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This paper aims to investigate the influence of the regional business environment on local firm innovation, considering various dimensions such as administrative, financial and legal environments.

Multiple regression analysis is employed to analyze archival data for firms listed on Chinese stock markets.

We find that the optimizations of the administrative and financial environments positively affect firm innovation, whereas the legal environment does not exert a similar impact. Our analysis also reveals that the business environment’s optimization significantly influences innovation in firms that are small, non-state-owned and operating in high-tech industries. Furthermore, the business environment acts as a moderating variable in the relationship between firm innovation and firm value.

This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of institutional-level determinants of firm innovation, highlighting the nuances of the legal environment and the importance of context-specific analysis, especially in emerging markets like China.

Developing countries can significantly enhance firm innovation by improving the business environment, including the optimization of administrative and financial systems, reducing transaction costs and ensuring capital supply. Tailored legal frameworks and alternative institutional strategies may also be explored.

This study explicitly emphasizes the governmental role in promoting firm innovation, shedding light on policy formulation and strategic alignment with local administrative policies.

To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to explore the relationship between the business environment and firm innovation using World Bank indicators in an emerging market context, providing novel insights into the unique dynamics of legal, financial and administrative sub-environments.

Under the influence of the digital economy, the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises has attracted widespread attention from scholars at home and abroad due to its uniqueness and importance. However, the existing literature is still deficient in the inner mechanism of digital transformation and lacks research on the digital transformation process. Through in-depth interviews and rooted theory, this paper focuses on the key factors of digital development of manufacturing enterprises and constructs a model of the digital transformation process.

This paper takes China's manufacturing enterprises as research projects. First, through a literature search, the authors proposed three key factors for constructing sustainable competitiveness from digital transformation, that is, core technology innovation, business model re-engineering and organizational structure optimization. Second, the authors adopted the grounded theory approach to identify three sustainable competitive factors of manufacturing enterprises resulting from digital transformation and constructed a theoretical model. Third, based on Chinese manufacturing enterprises data, the authors used an empirical study to validate the three influencing factors. Finally, the authors identified the inner mechanism of the digital transformation of enterprises and put forward suggestions for enterprises to maintain sustainable competitiveness.

First, based on the existing literature, this paper identified the importance of digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises, and the essence of digital transformation of manufacturing companies was found to lie in the change in the combined effect of technological, market and organizational innovation. Second, based on the grounded theory, through in-depth interviews with manufacturing enterprises on digital transformation and open coding of interview transcripts, it was concluded that the key factors for the digital transformation manufacturing companies are core technology change, business model re-engineering and organizational structure optimization. Third, based on a dynamic perspective, the authors evaluated and validated digital transformation. The study found that manufacturing enterprises can improve their digital transformation capabilities through the trajectory of “core technology change – business model re-engineering – organizational structure optimization” to improve their sustainable competitive advantage.

Firstly, this study proposed three key factors for constructing sustainable competitiveness from digital transformation, that is, core technology innovation, business model re-engineering and organizational structure optimization, which enriched the theory of transformation and upgrading. Secondly, this study constructs the structural equation model of digital transformation and discovers the key factors pf digital transformation.

The purpose of this paper is to apply experimentalist framework to understand self-optimizing efforts within German manufacturing multinationals. Benefits and characteristic obstacles to diffusion are discussed. Mechanisms for combatting obstacles are outlined.

Qualitative case studies, interview-based research, processual and reflexive action theory are applied to the governance of manufacturing-based multinational enterprises.

Uncertainty is an ineradicable element in multinational companies (MNC) FDI operations. Self-optimizing systems, many with an experimentalist character, are a pervasive form of response to this uncertainty. Obstacles to the diffusion and effective operation of self-optimization are chronic and, indeed, endogenously generated. But as a result, so are superordinate efforts to undercut the continuous emergence of obstacles. MNC development is, thus, characterized by continuous self-recomposition.

Implication is that managers and management theorists should focus as much on the management of dynamic process and learning that results in the recomposition of institutional rules as they do on the constraining and enabling effects of those rules.

Superordinate mechanisms for the disruption of incipient insulation and exclusion are crucial for the implementation of successful experimentalist (learning) systems.

Transparency, stakeholder involvement in MNC governance processes has positive implications for learning, innovation and competitiveness.

This paper presents the application of experimentalist learning theory to MNC global governance.

This study aims to focus on a key unanswered question about how digitalization and the knowledge processes it enables affect firms’ strategies in the international arena.

The authors conduct a systematic literature review of relevant theoretical and empirical studies covering over 20 years of research (from 2000 to 2023) and including 73 journal papers.

This review allows us to highlight a relationship between firms’ international strategies and the knowledge processes enabled by applying digital technologies. Specifically, the authors discuss the characteristics of patterns of knowledge flows and knowledge processes (their origin, the type of knowledge they carry on and their directionality) as determinants for the emergence of diverse international strategies embraced by single firms or by populations of firms within ecosystems, networks, global value chains or alliances.

Despite digital technologies constituting important antecedents and critical factors for the internationalization process, and international businesses in general, and operating cross borders implies the enactment of highly knowledge-intensive processes, current literature still fails to provide a holistic picture of how firms strategically use what they know and seek out what they do not know in the international environment, using the affordances of digital technologies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine high-tech small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supply chain partnerships. Partnerships are considered at the level of business function rather than the entire organisation. Second, the drivers of SMEs to engage in partnerships are assessed to see whether functions engage in partnerships for different reasons. Third, performance per function is assessed to see the differential effect of partnerships on the function’s performance.

In this study, the relationship between the drivers of SMEs to engage in partnerships, four types of partnerships (marketing and sales, research and development (R&D), purchasing and logistics, and production) and four types of functional performances of firms (marketing and sales, R&D, purchasing and logistics, and production) are examined. The data have been collected from 279 SMEs. The proposed hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling.

