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The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between formal ethics and ethics in practice in the empirical context of real estate agents (REAs) working in the residential housing market, including owner-occupied houses and owner-occupied apartments, in Sweden. The paper investigates problems with the Swedish middleman model of real estate agency with regard to the acceptance among REAs of borderline professional behavior.

We report on a survey distributed to all Swedish licensed residential REAs to investigate their attitudes towards eight scenarios displaying borderline ethical behavior. Firstly, the means of each scenario were calculated, investigating signs of distance between formal ethics and ethics in practice. Secondly, logistic regressions were run for each scenario separately, thereby investigating factors affecting misconduct among REAs.

The empirical results show a clear difference between formal ethics and ethics in practice and also illustrate that some scenarios of borderline ethical behavior are creating greater problems for the REAs.

In Sweden, the seller is the principal, assigning the REA to sell a house or apartment, but the regulation is clear on the role of the licensed REA as responsible for promoting an informed and fair sales process where the buyer is safe to act without their own representative. Our study contributes with information to policymakers on possible areas for the development of the middleman model.

The paper is the first to empirically investigate the middleman model of a Swedish real estate agency in relation to the business ethics of the agents. The use of scenarios in close relation to the everyday working context of REAs as tests of ethics of practice is also of original methodological value to investigate possible diversions of professionals from national regulations.

This paper aims to examine the effect of social disruption on the use of technologies for digitizing business-to-business (B2B) processes. The aim is to assess how digitalization technologies (DT) may impact corporate performance (CP) in B2B settings.

The methodology is based on a questionnaire survey in Norway, and a deductive research design. A total of 216 usable questionnaires out of 356 were returned, generating a response rate of 60.6%.

This study shows that there is an effect of social disruption on DT (such as digital communication tools, social media and customer relationship management systems) in B2B settings that may impact CP.

This study indicates that the use of technologies to digitize B2B processes may enhance CP when social disruption occurs.

This study offers insights to companies that need help in adapting their business processes to the changing social and technological environment. This study also highlights the importance of digitalization for business survival in the marketplace and society.

This study sheds light on the effect of social disruption on DT and provides opportunities for managing CP.

Supply chains need to be made viable in this volatile and competitive market, which could be possible through digitalization. This study is an attempt to explore the role of Industry 4.0, smart supply chain, supply chain agility and supply chain resilience on sustainable business performance from the lens of natural resource-based view.

The study tests the proposed model using a covariance-based structural equation modelling and further investigates the ranking of each construct using the artificial neural networks approach in AMOS and SPSS respectively. A total of 234 respondents selected using purposive sampling aided in capturing the industry practices across supply chains in the UK. The full collinearity test was carried out to study the common method bias and the content validity was carried out using the item content validity index and scale content validity index. The convergent and discriminant validity of the constructs and mediation study was carried out in SPSS and AMOS V.23.

The results are overtly inferring the significant impact of Industry 4.0 practices on creating smart and ultimately sustainable supply chains. A partial relationship is established between Industry 4.0 and supply chain agility through a smart supply chain. This work empirically reinstates the combined significance of green practices, Industry 4.0, smart supply chain, supply chain agility and supply chain resilience on sustainable business value. The study also uses the ANN approach to determine the relative importance of each significant variable found in SEM analysis. ANN determines the ranking among the significant variables, i.e. supply chain resilience > green practices > Industry 4.0> smart supply chain > supply chain agility presented in descending order.

This study is a novel attempt to establish the role of digitalization in SCs for attaining sustainable business value, providing empirical support to the mediating role of supply chain agility, supply chain resilience and smart supply chain and manifests a significant integrated framework. This work reinforces the integrated model that combines all the constructs dealt with in silos so far in prior literature.

A key challenge for exporters and international marketing/purchasing managers is formulating strategic responses to deal with geopolitical disruptions during a trade war between superpowers. While past studies provide insightful analysis of the influence of changes in the institutional environment (regulatory pressures) on national and firm-level trade activities, they tend to ignore the association between inward (sourcing) or outward (export) international activities of firms during a trade war. In this study, we aim to explore various strategic options employed by third-party SME exporters in response to geopolitical disruptions, institutional pressures and constraints during a trade war.

We adopted a qualitative methodology and applied a hermeneutical approach in collecting, analysing and theorising interview findings. We conducted interviews with 15 owners or senior managers from 12 Australian and New Zealand exporters that exported or sourced significantly from at least one party of the trade war, the USA or China, between 2018 and 2020.

