Search

Hospitals, as critical infrastructures, confront multifaceted challenges during crises, ranging from natural disasters to pandemics. Initially, these facilities must secure essential emergency support functions and, subsequently, expedite their recovery from any adverse impacts. Hospital resilience, influenced by numerous variables and assessed through various evaluation criteria, remains enigmatic in terms of relationships and hierarchy among these factors. By integrating group decision‐making and interpretive structural modeling, this study delves into determinants of practices bolstering hospital resilience from an internal management perspective. While the empirical results offer insights specific to the study context, the primary contribution is in the innovative methodology that shifts the emphasis from mere outputs to the intrinsic value of the process itself. Consequently, a hierarchical model of hospital resilience emerges, enriching insights into hospital resilience and highlighting the intricate balance between methodological rigor and tangible application, additionally serving as a blueprint for similar context‐specific investigations. The research culminated in a consolidation session with an external expert, who assessed the model's applicability as a tool for generating new knowledge about developing hospital resilience management. Advantages and limitations are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of dynamic capabilities (DCs) to firm performance remains unclear and at the centre of debate. Based on a systematic literature review of 92 quantitative articles, the purpose is to explore how the DC–performance relationship have and should be assessed in the future. The most promising approach seems to be indirect, as it appears that DCs primarily causes change and intermediate outcomes, though far from being the most hypothesized relationship. Moreover, investigations employ a continuum of conceptualizations, ranging from very specific DCs to generic sets with theoretical divergences and overlapping. The same applies to the varied performance measures adopted, evidencing that the literature still has a long way to go. Based on a structured synthesis and analysis of existing studies, a conceptual model, recommendations and future avenues are proposed, along with areas of attention, which have both managerial and practical relevance, contributing to advancement within this research stream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is a common consensus about what an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) is, the question of how EE dynamics interact with technology and social change remains unclear. In this introductory article to our Special Issue on the role of EE in technological and social challenges, we systematically review the corpus of literature in this field of research. Leveraging bibliometric techniques, we present a review of the most influential papers and their key research topics, synthesized across four thematic groups: (i) university‐based EE, (ii) entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems, (iii) dynamic EE models, and (iv) digital entrepreneurship ecosystems. Within this thematic frame, a synopsis of the papers presented within the special issue is provided, highlighting their research theme addressed, theoretical grounding, and methods leveraged. We conclude this article by identifying potential future research questions that may be advantageous trajectories for the EE research community to address when advancing the field in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every society's future lies in its youth, which can be considered a critical milestone for a nation's sociopolitical development. This research examines the young population attempting to identify and explores the students' perceptions about migration, their postulates, and the reasoning why so many students ultimately choose to emigrate. Data were collected in a questionnaire survey of 206 randomly selected students from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some different multivariate analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Other results were further discussed. Results show that the country's legal framework is a key reason for the prevailing poor living standard. This has resulted in a large number of youths leaving the country. Overall, both the legal framework (for both young entrepreneurs and women) and the overall standard of living (quality of life, well‐being, salary, retirement, and education) are correlated with people choosing to emigrate. Furthermore, theoretical and practical implications are discussed. As far as we know, this is the first empirical study on this particular region that investigates the youth migration trends considered an important milestone for human capital development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging market multinational corporations (MNCs) are coming under increasing scrutiny for their international performance. While the success of Indian IT multinationals in the West has been extensively researched and reported, there is a lack of research on their relative failure in China. The rise of economic nationalism and the COVID‐19 pandemic pose challenges for the mobility of professionals and the global talent management (GTM) strategy of MNCs. Through in‐depth interviews with senior managers from four well‐known Indian IT services multinationals, this article presents an evidence‐based critique of the design and implementation of their GTM strategy both inside and outside China. It focuses specifically on the quality of the IT talent pool in China, control and coordination issues, and the challenges of workforce localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrapreneurship has long been recognised as a way to develop competitive advantages. This is particularly evident in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), so the intrapreneurial orientation (IO) of these companies should be evaluated from multiple perspectives. Research on this topic involves a wide variety of elements that not only have a direct impact on intrapreneurial behaviour but also change over time. Nonetheless, the development of a holistic system for evaluating IO in SMEs appears