Businesses, Volume 4, Issue 3 (September 2024) – 14 articles

As digital content increasingly moves away from free access, microtransactions may provide an alternative. There is a need for research on microtransactions as a general digital content payment mechanism. Businesses can capitalize on this technological advancement by expanding their paid digital content offerings without resorting to subscription-based services. This study examines a taxonomy for microtransactions based on consumer buying behavior, presents business models for microtransaction payment processing, and examines issues with its implementation. Data collected from 180 consumers were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative analyses to assess the receptiveness and perception of microtransactions. The results indicate that consumers are receptive to the concept of microtransactions and are willing to spend on five distinct digital content categories. This study concludes with a discussion of issues that consumers foresee with digital content microtransactions and implications for interested businesses. Full article

While artificial intelligence has successful and innovative applications in common medicine, could its application facilitate research on rare diseases? This study explores the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in orphan drug research, focusing on how AI can address three major barriers: high financial risk, development complexity, and low trialability. This paper begins with an overview of orphan drug development and AI applications, defining key concepts and providing a background on the regulatory framework of and AI’s role in medical research. Next, it examines how AI can lower financial risks by streamlining drug discovery and development processes, analyzing complex data, and predicting outcomes to improve our understanding of rare diseases. This study then explores how AI can enhance clinical trials through simulations and virtual trials, compensating for the limited patient populations available for rare disease research. Finally, it discusses the broader implications of integrating AI in orphan drug development, emphasizing the potential for AI to accelerate drug discovery and improve treatment success rates, and highlights the need for ongoing innovation and regulatory support to maximize the benefits of AI-driven research in healthcare. Based on those results, we discuss the implications for traditional and AI-powered business in the drug industry. Full article

Organizations need high performance from their employees to achieve their goals, provide specialized services and products, and ultimately secure a competitive edge. Performance is also a source of satisfaction for employees, as it creates feelings of mastery and pride. Different leadership styles positively influence both employee performance and organizational excellence; thus, the present study aimed to analyze the relationship between a novel leadership style based on attachment theory, secure base leadership, and job performance (i.e., task and conceptual performance and counterproductive work behaviors). Additionally, a passive-avoidant leadership relationship with performance dimensions is analyzed. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling with self-reported data from 422 Spanish employees, the results show that secure base leadership is positively related to task and contextual performance, while it is negatively related to counterproductive work behaviors. The opposite pattern is found for passive-avoidant leadership (except for the link between passive-avoidant leadership and contextual performance, which is not significant). The promotion of secure base leadership within organizations allows for the cultivation of a supportive environment that favors work behaviors that are aligned with organizational objectives, and since leadership can be trained, these results are relevant for practitioners in organizations. Full article

This study examines the scope and determinants of serial entrepreneurship among employer firms of Latino-owned businesses (LOBs) in the USA. The primary data are derived from the 2023 Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative nationally representative survey of 5102 LOBs and Latino entrepreneurs. The scope of Latino serial entrepreneurship—entrepreneurs who have started more than one business—reveals approximately 30% of Latino entrepreneurs have started two or more enterprises. The determinants of serial entrepreneurship are derived from entrepreneur demographics, utilizing binomial logistic regression to predict the odds of Latino serial entrepreneurship. Findings suggest Latino serial entrepreneurs are more likely to be male, native US-born, identify less as Latino, reside in the Midwest and South, possess high levels of education, and are of Mexican descent. Full article

Green human resource management (GHRM) has become an indispensable strategy in green management. As the first step of GHRM, green recruitment and selection (GRS) has been emphasised as the important and probably the only practice to help the firm obtain green human capital directly. However, research has shown that not many firms implement GRS in practice, and there is a lack of studies exploring the barriers to GRS. This study fills this gap by examining the barriers to GRS across different industries in China. It adopted a qualitative and inductive approach, which is relatively rare in the GHRM field. Based on interviews with senior managers, a number of barriers were revealed in relation to the two components of GRS: paperless recruitment and green candidates. More specifically, two new factors that have not been reported in the existing literature were identified: the alignment between the job profile, green practices, and profit orientation. These two factors have both theoretical and practical implications. Full article

In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly increased in the field of workplace well-being. This study systematically reviews the most common applications of AI in this context, covering literature published between 2018 and 2023, and evaluates both its current and potential impact. The research involved a comprehensive search in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, following PRISMA guidelines, resulting in 31 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The qualitative synthesis reveals that AI is being utilized in areas such as mental health monitoring, emotional support, personalized well-being programs, identification of psychosocial risk factors, and training and development. This review contributes to the existing literature by offering a detailed categorization of AI applications in workplace well-being, and it highlights the practical utility of AI in enhancing employee mental health and overall well-being. The findings suggest that AI has the potential to revolutionize the management of workplace well-being, providing actionable insights for both researchers and practitioners. Recommendations for future research are also discussed. Full article

This pilot study investigates the contributions of an airport service provider from Romania specializing in ground handling, operations, and passenger services towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Recognizing the critical role of service providers in the aviation ecosystem, this research focuses on how operational practices can be optimized to support sustainability objectives. It also reveals how businesses can leverage achievements and internal policies that would fit under, and support, SDGs. The study covers the operations of an airport service provider at several airports across the country. Through a series of qualitative questionnaires and interviews with employees, the research identifies best practices and challenges in aligning airport services with the SDGs. The study underscores the importance of collaboration between service providers, airport authorities, and regulatory bodies to achieve sustainable outcomes. By providing practical recommendations and a framework for sustainable operations, this pilot study aims to guide airport service providers in contributing to the global sustainability agenda, demonstrating the potential for meaningful impact in the aviation sector. Full article

