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Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) do not need only traditional marketing strategies in the dynamic business environment of the manufacturing sector. Entrepreneurial marketing dimension (EMD) is an alternative marketing approach for SMEs. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate whether EMD innovation has a positive and significant effect on SMEs performance on Ghanaian Halal food and beverages.

Correlative descriptive research method was used and 432 questionnaires with five-point Likert scale were distributed among owners-managers of manufacturing sectors of Ghanaian Halal food and beverages SMEs producers were chosen by a simple random sampling method. Structural equations modelling structural equations modelling techniques was used to analyse data.

The result of data analysis indicates a positive and significant effect of EMD on manufacturing SMEs performances of Halal food. Nevertheless, the effect of EMD on the production performance of the aforementioned companies is confirmed positive. The findings also show that production performances of Halal food SMEs result in their financial performance.

The study’s sample is limited to Halal food SMEs manufacturing in Ghana. More research can be done investigating this relationship from different sectors and in Islamic and non-Islamic countries.

This research implies that Halal food SMEs manufacturing producers in a country is imperative in Muslim-minority countries. This study gives a benchmark for the non-Muslim-majority countries which endeavour to embark on the Halal SMEs manufacturing food. Muslim-minority countries that envision to succeed in the global Halal market could emulate Ghana’s approach in branding itself as a recognised non-Muslim-majority country in producing Halal foods. This can be done by implementing innovative, proactive, opportunist, risk-taking and customer-oriented initiatives to achieve better market and innovative performances and higher profits.

This paper fills a knowledge gap by presenting the first comprehensive overview of Halal food SMEs manufacturing performance research that enhances the ongoing discussion in hospitality, entrepreneurship and marketing fields in Islamic and non-Islamic contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of determinants on early internationalization in the context of an emerging economy, i.e. India.

The study is based on an ex post facto exploratory research using primary data collected from a sample of 102 exporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bangalore.

The overall results reveal that it is the proactive entrepreneurs and their previous experience that determine the early internationalization of SMEs. Further, competitive constraint was a major obstacle to enter the international market at an early age for late internationalized SMEs.

The policy initiatives should aim to develop the international orientation of the entrepreneurs in the firm as a precursor for the formulation and subsequent implementation of internationalization strategies.

Although studies have been conducted on determinants and early internationalization, these are confined to a few dimensions, and none of the studies have looked into the issues affecting the early internationalization holistically and with respect to SMEs in India.

This paper aims to highlight the imperatives for sustainability marketing (SM) adoption in the emerging markets (EMs), identifies challenges that are encumbering them from adopting SM orientation, and proposes research agenda for better understanding of the construct in the EMs.

The paper draws from literature and experiential knowledge of the author in the EMs to address the objective of the paper.

Pressure from the global market system, incidence of poverty in the EM, and unsupportive local conditions are argued to be inimical to the adoption of SM orientation in the EMs.

Given the heterogeneity of EMs, the conclusions in this paper may apply to various EMs differently. This must be borne in mind when generalizing the conclusions.

This paper emphasizes the urgent need to modify existing public policies in EMs and to equally redirect the attention of organizations and consumers in EMs to foster sustainability behaviour as a strategic choice for development rather than seeing it as an option.

Apart from bringing to light the imperatives and challenges of SM in EM, the paper offers a blueprint that would guide research in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate through a case study, how a tourist destination plan can contribute to the management of the destination, via the development of sustainable, coherent, integrated and efficient tourism actions.

The methodology incorporates a literature review on tourism planning and a case study, where the models and tools presented are applied to the Douro Valley region.

The Douro Valley Tourism Plan (DVTP) is based on an integrated and global perspective (by taking into consideration all the elements of the tourism system) and has been designed with the close and active involvement of the stakeholders. The goal is to ensure that all future actions will be pursued through a high commitment from the community and institutions of the region.

Aware of the interest that the Portuguese Government has in the region, as well as the financial resources that can be deployed, attracting private investment and promotion can be facilitated. These tasks, essential to the development of the region, are more easily facilitated as the DVTP gives a positive sign to the markets (investors and travel operators) and consequently to potential tourists.

