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This multiple case study research aims to identify the characteristics of scaling up SMEs in Chile for exploring how and why some entrepreneurship in the information technology (IT) sector are able to scale up and develop sustainable strategies, based on three consecutive years. The average sales of the companies during the last period analysed was around US$1,323,579, with an average annual growth rate of 66.7%. Scaling up SMEs may require several attributes to achieve positive revenue and develop effective high growth rates that allow them to succeed over several years.

To discern the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, the methodology of multiple case study research was conducted in three parts. The first was to define and design the research process, in which the study should settle the theory analysis and then show that research propositions and questions. The second part of the research was to prepare, collect and analyse the data through crafting instruments and data collection protocols as a source of evidence to conduct the pilot and multiple case study. In this stage, interviews were scheduled, transcribed, analysed and coded to explore how individual attributes may create a scaling-up entrepreneurial process for maintaining or developing high performance in the IT sector. The last part of the research concludes and validates the research propositions for the identification for potential attributes, which were obtained during the qualitative study.

Attributes were selected when 13 or more SMEs reported the importance of this initiative for the process of scaling up their SMEs. As a result of the data analysis, the empirical findings suggest on the importance of the academic background, budgetary control, negative entrepreneurial experiences, building teams, geographical expansion and first critical experience as key attributes for scaling-up. Additionally, the data propose that constructive entrepreneurial ecosystem and reforms financing markets and programmes are two additional components that could moderate the interaction between the scaling-up process and the achievement of rapid sales results as a key outcome measure.

The first limitation was the lack of consensus on the phenomenon of the scaling up of entrepreneurship. Information in Latin America and emerging countries is scarce, which also represents an opportunity for other researchers to deepen and validate the results reported here. Even though it was an attempt to understand the issue of environmental change, this additional limitation did not allow the evaluation of these adjustments over time that can positively or negatively drive the strategies corresponding to the evolution in each of the moderator variables.

Because of the characteristics of the sample in terms of size of the SMEs, industrial sector, location, culture, socio-economic environment and years of establishment of the company, the study cannot be generalised in terms of other industrial sectors or countries. The results of this research are also limited to SMEs in Chile, and to the extent that it can be applied to emerging countries IT sectors with similar sample characteristics, it must be done so with caution. Yin states that eight cases “are sufficient replications to convince the reader of a general phenomenon”.

Policymakers have the option to identify what skills and knowledge the entrepreneur requires to be trained to scale up their established ventures. In this context, they will also benefit from the empirical contribution of knowing what the restrictions that limit this process are, such as adverse tax systems and public strategies. Additionally, it is of public interest because no national records exist on the presence of theoretical terms.

Even though the literature promotes the present findings, it shows that there is an absence of empirical evidence in emerging economies to better comprehend which factors may affect the development process of scaling up entrepreneurship in the IT sector. Both deliberate and emergent strategic initiatives are necessary for the scaling-up process where six critical factors are the basis of the scaling-up. This empirical contribution for entrepreneurs will support the achievement of rapid and sustained sales results for scaling up their ventures.

Unfortunately, workplace incivility (WI) within the information technology (IT) sector has hardly been covered in extant literature. Therefore, through narratives, this study explored various situational and cultural attributes of WI in the Indian IT sector.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted among the IT professionals (N = 24; Males = 13, Females = 11) aged between 21 and 45 years (Mean = 31.20, SD = 6.56) working in the South Indian state of Karnataka (Bengaluru).

The narrative thematic analysis yielded the following themes: Experiences of managers' ill-treatment at the workplace, co-workers incivility: dominance in the IT sector and prevalence of gender-based interpersonal discrimination. Furthermore, many sub-themes emerged under each major theme.

Contexts and cultural attributes of WI experiences warrant reconsidering and redefining the concept's theoretical underpinnings, especially from multi-cultural contexts, i.e. India, unlike leading studies in the Western culture. Current study narratives would guide further explorations of how IT professionals wish to curtail these behaviours and suggest strategies to minimize these behaviours in the respective sector.

