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The lean startup approach (LSA) is extensively utilized by early-stage entrepreneurs, with “pivot” serving as a key pillar. However, there is a research gap concerning the boundary conditions impacting LSA and pivot decisions, especially when addressing societal challenges, as in the context of transformational entrepreneurship. In this regard, the healthcare sector, further compounded by a lack of research on startups and scale-ups, presents an embraced opportunity to provide multiple contributions for both theory and practice.

The present investigation employs a grounded approach to explore the experiences of the co-founders of a fast-growing Italian e-health startup. A narrative strategy was employed to organize conditions and evolving strategic action/interactions into three different pivoting phases of the startup – before the pivot, its enactment and aftermath – with primary and secondary data collected over a period of one year.

Pivoting in digital healthcare unfolded as a liminal experience marked by factors such as high regulation, multiple stakeholders, technological and symbolic ambivalence, resource-intensive demands and institutional actors acting as pathway pioneers, leading to an information overload and unforeseeable uncertainty to manage. These factors challenge entrepreneurs' ability to attain optimal distinctiveness, presenting the paradoxical need for vertical flexibility for scaling up.

By uniquely illuminating the sector’s constraints on entrepreneurial phenomena, this study provides a valuable guide for entrepreneurs and institutional actors in addressing societal challenges.

This study introduces a process model of transformational information crafting when pivoting, highlighting the role of entrepreneurs' transformational stance and platform-mediated solutions as engines behind strategies involving information breaking and transition, preceding knowledge-driven integration strategies.

Research done to date has produced a wide range of perspectives that center on the junction between the specific function and responsibility of the entrepreneur when applying ethical dimensions to the field of entrepreneurship. By combining a bibliometric analysis with the literature review, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of entrepreneurship ethics and its contribution to sustainable development goals, along with future research directions on the topic of entrepreneurship and ethics.

The research looked for literature based on entrepreneurship ethics from the Dimension database. The authors accumulated 2,279 articles for the period of 2002–2022 for analysis. The authors used bibliometric analysis for analyzing the topic with the use of VosViewer and Excel.

By combining a bibliometric analysis with a literature review, this study aimed to provide an overview of the ethics and entrepreneurship and contribution to sustainable development goals. The most influential author and journal are Vanessa Ratten and the Journal of Business Ethics, respectively. The top sustainable development goals (SDGs) being contributed by entrepreneurship ethics are SDG4, SDG8, SDG16, SDG11 and SDG3. By contrasting these two interpretations, the authors have demonstrated that the entrepreneurship environment involves various ethical issues connected to personal, organizational and societal sectors.

The current study may serve as a general guideline for future investigation into this topic.

Regarding the practical ramifications, the findings can help entrepreneurs who are preparing to launch a business or are already doing so. The findings provide a comprehensive framework of success variables that must be considered to improve the venture’s performance.

This study’s originality is from presenting a structured and in-depth literature review that describes the current state of entrepreneurship ethics and its contribution to sustainable development goals. A complete analysis of the data gathered on entrepreneurship ethics is offered to establish that it is sustainable.

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0 for small and medium size of enterprise in Japan and Brazil.

The authors conducted a quantitative survey (20 companies in Japan and 30 companies in Brazil) combined with a qualitative interview (2 companies in Japan and 15 companies in Brazil).

According to the quantitative study, 90% of them practice Lean manufacturing and 40% of them practice Industry 4.0. In the qualitative study in Brazil, four managers responded that the Lean manufacturing is a prerequisite for Industry 4.0 since any production process with waste cannot be productive, even with sophisticated digitalization technology.

The authors explored further the relationship between “defensive Digital Transformation (DX),” which is based mainly on Lean manufacturing, and “offensive DX,” which relates to customer value creation through Industry 4.0. This study clarifies the relationship and plays as a roadmap to develop better the manufacturing from current status to the vision of Industry 4.0.

This study aims to examine the resilience of Peruvian startups during the COVID-19 pandemic using a framework proposed by Lengnick-Hall et al. (2011), in which resilience impacts organizational strengthening. The goal is to identify those characteristics that allowed certain startups to discover growth opportunities amid this crisis.

