Identification of an Aux/IAA regulator for flesh firmness using combined GWAS and bulked segregant RNA-Seq analysis in watermelon

Watermelon is a highly cultivated fruit crop renowned for its quality properties of fruit flesh.Among various quality factors,fruit flesh firmness is a crucial quality parameter influencing the fruit texture,shelf life and its commercial value.The auxin/indole-3-acetic acid(Aux/IAA)plays a significant role in fruit development and ripening of non-climacteric fruits.However,the regulatory mechanism of Aux/IAA in controlling fruit flesh firmness and ripening in watermelon remains unknown.In this study,we employed an integrative approach combining genome-wide association study(GWAS)and bulked segregant RNA-Seq analysis(BSR-Seq)to identify an overlapping candidate region between 12776310 and 12968331 bp on chromosome 6,underlying an auxin-responsive gene(Aux/IAA)associated with flesh firmness in watermelon.Transcriptome analysis,followed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR(qRT-PCR),confirmed that the expression of Aux/IAA was consistently higher in fruits with high flesh firmness.The sequence alignment revealed a single base mutation in the coding region of Aux/IAA.Furthermore,the concomitant Kompetitive/Competitive allele-specific PCR(KASP)genotyping data sets for F2 population and germplasm accessions identified Aux/IAA as a strong candidate gene associated with flesh firmness.Aux/IAA was enriched in the plant hormone signal transduction pathway,involving cell enlargement and leading to low flesh firmness.We determined the higher accumulation of abscisic acid(ABA)in fruits with low flesh firmness than hard flesh.Moreover,overexpression of Aux/IAA induced higher flesh firmness with an increased number of fruit flesh cells while reducing ABA content and flesh cell sizes.Additionally,the allelic variation in Aux/IAA for soft flesh firmness was found to exist in Citrullus mucosospermus and gradually fixed into Citrullus lanatus during domestication,indicating that soft flesh firmness was a domesticated trait.These findings significantly enhanced our understanding of watermelon fruit flesh firmness and consequently the watermelon fruit quality.

Innovation and Firm Co-ownership Network in China’s Electric Vehicle Industry

Firms are embedded in complex networks,where diverse ideas combine and generate new ideas.Shareholders of firms are of-ten seen as critical external resources that have significant influence on firm innovation.The current literature tends to focus on the rela-tionship between firms and their shareholders,while paying less attention to the connections between firms with the same shareholders.This article identifies two types of network spillover effects,intra-city network effect and inter-city network effect,by visualizing the co-ownership networks in China’s electric vehicle(EV)industry.We find that firms with the same shareholders,which are defined as co-owned EV firms,are more innovative than non-co-owned ones.Furthermore,there are two dominant types of firm co-ownership ties formed by corporate and financial institution shareholders.While corporate shareholders help exploiting local tacit knowledge,financial institutions are more active in bridging inter-city connections.The conclusion is confirmed at both firm and city levels.This paper theor-izes the firm co-ownership network as a new form of institutional proximity and tested the result empirically.For policy consideration,we have emphasized the importance of building formal or informal inter-firm network,and the government should further enhance the knowledge flow channel by institutional construction.

加权firm阈值奇异值分解及其旋转机械故障诊断

奇异值分解(Singular value decomposition,SVD)作为一种有效的信号降噪方法广泛应用于旋转机械振动信号周期性瞬态冲击提取中。传统SVD以能量为导向,无法提取出能量较弱但含故障信息丰富的奇异分量(Singular Component,SC)。为此,提出加权firm阈值奇异值分解(Weighted Firm Singular Value Decomposition,WFSVD)方法。该方法首先引入平方包络谱峭度(Squared Envelope Spectrum Kurtosis,SESK)作为量化故障敏感度的指标,以评估各个SC所含故障信息的丰富程度;其次,将SESK作为权重因子引入到基于firm阈值的SC去噪中,设计基于SESK的加权firm阈值SC去噪策略;最后,重构信号,实现信号降噪并有效提取故障特征。对于仿真信号与试验数据的分析验证了所提方法在周期性微弱瞬态冲击提取及旋转机械故障诊断中的有效性。

SLAF marker based QTL mapping of fruit-related traits reveals a major-effect candidate locus ff2.1 for flesh firmness in melon

