Search Results (168)

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets face a critical challenge: how to leverage digital transformation to improve efficiency and sustain competitive advantage despite constrained financial and human resources. This study addresses this problem by examining how distinct dimensions of digital transformation affect SME operational efficiency and, in turn, sustained competitive advantage. Grounded in the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Industrial Organization-Based Strategy (IO), the present study conceptualizes digital transformation through three theoretically distinct sub-dimensions, digital strategic orientation (DSO), digital adaptive capability (DAC), and digital technology sophistication (DTS), and model operational efficiency as a mediating pathway to sustained competitive advantage. Data collected via a structured survey administered to 216 Turkish manufacturing and service SMEs operating in Istanbul were analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4. The findings reveal that all three digital transformation sub-dimensions positively and significantly influence operational efficiency, which in turn strongly predicts sustained competitive advantage. A formal mediation analysis confirms that operational efficiency mediates the effects of all three digital transformation dimensions on sustained competitive advantage, with partial mediation for digital strategic orientation and indirect-only mediation for digital adaptive capability and digital technology sophistication. These results advance theoretical understanding by demonstrating that digital transformation operates as a capability-building process consistent with RBV logic, and that strategic digital orientation, rather than technological sophistication, is the dominant driver of efficiency gains. Practically, the findings indicate that SMEs should prioritize embedding digital strategy into corporate planning, developing structured digital upskilling programs for managers and employees, and investing in scalable cloud-based and AI-enabled infrastructure to achieve cost efficiency and competitive positioning. Full article

This study examines the impact of Circular Economy (CE) practices and Industrial Symbiosis (IS) on Sustainable Firm Performance (SFP), while exploring the moderating effect of Institutional Pressure (IP) in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Adopting a quantitative research design, data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to managers (n = 321) in manufacturing firms involved in sustainability and operations. The proposed conceptual framework was analyzed using Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM), with reliability and validity assessed through Cronbach’s alpha, Composite Reliability (CR), and Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and model fit evaluated using indices such as CFI, TLI, RMSEA, and χ²/df; mediation and moderation effects were tested. The findings reveal statistically significant positive associations between Circular Economy Practices, Industrial Symbiosis, and Sustainable Firm Performance. Institutional Pressure was found to strengthen these positive relationships. The study contributes to the literature by integrating circular economy and industrial symbiosis within a unified SEM framework, offering empirical evidence from a developing economy context, and extending Institutional Theory and the Resource-Based View (RBV) in sustainability research. Practically, the findings suggest that firms should adopt collaborative resource-sharing models, policymakers should reinforce regulatory and normative pressures, and industrial clusters should promote symbiotic networks to enhance waste-to-resource conversion. Full article

Family-owned accommodation enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), play a critical role in tourism economies, yet their contribution to environmental sustainability transitions remains underexamined. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV), this study examines the relationship between environmental sustainability practices and perceived business performance in family-owned accommodation SMEs in Greece, considering cost advantage and differentiation advantage as parallel mediators. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire completed by representatives of 136 family-owned accommodation SMEs between March and April 2026. Environmental sustainability practices were measured as the breadth of adoption of 22 operational practices related to energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies, water conservation and management, and waste reduction and circular resource management. Business performance was assessed through a broad perceptual composite, whereas cost advantage and differentiation advantage were assessed using reflective multi-item scales. The results show that environmental sustainability practices were positively related to perceived business performance, cost advantage, and differentiation advantage. In the main mediation model, the indirect association through cost advantage was statistically significant, whereas the indirect association through differentiation advantage was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that, in family-owned accommodation SMEs, operational environmental practices may be more readily connected with business outcomes through resource efficiency, cost control, and operational consistency than through a differentiation pathway. The study refines the application of the Resource-Based View by showing how established competitive mechanisms operate when sustainability is represented by the breadth of specific operational practices in the resource-constrained context of family-owned accommodation SMEs. Full article

