Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of eco-innovation (EI) as a mechanism transmitting the effects of internal Eco-capabilities to international performance. Integrating innovation science with sustainable strategic management, this study examines the interplay between stakeholder pressure (SP), sustainable entrepreneurship orientation (SEO), Eco-HR and organization capabilities (OCs), EI and international performance (IP). Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional study using a survey distributed among senior managers working in large international companies in Egypt, that practice eco-activities. A total number of 158 valid surveys were used to assess and test the model using SEM-PLS. Findings The results of this study indicate that EI, Eco-HR and OC are significant predictors for IP. Furthermore, SEO has direct and indirect impacts on EI through Eco-HR and OC. Moreover, the SP considered a significant antecedent for SEO in companies. Originality/value This study is among the limited to examine EI within a unified framework to explain international business performance. By highlighting the mediating role of EI, this study offers novel insights into how firms can strategically integrate sustainability into their innovation practices to gain an international edge.
Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of new software product development (NPD) on innovation capability (IC), taking into account the mediating roles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customer knowledge management capability (CKMC). It also examines the moderating role of environmental dynamism (ED) in the relationships between NPD, CSR, CKMC and IC. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 548 employees working in information technology (IT) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across different organisational contexts in Portugal. A self-administered online survey was distributed via email and WhatsApp, enabling broad participation among respondents. The research model and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling with SmartPLS 4. Findings The findings reveal statistically significant indirect associations between NPD and IC through CSR and CKMC. ED positively moderates the relationship between CKMC and IC. However, it negatively moderates the relationship between NPD and IC and has no significant moderating effect on the relationship between CSR and IC. Practical implications This study offers practical guidance for SME managers by highlighting the importance of developing CSR and CKMC processes, particularly those related to capturing, analysing and applying customer knowledge to tailor services. Managers should prioritise the establishment of customer feedback integration systems, such as CRM analytics and user feedback loops, and align CSR initiatives with product development processes, such as eco-design and ethical sourcing. The findings indicate that firms that systematically use customer knowledge in NPD processes are more likely to enhance their IC. Originality/value This study offers a novel perspective by integrating CSR and CKMC as dual mediators between NPD and IC, a relationship that has not been extensively explored in the context of Portuguese IT SMEs. In addition, it examines how ED moderates these relationships. This research contributes to the innovation literature by offering a comprehensive, multilayered model that reflects the dynamic nature of innovation in rapidly evolving environments.
Innovation is widely recognized as a key driver of organizational performance, while leadership competencies serve as a crucial enabler in shaping and promoting employees’ innovative work behaviour. Drawing on the upper echelon theory where the cognitive framework and values of the CEO/senior executives play a critical role in projecting organizational performance (Yang et al., 2025), this study aims to examine the moderating influence of age on entrepreneurial leadership (EL) competencies which impact innovation work behaviour. Primary data was collected using a purposive random sampling and responses were obtained using the Multi Factor Leadership Questionnaire 6s, a widely recognized and pre-validated instrument for assessing leadership styles. Select respondents who met the pre-defined selection criteria for becoming an entrepreneur were contacted online, and MANOVA was used to analyse responses. This study ascertained age moderating the EL competencies impacting innovation work behaviour. The analysis suggests that the leadership style of Indian entrepreneurs closely resembles the transformational leadership (TL) style and does not correlate with transactional or contingency styles of leadership as cited by previous researchers for other geographies (Hensellek et al., 2023; Bagheri, 2017). Findings suggest that age is a significant covariate associated with EL competencies, which impact innovation work behaviour. Due to limitations of time and a small data set, this research concentrates on validating the moderation effect of age on entrepreneurial leadership competencies of Indian entrepreneurs. However, there is a need to further calibrate the findings as per the stage of the venture – seed, pilot, scaling and maturity. This would help organizations and incubators make robust teams which plug in the gaps as well as can be used for training and development of entrepreneurs in the start-up eco system. A common leadership competency model could emerge out of the findings of this study which would help gauge the entrepreneur’s pain points with respect to the right alignment of competencies and the business goals. Hiring relevant people with respect to filling the competency gap would be easier with reference to a leadership competency map where the findings of this study would contribute. Knowing the TL competencies which are affected the greatest vis-à-vis the age of the entrepreneur would help in designing age relevant training programmes for entrepreneurs incubated at various government and private accelerators in India. This paper draws on upper echelon theory to uniquely supplement the literature on EL impacting innovation work behaviour, examining the effect of entrepreneur’s age. The paper drills down the EL competencies impacting innovation work behaviour which is an important indicator for further research in the same direction. This study could be a precursor to measure effects of other demographical and environmental variables on EL leading to innovation work behaviour.
