Innovation Capacity Research Articles

Driving Circular Economy Strategies for Sustainable Development: The Role of Board Capital and Innovation Capacity in Emerging Markets

ABSTRACTThe transition to a circular economy (CE) is necessary for achieving sustainable development, yet research on governance mechanisms that drive CE strategies remains limited. This study bridges this gap and significantly advances studies CE, board governance, innovation, and sustainability by assessing the critical function of board capital in driving CE strategies within manufacturing companies in emerging economies, specifically the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area. Drawing on agency theory and resource‐based theory, the study develops models to assess the influence of board human and social capital on CE strategies, with innovation capacity as a key moderating factor. Using panel data from 268 manufacturing firms between 2010 and 2022 and employing dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) technique, the outcome reveal that both board human and social capital significantly and positively influence CE strategies. Notably, innovation capacity not only enhances CE strategies directly but also amplifies the impact of board capital, underscoring the synergistic connection between governance and innovation in driving sustainability. The study highlights substantial heterogeneity in the effect of board capital on CE strategies across the MENA region. These findings remain robust after conducting several robustness and diagnostic tests. For firms, the study emphasizes the need to invest in building a diverse, skilled, and well‐connected board capable of leading circular strategies. For policymakers, it highlights the importance of creating frameworks that strengthen board governance and foster innovation ecosystems, enabling boards to promote the adoption of CE strategies.

A disability-led disability inclusion strategy for the higher education sector

ABSTRACT Unlike the Disability Royal Commission, the Universities Accord Panel has failed to promote a pathway that will realise equality as envisaged in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We argue that achieving equality for persons with disabilities in higher education requires the introduction of an enduring systemic framework that will last beyond government changes, with the capacity for continual innovation and improvement. Building upon disability norms, this article maps a framework for a co-created national disability-led inclusive higher education strategy and governance processes informed by empirical research (anonymous short-qualitative survey and focus groups) with 222 people in universities (students and staff), of which 76% identify as having a disability. We argue a disability-led Disability Inclusion Action Plan for Higher Education should be implemented, monitored, and resourced. This is critically important so students with disabilities can study and work in higher education without discrimination.

Effectiveness of Innovative Capability Cultivation in New Business Education Undergraduate Mentorship: A Jiangsu University Case Study

This study explores the effectiveness of the undergraduate mentorship system in New Business Education (NBE) by analyzing a Jiangsu-based university case study. Empirical findings confirm its role in enhancing student engagement in research and academic competitions, fostering innovation capacity. However, challenges such as inadequate research guidance, low participation rates, and suboptimal outputs persist. To address these issues, this paper proposes strategic improvements, including refining the selection mechanism, enhancing performance evaluation, and optimizing talent development frameworks. These insights contribute to advancing mentorship efficacy in cultivating interdisciplinary business professionals.

Characteristics of Trade Networks in Countries Along the Belt and Road and Their Impact on Innovation Capacity

ABSTRACTThe construction of a closely connected trade network of countries along the Belt and Road (BR) is a key part of deepening regional economic cooperation. Based on the trade data of goods and services of the countries along the Belt and Road from 2007 to 2021, the research applies social network analysis to construct the goods and services network and analyze its evolution, characteristics, and impact on innovation activities. The study finds that: (1) The average trade distance in the trade network is gradually decreasing; the trade network is characterized by a clear “grouping” of countries, with the group of Southeast Asian countries being the most closely linked and the European countries being more efficient in terms of the effective scale and efficiency of their trade. (2) The centrality and effective scale of the trade network significantly promote innovation activities. The moderating effect suggests that the trade network more strongly promotes developing countries with lower levels of national institutional environment and informatization, while the level of corporate disclosure and technological spillovers play a positive moderating role. Heterogeneity analysis shows that countries in Asia and those with high levels of sentiment toward China are more likely to benefit from the innovation promotion effect, while countries with high levels of intellectual property protection may inhibit the development of innovation capacity. The findings of this research provide useful policy insights for exploring new paths to promote innovation activities in countries along the Belt and Road from the perspective of trade networks.

