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Research & Innovation (R&I) policy initiatives employed by the European Union (EU) across its regional economies are important instruments to ensure the scientific and technological progress along with the associated benefits. One relevant aspect in this regard is to encourage and enable collaboration between regional partners to enhance potential learning opportunities and to ensure cohesive long-term development patterns. Furthermore, frequently these initiatives are also targeted at specific technology sectors, such as the EU R&I policy actions towards nanotechnology. Based on an advance theoretical framework and data from the official EU project databases as well as regionalized European Patent Office data, the present study develops a methodological tool through which it is possible to identify effective collaboration settings, while providing policymakers and evaluators with a practical tool that will enable them to predict the possible outcomes of such critical EU-funded R&I projects from the onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The severe outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on global health, the economy, and society as a whole. To this effect, various measures both national and international were taken to respond to the pandemic. Among these measures was the rapid involvement of social media which played a vital role in the context of information dissemination, coordination of medical resources, promotion of public health campaigns, and population management and disease tracing. Besides these facilities put forward by social media, there were some weaknesses like misinformation, lack of guidance, and information leakage. Based on these numerous controversies brought about by social media during the pandemic periods, we aim to examine in this study the socio-economic effect of social media in the fight against Pandemics with particular attention on the case of the COVID-19 outbreak in Africa. Using Driscoll and Kraay's fixed effects and the Lewbel-2SLS estimators on 30 African countries, the results reveal that social media in Africa through the penetration rate of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube contribute significantly in disseminating COVID-19 in Africa. The findings equally reveal the mixed effect of other determinants of COVID-19 in this nexus. While Diabetes prevalence, the proportion of people aged 65 + , and population density contribute to the increased spread of the disease, GDP per capita and Hand Washing facilities instead prove a reducing effect of the disease. Sensitivity analysis reveals that this effect is homogenous for regional considerations of the overall sample. Based on this, appropriate suggestions are made to the various governments regarding the use of social media to prevent pandemics in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Resource Dependence Theory (RDT), this study examines the entrepreneurial impact of digital infrastructure development on households in China. Drawing from a quasi-natural experiment of the Broadband China strategy, we applied the staggered difference-in-differences method. Our baseline results show that digital infrastructure development increases the likelihood of household entrepreneurship. Moreover, we found that this positive effect may be explained by information advantage, social network expansion, and financial constraint alleviation. Additionally, further analysis indicates that digital infrastructure development enhances household entrepreneurial performance and shows inclusive characteristics that are more conducive to promoting entrepreneurship among disadvantaged groups; through entrepreneurship, digital infrastructure development further promotes household economic welfare. Our research not only broadens the applicability of RDT within the digital economy domain but also significantly contributes to the information technology for development literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractEffective savings mechanisms are crucial for household resilience and economic growth. Savings accounts, whether from banks or mobile-phone based, offer an alternative to informal saving mechanisms as they provide safe and private cash storage. However, there is still no clear evidence on how the use of digital tools can contribute to increasing farmers’ savings, compared with other financial tools such as bank accounts or keeping cash at home. To address this gap, we investigate factors affecting cocoa farmers’ decisions to save, as well as their savings amounts. Shedding light on saving determinants, we answer the question of whether formal and semi-formal accounts play a major role in savings accumulation. For our study, we employ data from a structured telephone survey conducted in 2021 among 405 randomly sampled cocoa farmers. Results from an interval regression suggest that bank account usage is associated with higher savings amounts. In contrast to male cocoa farmers, females seem to use mobile savings tools to their benefit. Our analysis further reveals the importance of education in household financial resource management. We provide valuable results for public policymakers and the private sector towards responsible financial inclusion and pro-poor development of digital financial services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital platforms, such as Google, Amazon, or Instagram, provide a promising spatial fix to urban-economic problems by leveraging technology and data while connecting stakeholders and overcoming spatial barriers to make urban life, consumption, sales, and production more efficient. This article contributes to the debate on digital platforms in economic geography by advancing the emerging lens of the platform fix, adopting a critical standpoint concerning the solutionist viewpoint that presents platforms as a fix for various challenges. The article develops its perspective against the background of 57 semi-structured interviews, 200 conducted standardized questionnaires, and long-term on/offline observations. We aim to provide a platform fix perspective revealing how digital platforms redefine spatial interactions, addressing economic challenges through spatial fixes while becoming established as indispensable infrastructures; however, platform fixes often fail to address underlying issues, leading to platform dependencies and the instrumentalization