European Business Review

Kement, Üzeyir; Zeybek, Bihter; Soylu, Sinem; Erkol Bayram, Gül; Raza, Ali

2024 European Business Review

doi: 10.1108/ebr-05-2023-0169

This study aims to investigate the impact of the transformational leadership style on the behaviour of restaurant employees. Also, it was aimed to investigate the effect of transformational leadership on trust and the effect of trust on altruistic intention and organizational commitment.Design/methodology/approachThe study integrates insights from transformational leadership to provide a fresh perspective to advance comparative organizational behaviour research. To test the hypotheses, the authors conduct a multiple analysis with observations from Turkey getting staff in culinary department with a quantitative survey.FindingsThis study equips different professional entities in the food and beverage industry with useful, contextualized links between transformational leadership. According to results, the perspective of transformational leadership style affects the concepts of trust, altruistic value and organizational commitment positively. Charisma, moral modelling and individualized consideration had a significant effect on trust. Also, trust has a significant effect on altruistic intention and organizational commitment.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study incorporated confidence as a mediating variable; however, it is recommended that alternative scales be used in subsequent research endeavours. Future research endeavours may incorporate theoretical frameworks such as theory of planned behaviour or stimulus-organism-response.Practical implicationsTransformational leadership style is a good acquisition for restaurant employees. There is a healthier and safer job sharing in these restaurants. This can be interpreted as a more satisfied customer. A good leader has a great contribution to the future and sustainability of the business.Social implicationsThis research created a new model and examined employees’ views on the company and its management. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that charisma, moral modelling and individualized consideration had a significant effect on trust.Originality/valueThis assists in learning better service quality developing and business practices to augment culinary staff, thereby maximizing their valuable contributions to tourism growth. This research created a new model and examined employees’ views on the company and its management.

Hossain, Mohammad Imtiaz; Kumar, Jeetesh; Islam, Md. Tariqul; Valeri, Marco

2024 European Business Review

doi: 10.1108/ebr-04-2023-0109

Manufacturing firms must embrace smart technologies and develop complex leadership approaches to achieve sustainability. Using the dynamic capability theory, this paper aims to examine the influence of the adoption of industry 4.0 technologies (AT) and paradoxical leadership (PL) on corporate sustainable performance (CSP) of manufacturing small-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Moreover, organisational ambidexterity (OA) is a mediator and strategic flexibility (SF) is a moderator in the study.Design/methodology/approachThe study is a cross-sectional, quantitative study design that collected 395 usable responses through a simple random sampling technique and a close-ended structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling (SEM) procedures were followed to analyse the data.FindingsThe statistical outcome implies that the AT significantly influence CSP and OA and mediate with CSP in the presence of OA. Moreover, PL shows a significant impact on OA, is insignificant on CSP and mediates with OA and CSP. The authors found a significant association between OA and CSP; however, SF did not provide evidence of a moderate effect.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study clarify the role that organisational capabilities (OA, AT, PL and SF) play in fostering sustainability. The authors suggest incorporating SMEs from different geographies in other sectors by applying diverse methodologies and relevant constructs.Practical implicationsThe result injects new perspectives into policy, managerial and individual levels. Installing OA, AT, PL and SF makes SMEs sustainable.Originality/valueThe empirical validation of the influence of OA and AT on CSP and the interaction of PL and SF enriches the organisational and entrepreneurial literature.

Al Qur’an, Marwan N.

2024 European Business Review

doi: 10.1108/ebr-04-2023-0106

This study aims to examine the international market selection process of entrepreneurs operating internationally.Design/methodology/approachFour small and medium-sized comparative and rich-information case studies were purposefully selected from among Australian and Arabian firms. Data were collected via in-depth personal interviews, follow-up interviews and questionnaire instrument.FindingsThe results revealed that entrepreneurs used a four-stage systematic decision-making process to attain profitable foreign market choices. The decision process was influenced by cognitive boundaries as entrepreneurs relied on the availability experiential, anchoring and adjustment heuristic.Research limitations/implicationsThe research’s findings and the proposed decision model will, significantly, assist entrepreneurs, willing to expand internationally, in enhancing their decision-making to attain profitable foreign market choices. Further, it provides benefits to foreign investment policymakers in host countries by assisting them to attract more inward foreign direct investments, and, accordingly, enhance the economic and social development movement in their countries.Originality/valueThis study provides a significant theoretical contribution to the literature on the internationalization process of entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized enterprises through developing a decision model for selecting and entering foreign markets by entrepreneurs in a cross-country context. Further, the study provides significant methodological contributions with regard to the effectiveness of the qualitative case study method in capturing elements of the foreign market selection process.

