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AbstractThe impact of Indian state labour law reforms on employment, output, new industrial units, investment and size of industrial units is examined from 2000–01 to 2017–18. States with inflexible labour laws had lower growth of large industrial units and regular employment. Contract worker hiring spiked in firms with 301–500 workers in both flexible and inflexible states. Capital growth was higher than growth of workers in all state categories. Rajasthan, the first state to carry out additional reforms in 2014, had good performance. Regressions carried out to control for factors that impact employment other than labour laws indicate that: (i) reforms had a positive impact on employment; (ii) good infrastructure, reduction in industrial disputes, low crime and better education resulted in significant employment generation. Difference-in-differences estimates show that post-reform, employment, fixed capital, and output were higher for flexible labour law states, when compared to inflexible labour law states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is important to firms' productivity, competitiveness, agility, resilience and growth. The success of a firm's innovation strategy depends in part on how it combines and absorbs different innovation activities. Using the Crépon-Duguet-Mairesse (CDM) structural model, this paper analyses complementarity between product and process innovation for the case of small and micro manufacturing firms in Johannesburg, South Africa. The empirical analysis utilises rich new firm-level survey data that, unlike most firm surveys, includes micro-sized firms as well as informal enterprises. Our results show strong evidence of complementarity between product and process innovations in their effects on firm performance. The results suggest that firm size, capital intensity, firm age, innovation expenditure and financial constraints are key variables associated with complementarity. We extend the specifications used in previous studies to take account of the contextual setting, with split samples by firm formality, ownership and size. We find evidence of complementarity in formal firms only. Our results also show stronger effects of complementarity in micro-firms and foreign-owned firms. The findings have relevance for promoting innovation and for enhancing the effects of innovation on firm performance among micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in a developing country context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a comprehensive assessment of the impact of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) on financing patterns of working capital and fixed investment. Financing sources include internal funds, equity, different types of debt financing, and government grants. Specifically, this study examines differences in the impacts of CER on financing patterns for smaller and larger firms. Based on a sample of 15,082 firms covering 27 countries, our empirical findings indicate that environmentally responsible activities do not significantly affect financing patterns of working capital but affect the use of internal finance and almost all external sources for capital expenditures. Moreover, the impacts of environmentally responsible activities on capital expenditures vary across financial sources and depend on firm size. The revealed pecking order among financing sources and changes in the debt ratio offer valuable insights into the validity of capital structural theories for smaller and larger eco-friendly firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:DesignResultsPractical implicationsThe objective of this study is to ascertain whether there are statistically significant price differences between Austrian biodynamic, organic and conventional wines, and whether these wines are rated differently in an internationally recognised wine guide.A content analysis of the Austrian Gault&Millau Wine Guides 2015–2018 was carried out. The data analysed – 8,667 different wines featured in the four editions mentioned – included the names of the wineries, company size, region of origin, rating (points) and cellar door prices.The results show that biodynamic wines in the Austrian Gault&Millau wine guides 2015–2018 (928 in total) are significantly better (higher) rated and have higher cellar door prices than organic wines (1,180 positions) and conventional wines (the vast majority – 6,559 wines). No significant evidence was found for differences in cellar door prices between organic and conventional wines.The results do not necessarily indicate that Austrian wines made from biodynamic grapes are better and more expensive than others. Rather, our results indicate that a large number of leading Austrian wine producers use biodynamic farming methods, and thus the average ratings and average prices of these wines are inherently higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open Innovation (OI) literature related to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has often been fragmented, hindering the effective generalisation of findings. We conducted a systematic multidisciplinary literature review to explore OI in the context of SMEs across various regions. OI research in SMEs was most common in Europe, followed by China, Korea, South East Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East. Surprisingly, very little research has been done in the USA, Canada, and the Indian subcontinent. We aimed to identify the commonalities and regional specifics in the antecedents and processes leading to OI. The review included one hundred research articles from the Web of Science database. Our findings revealed four common antecedents of OI across the firms: Human Factors, Technology, Policy, and Heterogeneity.Additionally, we identified three standard processes that lead to the OI phenomenon: firm-level partnerships, collaboration with academia, and intermediation. Though the antecedents and processes hold across firms of different sizes, human factors, policy and heterogeneity among the antecedents and intermediation as the process holds more significance to the SMEs as a sector. This research has important implications for academia and the industry. Firstly, we have responded to the research gap by increasing the