Pub Date : 2026-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2026.100133
Sarika Murty, Vedant Singh
Green finance has evolved into a crucial institutional catalyst that shapes sustainable technology deployment, entrepreneurial activity, and economy-wide transitions toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Situated at the intersection of sustainability, economics, and entrepreneurship, green finance influences how capital is mobilized, how institutions govern innovation, and how entrepreneurial ecosystems translate financial flows into long-term socio-economic and environmental value. This study synthesizes the global body of green finance–SDG research published between 2010 and 2025 through an integrated review combining quantitative science–mapping with theory–driven qualitative analysis. Drawing on institutional economics, innovation systems, and sustainability transition perspectives, the analysis reveals that, while green finance has accelerated investments in renewable energy and climate-oriented technologies, persistent gaps remain in institutional coordination, economic policy coherence, entrepreneurial inclusivity, technology diffusion across regions, and the integration of circular economy principles. Building on these insights, a conceptual framework was developed that positions green finance as an institutional enabler linking financial governance, sustainable technology innovation, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and SDG outcomes, offering actionable implications for policymakers and practitioners seeking inclusive, innovation-led, and resilient sustainable development pathways.
{"title":"Green finance as an institutional catalyst for sustainable technology, entrepreneurship, and economic transitions toward the SDGs","authors":"Sarika Murty, Vedant Singh","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100133","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100133","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Green finance has evolved into a crucial institutional catalyst that shapes sustainable technology deployment, entrepreneurial activity, and economy-wide transitions toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Situated at the intersection of sustainability, economics, and entrepreneurship, green finance influences how capital is mobilized, how institutions govern innovation, and how entrepreneurial ecosystems translate financial flows into long-term socio-economic and environmental value. This study synthesizes the global body of green finance–SDG research published between 2010 and 2025 through an integrated review combining quantitative science–mapping with theory–driven qualitative analysis. Drawing on institutional economics, innovation systems, and sustainability transition perspectives, the analysis reveals that, while green finance has accelerated investments in renewable energy and climate-oriented technologies, persistent gaps remain in institutional coordination, economic policy coherence, entrepreneurial inclusivity, technology diffusion across regions, and the integration of circular economy principles. Building on these insights, a conceptual framework was developed that positions green finance as an institutional enabler linking financial governance, sustainable technology innovation, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and SDG outcomes, offering actionable implications for policymakers and practitioners seeking inclusive, innovation-led, and resilient sustainable development pathways.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 2","pages":"Article 100133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2026.100131
Ana Paloma de Lucas López , Alexandra Eugenia Gorneanu , Alba Yela Aránega , Lucía Gallego Martín
AI-driven dynamic pricing has evolved from an optimisation technique into a core infrastructure of the digital economy, such as the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act and global guidelines for trustworthy AI move towards implementation, questions of fairness, transparency, and consumer trust in algorithmic pricing have become urgent for firms, regulators, and entrepreneurial ventures alike. Start-ups and scale-ups are often at the frontier of deploying these systems as sustainable technology for resource-efficient demand management and revenue resilience, yet their dependence on legitimacy makes them particularly exposed to ethical, reputational, and market-acceptance failures. Despite the rapid growth of research on AI ethics, the specific intersection between algorithmic design, normative imperatives, and consumer-centric outcomes remains conceptually fragmented and insufficiently mapped.
This study provides a bibliometric mapping of the emerging ethical agenda in AI-driven dynamic pricing at the interface of entrepreneurship, economics, and sustainable technology. A dataset of 38 peer-reviewed articles (2019–2025) was retrieved from Scopus using a targeted search combining dynamic pricing, Artificial Intelligence, and ethics/transparency/consumer trust. Using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny, the analysis integrates performance indicators, keyword co-occurrence, co-citation structure, and thematic evolution. The findings reveal a clear post-2022 shift from optimisation-centric work towards a more integrated discourse in which fairness, transparency, and trust become structurally central. Two dominant clusters emerge, pricing mechanisms with distributive implications and AI-enabled methodologies, while recent literature increasingly links technical design to consumer protection and economic governance, echoing policy developments associated with the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act and debates on circular economy-compatible market practices.
