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The impact of digitalisation on smaller firms remains sparsely studied across emerging economies. The paper aims to examine the relationship between digital adoption and multiple performance parameters of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in a prominent emerging economy.

The study employs data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) 2022, capturing 9,024 Indian MSME firms spread across the country. Performance indicators are derived from growth in sales, employment and labour productivity (LPROD). Multiple regression estimates are derived that also correct for sample selection bias using Heckman’s two-step process.

Digital proliferation is found to increase as firms mature up in terms of age, size and constitution. A significant difference could also be observed in business performance across digital and non-digital businesses, with sales growth (SG) and productivity higher for digital firms. Digital financial variables are found to have a significant impact on SG but not as much in the case of employment growth and LPROD. The results are robust to correction for sample selection bias in digital adoption using inverse mills ratio (IMR).

The study highlights digital adoption gaps across various strata of MSMEs, highlighting lower adoption when firms are younger, smaller and lacking formal constitutional setup. Digital variables indicating positive association with SG highlight the need for concerted efforts at the public policy level for building appropriate skills and infrastructure for micro and small enterprises to boost their digital adoption to promote growth.

There is a lack of micro-level empirical evidence measuring the impact of advanced digital technology usage on multiple aspects of enterprise performance amongst micro and small firms. The study deploys unique digital variables including TReDS and use of online credit applications to assess the impact on business performance. The findings provide insights for practice and public policy, besides making the case for a higher focus on launching digital initiatives for smaller enterprises.

One of the challenges of urban management is to provide an entrepreneurial environment for the general population, which can be realized by the development of the entrepreneurial city, which will ultimately cause economic sustainability. In order to create an entrepreneur city, it is necessary to create and develop some infrastructures, one of the most important of which is Internet of things (IoT)-based technological infrastructures, so that municipalities have a leading role. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this phenomenon.

The research method is a case study type, and a triangulation mixed-method research design has been used for it. For data collection in the quantitative section, questionnaire tools and in the qualitative section, interview tools as well as coding related upstream documents in the municipality were used.

The findings showed that with the development of the IoT infrastructure, the conditions will be provided for creating an entrepreneurial city and its formation process will be accelerated, so that it will eventually leading to economic sustainability. It was also found that the conditions for the development of urban entrepreneurship based on IoT in the metropolis in question are not favorable. Finally, suggestions were made to improve this situation.

This study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature and economic sustainability by explaining a new concept of an entrepreneurial city and defines the role of IoT infrastructure in its development. Existing literature on the systematic use of IoT in applied fields is still scarce, and this study provides useful insights into it.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and propose an espoused model of women's entrepreneurship (EMWE) and test its predictive power on women's entrepreneurial intentions. Also, the authors examine the moderating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, given its dynamic nature that can be influenced by training.

Data was collected from 303 female students from undergraduate/postgraduate programs in reputed Indian higher education institutions using a self-administered questionnaire.

The study confirmed that all four factors – perceived entrepreneurial potential, perceived relational support, perceived educational support and perceived structural support – were positively related to the women’s entrepreneurial intentions. Simultaneously, results confirmed the moderating effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy.

The study presents that more women may be inclined towards adopting entrepreneurship as their career based on their potential and self-efficacy if adequate educational, relational and structural support was provided.

Existing studies in entrepreneurship have focused primarily on men. This work fills this gap and not only proposes but empirically examines the EMWE in the Indian context. It also provides evidence of a significant impact of perceived entrepreneurial potential and perceived relational support on women’s entrepreneurial intentions and posits the role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy as an important moderator, unlike past studies.

Despite their significant economic impact, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain underrepresented in public procurement. While previous research has identified the barriers facing SMEs in public procurement markets, a knowledge gap still exists on how these barriers influence one another in a specific context.

This study developed a hierarchical structural model that reveals the contextual interrelationships between 14 notable barriers to SME involvement in public procurement, based on evidence from the publicly funded healthcare sector in the UK. The data were analyzed using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and matrix impact of cross-multiplication applied to categorization (MICMAC).

