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Knowledge management (KM) is widely adopted by organisations to improve their performance and make informed decisions. Prior research has confirmed that Information Systems (IS) play a critical role in effective KM. The purpose of this study is to examine the existing literature on the role of cloud-based KM systems (C-KMS) in small- and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) by understanding its impact on the five KM processes: knowledge acquisition, creation, storage, sharing and usage.

This study conducted a systematic literature review by examining 133 journal articles and 24 conference papers from 2010 to 2021 on the role of cloud computing in KM for SMEs.

This study revealed that there are numerous empirical analyses on KM processes and tools in SMEs; however, only few studies demonstrate how the whole gamut of KM processes can adopt cloud computing in SMEs. Therefore, SMEs are ineffective at KM with limited IS intervention. This paper offers a proposition on how C-KMS can impact all five KM process, thereby increasing its effectiveness of KM in SMEs. This study analysed the benefits of C-KMS that brings to SMEs in terms of availability, scalability, reliability, security and cost.

This systematic review is restricted to certain databases (ScienceDirect, Sage journals, Scopus and Emerald Insight) and specific IS conference proceedings to source articles. The selection of search criteria and time frame is based on this study’s assessment and choice. This study adds value to our understanding of the role of KM in SMEs, and it reinforces the role of cloud computing in effectively managing knowledge in SMEs. The proposal of C-KMS for the enhancement of KM has significant implications for SMEs to effectively use knowledge for their survival and superior performance.

This study suggests three practical implications. First, adopting and using C-KMS provide a strong foundation to manage knowledge for SMEs in a cost-effective way. Second, C-KMS improves the effectiveness of KM by increasing availability of knowledge artifacts, which in turn aids SMEs’ growth. Third, C-KMS is useful to codify SME’s knowledge, and accordingly supports employees to acquire and use knowledge based on their requirements.

This study discussed C-KMS with contemporary social issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic challenges for SMEs and demonstrated how C-KMS can support SMEs to handle such crises by managing knowledge effectively.

This research highlights the importance of the implementation of a C-KMS for the enhancement of KM in SMEs. The review provides empirical evidence on the challenges faced by SMEs regarding KM, as they often only have enough resources to focus on a single KM process, predominantly knowledge sharing. Consequently, a holistic approach to KM cannot be realised by SMEs. In this context, the findings of this study offer theoretical and practical insights into the role of cloud computing by addressing the challenges of KM in SMEs.

The study aims to examine the impact of intellectual and social capital in funding businesses.

The study made use of fixed-effects panel data models with a sample of 142 countries from the five continents during the period 1998–2018.

It was found that human capital (HC), relational capital, structural capital and social capital play a role in investors’ decisions to fund a business. The study revealed that investors’ funding decisions in low human development index countries are based mainly on education, while those in high human development index countries are based mainly on the creativity component of HC and on relational, structural and social capital.

The study needs to be replicated using firm-level data within each country. Moreover, the search for new proxies for intellectual and social capital (although the list of variables is exhaustive) both at the country and firm level, constitutes an interesting avenue for future research.

Countries should pay attention to intellectual and social capital to encourage business activity. In particular, low human development countries should strengthen HC, such as the school enrollment rate, with early entrepreneurial training and increase research and development investments, while high human development countries should continue to foster strategic alliances, protect intellectual property and maintain or increase the level of trust in the country.

The study contributes to literature by being the first to explore such a variety of intellectual and social capital variables from a country-level perspective.

El estudio tiene como objetivo examinar el impacto del capital intelectual y social en la financiación de las empresas.

Utilizamos modelos de datos de panel de efectos fijos con una muestra de 142 países de los cinco continentes durante el periodo 1998-2018.

Encontramos que el capital humano (CH), el capital relacional, el capital estructural y el capital social juegan un papel en las decisiones de los inversionistas para financiar un negocio. Encontramos que las decisiones de financiamiento de los inversionistas en los países con bajo índice de desarrollo humano se basan principalmente en la educación, mientras que las de los países con alto índice de desarrollo humano se basan principalmente en el componente de creatividad del CH y en el capital relacional, estructural y social.

