DOES BOARD USAGE OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AFFECT INTERNATIONALIZATION PERFORMANCE OF SMES? A CASE OF LITHUANIA

Internationalization of SMEs is encouraged by the advantages of new environmental conditions and appealing business opportunities, but remains a challenging process. Top management teams and more specifically board of directors appear to be a critical determinant in addressing internationalization issues. In recent years, investigation of boards in small firms’ context has been an interest of scholars, however few investigated characteristics of human capital. This study aims to investigate whether board usage of knowledge and skills is a mediator linking characteristics of human capital of board and internationalization performance of SMEs in Lithuania. The results revealed that usage of knowledge and skills mediates the relationships between international business skills and internationalization performance. Obtained results contribute to international entrepreneurship and upper-echelons theories by highlighting the role of the board in SMEs and linking it to higher internationalization performance through their usage of knowledge and skills. This study fills the research gap and extends the extant studies in internationalization of SMEs. First, the study responds to the need to investigate how board’s capital affect internationalization. Secondly, the study responds to the need to go beyond input-output models.

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL WORK PERFORMANCE IN COWORKING SPACES

Coworking spaces are becoming increasingly popular. Throughout literature, coworking spaces are commonly known as collaborative environments. Yet, there is a lack of research on the mechanisms of the collaborative practices within coworking spaces. This research identifies collaborative learning as a major collaborative practice within coworking spaces, and develops a conceptual framework including two other variables: individual motivation to learn and individual work performance. Exploratory factor analysis to establish the reliability and validity of this framework. Next, a survey study was conducted of 169 coworking space members and PLS-SEM was used to do a factor analysis and evaluate the structural model created. It is found that individual motivation to learn positively impacts collaborative learning, collaborative learning positively impacts individual work performance, and that collaborative learning acts as a full mediator between individual motivation to learn and individual work performance. These findings demonstrate how collaborative learning can be key in improving individual work performance in coworking spaces. Furthermore, these findings position collaborative learning as a theory that deserves further attention in coworking space research. These findings also suggest that coworking space operators may want to further encourage collaboration and incentivize learning in their space.

MACROECONOMIC STABILITY AND TRANSPORT COMPANIES’ SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN EUROPEAN UNION

The paper’s primary aim is to evaluate the influence of macroeconomic stability on transport companies’ sustainable development in the eastern EU from 2008 to 2019. The first part discusses the theoretical problems. The empirical part includes the methodology, results of the research and conclusions. To determine the relationship between variables, we use Pearson’s R and the Ordinary Least Square Method. The contribution to knowledge is using the pentagon of macroeconomic stability to evaluate macroeconomic stabilisation’s influence on transport companies’ sustainable development. The results indicate that macroeconomic stability is one of the essential determinants of the transport companies’ sustainable development. According to Pearson’s R, the highest level of dependence is in Slovenia (0.96), Bulgaria (0.9), and Slovenia (0.83). The lowest is in Latvia (0.69). The OLS regression results indicate that the highest significance is in Slovakia (α1 = 1.994), the lowest is in Lithuania (α1 = 0.691). The states’ economic policies should favour the freedom to conduct business, create appropriate legal regulations, and support ecological investments. It is necessary to act for a stable and fair tax system, ensure access to finance. The issue is contemporary and requires further analysis.

THE EXTENDED UTAUT MODEL AND LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DURING COVID-19: EVIDENCE FROM PLS-SEM AND CONDITIONAL PROCESS MODELING

The undertaken research investigates the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model from the perspective of online education in the deadliest period of COVID-19. This research investigates the extended dimensions, for instance, mobile self-efficacy and perceived enjoyment besides traditional elements of the UTAUT model with the relationship of behavioural intention and user behaviour of LMS. Since the COVID-19 led to social isolation (SIS), thus, this study has incorporated SIS as mediating factor and fear of COVID-19 (FOC) as the moderating factor for the considered extended model of UTAUT. The data of 1875 respondents was collected from five different Asian countries. For the data analysis, this study employed structural equation modeling through PLS-SEM and condition process modeling. This research demonstrates that the extended dimensions such as mobile self-efficacy, besides the traditional elements of the UTAUT model, exerted a cogent impact on behavioural intention except for the perceived enjoyment. Similarly, the behavioural intention demonstrated a substantial effect on the user behaviour of LMS. Additionally, social isolation as a mediating factor and FOC has a significant effect between dimensions of extended UTAUT model and behavioural intention of LMS. The outcomes of this research demonstrate significant theoretical and practical implications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOW TO MANAGE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL CONFIGURATIONS TO IMPROVE FIRM PERFORMANCE IN THE INTERNET MEDICAL INDUSTRY

The internet medical industry is a new direction of the medical industry; however, internet medical enterprises have been going through a reshuffling period after 2016 and urgently need to improve their performance. The main aim of this study was to reveal the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) configurations and firm performance and guide ideal IC configuration decision to improve the performance of internet medical enterprises in China. First, a mechanism model was constructed to reveal the effects of IC configurations on firm performance, which is contribution to enrich IC configuration theory research. Then, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to guide its IC configurations selection currently using data from internet medical enterprises in China from 2012 to 2019. The research is contribution to enrich application research of IC configuration. The results show that IC affects firm performance by means of the configuration; currently ideal IC configurations selection of the internet medical industry should pay attention to human, relationship and physical capital; period and specific business will both affect the choice of IC configuration. The results of this study can deepen managers’ understanding of IC configurations and guide ideal IC configurations selection in the internet medical industry.

