Search results

This study aims to conduct a systematic review of the existing literature on export promotion and foreign market entry strategies for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This study incorporates systematic literature review by using bibliometric technique and content analysis of 195 scholarly papers published between 2000 and 2024 obtained from Scopus database, using the PRISMA principles and a methodological framework.

The use of quantitative analysis has shown dynamic patterns in publication trends, characterized by notable increases in recent years. These trends align with the changing dynamics of the global economy and shifting priorities in international commerce. The study reveals thematic frameworks using author collaboration analysis, word cloud visualizations and a thematic map, providing insights into a significant motor, niche and developing issues that shape the discussion on the international growth of SMEs.

It offers significant insights that can benefit academics, policymakers and practitioners who are interested in understanding and navigating the intricate terrain of export promotion and market access strategies specifically tailored for small firms.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first of a kind that presents a systematic examination of the existing body of knowledge on the internationalization of SMEs.

Universities strategically organize themselves around sustainability, including transformative goals in teaching and learning. Simultaneously, the role of online education has become more prominent. This study aims to better understand the purpose and process of creating online sustainability education (OSE) and to identify challenges and opportunities for implementing these courses and programs to achieve universities’ broader transformative sustainability goals.

This study uses a multiple case study design to research three universities in diverse geographical and institutional contexts (Finland, the USA and Colombia). Qualitative data was collected by interviewing program-related experts (n = 31) and reviews of universities’ strategic documents.

The findings suggest that despite important advances, further attention is merited regarding aligning the purpose of OSE with student learning outcomes, clarifying the values underlying the process of online program/course creation and developing transformative and process-oriented approaches and pedagogies to implement OSE. The authors also highlight emerging challenges and opportunities in online environments for sustainability education in different institutional contexts, including reaping the benefits of multilocality and diverse student experiences regarding sustainability issues.

There is a paucity of studies on university-level sustainability education in relation to online environments. This research expands on the existing literature by exploring three different geographical and institutional contexts and shedding light on the relationship between the practical implementation of OSE and universities’ broader sustainability goals.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which a sample of US-based higher education institution’s (HEI’s) climate targets and associated climate action planning efforts align with the definitions of and practices associated with science-based targets (SBTs) that are typically used to organize corporate climate efforts. This analysis will be used to explore similarities and tease out differences between how US-based HEIs and corporations approach sustainable target setting and organize sustainable action.

The degree of intersection between a sample of HEI climate action plans from Ivy Plus (Ivy+) schools and the current SBT initiative (SBTi) general corporate protocol was assessed by using an objective-oriented evaluative approach.

While there were some areas of overlap between HEI’s climate action planning and SBTi’s general corporate protocol – for instance, the setting of both short- and long-term targets and large-scale investments in renewable energy – significant areas of difference in sampled HEIs included scant quantitative Scope 3 targets, the use offsets to meet short-term targets and a low absolute annual reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

This paper unites diverse areas of literature on SBTs, corporate sustainability target setting and sustainability in higher education. It provides an overview of the potential benefits and disadvantages of HEIs adopting SBTs and provides recommendations for the development of sector-specific SBTi guidelines.

The study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) non-compliance on firm value. It also investigates the moderating roles of ownership concentration and research and development (R&D) intensity in this relationship.

For hypothesis testing, the authors utilized panel data regression models on a dataset comprising 13,760 firm-years listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, covering a period of nine years following the legislation (from March 2015 to March 2023).

Our findings reveal a detrimental effect of mandatory CSR spending on the value of non-compliance firms, consistent with the notion of deterrence theory. Further, we find that the negative impact is more pronounced among widely-held firms compared to closely-held firms, aligning with shareholder activism and information asymmetry theory. Our subsequent tests indicate that R&D intensity mitigates the negative impact, indicating a substitution relationship between CSR and R&D expenditure. Consistent with this finding, we find a lesser negative impact of CSR non-compliance on firm value of widely-held R&D intensified firms. Our findings are robust to the problem of endogeneity and self-selection bias.

Our findings highlight practical implications for managers regarding performance management. Managers should recognize that mandatory CSR spending can negatively impact performance, especially in widely-held firms, leading to shareholder dissatisfaction. To mitigate these effects, increasing R&D investment is likely to buffer against the adverse impacts of CSR mandates. Firm managers should align R&D efforts with CSR obligations to counterbalance costs and manage shareholder expectations, thereby maintaining performance and enhancing the perception of innovation among stakeholders.

It is the first study to consider the degree of compliance within firms while examining the impact of mandatory CSR spending on firm value. Also, the study is among pioneer attempts to investigate the moderating role of ownership structure and R&D intensity on the relationship.

Engaging in webcare, i.e. responding to online reviews, can positively affect consumer attitudes, intentions and behavior. Research is often scarce or inconsistent regarding the effects of specific webcare strategies on business performance. Therefore, this study tests whether and how several webcare strategies affect hotel bookings.

We apply machine learning classifiers to secondary data (webcare messages) to classify webcare variables to be included in a regression analysis looking at the effect of these strategies on hotel bookings while controlling for possible confounds such as seasonality and hotel-specific effects.

The strategies that have a positive effect on bookings are directing reviewers to a private channel, being defensive, offering compensation and having managers sign the response. Webcare strategies to be avoided are apologies, merely asking for more information, inviting customers for another visit and adding informal non-verbal cues. Strategies that do not appear to affect future bookings are expressing gratitude, personalizing and having staff members (rather than managers) sign webcare.

These findings help managers optimize their webcare strategy for better business results and develop automated webcare.

