The offshore RMB market (ORM) is an innovative international financial market in China. Considerable progress has been achieved since the establishment of the offshore RMB centre, and innovative financial products are continually being developed to effectively promote RMB internationalization development in China. Whether and how the ORM has affected the internationalization of the RMB in China has some theoretical support, and the experiences of many developed countries verify this problem. Therefore, in this study, the effects of ORM on the internationalization of the RMB are analyzed based on the literature and from a theoretical perspective. Then, the development experiences of the US and Japan are elaborated and tested empirically, and the profound effects of the offshore financial markets of these two countries on the internationalization of their currencies are demonstrated. Finally, empirical analysis is used to demonstrate that the offshore RMB index (ORI) and economic scale are positively correlated with the RMB internationalization index (RII), whilst the real interest rate and inflation rate are negatively correlated with the RII.

Traditional ways of working and leadership styles have been challenged due to the rise in responsible capitalism, technological changes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees now want leaders who display honesty, integrity, and humility, to rebuild employees’ trust. Thus, a shift from self-serving to a “serving others” leadership style is imminent.

Servant leaders lead by putting their followers’ priorities first, focusing on their followers’ individual growth, and developing their followers to become servant leaders. Servant leaders’ humility and thoughtfulness connect them closely with their followers, thereby leading to the development of deep, trusting relationships. Past research demonstrates the positive impact of servant leadership on followers’ work outcomes.

Responding to calls for more experimental work on servant leadership, this research carries out a 10-day within-person field intervention that uses experience sampling methodology (ESM)  to test the feasibility of servant leadership behavioral training, and to provide an understanding of the impact of leaders’ servant leadership behaviors on servant leaders themselves. Drawing on the sustainable human energy framework, this research finds that daily servant leadership behaviors positively affect leaders’ perceptions of their work engagement, initiating structure, and inspirational behaviors through their heightened feelings of vitality. Not only followers, but servant leaders, are also beneficiaries of their serving behaviors despite the demanding role expectations of servant leaders.

The rapid growth of population and urbanization has given rise to uncontrolled waste generation, which is due to insufficient municipal waste-treatment facilities in China. Landfill is not a sustainable option for waste disposal, due to the significant shortage of land capital, and although incineration provides a waste-to-energy (WTE) solution, it requires a significant capital investment. To expedite the construction of WTE facilities and minimize the financial stress to the local governments, public–private partnerships (PPPs) to construct incineration facilities have become a viable solution for waste management.

A PPP arrangement is complex because it takes a long time to implement, includes different types of services, and because China is unfamiliar with the logistics and mechanisms required for its implementation. China has adopted a PPP implementation procedure that is largely similar to that used by developed countries such as the United Kingdom, but faces unique implementation challenges due to these countries’ differences in culture, and political and economic structures. It is thus invaluable to compare the socialist market economy of China with the market economy of developed countries to better understand their differences, identify investment opportunities, and develop strategies for successful PPPs to develop WTE facilities.

Driven by the increasing trend for product prelaunch activities, this research comprehensively investigates the determinants of product sales, from the perspectives of firms and customers, in terms of the latter’s reactions to firms’ product prelaunch events. This research is based on signalling theory and “nextopia” customer psychological effects (positive uncertainty, optimistic bias, and affective forecasting). It identifies the widely adopted framework of customer value that impacts product sales, the nextopia effects of direct impact, and the moderation of relationships between customer value and their purchase decisions.

Study 1, which addresses firms’ perspectives, analyzes the essential words in the scripts of Apple Inc. product prelaunch events from 2006 to 2019. Study 2, which addresses consumers’ perspectives, uses a quantitative survey with 324 valid questionnaires to understand customer value and the psychological effects on customers that impact their purchase intentions. Both studies find that product sales are driven by product functional/instrumental value and experiential/hedonic value but not by symbolic/expressive value or cost/sacrifice value. Study 1 finds that induced affective forecasting messages negatively moderate the impact of cost/sacrifice value on product sales. Study 2 finds that in addition to customer value, customer psychology (i.e., optimistic attitude) is a key driver of customer purchase intention and the marginality of positive thoughts. However, if a pre-launched product induces too many thoughts about the product’s features, consumer purchase intention may be diminished.

In addition to these theoretical contributions, this research provides practical guidelines on how to compose a product prelaunch speech to maximize sales (or consumer purchase intention) of a soon-to-be-released product.