Introduction: Tourists’ environmental misconduct is the primary reason for the environmental destruction that tourist sites experience; nevertheless, their environmentally responsible behavior is also a major push for the improvement of the environment. The main goal of this study is to induce tourists to adopt proactive environmental responsibility behaviors.Methods: A total of 455 valid questionnaires were obtained from China and analyzed using multiple linear regression.Results: The findings of this study indicate employees’ environmentally responsible behavior (E-ERB) in tourist destinations has a positive impact on tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior (T-ERB). In the mediating variable of moral elevation, the correlation between E-ERB and T-ERB is mediated by elevating emotions and views of humanity. And desire to be a better person did not play a mediating role in the relationship between E-ERB and T-ERB. Additionally, environmental knowledge moderates the transmission path of the impact of E-ERB and T-ERB via elevating emotions. With high environmental knowledge, the transmission path of the impact of employees’ environmentally responsible behavior of the tourist destination on tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior via elevating emotions will be enhanced.Discussion: We propose a new perspective to explain the transmission mechanism between employees’ environmentally responsible behavior and tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior in tourism destinations, which will help to expand our understanding of the relationship between employees’ behavior and tourists’ behavior. We expect our study to spark more exploration of the contagion of positive behavior in the field of environmental psychology.

Employees are the executors of corporate tourism environmental governance in the practice of green tourism, and their activities had a direct influence on the ecological environment. Despite encouraging low-carbon tourism and sustainable development, corporations’ human resource policies lacked morality and responsibility. This causes bad environmental performance in organizations. Attachment theory provides the theoretical framework for our investigation into the impact of socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) on organizational citizenship behaviors for the environment (OCBE). Our analysis of 455 data obtained from China revealed that SRHRM had a positive effect on OCBE (eco-initiatives; eco-civic engagement; eco-helping); psychological safety mediated the relationship between SRHRM and OCBE. Additionally, contingent reward leadership (CRL) moderates the impact of SRHRM on employees’ OCBE via psychological safety. Our research presents a novel theoretical framework for explaining socially responsible human resource management and employees’ environmentally friendly behavior. We anticipate that the findings of our research will provide both theoretical direction and management insight for organizations seeking to apply SRHRM.

Guaranteeing an increase in ecologically sustainable food production is a sufficient prerequisite for the long-term development of national food security. This study’s primary goal is to determine strategies for improving the nation’s green total factor productivity (GTFP) of food. We begin by measuring the GTFP of food with the Global Malmquist–Luenberger (GML) index. Second, the food production comparative advantage is determined using the entropy-weighted Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. The food production comparative advantage is then used as a leaping point to experimentally study the pathway to enhancing the GTFP of food. The 510 sample statistics for this study come from 30 provinces in China from 2003 to 2019. The study’s findings indicate that (i.) China’s “food production comparative advantage” and “GTFP of Food” have shown an ascending pattern. China’s Northeast and Huang–Huai–Hai regions have the greatest comparative advantages in food production. The regions with the highest food GTFP are the Northeast and Middle and Lower reaches of the Yangtze River. (ii.) Food production comparative advantage can effectively contribute to green total factor productivity, but there is a time lag. (iii.) As food production’s comparative advantage rises, its contribution to GTFP becomes more apparent. (iv.) Environmental regulation moderates the influence of food production comparative advantage on GTFP. In addition, environmental regulations exert a greater moderating effect in regions with lower green total factor production rates than in regions with higher green total factor production rates. (v.) The food production comparative advantage improves the GTFP through both structural and technological effects. This study not only expands the research horizon of GTFP of food but also offers planning recommendations for technological advancement and structural adjustment in food production.

To explore new strategies to improve the efficiency of land for grain production in China, this study empirically investigates the relationship between the grain imports competition effect and the efficiency of land for grain production from the perspective of virtual land trade based on the new-new trade theory and induced technological innovation theory. We obtained the following conclusions: (1) Overall, the efficiency of land for grain production showed a slow upward trend from 2003 to 2020, with a growth rate of 27.53%. Among them, the efficiency of land for grain production in the Huang-Huai-Hai and northeast regions has increased by 66.41% and 36.30%, respectively. (2) The grain imports competition effect reduces the profitability of domestic grain production through shocks and forces the improvement of China’s grain production land efficiency. It is caused by the trade-for-competition effect. Importing a large number of grain products with lower land use costs reduces the profits of grain producers in the domestic market through shocks, gradually eliminating producers with less efficient land use, thus forcing the improvement of land use efficiency in domestic grain production. (3) The grain imports competition effect is stronger because the developed livestock industry in the northern region requires the import of large quantities of soybeans and corn, and other virtual land content is much lower than the domestic feed grain. Also, the marginal effect of the grain imports competition effect is stronger due to the presence of more producers with less efficient land for grain production in non-major grain-producing regions, which are more likely to be eliminated by market shocks from imports. This study verifies the applicability of the trade promotion competition effect and induces the technological innovation effect in the field of grain trade, which extends the research boundary of virtual land trade in grain.

Motivation: Breaking through the constraints of water scarcity is a crucial factor for the efficient and sustainable production of food in China. Objective: To explore a new strategy to alleviate the water resource pressure in food production in China, based on the theory of resource flow, this study empirically explores the relationship between food imports and the water pressure in food production in China from the perspective of virtual water trade. Data and Method: This study collects panel data from 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China from 2003 to 2020 and employs methods such as the two-way fixed effects model, instrumental variable approach, and spatial Durbin model for empirical analysis. Results: (1) China’s net food imports surged from −0.000397 billion tons (Bt) in 2003 to 0.118325 Bt in 2020, with a rapid annual growth rate of about 9.37%. Changes in net imports are accompanied by virtual water flows. Between 2003 and 2020, the virtual water content of China’s net food imports increased from 31.7086 Bt to 187.7511 Bt, a yearly increase of 10.39%. (2) Virtual water for food imports has a mitigating effect on the water pressure in food production. Every 0.100 Bt of virtual water imported will reduce the water pressure in food production index by 0.026. The impact has a spatial spillover effect. Moreover, as there is high pressure on water resources in food production in northern regions and major grain-producing areas, the mitigating effect of food imports on the pressure of water resources in food production is also enhanced. The quantile regression found that as the water pressure in food production increases, the mitigating effect of virtual water for food imports on the water pressure in food production gradually increases. Implications: This study examines the relevance of resource flow theory within the context of food trade, thereby broadening the scope of research on virtual water trade in food. Additionally, this study offers valuable insights for the development of strategies aimed at mitigating the pressure on water resources associated with food production in China.