Data Scale, Data Scope and Platform Enterprise Performance: Insights from Digital Platform M&As

Data is a key asset for digital platforms,and mergers and acquisitions(M&As)are an important way for platform enterprises to acquire it.The types of data obtained from intra-industry and cross-sector M&As differ,as does the extent to which they interact within or between platforms.The impact of such data on corporate market performance is an important question to consider when selecting strategies for digital platform M&As.Based on our research on advertising-driven platforms,we developed a two-stage Hotelling game model for comparing the market performance effects of intra-industry M&As and cross-sector M&As for digital platforms.We carried out an empirical test using relevant data from advertising-driven digital platforms between 2009 and 2021,as well as a case study on Baidu’s M&A activities.Our research discovered that intra-industry M&As driven by“data economies of scale”and cross-sector M&As driven by“data economies of scope”are both beneficial to the market performance of platform enterprises.Intra-industry M&As have a more significant positive effect on the market performance of platform enterprises because the same types of data are easier to integrate and develop the“network effect of data scale”.From a data factor perspective,this paper reveals the inherent economic logic by which different types of M&As influence the market performance of digital platforms,as well as policymaking recommendations for all digital platforms to select M&A strategies based on data scale,data scope,and the network effect of data.

Earth System Governance in South Asia： Designing Cross-Sector Collaboration

The example of the U.S. and India is provided to define developing countries, with cross-sector collaboration sustainability in South Asia. Earth system governance sustainability and the overarching goal of providing generations the current geopolitical situation between developed and identified as a strategy for addressing environmental is proposed as a structure for addressing environmental an environment in South Asia that can sustain future

Social Services for Mobile Pastoralists： Cross-sector Strategy Based on ＂One Health＂

Mobile pastoralist communities in Sahel countries have serious problems of access to social services. Classic strategies for social services were always based on a single sector, focused on settled populations, and hardly reached mobile communities. This paper aims to show a cross-sector approach as a part of solutions to provide social services for mobile pastoralist communities and describes the ongoing scaling-up process. The method used is based on a transdisciplinary approach which involves target communities and authorities in all processes through workshops and site visits. Interventions adopted the concept of ＂one health＂ benefiting of an added value of closer cooperation between human and animal health. This approach was tested with joint interventions between human and animal health, which provided access to health services for unreached communities and saved resource when compared with single sector intervention. Such approaches could be extended to other social services within cross-sector interventions such as the delivery of basic education in nomadic areas. Such a strategy was validated by the communities and authorities and was further transformed into a national programme after a series of six national stakeholders＇ seminars. The cross-sector intervention will provide a minimum package of services （MPS） without compromising the structural services.

A journey towards shared governance: status and prospects for collaborative management in the protected areas of Bangladesh

Establishment of Protected Areas （PAs）, in the face of rapid deforestation, forest degradation and climate change has been one of the key efforts in conservation of biodiversity worldwide in recent times. While Bangladesh has gained a degree of prominence in the world for its successful social forestry programs, the concept of collaborative pro- tected area management is rather new in the country, initiated in 2004 by the Bangladesh Forest Department in five PAs with financial assistance from USAID. Based on empirical evidence from three of the pilot PAs, we examined the achievements and associated challenges and prospects for co-management. Our fieldwork revealed a number of challenges faced by co-management institutions： （1） institutions were dominated by the elite group, overshadowing the voice of the community people; （2） mutual trust and collective performance are key to good governance but had not taken root in the PAs; （3） encroachment onto forest land and subsequent conversion to agriculture remained a serious problem that discouraged forest-dependent people from participating actively in co-management initiatives; （4） legal provisions （including acts, rules and policies） were not clearly and adequately disseminated and understood at the community level; （5） there remained a degree of ambiguity regarding the roles and responsibilities of forest department （FD） and co-management committees （CMC） in field operations, and this was not enhancing transparency and accountability of the overall initiative; （6） the long-term sustainability of co-management institutions was another major concern, as the local intuitional structure was still in a nascent stage, and provisioning of resources （either internally or externally） remained somewhat uncertain. We offer recommendations for improve- ment.