Our study developed a typology of fencing vs. balancing for explaining third-party SME exporters’ response strategies in terms of export market and international sourcing locations during a trade war. Fencing strategy centres on location choice decisions based on a fence or a secure buffer zone. Balancing strategy focuses on leveraging opportunities outside the conflict zone, i.e. third-party countries. Our study finds that exporters’ location choice decisions are influenced by a number of institutional factors during the trade war.

Firstly, our study examined only the early phase of the trade war under the “Trump” era. Future research may consider a longitudinal study design that examines exporters’ responses to global political uncertainty over a longer term. Secondly, we chose Australia and New Zealand as the focal context of this study. Future research could investigate exporters from other third-party countries that have different institutional conditions during the US-China trade war.

Firstly, an exporting firm should monitor and assess closely the wider changes in international relations between their home country’s major security partner and major trading partner, and the impact of these changes on the political risks of operating in international locations. Secondly, as the trade war intensifies, the fencing option needs to be given a greater weight than the balancing option in the strategic decision making of an exporter from a third-party country. Lastly, we encourage marketers and managers to reflect on and differentiate short-term and long-term benefits in strategic market-sourcing location decisions.

Our study makes a pioneering effort to theorise the linkages between institutional factors and the combined evaluation of export market selection and sourcing location selection choices under global political uncertainty based on the institution-based view. We present a conceptual framework highlighting the importance of institutional avoidance, embeddedness, comparative institutional advantages and multiple institutional logics for SME exporters’ international location selections during the trade war. Furthermore, we combine these institutional factors into two overarching constructs namely institutional buffer and institutional pluralism.

This paper examines the moderating role of firm size (FS) and industry type in the relationship between high-performance work practices (HPWPs) and entrepreneurial firm performance.

A descriptive research design involving a five-year dataset from firms in the retail and services industries of Nigeria was used in the analyses.

The use of HPWPs is widespread among entrepreneurial firms, with ability- and motivation-enhancing practices being dominant. Country context influences the types of HPWPs implemented by entrepreneurial firms. FS and industry type do not have significant moderating effects on the relationship between HPWPs and the performance of entrepreneurial firms. The positive effect of HPWPs on performance is consistent with findings made in prior studies.

FS plays a neutral role in the relationship between HPWPs and entrepreneurial firm performance. Within the broader retail and services industries, this relationship is weaker in capital-intensive firms compared to less capital-intensive ones. The restricted focus on only retail and service industries may limit the universal applicability of the findings.

Findings indicate that the efficacy of HPWPs is neither influenced by FS nor industry type. Entrepreneurial firms with higher capital intensity benefit relatively more from the use of HPWPs.

Unlike other research efforts focusing on a single moderating influence, this study combines two important contextual factors, FS and industry type, to provide a better understanding of HPWPs. The study spotlights the effects of country context in the implementation of HPWPs in a way that prior studies have not done.

This study aims to examine the challenges of developing a global business-to-business (B2B) offering from an emerging economy (Chile) during an internationalization endeavor. This study analyzes the development and management of an offering evolving from local to global.

The data were collected via an in-depth interview (105 min).

The interviewee presented a mixed of interesting marketing and/or marketing-related decisions (e.g. marketing–sales interface and marketing capabilities development) that support the internationalization of a firm and consequently its offering.

The data represent a practical, ongoing rationalization of the events perceived by a manager. New theory can emerge from further exploring identified research opportunities.

The findings suggest that an emerging economy firm can gradually transition toward a multinational condition by coordinating a series of marketing and/or marketing related decisions, where the CMO (i.e. maximum marketing authority in the organization) plays an essential role.

This study brings the voice of practitioners to an academic environment and serves as an innovative effort to analyze B2B practitioners’ reality from a scholarly perspective. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first one of the new series “Practitioners Insights” in the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing.

In social marketplaces, follower ego networks are integral social capital assets for online sellers. While previous research has underscored the positive impact of the follower number on seller performance, little attention has been given to the structure of follower networks and their value implications. This research investigates two structural properties of follower networks—network centralization and density—and examines their main and contingent effects on sellers’ sales performance.

A 13-month panel dataset of 1,150 sellers in Etsy, a social marketplace for handmade and vintage products, was collected and analyzed. A fixed effects model was adopted to validate the hypotheses on the main effect of centralization and density, as well as the moderating effects of two store attributes: store age and product diversification.

We find that both network centralization and density negatively impact sellers’ sales performance, and these effects vary across store age and product diversification levels. Specifically, the negative effect of network centralization is less pronounced for older stores than young ones, whereas the negative effect of density is more severe for stores with high product diversification.

