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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the moderating influence of the external environment on the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies, entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial network, government business support and SMEs performance. The objectives of the study are achieved using the resource-based view and dynamic capability theory.Design/methodology/approachThe survey method of research was used by personally administering questionnaires to the respondents. Multistage sampling techniques are used in selecting 470 SMEs owners/managers that participated in the survey. SPSS 24 and PLS-SEM 3.0 were used in the analysis of the data.FindingsIn the Nigerian context, the findings indicated that EC, EO and GBS directly influence the SMEs performance. Surprisingly, SMEs performance is not influenced by EN. Similarly, EE significantly moderated the relationship between EC, GBS and SMEs performance. On the contrary, EE does not have any moderating influence on the relationship between EO, EN and SMEs performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to northeastern Nigeria. The study is limited to the EC, EO, EN GBS EE and SMEs performance and the use of cross-sectional data. The findings imply that SMEs owners/managers need a high level of entrepreneurial competencies and government business support to achieve a better performance especially in an external environment that is characterised by dynamism, diversity, complexity and hostility. Hence, providing support for both RBV and DCT.Practical implicationsThus, the study offers additional empirical evidence from Nigeria and also expands knowledge and understanding in this field. The findings offer owners/managers, government agencies, financial institutions and other stakeholders of SMEs strategies EC, EO, GBS and EE to achieve a better SMEs performance.Originality/valueThe conceptual framework of the study is unique, and the study was conducted in northeastern Nigeria which is grossly underrepresented in the literature. It also provided understanding on the moderating influence of EE on the framework.

este artigo visa analisar como micro e pequenas empresas de base tecnológica e micro e pequenas empresas metalmecânicas que atuam em setores com diferentes níveis de incerteza e obsolescência tecnológica monitoram o ambiente externo e utilizam fontes de informações para detectar alterações externas nesses ambientes. O método de pesquisa utilizado foi o qualitativo, com informações coletadas por meio de entrevistas. Em todas as empresas analisadas, o monitoramento ambiental foi realizado de modo informal e as principais variáveis utilizadas para monitorar o ambiente externo foram econômica e político-legal e concorrentes. Este trabalho contribuiu para a literatura na gestão estratégica em micro e pequenas empresas, ao comparar e indicar como dirigentes monitoram o ambiente externo por meio de variáveis externas e obtêm informações sobre esse ambiente, a partir de fontes de informações externas e internas. el artículo tiene el propósito de analizar cómo micro y pequeñas empresas de base tecnológica y micro y pequeñas empresas metalmecánicas que actúan en sectores con diferentes niveles de incertidumbre y obsolescencia tecnológica monitorean el ambiente externo y utilizan fuentes de informaciones para detectar alteraciones externas en estos ambientes. Se empleó el método de investigación cualitativo, con datos recolectados por medio de entrevistas. En todas las empresas analizadas, el monitoreo ambiental se realizó de modo informal y las principales variables utilizadas para monitorear el ambiente externo fueron económica y político-legal y concurrentes. El trabajo aporta para la literatura en gestión estratégica en micro y pequeñas empresas al comparar e indicar cómo directivos monitorean el ambiente externo mediante variables externas y obtienen informaciones sobre ello desde fuentes de informaciones externas e internas. This work examines how micro and small technology-based companies and micro and small metalworking companies that operate in sectors with different levels of uncertainty and technological obsolescence conduct the monitoring of their surrounding environment and employ sources of information to detect any external changes in these settings. The research method followed a qualitative approach, using information collected through interviews. Results show that environmental monitoring in all the studied companies was carried out informally. Besides, the main variables used to monitor the external environment were driven by economic, political, legal, or competitive interests. This work contributes to the literature on strategic management in micro and small companies by comparing and indicating how managers monitor their companies’ external environment through external variables and obtain information from external and internal information sources. L’article vise à analyser comment les micro et petites entreprises technologiques et les micro et les petites entreprises métallurgiques opérant dans des secteurs présentant différents niveaux d’incertitude et d’obsolescence technologique surveillent l’environnement externe et utilisent des sources d’information pour détecter les perturbations externes dans ces environnements. On a utilisé la méthode de recherche qualitative, les données étant recueillies par le biais d'entretiens. Dans toutes les entreprises analysées, la surveillance de l’environnement se fait de manière informelle et les principales variables utilisées pour surveiller l’environnement externe sont l’économie, la politique, le droit et la concurrence. Ce document contribue à la littérature sur le management stratégique dans les micro et petites entreprises en comparant et en indiquant comment les managers surveillent l’environnement externe par le biais de variables externes et obtiennent des informations à ce sujet à partir de sources d’information externes et internes.