generalisation of results across the regions. Secondly, different stakeholders may look for literature that is directly relevant to them. Thirdly, SME managers need to know the specific attitudes to facilitate OI effectively. Fourthly, the importance of intermediation has been identified as an effective process leading to OI. Finally, we have categorised future research directions under different clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines chatbot technology from a business perspective and aims to provide empirical evidence for chatbot adoption by travel agencies. We have collected data from 356 travel agency officials based on the technology – organization – environment (TOE) framework and the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB). The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS. The findings showed that relative advantage, technological orientation, and perceived trends positively influence attitudes toward chatbots. Surprisingly, firm size and perceived complexity were found to have no significant impact on attitude toward chatbots, contrary to previous research. Additionally, the study highlights that the behavioral desire of travel agencies for chatbots strongly predicts their intention to adopt them. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence for chatbot adoption by traditional brick-and-mortar travel agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this article is to determine the relationship between mobile money services and the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A sample of 50 SMEs was collected. The probit model was used to estimate the result. The study established that mobile money services have a positive and significant relationship with the growth of SMEs. The determinants of mobile money services observed are; experience in business management, frequency of bill payment, size of business, male entrepreneur, operation of mobile money account, frequency of purchasing airtime, distance to financial institutions, number of business branches, mobile money accounts held, secondary education, technical support, location of business, number of workers and size of capital transaction. The challenges faced by entrepreneurs in mobile money transactions observed are: wrong manipulation of account, delays, environmental complexities, and loss of money due to hawkers. The result suggests that SMEs should intensify the use of mobile money services in their daily business transactions. It is a wise step toward business expansion. Entrepreneurs of SMEs should take advantage of the drivers of mobile money services to encourage the diverse use of digital technologists. Finally, entrepreneurs should avoid risky manipulations of their mobile money gargets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much has been written about it, innovation in China remains a conundrum. In particular, the existing literature provides limited understanding of the underlying, internal dynamics behind Chinese companies' innovations. To this end, this article investigates the role of female board representation – a factor increasingly viewed as important for various organisational outcomes. In addition, we explore several organisational variables through which female board representation may impact corporate innovation. We use data from listed companies in the Chinese stock market from 2003 to 2017. Our analyses show that female board representation overall has a negative effect on innovation in Chinese firms. However, upon deeper examination, much more intricate relationships emerge. Female board representation tends to promote innovation in smaller, younger, or less financially constrained firms. In contrast, it tends to be detrimental to firms' innovation when they are large, old, or financially constrained. Findings point to an urgent need for paying more attention to critical moderators that have often been overlooked in existing research on board gender diversity. Findings also imply that how board gender diversity manifests in corporate settings can vary in different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes whether International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption and the presence of Big Four auditors affect the earnings quality of UK private small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using data covering 2011–2018, we show that IFRS adoption is not significantly associated with earnings quality. This may be because SMEs' smaller size and simpler business model mean that only a few accounting rules are relevant for them. The high quality of UK domestic accounting standards may also explain this result. Furthermore, we find that the presence of Big Four auditors results in lower earnings quality, in contrast to prior research results. The advisory role played by Big Four auditors for SMEs and UK tax authorities' less monitoring of financial statements may contribute to this result. Our findings offer new insights into the potential impact of IFRS adoption on private SMEs' earnings quality and suggest that policymakers aiming to enhance earnings quality should carefully consider the advisory role of auditors in SMEs' financial reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between a firm with a sufficient number of personnel in charge of its internal controls and post-earnings announcement drift (PEAD). Having enough internal control personnel is expected to increase the transparency and reliability of accounting information, reduce the delay in investors' decision-making, and ultimately reduce PEAD. The empirical results show that PEAD is reduced when the size of a firm's internal control workforce is adequate. This study contributes to the literature by finding that having a sufficient number of internal personnel responsible for a company's accounting information is an additional factor that influences PEAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2021, the Australian Government introduced its News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code ('the Code') to support the sustainability of the country's journalism. Using Event Study Methodology, we find a collectively positive stock market reaction in the news media industry to the introduction of the Code, although different patterns amongst