Explore the vast range of titles available.

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.

Qualitative comparative analysis is increasingly applied in strategy and organization research. The main purpose of our essay is to support this growing community of qualitative comparative analysis scholars by identifying best practices that can help guide researchers through the key stages of a qualitative comparative analysis empirical study (model building, sampling, calibration, data analysis, reporting, and interpretation of findings) and by providing examples of such practices drawn from strategy and organization studies. Coupled with this main purpose, we respond to Miller’s essay on configuration research by highlighting our points of agreement regarding his recommendations for configurational research and by addressing some of his concerns regarding qualitative comparative analysis. Our article thus contributes to configurational research by articulating how to leverage qualitative comparative analysis for enriching configurational theories of strategy and organization.

Executive compensation and its relation to that of rank and file employees are vital areas of strategy research. This study contributes to our understanding of cross-national differences in executive compensation by exploring how key formal and informal country-level institutions of social power structures combine to shape CEO and worker compensation across countries as well as the resulting pay dispersion. Analyzing data spanning 54 countries using the configurational approach fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), the study also explores the causal asymmetry underlying compensation outcomes by investigating institutional configurations linked to high CEO compensation, high worker pay, and high pay dispersion and those configurations linked to the absence of these outcomes. The article concludes by discussing the study's implications for theory and research on executive compensation.

In the last twenty years, the European Union (EU) has enhanced Waste Management (WM) strategies toward Circular Economy (CE). Starting from the previous analysis carried out by Fabrizi and Sospiro (Waste Management in Europe: A Comparative Study of the main EU countries: Methodology and Evaluation of Local Waste Management System, Lambert Publisher, Saarbücken, Germany, 2017), this article analyses firstly EU Member States (MSs) Roadmap toward Sustainable Waste Management (SWM) and secondly to CE. The research relied on Kirchherr et al. (Kirchherr in Ecological Economics 150:264–272, 2018) study which identified four barriers to CE (cultural, regulatory, market failure, and technological). The regulatory framework has been analysed. Four case studies (France, FR, Germany, DE, Italy, IT, the Netherlands, NL) have been selected to investigate: criteria, methodologies, policies, implementation and outcomes on SWM at national level. In addition, given MSs coordination at EU level the research aimed at analysing whether is there any convergence in terms of policies and achievements. The study considered recent findings on CE, Eurostat data, and Eurostat Circular Material Use (CMU) indicator. The analysis revealed SWM positive results, which seem to confirm a certain degree of convergence between EU-MSs that consists in a positive cascade mechanism from advanced toward less advanced MSs. In spite of this, EU countries need a further step in order to close materials’ loops. Larger quantity of Secondary Raw Materials (SRMs) should return to manufacture, and this requires stronger intervention that goes beyond the waste sector. In light of this, the EU Commission recently entrusted the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to assess and compare the environmental impacts of alternative feedstock for plastic products. This reveals EU attempt to re-balance the intervention on CE, by striving new products’ design approaches.

What drives organizational nonconformity to global corporate governance norms? Despite the prevalence of such norms and attendant conformity pressures, many firms do not adhere to them. We build on a political view of corporate governance to explore how different national institutional contexts and organizational conditions combine to produce over-and underconformity to global board independence norms. Using configurational analyses and data from banks in OECD countries, we identify multiple equifinal combinations of conditions associated with over-and underconformity. We also find that overand underconformity have different drivers. We conjecture that while overconformity is associated with a shareholder–management coalition in liberal market economies, underconformity results from multiple complex combinations of national and organizational conditions that often include dominant blockholders, strong labor rights, and small organizational size. We leverage these findings to abduct theoretical insights on nonconformity to global corporate governance norms. Doing so sheds light on the role of power in conditioning the adoption of global practices and contributes to research on international corporate governance by informing discourse surrounding the globalization of markets.

Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) allows researchers to study how configurations of conditions lead to outcomes and, thereby, richly explain the dynamics of complex digital phenomena. To advance discussion on QCA in the information systems (IS) discipline, we introduce its fundamental concepts and offer guidelines for authors on how to apply QCA to advance IS research. We also provide checklists for reviewers of QCA papers. We illustrate how to apply our guidelines through two exemplar studies. In the first exemplar study, we focus on IT-business strategic alignment to study the influence that different forms of alignment have on firm performance. In the second exemplar study, we use the perspective of the integrated technology acceptance model to explain an individual’s intention to use a digital assistant. The contrasting results from both studies highlight how to use QCA to derive robust and reproducible results. By doing so, we contribute to encouraging IS scholars to use QCA to develop sophisticated models that accurately depict real-world IS phenomena.

