Search Results (148)

Across the United States, equity-oriented STEM initiatives are frequently launched through short-term grants, yet few persist once external funding ends, particularly in economically marginalized communities where institutional capacity is constrained. This longitudinal qualitative study investigates how an out-of-school-time (OST) robotics initiative developed the relational and organizational capacity to transition from a time-limited grant project into a functioning STEM ecosystem that has persisted for a decade. Drawing upon eight years of focus groups and field notes analyzed through integrated deductive and inductive approaches, the study traces how STEM ecosystem tenets were enacted, adapted, and reinforced as partners navigated resource constraints. Findings identify four mutually reinforcing mechanisms that stabilized the ecosystem beyond the grant period: relational infrastructure coordinating work across students, educators, families, university partners, and district leaders; community recognition and collective pride conferring legitimacy and mobilizing local support; parental validation and logistical advocacy; and youth identity development and near-peer leadership renewing commitment and circulating expertise. Together, these mechanisms converted initial grant-funded inputs into durable capacity by reducing coordination costs, strengthening shared responsibility, and embedding STEM participation within community meaning-making. The study contributes to STEM ecosystem research by advancing a theory-building, process-oriented explanation of how equity-focused initiatives achieve durability. Full article

Sustainable environmental performance (SEP) among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has attracted researchers and practitioners’ attention. The achievement of sustainable environmental performance has been largely dependent on the prevailing external ecosystem conditions. Yet in emerging economies such as Ghana, there is limited research and evidence on the extent to which external ecosystem resources influence sustainable environmental performance. This study aims to investigate how external entrepreneurial ecosystem resources including policy, access to finance, market availability, institutional support, human capital and culture influence the sustainable environmental performance (SEP) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using sample data from Ghana. A total of 386 SME manufacturing and service firms were sampled to participate. Structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) tested a multi-theory framework grounded in the Resource-based View (RBV), Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) and Stakeholder Theory. The results indicate that policy, finance, institutional support, and markets exert significant positive effects on SMEs’ SEP. Culture and human capital were found to have a weaker contribution to SMEs’ SEP. The novelty of this study lies in empirically demonstrating the primacy of ecosystem structural levers over softer ecosystem factors in driving SME sustainable environmental performance, thereby offering a new explanatory hierarchy of ecosystem drivers for sustainability in developing economies. We advance the RBV, RDT and the Stakeholder Theory by showing that external ecosystem resources act as critical environmental enablers for SMEs in developing economies. The findings offer globally relevant policy insights for advancing SDGs 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action) through targeted ecosystem interventions. Full article

Intercropping is a pivotal strategy for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 2—End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture (SDG 2)—by enhancing food security agroecosystem resilience and sustainability. By integrating diverse species within the same plot, this sustainable approach takes advantage of the beneficial interactions between them. The simultaneous cultivation of multiple crop species within the same field increases agricultural diversification and contributes to a more resilient production system, breaking the uniformity of modern intensive agriculture. The objective of this review is to evaluate intercropping practices throughout the Mediterranean, specifically in Southern Europe (Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece), North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia), and the Middle East (Turkey, Israel, and Jordan). This review intends to show advantages and disadvantages of intercropping and crops used and also highlight how intercropping systems affect crop production and quality, soil quality and microbiome, and proliferation of weeds, pests and diseases. The literature suggests that diversification in agriculture supports biodiversity and ecosystem services by the cultivation of diverse crop species together and, hence, may reduce independence in external outputs such as nutrient supply, pesticides and soil amendment. Despite the potential benefits of intercropping, the major caveats of this practice are the competition between different crops on resources, potential risks of plant protection, technical challenges of integrating the different requirements of each crop used in the system, and culture-related restrictions or regulations. Full article

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a central role in economic development but face distinctive challenges in adopting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. While existing research identifies key drivers and barriers, there remains limited understanding of how SMEs navigate competing pressures and implement ESG in practice across different institutional contexts. This study addresses this gap by examining ESG adoption in SMEs across Ireland, Germany, Poland, and Türkiye through the lens of Activity Theory (AT). Using a qualitative multiple-case design, we draw on semi-structured interviews with SME owner–managers, ESG experts, and vocational education and training (VET) stakeholders (N = 44). Findings show that ESG engagement in SMEs is shaped by leadership framing, resource constraints, and increasing external pressures from customers, regulators, and financial institutions. ESG practices are uneven across pillars, with environmental initiatives the most developed, social practices emerging, and governance largely limited to compliance. AT highlights how persistent contradictions, such as tensions between short-term survival and long-term sustainability, or between complex regulatory demands and limited organisational capacity, shape SME responses. When supported by appropriate mediating artefacts, including training, simplified frameworks, financial incentives, and networks, these contradictions can enable learning and more strategic ESG integration. Cross-country differences reflect variations in ecosystem maturity, which condition whether ESG engagement stabilises at compliance or develops toward operational and strategic integration. The study contributes a theory-driven, practice-based explanation of SME ESG adoption, including a typology of compliance-oriented, operational, and strategic engagement modes, and offers insights for policymakers, educators, and support organisations seeking to promote more effective and context-sensitive sustainable SME transformation. Full article

