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Despite agreement on the importance of adopting governance structures for developing competitive advantage, we still know little about why or how governance mechanisms are adopted in the first place. We also acknowledge that family businesses with formal governance mechanisms in place still resort to informal means to make decisions, and we lack knowledge about why certain governance mechanisms are sometimes, but not always, effective and functional. Given these research gaps, and drawing on institutional theory, we aim to explore: How are governance structures adopted and developed in family firms? Once adopted, how do family businesses perceive these governance structures?

Using Mokken Scale Analysis, a method suitable to uncover patterns/sequences of adoption/acquisition over time, we analyze a dataset of 1,488 Spanish family firms to explore if there is a specific pattern in the implementation of governance structures. We complement the analysis with descriptive data about perceived usefulness of such structures.

Our findings highlight two important issues. Family businesses follow a specific process implementing first business governance (board of directors, then executive committee), followed by family governance (family council then family constitution). We suggest they do so in response to institutional pressures, given the exposure they have to business practices, and their need to appear legitimate. Despite formal adoption of governance structures, family businesses do not necessarily consider them useful. We suggest that their perception about the usefulness of the implemented governance structures may lead to their ceremonial adoption, resulting in a gap between the implementation and functionality of such structures.

Our article contributes to the family business literature by bringing novel insights about implementation of governance structures. We take a step back to explain why these governance mechanisms were adopted in the first place. Using institutional theory we enrich governance and family business literatures, by offering a lens that explains why family businesses follow a specific process in adopting governance structures. We also offer a plausible explanation as to why governance structures are ineffective in achieving their theorized role in the context of family businesses, based on the family's perception of the unusefulness of such structures, and the concept of ceremonial adoption.

There is no single recipe that can serve the multiple needs of different family businesses. This indicates that family businesses may need diverse levels of development and order when setting up their governance structures. Accordingly, this study constitutes an important point of demarcation for practitioners interested in examining the effectiveness of governance structures in family firms. We show that an important pre-requisite for examining the effectiveness of governance structures is to start by investigating whether these structures are actually being used or are only adopted ceremonially.

Our paper expands current knowledge on governance in family firms by taking a step back hinting at why are governance structures adopted in the first place. Focusing on how governance is implemented in terms of sequence is novel and relevant for researcher and practitioners to understand how this process unfolds. Our study uses institutional theory, which is a strong theory to support the results. Our paper also uses a novel method to study governance structures in family firms.

Digital natives constitute a substantial part of consumers nowadays. Yet, a theoretical understanding of the factors driving their engagement with new-age digital services is lacking. This study therefore aims to examine digital natives’ continuance usage of the proliferating over-the-top (OTT) services. To address these objectives, the study uses a comprehensive model that primarily integrates perceived value, cognitive absorption and customer brand engagement theories.

Data were collected using an online personal questionnaire targeting active digital natives OTT service users using the online software tool SurveyMonkey. A sample of 1,415 digital natives was analysed using structural equation modelling.

The findings indicated that continuance usage is predicted by all three theories. The results illustrate that cognitive absorption and customer brand engagement are the most critical in enhancing continuance usage. Gender effects on digital natives’ value perceptions were found. The model explains 57% of the variance in users’ continuance usage.

The study adds valuable contributions to the existing literature that are relevant to digital natives’ engagement with new-age digital services. The proposed integrated model and the role of gender in value formations provide managers with novel insights when designing effective strategies to increase continuance usage for the largest consuming generation.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-03-2022-0133

This study aims to examine the impact of the gameful experience on behavioural outcomes. Drawing from stimulus–organism–response theory, it proposes and tests a new model that investigates the relationship between the gameful experience, brand loyalty and intention to use gamified branded applications in the sports context. In addition, it explores the mediating role of customer–brand engagement (CBE) and the moderating role of self-image congruity (SIC).

A sample of 436 active users of sport-related branded gamified applications was used to test the model. Data was collected from online sports forums, brands’ Facebook communities and during sporting events.

