Purpose Although the ambidexterity literature emphasizes the importance of balancing exploration and exploitation, less is known about whether the innovation–performance implications of relative exploration vary across corporate governance conditions. This study examines whether executive and institutional shareholding are associated with differences in the estimated exploration–exploitation turning point. Design/methodology/approach Using an unbalanced panel of 254 Chinese advanced manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2020, this study estimates two-way fixed-effects models of the relationship between relative exploration (RE) and innovation performance. The sample firms are identified from companies included in the SSE Made in China (2025) Index and the CSI Made in China (2025) Index during 2015–2020. We further examine whether executive shareholding and two types of institutional shareholding – pressure-sensitive and pressure-resistant – are associated with the location of the estimated conditional turning point. Findings RE is associated with innovation performance in an inverted U-shaped pattern. Higher executive shareholding is associated with a more exploration-oriented estimated conditional turning point, whereas higher pressure-resistant institutional shareholding is associated with a more exploitation-oriented turning point. By contrast, the interaction between RE and pressure-sensitive institutional shareholding is statistically insignificant and is treated as inconclusive rather than as evidence of an absent or substantively negligible moderating association. All estimates represent conditional associations and should not be interpreted as causal effects. Originality/value Building on the established inverted U-shaped association between RE and innovation performance, this study offers an empirical extension of ambidexterity research by showing that the estimated conditional turning point varies across ownership arrangements. It identifies heterogeneous ownership structures as boundary conditions of the established RE–innovation performance relationship.
Purpose This study examines whether the market-valuation associations attached to female and foreign executive representation, managerial interlocks and managerial ownership differ between stable and crisis periods, and whether the observed patterns are compatible with an Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) accountability-signalling perspective alongside competing governance interpretations. Design/methodology/approach The study uses Orbis data for non-financial Warsaw Stock Exchange firms over 2017–2023. Baseline difference and system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimates are supplemented by CRE/Mundlak and firm fixed-effects specifications. The governance variables are based on the available 2023 records, and treated as structurally persistent; main coefficients therefore rely primarily on cross-sectional differences between firms, while COVID interactions capture regime-contingent valuation differences. Findings In the baseline system GMM, female and foreign executive representation and managerial interlocks are positively associated with firm valuation during stable periods. Their COVID-period interactions are negative; combined COVID-period associations remain positive. The negative interactions for foreign executive representation and managerial interlocks remain statistically significant across alternative estimators, whereas the female-representation interaction is less robust. While the stable-period managerial–ownership polynomial is not jointly significant, its COVID interactions are so, indicating a regime difference in the polynomial association. Results are insensitive to governance-variable winsorisation but sensitive to the treatment of extreme Tobin’s Q values. Practical implications Observable governance profiles may carry valuation-relevant information, whose relevance varies across economic conditions. Our findings may inform how firms communicate governance arrangements but do not identify the investor mechanisms driving the observed regime differences. Originality/value The study documents regime-contingent valuation associations attached to structurally persistent governance profiles in an emerging EU capital market and evaluates them through an ESG accountability-signalling lens without excluding competing governance explanations.
Purpose-Focusing on the literature on the positive effects of perceived overqualification, the study presents a theoretical model to examine how and when perceived overqualification motivates employees' proactive career behaviors. Grounded in cognitive dissonance theory, this study proposes that perceived overqualification positively influences career concern, particularly among employees with a strong occupational future time perspective. In turn, heightened career concern is expected to foster proactive career behaviors. Design/methodology/approach-We conducted a multi-wave study (N 5 291) among employees in a manufacturing company in China to test our hypotheses. Findings-Results reveal that perceived overqualification is positively related to career concern, which in turn influences employees' proactive career behaviors. Occupational future time perspective moderates not only the relationship between perceived overqualification and career concern but also the indirect effect of perceived overqualification on proactive career behaviors via career concern. Employees who perceive high levels of occupational future time perspective exhibit an increase in career concern after experiencing perceived overqualification. This increase in career concern further enhances their proactive career behaviors. Originality/value-Our research findings clarify the pathway and boundary conditions through which perceived overqualification positively influences proactive career behaviors, thereby offering significant implications for both theory and practice.
Purpose-Employees' AI crafting plays a critical role in enhancing the effectiveness of human-artificial intelligence (AI) collaboration. Yet, limited research has explored whether different forms of employee-AI cooperation-such as AI-led versus employee-led systems-distinctly shape employees' AI crafting, particularly as these systems convey salient informational cues about organizational expectations and the positioning of employees within the collaborative structure. Drawing on social information processing theory, this study investigates how and when AI-led (vs employee-led) cooperative systems influence employees' AI crafting. Design/methodology/approach-Two experimental studies (N 5 360) were conducted to test our hypotheses. Analysis of variance, ordinary least squares and bootstrapping methods were integrated in the analysis. Findings-Our results suggest that AI-led (vs employee-led) cooperative systems have a negative indirect effect on employees' AI crafting through their organization-based self-esteem (OBSE). Furthermore, employee knowledge of AI mitigates the negative influence of AI-led (vs employee-led) cooperative systems on employee OBSE, as well as weakens the negative indirect effect on AI crafting. Originality/value-This research systematically uncovers the potential downside of AI-led (vs employee-led) cooperative systems and offers novel insights into how employee-AI collaboration can be more effectively managed in an increasingly AI-enabled future.
