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This study explored the tax evasion and corruption–economic development nexus in Ghana and the moderating role of institutional quality in this relationship.

To achieve this objective, this study employed the structural equation modelling (SEM) strategy and maximum likelihood (ML) estimation method on selected quarterised data from 1996 to 2020.

The study found that tax evasion has a positive impact on GDP per capita and urbanisation but a negative impact on the Economic Freedom of the World Index (EFWI). The study revealed that corruption has a positive relationship with GDP per capita but relates with EFWI inversely. Finally, the study found that institutional quality moderates the nexus between tax evasion and corruption and economic development.

The findings imply that the quality of state institutions has a significant impact on the government's ability to control tax evasion and corruption in order to drive economic development.

One novelty of the study is the examination of the combined effects of tax evasion and corruption as exogenous variables in a single econometric model. Again, to moderate the multivariate relationships of the study, the principal component analysis (PCA) was used to create an institutional quality index. The study recommends that policymakers implement comprehensive tax evasion and corruption reduction strategies simultaneously in order to increase tax revenues for economic development and SDGs achievement.

I aimed to obtain a deeper insight into the link between supplier involvement in product development (SIPD), supplier relationship resilience and company performance.

To collect data, a survey among 500 Polish manufacturing companies was conducted. I used quantitative methods (structural equation modeling) to test several research hypotheses referring to a single supplier–customer relationship. Thanks to the use of multi-construct measurement of SIPD and supplier relationship resilience, the study provides detailed research results on the topic.

Collaborative practices implemented during SIPD increase procurement flexibility and decrease redundancy in the relationship with the involved supplier. Communication during SIPD increases supplier flexibility and procurement flexibility. Increased supplier flexibility and increased procurement flexibility in the relationship with the involved supplier as well as collaborative practices during SIPD positively impact company performance. I confirmed the indirect effect between communication during SIPD and company performance when the mediators are supplier flexibility and procurement flexibility. Decreased redundancy in relationship with involved supplier does not impact company performance.

Supply chain managers need to rethink SIPD practice to effectively ensure supply chain resilience (SCRES), especially in the face of the contemporary global crisis and black swans affecting the supplier base. My article provides important managerial insights into drivers of SCRES and company performance.

To the best of my knowledge, this research is among the first to conclude that SIPD does not have an unequivocally positive or direct impact on supplier relationship resilience. The research fills the gap by analyzing the impact of SIPD on two main SCRES elements. The study examines supplier relationship resilience, understood as flexibility and redundancy elements, in a single supplier–buyer relationship perspective. Thus, the presented considerations go beyond the traditional understanding of flexibility and redundancy in supplier relationship management, that is through the prism of double or multi sourcing and having back up-suppliers.

As many businesses faced economic disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic and sought financial relief, existing bank relationships became critical to getting a loan. This study examines factors associated with the development of personal relationships of rural small businesses with community bank representatives.

We applied a mixed-method approach. We employed descriptive statistics, principal factor analysis and logistic regression for data analysis. We distributed an online survey to rural small businesses in five states in the United States. Key informant interviews with community bank representatives supplemented the survey results.

A business owner’s trust in a banker was positively associated with the establishment of a business–bank relationship. However, an analysis of individual trust’s components revealed that the nature of trust is complex, and a failure of one or more components may lead to decreased trustworthiness in a banker. Small businesses that preferred personal communication with a bank were more inclined to relationship banking.

Due to the relatively small sample size and cross-sectional data, our results may not be conclusive but should be viewed as preliminary and as suggestions for future research. Bankers should be aware of the importance of trust for small business owners and of the actions that lead to increased trustworthiness.

The study extends the existing knowledge on the business–bank relationship by focusing mainly on social (instead of economic) factors associated with the establishment of the business–bank relationship in times of crisis and high uncertainty.

Entrepreneurial support programs, like incubators and accelerators, often offer mentorship to new ventures. However, existing research on mentoring has mainly focused on the entrepreneur's perspective, leaving researchers with limited understanding of why experienced mentors provide support to new ventures. This study aimed to explore mentors' motives in mentor–venture relationships and their impact on the advisory process. It also examined different types of mentors (social and commercial) and their motivations for assisting and supporting new ventures.

The present study utilizes a qualitative research approach to investigate the motivations and mechanisms through which new venture mentors assist founders in their growth and success. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 mentors supporting both social and commercial ventures. These mentors were selected from ten accelerator and incubator programs situated in Belgium. The interviews aimed to gain insights into the mentors' motivations and their experiences in the role of mentors.

