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This work aims to offer a better understanding of the inevitable challenges related to the digital transformation in the family-owned low-tech SMEs, examining the role assumed by familiness in this specific context. To this end, it examines the main factors that influence the adoption and implementation of digital technologies in the family-owned low-tech SMEs.

The study uses a multiple case studies approach, by investigating the case of family-owned low-tech SMEs operating in the winery sector and located in the South-Italy area.

Based on the empirical evidence, findings show how familiness influence the digital transformation of family-owned SMEs and highlight three main factors – individual, process and organization – relevant for the introduction and use of digital technologies in the productive and innovative activities of these organizations.

This paper fills the research gap existing in the literature on the family business. Firstly, it focuses on the digital transformation phenomenon and underlines how familiness, within family-owned low-tech SMEs, can differently influence the firm's innovation processes primarly based on the use of digital technologies oriented to enable business improvements. Then, it identifies diverse dimensions that can act as “barriers” or “facilitators” for adopting advanced digital technologies within the organizations here examined.

The entrepreneurial marketing orientation (EMO) has been studied primarily in developed countries. The past research has focused on entrepreneurial marketing dimensions and their relationship with selected small- and medium-sized firm (SME) activities, strategic orientations or performance. Scholars have not paid enough attention to the EMO determinants. This study aims to investigate whether the SMEs originating from different countries, including the post-transition market, differ in their entrepreneurial marketing approach and checks its external determinants connected with environmental turbulence.

A total of 219 Polish and 81 Finnish manufacturing SMEs, serving mainly business-to-business clients, were surveyed using the mixed-mode computer assisted telephone interview/computer assisted web interview method between 2020 and 2021. Structural equation modelling, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis analysis, analysis of variance and T-tests were applied.

The metric and partial scalar invariance of the EMO scale used in Finland and Poland was found. The authors showed that Finnish firms represent a more robust entrepreneurial posture in marketing than Polish ones. The export market turbulence and the perceived crisis influence are the environmental determinants of EMO level, while the industry technological development level is not.

The conducted analyses allowed to identify EMO determinants, verify the entrepreneurial marketing measurement concept in a new country (Finland) and show the differences in EMO between SMEs from a less and more developed country.

The existing literature lacks empirical data on the external EMO determinants and inter-country comparisons. This study shows the differences in EMO level of companies from different country backgrounds and points to the market turbulence as its determinant.

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and knowledge management (KM) on firm performance (PERF), as well as the mediating role of KM in the EO–PERF (EO-PERF relationship). In particular, this study aims to explain the impact of KM on the relationship between the EO dimensions and PERF; dimensions are risk-taking (RT), innovativeness (IN) and proactiveness (PR).

This study uses structural equation modelling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methodologies to explore target relationships. The sample consists of 150 small furniture manufacturers operating in Poland (out of 1,480 in the population).

The study findings show that KM partially mediates the IN–PERF relationship. Furthermore, fsQCA reveals that KM accompanied by IN is a core condition that leads to PERF. Moreover, the absence of KM (accompanied by the absence of RT and IN) leads to the absence of PERF. In addition, the results show that all the variables examined (RT, IN, PR and KM) positively impact PERF.

This study explores the role of KM in the context of EO and its impact on PERF in the low-tech industry. The study uses simultaneously two methodologies that represent different approaches in the search for the expected relationships. The findings reveal that KM mediates the EO-PERF relationship.

This paper adopts an intellectual capital perspective to investigate the role of owners who are ethnic minorities in the foreign market expansion performance of SMEs, and in particular considers the human capital dimension of intellectual capital.

Based on the empirical investigation of a sample of 10,326 small- and medium-sized US high-tech manufacturing enterprises, the authors’ results reveal a positive relationship between the number of foreign markets where these SMEs operate and their financial performance, and that this effect is reinforced by the presence of ethnic minority owners, as ethnic minorities constitute a valuable source of intellectual capital which bring value to firms.

The authors’ findings reveal the importance of intellectual capital in an SME’s leadership position, specifically in terms of having individuals from normally disadvantaged groups as owners. In this sense, policymakers are crucial in supporting the inclusion of ethnic minorities in SME ownership, through advantageous treatment in firms, for example.

The study presents practical implications for managers seeking foreign market expansion. In addition, when defining ownership structure (e.g., in the start-up phase), the role of human capital, in the form of ethnic minorities, should not be neglected, especially if an SME intends to operate or is already operating in different national contexts.

The authors’ results provide important insights into the positive effect of human capital on SME foreign market performance. The idea of a moderating role played by owners from ethnic minorities suggested here contributes to the literature on human capital and is one of the first attempts to consider this moderating factor in this relationship, especially in the SME context.

This paper reviews the literature, foundational works and current trends related to the adoption of open innovation (OI) practices in the food industry, with a particular focus on the food value chain, using a bibliometric and content analysis approach.

This study is based on 84 published documents in the field of food OI obtained using the Scopus database. First, a bibliometric analysis was conducted using a bibliographic coupling and co-citation analysis approach to understand the common themes and key clusters of food OI research. It further highlighted authors, countries, journals, years of publication and subject areas to comprehend the scope of the established literature. Second, a content analysis was undertaken to examine the titles and abstracts of the documents to explore the intersection of OI and the food value chain.

