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Although recent literature has examined diverse measures adopted by SMEs to navigate the COVID-19 turbulence, there is a shortage of evidence on how crisis-time strategy creation behaviour and digitalization activities increase (1) sales and (2) cash flow. Thus, predicated on a novel strategy creation perspective, this inquiry aims to investigate the crisis behaviour, sales and cash flow performance of 528 SMEs in Morocco.

Novel links between (1) aggregate wage cuts, (2) variable operating hours, (3) deferred payment to suppliers, (4) deferred payment to tax authorities and (5) sales performance are developed and tested. A further link between sales performance and cash flow is also examined and the analysis is conducted using a non-linear structural equation modelling technique.

While there is a significant association between strategy creation behaviours and sales performance, only variable operating hours have a positive effect. Also, sales performance increases cash flow and this relationship is substantially strengthened by e-commerce digitalization and innovation.

Theoretically, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first inquiries to espouse the strategy creation view to explain SMEs' crisis-time behaviour and digitalization. For practical purposes, to supplement Moroccan SMEs' propensity to seek tax deferrals, it is argued that debt and equity support measures are also needed to boost sales performance and cash flow.

Little attention has been paid to the initial development of programs. The purpose of this paper is to explore co-creation as an alternative strategic approach for program management. Co-creation of programs means that the projects within the program are created by the users and producers of the projects.

The paper is based on a case study of the co-creation approach of the Umeå 2014 European Capital of Culture program. The empirical material analyzed consists of qualitative interviews with members of the Umeå 2014 team and the politicians involved, as well as secondary data on the program.

The Umeå 2014 Capital of Culture program takes the form of a platform that makes meetings and interactions possible. Co-creation allows for creative cultural projects to emerge, but the program becomes reliant on the different actors involved. Balancing dilemmas of multiple stakeholders and maintaining control while enabling the emergence of ideas is key.

These findings have practical implications for the management of more emergent program structures. A flexible organization with guiding values and criteria to balance the different projects can be used to achieve program goals when multiple stakeholders have their own agendas.

This paper contributes to research on program management by introducing the concept of co-creation as a strategic approach for program management. The creative and innovative benefits of co-creation can be reached in the development of programs but other challenges for their management are involved.

Involving customers to create value is an important strategy for firms to compete, satisfy customized demands and gain competitive advantage. This potentially important alternate viewpoint for strategic management aims to widen avenues of business opportunities.

To date in the strategy discipline, profuse research has been undertaken to identify the typology of resources/capabilities that explain firm’s unique competitiveness and superior performance. However, very little research has been undertaken to explain how firms attempt to create customer value, how resources become valuable for customers maximizing benefits and how investments in dynamic capabilities allow the firm to (co) create value. This paper is intended as a contribution to the ongoing conceptual development of resources and capabilities (RC) through the lens of value co-creation and provides initial guidance for future empirical studies.

The authors organize and integrate the diverse body of past literature relating to RC and, in doing so, develop a synthesized conceptual model. A critical interpretation of previous literature relating to RC and co-creation reveals how little attention has been paid to these connections and what exists is only partial.

The authors develop a first initial constructing of the past theory which is subsequently refined and strengthened into a conceptual model advancing on theoretical development in the field.

Proposes a framework for considering the factors relevant to the design of manufacturing strategy processes. The framework is built from manufacturing and business strategy literature through a review which positions popular strategies like Cellular manufacturing, TQM and JIT within more traditional manufacturing strategy frameworks and includes aspects of strategy that have been rarely mentioned in the manufacturing strategy literature. Thus competence, capability, culture and alternative strategy process modes are incorporated and throughout the review potential influences on the design of the strategy process are identified. Finally the framework′s ability to assist the design of a manufacturing strategy process is tested and the dependence of key process elements like the procedure and tools used are shown to be contingent on, for example, the outputs required from the process and the content areas under development.

While mainstream theories in international business and management are foundedeither explicitly or implicitly on studies of manufacturing firms, prior attempts to develop theoryon the internationalization of service firms are sparse and have yet to establish solid andcomprehensive frameworks. The thrust of this study is that value creation logics, a constructoriginally developed by Stabell and Fjeldstad (1998) can assist us in better understanding why and how service firms internationalize. The authors extend this construct and propose that the internationalization of service firms must be based on a thorough understanding of the fundamental nature of these firms.

Theoretical study.

The authors put forward propositions concerning the pace of internationalization and the default foreign operation modes in service firms.

The use of value creation logics can be a useful complement to the conventional approaches to the study of service firms’ internationalization. However, the fact that most firms encompass more than one value creation logic complicates the use of firm databases and industry statistics.

The authors suggest that managers in service firms should consider primarily the nature of the value creation logic(s) in their firms when deciding and designing an internationalization strategy.

The study presents a novel theoretical approach and a set of propositions on service firm internationalization founded on the specific characteristics of the service activities.

This paper aims to draw on the Dynamic Capabilities View to discuss how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) use digital technologies to develop digital capabilities that will enable them to change their current business model and trajectory, that is, to pivot-within turbulent environments, and subsequently to survive and grow.

