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The behaviour of an enterprise (including ethical behaviour) strongly depends on the organization’s culture, values and beliefs. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that organizational culture differs according to enterprise life cycle stage. Also the importance of the knowledge and awareness of these differences to enterprises’ management in order to be able to ensure enterprises’ success is argued.

The case study research methodology was applied to explore the differences in the type of organizational culture as well as cultural strength depending on the enterprise’s life cycle stage. For the empirical testing, the author have selected Slovenia, one of the most developed European post-socialist transition countries.

The research revealed differences in the types and strengths of enterprises’ organizational cultures and showed their dependence on the enterprises’ life cycle stages.

Knowledge of differences in organizational culture in relation to an enterprise’s life cycle stage can significantly contribute to the behaviour of the enterprise’s key stakeholders by ensuring the long-term and sustainable success of the enterprise.

The available literature does not provide similar research of differences in organizational culture in relation to an enterprise’s life cycle stages.

The paper aims first of all to identify the stage of the life cycle of rapidly growing Lithuanian enterprises and the main challenges that management faces at a particular stage.

The methodology of the study is based on the research works carried out by Hanks and Watson, Miller and Friesen and Kazanjian. On the basis of the selected factors an original questionnaire was developed and administered to eight Lithuanian companies.

Main findings of the empirical study show that rapidly growing Lithuanian companies correspond to the main life cycle features and face specific problems that were partially reported by numerous research works but also some unique ones. Findings confirm the reliability of the life cycle studies.

The research could be extended to the broader sample, especially into different sectors. Also it would be beneficial to carry out the study in different countries with developing economies to test unique findings of the research.

The findings can be used by managers to predict and prepare for meeting effectively the challenges associated with certain stages of enterprise growth.

The paper is a first attempt to apply organisational life cycle theory in order to systemise the challenges that Lithuanian enterprises face, and to contribute to the development of the debate on organisational life cycle theory reliability.

Life cycle stages may see, result from, and/or cause, changes in culture and climate as the right‐brain attributes of both managers and their co‐workers. A four‐stage model is used to perceive these possible changes. Findings are tested in Slovenian enterprises. Differences per stages may be crucial and should therefore be known to managers/owners. Based on the case study research, this paper aims to suggest that enterprise awareness of importance of ethical climate can be of essential meaning for its long‐term success. The purpose of this paper is to discover differences in enterprise ethical climate in different enterprise life cycle stages and to identify their importance for active ethical climate care by the enterprises.

In this paper, the qualitative research is applied. The research cognitions on ethical climate are discussed in application of the dialectical systems theory.

The paper finds that there are some differences in enterprise ethical climate for enterprise life cycle stages and indicates a significant presence of the “rule”, “law and code” and “instrumental” ethical climates. Movement towards a more bureaucratic method of enterprise functioning, as an enterprise moves from the pioneer stage towards the stage of turn‐over, was also found.

This paper gives us some insights in the state of ethical climate in Slovenian enterprises. In a frame of practical implications, a further research should be done to show which measures of such ethical climate implementation should be used to stimulate the enterprises' innovative behaviour in accordance with the state of enterprise's life cycle stage.

The available literature does not provide for a similar research of linkage between the ethical climate and enterprises' life cycle.

This study aims to propose a hotel life cycle model and applies this model to examine the development of international tourist hotels (ITHs) in Taipei.

In this study, a two-stage approach is proposed to examine the life cycles of 20 ITHs in Taipei. First, we evaluate the overall and departmental efficiencies by using a two-layer bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. Second, we divide the phases of the hotel life cycle by incorporating two objective indicators, namely, the average efficiency change rate (AECR) and the annual average efficiency (AE).

The results show not only that the efficiency scores derived from the bootstrap DEA model could help assess the performance of individual ITHs but also that the resulting AECR and AE could help to objectively classify the development of the hotels under study into the following phases: initial, growth, maturity and recession and regeneration phases.

The method proposed in, and the results obtained from, this study can provide the stakeholders of the ITHs in Taipei with an alternative to the existing subjective enterprise life cycle (ELC) model for identifying these ITHs’ stages of development using quantitative and objective criteria.

Existing hotel management research rarely focuses on hotel life cycle analysis, likely due to the adoption of subjective criteria by the conventional ELC model, which limits the practical application of the research. To improve on the conventional ELC model, our proposed quantitative approach involves dividing the hotel life cycle by employing two objective indicators and then empirically presenting the results.

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 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.

In this study, the authors investigate whether supply chain (SC) strategies (lean or agile) improve or hinder the supply chain transparency (SCT) and what factors affect this relation.

The authors measure the level of SC strategy using natural language processing based on the annual financial reports of listed firms. Secondary data analysis is conducted on various databases encompassing 1,241 listed firms in China from 2011 to 2020. Additional tests are performed to assess the robustness of the results, and alternative explanations are duly considered.