Sugerimos replicar el estudio utilizando datos a nivel de empresa dentro de cada país. Por otra parte, la búsqueda de nuevos indicadores de capital intelectual y social (aunque nuestra lista de variables es exhaustiva) tanto a nivel de país como de empresa, constituye una vía interesante para futuras investigaciones.

Los países deben prestar atención al capital intelectual y social para fomentar la actividad empresarial. En particular, los países con bajo desarrollo humano deberían fortalecer el CH, como la tasa de matriculación escolar, con una formación empresarial temprana y aumentar las inversiones en investigación y desarrollo, mientras que los países con un alto nivel de desarrollo humano deberían seguir fomentando las alianzas estratégicas, proteger la propiedad intelectual y mantener o aumentar el nivel de confianza en el país.

El estudio contribuye a la literatura al ser el primero en explorar tal variedad de variables de capital intelectual y social desde una perspectiva a nivel de país.

Motivations and access to resources for venturing differ between men and women. In developing countries, there has been an increase in businesses that do not have a specific location and persist in informality. This research aimed to evaluate, from a gender perspective, the moderating effect of the decision not to have a place in the relationship between human capital (education, experience and type of entrepreneurship) and business informality.

Using the National Household Survey 2014–2018, a sample of 50,313 Peruvian entrepreneurs was obtained − 23,314 women and 27,002 men – who have been in business for over three years. The data were analysed with logistic regression.

The results showed a moderating effect of entrepreneurship without a settled location on the relationship between education and informality in the case of women. And, for men, the moderating impact falls on the education, experience and reason for venturing that influences the formality of their businesses.

The problem of business informality of established companies with more than 42 months of operation is analysed. The moderating effect of the decision not to have a specific location on the relationship between human capital and informality is explored. This work extends business informality studies in Latin America developing countries, incorporating a gender perspective.

Las motivaciones y el acceso a recursos para emprender son diferentes entre hombres y mujeres. En países en desarrollo, se han incrementado los negocios que no disponen de un local específico y persisten en la informalidad. El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar, desde una perspectiva de género, el efecto moderador de la decisión de no disponer de un lugar específico en la relación existente entre el capital humano (educación, experiencia y tipo de emprendimiento) y la informalidad empresarial.

Se utilizó la Encuesta Nacional de Hogares 2014–2018, donde se obtuvo una muestra de 50.316 microempresas peruanas −23.314 lideradas por mujeres y 27.002 lideradas por hombres— con más de tres años de operación. Los datos fueron analizados con la técnica de regresión logística.

Los resultados mostraron un efecto moderador de los negocios sin local específico sobre la relación entre la educación y la informalidad en el caso de las mujeres. Y, para los hombres, el efecto moderador recayó sobre la educación, experiencia y el tipo de emprendimiento que influye sobre la formalidad de sus negocios.

Se analiza la problemática de la informalidad en las empresas establecidas con más de 42 meses de operación. Se explora el efecto moderador en la decisión de no tener un local específico en la relación entre capital humano e informalidad. Este estudio amplía los estudios de informalidad empresarial en países en desarrollo de América Latina, incorporando una perspectiva de género.

This article aims to analyse the trait emotional intelligence (TEI) of business students of various programmes. This study aims to answer the question, to what extent these future leaders are uniformly equipped with essential emotional intelligence competences, necessary in the VUCA world.

The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) was used to measure TEI of 120 business students. Spearman's and Tau–Kendall's rank correlation coefficients show the strength of the correlation between age and TEI level. The non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test was employed to evaluate the consistency of TEI-level distributions in selected subgroups of respondents.

Future business leaders and management specialists are unequally prepared to manage teams and organizational change effectively. Their TEI distribution is significantly different regarding the type of programme of study. Students of “social fields” (Management, Communication and Psychology in Business) show higher TEI than students of “analytical fields” (Economics, Finance and Accounting, Logistics). Master's students are characterized by higher TEI compared to undergraduates. However, there were no statistically significant differences in TEI between: full-time and part-time, female and male, as well as working and non-working students.

The results provide valuable guidance for organizations recruiting junior managers and for business universities.