The Impact of Organizational Culture on Innovative Work Behavior Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support in Indonesian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

This study examines how organizational culture influences innovative work behavior (IWB) in Indonesian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS). A survey of 296 SME employees, with 185 valid responses analyzed, shows that a culture emphasizing collaboration, adaptability, and employee empowerment significantly enhances innovation. However, POS does not mediate this relationship, indicating that cultural factors have a more direct impact. These findings highlight the need for SME managers to foster a workplace that encourages creativity, risk-taking, and knowledge-sharing to enhance innovation capacity. By embedding these cultural elements, SMEs can improve competitiveness despite resource constraints. The study contributes to the broader understanding of SME innovation in non-Western contexts, offering practical insights for leaders aiming to build innovation-driven organizations. Strengthening organizational culture can serve as a strategic approach to drive sustainable growth and resilience in the dynamic business landscape.

Does Ethnic Diversity Reduce Economic Complexity?

ABSTRACTEthnic diversity is a phenomenon that exists in many modern countries around the world. Although it is typically hailed for its cultural diversity and capacity for innovation, there has been some controversy about its impact on economic development. This article aims to contribute to this debate by investigating the causal effect of ethnic diversity on economic complexity for a global sample of 116 countries. Using cross‐country OLS and the instrumental variables approach, we show that economic complexity is inversely related to ethnic diversity. Additionally, we find out that ethnic fractionalization has a negative effect on economic complexity in lower and middle income countries, but it is insignificant in high‐income countries. These results are robust to additional controls, alternative measures of key variables, and the use of a panel specification. This effect is primarily attributed to their link to other economic complexity‐related activities (i.e., human capital, governance, and internal conflict).

Innovative Factors that Influence the Performance of Human Talent in Organizations

The purpose of this research is to analyze the innovative factors that have an effective impact on the performance of human talent in organizations. A systematic literature review was carried out using the scientific database Scopus, for the time horizon of years 2015 to 2024, and the following keywords were established: innovation, human resources, human talent and innovation factors, the data was coded, which allowed filtering and selecting the most relevant articles, going from 454 documents to a final set of 37 articles included for the analysis. The analysis of innovation-related factors identified four key conceptual categories: a) knowledge acquisition and transfer; b) quality management and strategic financial control; c) technological assets and absorptive capacity, intellectual talent and psychological talent; and d) entrepreneurial orientation, social innovation and internal marketing. It is concluded that there are determining factors that directly influence the innovative performance of human talent within organizations, especially quality management, direct innovation management, knowledge acquisition and transfer, and technological assets, which are positioned as fundamental pillars to boost innovative capacity at the organizational level.

PROTECTING MALAYSIA'S TECHNOLOGICAL AUTONOMY: INNOVATIVE GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORKS TO COUNTER DIGITAL HEGEMONIES

This study investigates the manifestations and impacts of digital colonialism in Malaysia and proposes legal and regulatory reforms to safeguard the nation's digital sovereignty. Digital colonialism, characterized by the exploitation of data, digital infrastructure, and online platforms by powerful technology companies from the Global North, poses significant challenges to Malaysia's economic, social, cultural, and political fabric. Through a qualitative methodology combining theoretical analysis, case studies, and comparative policy research, the study finds that digital colonialism in Malaysia takes the form of economic domination by foreign technology giants, imperial control and surveillance capitalism, technological dependency, and the erosion of cultural identity in the digital sphere. The existing legal framework, including the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, and Competition Act 2010, proves inadequate in addressing these challenges. Drawing lessons from the regulatory approaches of other Global South nations like India and Indonesia, the study recommends a comprehensive reform strategy encompassing the strengthening of data protection and privacy laws, regulating dominance in the digital market, promoting indigenous innovation capacities, fostering digital literacy, and forging strategic regional coalitions. By adopting a proactive and context-sensitive approach to digital governance, Malaysia can effectively assert its technological sovereignty and foster an inclusive digital economy that serves its national interests and citizenry.

