Administrative Sciences

This research analyzed the small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) international strategies concerning the scale and scope of the international activities. The major purpose was to study the international top managers’ psychological characteristics as distinctive capabilities within the defined international strategic groups. The international top managers’ cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence were taken as main characteristics to act in the international business environment. Therefore, we took as the main motivation to perform the present investigation the need to understand which psychological characteristics may help the international top managers to pursue high degrees of internationalization in their firms. This study was conducted in Portugal, and the sample was composed of 307 Portuguese SMEs’ international top managers directly responsible for the firms’ international decisions. The multinomial logistic regression method was used to test the hypotheses. The firms were classified into three international strategic groups based on the internationalization scale and scope. The degree of internationalization reflects that combination, creating groups with a high, medium, and low international exposure. The main result indicates as a distinctive capability, the international top managers’ cultural intelligence within the firms that exhibit a high international strategic positioning. Regarding the main contributions, this article contributes to the bodies of knowledge of international SMEs, cultural intelligence, emotional intelligence, and networking. This study also contributes to upper echelons theory and the resource-based view. Full article

In this study, we have analyzed the impact and evolution of some of the most important macroeconomic indices on the market share and value of private brands. The originality and objective of this work is the linkage of macroeconomic variables in European countries and the USA with the evolution of private labels in these countries. A sample of 19 European countries and all states within the USA has been collected over a 10-year period, including data on private labels and macroeconomic indices. The analysis of the panel data has been applied using the SPSS software through the Ljung–Box test. The most significant data from the sample study is that for GDP; we advised national brand managers to make a special communication effort in nations that offer a lower GDP within Europe for their volume and in value for the US. On the other hand, it was found that when the unemployment rate increases, the value of private label market share decreases for the US, but increases for Europe, in addition to other findings that will help organizations make different business decisions. Full article

Sustainability transition projects (STPs) employ specialist knowledge and learning to lever changes for the communities with which they engage. Research into these forms of organizations often focuses on engagement practices and their relative success or failure to facilitate local transitions toward sustainability. What has attracted comparatively less attention, however, is how STPs develop their own sense of expertise in this role as a broker of Mode-2 knowledge or their own understanding about what it is that they are doing in facilitating community-scale changes. Privileging an emphasis on language-in-use research in organizational theory, this study analyzed the transcriptions of facilitated action research (AR) meetings of a case study STP by applying text mining methods in conjunction with a thematic analysis, the latter exploring insights gained across themes of governance, delivery, networks, challenges, and learning. The findings from these analyses are discussed with reference to how the case study STP staff group construes their work in the domain of sustainability and the generation and acquisition of relevant knowledge and learning in this specialized subsector of community development. Full article

Decisions by small and medium enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs are plagued by a variety of cognitive biases. Extant literature has mainly focused on a limited number of important biases (e.g., overconfidence) in a handful of important entrepreneurial decisions (e.g., start-up, market entry or exit). However, putting the spotlight on a few important biases and entrepreneurial decisions could leave other important biases and decisions underexposed. SME accountants are in a unique position to shed a broader light on this issue. SME entrepreneurs often seek advice of their accountants when they struggle with decisions that involve uncertainty and business risks in the domains of strategy, regulatory compliance, human resources, IT, and succession. In this study, we explore 12 different biases and analyze whether their importance can change across these decision domains. Interviews were performed with 14 SME accountants who provide an independent third-party view on decision making by over 3000 entrepreneurs. Our findings suggest that the importance of most of these biases varies from one decision domain to the other. We also identified four approaches (warn, inform, intervene, and coach) that accountants can take when entrepreneurs may fall victim to biases. We discuss the implications for research and practice of SME entrepreneurs and their accountants. Full article

In a highly competitive business environment, integrating artists into corporate research and development (R&D) seems to be a promising way to foster inventiveness and idea generation. Given the importance of individual level innovation for product development, this study explores the benefits that employees experience from the artist-in-residence-program at Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany. Qualitative content analysis of interviews with scientists and engineers was performed in order to explore the impact of their encounters with artists in the theoretical framework of the triadic concept and transmission model of inspiration. The findings corroborate the notion that inspiration is a suitable theoretical underpinning for individual benefits of art–science collaborations in the front end of innovation. Scientists and engineers are inspired by the artists’ otherness and transcend their usual modes of perception in favor of enhanced focal, peripheral and bifocal vision. Whereas shifts in perspective are reflected in individual thinking patterns, researchers are hardly motivated to change their work-related behavior. The exchange with artists does not have a concrete impact on technological innovation, because researchers neither integrate impulses into their experiential world nor link them to fields of activity. In the case under scrutiny, artistic impulses do not contribute to idea generation in the sense of front-end activities. The study contributes to research on artists in businesses by illuminating the R&D environment as a hitherto neglected field of activity. While substantiating previous research on artist-in-science-residencies, the results suggest that the potential of such interdisciplinary endeavors is limited. Full article