The findings pose an interesting question for further investigation such as: Do individuals who seek favours from co-workers, under certain conditions, invite the experiences of WI for themselves from potential favour-doer? In a first of its kind, the study also offered relevant insights into exploring whether intentional acts as uncivil behaviours are peculiar to multi-cultural contexts, such as in India.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on the Turkish manufacturing sector by using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods on a sectoral basis. In this way, the sectors that had the highest negative effects of COVID-19 will be determined. Thanks to the findings to be obtained as a result of this study, it will be possible for decision-makers to develop strategies that may differ on a sectoral basis at the point of combating the pandemic.

The negative effects of COVID-19 were revealed by a large literature search. The importance levels of the factors determined within the scope of finance, supply, production and workforce were determined by the AHP method. Then, the TOPSIS method was used to determine which sectors were more affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, based on these factors.

The findings of this study obtained reveal that the most important negative effect of COVID-19 was on businesses in terms of reduced sales caused by domestic sales and export. Again, the findings show that the sector most affected by COVID-19 is automotive, which shows that the least affected sector is the pharmaceutical and medical equipment sector.

Primary data was used to determine the criteria weight. Therefore, there is a possibility that the answers are not objectively evaluated. The findings are limited to the criteria that was used, the views of the professionals and AHP-TOPSIS methods. Studies that use more criteria and different decision-making methods can have different results.

The manufacturing sector is at the forefront of the sectors affected by the global bottleneck caused by COVID-19. In this study, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Turkish manufacturing sector are discussed on a sectoral basis. Studies in the literature have revealed that the effects of pandemics such as COVID-19 vary between sectors. For this reason, it is important to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 from a sectoral perspective. Thanks to this study, it is thought that it will be possible to take measures that may differ between sectors to combat the negative effects of COVID-19.

The purpose of the study is to analyze and measure the impact of disruption in demand which causes the bullwhip effect. The bullwhip effect impacts the performance of firm. Just like everything else, covid has had an impact on the disruption of supply chain too leading to the need of measuring the bullwhip effect of select Indian sectors. The comparison on bullwhip effect is drawn in pre- and during covid era in major sectors. The study helps to understand, analyze and measure the impact of covid and its challenges to supply chain.

The empirical study is carried out on five major select Indian sectors which have the largest market capitalization in Indian economy, namely, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), automobile, utility, consumer durable and IT (information technology). The disruption in the supply chain is measured in terms of bullwhip effect. The novel metric ratio of bullwhip effect is computed which is based on demand–supply mismatch and analyzed based on 10 years of observations. The data is analyzed twice, first from 2011 to 2019 (pre-covid era) and second from 2019 to 2021 (during covid era). Each time, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sectoral indices are used to compute the bullwhip ratio, and empirical data is collected using Prowess. The firms listed in BSE represent most of the sector. Such panel data helps us to analyze inter- and intraindustry bullwhip effect. The changes in the bullwhip effect for various BSE listed firms are analyzed pre- and during covid era. These changes are specifically studied at the manufacturer end of the supply chain. Later regression analysis is performed to study the changes required in production based on the demand. The various strategies that cause or mitigate the impact of covid in intraindustry can be derived from the study. The disruption in production is analyzed based on the disruption in demand and profit before interest and tax (PBIT).

In pre-covid era, the percentage of demand disruption was low in select sectors but not exactly zero. Covid caused the disruptions in supply chain across the globe which resulted in bullwhip effect in Indian sectors too. Yet some of the sectors were able to cope better with the situation as compared to others. In the present study, same is analyzed statistically, and results are derived for practical significance.

The empirical data is having the observations of past 10 years to analyze the pattern of demand disruption in the firms and hence the sectors. The impact of covid is studied on performance, which is analyzed in terms of PBIT. The impact of other factors (political, social, marketing policies, etc.) that may cause disruption in the supply chain of a firm is not considered in the study.

Study is unique, as it measures disruption and provides a peerless way to study the inter- and intrasectors. To analyze the impact of bullwhip effect on sector performance, it is very much required to first measure the bullwhip; this measure of bullwhip as a ratio of the slopes of demand and supply is a novel approach. The study emphasizes that the impact of covid is not the same among the firms, and hence among the sectors. Also, it is found that the impact of such adversities can be mitigated, and performance of firm can remain intact in turbulent times too.