This study examines the role of strategic flexibility (SF) in supporting sustainable growth among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in an emerging economy context. Specifically, it investigates the relationships between SF, business model innovation (BMI), competitive advantage (CA), and firm performance (FP) in Iranian SMEs. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), the study empirically examines a capability–innovation–performance model and contributes by extending existing theoretical relationships to the context of SMEs in an emerging economy. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), data were collected through 391 validated questionnaires from SMEs across different sectors in Iran. The findings reveal that SF has a direct and significant effect on both BMI and CA, while BMI positively influences CA and FP. However, CA does not show a significant direct effect on FP, suggesting that competitive positioning alone may be insufficient to generate performance outcomes in uncertain and resource-constrained environments. The results indicate that adaptive and innovation-oriented capabilities play a central role in enhancing long-term organizational resilience and sustainable performance among SMEs operating under institutional and market volatility. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into corporate strategies and operations, attracting considerable scholarly and practical attention, as well as raising important questions about its implications for firms’ sustainable development. The emerging body of literature has largely focused on the association between AI adoption and firm profitability, overlooking its implications for sustainable corporate governance. To address this gap in the literature, this study develops a novel AI adoption index to examine whether the adoption of AI is associated with stronger environmental, social, and governance (ESG) engagement among Japanese firms. Based on Stakeholder Theory and the Resource-Based View, we find for our sample of 145 Japanese firms that a higher AI adoption rate positively correlates with a higher overall ESG engagement. Specifically, our findings indicate that, after robustness checks, AI adoption is associated with social engagement scores, but not with environmental or governance engagement scores. Full article

This study examines the relationship between employee empowerment and sustainable competitiveness in the food and beverage manufacturing industry through the lenses of the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capability perspectives. Although employee empowerment has been widely associated with organisational success, comparatively limited attention has been devoted to its relationship with operational dimensions of competitiveness in manufacturing firms within emerging economies. Using cross-sectional survey data collected from 277 employees of the five largest food and beverage manufacturing companies in Southwest Nigeria, the study investigates employee empowerment as a multidimensional construct comprising structural and psychological components. Sustainable competitiveness is operationalised through cost leadership, product quality, on-time delivery, and flexibility. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that employee empowerment is positively associated with all four dimensions of competitiveness. The strongest associations were with flexibility, followed by product quality and on-time delivery. The association with cost leadership was relatively weaker. These findings indicate that employee empowerment might be particularly relevant to adaptability-oriented capabilities in manufacturing environments. The study contributes to the literature by integrating Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capability perspectives and provides insights into the importance of workforce-related capabilities in aiding operational competitiveness in manufacturing firms operating under resource-constrained conditions. Full article

Green innovation performance (GIP) in new energy enterprises emerges from complex interactions among technological, organizational, and institutional resource subsystems, yet existing research predominantly applies linear, single-factor approaches that fail to capture this systemic complexity. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and systems thinking, this study employs fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 54 Chinese A-share listed new energy enterprises—spanning wind power, solar power, hydrogen energy, energy storage, and new energy equipment manufacturing—observed over the 2019–2023 period, to examine the configurational pathways through which these firms achieve high GIP. Green patent grants serve as the outcome measure, and six conditions spanning three resource subsystems are considered: digital transformation and R&D intensity (technological subsystem), firm size and ownership structure (organizational subsystem), and government subsidies and carbon emission performance (institutional subsystem). Three key findings emerge. First, none of the six conditions is individually necessary for high GIP (all consistency scores below 0.90), indicating that high GIP reflects combinations of resources rather than a single driver. Second, the six sufficient configurations identified collapse into two distinct pathway clusters: a “SOE digital-empowerment-driven” cluster, in which digital transformation combines with R&D investment, government subsidies, or organizational scale within state-owned enterprises, and a “resource–capability synergy and substitution” cluster, in which scale resources, R&D investment, and policy support combine with or substitute for digital transformation regardless of ownership. Third, digital transformation appears in five of the six pathways, indicating that it functions as a key—but not universal—enabling element whose effectiveness depends on its alignment with other system components. Beyond confirming that multiple, equally valid resource combinations lead to high GIP, this study’s principal contribution is to embed RBV within an explicit systems framework, showing how technological, organizational, and institutional resources interact as subsystems of a single socio-technical system, and to translate the resulting configurations into differentiated, pathway-specific guidance for enterprises and policymakers navigating the low-carbon energy transition. Full article