of actors. Therefore, we suggest a cautious application of urban platforms as solutions and critically evaluate the formation of public–private platform partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology has produced deep changes in the business world. However, companies have a hard time understanding consumers' changing needs and new consumption patterns, especially small and medium-sized enterprises that currently face growing challenges in an era characterized by a lack of time and information overload. New mechanisms must be found that not only can keep businesses competitive in digital environments but can do so in innovative and sustainable ways. This study sought to address this issue by adopting a process-oriented approach and developing a decision-support tool for SMEs that are considering joining online marketplaces. The proposed analysis model helps these companies decide whether they are ready to take advantage of these digital platforms or whether they have to take action to improve in specific areas of their business operations. The model-building process relied on a combination of cognitive mapping and the best–worst method. An expert panel was recruited to identify the most relevant factors determining SME readiness to join online marketplaces. The model was applied to a set of real companies to assess their propensity for online marketplaces. The practical applicability of this decision-support system was then discussed in a consolidation session with a member of Portugal's Agência Nacional de Inovação (National Innovation Agency), who acknowledged the strong potential of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation of business and the economy is a key business problem, and its importance was further heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the increased pressure on enterprises. Hence, the digital readiness of their business will likely determine its future competitiveness in the field. Objectives: The paper addresses the issue of digital readiness for business, with the aim of examining similarities and differences in the digital readiness of European Union countries. The main focus is on identifying the changes during the first two years of the pandemic. Methods/Approach: We conducted a factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis based on selected indicators. The results revealed some significant differences. Results: While the countries that lead in digital readiness remained the same, there were relatively large differences in the classification of other EU countries. Some countries, such as Latvia or Slovenia, significantly improved in many aspects of digital readiness during the pandemic. On the other hand, Bulgaria and Romania are still included in the same cluster, representing an overall low digital readiness. Conclusion: Enterprises in more developed countries also have a higher level of digital readiness. Although COVID-19 had a positive impact on digital readiness in some less developed countries, the impact is only partial, indicating a need for stronger actions to bridge the digital divide at the EU level. These findings provide a hopeful outlook, suggesting that with the right actions, the digital divide in the EU can be effectively bridged.

The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers both opportunities and challenges for its application in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication. While AI can enhance CSR initiatives, its impact on consumer relations and brand perception remains inconsistent.

Payment clearing is important to ensure that the payment is transferred or the cash from one bank account moves to the other bank. The banking system in Iraq follows two sorts of clearance systems which are the IBCS (Inter Bank Clearing System) and C-ACH (Check Automated Clearing House System). Though the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has already modernized the payment clearing systems, the country’s banks still use the interbank clearing systems. In this background, the current study is a first-of-its-kind attempt to compare and contrast the IBCS and C-ACH systems so as to understand the benefits and disadvantages associated with these two clearance systems and identify the optimal one. For this study, the researcher used secondary data available from the CBI for the study period between 2018 and 2022. The collected data was analyzed for descriptive statistics and correlation to validate the hypotheses. The Mann Whitney U test and independent sample T-test were conducted in the study. From the study outcomes, it is clear that there exists a significant difference between the systems’ performance in terms of number of transfers in dollars and Iraqi dinars as well as the distribution of bank transfers through checks in dollars and Iraqi dinars. Between the systems (IBCS and C-ACH) under study, the C-ACH system gained prominence with the highest number of transfers and the distribution of bank transfers through checks. The study results confirm the increasing penetration of the electronic clearing system while the policy makers in the government and decision makers at the CBI must devise strategies to bring all the participant banks in the country under a unified clearing system so that the end consumer gains benefits in terms of cost, time, data security, ease and so on.

While extensive research studies exist on the influence of AI solutions on organizations as a whole, there is a paucity of comprehensive studies examining the adoption of these solutions in product development and subsequent management processes. This article presents an exploratory investigation of the applications, challenges, and determinants of success associated with artificial intelligence (AI) solutions employed in the product development and management processes. To this end, a qualitative thematic analysis is conducted based on twelve in-depth interviews with experts proficient in AI engineering and product management, representing twelve distinct organizations within the Polish IT sector. This article offers insights into four potential applications and expounds on various factors impacting the challenges and success of deployed AI solutions, generating two additional emergent themes. This article delineates practical implications for organizations and product managers and proposes intriguing directions for future research exploring topical areas of study.

