We study the impact of formal and informal institutions perceived and experienced by firms on their innovation using the 2012 World Bank Enterprise Survey data in China. We propose a framework to identify different innovator types of firms. Our analysis shows that (1) perceived constraints from the governmental system make firms more likely to be innovators than non-innovators; (2) perceived constraints from the legal system make firms more likely to be imitators than innovators; (3) lack of formal finance makes firms more likely to be non-innovators than innovators; (4) prevalence of bribery makes firms more likely to be non-innovators than innovators but less likely to be innovation pretenders than innovators. Our study enriches institutional theory and innovation research by establishing a framework that encompasses multiple dimensions of formal and informal institutions perceived and experienced by firms and the impacts of such perception and experience on firms’ propensity to become certain type of innovator.

In October 2015, the Chinese Government announced that the one-child policy had finally been replaced by a universal two-child policy. China’s universal two-child policy is highly significant because, for the first time in 36 years, no one in an urban city is restricted to having just one child. This cross-sectional study was conducted to explore future fertility intentions and factors influencing individual reproductive behaviour (whether to have two children) in Dalian City. A total of 1370 respondents were interviewed. The respondents’ mean ideal number of children was only 1.73, and urban respondents’ sex preference was symmetrical. A total of 19.0% of the respondents were unmarried, 64.5% were married and had childbearing experience and only 6.3% of married respondents had two children. Among the 1370 participants, 30.4% stated that they would have a second child, while 69.6% refused to have a second child in the future. Binary logistic regression analysis (Model 1) showed that the following characteristics were associated with having only one child in the future: being female, being older, having a lower education level, being born in Dalian, having a lower family income and reporting one child as the ideal number of children. Model 2 (comprising only respondents with childbearing experience) showed that respondents who were female, had a lower family income and were unable to obtain additional financial support from parents were more likely to intend to stick at one child. In addition, respondents’ ideal number of children and childbearing experiences had a significant influence on future fertility intentions. These results suggest that fertility intentions and reproductive behaviours are still below those needed for replacement level fertility in Dalian City. China’s policymakers should pay more attention to these factors (socioeconomic characteristics, economic factors, desired number of children and childbearing experiences) and try to increase individual reproductive behaviour.

Previous nutritional studies have shown that insulin regulation is different between DT and A strains of gibel carp. As leptin plays a pivotal role in the effects of insulin, we hypothesised that leptin regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism would differ between the two strains. To test our hypothesis, recombinant human leptin was injected into two strains. The results showed that leptin activated the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)–protein kinase B (AKT), AMP-activated protein kinase–acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase and Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)–signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signalling pathways in both strains. Hypoglycaemia induced by leptin might be due to higher glucose uptake by the liver and muscles together with enhanced glycolytic potential and reduced gluconeogenic potential. Decreased lipogenesis and up-regulated fatty acid oxidation were induced by leptin. In terms of genotype, the PI3K–AKT signalling pathway was more strongly activated by leptin in the muscle tissue of the A strain, as reflected by the heightened phosphorylation of AKT. Furthermore, glycogen content, glycolytic enzyme activity and gluconeogenic capability were higher in the A strain than the DT strain. Strain A had higher levels of fatty acid synthesis and lipolytic capacity in the liver than the DT strain, but the opposite was true in white muscle. Regarding leptin–genotype interactions, the DT strain displayed stronger regulation of glucose metabolism in the liver by leptin as compared with the A strain. Moreover, a more active JAK2–STAT signalling pathway accompanied by enhanced inhibition of fatty acid synthesis by leptin was observed in the DT strain. Overall, the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism by leptin differed between the two strains, as expected.

