and digital transformation can generate new momentum in high-quality education development by causing a major shift in educational paradigms and practice models. While the micro-level implementation of digital transformation on education has already been extensively discussed in the educational sector, the efforts in answering the same question from a macro-level perspective is currently lacking. The present study addresses this gap by discussing the implementation of digital transformation on education through the lens of diffusion of innovation theory. Specifically, we examine how the theory can provide unique insights on studying the developmental status, process, and outcome of digital transformation on education. As the application of diffusion of innovation theory in this topic, the study will contribute to the development of China's high-quality education system by providing theoretical guidance on the advancement of digital transformation on education under the overarching goal of education modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the negative disposition of many hospitality higher education faculty toward MOOCs, an increasingly prominent delivery mode in pedagogical discourse which potentially enriches student learning. Such enrichment is particularly welcome in the case of hospitality because of its diverse stakeholders and student learning needs. The researchers conducted an in-depth and qualitative exploration with faculty members in mainland China. They combined the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) approach and theory of motivation to propose five dimensions that account for groupings of resistance to deploying MOOCs. These are attributes and complexities, perceived incompatibility, unsuitability for trial, and lack of observational capacity. The study contributes to knowledge by examining the perspectives of faculty who have the capacity to constrain the deployment of MOOCs. The authors suggest that faculty members should be encouraged to embrace MOOCs as an innovative medium for learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is a platform for innovation with high failure rates due to its complexity. In China, failure rates of ERP are also high, with key differences between China and Western countries in terms of development, cultural, and organizational structure. Even when Chinese firms successfully adopt ERP, many fail to assimilate ERP and consequently never experience the full benefits of the innovation. The purpose of this study is to examine the predictors of adoption versus assimilation in Chinese firms. The existing literature largely assumes a dichotomy of choices when implementing organizational innovations in business: technological evaluation and imitation. We argue that this dichotomy does not apply well to a Chinese ERP context. China has achieved tremendous success in manufacturing and industrial processes through technological leapfrogging offered by imitation. At the same time, Chinese firms are under increasing pressure to innovate. Therefore, we argue that forces of imitation and evaluation are likely both at play when Chinese firms adopt and assimilate innovations—including ERP. Accordingly, we examined how two behaviors, interorganizational social technology imitation and rational technology evaluation, influence Chinese organizations in adopting and assimilating ERP systems. Our findings suggest that both social technology imitation and rational technology evaluation are determinants of Chinese ERP adoption and assimilation. Hence, this study offers new ways for IT and innovation researchers to explore social behavior (i.e., imitation) in IT diffusion processes and to consider the merits or risks of such behavior alongside the conventional rational approach (i.e., evaluation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massively generated crop straw can be utilized and valorized with great economic and environmental benefits. The Chinese government has adopted the pilot policy of crop straw resource utilization (CSRU) for disposing of the straw and practicing waste valorization. This work took 164 counties in the Hebei Province of China as a case study, mapped the temporal and spatial characteristics of the diffusion of the CSRU pilot policy in this province, and conducted an Event History Analysis by establishing a binary logistic regression model to identify the specific factors that determine the diffusion of the CSRU pilot policy in China from the aspects of resource availability, internal capacity, and external pressure. It indicates that: (1) the CSRU pilot policy diffuses rapidly in Hebei Province, although it is still at the early stage of this policy diffusion; (2) the model explains 95.2% of the variance in adopting a pilot county, indicating the effectiveness of this model; (3) straw resource density has a positive impact on CSRU pilot selections, and it can increase the possibility of one county being selected as a CSRU pilot by 23.2%, while population density has shown a negative effect; (3) policy support from local government is a major internal factor that determines CSRU performance, and it can increase the possibility of one county being selected as a CSRU pilot nearly tenfold; proximity pressure from neighboring counties has a positive effect on the diffusion of the CSRU policy, and it also greatly increases the possibility of being selected as a CSRU pilot.

Environmental pollution and resource depletion pressures have caused manufacturers in developing countries such as China to improve environmental performance. In response, thoughtful and innovative enterprises have implemented emergent environmental management practices including elements of green supply chain management (GSCM). Diffusion of these practices to enterprises occurs from internal and external influences. Given that GSCM practices can be viewed as management innovations, this article applies the seminal Bass model to analyse GSCM practices diffusion. Specifically, the Bass model for diffusion is used to evaluate data for ISO 14001 certification and eco-labelling practices in China. In this investigation, we evaluate the relative roles of innovation and imitation drivers for diffusion of these GSCM practices. We find that even though innovation is not insignificant, imitation plays a much larger role for these specific GSCM practices diffusions amongst Chinese enterprises. Managerial and policy implications of these and other findings are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research aims to examine, from an innovation adoption perspective, Chinese students’ intention of taking up e-learning degrees. A survey of Chinese students was conducted to reveal their perceptions concerning innovation attributes relevant to e-learning and their intentions of taking e-learning programmes provided by UK universities. Given the rapid development in e-learning and its potential impact on how learning takes place, this research argues that e-learning take-up represents adoption of an innovation in educational services, rather than just an IT technology. It therefore examined e-learning adoption using Rogers’s relational model of perceived innovation attributes. Rogers’s model was adapted to the e-learning context. A questionnaire survey was developed to collect data from a sample of Chinese students (n =215). Prior to final analysis the dimensionality and validity of the implementation of Rogers relational model was assessed. Findings suggested that only perceived compatibility and trialability have significant influence on e-learning adoption intention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper aims to examine the factors influencing older Chinese's social networking site (SNS) use and to help older people live a better life in this technology-oriented world. A proposed model composed of eight hypotheses was built according to Diffusion of Innovation Theory and was tested via 726 valid data points. The empirical results show that technical compatibility and relative advantages as technical factors and Internet self-efficacy as a personal cognitive factor promote older people's SNS use. Technical complexity as a technical factor and Internet anxiety as a personal cognitive factor hinder older people's SNS use. Social support as a facilitating condition alleviates the negative effects of technical complexity and Internet anxiety and enhances the positive effect of Internet self-efficacy. Gender differences and health status differences are significant. Older men are more likely to use SNSs than older women; older adults in poor physical health condition are more likely to use SNSs compared with those in good health. Compared with older people in Western countries, older Chinese's SNS use does show some differences: 1) gender differences are significant with males having a stronger intention to use SNSs; 2) older people face severe digital divide because technical factors show stronger power in predicting their SNS use; 3) older people need social support to assist their SNS use, but their social support mainly comes from age peers rather than young people.