Flesh firmness(FF) is an important and complex trait for melon breeders and consumers. However, the genetic mechanism underlying FF is unclear. Here, a soft fruit melon(P5) and a hard fruit melon(P10) were crossed to generate F2, and the FF and fruit-related traits were recorded for two years. By performing quantitative trait locus(QTL) specificlocus amplified fragment(SLAF)(QTL-SLAF) sequencing and molecular marker-linkage analysis, 112 844 SLAF markers were identified, and 5 919 SNPs were used to construct a genetic linkage map with a total genetic distance of1 356.49 cM. Ten FF-and fruit-related QTLs were identified. Consistent QTLs were detected for fruit length(FL) and fruit diameter(FD) in both years, and QTLs for single fruit weight(SFW) were detected on two separate chromosomes in both years. For FF, the consistent major locus(ff2.1) was located in a 0.17-Mb candidate region on chromosome 2. Using 429 F2individuals derived from a cross between P5 and P10, we refined the ff2.1 locus to a 28.3-kb region harboring three functional genes. These results provide not only a new candidate QTL for melon FF breeding but also a theoretical foundation for research on the mechanism underlying melon gene function.

Resource constraints and firm innovation:When less is more?

This paper explores the relationship between resource constraints and innovation of new firms.Drawing upon the relevant literature,we incorporate resource constraints as the antecedent to the bricolage-innovation link.Compared to prior studies that treated resource constraints as a one-dimensional variable,we operationalize it along two dimensions:knowledge constraints and financial constraints.Our argument posits that knowledge constraints and financial constraints act as catalysts for innovation in new firms,with bricolage serving as a mediating role.To test our hypotheses,we conducted a survey involving 183 entrepreneurs in the United States.The data analysis demonstrates that bricolage fully mediates the relationship between knowledge con‐straints and innovation and partially mediates the relationship between financial constraints and innovation.Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The impact of political connections on firm pollution: New evidence based on heterogeneous environmental regulation

Increasing attention has been focused on the extent to which corporate political connections influence the growing pollution due to the rapid growth in the popularity of firm pollution in developing countries.We adopt a static threshold regression model to investigate the effects of heterogeneous environmental regulation on political connections and firm pollution based on the panel data from China’s A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2019.The empirical results show a non-linear relationship between the degree of political connection of listed company executives and the level of firm pollution.And the relationship between the two roughly presents a U-shaped relationship under the action of the marketincentive environmental regulation threshold.However,it roughly presents an inverted N-shaped relationship under the action of the command-control environmental regulation threshold.Additionally,the group test results show that the existence of regional and ownership heterogeneity causes certain differences in the environmental behaviour of politically connected enterprises.These findings indicate that diverse environmental regulations are needed to promote sustainable green development and to further expand the theoretical and practical exploration of political connections on firm pollution.

Identifying Spatial Heterogeneity in the Effects of High-Tech Firm Density on Housing Prices:Evidence from Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,China

Innovation capitalization is a new concept in innovation geography research.Extant research on a city scale has proven that innovation is an important factor affecting housing prices and verified that innovation has a capitalization effect.However,few studies investigate the spatial heterogeneity of innovation capitalization.Thus,case verification at the urban agglomeration scale is needed.Therefore,this study proposes a theoretical framework for the spatial heterogeneity of innovation capitalization at the urban agglomeration scale.Examining the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area(GHMGBA),China as a case study,the study investigated the spatial heterogeneity of the influence of high-tech firms,representing innovation,on housing prices.This work verified the spatial heterogeneity of innovation capitalization.The study constructed a data set influencing housing prices,comprising 11 factors in 5 categories(high-tech firms,convenience of living facilities,built environment,the natural environment,and the fundamentals of the districts)for 419 subdistricts in the GHMGBA.On the global scale,the study finds that high-tech firms have a significant and positive influence on housing prices,with the housing price increasing by 0.0156%when high-tech firm density increases by 1%.Furthermore,a semi-geographically weighted regression(SGWR)analysis shows that the influence of high-tech firms on housing prices has spatial heterogeneity.The areas where high-tech firms have a significant and positive influence on housing prices are mainly in the GuangzhouFoshan metropolitan area,western Shenzhen-Dongguan,north-central Zhongshan-Nansha district,and Guangzhou—all areas with densely distributed high-tech firms.These results confirm the spatial heterogeneity of innovation capitalization and the need for further discussion of its scale and spatial limitations.The study offers implications for relevant GHMGBA administrative authorities for spatially differentiated development strategies and housing policies that consider the role of innovation in successful urban development.

