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This paper aims to better understand how business model innovation (BMI) occurs in the context of sustainable entrepreneurship, emphasizing the dialectical nature of entrepreneurial relationships. To do so, key interdependencies and reciprocal influences between internal/firm-specific and external/environmental factors underlying BMI for sustainability are analysed through co-evolutionary lenses.

A co-evolutionary framework is developed and applied to a longitudinal business model (BM) analysis of 15 Italian widespread hotels, which creatively use historic villages at risk of abandonment to establish their hotels.

Largely influenced by the interplay between internal and external factors, BMI of widespread hotels occurs through multilevel co-adaptations, which are recognised as virtuous by all stakeholders involved. Effective variations of the BM value elements are selected resulting in circular economy practices, which are retained for successful BMI, radical (first) and incremental (thereafter). Knowledge of specific local and multi-local conditions, time awareness and a future-oriented temporal perspective, by both entrepreneurs and policymakers, favour this dynamic.

Developing targeted policies and practices based on increased organisational knowledge supported by indicators can help in selecting and retaining successful variations of BMs appropriately in/with time with positive effects on firms' performance and sustainable development.

This study provides a novel co-evolutionary framework that explicitly links sustainable entrepreneurship and BM concepts in the accommodation sector. It further proposes a dynamic and holistic explanation of BMI for sustainability from which the crucial roles of the time-knowledge binomial and circular practices emerge.

This study aims to provide a systematic and comprehensive examination of the underlying factors enabling the emergence of unicorn firms. By addressing this research gap and offering an integrative framework, it seeks to support future research efforts in understanding this phenomenon and contribute to the academic debate around it.

This study employs a systematic literature review (SLR) approach and thematic analysis of articles retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science databases.

The study sheds light on internal characteristics, ranging from the entrepreneurial (human capital and knowledge) to firm-specific level (business model, corporate governance, resources) and external ones related to the funding factors (financial patterns, venture capitalists, firm evaluation) and the ecosystem (entrepreneurial and technology) around the phenomenon of unicorn firms.

This is the first systematic literature review on unicorns that offers insights into the internal and external factors driving the emergence of such firms, contributes to shed light on the main criticalities that blur their understanding and presents a research agenda for developing this field of research.

How does the interaction between time and knowledge affect the evolution of organizations? Past research in organizational evolution has mostly investigated time and knowledge as two separate variables. In contrast, theoretical perspectives integrating these variables are still seemingly scant. The authors believe that filling this literature gap needs attention. Thus, this study aims to contribute by developing a conceptual framework.

This is a conceptual study. The framework is centred on the concept of “co-evolutionary time”, which the authors explain through a business example from the tourism industry. Supported by a narrative-based style, from a methodological point of view the framework is featured by the attempt to synthesize specific, extant literature into new theoretical development.

As its main theoretical contribution, the co-evolutionary time suggests how firms can adapt in a way that, from an evolutionary perspective, proves fitting both in terms of contents and methods, thus opening possibilities for new long-term social construction and reconstruction. As its main practical contribution, co-evolutionary time can constitute not only a temporary source of organizational success and competitive advantage but also an agent of enduring change and long-term business survival.

As its main novelty, the framework is developed through merging two literature streams. In particular, the authors first consider the literature about time, with a focus on its objective and subjective dimensions. The authors then consider the literature about organizational evolution, with a focus on the co-evolutionary nature of the firm/environment relationship.

This paper aims to enhance understanding of how sustainable entrepreneurship (SE) contributes to sustainable development in the tourism sector. To do so, specific factors that act as enablers or inhibitors of SE are identified according to a co-evolutionary lens.

A co-evolutionary explanation of the firm? Environment relationship is adopted to undertake a qualitative empirical study of the Castelli Romani tourism destination (Italy), via 23 semi-structured interviews according to a narrative approach.

The paper demonstrates that entrepreneurs play a crucial role in sustainable development but cannot act in isolation. In fact, according to the co-evolutionary approach, they influence and are influenced by 20 factors. Accordingly, SE can be conceptualised as resulting from effective co-evolutionary interactions between micro (i.e. entrepreneurs and their firm), meso (i.e. the destination where tourism firms are based) and macro (i.e. the wider socio-economic and natural system) levels.

Several actions are suggested to entrepreneurs and policymakers to help achieve specific sustainable development goals. These actions focus on: (1) training courses, (2) investments in technologies, (3) creation of innovative business models, (4) exploitation of cultural and natural resources, (5) community involvement and (6) multi-level partnerships.

This is the first study that adopts a co-evolutionary lens to investigate the influencing factors of SE in tourism, shedding light on the effects of their dynamic interdependence. Thus, it provides a more nuanced SE conceptualisation that takes a holistic and dynamic view of sustainability.

How do dark personality traits impact workplace bullying (WB)? How can organizations mitigate it? This study aims to explore the relationship between the Dark Tetrad (DT) (narcissism, psychopathy [PY], Machiavellianism and sadism [SM]) and WB, proposing the mediation role of moral disengagement (MD) and the moderation role of emotional stability (ES).

The proposed mediated-moderation model was tested on 404 employees working in the hospitality sector in Pakistan. Data have been analyzed through regression analysis and PROCESS macros to test the study’s hypotheses.

PY, Machiavellianism and SM positively relate to WB and MD mediates this relationship. A high level of ES reduces the intensity of the mediated influence of PY, Machiavellianism and SM on WB.

Developing targeted policies and practices (e.g. personality tests to build a good psychological architecture of the firm) and reviewing processes that support the moral justification of antisocial conduct can be beneficial for limiting WB. In addition, meditation, mindfulness training and supporting trust and cooperation within organizations can increase the mitigating effect of ES and, in turn, reduce WB.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explicitly verifies a mediated-moderation model on DT-WB while proposing a further explanation (i.e. mediation of MD) and a novel solution (i.e., moderation by ES).