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This paper identifies the development of and gaps in knowledge in various management disciplines, including international marketing in relation to political ties in emerging markets, based on a systematic review of the related literature. The paper develops a synthesized integrative framework and provides a research agenda and pathways for future research.

The study adopts the systematic literature review protocol to investigate the ways in which political ties have been examined in the management literature in various disciplines, such as international business, marketing, entrepreneurship, strategy, innovation, and organization. In total, 114 articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to 2022 were analyzed.

The authors believe that studying the impact of political ties on firm outcomes is timely and important as interest in this area of research is growing rapidly. The review reveals that the diverse conceptual and methodological approaches adopted in different management disciplines have resulted in inconclusive and mixed findings on the relationship between political ties and performance.

This is one of the few systematic literature reviews of political ties and firm performance in emerging markets. The authors clarify some of the ambiguities around the subject and offer a path forward for developing current understanding and insights. The study also highlights the major perspectives in management and clarify the similarities and differences in the conceptualization of political ties. In addition, the authors develop an integrative framework of the political ties–performance link in emerging markets.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of customer-focus on small medium enterprise (SME) performance from the perspective of a resource-based view (RBV).

This research study implemented a survey strategy to gather data from 255 respondents on the registered list of Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) in the eastern region of Ghana. Scales used to gather data were operationalized from previous research studies. A structural equation modeling (SEM) path analysis was used to estimate the impact of customer-focus on the performance of SMEs.

The outcomes of this study indicate that customer-focus has a significant positive impact on SME performance, hence backing the current demand for investigating the distinct influence of customer-focus on SME performance. The results show that customer-focus has a positive and significant relationship with financial performance, customer performance, internal business process performance and learning and growth performance, thus supporting the literature on the positive impact of customer-focus on SME performance. Therefore, customer-focus determinants used in this study, including co-creation, networking ties, customer insight and artificial intelligence marketing (AIM), are critical to the optimization of SME performance.

Notwithstanding the importance of this research study mentioned earlier, the study has limitations. Notably, the sample size of this study can be increased to capture SME respondents in other geographical zones that were not included in this study. Future research studies may address how business environment conditions moderate the relationship between customer focus and performance, and also the cause-effect of the relationship between customer focus and business environment conditions on SME performance.

The practical implications consist of two main items. First, this study empowers SME owners and managers to develop a customer focus technique as a central strategic goal in their quest for SME performance optimization. Second, SME owners and managers should progressively exploit the four determinants of customer focus which include co-creation, networking ties, customer insight and (AIM in order to accrue important resources for effective utilization of their customer focus competences as a way to enhance their performance.

This study is targeted at the sound development of SMEs to bring about poverty alleviation and employment. Poverty, unemployment and poor living standards are recognized as vital social challenges in most emerging economies. The establishment of customer focus as an important strategic capability provides opportunities for SME survival, profitability and growth.

Generally, the findings of this research study provide a strong backing to RBV perspective and the proposition that customer-focus and its determinants (i.e. co-creation, networking ties, customer insight and AIM) should be acknowledged as a vital strategic resource for optimizing the performance of SMEs. This research study also provides new knowledge contribution to the present body of knowledge on customer-focus orientation and management literature, particularly in the context of an emerging economy.

Given the great upheaval in the international situation and the increasing operating risk in international business, research on corporate diplomacy is thriving. However, it still lacks clear conceptualization and operationalization. Based on social capital theory, our study conceptualizes corporate diplomacy as a three-dimensional construct and quantifies its distinct and combined impacts on multinational enterprises’ (MNE) subsidiary performance.

This research analyzes 134 responses collected from a questionnaire survey among key informants in Chinese MNEs using the regression method.

This research finds that corporate diplomacy is positively correlated with MNEs’ subsidiary performance. Specifically, compatriot-oriented diplomacy is the most effective, followed sequentially by host-partner-oriented and host-regulator-oriented diplomacy. In addition, compatriot-oriented diplomacy substitutes for host-partner-oriented diplomacy but complements host-regulator-oriented diplomacy in enhancing subsidiary performance.

