bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding the interplay between support agencies and small and medium-sized enterprises in a conflict environment from an institutional theory perspective
Authors: Nisar Khattak Mohammad , Muhammad Noor , Robinson David
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study determines the relationship between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their support providers during three phases: pre-conflict environment, during conflict environment, and the post-conflict (uncertain) environment with the reference to institutional theory in the northwest region of Pakistan where there is ongoing unrest between the authorities and the insurgents.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a qualitative approach, a total of 23 semi-structured interviews were conducted, 19 with the owner-managers of small manufacturing firms and 4 from small business support providers in the region.

Findings

The authors theorise the changing role of support agencies as differing institutional gaps, while conflict is destructive for SMEs and support agencies; paradoxically the crisis results in stronger relationships between the support providers and SMEs which was weaker in the pre-conflict environment. Such stronger relationship enhanced the cognitive pillar of institutional theory where entrepreneurship is supported by various groups including government agencies and SMEs to alleviate unemployment in the region which is one of the potential reasons of terrorism in the country.

Practical implications

The study may have value for policymakers who need to know more about how small businesses and support providers develop a support network in difficult regions and give a comprehensive framework to other conflictual regions who face similar circumstances.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the previous literature in several ways. First, the study reveals the impact of conflict environment on small businesses and support providers where a little research has been undertaken. Second, the study shows the support mechanism in three different intervals pre-conflict, during the conflict and post-conflict and how the Talibanization in the region has a positive impact by strengthening the support structure among small businesses and support providers. Finally, the study contributes to the growing body of literature on entrepreneurship in conflict environments.
The effect of CEO and director experience on acquisition performance: a pitch
Authors: Jeganathan Davina
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the application of Faff’s (2015, 2019) pitch template to a research proposal examining independent directors’ acquisition experience and their subsequent acquisition performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The author briefly discusses the use of Faff’s (2015, 2019) pitch template and describes their personal reflections on the pitch exercise.

Findings

The findings indicate that there are many benefits to using the template, and the author provides reflections based on their experience with the template.

Originality/value

This pitching research letter documents the benefits of using such a tool to inspire and identify future research opportunities and records the author’s experience of communicating with researchers who regularly publish in top-tier accounting and finance journals.
Bridging the gaps for business growth among Indian construction companies
Authors: Bhattacharya Sanjay , Momaya Kirankumar S. , Iyer K.C.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Successful handling and delivery of projects requires commensurate growth in the business capabilities of construction companies. The current scenario of exponential infrastructure boom in India necessitates scaling up to meet the challenges of competitiveness. The objectives of this study are to (1) identify the enablers of sustainable business growth among Indian construction companies, (2) identify gaps in the deployment of the enablers in comparison to competitive successful international construction companies and (3) suggest strategic initiatives to top management of companies and policymakers for promoting business growth and industry competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

A detailed literature review first identifies an adapted framework for enablers of growth and growth performance of successful international construction companies on basis of industry trends. Thereafter, a questionnaire survey was administered on the leading construction companies in India to assess the deployment of enablers and gaps thereof. A total of 108 valid responses were obtained from top management executives of the companies and analysed through descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing.

Findings

Studies indicate that anticipation of new demands and capabilities; business opportunity scanning and human resource skills and capabilities are among the most important enablers of growth. The role of leadership vision and focus on development of human resources is critical to competitiveness and growth. The successful international construction companies have delivered growth utilising their ability to deploy multiple strategies, diversification and new business opportunities. These are sparingly deployed by Indian companies.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to the opinion and perceptions of the top management personnel of the construction companies.

Practical implications

High economic growth context offers a unique opportunity for domestic Indian construction companies to leverage. The valuable insights gained from this study provide hints to the top management of these companies to draw managerial implications for facing the challenges ahead and delivering projects in the dynamic and hyper-competitive construction industry. The policymakers on their part are responsible to support and promote initiatives for sustainable growth.

Originality/value

The study suggests business growth enablers to construction companies in India to improve their international competitiveness.
The role of intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of honey for Italian millennial consumers
Authors: Blanc Simone , Zanchini Raffaele , Di Vita Giuseppe , Brun Filippo
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the importance that different intrinsic and extrinsic attributes represent for young Italian consumers of honey, analysing how these aspects influence the quality perceived during consumption. In addition, demographic and lifestyle aspects have been considered as possible discriminants influencing millennial generation honey consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed a non-parametric rank-based test (Mann–WhitneyUtest) to analyse which attributes millennials value most, relating these to gender, sports activity or rural and urban origin. Then, to identify consumption patterns, principal component analysis, applying Kaiser normalisation and varimax rotation, was used.

