Purpose What shapes individuals’ decisions to pursue social entrepreneurship? Drawing on studies on human capital and alertness to opportunities as well as research on entrepreneurial ecosystems, this research examines how the business context and entrepreneurial alertness influence the relationship between human capital and social entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 84,340 observations from 32 countries, this research applies multilevel empirical models to analyse entrepreneurial ecosystems across different countries and the role of individuals’ alertness to entrepreneurial opportunities as moderators of the aforementioned relationship. This approach accounts for the multilayered nature of the context into account. Findings The results reveal that for individuals with higher alertness to opportunities, human capital has a stronger positive impact as a driver of social entrepreneurship. This effect is further shaped by the macro-level ecosystems associated with national entrepreneurial environments. Practical implications This research provides insight for governments to facilitate social entrepreneurial activities. Human capital acts as a fundamental condition of social entrepreneurial activities. However, focusing only on micro-level antecedents does not fully explain the dependence of social entrepreneurial entry decisions on macro-level environments in which this decision-making takes place. Originality/value This research is the first attempt to examine a multilayered context influencing social entrepreneurship entry. It contributes to emerging research by integrating individual and contextual antecedents while demonstrating how country-level entrepreneurial ecosystems establish boundary conditions for these relationships.

Purpose The study aims to answer three academic questions: (1) What are the policy mechanisms and the roles of local government in different entrepreneurship stages? (2) What are the boundary conditions under which the market and administrative logic work well in the entrepreneurial growth process? (3) What factors have contributed to the symbiotic evolution of entrepreneurship from a few pioneers to mass entrepreneurs? Design/methodology/approach Given the entrepreneurship process's longitudinal nature and complexity, an embedded longitudinal research design was adopted. This study focuses on back-home migrant worker entrepreneurship in rural China from 2010 to 2022 and selects nine sample enterprises in different entrepreneurship stages in three industries. Data were collected from interviews and archives and then coded, applying the grounded theory approach. Findings The main findings are: (1) The mechanisms of entrepreneurship policies and the roles of local government vary during the different stages of the entrepreneurial process. (2) Either insufficient incentives or excessive intervention by local government will lead to the failure of the mechanisms of entrepreneurship policies. (3) Successful entrepreneurs will attract and help more migrant workers engage in entrepreneurial activities through the three mechanisms of boosting the local economy, constructing favourable institutions and reshaping personal societal roles, thus achieving the symbiotic evolution of entrepreneurship. Originality/value This study's core contribution is to propose a mid-range theory based on the entrepreneurial process, which portrays the mechanism of the entrepreneurial policy portfolio and the dynamics of the role of local government. The study examines the boundary conditions for the substitution or complementarity between the two institutional logics in the entrepreneurial process and its complexity and temporal dynamics, elucidating the symbiotic evolutionary mechanism through which entrepreneurship transitions from individual pioneers to mass entrepreneurship. The study also expands the domain of institutional entrepreneurship research.

Purpose Perceived job security is positively associated with employee and organizational outcomes, yet antecedents to perceived job security remain understudied. Drawing on signaling theory, this study examines how family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSBs) influence employee perceptions of job security and the role interpersonal trust plays. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypothesized model, the authors utilized a two-wave study design of working adults in the U.S. (n = 165), analyzing the data using PROCESS Macro model 4. Findings All four dimensions of FSSB (emotional support, instrumental support, role modeling, and creative work-family management) and overall FSSB are positively associated with employee-perceived job security directly and indirectly through affect-based trust. Cognition-based trust fully mediates the relationships between emotional support, instrumental support and perceived job security, partially mediating the relationships among role modeling, creative work-family management, overall FSSB and perceived job security. Originality/value The perceived job security literature is extended to explore antecedents and illustrate how FSSBs, along with trust, positively influence employee-perceived job security.

Purpose With the rapid movements toward digital transformation, the study of organizational resilience has become crucial, particularly in the SME sector. Grounded in Dynamic Capability View (DCV), this paper aims to examine the direct impact of digital leadership orientation on organizational resilience and indirect effect through dynamic capabilities of the organization (strategic foresight, agility, and flexibility). Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from 317 SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in Oman who have initiated digitalization by using a structured questionnaire and analyzed with PLS-SEM. Findings The outcomes reveal that digital leadership orientation positively influences dynamic capabilities of the organization and organizational resilience. The findings also demonstrate that dynamic capabilities mediate the relationship between digital leadership orientation and organizational resilience. Practical implications The findings of this study have practical implications toward policy makers, owners as well as managers of SMEs. The government can take more initiatives to increase the digital orientation in the leadership of SME through training. The owners and managers of SMEs could benefit from focusing on building dynamic capabilities to tackle the unforeseeable events in their organizations. Moreover, from an institutional standpoint, universities, business incubators, and SME support centers can play a crucial role in building digital leadership capability. Originality/value Grounded on the DCV, this study advances the resilience literature by confirming that digital leadership orientation plays a vital role in shaping organizational capabilities and resilience.