Our research enriches the conceptualization and operationalization of corporate diplomacy and provides a nuanced view of its distinct and combined effects on MNEs’ subsidiary performance.

Extensive research has demonstrated the influence of job resources on mitigating the impact of high job demands on individual well-being. Still, little is known about how individuals use job resources to cope. This study advances job demands-resources (JD-R) theory by investigating the process of job resource utilization from a coping perspective.

This study is based on in-depth interviews with 32 Chinese senior executives using a Critical Incident Technique (CIT) for data collection and thematic analysis for data analysis.

Data analysis reveals a 2x2 matrix model of resource utilization, highlighting the relevance of internal and external job resources in coping and resource creation.

The findings suggest that work stress intervention should look beyond the organizational domain and assist senior executives in exploring and developing external resources for coping. Additionally, organizations should equip senior executives with sufficient support to create new job resources that effectively manage complicated job demands.

The results of this study extend the understanding of job resources by distinguishing internal and external job resources. It also provides a dynamic view of resource utilization, emphasizing the role of job crafting in creating adaptable job resources to meet job demands.

Women entrepreneurs contribute significantly to Asian economies. However, women in this region face an alarming array of barriers to entrepreneurship. This research study aims to examine the factors, i.e. government support, family social support, financial literacy and managerial skills, in building the entrepreneurial capacity of women entrepreneurs under the lens of the person–environment (P-E) fit theory. Furthermore, the study also examines the moderating effect of socio-cultural barriers in the said relationships.

For the study, the data was collected from the owners of 311 women-owned manufacturing and services sector enterprises from the northern Indian community.

Findings suggest that all the factors significantly affect the entrepreneurial capacity of women entrepreneurs, and the barriers work as a moderator between the relationships.

Based on P-E fit theory, this unique research study proposes a model to test the role of factors such as government support, family social support, financial literacy and managerial skills in developing women entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial capacity along with examining the moderating role of socio-cultural factors contributing to the entrepreneurial capacity of women.

Prior studies on major customer relationships (i.e. embedded ties) focus mostly on the ties between a focal firm and its immediate customers, hindering the understanding of the influence of indirect ties (both upstream and downstream) on a focal firm's operational performance. In this study, the authors analyze how a focal firm's upstream and downstream connectedness and network location affect its productive efficiency.

Utilizing Compustat segment files, the authors constructed large-scale major customer networks covering the period 2007–2013. The authors applied a fixed-effect panel stochastic frontier model to conduct estimation. Moreover, the authors applied an endogenous panel stochastic frontier model to ensure the robustness of the main analysis.

The authors found that a focal firm's upstream and downstream connectedness both have a positive influence on a firm's productive efficiency, whereas a focal firm's centeredness in the major customer network has a negative influence on productive efficiency. Moreover, it was found that centeredness lessens the positive influences of upstream and downstream connectedness on productive efficiency. The post hoc analysis further confirmed that a focal firm's indirect ties, both upstream and downstream, positively influence a focal firm's productive efficiency.

This study contributes to the literature by evaluating the relative effectiveness of a focal firm's direct and indirect major customer ties, both upstream and downstream. More importantly, this study suggests potential exploitation–exploration trade-offs (i.e. productive efficiency vs. innovation) triggered by a firm's network location.

The purpose of this study is to explore how digital construction policy (DCP) drives enterprise green innovation (EGI) from an information processing theory (IPT) perspective, including the mediating mechanisms of market information accessibility and operational risk, the moderating role of intellectual property protection (IPP) and product market competition (PMC) and the heterogeneous effects of ownership, Internet development and managerial ability.

Based on the matched panel data of A-share listed enterprises from 2011 to 2019 and the Broadband China policy as a quasinatural experiment, this study investigates the impact of DCP on EGI by constructing a multi-time point difference-indifferences (DID) model.

Digital construction policies can significantly promote EGI. DCP works in two fundamental ways, namely by increasing market information accessibility and reducing operational risk. IPP and PMC significantly increased the contribution of digital construction policies to EGI. Heterogeneity analysis found that digital technology has a stronger promotion effect for SOEs, high-managerial-ability enterprises and enterprises in regions with low Internet development levels.