This study analyzed human, social and entrepreneurial capital variables in Peruvian startups using data from a survey conducted in July 2020. Binary logistic regression was used to determine which organizational resources increased the probability of identifying growth opportunities during the pandemic.

The findings suggest that human capabilities become secondary in extreme crises such as pandemics. Critical factors for startup resilience include commercial partnerships with established firms, founders’ capital investment, business maturity and adoption of advanced digital technologies.

This research provides unique insights into startup resilience and growth in Peru during the COVID-19 crisis. The authors observed that business growth during this period was largely unpredictable, with less emphasis on human capabilities. The study highlights the importance of external factors in resilience, the role of collaboration between established firms, the integration of advanced digital technologies and the influence of founders’ investments and business maturity in navigating difficult times.

Este estudio examina la resiliencia de las startups peruanas durante la pandemia de COVID-19 utilizando un marco propuesto por Lengnick-Hall et al. (2011), en el que la resiliencia tiene un efecto en el fortalecimiento de las organizaciones. Su objetivo es identificar las características que permitieron a ciertas startups descubrir oportunidades de crecimiento en medio de esta crisis.

Analizamos variables de capital humano, social y empresarial en startups peruanas utilizando datos de una encuesta realizada en julio de 2020. Se utilizó regresión logística binaria para determinar qué recursos organizativos incrementaban la probabilidad de identificar oportunidades de crecimiento durante la pandemia.

Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que las capacidades humanas pasan a un segundo plano en crisis extremas como las pandemias. Los factores críticos para la resiliencia de las startups incluyen las asociaciones comerciales con empresas establecidas, la inversión de capital de los fundadores, la madurez empresarial y la adopción de tecnologías digitales avanzadas.

Esta investigación proporciona una visión única sobre la resiliencia y el crecimiento de las startups en Perú durante la crisis COVID-19. Observamos que el crecimiento empresarial durante este período fue en gran medida impredecible, con menos énfasis en las capacidades humanas. El estudio subraya la importancia de los factores externos en la resiliencia, el papel de la colaboración con las empresas establecidas, la integración de tecnologías digitales avanzadas, la influencia de las inversiones de los fundadores y la madurez empresarial para navegar en tiempos difíciles.

Este estudo examina a resiliência das startups peruanas durante a pandemia da COVID-19 usando uma abordagem proposta por Lengnick-Hall et al. (2011), na qual a resiliência tem um efeito fortalecedor nas organizações. Seu objetivo é identificar as características que permitiram que determinadas startups descobrissem oportunidades de crescimento em meio a essa crise.

Analisamos variáveis de capital humano, social e empresarial em start-ups peruanas usando dados de uma pesquisa realizada em julho de 2020. A regressão logística binária foi usada para determinar quais recursos organizacionais aumentaram a probabilidade de identificar oportunidades de crescimento durante a pandemia.

Nossas análises sugerem que as capacidades humanas se tornam secundárias em crises extremas, como as pandemias. Os fatores essenciais para a resiliência das startups incluem parcerias comerciais com empresas estabelecidas, investimento de capital dos fundadores, maturidade dos negócios e adoção de tecnologias digitais avançadas.

Esta pesquisa fornece informações exclusivas sobre a resiliência e o crescimento de startups no Peru durante a crise da COVID-19. Observamos que o crescimento das empresas durante esse período foi amplamente imprevisível, com menos ênfase nas capacidades humanas. O estudo destaca a importância de fatores externos na resiliência, o papel da colaboração com empresas estabelecidas, a integração de tecnologias digitais avançadas e a influência dos investimentos dos fundadores e da maturidade dos negócios na superação de tempos difíceis.

The primary objective of this article is to examine current procurement, inventory control and management practices in modern healthcare, with a particular focus on the procurement and management of surgical supplies in a prominent public, highly specialized healthcare sector.