This research was based on a well-established concept of emotional intelligence using a reliable research tool. The obtained results complement the existing research on TEI of various professional groups and provide a precious reference point for future, more in-depth analyses of TEI.

This article aims to review critical thinking (CT) as a future skill in business.

The study employed two research methods: science mapping analysis based on bibliometric keyword co-occurrence data and systematic literature review following PRISMA guidelines. The application of two distinctive research methods meant that we could obtain a broad picture thematic overview as well as a detailed, fine-grained insight into the content of CT business research.

Research in CT in business studies is dominated by themes related to education, university and learning that far outweigh CT business application, which focuses on three research axes. These are specific business functions (e.g. accounting, marketing, human resources and identifying business opportunities), certain skills used in business (e.g. decision-making and creativity) and other business-related topics (including ethics, stakeholder relations and individual employee performance).

The article identifies new research gaps related to the link between CT and business performance, a firm’s ability to innovate and company characteristics. Moreover, the article highlights that CT positively influences business decision-making under the influence of cognitive biases and heuristics.

The article provides the first literature review on CT in business research. It uses a novel method of science mapping analysis to show unbiased algorithmic-based insight into the structure of the research, followed by a systematic literature review.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries are facing unprecedented challenges related to climate change and population aging. The purpose of the analysis is to explore the relationship between population aging and environmental degradation, accounting for human capital, using a sample of 19 OECD countries over the period 1980–2019.

On the empirical methodology, the analysis uses panel estimators with heterogenous coefficients and an error structure that takes into consideration cross-country heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence for a panel of 19 OECD countries over the period 1980–2019. To examine the relationship between population aging and environmental degradation, the authors employ two alternative measures of environmental degradation that is energy consumption and CO2 emissions in metric tons per capita. Concerning the regressors, the authors account for two alternative aging indicators, namely the elderly population and the old-age dependency ratios to confirm robustness.

The analysis provides evidence that population aging and human capital development (IHC) lead to lower energy consumption in the OECD sample. Overall, the growing number of elderly people in the OECD seems to act as a mitigating factor for energy consumption. The authors view these results as conveying the message that the evolution of population aging along with channeling government expenditures towards human capital enhancement are important drivers of curbing energy consumption and ensuring environmental sustainability. The authors' research is of great significance for environmental policymakers by illuminating the favorable energy consumption patterns that population aging brings to advanced economies.

The main limitation of this study concerns data availability. Future research, and subject to greater data availability in the future, could dig deeper into understanding the dynamics of this complex nexus by incorporating additional control variables. Similarly, the authors focus on aggregate renewable energy consumption, and the authors do not explicitly model the sources of renewable energy (wind, hydropower, solar power, solid biofuels and other). Additional analysis of the breakdown of renewable energy sources would be insightful – subject to data availability – especially for meeting the recently agreed new target of 42.5% for European Union (EU) countries by 2030. A deep transformation of the European energy system is needed for the EU to meet the target. Finally, extending the model to include a range of non-OECD countries that are also experiencing demographic transformations is a promising avenue for future research.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine the effects of population aging and human capital on environmental degradation using a broad set of OECD countries and advanced spectrum estimation methods. Given cross-sectional dependencies and cross-country heterogeneity, the authors' empirical results underline the importance of cross-OECD policy spillovers and knowledge diffusions across the OECD countries. The new “energy culture” calls for concerted policy action even in an aging era.

This paper investigates the two-way relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and higher education across 36 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries for 1998–2019 periods. To demonstrate this relationship, the authors take into account the total number of graduates as well as the number of graduates from different fields. Accordingly, the authors gathered graduates in four groups which are education, social sciences, technical sciences (tech) and health. In addition to investigating two-way relationship between FDI and graduates, the authors also examined the contribution of primary and secondary level education to FDI.

The authors use two models to investigate the bidirectional relationship between FDI inflows and graduates from four fields. In the first model, the dependent variable is FDI inflows, and in the second model, graduates from each field are the dependent variable. To investigate the dual relationship, the authors employ ordinary least squares (OLS) and two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) developed by Arellano Bover (1995) and Blundell Bond (1998).