{"title":"Ethics, Transparency, and Consumer Trust in AI-Enabled Pricing: Implications for Sustainable Technology Entrepreneurship and Economic Policy","authors":"Ana Paloma de Lucas López , Alexandra Eugenia Gorneanu , Alba Yela Aránega , Lucía Gallego Martín","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100131","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100131","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>AI-driven dynamic pricing has evolved from an optimisation technique into a core infrastructure of the digital economy, such as the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act and global guidelines for trustworthy AI move towards implementation, questions of fairness, transparency, and consumer trust in algorithmic pricing have become urgent for firms, regulators, and entrepreneurial ventures alike. Start-ups and scale-ups are often at the frontier of deploying these systems as sustainable technology for resource-efficient demand management and revenue resilience, yet their dependence on legitimacy makes them particularly exposed to ethical, reputational, and market-acceptance failures. Despite the rapid growth of research on AI ethics, the specific intersection between algorithmic design, normative imperatives, and consumer-centric outcomes remains conceptually fragmented and insufficiently mapped.</div><div>This study provides a bibliometric mapping of the emerging ethical agenda in AI-driven dynamic pricing at the interface of entrepreneurship, economics, and sustainable technology. A dataset of 38 peer-reviewed articles (2019–2025) was retrieved from Scopus using a targeted search combining dynamic pricing, Artificial Intelligence, and ethics/transparency/consumer trust. Using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny, the analysis integrates performance indicators, keyword co-occurrence, co-citation structure, and thematic evolution. The findings reveal a clear post-2022 shift from optimisation-centric work towards a more integrated discourse in which fairness, transparency, and trust become structurally central. Two dominant clusters emerge, pricing mechanisms with distributive implications and AI-enabled methodologies, while recent literature increasingly links technical design to consumer protection and economic governance, echoing policy developments associated with the European Union <em>Artificial Intelligence Act</em> and debates on circular economy-compatible market practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 2","pages":"Article 100131"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145982123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2026.100129
Khodor Shatila , Ana Beatriz Hernández-Lara , Jaroslava Gburová
Purpose
This study investigates the influence of digital literacy, entrepreneurial networking, knowledge sharing, and innovation on entrepreneurial success within emerging Middle Eastern economies. It further examines the moderating role of cultural support, assessing how societal norms and institutional expectations shape digital entrepreneurship, innovative behaviour, and the transition toward sustainable, knowledge-based economic systems.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research design was applied using structured survey data from 305 entrepreneurs across diverse sectors in the Middle East. Validated measurement scales were employed to ensure reliability and construct validity. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships and evaluate the moderating effect of cultural support on the links between digital literacy, networking, knowledge sharing, innovation, and entrepreneurial success.
Findings
The results show that digital literacy and entrepreneurial networking significantly enhance knowledge sharing and innovation, which in turn improve entrepreneurial success. Cultural support, however, negatively moderates several relationships, indicating that traditional norms and institutional rigidities may constrain digitally driven entrepreneurial activity.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the need for policies that strengthen digital literacy, promote open innovation, and support sustainable technology adoption through inclusive and culturally adaptive entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Originality/value
The study contributes to entrepreneurship and digital transformation scholarship by applying Social Capital Theory to explain how digital competencies and networking interact with cultural dynamics, offering new evidence on sustainable entrepreneurship in rapidly modernizing Middle Eastern economies.
