Survival strategies of SMEs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: application of SEM and fsQCA

Purpose As a global pandemic, the COVID-19 crisis has profoundly affected the development of local firms, threatening the survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study aims to present an integrated framework by investigating the impact of strategic tools (i.e. firms’ capability of business agility, marketing operational efficiency, optimisation of innovation capability [OIC], managing employees’ satisfaction and rethinking customers’ experience) on the survival strategies of SMEs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The current study used data from managers of SMEs and conducted an asymmetrical analysis (i.e. structural equation modelling [SEM]) to investigate the factors influencing the survival strategies of SMEs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also applied an asymmetrical approach (i.e. fuzzy sets qualitative comparative analysis-fsQCA) to explore the causal recipes and analysis of the necessary conditions to identify the factors required to achieve the expected outcome. Findings Results from SEM support all hypotheses. Results from fsQCA with the same data set show that firms’ business agility and OIC are necessary conditions for SMEs’ survival strategies. The result from fsQCA also reveals multiple sufficient conditions to succeed SMEs’ survival strategies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implications Findings prescribe how SMEs adapt to this vulnerable business condition by applying the strategic tools and recipes suggested for survival. Originality/value This research applied an innovative analysis to reveal necessary and sufficient conditions that conventional methods such as SEM have limited power. This pioneering research in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is considered novel in terms of the prescriptive strategic recipes offered to SMEs to adapt to and survive in the crisis caused by COVID-19.

Going Alone or Together? A Configurational Analysis of Solo Founding vs. Cofounding

Research and practice suggest that cofounded ventures outperform solo-founded ventures. Yet, little work has explored the conditions under which solo founding might be preferable to cofounding. Combining an inductive case-oriented analysis with a Qualitative Comparative Analysis of 70 new entrepreneurial ventures, we examine why and how solo founders can be as successful as their peers in cofounded ventures. We find that successful solo founders strategically use a set of cocreators rather than cofounders to overcome liabilities, retain control, and mobilize resources in unique and unexpected ways. A primary contribution of this paper is an emergent configurational theory of entrepreneurial organizing. Overall, we reveal the broader significance and theoretical importance of adopting a configurational lens for both practitioners and scholars of entrepreneurship.

Examining internal capability determinants on firms' financial performance before and after going public: a case of listed firms in Thailand

PurposeThis study aims to empirically analyze the effect of firm financial strengths (liquidity, leverage, and cost of goods sold) and firm characteristics (utilization, tangibility and company size) towards firm financial performance and study the differences of these effects before and after firms going public.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on 159 firms listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) during the transition periods of interest from one year before each firm became a listed firm and up to five years after becoming a listed firm (data collection from 2002 to 2019). Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is applied for the analysis.FindingsThe empirical evidence shows that the firms have to maintain different levels of determinants during different years of operation. Before becoming listed firms, the firms' size plays a significant role in determining the firms' financial performance. Different characteristics are required, according to the size of the firms. One year after becoming listed firms, a low level of production and operating expenses in relation to sales and low leverage are the two important factors for superior financial performance. Then, 2–5 years after becoming listed firms and after a steady state is reached, two more factors, good liquidity and high tangibility, are shown to be significant for good financial performance of the firms.Originality/valueUnlike prior studies, this study explains the causal relationships or combinations of determinants of financial strengths and firm characteristics, before and after going public toward good financial performance of firms, which cannot be identified by analyzing the calendar-year performance.

Making a Difference: Planning for Engaged Participation in Environmental Research

Despite the rapid and accelerating rate of global environmental changes, too often research that has the potential to inform more sustainable futures remains disconnected from the context in which it could be used. Though transdisciplinary approaches (TDA) are known to overcome this disconnect, institutional barriers frequently prevent their deployment. Here we use insights from a qualitative comparative analysis of five case studies to develop a process for helping researchers and funders conceptualize and implement socially engaged research within existing institutional structures. The process we propose is meant to help researchers achieve societal as well as scientific outcomes relatively early in a project, as an end in itself or en route to greater engagement later. If projects that have a strong foundation of dialog and shared power wish to use TDA within current institutional and academic structures, we suggest that they focus on three process-based factors to increase their chances for success: (1) the maturity of relationships within a collaboration, (2) the level of context knowledge present within the collaborative team, and (3) the intensity of the engagement efforts within the project.

Why Do Communities Recover Differently after Socio-Natural Disasters? Pathways to Comprehensive Success of Recovery Projects Based on Bam’s (Iran) Neighborhoods’ Perspective

Although recent studies have provided explanations for the causes of success and failure in recovery projects following socio-natural disasters, there is a need for a concise understanding of how different combinations of factors may contribute to recovery failure or success. In this study, to examine the community recovery pathways after the 2003 Bam earthquake, we conducted a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of 11 neighborhoods in Bam city and Baravat (the neighborhoods represent the division of the areas damaged by the earthquake, as presented by local government). The success of socio-natural disaster recovery projects is presented in three pathways in which the absence or presence of public engagement had a significant influence on the results. The results indicate that a recovery project should respond to the needs of the project within the continuous lifecycle of the project. Additionally, on the one hand, public participation and prompt rescue operations have a significant effect on project success. On the other hand, neglecting the needs of people and the area’s climate in housing design have led to project failure. It is expected that the findings from this study can be used to develop strategies for empowering people in recovery projects and to develop housing guidelines that respect residents’ needs while focusing on on-time and sufficient rescue processes. However, care should be taken when applying the present findings in practice, because every socio-natural disaster is unique and requires careful consideration of complex sets of features.