The results indicate that there are considerable differences between business functions in terms of the degree of involvement in partnerships and the effect of partnerships on the performance of these functions. This paper contributes to research by explaining the contradictory results of partnerships on SMEs performance.

This study helps firms understand which type of partnership should be established based on the firm’s drivers to engage in supply chain partnership; and which partnership has a significant effect on which type of business performance of the firm.

The originality of this study is to investigate the relationship between different drivers to engage in supply chain partnership and different types of partnerships and different functional performance of firm in a single model.

This chapter integrates organization design and sustainability concepts to describe an accelerated transformational change at the Fairview Medical Group (United States).

A case study of the transformation at Fairview Medical Group’s primary care clinics was developed from interviews and first-person accounts of the change. Objective data regarding outcomes was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the redesign process.

The Fairview Medical Group developed an innovation and change capability to transform 35 primary care clinics in six months. All of the clinics were certified by the state of Minnesota as complying with their healthcare standards. Clinical outcomes, costs, and employee and physician engagement also increased. All of the improved measures are sustained.

Healthcare reform in the United States struggles because the organization design challenges are great and the change difficulties even greater. Fairview’s experience provides important evidence and lessons that can help advance our understanding of effective healthcare and create more sustainable healthcare systems. This chapter provides healthcare system administrators evidence and alternatives in the pursuit of implementation.

This study explores the influencing factors affecting smart supply chain innovation (SSCI) performance of commodity distribution enterprises, and proposes the corresponding framework from the perspective of the application of technology to improve the SSCI performance and make up the research gap in this field.

A multi-case study method is adopted in this study. Four distribution commodity distribution enterprises A, B, C and D in China are chosen as case enterprises. The interviews with senior management team members are used to collect data. The combination of open coding and axial coding are used to process the data. By testing the reliability and validity, the theoretical framework is summarized.

First, we find that the technology application cost inhibits SSCI and that the level of technology suitable for enterprise development will promote SSCI. Second, SSCI in structure, management and services can improve the performance and innovation ability of enterprises. Third, the quality of multi-channel integration and degree of customization around customer demand can significantly modify the above effects.

Compared with previous studies, this study reveals for the first time the correlation between the SSCI performance and technology application, SSCI in structure, management and service, providing new ideas for relevant researches on SSCI, and providing new theoretical support for managers' decision-making related to SSCI.

The purpose of this study is threefold. First, to provide a taxonomy of innovations in the housing sector. Second, to create a coherent framework that includes the mechanisms that stimulate and hinder the adoption of innovation in the housing sector. Third, to develop propositions for future innovation adoption research.

A search in Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science, Elsevier’ Scopus and the ARCOM database, followed by ‘snowballing’ as a backward search technique, revealed 94 scientific studies about innovation adoption in the housing sector. These studies were used to conduct a systematic narrative literature review about innovation adoption in the housing sector.

This study presents the state of knowledge about the adoption of innovation in the housing sector. Based on the unit of analysis by the studies included in our review, we present a taxonomy of housing innovation and we conclude that, typical for low-tech industries, no radical, discontinuous innovations were reported in the field of housing. Based on the data set of this review, a coherent framework has been developed, which includes four categories of determinants and underlying variables. Subsequently, 21 propositions have been deduced, which reflect the key mechanisms affecting the adoption of innovation in housing.

This paper is the first in which the various innovation adoption mechanisms for housing projects are integrated in a coherent innovation adoption framework. This framework not only provides an explanatory overview about innovation adoption in the housing sector but also provides insight to managers how to increase the chances to get their innovations adopted in the housing sector.

This article reports on the background, the conceptual ideas and the lessons learned from over more than 20 years of IC Statements and Management with a country focus on Germany and some international developments. It calls for an integrated management approach for IC and offers case study evidence on how to accomplish this quest.

Report on the German initiative “Intellectual Capital Statement made in Germany” (ICS m.i.G.). A brief review of the literature describes the background and theoretical foundation of the German IC method. A short description of the method is followed by four detailed case studies to illustrate long-term impact of IC management in very different organizations. A discussion of Lessons Learned from more than 200 implementations and an outlook on current and future developments finalizes the article.

IC Statements made in Germany (ICS m.i.G.) was successful in providing a framework to systematically identify IC, evaluate the status quo of IC relative to the strategic requirements, visualize interdependencies of IC, business processes and business results as well as to connect IC reporting with internal management routines and external communication. However, ICS is not an insulated method but delivers the maximum benefit when integrated with strategy development, strategy implementation, business process optimization accompanied by change management routines. Strong ties to human resource management, information technology departments, quality management, research and development teams as well as business operations as the core of an organization help to yield the most for ICS m.i.G. Over time, the focus of managing IC changes and maturity leads to deutero learning.

ICS m.i.G. proved easy to apply, cost efficient for SMEs, larger corporations and networks. It helps to better accomplish their objectives and to adjust their business models. The guidelines in German and English as well as a software application released were downloaded more than 100,000 times. A certification process based on a three-tier training module is available and was successfully completed by more than 400 practitioners. ICS m.i.G. is supporting current standards of knowledge management, such as ISO 9001, ISO 30401 or DIN SPEC PAS 91443 and therefore will most likely have a continuing impact on knowledge-based value creation.

This paper reports lessons learned from the country-wide IC initiative in Germany over the last 20 years initiated and supported by the authors. Several elements of the method have been published over time, but so far no comprehensive view on Lessons Learned had been published.

Describes the METHODS teamworking model which includes seven basic principles: measurement; encouraging improvement; teaching; listening and conflict resolution; optimization and innovation; dreaming; and success. Explains how these principles have worked for two teams at J.C. Penney.