The most relevant intangible assets in generating value in creative economy companies

Objective: This work seeks to identify which variables best explain the generation of value in creative economy companies that have high investment in intangible assets. The study focused on the creative economy sector of Porto Digital in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Methodology: The methodology used was exploratory research. For the examination of the variables, the multivariate analysis was used with the application of exploratory factor analysis, and for confirmation, the Spearman correlation model. For data collection, a semi-structured questionnaire prepared in Google Forms was sent to the companies in the second half of July 2021. The responses were validated using Cronbach's Alpha, and the suitability for using factor analysis was measured using the KMO and Bartlett tests. All results were found and demonstrated using the IBM SPSS Statistics 26 software. Results: The variables highlighted by the results were grouped into three groups and presented in an accounting statement model using the Resource-Based Theory definitions. Finally, the CEO of two of the most prominent Creative Economy companies in Pernambuco gave his opinion on these variables. These comments were placed in the financial statement explanatory note format. The results showed that 13 variables were classified into structural, relational, and human capital. Study contributions: Creative economy companies essentially work using the ability to manage all their intangible resources. This article is the first to provide empirical evidence on the perceptions of managers of creative economy companies in Porto Digital do Recife about the importance and contributions of intangible assets to generate value in their businesses, as well as assess the organizational resilience of these companies in the context of the covid-19 pandemic.

Resource-based view and sustainable advantage: A framework for smes

As firms struggle to regroup their business efforts after Covid-19, significant focus turns to strategically using their resources to competitively outmanoeuvre their rivals through utilizing their human capital, social capital, and brand reputations in their performance. This research scrutinizes the relationship between the intangible resources of human resources practices, brand reputation and sustainable competitive advantage of SMEs through the lens of the RBV as a tool for strategic marketing management - an underexplored area in marketing research - using SEM model. The analysis of primary data collected from 128 SMEs operating in Lebanon reveals the existence of a positive impact of social capital on competitive advantage and shows that competent human capital has a positive impact on both competitive advantage and reputation of Lebanese SMEs. In addition, findings indicate that reputation leads to enhancing both competitive advantage and performance. Finally, the results show that the competitive advantage has a positive impact on SMEs performance during uncertain periods. These findings provide valuable insights into RBV, supporting the belief that human and social capital resources are key success factors for SMEs during uncertain periods, which can be of great significance for strategic marketing managers to help them strengthen the position of their SMEs in emerging markets during difficult times. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Strategic management theory in a post-pandemic and non-ergodic world

This quote, written 30 years ago, describes the pandemic environment in which the world exists today. As Meyer et al. explained, such quantum discontinuous changes require entrepreneurial responses. In the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, firms must devise strategies to deal with short-term discontinuities and significant uncertainty to survive. After the pandemic eases, longer-term strategic changes may be needed to navigate the competitive landscape arising in the 'New Normal' which has resulted from technological, socio-political, and institutional changes that resemble the causes of environmental jolts explained by Meyer et al. This New Normal is unlikely to be a static equilibrium, because the pandemic shock has triggered another unexpected dynamic. As Nobel Laureate Douglass North explained, we now exist in a non-ergodic world in which the new equilibrium after major disruptions continues to change thereafter, similar to dynamic equilibria in open systems. Thus, firms need new and more flexible strategies to achieve what North described as adaptive efficiency. While it is unclear which changes caused by the pandemic will persist, it seems evident that certain aspects of the business environment will change with the current crisis serving as a tipping point. Hence, this new environment (during the pandemic and thereafter) begs the question 'How does strategic management theory help us understand how firms can navigate the New Normal?'. We examine two main strategic management theories prominent in the field for the last three decades - resource-based theory and agency theory - in light of the opportunities and challenges likely to emerge in the non-ergodic New Normal environment, and comment on implications for strategic management more broadly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Innovation and business performance in Australia: Role of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in a crisis.

This descriptive study aimed to examine entrepreneurship's and intrapreneurship's roles in translating innovation intention into performance by examining Australian businesses. The primary aim was to investigate whether innovation-active businesses outperformed non-innovation-active businesses. It used the summary data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics about business innovations during the 2020-2021 financial year. The study included intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship as mediator constructs to hypothesised research questions. The study descriptively analyzed data that compared performance increases from the 2019-2020 to 2020-2021 financial year of the COVID-19 crisis period. It found that innovation-active businesses outperformed non-innovation-active businesses. The performance increased with the size of the business, with large businesses performing best, followed by medium-sized and small businesses. There was no distinctive difference between those with innovation-active and non-innovation-active status for businesses that maintained the same or decreased performance. The Theory of Planned Behavior provided the theoretical framework for the study. The study also found businesses post-crisis have broadened their performance outlook towards a triple bottom line way of thinking, contributing to economic, social, and environmental performance. Considering the findings, the study suggests some policy changes to help businesses thrive after the COVID-19 period.