individual firms and groups by size to the different stages of the Code's development. The large-firm group records larger gain in terms of equity value, but a lower percentage gain than small and medium enterprises. The economic importance of our findings reinforces the Australian Government's regulatory approach as a means to sustain the legitimate interest of businesses and consumers in the news media sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the correlates of transformation of firms into a Benefit Company (BC) which is a hybrid form of business, introduced in Italy in 2016. We exploit a firm-level analysis based on a dataset of 748 firms, of which 185 have been transformed in BC between 2009 and 2019. The empirical analysis highlights that the probability of converting an existing firm into a BC is associated with prior performance. In particular, it is: (i) positively associated with profitability; (ii) negatively associated with indebtedness. In addition, it appears to be (iii) positively associated with longevity of the firm and (iv) positively associated with the size of the firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides international empirical evidence for the asymmetric cost behaviour of operating expenses in the context of the European non-listed firms. We employed a data sample of 4,177,625 firm years observations from Amadeus Database for the period 2009–2017 to explore the asymmetric cost behaviour phenomenon at the EU-28 countries pool and country level. Substantial variation in the direction of the asymmetric cost behaviour, across countries and firm size clusters, has been observed. However, in a considerable number of cases operating expenses exhibit symmetric cost behaviour. We conjecture that the reasons behind the observed pattern of asymmetric cost behaviour in the organizational setting of non-listed firms are the relative low availability of entrepreneurial economic resources and the presence of entrepreneur which might affect the resource allocation decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 2021, with COVID-19 cases about to reach their peak, US employment still remained below its pre-pandemic level, with data indicating a strong labour demand and a weak labour supply. Many US individuals did not work, out of a concern about Covid-19. At the same time, the pandemic affected businesses of different sizes differently. At first, the pandemic hit especially hard small businesses. But later in 2020 the recovery was stronger at smaller businesses than at larger ones. These developments call for a renewed attention to how the labour supply varies across employers of different sizes. I focus on two important determinants of labour supply during a pandemic: the vulnerability to the severe effects of the virus because of pre-existing health conditions and the ability to work from home. I study how these two factors vary across establishments of different sizes. I find that the ability to work from home is higher at larger establishments, for both workers with and without COVID-19 health risk. However, the difference in ability to work from home across these two types of workers does not decrease at larger employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, academics and governments are increasingly concerned about the growing size of non-financial enterprises' ownership of financial products. Taking corporations listed in the Chinese stock market as the research sample, this study investigates the impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on corporate financialization. We find that EPU will exacerbate corporate financialization, which is robust after conducting a series of estimation tests. Further investigation reveals that financing constraints may be the primary channel by which EPU motivates corporate booming financial product holdings. The exacerbation effects are particularly prominent in firms with small size, non-SOEs, weak corporate governance, and firms at a low growth stage. Overall, our results provide a novel explanation for the behaviour of corporate financialization in emerging capital markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profitability (ROA) of US and European defense companies are influenced by past profitability, debt policy, company size, and defense specialization. Taking into account the effect of these variables, individual company characteristics and time specificities, the profitability of US defense companies remains higher than that of European companies. Moreover, US defense firms are more profitable when specialized in defense, while European companies are more dependent on the civilian market and its evolution. The position of a company in the SIPRI ranking has a negative impact on American companies' profitability, while it positively influences European companies' profitability. These results could be due to excessive fragmentation (of orders and industries) on the European market and high concentration on the US market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries differ in terms of the effectiveness of their innovation ecosystem. The Triple Helix Model (THM) is useful in describing and analyzing the impact of the key actors in the national innovation system on the innovation performance of the industrial firms. The impact of Triple-Helix relationship on the firms' innovativeness is measured using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression models. The results showed that industrial collaboration with every single actor as per the THM is weak and its impact on the ability of the industrial firms to innovate is not significant. However, this relationship becomes significant in the presence of the three key THM actors for all types of innovation except organizational innovation. In general, the sectors, the working environment, size of firms, and their ability to export are significant predictors of firms to innovate. Therefore, there is a need to promote trio relationships through an active government role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firm innovation is of vital importance to New Zealand's economy, but we understand little about how different human resource (workforce) factors influence innovation approaches (product/services innovation, process innovation, and innovation