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This paper aims to investigate the direct and combined impacts of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and conservative orientation (CO) on perceived business performance (PBP) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under strategic-hybrid orientation (SHO) theory.

The data collected from the SABI NEO international database has 90 companies in 13 medium-to-high and high-tech activity sectors. The authors used partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the research model.

Business strategies match a SHO that includes both orientations, i.e. EO and CO. Moreover, as expected, the authors found evidence that each orientation produces performance-related sign-opposite significant impacts. Finally, the hypothesis regarding the positive synergistic effect of both orientations (EO and CO) on PBP was also supported.

One stems from the study’s cross-sectional nature, requiring a longitudinal approach. Another one resides in the absence of further examinations concerning multigroup analysis. Another restraint is the limitedness of data, focused on firms with med/high-tech intensity. For last, while the use of results in the initial stages of theory development can be beneficial, it is important to note that such results cannot be simply extrapolated or generalized to other industrial sectors without careful consideration of the contextual factors at play.

This study humbly endeavours to contribute to the finality of SMEs’ more steady and prosperous existence concerning the consciousness of the need to improve labour stability and wage fairness, conditions such as requiring a continuous commitment.

In this study, the authors aimed to investigate the impact of SHO on SMEs’ PBP. To this end, the authors simultaneously used two different strategic orientations (SOs): EO, which is widely studied in the literature, and CO, which has been less researched. The authors also examined their synergistic effects on PBP. The authors’ approach is based on Venkatraman’s strategic orientation of business enterprises model and the comparative paradigm of SOs.

Focusing on the quality of teaching and learning, this study aims to explore the perceptions of accountancy students in two emerging UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of the quality of their learning experiences and the impact of these experiences on generic skills development.

A questionnaire survey was used to collect the data. OLS regression was used to test the hypothesis regarding the impact of student learning experiences (lecturer ability, assessment and curriculum) on generic skills development.

Students value the lecturer as the most important determinant of the quality of their experience. They rated their assessment programme very positively, and the curriculum suggests that students tend to experience a deep blended approach to learning. They also felt that they acquired a wide range of soft competency skills such as those associated with research, critical thinking and time management. Multivariate findings indicate that lecturer ability and curriculum contribute significantly and positively to generic skills development.

The study provides a benchmark for international accounting and business educators in any efforts to assess the efficacy of HE delivery since the pandemic. By implication, it enables the identification of enhancements to the previous character of delivery and hence offers the means to direct improvements to the student experience. Such improvements can then be seen in the National Student Survey (NSS) scores, thereby positively contributing to the next Teaching Excellence Framework. Additionally, such tangible enhancements in NSS scores may be advantageous to HEIs, in the UK and other Western countries, in their efforts to recruit international students on whom they place great reliance for increased revenue, to their international business education programmes.

This study addresses the research gap surrounding the link between teaching and learning approaches in accounting and the development of generic skills. Furthermore, acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic with its imposed structural change in the HE teaching and learning environment ushered in a new model of curriculum delivery, this study reflects on the pre-COVID-19 scenario and gathers student perceptions of their teaching and learning experiences before the changes necessitated by lockdowns. It therefore brings the opportunity to anchor future research exploring the post-COVID-19 environment and secure comparative analyses.

The rapid advancement of technology has transformed the health-care industry and enabled the emergence of m-Health solutions such as health apps. The viability and success of these apps depends on the definition of a monetization model appropriate to their specificities. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is to study the mechanisms of monetization of health apps, to stablish how alternative revenues determine if a health app is to be free or paid.

Probability models are used to identify the factors that explain if a health app is free or paid.

Results show that the presence of alternative monetization mechanisms negatively impacts the likelihood of a health app being paid for. The use of personal data to customize advertising (the monetization of “privacy capital”) or the inclusion of ads on the app are alternative means of monetization with potential to decrease the likelihood of a health app being paid for. The possibility of in-app purchases has a lower negative impact on the probability of a health app being paid for. The choice of platform to commercialize an app is also a strategic decision that influences the likelihood of an app being paid for.

This work stands out for bringing together the two largest platforms present in Portugal and for focusing on the perspective of revenue and monetization of health apps and not on the perspective of downloads.