The authors collected and analysed qualitative data from 26 SMEs in South-East England that have used digital technologies to pivot during the pandemic. The data was collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews. The authors analysed the data by creating first-order concepts, second-order themes, and aggregating dimensions.

The findings suggest that (1) digital technologies enable pivoting by facilitating the creation of the following digital capability types: “digital sensing”, “digital seizing” and “digital transforming”; (2) Each of these digital capability types is underpinned by micro-foundations (sub-capabilities) and shaped by the digital culture of the organisation. (3) these capabilities are triggered by the turbulent environment and the existing digital technologies, and are shaped by the digital culture.

The authors contribute to the literature of digital entrepreneurship as the authors illustrate (1) how the micro-foundations of digital capabilities, as facilitated by digital technologies, assist pivoting; and (2) the process from key activities during pivoting to second-order themes that represent micro-foundations to digital (dynamic) capabilities for pivoting in turbulent environments. The study highlights the importance of digital pivoting for businesses in the UK Southeast that have many aspirations for growth and innovation, whilst striving to address multiple challenges including digital divide and literacy, inflation and cost of living crisis, as well as supply chain issues.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the strategies of enterprises located in Hungary parallel with joining the European Union and to evaluate the preparation of firms for the competitive conditions within the EU.

The paper is based on a questionnaire survey including 301 enterprises. Top managers of medium sized and large enterprises answered the questions. Data were analysed by using mathematical and statistical methods, among them factor and cluster analysis. The paper discusses enterprise strategy by taking into account environmental conditions and internal characteristics of firms.

The paper deals with both content and process characteristics of strategies. Attention is devoted to issues like strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, research and development, corporate governance.

Small enterprises are hardly represented in the sample. Emphasis is laid on the formalised systems of strategy development. Informal strategic processes are not analysed in detail.

The paper provides valuable information for evaluating the progress of Hungarian enterprises within the EU. Comparison with experiences in countries joining the EU parallel with Hungary may provide lessons for managers of Hungarian companies to improve their competitive position.

The paper relies on data from a large number of Hungarian enterprises. The conclusions may be useful for researchers interested in studying strategies of enterprises in transforming economies and also for practising managers in central and eastern Europe.

This study aims to integrate the resource-based view (RBV) with other theories that consider external factors necessary to respond successfully to dynamic and uncertain entrepreneurial business conditions.

The paper introduces an multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach, utilizing the axial-distance-based aggregated measurement (ADAM) method with weights determined by the preference selection index (PSI) method, to rank eight European countries based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data. Additionally, the paper extends the existing entrepreneurial ecosystem taxonomy (EET), offering an additional classification.

The performed analysis emphasizes the importance and necessity of involving different dimensions of EE in assessing the countries' entrepreneurship performance, which facilitates creating adequate policy measures.

The crucial limitations are assessments based only on the GEM data from a particular period, possibly leading to a certain bias. Future research should involve data from various resources to increase the results' reliability.

The ranking results and country classification obtained using the ADAM-based approach and two distinct taxonomies served as the basis for formulating tailored policy recommendations, aiming to formulate tailored policy implications for increasing the number of new entrepreneurs and improving innovativeness, sustainability and internationalization of existing entrepreneurs for each group of countries.

Although there is a growing research stream on Performance Measurement and Management Systems (PMMS) in Ecosystems literature, current research offers limited theoretical insights into how PMMS deal with two types of strategies in uncertain ecosystems: ecosystem-based strategy – EBS (at the focal firm level) and ecosystem strategy – ES (at the ecosystem level). This study aims at identifying how PMMS are employed to deal with different types of strategies in uncertain ecosystems.

The authors employed an inductive, rich multiple case approach in five focal firms with platform ecosystems. Data collection involved multiple sources of information (primary and secondary data), combing retrospective and longitudinal perspectives. Data analysis combined replication and comparison logic with coding.

This study identifies four major distinctive dimensions of Ecosystem PMMS under uncertainty: (1) Integrative Performance (considering the different ecosystem actors’ performance), (2) Interdependence Performance (mutual, yet not necessarily convergent amongst ecosystem partners), (3) Regulative Performance (paradoxical in nature, having to cope with both flexibility and stability) and finally (4) Phased Learning Performance (non-linear).

Our primary contribution is a new framework for PMMS literature: a performance measurement and management system for dealing with strategies in ecosystems. This framework enables managing performance regarding both types of strategies (EBS and ES) and their interplay in uncertain ecosystems.

The ecosystem management requires focal firms to measure and manage the overall ecosystem’s performance, and it varies according to the type of strategy adopted in each case. Our framework provides dimensions that guide firms to build and implement PMMS for an ecosystem consistent with the ES. Therefore, it may improve performance, especially in uncertain business contexts.

The findings enrich PMMS literature in an ecosystem context related to the ES in uncertain environments.

This article describes and analyses observations from a longitudinal case study to advance an understanding of operations strategy formation as a continuous process. The managerial practices of the case company are analysed in relation to four general desired outcomes of a strategy process, and a process design is constructed as an example of good practice. Regarding strategy formation as a continuous part of the normal management process, the process design is proposed as a relevant alternative to the traditional discontinuous practice of strategy formation. The interplay between modes of strategy formation in different phases of the process is discussed, indicating the varying roles of managers.