Are SMEs with immigrant owners exceptional exporters?

Immigrant owners possess valuable human and social capital from which small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) might derive advantages when internationalizing. According to this resource-based perspective, such advantages might be manifested in immigrant-owned SMEs' enhanced ability to identify, evaluate, develop and exploit opportunities in international markets. However, a cognitive perspective offers an opposing view: insofar as immigrant owners are more prone to overconfidence than their non-immigrant counterparts when making internationalization decisions, immigrant-owned SMEs might reap less financial rewards from potentially high-risk international markets. We pit the two perspectives against each other theoretically and empirically by evaluating a) the relationship between business owners' immigrant background and SMEs' export intensity, and b) the extent to which such background moderates the relationship between SMEs' export intensity and (risk-adjusted) financial performance. Based on a representative sample of 9977 Canadian SMEs, we find that the presence of immigrant owners positively impacts export intensity, but negatively moderates the relationship between export intensity and financial performance. We interpret this evidence, combined with supplementary analyses, as support for a cognitive theory of international entrepreneurship in general, and particularly in relation to the role and consequences of entrepreneurs' immigrant background.     

The Influence of CEO Gender on Market Orientation and Performance in Service Small and Medium‐Sized Service Businesses

This study examines the effects of CEO gender on market orientation and performance (growth and profitability) among a sample of small and medium‐sized service businesses. Gender was found to have significant indirect effects (via market orientation) on both market performance (growth) and financial performance (profitability). That is, female‐led service SMEs perform significantly better due to their stronger market orientation relative those led by males. The findings further suggest that female‐led firms were slightly better than their male‐led counterparts in transmitting market performance into financial performance, although the differences were not statistically significant.     

Does e‐Business Matter to SMEs? A Comparison of the Financial Impacts of Internet Business Solutions on European and North American SMEs

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are adopting Internet Business Solutions (IBS) internationally to improve their performance. What is the net impact of these solutions for SMEs? This paper presents the results of survey research involving 1,666 organizations in Europe and North America. The research found that IBS adoption mattered resulting in tangible financial benefits for SMEs in all the nations studied. However, these benefits were not evenly distributed across regions, industries, technologies, or size categories. The results suggest that SME managers should adopt a staged approach to IBS adoption in order to maximize performance gains.     

Entrepreneurial orientation,entrepreneurial competencies,innovation, and performances in SMEs of Pakistan: Moderating role of social ties

The current study examines the mediating role of innovation and entrepreneurial competencies in entrepreneurial orientation’s relationship with financial, social, and environmental performance. This research also determines the role of social ties in strengthening the association between innovation and entrepreneurial competencies with social, financial, and environmental performance. Using multi-source and time-lagged studies, the data was collected from 297 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan, and structural equation modeling was used to test direct, indirect, and moderating hypotheses. The findings show that entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial competencies, and innovation positively correlate with all the types of performance under investigation and confirm the mediating role of innovation and entrepreneurial competencies. Additionally, social network ties strengthen innovation—financial performance, and entrepreneurial competencies—social performance relationship. This research proposes significant theoretical and managerial implications by determining the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on SMEs in Pakistan.     

Workplace Flexibility Practices in SMEs: Relationship with Performance via Redundancies,Absenteeism, and Financial Turnover

This workplace flexibility study uses primary data on private sector small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lancashire, United Kingdom, collected in 2009 during the recent “credit crunch” recession. Key features include: (1) objective measures of SME performance; (2) a focus on the previously relatively neglected relationship between workplace flexibility practices (WFPs) and three SME performance indicators, namely, redundancies, absenteeism, and financial turnover; and (3) a timely contribution to research on SMEs. Numerical, functional, and cost WFPs analyses, via zero‐inflated Poisson and linear regressions, control for SME and market characteristics. Despite SMEs having limited resources, the results show a significant section of SMEs to be innovative and entrepreneurial organizations, embracing advancements in employment relations regarding employee discretion, training, participative working arrangements, and/or job security. Moreover, results indicate that WFPs have the potential to assist SMEs in responding to periods of constrained demand. Flexitime and job sharing are associated with low permanent‐employee redundancies. Training, job security, and family‐friendly practices relate to low absenteeism with reductions of up to six annual days per worker. Job security and profit‐related pay are associated with high financial turnover. Staff pay‐freeze links with high financial turnover, but to the detriment of redundancies and absenteeism, whereas management pay‐cuts or management pay‐freeze relate to low financial turnover. On a cautionary note, spending cuts, often enforced by policymakers, may be of limited benefit to SMEs, and thus other approaches would appear more fruitful.     

