This study examines the differential impact of proactive and reactive work connectivity behaviors on job well-being, drawing from the perspective of boundary theory. The increasing popularity of work connectivity behavior after-hours (WCBA) has attracted widespread attention from scholars on the relationship between WCBA and employee well-being. One view suggests that the impact of WCBA is negative, while another view suggests it is positive. Obviously, the impact of (WCBA) on well-being at work is still contradictory. To clarify the complexity of the impact of WCBA on well-being at work, based on boundary theory, we divided WCBA into proactive WCBA (PC) and reactive WCBA (RC), and examined the double-edged sword effect of WCBA on well-being at work, as well as the mediating mechanisms of job control and work-to-home conflict, and the moderated effects of boundary segmentation preferences. This study uses an empirical sampling method to collect data from 125 employees for a period of five days for quantitative research. The results show that, first, PC has an inverted U-shaped effect on job control, and job control is negatively related to well-being at work. Thus, the mediating effect of job control is significant. Second, RC has a negative impact on job control, and there is also a negative relationship between job control and well-being at work. Therefore, the mediating effect of job control is significant. Third, PC and RC are positively correlated with work-to-home conflict, and work-to-home conflict has a significant positive impact on well-being at work. Therefore, the mediating effect of work-family conflict is significant. Fourth, the study also found that integration preference moderates the relationship between work-to-home conflict and PC on well-being at work; that is, the mediating effect of work-to-home conflict is stronger for employees with a low integration preference. This study enriches our understanding of WCBA, PC, and RC from the perspective of proactive and passive employee behaviors. The study also provides a new interpretation of the impact of WCBA on well-being at work and offers valuable insights into sustainable development in digital social transformation and the application of boundary theory and the theory of empowerment–subjugation in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the study deepens our understanding of the heterogeneous regulatory role played by work–family integration preferences in influencing well-being at work under different types of WCBA.

Achieving breakthroughs in key core technologies is an inherent requirement for attaining a high level of scientific and technological self-reliance. The construction of a unified market (market integration construction) reshapes the rules of the innovation system and drives enterprises to tackle key core technologies. Based on the theory of complex adaptive systems, this paper uses the data of China’s A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2023 and the statistical yearbook to study the impact of market integration construction on the key core technological innovation of enterprises and its mechanism. The empirical research results show that: (1) Market integration construction reconstructs the rules governing resource flow, competitive incentives, and collaborative networks, guiding enterprises to achieve the emergence of key core technologies through nonlinear interactions. (2) Market integration construction exerts distinct effects on key core technological innovation by enhancing industrial investment and financial investment. (3) Agile responsiveness positively moderates the relationship between market integration construction and key core technological innovation. (4) The positive impact of market integration construction on key core technological innovation is more pronounced in non-state-owned, follower, and large enterprises. This study provides a theoretical basis and practical insights for advancing market integration construction and tackling key core technologies.

Solid waste governance actions are important to achieve sustainable urban development. This study uses the “zero-waste city” pilot policy as a natural experiment to evaluate the impact of solid waste governance actions on corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. The research shows that solid waste governance actions improve corporate ESG performance by enhancing government environmental concerns, public environmental concerns, and corporate green innovation. The analysis of spillover effects indicates that solid waste governance exerts positive spatial spillover effects. Heterogeneity tests reveal that the positive effect of solid waste governance actions on corporate ESG performance is more pronounced in enterprises characterized by higher-quality information disclosure and stronger internal governance, industries with greater solid waste output and more advanced technology, regions with a closer government–market relationship, and in central–eastern regions. These findings contribute to understanding the micro-level effects of solid waste governance actions and the determinants of corporate ESG performance, providing valuable insights for other developing countries to govern solid waste and improve corporate ESG performance.

This study examines the differential impact of proactive and reactive job crafting behaviors on job well-being, drawing from the perspective of boundary theory. The increasing popularity of work connectivity behavior after-hours (WCBA) after work has attracted widespread attention from scholars on the relationship between WCBA and employee well-being. One view suggests that the impact of WCBA is negative, while another view suggests it is positive. Obviously, the impact of (WCBA) on well-being at work is still contradictory. To clarify the complexity of the impact of WCBA on well-being at work, based on boundary theory, we divided WCBA into proactive WCBA (PC) and reactive WCBA (RC), and examined the double-edged sword effect of WCBA on well-being at work, as well as the mediating mechanisms of job control and work-to-home conflict, and the moderated effects of boundary segmentation preferences. This study uses empirical sampling method to collect data from 125 employees for a period of five days for quantitative research. The results show that, first, PC has an inverted U-shaped effect on job control, and job control is negatively related to well-being at work. Thus the mediating effect of job control is significant. Second, RC has a negative impact on job control, and there is also a negative relationship between job control and well-being at work. Therefore, the mediating effect of job control is significant. Third, PC and RC are positively correlated with work-to-home conflict, and work-to-home conflict has a significant positive impact on well-being at work. Therefore, the mediating effect of work-family conflict is significant. Fourth, the study also found that integration preference moderates the relationship between work-to-home conflict and PC on well-being at work, that is, the mediating effect of work-to-home conflict is stronger for employees with low integration preference. This study enriches our understanding of WCBA, PC and RC from the perspective of proactive and passive employee behaviors. The study also provides a new interpretation of the impact of WCBA on well-being at work and offers valuable insights for the sustainable development in digital social transformation and the application of boundary theory and the theory of empowerment-subjugation in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the study deepens our understanding of the heterogeneous regulatory role played by work-family integration preferences in influencing well-being at work under different types of WCBA.

The post‑pandemic era has witnessed that office politics has become increasingly concealed and digitalized under remote‑work arrangements, imposing substantial impacts on employees’ psychological states and behavioral responses. Grounded in the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study constructs a moderated‑mediation model to explore how perceived office politics evokes work withdrawal behaviors among remote employees. Questionnaire data were collected from 412 remote employees, and hypotheses were tested via hierarchical regression and bootstrapping approaches. Results show that perceived office politics positively predicts emotional exhaustion and work‑withdrawal behaviors. Emotional exhaustion fully mediates the association between perceived office politics and work withdrawal. Furthermore, remote‑work frequency positively moderates the link between perceived office politics and emotional exhaustion, such that this relationship is stronger for employees engaging in high‑frequency remote work. Our findings indicate that, although digital work settings reduce face‑to‑face interpersonal conflicts, information asymmetry in distributed teams may amplify stress‑related psychological costs and trigger employees’ “invisible withdrawal”. This study offers empirical evidence for understanding the psychological consequences of transformed workplace politics in modern organizations and yields practical implications for organizational intervention in remote and hybrid contexts.