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Under the digital wave and the new industrial competition pattern, the automobile industry is facing multiple challenges such as the redefinition of new technologies and supply chain changes. The purpose of this study is to link big data analytics and artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) with digital supply chain transformation (DSCT) by taking Chinese automobile industry firms as a sample and to consider the role of supply chain internal integration (SCII), supply chain external integration (SCEI) and supply chain agility (SCA) between them.

Data were collected from 192 Chinese firms in the automotive industry and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Importance-performance map analysis is used to extend the standard results reporting of path coefficient estimates in PLS-SEM.

The results indicate that BDA-AI, SCII, SCEI and SCA positively influence DSCT. In addition, this study found that SCII, SCEI and SCA play an intermediary role in BDA-AI and DSCT.

The paper enriches the research on the mechanism of digital resources affecting DSCT and expands the research of organizational information processing theory in the context of digital transformation. The paper explores how the resources deployed by firms change the strategic measures of firms from the perspective of responsiveness. By exploring the positive impact of SCA as a response capability on the DSCT strategy and its intermediary role between digital resources and DSCT, which is helpful to the further theoretical development of logistics and supply chain disciplines.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented small-to-medium size enterprises (SMEs) with a massive and unexpected challenge that has caused many to adjust their operational standards. Perhaps the biggest change has been the shift to remote work and away from traditional office spaces. Thus, this study aims to explore the implications of this shift within the context of customer participation in the new product development (NPD) process.

Our study surveys 218 small-to-medium size business-to-business firms in the USA on a variety of questions revolving around their NPD processes, customer collaboration and the shift to remote work. The authors use structural equation modeling in the AMOS program to analyze the data.

The findings indicate that both customer participation breadth and customer participation depth positively impact new product performance. Furthermore, these relationships are found to be contingent upon whether firms rely on remote work during the collaboration process. The results show that accessing a broader variety of explicit customer insights (i.e., breadth) has become easier in the increasingly remote collaboration environment. However, as face-to-face customer participation in NPD has decreased, the prospect of gaining deep, tacit customer knowledge relevant to product development (i.e., depth) has become more challenging.

This study contributes to the knowledge-based view of the firm and the customer participation literature, and it also has implications for managers adjusting to the shift to remote work following the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings provide additional evidence that customer participation is an effective strategy for SMEs (Morgan et al., 2018), but remote work has both positive and negative implications regarding the type of external knowledge that is acquired during customer participation in NPD.

This study presents the impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU)-induced Trade Supply Chain Vulnerability (TSCV) on the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in India by leveraging the World Bank Enterprise Survey data for 2014 and 2022. Applying econometric techniques, it examines firm size’ influence on productivity and trade participation, providing insights for enhancing SME resilience and trade participation amid uncertainty.

The econometric techniques focus on export participation, along with variables such as total exports, firm size, productivity, and capital intensity. It addresses crucial factors such as the direct import of intermediate goods and foreign ownership. Utilizing the Cobb-Douglas production function, the study estimates Total Factor Productivity, mitigating endogeneity and multicollinearity through a two-stage process. Besides, the study uses a case study of North Indian SMEs engaged in manufacturing activities and their adoption of mitigation strategies to combat unprecedented EPU.

Results reveal that EPU-induced TSCV reduces exports, impacting employment and firm size. Increased productivity, driven by technological adoption, correlates with improved export performance. The study highlights the negative impact of TSCV on trade participation, particularly for smaller Indian firms. Moreover, SMEs implement cost-based, supplier-based, and inventory-based strategies more than technology-based and risk-based strategies.

Policy recommendations include promoting increased imports and inward foreign direct investment to enhance small firms’ trade integration during economic uncertainty. Tailored support for smaller firms, considering their limited capacity, is crucial. Encouraging small firms to engage in international trade and adopting diverse SC mitigation strategies associated with policy uncertainty are vital considerations.

This study explores the impact of EPU-induced TSCV on Indian SMEs’ trade dynamics, offering nuanced insights for policymakers to enhance SME resilience amid uncertainty. The econometric analysis unveils patterns in export behavior, productivity, and factors influencing trade participation during economic uncertainty.

