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The purpose of this paper is to analyse empirically whether policies to improve the local business climate affect employment in general, and among groups of immigrants that suffer from structural unemployment.

The paper analyses the relation between Swedish entrepreneurs’ perception of the local business climate and total employment as well as employment among immigrants born outside of Europe, a group that tends to be particularly affected by structural unemployment. Instrumental variable and Arellano-Bond GMM estimation indicate that a better local business climate improves immigrants employment considerably more than total employment.

The results suggest that improvements in institutions and policies that entrepreneurs perceive as shaping the business climate may have an important effect on employment, in particular employment of groups that tend to have high rates of structural unemployment. Given the limitations, the estimates appear robust over a variety of specifications.

The authors use a subjective measure of local business climate policies, but instrument this with an exogenous variable and lagged variables. The unit of observation are Swedish municipalities, which in contrast to other countries control many factors important for business.

Employment policies often focus on labour market institutions. The results suggest that other policies and their local implementation may be equally important for employment. Unfortunately the study does not reveal much detail of which specific measures give the greatest effects. That remains to be done in future research.

The positive employment effects the authors find are particularly large for immigrants born outside of Europe. If the results are correct, then better local business climate could make an important contribution to social cohesion.

While there are more studies that analyse the relation between entrepreneurship and employment, much fewer previous studies have tried to establish a link between business climate policies and employment. The authors do this with a novel approach.

This paper aims to propose an integrated framework combining the cost-reduction rationale and the institution-leveraging rationale to explain how institutional distance, both formal and informal, influences emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs)’ foreign direct investment (FDI) location choice. This paper also explores the moderating role of EMNEs’ FDI experience and strategic intent on value chain positioning as a reflection of firm heterogeneities, on the link between institutional distance and location choice.

This paper tests the hypotheses based on a firm-level longitudinal data set of FDI by Chinese EMNEs. The unique data are manually collected from Chinese companies listed on Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchanges, composed of 250 FDI entries of 122 manufacturing firms from 2006 to 2010. The conditional logit model is used to estimate the proposed main effect and moderating effect.

Cultural distance does not deter Chinese EMNEs’ entrance in general, but firms investing in low value-added manufacturing subsidiaries are more likely to choose culturally similar countries than those investing in high value-added subsidiaries such as in upstream R&D and downstream marketing. Formal institutional distance with positive direction promotes Chinese EMNEs’ entrance, and this effect is enhanced when firms have less FDI experience and have the strategic intent to invest in high value-added subsidiaries.

This paper contributes to the current literature by identifying a holistic view of the institutional influences on FDI location choice of EMNEs and revealing how firm-level heterogeneities, particularly FDI experience and strategic intent of subsidiary value chain positioning, shape the boundary conditions of the institutional effects in different ways.

Governments globally are adopting e-Government services to streamline administrative processes and meet citizens' expectations. This study investigates e-Government service quality from citizens' perspectives in 50 Greek municipalities, using the technology acceptance model (TAM) and cognitive theory.

The data from 707 respondents across 50 Greek municipalities are analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM), ANOVA and moderation analysis. The study assesses the relationships between key factors and citizens' intentions to use e-Government services, examining the impact of demographics and the digital divide.

The study reveals that perceived attractiveness (PA), perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU) and awareness (AWA) significantly influence citizens' behavioral intentions (BINTs) toward municipal e-Government services. Interestingly, PEOU negatively impacts users' intentions, suggesting dissatisfaction with portal attractiveness and utility. The study explores the influence of demographic variables and the digital divide on citizens' BINTs, highlighting economic activity and income as crucial determinants.

The study emphasizes the significance of user-friendly design, PU, PEOU and AWA campaigns for the development of effective e-Government platforms. Strategies to address the digital divide and promote citizen engagement are essential for enhancing user experience, service utility and AWA, ultimately fostering a positive attitude toward e-Government.

Addressing demographic differences ensures inclusive e-Government systems, while bridging the digital divide promotes equitable service delivery and citizen engagement.