Based on the social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity, this study identified two main motives of mentors: “gaining back” reflecting mentors’ self-interest in deriving benefits from the relationship and “paying back” representing their altruistic reasons for supporting new ventures. Additionally, the study identified mentor functions that primarily involved providing career-related support to new ventures. Moreover, the research revealed intriguing similarities and differences in the motivations and mentoring functions between mentors of social and commercial ventures.

Future research should explore the evaluation process and criteria used by mentors and new ventures when selecting each other for a productive mentoring relationship. Additionally, further investigation is needed to examine the firm-level impact of various mentoring services on the performance of social and commercial new ventures at different stages of development. Comparing mentor motives and functions across diverse geographical settings would address the limitation of the study and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

The findings of the study can inform policymakers, accelerator and incubator program managers and new ventures seeking mentors and support initiatives. They can use the insights to design effective mentoring programs that align with the specific needs and motivations of mentors and new ventures. Understanding the different motives and functions of mentors can help in the selection of appropriate mentors who can provide the necessary support and expertise to new ventures.

The study highlights the importance of mentorship in the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Accelerator and incubator programs play a crucial role in connecting new ventures with mentors who have the right motivation and expertise, contributing to the growth and success of new ventures and the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem. By identifying both altruistic and self-interest motivations in mentoring relationships, the study emphasizes the dual dimensions that characterize the mentor–venture relationship. This understanding can foster stronger collaborations and reciprocal exchanges between mentors and new ventures, ultimately benefiting both parties.

This research contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by exploring the mentor–new venture relationship from mentors' perspective. It expands the existing research on mentor–protégé relationships, broadening the understanding of mentoring dynamics in different organizational settings. The findings offer insights grounded in social exchange theory and provide directions for future research on mentor–venture relationships, resource exchange and relationship development. The study also holds practical implications for policymakers and program managers involved in fostering mentoring initiatives for new ventures.

We examine the relationships between clients’ level of coaching readiness and trust in their executive coach and increases to both personal learning improved work performance. Distance relationships, the setting for this study, epitomize the norms of the New World of Work (NWoW), but also provide particular challenges for building trust and recognizing similarities between client and coach.

This study investigates distance coaching relationships in matched-pairs, longitudinal investigation of formal executive coaching.

Results support the proposed moderated mediation path. Findings reveal that both coaches’ perceptions of client readiness for coaching and client trust in coach each predict both client personal skill development and performance improvement.

While important toward gaining a better understanding of the relational functioning of distance coaching relationships, inclusion of only distance relationships may truncate the generalizability of our findings.

The study’s findings have practical implications for organizations that invest in executive coaching with regard to the importance of evaluating the candidates' readiness for coaching before the assignment, trust-building throughout distance coaching relationships and perceptions of similarity on client coaching outcomes.

Distance relationships, the setting for this study, provide particular challenges for building trust and recognizing similarities between client and coach and the current investigation points to the relevance of these relational mechanisms to client outcomes. In so doing, this study explores how perceptions of deep-level similarity between a coach and client may serve as moderators of these relationships.

Some African policymakers have turned their attention towards electronic transaction levy (e-levy) to maximise tax revenues in recent years due to the inability to meet revenue targets. However, some argue that the implementation of an e-levy will increase the tax burden (TB) and the currency outside banks (COB). Primarily, this paper examined the effects of the TB and COB on economic development as well as the impact of institutional quality on moderating the nexus.

This paper used structural equation modelling (SEM) and maximum likelihood (ML) estimation techniques on quarterised data from 1996 to 2020.

The results show that the TB negatively impacts gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and urbanisation but positively affects the Economic Freedom of the World Index (EFWI). The COB impacts EFWI, GDP per capita and urbanisation positively. Institutional quality moderates the TB and the COB, establishing positive relationships with the economic development indicators.

The findings strongly imply that the arguments that TB and COB are catalysts for tax evasion and corruption lack substantial empirical evidence.

The examination of the econometric impact of the COB on economic development is one of the first studies in the field. The paper recommends that to drive economic development and accelerate sustainable development goals (SDGs) achievement, tax revenues should be channelled into the productive sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

The study aims to find out the impact of financial inclusion and financial development on financial stability using panel data from eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

To achieve the aim of the study, the researcher prepared two indicators of financial inclusion and governance to find out the impact of financial development on the relationship between financial inclusion and financial stability. Data on financial inclusion was obtained from the International Monetary Fund, data on financial development and financial stability were obtained from the World Bank.

The results of the fixed and random effect methods show that financial inclusion has a significant positive effect on financial stability. Additionally, financial development represents a moderating variable in the significant positive effect on the relationship between financial inclusion and stability in the MENA countries.

