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Interorganizational power dependence has become an increasingly important factor for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve product innovation. This paper examines the role of power dependence in SMEs' product innovation trade-offs between exploration and exploitation. The article further studies the mediating effect of supply chain adaptability and the moderating effect of knowledge acquisition on the relationship between power dependence and product innovation.

The study proposes a model to verify the impact of power dependence on SMEs' product innovation trade-offs based on social network theory. Two conceptually independent constructs, “availability of alternatives (ALTRN)” and “restraint in the use of power (RSPTW),” are used to evaluate the power dependence. The model also analyzed how these effects are mediated by supply chain adaptability and moderated by knowledge acquisition. The authors test these relationships using data collected from 224 SMEs in China.

The empirical analysis shows that ALTRN has a more substantial effect on exploration for product innovation, while RSTPW has a more significant impact on exploitation for product innovation. Moreover, empirical data indicate a partial mediating effect by supply chain adaptability between power dependence and product innovation of SMEs. The results also show that knowledge acquisition positively moderates the relationship between ALTRN/RSTPW, supply chain adaptability and product innovation.

Overall, the findings of the study advance the understanding of the roles of power dependence in product innovation for SMEs. In addition, the research also uncovers the impact mechanisms of existing theoretical frameworks and extends the boundaries of the theory.

This paper deals with total quality management (TQM) with an emphasis on developing suitable strategies for improving quality and productivity in manufacturing systems. In recent years, TQM has been seen as an important strategy for achieving success in business both in terms of quality and productivity. However, there seem to be no clear strategic framework and guide‐lines for implementing TQM in manufacturing in the light of available advanced production concepts and technologies. A review of previous implementation approaches of TQM in practice has been presented in order to gain further insights into the implementation aspects of TQM. The main objective of this paper is to present a general framework for the development of TQM in manufacturing organizations considering the recent developments in production concepts and technologies and competitiveness among firms to utilize quality as a competitive weapon.

The paper is presented in two parts. The first is concerned with the methodology of the competing transformation models and the second details the results of the empirical tests. In particular, it concentrates on empirical testing of the stability and cross‐sectional invariance of the factor patterns underlying the arbitrage pricing models of two neighbouring security markets. In previous studies, the method of transformation analysis has been used to address these issues at the individual asset level. In the present study three alternative transformation analysis models are used to study the stability and invariance problems. The tests are carried out at an aggregated level, such that subsets of asset returns are combined in equally weighted portfolios in the spirit of Fama and MacBeth. Portfolio formation is motivated by the observed anomalies of individual asset return series. Even if some anomalies may be present on the aggregated level also, their impact will be weaker. The amount of different issues of the same company in the database is varied in order to study the impact of parallel issues on the empirical results.

Provides evidence on the power of transfer function noise modelling in explaining the empirical connection between endogenous and exogenous (control) variables in linear regression type input‐output systems. The multiple input transfer function noise model – of specific value when the input variables are collinear – is used to demonstrate the connection between macroeconomic forces and stock market pricing on a thin security market. Shows that the transfer function approach provides new evidence partly in conflict with previous results obtained by ordinary least squares methodology. Previous empirical evidence suggests that money supply, inflation, the level of industrial production and the psychological impact of the general index of the Stockholm Stock Exchange affects Finnish stock pricing. The problem of selecting relevant economic state variables is tackled by regressing each of the five factor time series obtained from testing the arbitrage pricing theory (see Östermark, circa 1989) on the set of tentative state variables. The economic state variables are significant explanators of stock pricing, both at the market and at the individual asset level. Only nine individual stocks are tested. Comprehensive testing of all individual stocks is left for future research.

Interest in the field of entrepreneurship has significantly increased among academics, practitioners and government officials in the past decade both in the USA and in Europe. The increased interest is reflected in the increased number of courses, majors and minors at colleges and universities throughout the world; the increased number of endowed chairs; the increased number of journals in the field; the increased coverage of the field by the media; and the increased interest in the provision of government support. In light of this significant increased interest, it is important to understand the state of research in the field in Europe in the last few years, the focus of this article.

The chapter aims to enhance our understanding of “opportunity” in the context of social entrepreneurship through a paradigm interplay juxtaposing a functionalist thematic analysis and interpretivist sensemaking. This paradigmatic contrasting identifies differences and connections in the tensions of: linearity and simplicity/dynamism and complexity; forward/backward, generalizability/situated relationality, and value-laden/value-neutral. These contrasts deepen our understanding of “opportunity” so that the theoretical and practical implications can be seen.

Presents a mathematical model for determining Economic Production Quantity (EPQ) in a multistage flow‐shop production system for the case where the demand for items per unit time is deterministic and the planning horizon is finite. Solves an example problem to illustrate the model.

In any organization, the information relevant to the problem area is essential in making decisions. The top management makes decisions like expansion of the plant, automation, recruitment of senior personnel and diversification of products, etc. There are many kinds of tools or methods available to analyse these problem areas. Among these, turnover rate is useful for many purposes, especially in evaluating the performance of an organization. Here, the turnover rate is considered in order to identify the effect of the number of types of products or product mix on the performance of a manufacturing system. It can be defined as the ratio of average demand to average inventory level. The model presented discusses the effect of the number of products/product mix on the turnover rate of a production system when the appropriate market value of the products is considered. The turnover rate discussed is based on the economic production quantity (EPQ) and the manufacturing cycle time of each product. An example is presented to explain the application of the model.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of how a social enterprise opportunity is brought to fruition in an emerging market.

This real-time longitudinal case study tracks the emergence of a micro-franchise start-up from conception to inception. Using a narrative perspective as a conceptual lens focuses attention on the relational, temporal and performative elements of the interactive process that occurs between social entrepreneur(s) and the environment(s). While interviewing provides the primary source of evidence, multiple data collection methods were utilized.

The analysis of the process elements centres on the narratives of the micro-franchise co-founders and other key informants that prompt action aimed at bringing the opportunity to fruition, showing how the social entrepreneurs bring the inside out and the outside in.

Despite challenges to the appropriateness of Western management theory within emerging markets, this study has shown that theory at a sufficiently high level of abstraction can be useful. It also demonstrates the need to study process over time and be inclusive of the range of stakeholders and contexts that influence it.

The findings indicate that social enterprise start-up is a co-creative process that evolves in unpredictable ways over time. Beyond start-up, only time and further study will determine whether social enterprise will prove to be the panacea for poverty and marginalization that governments expect.

This research gains real-time insight into social enterprise emergence. It underscores the multi-dimensional nature of context and provides evidence indicating that the relationship and influence between social entrepreneur(s) and their environment is not one way.

The performance of Aoki’s state space algorithm and the Cartesian ARIMA search algorithm (CARlMA) of Östermark and Höglund is compared. The analysis is carried out on a set of stock prices on the Helsinki (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden) Stock Exchanges. Demonstrates that the Finnish and Swedish stock markets differ in predictability of stock prices. With Finnish stock data, Aoki’s state space algorithm outperforms the subset of MAPE minimizing forecasts. In contrast, with Swedish stock data, ARIMA‐models of a fairly simple structure outperform Aoki’s algorithm. The stock markets are seen to differ in complexity of time series models as well as in predictability of individual asset prices.