Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research Articles

Opportunity recognition in the tension field of knowledge and learning: The case of converging industries

Knowledge-based and learning perspectives alone explain opportunity recognition insufficiently. While knowledge forms the base, learning may help entrepreneurs in novel contexts. Interactions between them add complexity to the analysis of opportunity recognition. Even though many contexts require combinations of knowledge and learning, research on opportunity recognition in these contexts remains scarce. We address this gap with fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) using data from 107 corporate entrepreneurs from converging industries. Converging industries offer a unique context to explore these complexities, requiring entrepreneurs to merge knowledge and learn from new fields. We identify three types with high levels of opportunity recognition: the “broad experienced adapter”, the “specific experienced adapter”, and the “experimenter”. Unlike a simple knowledge-based view suggests, we argue that knowledge is not always necessary. Entrepreneurs compensate for knowledge deficits by combining several learning capabilities. Configurational analysis enriches the theory of how multi-domain knowledge and learning contribute to opportunity recognition.

Manpower, financial, material resources, and participation level in national fitness: a fuzzy-set QCA approach

Manpower, financial, material resources, and participation level in national fitness: a fuzzy-set QCA approach

Strategic configurations: exploring MNEs’ commitment reduction in an emerging economy

AbstractCommitment reduction in the foreign investment process is a critical strategic decision for multinational enterprises (MNEs). Recognizing the complex nexus of drivers for MNE commitment reduction in an emerging economy, this study investigates the configurations of resource, industrial, and institutional factors that collectively influence the strategic decision of commitment reduction. We incorporated the strategic tripod framework to reveal the interactive patterns among various sets of factors influencing the investment reduction decisions of MNEs. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we analyzed foreign investment reduction by MNEs operating across nineteen industries in China between 2013 and 2019. Our findings identify configurational solutions leading to four propositions, applying the strategic tripod to explain MNE commitment reduction decisions. This study concludes with important theoretical and practical implications, suggesting ideas for pushing the research landscape further.

Synergistic pathways for health investment and economic development in China: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

BackgroundSystem coordination is an effective way to achieve high-quality development, and the debate on the interaction between health investment and economic development is still ongoing. To strengthen previous research and offer feasible advice and references for relevant stakeholders, we provide empirical evidence for exploring intersystem coordination and enhancement pathways using data from China.MethodsBased on the data published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the current status of the interaction and coordination between health investment and economic development in China was measured by calculating the comprehensive evaluation index, relative development degree, and coupling coordination degree. Subsequently, a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method was introduced to explore pathways for enhancing system interaction and coordination.ResultsThere are obvious inter-provincial and regional differences between health investment and economic development in China. Provinces in the west and north are lagging in economic development, while provinces in the east and south are lagging in health investment. There is a clear synergy between health investment and economic development, and there is still much room for improving the degree of coupling coordination between systems. The five conditional configurations derived from the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis yield three pathways for enhancing system coordination: a health expenditure-driven path, an economic development-driven path, and a balanced health investment and economic development-driven path.ConclusionHealth expenditure is sufficient for high coordination, and the level and equity of investment in health expenditure should be improved. The gross regional product is a necessary and sufficient condition for high coordination, and consideration must be given to strengthening the regional economic support capacity. Health investment and economic development can drive the coordinated development of the system in a balanced way. This enlightens us to give full play to the positive synergy between health investment and economic development based on promoting the benign interaction of subsystems.

Synergy between multidimensional intellectual capital and digital knowledge management: Uncovering innovation performance complexities

This paper aims to deepen our understanding of the contingency and complex interrelations between multidimensional intellectual capital (IC), technology-based knowledge management (KM), and innovation outcomes in the rapidly changing business environment. More particularly, we investigate causal recipes for high innovation performance consisting of traditional IC components (human capital, structural capital, relational capital), the three more recently emerging IC dimensions (renewal capital, entrepreneurial capital, trust capital), and digital KM practices. This study adopts neo-configurational perspective and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore multiple conjunctural causations of innovation performance using survey data collected from 102 publicly listed enterprises in Taiwan. Although the four identified archetypes (causal recipes) indicate that all IC dimensions and digital KM are potential collaborators contributing to high innovation performance, they also emphasize the critical role of digital KM in leveraging relational and trust capital for superior innovation performance. Human, structural, entrepreneurial, and renewal capital seems to be a supporting chorus for open and collaborative innovations in the digital era.

