The convergence of artificial intelligence and Web3 technologies (collectively termed Web4) is fundamentally reshaping the innovation landscape by enabling decentralized collaboration and facilitating low-friction technology transfer across organizational boundaries. This paradigm shift provides firms—particularly startups—with new mechanisms to overcome resource constraints, accelerate experimentation and validation, and explore disruptive business model innovations. However, how firms coordinate Web4-enabled digital resources to balance radical and incremental innovation for business model innovation remains underexplored. Drawing on resource orchestration theory, this study utilizes a comprehensive panel dataset of Chinese A-share listed firms to investigate how the adoption of Web4 influences firm-level innovation. The results reveal that Web4 adoption is positively associated with both radical and incremental innovation. However, digital innovation capabilities exert an asymmetric mediating effect in this process—substantially amplifying the effect on radical innovation while simultaneously inhibiting incremental innovation, thereby suggesting an “exploration-dominance paradox”. More importantly, startups, due to their organizational flexibility and lower path dependence, can more effectively leverage Web4-enabled transferred technology for rapid market experimentation and radical innovation. Further contingency analysis indicates that a high degree of marketization mitigates the inhibitory effect of digital innovation capabilities on incremental innovation, while technological turbulence amplifies the risks and rewards of digital resource orchestration. By revealing the micro-foundations through which Web4 facilitates technology transfer, capability reconfiguration, and asymmetric innovation outcomes, this study not only advances the theoretical boundaries of innovation management, but also deepens a more nuanced understanding for the logic of business model innovation within the Web4-enabled environment.

As artificial intelligence(AI) increasingly displays new agentic capabilities—including learning, autonomous judgment, and action initiation—the theoretical boundaries of dynamic capabilities(DCs) are being challenged, particularly regarding where agency resides and how this process is generated. This paper argues that agency of AI questions the long-held assumption that DC are almost driven by human intelligence(HI), now suggesting a joint AI–HI control. Drawing on the ostensive–performative shaping view rooted in routine dynamics research, we further develop the argument that, under conditions of AI embedding, routines no longer stabilize primarily through tacit human coordination and experiential replication; rather, they are continuously updated through sustained human-AI interaction, feedback, and reinterpretation. Through a multi-case grounded analysis, this study identifies the key elements by which firms develop capabilities in AI-intensive contexts and introduces the concept of AI-Human integration capabilities(AHIC). Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2011 to 2023 and applying dynamic QCA, five configurational pathways to high AHIC are found. In-depth case and pathway analyses extract four representative four conjoined-agency mechanisms of capabilities generation. It reveals the heterogeneous patterns of capabilities growth after AI is integrated with organizational procedures. Overall, this study develops a novel concept and configurational framework for DC in the AI era, advancing our understanding of their nature and boundary conditions.

Digital transformation presents a promising pathway to improving Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance in heavy-polluting enterprises within emerging economies. However, it also introduces potential drawbacks, such as bounded rationality crowding-out effects and a focus on short-term financial goals. Therefore, to fully understand its multifaceted impact on ESG performance, a comprehensive analysis through the lens of complex systems management is crucial. This study applies panel data fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (PD-fsQCA) to examine heavy-polluting enterprises in China's national big data comprehensive pilot zones. Grounded in the Technological-Organizational-Environmental (TOE) framework, the analysis uncovers the intricate causal relationships between digital transformation and ESG performance. The findings reveal that factors such as digital strategies (DS), digital technology (DT), internal control quality (IC), enterprise environmental attention allocation (EA), regional environmental regulation (ER), and public environmental concern (PEC) interact in multiple configurations to shape ESG outcomes, including "IC & DT" Driven, "ER & DS" Driven, and "DT & DS" Driven models. These pathways demonstrate significant temporal and organizational heterogeneity, highlighting the diverse impacts of digital transformation on ESG performance across different timeframes and enterprise contexts.

This study employs a resource-based view to examine how marketing exploitation and exploration affect business-to-business (B2B) small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) performance, considering the moderating effects of supplier flexibility and information exchange. Our analysis of a time-lag survey involving 144 Chinese B2B SMEs revealed that marketing exploitation and exploration positively affect performance when implemented individually. However, when B2B SMEs pursue both approaches simultaneously, marketing exploration exerts a relatively stronger impact on performance compared to marketing exploitation. Supplier flexibility and information exchange act as contingency factors, influencing the strength of these effects. Our analysis reveals that marketing exploration influences performance more strongly when supplier flexibility and information exchange are high. Conversely, high levels of supplier flexibility and information exchange reduce the impact of marketing exploitation on performance. To gain a deeper understanding, we conducted 25 additional interviews with representatives of Chinese B2B SMEs that did not participate in our survey study. Our findings align survey and interview results, revealing how marketing exploitation and exploration, supplier flexibility, and information exchange complexly interplay to influence B2B SME performance.