{"title":"Digital literacy, entrepreneurial networking, and sustainable innovation: Economic and cultural determinants of entrepreneurial success in the Middle East","authors":"Khodor Shatila , Ana Beatriz Hernández-Lara , Jaroslava Gburová","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100129","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100129","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>This study investigates the influence of digital literacy, entrepreneurial networking, knowledge sharing, and innovation on entrepreneurial success within emerging Middle Eastern economies. It further examines the moderating role of cultural support, assessing how societal norms and institutional expectations shape digital entrepreneurship, innovative behaviour, and the transition toward sustainable, knowledge-based economic systems.</div></div><div><h3>Design/methodology/approach</h3><div>A quantitative research design was applied using structured survey data from 305 entrepreneurs across diverse sectors in the Middle East. Validated measurement scales were employed to ensure reliability and construct validity. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships and evaluate the moderating effect of cultural support on the links between digital literacy, networking, knowledge sharing, innovation, and entrepreneurial success.</div></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><div>The results show that digital literacy and entrepreneurial networking significantly enhance knowledge sharing and innovation, which in turn improve entrepreneurial success. Cultural support, however, negatively moderates several relationships, indicating that traditional norms and institutional rigidities may constrain digitally driven entrepreneurial activity.</div></div><div><h3>Practical implications</h3><div>The findings highlight the need for policies that strengthen digital literacy, promote open innovation, and support sustainable technology adoption through inclusive and culturally adaptive entrepreneurial ecosystems.</div></div><div><h3>Originality/value</h3><div>The study contributes to entrepreneurship and digital transformation scholarship by applying Social Capital Theory to explain how digital competencies and networking interact with cultural dynamics, offering new evidence on sustainable entrepreneurship in rapidly modernizing Middle Eastern economies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 2","pages":"Article 100129"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2026.100130
Xinhui Chen, Yuting Shi, Dali Zhao
The digital economy has developed rapidly, and determining how digital technology can be utilised to achieve business innovation has become a key concern for small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises seeking to maintain their market competitiveness. Ensuring the successful execution of digital innovation strategies and improving enterprise performance have become key concerns for the managers of such enterprises. The current study considers Growth Enterprise Market (GEM)-listed small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises to construct a theoretical framework for understanding the associations between digital innovation, digital readiness, and entrepreneurial performance. The study analyses 233 enterprises to empirically determine the influence of digital innovation on entrepreneurial performance through regression analysis. In addition, it explores the moderating effect of digital readiness on this association. Furthermore, the study conducts a case analysis based on its findings related to residuals to verify the robustness of its conclusions regarding main effects, thereby addressing the weakness of regression analysis in explaining individual heterogeneity. This study draws the following conclusions: (1) the breadth and depth of digital innovation in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises both have a significant positive influence on entrepreneurial performance, which indicates that enterprises incorporating digital technologies into multiple links of their value chains and more deeply integrating such technologies into these links can effectively enhance their growth and innovation performance. (2) Digital readiness has a significant, positive moderating effect on the association between digital innovation and entrepreneurial performance. That is, digital readiness helps firms overcome uncertainty in the innovation process and more effectively implement digital innovation.
{"title":"Influence of digital innovation on entrepreneurial performance in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises","authors":"Xinhui Chen, Yuting Shi, Dali Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100130","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100130","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The digital economy has developed rapidly, and determining how digital technology can be utilised to achieve business innovation has become a key concern for small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises seeking to maintain their market competitiveness. Ensuring the successful execution of digital innovation strategies and improving enterprise performance have become key concerns for the managers of such enterprises. The current study considers Growth Enterprise Market (GEM)-listed small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises to construct a theoretical framework for understanding the associations between digital innovation, digital readiness, and entrepreneurial performance. The study analyses 233 enterprises to empirically determine the influence of digital innovation on entrepreneurial performance through regression analysis. In addition, it explores the moderating effect of digital readiness on this association. Furthermore, the study conducts a case analysis based on its findings related to residuals to verify the robustness of its conclusions regarding main effects, thereby addressing the weakness of regression analysis in explaining individual heterogeneity. This study draws the following conclusions: (1) the breadth and depth of digital innovation in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises both have a significant positive influence on entrepreneurial performance, which indicates that enterprises incorporating digital technologies into multiple links of their value chains and more deeply integrating such technologies into these links can effectively enhance their growth and innovation performance. (2) Digital readiness has a significant, positive moderating effect on the association between digital innovation and entrepreneurial performance. That is, digital readiness helps firms overcome uncertainty in the innovation process and more effectively implement digital innovation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 2","pages":"Article 100130"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-02DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2026.100128