This paper addresses the following questions: Are women entrepreneurs empowered by entrepreneurship, and critically, does entrepreneurship offer emancipation? Our theoretical position is that entrepreneurship is socially embedded and must be recognized as a social process with economic outcomes. Accordingly, questions of empowerment must take full account of the context in which entrepreneurship takes place. We argue that institutions—formal and informal, cultural, social, and political—create gendered contexts in the Global South, where women’s entrepreneurship is subjugated and treated as inferior and second class. Our thematic review of a broad scope of the literature demonstrates that in different regions of the Global South, women entrepreneurs confront many impediments and that this shapes their practices. We show how the interplay of tradition, culture, and patriarchy seem to conspire to subordinate their efforts. Yet, we also recognize how entrepreneurial agency chips away and is beginning to erode these bastions, in particular, how role models establish examples that undermine patriarchy. We conclude that entrepreneurship can empower but modestly and slowly. Some independence is achieved, but emancipation is a long, slow game. Full article

Stewardship theory provides an interesting alternative to agency theory, which in the recent New Public Management era supported the introduction of rigorous performance management systems based on generalized mistrust in and control of public employees. However, we lack empirical validation of the feasibility and positive outcomes of the new forms of trust-based management recommended by stewardship theory. As such, there are few examples of alternative ways of boosting the motivation of public employees that can serve as beacons for public service organizations (PSOs) eager to find new ways of motivating their staff to create public value for the users of public services and society as a whole. This article aims to remedy this problem by exploring a seemingly successful empirical case of trust-based management to see whether the core principles of stewardship theory apply and how new management practices may influence the motivation and well-being of the employees, the perceived satisfaction and involvement of the users, and overall organizational performance, including cost efficiency. Full article

There have been significant changes evident across the retail sector over the last 20 years, which have been primarily influenced by technological advancements. These changes have forced many retailers to rethink their business models and utilise a combination of both brick and mortar stores and online domains to present an integrated shopping experience. In order to gain an understanding of how customer satisfaction is increased through omni-channel retailing, we collected data through survey research, specifically through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. In order to generate concise and accurate findings, the data were analysed using thematic analysis. From this analysis, three themes were generated. The first theme explores the reasoning behind preferred shopping methods and what influences these customers’ purchase methods. The second theme explores customers’ personal preference and investigates the potential of using virtual reality as a method for increasing customer satisfaction. Finally, the third theme looks into utilising interactive technology to create a diversified user experience. This theme explores the potential of utilising a communication platform for customers and also designing a tangible interface for disabled customers. This study has opened up an opportunity for future research and has outlined potential design insights in how to improve customer experience and customer purchase intentions. Full article

This scientific paper deals with the issue of the global level of emotional intelligence of managers in family enterprises. The aim of this paper is to point out the importance and positive impact of skills of managers in the form of emotional intelligence, which we consider as an important predictor of managerial work in family enterprises. The aim of this paper is also to suggest possibilities of further development of individual factors of emotional intelligence in managers. The object of the survey was the global level of emotional intelligence of managers according to Petrides. We determined the level of four factors (well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability) of emotional intelligence using TEIQue online questionnaires. When evaluating the research results, we used methods of descriptive statistics (arithmetic mean, median, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis) processed in the statistical program SPSS. In a sample of 286 randomly contacted family business managers, the results showed us that the global level of emotional intelligence of managers in family enterprises is medium–high. In the examined factors, we found some deficiencies in self-control and sociability in women’s results and some in self-control and emotionality in men’s results. Slovakia as a globalized country has undergone many changes, so enterprises have also changed their point of view of management. Nevertheless, enterprises’ investments in the development of personality of family enterprise managers are incomparably smaller than in other countries. We are convinced that these presented results will help managers in family enterprises realize that their better future is in streamlining managerial activities. Only then will managers have enough time to plan for the future, cope with unpredictable situations, and especially have time for their happiness and family life. Full article

