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Responsibility and sustainability are today a key part of doing business globally. However, the attention of scholars and policymakers has mainly been on large multinational enterprises, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) receiving less attention. Recent studies have noted the importance of learning for SMEs to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR), but it is not yet known how the learning orientation of SMEs impacts their CSR, and how the development impacts the internationalization and performance of SMEs, which are research gaps that recent studies have noted. Shedding light on those dynamics is also important from a practical perspective since in most countries SMEs constitute a large majority of firms in both amounts and total employment. The present study contributes by illustrating how CSR impacts different types of performance in SMEs, and how the learning orientation of SMEs predetermines their CSR. Regression analyses conducted on an empirical sample of Finnish SMEs indicate that CSR in SMEs has an impact on certain types of performance and that their learning orientation determines their CSR. Therefore, the study contributes to the literature on responsibility and sustainability in SMEs, and to that SME internationalization, by shedding light on the antecedents and outcomes of CSR for SMEs.

Object and purpose: Knowledge pills (KPs) are a technique for transferring knowledge through short factual batches of content. In education and vocational training, they can help learners acquire specific pieces of knowledge in a few minutes, through a “microteaching” approach where learners can be involved in active and interactive exercises, quizzes, and games. Thanks to the advancements of multimedia platforms, they can contain a mix of contents, i.e.: lecturer voice, images, videos, or other e-learning applications. This paper explores the state-of-the-art literature on KPs, with a special focus on their actual use as a mechanism to boost effective knowledge transfer and learning processes. The goals are a) to clarify the definition and peculiar characteristics of KPs; b) to classify their main typologies; c) to analyse their implications under a knowledge management perspective, and d) to highlight actual application fields, pros, and possible cons. Methodology: This study is based on a literature review by means of a search in global citation databases and on a snowball effect, with collective participation and sharing among all the authors. The articles found were then selected and carefully analysed. Findings: The advantages of KPs can be related to the division of knowledge into small parts, which also fits today’s needs of learners to “study faster” and acquire the specifically required knowledge. In addition, KPs are made of reusable materials and can be more easily updated than traditional supports. Possible limits are that designing a KP can be difficult, and careful consideration of the actual learning process and the mechanism by which a certain type of knowledge is transferred from a “knower” to a “learner” is required. Research limitations: Research is based on a limited literature review. However, this limitation is going to be overcome in future research. Practical implications: Findings provide useful insights not only for academics and researchers but also for teachers and trainers dealing with all types of education.

Crises means a particular threat to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The pandemic is no exception; on the contrary, it reinforces this threat. This study provides insight into crisis management in SMEs over a period of time. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in Peruvian SMEs at two points in time. The findings provide insight into how the Peruvian firms studied adapted to the new situation, and initiated responses to cope with the crisis covering the period April–December 2020. By having studied the phenomenon of crisis management in SMEs at different stages, the study contributes to the further development of still underdeveloped fields of research, namely, crisis management in Latin America in general, and crisis management in SMEs in particular.

In the last few years, the financing of responsibly operating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has become the focus of attention of several national and international bodies. Consequently, a number of policies and support programmes have been established aimed at supporting SMEs that take a responsible approach concerning the company and its operations. Against this background, this article presents a comprehensive international overview of support programmes for financing responsible SMEs. Based on systematic desk research, documents of national governments as well as supranational and international organisations have been investigated. The findings reveal that there are strong regional differences in terms of support policy approaches, intensity, and criteria. The largest part of the identified programmes has been launched by the European Union and/or its member states. Additionally, the findings clarify that the primary focus of extant programmes is on the environmental dimension of sustainability, mainly energy-related questions. The social dimension has been neglected so far in the programmes.

Crises means a particular threat to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The pandemic is no exception; on the contrary, it reinforces this threat. This study provides insight into crisis management in SMEs over a period of time. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in Peruvian SMEs at two points in time. The findings provide insight into how the Peruvian firms studied adapted to the new situation, and initiated responses to cope with the crisis covering the period April–December 2020. By having studied the phenomenon of crisis management in SMEs at different stages, the study contributes to the further development of still underdeveloped fields of research, namely, crisis management in Latin America in general, and crisis management in SMEs in particular.

