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Abstract This article examines how environmental awareness, stakeholder pressure, circular economy orientation and internal barriers influence circular economy practices in international and non-international micro-firms. For this, we utilised fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) using data from 128 micro firms operating in different manufacturing industries in Estonia. Three paths were identified for explaining circular economy practices in internationally operating micro-firms and two paths for explaining it in micro-firms that do not operate internationally. Our results show that understanding the impact of the four before-mentioned aspects can be beneficial for engaging in circular economy efforts in both international and non-international micro-firms. The intricate five pathways (three for international and two for non-international) through which environmental awareness, stakeholder pressure, circular economy orientation, and internal barriers shape circular economy practices in micro-firms, challenging conventional understandings and offering nuanced insights for effective engagement in sustainable business practices. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications of this study and directions for future research are discussed.

This study investigates knowledge hiding (KH), a growing research area of increasing importance across multiple organisational levels. The rapid expansion of KH research runs the risk that existing knowledge is not accumulated but constantly re-invented. Therefore, this study aims to enhance our understanding by systematically reviewing the antecedents, boundary conditions and outcomes of KH. We develop a thematic mapping of 173 papers, identifying key antecedents, boundary conditions and outcomes of KH alongside emerging knowledge gaps and pertinent research questions. Leveraging these insights, we construct a multi-level framework that categorises KH at the micro, meso and macro levels, integrating findings from our thematic analysis. This study provides a consolidated view of KH literature and is a valuable guide for scholars seeking to advance this domain.

Most of the entrepreneurship education (EE) efforts have been directed to business creation as the preferred option for entrepreneurial activity. Considering the ever-increasing number of businesses to be transferred and thus the need for people who are willing and interested in seeing a business transfer as a career option, this one-sided view is unsatisfactory. Inspired by the "attention-interest-desire-action" model from marketing, this paper brings together the existing literature and the authors ' own research and teaching experience to propose research directions that can lay the theoretical foundation to incorporate business transfers more clearly in EE. This underlines that value creation through entrepreneurship can take different forms and adds a missing but relevant part to RE and its development.

Research on the topic of knowledge risks and their management in organizations is still very scarce, this also applies to empirical studies. However, to avoid the uncritical acceptance of empirical results, replication studies play a crucial role in science. Therefore, this study represents a replication study of the type of empirical generalization of the paper by Durst et al. (2019) which studied knowledge risk management (KRM) in private and public organizations. Considering the KRM and performance assumptions underlying the original study and the methodology used, the results at that time are reviewed using new data from 103 Italian cooperative banks. This paper contributes to the study of risks related to knowledge and its theoretical development by providing new empirical evidence from a different cultural, geographical and institutional context. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of replication studies for knowledge accumulation and theory development in management science.

Although research on risk management (RM) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in general and regarding supply chains (SCs) has increased recently, our understanding is still rather fragmented and underdeveloped. This refers particularly to new types of risks such as dynamic crises or emerging risks associated with digital transformation (DT). Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory paper is to investigate RM in SMEs in SCs. More precisely, the aim is to identify patterns that can be used to group SMEs according to their risk behavior (i.e., risk attitude and perception). Drawing from a data set of 181 European SMEs, this paper empirically conceptualizes a typology of SMEs. The typology consists of four distinct types of SMEs that emerged from a cluster analysis: collective risk eliminators, collective playing it safe seekers, collective risk-ignoring knights of fortune, and collective neglecting imperturbable ones. The findings indicate that different risk behavior leads to different degrees of collaboration within the SC. Furthermore, the close interconnection between RM as found in the different clusters and the respective firm’s innovation performance can be shown. By acknowledging the heterogeneity found in SMEs, this paper breaks away from mainstream research that tends to consider SMEs as a homogeneous entity.

Recent developments show that an increasing number of organisations, regardless of type and size, understand that there is a need for them to make an active contribution to society, both socially and environmentally, while maintaining their financial profitability. It is no longer possible to waste resources and ignore the expectations of both internal and external stakeholders. To address these developments, all organisations are required to adapt their business models. Against this background, this paper provides a systematic review of the extant research on sustainable business models (SBMs) in smalland medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to establish the current body of knowledge and, on this basis, to suggest some promising avenues for future research. Given the impact of SMEs on the majority of economies and their consequent role in addressing present and future societal challenges, there is a clear justification for this study. The review of 85 refereed articles shows that, although a good body of knowledge about the topic has been developed during the period covered in this study, there is still a need for further rigorous research. It appears that certain shortcomings, stressed by some researchers in the past, still prevail. The study’s findings advance the current understanding of SBMs in SMEs and highlight several promising research avenues that scholars who are interested in the study of SBMs, in general, and SBMs in SMEs, in particular, might address.

This exploratory study aims to provide initial insight into knowledge risk management. More precisely, it describes whether and to what extent knowledge risk management is practiced in organisations in different selected Latin American countries. A sample of organisations located in different Latin American countries is surveyed in order to understand how knowledge risks are managed, which knowledge risks are managed, and what tools and methods are used to manage these knowledge risks. The study presents information regarding knowledge risk management, as well as knowledge risks that are addressed in public and private organisations in different Latin American countries. Additionally, overviews of the methods used to manage those knowledge risks and the consequences of missing management of knowledge risks are shown. Based on the findings, decision-makers may identify and initiate actions to improve their approach to knowledge risk management. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no quantitative study on the practice of knowledge risk management dedicated to public and private organisations in Latin America has yet been published in academic journals.