创新对企业MD&A叙述性信息披露策略的影响

研发和创新具有投入高、周期长和不确定性高的特征,这使得高创新企业面临较低的透明度和较高的专有成本。一方面为了满足投资者决策需要,防止信息不对称所导致的价值低估,企业有动机提供更多信息;另一方面创新所伴有的专有成本,又使得企业存在专有信息被现有和潜在竞争对手获取的顾虑,从而选择提供模糊信息的披露策略。本文利用2001—2019年A股上市公司数据,检验了企业创新对MD&A叙述性信息披露策略的影响。研究结果表明,随着企业创新的增加,企业叙述性信息披露的信息含量上升(文本相似度显著下降),但是披露的信息质量下降(文本可读性显著降低)。该结果说明管理层既希望向投资者传递更多信息,又担心来自竞争对手的威胁,即管理层会选择释放更多的叙述性信息并模糊表达。上述结果存在于行业竞争更激烈、融资约束程度较高和高管持股比例较高的情况下。本文结论对知识产权信息披露与管理层披露策略选择具有一定的借鉴意义。

客户资产减值与供应商企业投资

高效投资是产业链安全的重要保证,供应链信息溢出效应会导致客户信息对供应商企业投资产生影响。本文运用中国上市公司的供应商企业—客户关系数据,考察了客户资产减值如何影响供应商企业投资。研究发现,客户资产减值会降低供应商企业的投资水平,这验证了客户资产减值在供应链上存在溢出效应。进一步研究发现,客户资产减值通过使供应商企业的管理层产生悲观预期,以及加剧供应商企业的经营风险,进而降低供应商企业的投资水平,但未通过减少信贷资源供给影响供应商企业的投资。此外,对于非国有控股、较弱议价能力、较低行业资产流动性及较高客户媒体关注度的供应商企业,客户资产减值对其投资水平的负向影响更为明显。本文研究结论不仅为客户信息影响上游供应商企业投资提供了经验证据,而且还为监管层规范企业计提资产减值行为,进而提升供应链整体投资效率提供了政策启示。

家族企业更重视员工利益吗?——基于劳动力成本粘性的考察视角

家族企业追求“基业长青”,其在对待员工这一重要利益相关者时,是否会表现出显著的行为偏好和特征?本文切入劳动力成本粘性的研究视角,以2003年—2019年民营上市公司为对象,考察了家族企业劳动力成本的决策行为表现及其机理.研究结果表明,与非家族企业相比,家族企业进行劳动力成本调整时会表现出更强的粘性特征,且随着家族持股水平提升、进入代际传承阶段以及董事会中家族成员占比提高,劳动力成本粘性现象会更加突出.进一步研究发现:维护员工关系和保持良好声誉是造成这一现象的主要原因;家族企业中的劳动力成本粘性具体表现为用工粘性,而非薪酬粘性;行业竞争程度和非劳动密集性都会加剧家族企业的劳动力成本粘性;家族企业承担适当的劳动力成本粘性还有助于促进生产效率,实现劳资“互惠”.本文既丰富了家族企业行为特征和成本粘性影响因素的相关研究,也为处理劳资关系和实现共同富裕提供了一定的现实启示.

金融科技赋能下供应链金融对企业价值的影响

发展供应链金融对于深化金融供给侧结构性改革,增强金融服务实体经济具有不容忽视的重要战略意义.本文通过对2007年-2019年中国A股上市公司全部320.8万篇公告的文本数据信息进行收集整理,实证检验了上市公司发展供应链金融业务对企业价值的影响.研究结果表明:发展供应链金融在短期可以促进企业股价的上涨,在长期可以促进企业价值的提升,并且上市公司采用的供应链金融业务越多,公告中提到供应链金融词汇越频繁,这种提升效果越显著.发展供应链金融业务可以通过信号传递效应、风险承担效应、系统管理效应促进企业价值提高.在供应链金融相关公告中提到金融科技词汇的词频越高,上市公司获得的企业价值提升效果越强.金融科技可以为股票流动性较低、风险承担较弱的企业发展供应链金融业务起到更强的赋能效果.在进行一系列稳健性检验之后,上述结论依然成立.本文不仅为中国公司发展供应链金融业务提高企业价值,提供了基于公开市场数据大样本的实证证据,也对国家和地方政府支持供应链金融的发展具有现实启示。