The Covid-19 crisis has hit SMEs particularly hard. Numerous business models (BM) have been limited or rendered downright impossible due to decreased social contact. SMEs can respond to this exogenous crisis via temporary business model innovation (BMI). This empirical study investigates these temporary BMs using a multiple case study approach based on five SMEs in Austria, Germany, and Liechtenstein who within a short period of time applied their core competencies and networks to integrate new BMs, which were in some cases very different from existing ones. These had a positive effect on strategic flexibility, and if desired can also be incorporated into the firm long-term. The paper contributes to SME crisis management during the Covid-19 pandemic by pointing out and developing a successful management mechanism that allows to survive a crisis or even improve during this time. Moreover, we contribute to BMI literature by explaining temporary BMI as a new form of BMI. It also makes clear to managers that temporary BMs add value to firms and create new revenue streams.

Purpose Crises of any type have become an integral part of business activity and responses to them could make the difference between survival and failure. This applies in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Taking the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a starting point, this study aims to investigate how Peruvian SMEs have been coping with COVID-19 so far. Based on that a conceptual framework is proposed which highlights the practice of SMEs trying to deal with a new type of crisis. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on an exploratory qualitative research design involving 25 semi-structured interviews conducted in Peruvian SMEs. Findings The findings demonstrate how the Peruvian firms studied to adapt to the new situation and initiate responses to increasing the chance of survival. Furthermore, the role of the companies’ decision-makers, as well as the role of crisis management and other related approaches in the companies are shown. Research limitations/implications The paper expands the underdeveloped body of knowledge regarding crisis management in Latin America in general and crisis management in SMEs by providing insight into how Peruvian SMEs perceive and adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implications The findings presented in this paper have implications for both managers and managerial staff of SMEs but also for the people in charge of the curricula at universities and other teaching-focused institutes. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study of crisis management on the impacts of COVID-19 with a dedicated focus on SMEs from Latin America. It provides fresh insight into current reactions to the Pandemic.

COVID-19 has hit us all unexpectedly. Nevertheless, this pandemic requires decisive actions. Taking this as a starting point, this empirical study investigates how small companies from Estonia have...

WOS: 000547850500001, Purpose the purpose of this conceptual paper is to name and categorize risks related to emerging technological innovations and to propose a number of countermeasures. the emphasis is placed on knowledge risks that are grouped under human, organizational and technological spheres and are presented from a small business perspective. Design/methodology/approach the presented paper takes into account the prior literature and the authors' thoughts and experiences to identify potential knowledge risks and countermeasures. Findings Having a better overview of possible knowledge risks that may emerge in conjunction with the adoption and application of emerging technological innovations can help small businesses to better assess these new developments and their possible upsides and downsides. the proposed risks and countermeasures can also help policymakers as well as other organizations working for or together with smaller businesses to help them maintain and even increase their competitiveness. Practical implications Different implications are suggested for not only managers and employees in small businesses but also other stakeholders working for or with small businesses. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first one that focuses on how small businesses can improve their decision-making regarding the adoption of new emerging technological innovation from a knowledge risk perspective.

The need for preparing for the digital transformation has been a recurrent theme in public and academic debates, and the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed considerably to actions as well. © 2021, Management Revue. All Rights Reserved.

Acknowledging the role of different forms of entrepreneurship to continued economic prosper-ity and the role of institutional dimensions on entrepreneurship, this paper investigates if and to what extent a selected number of institutional dimensions influence students’ intentions to ei-ther start a company or take over an existing one. Based on a Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey (GUESS) dataset and international country-level databases, evidence shows that both entrepreneurship options are hampered by corruption and limited business freedom while promoted through favourable labour regulations and trade freedom. Property rights, fiscal freedom, government spending, monetary freedom, and investment freedom only affect start-ups, while financial freedom adversely affects both options. The study provides new insight into the impact of institutional dimensions on different types of entrepreneurship. Thus, in contrast to extant research in this area, it goes beyond the typical focus on start-ups. Evidence also suggests that male students prefer starting a new company, while female students seem to prefer a takeover. This improved understanding could help in not only designing more targeted entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial financing policies but also in improving entrepreneurship education.

Purpose This essay aims to draw attention to the idea of a new research approach to knowledge management (KM) labelled responsible KM (rKM) as a possible answer to not only address the consequences of the pandemic but also other present and upcoming societal challenges. Design/methodology/approach This essay has been prepared by a KM researcher who shares their own personal views and opinion regarding past and current societal developments and based on that offers a potentially new KM direction. Findings Switching the focus to rKM may help address current and upcoming social challenges that can only be addressed jointly by the global community and which would also involve a new consideration of the “knowledge” resource. Originality/value The essay proposes a new alternative approach to KM called rKM that is based on ideas that to the author’s knowledge have not been discussed in this way in the contemporary literature on KM.

