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The rapidly changing international business landscape, driven by dynamic factors such as technology, emerging markets, and unpredictable crises, demands that organizations innovate to survive while gaining and sustaining competitive advantages. Culture, an intricate multilevel construct, presents challenges for transnational enterprises and international business as a key “soft” element of organizational strategy.

This paper employs a triangulated method combining a systematic literature search, machine learning, and qualitative thematic content analysis to explore the relationship between culture and innovation within the context of international business. The analysis involved scrutinizing 697 journal articles indexed in the Web of Science database.

Using k-means, which is an unsupervised machine-learning tool in Python, and hypertext preprocessor language scripting, we identified seven topic clusters and 94 keywords. Qualitative thematic content analysis facilitated the recognition of prevailing patterns in researchers' conceptualizations of the interplay between innovation and culture. We identified influential relationships between cultural configurations and innovation.

Our analysis contributes to developing a comprehensive research field map encompassing international business, innovation, and culture.

This study significantly enhances our knowledge of culture and international innovation. Future research that recognizes culture as a dynamic configuration at multiple levels (e.g. national, organizational, professional, and individual) and employs more comprehensive measures of innovation and culture could substantially advance our understanding of the intersection of culture and innovation in international business.

This paper aims to examine the consistency between firms’ stakeholder-friendly responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and their environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings. Consistent firms are those with high prior ESG ratings that actively support stakeholders during the COVID-19 crisis.

The authors use data from JUST Capital, which tracks Russell 1000 firms’ actions in response to the pandemic, to examine the relationship between pre-pandemic ESG ratings and their COVID responses towards employees, customers and communities. The authors also analyse the impact of firms’ consistency between pre-pandemic ESG ratings and stakeholder-friendly COVID responses on ESG ratings and stock returns.

This study finds that firms with higher pre-pandemic ESG ratings are more likely to support their stakeholders during the pandemic. The authors also find that firms with high ESG ratings before the pandemic experience a decline in their ESG ratings if they do not actively support their communities during the COVID-19 crisis, although insufficient employee/customer support does not impact their ESG ratings. Finally, the authors find that firms with higher pre-pandemic ESG ratings that continue to uphold their ESG commitments through community assistance during the pandemic achieve higher stock returns compared to inconsistent firms.

The results reveal gaps in how comprehensively ESG agencies assess firms’ crisis responses, highlighting areas for rating improvements. The findings contribute to sustainable development by revealing the importance of firms upholding their ESG commitments during crises to maintain stakeholder trust and drive long-term value creation.

The findings underscore the need for responsive, transparent ESG rating processes to support the integration of sustainability considerations into corporate practices and investment decisions, particularly during evolving societal expectations during crises.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate how pre-pandemic ESG ratings explain firms’ stakeholder-friendly responses during the COVID-19 pandemic and analyse the integration of these responses and pandemic risks into ESG ratings during the crisis.

Introduction: Historically, the corporate governance (CG) framework was designed primarily to safeguard the economic interests of shareholders, as a result of political and legal interventions, developing into an effective instrument for stakeholders and society in general.

Purpose: The core objectives of the study include: identifying journals/publications responsible for publishing CG studies in India, key CG issues covered by CG researchers, the amount of high-impact CG literature across different time periods, sectors/industries covered by CG researchers and different research instruments (quantitative or qualitative) used in CG studies in India.

Design/methodology: The chapter used a sample of 130 corporate governance studies that fulfil the selection criteria, drawn from the repository of over 100 reputed journals that are either recognised by the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) or indexed by SCOPUS. A systematic literature review has been carried out pertaining to CG issues in India, based on various statistical tools, data, industries, research outlets & citations, etc.

Findings: The results show an overwhelming number of studies have assessed the relationship between CG variables and firm performance, which could be measured through a variety of performance metrics such as ROA and ROI. Apart from empirical analysis, many conceptual studies use repetitive basic statistical tools like descriptive statistics or regression analysis. The chapter offers insights into current achievements and future development.

Originality/value: This bibliometric study is a useful guide for policymakers, corporate leaders, research organisations and management faculty to draw insights from work produced by eminent researchers in GC in India.

