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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether and how inter-firm cooperation and firm age moderate the relationship between family ownership and productivity. Design/methodology/approach: We first estimate the total factor productivity (TFP) of a large sample of Italian firms observed over the period 2010–2018 and then apply a Poisson random effects model. Findings: TFP is, on average, higher for non-family firms (non-FFs) than for FF. Furthermore, inter-organizational cooperation and firm age mitigate the negative effect of family ownership. In detail, it is found that belonging to a network acts as a moderator in different ways according to firm age. Indeed, young FFs underperform non-FF peers, although the TFP gap decreases with age. In contrast, the benefits of a formal network are high for older FFs, suggesting that an age-related learning process is at work. Practical implications: The study provides evidence that FFs can outperform non-FFs when they move away from Socio-Emotional Wealth-centered reference points and exploit knowledge flows arising from high levels of social capital. In the case of mature FFs, networking is a driver of TFP, allowing them to acquire external resources. Since FFs often do not have sufficient in-house knowledge and resources, they must be aware of the value of business cooperation. While preserving the familiar identity of small companies, networks grant FFs the competitive and scale advantages of being large. Originality/value: Despite the wide but ambiguous body of research on the performance gap between FFs and non-FFs, little is known about the role of FFs' heterogeneity. This study has proven successful in detecting age as a factor in heterogeneity, specifically to explain the network effect on the link between ownership and TFP. Based on a representative sample, the study provides a solid framework for FFs, policymakers and academic research on family-owned companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Interlocking directorates are a common phenomenon across several markets around the world. Yet, the institutional environment and the role of corporate elites in forming board networks promote some developing markets as a unique setting to understand the corporate boards network structure. This study aims to first explore the board directors' network of all publicly listed companies in Kuwait. This paper then evaluates the effects of exogenous factors and endogenous network structural processes on the likelihood of board interlock. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyzes the interlocks network structures of 167 listed companies in 13 different market sectors in Kuwait relying on hand-collected directors' data and using four measures of network centrality: betweenness, degree, closeness and eigenvector. The authors predict board interlocks using exponential random graph models (ERGM) and firm-level information from the Bloomberg database. Findings: This study observes that both the firms and directors' networks consist of 55 components, with the largest component containing about half of the total number of firms/directors. The firm's network consists of one giant component of 85 firms, including all but one bank. This study shows the importance of endogenous network variables, such as the number of edges, centralization and triangles on the estimation of the factors that promote the board interlocks. Highly centralized firms are less likely to interlock with other firms, while two firms that are interlocked with a common third firm are more likely to interlock. Originality/value: This paper is the first to analyze in-depth the structure of the directors network of companies in Kuwait. This study illustrates the complex map of interfirm and directors social networks in Kuwait. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is among the first to exploit ERGM in the context of board interlocks to account for potential cross-dependencies and emergent network structures. Managers can identify the director interlock with other firms in the network and take advantage of the connection as a source of external knowledge and influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the interaction between the business ecosystem and strategic management. This research is driven by the necessity of understanding how the principles of the business ecosystem influence organizational strategic management. A Systematic Literature Review was carried out, focusing on a detailed analysis of articles indexed in the Scopus academic database. The research procedure aimed to uncover emerging perspectives on strategic management and the development of business ecosystems. The findings reveal a substantial gap in research regarding business ecosystems and sustainable strategic management. The paper suggests a new research agenda and proposes novel pathways for future investigations in this field.

