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PurposeFollowing an increasing interest in the area that merges digital/I4.0 technologies and business models (BMs), which led to a proliferation of articles in this domain, the purpose of this article is to systematize this body of literature by means of a structured literature review.Design/methodology/approachAfter a careful selection of articles, we carried out the analysis with the support of bibliometric techniques, using the bibliographic coupling approach complemented with factor analysis and the content analysis of articles.FindingsThe results of the literature review analysis allow us to organize the literature around four main research streams, namely digital technologies and business model innovation, digital strategy and BMs, digital platforms and BMs, and IoT, servitization and BMs. On such a basis, we outline gaps and provide promising avenues for further research in this research area.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has implications for academics in terms of conceptualization of relevant constructs, integration of two streams of research and specific technologies whose relationship with the BM still deserves attention.Practical implicationsThis study has implications also for managers, who may take advantage of the description of some BM archetypes driven by digital/I4.0 technologies and also appreciate the relevance of taking a strategic approach, with a particular focus on the BM, toward the use of digital technologies.Originality/valueThis study merges two relevant streams of research in an attempt to see how they have developed synergically and what potentials their merge could offer for future research.

PurposeIn today's knowledge economy the ability to innovate and develop new products is a key factor to sustain firm performance. Within this context, analysing the role of different components of intellectual capital (IC) becomes of foremost importance, as well as an under-investigated issue for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of human, organisational and relational capital (RC) on radical innovation performance (RIP), as well as to examine whether organisational capital (OC) and RC mediate the relationship between human capital (HC) and RIP and whether OC moderates the relationship between RC and RIP.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology consisted of a factor analysis and different regression models to test for mediation and moderation. The analyses are carried out on a sample of 150 micro firms and SMEs involved in the production of machinery or instruments and located in Italy.FindingsResults show that HC is directly associated to RIP, as well as OC and RC that totally mediate the relationship between HC and RIP. Moreover, OC positively moderates the relationship between RC and RIP.Originality/valueThis study is particularly interesting because it adopts an overarching perspective on IC testing the interplay between the different components of IC. In addition, it focusses on the SME context which is under-investigated as far as IC and performance measurement is concerned.

PurposeConsidering that SMEs are widely recognized as important innovators and, in the past years, have registered increasing levels of patenting, the purpose of this paper is to unveil the impact of both internal and external knowledge sourcing on SME patenting performance and test the moderating role of formal plan for innovation and absorptive capacity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose an econometric approach based on a Hurdle Count Data Model which allows the authors not only to overcome problems related to the count dependent variables often assuming zero values, but also to separate patent propensity from patent portfolio size.FindingsThis methodology puts in evidence that an internal factor (i.e. employee skills for innovation) significantly influences SME patent propensity, while an external factor (i.e. open innovation with business partners) impacts SME portfolio size. Moreover, both formal plan for innovation and absorptive capacity play an important moderating role.Originality/valueThis paper embraces a knowledge perspective to investigate the determinants of SME patenting, which contributes to the knowledge-based view of the firm in the SME domain. Moreover, differently from most studies in the area of patenting which adopt a macro-level perspective and rely on secondary data, it assumes a firm-level approach and bases on primary data, which contributes to make it particularly distinctive.