speed). We explore three human resource (HR) factors: workforce knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), workforce attraction, and workforce retention, using a sample of New Zealand private sector firms (n = 402). Regression analysis shows all HR factors are significant predictors of all innovation approaches. Further analysis shows workforce KSAs is dominant towards product/service innovation, workforce attraction is dominant towards process innovation, and workforce retention is dominant towards innovation speed. Moderating effects by firm size are found showing small-sized firms out innovate large-sized firms when workforce KSA are high, despite small-sized firms having, on average, weaker HR factors and innovation approaches than large-sized firms. We highlight the organisational implications across small – and large-sized firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extant corporate investment literature documented that agency conflicts of managers from making optimal investment decisions. This study aims to investigate the influence of managerial power on the efficiency of investment strategy. The analysis, we obtained an unbalanced panel comprising 35 conglomerates (206 companies), conducted in the period 2005 to 2014. The empirical find that managers in good subsidiaries tend to be more conservative and are apt to underinvest. However, in bad subsidiaries, managers having stronger power are more likely to overinvest. Due to the contingency perspective of corporation targets in good subsidiaries, managers may increase their investments to expand firm size and control more resources. On the contrary, low-power managers tend to underinvest their businesses since they lack complete decision-making power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sheds light on the effectiveness of a concrete target-based performance evaluation system (TPES) for localities in enhancing local environmental enforcement in China. We conduct a difference-in-differences (DID) specification and exploit unique firm-level data to investigate the effects of the TPES on SO2 emission reduction through the Two control Zones (TCZ) policy. The results suggest that the TPES significantly reduces SO2 emissions of firms located at the TCZ cities, both in extensive and intensive margins. We also find that the treatment effects vary largely across enterprise sizes, ownership types, and local economic development. Our findings further verify how the long-standing distortions in the decentralized implementation of nationwide environmental regulations in China are remedied with a proper performance evaluation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We test the comparative ability of representative machine-learning algorithms – Logistic Regression, Random Forest Classifier, Adaboost Classifier and Multi-Layer Perceptron Classifier – to predict the likelihood that an acquirer will be forcibly delisted for performance reasons after the close of a deal. We find that the Multi-Layer Perceptron Classifier, Adaboost and Random Forest have similar performance in terms of performance but the Logistic Regression is the poorest performing among the models we study. For feature importance, the results suggest that firm size, leverage, and profitability are the most informative features for the models in predicting the likelihood of performance-induced delisting. Deal-related characteristics and agency problems do not drive performance-induced involuntary delisting of acquirers. The results taken together suggest that acquirers delisted within five years post-merger for performance-induced reasons were already poor-performing firms pre-merger, their state likely worsened by undertaking a merger they were originally not supposed to undertake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aims of this research are to investigate the reasons for adopting big data (BD) and big data analytics (BDA), determine their extent of usage, and identify potential obstacles to their adoption in a developing country, Egypt. Motivation: Prior literature criticized the audit profession for the slow adoption of BDA, and little is known about the adoption of BD and BDA in developing countries. The reluctance to incorporate BD and BDA into auditing can be attributed to their potential obstacles. In addition, prior studies focused on the Big-4 audit firms in developed countries with little known about adopting BD and BDA in local audit firms and developing countries. Design/methodology/approach:To achieve the objectives of this study, 16 audit practitioners with various positions, specializations, and experience levels were interviewed. The 16 participants belong to audit firms of different sizes: international audit firms, local audit firms, and a governmental auditing agency. Thematic analysis was employed through using the MAXQDA software package to analyze the data. Main findings: The findings revealed that the reasons for using BD and BDA go beyond improving audit efficiency and effectiveness and satisfying clients. All audit firms collect and analyze large volumes of traditional accounting data. However, the Big-4 firms manage and analyze non-financial data and new data items as complementary audit evidence. Also, it was found that the type of audit firm affects the use of these technologies, with international firms being superior to other firms. The Accountability State Authority lags behind other audit firms in adopting BD and BDA. Furthermore, it was found that some obstacles to adopting BD and BDA arise due to the specific characteristics of the Egyptian context, while others are universal. Practical implications/Managerial impact: Determining the reasons for and obstacles to adopting BD BDA is useful for audit firms and regulators to remove these obstacles and encourage using such new audit technologies. The findings might help developers of BDA software packages to enhance their packages to meet auditor requirements. Moreover, academic scholars can benefit from the findings of this study by gaining an understanding of the main differences between developed and developing countries in relation to adopting BD and BDA. Novelty/Contribution: This study was conducted in Egypt, a developing country with a an underdeveloped audit environment. Therefore, this