Given the positive organizational principles associated with total quality management (TQM) – customer focus, continuous improvement, and process management – one would assume TQM's application is universally beneficial across businesses. Generally, research supports that notion. However, given resource limitations and shallow management teams in small businesses, there are multiple challenges in implementing TQM in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, small business leaders should benefit from knowledge linking other management practices to TQM’s positive effect on small firm performance, which enhances these leaders' return on TQM investment.

The authors apply partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to explore TQM’s effect on small business performance and how other management practices enhance that relationship. Specifically, the authors explore how a comprehensive strategic approach (CSA) – a higher-order construct consisting of strategic planning, goal setting, and financial ratio analysis – moderates the relationship between TQM and small business performance. Given the complexity of the authors' model, the application of higher-order constructs, and the exploratory nature of this work, PLS-SEM is well suited for this study.

Consistent with prior research, the authors found that TQM (also a higher-order construct, consisting of seven lower-order constructs) positively impacts small firm performance. In addition, the authors found that CSA positively moderates the relationship between TQM and financial performance.

TQM’s effect on small business performance is enhanced when leaders implement a CSA. In other words, when small business leaders strategically plan, set goals, and analyze financial ratios, TQM's positive effect on firm performance is enhanced. This finding provides business leaders insights for how to maximize the TQM investment return.

This study, a perspective piece, aims to argue that one particular slice of political institutional operations – the conduct of international relations – offers a clue to the possible risks that businesses face from geopolitics.

The authors examine the various facets of international relations and diplomacy, including the processes and arenas, to show the relevance of statecraft for firms looking to minimize political risk.

By understanding the role of diplomacy and statecraft as a process, firms can better prepare themselves for events that have far-reaching ramifications. This is very different than minimizing risk from inherent geopolitical tensions and allows for a more flexible approach to understanding risk levels in the global arena.

International business scholarship has focused on institutions and their effects on firms and has recently begun to re-examine the role of geopolitics and political risk on firm performance and decisions. However, the current literature continues to have a superficial understanding of institutional processes and their impact on business, especially when it comes to the daily workings of political institutions.

The role of distinct institutional context in shaping employment practices is particularly evident in emerging markets where institutional measures are often evolving and not yet fully established. This presents several challenges, particularly for multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in such contexts. This research paper aims to provide a comparative analysis of HRM practices, specifically recruitment and selection, internal career opportunities and performance appraisals between domestic and multinational companies in a large emerging economy, that is India.

In this study, survey-based data was gathered from a diverse sample of 252 companies, comprising both domestic enterprises (DEs) and MNCs, to collect comprehensive data on HRM practices. The aim is to provide a nuanced understanding of the variations in HRM approaches between DEs and MNCs, taking into account the unique institutional context of the Indian market.

Contrary to initial expectations, the study’s findings do not support the hypothesis that MNCs would prioritize more rigorous and effective HRM practices compared to DEs in the Indian context. Instead, the results reveal that DEs place a greater emphasis on effective HRM practices than their MNC counterparts, despite the latter’s international reach and operational success. These findings shed light on the distinctive HRM strategies used by MNCs and DEs when navigating the complexities of the Indian market.

This study contributes to the existing IB literature by providing a comparative perspective that emphasizes DEs proclivity for institutional entrepreneurship and change. Exploring the resource dynamics for both MNCs and DEs, the study showcases them as divergent adaptive navigators within (in)formal institutional logics, adept at navigating and influencing institutional structures and shaping distinct HRM practices. The findings challenge traditional assumptions about HRM priorities of MNCs and DEs.

Grounded in the conservation of resources theory, this study proposes the mechanisms and conditions under which customer mistreatment affects employee proactive behavior. This study focuses on insomnia as a mediating mechanism and resilience as a boundary condition for the indirect effect of customer mistreatment on employee proactive behavior via insomnia.

We conducted a single survey in two phases, with a time lag of three weeks, among 302 frontline South Korean employees. The data collected from these two points were then analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis and the PROCESS macro.

The findings demonstrated that there was a significant negative relationship between customer mistreatment and employee proactive behavior, and this relationship was mediated by insomnia. Furthermore, the results revealed that resilience moderates both the effect of customer mistreatment on insomnia and the indirect effect of customer mistreatment on employee proactive behavior through insomnia.