This study was conducted in three phases. In Phase 1, the study team interacted with various hospital management stakeholders, including the surgical hospital store, examined the current procurement process and identified challenges. Phase 2 focused on selecting items for a detailed study and collected the qualitative and quantitative details of the store department of the healthcare sector chosen. A detailed study analyzed revenue, output/demand, inventory levels, etc. In Phase 3, a decision-making framework is proposed, and inventory control systems are redesigned and demonstrated for the selected items.

It was observed that the demand for many surgical items had increased significantly over the years due to an increase in disposable/disposable items, while inventories fluctuated widely. Maximum inventory levels varied between 50 and 75%. Storage and availability were important issues for the hospital. It is assumed the hospital adopts the proposed inventory control system. In this case, the benefits can be a saving of 62% of the maximum inventory, 20% of the average stock in the system and optimal use of storage space, improving the performance and productivity of the hospital.

This study can help the healthcare sector administration to develop better systems for the procurement and delivery of common surgical items and efficient resource allocation. It can help provide adequate training to store staff. This study can help improve management/procurement policies, ordering and delivery systems, better service levels, and inventory control of items in the hospital business context. This study can serve as a pilot study to further investigate the overall hospital operations.

This study can help the healthcare sector administration develop better systems for procuring and delivering common surgical items and efficient resource allocation. It can help provide adequate training to store staff. This study can help improve management/procurement policies, ordering and delivery systems, better service levels and inventory control of items in the hospital business context. This study can serve as a pilot study to further investigate the overall hospital operations.

This study is an early attempt to develop a decision framework and inventory control system from the perspective of healthcare inventory management. The gaps identified in real hospital scenarios are investigated, and theoretically based-inventory management strategies are applied and proposed.

This study aims to examine the impact of Lean 4.0 practices on value co-creation in the dairy ecosystem.

Data collection were carried out through a questionary application with 126 professionals linked to the dairy ecosystem, including milk producers, milk cooperatives and milk transporters. The data were analyzed using Cluster Analysis, Mann-Whitney test and Chi-Square test.

A strong relation was found between the use of Lean 4.0 tools and the increase in operational performance, in addition to milk quality. Moreover, it can be noted that the use of digital technologies from Industry 4.0 has a strong relation with dairy production optimization, in other words, it is possible to be more efficient in the dairy process via Lean 4.0 adoption.

The study is limited to analyzing the Brazilian dairy ecosystem. The results presented may not reflect the characteristics of the other countries.

Once the potential empirical impacts of the relation between Lean 4.0 and value co-creation are elucidated, it is possible to direct strategies for decision-making and guide efforts by researchers and professionals to deal with the waste mitigation present in the dairy sector.

Lean 4.0 proves to be a potential solution to improve the operational performance of the dairy production system. Lean 4.0, linked to value co-creation, allows the integration of the production sector with consumers, through smart technologies, so new services and experiences can be provided to the consumer market. Additionally, the consumer experience can be stimulated based on Lean 4.0, once the quality specification is highlighted based on data science and smart management control.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the interrelationship between the Lean 4.0 philosophy and the value co-creation in the dairy ecosystem. In this sense, the study reveals the main contributions of this interrelation to the dairy sector via value co-creation, which demonstrates a new perspective on the complementarity of resources, elimination of process losses and new experiences for the user through digital technologies integrated with the Lean Thinking approach.

This study aims to identify the interfaces between Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and circular supply chains (CSC) in Brazilian foodtechs, focusing on key stakeholders’ perspectives to understand the efficiency and sustainability impacts of these integrations.

Using a qualitative exploratory research design, the study analyzes eight Brazilian foodtechs through interviews and content analysis. It identifies CSC practices and examines the adherence of I4.0 technologies within these enterprises, assessing stakeholder engagement and the implications for CSC optimization.

Fifteen CSC practices were identified across the foodtechs, with notable integration of three distinct I4.0 technologies. The findings suggest that while I4.0 technologies enhance efficiency in CSC, their adoption is in early stages. Stakeholder engagement emerges as a crucial element for optimizing CSC in the context of Brazilian foodtechs.

This study contributes to the academic discussion on the synergy between I4.0 and circular economy (CE) models, providing empirical evidence of their application in the foodtech sector and highlighting the role of stakeholders in facilitating these integrations.

