Search Results (935)

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly use artificial intelligence (AI)-based customer tools and social media marketing to compete in digital markets. However, prior research has not fully explained how customer-facing digital interaction and strategic customer sensing are converted into internal organisational capabilities or how alternative combinations of capabilities lead to business sustainability. In this study, we develop and test a sequential mixed-method framework for Thai SMEs. In Phase I, we applied the Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Delphi Method (IT2FDM) with 21 experts to validate 43 observed variables. In Phase II, we analysed 659 Thai SME responses using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The PLS-SEM measurement assessment showed that service innovation and internal learning formed a consolidated service innovation–internal learning capability (SILC) construct, with 42 indicators retained in the final measurement model. The structural model supported all hypothesised paths: AI chatbot usage, social media marketing, and customer value anticipation were positively associated with SILC; SILC was positively associated with external learning, business performance, and business sustainability; external learning was positively associated with business performance; and business performance was positively associated with business sustainability. The fsQCA results showed that no single present or absent/low condition was necessary for business sustainability and identified three sufficient pathways, with SILC and business performance present across all primary configurations. One pathway further showed that strong SILC, external learning, and business performance could support business sustainability even when AI chatbot usage, social media marketing, and customer value anticipation were weak or absent. The findings advance SME digital transformation and sustainability research by demonstrating capability conversion, integrated innovation–learning transformation, and multiple compensatory pathways to business sustainability. Full article

Digital transformation is now one of the key engines of entrepreneurial behavior and company development, but there is still a lack of empirical evidence on the creation of digital ecosystems, especially in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. This paper examines how digital capabilities affect the sustainable development of entrepreneurial ventures and how the relationship changes depending on the three emerging digital ecosystems of Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt. Data were collected through a structured online questionnaire developed using Google Forms and distributed via email, WhatsApp, and the Prolific research platform to owners, managers, and key decision-makers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A total of 250 questionnaires were distributed, yielding 131 responses, of which 22 were excluded after screening for completeness and eligibility. The final analytical sample comprised 109 valid firm-level responses from Egypt (n = 51), Lebanon (n = 34), and Iraq (n = 24). The study quantitatively assesses digital capabilities on several dimensions, including digital infrastructure adoption, data and analytics capabilities, digital product development, and digital revenue integration, and attributes those capabilities to sustainable business growth indicators (the revenue stability, scalability, profitability, and long-term resilience). The results showed that more robust digital capabilities have more significant impacts on sustainable business growth outcomes, whereas basic digitalization has no significant effect. Further, the analysis found no statistically significant moderating effect of ecosystem contextual factors, including institutional quality and digital maturity, on the relationship between digital capabilities and sustainable business growth across Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt. This study contributes to the body of knowledge of entrepreneurship and sustainability in emerging markets by integrating Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities Theory, and Digital Ecosystem Theory. The findings have practical implications for entrepreneurs and policymakers who aim to use digital transformation to attain sustainable entrepreneurship in the vulnerable and dynamic digital ecosystems. Full article

Small and medium-sized enterprises account for 99% of EU firms, making their engagement with circular economy (CE) practices indispensable to any economy-wide transition, yet the firm-level business case for voluntary adoption remains empirically contested, and existing evidence geographically narrow. This study examines, at the EU27 scale, the firm- and country-level determinants of CE adoption and whether adoption yields measurable economic returns. A two-level (firm and country), cross-sectional design combines micro-data from Flash Eurobarometer 549 (13,124 SMEs, June 2024) with Eurostat institutional indicators, applying hierarchical regression, K-Means clustering, and crosstabulation with post-stratification weights. Adoption is associated with resource-efficiency investment (β = 0.119), climate-strategy formalisation (β = 0.093), and national circular material use rate (β = 0.108, partially supported), while firm size shows no independent effect; the barrier index is the strongest predictor (β = 0.333), an unexpected positive association tentatively interpreted as a commitment effect whereby firms already active in CE better recognise obstacles. CE adoption shows no economically meaningful short-term association with performance (β = 0.025, negligible), with a small provisional exception in the industrial sector. Cluster analysis identifies three descriptive profiles: Efficiency Investors (13.7%), Strategic Green (32.0%), Passive (54.3%). CE adoption reflects strategic intent rather than firm size; economic benefits appear indirect and long-term, and more than half of European SMEs remain passive, requiring differentiated support at the national level. Full article

