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Several empirical studies indicate that the existence of a large informal sector is a major obstacle to firms’ choices of innovation strategies. This paper aims to address this issue and investigates the effect of the informal sector on the innovation of formal firms in Greece.

Using the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey data, the impact of informal competition on formal firms’ innovation in Greece is investigated by testing whether formal firms use innovation as a tool to protect and sustain their competitive advantage vis-à-vis informal firms and whether overall and informal competition has an inverted-U relationship with the innovation of formal firms. The effects of bribing and other variables drawn from the empirical literature are also controlled for.

The findings fill a gap in the literature regarding the effects of the informal sector on formal economic activity in Greece, by indicating that the informal sector puts pressure on formal firms to innovate, in order to differentiate their product or service and enhance their productivity and by offering learnings to help policymakers to promote innovation in Greece.

The originality of this study is that it investigates the impact of informal competition on formal firms’ innovation in Greece, a developed economy with a large informal sector. It does so by focusing on the effects that formal firms’ informal practices have on their competitors’ innovation activities, and the role of informal competition in creating and sustaining a competitive advantage in Greece.

This study examines how intellectual capital (IC) drives firm performance via the lens of dynamic capabilities (DCs). Drawing on resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capability view (DCV), the authors elaborate the mediating role of learning, integration and reconfiguration DC in the Indian banking context.

A sample of 358 top- and middle-level managers from the Indian banking sector was administered with structured questionnaires for data collection. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and Sobel test were used to analyze the data and test the hypothesized mediating effect.

The findings reveal that learning and integration DCs are key mediators in IC and banks' performance relationships in an emerging economy context. In contrast, the analysis revealed partial mediating role of reconfiguration DC. Furthermore, the learning DC has been identified as the primary mediating mechanism for transforming bank's IC into performance benefits.

This study provides an important implication for the IC and DC link by empirically developing and validating a model in the Indian banking sector and making a several contributions to the related literature. This sector needs to incorporate and strengthen their IC and DCs to attain enhanced performance in today's dynamic environment. Bank managers can use these findings to bring their knowledge-related activities to channelize specific DCs to transform banks' IC when seeking to improve overall performance. Theoretically, this study extends previous research by outlining a set of organizational elements that tend to influence firm performances with the help of IC, learning, integration and reconfigurations DCs.

Although several studies have investigated the links between IC, DC and firm performance, studies on emerging economies are scarce. This study is one of the most in-depth investigations of the relationship between IC, learning, integration and reconfiguration DCs and firm performance in an integrated framework, with a particular focus on the banking sector of an emerging economy.

This study investigates how firms build strong dynamic marketing capability (DMC) from open innovation (OI) to enhance the performance of entrepreneurial firms. Moreover, this study unfolds DMC's mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying inbound and outbound OI and performance relationships, respectively.

To test the research model and hypotheses, this study drew a sample of 251 firms operating in Malaysia using the time-lagged survey method. Structural equation modelling was used in this study to investigate the model relationships.

The findings of this study reveal the positive interplay between inbound OI (knowledge acquisition) and DMC. The outbound OI (knowledge exploitation) in this study is found to mediate the relationship between inbound OI and firm performance. In addition, while the DMC has a mediating effect in the relationship between inbound OI and firm performance, such a capability reinforces the positive relationship between outbound OI and performance.

This study provides a noble insight into the complex interplay between OI and entrepreneurial firms' performance by developing and testing an integrated framework underpinned by a knowledge-based view and dynamic capability theory. The findings highlight the significance of taking an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to better understand the determinants of entrepreneurial firms' performance in an emerging country context.

The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of corporate reputation (hereafter CR) and the degree of economic development on firms’ cost of capital remains unresolved. This study addresses these issues.

Using a global sample across 20 countries, the study investigates the discrete and joint effects of CR and jurisdictional economic development on the cost of equity (COE) and cost of debt (COD) capital. The analysis encompasses a dual data set, comprising 1,308 observations for COE and 1,223 observations for COD, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of these dynamics.