The persistence of innovation is a topic that has been used in recent years. Companies must be in continuous production of innovations to achieve a competitive advantage in the market and for this, it is necessary to have elements that positively influence the persistence of innovating. The objective of the article is to describe the elements that positively influence the persistence of innovation through a systematic literature review in the range of the last 10 years (2010–2019). As a result, 34 articles were obtained and it was identified that investment in R & D, human resources and knowledge management positively influences the persistence of innovation. Full article

This study examines the relationship between career commitment and employee career success (objective and subjective success) in middle-level employees working in the service sector. Further, the study investigates the moderating effect of work-life balance on the relationship between career commitment and career success. By analyzing data from 360 middle level working employees, our empirical results show that career commitment has a positive and significant effect on the objective and subjective career success of employees. Work-life balance positively moderates the relationship between career commitment and subjective career success, whereas it fails to moderate the relationship between career commitment and objective career success. The study contributes by providing a better understanding of the employee’s perception of career commitment and career success and their management in emerging markets. Avenues for future research are identified. Full article

Organizations are increasingly introducing data science initiatives to support decision-making. However, the decision outcomes of data science initiatives are not always used or adopted by decision-makers, often due to uncertainty about the quality of data input. It is, therefore, not surprising that organizations are increasingly turning to data governance as a means to improve the acceptance of data science decision outcomes. In this paper, propositions will be developed to understand the role of data governance in creating trust in data science decision outcomes. Two explanatory case studies in the asset management domain are analyzed to derive boundary conditions. The first case study is a data science project designed to improve the efficiency of road management through predictive maintenance, and the second case study is a data science project designed to detect fraudulent usage of electricity in medium and low voltage electrical grids without infringing privacy regulations. The duality of technology is used as our theoretical lens to understand the interactions between the organization, decision-makers, and technology. The results show that data science decision outcomes are more likely to be accepted if the organization has an established data governance capability. Data governance is also needed to ensure that organizational conditions of data science are met, and that incurred organizational changes are managed efficiently. These results imply that a mature data governance capability is required before sufficient trust can be placed in data science decision outcomes for decision-making. Full article

Family businesses began to emerge in Slovakia after the change of social establishment in 1989, and since then they represent a significant group of business entities with a significant contribution to the economy, and have significant growth potential. Innovations have become a driving force for the future opportunities of these companies. Based on empirical research, this paper aims to identify the innovation activities of small and medium-sized family businesses in Slovakia and to determine their impact on the company’s economic results. We can state that out of small and medium-sized family businesses included in the survey, 76.5% have implemented innovations in the last five years. We use statistical tests to verify the research hypotheses. We can state that there is a statistically significant relationship between the size of the company and the number of types of introduced innovations, as well as between the generation running the company and the number of types of introduced innovations. Second-generation family businesses can, therefore, be considered more innovative than first-generation family businesses. We investigate the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on innovation activities in these companies. It is interesting that in 30.6% of family businesses the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic positively affected their innovation activities. Full article

The aim of this research was to identify quality discrepancies in the existing service offerings of logistics service providers (LSPs). A multi-sided model of service quality (SERVQUAL) highlighting existing gaps in service provision was developed. A qualitative case study approach was employed, and the data were analyzed via a pattern-matching technique. The contribution to the literature is twofold. First, the study transferred the original service quality model developed in the 1980s from a business-to-consumer context to a business-to-business context that is specific to LSPs. Second, the results provide a means of closing the identified service quality gaps arising in an LSP context. Two internal gaps were found: non-homogeneous expectations between the sales and operations departments, and a communication and knowledge gap between these two entities. The three external gaps between LSPs and customers are a loyalty and corporate brand image gap, an innovation and information technology gap and an information asymmetry gap. Full article

The issue of online shopping behavior is gaining importance with the continued development of e-commerce. E-commerce businesses that aim to be successful in the online market in the long run must consider the factors of online shopping behavior when creating and implementing their e-commerce strategy. This paper is focused on the strategic behavior of e-commerce from a perspective of the online customer. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the strategic position of e-commerce businesses that focus on online sales of electronics, based on their strategic behavior from the customer’s perspective. The first objective is to identify the current factors of online shopping behavior in the industry of online electronics. The second obejctive is to identify the current economic performance and financial strategy of e-commerce businesses and their relevance to strategic behavior in e-commerce. The third objective is to identify the possible differences in strategic behavior of e-commerce SMEs and e-commerce large businesses. The research methods employed were: situation analysis, benchmarking, quantitative research, selected methods of financial analysis. The selected methods of statistical induction were chosen to verify the research hypotheses. A research sample of 89 e-commerce businesses selling online electronics was selected for this research. It was found that most e-commerce businesses apply a balanced e-strategy based on the assessed factors of online shopping behavior that does not correspond to the progressive growth of e-commerce. Fifteen factors were identified that influence customers when choosing and buying electronics online. It was also found that the strategic behavior of e-commerce businesses is influenced by factors of online shopping behavior. Finally, it was found that the current balanced e-strategy of e-commerce businesses does not correspond with conservative financial strategy. Full article

