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Many organizations today view intellectual capital (IC) as their most valuable asset. New ventures, in particular, can leverage their IC to attain and sustain a competitive advantage. This study investigates whether IC has a direct impact on venture performance. We also seek to determine if this relationship is moderated by environmental dimensions. Our findings suggest that human capital is the most critical component of IC when predicting operating performance of high-tech ventures, while intellectual property is the crucial component when predicting market-based performance. Our findings also suggest that the relationship between IC and venture performance is influenced by the environment.

For manufacturing companies, to gain competitive advantage in the global market is not always a simple matter of just purchasing and installing new technologies. New technologies require careful planning and persistent efforts to integrate operating and organizational systems to support these operations. It is more important for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have more obstacles in implementing new technologies compared to big companies. Using data collected from 30 SMEs in Malaysia, this paper assesses their situation in terms of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) investment planning and implementation and its relationship to companies' performance and obstacles. This is an exploratory study with the purpose of providing background data to direct future research in building up a contingency study for technology management and implementation for SMEs in Malaysia. The results revealed that in spite of different levels of AMT usage, there were no significant differences between the companies in terms of performance and obstacles. The analysis outcomes implied that technology per se did not make a big difference in its users.

This study investigates which technology management (TM) tools are used in practice, what determines their usage, and whether they affect the user firms' performance. Based on a survey of 52 electronics and machinery firms in Turkey, the study shows there are significant relationships between the number of TM tools and techniques that a firm uses and (i) the hierarchical level of the chief technology officer (CTO) or most senior manager responsible for technology, (ii) his/her field of education, and (iii) the size of the firm. The findings indicate a significant and linear relationship between the extent to which the firms have reached their growth targets and the number of TM tools and techniques used. This relationship is, however, not observed between firm profitability and the number of TM tools and techniques. The findings have important implications for the practice of TM.

Universities create academic spin-offs (ASOs) as a strategy to market innovations produced through research. By their nature, ASOs are exposed to risky endeavors and often fail in achieving an adequate level of performance. In this paper, we focus on performance generation in ASOS. By way of a literature review, we contribute with the identification of nine factors associated with positive performance in ASOS: championed start-up, heterogeneity of founders’ skills, access to funding, environmental wealth, networking capital, relative size, trustworthiness, innovativeness and motivation for venturing. The paper describes and discusses the performance factors and suggests implications for research to further study performance in ASOS.

A broadly based, quantitative, empirical study of 208 R&D projects within the national laboratories (NLs) of a technology latecomer country (TLC) finds that the performance of R&D projects within the NLs of that TLC is highly dependent on the pathway by which knowledge enters the R&D project group that delivers the project or on how it is created therein. Performance also depends upon the mission of the NLs with which the project is aligned. These findings suggest that managers of R&D project groups within the NLs in this TLC can take a nuanced approach to organizational learning. They can improve the performance of individual R&D projects by emphasizing the knowledge pathways that have the greatest positive impact on the mission that is most important to the project. The study’s findings also provide theoretical insights that go beyond the context of NLs in TLCs. They explain why vicarious learning cannot be associated positively with team performance, and they suggest that contextual learning is positively correlated to team performance under specific circumstances, only. Moreover, the findings imply that extant theory on organizational learning is insufficiently granular to explain the apparently complex relationship between group knowledge and group performance.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to understanding innovation dynamics in services, in particular the link between innovation and productivity. A methodology to explain this link is suggested. Instead of establishing a single, direct connection between innovation and labor productivity, as in earlier approaches in the services literature, a simultaneous equations model is used. We put forward an extended version of the CDM (Crepon, Duguet and Mairesse) model, incorporating two feedback effects and using innovation activities rather than the more restrictive R&D proxy. Activities prior to the innovation implementation are also taken into account allowing for direct and indirect effects on labor productivity. Moreover, we discuss and handle the oftentimes overlooked methodological problems affecting this relationship. Micro data for ten service sectors in Portugal are used to estimate the model. The existence of a Schumpeterian virtuous cycle is confirmed, pointing to a mechanism reinforcing innovation investment returns. We find that innovation activities have a positive impact on labor productivity, but no evidence was found of a significant direct effect of innovation output. Labor productivity also improves with management capabilities. Relationships with customers, suppliers and cooperation partnerships significantly increase the probability of innovating, suggesting that stimulating organizational networking is a key element in a service firm’s innovation strategy.

