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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to knowledge and theory on innovation in small and medium-sized organisations (SMEs) by exploring the role of size and age on organisational engagement with position and paradigm innovation.

Data on organisational characteristics, including age and size, and engagement with position and paradigm innovation was collected as part of a questionnaire based survey of food sector SMEs in the UK. Structural equation modelling was used to identify the existence of any significant relationships between engagement with position and paradigm innovation and organisational age and size.

Findings suggest that organisational engagement with position and paradigm innovation is not affected by either age or size.

Prior research, based primarily on process and product innovation, has generated contradictory results regarding whether size or age effect innovation. This study contributes by focusing on the previously unexplored concepts of position and paradigm innovation.

Prior studies have argued that small firms with dynamic capabilities can revise and reconfigure their internal resources to meet the uncertainties of their business environment. However, there is a lack of understanding of how they can develop such critical capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to propose that small firms can employ information and communication technology (ICT) capabilities as a facilitator for developing dynamic capabilities. Thus, the study builds on resource-based view (RBV) literature and information systems (IS) literature by examining the influence of ICT capabilities on the dynamic capabilities of small firms.

Several hypotheses were tested by analysing the survey data from 291 small high-technology firms in Sweden.

The results reveal that ICT capabilities influence dynamic capabilities of small firms. More specifically, the ICT use for internal efficiency positively influences adoptive capabilities, collaborative use of ICT positively influences networking capabilities, and ICT use for communications positively influences both adaptive and innovation capabilities. Consequently, the results suggest that the different components of ICT capabilities facilitate the development of the different organizational capabilities that together represent dynamic capabilities and thus, can contribute to a small firm’s competitive advantage.

This study has few implications for the managers and CEO’s of small high-technology firms. First, by prioritizing ICT capabilities, small firms can benefit from the development of dynamic capabilities that will support them to meet the challenges of turbulent business environment. Second, because small firms usually lack internal resources (i.e. financial resources and competence), the study provides more specific direction on how they can strategically invest and build different components of ICT that will positively influence their adaptive, absorptive, innovative, and network capabilities.

The study provides an alternative view of how ICT capabilities influence the performance of small firms, and outlines how such capabilities influence the development of dynamic capabilities. Therefore, the study in hand contributes to the RBV and IS literature by specifically linking the components of ICT capabilities to dynamic capabilities and its related sub-capabilities.

To compete and to survive in this era of globalization, organizations, including family businesses, need to have competitive advantage, and innovation and internationalization are some of the ways to achieve this. This paper aims to analyze whether family businesses innovate and internationalize more than non-family businesses and further analyses the type of family businesses “age-wise” and “size-wise” that innovate and internationalize more.

The study is empirical in nature. The period of study is 11 years, from 2005 to 2015 (both years inclusive). The sample is chosen from Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 500 index, a broad-based index in India, covering about 20 industries of the economy. The present study uses multiple regression models to find the innovativeness and internationalization of family businesses. The dependent variables are R&D (proxy for innovativeness) and FXINC (proxy for internationalization). The independent variables are FB (variable that defines whether a business is family business or non-family business); FBAGE (variable that defines the age of the family business); and FBSIZE (variable that defines the size of the family business). The other control variables used in in the study are TA (total assets), REV (revenue), CR (current ratio), QR (quick ratio), DER (debt-equity ratio) and RONW (return on net worth). Fixed effects model was used to understand the innovativeness and internationalization of family businesses. Both industry and year fixed effects were used. SPSS 20.0 version is used for the analysis. All results are heteroscedastic consistent using Breusch–Pagan test.

It is found that family businesses are more innovative and internationalized when compared to non-family businesses. The results are consistent with the resource-based theory where it is found that family businesses are entrepreneurial in nature (Salvato, 2004; Zahra et al., 2004; Kellermanns and Eddleston, 2006) which makes them more innovative. It was also found that within the family businesses, younger firms were more innovative and internationalized than older firms. This can be explained by the theory of “learning advantages of newness”, according to which younger firms are more flexible, eager to learn, have less internal resistance and are able to adapt to the changing environment much faster.

During the studies, the authors have found that there is no conclusive evidence on the innovativeness and internationalization of family businesses. Further, there are apparently negligible studies that analyze what type of family businesses, age wise (younger or older firms) and size wise (smaller or larger firms) use the strategy of innovation and internationalization to grow. The present study analyses the innovativeness and internationalization of family businesses when compared to non-family businesses and also studies the type of family businesses (age wise and size wise) that are more innovative and internationalized.

The purpose of the study is to investigate how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can effectively collaborate for eco-innovation using the business modes of innovation framework to emphasise three types of collaboration: “science, technology, and innovation” (STI), “learning by doing, using, and interacting” (DUI)-Vertical and DUI-Horizontal.

This analysis uses data from 838 SMEs in the Basque Country (2018–2020) to evaluate the effects of the three types of collaboration on eco-innovation. The authors employ a propensity score-based method to address potential bias associated with endogeneity in innovation studies.

The findings suggest that DUI-Vertical collaboration has a positive relationship with the development of product, process and marketing eco-innovation. Furthermore, DUI-horizontal collaboration is the most effective collaboration mode for SMEs, positively impacting their overall eco-innovation portfolio. Finally, STI collaboration is positively associated with product eco-innovation.