As a highly knowledge-intensive activity, digitalization is changing the construction industry landscape and is encouraging construction firms to explore the transformation. This study establishes a new theoretical model aimed at examining the impact of three types of intellectual capital (IC) on digitalization through the lens of knowledge-based view and explores how IC and digitalization influence sustainability performance from the triple bottom line principles.

A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from Chinese construction firms using convenience sampling. A total of 181 valid responses were obtained. Then, a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was executed through Smart PLS 3.0 software. The measurement model was assessed to ensure reliability and validity, and the structural model was analysed to test the proposed hypotheses.

The empirical results confirm the positive impact of IC on digitalization and digitalization on sustainability performance. Moreover, digitalization plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between IC and sustainability performance.

The results provide empirical evidence supporting the different roles of IC and digitalization in improving sustainability. The findings contribute to enhancing the understanding of digitalization practices from the perspective of IC and provide theoretical and managerial implications for sustainability issues in the context of the construction industry.

Due to the constantly increasing competitiveness along with the complexity of knowledge, firms perceive collaboration as a key strategy that preserves firms' radical innovation performance. In this context, this paper aims to examine how firms’ partners’ diversity in open innovation activities influences the development of radical innovations, critical for social development. In particular, this study analyzes how the functional and geographical breadth of the firm’s collaboration portfolio affects its radical innovation performance. Furthermore, it also explores the role of firm size as a moderator in the relationships proposed.

This research employs panel data analysis, using a sample of 4,677 Spanish firms, with data sourced from the PITEC database.

The results of this study show that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the functional and the geographical breadth of collaborations and the firms’ radical innovation performance. Moreover, this study finds partial support for the moderating role of firm size, in the sense that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms vary in their optimal number of diversity of partners.

This research provides a better understanding on how partners’ functional and geographical diversity, along with organizational characteristics such as firm size, affect how firms benefit from collaboration for innovation. This study shows that both SMEs and large firms experience diminishing returns when their collaboration networks become overly diverse in pursuit of radical innovation, due to increased costs. However, in SMEs, the turning point occurs at a later stage, consistent with the idea that small firms need broader functional networks to access complementary and novel resources they usually lack.

This study investigates the influence of market and hierarchy organizational cultures on international project performance and examines the mediating role of relational capital.

In-depth interviews and a cross-sectional questionnaire survey were conducted to collect primary data within international projects. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses based on data collected from 62 respondents.

The results reveal that both market and hierarchy cultures affect international project performance positively. Additionally, communication, cooperation and trust help enhance project performance; however, commitment is not. This study also proves the mediating role of relational capital between organizational culture and project performance.

This study selected only two types of organizational culture represented by Chinese construction enterprises. Future studies can explore the mediating role of relational capital between other varieties of organizational culture and project performance.

Given the high complexity and risks faced by projects abroad, both organizational culture, the internal environmental factor and relational capital being the external resource, are crucial for project success. This study clarifies the relationship between organizational culture, relational capital and project performance overseas. Empirical evidence to enhance international project performance for construction enterprises is provided. This study also makes contributions to international contractors who want to implement projects in developing countries.

This study aims to investigate why and how shared service centres (SSCs) are implemented as well as how they affect audit firm practice and audit quality.

In this qualitative study guided by the theoretical framework of institutional theory, the authors conducted 25 semi-structured interviews in seven European countries, including 16 interviews with audit partners from Big 4 firms, 6 with audit team members, 2 with interviewees from second-tier audit firms and 1 with a member of an oversight body.

The authors show that the central rationale for audit firms to implement SSCs is economic rather than external legitimacy. The authors find that SSC implementation has substantial effects on audit practices, particularly those related to standardisation, coordination and monitoring activities. The authors also highlight the potential impacts on audit quality.

By exploring the motivation for and effects of SSC implementation amongst audit firms, the authors offer insights into the best practices related to subsequent change processes and audit quality.