Configurations of institutional enablers that foster inclusive entrepreneurship: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

Inclusive entrepreneurship, which represents an integrated approach to entrepreneurship and social inclusion, has increasingly received attention for its expected capacity to simultaneously foster economic growth and mitigate inequality. This study examines how the configuration of institutional enablers, which encompass several characteristics involving markets, finance, policy, education, and knowledge, fosters inclusive entrepreneurship outcomes. The results of a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis using 69 country cases indicate that institutional enablers—excluding market openness—jointly affect inclusive entrepreneurship outcomes. This study provides evidence that such effects vary depending on the level of a country's economic development. As one of the first to explore the topic of inclusive entrepreneurship, this study has significant implications for academics, practitioners, and policymakers.

The Paths of Career Aspiration for Intern Nursing Students: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

AimThis study was conducted to explore the combination of different conditional variables that led to high career aspiration of intern nursing students. BackgroundA severe shortage of nurses exists nationwide, and nurses’ low career aspiration contribute to high turnover rates and hinder the high-quality development of the nursing field. Nursing students undergoing clinical practice will become the backbone of future nursing staff. Enhancing their career aspiration is crucial for developing nursing career education and stabilizing the nursing team. DesignThis was a cross-sectional study. Using the cluster sampling method, 521 intern nursing students from Henan and Anhui in China were selected as participants from December 2023 to January 2024. MethodsThis study employed the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the configuration for paths of leading to high career aspiration among intern nursing students. General information questionnaires, career aspiration scale, clinical practice maladjustment scale, self-reflection and insight scale were used as measures in this study. ResultsThe results showed that students’ origin, professional attitude, GPA, self-reflection and insight, relationship with preceptors and clinical practice maladjustment have a combined effect on career aspiration. This study found that eight configuration combined into four models could explain 75.9% of high-level career aspiration (solution consistency = 0.786; solution coverage = 0.759). ConclusionThe level of career aspiration among intern nursing students is the result of the combination of different conditional variables Using a configurational perspective to intervene in nursing students with various characteristics is expected to enhance the career aspiration of intern nursing students.

Patent value and the performance of high-tech enterprises: a configurational analysis of start-ups and mature firms by using fsQCA

ABSTRACT The study of patent value plays a significant role in technology planning and business strategy. However, the relations between patent value indicators and the performance of high-tech enterprises have not been fully explored in the literature, especially from the perspective of configuration thinking. To fill this gap, this study examines how various patent value indicators combine to affect the performance of high-tech enterprises. After considering the strategic, technological and protective dimensions of patenting, we conduct a comparative configurational analysis of high-tech start-ups and mature firms through a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method. Result shows different pathways of high-tech start-ups and mature firms to obtain competitive advantage through patents, in which strategy-oriented patents lead to start-ups’ growth, whereas protection-oriented patents contribute to mature firms’ high performance. Further, we find five solutions of patent values through which high-tech start-ups can achieve high performance, yet only one for high-tech mature firms. This finding indicates that start-ups have more choices to promote firm performance by enhancing patent value. On the basis of this approach, we shed light on high-tech enterprises’ patent strategy formulating and technology planning.

Enhancing the energy level of regional digital innovation ecosystems: A configuration perspective.