PurposeThis study provides a comprehensive review of the literature on artificial intelligence (AI)-driven dynamic capabilities (DCs) in international marketing (IM). Design/methodology/approachAn integrated theoretical framework is proposed based on the logic of antecedents, microfoundations, connotation expansion and evolutionary pathways and outcomes. FindingsThe conceptual review of AI-driven DCs in IM reveals relatively well-established antecedents, connotation expansion and outcomes. However, significant gaps remain in understanding their microfoundations and evolutionary pathways. To address these gaps, we develop an integrative framework that links organizational adaptation, DCs, international marketing strategy (IMS) and AI-driven transformation, aiming to advance the development of next-generation IM paradigms. Originality/valueThis study introduces a novel, integrated framework that enhances the limited understanding of AI-driven DCs in IM and provides valuable insights for both researchers and practitioners.

PurposeDespite a broad consensus on firm internationalization through digital platforms, it still appears to be a black box mechanism through which emerging market small and medium-sized enterprises (ESMEs) upgrade their global value chain (GVC) position. This study aims to investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and strategic agility coupling shape ESMEs' GVC positioning through the lens of international marketing capabilities (IMCs), differentiating international advantage into two dimensions: product innovation and brand upgrading. Furthermore, it investigates how the depth and breadth of platform embeddedness moderate this relationship.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative approach was employed to analyse data from 322 small and medium-sized enterprises in China utilizing cross-border platforms. The research model was tested using structural equation modelling, with data analysis conducted through SPSS 27, AMOS 24 and STATA to evaluate both the measurement and structural models.FindingsThe study demonstrates that the coupling of AI adoption and strategic agility positively influences IMCs, product innovation and brand upgrading, while IMCs serve as a mediating mechanism. Additionally, platform embedding characteristics exhibit a nonlinear, inverted U-shaped moderating effect: a medium level of embedding depth maximizes the coupling's positive impact on product innovation, whereas a moderate level of embedding breadth optimizes its positive effect on brand upgrading.Originality/valueThis study proposes a holistic framework that explores how platform affordances facilitate the identification and forecasting of international market information and resource redeployment within platform ecosystems, driving product and brand value creation. It advances the dynamic capabilities hierarchy in international business research by integrating digital platforms and the ESMEs perspective, illustrating how higher-order strategic agility shapes embedded ESMEs' lower-order IMCs, enhancing international competitive advantage. Additionally, it examines AI-enabled marketing capabilities through a broader lens of international advantage.

Digital firms, emerging entities in the digital era, are fundamentally reshaping the global business landscape due to their novel characteristics and far-reaching influence. Given their intrinsic transnational characteristics, the international expansion of digital firms has become a focal point in fields like international business and international entrepreneurship. However, research in these fields is currently fragmented, uses a limited number of theoretical perspectives, and lacks integrated frameworks. We apply an organizing framework that centers around four key aspects of digital firm internationalization - drivers, strategies, outcomes, and contexts - to synthesize the contributions of the literature on digital firm internationalization and identify opportunities for future research. Additionally, we examine how the internationalization of digital firms extends traditional international business theories and elucidates emerging theoretical perspectives. Our study advances a comprehensive understanding of the field, identifies research gaps, and proposes future avenues for advancing knowledge on digital firm internationalization.

This study explores how inter-organizational justice, and formal contracts influence new product development (NPD) collaboration in supply chain networks. Challenging traditional transaction cost economics (TCE), the research focuses on collaborative NPD in hub-and-spoke supply chain structures. Data from 183 Chinese suppliers and 22 executive interviews reveal unexpected patterns in NPD collaboration. Procedural justice exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with NPD collaboration, linking higher fairness to improved collaboration up to a point, beyond which further increases may associate with diminishing returns. In contrast, distributive justice shows a U-shaped relationship with NPD collaboration, where higher equity initially relates to reduced collaboration but later correlates with renewed engagement. Notably, formal contracts amplify the negative interactions between these justice dimensions. This contradicts the conventional view of their complementary roles. These findings contribute to theoretical advancements by illustrating how inter-organizational justice mechanisms function differently in complex network structures compared to simple dyadic relationships. Careful calibration of inter-organizational justice dimensions and formal contracts proves essential for fostering productive NPD collaboration. These governance insights offer directions for enhancing supply chain relationship management.