Increasing Furniture Manufacturing SMEs' Business Performance Through Absorptive Capacity and Product Quality

Purpose: This study discusses the phenomenon of the uncertain sustainability of SMEs in developing countries. SMEs face various challenges in the dynamics of a competitive environment, which threaten their growth and sustainability. This study aims to address a research gap between company's internal resources, in the form of absorptive capacity, and its business performance. By using product quality as a mediator, which has never been studied before, this research presents a novelty to answer the existing research gap using the Resource Based Theory (RBT) perspective. Research design, data and methodology: Using quantitative method, data are collected from 164 respondents, who are owners or managers of furniture manufacturing SMEs in Gerbangkertosusila Area, East Java, Indonesia. The data are analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS) – Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results: The findings show that absorptive capacity has a direct and significant effect on business performance and indirectly through product quality. Conclusion: Furniture manufacturing SMEs are advised to focus on developing absorptive capacity reflected in good product quality, in order to improve their business performance. This is especially important to survive the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, the results of this study contribute to the development of RBT, and there are several suggestions for further research. © Copyright: The Author(s) This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://Creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Review on entrepreneurial orientation, economic stimulus packages, differentiation strategy and SME performance in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose - The study aims to establish and conceptualise entrepreneurial orientation (EO) as a key construct that positively influences small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance. In this paper, a conceptual framework was developed, and three research propositions were outlined: EO (innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking) positively influences SME performance;the economic stimulus packages moderate EO and the differentiation strategy;and the differentiation strategy mediates EO and SME performance. Each of the constructs was defined, and the conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia were identified. Design/methodology/approach - The paper suggests links between EO and SME performance and the effects of economic stimulus packages and differentiation strategies on Malaysia's service and manufacturing industry. These concepts lead to the development of propositions based on prior empirical studies underpinning the resource-based view theory and contingency approach. The propositions aim to develop further findings and test the hypotheses. Findings - The study proposes three research propositions to conceptualise the relationship between the four main constructs. The study also recommends an empirical approach to conduct and test the research model concerning Malaysia's service and manufacturing industry. Originality/value - While studies on EO and SME performance have been conducted extensively, studies on the impact of various economic stimulus packages by the Malaysian government on the existing EO and SME performance relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic are limited. Separately, this study uses a configuration approach to test the mediator and moderator during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intellectual capital and knowledge management for overcoming social and economic barriers in the health-care sector

PurposeThis study aims to explore how knowledge management (KM) influences the intellectual capital (IC) of organizations operating in health care and how IC and knowledge-sharing (KS) can contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in health systems. Notably, this study focuses on telemedicine, investigating how relational capital contributes to KS in the context of remote care services. Design/methodology/approachTo comply with the paper's aim, the authors use a qualitative research method based on a polar case study suitable for IC in health-care studies. More precisely, this study analyzes a nonprofit organization that, for over 15 years, has offered a free multispecialist teleconsultation service to answer medical questions from the most disadvantaged places in the world. FindingsThe findings show that the KM significantly contributes to the IC of organizations. Indeed, it improves the data management and transmission system, it increases performance flexibility in times of resource scarcity without compromising business objectives and it can attract new human resources even when not motivated by selfish goals (volunteer physicians). Research limitations/implicationsThis research contributes to studies on IC in health care by focusing on the contribution of telemedicine to the creation of IC. In particular, this work emphasizes the ability of telemedicine to develop and share knowledge in disadvantaged areas of the world. Moreover, in the current context, still strongly permeated by the health emergency generated by the pandemic and recently by the war in Eastern Europe, the importance of such assistance and diagnosis grows. Practical implicationsThe conclusions the research findings lead may guide policymakers toward a policy supporting telemedicine. It would alleviate general health-care costs and completely revolutionize light health care's role. Moreover, reducing socioeconomic distances, improving access to care and applying innovative technologies for sharing outcomes foster balanced socioeconomic development and knowledge dissemination. Originality/valueThis research has shown how telemedicine represents a new successful business model even in times of crisis. The organizational model makes it possible to offer cutting-edge specialized care, contain costs, easily reach disadvantaged areas of the planet, strengthen the skills and autonomy of the most backward countries through a process of KS and push the structures operating there to interact with those in advanced countries.

Resource-based view and sustainable advantage: a framework for SMEs

As firms struggle to regroup their business efforts after Covid-19, significant focus turns to strategically using their resources to competitively outmanoeuvre their rivals through utilizing their human capital, social capital, and brand reputations in their performance. This research scrutinizes the relationship between the intangible resources of human resources practices, brand reputation and sustainable competitive advantage of SMEs through the lens of the RBV as a tool for strategic marketing management - an underexplored area in marketing research - using SEM model. The analysis of primary data collected from 128 SMEs operating in Lebanon reveals the existence of a positive impact of social capital on competitive advantage and shows that competent human capital has a positive impact on both competitive advantage and reputation of Lebanese SMEs. In addition, findings indicate that reputation leads to enhancing both competitive advantage and performance. Finally, the results show that the competitive advantage has a positive impact on SMEs performance during uncertain periods. These findings provide valuable insights into RBV, supporting the belief that human and social capital resources are key success factors for SMEs during uncertain periods, which can be of great significance for strategic marketing managers to help them strengthen the position of their SMEs in emerging markets during difficult times.