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This paper aims to illustrate a possible combination of critical success factors (CSFs) that best enhance firm performance and compare configurations of CSFs in ISO-9001-2015-certified and non-ISO firms in Bangladesh.

The study sample comprises individuals from the service and manufacturing sectors and ISO-9001-2015-certified and non-ISO firms. We have collected data from 229 respondents from 134 firms, including 64.5% from ISO-certified and the remaining 35.5% from non-ISO-certified categories. In this exploratory study, we performed a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify the combinations of success factors that enhance performance.

The results of this study capture the causal complexity surrounding the CSFs and firm performance. We found six configurations for ISO firms and five for non-ISO firms that enhance firm performance. Besides, the necessary conditions for firm performance of ISO firms slightly differ from those of non-ISO firms. Thus, the empirical results highlight the importance of equifinality and complementary relationships between conditions relating to quality management systems to increase firm performance. A significant difference was found between ISO-9001:2015-certified firms and non-ISO firms.

A significant limitation arises from the sample’s inclusion of only Bangladeshi firms; a cross-cultural study could add new dimensions to the configurations. Understanding how these CSFs vary and need a longitudinal approach is essential.

Our configurational approach provides new insights into the complex dynamics of eight CSFs with a holistic approach. Instead of focusing on the additive linear net effects of CSFs on firm performance, we explain how the CSFs of TQM implementation combine into multiple combinations. By doing so, we show multiple equifinal pathways to firm performance.

Entrepreneurship is often seen as a journey filled with emotions. However, the literature lacks an empirical framework for how emotions relate to entrepreneurial intention. Drawing upon an extended view of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) that emotions may have a direct and/or indirect effect on intention, this study investigates how positive and negative emotions influence entrepreneurial intention.

Applying the partial least squares structural equation model in SmartPLS 4, the hypothesized relationships were examined with a sample of 553 survey respondents from Bangladesh during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. All respondents were Bangladeshi nationals.

This study found that positive emotions have both significant direct and indirect effects, whereas negative emotions only have a significant indirect effect on entrepreneurial intention through personal attitudes and perceived behavioral control. Contrary to the extant understanding, this study found no significant relationship between subjective norms and entrepreneurial intention. Notably, the results did not vary between the during- and post-COVID-19 periods.

This study adds valuable insights into the relatively unexplored field of entrepreneurial intention by extending the TPB and demonstrating how emotions relate to entrepreneurial intention.

Islam describes business as a legitimate means of halal income. However, little is known about what attracts people towards Islamic entrepreneurship or halalpreneurship. By applying the theory of planned behaviour, this study aims to contribute to this underexplored area by investigating the factors that affect Islamic entrepreneurial intention (IEI).

This study examined a mediation model using two country samples. First, the hypotheses were tested on a sample recruited from a high-income economy (i.e. Saudi Arabia) using structural equation modelling in AMOS V26. The authors then conducted a replication study to investigate the robustness of the findings using a sample recruited from a lower-middleincome economy (i.e. Bangladesh) and a different analysis technique, the PROCESS mediation model in SPSS V25.

The findings suggest that IEI depends on four antecedents, namely, attitude towards Islamic entrepreneurship, general entrepreneurial self-efficacy, Islamic entrepreneurial self-efficacy and perceived halal income. These antecedents also mediate the relationship between moral judgement and IEI.

This study offers an empirical framework that captures several perspectives on the formation of IEI. The findings contribute to entrepreneurial intention and motivation research by suggesting factors that motivate individuals to engage in Islamic entrepreneurship.

The findings imply that the framework of IEI can withstand diverse socioeconomic contexts. A novel perspective of this study is that Muslims who are motivated by perceived halal income show greater interest in becoming Islamic entrepreneurs.

While compassionate and morally motivated people are theorised to be more likely to engage in activities that contribute to the social good, the literature provides contradictory evidence regarding the role of empathy and moral obligation in building social entrepreneurial intention (SEI). This study aims to clarify how empathy and moral obligation influence SEI.

The authors used survey data (n = 307) from Bangladesh, a frontier economy, to test the hypothesised relationships between empathy, moral obligation and SEI by applying partial least square–structural equation modelling in Smart PLS 3. They then conducted a second study with a larger sample (n = 339) from Saudi Arabia, an emerging economy, to further investigate how the findings withstand in a different socio-economic context.

The findings contradicted extant conceptualisations and revealed that empathy and moral obligation influence SEI indirectly through other individual and contextual factors, such as social entrepreneurial self-efficacy and perceived social support. The findings indicate that a person with a feeling of compassion and moral responsibility to help others will not start a social venture unless they feel capable and supported to start and run the venture.

The study contributes to a contentious area of research in SEI by demonstrating the links between various individual-level (empathy, moral obligation and social entrepreneurial self-efficacy) and contextual-level (perceived social support) variables and their relationship with SEI.