This paper investigates how firm-wide organizational competence shapes corporate tax outcomes. Exploiting China's Tax Compliance Rating (TCR) system, which evaluates the administrative execution of daily transaction flows across procurement, human resources, and supply chain operations, we examine whether operational rigor translates into superior tax performance. We document that top-tier (Grade A) firms achieve significantly lower effective tax rates. This association persists after controlling for general internal control quality, managerial ability, statutory tax incentives, auditor expertise, and state ownership. Importantly, this tax efficiency does not stem from aggressive or risky tax positions, as Grade A firms exhibit significantly lower tax volatility and no elevation in accounting or tax restatements. Dynamic tests further show that these tax advantages compound steadily with cumulative compliance experience. Overall, our findings demonstrate that corporate tax efficiency represents a tangible economic return on day-to-day administrative execution and cross-departmental coordination, establishing compliance ratings as a credible market signal of organizational competence.

This study extends the literature on price efficiency by empirically investigating the speed with which cross-firm information, derived from technologically connected peer firms, is incorporated into the stock prices of focal firms. Drawing on patent-based technological linkages among Chinese listed companies, we develop two novel cross-sectional price efficiency metrics: an information diffusion delay measure and a return synchronicity index. Our findings reveal that corporate digital transformation, a critical strategic initiative for organizational renewal, exerts both direct and spillover effects on cross-firm price efficiency. These effects operate through three distinct channels: (1) network spillover effect acting on the information supply, intermediary, and demand sides; (2) improved governance transparency; (3) enhanced market liquidity. Notably, the impact of digital transformation on cross-firm information efficiency is particularly pronounced for growth and mature firms, technology- and capital-intensive firms, as well as those with higher governance quality and lower operational efficiency.

This study examines the role of financial derivatives in managing operational and financial risks within China's chemical manufacturing sector. While prior research has primarily focused on financial determinants of hedging decisions, we highlight the significant influence of operational metrics—particularly inventory levels and turnover rates—in shaping firms’ engagement in derivatives markets. Drawing from a sample of 289 publicly listed chemical firms from 2016 to 2022, we employ probit regression and K-means clustering to explore how operational and financial factors jointly determine derivatives adoption. Our empirical results reveal that operational metrics have a non-negligible impact on hedging decisions. Specifically, inventory and turnover rates emerge as primary determinants of firms' initiatives, while pre-tax operating profit remains significant from a financial perspective. The moderation analysis of cash flow reveals that financially constrained firms prioritize derivatives for operational risk mitigation, while resource-abundant firms employ them selectively for strategic optimization. Furthermore, our robustness tests, which control for geographical distinctions and the COVID-19 effect, confirm that firm-specific operational characteristics consistently dominate firms' hedging decisions despite regional heterogeneity. Finally, clustering analysis underscores the interplay between operational efficiency and capital robustness, showing that firms exhibiting superior operational efficiency and capital robustness demonstrate higher engagement in derivatives hedging. These findings contribute to the corporate risk management literature by expounding on the primacy of operational considerations in derivatives usage, particularly in asset-intensive industries. The study also provides practical implications for manufacturing firms navigating volatile market conditions, emphasizing that integrating operational and financial strategies is crucial for effective risk management.

This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI) adoption influences the total factor productivity (TFP) of Chinese A-share manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2023. Results show that AI significantly raises TFP, robust across multiple specifications and instrumental variable tests. AI also boosts operational efficiency by accelerating accounts receivable and inventory turnover, revealing a “technology–operation–productivity” pathway. The positive effect is stronger in regions with better digital infrastructure and in firms with stronger governance. The findings provide fresh evidence on AI’s productivity effects and offer policy implications for intelligent transformation and high-quality manufacturing development.

To address the challenges posed by renewable energy integration in power systems, China is advancing the development of Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS). However, the rapid growth of PHS installations, coupled with strict regulations and a high reliance on capacity compensation, has led to increasing financial burdens on other utilities. One solution is to reallocate the capacity compensation through market-based approaches to implement the “beneficiary-pays” principle. To achieve this goal, an operational policy named ’partial-regulated dispatch’ is proposed in this study. The analysis of this policy encompasses two crucial dimensions: the dispatch mechanism and business models. The dispatch mechanism evaluates PHS’s capacity contribution to grid stability, while the business models focus on enhancing PHS profitability to reduce dependency on capacity compensation while ensuring long-term economic sustainability. Furthermore, the flexibility of PHS is introduced as a criterion for assessing system security contributions, considering both individual unit vibration characteristics and multi-unit commitment strategies. The case study shows that through partial-regulated dispatch, PHS can reduce its reliance on capacity compensation by nearly 50% while ensuring its regulation service via flexibility compensation. This policy effectively balances economic viability with system support capabilities. Moreover, flexibility compensation provides PHS operators with a risk mitigation strategy in the complex power market environment. Under an appropriate operational strategy and policy incentives, the flexibility can be enhanced by nearly 30% in a fully marketized scenario, contributing to both system stability and operational efficiency.