University Supervisors as Change Agents: The Role of Innovative Capabilities in Enhancing Institutional Performance

Supervisors innovative capabilities refer to their ability to generate adopt and implement new ideas, processes or solution that improves organizational outcomes. Supervisors’ performance encompasses their effectiveness in achieving organizational goals managing teams and maintaining operational efficiency. The current research aims 1) To measure the innovative capabilities of supervisors at the university level.2) To assess performance of supervisors at the university level. There are 12 publics and 6 private universities of Rawalpindi & Islamabad. The present investigation employed a quantitative research methodology. 358 supervisors from the social sciences departments of public and private institutions in Rawalpindi and Islamabad made up the study's population. For the sample selection, a total of 18 public and private universities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad were chosen. A 20% representative sample was used for the final investigation. 186 samples were chosen from a total of 358 students in the social sciences departments of both public and private universities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad using a basic random selection procedure. A self-made questionnaire was created in order to accomplish these goals, and it was distributed to supervisors in the social sciences departments of both public and private institutions in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Descriptive analysis and Pearson correlation statistical techniques were employed in the processing and analysis of the data using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The study's findings revealed a moderate to significant positive association between supervisory performance and inventive capacities, with a correlation coefficient of 0.579. This implies that supervisors' performance rises in tandem with their capacity for innovation. This suggests that the association is reliable and that the correlation is statistically significant. Supervisors should thus concentrate on encouraging a creative culture, enhancing the inorporation of new technologies, encouraging ongoing professional growth, and utilizing data-driven decision-making. An important area of study in education is the connection between supervisors' performance and their capacity for innovation. Therefore, based on the data gathered, it was determined that the majority of respondents strongly agreed with the statement regarding inventive capabilities.

Saving the Environment in Emerging Markets: The Synergistic Roles of Corporate Ownership Structure, Financing Strategy, and Innovation Capacity

Saving the Environment in Emerging Markets: The Synergistic Roles of Corporate Ownership Structure, Financing Strategy, and Innovation Capacity

How academic and business collaborations enhance potential and realized absorptive capacities: evidence from Japanese firms

PurposeA significant body of research has investigated open innovation and absorptive capacity as well as the relationship between them. Moreover, recent research has classified each concept into subcategories on the basis of theoretical reasoning. However, the relationships among these subcategories in terms of theoretical and empirical aspects are unknown. Thus, this study makes several hypotheses related to the generally accepted subcategories, i.e. academic and business collaboration and potential and realized absorptive capacity. We empirically tested data from a questionnaire survey and public data from Japanese industrial firms.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically analyzes the relationship between open innovation and absorptive capacity via a quantitative approach and a questionnaire survey.FindingsThe results show that the types of collaboration partners might affect certain subcategories of absorptive capacity related to firm performance. Specifically, academic collaboration enhances potential absorptive capacity but diminishes realized absorptive capacity. Business collaboration has a positive effect on firm performance but limited effects on both potential and realized absorptive capacity.Originality/valueThis study considers the advancements of previous studies to study the relationship between open innovation and absorptive capacity. This study elucidates the efficacy and limitations of these concepts and advances our knowledge of innovation research areas.