The study provides new insights about the antecedents of EGI from a DCP perspective. It also enlightens emerging economies to actualize green innovation under the digital wave.

From the perspective of IPT, this study explains the mechanism of DCP-driven EGI. It enhances understanding of the relationship between DCP and EGI.

This study aims to examine how implicit distance (cognitive and social) impacts supply chain capabilities, and the roles of information technology (IT) utilization and supply chain flexibility in this process.

The authors designed a conceptual model including the implicit distance, supply chain flexibility, supply chain capability and IT utilization and verified the relationships among variables through a survey that collected data from 104 manufacturing enterprises in China.

The results show that cognitive and social distances positively and negatively affect supply chain flexibility, respectively. Furthermore, IT utilization strengthens the positive effect of cognitive distance and the negative effect of social distance on supply chain flexibility. Additionally, supply chain flexibility has a positive effect on supply chain capability and mediates the effects of cognitive and social distances on supply chain capability.

Enterprises should prioritize cooperation with different types of partners with whom the enterprises have established good collaborative working experiences. Moreover, if enterprises cooperate with new partners, enterprises should communicate and handle things face to face instead of frequently utilizing IT.

This study links the implicit distance between enterprises with supply chain capability and newly applies social network theory to explain the mechanism. Further, the authors' data confirm the moderating role of IT utilization in this process, supplementing the research on implicit distance. Moreover, this study employs dynamic capability theory to better understand how firms can improve supply chain capabilities.

With technological innovation elements and the competitive market environment becoming increasingly complex, numerous firms utilize network embeddedness to achieve and sustain innovation. However, empirical research has not conclusively established which form of network embeddedness more effectively facilitates corporate innovation. Drawing on the heterogeneous network resources perspective, this study explores the impact of market network embeddedness, technology network embeddedness and their synergy on the green innovation performance of manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, it investigates the moderating role of resource orchestration capability in these relationships.

Through an online questionnaire survey of Chinese manufacturing SMEs, 293 sample data were collected, and the hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis.

The results indicate that market and technology network embeddedness significantly enhance green innovation performance, with the former exerting a more significant impact. Furthermore, the synergy between market and technology network embeddedness positively influences green innovation performance. Additionally, resource orchestration capability strengthens the positive effects of both market and technology network embeddedness on green innovation performance, while the moderating effect of resource orchestration capability on the relationship between the synergy of the two and green innovation performance was insignificant.

The study faced many limitations, such as collecting primary data, which relied on a questionnaire only, using cross-sectional data and examining only manufacturing SMEs.

Based on the heterogeneous network resources perspective and integrating social network theory and resource orchestration theory, this study explores the impact of network embeddedness on the green innovation performance of manufacturing SMEs, which sheds new light on the network embeddedness research framework and also enriches the antecedents of green innovation. In addition, this study provides implications on how manufacturing SMEs effectively utilize network embeddedness and resource orchestration capability to enhance green innovation performance.

This study aims to examine the applicability of Hartmann et al.’s (2018) service ecosystem framework to the day-to-day management of the modern sales force. The authors provide a review of the framework, acknowledging its strengths, while also indicating areas for advancement. The authors conclude with recommendations to the framework and indicate opportunities where future research could advance sales theory.

A review of the theoretical underpinnings of the service ecosystem framework is weighed against the established roles and responsibilities of the modern sales force in the literature.

The ability of the framework to capture the multi-level, multi-actor and dynamic aspects of sales represents an improvement in the conceptualization of selling is critical. Suggestions around the refinement for meso-level sales interactions and a more pliant application of service dominant-logic are offered.

The suggested extensions of the framework continue the advancement of novel theorization for the field of sales. Priorities for future research include consideration of ethical implications of the framework and formulations of new management strategies reflective of the broad and dynamic properties of the ecosystem conceptualization.

This paper provides managerial guidelines and implications tied specifically to the thick and thin crossing points and how they may impact employee decision-making.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to pointedly examine the service ecosystem framework with respect to established principles of managing a modern sales force.