The current study suffers from some limitations that researchers must be aware of in future research. First, there is an inability to determine qualitative aspects such as time and cost when designing a composite indicator of financial inclusion. Second, due to limited data, we used only eight countries from the MENA. It is suggested to expand the sample to include other countries.

This paper contributes to the related literature between financial inclusion and financial stability by confirming or denying the results of previous studies. Also, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the only one that explains the role of financial development in the relationship between financial inclusion and stability in MENA countries, using a composite index to calculate financial inclusion. Finally, the study seeks to focus the attention of the government and policymakers to build a system of financial inclusion that leads to improving financial stability.

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the cause–effect relationships between workplace friendship and knowledge-sharing behavior, from a static perspective. Furthermore, it investigates the bi-directional relationship between the increase in both workplace friendship and knowledge-sharing behavior over same time periods, and also endeavors to identify whether there is a significant negative lagged effect of the increase in both workplace friendship on knowledge-sharing behavior, and vice versa, across time from a dynamic perspective.

The study conducts a three-wave questionnaire survey to test the research model. A latent change score approach was used to test the direct relationship between changes in workplace friendship and changes in knowledge-sharing behavior.

The findings reveal that knowledge-sharing behavior fosters workplace friendship and workplace friendship promotes the emergence of knowledge-sharing behavior. An increase in workplace friendship promotes an increase in knowledge-sharing behavior over same time periods. However, an increase in workplace friendship will lead to a lagged decrease of knowledge-sharing behavior across time, and vice versa.

The time interval in this study is a little short to capture the full changes in workplace friendship. Some important control factors and mediating mechanisms are not included in the research model.

This study guides managers to focus on various motivators to better strengthen workplace friendship and knowledge-sharing behavior and to consider and effectively respond to the negative side of workplace friendship and knowledge-sharing behavior across time.

This study emphasizes the predictivity of one important interaction patterns, namely, knowledge-sharing behavior on friendship at the workplace, from a static perspective. This study also shows the benefits of an increase in workplace friendship for the development of knowledge-sharing behavior in the same time period. Furthermore, the study presents a counterintuitive finding when taking the lag effect into consideration in exploring the relationship between changes both in workplace friendship and knowledge-sharing behavior, and identifies a negative side of both when viewed over longer periods.

Influenced by factors such as fluctuations in market supply and demand and the rapid development of new technologies, manufacturing companies are facing greater challenges to transform and upgrade. The existing relevant studies about sustainable innovation capabilities mostly focus on classification of innovation or from a static resource-based view and less on quantitative measurement from a dynamic perspective and inter-organizational relationships. This paper takes a dynamic capabilities and social capital theory, explore the concept and dimensions of sustainable innovation capabilities and then makes development of a new scale.

This paper uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to develop a measure of sustainable innovation capabilities in two studies. Grounded theory methodology is used to explore the concept definition and dimensions of sustainable innovation capabilities. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis are conducted to refine and validate the factor structure, and then the authors developed the sustainable innovation capabilities scale.

The results show that sustainable innovation capabilities composed of ideation capabilities, opportunity capture capabilities, agile learning, creative inheritance and networking capabilities. The sustainable innovation capabilities that firms should possess are reflected at the firm level and inter-organizational relationship level, and the culture-specific dimension of creative inheritance reflects the influence of national and organizational culture.

The research reveals the internal driving force of the manufacturer's sustainable innovation capabilities, as well as the role and uniqueness embodied in the specific culture, providing a new perspective for improving the manufacturer's sustainable innovation capabilities.

With rapid urbanization, cities are facing various ecological and environmental problems. Living in harmony with nature is more important than ever. This paper aims to evaluate the ecosystem and ecological features of Azheke village, a key component of the Hani Rice Terraces World Cultural Heritage in China. The focus is on exploring effective ways to improve the relationship between humans and the natural environment through urban design in order to create a livable and sustainable city that can promote the development of sustainable smart urban ecology design.

This study conducted a systematic literature review to answer the following research questions: (1) How does Azheke design achieve harmony between humans and nature? (2) What are the effective approaches to improve the relationship between humans and nature within urban ecosystems? (3) How can urban design learn and integrate from Azheke’s ecological features to improve the relationship between humans and nature?

Azheke sustains long-term human-nature harmony through traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and efficient natural resource use. By incorporating biophilic design and nature-based solutions from Azheke, along with biodiversity-friendly urban planning, we can boost urban ecosystem health and create unique Azheke-inspired urban designs.

This research primarily focuses on the human-nature relationship, exploring design strategies based on biodiversity without delving into the interactions between other components of urban ecosystems, such as social-cultural and economic components.

This paper provides a new perspective and strategies for developing sustainable and smart urban ecology design. These findings can provide theoretical references for urban planners, designers and decision-makers.