Prior research often focuses on how many entrepreneurial firms are created, rather than on institutions that encourage specific types of firms or entrepreneurs. This paper identifies institutional changes that reduce barriers to growth as an important factor influencing the propensity of individuals to start a business. The findings suggest that the impact of lower barriers to growth is shaped by the extent of the reduction in barriers to growth and the level of human capital of the individual. Only a large reduction in barriers to growth has a stronger impact in increasing the likelihood of founding at higher levels of human capital. I capitalize on two reforms lowering barriers to growth as natural experiments. One reform, in 1988, only slightly lowered barriers to growth. The second reform, in 1999, more strongly lowered barriers to growth with an amendment to the Chinese constitution reversing regulations that favored firms with foreign investors. This made it easier for domestic entrepreneurs to compete. I collected data through a survey of 2,966 alumni who graduated from a top Chinese university. Results show that reducing the institutional barriers to growth differently affects college-educated individuals with different levels of human capital.

PurposeThe use of digital technology in firms has drawn attention of innovation management scholars and policy-makers, especially the imitation of digital technology and competition among peer firms. Drawing on dynamic competition theory, this paper examines how firms react to their peers' digital innovation behavior and the effect of external environment mechanisms on the magnitude of peer effects.Design/methodology/approachThis paper utilizes a text mining method to construct a baseline model with a Tobit estimator using data obtained for Chinese listed firms.FindingsThe findings suggest that peer effects on digital innovation behavior are robust and significant positive in China. Moreover, peer effects on digital innovation participation are positively magnified by firms' strong social network and high Fintech development. However, peer effects are relatively higher in non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), low-profitability and high R&D firms.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' findings contribute to the digital management literature by showing that firms need digital technological imitation and diffusion of innovations in the digital era.Practical implicationsManagers should provide insights into firms' imitation of their peers' acts to preserve competitive parity. Besides, firms should integrate employees within the organization and communicate digital innovation concepts and behaviors to external peer firms.Originality/valueFirst, this paper contributes to explaining how firms change their digital innovation strategy through the influence of peers' digital innovation behavior. Second, this paper fills the literature gaps related to the moderating effects of external environment factors in peer effects of digital innovation behavior.

\"The study is devoted to the issues of economic risk management in investment activities in modern conditions of entrepreneurship development. Methods of theoretical cognition are used to achieve this goal, namely methods and techniques for the study of information and analytical materials (synthesis of a problem situation, problem analysis, extrapolation). Methods of structural-logical analysis and the method for comparing analytical data and summarising the collected analytical information of research materials are applied to identify structural elements and systematise risks characteristic of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). The paper focuses on aspects of political and country risks, the impact of external and internal factors on the implementation of investment and entrepreneurial activities. The issues of both real and financial investments are touched upon, and, accordingly, the issues of increasing economic risks associated with them. That is why there is a need to implement a methodology for systematic assessment and management of investment risks, which will consider all the factors of influence of the external and internal environment inherent in the conditions of implementation in the Republic of Artsakh, adopted and approved at the level of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Urban Development. It is proposed to create a new management body – the Artsakh Investment Risk Management Society, which will fully assume the function of controlling the entire process, starting from the conception, planning and up to the implementation and liquidation of investment projects and programmes.\"

