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This study aims to investigate the antecedents of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the perspective of competitive dynamics and proposes a correlation of CSR between competing firms because rival firms’ engagement in CSR induces the focal firm’s catch-up to keep pace with them.

Using a sample of Chinese listed companies through the lens of firm dyads, and drawing on the awareness-motivation-capability (AMC) framework, a set of contingencies of firms’ competitive catch-up in CSR are examined, including the visibility of its competitors, the interdependence between the focal firm and its competitors and the focal firm’s resource slack.

The empirical results reveal that a focal firm’s CSR is in a positive relationship with that of its competitors, which is strengthened by the visibility of its competitors, the interdependence between the focal firm and its competitors, and is affected by the focal firm’s resource slack.

These findings uncover the interplay of CSR among competitors, enriching our understanding of its antecedents by extending the AMC framework to the CSR context.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on how multinational company (MNC) headquarters (HQs) can manage the existing coopetition paradox to ensure innovation within the MNC. In contrast to the rather scarce previous research, the authors argue that HQ needs to solve the coopetition paradox under the sway of a parenting paradox. Hence, HQ faces a dual paradox.

Drawing on the literature on HQ’s role during MNCs’ innovation processes, this conceptual paper revisits the previously suggested HQ measures to enable coopetition among subsidiaries. By applying a sheer ignorance perspective, the authors contribute with a more nuanced understanding of the HQ’s role in innovation activities.

The article identifies four challenges as the HQ faces a parenting paradox that hinders its ability to solve the coopetition paradox: context specificity of subsidiaries’ innovation work, normative expectations of subsidiary managers, potential opportunistic behavior of HQ manager and HQ underestimation of needed resources. The article suggests that HQ needs to become more informed and preferably even embedded in the local innovation networks of its most important subsidiaries and that coopetition should not be managed solely on an HQ level.

Advocating a sheer ignorance perspective, the article pioneers in discussing the role that HQ plays in managing coopetition among subsidiaries in innovation activities.

Several empirical studies indicate that the existence of a large informal sector is a major obstacle to firms’ choices of innovation strategies. This paper aims to address this issue and investigates the effect of the informal sector on the innovation of formal firms in Greece.

Using the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey data, the impact of informal competition on formal firms’ innovation in Greece is investigated by testing whether formal firms use innovation as a tool to protect and sustain their competitive advantage vis-à-vis informal firms and whether overall and informal competition has an inverted-U relationship with the innovation of formal firms. The effects of bribing and other variables drawn from the empirical literature are also controlled for.

The findings fill a gap in the literature regarding the effects of the informal sector on formal economic activity in Greece, by indicating that the informal sector puts pressure on formal firms to innovate, in order to differentiate their product or service and enhance their productivity and by offering learnings to help policymakers to promote innovation in Greece.

The originality of this study is that it investigates the impact of informal competition on formal firms’ innovation in Greece, a developed economy with a large informal sector. It does so by focusing on the effects that formal firms’ informal practices have on their competitors’ innovation activities, and the role of informal competition in creating and sustaining a competitive advantage in Greece.

This study investigates the effect of entrepreneurial orientation and government support on the innovation openness of South Korean manufacturing firms. By compartmentalizing entrepreneurial orientation and government support, this study seeks to elucidate their effects on the breadth and depth of firms' knowledge searches.

The study utilizes Poisson regression analysis with empirical data from 2,353 South Korean manufacturing firms collected from Korean Innovation Survey data.

Analysis reveals nuanced influences of various factors on firms' open innovation activities. Innovativeness positively affects knowledge search breadth and depth, highlighting the role of innovation-oriented processes, while competitive aggressiveness influences depth, thereby underscoring the pursuit of specialized knowledge acquisition. Proactiveness positively affects breadth but negatively affects depth, suggesting the importance of maintaining broad perspectives. Government support scope positively affects both breadth and depth, reflecting the significance of external support in encouraging inclusive knowledge exploration. The importance of government support positively influences depth, emphasizing its vital role in establishing collaborative relationships to enhance in-depth knowledge acquisition.

This study provides novel insights by exploring the nuanced implementation of open innovation in latecomer economies, especially South Korea, which experienced rapid economic development by leveraging innovation. The identification of specific factors influencing knowledge search breadth and depth contributes to the literature on open innovation by providing strategic guidelines for firms and policymakers. This practical implications of this study suggest that firms should align their strategies with entrepreneurial orientation while leveraging pertinent government support.

Although benefits are promising, many companies face problems leveraging synergies between Lean and Digitalization at the program management level. This paper aims to identify activities to manage the boundaries of Lean and Digitalization programs.

The research design follows a cross-industry multiple-case study approach. A total of 14 interviews were conducted with Lean and Digitalization experts from 10 companies. Interview quotes were mapped on a pre-defined list of descriptive codes and iteratively merged and excluded.

We identified 12 activities by which companies manage the boundaries of their Lean and Digitalization programs. Three distinct boundary management approaches could be identified: collaborative, configurational, and competitive. A collaborative approach fosters governance, the belief in synergies, and the development of combined artifacts. A configurational approach creates combined responsibilities, assesses areas of collaboration, and fosters interaction across the organization. A competitive approach creates unclear responsibilities and exchange, perceives no added value in integration and follows separated implementation of Lean and Digitalization programs.

