Purpose: To further extend the understanding of the aggregating functions of an entrepreneurial business network, this paper attempts to explore the antecedents enabling the organisation of diverse entrepreneurs to engage in a collaborative inter-firm business network project. This paper also elucidates the development of the relational capabilities and performance of entrepreneurial business networks.Design/methodology/approach: An explorative, longitudinal case study design is employed to analyse an Italian agricultural business network, which comprised a group of local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using the network as the focus of analysis, the case study draws insights from key informants comprising the network management team and the entrepreneurs who make up the membership of the business network.Findings: The results of the study provide critical factors for successful organisation of inter-firm engagement. Although these factors are not mutually exclusive, the results show that organising for inter-firm engagement in an entrepreneurial business network context positively influenced the network relational performance and entrepreneurs' innovation capabilities.Originality/value: The paper extends current understanding of inter-organisational engagement and illuminates the antecedents enabling the development of network relational dynamics capabilities. The empirical results provide unusual insights into the aggregating roles of an entrepreneurial business network, giving practitioners practical insights into managing a successful inter-organisational collaborative project. Using the relevant theoretical frameworks, the study empirically tests the organisation solutions relevant to literature on inter-firm engagement in a business network context and addresses the organisation solutions' interrelationship and linkages to entrepreneurial network relational performance in terms of knowledge practice, information and resources sharing and innovation.

The dynamics involving market competition and the challenges of dealing with empowered customers, mean that creating and delivering relevant customer experience (CX) of service, is as important as creating product or services. Several studies have treated customer experience as though a front-desk, sales-point affair with the customer in the retailing environment, negating the critical role of organization-wide efforts in the overall customer experience management sequence. This review, however, adopts customer-centricity, as a theoretical lens to underscore the [re]configuration of organizational-level factors that are critical to adopting a high customer-experience centered organization. Based on the review, we highlight conditions for adopting high customer experience management organization: (a) developing an integrated CX strategy, (b) CX-based knowledge management, (c) organizational re-design that supports CX-management, (d) top management commitment, (e) integrated CX IT systems, and (f) CX-oriented HR policies. These practices are only necessary conditions, but not sufficient, for creating, delivering relevant and sustainable customer experience. However, more robust empirical studies are needed to advance the application of organization-wide customer experience management, which vary across industry, products/services, and sector.

This review seeks to examine the power and influence of Non-Governmental Organizations in the course of corporate sustainability adoption (i.e., sustainability reporting). Using the institutional-legitimacy and governance theories, our findings suggest that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have great potentials in sustainability discourse through two salient actions, namely (a) collaborative partnership, and (b) confrontational tactics. While the former promotes stakeholder involvement in corporate decision-making through dialogue, joint-projects on corporate social responsibility, and sustainability reporting, the latter, however, is the last resort—involving “naming and shaming” corporations for poor social and environmental performance. The objective of such action is to cause reputational damage to businesses. Finally, it is also observed that crucial to NGO power and influence is the collaboration with government and civil society organizations in the fight for environmental sustainability and accountability.

Purpose: This study examines the collaborative value practices of cause-based social entrepreneurship alliances. We investigate key drivers of value creation in such alliances.Design/methodology/approach: The study utilizes a longitudinal case study design approach involving four northern Italian businesses for investigating the cause-based social alliances.Findings: The study findings suggest that cause-based alliance differ from other business relationships due to social mission of the alliance and orientation of partners to a specific social cause. However, over time involved firm may pursue commercial interests.Research limitations/implications: The study utilizes a qualitative case study approach to examine the issues. This may have implications on generalizability of study findings. Further, the sample is limited to small firms, which limit its relevance for large firms.Practical implications: Managers can utilize the study findings to guide the organizing process of a successful cause-based alliance and can implement it with positive outcomes for their firm.Originality/value: This is one of the first study on the emerging phenomenon of cause-based social alliance. It contributes to the literature on social entrepreneurship. It informs and guides practitioners about motivations and drivers of such alliances.

This article presents a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of research linking the inter-organizational business network and innovation research. It also discusses previous research on the subject and identify gaps for future studies. A review was done using the dimensions database. This was undertaken using specific keywords search in the title, abstract, and keywords of papers. The review revealed that the research in the field is growing fast. In fact, the paper has established that the UK, the US, and Italy respectively, have dominated publications in terms of the most influential countries for research in the field of inter-organizational business networks. The content review of papers showed that the papers were mainly trying to address the phenomena (the antecedents, management of the network, and network performance outcomes). These categories are not mutually exclusive but would help us to organize the fragmented literature on the topic. This article reviews and discusses the empirical literature on inter-organizational innovation networks and shows that the field is highly fragmented. While some areas have gained considerable research attention, others have experienced a relative paucity of research, and thus topics for future research are discussed.

This paper examined the drivers of entrepreneurial intention among students of the University of the Gambia. Various theories were adopted in the past to study entrepreneurial intentions among university going students. Building on the relevant literature on entrepreneurship models, this research examines student intention to engage in entrepreneurial ventures in the Gambia. In line with several (prior) research, our results confirm the important role of the business climate, entrepreneurial attitude and subjective norms on students’ intention to engage in entrepreneurial ventures. These results contribute to the literature by demonstrating the peculiar environment and segment of the population (the youth) that is emerging in the field of entrepreneurship, and the significance of entrepreneurship education. Our results provide implication for the government, policymakers, and educational institutions. The agenda for future research have also been discussed.