By addressing the scarce knowledge of sustainability practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the purpose of the paper is to identify drivers for the maintenance of such practices and their extent. Based on a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with small Swedish firms, our findings reveal certain external (i.e., suppliers and customers) and internal (i.e., employees, organizational culture, and competitive advantage) factors that are strongly linked to the maintenance of sustainability practices. Apart from these, the longevity of the business was identified as an additional sustainability maintenance factor. This factor has not been discussed previously in the literature, so given its strength, we suggest to have it stand separately. The findings further indicate that Swedish SMEs are not limited by size concerning their sustainability practices but they are consciously working on progressing in their efforts. Furthermore, drawing on our findings we provide practical implications that will help business owners&rsquo, managers, and policymakers to better enable sustainability practices.

Even though previous research has repeatedly highlighted the critical role of network partners on innovation activities, it lacks a dedicated discussion about small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their approaches to network partners for realising innovation initiatives. This study responds to this situation and, drawing upon a data set from 1,315 Turkish SMEs, empirically conceptualises a typology of strategic types of networkers and explores the influence of these strategic types on marketing and product innovation as well as process and organisational innovation in SMEs. Results show that apart from supply-chain networkers, there are significant positive relationships between all types of network collaborations and SMEs' innovation activities. Additionally, increasing the breadth and depth of network collaboration with external partners will strengthen the positive effects of SMEs' innovation activities even more. Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

EgeUn###, The study of modes of open innovation in smaller companies is still in the development phase. This study responds to this situation and, drawing upon a data set from 4,679 Turkish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), explores the influence of inbound open innovation and coupled open innovation on marketing innovation as well as process and organisational innovation in SMEs. Results reveal major differences between small and medium-sized Turkish enterprises with regard to both marketing innovation as well as process and organisational innovation. While inbound open innovation positively influences both, marketing as well as process and organisational innovation, the effects for small-sized enterprises are even higher than for medium-sized ones. Coupled open innovation positively influences both innovation outcomes as well, although the effects for medium-sized enterprises are significantly higher than for smaller ones. © 2019 World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd.

Paper aims Extant Literature based on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm suggests that it can be used to study organizations of all types and sizes. In essence, the RBV argues that firms that possess rare, non-imitable, valuable, unique, and non-substitutable resources will outperform firms that do not possess such resources. This study questions the applicability of this assumption to smaller businesses, which are likely to have common resources readily available in the market rather than rare, non-imitable, non-substitutable, unique, or valuable resources. The purpose of this study is to discuss whether the composition-based view (CBV) of the firm offers a more promising approach than the RBV to studying small businesses. Originality This study is one of the first to tentatively suggest a change in theoretical approach when studying small businesses. Research method A structured critical review approach is taken. Main findings The findings reveal that the CBV offers a more promising and appropriate theoretical framework than the RBV for research on small businesses, whereas the RBV is better suited to research on larger firms. Implications for theory and practice Future studies can use RBV and CBV to study large and small businesses, respectively. Systematic review

This research evaluates the impact of competition from unregistered firms on R&D investment by formal firms in emerging economies by considering their industrial sector and institutional factors, such as intellectual property rights. We performed a study using the propensity score matching approach and the World Bank Enterprise Survey of 16 Latin American emerging economies. We observed that the R&D investment response of formal firms varies according to the typology of industrial sectors. Supplier-dominated industries reduce investments in R&D when confronted with the informal sector. However, science-based, specialized suppliers and scale-intensive industries do not alter their investments. In addition, the level of intellectual property (e.g., IPRI) modifies the effect of the informal sector on R&D investment. Formal firms reduce their investments in R&D when the IPRI environment is underdeveloped. This reduction does not occur in highly developed IPRI environments. We also discuss the finding's theoretical and practical implications and suggest avenues for future research. The RightsLink Digital Licensing and Rights Management Service (including RightsLink for Open Access) is available (A) to users of copyrighted works found at the websites of participating publishers who are seeking permissions or licenses to use those works, and (B) to authors of articles and other manuscripts who are seeking to pay author publication charges in connection with the submission of their works to publishers.