This research provides insights into factors influencing citizens' BINTs toward e-Government services. The study's examination of demographic attributes and the digital divide enhances understanding, contributing to the development of citizen-centric e-Government services and supporting inclusive digital transformations.

The purpose of this paper is to establish a comparative conceptual framework to analyze hybrids of western and Chinese strategic management types, where the foundation is an institutional strategic management theory.

This framework is then applied to develop a research instrument that is used in a pilot study of 21 cases in China, primarily Swedish MNCs.

In this study, a complex picture emerges of the various mixes of management types in international firms operating in China. The results demonstrate that the comparative institutional strategic management framework developed seems to work for studying such mixtures of management types.

The discussion is based on the assumption of two dominating management types in international firms in China. The authors have found different mixtures among the firms. Besides strategic management, the theory and instrument might also be useful for human resource management issues like recruitment and talent management.

Practical implications include a potentially useful measurement tool for strategic management in international firms and for evaluating executives in existing and new positions. Moreover, a contribution is made to global management, since the framework is also useful for comparing strategic management types of international firms in and outside China.

This paper contributes to this research in two ways. First, a comparative theory is specified to study the hybrids of strategic management types of international firms, especially for firms in China. Second, an instrument is developed for researching such management mixes and used on a pilot study of international firms operating in China.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the establishments of Chinese wholesale and retail market platforms in China and Europe, which create a new take-off route for SMEs from China, and to theorize on this as a new collective route to internationalization.

An exploratory case study has been undertaken covering four Chinese market platforms: the role model in Yiwu, China, and the establishments in Warsaw, Poland; Budapest, Hungary; and Kalmar, Sweden.

A new collective internationalization route is identified, driven by the collectivistic Chinese culture. Here Chinese SMEs diverge from traditionally suggested paths of internationalization, taking off independently from the domestic business network but form a joint market platform in the foreign market. This collective behavior compensates for the resource constraints of internationally inexperienced Chinese SMEs. From the market platform, they plug into the local market network and are provided with economies of scale and scope, ultimately making them internationally competitive. This collective route offers the potential for joint learning and risk reduction when entering distant markets in the early internationalization stages.

For Chinese SMEs, co-location in a market platform in foreign market offers the advantages of lowering institutional distance and uncertainty as the firms collectively handle these matters. A limitation of the study concerns the generalizability, as few cases are studied. Still, being an unstudied phenomena there are important empirical contributions to be made.

The paper reports on an overlooked empirical phenomenon, namely the establishment of Chinese wholesale and retail market platforms in China and Europe. Through this establishment a new collective route into the global market by Chinese SMEs is identified and theorized.

Purpose – To describe and analyze the situation prior to and during the initial stages of internationalization of Chinese SMEs, as well as analyzing the role of clusters as take-off nodes for such firms.

Methodology – A multiple case study is conducted based on semistructured interviews with five private-owned exporting Chinese SMEs. Also, data on Chinese industrial clusters are analyzed.

Findings – The findings complement the model presented with new knowledge. In the take-off situation, Chinese SMEs deviate from assumed paths due to disadvantages in the emerging Chinese market. In the initial stages of internationalization, the focus on indirect exports hinders the building of international relationships being the key for further international expansion. Cluster localization is a take-off node for individual dedicated exporters into international markets.

Research limitations – Few cases, co-location of firms in the advanced Yangtze River Delta region and issues of Chinese versus Western SME definitions limits the possibility to generalize the findings of the study.

Practical implications – Chinese as well as foreign firms can gain from this paper regarding, for example, that competitiveness built up abroad can be utilized for increasing the market share in an attractive domestic market, the pitfall of indirect exports can be overcome by developing direct international relationships, and cluster localization can spur the internationalization of (individual) Chinese SMEs.

Originality – Empirical contribution of internationalization patterns of Chinese private-owned SMEs as well as pinpointing the importance of the domestic market as trigger for internationalization.