Findings

This study confirms the remarkable sensitivity of the millennials towards environmental sustainability aspects. This attribute of choice seems particularly important for a clearly identifiable segment of the sample examined, represented by women who regularly practice sports and who come from urban areas. This result makes it possible to identify a type of consumer who, from early adulthood, is mindful of their lifestyle and ecological footprint. Moreover, it emerges that the most important attributes during purchasing are those related to label information, local product and origin, highlighting the awareness of young people and their maturity in the consumption of agro-food products.

Originality/value

The authors identified a trend in consumption that diverges from the classic patterns based on brand and the intrinsic characteristics of honey, but which forges new pathways more closely intertwined with the aspects of sustainability and the relationship with the territory, in addition to food safety.
Extending the memorable tourism experience model: a study of coffee tourism in Vietnam
Authors: Chen Li-Hsin , Wang Mei-Jung Sebrina , Morrison Alastair M.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Despite the increasing recognition of coffee tourism, there is limited research on the influence of memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) on coffee tourist behaviours. This investigation attempted to fill the gap in extending the MTE model by integrating travel motivations and expectation–confirmation theory (ECT).

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-method approach was employed. A survey questionnaire containing closed- and open-ended questions was used to obtain quantitative and qualitative information. Interviews with coffee shop owners were also conducted to obtain greater insight.

Findings

Both the quantitative and qualitative findings confirmed that coffee tourists’ revisit and word-of-mouth intentions were strongly influenced by satisfaction and MTEs, which were predicted by confirmation of expectations (CoEs) and travel motivations.

Research limitations/implications

The findings confirmed that travel motivation is one of the most important precursors of MTEs. CoE was also determined to be a precursor of MTEs. MTEs had positive influences on satisfaction, word of mouth (WoM) and revisit intentions.

Practical implications

The results offer insights by identifying vital factors linked to coffee tourist experiences and satisfaction, which will aid practitioners developing better marketing strategies.

Originality/value

The memorable tourism experience scale has rarely been applied in food tourism and particularly in relation to coffee consumption. Moreover, this research is unique in investigating the relationships among motivations, CoE, MTEs, satisfaction and WoM and revisit intentions.
Food poverty contributors: individual, structural or political? Examining stakeholder perspectives using interviews and nominal group technique
Authors: Beacom Emma , Furey Sinéad , Hollywood Lynsey Elizabeth , Humphreys Paul
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Data were collected from a range of stakeholders in Northern Ireland including consumer representatives, policy makers and public health representatives. Data collection occurred in two phases: firstly via in-depth interviews (n = 19), and secondly via roundtables (n = 4) with stakeholders (n = 36) using nominal group technique.

Design/methodology/approach

Food poverty has been identified as a significant societal and public health problem in the UK, evidenced in part by published statistics on the prevalence of food poverty, and the well-documented increase in the uptake of food bank provision. This paper presents various theoretical perspectives regarding the aetiology of (food) poverty, followed by stakeholders' opinions on the contributors to food poverty and consideration of how these align with various theoretical perspectives.

Findings

Various individual, structural and political factors were identified by stakeholders as contributors to food poverty, with income largely agreed to be the most significant contributor. Two themes of contributors were identified during analysis: micro-level and individual-level contributors and macro-level and economic-level contributors. Structural factors were most commonly cited as contributors to food poverty during both stakeholder interviews and stakeholder roundtables, followed by individual factors and political factors.

Practical implications

Understanding the contributors to food poverty can inform targeted policy action.

Originality/value

There is a lack of theoretical and conceptual literature regarding the causes of food poverty, and there has to date been limited research on the contributors to food poverty in Northern Ireland/the United Kingdom.
Assessment of risks associated with third-party logistics in restaurant supply chain
Authors: Shanker Saket , Sharma Hritika , Barve Akhilesh
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The restaurant network is reforming rapidly due to the advancements encountered so far in the restaurant–third party logistics (3PL) collaborations. These collaborations resulting from a strategical partnership between the restaurant and the 3PLs play a significant role in getting a good handle on the web, logistics activities, online business and many more services. Despite the collaborations, 3PL in the restaurant supply chain is associated with many risks that may hamper the supply chain's profitability. In this study, several risks related to 3PL are investigated and analysed.

