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This paper aims to investigate the alignment between the information‐processing needs and capabilities during interorganizational relationships through the lenses of both the product and the business relationships life cycle concepts, and the types of information exchanged.

This paper follows up on a previous empirical study conducted in the automotive sector, investigating the electronic collaboration within the supply chain of a large European Automotive Supplier (EAS). Out of the 61 respondents from this previous study, four illustrative cases are selected to further investigate their information alignment, where each case involves one specific relationship between EAS and its business partners based on the supply chain collaboration classification provided by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).

The conclusion is that the phenomenon is bimodal and requires that the different information‐processing needs and capabilities associated with each stage of both the product and the business relationships life cycles should be considered.

The small number of illustrative cases and the specificity of the chosen sector limit the generalizability of the results. Without considering the various types of information‐processing needs and capabilities as well as the stage of both product and business relationships life cycles, a biased conclusion could lead to inappropriate information and communication technology investments and business decisions.

The richness of the cases and the genuine integration of the life cycle concepts and the type of information with the notion of alignment help to identify some key aspects of interorganizational relationships.

Differently from previous works that focused on the entrepreneur and on his ability to manage social relationships, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of business relationships in the different stages of the life cycle of a start-up.

Since the paper aims to explore startups’ evolutionary phenomenon, it adopts a qualitative abductive methodology, presenting an in-depth study of two innovative Italian start-ups. The research is based on two steps. In the first one, the authors collected secondary data from start-ups’ reports and documents, financial indicators (when available) and processed them to understand their background. In the second one, the authors conducted ten semi-structured interviews, including face-to-face interviews, phone interviews and video conferences.

The paper presents a relationship-based life cycle model composed of four different stages, depending on the number and role of relationships developed. Indeed, since the beginning, start-ups adopt a relational approach and their evolution involves the shift from the focus on the entrepreneur to the centrality of a network approach based on interconnected relationships. The entering into a new stage of life cycle depends on relationships, mainly based on connected actors and resources shared and combined. Even if a key role is assumed by technology, the main resource is identified in the knowledge concerning the customer/user’s needs that require marketing competencies, human resources, relational capabilities. Thus, the shift from one stage to the next in the start-up’s life cycle is possible thanks to a parallel shift from a focus on the activities to a focus on those strategic and heterogeneous actors that ensure activities.

In a traditional perspective, the start-up’s life cycle depends on activities, financial resources and revenues, as stated by previous life cycle models. In a different perspective, as depicted in our analysis, the evolution of a start-up depends on the portfolio of their business relationships. The role of business relationships is hence to facilitate the interconnections within specialized key actors, which allow start-ups to access strategic resources. These resources are essential in order to develop the activities that characterize the specific stage of the life cycle.

The purpose of this study is to explain the adjustment rate made to target capital structures by listed non-financial firms in Pakistan during the courses of their life cycles and to determine what factors influence their adjustment rates.

The study used multivariate analysis to classify 39 years (1972-2010) of unbalanced panel data from listed non-financial Pakistani firms in terms of their growth, maturity and decline stages. Further, it used a fixed-effects panel data model to determine the factors that influence capital structure and adjustment rates during the life-cycle stages of firms.

The study observed a low–high–low leverage pattern during the growth, maturity and decline stages of businesses in line with tradeoff theory. Furthermore, the study observed an adjustment rate for growing firms of between 49.3-37.9 per cent, for mature firms of between 35.5-17.5 per cent and for declining firms of between 22.2-15.1 per cent toward their respective leverage targets. Furthermore, it was found that growing firms have higher leverage adjustment rates because, by having more investment opportunities, these firms can alter their capital structures easily by changing the composition of their new issues.

Erratic economic conditions in Pakistan have created an uncertain business environment. Therefore, even mature Pakistani firms remain skeptical about the sustainability of positive trends among current economic indicators. Furthermore, to avoid uncertainty, Pakistani firms grab short-term opportunities by using quickly available short-term debt as a main financing source. Government should introduce long-term policies that will stabilize the business environment and strengthen the financial, as well as the judicial, institutions of the country so that these firms may benefit from long-term investment opportunities and access more options for raising external financing. The results of this study will also help policymakers for other Asian economies where the capital markets are underdeveloped and where firms have higher leverage ratios, such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

This is the first study in Pakistan that has used a multivariate approach to classify firms into their different life-cycle stages and to discover the leverage adjustment rates of firms during those life-cycle stages.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of intellectual capital (IC) and its components (human, structural, relational and innovation capitals) on financial performance (FP) at different life cycle stages.

The study uses the data from Chinese manufacturing listed companies during 2014–2018. The modified value added intellectual coefficient (MVAIC) model is employed as the measurement of IC efficiency. Finally, multiple regression analysis is used to test the research hypotheses.

This study shows that the impact of IC on FP is different across life cycle stages. Specifically, at the birth stage, human capital (HC), structural capital (SC) and innovation capital (INC) have a positive impact on FP. At the growth and mature stages, all IC components contribute to FP improvement. HC and SC play an important role at the revival stage, while only HC positively affects FP at the decline stage.

The findings may help corporate managers to make optimal strategies to improve FP by effective utilization of IC resources in the complex and competitive business environment. Meanwhile, companies can invest in the core elements of IC at different stages of development, so as to maximize the contribution of IC to company value.

This is among the few studies to explore the impact of IC on FP of manufacturing listed companies in the Chinese context from the perspective of life cycle. It also makes novel contributions in measuring IC by the MVAIC model with the inclusion of relational capital and INC that are largely neglected in previous research.

The purpose of this paper is to theorize how the industry life cycle unfolds differently across places and how economic agglomeration varies over time.