Samuel Amponsah Odei, Ivan Soukal
Despite the growing recognition of digitalisation’s transformative potential in driving technological innovation and supporting a more sustainable economy, research on the conditions through which the relationship works remains underexplored, especially in the context of emerging economies. Drawing on the resource-based view and institutional theory, this study analyses how human capital and institutional quality moderate the impact of digitalisation on technological innovation using panel data from 47 sub-Saharan African countries (2000–2023) employing the conditional fixed effects and instrumental variable Poisson regression. The results indicate that digitalisation positively influences technological innovation within low- and middle-income countries. Digitalisation and technological innovation have a curvilinear (an inverted U-shaped) relationship in middle-income (low-income) countries. Institutional quality attenuates the positive impact of digitalisation on technological innovation in the full sample but not in low- and middle-income countries. Human capital improves the relationship between digitalisation and technological innovation; this is valid for middle-income countries. However, institutional quality diminishes the impact of human capital on technological innovation in low- and middle-income countries. The results are robust to additional controls and economic conditions, emphasising validity. The findings contribute to the literature by showing that aligning digitalisation with human capital and institutional quality enhances technological innovation and supports the transition toward a more sustainable economic development.
{"title":"Synergistic effects of human capital and institutional quality on digitalisation’s impact on technological innovation in the sustainable economy","authors":"Samuel Amponsah Odei, Ivan Soukal","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100128","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2026.100128","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the growing recognition of digitalisation’s transformative potential in driving technological innovation and supporting a more sustainable economy, research on the conditions through which the relationship works remains underexplored, especially in the context of emerging economies. Drawing on the resource-based view and institutional theory, this study analyses how human capital and institutional quality moderate the impact of digitalisation on technological innovation using panel data from 47 sub-Saharan African countries (2000–2023) employing the conditional fixed effects and instrumental variable Poisson regression. The results indicate that digitalisation positively influences technological innovation within low- and middle-income countries. Digitalisation and technological innovation have a curvilinear (an inverted U-shaped) relationship in middle-income (low-income) countries. Institutional quality attenuates the positive impact of digitalisation on technological innovation in the full sample but not in low- and middle-income countries. Human capital improves the relationship between digitalisation and technological innovation; this is valid for middle-income countries. However, institutional quality diminishes the impact of human capital on technological innovation in low- and middle-income countries. The results are robust to additional controls and economic conditions, emphasising validity. The findings contribute to the literature by showing that aligning digitalisation with human capital and institutional quality enhances technological innovation and supports the transition toward a more sustainable economic development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 2","pages":"Article 100128"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145982121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2025.100125
Francisco Salas-Molina , Aarón Giménez-Chaparro , Eduardo Miranda-Ribera
Entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of developing green technologies, circular economy models, and social enterprises. In addition, the European Union Regulation on sustainable investment aims to redirect capital flows toward environmentally sustainable activities. This paper aims to establish a conceptual and practical link between entrepreneurship and sustainable economic activities through a logical and mathematical analysis. More precisely, we investigate Regulation 2020/852 on sustainable investments, describing new ways to analyze this critical regulation to help entrepreneurs design new models adapted to regulation changes. The study follows a logical and quantitative approach, utilizing Boolean algebra and graph theory as the main tools of analysis. These tools were applied to a recent sustainable investments regulation to analyze the premises that led to some consequences and also to establish hierarchies. The results reveal the difficulty of meeting all the necessary conditions to classify an activity as environmentally sustainable and the identification of the most important articles by computing their centrality. These findings provide evidence of the existence of some mutually exclusive aspects that could be improved in the regulation, offering significant implications for entrepreneurs about critical aspects of regulation. These insights provide entrepreneurs with novel tools for assessing regulatory risk. Additionally, by identifying the most central articles, entrepreneurs can prioritize efforts in regulation compliance.