This paper aims to determine the impact of perceived virtuality on team dynamics and outcomes by adopting the Input-Mediators-Outcome (IMO) framework. Further, it also investigates the mediating role of team processes and emergent states.

The authors collected survey data from 315 individuals working in virtual teams (VTs) in the information technology sector in India using both offline and online questionnaires. They performed the analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).

The authors investigated two sets of hypotheses – both direct and indirect (or mediation interactions). Results show that psychological empowerment and conflict management are significant in managing VTs. Also, perceived virtuality impacts team outcomes, i.e. perceived team performance, team satisfaction and subjective well-being.

The interplay between the behavioural team process (conflict management) and the emergent state (psychological empowerment) was examined. The study also helps broaden our understanding of the various psychological variables associated with teamwork in the context of VTs.

Findings from this study will aid in assessing the consequences of virtual teamwork at both individual and organisational levels, such as guiding the design and sustainability of VT arrangements, achieving higher productivity in VTs, and designing effective and interactive solutions in the virtual space.

The study examined the interplay between behavioural team processes (such as conflict management) and emergent states (such as psychological empowerment). The study also theorises and empirically tests the relationships between perceived virtuality and team outcomes (i.e. both affective and effectiveness). It may serve as a guide to understanding team dynamics in VTs better.

This exploratory study attempts to enhance the current understanding of the research and practice of VTs within a developing economy.

This study investigated the moderating role of democracy in the relationship between corruption and foreign direct investment. The purpose of this study is to understand whether corruption has different effects on the location decisions of multinational enterprises (MNEs) depending on the regime type.

This study explored how institutional context influenced the impacts of corruption on the location decisions of MNEs, specifically using a sample of Chinese cross-border mergers and acquisitions between 2000 and 2020.

This study assessed the role of democracy in the relationship between corruption and the location decisions of Chinese MNEs. In general, this study found that Chinese MNEs were hindered by host country corruption, but that these detrimental effects were weaker in the presence of more effective democratic institutions.

This study contributes to the literature on institutional factors in international business through its simultaneous investigation of the effects of both democracy and corruption on the location decisions of MNEs. Moreover, there is a prevailing view that Chinese MNEs are willing to enter countries with high corruption, but the results of this study indicate that they are risk-averse in ways similar to their Western counterparts.

The purpose of this study is to understand the psychological mechanism that affects consumer trust by focusing on the formation and influence process of psychological contracts, and taking this opportunity, explore the influence paths of food quality, food safety and service quality on consumer trust in the online food market, and provide theoretical suggestions for building trust in food businesses' consumers.

This study is based on an empirical investigation and uses partial least square structural equation modeling for analysis. Survey data were collected online from 359 APP users of online food transaction platforms in China.

Food quality, food safety and service quality influence consumer trust through the mediating effects of relational and transactional psychological contracts. However, the differences between these influencing paths are obvious and shift with changes in the marketing channels.

This study contributes to the body of consumer trust research by exploring online food transactions as an emerging trend in China. Some optimization strategies for food quality, food safety and service quality are provided for enterprises involved in online food transactions.

This is a pioneering study revealing psychological contracts as a missing but significant mediator between consumer trust and its antecedents.

The purpose of this paper is to use the corresponding magnetic sensor and detection method to detect and image the defects of small diameter pipelines. Urban gas pipeline is an energy transportation tool for urban industrial production and social life, which is closely related to urban safety. Preventing the occurrence of urban gas pipeline transportation accidents and carrying out pipeline defect detection are of great significance for the urban economic and social stability. To perform pipeline defect detection, the magnetic flux leakage internal detection method is generally used in the detection of large-diameter long-distance oil and gas pipelines. However, in terms of the internal detection of small-diameter pipelines, due to the heavy weight, large structure of the detection device and small pipe diameter, the detection is more difficult.

In order to solve the above matters, self-made three-dimensional magnetic sensor and three-dimensional magnetic flux leakage imaging direct method are proposed for studying the defect identification. Firstly, for adapting to the diameter range of small-diameter pipelines, and containing the complete information of the defect, a self-made three-dimensional magnetic sensor is made in this paper to improve the accuracy of magnetic flux leakage detection. And on the basis of it, a small diameter pipeline defect detection system is built. Secondly, as detection signal may be affected by background magnetic field interference and the jitter interference, the complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise method is utilized to screen the detected signal. As a result, the useful signal is reconstructed and the interference signal is removed. Finally, the defect contour inversion imaging of detection is realized based on the direct method of three-dimensional magnetic flux leakage imaging, which includes three-dimensional magnetic flux leakage detection data and data segmentation recognition.

