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1 – 10 of 45Kai Wang, Massimiliano Matteo Pellegrini, Kunkun Xue, Cizhi Wang and Menghan Peng
Digital technologies over time are becoming increasingly pervasive and relatively affordable, finding a large diffusion in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) also for…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital technologies over time are becoming increasingly pervasive and relatively affordable, finding a large diffusion in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) also for internationalization purposes. However, less is known about the specific mechanisms by which this can be achieved. Specifically, we focus on how SMEs can face the international environment, leveraging digital technologies and thanks to their intellectual capital (IC).
Design/methodology/approach
We analyze the relationship between digital technologies and the internationalization of SMEs, exploring the mediating role of IC in its three dimensions: human, relational and innovation capital, and assessing the possible moderating effects posed by international institutional conditions, specifically the Sino-US trade frictions. The relationships are tested using a sample of companies listed on China’s A-share Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) from 2010 to 2021.
Findings
Digital technologies help to internationalize SMEs. However, this positive relationship is affected (mediated) by the presence of an already consolidated IC. In addition, the institutional conditions of the international market, such as the Sino-US trade friction, moderate the components of IC differently. Specifically, the overall mediating effect of human and relational capital is boosted, while this does not happen for innovation capital.
Originality/value
First, this study contributes to the literature on organizational resilience, especially digital resilience, confirming its validity in the context of internationalization and, in particular, those processes adopted by SMEs. Second, we clarify the mechanisms through which digital technologies exert their impact on the process of internationalization and in particular the prominent necessity of having IC. Third, our conclusions enrich the understanding of how IC components react to turbulence in international markets.
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Sunil Kumar and Ravindra Shrivastava
After completion of the case study, the participants will be able to understand the significance of quality as a pivotal domain within project management and to analyze the issues…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
After completion of the case study, the participants will be able to understand the significance of quality as a pivotal domain within project management and to analyze the issues related to quality and offer logical solutions.
Case overview/synopsis
In this case, the Bharat Bijlee Construction Limited (BBCL) group, with a proven track record of over five decades in the transmission and distribution business in India, decided to venture into international projects, considering the prevailing stagnant domestic power sector. They secured contracts worth $85m from the “Shariket Karhaba Koudiet Eddraouch Spa,” a state-owned company responsible for power generation, transmission and distribution in Algeria. However, during the execution phase of these projects, BBCL encountered significant challenges related to product and service quality. These challenges arose due to the tight schedule constraints and cost considerations, as well as a lack of understanding of the dynamics involved in executing international projects, especially in the demanding conditions of the sub-Saharan desert. This case study addresses the complex issue of ensuring and maintaining high-quality standards in large-scale substation projects situated in the challenging environment of the sub-Saharan desert, highlighting the importance of effective project management and international project execution expertise. The case study is from quality management knowledge area and focuses on identification of root cause of quality noncompliance and for better decision-making in projects.
Complexity academic level
The teaching case is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in project management, civil engineering and architecture domain. The participants will be able to understand the application of various quality tools, statistical process tools and control charts in problem identification, categorization, root cause identification and decision-making.
Supplementary material
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS2: Built environment
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Yongchun Huang, Shangshuo Wu, Chengmeng Chen and Chen Zou
How does the family influence individual entrepreneurial entry? The literature does not provide a satisfactory answer. In this paper, we develop an individual entrepreneurial…
Abstract
Purpose
How does the family influence individual entrepreneurial entry? The literature does not provide a satisfactory answer. In this paper, we develop an individual entrepreneurial capital perspective to systematically evaluate the impact of current households on entrepreneurship at both theoretical and empirical levels.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database from 2010 to 2018, we used logit regression models to examine the relationship between household size and opportunity- and necessity-motivated entrepreneurship.
Findings
The empirical results show that with the expansion of household size, the possibility of opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship shows a trend that first declines and then rises, and the possibility of necessity-motivated entrepreneurship shows an upward trend, suggesting that there are two types of opposing mechanisms that affect the relationship between household and entrepreneurial entry.
Practical implications
Family households are the starting point of individual growth and provide initial cognitive and social resources for decision-making. For entrepreneurs, it is necessary to make full use of household-based capital and networks to promote entrepreneurial activities. For the government, it is necessary to explore the development and implementation of household-based entrepreneurial policies.
Originality/value
Through analyses of the U-shaped relationship between household size and opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship and the positive relationship with necessity-motivated entrepreneurship, we reveal the relationship between household and entrepreneurship, reconcile the contradictions in the literature and contribute to the two fields of family studies and entrepreneurship.