Starch content is an important trait in barley. To evaluate the genetic diversity and identify molecular markers of starch content in barley, 40 cultivated barley genotypes collected from different regions, including genotypes whose starch content is at either the high or low end of the spectrum (15), were used in this study. All the genotypes were re-sequenced by the double-digest-restriction associated DNA sequencing method, and a total of 299,103 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were obtained. The genotypes were divided into four sub-populations based on FASTSTRUCTURE, principal component analysis and neighbour-joining tree analysis. All four sub-populations had a high linkage disequilibrium, especially group 3, whose members were recently bred for malting in the Jiangsu coastal area. The starch content of the barley lines was evaluated during three growing seasons (2014–2017), and the average values of starch content across the three growing seasons at the low and high ends were 51.5 and 55.0%, respectively. The starch content was affected by population structure, the barley in group 2 had a low starch content, while the barley in group 4 had a high starch content. Twenty-six SNP markers were identified as being significantly associated with starch content (P ⩽ 0.001) based on the average values across the three growing seasons using the mixed linear model method. These SNP markers were located on chromosomes 1H and 4H, and were considered loci of qSC1-1 and qSC4-1, respectively. The major identified QTLs for starch content are helpful for further research on carbohydrates and for barley breeding.

In a transitional economy such as China's, when resources are unevenly distributed across different sectors, the disadvantaged sector may seek a growth path that bypasses resource constraints. We investigated this phenomenon in the context of the Chinese real estate industry. By comparing the post–merger and acquisition (M&A) performance of acquiring firms between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privately-owned enterprises (POEs), we attempted to show that POEs are better performers in the market should they be granted equitable resources, and the superior performance is strengthened by market-oriented institutional environment. We used M&A events data of publicly listed real estate firms in China from 2004 to 2012, in conjunction with firm characteristics and province-level market environment data. We found the results to be consistent with our hypotheses. In particular, compared to SOEs, privately-owned acquiring firms tend to have better post-M&A performance when both the regions of the acquirer and the target have high level of marketization. The results suggest that the private sector in China's transitional economy is potentially more efficient than the state-owned sector, as long as the market environment is favorable.

Annual wild soybean characterized by low 100-seed weight (100SW), high protein content (PRC) and low oil content (OIC) may have favourable exotic genes/alleles for broadening the genetic base of the cultivated soybean. To evaluate the wild alleles/segments, a chromosome segment substitution line population comprising 151 lines with N24852 (wild) as the donor and NN1138-2 (cultivated) as the recurrent parent was analysed using single-marker analysis, interval mapping, inclusive composite interval mapping and mixed linear composite interval mapping. On 14 segments of ten chromosomes, 17 quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified, with two segments each containing two QTL for 100SW and OIC and one segment containing two QTL for PRC and OIC, respectively. All the seven wild alleles/segments for 100SW were associated with negative effects and three were associated with positive effects, but one was associated with a negative effect for PRC, and five were associated with negative effects, but one was associated with a positive effect for OIC. Except Satt216 and Sat_224 for 100SW, the identified QTL/segments have been reported from cultivated soybean mapping populations. The detected wild segments may provide materials for further characterization, cloning and pyramiding of the alleles conferring the seed-quality traits.

Annual wild soybean characterized with more number of branches and pods may contain favourable exotic genes/alleles for improving the yield potential of cultivated soybeans. To evaluate the wild alleles/segments, the chromosome segment substitution line population SojaCSSLP3 comprising 158 lines with N24852 (wild) as the donor and NN1138-2 (cultivated) as the recurrent parent was tested under three environments. The phenotypic data along with 198 simple sequence repeat markers were analysed for qualitative trait loci (QTL)/segments associated with the number of branches on the main stem (BN) and number of pods per plant (PN) using the inclusive composite interval mapping procedure (RSTEP-LRT-ADD model) of ICIM version 3.0. The analysis was carried out for individual environments due to a significant G × E interaction. A total of eight QTL/segments associated with BN and eight QTL/segments associated with PN were detected under the three environments, with all the wild segments having positive effects. Among these, two QTL/segments for each of the two traits could be detected under two or three environments and three QTL/segments could be detected for both traits. Four QTL/segments associated with BN and one QTL/segment associated with PN were identified only in SojaCSSLP3, not reported for cultivated crosses in the literature. The detected wild segments may provide materials for further characterization, cloning and pyramiding of the alleles conferring the two traits.