This study explores the dynamics of Open Innovation (OI) in manufacturing firms, with particular attention to collaboration with public research institutions. The research is performed in the Piedmont region, Northern Italy, which represents one of Italy’s leading innovation regions, with a strong manufacturing heritage and an active strategy to foster industrial transition through innovation clusters and partnerships. The research analyzes survey responses from 82 managers and decision-makers in manufacturing firms belonging to the local manufacturing ecosystem. The questionnaire investigated how company size, organizational structure for research and development (R&D), perceived importance of collaboration, innovation drivers and barriers, and trust in research institutions affect four types of innovation: product, process, marketing, and organizational. Results indicate that collaboration with other private companies is significantly associated with product innovation, while collaboration with public research institutions is associated to both product and process innovation. The level of R&D structuring in the management of innovative projects and trust in the expertise of public research organizations are also positively associated with product innovation. In addition, key drivers—such as the availability of dedicated financial resources, staff creativity, and openness to external partnerships—are significantly related to process innovation. The findings suggest that regional policymakers and industry stakeholders should promote targeted measures to strengthen OI adoption, particularly by improving the perceived competence and transparency of public research organizations. Full article

Community-based tourism (CBT) is widely promoted as a route to inclusive growth and conservation in emerging economies, yet outcomes vary because the communities’ ability to create, scale, and sustain CBT enterprises depends on the surrounding entrepreneurial ecosystem. Building on entrepreneurial ecosystem theory and grand challenges scholarship, this article reframes CBT as a place-based entrepreneurial ecosystem that mobilizes local and external actors, resources, and institutions to advance the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The purpose of the study is to develop and illustrate an SDG-oriented CBT entrepreneurial ecosystem framework and identify the ecosystem mechanisms and boundary conditions associated with SDG contributions. Using a qualitative multiple-case design and structured document analysis of 42 public artifacts (peer-reviewed studies, program evaluations, organizational reports, and organizational webpages), three initiatives were examined: Namibia’s communal conservancies, Chi Phat community-based ecotourism in Cambodia, and Bolivia’s Chalalán Ecolodge. Cross-case synthesis showed that progress on SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)—with complementary contributions to SDGs 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, and 17—emerges when ecosystems combine: (i) enforceable community rights and benefit-sharing rules; (ii) bridging organizations that provide training, finance, market access, and quality assurance; (iii) accountable local governance for transparency and conflict resolution; and (iv) reinvestment mechanisms that fund conservation and community services. The analysis also identified boundary conditions (e.g., elite capture, value leakage, donor dependence, uneven tourism potential, and demand shocks) and specific policy levers (tenure security, adaptive concession policies, blended finance, and impact monitoring) to strengthen CBT ecosystems for SDG delivery. Full article

The Pantanello Natural Park (Pontine territory, Central Italy) is the result of a rewetting project that created five para-natural basins and new habitats at the foot of the Lepini Mountains (Monumento Naturale Giardino di Ninfa). In the present paper, we describe the hydrological model implemented by using data and information from the plan project, high-resolution topographic data (Lidar), and monthly meteorological and climatic data from 2010 to 2020. The model is designed to identify the conditions necessary for effective water-resource management, a key factor for ensuring the long-term success of rewetting interventions and the ecosystem services they support. The recent water crisis, primarily caused by increased use of the spring that feeds both the wetland system and the local population, has significantly affected the ecosystem. The use of the model highlights that, in 53% of cases, the system condition is dry when no external supply is considered. We found a huge improvement: considering a supply of 10 L/s from April to September, the proportion of dry cases reduces to 10%, highlighting the substantial benefits of targeted water supply management. Full article

The concept of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) has emerged as a central framework for organizational sustainability, alongside employee performance and retention as critical human capital outcomes. This study addresses a notable gap in the literature by situating ESG practices within the field of sustainable human resource management and examining their role in the Lebanese cultural settings, characterized by a vulnerable institutional ecosystem and crisis-driven work environments. A quantitative method was employed using a structured questionnaire, yielding a sample of 495 respondents. The results showed that environmental and governance practices significantly influenced employee performance, whereas social responsibility initiatives did not have a statistically significant effect on performance. All ESG dimensions significantly influenced employee retention. This study advances ESG and sustainable HRM research by providing employee-level empirical evidence from a crisis-affected economy, demonstrating how ESG practices function as internal performance and retention mechanisms rather than solely as external legitimacy tools. Full article