A qualitative assessment of QCA: method stretching in large-N studies and temporality

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a descriptive research method that can provide causal explanations for an outcome of interest. Despite extensive quantitative assessments of the method, my objective is to contribute to the scholarly discussion with insights constructed through a qualitative lens. Researchers using the QCA approach have less ability to incorporate and nuance information on set membership as the number of cases grows. While recognizing the suggested ways to overcome such challenges, I argue that since setting criteria for membership, calibrating, and categorizing are crucial QCA aspects that require in-depth knowledge, QCA is unfit for larger-N studies. Additionally, I also discuss that while the method is able to identify various parts of a causal configuration—the ‘what’—it falls short to shed light on the ‘how’ and ‘why,’ especially when temporality matters. Researchers can complement it with other methods, such as process tracing and case studies, to fill in these missing explanatory pieces or clarify contradictions—which begs the question of why they would also choose to use QCA.

How to Evaluate the Green and High-Quality Development Path? An FsQCA Approach on the China Pilot Free Trade Zone

In today’s world, green development has become an important trend, and many countries regard the development of green industry as an important measure to promote economic restructuring. Green development is consistent with sustainable development in ideology. China’s economy is in the stage of high-quality development. As an important foundation for China’s external economic development, the free trade zone can play a good role in promoting its green and high-quality development. Based on the data of 18 free trade zones in China in 2020, this paper explores the green and high-quality development path of the China Pilot Free Trade Zone. Firstly, the green development index is constructed according to the existing research and experience, and then the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method is used to evaluate the green and high-quality development path. The results show that the development of pilot free trade zones is not the result of a single condition but the result of a combination of green policy effectiveness, foreign investment participation, green production growth rate, and other conditions. Combined with the green and high-quality development path, this paper further provides enlightenment for the development of the China Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Influential Pathways of Employees’ Career Growth: Linkage of Psychological and Organizational Factors Based on Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Implementing the “hierarchical diagnosis and treatment” system highlights the important role of general practitioners as “residents’ health gatekeepers.” Still, the low level of career growth always limits the realization of their service value. Inertial thinking uses a single factor to explain the complexity of career growth in previous studies; in fact, it isn’t easy to assess whether the factor is a sufficient and necessary condition for a high level of career growth. Herein, we have used a set theory perspective to analyze the mechanism of influencing high-level career growth by combining psychological and organizational factors. This research aims to analyze causal complexity relationship between these conditions and results is analyzed in detail. We choose fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) with a sample of 407 GPs to test 5 antecedent conditional variables that can affect their career growth. The variables include professional identity, self-efficacy, achievement motivation, training mechanism, and incentive mechanism. To ensure the universality and diversity of data, the samples were selected from community medical institutions in different regions of China. The results show that three pathways can affect the high career growth of GPs, and the optimal pathway A2 is the linkage matching of high incentive mechanism, high professional identity, high achievement motivation, and high self-efficacy. At the same time, we find that professional identity plays an alternative role in the three pathways. When professional identity is at a high level, as long as achievement motivation and self-efficacy are superior, or achievement motivation, self-efficacy, and achievement motivation are superior, a high level of career growth can be achieved. We broke the shackles of previous studies that only focused on the impact of single factors on the career growth of GPs. From the perspective of set theory, we use configurational thinking to construct Influential pathways of high career growth of GPs by integrating antecedents. The results can provide effective support for improving GPs’ service ability and realizing their service value to protect residents’ health.

Applying the time continuum model of motivation to explain how major factors affect mobile learning motivation: a comparison of SEM and fsQCA

PurposeStudying mobile learning – the use of electronic devices (i.e. cellphone and tablets) to engage in learning across multiple contexts via connection to peers, media, experts and the larger world is a relatively new academic enterprise. This study analyzes the influencing factors of mobile learning (M-learning) motivation based on the time continuum model of motivation (TCMM).Design/methodology/approachThe study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to verify relationships between mobile learning motivation, attitude, need, stimulation, emotion, ability and reinforcement. Justification for the use of both methods lies in the complementarity relationships that existed between the variables and research methodologies. The sample contains 560 mobile learners' feedback.FindingsResults show that attitude, need, emotion, ability and reinforcement are important factors to enhance mobile learning motivation, while stimulation is not.Practical implicationsThis work highlights the importance of training for app designers on how to design an M-learning App with high learning motivation by paying prior attention to learning content, teaching team and online learning communities.Originality/valueThis study proposes three precise solutions (scholars, managers and practitioners) to improve learning motivation based on the categorization of mobile learners.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-04-2021-0226.