European Research on Management and Business Economics最新文献

The automotive industry is undergoing a profound transformation in its transition to production of electric vehicles. This paper seeks to examine the main transformations taking place in global value chains in the automotive industry as a result of this transition. The analysis follows a multiple case study methodology based on a theoretical approach that seeks to address the research question and purpose.

The main findings of this research focus on three dimensions of GVCs. First, this transition increases competition among assembly plants at the intra-group level for the awarding of new models. Second, it continues to reconfigure supply chains, threatening the viability of certain traditional providers of components and giving rise to new players – battery manufacturers – that may challenge the chain hierarchy. Third, the transition to electric vehicles has led to a reduction in employment volume in the chain as a whole. Because the transition is ongoing, it will continue to pose significant challenges for multiple actors involved in the automotive industry.

The goal of this literature review is first of all to help define, characterise and contextualise the phenomena that make up Industry 4.0 (I4.0), the servitisation of manufacturing and re-shoring; and secondly to explore the strong interactions between them. We conduct a systemic literature review to identify, synthesise, assess and interpret the findings of past studies to address the research question analysed here. Industry 4.0 technologies (I4.0Ts), and particularly increased digitisation, has made for the configuration of new business models and the servitisation of the economy in the context of a new paradigm of competition. This digital servitisation is conducive to networking and enhances the role of proximity. Together with other concurrent factors (changes in relative costs, agglomeration economies, the skills and expertise in data management required by I4.0Ts) this is favouring re-shoring. Technology is always present to a greater or lesser degree as an explanatory factor in re-shoring. The increasing cognitive complexity of technical solutions is enhancing proximity constraints. More frequent, more intense contacts are needed between customers and suppliers in a production set-up that is increasingly customised.

This study tests a framework of business-to-business (B2B) sellers’ sales performance motivations in services firms. An exploratory-descriptive research design was used and data was collected from 389 respondents working in the services-orientated business sector of Norway. The study's results verify that B2B service sales are complex contexts and situations for B2B seller services firms and their B2B customers to handle. Many elements are required to reach a final deal. Therefore, services firms must maintain seller motivation throughout the B2B services sales process, which is usually hard and may involve psychological wear-out. Consequently, this study examines and verifies an important area of sales performance indicators, namely B2B sellers’ motivations in services firms, and explains B2B sellers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.

This paper investigates the effects of attitudes towards sustainable consumption and sustainable behaviours. Income as the control variable and gender, age, assets, and educational level as moderators were included. To achieve the aims of the study, a critical literature review, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling were performed. Data were obtained using the CAWI technique on a sample of 1200 adult consumers. The findings show that attitudes towards sustainable consumption are positively associated with sustainable behaviours, and that income significantly determines dimensions of attitudes towards sustainable consumption and sustainable behaviours. Additionally, the relationships between income, dimensions of attitude towards sustainable consumption, and particular sustainable behaviours in groups distinguished by gender, age, property ownership, and education level were confirmed.

Urban passenger transport is a key point in the progress of any city. It is a strategic area whose efficient and sustainable development requires the incorporation of multiple disciplines. It affects territorial, social, health, economic, and environmental policies, among others. In recent years, we have witnessed a series of changes, especially in the domains of technology and environmental issues. The interdisciplinary nature of transport together with these developments has produced fundamental and far-reaching changes in the scientific production related to this field of study which is difficult to cover in a traditional review of the literature. The aim of this work is thus to conduct a bibliometric analysis of urban passenger transport during the period 2001–2021, which illustrates the advances made during this period and stimulate new research in this field. SciMAT software was used for this purpose. The results show the conceptual evolution of urban passenger transport research, identifying seven main thematic areas: (1) health and physical activity, (2) travel, (3) transport policy, (4) air pollution, (5) congestion, (6) social exclusion, and (7) electric and autonomous vehicles.