Start-ups, as newly established firms centred on innovative ideas, rely heavily on their capacity for innovation from the earliest stages. This study examines the determinants of innovation in Polish start-ups, addressing a gap in research regarding the factors that shape innovative activity in this context. Survey data were collected from 200 Polish start-ups, and multivariate regression analysis was applied to assess both internal and external influences, including founders’ business experience, team mobility, educational background, company reputation, financial resources, partnerships, and participation in regional innovation ecosystems. Using generalized additive models, the study reveals nonlinear and saturating effects of experience and ecosystem engagement on start-up innovation. The results indicate that founders’ years of business experience and the extent of ecosystem partnerships are significant predictors of innovation. Collaborations with universities and research institutions have a stronger impact on disruptive innovation than partnerships with suppliers or clients. Access to financial resources, particularly in early stages, supports R&D activities and competitive advantage. These findings suggest that innovation drivers are context-dependent, with regional infrastructure such as incubators, educational support, and ecosystem engagement playing important roles. The study contributes to understanding how individual entrepreneurial characteristics interact with external conditions to foster innovation and provides insights for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to enhance start-up innovation and economic growth. Full article

Rising geopolitical risks have become a defining feature of the global business environment, yet how firms—particularly those from latecomer economies—adjust their innovation strategies under such conditions remains insufficiently understood. Integrating resource dependence theory with the innovation ecosystem perspective, we propose that geopolitical risk induce firms to engage in cross-industry innovation as a strategic response to mitigate their reliance on international technological ecosystems, which traditionally provide cross-industry complementarities but are increasingly subject to disruption. Analyzing a panel of 12,354 Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2012 to 2022, and employing fixed-effects negative binomial regression models implemented in Stata 18, we find that firms exposed to higher levels of perceived geopolitical risk are more likely to pursue innovations beyond their industry’s technological boundaries in subsequent years. This effect is weakened by industry technological complexity but strengthened by the firm’s nationalism, reflecting both reactive responses to external uncertainty and proactive efforts toward technological self-reliance. Our study contributes to innovation research by revealing how geopolitical forces reshape firms’ innovation trajectories and by extending resource dependence theory to the context of ecosystem-based interdependence. From a policy perspective, governments can promote rational and constructive nationalist narratives that encourage firms to commit to innovation in strategically vulnerable technologies. Full article

Value is the result of the combined, conscious, and creative actions of caring, which promote sustainable prosperity. Despite its centrality in marketing theory, value is treated in the literature as a self-evident, abstract term denoting concepts as diverse as the desire to acquire goods or enjoy services, the benefits derived from using a product, the price of an object, or a customer’s contribution to business profits. This approach leads to amoral marketing decision-making focused on extracting value from stakeholders and accumulating it in the form of shareholder wealth. In this framework, the negative consequences of marketing actions for society and the natural environment are simply dismissed as externalities. This is not sustainable as it degrades the environment and increases wealth and human welfare disparities between individuals, groups, and societies. Drawing on conceptualisations of value from the fields of philosophy, semiotics, and economics, value is here defined as the result of the combined, conscious, and creative actions of caring which promote sustainable prosperity. As such, value is understood to be co-created by the interactions of various stakeholders and positioned as the link between individuals, companies, markets, society, and the natural environment. Marketing theory has traditionally viewed value creation and exchange as the result of dyadic interactions. The socioeconomic and technological milieu of the 21st century, however, creates a business ecosystem characterised by digitalisation, interconnectivity, and decentralisation which means that, the number of participants in value co-creation networks is increasing and potentially tending towards infinity. Consequently, marketing is reconceptualised as the values-driven mechanism for value formation, valuation, symbolism, exchange facilitation, and integration of the resources required for value co-creation and distribution aiming at contributing to sustainable prosperity. Virtuous marketers and mindful marketing practice can ensure the optimal use of resources and the maximisation and equitable distribution of welfare in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to continue to generate and enjoy value. Thus, by placing value at the centre of the business ecosystem, marketing contributes to sustainable prosperity. Full article