Impact of National Innovation System on Digital Payment Systems in Mauritius

The study examines how the National Innovation System (NIS) impacted the development and adoption of digital payment technologies in the country. This system played a vital role in promoting financial inclusion, enhancing operational efficiency, and supporting economic growth. The research evaluated the current landscape of digital payments in Mauritius, focusing on factors like infrastructure, adoption trends, and regulatory frameworks. A mixed-methods approach was used, blending quantitative data collection with qualitative policy analysis. Quantitative data was gathered through questionnaires, while qualitative insights were obtained from analyzing relevant policy documents. This dual approach allowed for a comprehensive assessment of key elements that influenced digital payment systems. The analysis explored various factors, including government regulations by investigating how the legal and regulatory environment shaped digital payment adoption; capacity for innovation by assessing the ability of the country's innovation ecosystem to support the growth of digital payment solutions; technological infrastructure by examining the availability of the technological resources necessary for digital transactions; socio-economic influences by analyzing how societal and economic conditions, such as income levels and access to technology, affected adoption rates; and competitive landscape by considering how competition among digital payment providers impacted innovation and service delivery. The study identified both opportunities and challenges within Mauritius' NIS, offering suggestions for improvements to foster greater digital payment adoption. The findings underscored the importance of nurturing a robust innovation ecosystem to drive digital transformation and economic development in emerging economies like Mauritius, highlighting how innovation could support wider access to financial services and contribute to national growth.

The educational structure of digital artisans: a qualitative study based on grounded theory

As the mainstay of the highly skilled talent team, digital artisans are of great significance in promoting industrial transformation and upgrading, accelerating the pace of digital as well as realising Vision 2035. To analyse the structure of the core educational elements of digital artisans, based on the procedural grounded theory, 30 digital artisans were selected as the objects, and with the help of in-depth interview data, the initial codes were extracted from the original data through the process of open coding—spindle coding—selective coding, which was integrated to form 33 concepts and 12 categories, and further refined into 4 main categories. The results show that, as a rich, multidimensional concept, the elements of digital artisan education are divided into ‘knowledge structure,’ ‘ability structure,’ ‘quality structure’, and ‘digital structure.’ The ‘knowledge structure’ includes the dimensions of basic knowledge, professional knowledge, and specific knowledge; the ‘competence structure’ includes the dimensions of basic competence, professional competence, and specific competence; and the ‘competence structure’ consists of the dimensions of basic competence, professional competence, and specific competence. The ‘knowledge structure’ includes three dimensions of basic knowledge, professional knowledge, and comprehensive knowledge, the ‘ability structure’ includes essential ability, professional ability, and innovation capacity, the ‘digital structure’ consists of three dimensions of digital quality, digital knowledge and digital skills, and the ‘quality structure’ includes the dimensions of belief quality and professional spirit. The research can better stimulate the vitality of the great digital artisans and provide theoretical support and practical insights for promoting them to serve the development and enhancement of the digital economy.

Research on the Impact of Atmospheric Environment Self-Purification Capacity on Fog-Haze Pollution

Why is fog-haze pollution very serious in Hebei province, where there are many pollution-intensive industries, and in Guangdong province, where it is not so serious? This paper uses the spatial Durbin model, the threshold effect model, and relevant local city data, etc., to explore the effect of the atmospheric environment’s self-purification capacity on haze pollution from the perspective of green technology innovation. We found that the great haze outbreak in China is due to the large amount of ultrafine-particle low-cost emissions caused by the haze detection by weight method implemented in 2011 and 2012. This study also found that haze pollution in China has a significant impact on the atmospheric environment’s self-purification capacity. The atmospheric environment’s self-purification capacity has an inhibitory effect on haze pollution. When green technology innovation reaches the first threshold, the atmospheric self-purification capacity can significantly reduce the impact of haze pollution. When green technology innovation reaches the second threshold, the atmospheric self-purification capacity to reduce haze pollution is significantly enhanced. China’s local haze pollution is serious due to the industrial layout being unreasonable, caused by high-pollution industries emitting particles beyond the limits of atmospheric environment self-purification capacity. Industries in Hebei Province and Guangdong Province are more pollution-intensive, and haze pollution in Hebei Province is serious due to the weak self-purification capacity of the atmospheric environment. Guangdong Province’s atmospheric environment self-purification capacity is strong, and its haze pollution is not serious. Given the scientific use of atmospheric environment self-purification capacity and regional differences in green technology innovation, the development of targeted green input and atmospheric self-purification capacity enhancement policies in areas with serious air pollution, along with green technology innovations based on a region with less pollution, would be beneficial. To increase the amount of green technology innovation investment in regions where the atmospheric environment is not seriously polluted and green technology innovation is based on a bad region, more green funds should be invested in the atmospheric environment’s self-purification capacity. In regions where the atmospheric environment is not seriously polluted and the foundation of green technology innovation needs improvement, more green funds should be invested into atmospheric environment self-purification capacity to fully harness its inhibition of haze pollution. This should be accompanied by scientific planning and adjustments to the high-pollution industrial layout, etc., to effectively enhance the self-purification capacity of the regional atmospheric environment. In addition, the gradient transfer of high-pollution industries should be implemented based on atmospheric environment self-purification capacity to effectively reduce the impact of haze pollution.