Design/methodology/approach

Deciding the relative importance of different risks is an intricate errand. The predominance of one risk over the others changes from individual to individual and ?rm to ?rm. Therefore, to catch the changeability in choice, the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is an extremely valuable tool used in this research. In addition to this, fuzzy AHP is incorporated with fuzzy TOPSIS for preference ranking of 3PL risks in the restaurant supply chain and obtain risk index value, which provides an excellent approach to rank the risks. Furthermore, we performed a sensitivity analysis to analyse the stability of the results obtained in this study.

Findings

Results indicate that “macro-level risks” (i.e. the risks associated with 3PL in the restaurant supply chain due to political agitation in the district, cataclysmic events, ailments like COVID-19, bird influenza, etc.) is the most relevant first-level risk with high-risk index as well as high relative weight. As per the analysis of second-level risks, the occurrence of cataclysmic events holds the most elevated risk index value.

Practical implications

This research provides the restaurant industry and the 3PL with a generalized framework with set parameters that can be used to attain a successful 3PL in the restaurant supply chain of any developing nation.

Originality/value

This research proposes an evaluation framework for the risk assessment of third-party logistics in the restaurant supply chain. This paper explores risks for efficient implementation of 3PL in the restaurant supply chain. From a managerial perspective, the rank table is also provided with the goal that mitigation of the risks can be done quickly.
CEO pay sensitivities in innovative firms
Authors: Iyengar Raghavan J. , Sundararajan Malavika
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate whether compensation committees provide the chief executive officers (CEOs) with incentives to undertake “income-decreasing” but potentially “value-enhancing” innovation expenditures. The authors specifically analyze pay–performance relationships for innovative firms relative to all other firms. This study is critical because innovation is expensive and has uncertain outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Using alternative accounting performance measures and market performance measures, the authors estimate an econometric model of CEO compensation in innovative firms that incorporates the interaction of endogenous innovation and firm performance.

Findings

The authors document an incremental positive association between changes in accounting performance measures and CEO compensation changes in innovative firms relative to other firms. This sensitivity of executive pay to firm performance is higher for firms that innovate. These results support the hypothesis that compensation committees provide incentives to carry out risky innovation by tying executive compensation more closely to firm performance. This finding survives a battery of sensitivity tests.

Practical implications

The implications of this study are significant. Capital needs to support risky research and development investments (Tidd and Besant, 2018; Baldwin and Johnson, 1995) form the basis of innovative firms' operations. Considering these expenses, if CEOs, who play a critical role in the scanning, adapting and implementing innovative needs in a firm, are not protected and compensated for making risky choices, the entire investment itself will be threatened. Hence, the findings reiterate and support earlier findings that speak to the importance of compensating CEOs to make high-risk investments that will lead to long-term economic and financial gains for the firm when the innovative behaviors result in competitive market shares and profits.

Originality/value

The original work is related to the investigation of pay–performance sensitivity in the presence of innovation, which has not been fully investigated in prior literature.
Organizational power embodied in hand and finger touchlines
Authors: Creed Andrew , Zutshi Ambika , Johnson Russell
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a nuanced interpretative frame that can help global managers with recommendations to avoid misapplied power with group and organizational situations.

Design/methodology/approach

Embodied metaphor is applied in analysis of the theory-praxis nexus to reconceive the bases, processes and resources associated with group and organizational power. Identified are patterns of relations in organizational bases and circuits of power, as expressed through literal and symbolic aspects of human hands and fingers. The paper does not revolve around gesticulations; instead focusing upon a novel, meta-cultural development of touchlines of the human hand, revealing conceptual relationships with the implementation of influence.

Findings

A differentiated understanding of the touchline powers of technology, information, self-awareness, relation to others and access to money can respectively improve decisions and actions. Insights are provided in the areas of controlling people to achieve objectives, demeaning others, managing change and resistance for personal gain, negotiating contracts, advancing personal interests and coordinating reward or punishment.

Research limitations/implications

Choosing one metaphor may contribute to the exclusion of other perspectives, however, the embodied nature of the hand and touchlines tends to cross cultures and may assist further research to address the embedded nature of abuses of organizational power.