To what extent are personal trust, mutual interests, and third parties important in enforcing agreements to trade? How do firms combine these to form transactional-governance structures? This article answers these questions in a whole-economy, cross-country setting that considers a full spectrum of transactional-governance strategies. The data collection requires a new survey question answerable in any context. The question is applied in six South American countries using representative samples, with the resultant survey weights facilitating a whole-economy analysis. Without imposing an a priori model, latent class analysis estimates meaningful governance structures. Bilateralism is always used. Law is never used alone. Bilateralism and formal institutions are rarely substitutes. Within country, inter-regional variation in governance is greater than inter-country variation. The usefulness of the data is shown by testing one element of Williamson's discriminating-alignment agenda: greater uncertainty in the transactional environment increases the involvement of third parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the formation of production and trading networks in economies with general interdependencies and complex property rights. We argue that the right to exclude, a core tenet of property, grants asset owners local monopoly power that is amplified by an economy's endogenous production network. Our analysis generalizes the exclusion core, a cooperative solution concept based on the right to exclude, to markets with production. We identify sufficient (and essentially necessary) conditions for the nonemptiness of the exclusion core. Multisourcing and a bias toward shorter supply chains emerge in exclusion‐core outcomes. As a methodological contribution, we generalize the top trading cycles algorithm to a production economy and we show that it identifies outcomes in an economy's exclusion core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest global scale occurrences — COVID-19 pandemic and bellicose conflicts — have weakened stable value chain relationships and forced international leaders to reassess commitments to sustainability. From these experiences, it became evident that the success of sustainability initiatives encompasses strengthening local and short value chains while creating means for engaging smallholders in formal food channels. Taking international and national policies as motivations, this article examines the emerging pawpaw value chain in the Eastern United States. We employ a mixed-mode approach with two aims. First, we demonstrate how complementing qualitative methods can be articulated to prepare a strategic agenda to foster the development and resilience of local ag-food chains. Second, through the application of the devised methodology, interview records and survey answers are evaluated to map value chain relationships and describe stakeholders' perceived challenges and opportunities. On the empirical front, this article proposes four macro strategies and 22 actionable projects. We argue that the representative association of pawpaw growers may adopt a broader leadership role to coordinate the necessary changes for sustaining long-term growth and promoting economic gains in rural communities dedicated to pawpaw production. The mixed-mode approach presented in this study can be replicated to analyze local and short chains elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue reflects one of the first systematic inquiries into the effects of revolutions on institutional change, a topic previously explored only tangentially across diverse social science domains. It fosters interdisciplinary discourse on revolutionary outcomes among economists, political scientists, sociologists, and economic historians informed by the public choice research program. The issue is divided into two parts, the first of which focuses on regime overthrow and institutional transformation and the second of which focuses on rational-choice theoretic analyses of revolution and its results. By employing analytical narratives and comparative analyses of contemporary and historical revolutions, the issue advances both theoretical and empirical understandings of revolution, revolutionary dynamics, and their implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banks are the main source of external funding for small businesses. Thus, integrating sustainability considerations in small business lending can support global sustainability efforts. In surveying German banks, I show that banks are in the process of implementing sustainable small business lending. They put more emphasis on sustainability risks than on the transformation of the business model among small businesses. Sustainable relationship lending has some relevance in creating sustainability-related soft information, although respective hard information is preferred by banks. Banks and policymakers can use the findings to better apply sustainable small business lending to sustainability and resilience efforts.

We study the relation between trade credit, asset prices, and production-network linkages. Empirically, firms extending more trade credit earn 7.6 |$\%$| p.a. lower risk premiums and maintain longer relationships with customers. Using a production-based model, we quantitatively explain these novel facts. Trade credit reduces the departure probability of high-quality customers, thereby reducing firms' exposures to systematic costs incurred in finding new customers. The mechanism predicts that the aggregate amount of trade credit proxies for customer-search costs and that suppliers with shorter-duration links to customers command higher expected returns. We confirm these and other novel predictions in the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assemble homeowner insurance claims from 28 independently operated country subsidiaries of a multinational insurance firm. We propose a new insurance model, in which consumers can make invalid claims and firms can deny valid claims, as is common in the data. In the model, trust and honesty shape equilibrium insurance contracts, disputes, and claim payments, especially when disputes are too small for courts. We test the model by investigating claim incidence, dispute, rejection, and payment, as well as insurance costs and pricing across countries. The evidence is consistent with the centrality of trust for insurance markets, as our model predicts. Authors have furnished data/code, which are available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an increasingly competitive business world the ability of a company to build a favorable reputation is an essential factor for its success or failure, especially in digital environments. The objective of this study is to analyze what factors affect the online reputation of companies in the agri-food sector, taking the Spanish wine sector as a case study. The methodology used to achieve this objective was Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), in its fuzzy sets variant (fsQCA). The results show that those companies more oriented towards the digital market and with a higher level of communication of their Corporate Social Responsibility practices have a higher reputation among stakeholders. This advantage is increased if in addition they are larger companies or have a larger Governing Board.

