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The present study addresses two critical controversies surrounding the emerging Industry 5.0 agenda. Firstly, it seeks to elucidate the driving forces behind the accelerated momentum of the Industry 5.0 agenda amidst the ongoing digital industrial transformation. Secondly, it explores how the agenda’s sustainability values can be effectively realised. The study conducted a comprehensive content-centric literature synthesis and identified how Industry 4.0 shortcomings adversely impacted sustainability values. Furthermore, the study implements a novel approach that determines how and in what order the sustainability functions of Industry 4.0 should be leveraged to promote the sustainability objectives of Industry 5.0. Results reveal that Industry 4.0 has benefited economic and environmental sustainability values most at the organisational and supply chain levels. Nonetheless, most micro and meso-social sustainability values have been adversely impacted by Industry 4.0. Similarly, Industry 4.0 has been worryingly detrimental to macro sustainability values like social or economic growth equality. These contradictory implications of Industry 4.0 have pulled the Industry 5.0 agenda. However, the results identified nine sustainability functions of Industry 4.0 that, when leveraged appropriately and in the correct order, can offer important implications for realising the economic and socio-environmental goals of Industry 5.0. For example, under extreme unpredictability of business world uncertainties, the business should first leverage the automation and integration capabilities of Industry 4.0 to gain the necessary cost-saving, resource efficiency, risk management capability, and business antifragility that allow them to introduce sustainable innovation into their business model without jeopardising their survival. Various scenarios for empowering Industry 5.0 sustainability values identified in the present study offer important implications for knowledge and practice.

Purpose: In this research, the initial list of internal capabilities in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) leading to success in international markets has been extracted. Then, the most relevant capabilities to international SMEs under servitisation and hybrid offerings have been screened. Next, the selected capabilities have been classified, and ultimately the relationship amongst the capabilities has been analysed. The conceptual model for SMEs participating in international markets with hybrid offerings has been illustrated. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review has been employed to extract the initial list of internal capabilities to address the research objectives. Then, a novel hesitant fuzzy Delphi (HFD) method has been developed to select the most relevant capabilities for SMEs for hybrid offerings in international markets by using the experts opinions. Subsequently, a novel hesitant fuzzy interpretive structural modelling (HFISM) has been developed to classify the capabilities, design a level-based conceptual model and present the relationship amongst the prominent capabilities. Findings: After the literature review, sixteen internal capabilities leading to success in the international market via hybrid offerings have been extracted. Then, eight selected capabilities were chosen for further investigation by applying 15 expert opinions and via the HFD approach. According to HFISM results, a level-based conceptual model was emanated, and “ability to take advantage of international opportunities”, “financial strength”, “technology level” and “efficient innovation management” were considered as the most fundamental capabilities resulting in successful hybrid offerings in international markets. Originality/value: Alongside the multi-layer decision-making approach developed in this manuscript to analyse the internal capabilities roles in hybrid offering success towards international markets, to the best knowledge of the authors, the hesitant fuz

Purpose In this research, extracting the innovation drivers of successful crowdfunding from the literature review, screening them for the entrepreneurial small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), analysing the cause-and-effect relationship amongst them and presenting a basic causal conceptual model and eventually determining the importance/weight of each relevant driver were the primary purposes of this research. As a result, the authors have also designed a score function to measure the future innovative crowdfunding score for SMEs. Design/methodology/approach A multi-layer multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach has been designed and employed to achieve research objectives. After extracting the initial list of drivers, Fuzzy Delphi was applied to screen the relevant innovation drivers of successful crowdfunding for entrepreneurial SMEs. Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) was used to analyse the cause-and-effect relationship amongst the drivers and illustrate a basic conceptual model. Analytical network process (ANP) and Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) were applied to determine the importance of the drivers and by aggregating them to measure the innovative crowdfunding score. Findings Initially, 28 innovation drivers of successful crowdfunding were extracted from the literature. Then by employing the first-round Delphi fuzzy method amongst 15 international entrepreneurs in SMEs, the relevant drivers, including eleven items, were screened and selected. Then by implementing the DEMATEL method, the relationship amongst these screened drivers was identified, and seven drivers were determined as causes and the rest as effects. Subsequently, a conceptual model based on the causal analysis of the drivers from the DEMATEL method was designed. Eventually, by aggregating the weight of drivers emanated from SWARA, DEMATEL and DANP, the score function for measuring the situation of an SME was designed. Practical implications Ac

The role played by information and communication technologies in today's businesses cannot be underestimated. While such technological advancements provide numerous advantages and opportunities, they are known to thread organizations with new challenges such as cyberattacks. This is particularly important for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are deemed to be the least mature and highly vulnerable to cybersecurity risks. Thus, this research is set to assess the cyber risks in online retailing SMEs (e-tailing SMEs). Therefore, this article employs a sample of 124 small e-tailers in the United Kingdom and takes advantage of a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method. Indeed, we identified a total number of 28 identified cyber-oriented risks in five exhaustive themes of “security,” “dependency,” “employee,” “strategic,” and “legal” risks. Subsequently, an integrated approach using step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) and best–worst method (BWM) has been employed to develop a pathway of risk assessment. As such, the current study outlines a novel approach toward cybersecurity risk management for e-tailing SMEs and discusses its effectiveness and contributions to the cyber risk management literature.