Purpose Blockchain technology (BT) plays an important role in enhancing operational efficiency and consumer trust within the agricultural supply chain (ASC). The purpose of this paper is to investigate how risk-averse attitudes of e-ASC members affect the adoption decision of BT under the consideration of demand uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach This paper simultaneously considers the improvement of consumer trust and concerns of privacy information leakage within the context of BT. We constructed a game model of BT adoption under different risk attitudes consisting of agricultural supplier, third-party logistic (3PL) and e-retailer and introduced the mean-variance theory to analyze the impact of risk attitudes on equilibrium pricing, profits and consumer surplus. We further considered an extended analysis of risk-averse consumers. Findings The equilibrium pricing and equilibrium profit of supply chain members will increase with the heightened consumer trust degree for blockchain products and decrease as the consumer privacy concerns intensify regardless of risk attitudes. In the shift from risk-neutral to risk-averse, supply chain members have an incentive to reduce retail and wholesale prices to maintain their market size, which helps to mitigate the risk of profit volatility associated with demand uncertainty. Suppliers tend to reduce the profit risk from demand uncertainty at the cost of lower expected profits. It is interesting to note that considering risks is beneficial for e-retailer, as it may increase their expected profits. Consumers will also benefit from the risk aversion of supply chain members. Practical implications Practitioners can flexibly adjust pricing strategies based on their own risk preferences and market demand uncertainty to achieve maximum profit and minimum risk. To reduce consumers' privacy concerns, security measures such as digital encryption and digital summarization can be integrated at the technical level to ensure the confidentiality of privacy information. Originality/value This study enriches the research on the application of BT in ASCs and provides insights for practitioners on how to develop effective strategies under different risk attitudes.

Purpose This paper aims to reveal the impact pathway of international standardization on the international competitiveness of enterprises in developing countries, verify the strategic value of international standardization as dynamic capability from an exogenous perspective and resolve the paradox of standardization’s influence. Design/methodology/approach This paper focuses on China’s communications industry, constructing a 2010–2022 panel dataset from the International Telecommunication Union and A-share listed companies. It employs fixed/random/mixed effect models for benchmark regression, confirms the fixed effect model via robustness tests and uses hierarchical regression to examine market power and resource acquisition as mediating factors. Findings Firstly, this research demonstrates that international standardization significantly enhances international competitiveness of developing-country firms, with short technology cycles and strong network externalities in telecommunications reinforcing this effect. Secondly, it reveals market power’s mediating role whereby latecomers disrupt value chain hierarchies and gain market influence through standard-setting participation. Thirdly, resource acquisition is verified as another mediator, where collaborations – particularly with pioneers – facilitate resource integration and complementary advantages to alleviate asymmetries. Originality/value By integrating institutional theory and resource-based view, this study first verifies an analytical framework in the context of developing economies, where international standardization affects competitiveness through dual pathways of market power and resource acquisition, providing a new theoretical perspective for the internationalization of latecomer enterprises.

Purpose Faced with a context in which the circular economy is seen in academia, in companies and political decision-makers as a promising vision capable of building prosperity within planetary limits, understanding how to transform linear business models into circular ones becomes urgent. Based on the understanding that understanding how dynamic capabilities support the transition to a circular business model is still incipient, this study aimed to contribute to this gap. Design/methodology/approach A single case study was carried out, with a procedural approach of the Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem S.A., a world leader in producing biopolymers from renewable raw materials. Data were collected through interviews and document analysis and analyzed using narrative and temporal scaling techniques. Findings The main results indicate that the transition to a circular business model process happens in 4 phases. We also found that each phase mobilizes a different pattern of micro-foundations and, in turn, recruits different dynamic capabilities. We also identified a new dynamic capability, in addition to Teece's (2007) sensing, seizing and transforming capability, the orchestrating capability, which is associated with the mobilization of external resources for the company to create value collaboratively for itself and its stakeholders in the value chain. Research limitations/implications We choose a unique case study that promises us just the theoretical generalization not a statistical one. Practical implications Our study presents a set of microfoundations for successful circular business model innovation. Thus, managers can benefit from our results and conceive which practices and routines they can use in their companies to promote a sustainable transformation of their business model. Originality/value In general lines, the findings of this study provide companies with a clear framework for transforming their business models towards sustainability. As companies progress through the identified phases, they can adopt more effective strategies to promote sustainable innovation. The emphasis on reconfiguration and integration capabilities in advanced phases highlights the importance of collaboration and socio-environmental responsibility throughout the value chain, enabling companies to gain a competitive advantage by meeting the increasing expectations from the ecosystem.