Purpose – The understanding of the later stage (i.e. the exploitation phase) in the new product development (NPD) process by companies from emerging markets is underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper is to address this lack and, by drawing upon a dataset from Turkish firms, explore how different factors affect the exploitation phase of the NPD process. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were carried out on a sample of 671 Turkish firms operating in five industries (i.e. information and communication technologies, biomedical, machinery, chemical and plastic, and food and beverage) in the Izmir region (Turkey) to test the hypotheses. Findings–Results reveal major differences regarding human capital, leadership, marketing capabilities, and business and institutional networks in terms of the commercialization of newly developed products in domestic and international markets. Originality/value – By focusing on the exploitation stage, this paper extents the growing research efforts to study the NPD process of companies in emerging economies other than China by using primary data from Turkey. The RightsLink Digital Licensing and Rights Management Service (including RightsLink for Open Access) is available (A) to users of copyrighted works found at the websites of participating publishers who are seeking permissions or licenses to use those works, and (B) to authors of articles and other manuscripts who are seeking to pay author publication charges in connection with the submission of their works to publishers.

This position paper is interested in determining the current state of research on knowledge management (KM) in logistics, By emphasising the important role of logistics at global level, the authors of the position paper present latest research that has addressed KM in logistics. This makes it possible to propose a number of promising future research avenues in order to foster more rigour research on KM in logistics, which is still underdeveloped. CC BY 3.0

The purpose of this chapter is to explore and discuss, in the context of Smart Cities (SC), the relations between three concepts: Intellectual Capital (IC), Innovation Process (IP) and Sustainability (S). It is important to note that, in this context, the concept of IC refers to Smart Cities Intellectual Capital (SCIC), which is characterised by four components (Human Capital, Process Capital, Renewal Capital, Clients Capital), also used for Nations IC. The Innovation analysis considers two models: the first one expresses the dependencies and limits of innovation, resulting from physical limitations such as city area and city population; and the second one is the N-Tuple of Helices model. The concept of Smart City will be modelled as a living being capable of rational behaviour, knowledge production, and intellectual activity.

What's mine is yours. An increasing number of people are participating in sharing and exchanging information, knowledge, data and goods. As research addressing the so-called ‘sharing economy’ is still in its infancy, this article aims to shed light on it. To do this, a qualitative research approach comprising guided interviews with 14 companies from Germany, Austria and Switzerland provides detailed insights into different aspects of the sharing economy phenomenon. Our results make a direct contribution to sharing economy research, especially regarding the new business models of start-ups. Here, we find a clear difference between the relevance of economic and social orientation. The latter appears to be in higher demand among customers than entrepreneurs. The increasingly digitalized environment has led to a changed living situation characterized by urbanity, openness to new solutions, changed working situations and new mindsets. All of these aspects drive the sharing economy. The results of this paper are summarized in a framework highlighting the requirements, drivers and goals of the sharing economy. Considering the limited research in this field, the developed framework is a strong basis for discussion, critique and/or support of future research.

Studies on knowledge creation are limited in general, and there is a particular shortage of research on the topic in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Given the importance of SMEs for the economy and the vital role of knowledge creation in innovation, this situation is unsatisfactory. Accordingly, the purpose of our study is to increase our understanding of how SMEs create new knowledge. Data are obtained through semi-structured interviews with ten managing directors of German SMEs operating in the building and construction industry. The findings demonstrate the influence of external knowledge sources on knowledge creation activities. Even though the managing directors take advantage of different external knowledge sources, they seem to put an emphasis on informed knowledge sources. The study´s findings advance the limited body of knowledge regarding knowledge creation in SMEs. Normal 0 21 false false false PT X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Normale Tabelle"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}

Despite the growing body of literature concentrating on service innovation, empirical research focusing on measuring its impact, mainly at firm-level, remains scarce. Adopting the perspective that the ability to monitor the service innovation process and to assess its impact is a pre-condition to properly manage it, we conduct a literature review of recent empirical studies on the measurement of service innovation to ascertain our current body of knowledge. We restrict our review to the period covering 2006 to 2014, as previous research has been extensively covered by Adams, Bessant, and Phelps (2006) and concentrate on published empirical academic articles which clearly examine “service innovation” and its impact on performance. Relying on several inclusion and exclusion criteria, thirteen empirical studies were retained and are discussed in this paper. Although this study does not claim to be exhaustive, it shows that knowledge on the relationship between service innovation and performance is limited and that this area of research deserves further scrutiny. We conclude with some avenues for further research, in view of stimulating more research in this promising yet emerging field.