{"title":"An analysis of the European sustainable investment regulation for new ways of entrepreneurship","authors":"Francisco Salas-Molina , Aarón Giménez-Chaparro , Eduardo Miranda-Ribera","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100125","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100125","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of developing green technologies, circular economy models, and social enterprises. In addition, the European Union Regulation on sustainable investment aims to redirect capital flows toward environmentally sustainable activities. This paper aims to establish a conceptual and practical link between entrepreneurship and sustainable economic activities through a logical and mathematical analysis. More precisely, we investigate Regulation 2020/852 on sustainable investments, describing new ways to analyze this critical regulation to help entrepreneurs design new models adapted to regulation changes. The study follows a logical and quantitative approach, utilizing Boolean algebra and graph theory as the main tools of analysis. These tools were applied to a recent sustainable investments regulation to analyze the premises that led to some consequences and also to establish hierarchies. The results reveal the difficulty of meeting all the necessary conditions to classify an activity as environmentally sustainable and the identification of the most important articles by computing their centrality. These findings provide evidence of the existence of some mutually exclusive aspects that could be improved in the regulation, offering significant implications for entrepreneurs about critical aspects of regulation. These insights provide entrepreneurs with novel tools for assessing regulatory risk. Additionally, by identifying the most central articles, entrepreneurs can prioritize efforts in regulation compliance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 1","pages":"Article 100125"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145883543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-19DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2025.100127
Zornitsa Yordanova, Antoan Shotarov
This conceptual paper introduces the theory of Digital Resource Leverage (DRL) to explain how social entrepreneurs transform resource scarcity into digital opportunity within the context of sustainable economic systems. Building on and extending the Resource-Based View and bricolage theory, the paper argues that digital transformation reshapes the logic of resource strategy from ownership to orchestration in circular and inclusive economic models. Social ventures increasingly mobilize accessible, modular, and non-owned digital tools - ranging from no-code platforms and open data infrastructures to collaborative online networks - to achieve frugal yet scalable innovation and contribute to sustainable development and the circular economy. The DRL framework conceptualizes this process as a distinct resource logic that enhances entrepreneurial efficiency, innovation, legitimacy, and systemic economic inclusion in under-resourced contexts. The paper contributes to entrepreneurship and sustainable technology literature by integrating digital bricolage into a strategic model of resource configuration and by reframing digital resourcefulness as a dynamic capability supporting inclusive economic growth. Practical guidance is provided for entrepreneurs, educators, and policymakers seeking to align social innovation initiatives with the Sustainable Development Goals and circular economy principles. This study thus offers a digitally grounded roadmap for sustainable, inclusive, and economically transformative entrepreneurship in the twenty-first century.
{"title":"From resource scarcity to digital leverage: A framework for sustainable technology and circular-economy-oriented social entrepreneurship","authors":"Zornitsa Yordanova, Antoan Shotarov","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100127","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100127","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This conceptual paper introduces the theory of Digital Resource Leverage (DRL) to explain how social entrepreneurs transform resource scarcity into digital opportunity within the context of sustainable economic systems. Building on and extending the Resource-Based View and bricolage theory, the paper argues that digital transformation reshapes the logic of resource strategy from ownership to orchestration in circular and inclusive economic models. Social ventures increasingly mobilize accessible, modular, and non-owned digital tools - ranging from no-code platforms and open data infrastructures to collaborative online networks - to achieve frugal yet scalable innovation and contribute to sustainable development and the circular economy. The DRL framework conceptualizes this process as a distinct resource logic that enhances entrepreneurial efficiency, innovation, legitimacy, and systemic economic inclusion in under-resourced contexts. The paper contributes to entrepreneurship and sustainable technology literature by integrating digital bricolage into a strategic model of resource configuration and by reframing digital resourcefulness as a dynamic capability supporting inclusive economic growth. Practical guidance is provided for entrepreneurs, educators, and policymakers seeking to align social innovation initiatives with the Sustainable Development Goals and circular economy principles. This study thus offers a digitally grounded roadmap for sustainable, inclusive, and economically transformative entrepreneurship in the twenty-first century.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 1","pages":"Article 100127"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145839721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-14DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2025.100126
Mercedes Rubio-Andrés , Jorge Linuesa-Langreo , Santiago Gutiérrez-Broncano , Miguel Ángel Sastre-Castillo
This study examines the influence of talent management on the competitive performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), incorporating innovation as a mediating variable and institutional support as a moderating factor. Drawing on data from 1721 Spanish SMEs and employing partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), the study empirically tests a comprehensive model linking these variables.