The paper reports on the Douro Valley as the first destination in the World that has been assessed by the World Centre of Excellence for Destinations. The System for Measuring Excellence on Destinations, helping destinations to achieve sustainable development objectives, constitutes a tool for a better implementation of the “Douro Valley Tourism Plan” and so is an excellent example for other destinations.

In this study, the authors aim to test the reflections of two so-called universal leadership styles -paternalistic leadership (PL) and transformational leadership (TL)- on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and ultimately on firm performance (FP) within the context of SMEs of a developing country, Turkey. Moreover, examining the contingency of uncertainty avoidance (UA) on the relationship between EO and firm performance is another aim of the study.

In this explanatory cross-sectional study, by studying a dataset of 345 small and medium-sized (SME) Techno-park companies in Turkey based on using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method, the authors try to examine the antecedent role of PL and TL on EO and ultimately on FP. Moreover, we followed a mediation procedure to reveal the mediator role of EO on the relationship between leadership style and firm performance. Finally, the authors also conducted a moderation analysis through SmartPLS 3.0 to explore the contingency of UA on the relationship between EO and firm performance.

Study results indicate that TL is a significant antecedent of EO that results in higher firm performance. However, while PL has a negative impact on entrepreneurial orientation, the results provide no statistical evidence in support of a significant relationship between PL and firm performance. Moreover, the findings indicate that the higher UA, the weaker the relationship between EO and firm performance.

Managers, following a TL approach, can successfully encourage their subordinates to be innovative and creative. Transformational leaders are conducive to both entrepreneurship and firm performance within the context of technology-based startups. Besides, avoiding the risks and uncertainties naturally weakens the consequences of EO. Hence, EO, as an essential intangible resource, requires a proper cultural context to result in a competitive advantage.

This research provides a comprehensive understanding regarding the interrelationships amongst transformational and paternalist leadership styles, EO and firm performance within an UA context in Small Business and Technology Development Centers (SBTDCs) and Techno-parks. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no other researcher has studied those links in a holistic manner in general, particularly on the SMEs of Techno-park firms of a developing Eastern country. The findings significantly enrich the literature on paternalist leadership and entrepreneurship orientation in a cultural context.

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine whether performance of microenterprises located in a microenterprise zone (MEZO) in China is positively related to key management practices, entrepreneurial orientation, marketing capability, and technology capability. The paper aims to introduce the concept of MEZOs as a supplemental tool for governments to strengthen microenterprise activity.

A total of 150 randomly selected microenterprises located in a MEZO in Changchun, an industrial city in Northeast China, completed a survey consisting of a three‐part measure of microenterprise performance developed by Zinger et al. and entrepreneurial orientation. Factor analysis was performed on 11 management issues and correlation analysis was performed.

The study found that key management practices, marketing capability, and technology capability of microenterprises in MEZOs do have a positive impact on performance sales, net profit, and growth.

The study's results are limited by a sample in one city in one province of China collected in one month. The data are cross‐sectional rather than longitudinal. Sample bias may exist.

This study is valuable to government officials, policy makers, non‐government organizations and consulting firms as they examine new measures to unleash the economic power of microenterprises.

MEZOs need to be explored as one solution to aide microenterprise development to improve the poverty level, create jobs, and stimulate economic activity.

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first exploratory study of the performance of microenterprises located in a MEZO in China. Through research, the factors that contribute to microenterprise performance and success can be better understood and the impact that the MEZO model has on microenterprises can be better delineated.

New product development (NPD) is necessary for business sustenance and customer satisfaction. Six Sigma and Design for Lean Six Sigma (DLSS) efficiently employ the repetitive stages for NPD, leading to quality performance and profitability. This study aims to map the quality performance through NPD attributes through the Lean methodology.

The data on NPD were collected from 267 respondents from manufacturing companies to map the relationship between Six Sigma and DLSS for NPD. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to confirm model fit, while structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the empirical data for framework testing. The study included nine variables and fourteen hypotheses identified from the literature.

The statistical results of this study show that NPD attributes such as innovation, marketing, organization, customer, product and technology positively influence the Lean Six Sigma structured improvement process (LSSSIP) and DLSS. Moreover, integrating these attributes in Lean planning enhance quality performance. This empirical investigation's findings indicate that ten of the 14 hypotheses were supported, giving the study a strong foundation.