We look into several commonly used and studied webcare strategies that affect actual business outcomes, being that most previous research studies are experimental or look into a very limited set of strategies.

The purpose of this study is to understand whether the spectator’s emotional attachment to esports’ players is key for the sponsoring brand’s outcomes. A theoretical model based on the attachment, social influence and brand communities’ literature is proposed.

Data were collected through an online survey from a sample of 1,355 regular esports viewers. The proposed conceptual model was evaluated using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results showed that emotional attachment to esports players exerts a large effect on the viewer’s engagement with the community and his or her intention to view its content for longer. These two variables are key in explaining the viewer’s intention to perform positive behaviors toward the sponsoring brand, such as recommendation, purchase intentions and co-creation.

This study improves the understanding about the effects of the viewer’s emotional bond with esports players and the bond’s impact on the development of positive behaviors toward the sponsoring brand.

El objetivo de este estudio es comprender cómo el apego emocional del espectador hacia el jugador de esports es determinante para los resultados de la marca patrocinadora. Para ello se propone un modelo teórico basado en la literatura sobre el apego, la influencia social, y las comunidades de marca.

Se recopilaron datos de una muestra de 1.355 espectadores habituales de esports mediante una encuesta online. El modelo conceptual propuesto se evaluó con la técnica de ecuaciones estructurales por el método de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS-SEM).

Los resultados muestran que el apego emocional hacia el jugador de esports ejerce un gran efecto tanto en el compromiso del espectador con la comunidad como en su intención de permanecer más tiempo visionando sus contenidos. Estas dos variables son clave para explicar la intención del espectador de realizar comportamientos positivos hacia la marca patrocinadora como son la recomendación, la intención de compra y la cocreación.

Este estudio contribuye a mejorar la comprensión sobre los efectos del vínculo emocional del espectador con los jugadores de esports y su impacto en el desarrollo de comportamientos positivos hacia la marca patrocinadora.

By investigating trust in the organization as a mediator and traditionality as a moderator, this study aims to examine the effect perceived organizational exploitation poses on frontline hotel employees’ service performance.

A three-wave survey that targets 219 supervisor–subordinate dyads from four Chinese hotels was conducted to test the hypotheses. The authors used SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 21.0 to analyze the data and verify the theoretical model.

This study found that perceived organizational exploitation exerts a destructive impact on frontline hotel employees’ service performance. Trust in the organization is a full mediator of the link connecting perceived organizational exploitation to service performance. Furthermore, traditionality weakens perceived organizational exploitation’s impact on trust in the organization and subsequent service performance.

The authors’ findings remind hotels to cease exploiting their employees to avoid compromising service performance. Hotels should also endeavor to instill trust among employees toward the hotel and allocate more attention to employees with lower levels of traditionality.

First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to explore the impact of perceived organizational exploitation on frontline hotel employees’ service performance. Second, this study reveals a novel mechanism underlying the connection between perceived organizational exploitation and service performance. Finally, this study identifies frontline hotel employees’ traditionality as a vital moderator that mitigates the negative relationships among perceived organizational exploitation, trust in the organization and service performance.

The purpose is to gain insight into the benefits of mentoring and using femtoring as an inclusive approach for minoritized and underrepresented students and faculty, who are often challenged in feeling welcomed, included and valued at higher education institutions.

This study used a qualitative inquiry design, in which focus groups, interviews and participant testimonios were collected throughout spring and fall 2022. Testimonio and plática (dialogue) techniques were employed to allow participants to describe their journeys in college and as members of the femtoring/mentoring program.

Undergraduate students as mentees/femtees enjoyed finding a place and space to develop meaningful and positive relationships with other students and Latinx faculty. Faculty and graduate students as femtors/mentors perceived their relationships with students as enriching and energizing, practicing values like transparency, honesty and care.

The study included participants of a specific mentoring program whose experiences and opinions might differ from others. Additionally, persons from other minority groups could experience inequities and unfair practices in college in different ways and find other forms of support.

Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) must create programs that promote student–faculty community and collaboration. It is also critical to inform international faculty about Latinx students’ characteristics and needs. Training sessions for graduate students and faculty in leadership and mentoring at HSIs are equally significant in fostering an inclusive and supportive educational environment.

This paper contributes to the literature on mentoring practices to support Latinx students in their college journeys and prepare faculty of color for their mentoring and coaching roles. Femtoring and communities of wisdom concepts were applied to a specific femtoring/mentoring program.

The study applied the information system success model (ISSM) to investigate the influence of information system qualities (ISQs) on consumer responses related to sustainable fashion consumption in the context of comparing 3D VR store and 2D website.

This study designed a questionnaire to measure five ISQs (usefulness, diversity, functionality, reliability and tangibility), immersion in messages and purchase intention. 270 data from women consumers of online fashion stores were collected using Macromill Embrain. Structural equation modeling with Amos 21 and process macro model 7 with SPSS 26 were used for analysis.

This study suggested the relevance of usefulness, diversity, reliability and tangibility among ISQs in evoking immersion in sustainable fashion messages and stimulating the purchase intention. In the moderation of website technology types, the effects of usefulness and tangibility on the immersion in sustainable fashion messages were stronger in 3D VR than 2D condition.

The study is meaningful as an initial study that identified the ISQs of online fashion stores by dividing the type of technology into 3D VR and 2D. We offer insights about the relevance and applicability of immersive VR technology in promoting sustainable fashion consumption and show the potential of online VR store as a new kind of sustainable fashion retail space.