The aim of the article is to summarize theoretical proposals on the definition of the concept of strategizing, to study its genesis and the need to use it in the complex modern conditions of life of enterprises, to clarify the components and stages of the strategizing process and their features, to determine the purpose of strategizing in the conditions of the experience economy as the most progressive model of economic relations, which ensures the growth of added value and profit of enterprises. The object of the research is a complex socioeconomic phenomenon of strategizing and the process of its implementation; the subject is theoretical provisions, conceptions, methodology of enterprise strategizing and their application in the conditions of the experience economy. The following main methods were used in the research process: system approach, method of structural-logical analysis, theoretical generalization, scientific abstraction, concretization and comparative analysis, historical and logical analysis, process approach, theoretical generalization. The article presents the modern features of the internal environment and the external environment of enterprises, which determine the development of the concept of strategizing and the process of its implementation. The main stages of development of strategic management of enterprises with identification of strategizing have been proposed. In chronological order, the definition of the concept of strategizing and its stages and components from its origin to the present (2023) in the scientific works of foreign and domestic scholars is examined and systematized, taking into account the latest trends in changes in economic relations and the feasibility of using in the model of the experience economy. On the basis of generalization of the proposals of scholars and the existing economic realities, an understanding of the concept of strategizing enterprises as the main way of strategic thinking about the future of enterprise is proposed, the main components and stages of the process of its course include the definition of the mission, vision, goals of the enterprise’s life, analysis of factors of the internal and external environment in accordance with the set goals, determination of the strategic instruments (system of strategies) of the enterprise’s life, substantiation of criteria for the selection of strategies, which in the conditions of the experience economy are aimed at highlighting the attractiveness of the enterprise, the strength and value of its brand and the level of reputation, making decisions on the final composition of the set of strategies, forecasting the trajectories of the enterprise in accordance with the adopted strategies and taking into account possible scenarios of the course of events, the implementation of organizational and communication foresightings, the implementation of adopted strategies in accordance with the approved strategic plan of the enterprise.

Background Primary health care (PHC) institutions are key to realizing the main functions of the health care system. Since the new health care reform in 2009, the Chinese government has invested heavily in PHC institutions and launched favorable initiatives to improve the efficiency of such institutions. This study is designed to gauge the efficiency of PHC institutions by using 2012–2020 panel data covering 31 provinces in China. Methods This study applied an improved three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to evaluate the efficiency of PHC institutions in China. Unlike the traditional three-stage DEA model, the input-oriented global super-efficiency slack-based measurement (SBM) DEA model is used to calculate the efficiency in the first and third stages of the improved three-stage DEA model, which not only allows the effects of environmental factors and random noise to be taken into account but also deal with the problem of slack, super-efficiency and the comparability of interperiod efficiency values throughout the efficiency measurement. Results The results show that the efficiency of PHC institutions has been overestimated due to the impact of external environmental factors and random noise. From 2012 to 2020, the efficiency of PHC institutions displayed a downward trend. Moreover, there are significant differences in the efficiency of PHC institutions between regions, with the lowest efficiency being found in the northeast region. The efficiency of PHC institutions is significantly affected by residents’ annual average income, per capita GDP, population density, the percentage of the population aged 0–14, the percentage of the population aged 65 and older, the number of people with a college education and above per 100,000 residents, and the proportion of the urban population. Conclusions Substantial investment in PHC institutions has not led to the expected efficiency gains. Therefore, more effective measures should be taken to improve the efficiency of PHC institutions in China based on local conditions. This study provides a new analytical approach to calculating the efficiency of PHC institutions, and this approach can be applied to efficiency evaluation either in other fields or in other countries.