AbstractWith new technologies emerging, productivity is increasing, while environmental issues are being addressed. Studies focus on the benefits of technological progress but pay limited attention to potential risks. This paper uses data from 286 Chinese cities to explore the impact of industrial robots on urban green total factor productivity. We find that industrial robots significantly reduces urban green total factor productivity. Mechanism analysis shows the main effect is driven by manufacturing agglomeration and crowding out environmental investment. Urban green total factor productivity decomposition shows that industrial robots block green technical progress and efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis shows that industrial robots significantly impact urban green total factor productivity in developed, highly market-oriented, and industrialized regions. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of industrial robots in urban green development and provide corresponding policy implications for guiding the harmonious development of technology and sustainable urban growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a major role in reorienting business operations across the globe, but their impact may vary in different businesses. A developing nation's informal micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have a significant developmental role in the economy. Thereby, we focus on two related questions: What factors determine ICT adoption among informal MSMEs? Second, what is the collective impact of ICT and Human resources (HR) on firm economic performance? Using a nationally representative sample of more than 250,000 Indian informal firms, we found three important conclusions. First, several firm and organizational level factors impact ICT adoption at intra and inter-firm levels. Second, the least productive and Micro firms could extract relatively higher ICT returns. Third, mixed results for ICT-HR complementary effects indicate the relevance of the ICT-productivity paradox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe significant increase in profits generated by platforms has sparked considerable debate regarding the nature of this income. These discussions center on two perspectives: the value-creating perspective suggests that their profits result from new forms of exploitation in the platform economy, while the rent perspective argues that the platforms extract and transfer value from other value-creating activities. While the latter perspective acknowledges that platforms do not directly engage in value creation, it fails to analyze their functions from the standpoint of Marxian circulation theory. Viewed from this standpoint, platforms represent a new form of commercial capital that propels circulation. Through their capacity to collect and process user behavior data, they attain a higher level of centralization than traditional commercial organizations, and extract value created by productive activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence and evolution of engineering biology, and its potential to address multiple global challenges is associated with the rise of biofoundries. These innovation intermediaries are facilities that employ advanced automation and computational analytics to accelerate engineering biology applications. Yet, for biofoundries to fully achieve their promise of generating applications that address grand societal challenges, they need to meet three key challenges: translation of research technology and its commercialization, attention to sustainability, and responsible innovation. Using web content analysis and interviews, this paper explores the functions and capabilities undertaken by existing public biofoundries, the extent to which they address these three challenges, and opportunities and models for enhancement. We also probe the roles undertaken by three other contrasting types of innovation intermediaries to identify practices and opportunities for integration and partnering with public biofoundries. We find that public biofoundries exhibit relatively strong capabilities for research translation, whereas efforts toward sustainability and responsibility are generally less prominent. For biofoundry enhancement, we propose an organisational model based on external partnering where public biofoundries are positioned as intermediaries within regional innovation systems. The framework put forward is reproducible and could be used in other contexts for assessing innovation intermediary organisational functions and capabilities toward meeting societal challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk of failure in innovation projects affects organisational behaviour and the performance of firms. This study develops a theory of errors in innovation project-level failure. Error is a set of faults that generates deviations in phases of the R&D process in projects, decreasing the expected results. From a systemic perspective, innovation failure in a project is due to a set of errors that generates a negative outcome. The proposed theory clarifies the general determinants of innovation failure in projects that are due to errors in design, execution and market orientation. Case studies in the drug discovery industry and pharmaceuticals validate the consistency of the proposed theory, giving examples of errors in projects leading to innovation failures. The payoff matrix of success/failure occurrences predicts that the probability of failure in innovation projects can double by setting a difficult goal compared to an easy one. Inductive implications of the proposed theory are that organisations reduce innovation failure in projects with better adaptedness to changes that minimise errors and learn