The findings indicate that CR leads to a reduction in the cost of capital for reputable firms. Nevertheless, the extent of this decrease varies per type of capital and firm’s reputation level and is contingent upon the economic development level within the firm’s jurisdiction. Particularly noteworthy is the moderating effect of economic development on CR, which shows that COE capital tends to be lower for reputable firms operating in economically developed jurisdictions. Albeit, this is not the case for COD capital for reputable firms in similarly developed jurisdictions.

This study illustrates that effective CR management, aimed at reducing the cost of capital, necessitates a combination of the firm’s unique competitive advantage and the economic development context of its jurisdiction to truly achieve its intended goal.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first global study to explore the impact of CR on both COE and COD capital. Furthermore, this study is primarily towards understanding the moderating role of economic development in the relationship between CR and cost of capital.

Financial reports are the basis of economic decisions that affect organizational interests and shareholders. However, there is a severe research gap concerning the factors affecting the quality of financial information (such as audit report readability and tone). Therefore, considering the importance of presenting high-quality financial information, this study aims to investigate the impact of intellectual capital (IC) and its components on the audit report's readability and tone.

The multivariate regression model tests research hypotheses. Then, hypotheses are tested via a sample of 824 observations of the listed companies on the Tehran Stock Exchange (103 companies) from 2014 to 2021, using the multivariate regression model based on pooled data and fixed effects.

Results determine that customer capital (CC) and structural capital (SC) are likely to influence the audit report tone positively. In general, the IC and human capital (HC) negatively impact auditors' tone. More analyses also document that IC and its CC, HC and SC components positively and significantly affect audit report readability based on two readability indices, including FOG and text length. Finally, findings pertaining to the third readability index (Flesch index) reveal that only HC and SC are robust based on this measurement, whereas the IC and CC have a negative and significant impact on the readability of auditors’ reports.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to address this issue in emerging markets, and it provides helpful insights for users, analysts and legal institutions regarding IC, which significantly affects audit report readability and tone.

We explore how NGO’s local entrepreneurial initiatives to empower women entrepreneurs can compensate for weak state policies for women in a context of male-dominated socio-cultural norms.

We use the case of a local entrepreneurial initiative launched in the Atlas region of Morocco, the Empowering Women in the Atlas Initiative (EWA). We collected data through 51 semi-structured interviews of women entrepreneurs in three cooperatives which exploit the natural resources of their region to establish a social venture. Our data are longitudinal as they were collected at two time periods: before and after the initiative.

The findings of this study suggest that local entrepreneurial initiatives can have a significant impact on rural women entrepreneurs’ empowerment. The improved perception of empowerment has not only helped them develop capacities to leverage the business opportunities linked to the natural resources of their region, but it has also increased their status and role within their family and community.

We make recommendations for policymakers to encourage this type of initiative to compensate for the absence of supporting policies geared toward women.

Our study is one of the first to look at empowerment as a policy instrument to develop women entrepreneurial activities in rural areas of developing countries. Our paper uses a unique hierarchical perspective and a multidimensional framework for analyzing social cooperative ventures and rural women entrepreneurs’ empowerment. Our paper unravels interesting insights for women entrepreneurs’ narration strategies.

This study endeavors to decode the propensity for entrepreneurial action by addressing the perceptions of feasibility and desirability stemming from entrepreneurs' and non-entrepreneurs’ appraisal of holding marketing capabilities; complemented by the direct and indirect effects of market stakeholders' support, assessed as bridging or buffering the entrepreneurial action.

Three groups were formed from a random sample of 1,957 Canadian (from Quebec) respondents to an online questionnaire: non-entrepreneurs with low entrepreneurial intentions, non-entrepreneurs with high entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurs with high entrepreneurial intentions.

The analyses revealed salient effects of perceptions of feasibility and desirability, coupled with appraisals of possessing marketing capabilities, on entrepreneurial propensity; and their strengthened relations when obtaining stakeholders' support. Overall, the results suggest that perceived market feasibility and market desirability are prominent factors in differentiating between entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial action, and the type and function of stakeholders' support are prominent in differentiating between intentions.

Practical implications include facilitating the transmission of marketing knowledge to novice entrepreneurs through higher education and the ecosystem.

