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This exploratory study uses a punctuated equilibrium paradigm (PEP) framework to examine the impact and adaptation of an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) to the COVID-19 pandemic at the organizational and ecosystem level. The aim is to provide guidance to EEs on ways to adapt to future external shocks.

As this study is exploratory in nature, the authors use a sequential mixed method whereby a qualitative method is used first to identify emergent themes from in-depth interviews with EE members, followed by a quantitative method (survey) based on those themes across a broader cross section of EE members.

Entrepreneurial ecosystem’s geographical advantages have declined during the pandemic as EE firms adapted to this external shock by developing more digitally distributed organizations.

Based on the findings, the authors propose an emerging model of EEs that extends the traditional clustering model focused on geography to account for more digitally distributed entrepreneurial clusters. However, the results, based on an in-depth study of one ecosystem, may not be fully generalizable to all EEs.

Given the widespread pandemic impact, the findings may be instructive to EEs and organizations in EEs that aim to become more resilient in the face of potential future external shocks.

As part of the qualitative interview process the interviewees were asked what they would change in San Francisco Bay Area if they had a magic wand right now. They discussed a variety of inspiring ideas, but the most frequently mentioned was their wish to change the focus of business to solve societal problems with a global citizen mindset (e.g. recycling energy, climate change, income inequality, access to education and funding, inequity, wealth gaps, housing crisis and homelessness) to make the world a better place. Additionally, the pandemic exposed some inequality in work conditions across demographics. As firms reorganize to increase resiliency, attention to these issues should be addressed.

This study is unique in applying the PEP to EEs to deepen our understanding about how an EE evolves during periods of sudden external shocks.

This research analyzes two issues: (1) MNCs' foreign entry process, and (2) the relationship between foreign entry strategy and international technology transfer. The study is based on a comparative case analysis of ten U.S. high-tech manufacturers operating in the Asian Pacific Rim.We analyzed firms' foreign entry processes and compared them with the predictions of internationalization theory. We also studied the causal relationship between a firm's international technology transfer policy and its foreign entry strategy.We found support for companies' incremental Asian commitment in terms of operating mode; however, their reasons were different from those professed in internationalization theory. We also found that foreign entry process varies with the purpose and nature of foreign business activities. The stage theory is less applicable to firms that follow customers into foreign markets, firms whose foreign expansion is to improve customer service, and firms that must produce abroad to sell abroad. Finally, host government policies also tend to limit the applicability of the stage process model.In addition, we found that companies' desire to sell abroad was the overriding consideration to enter foreign markets. As such, they accepted operating modes to maximize their sales, even at the risk that collaborative partners could more easily appropriate the technologies they transferred. However, the danger of technology loss was mitigated by a belief that their core competency was the ability to develop ever-newer technologies rather than the product and process technologies they transferred.

The purpose of this paper is to explore project‐level human resource aspects of international technology transfers (ITTs) to private sector manufacturing firms in Sri Lanka.

Data were collected from 35 ITT projects. A self‐administered survey questionnaire was chosen as the main mode for data collection. In addition to descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression were used to analyse data.

Firms have acquired product, process and management‐system technologies from countries having different institutional environments, namely, the USA, Europe, China, Japan and India. It was found that the country from which technology was sourced and the type of technology predict several project‐level human resource aspects explored in this paper.

The acquisition of human resource capabilities provides the central underpinning in ITTs. There is a marked absence of research‐led literature on technology transfers at the project‐level that resulted in less developed countries in Asia.

This paper investigates gender disparity in investment decisions within the popular American TV show Shark Tank.

The research uses a comprehensive dataset of 925 pitches from 14 seasons and 316 episodes, covering August 2009 to May 2023.

Contrary to previous studies, the findings indicate that female entrepreneurs do n'ot face discrimination in terms of their pitching success rates, regardless of their industry affiliation. However, the authors did observe that female entrepreneurs tend to receive lower valuations, both self-assessed and in final deals. This suggests a self-imposed gender gap in venture capital and angel investing, likely stemming from lower entrepreneurial aspirations among women.

To tackle this issue, the authors propose promoting female venture capital by increasing the representation of female entrepreneurs and business angels on Shark Tank. Such role models can inspire aspiring women in these fields. Additionally, the authors believe that mixed-gender founder teams, comprising both men and women, can play a significant role in developing promising startups with viable business models.

This paper aims to investigate the expatriate adjustment experiences of “biculturals”, defined here as individuals who have internalised at least two cultural profiles, in a host-country setting that is itself also culturally diverse.

A qualitative approach was adopted, involving semi-structured interviews with a small number of bicultural expatriates working in Malaysia.

The findings here echo previous studies in demonstrating bicultural expatriates’ ability (and tendency) to switch cultural frames as part of their adjustment. Despite this, however, their professional and social networks appear to still be shaped by cultural factors, with expatriates drawn towards networks whose members mainly comprise certain ethnic groups whose values and norms are perceived as being more closely aligned with those of the expatriate.

Though the literature on bicultural expatriates continues to grow, little emphasis has been given to a host-country setting that is itself culturally diverse. The findings here suggest that in such a setting, professional and social networks serve as an aid in the adjustment. Importantly, however, these networks, rather than being culturally impartial, as it were, may primarily comprise certain ethnic groups who are considered culturally “closer” to the expatriate in question.

Expatriate management is a popular theme in the field of international human resource management in light of the fact that expatriates play a crucial role in a MNC’s global operations. The purpose of this paper is to explore how MNCs select, train, deploy and support expatriate managers during and after their international assignment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This qualitative study is based on in-depth interviews with 22 Western expatriate managers who are presently based in the UAE. However, in order the ensure a diverse sample among the participants with regards to their age, professional experience, gender and nationality, purposeful sampling was utilized while selecting the participants.