Currently, in high-density indoor environments such as businesses and factories, managing human presence and access control remains a significant challenge. Traditional access control systems based on facial recognition or card scanning typically only record authentication events at the point of entry. Therefore, continuous monitoring, presence detection, or restricted area surveillance are limited. This paper proposes an integrated indoor person detection and management framework based on centralized multi-camera processing for deployment-oriented identification surveillance. The proposed framework combines SCRFD and ArcFace to perform enrollment-based face recognition and distinguish between enrolled and unknown identities. During the experimental evaluation, the facial recognition module using the SCRFD 2.5G configuration achieved a recognition accuracy of approximately 88.2%. YOLOv11n is integrated with DeepSORT to detect and continuously track individuals within the monitored area. Experimental results showed the system achieving an average processing performance of 10.6 FPS, demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed architecture for small- to medium-scale indoor surveillance applications. Additionally, this system framework integrates event-driven spatial analysis using virtual boundaries and surveillance zones to support entry/exit counting, presence monitoring, and intrusion detection in restricted areas. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system framework provides consistent identification monitoring performance, stable multi-object tracking capabilities, and an efficient event management mechanism for typical indoor surveillance scenarios. This work offers a centralized, deployment-oriented surveillance architecture suitable for practical indoor security management and access control applications utilizing multiple cameras. Full article

The post-pandemic acceleration of digital tools has reshaped how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America compete, yet the resulting maturity gains remain poorly understood in individual emerging-market economies. Ecuador exemplifies this gap: SMEs account for over ninety per cent of the formal business register but appear in few econometric studies, most based on convenience samples. This study asks how strongly digital adoption is associated with the digital maturity of Ecuadorian SMEs and which tools best predict e-commerce engagement. The analysis draws on the National Digital Skills Survey (ENHD, Encuesta Nacional de Habilidades Digitales), administered by Ecuador’s Ministry of Telecommunications (MINTEL), covering 847 SMEs in 2021. A ten-indicator Digital Adoption Index (DAI) is related to the ENHD maturity score through least squares regression with robust standard errors, and a binary logit model with multicollinearity diagnostics identifies the tools that predict e-commerce adoption. The DAI explains over half of the variance in digital maturity, robust to firm-size and sector controls. Website presence exerts the largest marginal effect on e-commerce adoption, followed by cloud services. Top adopters score twice as high as non-adopters, consistent with cumulative advantage. Policy implications include subsidised digital-foundations bundles for laggard micro-enterprises. Full article

The design of IT services—including the architectural design—is considered a core activity to obtain a cost-effective IT service. Consequently, the main extant IT service frameworks and standards—rigorous and lightweight-agile types—aim to provide guidance for this purpose. However, some of them are reported at a coarse-grain conceptual level, and others are practically null. Consequently, their utilization—in the best case for large businesses—demands additional ad hoc organizational efforts. In the worst case, small and medium businesses (SMBs) are practically blocked from performing these relevant IT service activities by their limited resources. In this research, we are interested in supporting IT service design activities for SMBs, and thus introduce the AHP-AgileITS-ArchDesign model. This AHP-AgileITS-ArchDesign model was elaborated with a Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM), and aims to provide theoretically valid, systematic, agile and usable fine-grain guidance to support the design and evaluation of IT service architectural agile designs. The AHP-AgileITS-ArchDesign model uses a three-Layer AHP model derived from the main lightweight-agile IT service design literature, and its utilization is illustrated with an Academic Data Science Analytics Platform IT Service case. Then, its conceptual validity and its usability are evaluated, respectively, by a Panel of 16 Experts and an Exploratory Pilot Sample of 62 ITSM academics and practitioners. The evaluation results indicate that the AHP-AgileITS-ArchDesign model has a valid theoretical conceptualization and satisfactory usability, and thus can be used by practitioners and academics in SMBs. Full article