The results systematically classify barriers based on their hierarchical relationships, offering a robust theoretical foundation for understanding their nature and interconnections.

The findings can help scholars, government administrators and politicians in government-funded healthcare systems determine the most influential barriers to SME involvement and their causes, enabling them to build viable remedies.

This is the first empirical study to examine the relationship between the barriers to SMEs' public health procurement, using evidence from the public health procurement context.

In this systematic review of the literature on women’s entrepreneurship education, this paper aims to examine the current state of the field. The authors analyze publication trends, identify major themes and propose an agenda for future research.

The authors review 363 articles published between 1993 and 2023, to develop a synthesized overview of women’s entrepreneurship education, complete with insights into the journals that have provided the most coverage of this topic, as well as how it has emerged over time.

The authors tracked the evolution of research themes and collaboration networks over a 30-year period. Results show there has been significant growth in research on women’s entrepreneurship education, as evidenced by a surge of publications on the topic and the total number of citations.

The authors categorized and analyzed six thematic clusters within the literature: entrepreneurial intention, ethical perspectives, gender-specific barriers, gender stereotypes, rural entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Building on these thematic clusters, this study discusses future research directions to advance the field.

Does trait mindfulness enhance refugees' potential to engage in entrepreneurial activities? Entrepreneurship is increasingly used for the socioeconomic integration of refugees and as an approach to attaining refugees' self-reliance. This study aims to explore the effects of trait mindfulness on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) antecedent variables and, consequently, refugees' entrepreneurial and implementation intentions in a low-income context.

The study uses data collected from 398 refugees from three settlements in Uganda. Participants completed a survey questionnaire related to the constructs in the TPB model (attitudes, subjective norm [SN], perceived behavioral control [PBC] and entrepreneurial intentions), trait mindfulness and intention to implement their entrepreneurial intentions. The paper uses serial mediation analysis conducted in PROCESS Macro.

As predicted, trait mindfulness was positively associated with the constructs in the TPB model and implementation intention. The three antecedent variables in the TPB model and entrepreneurial intentions mediated the association between trait mindfulness and implementation intention. In addition, the double mediation paths involving the TPB antecedent constructs and entrepreneurial intention were significant except for the path via SN and entrepreneurial intentions.

The paper provides insights for integrating trait mindfulness and the TPB model to predict refugees' entrepreneurial intentions and behavior. The study has explored the usefulness of trait mindfulness to the constructs in the TPB model, suggesting that mindfulness interventions can strengthen entrepreneurial attitudes, SN and PBC, consequently boosting entrepreneurial intentions and the likelihood of acting on one’s entrepreneurial intentions.

This paper aims to examine the direct impact of entrepreneurship education on university students' entrepreneurial intention and the moderating role of perceived governmental support in terms of financial support and policies and regulations.

The study collected data using questionnaires from students enrolled in compulsory entrepreneurship courses at three public Jordanian universities. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze 1,228 valid questionnaires and test the hypotheses.

The study revealed that entrepreneurship education positively and significantly affects students' entrepreneurial intentions. On the other hand, perceived governmental support in terms of financial support and policies and regulations has a nonsignificant moderating role in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and students' entrepreneurial intention.

This study enriches the literature with new evidence that entrepreneurship education has a positive, direct impact on students' intention to become entrepreneurs. It also contributes to the body of knowledge as the first to examine the role governments’ play besides encouraging entrepreneurship education through their education policies.

This study examines and estimates the relationship among identified factors or determinants for the adoption of water ionizers by customers.

To this end, the questionnaire is prepared to have the preferences of customers based on the factors or enablers identified for the analysis of customers' perceptions toward the adoption of water ionizers. Recipients are identified to collect their preferences for the factors responsible for the adoption. The convenience sampling method is used in administering the questionnaire for the study. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique is used to construct the model for defining the relationship between measured and latent variables using the lavaan, haven, psych and semPlot libraries in R software.