The impact of COVID-19 has caused a recession in economies all over the world. In this context, the current study aims to analyze the prevailing economic scenario using a machine learning approach and suggest sustainable measures to recover the global economy taking the case of Make in India (MII) initiative of developing the economy as a base for the study.

A well-known topic modeling technique – Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) algorithm has been employed to extract useful information characterizing the existing state of selected sectors under the MII initiative alongside catalytic policies that have been implemented for the same. The textual data acts as the base of the study upon which suggestions are provided.

The findings obtained suggest that digital transformation will play a key role in concerned sectors to optimize the performance of manufacturing organizations. Additionally, inter-relationship between Key Performance Indicators for the economy's revival is crucial for effective utilization of foreign direct investment resources.

The novel efforts to utilize MII initiative as a case present crucial information which can be used by policy makers and various other stakeholders across the globe to enhance decision-making and draft legislation across different sectors to empower the economy.

The study presents a novel approach to utilize the MII initiative by identifying important measures for crucial sectors and associated policies that have been presented by employing a text mining approach which in itself makes it unique in its contribution to research literature.

Stable high growth in the service sector has made India free from the stigma of slow and steady ‘Hindu rate of growth’ of about 3.5% per annum during the first three decades of independence. Service-led growth has placed India among the top performing giant economies in the world. India is now a 3 trillion USD (United States Dollar) economy in terms of Nominal GDP (IMF, 2020). Under this milieu, the chapter aims to examine whether the growth in the service sector in India is inclusive or not. The observations of the study have shown that the service sector has been growing at fast pace compared to the other two sectors, which makes the system into jobless status. The sectoral contribution of service sector to the GDP is increasing after the new economic reform of 1990, but the employment contribution is going down. So the country is now in the grip of ‘jobless’ growth, and the grip is strengthening because of some structural issues such as changes in consumers’ demand with rising per capita income. Further deepening of finance capital in the savings sphere of service sector has made the wide disconnect between the real economic activity and growth of finance capital. Revival of high linkage sectors with higher potential for employment growth, such as agriculture and manufacturing, can be game changer towards the goal of inclusiveness.

The purpose of this study is to identify the business strategies that entrepreneurs have formulated to establish the business with the intention of scaling up in the information technology (IT) sector in Chile, given that they have managed to scale up sustainably at an average annual rate of 73.3% and an average annual employee growth rate of 37% for four consecutive years after an establishment period of 25 months.

Three methodological steps were used to identify which strategic initiatives are relevant to the establishment of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the path to scaling up. The first part consisted of identifying the literature and defining the research propositions and research questions. The second part was to prepare, collect and analyse the data to conduct the research by applying, transcribing, reviewing and coding the sources of evidence to explore how SMEs are able to develop strategic initiatives for the start-up process. The final stage was to validate the research proposal to identify potential strategic initiatives identified during the multi-case study.

As a result of the data analysis and empirical findings, three deliberate strategic initiatives were identified: staying engaged with customers, delivering successful business solutions and articulating social capital. However, in crisis situations, entrepreneurs readjust their strategies based on their management skills and an emergent strategic initiative was identified as securing the financial structure and revolutionising change. While this research was not designed to identify personal attributes, it did highlight the importance of adaptation and learning as a skill to drive the business model for scaling up during the establishment of their business.

It is clear that the study focused on Chile and cannot be replicated in other regions or sectors due to the characteristics of the sample itself, but it provides empirical evidence that there are cycles prior to scale up that need to be understood. The findings were empirically validated during the establishment phase, but the deliberate and emergent strategic initiatives that consolidated the SME to prepare for its scale-up process are not evident in the theory.

The IT sector will continue to grow and change after the pandemic, and the global economy will use more digital systems, creating new ways of working with the use of IT. This context will impact on SMEs where strategies, whether deliberate or emergent, will need to be part of the new business models, and therefore, caution should be exercised when using the results of this study. Public and private institutions should educate and guide entrepreneurs for the potential scaling up of their SMEs without having to wait 42 months, according to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2021-2022 (Hill et al., 2022). Scaling up can begin as early as 25 months after establishment, breaking the paradigm of the theory that the SME must be established in a period of 3.5 years. This period cannot be generalised as business opportunities in the IT sector are faster. The research also contributes by reporting that contingency planning is relevant during the establishment phase.