The findings suggest that stakeholder engagement in circular practices is vital for both supply chain and organizational levels, with potential benefits including improved efficiency and sustainability outcomes. The research also underscores the need for public sector support, including regulatory frameworks and incentives for adopting I4.0 technologies.

By demonstrating how I4.0 technologies can support CE practices in foodtechs, the study highlights the potential for these integrations to contribute to more sustainable and efficient food systems, addressing environmental concerns and promoting social well-being.

This study addresses a gap in the literature by exploring the interface between I4.0 technologies and CSC in the emerging context of Brazilian foodtechs, offering insights into the practical and societal benefits of these integrations.

This study aims to delve into the lived experiences, challenges and visions of women entrepreneurs in Jordan, placing a magnifying glass on those spearheading or co-pioneering start-ups. It aims to understand the myriad factors that influence their entrepreneurial journey, from motivation to the future of their niche.

Adopting a qualitative lens, this study is anchored in semi-structured interviews encompassing 20 Jordanian women entrepreneurs. Following this, thematic analysis was deployed to dissect and categorize the garnered insights into ten salient themes.

The study reveals that personal experiences and challenges are pivotal in directing these women towards niche markets, aligning with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Tools such as digital instruments, customer feedback and innovative strategies like storytelling and augmented reality are integral to their entrepreneurial success, resonating with the resource-based view (RBV). Additionally, challenges like cultural barriers and infrastructural limitations are navigated through adaptive strategies, reflecting the resilience inherent in these entrepreneurs. Networking, mentorship, embracing technological advancements and implementing sustainable practices are highlighted as crucial elements underpinned by the social identity theory (SIT).

Contrary to the extant body of research, this study provides new insights into the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Jordan, highlighting the practical relevance of theories like TPB, RBV and SIT for both policymakers and the start-up community in niche markets.

The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature regarding the open innovation management approaches that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can use to access digital technologies and incorporate them into their organizational processes. The research question is: What organizational and process-level managerial actions do SMEs take to successfully access and implement digital technologies within their organizational processes?

Using Guertler et al.'s (2020) Action Innovation Management Research (AIM-R) framework, this study examines the digital transformation experiences of 10 European SMEs to gain insights into the managerial actions that foster successful digital transformation.

The findings of the paper reveal two major contributions. First, a digital transformation roadmap for SMEs is proposed, with a focus on accessing external resources and reconfiguring internal ones to ease their digital transformation journey. Second, three distinct paradoxes that influence the digital transformation process in SMEs are highlighted, providing useful insights into the challenges and tensions SMEs face during this journey.

This paper provides a unique perspective on the digital transformation of SMEs by examining the managerial actions required for successful technology adoption and revealing the paradoxes that may emerge during this transformative process. The findings form the basis for future research, deepening our understanding of digital transformation in SMEs and providing actionable advice to managers and practitioners navigating this journey.

The purpose of this study is to identify organisational homeostasis factors in the context of healthcare organisations and to develop a conceptual model for green transformation.

The organisational homeostasis factors were determined by review of literature study and the opinions of healthcare experts. Scheduled interviews and closed-ended questionnaires are employed to collect data for this research. This study employed “TISM methodology” and “MICMAC analysis” to better comprehend how the components interact with one another and prioritise them based on their driving and dependence power.

This study identified 10 factors of organisational homeostasis in healthcare organisation. Recognition of interdependence, hormesis, strategic coalignment, consciousness on dependence of healthcare resources and cybernetic principle of regulations are the driving or key factors of this study.

The study's primary focus was on the organisational homeostasis factors in healthcare organisations. The methodological approach and structural model are used in a healthcare organisation; in the future, these approaches can be applied to other industries as well.

The key drivers of organisational homeostasis and the identified factors will be better comprehended and understood by academic and important stakeholders in healthcare organisations. Prioritizing the factors helps the policymakers to comprehend the organisational homeostasis for green transformation in healthcare.

In this study, the TISM and MICMAC analysis for healthcare is proposed as an innovative approach to address the organisational homeostasis concept in the context of green transformation in healthcare organisations.