The authors show that perceptions of feasibility and desirability are particularly dependent on the entrepreneur's perceived marketing capabilities and perceptions of entrepreneurial ecosystem supportiveness. This study thus captures a fuller range of the intentions–action relationship by gauging the unidimensional approach to entrepreneurial action through intertwining attributes at the individual and market levels. It takes a new look at feasibility and desirability through marketing capabilities; and offers a more robust classification of stakeholders' support—institution/people, bridging/buffering. Practical implications include facilitating the transmission of marketing knowledge to novice entrepreneurs through higher education and the ecosystem.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which a sample of US-based higher education institution’s (HEI’s) climate targets and associated climate action planning efforts align with the definitions of and practices associated with science-based targets (SBTs) that are typically used to organize corporate climate efforts. This analysis will be used to explore similarities and tease out differences between how US-based HEIs and corporations approach sustainable target setting and organize sustainable action.

The degree of intersection between a sample of HEI climate action plans from Ivy Plus (Ivy+) schools and the current SBT initiative (SBTi) general corporate protocol was assessed by using an objective-oriented evaluative approach.

While there were some areas of overlap between HEI’s climate action planning and SBTi’s general corporate protocol – for instance, the setting of both short- and long-term targets and large-scale investments in renewable energy – significant areas of difference in sampled HEIs included scant quantitative Scope 3 targets, the use offsets to meet short-term targets and a low absolute annual reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

This paper unites diverse areas of literature on SBTs, corporate sustainability target setting and sustainability in higher education. It provides an overview of the potential benefits and disadvantages of HEIs adopting SBTs and provides recommendations for the development of sector-specific SBTi guidelines.

Climate change and carbon emissions are top of mind in all facets of society. This study aims to investigate what the world’s top brands are saying about carbon emissions and greenhouse gases (GHG). Through this inquiry, the authors hope to better understand what brands are saying, doing and if their actions are clear. Furthermore, the authors seek to uncover practices that may deter or enhance a brand’s effectiveness in communicating its current and future initiatives.

Each of the world’s top 50 brands’ (Forbes, 2020 Rankings) websites were assessed using a content analysis methodology. Key constructs and themes were identified first through a broad assessment, leading to a set of parameters (content items) that were used to assess each brand’s website. The results were then summarized.

Almost all of the world’s Top 50 brands attempt to articulate their current accomplishments and goals relative to carbon emissions and GHG. Generally, carbon falls under a broader discussion of their sustainability initiatives and objectives. While extensive, information on carbon emissions possesses a variety of terms for measures and initiatives, goal setting and actions. Stakeholders may find the information to be ambiguous and of limited use.

There are few, if any, assessments of how major brands communicate their current and future carbon emissions initiatives. The study uncovers tendencies and provides managers with practices that may enhance the effectiveness of their brand’s carbon emissions communications.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are currently showing an increasingly open innovation (OI) approach. Public policies supporting the adoption of OI by SMEs are becoming a priority for policymakers. Therefore, the aim of this article is to contribute to the literature by mapping scholars' policy recommendations for implementing OI among SMEs.

The authors conducted a systematic review of the literature (SRL) on the topic to achieve this purpose. A total of 99 academic articles were selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases to suggest the main scholars' policy recommendations to implement OI among SMEs.

Results indicated that scholars' policy recommendations for OI adoption in SMEs can be organized into: research and development (R&D), networking, collaboration, knowledge and intellectual property rights (IPR), ecosystem, managerial capabilities, funding and incentives and sustainability policies.

Only relevant articles about this topic have been included due to the reliance on the interpretations of the authors. The analysis of the literature revealed that the authors did not always distinguish policies dedicated to SMEs and those dedicated to large companies. Moreover, policies are not matched according to each OI dimensions (e.g. inbound, outbound and coupled OI).

The article uses a systematic literature review method that combines qualitative and quantitative analyses. This method contributes to theoretical development of OI policies dedicated, in particular to SMEs. This paper also provides policymakers and researchers with insights on the scope of OI policies that could support economic growth.