The three-dimensional magnetic flux leakage imaging experimental results shown that, compared to the actual defects, the typical defects, irregular defects and crack groove defects can be analyzed by the magnetic flux leakage defect contour imaging method in qualitative and quantitative way respectively, which provides a new idea for the research of defect recognition.

A three-dimensional magnetic sensor is made to adapt the diameter range of small diameter pipeline, and based on it, a small-diameter pipeline defect detection system is built to collect and display the magnetic flux leakage signal.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of NaCl solution with different concentrations on impact-sliding fretting corrosion behavior of Inconel 690TT steam generator heat transfer tubes.

The optical 3D profiler was used to measure the wear profile and calculated the wear volume. Corrosion behavior was studied using open circuit potential monitoring and potentiodynamic polarization testing. The morphologies and elemental distributions of wear scars were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The synergism of wear and corrosion was analyzed according to the ASTM G119 standard.

The corrosion tendency reflected by OCP and the corrosion current calculated by Tafel both increased with the increase of NaCl concentration. The total volume loss of the material increased with concentration, and it was known from the synergism that the volume loss caused by corrosion-enhanced wear accounted for the largest proportion, while the wear-enhanced corrosion also made a greater contribution to volume loss than tangential fretting corrosion. Through the analysis of the material morphologies and synergism of wear and corrosion, the damage mechanism was elucidated.

The research findings can provide reference for impact-sliding fretting corrosion behavior of Inconel 690TT heat transfer tubes in NaCl solution with different concentrations.

The digital economy has become a key force supporting the high-quality development of tourism. This paper discusses the coupling coordination relationship and spatiotemporal evolution path of digital economy and tourism in China's provinces.

This paper uses the entropy method to measure the development level of digital economy and tourism, and establishes coupling coordination model and spatial autocorrelation model to study the interaction between the two industries.

Results show that the development levels of the two industries are rising, which spatially show a progressively decreasing pattern of east-middle-northeast-west. The coupling coordination degrees of the two industries have increased steadily, but the overall level is still near maladjusted. Spatially, the positive correlation is increasing, but the incongruity of spatial agglomeration is still significant. The coupling coordination evolution path in the provinces shows differentiated characteristics. The migration path is mainly concentrated in Zones I and II. The eastern region has an obvious trend of extending to Zone III, where the tourism industry was the most affected by the pandemic.

The study helps clarify the industrial coupling and coordination relationship in various regions and formulate regional tourism digital transformation strategies to promote the high-quality development of China's tourism industry.

This paper enriches the research on the relationship between digital economy and tourism from the perspective of industrial integration. The development commonality of China's tourism digital transformation summarized provides theoretical reference and demonstration for the coordinated development of China's tourism.

Grounded on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examines the relationship between tyrannical leadership and knowledge hiding. Additionally, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of psychological distress and the moderating role of psychological safety.

Data was gathered from 435 employees in the corporate sector in China. The study used the partial least squares structural equation modelling approach to assess the proposed connections and analysed the data collected with the help of SmartPLS 4 software.

In the study, it was found that there is a positive relationship between tyrannical leadership and knowledge hiding, and this association is mediated by psychological distress. Additionally, the results asserted that the positive effect of tyrannical leadership on knowledge hiding through psychological distress is less pronounced when there is a greater degree of psychological safety.

Leaders should avoid being tyrannical and adopt a supportive leadership style. They should be aware of the effects of their behaviour on employee well-being, provide resources to help employees cope with distress and foster a culture of psychological safety. This approach promotes knowledge sharing, innovation and employee well-being within the organisation.

This study contributes to the existing literature by investigating a new factor that influences knowledge hiding: tyrannical leadership. Furthermore, it explains that employees who experience tyrannical leadership are more prone to psychological distress, such as anxiety and fear, and are likelier to engage in knowledge-hiding behaviours. Finally, the study identifies psychological safety as a factor that can mitigate the negative effects of tyrannical leadership on knowledge hiding.