from them. The proposed theory can guide R&D managers, designers, etc. in detecting critical errors in the R&D process to apply strategies of problem solving based on a winning approach by learning from errors that lead to innovation failure in projects to enable the organisation to adapt, take advantage of important opportunities and cope with consequential environmental threats for achieving goals and sustaining the competitive advantage in turbulent markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of low-carbon technology is key to mitigating climate change. A possible unwanted consequence of fast technological progress is that products get outdated before their technical lifetime is over. We investigate whether the market value of electric vehicles, characterized by rapid technological progress, declines faster over their lifetime than gasoline vehicles, which represent a mature technology. We use novel data from Norway, the market with the highest market shares for electric vehicles in the world. The data are from the largest web platform for secondhand vehicles over the period 2011–2021. Prices of electric vehicles decline faster than gasoline vehicles. This seems to be driven by the electric vehicles with below median driving range. We hypothesize that the large price drop is mainly due to the fast technological improvement of electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent robotics and artificial intelligence advancements have exacerbated fears of technology-driven unemployment and inequality. However, the relationship between automation risks and regulatory policy support remains inconclusive. Moreover, the role of institutional safety net in shaping this connection, and factors influencing preference shifts regarding automation, remain understudied. This study conducts an online survey experiment in the UK and Sweden to address these gaps. First, we find subjective concern, and occupational risks combined with perceived weaker labor market safeguards, lead to calls for automation restriction and job loss compensation. These trends are particularly pronounced in the UK, where institutional protection for workers is less robust. Second, people support accelerating technology-driven change when they see its benefits shared widely, but this shift is mainly observed among individuals relatively safer from automation risks. Our findings suggest strengthening the institutional safety net and envisioning equitable benefit-sharing are crucial for moderating public anxiety toward technology-driven economic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of the digital economy has highlighted the crucial role of data in economic growth. This study investigates the impact of two types of innovation on long-term growth by incorporating data into a model of creative destruction and knowledge accumulation. Unlike traditional factors, data exhibit nonrivalry between the two research and development (R&D) sectors, thereby influencing the growth rate of economic outputs simultaneously without interference. Our findings reveal the existence of a balanced growth path (BGP) in both the decentralized economy and the social planner's economy. In horizontal innovation, data can be transformed into digital knowledge to promote the economic growth [Cong et al. (2021)]. In addition to horizontal innovation, the utilization of data in vertical innovation also enhances the success rate of innovation, with a gradual decrease in per capita data usage on the BGP. Moreover, as agents accumulate human capital, the economy achieves higher output levels, effectively addressing consumer privacy concerns. However, along the transitional path, insufficient data provision by both R&D sectors leads to lower economic growth rates or more intense economic fluctuations, necessitating policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the Data Act (DA) recently implemented in the European Union (EU) and its impact on data access and sharing rights in the Internet of Things (IoT) industry. The DA aims to address governance issues surrounding IoT data, particularly the control held by manufacturers, which can hinder competition and innovation. While the DA introduces mandatory data access and sharing rights for IoT device users, there are concerns about their effectiveness. The article also highlights provisions in the DA that may favor manufacturers and have anti-competitive effects. Overall, the article suggests that while the DA acknowledges the flaws in the current system, it still grants significant control to manufacturers over IoT data. The author argues that more needs to be done to empower consumers and protect competition and innovation in relation to IoT devices and data. [Extracted from the article]

Corporate green technology innovation (GTI) is an effective way to solve environmental problems and achieve the goal of sustainable development. It is of great theoretical significance and strategic value to explore the influence of government behavior on corporate GTI. Based on institutional theory and attention theory, this study empirically examines the impact of government environmental attention (GEA) on corporate GTI by using data for China’s A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2021. We find that GEA can significantly promote corporate GTI, and there are four channels of action: strengthening environmental regulatory policies, increasing green investment, strengthening environmental information disclosure, and enhancing corporate social responsibility. Moreover, executive environmental experience, public environmental participation and social media attention positively moderated the impact of GEA on firms’ GTI. Heterogeneity analyses show that these positive effects are