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Oğuz Kara, Levent Altinay, Mehmet Bağış, Mehmet Nurullah Kurutkan and Sanaz Vatankhah
Entrepreneurial activity is a phenomenon that increases the economic growth of countries and improves their social welfare. The economic development levels of countries have…
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurial activity is a phenomenon that increases the economic growth of countries and improves their social welfare. The economic development levels of countries have significant effects on these entrepreneurial activities. This research examines which institutional and macroeconomic variables explain early-stage entrepreneurship activities in developed and developing economies.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted panel data analysis on the data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) surveys covering the years 2009–2018.
Findings
First, the authors' results reveal that cognitive, normative and regulatory institutions and macroeconomic factors affect early-stage entrepreneurial activity in developed and developing countries differently. Second, the authors' findings indicate that cognitive, normative and regulatory institutions affect early-stage entrepreneurship more positively in developed than developing countries. Finally, the authors' results report that macroeconomic factors are more effective in early-stage entrepreneurial activity in developing countries than in developed countries.
Originality/value
This study provides a better understanding of the components that help explain the differences in entrepreneurship between developed and developing countries regarding institutions and macroeconomic factors. In this way, it contributes to developing entrepreneurship literature with the theoretical achievements of combining institutional theory and macroeconomic indicators with entrepreneurship literature.
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Linh H. Nguyen, Dominik K. Kanbach and Sascha Kraus
The purpose of the study is to understand the relationship between family-driven innovation and the incorporation of corporate sustainability in German family firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to understand the relationship between family-driven innovation and the incorporation of corporate sustainability in German family firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducted 26 interviews with 22 German family firms. Thematic analysis was undertaken on the collected data resulting in five major themes.
Findings
The study identified five main themes of corporate sustainability-oriented innovation in family firms, which include measuring corporate sustainability performances, building corporate sustainability-oriented infrastructure, stabilizing/optimizing operations, enhancing operational flexibility/independence and knowledge management and development. The study also provides an activity-based guide for family firms to use innovation to achieve corporate sustainability goals and present the findings’ implications for policymakers.
Originality/value
The present study is the first study to empirically investigate the relationship between family-driven innovation and the incorporation of corporate sustainability at each of the corporate sustainability maturity levels.
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Albena Pergelova and Vesna Mandakovic
This study takes an “entrepreneurship as emancipation” perspective to study entrepreneurs defined as “others” on multiple categories: women entrepreneurs whose ventures are…
Abstract
Purpose
This study takes an “entrepreneurship as emancipation” perspective to study entrepreneurs defined as “others” on multiple categories: women entrepreneurs whose ventures are necessity-based, bootstrapped and located in economically impoverished areas (neighborhoods) in two Latin-American countries: Chile and Peru.
Design/methodology/approach
The study takes an interpretivist research approach and analyses inductively interviews with women entrepreneurs.
Findings
The findings reveal how everyday practices in pursuit of emancipation – while conducted within the existing patriarchal social structure – push the boundaries and contribute to changes in the social system via a variety of outcomes such as intergenerational social mobility, personal fulfilment and strengthening the communities in which the women entrepreneurs operate. Furthermore, while the authors find that in the particular Latin-American context under study, entrepreneuring activities become an emancipatory possibility for the everyday women entrepreneurs, they also highlight a “dark side” of their emancipatory projects.
Originality/value
The study contributes to recent critical studies in entrepreneurship by demonstrating the diversity and importance of the “mundane” activities undertaken by “necessity-based” entrepreneurs, and the significant – yet underappreciated – reach of their ventures’ impact on issues well beyond economic considerations.
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Joseph Opuni-Frimpong, Modupeola Adefunso Dzorka and Isaac Boadi
This study aims to examine how the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG’s) directive on establishing a Cyber and Information Security Governance Committee (CISGC) affects banks’ financial…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG’s) directive on establishing a Cyber and Information Security Governance Committee (CISGC) affects banks’ financial performance (FP) and efficiency. The FP of banks is measured by return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), while efficiency is measured by operational costs to operating revenue (CIR). The study examines the CISGC’s cyber and IT expertise, committee size, meetings and female representation features.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 20 universal banks in Ghana between 2019 and 2022 was used to examine the impact of the CISGC features on Bank FP and efficiency using generalized least squares regression and robustness test.
Findings
CISGC’s cyber and IT expertise has a positive impact on ROA, but no impact on ROE or CIR. Their size, meetings and female representation do not affect performance. This highlights the need for key measures to be instituted for effective cyber and information security governance.