Purpose This study investigates how the consumer-to-manufacturer (C2M) affects strategic decisions in a supply chain consisting of two manufacturers and one platform involving hybrid contracts. Design/methodology/approach This study develops a game-theoretic framework analyzing pricing decisions between two upstream manufacturers and a common downstream platform. Two manufacturers employ distinct distribution contracts: one operates through a reselling contract while the other utilizes an agency contract. Through a multi-stage sequential game, this study examines four cases based on two manufacturers’ C2M adoption choices: no manufacturer adopts C2M (case NN), only one manufacturer uses C2M (case CN or case NC) or both manufacturers use C2M (case CC). Equilibrium solutions are derived by backward induction. Findings First, C2M implementation generates positive market effect that enhance the profits of the platform and manufacturers, with achieving maximum positive impact under case CC. However, the cost effect affects only the manufacturers that use C2M. Second, regardless of a manufacturer’s C2M decision, the rival manufacturer’s adoption of C2M increases the first manufacturer’s profits. Third, when C2M costs are below the threshold, case CC achieves an equilibrium for the platform and the manufacturers. Case CN cannot achieve equilibrium, regardless of the C2M cost level. Fourth, consumer surplus and social welfare are optimal in case CC. Originality/value This study makes dual contributions to supply chain management. First, it investigates how C2M adoption influences decisions among supply chain participants from the perspective of interactions between information sharing and C2M. Second, this study illustrates the impact of contract differences on manufacturers’ C2M decisions.

Purpose This study explores the effect of board gender diversity on the sentiments expressed in risk management disclosures. Drawing on upper-echelon and intergroup threat theories, we posit that innate values on risk aversion and the ethicality of female directors lead gender-diverse boards to display higher negative emotions in risk management disclosures. Design/methodology/approach We empirically test our postulation on a sample of banks from 12 emerging economies over the period 2005–2020 and develop a sentiment index using the Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) weighting scheme. We employ the system GMM estimation technique to address potential endogeneity issues in our models, ensuring more reliable and robust parameter estimates. Findings We find a positive association between the presence of female directors and negative sentiments in risk management disclosures. However, the number of females on board must reach the critical mass of at least three females to observe negative sentiments in risk management disclosures. Practical implications Our results exhibit important implications for theory and practitioners, particularly investors and regulators in emerging markets. Our study advocates for a more heterogeneous board, suggesting that the inclusion of more than two females is necessary to capitalize on the advantages of gender diversity in board dynamics. Hence, gender-diverse managerial sentiments enrich the risk-related information, which conveys valuable information to investors and regulators. Investors should include sentiments-driven information in the comprehensive analysis of firms’ disclosures. Regulators may observe the signals emerging from risk management sentiment as a tool for better bank supervision to avoid huge losses to the stakeholders. Originality/value As per the authors’ information, this study is the first of its kind that links the sentiments in risk management disclosures with female directorship, focusing on the banking sector. It may add a valuable contribution to the existing literature.

Purpose First, this study aims to study the impact of environmental regulation on ecological efficiency through the city’s capacity for “policy perception-resource adjustment-institutional reconstruction”; second, the regulatory role of the urban innovation system in this context. Design/methodology/approach Based on the improved Super-SBM model, this paper measures the ecological efficiency of 284 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2021, and utilizes the spatial Durbin model to explore the different impacts of two types of environmental regulations, command-control and market-based incentive, on China’s ecological efficiency, and further examines the effect of technological innovation on the ecological efficiency. Findings The study found the following: (1) The overall ecological efficiency of Chinese cities exhibits a gradual increase; (2) there exists an “inverted U-shaped” correlation between command-control environmental regulation and market-based incentive environmental regulation concerning ecological efficiency; (3) Command-control environmental regulation exhibits a substantial positive spatial spillover effect, whereas market-based incentive environmental regulation demonstrates a negative spatial spillover effect. (4) Technological innovation exerts a dual negative moderating influence on the relationship between environmental regulation and ecological efficiency; (5) The efficacy of environmental regulation instruments differs based on city characteristics. Originality/value Theoretically, it employs urban dynamic governance theory to elucidate the spatial heterogeneity of China’s environmental regulation, and highlights the critical role of urban governance capacity in the dissemination of environmental regulation effects. Methodologically, it overcomes traditional ecological efficiency limitations by integrating forest ecosystem area as a key input and ecosystem service value (ESV)—refined through regulatory factor—as the core output, enhancing evaluation rigor. Findings reveal differential impacts of regulatory mechanisms on urban adaptability, providing theoretical grounding for establishing “precision governance” systems aligned with cities’ developmental stages.