In a world increasingly driven by digital transformation, emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the metaverse hold great promise for economic and social progress. However, their widespread adoption is influenced by various factors that can either hinder or facilitate this process. This study aims to investigate the key factors affecting the adoption of next-generation digital technologies and determine whether these factors act as barriers or opportunities. By integrating diffusion of innovations (DOI) theory and institutional theory, we develop a new analytical framework to examine these influences. Utilising a two-factor fixed effects model, we analyse panel data from 116 countries from 2019 to 2022. Our analysis identifies key barriers, such as privacy concerns, illiteracy, and limited economic accessibility, and highlights opportunities provided by supportive regulatory environments and proactive government initiatives. The findings provide a nuanced understanding of the conditions necessary for the successful adoption of digital technologies, offering actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to foster a conducive environment for technological advancement.

Data portability (the ability to transfer data without affecting its content) and interoperability (the ability to integrate two or more datasets) significantly affect the use of data, with important implications for antitrust policy. Allowing for improved data portability can facilitate interoperability, which, in turn, will enable consumers to switch services, thereby substantially increasing competition. However, barriers to data portability and interoperability can increase market power and be a major source of social inefficiency. This paper lays out the pros and cons of a move towards requirements of data interoperability and portability and contrasts the move in the U.S. and in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the strategic effects of the association of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in knowledge networks (k-networks) on their information and knowledge management (IKM) and intellectual capital (IC). Taking as the object of study two innovative and successful Brazilian experiences, a descriptive survey with top-level executives (managing partners, presidents, and executive directors — henceforth CEOs) was held. Based on theories of management and economics, the findings revealed (i) that the network formation process (encompassing culture, context, incentives for information and knowledge sharing and especially strategy) is an important factor to explain IKM (for creating, systematizing and sharing data, information and knowledge) and IC in its three dimensions (human, relational and structural capital), promoting long-term sustainable growth (perceived by improvements in innovation, competitiveness and corporate results) for SMEs and their networks — a very relevant issue, but whose theoretical and managerial understanding is very incipient in international literature, especially in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms may seek non-redundant information through inter-firm relations beyond their geographic and cognitive boundaries (i.e. relations with firms in other regions and active in different fields). Little is known about the conditions under which firms benefit from this high-risk/high-gain strategy. We created a digital layer of 600,000 German firms by using their websites' textual and relational content. Our results suggest that strong relations (relations with common third partners) between firms from different fields and inter-regional relations are positively associated with a firm's innovation level. We also found that a specific combination of weak and strong relations confers greater innovation benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional economic resilience is the ability of the regional economy to hold out when there is an economic shock. Interconnectedness between actors in a regional economy is a crucial factor in regional economic resilience, especially for the adaptive resilience. However, extant studies have analyzed the overall regional resilience competencies in terms of advanced technology, productivity input factors (human and physical capital), and agglomeration economies. This study aims to operationalize the concept of the regional economy's network characteristics and empirically analyze the relationship between network characteristics and the resilience of regional economy. We posited the hypotheses on the relationship between the network characteristics of regional industrial ecosystems and resilience. We use the automobile parts yearbook of the South Korea Automobile Association from 1997 to 2019. We built automobile industry transaction data by digitalizing the paper-based records. It operationalized the concept of weak tie using modularity and skewness. As a result, an economic ecosystem with weak ties showed better performance in economic resilience. This study argues that the regional industrial ecosystem is an important, but neglected, factor for the sustainable development of the regional economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To mitigate information asymmetry in acquisitions, the seller makes contractual representations and warranties (referred to as "R&W" or "reps") about the state of the target, such as attesting to the accuracy of the target's financial statements. While seller indemnities allow buyers to impose costs due to breaches in the reps discovered after the deal's close, these indemnities involve significant contracting costs. To mitigate these costs, the acquisition parties have increasingly turned to purchasing representations and warranties insurance. Using a proprietary and novel sample of R&W insurance policies issued worldwide for acquisitions of non-public targets, we find that the demand for R&W insurance, the premium charged for it, and the likelihood of a claim being filed are correlated with industry metrics for valuation uncertainty, the type of acquirer and seller, and the target's legal regime. In particular, we find higher demand for R&W insurance and a higher R&W insurance premium charged when the target belongs to an industry with weaker internal controls. We also find that a higher premium is charged when the target is in an industry with relatively high levels of R&D to sales, indicating that the insurance company expects unrecognized intangible assets to have a greater risk of future claims. Our study adds to our understanding of how parties reduce target valuation uncertainty and the role of disclosures and R&W insurance policies in private mergers and acquisitions transactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to explore the negative impacts of social relationships (SR) on business activity. As a research context, the video game industry (VGI) and the video game developers’ (VGDs) relationships are analyzed.