This study introduces the concept of "energy level" into the analysis of innovation ecosystems. Drawing on the theory of "architects", we have identified the key architects of regional digital innovation ecosystems. By integrating Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), we examined the configuration effects of internal architects, external architects, and digital innovation habitats on the energy level of these ecosystems, utilizing data from 30 provinces in China as case studies. The results indicate that the contribution of a single architect to achieving a high energy level in a regional digital innovation ecosystem is limited and cannot be regarded as a necessary condition for driving a high energy level. However, core innovation actors and digital infrastructures emerge as more significant core conditions. The architects of regional digital innovation ecosystems exhibit multiple concurrent causal relationships. The configuration paths of high and non-high energy levels of ecosystems display a causally asymmetric "multiple paths to the same outcome" relationship. The three identified paths for driving high energy levels are categorized as "core actor-infrastructure"-driven paths. The findings of this paper hold substantial theoretical and practical significance for fostering the healthy development of regional digital innovation ecosystems.

Constructing and refining a model of antecedent mechanisms of parental educational anxiety in the context of General and Vocational Segregation: A mixed study based on an exploratory sequential design

General and vocational education segregation at the high school level has long been a hot topic in China's education system. To contribute to addressing parental educational anxiety in such a context by enhancing its causal mechanism model, this study utilized an exploratory time-series research design and a mixed research method. Initially, in-depth interviews were conducted, followed by coding analysis. They revealed that parents' educational anxiety is characterized by "insufficient information and elevated anxiety", and its main factors were identified as the parents' level of policy understanding, environmental modeling, family support, and perception of educational fairness. A questionnaire was then created to investigate educational anxiety as a variable, and the results were analyzed using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to conduct a configurational analysis. Parental educational anxiety was categorized into three fundamental modes: the policy-information-driven mode, the information-consumption-driven mode, and the subject-information-driven mode. The results of the analysis indicate that the level of parents' understanding of educational policies influences their educational anxiety level, their orientation on media communication affects their recognition of the educational ecology, and their image of vocational education exacerbates their internal anxiety.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) in the hotel industry: a strategy for brand management, brand tribalism, and brand choice

ABSTRACT This study developed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) attributes in the hotel industry and tested their effect on hotel brand and consumer behavior using mixed methods. The qualitative approach was used to develop 11 hotel ESG attributes, while the quantitative approach was used to test research hypotheses. Furthermore, a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis was used to test necessary and sufficient conditions. The results showed that most of the hypotheses were accepted, and that hotel ESG attributes had a positive effect on hotel brand and consumer behavior. Based on the results, this study provides meaningful and important insights into hotel ESG.

Effectiveness of Short-term Study Abroad Programs: Employing a Program Logic Model and Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Participants' Growth Narratives

Effectiveness of Short-term Study Abroad Programs: Employing a Program Logic Model and Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Participants' Growth Narratives

Analyzing the configuration of the National Innovation System for Innovation Capability: evidence from Global Innovation Index reports

National innovation capability (NIC) is an important manifestation of economic development quality and international competitiveness. Previous studies focus mainly on the static impact of factors in the national innovation system on NIC in a given year. Research is still lacking on whether these factors have continuing, stable impacts on NIC in different economies. To fill this literature gap, this study uses fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to conduct cross-economy and cross-year comparisons and discusses how the five elements of the NIS jointly affected the NIC of different economies from 2011 to 2022. The results indicate that the necessity consistency of infrastructure for NIC shows a temporal trend. There are four paths to generating high NIC in high-income economies, but only two such paths for upper middle-income economies. The path combining human capital and research, market sophistication, and business sophistication can drive both types of economies to generate high NIC. The research results have improved the transparency of innovation paths and provided a reference for different economies to achieve sustainable development.