The results of the present study cast light on many shortcomings of the overall expatriation process as they are implemented by MNCs in the UAE. Accordingly, there is a pressing need for MNCs in the UAE to develop strategic expatriation processes, involving the following critical factors: the selection of the right person for the right job; specific and relevant pre-departure and post-arrival cross-cultural training (CCT); practical support for the expatriate employees and their trailing spouses in the host country; and lastly, a clear repatriation strategy to mark a successful conclusion of foreign assignments in the UAE.

It is acknowledged that the results of this purely qualitative study, based on a relatively small sample size, cannot claim to represent the management theories, practices and realities of all the Western MNCs in the UAE. Moreover, these findings narrate the views and perceptions of this particular cohort of expatriate executives with relation to their selection, pre-departure CCT, adjustment in the UAE and the support and repatriation policies utilized by their companies for doing business in the UAE.

This study points to the fact that technical skills are mostly considered to be the predominant selection criteria for the expatriate selections in the MNCs. Other abilities, such as language skills and relational and perceptual adjustability are considered to be less important and do not feature overtly in the selection criteria for expatriate positions. The results demonstrate that distinctive features of adjustability, which include expatriates’ willingness to communicate, their social orientation, dynamic anxiety resistance and openness ability are all critical to the adjustment in the host country and should be given more emphasis.

Regardless of the presence of numerous MNCs in the UAE, it is indeed surprising to see that the topic of the expatriation management process in MNCs in the UAE has received little research attention. The objective of this study is to address this deficiency. Additionally, it is hoped that these findings may also be valuable to MNCs and consultants who are preparing expatriates for international assignments, especially in the Middle East and in particular in the UAE.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate change processes within German and Spanish management accounting which are induced by the recent economic crisis. To illuminate these changes, a particular emphasis is put on budgeting processes and the role of management accountants.

A cross-sectional field study that mainly builds on interviews with senior management accounting executives in nine German and nine Spanish companies was conducted. The German and Spanish companies were matched in terms of industry and size to assure comparability of the two national samples.

The most recent economic crisis represents a crucial driver of management accounting change in the companies comprising my sample. Whereas budgeting is increasingly performed continuously, the empirical evidence suggests that opportunities are continually evolving that might result in a more powerful position of management accountants within corporate decision-making processes and an improved image of management accountants.

The findings of this study should not be generalised in a statistical sense. However, the results may be used as the basis for qualitative and quantitative follow-up studies.

The paper provides several examples which demonstrate, that management accountants can improve their image and their influence on corporate decision making in times of economic crisis.

This paper contributes to the literature by providing both theoretical refinement of and empirical evidence on propositions on the influence of the economic crisis on management accounting.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate organisational accountability to less economically powerful stakeholders in the absence of formal corporate social reporting (CSR) guidelines. In addition, this study emphasises the role of administrative and institutional reforms in empowering stakeholders in a developing country context, namely, Bangladesh.

Consistent with prior literature, this qualitative study collected data through semi-structured interviews with 23 representatives from NGOs, media, civil society, customers, regulators, trade union leaders and employees who are considered as less economically powerful stakeholders. This paper draws on the demand for administrative reforms along with an institutional support structure (Owen et al., 1997) to enhance CSR and corporate accountability.

The empirical evidence shows that there is a need for a stand-alone mandatory CSR to achieve stakeholder accountability. It also shows that there are demands from “stakeholders to right to know” about the company’s social and environmental performance along with stakeholder engagements. There is a perceived demand for administrative reform along with institutional supports that can contribute to the CSR development in Bangladesh. These administrative reforms would encourage transparent corporate social and environmental practices. Given the socio-economic and vulnerable environmental conditions of Bangladesh, stakeholders in this study suggested contextually relevant CSR guidelines towards greater accountability.

This paper is one of the few engagement-based studies which explore the perceptions of less economically powerful stakeholders towards CSR developments in an emerging economy – Bangladesh. The findings of this study using the theoretical lens of accountability with administrative and institutional reforms lead us to conclude that companies in Bangladesh have low level of CSR towards stakeholder accountability and stakeholder engagements.

The paper contributes to the CSR literature by highlighting the needs of CSR from the stakeholder’s accountability perspective.

This paper aims to examine the usefulness of disclosures provided by Egyptian firms in the management report from the viewpoint of financial analysts and institutional investors.

Institutional investors are surveyed to determine whether disclosures are meeting the needs of these financial statements’ users. The final sample consists of 78 financial analysts who work at stockbrokerage firms and 36 institutional investors who work in Egyptian banks and insurance companies.

The main findings reveal that investors view mandatory and voluntary disclosures differently. Some voluntary disclosures are more useful than mandatory disclosures, which highlights a gap between the regulations and users’ information needs. Moreover, the findings show that respondents consider information related to ownership structure more important than information on risks and firms’ future performance.

This study enriches the scientific debate on the usefulness of disclosures provided in the management report. It might also encourage other researchers to focus on investigating different types of information that may have a significant influence on the decision-making process.

The findings will be useful to regulators to improve the current rules of disclosures. In addition, these results will also be helpful to managers because they highlight the disclosure items that are considered important by users.

This study provides evidence on how users perceive the usefulness of information disclosed in the management reports for their decision-making in an emerging capital market. Even though previous studies investigated the usefulness of management reports, no one of them emphasized the users’ viewpoint.