The data collection was limited to northern India; therefore, the results may not be generalizable to other areas of the world.

NPD involves handling technical issues and factors such as cost, operational bottlenecks, economic changes, competitors' strategy and company policy. This study helps understand the various NPD parameters and their relationship to Lean, which enables an effective NPD implementation strategy.

The current philosophy of NPD calls for a concurrent engineering approach; therefore, the entire organization must be part of this process. This study uses the holistic framework by optimizing NPD with Lean Six Sigma (LSS) principles. The study is unique in that, to date, research does not integrate NPD attributes with the objectives of LSS to develop an efficient NPD implementation strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and evaluate recent studies on determinants of export performance.

Using a vote-counting technique this paper reviews 124 papers published between 2006 and 2014 to assess the determinants of export performance.

The results indicate that significant progress has been made during these nine years and that: numerous new determinants are identified, data quality and statistical biases have received considerable attention, and interaction and indirect relationships are considered. However, at the same time, the research of export performance is still limited by a lack of synthetic theoretical basis, inconsistent empirical test results, and insufficiency in the research framework and statistical methodologies.

Export performance has received increasing attention over recent decades, but the area is still characterized by fragmentation and diversity hindering theoretical and practical development. This paper integrates the findings of recent studies on export performance and provides further discussion from both theoretical and methodological aspects, and points out the directions for future research.

In this article, the authors aim to review the extant literature and analyze the theoretical influence in the academic research of organizational decline and related topics (turnaround and bankruptcy, for example). They examine the theoretical contribution and the most influential authors to better understand the intellectual structure that connects theories and authors that have researched organizational decline. This study makes it possible not only to understand the current state of the art of research on organizational decline but also to uncover and guide future studies on organizational decline, based on the conceptual gaps identified.

Empirically, the authors conduct a bibliometric study involving analyses of citations and co‐citations to uncover the connections between authors and theories used. The bibliometric study was performed in 18 top‐ranked management journals. Their sample of 104 articles was retrieved from ISI Web of Knowledge.

The authors identified four clusters of research areas, and conclude that evolutionary theories support a considerable number of works, including studies on the effects of inertia, isomorphism and adaptation. Sociological approaches have also been used, namely examining the adjustment of the internal structures and actions to enhance positioning. Other research on decline is based on works on learning and decision making as well as on decline and turnaround strategies.

The main limitations concern the methods and the sample. Although the authors selected 18 top management journals, they do not encapsulate the entire stock of existing knowledge.

Well‐known and reputable corporations, not only the small entrepreneurial firms, also face organizational decline and failure. Although organizational decline is a reality, there is a notable scarcity of research on the topic. Organizational decline is more often studied in small companies and attributed to the liability of newness and a lack of several types of physical, technological, financial and social resources. Although the authors expected a priori to identify works using a resource‐based view, that was not the case, perhaps because since the 1990s strategy scholars' interest in studying organizational decline diminished. Notwithstanding, organizational ecologists continue to work on organizational decline as it is one of the central areas of their work.

This paper aims to derive a model that explores how the interplay between knowledge integration capability and innovation impacts strategic orientation, leading to the attainment of sustainable competitive advantage. The study considers the constituents of strategic orientation, namely, customer orientation, competitor orientation and technology orientation, as the basis for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. The study suggests that the firm’s capacity for integrating external and internal knowledge shapes how strategic orientation influences sustainable competitive advantage through service innovation.

This empirical research relies on qualitative and quantitative data gathered from telecom professionals to assess how knowledge integration and service innovation influence sustained competitive advantage. Structured equation modeling is used to examine the model and its interrelationships.

The research establishes significant relationships between strategic orientations, knowledge integration capability, service innovation and sustainable competitive advantage. Knowledge integration capability and service innovation are found to mediate the relationship between strategic orientations and the achievement of sustainable competitive advantage.

The study highlights the significant contribution of a firm’s knowledge integration capability in driving service innovation, especially in technology-intensive service industries facing hypercompetition. It also advocates prioritizing technology orientation and integrating knowledge from internal and external sources for competitive advantage.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to model the effect of knowledge integration capability and service innovation on strategic orientation-led sustainable competitive advantage.