正式与非正式知识搜索、知识属性与产品创新

基于正式、非正式搜索的视角,以217家浙江中小型制造企业为样本,研究外部知识搜索对产品创新绩效的影响机制。实证结果表明：正式和非正式搜索对产品创新绩效均具有显著的正向影响,而知识缄默性正向调节正式搜索和产品创新绩效之间的正向关系,负向调节非正式搜索与产品创新绩效之间的正向关系;技术复杂性负向调节非正式搜索与产品创新之间的关系。上述发现确认了外部知识搜索在中小企业创新活动中的重要作用,同时也从知识属性角度识别了影响外部知识搜索效能的重要情境条件。     

Division of Labor between Innovation Intermediaries for SMEs: Productivity Effects of Interfirm Organizations in Japan

Innovation intermediaries are individuals or organizations that help others improve productivity. This study examines how small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) chose intermediaries and how intermediaries affected total factor productivity (TFP) growth of participants through different channels. Estimated switching regression models reveal that cooperative associations improved TFP of participants through cost sharing, such as joint logistics, while voluntary groups improved TFP of participants through knowledge sharing, such as joint R&D. Innovative SMEs appear to have exploited different intermediaries so that the benefit from each intermediary would be complementary to TFP growth. The results suggest the division of labor between intermediaries.     

The Moderating Effect of Perceived Effectiveness of SMEs' Marketing Function on the Network Ties—Strategic Adaptiveness Relationship

This study examines the critical role of perceived effectiveness of the Marketing function (MF) in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in leveraging entrepreneurial network ties to improve strategic adaptiveness (SA). The study tests whether a MF perceived as effective by SMEs’ managers/owners moderates the relationship between SMEs network ties and SA required for improved performance. Findings of a moderated regression analysis on a sample of 263 Croatian SMEs indicate that network ties contribute significantly to their SA, and that a MF perceived as effective only moderates the impact of customer and competitor ties on SMEs’ SA. Research and practical implications are discussed.     

The effect of corporate philanthropy on corporate performance of Chinese family firms: The moderating role of religious atmosphere

Drawing on sustainable family business theory and stakeholder theory, this study explores how corporate philanthropy affects corporate performance with the consideration of the moderating effects of religious atmosphere. Based on data of Chinese 534 listed family firms, the results show that corporate philanthropy is positively associated with corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate social performance (CSP). Moreover, religious atmosphere negatively moderates the relationship between corporate philanthropy and CFP, but positively moderates the relationship between corporate philanthropy and CSP. Our findings provide systemic understandings of family firms' CFP and CSP by drawing important insights of corporate philanthropy and religious atmosphere.     

Effect of Alliance Orientation on Firm Performance: An Empirical Study on High-Technology Firms in China

Based upon the dynamic-capability view and social capital theory, this paper examines the effect of alliance orientation on firm performance. Hypotheses are tested with data collected from 195 high-tech firms in China. Results show that alliance orientation has a significant and positive effect on firm performance. Moreover, market dynamism exerts a positive moderating effect on the relationship between alliance orientation and firm performance, whereas technological dynamism negatively moderates the relationship. Moreover, relational capital partially mediates the same relationship and the interaction effects of alliance orientation and market dynamism on firm performance.     