The paper relies on literature review and conceptual analysis.

It generates a dynamic geographic concentration model (i.e. an industry’s degree of geographic concentration drops in the growth stage, rises in the mature stage, and drops again in the new growth stage) and a localized industry life-cycle model (i.e. temporal dynamics differ between the center and the periphery).

It makes contribution by theorizing that the extent to which an industry is geographically concentrated changes over time, and by demonstrating how an industry’s center and periphery may experience different temporal dynamics.

The purpose of this paper is to explain how the process of change is determined by the product lifecycle and the product lifecycle's relation to the organization structure.

This paper is based on years of experience helping business organizations adapt to change by installing computer systems and consulting with senior management in this process.

Business organizations are highly variable in their structure, it is the environment that determines the organization structure. Where businesses are in a stable environment business organizations are capital intensive. Where the environment is highly volatile capital investment is limited and small flexible organizations prevail. In addition, there is a biological theory that totally parallels this theory.

Those who fail to understand the concepts are inclined to make massive mistakes in capital investment. This is often the reason why small startup companies are able to beat out larger established competitors in highly volatile environments.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate women-owned businesses from a life cycle perspective and with a qualitative growth approach. Building on previous research that has identified qualitative growth platforms, this paper takes into account the time aspect and investigates perceived barriers and support needs inside different qualitative growth platforms.

The study took place in Sweden and is based on 191 women entrepreneurs in a first survey and 101 women entrepreneurs in a follow-up questionnaire three years later. To answer the research questions, descriptive frequency analysis and logistic regression analysis techniques have been used.

The motivation of growth changes throughout the life cycle, and women entrepreneurs move between different qualitative growth platforms when required building blocks of previous platforms have been established and secured. In this transfer of growth ambition, a significant correlation between business age and intrinsic growth aspiration was identified. Initially, growth is extrinsically motivated and later on in the life cycle, it is intrinsically motivated. In the late life cycle, the motivation is extrinsically motivated again. The results discern barriers to growth that hinder movement from extrinsic to intrinsic business platforms, and the author argues that the transfer of growth ambition from one growing platform to another requires different types of advice and support from the surrounding community.

By broadening the view of growth to include both a quantitative and qualitative approach, it is possible to identify a widespread growth ambition in women-owned businesses which experience various barriers and supportive needs. Business programs that encourage exchange of experience among entrepreneurs in various growth platforms might be a way to overcome the perceived barriers. As women’s businesses only receive a low proportion of the government funding, they are prevented from developing their growth ambitions. To ensure that all forms of growth are stimulated, different measures are required depending on which stage in their life cycle the women-owned businesses belong to.

By considering business growth from a qualitative perspective, barriers and needs that the traditional approach may overlook can be highlighted. For example, growth aspiration in terms of more employees will not be considered until the previously, qualitative growth platforms are established and secured. The support system, however, is designed to only favor growth in terms of employment, which results in difficulties to qualify for financial support.

This paper aims to deliver a detailed understanding about the dynamics of entrepreneurial networks along the enterprise life cycle of hospitality enterprises.

Case study research was conducted, using in-depth interviews with hospitality entrepreneurs and additional material (e.g. website information). The data were analyzed applying the qualitative method GABEK (GAnzheitliche BEwältigung von Komplexität – holistic processing of complexity) which enables researchers to reveal concepts and attitudes of interviewees.

Networks of hospitality entrepreneurs shift from local ties to industry-specific actor groups to local and non-local ties to actor groups inside and outside the industry. Throughout the enterprise life cycle, entrepreneurs prefer strong ties. The transition from one family generation to the next and changes in the competitive environment are important triggers of network configurations.

Future research should reproduce the findings and investigate the proposed relationships in representative samples from different regions and industries. The influences of different actors within networks provide fertile research opportunities.

Networks provide viable means for tackling the challenges of growth in the hospitality industry. The research provides managerial implications for how networks should be configured for meeting resource dependencies of different development stages.

Building on resource dependency theory, this research emphasizes which challenges the enterprise life cycle imposes upon network management in the hospitality industry. While past research has focused upon the early stages of the enterprise life cycle, this study investigates also later stages. Furthermore, triggers of network management are identified.

The use of a life‐cycle framework is explored as a means of describing the evolution of partnership relationships between industrial buyers and sellers. Based on case studies of eight manufacturing firms, industrial buyer‐seller partnerships evolve through four stages: development, commitment, integration and dissolution. In addition to exploring a “traditional” life‐cycle pattern, case studies are used to illustrate and support examples of variations on the traditional partnership life‐cycle pattern. The life‐cycle analogy is useful to both practitioners and theorists in developing, understanding and influencing the patterns which industrial buyer‐seller partnerships may follow.

This paper aims to illustrate the value of the outsourcing life cycle, as described in several industry models, including ISO 37500.

The authors present a comparison of outsourcing life cycles to provide an overview of current practices in the global outsourcing industry.

Several outsourcing life cycles have been defined by industry associations such as the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) and the National Outsourcing Association (NOA). Academic research has created several outsourcing life cycles, notably the model from the London School of Economics (Cullen and Willcocks, 2005). Finally, commercial models have been defined, for example the Vendor and Sourcing Management model from IDC (2014).

Researchers will find the overview of different life cycles useful in assessing maturity of outsourcing organizations.

Practitioners will find the detailed description of ISO 37500 and the comparative life cycles to be illustrative of different approaches to managing outsourcing transactions. Both buyers and providers will be able to compare their own life cycle to industry standards.

Little or no research has been conducted on how outsourcing life cycles contribute to effective outsourcing. This paper provides a foundation for such research.