to be of great interest to academics and practitioners. Based on the epistemological convictions embodied in multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), this study sought to combine cognitive mapping techniques and the Choquet integral (CI) to develop a new IO evaluation system for SMEs. To this end, a panel of experienced decision makers with expertise in the subject under analysis was recruited. The results of a practical application of the proposed evaluation system and composite index were validated both by the panel members and a board member of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department of the Portuguese Institute for the Support of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Innovation (in Portuguese, Instituto de Apoio às Pequenas e Médias Empresas e à Inovação (IAPMEI)). The contributions and limitations of the proposed dual methodology are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable banking is an issue that has been growing in importance around the world since the 2008 global crisis. Because the banking system is a major economic and financial intermediary, it has a significant impact on diverse stakeholders. In this context, understanding the determinants of long-term survival of the banking industry appears to be important to ensuring sustainable banking. Based on a constructivist stance, this study sought to identify sustainability strategies in the banking industry through a combination of fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) and the system dynamics (SD) approach. The main goal is to develop an easily understood model of sustainable banking to help decision makers analyze the dynamics of the cause-and-effect relationships between determinants of sustainable banking and project long-term scenarios. The insights obtained were derived from two group sessions with a panel of decision makers who deal with banking processes on a daily basis and were validated by the Director of the technical unit for sustainability of Millennium BCP, one of the largest banking corporations in Portugal. Static and dynamic analyses were also carried out, the results of which support the study's main conclusions and reinforce the relevance of the proposed dual methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to develop a multiple-criteria decision support system for evaluating transfers of knowledge from higher education institutions (HEIs) to society at large. Drawing on a panel of knowledge transfer specialists, we developed the evaluation system by completing the three phases of the multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach. The structuring phase used the strategic options development and analysis (SODA) methodology and cognitive mapping techniques. The evaluation phase applied the measuring attractiveness by a categorical-based evaluation technique (MACBETH), which allowed us to evaluate HEIs' local and overall performance. The third phase consisted of formulating recommendations. Assuming a constructivist process-oriented stance, this research included a real-world application of the proposed system to Portuguese public HEIs. Our study demonstrates that HEI administrators can use the techniques applied to make strategic decisions when seeking to foster the transfer of knowledge to society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic Learning Capabilities (DLC) are the main generator of competitive advantage influencing the dynamics of organizations. The main objective of the study is to understand, based on the logistics managers of health organizations, how the DLC add efficiency to health organizations, seeking organizational improvement. A qualitative approach was chosen, using interview and documentary analysis, based on four studies of public and private health organizations. The results suggest that in the different organizations (public, social, private) CDA add efficiency to health organizations in a very dispar way. The study intends to understand how the DLC add efficiency to health organizations. The results contribute to the current literature on the subject, as well as a practical contribution to health organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have become increasingly important in national and international markets because they contribute to the development of local and national economies. SMEs often face serious challenges when competing with multinational companies. The purpose of this paper is to develop a method for assessing SMEs' competitiveness.Design/methodology/approach Based on a constructivist epistemology, this study makes an integrated use of cognitive mapping and the measuring attractiveness by a categorical-based evaluation technique (MACBETH). To this end, face-to-face sessions were conducted with a panel of entrepreneurs and senior managers who deal with the challenges of maintaining SME competitiveness every day. The proposed assessment system was tested and validated by the panel members.Findings The methodological processes adopted in this study provide promising results for decision makers seeking to identify the most competitive SMEs. Specifically, the results emphasize, among other points, the importance of innovation and the human dimension to gaining competitive advantages.Research limitations/implications The evaluation system developed in this study is extremely versatile and confirms the usefulness of integrating cognitive mapping and MACBETH to facilitate evaluations of SME competitiveness. However, due to its idiosyncratic and process-oriented nature, generalizations need to be done with caution.Practical implications The proposed method can be valuable to researchers seeking to develop mechanisms for evaluating SMEs' entrepreneurial performance and include specialized know-how and sensemaking in organizational decision-making processes.Originality/value The integrated use of cognitive maps and MACBETH contributes to a better understanding of how to assess SMEs' competitiveness. No prior work reporting the use of this dual methodology in this study context has been found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the linkage of innovation and entrepreneurship to economic growth in countries with different levels of development.Design/methodology/approach