As ESG considerations increasingly influence access to finance, participation in global supply chains, and long-term competitiveness, understanding which factors experts perceive as most likely to influence future ESG adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has become an important issue in sustainable finance and corporate management research. While existing studies largely focus on ESG performance, disclosure, and implementation outcomes, limited attention has been paid to the relative importance of competing ESG-related adoption factors in SMEs in Kazakhstan, an emerging-market context, particularly in contexts where ESG adoption remains in its early stages. This study investigates expert perceptions of the factors most likely to shape ESG implementation decisions among SMEs in Kazakhstan. Drawing on Institutional Theory, the Resource-Based View (RBV), and the concept of double materiality, the study applies the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate six ESG-related criteria: coercive institutional pressure, normative pressure, organizational capabilities, financial materiality, impact materiality, and internal governance and processes. Expert judgments were collected through pairwise comparisons and aggregated using the geometric mean within a group AHP framework. The aggregated matrix demonstrated acceptable group-level consistency (CR = 0.0193), providing a basis for exploratory interpretation of the aggregated priority structure, while not validating the consistency of all individual judgments. The findings indicate a structured priority pattern among the expert-perceived ESG-related decision factors. The financial dimension received the highest priority weight, followed by coercive and normative pressure. Internal governance occupied an intermediate position, whereas impact materiality and organizational capabilities received nearly identical lower weights. These results suggest that experts expect future ESG adoption among Kazakhstani SMEs to be influenced primarily by financial relevance and regulatory compliance rather than by impact-oriented sustainability objectives or internally developed sustainability capabilities. This study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it advances understanding of ESG adoption readiness and prioritization mechanisms among SMEs in Kazakhstan, as an emerging-market context, by integrating institutional, resource-based, and materiality-oriented perspectives. Second, it extends the debate on double materiality by suggesting that financially relevant ESG considerations may play a particularly important role in ESG-related decision-making under conditions of resource scarcity and institutional uncertainty. Third, it provides evidence relevant to ESG regulation, sustainable finance, and SME support policies in developing economies. More broadly, the findings suggest that within the Kazakhstani SME context, ESG is expected to become financially relevant before it becomes fully internalized as a strategic sustainability practice. Full article

This study investigates how sustainable leadership enhances green performance in the tourism and hospitality sector, specifically among managers and supervisors working in five-star hotels and travel agencies, by examining the mediating roles of green innovation and green self-efficacy through the lenses of the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT). A quantitative research approach was adopted, utilizing survey data collected from 788 managers and supervisors employed in Egyptian five-star hotels and travel agencies operating within a highly competitive tourism destination context. The findings indicate that sustainable leadership has a significant positive effect on green performance and positively influences both green innovation and green self-efficacy. Moreover, green innovation and green self-efficacy significantly contribute to green performance and partially mediate the relationship between sustainable leadership and environmental outcomes. This study contributes to the literature on sustainability, tourism, and organizational behavior by providing an integrated framework that links sustainable leadership with organizational innovation capabilities and employees’ environmental competencies. In addition, the findings extend the explanatory power of RBV and DCT in explaining how sustainable leadership practices translate into enhanced environmental performance in tourism and hospitality organizations. From a practical perspective, the study highlights the importance of adopting leadership practices that foster green innovation, strengthen employees’ environmental confidence, and promote proactive environmental behavior within organizations. Full article

