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Work–family balance practices available in several work organizations to help employees with children to manage the demands of work and family life can have a negative impact on employees with family commitments, on childless employees and on the organization itself, as Perrigino et al. show in their theoretical review. This is the work–family backlash phenomenon expressed by the four mechanisms of stigma, spillover, inequity and strategic. Even if the stigma mechanism towards working women with children was widely explored, no study until now considered the four backlash mechanisms jointly, in the Italian context. The purpose of this paper is offering a first empirical exploration of these mechanisms in Italian work organizations.

For this study, 15 Italian career women with different care burdens were interviewed, and the four mechanisms were analysed from the perspective of women with and without children, and of organizations.

Analysis has shown that the backlash phenomenon can trigger a vicious cycle of perceived inequity that leads to job dissatisfaction and low work motivation. Management responsiveness and fairness in dealing with employees’ needs are central to promoting well-being by effectively balancing career paths with personal needs, especially in a cultural context where most responsibility for family needs is still left to women and few public supports are available.

This study, in spite of some limitations, offers a first contribution to the analysis of the different facets of the work–family backlash in the Italian context and suggests several possible research and practical developments.

Based on the growing interest devoted to knowledge management (KM) in inter-organizational contexts, the purpose of this paper is to systematize existing literature and understand how it developed over time, thus tracing its roots and evolution to unveil gaps and suggest new promising areas for future research.

This study used bibliographic techniques to analyze a sample of 85 studies along three main periods (1998-2010, 2011-2014 and 2015-2019). In particular, this study focused on co-occurrences of keywords to identify the most dominant themes, as well as connections among these themes.

Overall, the review shows the main outlets that have published papers on the topic of KM in inter-organizational contexts, as well as the theoretical background this research builds on. The temporal analysis exhibits the core topics that have persisted and grown consistently over time as the links between KM, innovation and networks. In addition, the review highlights new emerging themes, such as the human and social side of KM, and new interesting contexts of study (e.g. coopetition and open/user innovation), which opens exciting avenues for new research opportunities.

This study illustrates the conceptual structure of the field in three distinct periods and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the key topics and their interrelatedness within the area of KM in inter-organizational contexts. Both researchers and practitioners can profit from the study because it reveals consolidated topics while identifying areas that still need to be investigated to foster KM in inter-organizational settings.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of IFRS adoption on the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and conditional accounting conservatism in South Asia.

This study uses the model developed by Basu (1997) and Ball and Shivakumar (2005) to examine the moderating effect of IFRS adoption on the relationship between FDI and conditional accounting conservatism. Data are tested by running panel generalized method of moments–2SLS estimation for the period of 2006–2015.

A moderating effect of IFRS adoption was found on the relationship between FDI and conditional accounting conservatism in South Asia.

This study contributes to the literature by adding new evidence on the moderating effect of IFRS adoption on the relationship between FDI and conditional accounting conservatism.

The relationship between FDI and conditional accounting conservatism was moderated by IFRS adoption in South Asia. This finding provides new evidence to the literature as well as for the policy makers to consider on IFRS adoption.

The purpose of this study is to explore growth models based on “industry-based capabilities”, “resources-based capabilities” and “institution-based capabilities” in the context of the determinants of micro, small and medium enterprises’ (MSMEs) actors’ intention to grow.

This study involved 188 owners/managers of MSMEs. The analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Moreover, the importance-performance map analysis package is used to complement the study findings.

This study uses the framework of the resource-based view (entrepreneurial knowledge), industrial-based view (industrial linkage) and institutional-based view (government support and access to finance) as proxies of the tripod-based view framework. The findings show that entrepreneurial knowledge (skills, competencies and functional), government support, access to finance and industrial linkage (vertical and horizontal) significantly encourage MSMEs’ owner/manager growth intention.

Firstly, this study suggests that MSMEs actors focus on developing entrepreneurial knowledge to boost the skills, competencies and functionalities needed to improve their business capabilities, directly affecting their growth intention. Secondly, this study indicates that the growth intention of MSME players, besides increasing internal capacity, must also be supported by the external environment, such as financial institutions, government and industrial linkage.

This study offers a tripod-based view as a framework for MSMEs’ actors’ intention to grow, where the constructs in the model used so far have not been explored comprehensively in the context of MSMEs. So, the built model brings more relevant factors to explain this topic from various perspectives.

This study aims to examine the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and various measures of earnings quality in listed companies on Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The theoretical intuition for prediction of any relationship between earnings quality and CG is based on the behavioral theory and the institutional settings in Iran.

This study used the data of 117 listed companies on the TSE for the period from 2005 to 2019. The authors use panel data regression as the main methodology, along with principal component analysis, t-test and rank-sum test.

This study finds that the CG has a positive association with earnings quality. More precisely, better CG mechanisms cause lower earnings smoothness, more predictable and persistent earnings, and higher levels of timeliness, conservatism and value relevance. The relationship between CG and earnings quality is statistically and economically significant for all models.