Perceptions and configurations of balanced scorecard use: evidence from Portuguese SMEs

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify managerial perceptions, as well as individual and organizational contingencies, that influence the use of balanced scorecard (BSC) among SMEs. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a mixed methods approach to study the use of the BSC from a survey database of 414 SMEs across several industries in Portugal. Findings This paper shows the perceived benefits, reasoning and obstacles that managers face when using the BSC in SMEs. The BSC is not the first choice for strategic management control of most firms in the sample. Most SMEs in this study have an explicitly formulated business strategy. The results show that it is possible to implement the BSC in SMEs without a formalized strategy. Such findings seem to suggest that the use of the BSC may stimulate the formulation of strategies for those firms. Research limitations/implications The use of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis limits the generalization of the findings; nonetheless, the transparency of the report enables replication without restrictions. Practical implications This paper proposes that the size of the firm and the characteristics of the manager may compensate for the absence of a strategy to guide BSC use. Social implications This paper advises a match between the stage of development of the SMEs strategy and the gender of the manager, which may have implications for recruitment purposes. Originality/value This study reports alternative configurations of individual and organizational conditions that lead to the use of the BSC in SMEs as well as configurations that prevent its use.

Green human resource management in a family business setting: a fuzzy set approach

ABSTRACT Sustainability in family businesses as an entrepreneurial initiative is an emerging research field. The literature assumes that owners, managers, and employees in family businesses adopt homogeneous sustainability practices as a global construct mixing social and environmental issues. However, green human resource management (GHRM), considered as an innovative process, is focused on understanding how regular managers and employees become green-oriented and aim for business sustainability by applying green policies and practices. Based on previous green HRM research, this study proposes to apply a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to identify the combinations of key practices observed in 513 family businesses in Quebec. This perspective helps to explain some of the boundary conditions and combinations of green HRM practices in family businesses based on more realistic insights by avoiding a merely linear analysis. We highlight four different pathways connecting green HRM system to economic performance. This study is the first to explore green HRM practices in family businesses. The paper concludes by discussing how the findings advance knowledge on sustainability in family business research.

Patterns of innovation-driven tourism competitiveness: Insights from 270 Chinese cities

This paper utilizes innovation ecosystem theory to examine how an innovation ecosystem (comprising economic, technological, labor, and institutional subsystems) promotes tourism competitiveness through internal interaction. Employing fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis and necessary condition analysis techniques, this study assesses the necessity and sufficiency of an innovation ecosystem for high tourism competitiveness. Findings demonstrate that industrial structure and human capital innovations are requisite for tourism competitiveness, with the former being more universally applicable. Further, this study identifies an earlier innovation-driven mechanism for superior tourism competitiveness: leveraging industrial structure and human capital, and four contemporary innovation-driven mechanisms: leveraging industrial structure, leveraging policy, leveraging technology, and leveraging industrial structure and wages. The rationalization of industrial structure and human capital enhancement serve distinct bottleneck roles. This article contributes to understanding the link between innovation ecosystems and tourism and similarly suggests approaches for enhancing tourism competitiveness through innovation system development.

Navigating uncertainty: configurations of entrepreneurial behaviors for new venture performance

Purpose The entrepreneurial process often cannot be explained by a single entrepreneurial theory. Instead, it is more likely the result of the interaction between various entrepreneurial behavior patterns and different environmental conditions. However, existing research has frequently overlooked the complexity inherent in the entrepreneurial phenomenon. Building on a configurational perspective, this study aims to examine how new ventures can use different behavioral configurations to achieve high performance amid various uncertain environments. Design/methodology/approach Based on the survey data from 143 new start-ups in China’s software industry, this study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Findings This study jointly considers multiple entrepreneurial behaviors − causation, effectuation and entrepreneurial bricolage and different types of environmental uncertainty − state uncertainty, effect uncertainty and response uncertainty. The findings reveal three behavioral configurations for high/nonhigh new venture performance. Originality/value This study expands previous insights into the relationship between entrepreneurial behaviors and new venture performance from the perspective of configurational theory. Moreover, it offers new insights into the types of uncertainty, further refining our understanding of the uncertainties inherent in entrepreneurial activities.

