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This study aims to identify some of the major barriers that may hinder potential small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) exporters and non‐exporters from exporting their operations in the international market.

Based on the aim of this study, a questionnaire based survey method was conducted among 250 Jordanian manufacturing SMEs using random sampling with usable response rate of 54 per cent. Data were analysed using relevant statistical methods ranging from factor analysis to regression analysis.

The results show that economic/political‐legal and governmental barriers, financial and information barriers have a significant negative relationship with the export performance of SMEs in Jordan. Also, the results show that exporters and non‐exporters significantly agree in their views of the various barriers.

The study was carried out on SMEs operating in Jordan. Hence, caution should be taken when generalisation across cultures is considered. However, the findings of the study provide public and company policy makers with valuable guidelines for the formulation of suitable export marketing strategies and national export assistance programs.

This is ascribed to the relatively small local market size and to the country's gradual shift from heavy reliance on import substitution strategies in the last two decades to contemporary export orientation. Also, there is now a need for an urgent action plan to correct the deficit in the trade balance in the Jordanian economy. This action plan needs to include what causes Jordanian SMEs to export or prevents them from doing so. Once the relative importance of these barriers is detected, their validity in predicting the probability of a SME firm being an exporter can be tested.

The purpose of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of deeper motivations and inhibitors of green consumer behavior in the context of emerging economies. Based on the findings, it aims to provide implications for marketers and policy making.

Based on an ethnographic approach, in‐depth interviews and observational data were used to study 15 Mexican families from four urban regions of Mexico with different incomes. Thematic analysis was used to develop and validate themes and codes.

The findings highlight three dominant themes related to uncertainty in the adoption of environmentally‐friendly behaviors: consumer confusion, trust and credibility, and compatibility. Overall, green behaviors seem to be ingrained in the traditional heritage of savings and frugality rather than based on strong environmental values. It is suggested that the factors that drive consumers from positive attitudes and intentions to the actual adoption of green behaviors are a combination of perceived personal benefits, decreased perceived risk and uncertainty, a sense of control over costs, and a decomposition and reconstruction of deeply embedded cultural values and practices.

Policy makers and marketers are advised to build on collaborative efforts in order to facilitate comprehension and adoption of environmentally‐friendly behaviors and green products. In order to construct modernity alongside environmental responsibility, it seems indispensable to provide affordable lower‐priced alternatives for the low‐income segments of the market which constitute the vast majority of the population in emerging economies.

Being one of very few available qualitative studies on green consumer behavior, this study delves into the tension between modernity and traditional heritage in the context of emerging economies.

This paper seeks to extend knowledge on the impact of different marketing capabilities on various measures of organisational performance in the context of family‐run small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

Aspects regarding marketing capabilities in family‐owned SMEs and their impact on superior performance are identified and briefly discussed according to the existing literature. Then, quantitative research is presented followed by a discussion of the findings. The paper ends with the conclusion, managerial implications, limitations and lines for future research.

The results of the study show the relevance of marketing capabilities for product differentiation to gain stakeholders' satisfaction. Other marketing capabilities related to marketing planning and pricing have a positive impact on financial performance.

Different marketing capabilities have a different impact on various measures of performance. The nature of the marketing capabilities under consideration determines whether their main impact is on financial performance rather than on stakeholders' satisfaction.

The purpose of the paper is twofold: first, to examine how managers and employees in start‐ups understand and define a corporate brand; and second, to reveal how corporate brand co‐creation with different stakeholders is executed in companies in their start‐up phase.

The data are gathered via a multiple case study from the managers and employees of three start‐ups that operate in the software business.

Corporate brand has both internal and external aspects. Corporate brand co‐creation is a process that begins with the stakeholders inventing the corporate name before the company is established, and continues at the start‐up phase by developing the new corporate name, updating the logo and communications material, and developing the product and business. The events and stakeholders in each of the above mentioned sub‐processes are also revealed.

The small number of interviews from a specific context limits the statistical generalisability of the results. Only a corporate viewpoint is taken, which may not offer a profound understanding of the process.

Managers need to recognise the stakeholders that could help the company, and how they could possibly help, both before and after establishing the company. The stakeholders may offer ideas and viewpoints that the entrepreneur could not invent alone, and which could, as their best, improve the whole business.