Strategic orientation and new product performance: The roles of technological capability

Although prior research has examined the linkage between strategic orientation and new product performance, existing empirical evidence suggests exploration of the effects of a firm's internal factors on this linkage is required. This study aims to fill the marketing literature gap by addressing how technological capability moderates the strategic orientation‐new product performance relationship. This study measures new product performance as a two‐dimensional construct to avoid the oversimplified bias. Research hypotheses are tested using a sample of 121 information system product projects and a hierarchical regression approach is utilized. Results show that (a) technological capability strengthens the market orientation‐performance relationship and (b) technological capability affects the financial performance effects of market and technology orientations via market performance. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of functional conflicts on marketing capability in channel relationships

Extending the research on the positive effects of functional conflicts, this study examines how functional conflicts influence innovation capability and responsive capability in channel relationships by triggering inter-organizational knowledge sharing. The moderating effects of conflict frequency and relationship quality on the relationships between functional conflict, knowledge sharing, and capabilities are also explored. Based on a questionnaire survey of 152 small- and medium-sized enterprises in China, the results show that (1) functional conflict can stimulate inter-organizational knowledge sharing, but the frequency of conflict negatively moderates this relationship; (2) knowledge sharing has a mediating effect on the relationship between functional conflict and marketing capability; and (3) relationship quality positively moderates the relationship between functional conflict and knowledge sharing, but negatively moderates the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation capability. These findings broaden the theoretical scope of conflict theory and refine the theoretical framework of channel conflict. This study also has significant practical implications for organizations seeking to effectively guide and resolve conflicts.     

The Impact of Family Involvement on SMEs’ Performance: Theory and Evidence

By complementing agency theory with behavioral assumptions, we explore the effects of family involvement on small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) performance. We identify three separate dimensions of family involvement and hypothesize nonlinear, direct, and interaction effects on the performance of an SME. The evidence on 787 SMEs suggests that an inverted U‐shaped relationship exists between family ownership and performance, and ownership dispersion among family members negatively affects performance. Balancing family and nonfamily members in the top management team (TMT) is found to be beneficial to SMEs’ performance, but the family ratio in the TMT becomes crucial only at high levels of family ownership.     

Linking Ethical Leadership with Firm Performance: A Multi-dimensional Perspective

Despite the importance of ethical leadership, the impacts of its different facets on firm-level performance are unclear. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm and the group engagement model, we propose that ethical leadership consisting of leader humane orientation, leader responsibility and sustainability orientation and leader moderation orientation are beneficial to firm performance, and leader justice orientation plays moderating roles. We empirically tested this theoretical framework employing multi-source survey data collected from 264 Chinese firms. The findings reveal that both leader humane orientation and leader responsibility and sustainability orientation have positive influences on both firm financial and social performance, while leader moderation orientation only has positive influence on firm financial performance. In addition, leader justice orientation positively moderates the relationship between leader humane orientation and leader responsibility and sustainability orientation and financial performance as well as the relationship between leader moderation orientation and social performance. These findings provide theoretical and practical implications for understanding how different facets of ethical leadership jointly function to influence firm performance.     

The Influence of Environmental Management Systems on Financial Performance: A Moderated-Mediation Analysis

This study utilizes hierarchical regression analysis to explore how environmental management systems (EMSs) influence financial performance through customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, and the moderating effects of switching cost. The originality of the present research is to unpack the “black box” through which a firm can profit from EMSs. The empirical results indicate that EMSs have positive and significant impacts on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and financial performance. In addition, switching cost negatively and significantly moderates the relationship between EMSs and customer satisfaction, but does not significantly moderates the relationship between EMSs and customer loyalty. The results also demonstrate that customer satisfaction and customer loyalty partially mediate the relationship between EMSs and financial performance. Our findings highlight that customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and switching cost play important roles for a firm to profit from EMSs.     