The literature is characterized by a lack of research analyzing cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBM&A) as a network. This article aims to evaluate the topology properties (the geographical and sectoral structure) of the global CBM&A network in 1990–2021. A quantitative study is conducted by using the social network analysis (SNA) method. The countries’ structural power in this global system is measured by the centrality indicators. From a geographical perspective, the study shows that in 1990–2021, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and France occupied the most central place in the network. From the beginning of the 21st century, there has also been a marked increase in the importance of Asian countries, with China and India receiving a large inflow of foreign capital. In turn, entities from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and China invested heavily abroad through M&A. The Asian countries’ economies also played the role of important intermediaries in the global CBM&A network. From a sectoral perspective, it can be stated that in 1990–2021, mainly entities operated in the financial, industrial, basic materials, technology, and consumer cyclical sectors made transactions in the global CBM&A network. They were also the main investment targets within this network.

The prevalence of digital ecosystems and platforms underscores the need for a deeper understanding of the factors that influence performance variations within these platforms. This study introduced a multidimensional model to examine the platform ecosystem characteristics that affect performance outcomes. To this end, it adopted the Lotka-Volterra complex system theory. The model was simplified into a one-dimensional framework, enabling the examination and prediction of the relationship between performance bifurcation and configurations of platform characteristics. This study provides practical insights and implications that extend beyond academia. The results reveal that high network threshold values indicate robust platform performance, suggesting resilience against collapse. Additionally, increasing the network effect influences platform performance by shifting competition strength toward prominent tipping-point locations, which is considered a desirable regime. The results further confirm that competition dampens a platform's exponential growth; however, cross-network effects enhance it. These insights have significant implications for investors, offering a practical vision that can inform managers' strategic decision-making. These findings provide a solid foundation for developing informed strategies to enhance platform performance. In a world in which digital ecosystems play a pivotal role, the implications of this study empower stakeholders to make data-driven decisions, fostering success in a dynamic and competitive digital business environment.

In this article, I use the emerging concept of geographies of dissociation to examine fragmented labour regimes in global production networks (GPNs). The article takes informality in the Sri Lankan apparel industry and the application of ethical codes as a case example. Using qualitative research methods, I provide a critical analytical lens through which the concept of dissociation makes visible what has been obscured through much of the debate on ethical codes. In so doing, the article makes three contributions to the debate on ethical codes and dissociation. First, I illuminate uneven geographies of ethical codes manifested through highly fragmented workplaces where some workers are excluded from the protection of ethical codes. In so doing, the article challenges the notion of homogenous workplaces, in which, dialectics of inclusion and exclusion of ethical codes often go unnoticed. Secondly, by illustrating bifurcated and inequal labour regimes, I argue that both association and dissociation practices can co-exist in the same workplace at the same time. This is in contrast to the existing works that mostly frame places of dissociation as distant and hidden from the association places. Third, I advance the concept of dissociation beyond its current framing to argue for a notion of collective dissociation emerging from fluid and complex social relations of multi-scalar actors. I argue that in GPNs, such collective practices of dissociation are possible and even necessary given the complex ways firms and non-firm actors are connected to each other from the global scale to the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues for the need for the empirical analysis of how firms manage repugnance and core-stigmatization. To develop our empirical perspective, we compare the work on repugnance with the existing empirical literature in management on core-stigma and argue that core-stigmatization results from the mobilized repugnance. The core-stigmatized firm faces higher transaction costs. We demonstrate, through a case-study of the strategies of MindGeek/Pornhub in the online pornography market, how transaction costs economics can explain the choice of strategies to deal with core-stigma. Under most conditions, the increased transaction costs lead to vertical and lateral integration of the firm. In a dynamic setting, rival firms might use stigmatization to prevent the entry of a new competitor. Our second case-study on the early decades of the mail-order company Sears, Roebuck, and Company illustrates that repugnance, including racial discrimination, was mobilized by competitors to block the entry of the firm into the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]