Examining consumers' perceptions of relationship value with retailers: a multi-method approach

PurposeThis study employs a multi-method approach to investigate how perceived relationship marketing investment affects perceived relationship value and consumer gratitude, influencing consumer involvement, word-of-mouth intentions, and long-term relationships across three retail consumer types.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyses a model involving 542 consumers, employing structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to identify distinctive factor configurations across public, semi-public, and private retail organizations.FindingsA retailer’s investment in relationship marketing significantly enhances relationship value and consumer gratitude, leading to increased engagement and word-of-mouth intentions. Perceived benevolence moderates the effect of relationship marketing on gratitude. However, gratitude alone does not ensure long-term relationships. Using fsQCA, we identify four distinct consumer configurations, providing nuanced insights.Research limitations/implicationsRetail organizations broaden relationship marketing strategies to boost perceived value and elicit consumer gratitude, influencing consumer performance outcomes.Practical implicationsRetail organizations should broaden relationship marketing strategies to boost perceived value and elicit consumer gratitude, influencing consumer performance outcomes.Social implicationsManagers should develop strategies that lead to consumer gratitude toward the firm, such as journey mapping can help visualize retail delivery. Grateful consumers may contribute to firms’ profitability by influencing current and potential consumers in their social networks and communicating their expertise through review/feedback for improvement. Therefore, various strategies are needed to stimulate positive comments from grateful consumers about the firm’s excellent performance.Originality/valueThis study builds on Lawler’s affect theory, highlighting how relationship value and consumer gratitude profoundly influence exchange process outcomes. It introduces new psychological mechanisms to explain the impact of perceived relationship marketing investment on performance outcomes. Integrating these elements provides a comprehensive understanding of retailer–consumer dynamics, revealing how emotional and psychological factors shape marketing strategies and business performance. This contribution enriches theoretical frameworks and offers practical insights for enhancing relationship marketing practices.

Exploring the synergy of logistics, finance, and technology on innovation

As global environmental challenges intensify, manufacturing firms face increasing pressure to innovate sustainably. Green innovation, characterized by the development of environmentally friendly products, processes, and technologies, has become essential for firms striving to remain competitive. This study aims to investigate the influence of key factors—green logistics, green finance, and green technology—on green innovation within manufacturing firms, while exploring the mediating role of green technology in these relationships. A multi-method approach was employed, combining partial least squares structural equation modeling, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, and necessity condition analysis. 447 responses were collected from manufacturing companies in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, using structured questionnaires. The analysis revealed that green logistics and green finance have a significant positive impact on green innovation, while the influence of the green work environment was found to be positive but statistically insignificant. Additionally, green technology was identified as a significant mediator in the relationships between green finance, green logistics, and green innovation. This study offers a comprehensive green innovation model while green technology is a mediator. Furthermore, this study advances the resource-based view theory by integrating green technology as a pivotal resource that enhances a firm's competitive advantage in sustainable markets. By adopting a multi-method approach, this research provides a rigorous examination of the research questions, offering a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic interactions between green finance, green logistics, and green technology in driving innovation. Thus, this research has thought provoking implications to prioritize investments in green finance, logistics, and technology, manufacturing firms can enhance their competitiveness, improve operational efficiency, and meet evolving environmental regulations and consumer preferences.

Investigating the Drivers of Firm Internationalisation: A Fuzzy Set Analysis Using Global Entrepreneurship Development Index Data

Firm internationalisation, a key driver of global economic growth, is influenced by various entrepreneurial resources. This study explores the relationships between human capital, risk capital, risk acceptance, opportunity perception, and firm internationalisation using cross-national data from the Global Entrepreneurship Development Index (GEDI). Employing fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study analyzes data from 137 countries. The findings highlight two primary configurations driving internationalisation: (1) risk acceptance and opportunity perception, and (2) risk capital and opportunity perception. Opportunity perception emerges as a critical factor in both configurations, while human capital is not found to be a necessary condition. These results contribute to a better understanding of the factors that foster firm internationalisation and inform policies aimed at promoting global entrepreneurial ecosystems.