This article explores the culture-regulations-gender triad in relation to small and medium enterprises' (SMEs') performance. Using a firm-level panel dataset drawn from 27 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia between 2005 and 2014, we show that women and men experience and respond differently to regulations. Women take regulations very seriously and as a result, their SMEs see improved performance, whereas men discount the influence of regulations which then depresses the performance of their SMEs. However, when women respond to regulatory enforcers, it erodes the performance of their SMEs, whereas when men engage enforcers, the performance of their SMEs improves. The fact that women and men experience and respond to the same regulations differently-regardless of country effect and whether their SMEs are high- or low-performing businesses-suggests that regulations perpetuate gender biases, thus impacting not only individuals but even the organizations they lead. Our study expands gendered institutions theory by clarifying how regulations diffuse cultural values and influence women and men, as well as their SMEs, differently.

Purpose - The purpose of the study is to enhance understanding of the relationships among team emotional intelligence (EI), trust in team, conflict in team and team performance. Design/methodology/approach - A sample of 389 team members from 84 project teams in large-scale construction projects was surveyed. Findings - Findings showed that team EI is positively associated with team performance. In addition, trust and conflict in the team mediate the association between team EI and team performance. Practical implications - The ability to perceive one's own and others' emotions significantly increases the likelihood of team performance by increasing trust in a team and reducing conflict. Therefore, managers can use these findings to boost team performance and reduce conflict in their teams. Originality/value - This research contributes to the better understanding of the relationship between team EI and team performance in large-scale construction projects. In addition, this research is an empirical investigation into the mediation variables linking EI to team performance.

Purpose Despite the rapid pace of digitalization, aggregate productivity growth rates in most advanced countries have slowed down consistently in recent years. It creates a puzzle, as investment in information technology (IT) has often been thought of as a remedy to solve productivity problems. The purpose of this paper is to examine the puzzle by using industry-level data.Design/methodology/approach This research uses industry-level longitudinal data and examines changes in both labour and multifactor productivity (MFP) in Australian industries. This study uses an instrumental variable (IV) approach to estimate the models.Findings Findings suggest an improvement in IT-led productivity performance in recent years. Industries with an above-average share of IT (IT investment as a share of total investment) have experienced MFP boosts since 2005.Research limitations/implications Because of the aggregate nature of the data it was not possible to incorporate firm-specific factors, such as managerial and organisational factors, in the analysis.Practical implications The performance of IT has improved despite the falling growth in technology investment in recent years, suggesting that intangible factors, such as better regulatory and policy frameworks, have potentially played a positive role.Originality/value There are only a few studies using sectoral and longitudinal-type data, with many having become dated, meaning that there is a lack of understanding surrounding recent developments.

For this special issue we seek contributions that enhance our understanding of how workers are recruited, managed and rewarded in social enterprises. Over the last decade, social entrepreneurship h...

An understanding of ethnic and immigrant entrepreneurship is developed in this paper by exploring how ethnic and entrepreneurial identities intersect. Bourdieu's concept of habitus frames the analysis of narratives of five post-war Polish entrepreneurs in Leicester. The narrative analysis illuminates the multilayered and nuanced nature of identities. The Polish origin of these entrepreneurs' habitus was interpreted in light of individual and collective experiences gained growing up in the United Kingdom. While Polish identity was pertinent, it did not define the narrative of entrepreneurship. Our contribution is a theoretically informed, rich qualitative study of what ethnic identity means to individuals and how it intersects with entrepreneurial identity.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the logics that expert entrepreneurs use when faced with a critical incident threat. Design/methodology/approach Attempts have been made to define “entrepreneurial logic”. This paper is influenced by Sarasvathy’s work on high-performance entrepreneurs, which finds that when faced with uncertainty entrepreneurs employ unconventional logic, and encompasses later research acknowledging social contexts where entrepreneurs operate. A typology of decision-making logics is developed, taking into account the situation of crisis. Seven expert entrepreneurs who faced crisis and, despite this, are still successfully operating businesses were interviewed. The paper develops a critical incidents methodology. Findings Experienced entrepreneurs were found to tend towards causal logic when “the stakes were high” and the decision may affect the survival of their business. They also weigh up options before acting and tend to seek advice from trusted “others” within their network before or after they have made a decision. A mixture of causal and intuitive logic is evident in decisions dealing with internal business problems. Research limitations/implications The decisions that entrepreneurs make shape and define their business and their ability to recover from crisis. If researchers can develop an understanding of how entrepreneurs make decisions – what information they draw upon, what support systems they use and the logic of their decision-making and rationalisation – then this can be used to help structure support. Originality/value By exploring decision-making through critical incidents we offer an innovative way to understand context-rich, first-hand experiences and behaviours of entrepreneurs around a focal point.