more significant in regions with low enforcement intensity, eastern regions, heavily polluted industries and state-owned firms. We also find that GEA can significantly enhance the efficiency and quality of GTI in enterprises, as well as encourage GTI among heavily polluting firms. GTI positively affects enterprise value, total factor productivity, and also improves enterprise environmental performance. Our results provide direct evidence from developing countries that GEA promotes GTI, and also provide theoretical support and decision-making references for further improving environmental policies and achieving sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis article analyzes the impact of digital economy development on enterprise investment by using the “Broadband China” strategy as an exogenous shock and applying a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model to panel data from 2010 to 2020. The results indicate that the digital economy significantly promotes enterprise investment by improving R&D, obtaining more financing from banks, and enhancing internal control. Furthermore, the impact of the digital economy on enterprise investment varies significantly among enterprises that have a high R&D expenditure, are state-owned, large-scale, lower financially constrained, or capital-intensive. The conclusion is supported by a series of robustness tests. This study clarifies the role and influence of government-led digital economy infrastructure construction on micro-enterprise investment decisions and provides recommendations for boosting the development of the digital economy and China’s enterprise investment development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we offer an original framework to study Artificial Intelligence (AI). The perspective we propose is based on the idea that AI is a system technology, and that a useful description of AI cannot abstain from mapping the components of the system, their interdependence, and how the synergies they create shape at the roots the directions of AI development. We adopt the concept of Large technical systems (LTS) to give substance and structure to our idea. Using LTS, we are able to scaffold AI and the forces at work steering its production, deployment, and evolution. We find that AI as a system shares essential features with infrastructural technologies such as the Internet. The LTS framework proves very useful to capture important nuances of the technology, and it allows us to trace the connections and cross–influences among its constituting domains—algorithms (software), compute (hardware), and data. We compare our proposed framework with other concepts usually associated with radical innovations, and suggest in which respects AI differs from these ideal–types. We consider ours a timely exercise, as we witness the formation of an AI industry. While in the making, this industry is rapidly ossifying, together with its specific problems, power imbalances, and development scenarios; the focus on the system–ness of AI allows uncovering the deeper structure of this technological breakthrough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Project management and project portfolio management (PPM) foster competitiveness by facilitating the implementation of organizational strategy. Although organizations often struggle to develop PPM capabilities, the academic community does not have an in-depth understanding of the conditions for successfully developing these capabilities. In response, we conducted a multiple-case study with 50 interviewees to develop a theoretical model of the PPM capability-building process. This model is built on the notion of organizational sensemaking and identifies aspects that comprehensively explain why it usually takes so long to develop PPM capabilities. We conceptualize the PPM capability-building process as one that is strongly influenced by (1) the effects of structural rearrangements, (2) the appropriate use of external resources during that process, (3) the role of executive support and legitimization, (4) episodes of regression, and (5) the need for internalization and habitualization. In addition, we provide starting points for explaining organizational capability building in more general terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation is changing the innovation landscape, not only of firms but also at the macro level. This study aims to analyse how configurations of European Union countries’ innovation inputs that lead to innovation outputs are affected by the levels of national digital transformation. A novel configurational moderation approach is adopted to assess the impact of digital transformation on the 27 EU countries’ national systems of innovation (NSI). Results showed that the presence of all innovation inputs is a sufficient configuration for the presence of high innovation outputs, while three different configurations were found to be sufficient for its absence. The configurational moderation analysis revealed that digital transformation effectively moderates the arrangement of innovation inputs leading to the presence of high innovation outputs, where the human capital and research pillar loses its importance. The results of this study can be understood as benchmarks, against which less innovative countries may compare and develop their NSI. They also shed light on the specific configurations followed by each EU country in achieving innovation outputs, which could be an input for Union-based policies directed at the development of concrete innovation pillars in specific Member States. Furthermore, findings enlighten international business managers about the strengths and weaknesses of EU countries’ NSI, which may aid them in their internationalisation decisions.