The objective of this paper is to verify how investments in R&D influence the measures of performance (sales and operating profit) of companies. Based on the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, a 2003–2013 information panel was developed for 548 companies. Regression with panel data and Quantile Regression were used. The results indicate that investments in R&D positively influence sales and operating profit of companies as a whole, varies according to the R&D intensity when companies are analyzed in groups and that the distance from the frontier influences the relationship between R&D and performance. The companies of the upper quantiles have better relation R&D and profit than the companies more distant from the frontier. Companies with higher profit can transform R&D investments more efficiently into profit.

The emergence of digital platforms has had a deep impact on the way firms design and position their products. An open architecture is a key to successfully scale up platforms in terms of usage. Architectural modularity is an important feature that facilitates openness of platforms. Successful scaling of platforms needs a digital infrastructure layer that facilitates collaboration and creation and hence the role of modular systems in the development of platform ecosystems has increased substantially. In this paper, we study the relationship between modular architectures and platform scale up performance from a survey data of managers in the semiconductor industry with 232 data points. The findings from our study show that the scale-up performance of platforms has an inverted U-shaped relationship with modularity. We also find that the strategic flexibility of firms positively moderates this relationship.

The degree of flexibility that system architecture should have is not only an important technical decision but is important from a business perspective as well. Ambiguity in terms of interfaces and the functionality of modules reduces the possibility of ex-ante specification of contracting terms and incentives and monitoring of incentives. The link between architectural modularity and the relationship to performance is important as this enables us to examine questions related to the success of task partitioning at an industry level.

This research aims to evaluate the impact of lean product development (LPD) and lean startup (LS) practices on startup performance. A survey with 114 responses from Brazilian startups in the Information Technology sector evaluated the direct effects of LPD and LS on organizational performance, as well as the potential cross-effects between them. The assumptions were validated using a structural equation modeling for data analysis, which confirms that the adoption of these methodologies has a positive significant impact on startup performance, especially the practices involving teamwork and the design of minimum viable products.

This study embarks on a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to elucidate the intricate relationship between knowledge management capabilities and perceived performance within information technology small and medium-sized enterprises (IT SMEs). Utilizing data from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, this research meticulously examines occurrences, word frequencies, and clustering analyses to identify pivotal thematic areas influencing IT SMEs. By employing advanced tools such as RStudio software and the Biblioshiny application, the study dissects average citations per year, presenting a dynamic view of research impact and evolving significance in the domain. Authorship dynamics are explored through Lotka’s law, and geographic contributions are analyzed, highlighting the global and collaborative essence of knowledge management research. Factorial analysis further reveals layered dimensions of research trends, offering guidance for researchers and practitioners in crafting nuanced strategies. The collective insights underscore the paramount role of knowledge management in enhancing IT SMEs’ performance and competitive edge, marking a significant stride toward understanding and implementing effective knowledge management strategies in the rapidly evolving IT landscape.

In its transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, Vietnam has achieved remarkable success. During this transition, Vietnam businesses have implemented a number of HRM practices used primarily by companies in Western cultures. This study specifically investigates the impact of three HRM practices: training, performance appraisal systems and incentive pay, on firm performance to determine if results mirror those obtained in the more highly developed economies of the West. A sample of 200 Hanoi manufacturing SMEs was surveyed regarding their practices in these areas. The result provides empirical support that training, performance appraisal and incentive compensation have positive effects on Vietnamese SME performance, with incentive compensation having the greatest impact.

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been widely studied in the US context, but its examination in emerging regions such as China has been very limited. In this study, we investigate the EO-performance relationship in China. Results based on a sample of 166 firms in Northern China confirm the positive influence of EO on performance. More importantly, the EO-performance relationship is more positive among state-owned enterprises (SOEs) than among privately-owned enterprises (POEs). Research and practical implications for EO in China are discussed.

This study examines CEO succession in small firms and the impact of CEO honing and enterprising competence on firm performance within a contingency framework. In a study of 162 small firms, we hypothesize that a newly appointed CEO will bring entrepreneurship to its small firms, but the results do not support this. Instead, the results indicate that a new CEO tends to introduce honing in the firm. Only CEO market enterprising had a direct relation to better performance. However, we find several instances of moderation effects attributable to strategic competence, environmental uncertainty, and the nature of tasks in the company.