In this essay, we develop a new argument about how the concept of embeddedness and a sensemaking approach can be used to theorise small firms' regulatory responses, especially to employment regulation. We want to move beyond the simplistic and narrow conceptualisations of resistant action in small firms in response to regulation. We contribute to theorising on small firms' regulatory responses by developing an embedded account of social action that takes us beyond the dichotomy of individualised (micro) and institutional accounts (macro) explanations of firm behaviour. Our argument emphasises the situatedness of small firm behaviour shaped by, and in turn shaping, the contexts in which they are embedded. We go beyond stereotypes to give a nuanced account of situated action. In conclusion, we briefly outline how our ideas can be operationalised to explain small firms' diverse responses to regulation.

Methodological challenges in studying HRM especially to unlock the HRM-performance link have been highlighted by HRM experts. Most experts argue that HRM research findings are less likely to provide a comprehensive explanation to support the empirical evidence. The development of critical realism seeks to overcome this limitation. Critical realists see the world as influenced by human agents and social structures, thus accept the existence of different structures and materials in developing knowledge as well as to justify the research finding. A lack of definition in the line managers' HRM role suggests the necessity of exploring the structures that influence the role's development and the influence of agency within those structures. Using evidence drawn from case studies in three Malaysian airports, interviews were conducted with line managers, senior managers and HR representatives to explore their experience in the HRM role development process. Insights to be captured, using both structure and agency, provide an understanding of the line managers' HRM role development. In terms of structure, airport category/size and the company's strategic priorities are found to influence the formulation and implementation of the HRM activities. Agency is addressed by the individual's personality and cultural values. In Malaysia, studies on the line managers involvement in HRM are still limited, thus the interactions of structure and agency in critical realist approach is able to provide clear insights of how HRM 'role' is developed in the Malaysian context.

Purpose – If owner-managers engage in management development activities then chances of success may be improved for small businesses. But small business owner-managers (SBOMs) are a difficult group to engage in management development activities. While practitioners worry about timing, content and location of development activities, the purpose of this paper is to examine what drives SBOMs to participate in an online discussion forum (ODF) as a form of management development. An ODF was run with SBOMs and the factors affecting their participation are reported from this exploratory study. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative methodology was used where data gathered from three sources, the ODF posts, in-depth interviews with participants and a focus group with non-participants. These were analysed to evaluate factors affecting participation of SBOMs in an ODF. Findings – The findings point to the importance of owner-managers’ attitudes. Attitudes that positively affected SBOMs participation in the ODF included; appreciating that learning leads to business success; positive self-efficacy developed through prior online experience; and an occupational identity as a business manager. Research limitations/implications – Few SBOMs participated in the ODF, which is consistent with research finding that they are a difficult group to engage in management development learning activities. Three forms of data were analysed to strengthen results. Practical implications – Caution should be exercised when considering investment in e-learning to develop the managerial capabilities of SBOMs. Originality/value – Evidence of the factors important for participation in an informal voluntary ODF. The findings suggest greater emphasis should be placed on changing attitudes if SBOMs are to be encouraged to participate in management development activities.

Purpose - If owner-managers engage in management development activities then chances of success may be improved for small businesses. But small business owner-managers (SBOMs) are a difficult group to engage in management development activities. While practitioners worry about timing, content and location of development activities, the purpose of this paper is to examine what drives SBOMs to participate in an online discussion forum (ODF) as a form of management development. An ODF was run with SBOMs and the factors affecting their participation are reported from this exploratory study.Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative methodology was used where data gathered from three sources, the ODF posts, in-depth interviews with participants and a focus group with non-participants. These were analysed to evaluate factors affecting participation of SBOMs in an ODF.Findings - The findings point to the importance of owner-managers' attitudes. Attitudes that positively affected SBOMs participation in the ODF included; appreciating that learning leads to business success; positive self-efficacy developed through prior online experience; and an occupational identity as a business manager.Research limitations/implications - Few SBOMs participated in the ODF, which is consistent with research finding that they are a difficult group to engage in management development learning activities. Three forms of data were analysed to strengthen results.Practical implications - Caution should be exercised when considering investment in e-learning to develop the managerial capabilities of SBOMs.Originality/value - Evidence of the factors important for participation in an informal voluntary ODF. The findings suggest greater emphasis should be placed on changing attitudes if SBOMs are to be encouraged to participate in management development activities.

In this introduction to the Technology Innovation Management Review's special issue on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Australia, Guest Editor Rowena Barrett reflects on the perceptions of "innovation", both in terms of its evolving concepts and terminology (the rhetoric) and its frontline application (the reality). Prompted by the recent launch and ongoing implementation of Australia Government's National Innovation and Science Agenda's, this special issue focuses on insights into innovation and entrepreneurship from the Australian context.