In the dynamic and resource-constrained environment of emerging countries, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face unique challenges in pursuing innovation strategy. This study addresses a critical gap in understanding how founder-CEOs' causation processes interact with human capital to shape SMEs' innovation strategy. While previous research has separately explored the impact of causation processes on innovation and the influence of founder-CEOs' managerial experience, these streams remain disconnected. Drawing on human capital theory, we investigate how adopting causation processes affects innovation strategy in emerging country SMEs, focusing on the moderating role of founder-CEOs' human capital. Our primary analysis utilises two waves of multi-informant survey data from 103 Indian SMEs. Results reveal that founder-CEOs' specific human capital moderates the relationship between causation processes and innovation strategy. This moderating effect strengthens with rich marketing experience but weakens with extensive technological experience. We supplement our findings with qualitative insights from interviews with 14 Indian and 19 Chinese SME founder-CEOs. This additional analysis provides further context and validates the applicability of our results. Our research contributes to a nuanced understanding of SME innovation dynamics in emerging countries and offers valuable implications for both theory and practice in fostering innovation-driven growth in this vital economic context.

Organisational learning theory proposes firms can gain market knowledge through adaptive processes - marketing exploitation and exploration. Our study examines how these processes impact pioneering orientation, firms' emphasis on launching innovative products ahead of competitors, in business-to-business (B2B) small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The prevailing view is firms should simultaneously pursue both processes or focus on just one. We challenge this notion and posit B2B SMEs should generally prioritise one process over the other to effectively shape pioneering orientation. However, certain circumstances like upstream supply chain (SC) integration and strong information technology (IT) competence enable firms to optimise benefits by alternating between processes. Our longitudinal analysis of 213 Chinese B2B SMEs supports this argument, revealing marketing exploration has a stronger positive influence on pioneering orientation than exploitation. Furthermore, our analysis shows upstream SC integration alone does not moderate, but combined with robust IT competence, can increase the advantages of marketing exploitation over exploration when fostering pioneering orientation in B2B SMEs.

To address the bifurcated challenges of the international landscape, Chinese multinational enterprises have diversified their international innovation activities by establishing overseas innovation ecosystems in regions with weaker institutional frameworks, such as those along the Belt and Road. However, existing research primarily focuses on ecosystem construction, offering limited insight into their sustainable development. This study employs a multi-case approach, examining four representative Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones (OETCZs), integrating perspectives from routines, knowledge, and cognition. Findings reveals: (1) Overseas innovation ecosystems foster international ambidextrous dynamic capabilities (DCs) through routine change and knowledge creation, driving sustainable development; (2) Overseas innovation ecosystems deploy adaptive, ecological, proactive, and integrated routine change strategies in response to institutional pressures; (3) The diversity in routine change strategies is closely linked to attention focus allocation by leading enterprises, encompassing both institutional-market and promotion-prevention focus. Overall, this study enhances our comprehension of DCs in innovation ecosystem internationalization and offers managerial insights for sustainable development in OETCZs.

高校科技人才评价一直是政府、社会和高校持续关注的重点难点问题,是新发展阶段亟待探讨的新研究视域和治理路径.文章基于组织场域理论,引入人才评价场域的研究范畴,构建"制度逻辑—机制要素—治理主体"分析维度,运用嵌入式案例研究方法开展研究设计和分析.研究发现,人才评价还面临制度逻辑冲突、机制要素失灵、行政运行低效等现实困境;基于此,提出了高校科技人才评价的场域法治化、机制科学化、管理数字化和研究学科化等治理路径,为推动人才发展治理体系现代化提供新思路.

The aims of this study were to better integrate various schools of definition of dynamic capabilities theory since its emergence and to determine the evolution mechanism of dynamic capabilities by conducting a systematic literature review using bibliometrics and content analysis. The literature review identified multiple perspectives regarding the evolution of dynamic capabilities, including organisational routines, entrepreneurship, and 'improvisational capabilities'. A micro-evolution framework of 'individuals, groups and organisations' was ob-tained from these perspectives and then aggregated into an 'adapt-innovate-respond' analysis framework of dynamic capabilities evolution. The analytical framework forms a spiral model of dynamic capabilities demonstrating the relationship between the evolution of dynamic capabilities and enterprises. This study in-tegrates multiple perspectives on dynamic capabilities, establishes a comprehensive analysis framework, and clarifies the essential connotations of dynamic capability evolution. Finally, suggestions for future research on the evolution of dynamic capabilities are provided.

PurposeThis study proposes that the three core underpinnings of dynamic managerial capabilities (DMCs) – managerial cognition, managerial human capital and managerial social capital – represent individual-level micro-foundations that influence corporate social responsibility (CSR). It further explores the interaction mechanism between the three underpinnings in influencing CSR, and their influence depends on the technological turbulence caused by big-data-related technologies.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a quantitative research method and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the relationship between latent factors based on a sample of 270 Chinese top managers.FindingsThe three core underpinnings of DMCs are positively related to CSR. Managerial human capital and managerial social capital mediate the relationship between managerial cognition and CSR. Technological turbulence's moderating effects are also tested. Specifically, technological turbulence amplifies the positive relationship between managerial cognition, managerial human capital and CSR but negatively moderates the relationship between managerial social capital and CSR.Originality/valueWhy are some firms more willing to participate in CSR than others mainly depend on the fact that the actual participants of CSR are the top managers who formulate strategies and implement CSR plans. This study, grounded in the DMCs framework and the upper echelons perspective, is arguably the first to link DMCs' three core underpinnings and CSR, and further explore the multiple drivers' mechanisms and boundary conditions. This study contributes to individual micro-foundation of CSR literature, and advances the understanding of whether and how top managers influence CSR engagement.

