Integrated quality environmental management implementation in food processing SMEs: A case study of a developing country

Do environmental management practices mediate institutional pressures-environmental performance relationship? Evidence from Vietnamese SMEs

Although SMEs contribute much to Vietnamese economic growth, they cause significant negative impacts on the environment. In environmental literature, the institutional theory is suggested to be used as a theoretical lens to examine the pressure driving an organization to improve environmental performance and indirectly through strategic response. Despite that, this theory needs more application to predict SMEs' environmentally friendly outcomes. Hence, this study draws upon institutional theory to examine that three institutional pressures, coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures have a direct impact on environmental performance as well as an indirect impact through the adoption of environmental management practices. Data were collected by surveying 253 manufacturing SMEs operating in Vietnam. Partial least-squared structural equation modeling was executed to assess data. The results suggest that three institutional pressures, coercive, mimetic, and normative pressure, indirectly improve environmental performance by adopting environmental management practices. At the same time, there is no direct effect of these pressures on environmental performance. These findings shed light on how institutional pressures affect environmental management practice adoption and environmental performance in the SME context. These findings also contribute the theoretical development of institutional theory by showing that adopting environmental management practices is a strategic response to institutional pressures to gain environmental performance. Lastly, due to mixed results on the relationship between institutional pressures and its outcomes (e.g., environmental management practice adoption, environmental performance), this study cast light on those relationships in Vietnam.

Cleaner production through open innovation in Indonesian batik small and medium enterprises (SME)

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design a research model and analyze the relationship between open innovation and cleaner production. The paper maps and characterizes the conditions of open innovation against cleaner production in Indonesian batik small and medium enterprise (SME), particularly in Java and Madura. The mapping process is executed by classifying the batik SME into four quadrants. The diagram is a quadrant in which there are four parts to distinguish each of the ability of batik SMEs in understanding and achieving cleaner production through open innovation. This research will obtain a new method or model that can be applied by organizations to achieve cleaner production through an open innovation. The data is obtained from 182 batik SMEs located in Laweyan, Madura and Lasem (in Java Island, Indonesia).

Design/methodology/approach

One of the problems in batik SME is the waste management from the dyeing and wax removal process. In the first stages of this research, a number of initial models were elaborated as a reference, then the results of the elaboration became a new research model. The research model that has been produced is then tested using data from respondents. Based on the test results, the model can be stated valid or not. In this study, the model is valid after testing data from 182 respondents, because all outer loading for all indicators is above 0.7. The composite reliability and AVE values of all constructs were above 0.7 and 0.5. Based on the validated research model, the data is statistically processed by using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). By using the SEM method and statistical software SMART PLS 3.0this research can be supported to achieve the research objectives.

Findings

Based on data testing and processing, open innovation climate could predict a sustained relationship to open innovation with an accuracy rate of 0.466 and influence rate of 0.427, whereas open innovation could predict a sustained relationship to cleaner production with an accuracy rate of 0.183 and influence rate of 0.324. The relationships between open innovation climate and open innovation; including open innovation toward cleaner production, are statistically significant because all prediction values and accuracy in the model have met the criteria for measurement parameters based on the value of R2, p value and T-statistics to be stated as a significant relationship.

Research limitations/implications

This research provides an overview of the influence and importance of open innovation in creating an environmentally friendly production process in the context of cleaner production. Cleaner production on batik SMEs can be achieved through open innovation, both for inbound open innovation and outbound open innovation. Open innovation comprehensively provides support for batik SMEs in achieving cleaner production. Open innovation can be run well and optimally if it gets support from a conducive climate open innovation. Furthermore, the implementation of cleaner production could be a guideline for the owner to minimize the waste from batik SME production, both for natural and synthetic dyes. Some limitations in these study include the absence of influence from the existing stakeholders on batik SMEs on the implementation process of open innovation; the use of the cross-sectional approach that results in the unavailability of further analysis regarding the dynamics or improvements that occur in attaining cleaner production through open innovation; and finally providing no analysis of the differences in characteristics at each location of batik SMEs.

Originality/value

The implementation of cleaner production model is considered as one of the new methods and references in conjunction with reducing the negative impact of waste toward the environment, particularly in the traditional textile industry which is limited in waste management capability.

Adopting a digital transformation strategy to enhance business network commons regeneration: an explorative case study

Purpose

This article aims to understand whether and how a digital transformation strategy (DTS) can strengthen the relationship between network organizations and the generation/regeneration of their business network commons (BNC). Further, it investigates the role of the DTS in managing the BNC, a critical source of business network success.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-year longitudinal case study of an Italian business network operating in the wine sector was conducted.

Findings

This study provides theoretical insights into the digital, sustainable shift of a business network. On combining a network's business strategy and its DTS, digital resources are a key driver to promote BNC regeneration. A DTS undertaken to manage, regenerate and preserve the BNC can positively affect organizational variables, such as participatory architecture, and the network-level organizational integration and can help in preventing opportunistic behaviors affecting the BNC. Moreover, the DTS supports quality and social responsibility.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on an Italian case and its findings are hence not generalizable. It would be interesting to study sustainable business networks' digital shift in different socioeconomic contexts as well as in different industry settings.

Practical implications

Network SMEs and other stakeholders (institutions, competitors and consumers) can foster the transition from a “business-as-usual” strategy to a long-term strategy for digitalized management of common resources.

Originality/value

The study is at the intersection of, and contributes to, several research streams. It contributes to the digital transformation literature by adding information on the positive externalities of digitalization in the social and economic environment. It also contributes to the early streams of organizational and managerial literature on the BNC.

Improving customer satisfaction and loyalty through mHealth service digitalization

Purpose

The main purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate the attitude of pharmacists, as small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners, toward new technologies, and more precisely, toward the adoption of mobile apps for mobile health (mHealth). Such apps are generally used to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. This study measures pharmacists’ subjective experiences of mobile apps for mHealth and aims to understand how these pharmacists make sense of these apps.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted the narrative inquiry technique combined with critical event analysis. Participants' experiences were categorized based on how they viewed new technology tools. Interpretative inductive analysis identified precise aspects of the sense making illustrative of non-adoption or confused adoption of new technologies by pharmacists.

Findings

This study investigates to what extent new technology tools such as mobile apps affect retailers and more precisely the reasons why mobile apps are and are not adopted by retailers, as potential users, in the pharmaceutical industry. We identified four aspects of sense making that illustrated non-adoption or confused adoption of new technologies by pharmacists. These aspects are deeply discussed in the paper and are referred to the dimensions of confusion to confidence; suspicion to trust; frustration to education; mistrust to cooperation.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of the present study is the limited number of territories investigated. This limitation arose because of the exploratory nature of the available research, which is generally based on case studies, and the lack of clear operationalization of the research available at the time of data collection. Another limitation is that the sample included only SMEs operating in the Italian pharmacy industry.

Originality/value

Many studies have highlighted the opportunities related to new mobile apps in the business-to-business market. Several have investigated customer interest in such new technology. If some contributions have indirectly investigated the acceptance of information technology tools, to the best of our knowledge, no study has been conducted to investigate directly and precisely the level of pharmacists' acceptance, use, and willingness to adopt information technology (e.g., mobile apps) for customer service in mHealth and mainly the reasons of non-adoption.