资源匮乏、拼凑策略与中小企业产品创新关系研究

资源对创新的作用研究多集中在资源富余的一面,但是在竞争日趋激烈的今天研究资源匮乏的作用同样很有必要。尤其是,已成为社会创新中坚力量的中小企业在资源普遍匮乏的同时,又灵活通过拼凑致力于创新,分别有研究据此推断资源匮乏和拼凑策略可能引致中小企业创新,但是这些论断尚需细化分析与验证。文章分类分析并以科技型中小企业为样本证实：资源匮乏和中小企业产品创新之间存在显著的倒U型关系;只有选择拼凑有利于中小企业产品创新,并行拼凑的作用恰好相反;连续拼凑负向调节资源匮乏和中小企业产品创新关系,选择拼凑则正向调节这一关系。分类别和多角度探讨资源匮乏、并行策略对于中小企业创新的作用表现是对相关研究的拓展和推进,对理解和促进我国当前中小企业的创新实践也具有参考价值。     

Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprise's Entrepreneurial versus Market Orientation and the Creation of Tacit Knowledge

The ability to create tacit knowledge is important to the competitive advantage of firms in general but is critical to the survival and growth of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Consequently, SME strategic orientations that facilitate tacit knowledge creation, especially in hostile environments, are important factors that can enhance SME competitiveness. This paper shows that while an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and environmental hostility are positively related to an SME's cultivation of tacit knowledge, market orientation (MO) is negatively related to SME's tacit knowledge. Additionally, we find that in benign environments, the relationship between an SME's MO and tacit knowledge becomes more strongly negative than in hostile environments.     

Stakeholder–firm power difference,stakeholders' CSR orientation,and SMEs' environmental performance in China

Although stakeholder power theory has been at the forefront of environmental studies, extant research has focused on stakeholders' power while firms' countering power has not been systematically examined. Furthermore, different stakeholders may prioritize social goals differently. In this paper, we propose that stakeholder–firm power difference determines firms' environmental performance and stakeholders' CSR orientation (i.e., the degree to which a stakeholder holds firms' engagement in CSR as important) moderates this relationship. Utilizing a sample of 144 Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we found that governments-, competitors-, and the media-firm power difference indeed significantly affect Chinese SMEs' environmental performance. Besides, governments' and the media's CSR orientation moderate the relationship between stakeholder–firm power difference and firms' environmental performance. Research and practical implications are discussed.     

Market Orientation and Performance Measurement System Adoption Impact on Performance in SMEs

Previous research has shown a connection between market orientation (MO) and firm performance, as well as between performance measurement systems (PMS) adoption, but their mutual interactions are as yet little understood in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Using empirical data collected by a survey from 123 Finnish SMEs, we analyze the relationship between MO, PMS adoption, and performance. According to the results, MO has positive relationships with PMS adoption and nonfinancial performance. However, the impact of MO on financial performance is mediated by PMS adoption. PMS adoption is thus an important factor in explaining variance in firm performance. Finally, empirical analysis shows that the larger SME firms adopt PMS more extensively.     

Understanding How Goal‐striving,Goal Orientation,and Shame Influence Self‐perceptions after Exposure to Models in Advertising

Marketers frequently use advertisements featuring thin models to promote the goal of self‐improvement to consumers. However, many of these appeals lead to detrimental effects on the self‐perceptions of the females who view them. This paper integrates components of goal‐striving theory and social comparison theory to explain consumer response to these advertisements and investigates how goal attainability may mitigate the negative effects of these ads. Additionally, this work investigates how a promotion‐focus goal orientation moderates the effects of the goal‐striving process and provides evidence of the mediating effects of shame. Finally, this work addresses a gap in the literature by examining how the interplay of model size and goal attainability impacts male consumers’ self‐perceptions. Study 1 reveals that high levels of perceived goal attainability mitigate the negative effects of exposure to thin models on self‐perceptions for females. Study 2 demonstrates that a high promotion‐focus goal orientation can lead to more favorable self‐perceptions for female participants exposed to a thin model with attainable goals, but it does not isolate participants from feelings of shame, which mediates the effects of goal attainability on self‐perceptions. Study 3 reveals similar findings for male consumers, but notably finds that shame does not play a significant role in understanding the comparison process for male consumers, suggesting key differences in the comparison processes between sexes.