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Purpose This study aims to propose guidelines for the joint use of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to combine symmetric and asymmetric perspectives in model evaluation, in the hospitality and tourism field. Design/methodology/approach This study discusses PLS-SEM as a symmetric approach and fsQCA as an asymmetric approach to analyze structural and configurational models. It presents guidelines to conduct an fsQCA based on latent construct scores drawn from PLS-SEM, to assess how configurations of exogenous constructs produce a specific outcome in an endogenous construct. Findings This research highlights the advantages of combining PLS-SEM and fsQCA to analyze the causal effects of antecedents (i.e., exogenous constructs) on outcomes (i.e., endogenous constructs). The construct scores extracted from the PLS-SEM analysis of a nomological network of constructs provide accurate input for performing fsQCA to identify the sufficient configurations required to predict the outcome(s). Complementing the assessment of the model’s explanatory and predictive power, the fsQCA generates more fine-grained insights into variable relationships, thereby offering the means to reach better managerial conclusions. Originality/value The application of PLS-SEM and fsQCA as separate prediction-oriented methods has increased notably in recent years. However, in the absence of clear guidelines, studies applied the methods inconsistently, giving researchers little direction on how to best apply PLS-SEM and fsQCA in tandem. To address this concern, this study provides guidelines for the joint use of PLS-SEM and fsQCA.

Supplier‐induced disruptions are critical events that can either lead to dysfunctional conflict or spark more fruitful collaboration in buyer–supplier interactions. However, the focus on a single level of analysis in existing research has limited our ability to better understand the complex mechanics linking supplier‐induced disruptions and their consequences. Recognizing this need to bridge different levels of analysis, our study builds on event system theory and presents an in‐depth qualitative investigation of 60 response processes following supplier‐induced disruptions in Western–Chinese buyer–supplier relationships. Using fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we explore how cognitive, behavioral, and structural factors across the individual and organizational levels of analysis combine in complex ways to give rise to either dysfunctional conflict or constructive interaction in the aftermath of supplier‐induced disruptions. Because little is known about the cognitive underpinnings of responses to supply chain disruptions, we investigate the specific role of managerial cognition. To do so, we employ a cognitive‐linguistic approach, which maintains that subtle differences in language reflect differences in cognition, for the textual analysis of our 101 interviews across 20 companies. The configurational fsQCA across the individual and organizational level identifies two archetypes associated with dysfunctional conflict and three archetypes associated with constructive interaction. These findings are the foundation of a middle‐range theory for responses to supplier‐induced disruptions that bridges different levels of analysis and accounts for the role of managerial cognition.

Leadership competencies are of crucial importance in every organisation as to a large extent they determine its success. This is especially evident in the time of Industry 4.0. Given this fact, the aim of our paper is to examine the relationship between leadership competencies and 4.0 leadership effectiveness. The heat and power plants industry was chosen as the subject of our research. The fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA) was used as the research method. It enabled us not only to analyse particular variables, competences, and typical statistical relations between them, but we also revealed the patterns of causal relationships between particular variables. The key finding of our research was the juxtaposition of leadership competencies that are indispensable for 4.0 leaders in the CHP plants. We also found out that managerial competencies were not sufficient, and they should be supported by intellectual or socio-emotional ones.

Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) appears to offer a systematic means for case-oriented analysis. The method not only offers to provide a standardized procedure for qualitative research but also serves, to some, as an instantiation of deterministic methods. Others, however, contest QCA because of its deterministic lineage. Multiple other issues surrounding QCA, such as its response to measurement error and its ability to ascertain asymmetric causality, are also matters of interest. Existing research has demonstrated the use of QCA on real data, but such data do not allow one to establish the method's efficacy, because the true causes of real social phenomena are always contestable. In response, the authors analyze several simulated data sets for which true causal processes are known. They find that QCA finds the correct causal story only 3 times across 70 different solutions, and even these rare successes, on closer examination, actually reveal additional fundamental problems with the method. Further epistemological analyses of the results find key problems with QCA's stated epistemology, and results indicate that QCA fails even when its stated epistemological claims are ontologically accurate. Thus, the authors conclude that analysts should reject both QCA and its epistemological justifications in favor of existing effective methods and epistemologies for qualitative research.

The increasing popularity of service‐based strategies among manufacturers, such as solution provision, makes service triads commonplace within business. While there is some consensus that “relational” (i.e., close or collaborative) relationships are beneficial for the performance of individual actors and the triad as a whole, there is little known about what exactly affects the service performance of an actor in these triads. In this study, we investigate the influence of the manufacturer–service supplier relationship on the performance of the service supplier toward the manufacturer's customers. As this phenomenon is causally complex and context dependent, we assume that there will be alternative configurations of relationship characteristics and contingent factors that lead to high service performance. To uncover potential configurations, we deployed fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis, on data collected from 38 triads within the network of a large Anglo‐German commercial vehicle manufacturer. Our research shows that—in this context—superior service performance cannot be generalized to one relationship configuration and is also contingent upon exogenous factors—that is, contract support and service site size. We uncovered four “core” configurations of relationship dimensions and two exogenous factors. Three of the configurations exhibited relational properties, while the fourth configuration had transactional properties. This is counter to extant research findings. We extend the perspective that within triads, service performance is not an outcome of a single “close,” or “collaborative” relationship and is a combination of multiple configurations consisting of varying relationship dimensions and exogenous factors.