This study investigates the integration of Circular Economy (CE) principles within the upstream beverage supply chain in Thailand, contextualized against a widening global circularity gap where macro rates have declined to 6.9% compared to 12.2% in the European Union. Moving beyond a general focus on underexplored stakeholders, this qualitative exploratory design examines the critical role of informal governance mechanisms in emerging markets. The research is grounded in a multi-theoretic framework integrating the Resource-Based View (RBV), Social Exchange Theory (SET), and Resource Dependence Theory (RDT). Thematic analysis was conducted on in-depth interviews with 23 key informants covering 18 core supply chain activities. The analytical results generated a three-tier hierarchical framework, culminating in a single overarching selective theme: Collaborative Upstream Resource Recirculation for Systemic Resilience. The findings reveal that circular supply chain performance is driven by the dynamic interplay between relational governance and internal resource capabilities, explicitly demonstrated by grassroots tactical innovations such as modifying production boilers to run on 100% biomass fuel. Relational trust and culturally embedded mechanisms (e.g., Sanya Jai) function as vital substitutes for formal institutional frameworks, enabling Supply Chain Collaboration (SCC) to drive adaptive practices and achieve system-level circular resilience. Full article

The internationalization of business-to-business (B2B) professional services is being reshaped by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Despite its potential to enhance productivity and reduce export uncertainty, existing research has focused on B2C contexts, leaving a gap in understanding how B2B experts perceive and exploit this technology. This research, using a Q methodology, seeks to explore the discursive framework of experts’ mindsets regarding exploitation of GenAI to develop B2B professional services exports. Using 32 experts from five countries (Iran, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and India), four mindsets were identified: (1) Human–GenAI Synergy, (2) Export Innovation Catalyst, (3) Facilitator of Managerial Mindset, and (4) Moral Hazard Paradox. By conceptualizing mindsets as intangible resources within the Resource-Based View (RBV) and interpreting their role through the Uppsala model, this study makes three contributions: enriching theory through discourse-based analysis of expert mindsets, extending Q methodology to B2B export research, and providing practical insights for human–GenAI collaboration, export innovation, and ethical governance. The findings indicate that successful GenAI-enabled export development depends not only on technological capabilities but also on how experts interpret, adopt, and utilize the technology. The results highlight the need to balance innovation with ethical risks to achieve export growth. Full article

This study examines the association between exchange rate volatility, the use of externally-oriented and strategically-focused management accounting practices (i.e., Strategic Management Accounting, SMA), and competitive advantage among listed manufacturing firms in an emerging economy. Drawing on contingency theory and the resource-based view (RBV), the study investigates whether exchange rate volatility influences SMA usage and whether SMA usage enhances firms’ competitive advantage under volatile foreign exchange conditions. Panel regression techniques with firm and year fixed effects were employed using data obtained from the annual reports of 56 listed manufacturing firms over the period 2015–2024. The findings reveal a positive and statistically significant association between exchange rate volatility and SMA usage, including both customer accounting and competitor accounting practices, suggesting that firms intensify externally oriented strategic accounting activities in response to foreign exchange uncertainty. The study further finds that SMA usage intensity positively moderates the relationship between exchange rate volatility and competitive advantage, as firms with more intensive SMA usage exhibit stronger relative competitive advantage in return on assets and market valuation under volatile exchange rate conditions. The findings support contingency theory by demonstrating that firms adapt their management accounting systems to environmental uncertainty, while the resource-based view explains how SMA functions as a strategic organisational capability that enhances competitive resilience. Robustness tests using entropy balancing, Driscoll–Kraay estimations, and alternative measures of exchange rate volatility confirm the stability and reliability of the results. Overall, the study contributes to the strategic management accounting (SMA) and international business literature by providing evidence that exchange rate volatility is associated with greater SMA usage and that more intensive SMA usage is, in turn, associated with stronger competitive resilience under conditions of economic uncertainty. The study also provides important practical implications for managers and policymakers in contexts where persistent exchange rate instability continues to shape business performance and strategic decision-making. Full article