study enriches the relevant literature by providing information about BD and BDA in an unexplored developing environment. Besides, it delves deeper into the reasons and obstacles to using BD and BDA in external financial auditing in a developing country. Also, it adds to the literature by identifying the most common BDA software packages and techniques that auditors use in a developing country. Moreover, it considers audit practitioners' viewpoints on audit firms of various sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a large sample of EU non-financial firms over the period 2008–2018, this study examines the effect of the 2014 EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and finds that the Directive has led to an increase in CSR transparency and performance. Further, it shows that the association between the Directive and CSR transparency is stronger for smaller firms, firms highly followed by analysts and firms headquartered in countries with strong legal systems. The adoption of CSR reporting after the Directive's enactment, small firm size and investments in research and development strengthen the positive effects of the Directive on CSR performance. However, the mandating of CSR reporting assurance by some EU member states seems not to have any significant impact. Lastly, our study shows that after the Directive's enactment, firms adopting CSR reporting experienced lower systematic risk and cost of equity. Our study contributes to the debate about whether and how non-financial disclosure should be regulated and shows the positive effects of the 'comply or explain' approach. It also provides insights for the EU in relation to the recently approved proposal to extend CSR reporting regulation to listed small and medium-sized enterprises and mandate CSR reporting assurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore differences in firms' attitudes towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). Using a unique dataset covering 8,857 French firms, collected by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), we identify firms conducting conscious CSR and others with effective but unaware CSR activities. We then construct three CSR pillar scores for each firm, using Mokken scale analysis, a form of non-parametric item response analysis. The CSR scores, along with responses to specific questions, allow us to characterize firms that implement conscious or unaware CSR. We then estimate simple probit and count data models to show that a significant share of firms are in fact actually engaged in unaware CSR, with no monotonic size effect. Cooperation with external actors such as NGOs mitigates the effect of firm size on the likelihood of conducting unaware CSR, while the effect of NGO campaigns against large firms is mainly to increase the environmental score of small firms in the same industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firm-level innovation in sub-Saharan Africa remains under-researched. To address this gap, this paper examines the obstacles to innovation faced by small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa. Using the 2018 Business Innovation Survey, we apply the double-hurdle model to investigate factors determining a firm's decision to invest, and the intensity of innovation. Our results show that cost and institutional obstacles were significantly more important as disincentive factors for medium-sized enterprises while knowledge obstacles were significant disincentive factors for large enterprises. In addition, market obstacles hampered investment among large enterprises. Interestingly, none of these factors was found to deter innovation intensity among small and micro enterprises. The study findings suggest that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to innovation policy and intervention programmes to support innovation within firms of different sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small- and medium-sized accounting practices (SMPs) offer clients – small and medium-sized entities – support to comply with statutory services (financial statements, tax file preparation) and provide customised business advice. This paper investigates differences in SMP's financial performance. A survey was sent to Belgian heads of SMPs, asking about personal characteristics regarding education and experience (representing human capital resources), firm size, service types provided, cooperation, and communication (representing organisational capital resources). The findings show that additional specialisation degrees, more experience, and more continuing professional development are linked with higher sales per employee. However, the advantage of additional specialisation degrees diminishes as experience increases. Cooperating with other service providers and using the phone as preferred communication method were also linked to higher financial performance. Finally, male-headed SMPs had higher sales per employee than female-headed ones. Female accountants focused more on their educational role, spending more time explaining the figures to clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We first examine the effect of having innovation cooperation arrangements on the productivity level among firms with innovation activities. Then, we examine whether a firm's productivity level is affected by its number and types of innovation cooperation partners among those with innovation cooperation arrangements. Data on Norwegian firms with innovation activities is used. In the analysis, we differentiate between small and large firms. The estimation results show that unlike small firms, large firms can benefit from cooperation arrangements by achieving productivity improvements. Using the group of internal partners as the reference category, the results show that the productivity level is relatively higher in the short term among all and small firms that had cooperation arrangements with competitors or other enterprises in their sector, and relatively lower both in the short and medium term among all and small firms that had arrangements with partners in the academic sector. This level is relatively higher among large firms that had arrangements with consultants or consulting enterprises, and relatively lower among large firms that had arrangements