Policymakers should support SMEs by designing programmes that facilitate collaboration between competing firms to stimulate eco-innovation, but potential challenges of coopetition must be addressed. Rather than a generic, one-size-fit-all approach, SMEs' managers should identify the most appropriate partners corresponding to their specific eco-innovation goal, ensuring a more effective and targeted. Collaboration between science partners and SMEs should be reinforced by approximating the SMEs' needs more effectively.

This study contributes twofold. Firstly, the authors investigate whether the STI and DUI modes of innovation are determinant factors in the introduction of various types of eco-innovation. Secondly, the authors contribute to the literature on business modes of innovation by differentiating between DUI-Vertical (i.e. suppliers, customers and consultancy) and DUI-Horizontal (i.e. competitors) collaboration, thus highlighting the complexity of DUI collaboration forms.

In the retailing sector, consumers typically patronize multiple outlets, which leaves outlets striving to earn a greater portion of consumer expenditures. The purpose of this paper is to improve theoretical and empirical knowledge about the impact of retailing loyalty programmes on customer purchasing behaviour.

The effects of two loyalty programmes on customer behaviour are studied through marketwide panel data on supermarket purchases.

The impact of loyalty programme membership on customer purchase behaviour is significant.

All behavioural indicators show that members and non‐members of loyalty programmes demonstrate significantly different purchase behaviours, irrespective of other factors. The purchase intensity of cardholders, in terms of total and average shopping baskets, share of purchases, purchase frequency and inter‐purchase time, is significantly higher than that of non‐members throughout the entire three‐year period and the trading areas. The findings require confirmation in other retailing sectors before they may be considered fully generalisable.

Retailers may apply the findings in their attempts to segment their target market, which enables them to allocate their marketing expenditures more effectively.

The study contributes to more “generalisable” knowledge by investigating marketwide scanner panel data about competitive purchasing, loyalty programmes and store locations.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the processes that occur between entrepreneurs’ primary attribution for failure and the emergent learning dimensions from failure, in the context of regenerative failures.

The study focusses on 21 entrepreneurs operating in the producing services sector, a major subsector of the Irish Information and Communication Technology industry. All the entrepreneurs experienced business failure and subsequently re-entered the entrepreneurial sphere at a later date. A qualitative approach examines their attributions for failure, responses to failure, and learning dimensions from failure.

Regenerative entrepreneurs’ primary attributions for business failure are examined in detail; four types of failure attributions are uncovered – internal individual level; external firm level; external market level; and hybrid attributions. Entrepreneurs’ attributions impact their responses to the failure; this in turn affects entrepreneurial learning. When failure is primarily attributed to internal factors, the entrepreneur’s response is affective, leading to deep, personal learning about oneself. External attributions (both firm level and market level) result in a primarily behavioural response, with learning focussed on the venture, and networks and relationships. Those primarily attributing failure to hybrid factors have a largely cognitive response and they learn about venture management.

This study is a retrospective analysis of business failure.

The study contributes to the growing literature on entrepreneurs’ attributions for business failure by focussing on regenerative failure; it links attributions to – responses to, and learning from, failure. The key contribution to knowledge emerges from the development of a model of the underlying processes affecting learning from failure for regenerative entrepreneurs. The research also establishes and identifies clear links between attributions, responses, and lessons learned in the context of regenerative failure.

The purpose of this article is to improve the use of evidence-based practice and research utilization in the offender profiling process. The use of offender profiling has been met with increasing resistance given its exaggerated accuracy. The “Investigative Journalist/Expert Field Micro Task Force” model, a collaborative method that incorporates offender profiling and is designed to address unresolved serial homicides, is introduced and evaluated alongside recommendations on attaining adherence.

The model was field tested in 17 instances. The measures used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to gauge the usefulness of their case consultations, whether their input helped catch the offender, offer new leads, move the case forward, provide new avenues or give new ideas, were used to evaluate the model.

The model established likely patterns of serial murder activity among strangulations of women in Chicago, Cleveland, and Panama and resulted in convictions of suspects in Louisiana and Kansas City. This model is valuable when used to parse modern-day offenders from those who committed unresolved homicides as the latter display different behaviors that can make investigations difficult endeavors. Results from the field tests mirror those from the literature in that profiling alone did not result in the capture of serial killers. Instead, profiling was used in conjunction with other efforts and mainly as a means to keep the investigation moving forward.

Unresolved homicides are at a point of crisis and represent a significant but largely unaddressed societal problem. The success of this model may compel law enforcement to restore faith in offender profiling.

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the effect of entrepreneurial competencies and the moderating effect of business environment on business success in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.

A sample of 212 Malaysian SME owner‐founders participated in this study. The structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure was used to test the proposed model.

The results showed that entrepreneurial competencies were strong predictors of business success in SMEs in Malaysia. It was also found that the association between entrepreneurial competencies and business success was more strongly evident in hostile and dynamic environments than in more benign and stable environments.

Self‐report was used as the source of all data. This approach, even though criticised by some, was deemed necessary because of difficulties associated with the independent assessment of each of these variables. Nevertheless, future studies should identify ways to obtain competency data from multiple informants to minimise the possibility of response bias.

It was suggested that understanding business success through the lens of entrepreneurial competencies is important because it provides entrepreneurs with knowledge about the way they should operate their business and encourages them to be conscious of the potential positive or negative impacts of their own behaviour.

The study shows that entrepreneurs are capable of minimising the negative impact of business environment if they are willing to equip themselves with the appropriate competencies.