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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a major source of employment and revenue growth in developing nations like India, but they also face challenges from resource shortages, shifting consumer demand and heightened competition. This research aims to discover the aspects that enhance SMEs' competitiveness and performance.

By analyzing literature and consulting experts, 10 factors that boost a firm's competitiveness were identified. The total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) method was then used to determine their interaction and structural hierarchy. Neutrosophic-MICMAC analysis was employed to assess the driving-dependence power of each factor.

The study discovered that the factor, namely “entrepreneurial orientation,” was found to be a significant one. “Manufacturing strategy” was found to be extremely dependent on the remaining competitive advantage factors.

This SME-focused framework can be adopted by large businesses to enhance organizational performance by focusing on critical factors. The study depends on experts' judgment, which might be biased. Findings will assist SMEs in identifying significant factors influencing competitive advantage and relationships, increasing awareness of factors contributing to competitive edge.

The results of the research may encourage SME sector managers and practitioners to prioritize the factors that contribute to a firm's competitive advantage.

The majority of research on SME competitive advantage focuses on individual aspects. To add to the body of knowledge on the subject, this study applies the TISM technique to Indian SMEs to identify the contextual interactions among factors that increase long-term competitiveness.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of ESG practices on green innovation with the moderating effect of innovation orientation in Malaysian manufacturing listed companies.

This study employed a quantitative research approach by using a well-structured questionnaire for data collection. The questionnaire was distributed to 204 Malaysian manufacturing listed companies in consumer products and services sector. Finally, partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to examine the relationship between constructs.

Based on stakeholder theory, results indicated that environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices significantly improve green innovation. The insignificant moderating effect of innovation orientation was identified between the relationship of environmental and social practices and green innovation. Interestingly, results affirmed the negative moderating effect between the relationship of governance practices and green innovation.

This study is limited to Malaysian manufacturing companies of consumer products and services sector in Bursa Malaysia. Hence, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to manufacturing companies of other geographical contexts.

This work provides constructive implications to management and policymakers of Malaysian manufacturing companies in strategic planning toward enhancing green innovation and developing business competitiveness to achieve sustainable business performance.

This research magnifies valuable insights into the literature through a comprehensive model that simultaneously investigates the relationships between ESG practices, innovation orientation and green innovation. In addition, this is the first attempt to investigate the influence of ESG practices on green innovation with a moderating effect of innovation orientation, which indeed strengthens the originality of this study.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of ambidextrous strategy on supply chain resilience and its impact on firm performance, employing the Dynamic Capabilities View.

Through a survey of 215 supply chain professionals, the research employs a structural equation modeling analysis to examine the relationships between ambidexterity, agile operations, resilience, and performance.

The findings demonstrate that the ambidextrous strategy significantly enhances both agile operations and supply chain resilience. In turn, agile operations and resilience positively impact firm performance. The study also reveals that agile operations and supply chain resilience partially mediate the relationship between ambidextrous strategy and firm performance.

This research contributes to the supply chain management literature by highlighting the importance of an ambidextrous approach in fostering agile operations and resilience, thereby improving firm performance. It extends the dynamic capabilities view framework by elucidating how ambidexterity acts as a pivotal mechanism for adapting to disruptions and securing competitive advantage in volatile markets. Finally, measurements of ambidextrous strategy and resilience are provided to further enhance practitioners’ understanding of building these important components in networks.

This study aims to extract knowledge of ancient Chinese scientific and technological documents bibliographic summaries (STDBS) and provide the knowledge graph (KG) comprehensively and systematically. By presenting the relationship among content, discipline, and author, this study focuses on providing services for knowledge discovery of ancient Chinese scientific and technological documents.

This study compiles ancient Chinese STDBS and designs a knowledge mining and graph visualization framework. The authors define the summaries' entities, attributes, and relationships for knowledge representation, use deep learning techniques such as BERT-BiLSTM-CRF models and rules for knowledge extraction, unify the representation of entities for knowledge fusion, and use Neo4j and other visualization techniques for KG construction and application. This study presents the generation, distribution, and evolution of ancient Chinese agricultural scientific and technological knowledge in visualization graphs.

The knowledge mining and graph visualization framework is feasible and effective. The BERT-BiLSTM-CRF model has domain adaptability and accuracy. The knowledge generation of ancient Chinese agricultural scientific and technological documents has distinctive time features. The knowledge distribution is uneven and concentrated, mainly concentrated on C1-Planting and cultivation, C2-Silkworm, and C3-Mulberry and water conservancy. The knowledge evolution is apparent, and differentiation and integration coexist.

This study is the first to visually present the knowledge connotation and association of ancient Chinese STDBS. It solves the problems of the lack of in-depth knowledge mining and connotation visualization of ancient Chinese STDBS.

A successful process of design concept evaluation has positive influence on subsequent processes. This study aims to consider the evaluation information at multiple stages and the interaction among evaluators and improve the credibility of evaluation results.

This paper proposes a multi-stage approach for design concept evaluation based on complex network and bounded confidence. First, a network is constructed according to the evaluation data. Depending on the consensus degree of evaluation opinions, the number of evaluation rounds is determined. Then, bounded confidence rules are applied for the modification of preference information. Last, a planning function is constructed to calculate the weight of each stage and aggregate information at multiple evaluation stages.

The results indicate that the opinions of the evaluators tend to be consistent after multiple stages of interactive adjustment, and the ordering of design concept alternatives tends to be stable with the progress of the evaluation.

Updating preferences according to the bounded confidence rules, only the opinions within the trust threshold are considered. The attribute information of the node itself is inadequately considered.

This method addresses the need for considering the evaluation information at each stage and minimizes the impact of disagreements within the evaluation group on the evaluation results.