The authors find that firms with an advanced level of SC strategy perform better on SCT. Furthermore, the authors observe that Agile SC strategy and Lean SC strategy have different effects on SCT over a firm’s life cycle. Agile SC strategy (the ratio of the proportion of Agile SC strategy word frequency divided by the proportion of Lean SC strategy word frequency greater than 1) has a significantly positive effect on SCT in the maturity stage; Lean SC strategy (the ratio less than 1) has a positive effect on SCT in the growth and decline stages. An increase in online media coverage negatively moderates the impact of the SC strategy (frequency of Lean and Agile SC strategy-related keywords) on SCT in the maturity stage. An increase in government environmental subsidies positively moderates the impact of SC strategy on SCT in the maturity and decline stages. Additionally, an increase in industrial competition intensity positively moderates the impact of the SC strategy on SCT in the decline stage.

The authors' study contributes to the Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) literature by revealing the positive impact of SC strategy on SCT with objective secondary data. Additionally, the authors examine the moderating effects of moderators over the lifecycle of a firm on this relationship in an emerging market context. The authors' findings offer valuable guidance to companies operating in diverse market environments, providing actionable insights to strengthen their SC strategies and enhance SCT.

The paper aimed to summarize innovative rules of Chinese manufacturing enterprises, and put forward some insights in optimal allocation of innovation resources and enhancing the capability of indigenous innovation, so as to overcome the innovation dilemma.

Having diagnosed the current research of innovation flows, the authors defined the concept and stated characteristics of mainstream and new‐stream innovation. Innovation life cycle theory and technology trajectory theory were used to map two evolution patterns of mainstream and new‐stream innovation. It took weeks to stay in firms to obtain original data and interview managers, engineers, and mechanists. From the case study the authors proposed the improvement projects and opportunities for firms to overcome the “innovation dilemma”.

In the indigenous innovation process, enterprises should breed new‐stream innovation as they strengthen the mainstream innovation, view the new‐stream technology as the innovation direction, and fulfill the constant innovation in the convergent innovation and replace evolution process. Meanwhile, enterprises should take precautions both to expand and develop, and fulfill technology transition and innovation upgrade through convergent innovation. Furthermore, firms' convergent innovation, which will finally achieve the “projects‐talents‐products‐markets” collaborative innovation, should be clear about target market and project‐oriented, take the product as the carrier, and be committed to cultivate creative talents and innovative teams.

This paper enriches the existing theory on indigenous innovation by introducing the new concept of mainstream and new‐stream innovation. The findings would help firms to jump out from the innovation morass.

Increasing global competition, free trade agreements, low cost foreign labor, and customer expectations are causing manufacturing enterprises to implement aggressive transformation plans. Should these transformations be incremental or enterprise‐wide? This paper aims to address the question by developing a Lean Enterprise Architecture (LEA) concept for an enterprise‐wide transformation.

The LEA is an architectural framework for enterprise reengineering in the design, construction, integration, and implementation of a lean enterprise using systems engineering methods. The architecture uses a multiphase approach structured on the transformation life cycle phases.

Viewing lean implementation across the entire enterprise minimizes the possibility of overlooking opportunities for further performance improvement. A silo view of lean implementation may allow gaps in performance to persist, with no one assuming responsibility for the entire enterprise. Employing the principles of the LEA will help improve enterprise‐wide quality, on‐time delivery, and customer satisfaction by eliminating waste in the entire organization and supply chain.

Applications and benefits are cited in the paper, but additional case studies are needed to benchmark the performance of the LEA against incremental lean implementations.

The LEA was created for the US military aerospace industry, but it is now being adopted in other commercial sectors for major transformation designs.

The LEA is the first known integration of lean thinking, enterprise architectures, and systems engineering principles in a design framework for the transformation of an enterprise.

This study aims to examine the role of the board of directors in affecting earnings management practices across small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) life cycle.

Data is collected from 280 SMEs listed on the London Stock Exchange during the period of 2009–2016. Fixed effects regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses.

This study shows that the impact of the board of directors' roles on earnings management practices varies depending on the SMEs life cycle stage. In the introduction, growth and decline stages of SMEs, the wealth creation role of the board is negatively significant with earnings management, while the wealth protection role of the board is positively significant in the growth and maturity phases. Results suggest that the board's responsibility to create wealth deters early-stage earnings management strategies, while protecting shareholder interests, in latter stages, leads to a decrease in earnings management.

The findings suggest that corporate governance should be customized to the specific stage of the SMEs life cycle. Additionally, different life cycle stages may impose different requirements on corporate boards to shape the effectiveness of these mechanisms and constrain earnings management practices.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study offers one of the first insights on the UK SMEs to understand how board functions and earnings management practices vary over SMEs life cycles. It will offer important information on the effect of board features on earnings management in SMEs in the UK and is anticipated to be of importance to policymakers, regulators, investors and practitioners.