Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2023-12-16"
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- The earlier the better? A microfoundational perspective of international explorative and exploitative capabilities in the transition of SMEs to Industry 4.0Publication . Mendes, Telma; González-Loureiro, Miguel; Braga, Vítor; Silva, CarinaThe international exploration-exploitation dichotomy is used in this study to expand on the resource-based view (RBV) and gain a deeper understanding of how these two distinct capabilities affect the adoption of I4.0 in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). We investigate managers' cognitive systems as a crucial microfoundation for the international organizational ambidexterity (i.e., exploration-exploitation), given that both managerial cognition and microfoundations perspective are underdeveloped and undertheorized. The study shows that managerial cognition is a crucial microfoundation of international organizational ambidexterity in the context of I4.0 adoption by using structural equation modeling on a sample of 116 Portuguese international SMEs. The findings also reveal neither international exploration nor exploitation has succeeded in creating new opportunities for the application of a technology-based model in SMEs internationalizing earlier. However, a post-hoc analysis revealed that under early internationalization, less (more) experienced SMEs benefit from international exploration (exploitation) to implement I4.0 technologies. This study concludes with implications and future research avenues.
- Do it or not? Explaining the complexity of decision-making processes for Industry 4.0 adoption in international SMEsPublication . Mendes, Telma; González-Loureiro, Miguel; Braga, Vítor; Silva, CarinaThe adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often rests on its positive evaluation from managers, decision-makers, and entrepreneurs. Because of the mixed outcomes attainable through the SMEs’ openness to disruptive changes, managers must weigh the beneficial aspects of I4.0 against the complexities, challenges, and drawbacks coming from its implementation. Drawing upon the tenets of the dual-process theory (DPT), this study highlights the cognitive configurations leading to managerial willingness (or reluctance) to adopt I4.0. This is done by investigating perceptions about the international markets in terms of risk and uncertainty, and by assessing organizational stimuli to openness, such as the explorative and exploitative orientations (i.e., ambidexterity), in combination with decision-makers’ cognitive systems. To shed further light on observed heterogenous outcomes, this study explores the managerial willingness (or reluctance) towards I4.0 adoption among 157 managers working in international SMEs. The results of combined Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) outline different decisional paths associated with willingness and reluctance to adopt I4.0 for internationalization. This empirical evidence, therefore, contributes to the “human side of I4.0” by providing fruitful implications about cognitive configurations of decision-makers in international SMEs concerning I4.0 practices.