Review of Managerial Science最新文献

This paper aims to quantify the innovation ecosystem model for allowing the development of smart products at the country level. In this regard, the research used an empirical approach to scale and validate the six dimensions of an innovation ecosystem model among the small and medium-sized enterprises of 21 European countries. The quantitative methods of panel data analysis and Pearson correlation tests between variables of the innovation ecosystem and smart products were considered to examine six research hypotheses. Three dimensions of the innovation ecosystem model, i.e., configuration, change, and capability, have enough effects to accelerate high levels of smart products in the small and medium-sized enterprises of European countries, supporting the external and internal economic partnerships of institutions and companies, cultural changes in functional status, and knowledge-based capabilities of technological skills in each ecosystem. In addition, hierarchical clustering analysis for the classification of the countries showed that some countries, e.g., the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, France, and Norway, could support their powerful smart products for small and medium-sized enterprises at the national level due to their high mean innovation ecosystem values. Overall, the research can describe the managerial implications regarding the knowledge-based capabilities of the technological skills in each ecosystem to be utilized by managers and stakeholders in small and medium-sized enterprises.

In the age of the digital economy, certain mechanisms and actions allow companies to generate sustainable competitive advantage by developing their transformative capacity through digitalisation. Identifying these mechanisms is important, and it forms the core focus of this study. Specifically, the aim was to provide an overview of the factors that determine decisions regarding the allocation of financial resources for digital transformation (DT). A survey of 59 companies located in the region of Valencia (Spain) was performed. More than 50% were SMEs. Analysis of the data from this survey provided an overview of the financial impact of DT processes and the implications for decision-making. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used for the analysis, revealing which configurations of DT investment decisions lead to high levels of economic profitability. The key finding is that companies tend to invest in DT, adopting a non-conservative approach to increase profits. The findings can contribute to the development of strategies and the evaluation of investment in digitalisation, going beyond the use of tangible indicators of financial profitability.

In this paper, we rely on the information asymmetries framework and relationship lending theory to study how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)’s access to bank credit improves after the issuance of a Minibond. Minibonds are fixed-income securities issued by SMEs aimed at supporting growth projects and refinancing operations. They were introduced by different European countries only recently, in response to the European sovereign debt crisis, which considerably constrained bank credit for SMEs.

Using a representative sample of Italian companies that issued Minibonds in the 2012–2020 period, we find support to our hypotheses. Issuing Minibonds helps SMEs access higher amounts of debt and improves credit conditions in terms of cost of debt and debt maturity, but with some caveats: only Minibonds issued with lower interest rates and longer maturities lead to better access to credit. Moreover, we find that some companies more exposed to information asymmetries (i.e. younger), with better access to transaction lending (depending on their location) and with larger amounts of collateral available (i.e., tangible assets) benefit more from Minibond issuance.

Although Artificial Intelligence can offer significant business benefits, many consumers have negative perceptions of AI, leading to negative reactions when companies act ethically and disclose its use. Based on the pervasive example of content creation (e.g., via tools like ChatGPT), this research examines the potential for human-AI collaboration to preserve consumers' message credibility judgments and attitudes towards the company. The study compares two distinct forms of human-AI collaboration, namely AI-supported human authorship and human-controlled AI authorship, with traditional human authorship or full automation. Building on the compensatory control theory and the algorithm aversion concept, the study evaluates whether disclosing a high human input share (without explicit control) or human control over AI (with lower human input share) can mitigate negative consumer reactions. Moreover, this paper investigates the moderating role of consumers’ perceived morality of companies’ AI use. Results from two experiments in different contexts reveal that human-AI collaboration can alleviate negative consumer responses, but only when the collaboration indicates human control over AI. Furthermore, the effects of content authorship depend on consumers' moral acceptance of a company's AI use. AI authorship forms without human control lead to more negative consumer responses in case of low perceived morality (and no effects in case of high morality), whereas messages from AI with human control were not perceived differently to human authorship, irrespective of the morality level. These findings provide guidance for managers on how to effectively integrate human-AI collaboration into consumer-facing applications and advises to take consumers' ethical concerns into account.

This study is a critical review of public intervention and its management of change with digitalization, applied to Spanish tourism services, as ones of the largest case and most required of attention into the European Union. In comparison with other mainstream papers, this heterodox review is based on the combination of Austrian Economics and Neo-Institutional approaches (Cornucopists), with their common theoretical and methodological frameworks. Thus, it is possible to analyze failures and paradoxes in the public intervention, especially with post-COVID recovery policies. The case of the Spanish tourism sector highlights the effect of double bureaucracy, from European institutions and the Spanish Government, affecting its competitiveness and revealing the confirmation of heterodox theorems. Faced with mainstream public intervention guidelines, which usually involve expansive spending and more debt (and New-Malthusian measures), a heterodox mainline solution is offered here, based on the revival of the original sustainability principle, the readjustment effect and the promotion of geek'n'talent education, to facilitate the transition to the Knowledge Economy, where the tourism sector is capable of offering personalized travel experiences due to digitalization.