Digital technologies are radically changing how established organizations design novel services. Digital transformation (DT) strategies are executed to manage the transition from product-centric to service-centric business models based on digital technologies. However, little is known about what configurations of DT strategies lead to successful digital service innovation (DSI) in established organizations. We employ fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis on a set of 17 case studies of DT strategies from established organizations with different industry backgrounds. We identify several distinct configurations of DT strategies that lead to successful and unsuccessful DSI. Based on these configurations, we deduce that the threat of digital disruption negatively impacts an organization’s innovation activities. Furthermore, we find that strategic partnerships can be leveraged by organizations that face an imminent threat of digital disruption while organizations with competitive advantages may rely on “do-it-yourself” approaches. Lastly, we find that the involvement of a C-level executive is a necessary requirement for successful DSI. Our results contribute to theory by integrating research on DSI and DT, providing a perspective on DSI failure, and employing a configurational research approach that allows us to highlight interdependencies between factors as well as insights into the individual factors. Furthermore, we provide actionable recommendations for executives.

As the impacts of climate change on human society accelerate, coastal communities are vulnerable to changing environmental conditions. The capacity of communities and households to respond to these changes (i.e., their adaptive capacity) will determine the impacts of climate and co-occurring stressors. To date, empirical evidence linking theoretical measures of adaptive capacity to community and household responses remains limited. Here, we conduct a global meta-analysis examining how metrics of adaptive capacity translate to human responses to change (Adapt, React, Cope response) in 22 small-scale fishing case studies from 20 countries ( n  = 191 responses). Using both thematic and qualitative comparative analysis, we evaluate how responses to climate, environmental, and social change were influenced by domains of adaptive capacity. Our findings show that adaptive responses at the community level only occurred in situations where the community had Access to Assets, in combination with other domains including Diversity and Flexibility, Learning and Knowledge, and Natural Capital. In contrast, Access to Assets was nonessential for adaptive responses at the household level. Adaptive households demonstrated Diversity and Flexibility when supported by strong Governance or Institutions and were often able to substitute Learning and Knowledge and Natural Capital with one another. Standardized metrics of adaptive capacity are essential to designing effective policies promoting resilience in natural resource-dependent communities and understanding how social and ecological aspects of communities interact to influence responses. Our framework describes how small-scale fishing communities and households respond to environmental changes and can inform policies that support vulnerable populations.

Unhealthy behaviors, such as physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyle, and unhealthful eating, remain highly prevalent, posing formidable challenges in efforts to improve cardiovascular health. While traditional interventions to promote healthy lifestyles are both costly and effective, wearable trackers, especially Fitbit devices, can provide a low-cost alternative that may effectively help large numbers of individuals become more physically fit and thereby maintain a good health status. The objectives of this meta-analysis are (1) to assess the effectiveness of interventions that incorporate a Fitbit device for healthy lifestyle outcomes (eg, steps, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and weight) and (2) to identify which additional intervention components or study characteristics are the most effective at improving healthy lifestyle outcomes. A systematic review was conducted, searching the following databases from 2007 to 2019: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and CENTRAL (Cochrane). Studies were included if (1) they were randomized controlled trials, (2) the intervention involved the use of a Fitbit device, and (3) the reported outcomes were related to healthy lifestyles. The main outcome measures were related to physical activity, sedentary behavior, and weight. All the studies were assessed for risk of bias using Cochrane criteria. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the treatment effect of interventions that included a Fitbit device compared with a control group. We also conducted subgroup analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to further disentangle the effects of intervention components. Our final sample comprised 41 articles reporting the results of 37 studies. For Fitbit-based interventions, we found a statistically significant increase in daily step count (mean difference [MD] 950.54, 95% CI 475.89-1425.18; P<.001) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MD 6.16, 95% CI 2.80-9.51; P<.001), a significant decrease in weight (MD -1.48, 95% CI -2.81 to -0.14; P=.03), and a nonsignificant decrease in objectively assessed and self-reported sedentary behavior (MD -10.62, 95% CI -35.50 to 14.27; P=.40 and standardized MD -0.11, 95% CI -0.48 to 0.26; P=.56, respectively). In general, the included studies were at low risk for bias, except for performance bias. Subgroup analysis and fsQCA demonstrated that, in addition to the effects of the Fitbit devices, setting activity goals was the most important intervention component. The use of Fitbit devices in interventions has the potential to promote healthy lifestyles in terms of physical activity and weight. Fitbit devices may be useful to health professionals for patient monitoring and support. PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42019145450; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42019145450.

This article reviews and critically examines 77 journal articles published from 2005 to 2016 on the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) applied in business and management research on the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation research. The findings reveal that the number of fsQCA applications has sharply increased during the past few years. Stemming from the systematic literature review, core aspects dealing with firm performance and innovation are identified. Ultimately, we provide promising areas with future potential for the application of fsQCA such as the elaboration of the antecedents leading to business model innovation.