Browsing by Author "Zhu, Xiaowen"

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    Explaining the green development behavior of local governments for sustainable development: evidence from China
    (MDPI, 2023-10-01) Du, Jianguo; Zhu, Xiaowen; Li, Xingwei; Ünal, Enes; Longhurst, Phil
    Although researchers have examined organizational sustainability practices, a specific interpretation of local government green development practices remains for supplemental analysis. This study conducted an empirical survey of 53 local officials from departments related to green development to understand the key processes and practices of green development behavior of local governments in China. The key findings indicate that the main stakeholders involved in the green development practices of Chinese local governments consist of enterprises and residents. In part, local government green development practices emphasize the greening of enterprises, especially in the step of process environmental regulation. The new institutionalism theory and the organizational process research provide dependable insights into green development behaviors. Our findings further shed light on the process of cross-sectoral cooperation across local government departments in green development, contributing to local multi-sectoral interactions for regional green development.
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    Impact of recycler information sharing on supply chain performance of construction and demolition waste resource utilization
    (MDPI, 2022-03-24) Zheng, Haoxuan; Li, Xingwei; Zhu, Xiaowen; Huang, Yicheng; Liu, Zhili; Liu, Yuxin; Liu, Jiaxin; Li, Xiangye; Li, Yuejia; Li, Chunhui
    In recent years, the generation of a large amount of construction and demolition waste (CDW) has threatened the public environment and human health. The inefficient supply chain of CDW resource utilization hinders the green development of countries around the world, including China. This study aims to reveal the impact of information sharing regarding recyclers’ market demand forecast on the performance of CDW resource utilization supply chains. Therefore, this paper uses the incomplete information dynamic game method to establish and solve the decision-making model of the construction and demolition waste resource utilization supply chain under the conditions of recyclers sharing and not sharing their information. The paper then obtains the Bayesian equilibrium solution and the optimal expected profit for each party. Finally, a numerical simulation was used in order to verify the validity of the model and conclusions. The main conclusions are as follows. In the CDW resource utilization supply chain, if the recycler is more pessimistic about the market’s demand forecast, their information sharing makes the remanufacturer more motivated to improve their level of environmental responsibility. In addition, information sharing by recyclers is always beneficial in increasing the profit of the remanufacturer, but it also may make the recycler lose profit. When the efficiency of the environmental responsibility investment of remanufacturers is in a high range, information sharing increases the profits of recyclers. Conversely, information sharing has no significant effect on the profits of recyclers. The impact on the profits of the entire CDW resource utilization supply chain depends on the intensity of competition among channels, the market share of offline recycling channels and the efficiency of environmental responsibility investments.
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    Influencing factors and mechanisms of local government green development behaviour: evidence from China
    (Cranfield University, 2024-01) Zhu, Xiaowen; Ünal, Enes; Longhurst, Philip
    Green development has become an important strategy for local governments to achieve greater sustainability, and adopting green development behaviours has significant implications for local governments in addressing the relationship between the environment and the economy. Previous research demonstrated that the unique characteristics of green development practices have received considerable attention from scholars. Most studies have highlighted green development practices in the private sector, although the adoption of green development practices in the public sector remains understudied. Current research on green development behaviour in the public sector primarily reflects, at the individual level, the green behaviour of employees and, at the organisational level, the green purchasing behaviour of a particular government department. The discussion of local government green development behaviour is not predominant. Therefore, this thesis proposes that a detailed understanding of the processes and specific practices of local government green development behaviours may be essential for local governments to improve the effectiveness of implementing sustainable practices. Although existing studies have addressed the influencing factors that lead to the adoption of sustainable development by local governments, there needs to be a more systematic theoretical analysis of the underlying mechanisms adopted by local governments to achieve green development behaviours. Accordingly, this thesis aims to explore the factors that influence the implementation of green development behaviours by local governments and the mechanisms of influence between the factors. This study draws on mixed methods to develop two studies. The first is a qualitative study that explores local government green development behaviour and its influencing factors. It applies various data collection methods, including semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Fifty-three officials from local government departments related to green development in China’s Jiangsu province were interviewed, and the data were analysed using a grounded theory method. The second is a quantitative study. Seven hundred twenty-two valid questionnaires were collected, and the model proposed in the first study with Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings illustrate how the interactions between various factors shape the green development behaviour of local governments. The main findings show that: (1) local government green development behaviour is a kind of behavioural change, which can be divided into local government green development policy formulation and implementation. (2) The three main influences on local governments’ green development behaviours include internal driving factors, external environmental pressures, and the basis of regional green development. (3) Internal driving factors and external environmental pressure can influence local governments’ green development behaviours. (4) Internal driving factors mediate the relationship between external environmental pressure and green development behaviour. The basis of regional green development has a moderating effect on the relationship between internal driving factors and green development behaviours, as well as the relationship between external environmental pressures and green development behaviours. This thesis provides a framework that supports local government behaviour's decision-making process on the managerial implications. Paper I analyses the specific processes and practices of local government green development behaviour, Paper II constructs a theoretical model of local government green development behaviour, and Paper III examines the mechanisms by which various factors influence local green development behaviour. At a broader level, this thesis enriches and expands the research content of sustainable practices in the public sector. It also provides novel insights for local governments to formulate effective green development policies, which will help them develop green development directions and implement green development behaviours to promote more remarkable sustainable development in the region.
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    What drives the green development behavior of local governments? a perspective of grounded theory
    (Elsevier, 2024-03-13) Du, Jianguo; Zhu, Xiaowen; Li, Xingwei; Ünal, Enes
    Although the elements that lead local governments to adopt sustainable development behaviors have been examined, the underlying processes that local governments adopt to accomplish green development behavior (GDB) lack systematic theoretical analysis. This study aims to investigate the determinants influencing local governments’ implementation of GDB from the organizational internal and external perspectives. This study employed grounded theory to analyze the data and develop an influencing factor model of local government green development behavior (GDB-LG) after interviewing 53 Chinese local officials. Additionally, through integrating process organization research with new institutional theory, the mechanism that explains how these elements influence GDB was investigated. The results of the study demonstrate that the influencing factors model could give municipal governments clear guidance when creating sensible green development policies, further enhancing the efficacy of GDB.
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    What is the mechanism of government green development behavior considering multi-agent interaction? a meta-analysis
    (MDPI, 2022-07-06) Li, Xingwei; Dai, Jiachi; Zhu, Xiaowen; He, Jinrong; Li, Jingru; Liu, Xiang; Huang, Yicheng; Shen, Qiong
    Worsening environmental problems have created more and more challenges for green development, and the government is often seen as an important guide in turning this situation around. A government generally enacts green development through green development behavior, but previous research has not revealed the mechanism of this behavior. In addition, the multi-agent interaction between the government and green development behavior also needs to be explored. Based on an integrated theoretical model, the authors of this study adopted a meta-analysis method to analyze 18 high-quality published pieces from 6 mainstream databases and described the mechanism of government green development behavior in exploring and thinking about multi-agent interactions. In addition, the authors of this study explored differences in the roles of central and local government green development behaviors and the moderating role of regional heterogeneity. The research results showed that: (1) Enterprise economic behavior, enterprise environmental behavior, enterprise social behavior, and public participation are all significantly positively affected by government green development behavior; (2) local government green development actions have stronger effects than central government actions; (3) regional heterogeneity moderates the effect of government green development behavior. Furthermore, the authors of this study propose relevant countermeasures and suggestions from the government’s point of view. This research provides a theoretical and practical reference for governments to better improve their environmental systems and environmental supervision.