Modelers often create diverse system dynamics models for the same issue, depending on their viewpoints, which can decrease stakeholder assurance. Validating system dynamics may enhance stakeholder confidence. This study suggests using fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) as a technique based on a set theory approach to validate the causal connections between entities in causal loop diagram (CLD) models. This case study analyzed the issue of Indonesian mobile network operators with limited sample data, utilizing the fsQCA method to test causal connections between entities in the CLD model that require validation. Following the creation of the CLD model through the system dynamics methodology, fsQCA was employed to enhance the previously formed model. The fsQCA method fuses qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) with fuzzy set theory, permitting partial membership, and can identify causal links among entities in the CLD model. It assists in testing causal relationships using limited sample data and boosts stakeholder confidence in the CLD model. Modelers typically produce different system dynamics models for the same problem, depending on each modeler's perspective, leading to reduced stakeholder confidence. Validation of system dynamics can increase stakeholder confidence. The fsQCA method can be used to test causal relationships between entities in the CLD model with small sample data and increase stakeholder confidence in the CLD model.

PurposeBecause family businesses are highly complex enterprises, researchers need appropriate theoretical and methodological tools to study them. The neoconfigurational perspective and its accompanying method, qualitative comparative analysis, are particularly well suited to phenomena characterized by complex causality, but their uptake in family business research has been slow and fragmented. To remedy this, the authors highlight their unique ability to address research questions for which other approaches are not well suited and discuss how they might be applied to family business phenomena.Design/methodology/approachThe authors introduce the core tenets of the neoconfigurational perspective and how its set-theoretic epistemology differs from traditional approaches to theorizing and analysis. The authors then use a dataset of family firms to present a primer on conducting qualitative comparative analysis and interpreting the results.FindingsThe authors find that family firm resources can be combined in multiple ways to affect business survival, suggesting that resources are substitutable and complementary. The authors discuss how the unique features of the neoconfigurational approach, namely equifinality, conjunctural causation and causal asymmetry, can be fruitfully applied to break new ground in scholarly understanding of family businesses.Originality/valueThis article allows family business researchers to apply the neoconfigurational approach without first having to consult multiple and disparate sources often written for other disciplines. This article explicates how to leverage the theoretical and empirical advantages of the neoconfigurational approach in the context of family businesses, supporting a more widespread adoption of the neoconfigurational perspective in family business research.

Lack of economic growth and a high unemployment rate imply poverty and inequality. Economic freedom is considered a relevant explanatory factor for growth, employment and the distribution of income. The present research work addresses how policy makers should take into account economic freedom aspects to effectively enhance a country's economic growth and lower its unemployment rate. This study analyses the effect of four components of economic freedom (business freedom, labour freedom, government integrity, tax burden) on the mean GDP growth of the last 5 years, and also on unemployment. A cross-national analysis, based on data from the 23 Eurozone3 (Eurozone and part of its enlargement) Member Countries, examines the causal configurations of GDP and unemployment by a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The results suggest that the combination of high levels of business freedom, labour freedom and government integrity triggers high levels of economic growth and lowers the unemployment rate.

Pharmacovigilance plays a significant role in guaranteeing the safety of medications for patients. Over the last three decades, China has significantly advanced its pharmacovigilance practices, yet the factors that drive the quality of pharmacovigilance remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate how multiple factors interactively influence the quality of pharmacovigilance and identify pathways for achieving high‐quality pharmacovigilance practices. A unique sample of pharmacovigilance‐specific inspection reports from 13 representative companies in China was adopted in analysis. Given the qualitative nature of the inspection reports, we utilized crisp‐set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA) with five factors structure based on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) theoretical framework. The csQCA enabled us to elucidate the interactions among the antecedents of pharmacovigilance quality through quantitative univariate necessity analysis and configuration analysis. Three pathways contributing to high‐quality pharmacovigilance were identified, and “Dedicated and Qualified Person for Pharmacovigilance (DQPPV)” was shown to be involved in all three pathways. Upon examining the manner in which multiple variables influence the quality of pharmacovigilance, it becomes evident that the DQPPV represents a factor that warrants further investigation. The results of the configuration allow companies to implement targeted measures to enhance the functionality of the pharmacovigilance system and to improve the quality of the system. Further research could explore the influence of additional factors on pharmacovigilance efforts, which could then contribute to marketing authorization holders' (MAHs') pharmacovigilance efforts.

Degradation is the most immediate threat to biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods of global pastoral grasslands. However, we are still uncertain why grassland degradation is enhanced by the land policy of grassland parcellation. We hypothesized that spatial redundancy of the grazing system, that is, parcellation accelerates land fragmentation and reduces spatial redundancy, leads to land degradation. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between households, livestock and grassland management under the grassland contract policy, and to determine the causes and consequences of grassland fragmentation and degradation. We interviewed households who received land under the grassland contract policy in typical pastoral areas of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, and then, we employed binary logistic regressions, multinomial logistic regressions and fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analyses to examine the relationship between spatial redundancy and grassland–livestock balance. A very significant (p < 0.001) negative asymptotic exponential trend emerged between grassland area and stocking rate, but with regional differences. Grassland spatial redundancy and stocking rate displayed a significant (r2 = 0.96; p < 0.05) negative asymptotic exponential trend, that is, households with a lower spatial redundancy had a higher stocking rate. Based on our results, spatial redundancy can be used as one of the key indices to evaluate landscape stability of grazing systems. In any terrestrial ecosystem, the size of spatial redundancy reflects the carrying capacity of the land and determines the delicate relationship between land, animals and population, that is, in equilibrium or non‐equilibrium. Therefore, taking the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau as an example, we face the spread of grassland degradation caused by the gradual fragmentation of resources under the current grassland contract policy and parcellation in global pastoral areas. Determining the spatial redundancy size of grassland is an important prerequisite for understanding grassland degradation and formulating grassland management strategies. These novel findings have potential beneficial information for resource utilization, especially land management planning in pastoral areas worldwide. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.