This study aims to investigate the acoustic roughness of rails on China’s high-speed railways, with a focus on short-wavelength irregularities (less than 80 cm), which are known to significantly contribute to noise. The goal is to develop a specific acoustic roughness spectrum tailored for China’s high-speed railway system, as no such spectrum currently exists.

A long-term tracking study was conducted on major railway lines in China, monitoring rail roughness throughout the initial operational period and the rails’ service life. Data preprocessing techniques such as peak removal and curvature correction were applied for acoustic adjustments. A spatial-wavelength domain transformation was performed, providing the distribution patterns and statistical characteristics of acoustic roughness on China’s high-speed rails. Based on these analyses, a model for constructing the acoustic roughness spectrum was developed.

The study found that the acoustic roughness of China’s high-speed railway rails follows a χ² distribution with six degrees of freedom. For wavelengths greater than 8 cm, the acoustic roughness spectrum remains below the ISO specified limits. In the wavelength range of 3.2 cm to 6.3 cm, the roughness is comparable to or within the limits specified by ISO 3095:2005 and ISO 3095:2013. However, for wavelengths shorter than 2.5 cm, the roughness exceeds ISO limits.

This research fills the gap in the lack of a specific acoustic roughness spectrum for China’s high-speed railways. By establishing a tailored spectrum based on long-term data analysis, the findings provide valuable insights for noise control and rail maintenance in the context of China’s high-speed rail system.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical historical analysis of the business (mis)behaviors and influencing factors that discourage enduring cooperation between principals and agents, to introduce strategies that embrace the social values, economic motivation and institutional designs historically adopted to curtail dishonest acts in international business and to inform an improved principal–agent theory that reflects principal–agent reciprocity as shaped by social, political, cultural, economic, strategic and ideological forces

The critical historical research method is used to analyze Chinese compradors and the foreign companies they served in pre-1949 China.

Business practitioners can extend orthodox principal–agent theory by scrutinizing the complex interactions between local agents and foreign companies. Instead of agents pursuing their economic interests exclusively, as posited by principal–agent theory, they also may pursue principal-shared interests (as suggested by stewardship theory) because of social norms and cultural values that can affect business-related choices and the social bonds built between principals and agents.

The behaviors of compradors and foreign companies in pre-1949 China suggest international business practices for shaping social bonds between principals and agents and foreign principals’ creative efforts to enhance shared interests with local agents.

Understanding principal–agent theory’s limitations can help international management scholars and practitioners mitigate transaction partners’ dishonest acts.

A critical historical analysis of intermediary businesspeople’s (mis)behavior in pre-1949 (1840–1949) China can inform the generalizability of principal–agent theory and contemporary business strategies for minimizing agents’ dishonest acts.

This study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on innovation, considering the role of the three dimensions of intellectual capital (human capital, structural capital and relational capital). Specifically, the analysis explores the direct effect of CSR and intellectual capital on innovation, the effect of CSR on intellectual capital, and the mediating effect of intellectual capital on the relationship between CSR and innovation.

Data were collected from a sample of 101 Tunisian firms operating in various industries. The conceptual model of direct and indirect effects was tested with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4 software.

CSR is positively related to innovation, as well as all dimensions of intellectual capital. Structural capital is the only dimension of intellectual capital that has a significant effect on innovation. CSR affects innovation through its impact on structural capital.

Most studies have examined the direct effect of CSR on innovation in firms in developed countries. In contrast, this research sheds light on the mediating role of intellectual capital in this relationship, underlining the specific role of human capital, relational capital and structural capital. In addition, the study focuses on a developing country, which thus differentiates it from previous studies.

This study aims to investigate the impact of emotional perceived value on hotel guests’ satisfaction, affective commitment and loyalty.

Data were collected from 348 respondents living in the United Arab Emirates, and hypotheses were tested using AMOS 28 and structural equation modeling.

This study’s unique contribution lies in its revelation that emotional perceived value directly impacts guests’ satisfaction, affective commitment and loyalty. Furthermore, it uncovers that emotional-perceived value indirectly influences loyalty through satisfaction and affective commitment.

This research underscores the importance of hotel managers prioritizing guests’ emotional perceived value in their offerings. Managers can significantly enhance guests’ satisfaction, affective commitment and loyalty by highlighting self-gratification, aesthetics, prestige, transaction and hedonics.

This study brings a fresh perspective to understanding customer perceived value (CPV). It argues that the mere emphasis on the functional aspect of CPV would likely fall short of fully comprehending specific outcomes of their experience (e.g. satisfaction-dissatisfaction, loyalty, etc.). Assessing the emotional aspect of CPV, known as emotional customer perceived value (ECPV), adds further explanations and sheds light on the understanding of the CPV concept and its impacts on consumers’ experience. Furthermore, this study emphasizes that emotional perceived value is better comprehended as a multidimensional rather than a unidimensional construct. It adds that the concept of customer value as a multidimensional concept is context-specific (i.e. dimensions vary from one service sector to another), providing a unique and valuable perspective for the luxury hotel industry.

The study investigates the motivations, learning experiences and impacts of Chilean student mobility in China, focusing on postgraduate students. It analyzes how this education has influenced their professional trajectories and Sino-Chilean relations.

The methodology employs a qualitative approach, based on 13 semi-structured interviews, with an analysis covering aspects such as the reasons for studying in China, the acquisition of Mandarin Chinese, the academic experience and professional projections.

The research concludes that these students, trained in China, significantly contribute to strengthening bilateral ties in various fields, highlighting cultural diplomacy as a key factor in expanding collaboration between the two countries.

Additionally, it underscores the need to consider student mobility as an essential component of relations between Chile and China, in particular, and among different Global South countries in general, transcending the limitations of financing criteria and the Eurocentric orientation that predominates in the internationalization policies of Chilean higher education.