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Most research on greening of industry using a network approach has the firm as smallest unit of analysis. In addition, few have focused on technological regimes. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues through research on the firm‐internal network of two automotive firms, the actors, resources and activities of their networks, and how change initiatives in the firm forge and dissolve external networks of alternative regimes.

The case study is based on an insider/outsider research methodology. The specific issues of contextual and temporal boundaries in case research with a network approach were addressed through a relatively open‐ended process of inquiry during which these boundaries emerge and unfold. In terms of data collection, interviews with project team members in the two focal companies were conducted.

Failure or success is not only a matter of how the alternative regime fits into its cultural ambience in society and how successful that mutual adaptation is, but also equally of how it fits into the firm and the firm‐internal mutual adaptation. Particularly established companies may experience alternative regimes as threats to the established business, even when these regimes are developed inside the firm. In addition, the actors‐resources‐activities model reveals important resource dependencies between established technologies and the alternatives to them. Most likely, such dependencies constitute important complementary causes as to why eco‐ordering endeavors often fail.

The network approach having a mesh that goes into the firm reveals important factors to the outcome of eco‐ordering efforts. The actors‐resources‐activities analyzing tool helped find important non‐human resource dependencies.

In order to lead and control large organisations, top managers could use objectives as an integrative mechanism and a driver of change. This paper aims to study the overall volume target of Volvo Cars regarding the consequences it has on organisational practices.

Interviews with relevant managers at Volvo Car Corporation were conducted.

Different interpretations of a seemingly clear objective, different views on both the rationale for and possible direction of the needed change and an increasing gap between middle and top managers are organisational responses to the demanding volume ambition. The response from the interviewed managers was more emotional than expected, resulting in an overall sense of target fatigue in the studied organisation.

The study suggests that the lack of academic research interest in the management by objectives (MBO) discourse is misleading. Rather than dismissing MBO as what is an outmoded management fad, management researchers should examine how MBO is used in practice.

Organisations rely on objectives, but such objectives need to be translated into detailed actions by top management. The creation of meaning and actual means to fulfil the targets is an important dimension to consider for managers wanting to manage the organisation by using objectives. Organisational context and cultural obstacles must not be neglected.

The paper offers a unique insight into how a major automotive company deals with long‐term objectives. In addition, the paper calls for a renewal of research on MBO.

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Since the early 1960s, there has been an increasing awareness of the problems associated with the exploitation of natural resources. The automotive industry is often regarded as partly responsible for the increase in carbon dioxide emissions, despite being at the cutting edge concerning new product development practices. Automotive companies are rarely credited for their work to promote a sustainable environment.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

The current research aimed to investigate the external enablement role of Digital Infrastructures (DI) in the interplay of entrepreneurial cognitions and innovation.

Data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) were used for analyses. This yielded a sample of 8,601 Generation Z entrepreneurs operating in 25 European countries.

Applying hierarchical moderated regressions showed that socio-cognitive components of an entrepreneurial mindset (self-efficacy, risk propensity, opportunity identification) affect innovation among Generation Z entrepreneurs. More importantly, DI plays an external enablement role in the interplay of cognitions and innovation among Generation Z entrepreneurs.

This study contributes to the socio-cognitive theory of entrepreneurship by integrating an external enablement perspective into the study of cognitions and entrepreneurial outcomes (here, innovation). It contributes to the digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship by connecting the conversation about the socio-cognitive perspective of entrepreneurship regarding the role of cognitions in innovation to the conversation in information systems (IS) regarding technology affordances and constraints. This study extends the application of the external enabler framework to the post-entry stage of entrepreneurial activity and integrates a generational perspective into it.