Purpose - Microfoundations have become an effective approach for capability scholars to explore the heterogeneity of organizational results. Since the early pioneering work of scholars such as Felin and Foss, the microfoundations of strategic organization had not been extensively studied until 2010. The theoretical and empirical literature associated with the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities has developed rapidly. However, the diversity and fragmentation of micro-elements lead to a lack of a relatively consistent understanding of microfoundations, the study purpose is to aggregate the associated scattered terminology into a cohesive discussion.Design/methodology/approach - A systematic literature review was conducted on research papers published between 2000 and 2022 using a hybrid methodology that included bibliometric and content analysis.Findings - The authors suggest that this line of research can be divided into three stages. The study further develop a framework delineating the main components and mechanism involved in the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities, which in turn help us distill research gaps and opportunities for future work.Originality/value - The authors construct a framework that can serve as a coherent research platform for further knowledge development. In the framework, the authors highlight that the research of group constructs, culture and leadership, data-driven topics are valuable for our understanding of the microfoundations of dynamics capabilities.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an important driving force for a new trend of scientific and technological revolution and industrial reform. This paper analyses the dynamic capabilities for value creation from AI innovation ecosystem and proposes a research framework: institutional environment-dynamic capabilities-ecosystem stage. Based on the empirical evidence from double case study in the typical AI ecosystem, IFLYTEK and Amazon, our research leads to the following three main conclusions: 1) the difference of institutional environment has an important impact on the development of AI ecosystem; 2) combination of dynamic capabilities can enable AI leading enterprises to promote ecosystem and comprehensive use of dynamic capabilities can promote ecological partners to participate in value creation; 3) different stages of innovation ecosystem development have different effects on dynamic capacities for value creation. Dynamic capabilities are vital for AI leading enterprises to maintain competitive advantage. As for practical implications, this research provides guidance on how to build dynamic capabilities of AI ecosystem, and gives enlightenment to how AI can construct dynamic capabilities for value creation to achieve sustainable development.

The existing packed mail-based return mode in ecommerce has a considerable negative impact on the natural environment. In contrast, a package-free return mode accepts unpacked ecommerce returns using return points in-store and is a more eco-friendly service. On the basis of the push–pull–mooring (PPM) framework, this study aims to identify key factors in green communication that contribute to consumers switching from mail return services to package-free return services. A scenario-based online survey was conducted. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Push factors (consumer dissatisfaction) and a mooring factor (mail return habit) only manifested weak effects on switching intention. Regarding pull factors (service convenience and green value), in contrast to previous research, the effect of green value on switching intention was found to be much weaker than the effect of service convenience. Convenience was found to be the key factor in green communication. Our research adds value to green communication and the PPM framework. It updates existing knowledge concerning the role of consumer dissatisfaction, perceived green value, and perceived convenience of return service in green communication. This study also explains why the mooring factor of habit fails to predict switching intention.

随着对传统企业能力研究的反思及微观基础研究的兴起,动态管理能力的研究得到了发展,但现有研究多聚焦于概念构成及其与组织战略变革/绩效/能力间的关系机制,对数据驱动的动态管理能力构建机制关注不足.本文以互联网企业杭州泛嘉集团为案例研究对象,探讨基于数据驱动的高管动态管理能力新内涵.研究发现:(1)数据驱动的动态管理能力在管理认知、管理人力资本、管理社会资本三个微观基础上均呈现出新变化.(2)每个微观基础间相互交织共同作用于动态管理能力的构建.(3)高管行为决策作为解释机制使得个体特征"显化".区别于已有研究多为企业整体层面的视角,本文从高管微观个体出发,揭示了数据驱动的动态管理能力构建机制,对数字化情境下企业高管团队的能力提升与数字创新决策具有指导意义.

数字平台已逐渐成长为各行业中占据主导地位的组织形式,此过程中衍生出一系列不负责任的创新实践.现有关于平台生态系统中如何有效实现负责任创新的研究尚处于起步阶段,中小企业通过嵌入平台生态系统参与价值共创,是平台生态系统实现负责任创新的核心,其可持续发展绩效也有力体现了平台生态系统的负责任创新.研究结合负责任创新、动态能力和新制度理论,阐述了平台企业的负责任创新行为、数据驱动的动态能力以及数字监管压力和数字客户压力对嵌入平台的中小企业可持续发展绩效的影响,并提出相应对策建议和未来展望.