Following quantitative analysis, the authors carry out three empirical approaches to examine the effects of innovation and entrepreneurship on competitiveness. In accordance with their initial study framework, they test the conceptual model of competitiveness through applying descriptive statistics, structural equation modelling (SEM) and hierarchical cluster analysis. Descriptive statistics and SEM data sources from the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum were analysed for 148 countries. The hierarchical cluster analysis furthermore analysed Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data on 67 different countries.Findings The study confirmed that innovation and sophistication factors are crucial to the competitiveness of economies. The study also revealed the definition of five clusters relative to the competitive performance of advanced economies following the introduction of new entrepreneurship variables.Originality/value This research aims to open up avenues for the development of regional competitiveness studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The aftermath of the recent financial crisis has shown that the ability to innovate is a vital management skill and that the methodologies used to evaluate innovation capability within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be as holistic and integrative as possible. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue through the combined use of cognitive mapping and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP).Design/methodology/approach Cognitive mapping and multiple criteria decision analysis have proved over the years to be effective in handling a wide range of complex decision problems. Following a socio-technical approach, a non-parametric method of evaluating SME innovation capability – based on the results of group meetings with a panel of information technology entrepreneurs and SME chief executive officers – was created, tested and validated.Findings The methodological processes adopted in this study provide promising results for decision makers seeking to identify the most innovative SMEs. Furthermore, the sensitivity analyses carried out also supported the findings.Research limitations/implications This study confirms the usefulness of integrating cognitive mapping and the AHP to facilitate evaluations of SME innovation capability. However, due to the process-oriented nature of the research, extrapolations without proper adjustments are not recommended.Practical implications The panel members who participated in this study consider the proposal extremely versatile and see great potential for further applications in the measurement of SME innovation capability.Originality/value The combined use of cognitive mapping and the AHP offers a holistic and well-informed perspective on the issue in question. The authors know of no prior work reporting this approach in the same research context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of university-industry partnership sustainability (UIPS) stands for well-adjusted progress among key players from universities and industry by sustaining their welfare, both in the present and in the future. This paper sought to develop an evaluation system for UIPS. The need for such a system is justified at three levels: the micro level (i.e., research and innovation performance, transfer and absorptive capability, and technology development), the meso level (i.e., institutional arrangements, communication networks, and local and indigenous rules) and the macro level (i.e., supply and demand, regulations, financing, taxes, culture, traditions, market, climate, politics, demographics, and technology). The UIPS evaluation system developed in this study offers the possibility of calculating a fair value of UIPS and providing recommendations for improving university--industry (U--I) partnerships. This can be of great importance for entrepreneurial universities that would like to strengthen their corporate links and/or reduce/reverse the "hollowing effect" of globalisation in disadvantaged regions. Additionally, this paper also contains discussions on the advantages, limitations, and managerial implications of this proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding customer loyalty has been a growing concern for the services industry. In a context of increasing competitive pressures, such loyalty is seen as a key element in service companies’ success. Maintaining customer loyalty and identifying its underlying factors, however, are recognizably difficult to do. Grounded on the use of cognitive mapping techniques, this paper proposes a knowledge-based framework for the identification of the key determinants of customer loyalty, and the relationships among them. A step-by-step guide to the development of such a framework is presented, and illustrated through a practical application in the banking context. The resulting findings are supportive of the applicability of such methods for understanding customer loyalty, and the improvement of long-term relationships with customers. They are furthermore indicative of new ways in which knowledge can be incorporated into management activities to improve service outcomes. Some managerial implications of our contribution and avenues for future research are also reported. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Greater competition and the aftermath of the financial crisis have meant that banks are increasingly focused on improving service quality and achieving higher levels of customer loyalty. Doing so requires being able to identify, understand and measure the determinants of such loyalty, however; and given the variety of multi-faceted factors involved, and the interrelationships among them, this is a complex undertaking. This paper proposes and tests an integrated application of cognitive mapping and multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), thus combining metacognitive and psychometric decision-making approaches, to create a framework for the assessment of bank customer loyalty, which identifies its determinants and allows the trade-offs among them to be calculated. Practical advantages and limitations of our proposal are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]