It is indisputable that coopetition exerts an influence on firm performance. However, a critical question persists: How should we comprehensively measure the performance of coopetition itself?. This paper addresses the inconsistencies in understanding coopetition performance by proposing a comprehensive and multi-dimensional approach to its operationalization. The methodology employed to develop an operationalization framework covered field and desk research implemented sequentially. The first stage used a meta-systematic literature review to identify how coopetition performance has been operationalized and measured in quantitative studies to date. The second stage used online focus group interviews to verify and develop the findings from the desk research. This stage aimed to gain a shared approach to the understanding and operationalization of coopetition performance based on discussion and confrontation of the literature with the (consistent, inconsistent, but also contradictory) opinions of experienced coopetition researchers. This study offers a noteworthy contribution by presenting a definition and five specific recommendations for the operationalization of coopetition performance, and highlighting approaches to be avoided. These findings enhance our comprehension of the coopetition performance construct, thereby advancing the knowledge in the field.

Sales and operations planning (S&OP) became a relevant managerial topic for academics and practitioners with a growing literature body and implementation cases in the industry. However, S&OP has been analysed mostly in stable environments, with few implications for uncertain environments. With the current growing pressure to deal with unexpected changes in the business environment, the integration with supply chain risk management (SCRM) activities has been considered a promising direction for the next S&OP generation. Within this context, this paper aims to advance the theoretical understanding of the interrelationship between S&OP and SCRM under different contexts and provide a practical guidance for adapting S&OP in uncertain environments. This goal is achieved by combining literature-based insights, obtained through a rigorous systematic literature review of 77 studies from academic and grey literature, with empirical insights from interviews with 15 industry experts. The research leads to a novel S&OP framework for dealing with uncertain environments. It integrates SCRM activities into S&OP, applying contingency theory as a theoretical foundation to address the context-specific nature of S&OP. Moreover, it embraces a holistic view for S&OP from an integrated people-process-IT perspective, encompassing the involved actors, the process itself and its steps, and the adopted information systems. Additionally, research findings reveal the possibility for an additional process to cope better with uncertain environments, which can run in parallel with the regular S&OP process. It is characterised by a higher planning frequency and a lower planning horizon, resulting in a closer linkage with operational planning and execution.

Abstract

This paper examines the interactions between selected coordination modes and dynamic team composition, and their joint effects on task performance under different task complexity and individual learning conditions. Prior research often treats dynamic team composition as a consequence of suboptimal organizational design choices. The emergence of new organizational forms that consciously employ teams that change their composition periodically challenges this perspective. In this paper, we follow the contingency theory and characterize dynamic team composition as a design choice that interacts with other choices such as the coordination mode, and with additional contextual factors such as individual learning and task complexity. We employ an agent-based modeling approach based on the NK framework, which includes a reinforcement learning mechanism, a recurring team formation mechanism based on signaling, and three different coordination modes. Our results suggest that by implementing lateral communication or sequential decision-making, teams may exploit the benefits of dynamic composition more than if decision-making is fully autonomous. The choice of a proper coordination mode, however, is partly moderated by the task complexity and individual learning. Additionally, we show that only a coordination mode based on lateral communication may prevent the negative effects of individual learning.

In recent years, “gazelles”—a small set of high-growth firms—have attracted considerable interest from researchers for their capacity to contribute significantly to the competitiveness of nations. However, in management literature, the research on this topic is still incomplete, and a broad but focused review is needed to understand the phenomenon fully. Therefore, the paper aims to analyse in depth the literature on “gazelles” published in the Business, Management, and Accounting and Decision Sciences fields, shedding light on opportunities arising from emerging research topics related to the phenomenon. In meeting this aim, the work is built on a systematic literature review, and Elsevier’s Scopus database was selected and scanned to access publications. The analysis identifies in the sample under investigation the quantitative characteristics (temporal distribution of publications, journals included in the sample, and methodological approach adopted by authors), as well as seven main topics resulting from the qualitative coding process (performance, policy and employment, innovation, entrepreneurship, corporate governance and decision-making, human resources, and strategy). Finally, a comprehensive outlook and a critical analysis of the state-of-the-art research on these specific high-growth firms have been provided through the proposal of a conceptual framework. This study also proposes a research agenda for scholars while providing insightful suggestions from a practical point of view.

Abstract

Digital transformation has a profound impact on businesses and various implications for firms. While some effectively navigate this digital shift, harnessing the benefits of modern technologies, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle to seize the opportunities presented by this transformative process, despite its unprecedented potential. Decision-makers within SMEs often grapple with uncertainty surrounding the digitalization process, leading to hesitancy in embracing available technologies. This qualitative study endeavors to address this challenge by exploring the enablers and barriers of digitalization adoption within SMEs, while also assessing its impact on performance. In-depth interviews were conducted with SME managers, with the results revealing that several factors simplify the process of digitization in SMEs, including the appropriate technologies, and a workforce equipped with the right digital skills to use them. Conversely, we identified elements that pose barriers to digitalization, such as the risk-averse culture prevalent in many SMEs, and their reliance on outdated legacy systems. In summary, our research underscores the importance of a strategic interplay of these elements for effective digitization within SMEs. This study sheds light on the intricacies of the digitalization process, while also providing valuable insights into the factors influencing its adoption and the resulting performance outcomes in the SME context.