While digitalization offers new opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), it also introduces the phenomenon of the “digitalization paradox”. This paper develops a theoretical model comprising digitalization, digital technology–business alignment, external social capital, and SMEs’ performance, rooted in strategic alignment theory (SAT) and social capital theory (SCT). The necessary data for the study were obtained by distributing questionnaires to 352 small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in digital practices in China, and hierarchical regression analysis was employed to investigate the impact of digitalization on the performance of SMEs and its boundaries of influence. The results indicate an inverted U-shaped relationship between digitalization and SME performance, with both digital technology–business alignment and external social capital serving as positive moderators. Specifically, digital technology–business alignment and external social capital both enhance the positive impact of digitalization on the performance of SMEs and mitigate its negative effects. The findings enhance comprehension of the “digitalization paradox” and offer new insights and solutions for SMEs to navigate the opportunities and challenges of digitalization.

Amidst the digital economy surge, live streaming e-commerce of agricultural products has significantly boosted agricultural prosperity. Investigating farmers’ behavioral intentions toward adopting live streaming e-commerce holds critical importance for fostering agricultural healthy and swift growth. Utilizing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a foundation, this study incorporates three additional variables—government support, platform support, and social learning—to devise a theoretical model. It takes the agriculture-related live streaming e-commerce platform as an example, with 424 Chinese farmers as the sample, to quantitatively assess the factors that impact the intentions to adopt live streaming e-commerce behaviors. The findings indicate that, firstly, the TAM is applicable to the assessment of farmers’ intentions to adopt live streaming e-commerce. Secondly, government support positively impacts perceived usefulness, social learning enhances perceived ease of use, and platform support positively impacts both perceived ease of use and usefulness. Lastly, the technology acceptance extension model applicability varies among farmer groups: government support influence on perceived ease of use is more significant among traditional farmers, social learning impact on perceived ease of use is higher in farmers with higher education levels, and platform support effect on perceived usefulness is stronger among farmers experienced in e-commerce. Therefore, differentiated promotion strategies by the government are necessary, and e-commerce platforms should leverage their technology to offer efficient services and encourage farmer education. A multi-party collaboration model involving the government, platforms, and farmers is essential to collectively foster the healthy development of rural live streaming e-commerce.

The application of artificial intelligence technology has significantly enhanced the operational efficiency of companies, but it has also brought pressure related to job replacement and technological upgrading, leading to anxiety among employees regarding artificial intelligence. This kind of anxiety has a profound impact on employees' work passion, yet currently, there are relatively few researches on this area, making further exploration necessary. This study obtained necessary data by distributing questionnaires to 430 employees in manufacturing companies and conducted empirical analysis to examine how employees' anxiety about artificial intelligence affects their work passion. The results show that anxiety about job replacement and anxiety about learning both diminish employees' work passion, and emotional exhaustion plays a partially mediating role in this process. In addition, service-oriented leadership and learning goal orientation have different moderating effects in the relationship. The findings of this study provide a reference for companies to develop strategies to alleviate the negative impact of employees' anxiety about artificial intelligence on their work passion and enhance the effectiveness of artificial intelligence applications.

China’s live streaming boom has led to mukbang live streaming as a unique food marketing tool. Hosts interact with viewers by tasting and showcasing diverse cuisines in real time. This form of mukbang live streaming has recently been utilized to promote and sell green agri-food products. However, in-depth research into how mukbang live streaming affects the purchase intention for green agri-food products and the underlying mechanisms remains scant. We developed a theoretical model based on stimuli–organism–response theory to explore the impact mechanism. Data was collected via a survey of 455 users from agriculture-related live streaming platforms and analyzed using structural equation modeling with partial least squares. The study found that professional recommendation, audiovisual experience, and social interaction enhance consumers’ perceived utilitarian value; green advocacy, audiovisual experience, and social interaction positively affect consumers’ perceived social value. Both perceived utilitarian value and perceived social value positively affect the intention to purchase green agri-food products. Additionally, we used importance-performance map analysis to compare the model’s effects with latent variable averages, revealing each factor’s importance and performance. The findings offer new insights and recommendations for agri-food marketing strategies, particularly in enhancing consumer behaviors towards green agri-food products, aiding suppliers and mukbang live streaming platforms in more effectively promoting these products.

With the advent of the era of big data, the application of big data analytics in entrepreneurial activities has become increasingly prevalent. However, research on the relationship between big data analytic capabilities and entrepreneurial activities is still in its infancy, and the mechanism by which the two interact remains unclear. Drawing on resource-based theory and entrepreneurial process theory, this research examines the impact mechanism of big data analytic capabilities on the growth performance of start-up enterprises and explores the mediating role of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation. Empirical analysis reveals that big data analytic capabilities have a significant positive impact on the growth performance of start-up enterprises; entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation plays a mediating role in the relationship between big data analytic capabilities and the growth performance of start-up enterprises, but entrepreneurial opportunity recognition does not show a significant mediating effect between the two; and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation play a chain-mediated role in the relationship between big data analytic capabilities and the growth performance of start-up enterprises. These research findings enrich the study of digital entrepreneurship and provide valuable references for the entrepreneurial practice of start-up enterprises.

Perceived value is a key factor shaping consumer purchase decisions. In the field of functional snack consumption, generational differences in value perception dimensions significantly influence decision-making processes, creating both challenges and opportunities for targeted marketing. Drawing on perceived value theory, this study develops a model examining the impact of perceived value on consumption intention for functional snacks. A questionnaire survey was conducted among Chinese Generation Y and Generation Z consumers, and the data were analyzed using PLS-SEM and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The results indicate that self-oriented values (functional and hedonic) exert a significant positive effect on other-oriented values (symbolic and social), and both categories of values positively affect consumption intention. Regarding generational moderation, the effects of functional and hedonic values on purchase intention do not differ significantly across generations; however, symbolic value has a stronger influence on Generation Z, while social value plays a more prominent role for Generation Y. Importance–Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) results further reveal differences in the relative importance and performance of value perception between the two groups. Configuration analysis shows that compared with Generation Y, Generation Z exhibits a higher threshold for strong consumption intention, a lower threshold for weak consumption intention, and greater sensitivity to value deficiency. These findings provide practical insights for functional snack companies to address generational differences and optimize marketing strategies.