with commercial labs or R&D-enterprises, in the medium term. We also find that most effects of the number of different types of cooperation partners are not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime freight companies are beneficial in carrying the majority of commodities globally. The large number of parties involved makes data exchange hard. Blockchain technology's potential benefits are becoming more apparent to maritime freight firms. This report examines the important factors influencing blockchain technology adoption in the maritime freight sector. To calculate their weights, the study applies the Grey-DEMATEL based Analytic Network Process. According to the analysis, the most important determinants are government policies, firm size, and perceived cost of investment. These insights can assist government agencies, freight companies, and blockchain service providers in planning successful implementations and increasing competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to the burgeoning research on corporate governance and research and development (R&D) by exploring the contingent role of firm size and its crucial role in defining conditions for competitive advantage. Using a generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator and a sample of U.S. publicly traded pharmaceutical firms from 2009 to 2018, we test several hypotheses related to the role of firm size in the relationship between corporate governance and R&D investment. Our findings show the importance of institutional context and point out the configurations of governance practices that lead to high and low levels of R&D investment. We find that the effect of corporate governance on R&D investment is contingent upon firm size. Larger and smaller firms differ in building and employing their strategic decisions. Our results indicate that larger firms facilitate R&D investment than smaller firms, showing that these firms are more prone to seek variation and visibility for accessing better resources. Our findings are relevant for firms aiming to implement strong governance mechanisms to track their R&D activities and for policymakers interested in promoting R&D investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental management is becoming a popular practice in many organisations. However, the transition from old to new practices does not come without any challenges. Numerous studies have argued that the process of adopting a new practice such as environmental management will depend on firms' absorptive capacity, i.e. the ability of firms to identify, acquire and transform external information and knowledge. However, absorptive capacity alone does not guarantee success. To deliver the intended outcomes, absorptive capacity works in conjunction with other internal and external factors. Based on a configuration perspective, this study used data from 107 manufacturing firms to identify an asymmetric role played by absorptive capacity with factors, such as firm size, decentralisation, customer engagement and global environmental awareness in supporting the practice of environmental management. This study contributes to the development of knowledge in environmental management literature and provides several practical recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the association between industrial structure and regional economic resilience during five different crises in Czechia, focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war. The effects of economic diversity, sectoral structure, factor intensity of production, and firm size structure on regional resistance were tested. We found that regional patterns of resistance varied significantly from one crisis to another. There were only two major cases where a positive association with regional resistance turned into a negative from one shock to another: public services that absorbed unemployment during the Great Recession and shed labour in the austerity crisis, and capital-intensive industries that exhibited a positive statistical effect on regional resistance during the transitionary shock and the Great Recession, while their contribution to regional labour markets during the Covid-19 pandemic and the War was negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 outbreak has had severe economic consequences across the globe. The crisis emanating from the pandemic has caused demand and supply side shocks, more far reaching than any crisis in living memory. We use a new data set from the 2020/21 Egyptian Industrial Firm Behavior Survey to examine determinants of firms' resilience during the pandemic. Crisis present the opportunity for what Schumpeter (In Economics of the Recovery Program, McGraw-Hill, 1934) calls creative destruction. Have manufacturing firms been all hit by the crisis equally, or were less efficient firms more likely to exit or downsize their activities thereby 'cleansing' the market? Two sets of factors affect firm dynamics and survival: (1) firms' innate characteristics and; (2) firm behavior, which captures the extent to which good management, innovation, the adoption of advanced technologies and worker training, have provided an opportunity for firms to adapt their business models and show greater resilience in coping with the crisis. We illustrate the vulnerability of private, smaller, informal firms and those that are not located in industrial zones. Second, pre-COVID behavioral characteristics matter for firm dynamics. The food sector and sectors identified as 'COVID sectors' show more resilience. Some behavioral traits vary by sector and are more influential depending on firm size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between firm expansion and job creation, focusing on how it contributes to overall income growth. It highlights the crucial factor of profitability in entrepreneurial decision to expand their firms. Various influences on this decision are discussed, with emphasizing trust. The paper argues that the dynamism of small firms plays a role in shaping the endogenous distribution of firm sizes. Trust is identified as a significant determinant of this dynamism. Employing a monopoly-competition model, the paper demonstrates that higher-ability entrepreneurs tend to select firm expansion. The model predicts a distinct pattern in the