This study examines the direct effects of R&D transfer and the sufficiency of financing for entrepreneurs on Technological Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TechTEA), as well as the mediating role of financing. The analysis employs a variance-based structural equation modeling approach (PLS-SEM) to explore causal relationships among the variables. Data are drawn from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), specifically the National Expert Survey (NES) and the Adult Population Survey (APS), covering 26 emerging economies. The findings reveal that R&D transfer has a significant positive effect on the sufficiency of financing available to entrepreneurs. However, R&D transfer shows a significant negative direct effect on TechTEA. In contrast, the sufficiency of financing has a positive impact on TechTEA, acting as an inconsistent mediator that neutralizes the negative direct friction of R&D and unlocks its positive indirect potential. The study demonstrates that Resource-Based View (RBV) principles operate in a fundamentally distinct manner within emerging economies. Raw technical knowledge (R&D transfer) and capital injections (sufficiency of financing) are not self-sufficient drivers of high-tech ventures in developing contexts. From a sustainability perspective, this dynamic suggests that institutional and ecosystem frictions can impede the Triple Bottom Line, as technological potential struggles to achieve the economic viability required for long-term societal impact. Consequently, achieving genuine ecosystem sustainability requires policymakers to shift away from isolated, supply-side resource injections. Future strategies must pivot toward comprehensive institutional governance, friction-reduction mechanisms, and cross-sector regulatory coordination to enable technological ventures to successfully scale and survive over time. Full article

This study explored the associations among business intelligence (BI) capabilities and innovative performance (IP) in four- and five-star luxury hotels, while also examining the moderating key role of absorptive capacity (ACAP). Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study conceptualised BI as a multidimensional construct comprising six key capabilities. Data were collected from a sample of 470 hotel managers, and the model was analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results revealed that four BI dimensions (analytical decision-making culture, use of information in business processes, information access quality, and information content quality) have a significant positive association with IP. On the contrary, analytical capability and data integration did not exhibit a direct significant association with IP. The moderation analysis offered further insights, illustrating that ACAP can selectively strengthen the association between information content quality and IP, as well as between data integration and IP. These findings highlighted that, in the luxury hotel context, the value of BI depends not only on technological infrastructure but also on the firm’s ability to transform high-quality, integrated data into actionable knowledge. The study contributed to the literature by indicating the moderating role of absorptive capacity in the BI–IP relationship and by providing nuanced insights into how distinctive BI capabilities can drive innovation in a service-intensive setting. From a practical perspective, the results suggested that hotel managers should prioritise promoting a data-driven culture, improving data quality, and designing organisational learning capabilities to leverage BI for IP fully. Full article

Against the backdrop of artificial intelligence technology deeply empowering the digital development of the manufacturing industry, enterprises can use AI capability as a crucial source to improve their competitiveness and play a key role in promoting high-quality corporate development. Although the existing literature has revealed the effect of AI capability on organizational performance or other factors, in-depth research remains insufficient regarding whether AI capability can effectively improve firm competitiveness through organizational learning and organizational resilience. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), this study constructs a relational model linking AI capability to firm competitiveness via organizational learning and organizational resilience, alongside an investigation into the moderating effect of digital innovation. Using questionnaire surveys of Chinese manufacturing firms, we obtained 304 valid samples. Regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of AI capability on firm competitiveness via organizational learning and organizational resilience. The process-bootstrap method was used to examine the sequential mediating effects of organizational learning and organizational resilience. The results show that AI capability has a direct effect on firm competitiveness, and can also influence firm competitiveness via organizational learning and organizational resilience. AI capability affects firm competitiveness sequentially through organizational learning and organizational resilience. The correlation between exploratory learning and organizational resilience gets moderated by digital innovation. Meanwhile, digital innovation presents a moderated mediating effect on the relations between AI capability and firm competitiveness through exploratory learning and organizational resilience. This paper empirically reveals the “capability-learning-resilience” mechanism through which AI capability affects firm competitiveness, thus further supplementing the study on the effect factors of firm competitiveness. The findings provide theoretical implications for manufacturing enterprises to strategically develop AI capability, implement organizational learning, actively cultivate organizational resilience, and integrate digital innovation to further enhance firm competitiveness. Full article