Purpose This study investigates how decision-making logics develop within the institutional governance structures that influence crisis responses in traditional European small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) ecosystems and under which conditions digital tools - specifically blockchain - emerge as context-dependent governance solutions. It focuses on the Tuscan artisanal nautical ecosystem, a low-digital-maturity, institutionally dense environment. Design/methodology/approach The study uses an exploratory qualitative research design based on documentary analysis and a process-driven analytical approach. The empirical dataset consists of 23 institutionally validated documents issued by industry associations, regulatory bodies, public authorities and port operators between 2020 and 2024. These documents are regarded as institutional narratives rather than sources of codified firm-level indicators. Uncertainty configurations are reconstructed using established typologies (Thompson, 1967; Milliken, 1987), while decision-making styles are classified retrospectively using the Vroom-Yetton framework as a descriptive tool (Vroom and Yetton, 1973). A structured analytical approach integrates these dimensions, focussing on how blockchain-based or blockchain-related solutions are discussed as potential governance responses (Davidson et al., 2018). Findings Decision-making logics evolve dynamically in response to dominant uncertainty configurations rather than following a linear or purely chronological crisis timeline. Environmental uncertainty during the acute phase (2020) is associated with centralised, autocratic decisions; stakeholder-related uncertainty during the transition phase (2021) coincides with more participative governance arrangements; techno-institutional uncertainty during the recovery phase (2022-2023) gives rise to consultative decision-making and selective blockchain experimentation. Blockchain emerges not as a universal innovation but as a conditional institutional workaround, activated only where existing governance mechanisms prove inadequate in addressing verification failures and certification bottlenecks. Research limitations/implications The study relies exclusively on institutional documents and does not capture informal practices, firm-level negotiations or tacit knowledge within organisations. While this approach is appropriate for analysing how governance and decision-making are formally articulated and legitimised, it does not provide insight into unwritten practices or resistance to formal procedures. Future research employing firm interviews or ethnographic methods could complement these findings. Additionally, the focus on a single sector (nautical) and geographic area (Tuscany) enables deep analysis of a particular ecosystem but limits the generalisability of the findings. The transferability of insights to other traditional sectors or regions would require additional research. Practical implications For SME managers operating in traditional and low-digital-maturity contexts, the findings underscore the importance of aligning decision-making styles with prevailing uncertainty rather than adhering to fixed leadership models. Centralised decision-making may be effective for rapid crisis containment, but prolonged use can undermine legitimacy and coordination during recovery. The study also suggests that digital tools such as blockchain should be approached pragmatically. Rather than pursuing technology adoption as a signal of innovation or modernisation, managers should assess whether specific institutional gaps - such as verification bottlenecks, trust deficits or certification delays - justify the associated organisational and coordination costs. In this regard, participative and consultative governance structures appear to be a precondition for successful digital experimentation, particularly when multiple stakeholders are involved. For sectoral organisations and consortia, the findings highlight the value of creating forums for inter-firm and cross-institutional coordination during crisis periods. The capacity to activate joint committees, working groups and technical consultations emerges as a key factor in both crisis response and in enabling longer-term adaptation and technological experimentation. Social implications For policymakers and industry associations, the findings demonstrate that many technological "solutions" arise from institutional weaknesses rather than from firm-level inefficiencies. Strengthening certification processes, improving regulatory coordination and supporting shared digital infrastructures may reduce the need for ad hoc technological fixes and enhance overall system resilience. The study also suggests that crisis response policies should be sensitive to shifting configurations of uncertainty. During acute phases, emergency powers and centralised decision-making may be appropriate; however, as uncertainty shifts towards coordination and institutional frictions, policies should explicitly support participative governance mechanisms and create institutional space for multi-stakeholder negotiation. Furthermore, if blockchain or other digital tools are to be meaningfully deployed in traditional SME sectors, policy support should focus on enabling the institutional conditions for their adoption - legitimate coordination bodies, regulatory alignment and collective decision-making infrastructure - rather than simply providing technological resources. Originality/value The study advances SME governance research by showing, through analytically reconstructed configurations, how decision-making styles and digital tools co-evolve within the same organisational and institutional contexts as uncertainty configurations change over time. It enhances debates on adaptive governance and blockchain by viewing blockchain not as a strategic goal but as a context-dependent governance tool embedded in multi-actor crisis responses (Ansell and Torfing, 2021).
