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This study aims to assess the mediating effect of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) on the relationship between organisational innovativeness (OI) and performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in Konya, Turkey.

A survey method is used to collect the necessary data for this research. A total of 264 respondents from 83 SMEs partook in the study. In choosing the sample size, both purposive sampling and simple random techniques are used. The data gathered are analysed using SPSS program and Hayes PROCESS macro v.3.4.1.

The results of the analyses reveal that OI has a statistically significant positive effect on SCA and firm performance (FP). Moreover, SCA is found to have a mediating effect on the relationship between OI and FP.

Policymakers and management of SMEs need to show great commitment to innovativeness and relate it to SCA to create superior customer value, thereby leading to a holistic and long-term FP.

This study brings to the fore empirical evidence on how SCA serves as a mediator between OI and FP. It also contributes to the literature by focusing on three distinct but related variables. The study makes theoretical contribution by highlighting the role of the resource-based theory in enhancing business performance and SCA through strategic internal resources and innovative activities.

The prevalence of crises is a real phenomenon that demands proper planning and implementation of measures to preempt and curb its consequences on both national economies and business operations. Crisis is one of the concepts that cannot be overlooked, pervasive in nature, and does not necessarily denote negativity. Crisis is no longer an unusual, arbitrary, or minor characteristic of today's business environment. As far as the business environment continues to be volatile and unpredictable, it is unlikely that business organizations would be free from crises. Crises are noted to be a vital part of a business context and can serve as an avenue for positive change and creativity if the right tools and techniques are employed to properly manage them. On the other hand, crises can jeopardize the continued existence of the organization and obstruct the achievement of its goals. Thus, the debilitating ramifications of crises on business growth, survival and overall success calls for adoption of sustainable crisis management approaches in this new business world order that is framed by Industry 5.0, digitalization, and green business practices. The primary purpose of this article is to establish how modern crisis management methods could lead to sustainable organizational development. The current study departs from existing studies in the literature by systematically presenting methods to anticipate, solve, and transform business crises into advantage. The chapter also throws light on how organizations should manage business crises that may well be accelerated by Industry 5.0 and its components; digitalization and sustainable development.

The present business environment of accelerated complexity, ambiguity, uncertainty and volatility seems not to be settling down soon. Today’s business world is consistently bombarded with turmoil and unprecedented change. This makes it very difficult for organisations to accurately predict possible future opportunities and threats. To overcome this scenario, organisations need to fully embrace and implement agility in their operations. However, for organisations to develop a considerable level of agility that corresponds to the current hypercompetitive and volatile environment, premium needs to be placed on agile leadership. Agile leaders are capable of setting the guiding principles, develop strategies and build mechanisms that will lead to smooth transition to organisational agility (OA). These leaders give directions on how to make organisations agile and ensure that there is a leadership culture that models and promotes a holistic agility in the organisation. The primary purpose of this chapter is to establish the position of agile leadership in determining OA. The study departs from previous studies by using empirical reviews to depict the significance of agile leadership and its key roles on OA. Specifically, the concept, evolution and characteristics of OA are explored, as well as its benefits and multidimensional nature are discussed. Furthermore, the chapter sheds light on agile leadership, levels of leadership agility and competencies of successful agile leaders. The chapter concludes that the leadership style suitable for OA is agile leadership. This calls for business investments in agile capacity building and development of frameworks suitable for agile leadership.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether voluntary disclosure (VD) and corporate governance (CG) are substitutes or complements to each other in improving firms’ value in a non-Anglo-Saxon setting, namely, France.

This study uses a sample of 990 listed firms in France from 2010 to 2020 to test the theoretical predictions. A random effect regression and two-stage least squares estimators are used to test the relationships. The results are largely robust across a number of econometric models that take into account diverse kinds of endogeneities.

This study reveals that VD and CG are positively associated with firm value. The finding also indicates that VD and CG work together as substitutes rather than as complements. Furthermore, the author’s evidence suggests that ownership structure and CEO characteristics are substitutive with VD in their effect on firm value. This evidence is consistent with the view that VD can add value to the firm but only under a number of conditions.

The results shed further light on how a firm could improve its value among stakeholders by designing VD and CG practices effectively. Specifically, as VD generally acts as a substitute to CG, to accomplish their optimal economic outcomes, firms need to be discerning in executing VD and governance practices. In addition, firms have strategic flexibility in constructing VD and governance practices contingent on their own settings. Policymakers, investors and managers could use these results to examine CG and VD practices in France following the implementation of new regulations.

This study extends and contributes to the mixed or equivocal evidence of the relationships between VD, CG mechanisms and firm value. It contributes to the extant literature by first providing additional evidence, which suggests value-increasing effects of better-governed and more transparent firms. Second, this study reconciles extant disparate results by suggesting that VD can substitute CG in improving firm value. These findings have profound implications for policymakers, investors and firm’s managers.