Results indicate that the gameful experience positively and directly impacts behavioural intentions but does not directly influence brand loyalty. This relationship becomes partially significant when mediated by CBE. In addition, results show that users with high levels of SIC are more likely to continue using the gamified application, whereas users with low levels are more likely to engage with the brand.

This study expands the gamification literature in the sports sector by revealing the importance of the gameful experience in driving loyalty, behavioural intentions and CBE. It proposes a new model that sheds light on the emotional aspect of the interaction between a user and a gamified system and the importance of exploring the effects of moderators, such as SIC, in these relationships.

The purpose of this study is to empirically develop and validate a practical, consistent and specific scale to assess perceived service quality at the service encounter at quick-service restaurants (QSRs).

Development and validation of the scale involved a five-stage process. Data were collected from 430 customers of a QSR belonging to an international brand located in Barcelona. Surveys were applied immediately after the service encounter, using the face-to-face method. The scale development procedure involved exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.

The results suggest a specific and parsimonious measurement scale, whose structure comprises 14 items in four dimensions. In contrast to previous studies, this study identified the appropriateness of splitting the interaction quality dimension into two single dimensions, one focusing on the interaction time and other on staff–customer interaction. Furthermore, these indicate that a speedy service, pleasant treatment and food quality are the most valued attributes in QSR.

This scale is a useful instrument to administer and assure service quality standards within QSR management systems. Its practical approach and short survey length ease data collection, considering that customers spend short amounts of time in this type of restaurant. Furthermore, it could also be used by franchisors and restaurant operators as a tool to monitor continuing compliance with service quality standards.

The resulting scale introduces a novel four-factor structure with high goodness of fit to effectively measure customers' perceived service quality in QSRs, where the ease of use and speed of gathering client responses are a key factor for successful implementation.

This study aims to holistically explore the academic literature on female leaders to identify the key topics and dynamics of the field.

The authors systematically review 532 papers to explore the research on female leaders; based on objective and replicable criteria, the authors identify relevant papers and thus ensure the quality of the analysis. The bibliometric analysis and visualization support us in recognizing trends in this topic.

This study outlines the state of the art over the past decade by synthesizing theoretical contexts and critically discussing the main streams of research on sustainability, firm outcomes and barriers preventing women from reaching the upper echelons. The authors also explore empirical issues and highlight areas that entail new paths for future scholars.

The research provides novel evidence of the attempt internationally to increase female participation at the top of the firm hierarchy by analyzing firm outcomes, sustainability and the constraints faced by women in achieving these careers.

The results show that the participation of women in leadership roles is not (only) a matter of compliance with current regulations. Through their ability to monitor key social and environmental issues from a long-term perspective and their attention to the internal control systems, companies more effectively pursue their financial and nonfinancial aims.

Using bibliographic and narrative analyses, this study reviews the literature on women at the top of the firm hierarchy with a focus on business research. The authors extend prior studies by investigating a larger pool of firm roles to provide a comprehensive understanding of this widely discussed topic.

This study analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the consumption of locally produced food. In particular, it examines an extended model of the theory of planned behavior, with the addition of the perceived risk of becoming infected with the disease, locavorism and internal locus of control.

The study employs data collected from an online panel of consumers from the five largest cities in Spain (n = 1,000). It uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test and validate the proposed theoretical model.

The results indicate that the perceived risk of COVID-19 drives consumers to embrace locavorism more and, although locavorism is a strong predictor of attitude, internal locus of control also has a strong impact on attitude and switching intentions. Subjective norm and attitude are strong predictors of switching intentions and purchase intentions, and switching intentions also have a powerful impact on purchase intentions.

This study extends previous research on locally produced food consumption in that it has proposed and tested a new conceptual model with the inclusion of the perceived risk of COVID-19, locavorism, internal locus of control and switching intentions, which were found to have an influence on purchasing behavior.