Supply chain visibility plays a pivotal role in ensuring stakeholders have access to and share mutually beneficial information - information that is critical to processes, operations, and informed decision-making. This study leverages a framework to explore the influence of four key factors on supply chain visibility: supply chain linkages, supply chain relationships, green absorptive capacity, and information sharing.

This investigation adopted a survey-based research methodology to collect data. A sampling strategy was employed to recruit participants from various industry sectors, with a primary focus on manufacturing and business. A total of 204 useable questionnaires were obtained. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify underlying factors within the data. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then used to assess the validity and reliability of the identified factors. Finally, structural equation modelling was employed to test the hypothesised relationships between the constructs studied.

This study's findings, particularly the significant positive correlations observed between information sharing, supply chain relationship, internal linkage, and green absorptive capacity, provide evidence that these factors are key drivers of supply chain visibility. Additionally, the analysis revealed that external linkages with supply chain partners further enhance information sharing within the chain.

This study offers a unique contribution by exploring the interplay between green absorptive capacity, information sharing, internal and external supply chain linkages, and their combined influence on supply chain visibility. Extending prior research that focused primarily on information sharing and traditional supply chain relationships, this study integrates green absorptive capacity and linkages within a novel framework. Our findings suggest that green absorptive capacity enhances information sharing within the supply chain network, ultimately leading to improved visibility. Furthermore, the study distinguishes the influence of internal vs external linkages on visibility.

Drawing upon the extended resource-based view (ERBV), this research aims to examine the effects of supply chain diversification (SCD) on enterprise digital transformation (DT), focusing on the external perspective of the supply chain.

Leveraging panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2015 to 2022, this research employs multiple regression analysis to empirically examine the relationship between SCD and enterprise DT.

The results of analysis indicate that: (1) SCD positively influences enterprise DT, a relationship that persists even after rigorous endogenous and serial robustness testing. (2) SCD fosters enterprise DT by bolstering its absorption, innovation, and adaptive capabilities. (3) Executive risk preferences and Pilot Policies positively mediate the effects of SCD on enterprise DT.

This research provides novel empirical insights into the underlying mechanism linking SCD and enterprise DT. The findings offer valuable guidance for enterprises seeking to optimize supply chain management and embrace DT, while also informing policymakers on strategies to facilitate SCD and DT enhancement among enterprises.

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of crowdsourcing-based social connections on the development of innovation competence (IC). The conflicting results in existing studies regarding the influence of crowdsourcing-based social linkage on IC necessitate a thorough investigation into this relationship.

The research uses a sample of 300 senior managers from various industries in India. The data is analyzed using partial least squares (PLS), a component-based approach to structural equation modeling.

The results of the analysis indicate that knowledge transfer effectiveness and absorptive capacity (ABC) play a significant role as mediators in the relationship between social linkages based on crowdsourcing and IC. This suggests that the effectiveness of knowledge transfer and the organization’s ability to absorb and apply new knowledge are crucial factors in leveraging crowdsourcing-based social connections for enhanced innovation capabilities.

The findings of this study hold crucial implications for managerial practices. The research highlights that successful crowdsourcing outcomes necessitate more than mere establishment of external social linkages. Managers must recognize that internal organizational readiness plays an equally critical role. This study offers two key managerial insights: first, exclusive focus on external linkages is inadequate; internal capabilities such as ABC and optimized knowledge transfer processes must be actively nurtured. Second, the concept of “crowdsourcing maturity” is introduced, emphasizing the evolving dynamic capabilities over time. Managers are urged to adopt a balanced approach, aligning external partnerships with internal adaptability, to fully optimize IC.

This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by shedding light on the mediating variables that influence the conversion of crowdsourcing-based social linkage into improved IC. By considering the role of knowledge transfer effectiveness and ABC, the study provides insights into the mechanisms through which social linkages based on crowdsourcing can impact innovation capabilities. These findings offer valuable implications for organizations seeking to leverage crowdsourcing for innovation purposes and enhance their overall IC.