税收激励、ESG绩效与企业价值——基于内外部互动视角

增强ESG(Environment,Social and Governance,环境、社会和企业治理)绩效已成为提升企业价值的新方式,而内外部良性互动是企业可持续发展的重要途径。使用2009—2022年中国上市公司数据,探究税收激励政策对企业ESG绩效的影响及其与外部市场监管、内部财务冗余的互动效应。实证结果表明:税收激励总体上能显著促进企业ESG绩效,经多种稳健性检验后结论仍然成立。考虑到企业内外部环境因素,资本市场监管程度较高或企业财务冗余较丰富时,税收激励对企业ESG绩效的提升作用更强,其中市场监督与税收激励的互动效应尤为显著。进一步研究表明,税收激励政策对制造业企业绿色转型的影响更明显。经济后果研究表明,税收激励能进一步促进ESG绩效对企业价值提升的作用。

信息技术与企业绩效:知识管理能力与商业模式创新的链式中介作用

信息化时代背景下,企业可以通过先进的信息技术提高管理能力与组织绩效。基于资源基础观和动态能力理论,依循“资源—能力—绩效”的逻辑,以知识管理能力和商业模式创新为中介,探讨信息技术对企业绩效的影响机理。以创新型企业为研究对象,采用问卷调查法收集297份样本数据,并运用偏最小二乘结构方程模型和模糊集定性比较分析方法进行实证检验。结果表明,信息技术对知识管理能力和企业绩效的正向直接效应均显著,知识管理能力对商业模式创新、商业模式创新对企业绩效的正向直接效应均显著,且商业模式创新与知识管理能力在信息技术对企业绩效的正向影响中发挥链式中介作用;企业实现高水平绩效存在3种组态,也间接证实知识管理能力与商业模式创新在信息技术与企业绩效之间存在链式中介效应。研究有助于增进对信息技术与企业绩效间作用关系的理解,丰富资源基础观与动态能力理论,进而为创新型企业可持续成长提供路径指引。

数字化转型、服务化融合与制造业企业绩效提升——兼论经济政策不确定性的调节效应

引入经济政策不确定性作为调节变量,从嵌入式服务化和混入式服务化的双重融合视角,研究数字化转型提升制造业企业绩效的理论机制和作用路径。在此基础上,采用2008—2020年制造业A股上市公司数据对理论机制进行实证检验。研究结果显示:数字化转型能够提升企业绩效,嵌入式服务化发挥了正向中介作用,但在区域分布、所有制结构和技术水平等方面具有明显的异质性;数字化转型能够抑制混入式服务化中制造业企业的“脱实向虚”行为;经济政策的不确定性会增强数字化转型对嵌入式服务化的推动作用和对混入式服务化的抑制作用。

民营企业混合所有制与可持续发展——基于企业ESG绩效评价视角的研究

以2011—2021年沪深A股民营上市公司为样本,从企业ESG绩效的视角切入,深入考察民营企业混合所有制与可持续发展之间的关系。研究发现,国有资本参股民营企业显著提升了企业ESG绩效,该结论在经过Heckman两阶段模型、双重差分模型、倾向得分匹配法、Oster检验以及更换关键变量的度量方法等稳健性测试后仍然成立。作用机制检验结果表明,国有资本参股主要通过强化中小股东治理参与以及增强企业资源获取能力提升了民营企业ESG绩效。异质性分析显示,对于机构投资者持股比例较高、媒体关注度较高的民营企业,以及在经济政策不确定性较强时期,国有资本参股对企业ESG绩效的提升效应更明显。

头部企业市场扩张与行业劳动收入份额变动关系研究

为研究头部企业市场份额变化对行业劳动收入份额的影响,基于1998—2007年的中国工业企业数据,测算制造业头部企业市场份额和制造业劳动收入份额,并建立计量模型进行实证分析。研究结果表明:头部企业市场份额的提高显著降低了行业劳动收入份额,且上述影响在资本密集型行业更为明显;企业间再分配效应和企业内效应是劳动收入份额变动的主要来源,企业进入效应和退出效应的影响相对较小;头部企业市场份额变化主要通过企业间再分配效应影响行业劳动收入份额。