In the fiercely competitive landscape of the peer-to-peer accommodation platform Airbnb, understanding customers’ online recommendation behavior is essential for optimizing competitiveness and harnessing the potential of electronic word-of-mouth. This study aims to provide comprehensive insights into the factors driving customers’ issuance of positive or negative recommendations based on their experiences. Leveraging 10,101 online reviews from Airbnb users, we employ the Structural Topic Model to determine latent topics relating to customers’ recommendation intentions. This study reveals that positive recommendations are primarily influenced by hedonic values tied to the overall experience, including crucial aspects such as convenience for exploring points of interest, local authenticity, social interaction, and emotional fulfillment. These findings highlight the significance of providing memorable and enriching experiences to elicit positive reviews from customers. On the other hand, negative recommendations are closely linked to utilitarian values focused on practical concerns such as check-in procedures, cleanliness, comfortableness, and amenities. Understanding these utilitarian factors is vital for hosts and platform administrators to improve service quality and address potential issues that may lead to negative reviews. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the significant role of hosts in shaping both positive and negative recommendations. This research contributes valuable insights to the field of peer-to-peer accommodation, highlighting the significance of various factors influencing customers’ recommendation behavior.

Legitimacy is fundamental to business internationalization and access to new markets. This variable is particularly important for emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) as they face numerous obstacles, including the information that consumers in the host country have about these companies in addition to the legitimacy of the country of origin. Therefore, this study tests whether home country information and legitimacy affect the legitimacy of EMNEs and consumer purchase intentions. Specifically, this research focuses on EMNEs of Chinese origin due to their rapid growth at the international level and in the fast fashion sector because of the change in the positioning of large brands in favor of sustainability. The model is validated through an empirical study of 261 regular Shein shoppers using PLS-SEM. The academic and managerial implications of this research clarify the antecedents and consequences of the legitimacy of EMNEs and provide recommendations for the management of EMNEs and business success.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy on Lean Leadership and Lean Culture, providing insights into how Lean Manufacturing companies can adapt their leadership and culture styles to succeed in the new business environment. We have conducted a systematic literature review focusing on the impact of Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy on Lean Leadership and Lean Culture, and our principal findings are that Implementing Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy requires changes in Lean Leadership and Culture styles to incorporate sustainability and digital transformation. This study identified ten Lean Culture characteristics classified in three groups values and principles (culture of respect, collectivism, power distance and authority distribution), customer centric (customer orientation and performance orientation) and operational excellence (receptiveness, working conditions, problem solving culture and continuous improvement and innovation) and nineteen Lean Leadership competences grouped in three categories customer oriented (customer focus, customer and supplier development and teamworking), personal development (personal stability, personal behavior, human centric, self-developing and learning, empowerment, self-transcendence and servant leadership), Lean principles (experimental, continuous improvement and innovation, zero-defects, process and lean expertise, problem solving and genchi genbutsu) and performance driven (targets settings, targets deployment and flow) that are necessary for successful implementation of Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy in Lean Manufacturing companies.

Are consumers accepting AI-based products? What are the socio-demographics influencing the adoption of these products? This study tests the potential users’ social-demographic characteristics that influence the relationship between innovation and AI-based products. The latter are robots (e.g. chatbots) and AI (e.g. recommendation systems, amongst others). A mixed methods approach is adopted using both qualitative and quantitative analysis with non-metrical multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to map opinions about digitally-intensive products, such as robots and AI, and the attitude towards innovation. The research uses data on the general population from the Spanish innovation barometer survey (N = 3,005). Findings show that individuals who have a negative attitude towards innovation have a negative opinion about robots and AI. As regards social-demographic dimensions, age and economic conditions moderate this effect, causing a more positive opinion towards digitally-intensive products amongst young people and individuals with a higher socio-economic level. These effects are increased by the moderating role of sex.

This study investigates board characteristics, including board leadership structure, which explain the human capital disclosure (HCD) provided by companies. It uses a self-constructed disclosure index to quantify the level of human capital information using content analysis. Generalized method of moment is employed to estimate a dynamic model of the relationship between HCD and the characteristics of boards of directors. The results show that companies are adapting to the new European Union (EU) Regulation Directive 2014/95/EU by increasing their HCD. There has been a change in the topics disclosed by companies that signal a commitment to social responsibility toward their employees and stakeholders. The level of HCD is significantly associated with board leadership structure, and independent directors play a moderating role when a chief executive officer (CEO) duality exists. Additionally, factors such as gender diversity, board size, board activity, company size and age, and the EU Directive approved in 2014 are all associated with HCD. This study enriches the debate on the role of independent directors in HCD because they can exercise a moderating role when CEO duality is present.