As part of the mobility of global talent, returnee entrepreneurs from emerging markets with advance technology are particularly challenged by the increasing geopolitical tension. Returnee entrepreneurs have a stronger reliance on the political relationship when establishing successful business at the home countries. Yet this connection with home-country political actors can negatively affect their technology competence obtained from the host countries during geopolitical uncertainty and turbulence. We empirically investigate the challenges that technology-advanced returnee entrepreneurs encountered in the home market from the changes occurred while they were away, as well as the needs to obtain critical resource and gain market entry for adapting the advance technology possessed from aboard. Our aim, nevertheless, is to expand the discussion of the returnee entrepreneurs in the context of current world where unpredictable geopolitical tensions can jeopardize the success of their business. Our study contributes a nuanced understanding of the key factor that driving business success may turn to a trap that constrains returnee entrepreneurship, and accordingly proposes a future research agenda for returnee entrepreneurship and international human mobility in general.

Supplementing an earlier review paper on the internationalization of Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (ICS) that covers the period 1991–2012, the purpose of this paper is to examine how research on this topic has thematically expanded in recent years. Specifically, the authors aim to examine the literature between 2013 and 2020, highlight advancements and synthesize potential avenues for future research.

Based on the systematic literature review method (Denyer and Tranfield, 2009; Kraus et al., 2020), the authors considered more than 5,700 peer-reviewed journal articles, of which 107 were included in the narrative synthesis.

Research on the ICS has become more widespread and mature in the period since 2013. First, there are more papers investigating firm-level characteristics and sources of internal capabilities. Second, the state of knowledge regarding social networks and institutional contexts in the internationalization process has increased. Consequently, new knowledge exists regarding push and pull patterns and the role China’s institutional environment is playing. Third, growing interest can be noted in studying entrepreneurship in the context of Chinese SMEs’ global expansion. Additionally, the paper exposes promising areas for future research and suggests more than 20 potential research questions.

This review in the growing debate on the ICS is the first of its kind that consciously drives the work of a previous review study forward. This enables tracking the progress of research (“mapping of the field”) and identifying important avenues for future research that can further advance the debate. The comprehensive review also discovered one relatively new variable – the role of Chinese returnee entrepreneurs – which shows the significant influence on SME internationalization and attracts growing scholarly attention.

As environmental awareness becomes more widespread, the issue of making manufacturing more sustainable has gained increasing attention. The natural-resource-based view (NRBV) sets out to explain how firms can reduce their environmental footprint while simultaneously improving their financial performance. Drawing on the NRBV and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) literature, this study examines the relationship between pollution prevention, risk-taking and financial performance.

Data from 303 Swedish manufacturing firms were collected through a survey.

The findings reveals a positive relationship between pollution prevention and financial performance, and this relationship is found to be negatively moderated by risk-taking; that is, pollution prevention reduces the requisite for risk-taking in the achievement of financial performance.

This is the first study to explore how risk-taking moderates the relationship between a pollution prevention strategy and financial performance.

The paper aims to investigate differences in non-professional and professional stock investors’ trust in and tendency to follow financial analysts’ buy and sell recommendations.

Online experiment conducted in Sweden in March 2022 comparing non-professional private investors (n = 80), professional investors (n = 33), and master students in finance (n = 28). Information was presented about four company stocks listed on the New York stock exchange. Two stocks were buy-recommended and two stocks sell-recommended by financial analysts. For one stock of each type, the recommendation was presented to participants. Dependent variables were predictions of the stock price after three months, ratings of confidence in the predictions and choices of holding, buying or selling the stock. Ratings were also made of the importance of presented stock-related information as well as trust in analysts’ skill and integrity.

More positive return predictions were made of buy-recommended than sell-recommended stocks. Non-professionals and to some degree finance students tended to trust financial analysts more than professional investors did and they were more influenced by the presentation of the buy recommendations. All groups made too optimistic return predictions, but the professionals were less confident in their predictions, more likely to sell the stocks and lost less on their investments.

A new finding is that non-professional stock investors are more likely than professional stock investors to trust financial analysts and follow their recommendations. It suggests that financial analysts’ recommendations influence non-professional investors to take unmotivated investment risks. Non-professionals in the stock market should hence be advised to exercise more caution in following analysts’ recommendations.