Applying social network theory to family business, founder centrality has been generally shown to positively affect top-management-team congruence and, as a consequence, firm performance. This study applies social network and strategic leadership theory to an examination of founder centrality in family businesses. It focuses on family businesses in Kenya, and examines the impact of the founder's influence on management team congruence in the three strategic areas of culture, vision, and goals. The discussion considers the research findings in Kenya of a negative influence of founder centrality on management team congruence and firm performance. The study concludes with a presentation of some possible reasons for this dynamic in developing countries like Kenya, where family business is prevalent, and in which the founder plays a central role.

The business strategy perspective argues that achieving competitive advantage hinges on pursing a coherent competitive strategy. Family businesses are also said to manifest a strong desire to develop enduring and committed social relationships with external stakeholders. This study examines the effect of business strategy on performance of family businesses and how their managerial social networking relationships with external entities moderate the business strategy–performance link. Using data from 54 family firms from Ghana, the findings indicate that: (1) the pursuit of the business strategies of cost leadership and differentiation create competitive advantage for family businesses; (2) social networking relationships with government bureaucratic officials and community leaders are beneficial to family businesses, but social networking relationships with political leaders is detrimental to family businesses; and (3) the benefit of business strategy to family businesses is moderated positively by networking with community leaders, but negatively by networking with political leaders.

Less than one-fifth of all entrepreneurs are women in Korea (Xavier et al., 2012). We investigate the determinants of Korean women entrepreneurs' firm performance. Specifically, we examine the impact of personal problems and family support and their interaction effects on firm performance. We find empirical support for the negative effects of personal problems on firm performance and positive moderation effects of family support on this link. Implications and future studies are discussed.

This study explores the relationships between bricolage, firm performance and growth opportunities in contexts characterized by extreme resource scarcity. Using a sample of 160 Palestinian female entrepreneurs as representative of entrepreneurs acting in extremely resource-deprived environments, we find that bricolage has a positive influence on firm performance. Further, as predicted in the hypotheses, the role of bricolage differs depending on the type of strategy the firm develops. When firms seek to introduce new products/services or modifications in their current products/services, a high level of bricolage hinders performance. Conversely, when firms seek to expand by introducing their current products/services in new markets and opening new locations, bricolage enhances performance. This study offers a more nuanced understanding than previous research of the role of bricolage in contexts of extreme resource constraints.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are often identified as one of the most important strategies for enhancing the livelihoods of people in Rwanda. This research analyzed the factors influencing the performance of SMEs in the Musanze district in the Northern Province. A survey was conducted with 52 registered SMEs selected from three sectors of Musanze. The sample was obtained by using proportional allocation sampling where the number of SMEs within each sector was considered. Both quantitative and qualitative data from SMEs were collected using structured questionnaires. Factor analysis and bivariate correlation analysis were used to facilitate data analysis. The results of this study showed that starting SMEs incurred a mean annual net income loss of -185,965Rwf (-295US$). However, the average net annual income increased to 970,820Rwf (1540US$). There was a positive correlation between annual net income, business experience and asset size (p < 0.05). Three factors that determined the performance of SMEs are marketing and entrepreneurship skills, working environment and materials and infrastructure availability. Future policy interventions should consider these strategic areas for enhanced visibility of SMEs.

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the impact of the five ESE dimensions on firm performance. More specifically, we examine whether any of the five ESE dimensions are important to firm performance when the external environment is either competitively intense or technologically turbulent. This study investigated these relationships using a sample of franchisees, an important audience understudied in entrepreneurial literature. We find that the three-way interaction of competitive intensity, technological turbulence and each of ESE innovation, ESE management, and ESE financial control predicts franchisee performance. This confirms the wisdom of studying ESE as consisting of specific dimensions (as opposed to holistically) because not all ESE dimensions interact with franchisee environment in predicting performance.

The study examines the mediating role of competitive strategies (cost leadership and differentiation) in the marketing capability-performance relationship using data from 264 micro and small family firms in Ghana. The bootstrap method for exploring mediating relationships was used to examine the hypotheses. The findings indicate that although differentiation influence performance, cost leadership does not influence performance after controlling for firm age and firm size. However, marketing capability significantly influence performance. The findings further revealed that marketing capabilities do not have any indirect relationship on performance through cost leadership. However, the results indicated that marketing capability influenced firm performance through differentiation strategy. The findings indicate the need to implement both competitive strategy and marketing capability to enhance performance of micro and small family businesses.