This paper is set to explore the role of individual-level behaviours and actions in the digital transformation of international SMEs. This is particularly important since little is known regarding the extent to which entrepreneurs and decision-makers manage the digitalisation process. Thus, building on the theory of planned behaviour, this research focuses on individual-level micro-foundations in the digital transformation of small and medium internationalisers. The paper benefits from a mixed-method synthesis. First, through a systematic review of literature, we identified twenty-seven factors in four inclusive categories. Then, they have been narrowed down to the top seven individual-level micro-foundations, using Intuitionistic Fuzzy Delphi based on Normalised Hamming Distance. Subsequently, Intuitionistic Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory analysis is applied to disentangle the causality and effectuality as well as conceptual framework to depict their interrelationships. Our findings contribute to the digital transformation research by developing six prepositions that explore the relationships between SMEs’ micro-foundations at the individual level.

In the era of digitalisation, agility is considered a crucial factor for the successful operations of small and medium businesses in the intricate international markets. That is, this research aims to explore and evaluate the drivers that foster agility in international high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this regard, building on dynamic capabilities, a total of nine capabilities have been identified that assist high-tech SMEs to become agile in their cross-border activities. Taking advantage of an expert-based method, we relied on Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach to synthesise the opinion of six Italian international entrepreneurs (experts). In doing so, Grey DEcision-MAking Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (G-DEMATEL) method has been employed to investigate the cause-effect relationship between capabilities and propose conceptual frameworks for agility in international high-tech SMEs. This is followed by the DEMATEL based Analytical Network Process (DANP) to assess the importance and ranking of explored factors. Consequently, the research proposes several theoretical and practical contributions.

This research is set to address the scant research on the relationship between the key drivers and consequences of knowledge hiding within international entrepreneurial organisations at the interpersonal level. It further aims to compare knowledge hiding behaviour among international entrepreneurs in two diverse contexts of emerging countries versus advanced economies. Therefore, this research employs a total number of ten international entrepreneurs in Iran and Italy and takes advantage of the Multi-Criterion Decision-Making (MCDM) approach. In this regard, DEcision-MAking Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is applied to disentangle the cause-effect relationship between knowledge hiding components and present conceptual frameworks for the interrelationship of knowledge hiding factors in each context. Furthermore, in order to assess the importance and ranking of factors in Italy and Iran Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) is performed. As such, this research provides different contributions to the knowledge hiding literature as well as key implications for practitioners.

The present study examines the IT industry’s sustainable competitive advantages (CAs) from a resource-based view (RBV). Therefore, a list of CAs in three areas of the triple bottom line (TBL), including economic, social, and environmental, are extracted by thoroughly studying the relevant literature. These attributes are then evaluated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) managers in the IT sector by implementing a Multi-level hybrid Decision-Making approach. This step employs a modified Delphi technique combined with linguistic z-numbers. Further, by reviewing the literature, the list of intangible resources is counted, and the importance of these resources is measured via the linguistic z-number BWM (Best Worst Method). Finally, the degree of the controllability of critical CAs is prioritised by z-number TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and then classified found on the resources. Consequently, different classes are discussed, and appropriate strategies for dealing with each are presented.

In recent years, the global business environment has witnessed a wave of de-internationalization not only among multinationals but also among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This disengagement of cross-border activities is deemed to be driven by various firm-specific factors, as well as by external factors. Building on the premise of the non-linear internationalization debate and focusing on the dynamic capabilities view and institutional theory, this paper aims to disentangle the extent to which internal factors (IFs) and external factors (EFs) drive SMEs towards de-internationalization. To do this, we take advantage of a hybrid multilayer decision-making mathematical modelling approach to explore SME de-internationalization at two levels. Our findings at the exhaustive level contribute to the de-internationalization literature by proposing distinct frameworks that highlight the interrelationship amongst IFs and EFs. And our results at the subordinate level constitute the identification of four unique compositions leading to different de-internationalization modes. In this vein, we define two categories of factors, namely reducing and terminating factors, which drive SMEs into respectively partial and full de-internationalization.

Purpose Knowledge management seeks collaborative practices among organisations to generate technical, adapt and share knowledge to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage in cross-border business activities. This paper aims to disentangle the crucial determinants of knowledge management in inter-organisational arrangements settings. Design/methodology/approach In the first stage, after an in-depth literature review, the main knowledge management drivers are identified. In the second stage, based on the identified drivers, the importance and relationship between the drivers are evaluated by expert opinions from academic and executive activists. Eventually, in the last stage, a multi-layer decision-making approach has been proposed and used to determine the relationship and the importance of the drivers. Findings The findings of this paper assess the ranking of the different elements from experts’ opinions and discuss important theoretical and managerial implications. The influential factors were identified through an extensive literature review, which combined with the views of experts from academia and industry (international firms). Furthermore, the ranking of factors based on the experts’ overall opinion was used to discuss theoretical and managerial contributions. Originality/value This research provides a better understanding of the interrelationships between the key drivers of knowledge management, which helps management draw more effective strategies to address the cultural differences between firms. Moreover, understanding of the importance of the systems and structures that define the nature of the collaboration in inter-organisational settings, as well as the risks related to those are presented in this research.