eSports, as a competitive activity related to the video game industry has attracted significant attention in recent years. Using co-citation analysis of references and authors, bibliographic coupling of sources, and author keyword co-occurrence analysis, this paper aims to carry out a bibliometric study using information extracted from the Web of Science database between 2010 and 2022 to provide an overview of the current knowledge structure of eSports and its evolution over time from a specific perspective related to Business, Management and Economic (BM&E) issues. This analysis reveals that the current body of literature focuses primarily on key aspects, such as defining eSports, differentiating them from traditional sports, and exploring their commercial potential within the entertainment industry. This study contributes to the advancement of knowledge related to the BM&E-eSports research field by providing information on the lack of theoretical foundations, current trends, and potential future research directions. The practical implications of this study can help both researchers identify the most relevant topics and key aspects in the BM&E-eSports research field and help business managers make appropriate decisions and design effective strategies to manage eSports organizations. Overall, this research lays the foundation for future studies that aim to understand the business potential of eSports and its impact on the market and society.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on public institutions management system which imposed a digital transformation of all processes. This study explores how integrating digitalization improves management processes within Romanian public organizations. It is based on a survey approach and on “snowball” sampling technique for collecting answers from 377 employees. The analysis was developed with structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), prediction-oriented segmentation (PLS-POS), and multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA). The obtained results show that the digitalization of public institutions has a positive effect on all five managerial functions, namely on planning, organizing, coordinating, motivating, and controlling. The findings revealed three distinct homogenous groups of respondents using a posteriori segmentation, presenting variations in tool usage and function execution. There are multi-faceted contributions of this study: (1) in terms of theory, as it contributes to the literature by reinforcing existing knowledge; (2) in terms of methodology as it employs triangulation, and (3) in terms of practical implications by offering insights for decision-makers aiming to enhance institutional dynamics in public administration, albeit within the limitations of its geographic focus. In the last part of the paper, future research directions for integrating digitalization within public institutions are presented.

Government intention to spur innovation can result in the proliferation of low-quality patents, which is especially pronounced in countries with a low level of government accountability. This study examines the paradoxical effects of government-funded innovation in weakly institutionalized environments. I offer a game-theoretic model, in which the government has a stake in technological development and invests in research and development, although this encourages the growth of low-quality patents. Using Russian patents data between 1998 and 2016, I illustrate this mechanism by demonstrating the causal impact of Russia's government policy, which resulted in a simultaneous increase in the number of patents and a decrease in the absolute number of high-quality patents in the patent pool. This study provides a theoretical background for evaluating the impact of political incentives for investing in the creation of new technologies in the technological development of countries.

The deep integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into enterprises presents both opportunities and challenges, making it a focal point of current research. This study explores the impact of AI on corporate risk-taking, using data spanning 2010–2019 from A-share listed companies in China. Our findings suggest that AI significantly heightens companies’ level of risk-taking. Furthermore, financing constraints can amplify the relationship between AI and risk-taking, enhancing their sensitivity correlation. AI also significantly improves firms’ investment efficiency and mitigates their underinvestment issues. Finally, mediation tests indicate that AI enhances risk-taking by diminishing firms’ risk perception. Overall, we offer valuable insights into and references for accelerating the deep integration of AI into enterprises.

Adoption of international standards and investment in research and development (R&D), can be seen as two possible paths to support enterprises’ sustainable innovation and technological progress. This study argues that some aspects of R&D investment and certification to international standards are connected by identifying common factors that influence standards certification and business investment in R&D and examining the potential associations between the two. First, we examine the relationship between standards certification and R&D investments in European firms and identify enterprise characteristics that potentially affect each of the two concerns, focusing on differences and similarities. The analysis uses data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys collected in 2018 and 2019 in selected European countries. We analyse the share and characteristics of firms that applied international standards and R&D expenditures. The probit regression results reveal a positive correlation between R&D expenditures and certification. Other factors affecting the probability of certification include size, export focus and industry. Bivariate probit regression allows us to identify common factors affecting both R&D expenditures and certification, showing significant variations between different forms of entrepreneurship. Subsidiaries of larger companies have a greater chance of being certified and investing in R&D. In contrast, sole proprietorships are significantly less active in both cases. Mentioned factors affects firms’ capabilities to develop sustainable innovation and adopt new sustainable technologies.

With the rapid development of intelligent production technology, using the advantage of industrial robots to promote corporate green development has become an inevitable trend. The study conducts an empirical test using 916 Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2019. Results indicate that industrial robots can effectively reduce firm-level carbon emissions, while technology innovation and internal control promote this effect. Also, robots can suppress corporate carbon emissions by enhancing human capital's level and increasing investment in emission-reduction equipment. Through heterogeneity analysis, this negative effect is more significant in regions with greater carbon reduction pressure and industries with higher capital-to-labor ratios. This paper enriches the related research on intelligent manufacturing and energy saving and provides empirical evidence for the use of intelligent production technology to achieve corporate carbon reduction, which is of great significance in cracking the intrinsic contradiction between emission reduction and development and accelerating the realization of sustainable development.