The study reveals that product features, which include pH value, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and micro-clustering (MC), are influenced by environmental sustainability (ES), and as a result, product features and product outcomes (brand value (BV), customer recommendation (CR) and perceived usefulness (PU)) together influence the adoption of water ionizers by customers.

Water ionizers have appeared as consumer electronic appliances designed to alter the pH and ORP of water through an electrolysis process. There are proven benefits to improved water quality across different pHs for its health benefits (HB) and other commercial and household uses. The study recommends that potential HB perceived through water ionizers and product features, which are supported by ES, and helps customers decide on the adoption of water ionizers.

The study supports comprehending the relationships between consumer behavior, sustainable practices and innovative technologies like water ionizers as society places a greater emphasis on environmentally conscious living and sustainable living. This study aims to clarify the elements affecting the adoption and perception of water ionizers from a sustainability perspective through an extensive assessment of the literature and empirical analysis.

This study aims to evaluate in situ oxidative polymerization of aniline (Ani) as a post-processing method to promote extrusion-based 3D printed parts, made from insulating polymers, to components with functional properties, including electrical conductivity and chemical sensitivity.

Extrusion-based 3D printed parts of polyethylene terephthalate modified with glycol (PETG) and polypropylene (PP) were coated in an aqueous acid solution via in situ oxidative polymerization of Ani. First, the feedstocks were characterized. Densely printed samples were then used to assess the adhesion of polyaniline (PAni) and electrical conductivity on printed parts. The best feedstock candidate for PAni coating was selected for further analysis. Last, a Taguchi methodology was used to evaluate the influence of printing parameters on the coating of porous samples. Analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc test were used to identify the best levels for each parameter.

Colorimetry measurements showed significant color shifts in PP samples and no shifts in PETG samples upon pullout testing. The incorporation of PAni content and electrical conductivity were, respectively, 41% and 571% higher for PETG in comparison to PP. Upon coating, the surface energy of both materials decreased. Additionally, the dynamic mechanical analysis test showed minimal influence of PAni over the dynamic mechanical properties of PETG. The parametric study indicated that only layer thickness and infill pattern had a significant influence on PAni incorporation and electrical conductivity of coated porous samples.

Current literature reports difficulties in incorporating PAni without affecting dimensional precision and feedstock stability. In situ, oxidative polymerization of Ani could overcome these limitations. However, its use as a functional post-processing of extrusion-based printed parts is a novelty.

Purpose: This chapter aims to assess the governance quality (GQ) in the EU-13 member states (MS) over the 2004–2022 period, examining the relationship between GQ and investment attractiveness, measured by foreign direct investment (FDI) inward stock as a % of gross domestic product (GDP). Studies on the relationship of institutions and governance on FDI inflow conducted for the EU-13 MS are relatively rare.

Methodology: First, countries of the EU-13 exhibiting similar levels of GQ (hierarchical cluster analysis) are identified using the Worldwide Governance Index (WGI). We use the values obtained from the authors’ original synthetic index of governance quality (SIGQ) to compare levels of GQ among the EU-13 MS between 2004 and 2022. Third, FDI inflows to the EU-13 MS. Finally, a correlation matrix and contingency coefficients are used to examine the relationship between FDI inflows and groups of countries with similar SIGQ and the relevance of six individual GQ dimensions for FDI inflows in the EU-13 MS.

Findings: The EU-13 MS differ significantly in the overall GQ measured by the WGI. Statistical analysis results are used to validate the hypothesis about a positive relationship between GQ and the inflow of FDI. The approach adopted for this chapter and its value-added lie in dividing the EU-13 MS into groups based on their similar performance concerning GQ (measured by six governance dimensions) and proving that GQ matters for FDI inflows.

Practical implications: High-quality governance can contribute to the investment attractiveness of countries and influence FDI flows, with implications for practice.