大数据驱动的企业与用户互动创新:理论框架与前沿课题

大数据驱动的企业与用户互动创新已成为企业洞察市场和用户动态、提升创新敏捷性和适应性的重要模式,其关键因素和作用机制日益成为创新、营销和信息系统等领域的热点议题。结合系统性综述设计和关键词共现分析,梳理大数据情境下企业与用户互动创新的研究洞见。针对情境和工具如何影响领先用户与普通用户关系及二者的相互作用机制两个研究缺口,提出大数据驱动的企业与用户互动创新“条件—路径—绩效”理论框架。依据该理论框架,结合文献和案例证据,重点阐述在什么情境和工具条件下企业与领先用户、普通用户以何种互动创新路径影响创新产品和大数据合作资产,由此形成理论创新。分析结果表明,互动创新路径选择本质是在异质性情境和工具条件下,企业在创新新颖性—泛用性以及数据分析成本—收益之间的动态权衡;两类创新路径的动态变化由互动创新工具成熟度、创新主导权的变更所触发。最后,进一步提炼出大数据驱动的企业与用户互动创新理论研究的三类前沿课题,并讨论其理论和实践意义。

政府资助、环境规制与绿色技术创新:基于企业异质性的比较

基于我国2009—2021年沪深A股上市公司的数据,实证检验了政府资助对企业绿色创新的影响,并验证了环境规制的调节效应,同时基于企业异质性分析该效应的差异。结果显示:政府资助对企业绿色创新存在U形影响,环境规制会削弱该影响;政府资助显著促进非重污染企业的绿色创新,而对重污染企业绿色创新存在U形影响,环境规制会削弱政府资助对重污染企业的U形影响;无论国有还是非国有企业,环境规制正向调节政府资助对企业绿色创新的影响,且对非国有企业调节作用更强。据此,政府在加大对企业绿色创新支持力度的同时,应该结合环境监管政策,采取差异化的资助措施,重在引导企业以追求低碳化目标为导向积极开展绿色创新。

基础研究对生物医药企业科学产出的贡献研究——单篇论文属性划分视角

基础研究是核心技术的根基,尤其对于高科技企业的发展具有重要影响。如何准确地识别并测量研究开发中的基础研究对于探究基础研究的影响与作用机制具有重要意义。本文采用一种可定量衡量单篇论文基础程度的指标“LevelScore”,以全球生物医药企业作为研究对象,量化分析了其在2015—2017年引用和发表科学论文的研究性质与规律。研究结果表明,①基础研究为大部分生物医药企业的发展提供了重要参考与支撑,然而,同时进行基础研究和应用研究需要企业具备一定的规模和实力。中小型生物医药企业更倾向于从事极端基础或者极端应用的研究,而大型企业发表论文的基础程度居中。②生物医药企业科研产出的主要知识来源是基础研究而非应用研究,其科研活动对基础研究具有极强的依赖性,同时需要一定的应用研究支持。③生物医药企业的基础研究产出依赖于基础研究型的知识投入。④应用研究型的产出同样受益于基础研究型投入的支持;反之,则较难发生。这验证了基础研究在科技发展中的先导性和奠基性作用。

金融错配与我国非金融企业系统性风险

金融资源配置的有效性关乎实体经济的高质量发展,而金融资源配置的失衡(即金融错配)是否会引致非金融企业系统性风险,这一问题尚未得到充分关注。基于非金融企业部门客观存在的金融错配事实,以2007—2020年我国沪深A股非金融上市企业的年度数据为研究样本,实证检验了金融错配对非金融企业系统性风险的影响效应与作用机制。研究结果表明,金融错配通过推升非金融企业的过度负债、商业信用关联以及“脱实向虚”,显著提高了非金融企业的系统性风险水平。这一效应对于高客户集中度、货币政策紧缩期及金融周期下行期的企业尤为明显。这一研究发现在丰富非金融企业系统性风险驱动因素的同时,也为政策部门进一步优化宏观政策调控方式以降低金融错配引致的非金融企业系统性风险提供了政策启示。