STOCK LIQUIDITY AND CORPORATE TRADE CREDIT STRATEGIES: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

This study investigates the nexus of stock liquidity and trade-credit policies in China from 2002 to 2017. The estimates are robust to alternative proxies, various fixed-effects, and the exogenous impact of Chinese split share structure reforms (SSSR) 2005-06 is investigated through the difference-in-difference analysis. The results validate that stock liquidity significantly impacts firms’ capacity to produce more trade credit supplies and less reliant on trade credit demand. The study applied SUEST analysis to investigate the effect of the Chinese institutional setting. The nexus of stock liquidity and trade credit strategies is substantial in state-owned enterprises. Additional analysis revealed that the said association is more visible to credit-constrained and equity-reliant enterprises. The policymakers should focus on market liquidity because it elevates firms’ capacity to mobilize capital through trade credit provisions. The micro aspect of this study suggests that stock liquidity allows managers to shape non-price competitive strategies and avoid excessive usage of trade credits.

DETERMINANTS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN SELECTED POST-COMMUNIST COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: INVESTIGATING CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Main goal of this study is to explore the entrepreneurial intentions of students in selected European post-communist states. The second purpose of the research is to learn about those determinants which, according to the respondents themselves, are essential for the emergence of entrepreneurial intentions. In short, the results of hierarchical multiple OLS regression indicated that the most important factor influencing the entrepreneurial intentions of the surveyed students was entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Moreover, based on estimates of the final regression model, it was identified that dummy variables concerning the respondents’ country significantly moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and the dependent variable. It can be noted that the strength of the impact of the above-mentioned regressor is closely related to the values of Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture. The obtained results were fully confirmed using an alternative research method, i.e. the ordered logit model. In the second stage of the study, it was revealed that the desire to be independent is the most frequently cited factor motivating the respondents to start their own business. Moreover, using the multiple marginal independence (MMI) testing method, it was found that student responses differ significantly among the examined countries, except for two cases, i.e. Russia and Latvia, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE ENERGY IMPORT DEPENDENCE NETWORK AND ITS INFLUENCING FACTORS: TAKING COUNTRIES AND REGIONS ALONG THE BELT AND ROAD AS AN EXAMPLE

This paper provides the concept of import dependence between countries, which is a relative quantity. In order to reveal the evolutionary characteristics of the import dependence between countries in energy trade and its influencing factors, firstly, based on the network analysis method, this paper constructs a model of energy import dependence network (EIDN) among countries and regions along the Belt and Road (B&R countries). Crude oil and natural gas are taken as empirical objects, and the evolution characteristics of the two kinds of EIDNs are analysed. The result showed that most of the B&R countries had a small number of crude oil and natural gas trade partners. However, the import dependence in crude oil and natural gas trade between countries is relatively large, indicating that the risk of oil and gas security in B&R countries is high. Moreover, based on the QAP method, spatial distance, economic differences, the signing of free trade agreements, and the differences in energy consumption between countries have a significant impact on the import dependence in crude oil and natural gas trade among B&R countries.

THE SEARCH FOR TIME-SERIES PREDICTABILITY-BASED ANOMALIES

This paper introduces a new algorithm for exploiting time-series predictability-based patterns to obtain an abnormal return, or alpha, with respect to a given benchmark asset pricing model. The algorithm proposes a deterministic daily market timing strategy that decides between being fully invested in a risky asset or in a risk-free asset, with the trading rule represented by a parametric perceptron. The optimal parameters are sought in-sample via differential evolution to directly maximize the alpha. Successively using two modern asset pricing models and two different portfolio weighting schemes, the algorithm was able to discover an undocumented anomaly in the United States stock market cross-section, both out-of-sample and using small transaction costs. The new algorithm represents a simple and flexible alternative to technical analysis and forecast-based trading rules, neither of which necessarily maximizes the alpha. This new algorithm was inspired by recent insights into representing reinforcement learning as evolutionary computation.

THE EFFECTS OF PUBLIC R&D SUBSIDIZED LOANS ON FIRMS’ R&D OUTPUTS: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

R&D subsidized loans (tiexi daikuan) is an effective market-driven solution to promote firms’ R&D outputs, including patent applications and new product sales, in China. However, empirical examination on the effects of subsidized loans is insufficient. Using a panel data of manufacturing firms of Jiangsu Province from 2010 to 2014, the study investigates the effects of R&D subsidized loans on firms’ R&D outputs in comparison to that of the direct R&D grants. The results show that R&D subsidized loan recipients significantly outperform those who only receive direct grants in terms of new product sales. Meanwhile, subsidized loans inhibit the recipients’ exploratory patent applications and discourage R&D activities with higher risks. This study contributes to R&D subsidy literature and extends the knowledge in the roles of different types of public sponsorships on firms’ innovation.