The results confirm that talent management has a positive and significant effect on competitive performance, both directly and indirectly through innovation, which acts as a key mechanism transforming talent-oriented practices into tangible performance outcomes. Consequently, SMEs should invest in comprehensive talent management systems that not only focus on attracting, developing and retaining high-potential employees but also foster environments that promote creativity, learning and collaboration. Moreover, institutional support moderates this relationship by strengthening the link between talent management and innovation, indicating that favourable public policies can enhance the effectiveness of internal talent strategies in fostering innovative capacity.
{"title":"From talent management to competitive performance: The need to foster innovation in SMEs","authors":"Mercedes Rubio-Andrés , Jorge Linuesa-Langreo , Santiago Gutiérrez-Broncano , Miguel Ángel Sastre-Castillo","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100126","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100126","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the influence of talent management on the competitive performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), incorporating innovation as a mediating variable and institutional support as a moderating factor. Drawing on data from 1721 Spanish SMEs and employing partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), the study empirically tests a comprehensive model linking these variables.</div><div>The results confirm that talent management has a positive and significant effect on competitive performance, both directly and indirectly through innovation, which acts as a key mechanism transforming talent-oriented practices into tangible performance outcomes. Consequently, SMEs should invest in comprehensive talent management systems that not only focus on attracting, developing and retaining high-potential employees but also foster environments that promote creativity, learning and collaboration. Moreover, institutional support moderates this relationship by strengthening the link between talent management and innovation, indicating that favourable public policies can enhance the effectiveness of internal talent strategies in fostering innovative capacity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 1","pages":"Article 100126"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145839663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-03DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2025.100124
Rahila Hanif , Mariarita Pierotti , Muhammad Khalique
The study aims to examine how technological leapfrogging, as a smart and sustainable adaptation strategy, influences organizational resilience in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) of the developing economies. It also highlighted employees' digital capabilities as mediators and serial mediators. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how leapfrogging contributes to organizational resilience, considering the interplay of employees' literacy, experience, and big data analytical capabilities. Data were collected from 212 employees of SMEs in South Korea through a survey. Hypothesis testing was conducted through structural equation modeling in SmartPLS for direct, mediation, and sequential mediation effects. The results revealed that technological leapfrogging positively influences organizational resilience. This relationship is positively mediated by digital experience, but not by digital literacy. However, interestingly, Big Data analytical capabilities as a sequential mediator have significantly mediated the relation between organizational resilience and leapfrogging through digital literacy. This study advances dynamic capability theory by empirical testing of the proposed hypothesis. It highlights the big data analytical capability as a critical factor of leapfrogging, advancing practical and theoretical understanding of digital capabilities and resilience. The findings highlight the importance of investing in competency and literacy development to achieve higher levels of digital maturity and resilience. These strategies also foster adaptability and collaboration, enabling organizations to thrive during disruptions.
