New urbanization (NU) and sustainable transportation (ST) are two important issues in urbanization, and their symmetrical coupling is an important factor for measuring the development of the urbanization process. To comprehensively explore the symmetrical coupling level of NU and ST in the urbanization process, this study proposed a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model and calculated the CCD values of China’s nine metropolises using panel data from 2007 to 2016. The results showed that: (1) From the perspective of each city’s development, the CCD values for Beijing, Tianjin and Chongqing showed a downward trend, and those for Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Wuhan exhibited a rising trend, while the CCD values for Zhengzhou and Xi’an fell initially and then rose gradually; (2) Based on the regions of the nine cities, the CCD values of the eastern cities and the central cities all demonstrated a growth trend, while those of the western cities were consistently lower than the central and eastern cities; however, the western cities experienced the highest growth rate. (3) Predictive results showed that the CCD levels of new urbanization and sustainable transportation in the eastern, central and western cities are projected to remain unchanged. Finally, it is expected that regionally balanced development will be realized in 2025. From the symmetrical coupling perspective, this study measured and predicted the coupling coordination level of NU and ST of nine metropolises undergoing the urbanization process, which provides a theoretical basis for effective decision-making for comprehensive and sustainable development of China’s urbanization.

Reverse logistics is a known supply chain practice and has been proven effective in recent decades. In developing countries, these practices are already employed and considered beneficial for the business or firms. The reverse logistics concept creates value for customers and firms. Considering this, this study intends to highlight reverse logistics practices in Pakistan and examine the reverse logistics impacts on competitive advantage with the mediating role of the firm’s organizational performance in Pakistan’s manufacturing industries. In this study, plastic bottle manufacturing firms working in Pakistan were selected to collect the data. Hence, to collect the data from these firms, a survey technique was sought to determine the impact of reverse logistic practices on competitive advantage with the mediating role of organizational performance. A structured and adapted questionnaire was used in this regard. Organizational performance was assumed as the operational and financial performance of these firms. Data were collected using a convenience sampling technique, and the targeted population was the middle-level employees of bottle manufacturing firms. The statistical tool was adopted as the study was quantitative, and results were extracted numerically. IBM SPSS and AMOS version 24 were used as supporting statistical analysis and interpretation tools. Data analysis demonstrated that out of 219 respondents, 68 were supervisors, and others were middle managers. Statistics show that most females were supervisors, and most males were middle managers. “Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)” was performed to examine the fit of the three-factor model, showing good fit indices (Chi-square/df = 2.71, CFI = 0.902, TLI = 0.896, RMSEA = 0.081), which indicates that the model fits the data well. According to the study’s findings, a significant impact was examined between reverse logistics and competitive advantage, and a mediating role was confirmed between those variables. This study poses unique strengths in theoretical and practical ways and helped enrich the available literature and findings.