Originality/value

The contribution is in the theory-praxis nexus to assist global managers in addressing the risk of potential misuse of power and influence in organizations and to respond to calls for ancient indigenous epistemological systems to assume a role in contemporary management studies.
Women on top: the career development journey of Filipina business executives in the Philippines
Authors: Osi Enrico Cirineo , Teng-Calleja Mendiola
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the experiences of Filipina women business executives occupying top-most leadership roles in male-dominated industries in the Philippines.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative research utilized the institutional theory and a phenomenological approach with semi-structured interviews for data collection. The seven women executives were purposively selected and interviewed in-depth. Participants were renowned leaders in six male-dominated industries in the country.

Findings

Three phases – growing up years, career advancement and raising a family and becoming and being the chief executive officer (CEO) tracked the career development journey of the Filipina women business leaders that participated in the study. Cultural, organizational and familial factors emerged as contextual dimensions at each phase that the women business executives needed to navigate in their journey to the top. Six sub-themes reflect challenges in their career progression – women as in-charge of households, expectations as mothers, limited representation in the boardroom, discrimination as women leaders, women not seen as leaders and husband's ego. Four other sub-themes served as enablers – equal opportunity culture, career pathing and diversity, male mentors/role models and enlightened husbands. The CEO's personal characteristics surfaced as a critical factor – spirituality, being competitive but not ambitious, speaks her mind, can-do attitude, accountability, openness to learn and continually re-invents self.

Research limitations/implications

The participants only included top-most Filipina women business leaders. Implications to women executives' career development in organizations are discussed.

Originality/value

This current study contributes a proposed conceptual model in the understanding of the career development journey of Filipina women executives in the Philippines where recent findings found greater recognition of their work in the corporate setting as compared to more developed Asian countries.
The effect of differential leadership on employees’ thriving at work in China: a moderated mediating model
Authors: Zhang Chaoqun , Zha Donglan , Yang Guanglei , Wang Fu
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test the mediating role of perceived insider status (PIS) on the relationship between differential leadership and thriving at work, and the extent to which this mediating role is moderated by proactive personality.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducts a questionnaire with 332 employees from China, taking certain traditional cultural factors and social exchange theory into consideration. This paper then analyzes the responses using a structuring equation model with SPSS 24.0 and LISREL 8.7.

Findings

The results show that PIS mediated the relationship between differential leadership and thriving at work. In addition, proactive personality was found to moderate this mediating pathway, whereby a high proactive personality increased the mediating role of perceived insider status.

Originality/value

This study explores how and why differential leadership is positively related to thriving at work. This paper verifies the moderated mediation model relationship among the research variables and contributes to the literature on differential leadership.
Relational embeddedness in home-based network and dynamic capabilities: evidence from Chinese MNCs
Authors: Du Jian , Lu Keying , Zhou Chao
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Prior studies have argued that multinational firms with dynamic capabilities can reconfigure and upgrade their internal and external resources and adapt to an ever-changing competitive global environment. The impact of home country networks exerting on multinational corporations’ (MNCs) dynamic capabilities has been rarely discussed in extant research. This paper aims to explore how two types of home country networks’ relational embeddedness (from domestic firms and foreign firms) affect Chinese MNCs’ dynamic capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

Several hypotheses were tested by analyzing the survey data from 204 multinational companies in china.

Findings

The results reveal the impact mechanism of the home country network on dynamic capabilities. Embeddedness in domestic networks positively affects embeddedness in the foreign network; embeddedness in foreign firms exerts positive effects on the three dimensions of MNC’s dynamic capabilities. Additionally, the effect of domestic firms’ relational embeddedness on resource reconfiguring capability is mediated by foreign firms’ embeddedness. Consequently, this study provides a theoretical introduction for MNCs from emerging economies.

Practical implications

This study has several managerial implications for emerging MNCs’ international operations. For MNCs from emerging economies, close cooperation with domestic firms helps firms to develop a close relationship with foreign firms; meanwhile, developing a close relationship with foreign firms can obtain spillover about technology and management experience better, improving dynamic capability. Specifically, domestic embeddedness, through foreign embeddedness, can extend the impact to focal firms in developing resource reconfiguring capability.