This article aims to provide a conceptual framework for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to evaluate the appropriation of blockchain technology for their business needs and challenges. This conceptual framework aims to respond to the problem of increasing speculations surrounding the blockchain that is considered to be an absolute and innovative solution to many business-related problems. However, this argument might not be realistic for SMEs despite this assumption. The main argument of the article is that SMEs should be skeptical while evaluating the appropriation of this technology for their business needs and they should follow a tailored approach whilst adopting it. Otherwise, the likelihood is high that a short-term and unstructured knowledge management process to adopt blockchain will end up with a waste of resources. The present paper conceptualizes an appropriation framework within nine factors namely, reduction of costs, internalization, digital representation of assets, unalterable data recording, network size, transparent and synchronized ledger, scalability, fair trade, and financing. Given the field’s infancy state of development, the paper relies on a qualitative document analysis involving SME literature and extant literature and white papers of blockchain applications.

This paper presents a case study that addresses factors that influence unlearning at the individual level. These factors were studied in a public sector organization located in a country characterized by high power distance. The case organization went through a change process of a daily routine caused by the introduction of a new technology. Data were collected through semi structured face-to-face interviews with shop floor agents in the state of Santa Catarina/Brazil. The results highlight the strong influence of the support of formal leaders on the unlearning process of individuals, suggesting that managers operating in a high power distance environment have to make bigger efforts compared to their counterparts in small power distance settings to promote unlearning processes of employees. The study advances the limited body of knowledge regarding unlearning in general and unlearning at the individual level in particular. It also stresses the influence of the national cultural dimension on the unlearning process of individuals.

This study explores entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in Finnish social enterprises in a social context using a mixed-methods approach. As a result, we propose that the generic dimensions of EO apply in a social context with minor refinements but suggest an additional dimension of persistence. The social enterprises take substantial financial risks although carefully avoid anything that may jeopardise the firms’ social impact. They exhibit highly innovative behaviour when developing new ways to serve the social purpose as well as when finding new ways to generate income. Furthermore, these enterprises exhibit remarkable persistence in adhering to a course of action despite their experienced difficulties.

Neste trabalho estamos interessados em desenvolver uma compreensão dos conceitos de desperdício de conhecimento e perda de conhecimento. Este último pode, no pior caso, levar a “uma diminuição da capacidade de ação efetiva ou tomada de decisão em um contexto organizacional específica” (DeLong, 2004, p. 21). Sendo que, desperdício de conhecimento significa que as empresas não estão usando a plena capacidade do conhecimento existente. Conforme descrito por Ferenhof (2011) é qualquer falha no processo de conversão do conhecimento. Assim, estas definições implicam diferenças entre os conceitos, a literatura, no entanto, sugere que muitos autores as utilizam alternadamente. Isso está correto? São os conceitos importantes e, de relevância? O presente artigo objetiva destacar a importância de ter uma melhor compreensão sobre esses conceitos. Acreditamos que a teoria e a prática empresarial irão beneficiar-se de uma melhor compreensão destes conceitos.

In this paper, the authors demonstrate the suitability of IT-supported knowledge repositories for knowledge retention. Successful knowledge retention is dependent on what is stored in a repository and, hence, possible to share. Accordingly, the ability to capture the right (relevant) knowledge is a key aspect. Therefore, to increase the quality in an IT-supported knowledge repository, the identification activity, which starts the capture process, must be successfully performed. While critical success factors (CSFs) for knowledge retention and knowledge management are frequently discussed in the literature, there is a knowledge gap concerning CSFs for this specific knowledge capture activity. From a knowledge retention perspective, this paper proposes a model that characterizes CSFs for the identification activity and highlights the CSFs’ contribution to knowledge retention.

In this paper, we look into knowledge leakages and ways to address them. It is conducted from the point of view of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as their specific attributes create unique challenges. Based on a discussion of the relevant fields, ways are presented in order to reduce the danger of knowledge leakages. In view of practitioners, the paper’s findings may enable an increased awareness towards the areas where existing knowledge is at the mercy of “leakage”. This can assist managers of SMEs to better cope with risks related to knowledge leakage and, therefore, better exploit the (limited) knowledge base available.

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.

In this paper, we are interested in the knowledge that is “wasted” in organizations, that is existing relevant knowledge that is overlooked in the process of knowledge conversion. Given the competitive pressure firms are facing in today´s business environment, a waste of knowledge is not only costly but also dangerous. This means that we consider knowledge from a knowledge at risk perspective. Having this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to review research on knowledge waste in organizations to establish our current body of knowledge regarding this topic. The study consists of a systematic review of 51 peer-reviewed articles addressing knowledge waste in organizations. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no systematic literature review on this topic has previously been published or presented. The topic seems to be a promising field for intensive research and offers a variety of future research avenues. In view of practitioners, the study´s finding may enable an increased awareness towards the areas where existing knowledge is at the mercy of “waste”. This can assist practitioners to better cope with risks related to this waste and, therefore, better exploit the (limited) knowledge base available.