distribution of firm sizes, characterized by a cut-off point where entrepreneurs are classified. When the trust level is higher, entrepreneurs have greater incentives to expand their firms, resulting in a larger population of large firms and increased aggregate income. The paper concludes with a policy implication, suggesting that governments should strive to create a higher level of trust conducive to firm expansion if their objective is to boost aggregate income. Overall, this paper contributes to the existing literature on entrepreneurship and firm-size distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic disparity between southern and northern China has widened in the past decade. This article explores the roles of the north-south stretched backbone high-speed rails (HSRs) in the widened north-south economic gap in China. By constructing panel data of 283 cities between 2005 and 2016 and estimating the difference in GDP and per-capita GDP of northern and southern cities before and after the first north-south stretched HSR, we show that the north-south economic gap widened by about 8% as the opening of the Beijing-Shanghai HSR, the first north-south stretched HSR. Further channel analysis reveals that the north-south gaps in population, fixed asset investment, public expenditure, and the relative size of secondary industry to tertiary industry also widened. These results suggest that fast transportation improvement caused by long-distance backbone HSRs can contribute to accelerating the large-scale regional disparity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we extend the literature on Gibrat's law of firm growth by testing Gibrat's law for knowledge size of high-tech firms. Two measures of a firm's knowledge size which represent its knowledge stock and diversity are developed from its portfolio of patents. Using non-parametric regressions, specifically local polynominal estimators, we find that Gibrat's law applies to knowledge size of high tech firms, specifically when their knowledge surpasses a certain threshold in size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the China high- and new-technology enterprise (HNTE) program implemented in 2008 as a quasi-natural experiment. Difference-in-differences (DID) estimate with matching data from the China Industrial Enterprise Database, the China Customs Database and the HNTE Certification Database for 2006–2010 is used to study the impact of HNTE certification on enterprises' export product quality. The results show that, overall, HNTE certification promotes the upgrading of export product quality. Moreover, the improvement of innovation ability brought by HNTE certification is an important channel to promote such upgrades. A series of robustness tests also confirm the above conclusions. In addition, heterogeneity analyses are conducted based on the enterprise size, ownership and trade mode, respectively. The results show that the mechanism by which HNTE certification policy promotes export product quality through the improvement of enterprise innovation ability is more significant in non-SOEs and general trading enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed the impact of location, accreditation, and faculty size on the ranking of elite business schools. It used descriptive statistics and inferential analysis (analysis of covariance) to establish the effect of location on the business schools’ ranking while also controlling the influence (impact) of the covariates (accreditation and faculty size) on the outcomes. It found that location and accreditation type do not significantly affect the business schools’ ranking. The size of the faculty impacted the rankings of the programs. However, the pairwise comparison of the critical factors shows that faculty size and accreditation are more impactful in European business schools than in China, the United States/ Canada, and other regions. Finally, smaller business schools (mainly in Europe) pursue Triple Crown accreditation to compete with more extensive, U.S.-based programs, favoring only the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distinction between direct and indirect exporting has been increasingly stressed in recent advances in the theory and empirics of international trade. In particular, the prior literature suggests a hierarchy of exporting decisions determined by firm productivity. We use firm-level data from a wide group of post-communist countries to investigate which characteristics of firms can explain their choice of export modes. We find that firm internationalization, firm size, and per worker revenue are linked to exporting decisions in a way consistent with Lu's et al. model, while the relationship with innovation performance is more complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective digital strategy provides multifaceted benefits for firms of all sizes, including operational oversight, learning, and effective market interactions. Yet, despite the burgeoning evidence that digitalization provides essential resources for firms, disparate observations on the link between SME performance and digitalization across regions are noted in the literature. There remain concerns about whether SMEs enact effective digital strategies to reap the rewards, especially given that some SMEs have reported entirely forgoing digital activities due to resource constraints and exogenous forces in the market. In light of the varying global observations, it is crucial to understand how regional and multi-layered institutional settings influence SMEs to adopt, implement, and utilize digital resources to form solid policies and appropriate facilitative mechanisms. Therefore, this study compiled 11,485 observations of SME digital activities and performance from 88 distinctive institutional regions within Latin America and the Caribbean from 2006 to 2018. The study used data from the World Bank's Enterprise Survey (WBES) and World Development Indicators (WDI) to reveal various institutional factors influencing SMEs' adoption of technologies and subsequent performance via multilevel regressions. The findings suggest institutional barriers become insignificant when firms use digital technologies and suggest that it may insulate SMEs from exogenous shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]