This research primarily focuses on Korean frontline workers, potentially limiting cultural generalizability. The reliance on self-reported data may introduce common method bias. Future studies should diversify participant demographics and utilize multi-source feedback to validate findings. Grounded in the Conservation of Resource Theory, this study underscores the neglected linkage between customer mistreatment and proactive behavior, especially in frontline employees. We introduce insomnia as a pivotal mediator, deepening our understanding of why mistreatment dampens proactivity. Additionally, we spotlight the role of resilience, revealing its buffering effect against mistreatment’s adverse outcomes.

Organizations should be aware of the detrimental effects of customer mistreatment on frontline employees, as it can hamper proactive behavior, primarily through the exacerbation of insomnia. Implementing resilience-training programs can be a proactive step, offering frontline staff tools to buffer against such negative outcomes. Managers are encouraged to recognize and address instances of customer mistreatment and prioritize employee well-being, which in turn can foster a more proactive and resilient workforce, enhancing organizational performance and customer satisfaction.

This study underscores the broader societal challenge of customer mistreatment in the service sector, highlighting its ripple effects on employee well-being and proactive behavior. It sheds light on the importance of fostering respectful interactions in public and private spaces, emphasizing mutual respect between customers and service providers. Recognizing the adverse impacts of mistreatment can prompt societal discourse on workplace ethics and encourage organizations to advocate for their employees' rights. Ultimately, nurturing a culture that condemns customer mistreatment can lead to healthier work environments, benefitting both employees and society at large.

This study presents a novel approach by investigating the impact of customer mistreatment on employee proactive behavior, considering insomnia as a mediator, a perspective that has received limited attention in existing literature. Additionally, it introduces the concept of resilience as a moderator, offering fresh insights into how individual resilience levels can affect the relationship between customer mistreatment and proactive behavior. The research goes beyond traditional analyses of workplace dynamics to explore the broader implications of these interactions on personal well-being and sleep patterns. Through the application of a moderated-mediation framework, this study enhances understanding of complex organizational behavior dynamics, particularly in the service sector, and provides valuable implications for both theoretical understanding and practical application.

Introduction: In the context of Sri Lanka, this study compares how institutions and financial development (FD) affect economic growth (EG) and inclusive growth (IG).

Purpose: The well-structured administration and judicial system at the provincial level have been established against the socioeconomic vulnerabilities in the country for an extended period. Still, the country as a whole and provincial level is experiencing huge income and social inequality, though there are required provisions for enhancing the well-being of the people.

Methodology: The study consists of data from the nine provinces from 2013 to 2019. The analysis used the Dynamic Spatial Durbin Model (D-SDM) to explore the spatial dependencies between the provinces. Two models were developed: the interaction of the financial service activities (FSA) and insurance, reinsurance, and pension (INPEN), representing the FD with the EG and IG with and without. The IG index was estimated by principal component analysis (PCA) using indicators of the four dimensions. The results indicated spatial dependency among FD’s interaction with EG when provincial tax (PROTAX) and provincial expenses (PROEXP) are the provincial institutions.

Findings: The IG model results showed the IG’s spatial dependency moderated by the FD and only the IG model between the provinces. PROEXP showed a significant positive spillover impact among provinces towards the IG.

Practical Implications: The finding inform economic policy making while identifying weaknesses in existing local governments. Attention must be given to how poverty can be reduced, enhancing the well-being of the people with the proper channelling of finance and government institutional mechanisms.

Personality characteristics have a significant impact on the economic segment of women entrepreneurs. Due to gender biases or other factors, women entrepreneurs are fewer in India than in other countries. The purpose of this study is to identify the personality factors and challenges that affect their growth and success.

Logistic regression was used to show the impact of personality characteristics and firm performance and the moderating effect of challenges between personality characteristics and firm performance.

The findings revealed a significant impact of personality factors on firm performance, the absence of moderating effects of challenges and the presence of a mediation effect of enterprise age and enterprise location.

This research will help policymakers adopt policies and plans to reduce obstacles and challenges so that the economic conditions of women’s entrepreneurship can transform.

Women in the 21st century still live in a male-dominated patriarchal society because they face the problem of financial capital.

The results show the impact of personality traits and challenges on the firm performance of women’s entrepreneurship.