For the first model, the results show that secondary level and higher education have a positive impact on FDI. In terms of graduates by fields, it is seen that education and health graduates contributed the most to FDI. For the second model in which the authors analysed the effect of FDI on total graduates and graduates from different fields, the authors find that FDI positively affects the number of graduates from all fields, and the strongest effect is on graduates from the social science field.

Based on the results, the authors can say that well-educated people promote FDI inflows to OECD countries, and FDI is also a driving force in raising highly educated people. So, the authors think that the results will help design higher education policies in accordance with FDI and higher education connection.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to examine the impact of FDI inflows on graduates by fields and also to investigate the impact of graduates by fields on FDI.

This theoretical study aims to clarify the (a priori) ambiguous effect of homeownership on unemployment. In general, in fact, homeownership discourages job mobility, but homeowners are less likely to be unemployed than tenants, since homeownership would seem to be positively related to human capital.

This study develops a modified version of the benchmark theoretic model of the labour market – the well-known “equilibrium unemployment theory” – where homeownership affects both the “Beveridge Curve” (BC, by means of job immobility) and the “Job Creation Condition” (JCC, by means of human capital).

The general result is that an increase in homeownership increases unemployment. Therefore, policymakers could encourage job mobility, before facilitating homeownership. This policy implication, however, may not apply in the case of high inflation and/or low nominal interest rate, and when the job destruction rate depends on the homeownership rate.

The model studies the steady-state equilibrium of the labour market, so the policy implications only relate to the long-run. The model, therefore, does not consider the short-run effects of homeownership on unemployment (which may differ from the long-term results).

The model suggests a public policy characterised by large investment in rail lines and subsidised commuter fares. By promoting a more efficient allocation of workers across regions (and, thus, job mobility), indeed, this policy can be a good way to increase employment, without harming homeownership.

The practical implication of this model is also a social implication, since it relates to homeownership and housing tenure.

To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first model that introduces the key role of homeownership in the so-called “Equilibrium unemployment theory”. Precisely, the model uses a modified version of both the BC (which includes the negative effect of homeownership on the overall job search intensity of unemployed workers) and the JCC (which includes the positive effect of homeownership on both the business start-up and the human capital of workers). By comparing these two opposite effects, this theoretical work makes clearer the net effect of homeownership on unemployment.

This paper aims to assess human capital efficiency's impact on commercial banks' credit risk in six GCC member countries.

The study employs quarterly balanced panel data of banks between 2014 and 2019. The authors use three different constructs of credit risk, namely the probability of default which is a forward-looking quantification, a book value-based infection ratio and independent opinion of credit ratings, to assess the relationship with human capital efficiency. Different macro and firm-specific control variables are introduced, including a dummy for technological innovation and a GARCH-based measure of oil price volatility.

The findings of this study reveal that human capital efficiency is negatively related to the credit risk profile and banks with higher human capital efficiency tend to have lower credit risk. These results remained robust across the three definitions of credit risk used in this study.

This study is unique in exploring the impact of human capital efficiency on credit risk because credit risk is not only a central determinant of bank performance but also can trigger a systemic panic. Therefore, it is vital to assess its relationship with human capital efficiency. The different constructs of credit risk are innovative with reference to human capital. Lastly, using EVA as a measure of value addition in the context of human capital efficiency is a methodological contribution.

This paper aims to study the impact of human resource heterogeneity on firms’ cash-holding policies.

The authors construct a proxy for human resource heterogeneity using the dissimilarity in employees’ skill structure between the firm and its peers in the same industry.

The authors report evidence that firms with heterogeneous human resources hold more cash than other firms. This effect is more pronounced in labor-intensive firms and firms more susceptible to hold-up by employees, i.e. firms located in regions with more labor disputes and firms surrounded by more external employment opportunities. In addition, the authors demonstrate that high cash holdings triggered by human resource heterogeneity reduce the scale and efficiency of firms’ capital investment.

This study highlights the role of human resource heterogeneity in determining firms’ cash policies. This paper adds to the understanding of labor adjustment costs within the firm and provides insights into firms’ cash-holding decisions.