Background Even under optimal internal organizational conditions, implementation can be undermined by changes in organizations’ external environments, such as fluctuations in funding, adjustments in contracting practices, new technology, new legislation, changes in clinical practice guidelines and recommendations, or other environmental shifts. Internal organizational conditions are increasingly reflected in implementation frameworks, but nuanced explanations of how organizations’ external environments influence implementation success are lacking in implementation research. Organizational theories offer implementation researchers a host of existing, highly relevant, and heretofore largely untapped explanations of the complex interaction between organizations and their environment. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of organizational theories for implementation research. Discussion We applied four well-known organizational theories (institutional theory, transaction cost economics, contingency theories, and resource dependency theory) to published descriptions of efforts to implement SafeCare, an evidence-based practice for preventing child abuse and neglect. Transaction cost economics theory explained how frequent, uncertain processes for contracting for SafeCare may have generated inefficiencies and thus compromised implementation among private child welfare organizations. Institutional theory explained how child welfare systems may have been motivated to implement SafeCare because doing so aligned with expectations of key stakeholders within child welfare systems’ professional communities. Contingency theories explained how efforts such as interagency collaborative teams promoted SafeCare implementation by facilitating adaptation to child welfare agencies’ internal and external contexts. Resource dependency theory (RDT) explained how interagency relationships, supported by contracts, memoranda of understanding, and negotiations, facilitated SafeCare implementation by balancing autonomy and dependence on funding agencies and SafeCare developers. Summary In addition to the retrospective application of organizational theories demonstrated above, we advocate for the proactive use of organizational theories to design implementation research. For example, implementation strategies should be selected to minimize transaction costs, promote and maintain congruence between organizations’ dynamic internal and external contexts over time, and simultaneously attend to organizations’ financial needs while preserving their autonomy. We describe implications of applying organizational theory in implementation research for implementation strategies, the evaluation of implementation efforts, measurement, research design, theory, and practice. We also offer guidance to implementation researchers for applying organizational theory.

This study focuses on analyzing the role of the external environment in shaping entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and its key dimensions: innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking, as well as its influence on the relationship between EO, its dimensions, and firm performance. Two distinct models are examined: one positioning the external environment as a determinant of EO, and the other viewing it as a moderator in the relationship between EO and firm performance. Four traditional dimensions of the external environment are considered: complexity, dynamism, hostility, and munificence. The sample consists of small and medium-sized independent hotels in Poland, representing a sector particularly affected by the pandemic crisis. Data were collected through surveys conducted in May and June 2023. The hypotheses were tested using statistical analyses and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The findings reveal that the external environment appears more often as antecedent than moderator in the tested models. This observation indicates that the external environment’s role as a determinant is more pronounced than its moderating function. Furthermore, the analysis provides a deeper understanding of how external conditions shape EO, indicating that the most influential dimensions of the external environment are complexity and dynamism. This study adopts a novel and comprehensive approach by analyzing the external environment both as a determinant and as a moderator of EO, while also examining EO as a unidimensional and multidimensional construct. By examining firm performance from the perspectives of competitiveness and growth, this study provides insights into the interplay between the external environment, EO, and firm performance. Such an approach not only advances the theoretical and methodological frameworks in entrepreneurship research, filling critical gaps in the literature, but also provides practical guidance for managers in navigating the challenges of the contemporary business environment.

Previous research has explored the impact of political ties on corporate innovation performance, yet with controversial results. This study proposes that political ties has a curvilinear impact on innovation performance, and the resulting curvilinear relationship is moderated by absorptive capacity and external environment. We conduct examination based on a survey among Chinese manufacturing firms, which demonstrates an inverted U-shape relationship between political ties and corporate innovation performance. This inverted U-shape relationship is moderated by the absorptive capacity, which means the positive effect of political ties on corporate innovation performance is strong when the absorptive capacity of a firm is high. Furthermore, political ties, absorptive capacity and external environment (i.e. dynamism, munificence, and complexity) have a three-way interactive effect on corporate innovation, which means firms with strong political ties exhibit the highest innovation performance when their absorptive capacity and external environmental condition (dynamism or munificence or complexity) stand at high level simultaneously. The research findings provide a comprehensive understanding for firms, especially for those with different characteristics and under different external environments, to exploit political ties to facilitate corporate innovation performance.