This study provides an integrated framework of the intersection of OI and the food value chain, including information about under-researched and emerging areas in the field of food innovation. It also highlights the critical challenges associated with OI food research and practices.

Practitioners can use the findings to uncover areas with limited open innovation adoption in the food value chain. They can identify extended research areas to explore the food value chain using an open innovation perspective, in different contexts within the food and beverage (F&B) industry. The framework can also be used for conducting comparative studies of current food innovation trends across different contexts within the F&B industry.

By adopting a multi-step approach involving a computer-assisted bibliometric examination complemented by a manual review undertaken through the lens of the food value chain, this literature review provides fresh and unique insights into past and present research on OI in the food industry and paves the way for future studies by laying out specific research avenues.

This paper aims to map the influential concepts on technology adoption in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through conducting a systematic literature review and finding a better understanding of the current body of knowledge.

A systematic literature review approach is taken here, which includes the following steps: Determination of keywords and strings, selection of databases, setting inclusion and exclusion criteria, conducting the search in chosen databases over a specific period of time. This process has led to the final count of 349 peer-reviewed articles being studied, and the results are analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively.

As a result of the study, 11 categories of influential concepts on technology adoption are identified by reviewing literature from the past decade. This article indicates how fragmented the literature is and how it concentrates on studying the impact of only a limited number of categories of concepts. The scatted frameworks (theoretical and conceptual) and weak application of the used theories found in this research also highlight the need for the development of a framework that looks into technology adoption as a dynamic process due to the dynamic nature of new technologies today.

Based on the above findings, future research avenues are to look into technology adoption from a process perspective, to dig into less researched influencing concepts such as infrastructure, regulations, strategy and resources and their role in adoption of technology in SMEs as well as development of a framework for technology adoption that is aligned with these elements.

Practitioners and policymakers will benefit from finding a helicopter view of the barriers and supporting factors throughout their technology adoption journey. The knowledge they gain from this study will better prepare them in building tools they need for adopting technology in their organizations and provide an in-depth insight to what elements can affect their journey.

This review provides an insight into the current body of knowledge on the topic, which researchers can benefit from constructing an in-depth understanding of the state of research as well as influencing concepts of technology adoption in SMEs. Moreover, it adds value in building up the knowledge of technology adoption in today's dynamic world of digitalization.

This study aims to examine the role of the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) under turbulent market conditions and reveal the role of an entrepreneur's perception of a crisis in shaping the impact of EO on firm performance.

This study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), multiple linear regression (MLR) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The study sample was comprised of 117 one- and two-star hotels that were operating in Poland.

The results showed that proactiveness and risk-taking significantly affected firm performance. Furthermore, the results revealed that an entrepreneur's perception of a crisis moderated the impact of risk-taking and proactiveness on firm performance. In particular, the findings suggested that, in firms where the crisis strongly influenced their operations, performance was affected by proactiveness, while in those firms where the crisis influenced their operations to a low or moderate degree, performance was affected by risk-taking. Furthermore, fsQCA unveiled the role of innovativeness, which (along with risk-taking) is a sufficient condition that leads to firm performance.

Two characteristics make this study original: first, it investigates EO under turbulent market conditions, and second, it analyzes the role of an entrepreneur's perception of crisis consequences for business operations. The study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship and crisis management with findings on the different roles of EO dimensions under crisis conditions and an observation about the moderating role of an entrepreneur's perception of the impact of a crisis on operational management and how this perception differentiates the impact of risk-taking and proactiveness on firm performance.

The aim of this research is to understand how government incentives (financial and non-financial) influence the relationship between green innovation and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in SMEs.

To contribute to the literature, this research uses empirical evidence of 204 Pakistani small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and tests the moderating role of government support between green innovation and SDGs.

The findings indicate that green innovation has a significant influence on SDGs, community development and environmental activities. The government support significantly strengthens the relationship between green innovation and environmental practices, while it does not moderate the path between green innovation and community development.

The research recommends SMEs focus on the adoption of green innovation and green technology to protect the environment and facilitate the community. Moreover, the research advises the government to assist SMEs financially and nonfinancially, so they will in turn help in the attainment of SDGs.

This research is the first attempt to assess the importance of green innovation in SDGs with a moderating role of government incentives in emerging SMEs. It provides several useful implications for policymaking.

This paper aims to explore if firms located in industrial districts (IDs) have different adoption paths concerning Industry 4.0 technologies and get different results with respect to other similar firms located outside IDs.

The study is based on a quantitative analysis related to an original data set of 206 Italian manufacturing firms specializing in made in Italy industries and adopting Industry 4.0 technologies. A case study of a district firm is also presented to explain the rationale of investment strategies and results obtained.

The analysis shows that there are differences between district and non-district firms when Industry 4.0 technology investments are concerned (higher investment rate in big data/cloud and augmented reality for district firms than non-district ones). In contrast to a breakthrough view of the fourth industrial revolution, the study suggests that 4.0 technologies emphasize the peculiarities and competitiveness factors typical of the district model in terms of customization and flexibility. There are differences in the motivations of adoption (product diversification for district firms vs productivity enhancement for non-district firms) and in the results achieved.

The paper is one of the first attempts to empirically explore the technological innovation paths related to Industry 4.0 within IDs, therefore, contributing to the debate on the possible evolution of the district model