Excelia Business School

Venture capital is a significant component of funding and growing new businesses, offering them capital, knowledge, and managerial know-how that supports thriving in a globalised economy and address technological challenges. However, the connexion to larger innovation ecosystems in Europe is still not well understood. This study fills this gap by looking at how research and development funding, patent activity, education, and government effectiveness affect venture capital dynamics in 28 European countries from 2007 to 2024. We evaluate causal interactions between innovation inputs and VC flows utilising cross-sectional dependence tests and the JKS Granger non-causality framework. The findings indicate that patents, GDP, R&D investments, and human capital are significant predictors of venture capital activity, with multiple instances of bidirectional causality. Early-stage VC is particularly sensitive to innovation and macroeconomic performance, while late-stage VC is closely tied to innovation, government effectiveness, and human capital. These results show that an innovation ecosystem that is proactive and sensitive to different stages is not only a contextual factor but also a major driver of venture capital flows in Europe. Policymakers should therefore design policies that are specific to each situation and that improve the quality of institutions and the ability to innovate. This will lead to more active VC markets and faster commercialisation of new technologies.

Purpose Mobile applications (apps) have become integral to daily life, yet fostering continued user engagement remains a challenge. This study aims to investigate factors influencing continuance intention by comparing goal-directed (e.g. educational) and experiential (e.g. gaming) apps. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling analysis was applied to data extracted from 452 valid survey responses collected from users of popular Chinese mobile apps to determine the mediating effects of inner and social self-relevance and positive and negative emotions and the moderating role of app types (goal-directed vs experiential). Findings Our findings indicate that utilitarian value and social value positively influence both inner and social self-relevance, which in turn positively influence positive emotions, while hedonic value primarily impacts inner self-relevance. Inner self-relevance slightly affects brand love, while negative emotions negatively influence brand love. Furthermore, inherent (hedonic) value has a stronger influence on positive emotions than utilitarian value. A mediation analysis confirmed the mediating roles of inner and social self-relevance in the relationship between perceived value and brand love as well as the indirect effects of perceived value on negative emotions mediated via social self-relevance. Furthermore, a multiple-group analysis revealed significant variations in the influence of perceived value on self-relevance, emotions and brand love for goal-directed vis-à-vis experiential apps. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by comprehensively examining brand love formation in mobile apps, considering both goal-directed and experiential categories. The findings provide valuable guidance for marketers and designers seeking to enhance user engagement and cultivate user-app relationships in a competitive mobile app market.

Purpose Although mobile payment (m-payment) adoption has grown rapidly worldwide, existing research remains fragmented in explaining the factors that drive users' continued use beyond initial adoption. Prior reviews have predominantly concentrated on adoption-related factors and acceptance models, with limited attention to post-adoption behaviours such as continuance intention (CI). This study aims to address this gap by conducting a systematic review and proposing a conceptual framework grounded in Shannon and Weaver’s communication model. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of 99 peer-reviewed journal articles from 2014 to 2024 was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Articles were retrieved from five academic sources and screened through a four-stage process. Influencing factors were categorized using the adapted communication model into three dimensions: source, channel, and recipient, while also considering mediating, moderating and external factors. Findings The review identifies three core categories of factors influencing m-payment CI: (1) source-related (e.g. satisfaction, trust and confirmation); (2) channel-related (e.g. usefulness, ease of use and security); and (3) recipient-related (e.g. merchant pro-activeness). Mediating variables (e.g. satisfaction and trust), moderating variables (e.g. gender, age and experience) and external influences (e.g. social influence and subjective norms) also play significant roles. Originality/value This study extends communication theory into the digital finance domain by developing a multidimensional source–channel–recipient framework. It applies a classical communication model to synthesize and interpret dispersed continuance research, highlighting underexplored areas such as recipient responsiveness and environmental influences. The framework provides structured implications for researchers, service providers and policymakers seeking to foster sustained m-payment use.

This study examines the motivations influencing social entrepreneurial intentions among Tunisian students. Utilising principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (DA), data was collected from 302 students at the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences of Sfax. The results reveal that both intrinsic motivations (such as those responding to needs, empathy, social innovation, and passion) and extrinsic motivations (including family background, relational networks, entrepreneurship education, national culture, and digital channels) positively impact students' social entrepreneurial intentions. The findings highlight the need to foster a social entrepreneurial mindset among Tunisian students, suggesting that dedicated training and academic programs in universities are crucial for promoting social entrepreneurship as a viable career option. This study underscores the importance of supporting social entrepreneurs to address pressing societal challenges and suggests further research on the actualisation of social entrepreneurial intentions.

Face aux défis climatiques et à l’augmentation de la demande en eau, il est crucial de comprendre les comportements des consommateurs en matière d’utilisation de l’eau pour formuler des stratégies de préservation efficaces de cette ressource. Dans ce contexte, une revue systématique de la littérature sur la consommation individuelle de l’eau est menée. Ainsi, 183 articles, publiés dans des revues de sciences de gestion reconnues, ont été rigoureusement collectés et analysés. Un modèle conceptuel est érigé à partir des cinq principales thématiques qui émergent de l’analyse des articles sélectionnés : (1) les antécédents liés au consommateur (intrinsèques), (2) les antécédents liés à son environnement (extrinsèques), (3) les pratiques de consommation d’eau, (4) les pratiques de conservation de l’eau et (5) les politiques d’influence pour préserver la ressource en eau. Cette synthèse systématique de la littérature fournit d’une part des conclusions raisonnablement claires et objectives sur l’état actuel des connaissances, et d’autre part, permet d’identifier des angles morts qui sont autant de pistes de recherche. Ainsi, un agenda de recherche sur la consommation individuelle de l’eau est proposé. Ce dernier intègre des implications sociétales ou managériales afin de suggérer aux acteurs de l’eau comment ils peuvent accompagner le consommateur dans sa transition vers une utilisation plus responsable de l’eau.

Purpose This study uncovers three critical relationships in banking governance: how board-specific skills (BSS) influence board member compensation (BMC), how BMC affects nonperforming loans (NPLs) and whether BSS moderates the relationship between BMC and NPLs. Design/methodology/approach Examining 483 banks across Asia (259) and Europe (224) from 2011 to 2022, we reveal intriguing regional differences by conducting a two-step system generalized method of moment (SGMM) as an econometric approach. Findings Empirical findings provide strong evidence that the relationship between BSS, BMC and NPLs is not straightforward; it varies significantly by region and the skill level of board members. First, results reveal that an increase in BSS is associated with a decrease in BMC for the overall sample and, more specifically, Asian banks. In contrast, BSS is associated with increased board remuneration for European banks. Second, we found that BMC significantly raises nonperforming loans (NPLs). Finally, we confirm that BSS moderates the relationship between BMC and NPLs. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, only a few studies have explored the combined effects of board-specific skills, board remuneration and nonperforming loans. Additionally, we examine how BSS moderates the relationship between board remuneration and NPLs at different levels of specific skills.