River Chief System (RCS):An experiment on cross-sectoral coordination of watershed governance

The trans-regional characteristics of watershed governance produce more problems beyond the capacity of each individual water-related department, leading to the fragmentation of watershed management. The River Chief System (RCS) has experienced swift developments over the past decade in China by appointing the local government heads as river chiefs. RCS works efficiently in the short-term due to its superiority in the inclusion of clear responsibility, authority, and multi-sectoral collaboration. However, the characteristics of the authority-based vertical coordination of the hierarchical system remain unchanged, and therefore the problems of organizational logic and the responsibility dilemma still exist. Tasks including perfecting of laws, integrated watershed management, and public participation still need to be completed. RCS reflects the routine and characteristics of the migration of national governance, and as such provides new insights for other developing countries in the design of river management systems.

Enhancing Wind Power Integration through Optimal Use of Flexibility in Multi-Carrier Energy Systems from the Danish Perspective

Denmark’ goal of being independent of fossil energy sources in 2050 puts forward great demands on all energy subsystems (electricity, heat, gas and transport, etc.) to be operated in a holistic manner. The Danish experience and challenges of wind power integration and the development of district heating systems are summarized in this paper. How to optimally use the cross-sectoral flexibility by intelligent control (model predictive control-based) of the key coupling components in an integrated heat and power system including electrical heat pumps in the demand side, and thermal storage applications in buildings is investigated.

SPECIAL ISSUE： DISTRIBUTION OF NATIONAL INCOME IN A TRANSITIONAL ECONOMY Labor income shares （LIS） in economic development： an empirical study based on China＇s sectoral-level data

Empirical study of sectoral-level change in LIS in China reveals that change in industry structure is synchronous and positively correlated with LIS in different sectors of the economy, intensifying overall LIS fluctuations. Our analysis of LIS based on data from the major sectors of China＇s economy show that, relative to 1993, the increase in LIS in 1996 was largely due to the increased proportion of LIS in secondary industry. Relative to 1996, the fall in LIS in 2003 was closely related to the fall in the proportion of primary industry in the overall economy. The year 2004 was unusual in that it witnessed a dramatic fall in overall LIS level. The primary reason for the fall was a change in statistical definition that led to a significant reduction in LIS in the secondary and tertiary sectors. There were huge variations in LIS level among different regions. However, with the passage of time, the regional disparities are gradually being reduced. This is also closely connected to changes in industry structure and within-sector LIS fluctuations.

Mainstreaming the nexus approach in climate services will enable coherent local and regional climate policies

The current challenges that society faces call for actions fostering climate change adaptation and long-term sustainability grounded in effective policies. Consequently, to raise environmental resilience and sustain human wellbeing, we need to overhaul the policy-making process towards a ‘holistic approach’. The nexus approach has proven a valuable tool for identifying gaps and incoherencies in current policies, for understanding major interlinkages across sectors and scales, and for promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nevertheless, a ‘silo approach’ to decision making currently prevails, thus achieving cross-sectoral and cross-scale harmonization still remains a challenge in policy-making. In response to this challenge, the next step in the science–policy–practice interface is to integrate the nexus approach in the ‘climate services’ arena, in order to support integrated policies. Climate services embody a bridge between researchers and stakeholders, and by supporting integrated policies they will ensure synergies between sectors and scales, reduce potential trade-offs, and enable co-benefits.

Journey Through the Groan Zone with Academics and Practitioners: Bridging Conflict and Difference to Strengthen Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery Work

Academic-practitioner divides in disaster management and research can be persistent and pernicious,bearing consequences for disaster survivors and future affected populations. The gap between disaster professionals and academic researchers is often treated as an unavoidable structural problem or a neutral accident of professional silos and circumstance. We suggest that these gaps are not neutral, and that they can and must be overcome. With hundreds of millions of people affected by disaster each year and recovery costs skyrocketing, there is urgency in connecting researcher and practitioner knowledges to avoid expensive mistakes and most importantly, to decrease human suffering. Yet the difficulties that US academic anthropologists and practitioners experienced in their efforts to collaborate became evident in a cross-sector National Science Foundation(NSF)-funded workshop on the relevance of culture in disaster work. We suggest and illustrate how more systematic cross-field communication can be operationalized through engaging in an ongoing and relational process of bridging. Such a process can offer long-term benefits to the people and institutions involved,dramatically enhance the science of disaster management,and help reduce the social and material costs of disaster impacts.