Hua Zhang

Prof. Dr. Hua Zhang

Sunwah International Business School, Liaoning University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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19 January 2023 in Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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HZHua Zhang
Hua Zhang
QZQiwang Zhang
Qiwang Zhang
Nowadays, no organization or sector is immune to the influences of digital transformation. It has been generally recognized as a significant promoter of corporate efficiency and effectiveness. However, the literature on whether and how digital transformation can facilitate corporate total factor productivity is scarce. In this case, this paper aims to empirically investigate whether and how digital transformation can boost a firm’s total factor productivity. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2007–2020 and structural equation model analyses in STATA 16.0, this paper identifies that (1) digital technology, one dimension of digital transformation, has no significant effects on enterprise total factor productivity, while digital application, the other dimension of digital transformation, can directly enhance enterprise total factor productivity; (2) both digital technology and digital application can indirectly boost enterprise total factor productivity through the decreasing of supplier concentration; and (3) digital technology adversely affects enterprise total factor productivity through the increasing of customer concentration, and digital application may positively affect enterprise total factor productivity through the decreasing of customer concentration. Our study is one of the first to explore the mediating effect mechanism of the relationship between digital transformation and enterprise total factor productivity from the perspective of supply chain management.

22 February 2023 in Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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HZHua Zhang
Hua Zhang
SYShaofeng Yuan
Shaofeng Yuan
The diffusion of big data in recent years has stimulated many companies to develop big data analytics capability (BDAC) to boost innovation performance. However, research regarding how and when BDAC can increase innovation performance is still scant. This study aims to test how (i.e., the mediating role of strategic flexibility and strategic innovation) and when (i.e., the moderating role of environmental uncertainty) BDAC can boost a firm’s innovation performance drawing on resource-based theory. Through a survey of 421 Chinese managers and employees who are engaged in the field of big data analytics, this study reveals that (1) BDAC has a positive effect on innovation performance, (2) strategic flexibility and strategic innovation play a significant serial mediating role in this relationship, and (3) the positive effect of BDAC on innovation performance is more significant under high (vs. low) environmental uncertainty conditions. This study contributes to the extant literature by verifying how BDAC can increase a firm’s innovation performance through the serial mediating role of strategic flexibility and strategic innovation. It also confirms a contingent factor (i.e., environmental uncertainty) regarding the positive effect of BDAC on innovation performance.

27 January 2024 in Journal of Cleaner Production
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
HZHua Zhang
Hua Zhang
XWXiaohui Wang
Xiaohui Wang
MAMuhammad Waheed Akhtar
Muhammad Waheed Akhtar

Min ZHOUMin ZHOU
Min ZHOU
HZHua Zhang
Hua Zhang
NKNan Ke
Nan Ke
Cultivated land utilization around the world is accompanied by the cultivated land fragmentation, which is a significant agricultural feature of countries with economies in transition. Thereby, governments of the PRC have successively promulgated a series of relevant policies to promote the cultivated land transfer (CLT) and stimulate the transformation of cultivated land utilization to be both green and efficient. In the context of large-scale CLT and the implementation of a rural revitalization strategy for China, it is of great significance to explore the effect of CLT on cultivated land green utilization efficiency (CLGUE). In this work, 30 provinces of China were selected as the objects of investigation; the super-efficiency SBM model was used to evaluate CLGUE; the mediation effect model and threshold regression model were used to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the CLT’s influence on CLGUE. According to the results of this study, the following conclusions were drawn. First of all, the CLGUE in China as a whole showed an upward trend improvement from 2005 to 2019. Due to the different natural and economic conditions, the CLGUE trends showed significant spatial disparities at both the grain functional areas level and provincial level. Secondly, the CLT could promote CLGUE directly, and the mediation regression results demonstrated that CLT was able to enhance CLGUE indirectly through the mediator of cultivated land management scale. Thirdly, the threshold effect test confirmed the existence of a single threshold, indicating that when the level of CLT gradually crossed the threshold, the promotion effects of CLT on CLGUE would slow down. Lastly, the heterogeneity analysis indicated that the promotion effects of CLT on CLGUE in different geographical location areas and grain functional areas were positive, and that there were significant differences in regression coefficients.

17 February 2025 in Systems
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Journal Article
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QLQi Li
Qi Li
WTWeijian Tian
Weijian Tian
HZHua Zhang
Hua Zhang
The swift advancement of digital technologies under Industry 4.0 has significantly transformed business operations and supply chain management. These advancements hold the potential to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and foster sustainable development; however, they also create challenges due to the uneven adoption of digital technologies across enterprises. (1) Background: The adoption of digital technologies across supply chains is uneven, resulting in a digital divide between enterprises. This disparity disrupts supply chain collaboration and alignment with sustainable practices. (2) Methods: This research examines how the corporate digital divide affects the supply–demand imbalance by employing a quantitative method to identify obstacles and strategies for improving collaboration. This research employs a quantitative approach, specifically multiple regression analysis, to investigate how the digital divide among enterprises affects the supply–demand imbalance and to identify strategies for overcoming collaboration barriers. The research utilizes firm-level data from the Chinese stock market and accounting research databases and performs robustness checks, including methods such as the instrumental variable approach and the Heckman two-stage model, to ensure the validity of the findings. (3) Results: The study finds that the corporate digital divide exacerbates imbalances in both upstream and downstream chains. Elevating supply chain resilience has effectively alleviated this relationship. Specifically, the strengthening of resource resilience and process resilience has effectively alleviated the impact of the corporate digital divide on the supply–demand imbalance in the upstream supply chain, while the enhancement of system resilience and product resilience has effectively mitigated the impact of the corporate digital divide on the supply–demand imbalance in the downstream supply chain. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the impact of the digital divide in supply chain enterprises on supply–demand imbalance varies under different conditions of network centrality, supply chain concentration, government digital focus, and enterprise nature. (4) Conclusions: To foster sustainability in Industry 4.0, enterprises must bridge the corporate digital divide and enhance supply chain collaboration. It is recommended to mitigate upstream supply chain disruptions caused by the digital divide by improving resource and process resilience while alleviating downstream impacts through strengthened system and product resilience. Furthermore, fostering collaborative digital development among enterprises is essential for optimizing supply chain sustainability.

13 January 2023 in Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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Min ZHOUMin ZHOU
Min ZHOU
HZHua Zhang
Hua Zhang
ZZZixuan Zhang
Zixuan Zhang
HSHanxiaoxue Sun
Hanxiaoxue Sun
Digital financial inclusion (DFI), characterized by digitalization and inclusiveness, has generally been recognized as a significant promoter of efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of agricultural production. Simultaneously, cultivated land green utilization efficiency (CLGUE), which is the significant guarantees of food security, social stability and environmental protection, has attracted increasing attention in the recent decades. In practice, DFI seems to be a vital antecedent of the improvement of CLGUE. However, in the academic field, research on whether and how DFI can affect CLGUE is scarce. In this case, based on triple bottom line theory, this paper theoretically and empirically investigates whether and how DFI can reinforce CLGUE through the mediator of cultivated land transfer (CLT). Using Chinese provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020 and structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis in STATA 16.0, this paper identified the following: (1) DFI can directly facilitate CLGUE; (2) DFI can indirectly improve CLGUE through CLT. (3) DFI has regional heterogeneity in the improvement of CLGUE. Compared to the central and western areas, the positive relationship between DFI and CLGUE in the eastern areas is more obvious; (4) compared with main grain producing and main grain producing and marketing balance areas, the positive relationship in the main grain marketing areas is more obvious. Our research is one of the first to explore the mediating mechanism between DFI and CLGUE from the perspective of CLT.