This study proposes a novel organizational construct of carbon anxiety and examines its impact, along with regulatory pressure, on business greening through the mediators of green technical knowledge and skills training (GTKST) and green value co-production. The study develops a research framework based on the S-O-R model. Carbon anxiety and regulatory pressure are used as antecedents (stimuli, S). These factors are mediated by organizational mechanisms (organisms, O), including GTKST and green value co-production, to affect business greening as the response (R). To validate the research framework, 179 valid responses were collected from the Taiwanese manufacturing industry and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that both carbon anxiety and regulatory pressure positively affect GTKST and green value co-production. Moreover, GTKST plays a mediating role between carbon anxiety and business greening, as well as between regulatory pressure and business greening. The results indicated that GTKST has a stronger mediating effect on this association than green value co-production. When companies commit to implementing GTKST, they can effectively transform carbon anxiety into business greening.
ISO 9001 recertification is strategically important but remains underexplored. Although rising decertification rates have raised concerns about the sustained value of certification, many organisations continue to renew their certificates. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study examines a broad set of internal and external determinants of ISO 9001 recertification propensity. These determinants include motivations, barriers, benefits, activities, and expected performance. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire with closed-ended Likert-type items and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) on a sample of 250 ISO 9001-certified organisations. The results show that recertification motivations, maintenance activities, and expected performance after recertification exert significant direct positive effects on recertification propensity. Contrary to expectations, certification barriers do not reduce recertification propensity; instead, they are positively associated with recertification motivations and certification benefits, thereby indirectly contributing to maintenance activities and recertification propensity. Overall, certification motivations, barriers, and benefits influence organisations' inclination to renew ISO 9001 certification through at least one mediating mechanism. These findings contribute to advancing Theory of Planned Behaviour-based research on ISO 9001 recertification and offer relevant implications for researchers and managers seeking to sustain the value of quality management systems.
This study investigates the dark side of interorganisational relationships in SME internationalisation, drawing on Social Capital Theory. While prior literature has largely emphasised the positive contributions of structural, relational and cognitive social capital, this study shows how excessive or unbalanced social capital can paradoxically constrain SMEs' international strategies. Responding to recent calls to integrate micro-level cognitive and emotional mechanisms into network analysis, we conducted in-depth qualitative research using a multiple-case study design involving internationally active SMEs. The findings reveal that overembedded networks, blind or inertial trust, and excessive cognitive alignment may emerge from a high level of social capital, leading respectively to isolation effects, strategic rigidity and cognitive lock-in. Importantly, relational features commonly regarded as strengths - such as long-standing ties, trust and interdependence - may cause decision-makers to overlook early warning signs of inefficiency and misalignment. By uncovering these underexplored dynamics, the study advances literature by clarifying when and how social capital shifts from a strategic asset to a constraint on SMEs' international competitiveness. From a managerial perspective, the study highlights the need for SME decision-makers to actively monitor and rebalance their interorganisational relationships, avoiding uncritical reliance on trusted partners in international markets.