Inglehart developed a theory examining the changes of values in post-industrial societies from materialist towards post-materialist views. Inglehart contended that the rise of post-materialism helps explain the rise of environmentalism since the 1960s. Through a 2022 survey targeting individual utility customers, we employed Inglehart’s post-materialist index examining the impact of environmental behavior and other attributes. This study considers demographic profiling for material and post-materialist views in light of recent social movements and inflationary pressures. We observed that materialists, predominately Asians and Whites, tend to be older, are homeowners, are either married or widowed, and have lived in their homes the longest. Post-materialists were also found to be young, partnered, politically liberal, and least likely to be Asian. While investigated, environmental behavior was not explained by any of the demographic characteristics. We suggest research assessing any value shifts pertaining to attitudes and behaviors towards environmental behavior. Future research should obtain a more representative minority-group sample. Full article

This paper aims to explore differences between the perception of dark traits in formal leaders and levels of workplace stress among employees working in family and non-family businesses. Furthermore, we assess if the company nature (family-owned versus non-family-owned) moderates the relationship between the employees’ perception of dark triad traits in their formal leaders and their workplace stress levels. The empirical evidence is provided by a sample of 220 Portuguese employees who responded to a questionnaire that included their perceptions of their formal leaders’ dark triad traits and workplace stress measures. All respondents are employed in small and medium-sized private companies, holding no management responsibilities and under formal hierarchical supervision. The initial ideas that family firms’ employees perceive higher levels of dark triad traits in their formal leaders than non-family firms’ employees and that they also show higher levels of workplace stress than non-family firms’ employees were confirmed. The results also support the notion that higher perceptions of dark triad traits in formal leaders are related with higher levels of workplace stress of employees and that the company nature significantly moderates this relationship. These findings enhance the research literature by addressing two often overlooked aspects in the comparison between family and non-family firms. Additionally, they provide valuable insights into the relationship between dark triad traits in formal leaders and employee workplace stress levels. Full article

This study investigates the impact of Information Technology and employee engagement on the implementation of Knowledge Management within the Research and Development processes of pharmaceutical companies. Based on Dynamic Capabilities Theory, this research examines the interaction between these factors in facilitating Knowledge Management practices. The findings indicate that while both Information Technology and employee engagement significantly enhance Knowledge Management implementation, the latter has a more pronounced effect. Engaged employees are crucial for identifying opportunities and driving strategic initiatives, whereas Information Technology supports information processing and decision making. This study highlights the complex interaction between technology and human creativity, demonstrating that the future of Knowledge Management in Research and Development relies not only on advanced systems but also on the active and committed individuals who utilize them. Full article

This study examines the socioeconomic impacts of large-scale land conversion from agriculture to industry on affected households, focusing on Sri City, an industrial hub in South India established under the SEZ Act 2005. Data from 250 households in and around Sri City were collected on socioeconomic indicators aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals using a structured survey method. Quasi-experimental methods, specifically nearest neighbor matching based on the Mahalanobis distance model, were employed for analysis. The findings indicate that affected households experience benefits, but these are not unequivocal. The study underscores the importance of project-specific factors, land acquisition strategies, and approaches to business leadership in shaping the socially sustainable outcomes of land conversion, from agriculture to industry. Full article

Despite the cross-border availability of almost all goods and services online due to global Internet access, the domestic origin of sellers remains significant. This study examines the preferences for domestic versus cross-border goods and services in online purchases in the EU online market from 2020 to 2023. We use quantitative methods including ordinary least squares (OLS), decision trees, and spatial autocorrelation analysis. We find significant effects of currency, language(s), and Internet use on domestic online purchases, while cross-border online purchases are further influenced by prices and urbanization. Our analysis reveals patterns based on the origin of the seller: domestic, intra-EU, or non-EU seller. There is a strong preference for electronic goods and services, regardless of the seller’s origin, while physical goods show a decreasing preference from domestic to intra-EU and non-EU sellers. Limited geographical effects and spatial patterns in online retailing were found, with a trend towards domestic localization. These differences in e-commerce by seller origin are primarily driven by country-specific characteristics (language(s), currencies) rather than geographic distance. The variation in the purchase of goods and services also depends on their physical and electronic form, that is, digital ordering and/or digital delivery. The expansion of e-commerce and the importance of country-specific characteristics require the development of standards to measure these influences. Full article

A symbiotic relationship exists between the state and the energy sector that often leads to conflicting relationships between the two. The best example of this complicated relationship is between the state and free markets is the case of the United States, European Union, and Global Energy Sector. The decline in the gas import—due to sanctions placed on the Russian Federation—to Europe from Russia, along with other counties that import gas from Russia, has negatively affected the economies of European counties. The Russian government has restructured the exporting of gas to other counties in order to continue to sustain companies’ growth. This literature review will analyze how sanctions against Russian Federation have affected the energy market and how it will affect entire energy markets. Full article

This paper covers the trend of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of corporate control in Italy. The expansion of international acquisitions in the last decades changed the corporate structure of industries and business organizations. The common understanding regards the suspicious transfer of control of companies to a foreign owner. However, the reasons seem ungrounded, and the evidence is conflicting. This paper aims to disentangle this view and offer a more objective assessment. The research uses a dataset comprised of 446 cross-border deals of foreign companies targeting Italian business enterprises over the period 2005–2015 and their performance over the period 2013–2022. The case of Italy is of interest because of the number of foreign acquisitions in the years that comprised the great financial crisis (2007–2008) and the sovereign debt crisis (2010–2011). Foreigners’ takeover of Italian companies followed multiple strategies and produced international synergies. The article concludes with implications and considerations for further research. Full article