The aim of this article is to explore the decision-making policies by Polish Venture Capital (VC) firms, with special focus on the perception of entrepreneurs. This paper presents the results of a conjoint analysis and assessment of the importance of select characteristics among entrepreneurs and the qualities of a team of founders comprising managers of VC firms. The data were collected via face-to-face interviews with 26 Venture Capitalists. In the conjoint experiment, six attributes were presented, among which three represented characteristics of the entrepreneur (his/her passion and experience) and the management team (experience and completeness) alongside three characteristics of the opportunity (readiness of the product/service, growth rate of the market, and innovativeness of the whole project). VC managers ranked the importance of eight characteristics of the entrepreneurs related to their decisions and assessed the functional composition of the team of founders. The results of the experiment show that venture capitalists (VCs) most strongly appreciate the readiness of the product and entrepreneur’s passion. However, their preferences varied across the sample. The results of the ranking also show that the VC managers highly value the honesty of the entrepreneur. VCs typically prefer a team of founders, rather than a single-person project, preferably consisting of persons at least familiar with the technology and the market. This study contributes significantly to the state-of-the-art, as research on VC investment policy (investment criteria) is relatively rare in Central and Eastern Europe, where the VC industry is starting to flourish. Full article

Working capital is designed to provide enterprises with financial security. Its level depends on the strategy of managing individual elements of working capital. An appropriate management strategy allows companies to obtain added working capital. Working capital management is a difficult process as it concerns both current assets and current liabilities. Therefore, company managers are constantly looking for solutions, methods and tools that will help them to manage their working capital. A quality management system is the one that facilitates control over the management of individual elements that create net working capital. The introduction of appropriate procedures derived from quality management systems in specific areas is a great support for creating a positive net working capital. The aim of this paper is to show how the introduction of quality management systems can positively affect the level of working capital. The article presents how quality management systems allow for optimizing the level of individual components, creating a positive net working capital. The research was carried out on a group of 102 Polish small trading companies operating in the same industry. The enterprises were divided into two groups of companies applying the quality management system and of those that did not use such systems. Based on the financial statements for the years 2017–2019 and by means of appropriately selected financial ratios, an analysis of the impact of quality management systems on net working capital was carried out. The results in some areas of management of individual components of net working capital in different groups of enterprises were compared. The research was carried out with the application of appropriate statistical methods. The analysis showed that enterprises using quality management systems managed working capital more efficiently. In the literature, the subject of the impact of quality management systems on working capital is not popular. This paper may be a source for further, extended research and considerations regarding the impact of quality management on the level of working capital in enterprises. Full article

Managerial decision making is an integral process used in public and private organizations. Critical infrastructure entities are a strategically significant group dependent on the quality of decision-making processes. They aim to provide services necessary to ensure state security and to satisfy basic human needs. The quality of decision making is an important factor in the management of these entities. The quality level is determined by many factors, the key of which is risk management. For this reason, it is necessary for the operators to minimize risks affecting the elements of the critical infrastructure through which these services are provided. Risk management is commonly used for this purpose, making it possible to assess and manage these risks. However, there is a specific group of threats that affects the resilience of these elements. The indication of these threats is not possible through common risk management. Therefore, it is necessary to develop specific scenarios of negative impacts and procedures for assessing their impact on the resilience of elements of the critical infrastructure. To this end, this conceptual article introduces an entirely new managerial decision-making process for indicating the resilience of critical infrastructure elements. Full article

This paper analyses the role of study-abroad programmes in higher education by examining how students’ participation can foster competence development and employability expectations. Our research focuses on the acquisition of competences through the international mobility programme Erasmus+ of 191 students of an undergraduate programme in tourism, considering the different perceptions of male and female students. Our results confirm that five out of the six competences which students develop through Erasmus+ mobility have a positive and significant influence on their employability expectations. Our findings also confirm that male and female students have different perceptions concerning the influence on their employability expectations of those competences acquired during their experience studying abroad. Full article