Originality/value

This study provides an alternate view of how home country networks influence the dynamic capabilities of Chinese MNCs and outlines its impact mechanism. Therefore, the study contributes both to the international business literature and social network literature.
Conformity or differentiation? A U-shaped relationship between peers’ CSR and focal firms’ CSR
Authors: Long Xianyi , Zhang Ting
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of peers’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) on focal firms’ CSR from an integrated perspective. The current study aims to explore whether as peers’ CSR increases focal firms’ CSR would first decrease and then increase.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on a sample consisting of Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2016. Hypotheses are tested by generalized least squares method to minimum heterogeneity and autocorrelation concern.

Findings

The results show that focal firms’ CSR would first decrease and then increase with the increase in peers’ CSR. Furthermore, this paper found that corporate visibility would stress more value on CSR differentiation strategy and environmental uncertainty would stress more value on CSR conformity strategy, such that the U-shaped relationship would be more pronounced in high corporate visibility or low environmental uncertainty situation.

Practical implications

The findings may be of interest to the academic researchers and managers. For researchers, it is important to understand how focal firms would practice CSR in response to peers’ CSR, especially through an integrated perspective. For managers, the results show that the best way to invest in CSR activities in response to peers’ CSR follows a U-shaped curve, and corporate visibility and environmental uncertainty are important factors to be considered to make CSR decisions.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by proposing and examining a U-shaped relationship between peers’ CSR and focal firms’ CSR, which stresses the conformity and differentiation value of CSR simultaneously. Besides, to fully map the effects of peers’ CSR and focal firms’ CSR, this paper considers the moderating roles of internal and external contingencies on this non-linear relationship between the peers’ CSR and focal firms’ CSR.
The curvilinear relationship between advice-giving and innovative capability: a knowledge exchange and combination explanation of the moderated relations
Authors: Wang Dao-Jin , Lv Hong-Jiang , Zhou Ying-Tang
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate how the advice-giving affects innovative capability by involving knowledge exchange and combination as a mediator and contextual ambidexterity as an important contingency.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a survey of 96 Chinese teams, a set of hypotheses was tested using regression analyzes.

Findings

The findings showed that contextual ambidexterity moderates the indirect effect of advice-giving on innovative capability through knowledge exchange and combination. When contextual ambidexterity is high, workers engage in more knowledge exchange and combination for the team at intermediate levels of advice-giving, the indirect effect of advice-giving at low levels and at high levels exist. When contextual ambidexterity is low, there is no indirect effect of advice-giving at any level.

Practical implications

Managers should be aware of the inverted U-shaped relationship between advice-giving and innovative capability and strengthen the construction of contextual ambidexterity.

Originality/value

This paper makes up for the theoretical gap between advice-giving and innovative capability. Furthermore, it provides a theoretical reference for practitioners to improve their innovative capability.
Size, entrepreneurial experience and organizational decentralization
Authors: Gu Chengying , Lin Song
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Based on the cognitive bias theory, this study aims to explore the relationship among the size of new ventures, entrepreneurial experience and organizational decentralization.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses 175 entrepreneurial companies in the Bohai Bay Rim as samples. The hypotheses are tested through partial least squares (PLS).

Findings

A clear positive relationship is found between size and organizational decentralization, and entrepreneurial experience is found to have a negative effect on this relationship.

Research limitations/implications

The influences of other variables at the organizational level on organizational decentralization are not taken into consideration, and the measurement of entrepreneurial experience is not accurate enough.

Practical implications

This study also has practical implications. Compared with inexperienced entrepreneurs, experienced entrepreneurs do not always have many advantages. Entrepreneurs should decentralize power at the right time in the process of expanding their businesses and continuously reflect and learn, instead of exaggerating their own intelligence, consequently making more rational decisions.

Originality/value

This study has three theoretical implications. First, it provides a theoretical implication for understanding the characteristics of changes in the organizational decentralization of new ventures, which enriches the literature on organizational decentralization in the field of entrepreneurship. Second, it derives theoretical implications for understanding the role of organizational size in organizational development. Third, this study, which applies the cognitive bias theory to assess the effect of entrepreneurial experience, helps supplement existing research on the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and new ventures.
How do group affiliates benefit from dual legitimacy to acquire resources in emerging economies? Evidence from China
Authors: Zheng Xiaoyong
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relationships between the group affiliates’ dual legitimacy (membership legitimacy and societal legitimacy) and dual resource acquisition (intra-group and out-group), and the moderating roles of environmental uncertainty and munificence in the emerging economies.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses based on the unique data of 251 group affiliated firms in China and applies the alternative measurements and alternative methodology of structural equation modeling into robustness check to confirm the results.