The purpose of this study is to understand the moderating role of market dynamism in the relationship between organizational flexibility and pioneering behavior in tourism firms in Arequipa, Peru. This study aims to delve into the antecedents of pioneering orientation understood as a strategic stance that favors the creation and launch of new products in the market.

This empirical study involved the analysis, using partial least squares regression, of 306 surveys administered to mangers of tourism enterprises. Mediation has also been examined using the bootstrapping method.

The results show that organizational flexibility has a positive impact on pioneering behavior, while market dynamism positively mediates this relationship.

This work provides interesting theoretical and empirical contributions for the management of firms in the tourism sector. Firms should develop capabilities to reconfigure their processes and products to adequately implement and exploit innovations generated in their organizations. In addition, tourism enterprises should improve their performance by creating new products and/or services, aligned with changes in customers' purchasing and consumption habits.

This study aims to elaborate on the background of pioneering orientation understood as a strategic stance that favors the creation and launch of new products in the market. This study also proposes that market dynamism is a factor to be considered in improving this relationship.

El objetivo de este trabajo es comprender el papel moderador del dinamismo del mercado en la relación entre la flexibilidad organizacional y el comportamiento pionero en las empresas de turismo de Arequipa, Perú. El estudio pretende profundizar en los antecedentes de la orientación pionera, entendida como una postura estratégica que favorece la creación y lanzamiento de nuevos productos al mercado.

El estudio empírico involucró el análisis, mediante regresión de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS), de 306 encuestas administradas a gerentes de empresas turísticas. La mediación también se realizó utilizando el método de “bootstrapping”.

Los resultados muestran que la flexibilidad organizacional tiene un impacto positivo en el comportamiento pionero, mientras que el dinamismo del mercado media positivamente en esta relación.

El trabajo aporta interesantes aportes teóricos y empíricos para la gestión de empresas del sector turístico. Las empresas deben desarrollar capacidades para reconfigurar sus procesos y productos para implementar y explotar adecuadamente las innovaciones generadas en sus organizaciones. Además, las empresas turísticas deben mejorar su desempeño mediante la creación de nuevos productos y/o servicios, alineados con los cambios en los hábitos de compra y consumo de los clientes.

El estudio pretende profundizar en el trasfondo de la orientación pionera entendida como una postura estratégica que favorece la creación y lanzamiento de nuevos productos en el mercado. También propone que el dinamismo del mercado es un factor a considerar en la mejora de esta relación.

The authors seek to understand the process of digital servitization as a shift of manufacturing companies from the provision of standard products and services to smart solutions. Specifically, the authors focus on changes in the business model (i.e. the value proposition, the value delivery system and the value capture mechanism) for digital servitization.

The authors examine a Chinese air conditioner manufacturer, Gree, who became the global leader with their smart solutions. These solutions included performance-based contracts underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI)-powered air conditioners that automatically adjust to environmental changes and are capable of remote monitoring and servicing thanks to its Internet of things (IoT) technology.

To successfully offer smart solution value propositions, a manufacturer needs an ecosystem value delivery system composed of suppliers, distributors, partners and customers. Once the ecosystem relationships are well aligned, the manufacturer gains value with multiple value capture mechanisms (i.e. efficiency, accountability, shared customer value and novelty). To arrive at this point, a manufacturer has to pass through different stages that are characterized by both discontinuous and continuous interplay between business models and digital technologies. At the beginning of each stage, new value propositions and value delivery systems are first discontinuously created and then enabled with digital technology. As a result, new value capture mechanisms are activated. Meanwhile, the elements of the existing business model are continuously improved.

By combining process-perspective and business-model lenses, the authors offer nuanced insights into how digital servitization unfolds.

Executives can obtain insights into the business model elements, they need to change over the course of digital servitization and how to manage the process.

A longitudinal case study of a traditional manufacturer that has achieved stellar success through digital servitization business models development.