This study sheds light on the boundaries of Lean and Digitalization programs and identifies activities to manage them. We derive propositions for the Lean and Digitalization program management. Moreover, this study positions itself at the forefront of research investigating how integration of Lean and Digitalization actually occurs or does not occur.

This study, anchored in Self-Determination Theory, explores the paradoxical effects of gamification on digital health promotion, focusing on user engagement, physical activity adherence, stress levels and social dynamics.

In a preregistered experimental design, participants interacted with one of three fitness apps: a non-gamified control app, a competition-based gamified app (GameFit) or a self-exploration-based gamified app (ExploreFit). Quantitative data were collected through scales measuring key variables, and qualitative insights were gathered from structured diaries.

Gamification significantly enhanced user engagement and physical activity adherence. However, competition-based gamification also increased stress and negative social dynamics, with gender-specific effects: females experienced higher stress and males encountered more negative social dynamics. These adverse effects were mitigated in the ExploreFit group, suggesting that self-exploration elements in gamification can reduce negative outcomes.

This research offers a comprehensive analysis of the complex interplay between gamification, competition, self-exploration and health outcomes. It provides valuable insights for the design of persuasive technologies, highlighting the need for a balanced approach to gamification that considers both its benefits and potential pitfalls.

This paper examines the relationship between a prime contractor's financial health and its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) spending in the defense industry. It aims to provide models that give the United States Department of Defense (DoD) indications of future M&A activity, informing decision-makers and contributing to ensuring competitive markets that benefit the consumer.

The study uses panel data regression models on 40 companies between 1985 and 2021. The company's financial health is assessed using industry-standard financial ratios (i.e. measures of profitability, efficiency, solvency and liquidity) while controlling for economic factors such as national productivity, defense budgets and firm size.

The results show a significant relationship between efficiency and M&A spending, indicating that companies with lower efficiency tend to spend more on M&As. However, there was no significant relationship between M&A spending and a company's profitability or solvency. These results were consistent with previous research and the study's hypotheses for profitability and solvency. However, the effect of liquidity was the opposite of the expected result, possibly due to the defense industry's different view on liquidity compared to previous research.

The paper provides insights into the relationship between a prime contractor's financial health and its M&A spending, a topic with limited research. The findings can inform policymakers and regulators on the industrial base's future M&A activity, ensuring competitive markets that benefit the consumer.

Unpredictable economic landscapes have led to a continuous escalation in global economic policy uncertainty (EPU). Improving risk management and sustainability in an environment with high macro risk is critical for business development. This study aims to explore the impact of corporate sustainable development on corporate tax risk.

After using a sample of companies that were A-share listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2011 to 2021, this paper applies ordinary least squares and a moderate effect model.

Better environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance can weaken corporate tax risk by improving green innovation capability, reputation and information transparency. Meanwhile, the restraining effect of ESG on tax risk was more significant amid high EPU. These impacts were amplified amid higher market competition, lower tax supervision and a lower degree of corporate digital transformation.

The findings emphasize the need for the government to establish a healthy business and tax environment so that enterprises can improve sustainable development and increase their risk management abilities, especially post-COVID-19.

This study guides enterprises and the entirety of society to in paying attention to and promoting ESG practices, which can enhance enterprise tax management.

This study expands the research on the economic consequences of sustainable development and the factors influencing corporate tax risk and EPU.

This study investigated the relationships among big data analytics capability (BDAC), low-cost advantage, differentiation advantage, market and operational performance underpinning the resource-based view (RBV) and the entanglement view of sociomaterialism (EVS) theories.

A total of 191 responses from members of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers were analysed using a structural equation modelling approach.

This study has conclusively demonstrated that BDAC is indeed a resource bundle comprising human skills, tangible and intangible resources. This study found that BDAC positively influences competitive advantage and firm performance. The differentiation advantage was found to be a key factor in explaining market performance. Theoretically, both RBV and EVS could be used to link BDAC, differentiation advantage and market performance to explain superior firm performance.

First, the sample is restricted to the manufacturers in Malaysia. Second, a single independent variable, BDAC, is used as a higher-order capability to influence competitive advantage, and thus, superior firm performance. Third, this study uses a self-reported survey, which means that only one respondent from each firm answered the questions. Fourth, this study excludes the focused strategy as it aims to investigate the competitive strategy used in the broader industry environment, rather than in a specific segment pursuing a focused strategy.

First, BDAC is a valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable tool for manufacturers to enhance their firm performance. Second, BDAC is crucial for manufacturing firms to reduce costs and differentiate themselves. Third, a low-cost advantage may not help manufacturers achieve greater market and operational performance.

The relationship among BDAC, low-cost advantage, differentiation advantage, market and operational performance within manufacturing industry is empirically tested.

In this chapter, we discuss masculinity in relation to Swedish sports for children with refugee backgrounds. Specifically, we explore how the structure of sports shapes the distinct conditions for their athletic endeavours, including the traits associated with masculinity, which are perceived favourably in sports because they align with the physical and mental norms of male athletes, thereby reinforcing hegemonic masculinity. Moreover, we aim to show that perspectives valorising masculinity can frame children with refugee backgrounds as passive athletes who lack agency. Thus, we discuss two refinements of inclusivity in sports for children with refugee backgrounds in terms of (a) stereotyped notions of gender and refugees and (b) substantial links between desired masculinity and expectations of a perfect match with the Swedish sports system.