This conceptual article examines the shift of circular business models from policy-driven sustainability initiatives to commercially viable strategies in fast-moving product categories, with particular attention to repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and end-of-life recovery. Drawing on a structured narrative review and theoretical synthesis, it argues that circular models seldom scale within a single firm because slowing and closing resource loops require ecosystems that integrate product design, reverse logistics, and secondary markets. The paper develops an analytical framework that combines ecosystem strategy, complex adaptive systems, and common agency theory to explain how distributed complementarities, feedback dynamics, and multi-principal incentives jointly shape ecosystem trajectories. Reinforcing and balancing loops can accelerate, stabilise, or lock ecosystems into low-value routines, while incomplete contracts and divergent metrics may fragment effort and produce measurement traps. To address these coordination externalities, the framework introduces the super-principal as a meta-governance role that aligns principals through shared performance indicators, pooled funding rules, and investments in enabling infrastructures such as traceability. The framework offers implications for circular economy policy and ecosystem strategy aimed at sustaining higher-value circular loops. Full article

To enhance PharmD student leadership and advocacy skills, combat the paucity of trained pre-health advisors for pharmacy admissions, augment community relationships, and increase pharmacy admissions volume, we designed, implemented, and assessed PAALS, a Pre-health Academic Advising and Leadership System. PAALS was grounded in Astin’s Theory of Student Involvement and evaluated using the RE-AIM implementation science framework. RE-AIM measured outcomes across Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance as indicators of PAALS’s scale, fidelity, sustainability, and institutional embedding. Analysis of PAALS using the RE-AIM framework demonstrated the following outcomes: (1) Reach: 42 P1-P3 PharmD students participated as mentors; external partnerships expanded from 2 to 8 regional high schools and community programs; and more than 25 mentored learners successfully matriculated into the PharmD program. (2) Effectiveness: students enacted sustained leadership, advocacy, and mentoring roles. (3) Adoption: voluntary uptake of mentoring and governance roles by PharmD students occurred with repeated engagement by external partner institutions. (4) Implementation: Core program components were delivered consistently using existing institutional resources. (5) Maintenance: PAALS remained operational across five academic years despite student turnover, with leadership succession and institutional embedding sustained across cohorts. Our findings demonstrate that student-led advising and advocacy ecosystems address critical gaps in pharmacy-specific pre-health advising models. Full article

Diagnostic errors have been a critical concern in healthcare, leading to substantial financial burdens and serious threats to patient safety. The Improving Diagnosis in Health Care report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) defines diagnostic errors, focusing on accuracy, timeliness, and communication, which are influenced by clinical knowledge and the broader healthcare system. This review aims to integrate existing literature on diagnostic error from a systems-based perspective and examine the factors across various domains to present a comprehensive picture of the topic. A narrative literature review was structured upon the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model that focuses on six domains central to the diagnostic process: Diagnostic Team Members, Tasks, Technologies and Tools, Organization, Physical Environment, and External Environment. Studies on contributing factors for diagnostic error in these domains were identified and integrated. The findings reveal that the effectiveness of diagnostics is influenced by complex, interconnected factors spanning all six SEIPS domains. In particular, socio-behavioral factors, such as team communication, cognitive bias, and workload, and environmental pressures, stand out as significant but difficult-to-capture contributors in traditional and commonly used data resources like electronic health records (EHRs), which limits the scope of many studies on diagnostic errors. Factors associated with diagnostic errors are often interconnected across healthcare system stakeholders and organizations. Future research should address both technical and behavioral elements within the diagnostic ecosystem to reduce errors and enhance patient outcomes. Full article

Background/Objectives: Digital transformation is increasingly essential for healthcare organizations to improve operational efficiency and service quality. However, in developing countries such as Indonesia, many lower-middle-class hospitals lag due to limited financial, human, and infrastructural resources. This study examines how environmental dynamism—comprising regulatory changes, market pressures, and technological shifts—affects the digital capabilities of these hospitals. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted in Class C and D hospitals across Indonesia. Respondents included hospital directors, deputy directors, and IT heads. Data were collected through structured questionnaires measuring environmental dynamism and digital capability using a six-point Likert scale. Reliability testing yielded Cronbach’s alpha values above 0.96 for both constructs. Correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between environmental dynamism and digital capability. Results: Findings reveal a weak positive correlation (r = 0.1816) between environmental dynamism and digital capability. Although external factors such as policy regulations and technological competition encourage digital adoption, hospitals with limited internal resources struggle to translate these pressures into sustainable transformation. Key challenges include low ICT budgets, inconsistent staff training, and insufficient infrastructure. Conclusions: The results suggest that environmental change alone cannot drive digital readiness without internal capacity development. To foster resilient digital healthcare ecosystems, policy interventions should integrate regulatory frameworks with practical support programs that strengthen resources, leadership, and human capital in lower-middle-class hospitals. Full article