Product innovation and performance in SME’s: the role of the creative process and risk taking

How does risk-taking affect the green technology innovation of high-tech enterprises in China: the moderating role of financial mismatch

As a core driver for the high-tech enterprises, green technology innovation is crucial, even with high financial risk. Against this background, this paper empirically examines the impact of risk-taking on green technology innovation of high-tech enterprises, taking Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2020 as the research sample and considering the moderating effect of financial mismatch. Findings show the following: First, the effect of risk-taking on green technology innovation of high-tech enterprises is insignificant in most cases, and the inhibitory effect of financial mismatch is partly supported. Second, financial mismatch only counter-regulates the inhibitory effect of systematic risk-taking on the number of invention patents granted in the eastern sample. Third, the effect of risk-taking on green technology innovation is significantly heterogeneous in terms of property rights and regional heterogeneity, regardless of considering the moderating effect of financial mismatch or not. Finally, the policy implementations point out that the government should create a favorable investment environment, financial institutions should adjust the way of capital allocation, while high-tech enterprises should broaden the financing channels to enhance their risk-taking ability, and promote green technological innovation to achieve high-quality economic development.

Towards achieving the sustainable development goal 9: Analyzing the role of green innovation culture on market performance of Chinese SMEs

Green innovation culture is essential to the Chinese 14th five-year plan aligned with sustainable development goal 9. This study examines the relationship between green innovation culture and market performance of Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We evaluated hypothesis by taking a sample of 564 SMEs employees in China through an online survey. The structural equation modelling (SEM) method is used to analyze data. The findings showed that green innovation culture positively influence product and marketing innovation. Similarly, marketing innovation positively affects product innovation and market performance. In addition, product innovation has a substantial effect on market performance. The outcomes of this study imply that SMEs in emerging economies should concentrate on green innovation culture to improve their market performance. In addition, the identification of study limitations and suggestions for further research are also addressed for all stakeholders involved with SMEs.

Founders' Creativity, Business Model Innovation, and Business Growth

Given the existing studies on the role of different founders’ personalities in the growth of new ventures, we take the digital technology start-ups as the research object and focus on the role of founders’ creativity. In this study, we assess the relationship between founders’ creativity and business growth. According to the framework of upper echelons theory, we propose several hypotheses. Based on the investigation of 153 new ventures in China’s transition economy, we find that: (1) founders’ creativity has a positive impact on the growth of enterprises; (2) business model innovation positively mediates the relationship between founders’ creativity and enterprise growth; (3) work experience is found to be a moderator of the relationship between founders’ creativity and business model innovation. The conclusion of our analysis not only helps to further deepen the research on the growth process of start-ups but also helps to further expand the important role of business model innovation and founders’ work experience in the growth of new firms.

Not Like My Parents! The Intention to Become a Successor of Latin American Students with Entrepreneur Parents

The article presents an extension of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to identify, in a Latin American university, the students who are children of entrepreneurial parents and the determinants of their willingness to succeed them. The TPB is used as a basis to analyse the intention to be a successor, and three constructs are added: affective commitment, normative commitment and parental role model. The analysis is carried out using structural equations via the partial least squares (PLS) method, which allows for the study of multiple relationships between construct-type variables. The sample includes 16,185 Latin American university students from the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey 2018 database. The results show that, in Latin American students, the determining factors in the intention to be a successor are attitude, the affective and normative commitment and the parental role model. The latter has a negative and significant effect on the intention to be a successor in the family business. One of the practical implications of this study has to do with the development of an affective feeling of the offspring towards the family business. Generating this kind of attachment since childhood could lead to achieving a greater relevance of the parental role model and a stronger interest in the succession of the business.