Information Systems (IS) play a critical role in managing and optimizing core business processes and financial operations within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Specifically, Cloud-based Accounting Information Systems (CAIS) represent a significant digital innovation that is reshaping accounting practices and financial management in SMEs. Despite growing adoption, limited empirical evidence exists on the organizational and governance factors influencing CAIS implementation in developing economies. This paper conducts empirical research primarily examining how organizational culture, organizational structure, and organizational support shape the effective adoption and usage of CAIS among SMEs in Jordan. In particular, the study explores the moderating role of Information Technology Governance (ITG) in the relationships between these organizational factors and CAIS usage. Drawing on the Information Systems and digital accounting literature, this study employs quantitative research design using PLS-SEM. An adapted model is derived from the Technology–Organization–Environment perspectives in adoption technological and contextual factors. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire from 397 Jordanian SME professionals across various managerial and accounting roles. The findings reveal that organizational culture exerts the strongest positive influence on CAIS adoption (β = 0.537, p < 0.001), followed by organizational structure (β = 0.296, p < 0.001) and organizational support (β = 0.226, p < 0.001). ITG also demonstrates a significant direct effect on CAIS adoption (β = 0.218, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis indicates that ITG significantly strengthens the relationship between organizational support and CAIS adoption (β = 0.089, p = 0.035), while its moderating effects on organizational culture and structure are not statistically significant. This research contributes to the digital accounting and Information Systems literature by providing nuanced insights into the conditional role of ITG in CAIS adoption, moving beyond traditional direct-effect models. From an empirical perspective, the findings recommend that policymakers and SME managers must priorities IT governance frameworks alongside organizational support mechanisms to facilitate effective CAIS implementation in emerging markets. Furthermore, prior studies have largely focused on technological determinants or direct effects of organizational factors, while providing limited insight into how IT governance shapes the relationship between organizational capabilities and CAIS adoption within SMEs in emerging economies. Full article

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent the majority of EU businesses and a disproportionate share of its environmental impact, yet longitudinal evidence on their resource efficiency behaviour remains scarce. This study examines whether SME adoption of resource efficiency practices increased between 2017 and 2024 and whether the size gradient changed across a period spanning several major and concurrent institutional and economic events: the European Green Deal (2019), the Circular Economy Action Plan (2020), the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic aftermath (2020–2021), the energy price shock that intensified in 2021 and was amplified by the Russia–Ukraine conflict in 2022, and the early implementation phase of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (2022–2024). These events overlapped substantially in time and cannot be disentangled with the present empirical design. Using microdata from three Flash Eurobarometer waves (N = 38,165; EU27), we construct a harmonised eight-item adoption index and estimate a weighted Poisson regression with cluster-robust standard errors and wave × firm-size interactions. Adoption increased substantially: SMEs reporting no resource efficiency action fell from 10.5% to 4.2%, and renewable energy use more than doubled (+15.3 pp). More substantively, the population-level gap in resource efficiency adoption between medium-sized enterprises (50–249 employees) and microenterprises (1–9 employees) narrowed by 81%, from +0.89 practices in 2017 (out of a maximum of 8) to a statistically non-significant +0.13 and +0.17 practices in 2021 and 2024 respectively (interaction IRR ≈ 0.81–0.82, p < 0.001 in both waves), robust to nine checks. The size gradient in environmental behaviour appears not to be structural but a dynamic feature of the institutional landscape, one that narrowed substantially over a period coinciding with intensifying regulatory ambition and energy price shock—though the present repeated cross-sectional design cannot establish which mechanisms drove this compression. Full article

Forest-product certification now operates at the intersection of private sustainability governance, market access, and mandatory due diligence. This structured narrative review asks how Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certification, together with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), affect competitiveness and the distribution of compliance costs in Polish business-to-business and export-oriented wood-product supply chains. A documented revision-stage search and screening procedure produced an evidence base of 55 peer-reviewed, regulatory, statistical, and sectoral sources. The analytical framework combines private-governance theory, stakeholder conflict analysis, and relationship marketing to examine information asymmetry, bargaining power, cost allocation, and market access. The Polish case is characterised by a large publicly owned forest resource, extensive but overlapping FSC and PEFC coverage, and strongly export-oriented downstream industries. Certification can reduce buyer verification costs, support supplier qualification, improve traceability, and protect access to demanding markets. However, fixed audit, documentation, digitalisation, and certified-material costs are borne disproportionately by small and medium-sized enterprises, especially where lead buyers do not share adaptation costs. EUDR strengthens these asymmetries because certified status can support, but does not replace, legal due diligence. The review contributes a governance-based explanation of why the same sustainability requirements can generate resilience and market access for digitally mature exporters while creating entry barriers, supplier exclusion, and concentration risks for smaller firms. Policy support should therefore combine clear demand signals, group certification, shared traceability infrastructure, advisory services, and buyer–supplier cost-sharing arrangements. Full article

The digitalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is not just a technological trend, but also a strategic path towards sustainable economic development. This study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of SMEs digitalisation across the EU-27 during the post-pandemic period (2019–2025). The originality of this study stems from its comprehensive comparative analysis by integrating dynamic, cluster, concentration, and regression analyses, it provides updated evidence on the relationship between e-commerce adoption, enterprise turnover, and economic development, while highlighting cross-country disparities and convergence trends within the European Union. The results confirm a positive association between the adoption of e-commerce practices and enterprise economic performance, underlining the contribution of digitalisation to broader development objectives. The study provides relevant insights for policymakers seeking to strengthen digital ecosystems and support SMEs competitiveness, as well as for business managers aiming to leverage digital technologies as a source of growth and resilience. As the analysis is based on aggregated country-level data and the correlational methods, the findings should be interpreted as evidence of statistical associations rather than causal relationships and should not be directly extrapolated to individual SMEs. 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 provides a systematic analysis of technological capabilities and their impact on the digital transformation of industrial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop an Industry 4.0 environment. A semi-systematic literature review was conducted, from which the authors identified and selected 117 articles for their relevance and contributions to be further studied, and framed to achieve the research objectives. The authors identified the following variables of analysis: technologies and digitalization, technological capabilities, infrastructure, and strategies. Furthermore, the study identified promoting and hindering factors to the digital transformation of industrial SMEs, along with the technological capabilities that drive it, thereby generating opportunities and challenges for improving their integration into Industry 4.0. As the promoting and inhibiting factors, the following were determined: culture, leadership and entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, processes and operations, people and business environment. Government support, access to technology, leadership and strategy, and employees stand out as factors that, when limited or absent, restrict SMEs’ ability to manage and increase their maturity level to integrate into Industry 4.0. From a resource-based view and dynamic capability theory, this research advances theory by presenting four propositions that integrate the identified technological capabilities and driving factors into a capability-based framework. This framework will serve as the foundation for a capability-based roadmap to guide industrial SMEs toward an Industry 4.0 environment and achieve sustainability outcomes. 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

Innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in European Widening Countries face persistent financing gaps, yet empirical evidence on how modern financing instruments shape post-investment performance trajectories remains scarce. This study applies a decision tree classification approach to examine post-investment revenue growth of 57 innovative SMEs across twelve European Widening Countries that received alternative financing grants, venture capital, business angel investment, or crowdfunding—between 2020 and 2022. Two research questions are addressed: which pre-investment firm characteristics predict revenue growth following modern financing, and how does the initial revenue level shape post-investment performance trajectories over a three-year observation window. Variable importance analysis indicates that pre-investment revenue level accounts for 83.9% of the predictive importance in the CART model, with development stage as the only secondary predictor (16.1%). Financing type was not identified as a discriminative predictor within the present sample. Low-revenue firms benefit most consistently from alternative financing, advancing an average of 1.51 revenue categories over three years, with 82.9% of firms exhibiting a growth trajectory. Medium-revenue firms exhibit a delayed growth pattern; and higher-revenue firms show persistent stagnation, suggesting a possible ceiling effect in post-investment revenue growth. The RQ1 model achieved cross-validated accuracy of 65.0%; the RQ2 model achieved 38.3%, reflecting the complexity of predicting four trajectory categories from a limited sample. These findings suggest that pre-investment firm characteristics may warrant greater attention alongside financing type when interpreting post-investment SME performance in Widening Country ecosystems. Complementary Logistic Regression and Random Forest analyses yielded broadly consistent results, providing additional support for the robustness of the reported findings. Full article

Digital transformation is increasingly recognized as an important enabler of sustainable development and competitiveness in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, evidence on how different dimensions of digital transformation relate to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains limited. This study explores the relationship between digital transformation and selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, in which quantitative findings informed the subsequent qualitative exploration and interpretation of managerial perspectives. The quantitative phase combined data from Eurostat’s ICT Usage Survey (2020–2024), including 60 sustainability-related indicators, with an analysis of the relationship between the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and selected SDG indicators across 27 EU member states using Spearman’s rank correlation. The quantitative analysis suggests that Slovenia performs close to the EU average in overall digitalization, while significant associations were identified between digitalization and SDG 9. The qualitative phase consisted of semi-structured interviews with managers from ten Slovenian SMEs from different sectors. The findings indicate that managers perceive digital technologies, process digitalization, data-driven decision-making, and employee digital competencies as important contributors to sustainability-related outcomes, particularly in relation to SDG 8, SDG 9, SDG 12, and SDG 13. The study contributes to the literature on sustainability-oriented digital transformation in SMEs by integrating quantitative benchmarking with managerial perspectives. The findings highlight the importance of organizational capabilities, digital competencies, and strategic alignment in translating digital transformation initiatives into sustainability-related outcomes. The results provide practical implications for SMEs and policymakers seeking to support sustainable and digitally enabled business development. Full article