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The purpose of this study is to examine the connections between knowledge-based economies, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), sustainable business model innovation and technology transfer (TT). This study specifically investigates whether TT might foster EO and long-term business model innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study focuses on economies that are knowledge-based, where information is viewed as a vital resource for economic growth.

This study uses structural equation modelling method and a quantitative research strategy to analyse data gathered from 309 SMEs in knowledge-based economies. A survey questionnaire created to examine the relevant factors was used to gather the sample data from PROLIFIC platform using judgemental sampling technique.

This study’s conclusions point to an association between TT and EO that is favourable, SMEs’ ability to use TT to strengthen their EO and the significance of EO in fostering innovation in SMEs. This study offers empirical proof of the role that TT may play in fostering innovation in sustainable business models and EO in SMEs.

Policymakers, business professionals and academic researchers who are interested in the function of TT in knowledge-based economies will find it to be a helpful source of information. According to this study’s results, TT can assist SMEs in using outside expertise and assets to grow their entrepreneurial capacities, promote innovation and build long-term business strategies.

This study provides empirical evidence of the role of TT in fostering innovation within sustainable business models and cultivating EO within SMEs, contributing to the literature on these critical topics.

As a contribution to the social ties and dynamic capabilities literature, the purpose of this study is to examine the boundary role of the industrial factors (competitive intensity, dependence on suppliers and demand uncertainty) on the relationship between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) social ties (business ties and political ties) and firm performance.

Data were collected from 1,077 SME top-level managers in Turkiye. The proposed model is analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) path modeling in SmartPLS 4.0 software.

The results elucidate how demand uncertainty serve to moderate the influence exerted by both business and political ties upon the performance of SMEs. However, the moderating effects of competitive intensity and dependence on suppliers, although initially hypothesized, were not found to have a significant impact on the relationships.

The relevance of social ties of SMEs may depend on the industrial factor. Although both political and business ties are effective on the customer side, these ties may become irrelevant when it comes to competition and supplier relations. In competitive SME settings, where businesses are vying for similar markets, the effectiveness of ties might be questionable. In such cases, SMEs might invest in building in-house capabilities and competencies, rather than relying on their relational networks.

This study contributes to the understanding of how relational networks, which are considered as dynamic managerial capabilities, impact SMEs performance. It also fills an important gap by testing the boundary role of industrial factors on this relationship. The empirical data is collected from the Turkish context, which is also an original aspect of the study, considering most of the social ties literature has a limited focus on a few contexts. The results also indicate new areas for discussion and exploration, indicating potential avenues for further research.

This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of thin-film temperature sensors (TTS), focusing on the interplay between material properties and fabrication techniques. It evaluates the current state of the art, addressing both low- and high-temperature sensors, and explores the potential applications across various fields. The study also identifies challenges and highlights emerging trends that may shape the future of this technology.

This study systematically examines existing literature on TTS, categorizing the materials and fabrication methods used. The study compares the performance metrics of different materials, addresses the challenges encountered in thin-film sensors and reviews the case studies to identify successful applications. Emerging trends and future directions are also analyzed.

This study finds that TTS are integral to various advanced technologies, particularly in high-performance and specialized applications. However, their development is constrained by challenges such as limited operational range, material degradation, fabrication complexities and long-term stability. The integration of nanostructured materials and the advancement of wireless, self-powered and multifunctional sensors are poised to drive significant advancements in this field.

This study offers a unique perspective by bridging the gap between material science and application engineering in TTS. By critically analyzing both established and emerging technologies, the study provides valuable insights into the current state of the field and proposes pathways for future innovation in terms of interdisciplinary approaches. The focus on emerging trends and multifunctional applications sets this review apart from existing literature.

Despite wide awareness of the importance of digital transformation (DT) for emerging market firms, we have limited understanding of the drivers, the process or the outcomes of DT in emerging market firms.

We conducted a qualitative study on 24 case companies in Thailand and embraced thematic analysis to generate our research findings.

The framework shows that the DT process in emerging market firms proceeds over three stages—market-opportunity sensing, digital technology acquisition and leading DT—which are driven by technological dynamism, business ties and institutional support. Once DT is successfully implemented, emerging market firms can improve their operational efficiency, customer relationship management, business model innovation and human resources management.

This study thus contributes to the DT literature by offering a three-stage model of DT and identifying important antecedents and consequences of DT, which together specify how emerging market firms transform themselves digitally.

Despite politicians sometimes playing an active agentic role in firms’ resource dependency and in the outcomes of corporate political activity (CPA), there is limited research on the supply-side dynamics of political markets and the contingent role of normative institutions. This study aims to examine the relationship between managerial regulatory engagement (MRE) − a type of CPA − and access to bank finance, and how this relationship is moderated by country-level religiosity and religion policy regime.

Using data from over 37,000 firms in 43 sub-Saharan African countries and drawing on resource dependency and institutional theories, the authors deploy robust and sophisticated statistical analyses to test their hypotheses.

This study finds that MRE has a positive impact on access to bank finance. This effect is stronger in countries with more formal religion restriction where morality does not inhibit politicians’ discriminatory behaviour. However, this effect is weakened in countries where high levels of religiosity and more formal religion support curtail amoral rent provision.

These findings shed light on how firms’ use of CPA to manage resource dependency is affected by the influence of institutional religiosity on the agency of politicians. This study offers important theoretical contributions to the literature and generate useful implications for managers and policymakers.