Findings

The results show as follows: the group affiliates can benefit from membership legitimacy for intra-group resource acquisition and out-group resource acquisition through the mediations of societal legitimacy and intra-group resource acquisition. However, in the linkage between affiliates’ membership legitimacy and intra-group resource acquisition and the linkage between societal legitimacy and out-group resource acquisition, environmental uncertainty plays the positive moderating roles while environmental munificence plays the negative moderating roles. Under the condition of high environmental uncertainty and low environmental munificence, the linkage between membership legitimacy and intra-group resource acquisition, and the linkage between societal legitimacy and out-group resource acquisition reach the strongest level.

Research limitations/implications

The findings highlight the importance of dual legitimacy building for group affiliates to acquire resources both inside and outside the business group when they operate in emerging economies characterized by high environmental uncertainty and low environmental munificence. However, it does not explore the contextual factors (e.g. institutional distance) affecting the relationship between the affiliate’s membership legitimacy and societal legitimacy. Then more group-level factors are expected to be included and explored with multi-level models in the future studies.

Originality/value

The findings reveal the mechanism of how group affiliates benefiting differently from dual legitimacy to acquire resources in the emerging economies, which also provide a new interpretation for the questions of who benefiting more from the group affiliation, how and why (Carney et al., 2009). This research also explores the moderating roles of task environmental characteristics (environmental uncertainty and environmental munificence) on the affiliate's dual legitimacy and dual resource acquisition, which helps understand why legitimacy building is more important in terms of resource acquisition in the emerging economy characterized by uncertainty and non-munificence.
The contingent effects of coopetition on new product development under dual institutional interactions: evidence from China
Authors: Shen Hao , Gao Yu , Liu Chuan , Chen Xiangru
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Integrating the coopetition perspective with institutional theory, this study aims to determine how balanced patterns (BPs) and combinative patterns (CPs) of coopetition impact firms’ new product development (NPD) and how these effects are contingent on the various types of interactions between firms and the institutional environments in which they are embedded.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the hypotheses, 303 firms in China were surveyed. Based on the responses, the proposed model was estimated using structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

The findings indicate that CP of coopetition enhances NPD but a BP of coopetition impedes NPD. Further, the results suggest that obtaining government support positively moderates the effect of the CP on NPD but negatively moderates the effect of the BP. Conversely, influencing government policy negatively moderates the effect of the CP but positively moderates that of the BP on NPD.

Research limitations/implications

The findings indicate that different patterns of inter-firm coopetition may have different effects on NPD, thus, providing a holistic and dynamic understanding of the contingent value of coopetition for NPD. The findings also suggest that the complex effects of coopetition on NPD are influenced by institutional interactions, introducing further contingencies to the process of coopetition-based innovation.

Practical implications

This study provides guidelines for managers seeking to fully understand and capitalize on the dual nature of coopetition: they should be cautious about the different patterns of competition – cooperation interaction and manage their interactions with institutional environments to increase the benefits and avoid the potential damage that different types of coopetition may bring.

Originality/value

This study offers direct insights into the balanced nature of coopetition and opens up an avenue for further exploration of the specific effects of cooperation dominance and competition dominance on firm performance in the business-to-business context. Moreover, the proposed contingency model offers a potential interface between institutional and coopetition research on NPD in marketing and strategic fields.
Congruence in career calling and employees’ innovation performance: work passion as a mediator
Authors: Liu Zhengqiao , Jiang Yongzhong , Yao Zhu , Liu Xiliang , Zhao Li , Zhang Xianchun
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Based on self-consistency theory and conservation of resource theory, this study aims to discuss the impact of career calling congruence on employees’ innovation performance (IP) and analyzes the mediating effect of work passion [harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP)].

Design/methodology/approach

To avoid serious common method biases, data in this paper were collected at three-wave. This paper investigated 381 employees to assess their career calling in time 1, measured their work passion in time 2 and assessed the IP of these employees in time 3. This paper also conducts confirmatory factor analysis, polynomial regression, response surface analysis, bootstrapping test and simple slope test to verify the research hypothesis in this paper.

Findings

In the career calling congruence case, employees’ HP, OP and IP are higher when both levels of serving oneself career calling and helping others career calling are high than when both are low; In the career calling incongruence case, employees’ HP, OP and IP are higher in the “low serving oneself and high helping others” case than in the “high serving oneself and low helping others” case; The more congruent the “serving oneself” and “helping others” career calling are, the higher the employees’ HP, OP and IP will be; and HP and OP mediate the relationship between career calling congruence and IP.