{"title":"Harnessing technological innovation and digital capabilities for resilience in developing economies","authors":"Rahila Hanif , Mariarita Pierotti , Muhammad Khalique","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100124","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100124","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study aims to examine how technological leapfrogging, as a smart and sustainable adaptation strategy, influences organizational resilience in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) of the developing economies. It also highlighted employees' digital capabilities as mediators and serial mediators. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how leapfrogging contributes to organizational resilience, considering the interplay of employees' literacy, experience, and big data analytical capabilities. Data were collected from 212 employees of SMEs in South Korea through a survey. Hypothesis testing was conducted through structural equation modeling in SmartPLS for direct, mediation, and sequential mediation effects. The results revealed that technological leapfrogging positively influences organizational resilience. This relationship is positively mediated by digital experience, but not by digital literacy. However, interestingly, Big Data analytical capabilities as a sequential mediator have significantly mediated the relation between organizational resilience and leapfrogging through digital literacy. This study advances dynamic capability theory by empirical testing of the proposed hypothesis. It highlights the big data analytical capability as a critical factor of leapfrogging, advancing practical and theoretical understanding of digital capabilities and resilience. The findings highlight the importance of investing in competency and literacy development to achieve higher levels of digital maturity and resilience. These strategies also foster adaptability and collaboration, enabling organizations to thrive during disruptions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 1","pages":"Article 100124"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145799755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-24DOI: 10.1016/j.stae.2025.100123
František Pollák , Kristián Kalamen , Roman Vavrek , Jaroslava Gburová
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed systemic vulnerabilities in financial markets and raised pressing questions regarding the resilience of technology and entrepreneurship under shock. This study investigates whether two innovation-intensive sectors, technology and pharmaceuticals, exhibited synchronization with the S&P 500 across eleven epidemiologically defined phases (March 2019–December 2022). Using a robust methodological framework, a crisis-aware synchronization model was developed to detect real-time versus delayed investor alignment. A key novelty of the approach is the incorporation of time lags as a relevant factor influencing responses to systemic shocks. Results show that the technology sector exhibited statistically significant contemporaneous co-movement, consistent with its role as continuity-enabling digital infrastructure, whereas pharmaceutical sector demonstrated episodic, event-driven co-movement concentrated around vaccine and policy milestones. Notably, correlations during pandemic waves were not stronger than during inter-wave periods for either sector. These findings extend the Adaptive Markets Hypothesis by introducing a sector-contingent perspective: structural integrators (technology) stabilize expectations in real time, while event-contingent innovators (pharmaceuticals) generate punctuated alignment. For sustainable finance and entrepreneurship, the results suggest actionable levers: technology should be treated as a portfolio anchor and a policy priority for resilient digital infrastructure (measured in terms of uptime, scalability, energy efficiency), while pharmaceuticals should be considered a tactical complement, with innovation surges converted into durable capacity.
{"title":"Resilient innovation and entrepreneurial responses to systemic shocks: Economic insights into sustainable business ecosystems","authors":"František Pollák , Kristián Kalamen , Roman Vavrek , Jaroslava Gburová","doi":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100123","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stae.2025.100123","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The COVID-19 pandemic exposed systemic vulnerabilities in financial markets and raised pressing questions regarding the resilience of technology and entrepreneurship under shock. This study investigates whether two innovation-intensive sectors, technology and pharmaceuticals, exhibited synchronization with the S&P 500 across eleven epidemiologically defined phases (March 2019–December 2022). Using a robust methodological framework, a crisis-aware synchronization model was developed to detect real-time versus delayed investor alignment. A key novelty of the approach is the incorporation of time lags as a relevant factor influencing responses to systemic shocks. Results show that the technology sector exhibited statistically significant contemporaneous co-movement, consistent with its role as continuity-enabling digital infrastructure, whereas pharmaceutical sector demonstrated episodic, event-driven co-movement concentrated around vaccine and policy milestones. Notably, correlations during pandemic waves were not stronger than during inter-wave periods for either sector. These findings extend the Adaptive Markets Hypothesis by introducing a sector-contingent perspective: structural integrators (technology) stabilize expectations in real time, while event-contingent innovators (pharmaceuticals) generate punctuated alignment. For sustainable finance and entrepreneurship, the results suggest actionable levers: technology should be treated as a portfolio anchor and a policy priority for resilient digital infrastructure (measured in terms of uptime, scalability, energy efficiency), while pharmaceuticals should be considered a tactical complement, with innovation surges converted into durable capacity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101202,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship","volume":"5 1","pages":"Article 100123"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145750063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}