Veganzones, David; Severin, Eric

2024 European Business Review

doi: 10.1108/ebr-08-2023-0233

This study investigates the connection between corporate governance and zombie firm’s exit time.Design/methodology/approachWith a sample of 2,794 French zombie firms, the analysis focuses on four aspects of corporate governance: board size (BS), managerial ownership (MO), director turnover (DT) and ownership concentration, using tobit regression.FindingsDimensions of corporate governance have an important role in determining zombie firms’ exit time. MO and ownership concentration increase zombie firm exit time, whereas larger BSs and DT reduce it.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to include corporate governance as a characteristic relevant to zombie firms’ exit time. It provides new insights on why some zombie firms remain in the market longer than expected.

Ahmadi-Gh, Zahra; Bello-Pintado, Alejandro; Bortolotti, Thomas; Boscari, Stefania

2024 European Business Review

doi: 10.1108/ebr-06-2023-0183

This study aims to explore how sustainability drivers interact with national culture to explain the adoption of buyer–supplier environmental sustainability practices.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on Institutional Theory, this study proposes three sets of hypotheses focused on the role of key cultural dimensions: uncertainty avoidance, power distance and institutional collectivism. It uses a sample of 284 manufacturing plants across three industries and 14 countries to test these hypotheses, using regression analysis.FindingsFindings suggest that national culture matters in the adoption of buyer–supplier environmental practices; however, its effect is contingent upon the particular combination of cultural dimensions and drivers analyzed.Originality/valueThis study enhances the understanding of the drivers behind buyer–supplier environmental practices by offering a novel examination of their interaction with national culture. This helps explain the heterogeneity in environmental sustainability adoption across countries.

Jha, Sonika; Singh, Anil Kumar; Basu, Sriparna

2024 European Business Review

doi: 10.1108/ebr-03-2023-0065

The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of literature on corporate engagement with start-ups (CEWS) by identifying the modes, contexts, antecedents, barriers and outcomes. As an emerging field, CEWS presently has no such review available which will help in building consensus within the field and shape future research directions.Design/methodology/approachThe study followed a two-phased systematic review of literature. Three research databases (i.e. Web of Science, ScienceDirect and SCOPUS) were accessed to gather and conduct the review. Of the total 379 papers retrieved, 63 total relevant papers were studied and analysed. The exhaustive review of literature helped to uncover the contexts, perspectives, antecedents, outcomes and barriers reported across the different modes of CEWS.FindingsThe study highlighted the five prominent modes of CEWS favoured by large corporations and start-ups. It found that the large corporations and start-ups associate with one another on the basis of complementarities of activities, resources and motives to pursue their strategic orientations. The engagements also face barriers on the ground, such as incompatibility of goals, power imbalances, cultural differences and weak engagement plans. Most important contexts seen were the high-technology industries in the developed economies like the USA and Europe. It also found that ecosystem creation, accessing innovation and corporate strategy have been preferred as the most productive modes of CEWS in the literature.Practical implicationsThis review provides practitioners with a detailed list of the modes and drivers of CEWS. Subsequently, the barriers that need to be managed to successfully execute a specific mode of engagement. This shall enable the practitioners in developing and adopting the best practices while engaging with the start-ups to better facilitate the outcomes of CEWS.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no systematic literature review available in the domain of CEWS – thus, this study makes an important methodological contribution to the field. By consolidating the fragmented yet growing knowledge on CEWS, the study presents a detailed understanding of what drives and obstructs the engagement between large corporations and start-ups.

Ghezal, Rim

2024 European Business Review

doi: 10.1108/ebr-03-2023-0085

This study aims to explore the determinants of engagement with and of stakeholders in corporate social responsibility (CSR) decision-making.Design/methodology/approachUsing stakeholder theory, this study is mainly based on business ethics and CSR literature to develop a model depicting social and organizational contextual factors for engagement in the context of CSR decision-making.FindingsThis study identifies nine antecedents for engagement with and of stakeholders in CSR decision-making. Based on stakeholder perspective, the author explores how engagement constructs are influenced at both social and organizational levels by the determinants stakeholder pressure, stakeholder roles, stakeholder resources, stakeholder relationships, stakeholder management, two-way communication, procedural justice, interactional justice and stakeholder proactive strategy.Practical implicationsThis study provides insights for companies regarding the determinants underlying engagement to reflect its importance in the context of CSR decision-making.Social implicationsA better understanding of the determinants of engagement is critical because engagement contributes to achieving “win-win” solutions that ensure increased stakeholder satisfaction.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is one of the first to explore the determinants of engagement with and of stakeholders in CSR decision-making at both social and organizational levels by referring to stakeholder theory.