This research contributes to social commerce research by highlighting the significance of network structure, alongside network size, in assessing the value of followers and offers practical guidance for sellers in social marketplaces seeking to optimize their follower networks.

The purpose of this research is to determine how supply chain management (SCM) might be less affected by COVID-19 by using innovative technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), eco-friendly corporate practices and other digital advancements. It strongly emphasizes the use of technology to improve supply networks’ and Omani firms’ performance.

Using a mixed-methods research strategy, this study integrates both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It involves a survey and interviews with supply chain and IT managers from various industries in Oman to gather data and evaluate the impact of technology on SCM.

This study finds that IoT capabilities, smart technologies (STs) and green practices significantly mitigate COVID-19 impacts on SCM. The performance of the supply chain and the business are both improved by these technologies’ positive effects on integrating various supply chain elements, such as suppliers, internal processes and customer relations.

The main constraint of this study is its concentration on businesses in Oman, potentially restricting the applicability of its findings to broader contexts. Future studies could investigate similar frameworks across various geographic and industry settings.

The findings suggest that incorporating STs into SCM is crucial for enhancing operational efficiency and resilience against disruptions such as COVID-19. This offers valuable insights for managers and policymakers in adopting technology-driven strategies for SCM.

This study highlights the significant role of technology in sustaining supply chains during pandemics, thereby supporting economic stability and societal well-being. It underscores the importance of technological advancements in maintaining supply chain continuity in challenging times.

By empirically examining the effect of emerging technologies on enhancing SCM in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in the Oman market, this research makes a unique contribution to the body of knowledge.

Linguists classify the world’s languages into two types: futured and futureless. Futured languages (e.g. French) require speakers to grammatically mark future events, a construction that is optional in futureless languages such as German. This treatise examines whether the grammatical structure of the predominant language in a given country explains firms’ propensity to engage in controversial marketing and environmental management practices. This is expected to happen because a speaker’s future time perspective and temporal discounting vary depending on the type of language used.

The sample period for this research was from 2001 to 2020. The sample of the study consists of 5,275 firms representing 47 countries. The sample is comprised of firms from 29 countries where the predominant language is a strong future time reference (FTR) language and 18 countries with a weak-FTR language. The maximum number of firm-country-year observations of the study was 39,956. This study employed multi-level mixed effects modelling as well as other relevant estimation techniques such as random effect panel regression, ordinary least square regression and two-stage least square regression.

This research empirically demonstrates that firms based in countries where the predominant language requires speakers to grammatically differentiate between the present and the future – known as strong-FTR or futured languages – engage more often in controversial marketing- and environment-related practices than those located in countries where the predominant language does not necessarily require grammatical differentiation between the present and the future (known as weak-FTR or futureless languages).

The findings are important for managers of firms with foreign subsidiary operations: top management teams of such firms need to be aware that their foreign subsidiaries’ propensity to engage in controversial marketing and environmental management practices varies depending on the predominant language those subsidiaries use. Also, firms located in countries with weak-FTR languages need to be more rigorous in their selection process when considering forming a joint venture or acquiring a firm in countries with strong-FTR languages.

The current research enriches the burgeoning body of literature on the effect of language on corporate decision-making. It extends the body of knowledge on the impact of language structure on firms’ inclination to engage in controversial marketing and environmental management practices.

Our study investigates the influence of peer performance on the earnings management decisions within publicly traded Indian companies. There is mixed evidence in the literature, with the impact of peer performance on earnings management in emerging markets being notably underexplored. Additionally, the study explores whether robust corporate governance mechanisms can mitigate earnings management practices. Our study offers policy insights into these areas.

Our study used a longitudinal panel dataset from 2011 to 2020, utilising idiosyncratic returns of peer firms as an external measure of peer performance. This approach is further enhanced by the usage of alternative discretionary accrual metrics, which could be a robust measure for both market leaders and followers.

Our study employs two distinct methods, accrual and real earnings management, to assess earnings management. The findings indicate that peer performance triggers earnings management within peer groups, showcasing managerial opportunism in financial reporting to align with peer achievements. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that robust corporate governance effectively curtails earnings management, especially in industries where peer influence is significant.

Our study offers valuable insights for regulators, highlighting that enhancing the institutional framework with stringent corporate governance mechanisms can effectively reduce earnings management in companies within emerging markets.

The paper is a novel attempt in emerging markets to show that managers engage in opportunistic reporting to align with the performance of their peers and that governance strategies effectively mitigate these practices in such markets.