Educational institutions and the public sector have made efforts to change business cultures regarding the importance of strengthening entrepreneurship, but teaching the emergent strategies that often challenge SME creation is not yet widespread in educational formats. This is a challenge not only for institutions but also for entrepreneurs trying to anticipate the constant changes in the global economy. This research provides an opportunity to create more dynamic business models with more conscious risk planning.

Although the literature has confirmed the findings, this research has provided a pre-scaling picture that links these two important stages on the axis of deliberate and emergent strategies. The findings confirm the importance of correctly embedding five strategic initiatives for the establishment of the SME if it is to continue on its journey towards business scale-up. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence in emerging economies on how entrepreneurs have found the right path to scale-up.

This study aims to understand the domino effect on housing and construction sector along the economic dimensions in light of COVID-19 pandemic.

The view point in this paper is written based on the domino effect of various sectors in India. Starting from the macro-economic events through to the micro-economic events, the changes are discussed along the platform of COVID-19. Early literature to support the discussions and a wide range of periodicals to observe the current events are used in arriving at a hypothesis.

The impact in any sector does not happen because of a sole event rather it is consequence of changes and trends that took place in multiple sectors. This paper identifies such changes in the sectors of oil industry, cement manufacturing, housing and construction sector during COVID-19. The paper concludes on confirming the hypothesis with two opinions. One by accepting the principle of domino effect that construction domain had various impacts by other sectors at different levels during pandemic. Another on considering the level of impact, the sector has withstood the impacts in various manners and is growing in extensive directions proving the sector to be resilient.

The paper showcases the impacts of various sectors on construction domain with an insight of most recent trends supported by early literature. The linking of elements is the significance of the paper.

This chapter aims to contribute to the literature on sustainability in the public sector by discussing how human resource and human resource management can help to integrate environmental management into organizations and improve environmental performance. Public sector scholars have neglected the study of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) until now. Nevertheless, implementing such practices could lead to positive outcomes regarding awareness of environmental issues, organizational reputation and attractiveness, job satisfaction and organizational performance. The authors discuss the relevance and the necessity of developing a field of research on GHRM in public organizations. Starting from a conceptual review of the main literature on GHRM, this chapter provided some directions for future research.

In the contemporary period, numerous businesses undergo significant adjustments, such as evaluating critical components of the corporate operations and relying on technology to keep operations running while conforming to an ever-changing set of norms and new tactics. The present study aims to (1) explore the relationship between Industry 4.0 (I4.0) tools and their impact on organizational performance and (2) find evidence supporting the moderating role of remote working and organizational agility (OA) in enhancing organizational performance.

The study employed the quantitative research method, and the data were collected from individuals working in different Asian IT firms using the previously established questionnaire. The data were examined using SPSS v22. Different statistical tests have been performed to find the relationship among constructs.

This study uncovers that I4.0 tools impact organizational performance, especially in the IT sector, with a particular emphasis on the moderating influence of remote work and OA. I4.0 tools encompass pivotal components such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data (BD), cloud computing (CC) and Internet of Things (IoT) indeed augment organizational performance. It can be referenced that I4.0 tools play the role of a driving force that equips organizations with the knowledge to augment their performance.

Companies should encourage remote work and use I4.0 technology to support and manage it. Enabling people to work from any location, lowering the requirement for physical infrastructure and enabling a more flexible and responsive organizational structure can increase OA. In conclusion, firms in Asia may increase the performance and agility using I4.0 technology. Organizations may innovate by putting money into these technologies, encouraging remote work and creating an innovative culture.

In this dynamic and technologically advanced environment, every industry is forced to look for latest tools, i.e. I4.0, tools to augment the performance. It has been concluded that I4.0 tools are “better practices” for boosting organizational performance; hence, the findings benefit firms working in the IT sector. The verdicts of this research can assist organizations in making decisions regarding the implementation of I4.0 tools.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, no specific study could be found in which the relationship among these constructs had been investigated earlier in the IT sector. This research work acts as value addition to the literature as it illustrates technological advancements may increase organizational performance, especially in Asia. This research work adds to the body of knowledge by amplifying the effect of latest technologies on organizational performance, via remote work and OA.