The findings further the understanding of the role of CG in improving earnings quality in an Islamic and emerging country. First, this study provides evidence on the relation between CG and earnings quality by focusing on the behavioral theory, which suggests that corporate decision-making is not only influenced by formal CG mechanisms, but also by informal CG arrangements. In this case, this study departs from the restrictive theories (specifically, agency theory) that are widely used in past literature. Second, this study constructs an index that fits to corporate context of Iran rather than applying indexes introduced in Anglo-American environments.

Tech start-ups (TSs) functioning in different domains have a responsibility of ensuring that domestic knowledge and capabilities are leveraged to minimize dependence on foreign organizations. Despite the growth of the ecosystem, while numerous TSs emerge, very few of them are able to survive, and of those that survive, very few scale up. The aim of this study is to identify the factors influencing the competitiveness of technological start-ups and to study the interrelationship and interdependence of these factors.

Modified total interpretative structural modeling (m-TISM) was employed for the current research. The analysis of what factors have an effect on competitiveness, how they affect it and why they affect it should be explored. The study begins by developing the list of factors through literature search, and further it is validated by expert opinion. A hierarchical model has been developed using m-TISM and MICMAC analysis to analyze the driving and dependency power of factors at each level.

Results show that the competitiveness of TSs is affected by organizational agility and internationalization. Factors present at the bottom level, namely entrepreneurial intensity, act as a strong driver for TSs. Team member commitment, transformational leadership, strategic alliances, knowledge sharing and organizational ambidexterity are middle-level factors.

This study is among the few articles that have explored competitiveness of TSs in the Indian context.

Considering the relevance of innovative business models in the digitally transformed market and the lack of clarity on the internet of services (IoS) contribution for a business model deployment in current literature, this study aims to fill this gap by evaluating a business model that converges to an IoS adoption in a direct sale of free-range eggs from farmers to consumers.

From the bibliographical research regarding the IoS and business model, the authors developed an IoS-based model framework. The framework has been evaluated in a real business scenario by using a single case study through an interview with the entrepreneur and documental analysis.

As the main result, a framework with the attributes can be considered a tool for an IoS-based business model deployment. The case study concluded that the business is aligned with the IoS adoption, and the framework presents adherence to it.

The case study was limited to only one company owing to the IoS’s novelty and the lack of correlated business models. Although the case study limits to the agriculture field, the proposed framework may be broadly applied.

Considering that the lack of a comprehensive business model causes new businesses to face challenges, it is relevant bringing up the present case study of the IoS-based business model, which correlates these two subjects, still poorly explored in the scientific literature: IoS and business models.

Based on resource dependence theory and the concept of interlocking directorates, the purpose of this paper is to understand the importance of networks for start-ups and the role incubators play in these companies’ networking processes.

The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with the entrepreneurs responsible for three start-ups and the heads of their incubators. The interview data were subjected to content analysis using NVivo software.

The results indicate that start-ups often resort to networks to overcome their weak reputations and scarce resources. Incubators play a quite important role in this process since they promote events that encourage the creation of partnerships and networks either between start-ups within the same incubator or with external institutions. In addition, the results reveal that most cooperation networks are informal and that they fulfil needs that start-ups are not yet able to meet themselves, for example, when they compete for public tenders.

The present study explored this topic from two perspectives (i.e. start-ups and incubators). This approach facilitated the identification of the main features upon which start-ups depend, the entities to which these companies turn for help, the kind of communication in which they usually engage, the primary advantages of establishing cooperation networks and the main types of support given by incubators.

Most studies of cooperation networks are based on transaction cost economics, a resource-based perspective and/or institutional theory. In contrast, this study innovated by applying resource dependence theory and the concept of interlocking directorates, which provided an alternative explanation regarding cooperation networks’ importance to start-ups and incubators’ roles in these companies’ networking processes.

Shared decision making (SDM) prioritises joint deliberation between practitioner and service user, and a respect for service-users’ experiential knowledge, values and preferences. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature pertaining to key stakeholders’ attitudes towards SDM in mental health. It examines whether perceived barriers and facilitators differ by group (e.g. service user, psychiatrist, nurse and social worker) and includes views of what facilitates and hinders the process for service users and practitioners.

This review adopts the principles of a qualitative research synthesis. A key word search of research published between 1990 and 2016 was undertaken. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies were included.

In total, 43 papers were included and several themes identified for service user and practitioner perspectives. Both practitioners and service users see SDM as an ethical imperative, and both groups highlight the need to be flexible in implementing SDM, suggesting it is context dependent. A range of challenges and barriers are presented by both practitioners and service users reflecting complex contextual and cultural features within which interactions in mental health take place. There were qualitative differences in what service users and practitioners describe as preventing or enabling SDM. The differences highlighted point towards different challenges and priorities in SDM for service users and practitioners.

The presentation of nuanced views and attitudes that practitioners and service users hold represent an important and under reported area and offer insight into the reasons for the gap between idealised policy and actual practice of SDM in mental health settings.