PurposeTo hinder the high failure rate of strategic networks, recently scholars have concentrated on behavioral aspects such as trust, conflict management, resolution and commitment as fundamental antecedents of strategic network performance. Within this context, this paper focuses on the antecedents of affective commitment, based on the rationale that an increasing affective commitment cannot occur naturally during network evolution. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to understand how affective commitment is achieved along the development process of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) strategic networks.Design/methodology/approachTo address the aim of the paper, a qualitative approach based on multiple case studies was used. Two case studies of Italian SME strategic networks having an increasing and decreasing level of affective commitment were selected to have a base of comparison, following a "polar types" theoretical sampling approach.FindingsBy comparing two cases in which partners show a different affective commitment along the network development process, this study allows providing a twofold contribution. The former is to unveil the most relevant elements partners may rely on to achieve an increasing affective commitment and the latter is to propose a dynamic approach toward the study of affective commitment in SME strategic networks.Research limitations/implicationsConsidering the limited generalizability of this exploratory study due to the analysis of two cases, future studies with a larger number of strategic multipartner networks can expand the understanding of the dynamics leading to increasing commitment.Practical implicationsThe paper provides a series of practical guidelines for managers to create a trusting environment with a high level of affective commitment within the context of SME networks, which can contribute to their survival.Originality/valueThe originality of the study consists in having adopted a dynamic approach toward studying affective commitment in the context of SME networks, which resulted in the identification of relevant factors that can lead to increasing affective commitment.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence that different components of relational capital (marketing capability, open innovation with business and scientific partners, technological reputation, brand) have on customer performance (CP). Moreover, the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on such relationships is tested.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the direct relationship between the different components of relational capital and CP is analyzed through a linear regression model. Then, to test the moderating effect, two distinct regression analyses are conducted into two sub-samples, defined according to the level of absorptive capacity. The authors carried out these analyses on a sample of 150 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the medium- and high-tech B2B context.FindingsResults of this study prove that CP is enhanced through firm marketing capability, open innovation with business partners and technological reputation, while brand and open innovation with scientific partner do not have an association with CP. In particular, the impact of marketing capability and open innovation with business actors on CP is greater for firms with higher absorptive capacity.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper, highlighting the relevance of relational capital and absorptive capacity in improving CP, enhances our knowledge about the factors that help to strengthen the relationships with customers, which is an under-investigated issue especially for SMEs competing in B2B industries, and extends our knowledge on open innovation practices.Practical implicationsFindings of this paper suggest that, to achieve better CP, managers should pay special attention to nurturing their marketing capability and high-quality relationships with external actors and invest in absorptive capacity to enhance the positive effect of such linkages.Originality/valueThis work, combining the external perspective of relational capital and the internal organizational dimension of absorptive capacity, provides valuable insights about the knowledge and resource mix that firms might rely on to achieve better customer satisfaction and loyalty.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between the strength of intellectual capital (IC) and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) innovation performance.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data of 150 SMEs belonging to manufacturing medium-high tech industries were collected through a survey. The methodology consists of a confirmatory factor analysis and a cluster analysis, complemented by at-test, to assess whether there is a significant difference in terms of innovation performance of SMEs characterized by a different strength of IC.FindingsOverall, the findings show that SMEs of the sample can be divided into two groups characterized by a different strength of IC, and those SMEs disclosing a higher strength of IC, in terms of human capital, innovation capital and relational capital, exhibit a significantly higher radical and incremental innovation performance.Practical implicationsThe present study provides SME entrepreneurs and managers with an empirical evidence that possessing strong IC in its three dimensions seems to help SMEs reinforce their ability to generate both radical and incremental innovation. This calls that SME entrepreneurs and managers need to identify and effectively manage IC in order to strengthen and effectively leverage their investments on IC.Originality/valueThis study is particularly relevant because, instead of focusing on single categories of IC as previous studies mainly do, it adopts an overarching perspective of the dimensions of IC and their impact on both radical and incremental innovation performance. Moreover, it focuses on the SME context which has been less investigated than large firms within the domain of IC.

PurposeStrategic flexibility (SF) has become increasingly important for firms because of the fast changes in the external environment. In line with the practical importance of SF, an emerging research field has developed around it that has attempted to understand the nature of SF and the key relationships. The aim of this study is to unveil the semantic structure of the recent literature on SF and to suggest new promising areas for future research.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a systematic literature review with a bibliographic analysis technique, which allows authors to identify the main recent streams in the literature, as well as offer reflections and suggestions for future research.FindingsThe authors uncover three main emerging areas in the research on SF, namely SF as a dynamic capability, the role of knowledge management for SF and the relationship between a firm SF and the external environment. The authors put forward three avenues for future research on SF: Avenue 1. SF, business model innovation (BMI) and other dynamic capabilities (DC), Avenue 2. Digital technologies and SF/organizational agility and Avenue 3. SF and sustainability. Articles included in the special issue entitled "A strategic perspective on flexibility, agility and adaptability in the digital era" contribute to Avenue 2, thus paving the way for filling some of the identified gaps regarding the relationship between SF and digitalization.Originality/valueTo the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first literature review on SF that uses a bibliometric approach to draw conclusions on the findings in the literature. The review contributes to the theoretical understanding of SF by illustrating and explicating core topics that have persisted over time, as well as by presenting three main avenues for further developing authors' knowledge around SF.