On June 23, 2025, the 2nd Finance and Economics Forum on High-Quality Development, hosted by CUFE Business School, was successfully held at the MBA Education Center. Scholars from three universities—Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE), Durham University (UK), and Western Sydney University (Australia)—conducted in-depth discussions on hot topics in fields such as corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, innovation and entrepreneurship, and high-quality development. The forum aimed to advance cutting-edge research in the business administration discipline and contribute wisdom to the high-quality development of the economy. More than 30 teachers and students from CUFE Business School participated in the forum, which was hosted by Professor Gu Leilei, Director of the Marketing Department of CUFE Business School.
At the beginning of the forum, Professor Liu Xiaoyuan, Vice Dean of CUFE Business School, delivered a welcome speech. He pointed out that CUFE Business School adheres to the mission of "contributing new management knowledge and cultivating leaders with a global perspective, innovative spirit, and sense of social responsibility," and takes reform and innovation as the core to promote the distinctive and international development of the school. He stated that the forum has built a high-level academic dialogue platform for teachers and students; in the future, it is necessary to further deepen inter-university cooperation, strengthen academic exchanges, and jointly explore innovative paths for the high-quality development of the economy.
Professor He Xinming from Durham University (UK) gave a keynote speech titled Digital Capital and Export Performance. The study found a negative relationship between corporate digital capital and export intensity, revealing the dual attributes of digital capital. This provides insights for Chinese enterprises to allocate digital capital and unlock its potential in the international market.
The sub-forum session of the forum was co-hosted by Teachers Zhang Guangli and Liu Shubo, covering hot topics such as social responsibility and innovation and entrepreneurship, and providing diverse perspectives for the high-quality development of the economy. Associate Professor Liu Shubo, Director of the Strategy Department of CUFE Business School, shared his paper Identity Regulation Beyond the West: Conformity, Resistance and Dependency in a Chinese Business School. The study proposed the concept of "dependent identity construction" to explain the unique dilemmas faced by scholars from the Global South in international authoritative relationships. Peng Xuhui, Assistant Research Fellow at the Business School of Western Sydney University, shared her paper Determinants, Interests, and Potential Risks: A Systematic Review of Corporate Water Responsibility Management. By systematically reviewing 105 research articles from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, the study summarized the key determinants, potential risks, and future research directions of corporate water responsibility management. Assistant Professor Li Jiapeng from the Strategy Department of CUFE Business School shared his paper Unpacking the U-shaped Relationship Between Online Financial Media Coverage and Corporate Social Responsibility. Considering the media’s role as an information intermediary and public opinion supervisor, the study found that the impact of online financial media coverage on corporate social responsibility (CSR) presents a U-shaped relationship, which helps companies use media for more effective CSR communication.
Associate Professor Zhang Guangli, Director of the Finance and Financial Management Department of CUFE Business School, shared his paper How Government Finance Quantity and Quality Affect Regional Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Chinese Local Governments. The study found that both low-quality fiscal revenue and high fiscal pressure lead to a decrease in regional entrepreneurial activity, which helps deepen the discussion on the connection between regional fiscal conditions and entrepreneurial behavior. Assistant Professor Liu Zixu from the Strategy Department of CUFE Business School shared her paper In the Shadow of Predecessors: Intergenerational Succession and Family Firm Strategic Change. The study found that the authority of predecessors during intergenerational succession in family firms reduces strategic change, providing a new perspective on the key conditions for the negative impact of predecessors’ authority.
Teachers and students attending the forum conducted lively discussions and exchanges on the research questions, research design, research methods, and theoretical contributions of the aforementioned papers.
The successful holding of the 2nd Finance and Economics Forum on High-Quality Development has built an important platform for inter-university academic exchanges. Based on the new development stage, the forum conducted in-depth discussions on the in-depth integration of digital technology and the real economy. It not only deepened the academic community’s understanding of important issues such as social responsibility and innovation and entrepreneurship but also provided strong support for further deepening inter-university cooperation in the future.