Originality/value

This study further clarifies the structure of career calling and find the positive effects of career calling on IP. The results present a deeper understanding of career calling and are universal applicable to the eastern culture context.
Customized shape optimization of switched reluctance motor using B-Splines
Authors: Faezian Ghassem , Darabi Ahmad , Sargolzaei Nader
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study aims to design the rotor geometry of switched reluctance motor (SRM) in a completely flexible way. In the proposed method, there is no default geometry for the rotor. The initial geometry of the rotor can start from a circle or any other shape and depending on the required performance takes the final shape during the optimal design. In this way, the best performance, possible with geometric design, can be achieved.

Design/methodology/approach

The rotor boundary of a 4/2 SRM is defined by a few B-splines. Some control points are located around the rotor and changing their locations causes customized changes in the rotor boundary. Locations of these points are defined as design variables. A 2-D finite element analysis using MATLAB/PDE is applied to the SRM model and sensitivity analysis is used to optimization design by means of minimizing of objective function.

Findings

The proposed method has many more capabilities for matching different objective functions. For the suggested objective function, while the conventional rotor torque profile difference with the desired torque profile reaches 40%, this difference for B-spline rotor is about 17%. Experimental results from a prototype motor have a close agreement with analysis results.

Originality/value

The B-splines have been used to design machines and electromagnetic devices. However, this method is used for the first time in design of the whole rotor of a SRM.
International mega-corruption Inc.: the structural violence against sustainable development
Authors: Ahen Frederick
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to determine the underlying structural foundations that explain why mega (large-scale) corruption exists in an ever-more sophisticated form and how and why the phenomenon remains an intractable threat to global socio-economic stability and sustainable development.

Design/methodology/approach

Post-colonial theory is used along with critical perspectives on corruption in international business. The paper privileges the decolonization of the current paradigm where “hegemonic orthodoxy” is maintained and enforced through domesticated criticism of corruption in academic literature and in the media.

Findings

The author explains the foundations of “International mega-Corruption Incorporated” (ImC Inc.) and concludes that apart from being the results of greed and criminal intent, it is a designed and weaponized violent instrument for undermining human progress. ImC Inc. occurs through resource control and the manipulation of institutions. Thus, the same theories, the same analyses and the same media exposés on the “pandemic of ImC Inc.” are followed by the same inactions or lacklustre interventions that ignore the powerful international financial institutions serving as the major facilitators.

Social implications

The nature of ImC Inc. as an existential threat requires mass awareness about its historicity and deep-seated influence on institutions, in order for stakeholders to form a countervailing power to proactively disrupt it in its complexity and in contextually meaningful ways.

Originality/value

This paper provides useful clarifications about specific factors that determine how ImC Inc. exists and thrives in its current form and how to deploy sweeping, corrective and pre-emptive interventions rather than reactionary policies against ImC Inc.
Entrepreneurial environment attractiveness: a cross-country longitudinal cluster analysis
Authors: Kogut Clarice Secches , Fonseca Luíza Neves Marques da , Silva Jorge Ferreira da
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to explore what determines a country’s entrepreneurial environment attractiveness, by understanding how countries compare regarding their business environment and entrepreneurial opportunities and whether such aspects have changed over time.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a longitudinal country-level cluster analysis of business environments (years 2001 and 2016), this study captures changes in classification of both emerging and developed market economies throughout an attractiveness spectrum, from least to most attractive environments.

Findings

Interesting findings involve the difference in trajectories of emerging economies, such as India compared to the stagnation of Brazil, Argentina and South Korea in the 15-year period. The paper seeks to contribute to the debate on the attractiveness of the entrepreneurial environment beyond the simple notion of most and least economically developed countries by providing a framework for dynamic cross-country analysis of entrepreneurial environmental attractiveness that can be further explored, tested and expanded.