Purpose – Ethnic entrepreneurship is, and always has been, a means of survival. However, there is limited literature on ethnic entrepreneurship in Australia and therefore, an understanding of ethnic entrepreneurs’ motivations to become self-employed. The purpose of this paper is to report the influential factors in the decision to engage in self-employment through case studies of members of Melbourne’s Sri Lankan community informed by the mixed embeddedness approach. Design/methodology/approach – The mixed embeddedness approach frames the study where the authors examine the motivations for business of five Sri Lankan entrepreneurs. Narratives are used to construct individual case studies, which are then analyzed in terms of the motivations for, resources used and challenges faced on the entrepreneurial journey. Findings – For these ethnic entrepreneurs, their entrepreneurial activity results from a dynamic match between local market opportunities and the specific ethnic resources available to them at the time of founding. The self-employment decision was not prompted by a lack of human capital but an inability to use that human capital in alternative means of employment at specific points in time. Moreover the authors highlight the importance of social and cultural capital as resources used to overcome challenges on the entrepreneurial journey. Originality/value – In this community, entrepreneurship was not a result of a lack of human capital but how it was utilized in combination with social and cultural capitals in the given opportunity structure. The mixed embeddedness approach enables the uncovering of how ethnic network ties were used in light of the opportunities available to build entrepreneurial activity.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore what the attitudes of small firm owner-managers are to developing the skills of their key resources and then examine how these and other factors affect owner-managers’ preferences for training these employees.Design/methodology/approach– This study of training in small road transport firms in West Australia is cast in light of the literature on human resource management in small firms underpinned by insights drawn using the resource based view of the firm. Small firms (less than 20 people) dominate this industry, while the increasing freight task, and extreme distances between West Australian ports, towns and mines highlight this sectors’ importance. Survey results from 39 small road transport firms and interviews with nine owner-managers are analysed.Findings– Legislative, regulatory and licensing requirements were shown to be a key determinant of skills development. Employers ensured that basic standards for employee certification and qualification were met, as the penalty for not doing so would be too high. Regulations drove the need for certain types of training – licenses, fatigue management, occupational health and safety, handling dangerous goods, the Maritime Security Identification Card card, forklift license, mine site inductions – while owner-managers knew where to get the training their staff needed. Although regulation appeared most visible in prescribing what happened in relation to training for drivers, the relevance of owner-managers’ attitudes could not be ignored, nor could conditions in the firms external environment as this shaped how these requirements were met.Research limitations/implications– The RBV is useful in showing how skill development enabled similarity in skills across firms, while the attitudes owner-managers and economic and social conditions meant what happened in firms around skill development varied. The importance of small firm owner-managers’ attitudes are clearly highlighted and shown to influence organizational decisions and choices around training, but these were not independent of the regulatory framework and the economic and social conditions within which the firm operated. The small firms in this study did engage workers in formal training when necessary but it was put in the context of the idiosyncratic approach of the owner-manager and the day-to-day needs of the firm. “Training” was essentially about ensuring certain types of skills were held by employees and then passing on knowledge to ensure the behavior of employees was consistent with the owner-manager’s vision for the firm in its current environment.Originality/value– Ways industry and government can encourage training activity that goes beyond the day-to-day firm needs are suggested.

Recent years have witnessed burgeoning interest in the line managers’ contribution to HRM effectiveness. This effort requires organizations to consider important contextual conditions to ensure the desired organizational outcomes. This paper explores the significance of the organization size in understanding the line managers’ involvement in HRM activities. Two case studies were conducted, one in a large and another in a small airport involving key members of the airport management who were closely related to the line managers’ HRM role. Content analysis was employed to analyze data from the interviews and written documents. While there were many similarities in the line managers’ HRM role, the differences in the line managers’ HRM role expectations are also found to be related to differences in the size of the organization. More responsibility is expected from line managers in the large airport as compared to the small airport. This finding has important implications in aligning the HRM strategy and organizational outcomes through the line management contribution.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of an informal online discussion forum (ODF) to encourage voluntary participation and promote double-loop learning by small business owners (SBOs). Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative methodology was used where data gathered from three sources, the ODF posts, in-depth interviews with participants and a focus group with non-participants. These were analysed to evaluate learning of SBOs in an ODF. Findings – This research provides evidence that an ODF for SBOs supports double-loop learning; however, participation could not be assumed simply by the online availability of the discussion resource. Research limitations/implications – Few SBOs participated in the ODF which is consistent with research finding SBOs are a difficult group to engage in learning. Four forms of data were analysed to strengthen results. Practical implications – Caution should be exercised when considering investment in e-learning for SBOs. Originality/value – Evidence showing e-learning through an informal voluntary ODF can promote deep learning for SBOs.

Smaller firms are often viewed as resistant to regulation due to cost burdens. However, evidence indicates that for some compliance is beneficial under certain conditions. Drawing on data on attitudes and responses of smaller firm owner-managers to changes in Australia’s harmonising work health and safety context we report on smaller firms’ responses to these changes. Despite uncertainty due to incomplete harmonisation, many owner-managers viewed safety compliance as important and necessary to do business. Those with negative views still linked positive safety performance to business outcomes. We categorise smaller firms’ responses and in this sample most are Positive Responders. We suggest ways forward for policy-makers to support smaller firms in complying with occupational health and safety regulation.