Purpose This study aims to develop and apply the multidimensional industrial process innovation composite model (MIPICM) as a reproducible formative composite and examines what can be validly inferred from public project metadata. Design/methodology/approach The CORDIS Industrial Process Innovation Database comprises official Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects. From 56,591 parsed projects, 16,094 met transparent eligibility criteria and 10,000 were selected by deterministic SHA-256 ordering. Frozen dictionaries transform auditable metadata into seven documentary-evidence dimensions. Evaluation includes a blinded 250-record human audit, missingness diagnostics, PCA, VIFs, 10,000-draw Monte Carlo weight sensitivity and cluster robustness. Findings Two independent evaluators achieved 98.76% agreement (κ = 0.963). Against exact human consensus, dictionary precision was 71.67%, recall 33.28% and F1 45.45%, indicating two independent evaluators achieved 98.76% agreement (κ = 0.963). Against exact human consensus, dictionary precision was 71.67%, recall 33.28% and F1 45.45%, indicating conservative retrieval. Weight sensitivity remained high (median rank correlation = 0.984; within-one-quintile agreement = 99.99%). D3 missingness was program- and time-structured, and clustering remained weakly separated and algorithm-dependent. Research limitations/implications Scores measure the intensity of documentary evidence, not realized productivity, overall equipment effectiveness, lead-time or carbon outcomes. External outcome validation and longitudinal evidence remain necessary. Practical implications MIPICM can support transparent screening and portfolio comparison when users retain links to the underlying records and avoid treating the index as a performance league table. Originality/value This study contributes an auditable, missingness-aware formative composite and demonstrates a conservative evaluation strategy for large public innovation-project databases.
Purpose Digital therapeutics (DTx) are an emerging class of digital health innovation, increasingly recognized as critical for improving healthcare delivery, patient outcomes and sustainable health systems. Despite promising benefits, health care organizations are yet to realize the full benefits of DTx. Several factors influence the adoption of DTx within health information technology (HIT) ecosystems in emerging economies, such as India. From a strategic and system-level perspective, identification and prioritization of these factors is crucial to maximize their practical impact, given that some factors have more significant impact on outcomes than others. This exploratory study aims to identify and prioritize the enablers of DTx adoption for diabetes care in India. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a sequential mixed-methods approach involving multiple stakeholders across two phases. Phase 1 involved in-depth semi-structured interviews with domain experts followed by inductive thematic analysis to explore the enablers of DTx adoption. Phase 2 prioritized these enablers using the best-worst method (BWM), based on expert judgment to inform decision-making. The robustness of the ranking was assessed using sensitivity analysis. Findings Qualitative analysis reveals 20 enablers of DTx adoption, which were broadly aligned with the dimensions of the human–organizational–technology–environmental (HOTE) framework. Quantitative analysis using BWM revealed the dominance of human-centric enablers, followed by organizational, environmental and technology-focused enablers. In particular, human enablers such as “Training for healthcare professionals” and “Patient education and engagement” emerged as the most influential enablers. Practical implications The findings offer practical, decision-supported insights based on expert-ranked enablers of DTx adoption, which is fundamentally a sociotechnical challenge that requires coordinated efforts across stakeholders to strengthen human capabilities, organizational readiness and secure data-sharing platforms. The results highlight the need for strong human engagement, leadership support and clear, enabling implementation regulations to facilitate DTx adoption. Originality/value The study provides a context-specific exploratory prioritization of the enablers of DTx adoption in emerging economies, such as India. The findings are based on expert judgment and offer initial decision-support guidance for practitioners and policymakers to accelerate digital health innovations adoption within HIT ecosystems.