Research limitations/implications

Main limitations relate to the non-exhaustive sample of countries and variables. Contributions are both academic and managerial: helping to fill important research gaps in international entrepreneurship, namely, environmental conditions, cross-country comparisons (Coombset al., 2009) and the understanding of elements of the investment climate (Stern, 2002); and assisting managers, entrepreneurs and policymakers understand what defines a country’s entrepreneurial environment attractiveness to better evaluate potential locations for investment.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper lies in using cluster analysis in a longitudinal study of country attractiveness, as well as in advancing the debate of country attractiveness, by adding a temporal dimension (from factors that are less structural to more conjunctural) and a comparative dimension in a new cross-country comparison framework of analysis.
Geographic market size and low bid competitiveness in construction companies
Authors: Arai Koki
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the geographic market size of businesses and the competitiveness of being able to bid at low prices.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of this study is based on a natural experiment approach. Firstly, after controlling for the firm size and other factors, the author sees that firms participating in bidding in a large region are more competitive to bid at lower prices than firms doing business in a smaller region. The author then tests for causality in a natural experiment of the exogenous event.

Findings

The results show that firms participating in the bidding process in a large area are more competitive to bid at lower prices than firms doing business in a small area. This is tested in a natural experiment, and the result is that they are more competitive because they do business in a larger area.

Practical implications

The practical implication is that, when aiming for competitiveness, it is most important to consider the nature of the business and to see the essence of the business, for example, that networks are important in the construction industry, and that doing business over a wide area is the way to become competitive.

Social implications

The social implications are that to make firms more competitive, we must look at the characteristics of the industry and come up with policies that fit the reality, such as encouraging them to do business in a wide area.

Originality/value

The originality of this study is that this study viewed competitiveness as being able to bid low prices for public procurement and found that doing business in a wide area is competitive. Furthermore, the causal effect of the study was to test the fact that doing business in a wide area does not mean doing business in a wide area because it is competitive, but that doing business in a wide area creates a competitive advantage.
COVID-19 and digital library services: an overview on legal information
Authors: Peruginelli Ginevra , Conti Sara , Fioravanti Chiara
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the initiatives providing legal information during the COVID-19 emergency, focusing on the fundamental role of digital libraries in creating, managing and sharing services to support and ensure access to legal information in times of emergency.

Design/methodology/approach

To have an overall view of the legal information on COVID-19 available on digital libraries during the outbreak, a desk-research on the Web was conducted looking for both public and private sources of information. The selection of the sources was based on the type of information and services offered, the quality of information structuring, together with the data updating and the target users.

Findings

The survey provided a huge and heterogeneous amount of legal information resources on COVID-19. The analysis on the source of information selected showed different kinds of approaches adopted by digital libraries in relation to types of information provided, information categorization, target audiences, purposes and services offered.

Research limitations/implications

Two limitations have been identified: lack of previous studies in the domain and size of the samples cited. The conducted research should be seen as the “building block” upon which further research should be broadened and deepened. Limited samples are cited because of a rational choice; nevertheless, future research should be conducted also addressing a quantitative choice on identifying sources.

Practical implications

The research proposes to give users practical guidance, namely, a first set of authoritative sources which gives legal information on COVID-19.

Originality/value

This review paper could be seen as a first study on the issues related to accessing and sharing legal data at the time of the COVID-19; the research could be a starting point for devising a new form of communication of legal information in times of crisis.
Solution of third-order Emden–Fowler-type equations using wavelet methods
Authors: Khan Arshad , Faheem Mo , Raza Akmal
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The numerical solution of third-order boundary value problems (BVPs) has a great importance because of their applications in fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, astrophysics, nuclear reactions, rocket science etc. The purpose of this paper is to develop two computational methods based on Hermite wavelet and Bernoulli wavelet for the solution of third-order initial/BVPs.

Design/methodology/approach

Because of the presence of singularity and the strong nonlinear nature, most of third-order BVPs do not occupy exact solution. Therefore, numerical techniques play an important role for the solution of such type of third-order BVPs. The proposed methods convert third-order BVPs into a system of algebraic equations, and on solving them, approximate solution is obtained. Finally, the numerical simulation has been done to validate the reliability and accuracy of developed methods.

Findings

This paper discussed the solution of linear, nonlinear, nonlinear singular (Emden–Fowler type) and self-adjoint singularly perturbed singular (generalized Emden–Fowler type) third-order BVPs using wavelets. A comparison of the results of proposed methods with the results of existing methods has been given. The proposed methods give the accuracy up to 19 decimal places as the resolution level is increased.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first in the literature that investigates the solution of third-order Emden–Fowler-type equations using Bernoulli and Hermite wavelets. This paper also discusses the error bounds of the proposed methods for the stability of approximate solutions.