This study aims to explore the concept of institutional orientation for B2B firms, defined as their ability to understand and adapt to the institutional factors of foreign markets. It examines how internal and external moderators influence the relationship between institutional orientation and export performance.

This study used a purposive sampling survey targeting B2B 257 exporting firms, ensuring representation across company sizes, industries and international experience. The firms come from France and Tunisia, chosen for their institutional, cultural and economic differences.

This study finds that the relationship between institutional orientation and export performance is not supported. However, the study demonstrates that this relationship becomes significant when moderated by channel networking capability, structural organicity, customer dynamism and competitive intensity.

This study contributes to the literature by providing a more nuanced view of the relationship between institutional orientation and export performance in B2B firms and by exploring how internal and external contextual factors moderate it, an area that has not been thoroughly investigated.

Our study explores the relations of formal and informal network ties in acquiring financial, knowledge and human resources from a social network theory perspective in a low-income country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) marked by institutional voids and limited resources.

We collect network data on 154 Nepalese entrepreneurs to unravel the resource acquisition dynamics stemming from formal and informal network ties. We analyze the data using social network analysis and node-level regression.

Our findings reveal the critical relationship between formal and informal networks in resource acquisition for entrepreneurs in low-income countries with limited resources. The utilization of formal and informal network ties depends on the institutional context and the availability of resources. Entrepreneurs utilize formal network ties to bridge networks and informal network ties to establish interconnected relationships. Entrepreneurs employ both ties within a strong institutional presence, leading to higher network centrality. Conversely, weak institutional structures result in scattered and fragmented networks.

Our study fills a gap in the literature by examining the relationship between entrepreneurs’ formal and informal network ties for resource acquisition in a resource-scarce, low-income country context. We highlight the significance of networks and offer valuable empirical insights using social network analysis, making our study unique and methodologically informative.

In public firms, the largest shareholder can make decisions on cash dividends in favor of its own interests at the expense of other investors. While the second largest shareholder can actively participate in corporate governance and protect the interests of investors, its impact has not been fully understood. This research investigates how shareholding ratio and ownership type of the second largest shareholder moderate the relationship between controlling shareholder's shareholding ratio and cash dividends.

The authors conducted econometrics analysis based on a panel data of China's A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2017.

The authors find that the controlling shareholder's shareholding ratio has a significant negative impact on cash dividends. However, this influence is conditional on the shareholding ratio of the second largest shareholder. The negative impact is weakened when the second largest shareholder holds a large proportion of shares or when the shareholding gap between the second largest and the controlling shareholder is small.

This research extends the existing literature by highlighting the nuanced moderating effect of the second largest shareholder on the relationship between the controlling shareholder and cash dividends, thus making a unique contribution to the understanding of corporate governances in the emerging financial market in China.

This study aims to explore which relational factors are crucial for accelerator-based start-ups to achieve high financial performance and whether innovation levels influence this relationship. Utilizing fsQCA and drawing from the resource-based view (RBV), we analyze 128 start-ups in a Spanish accelerator, split by innovativeness, to understand the impact of relational and human capital factors on performance.

The study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to investigate conditions leading to high financial performance among 128 start-ups in a Spanish accelerator, divided by innovativeness. Four key factors are analyzed: social capital, social competence, resource mobilization and entrepreneurial ecosystem support. fsQCA examines complex relationships between these factors and financial performance.

Relational and human capital factors significantly impact start-up financial performance, varying with innovativeness. Highly innovative start-ups benefit from social competence and networked support, while less innovative but profitable start-ups rely on resource mobilization skills. The study highlights the contingent value of these factors, showing that unique configurations drive financial success.

The paper enhances the RBV in entrepreneurial contexts by highlighting the critical role of relational resources and their configurations. It suggests social competence and networked support are crucial for highly innovative start-ups, while resource mobilization is key for less innovative ones. These findings encourage nuanced theorizing of start-up success strategies, considering varying innovativeness levels and their impact on performance.

This study enhances understanding of the relationship between relational factors and financial performance in accelerator-based start-ups, considering innovation levels. It provides insights into how different configurations of social capital, competence, resource mobilization and ecosystem support lead to success. It underscores the importance of considering the contingent value of relational factors for start-up growth.

Guided by resource-based theory, this study unpacks the relationship between an export entrepreneurial marketing orientation (EMO) and export performance. This is undertaken by investigating quadratic effects and the moderating role of export coopetition (cooperation amongst competitors in an international arena).

Survey responses were collected from a sample of 282 smaller-sized wine producers in Italy. This empirical context was ideal, as it hosted varying degrees of the constructs within the conceptual model. Put another way, it was suitable to test the underlying issues for theorising purposes. The hypotheses and control paths were tested through a three-step hierarchical regression analysis.

An export EMO had a non-linear (inverted U-shaped) association with export performance. Furthermore, this link was positively moderated by export coopetition. With too little of an export EMO, small enterprises might struggle to create value for their overseas customers. With too much of an export EMO, owner-managers could experience harmful performance outcomes. By cooperating with appropriate industry rivals, small companies can acquire new resources, capabilities and opportunities to help them to boost their export performance. That is, export coopetition can stabilise some of the potential dangers of employing an export EMO.

The empirical findings signified that an export EMO has potential dark-sides if these firm-wide behaviours are not implemented effectively. Nevertheless, cooperating with competitors in export markets can alleviate some of these concerns. Collectively, unique insights have emerged, whereby entrepreneurs are advantaged by being strategically flexible and collaborating with appropriate key stakeholders to enhance their export performance.