Research limitations/implications
This study has several limitations. First, the scope was initially limited to universal banks in Ghana. Future studies should cover all banks operating in Ghana.
Practical implications
When forming the CISGC, banks should ensure that cybersecurity expertise is represented, and that female representation is considered. Additionally, given the ongoing evolution of cybersecurity threats, banks should ensure comprehensive digitization and robust cybersecurity safeguards.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to investigate how CISGC impacts bank performance in Ghana following the BoG’s Cyber and Information Security directive.
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Veronica Chiodo, Francesco Gerli and Ambra Giuliano
The complexity of contemporary societal challenges in emerging countries reanimates the necessity of collective action to resolve them. What is required is system change, namely…
Abstract
Purpose
The complexity of contemporary societal challenges in emerging countries reanimates the necessity of collective action to resolve them. What is required is system change, namely, transformations in policy, practice, power relationships, market dynamics and social customs that underlie social and environmental issues. Technological innovations, paired with intentional social changes, might play a transformative role in this effort. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the adoption of technologies in social enterprises (SEs) and their contribution to achieving system change. It also addresses the effects of their hybrid nature on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis relied on data collected through a survey of the global population of Ashoka fellows, which is largely based in emerging economies. Three models were developed concerning different pathways to achieve system change identified in the theoretical framework. These were tested using Probit regressions.
Findings
The investigation confirms that technology can support SEs in navigating complex pathways to achieve system change rather than merely enabling linear scaling operational strategies. The pursuit of economic value creation, in conjunction with a social mission, decreases the ability of SEs to achieve system change. This is because the scaling paths which hardly create revenues are neglected.
Originality/value
The study conceptualises a multifaceted model of system change. It tests the framework empirically to show that SEs can adopt technologies to unleash complex system change processes to generate societal impact, on top of merely demonstrating linear approaches to scaling or replication. The paper questions the capacity of SEs to facilitate system change without appropriate financial support and the inherent tensions between hybridity and the depth of system change dynamics.
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The purpose of this study is to solve the problem that existing researches ignore the long-term and staged nature of digital transformation, failing to conduct specific…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to solve the problem that existing researches ignore the long-term and staged nature of digital transformation, failing to conduct specific discussions for different stages. It responded the call by constructing a three-stage evolutionary model to analyze the impact of digital transformation at different stages on the sustainable performance of manufacturing enterprises. The moderating effect of core technology capabilities is also explored, guided by the theory of assimilation innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the panel data of Chinese listed manufacturing companies from 2012 to 2020, this study empirically investigate the impact of digital transformation (digital process, digital operation and digital ecology) on sustainability performance (economic performance and environmental performance).
Findings
The findings indicate that digital operations and digital ecology significantly improve economic performance and environmental performance. Furthermore, the core technological capacity of the enterprise serves to modify the positive correlation between digital transformation at each stage and sustainable performance to some extent. In other words, when an enterprise is equipped with the requisite technological capacity, the digital transformation at each stage accelerates both economic performance and environmental performance, which in turn is conducive to an improvement in the enterprise’s sustainable development performance.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the theoretical framework of digital transformation and sustainable development in all stages of enterprises. Furthermore, they provide guidance for achieving sustainable development through the implementation of digital transformation and the enhancement of core technological capacity.
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Polina Artamoshina, Galina Shirokova and Virginia Bodolica
The current business environment is characterized by high levels of uncertainty that affect the global economic system and have the greatest impact on small and medium-sized…
Abstract
Purpose
The current business environment is characterized by high levels of uncertainty that affect the global economic system and have the greatest impact on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With an elevated degree of perceived uncertainty, Chief executive officers' (CEOs) of SMEs find themselves in a situation where the old approaches to decision-making are irrelevant and the time to create new ones is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine whether appealing to personal values helps CEOs cope with a high level of perceived uncertainty and make decisions about the further development of the firm by undertaking business model innovations (BMI).
Design/methodology/approach
This study follows a multiple case study research design drawing on data collected from 10 Russian SMEs.
Findings
The authors show that CEOs’ communion values lead to innovations in the revenue model and value architecture dimensions of the business model. CEOs who are inclined to agentic values introduce innovations in the revenue model and value offering dimensions. Those executives who balance between the two types of values tend to also balance between different types of innovations in the elements of the business model.
Originality/value
The results indicate that personal values of CEOs play an important role in managerial processes and the strategic choice of a BMI type. Moreover, personal temporal focus orientation serves as a translation mechanism in the relationship between CEO values and BMI in SME settings.
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