To the best knowledge of the author this is one of the rare studies that examines corporate branding in start‐ups and perhaps the first study to examine them from a corporate brand co‐creation viewpoint.

The purpose of this article is to present a model that compares the switching costs that consumers face when they buy pioneering and follower products.

A study of 255 new products indicates that switching costs are actually higher when switching from an existing product to a pioneering product.

The study shows that people who buy a pioneering product may also face switching costs, if the pioneering product is launched in an existing category where consumers are already familiar with similar products.

The results help to reinforce the view that first movers have advantages and demonstrate that switching costs do not lead to a higher level of consumer retention.

This study provides interesting managerial implications on how to launch new products more effectively when they suffer from switching costs..

Researchers commonly view switching costs as a barrier to market entry that protects enterprises that launch pioneering products and gives them a competitive advantage over those that launch follower products. The underlying idea is that people only experience switching costs when they change to a different follower product, rather than when they purchase a pioneering product instead of the product that they usually purchase.

This paper is focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Its main interest consists of establishing a framework for clarifying the drivers of CSR activities in such a context. This paper also aims to analyse how CSR influences SMEs' image and positioning.

The general conceptual framework proposed by the literature is complemented with empirical research based on a longitudinal multi‐case study (inter and intra‐industry).

The research proposes that the owner/managers' values, market pressures and laws are key drivers for CSR in the SMEs context. Managers expect positive outcomes when CSR is implemented. However, the data suggest that while proactive and consistent SMEs may build up a good image and strong positioning, reactive and opportunistic firms may be penalised by stakeholders (e.g. customers).

CSR activities, when adequately managed, contribute for a better SME image and market positioning.

The ideas presented in this paper may help in achieving better management of resources in SMEs.

There are two purposes of this paper: first, to analyze the effect of size and other organizational factors (IT knowledge, IT external support and the level of employees' education) on the use of e‐business; and second, to identify similarities and differences among these factors in micro, small, medium‐sized and large enterprises.

The proposed model is empirically tested using data from the Sectorial e‐Business W@tch survey. A logit estimation for the whole sample and for each type of firm size has been implemented on the use of e‐business.

The study finds positive and significant effects of all the organizational factors on the intensity of e‐business use. When analyzing the effect of size, it was found that medium‐sized and large firms are more likely to use e‐business more intensively. Although medium‐sized and large firms are similar, some differences have been found between small and medium‐sized firms. Only small firms use IT outsourcing as a key factor to use e‐business.

This study is based on a cross‐sectional data set. Longitudinal research would be needed for comparing results over time. Future studies could focus on the use of each type of e‐business technology, instead of a global measure of e‐business use. Future research could also analyze the differences of e‐business adoption rates among countries.

The paper concludes that small and micro firms are less likely to conduct e‐business than medium‐sized and large firms. An important influence on the use of e‐business is workforce education, implying that training could substitute hiring IT employees. Outsourcing IT activities is a suitable strategy only for small firms.

The paper contributes to the literature on e‐business with new evidence of the importance of size and human capital. Additionally, an analysis for each firm size has been done, which allows comparison of results.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue that critically examines topics informing long‐standing disputes concering the status of theory and practice in management studies. Contributions explore the character of the imputed relationship between theory and practice.

The editorial introduction sets the discussion of topics in the context of institutional change influencing the production, circulation and consumption of knowledge products in the economy of relevance and reputation. It also presents an overview of the papers included in the special issue.

The main themes addressed in the papers represent a call for change; a call to radicalize the approaches to understanding ways of knowing; a call to re‐evaluate relations with practitioners; and a call to reimagine ways of representing knowledge to various constituencies, including fellow academic practitioners, management practitioners, students, and policy‐makers and other opinion‐formers.

The key message is one of the importance of encouraging broad discussions concerning the direction and impact of flows of knowledge and the various products in which that knowledge is embedded. It calls for a more market‐oriented approach to understanding the knowledge economy and the mediating role of various institutional players, including the academy, in the circulation, creation and destruction of knowledge products.

That a more‐market oriented approach to arrangements for the distribution of research resources in management studies calls for the development of more market‐oriented institutions capable of shaping relationships of collaboration, involvement and accountability.

Contributions expand the understanding of the problems and opportunities of imputing links to theory and practice.