Going Green: Effect of Dynamic Capability, Innovation, and Supply Chain Agility in Fostering Supply Chain Management in SDGs Context

Objective: This study investigates how green innovation and dynamic capacities impact agro-allied enterprises' Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices in Nigeria, as well as shift focus on the mediating function of supply chain agility. Theoretical Framework: Rising environmental consciousness is capturing the interest of business stakeholders in the face of fiercer competition, builds the efforts to attain green development practices, which is also prompting consideration of the potential impact on businesses. Method: This study employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze data from 264 randomly selected respondents employed in Nigerian agro-allied enterprises using a structured Likert scale survey. Results and Discussion: The study's results indicate a positive correlation between green supply chain management practices and green innovation as well as green dynamic capabilities. Research Implications: This research indicates that supply chain agility is an essential mediating factor enhancing the GSCM practices of agro-allied firms. Adopting environmentally friendly methods in their operations can help people who work in agro-allied firms better understand how important green innovation and dynamic green capability are for improving supply chain management. Originality/Value: The originality of the present study was the emerging linkage of the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory, which emphasizes that businesses that care about the environment can gain a long-term competitive edge by using green development practices while developing their green capabilities, even while aligning to sustainable development goals.

Innovating for a Greener Future: Do Digital Transformation and Innovation Capacity Drive Enterprise Green Total Factor Productivity in the Knowledge Economy?

Innovating for a Greener Future: Do Digital Transformation and Innovation Capacity Drive Enterprise Green Total Factor Productivity in the Knowledge Economy?

Manufacturing Input Servitization, Firm Innovation, and Export: Evidence From China

ABSTRACTTo address current challenges such as low positioning in the global value chain (GVC), diminishing demographic dividends, and rising labor costs, Chinese firms are pivoting their comparative advantage from production expansion to service provision. This study investigates the impact of input servitization on Chinese firms' innovation and exports. First, we theoretically integrate the heterogeneous firm model with the technology selection model to explain how input servitization fosters firms' innovation capacity and export performance. Next, we empirically examine the effects of firms' input servitization with extensive and unique firm‐level data. The results provide robust evidence that increased input servitization amongst manufacturing firms significantly enhances their innovation capacity. Sub‐sample regressions further reveal that, while the positive effects on innovation differ by ownership and industry, even firms with lower productivity and smaller size benefit from input servitization. Additionally, our analyses reveal that input servitization reduces search and matching costs, thereby fostering innovation and amplifying firms' exports, strengthening their global competitiveness.

Relationship Between Innovative Capabilities and Performance of Supervisors at University Level

Supervisors innovative capabilities refer to their ability to generate adopt and implement new ideas, processes or solution that improves organizational outcomes. Supervisors’ performance encompasses their effectiveness in achieving organizational goals managing teams and maintaining operational efficiency. The current research aims 1) To analyze the relationship between innovative capabilities and performance of supervisors at university level. 2) To assess performance of supervisors at the university level. There are 12 publics and 6 private universities of Rawalpindi & Islamabad. The present investigation employed a quantitative research methodology. 358 supervisors from the social sciences departments of public and private institutions in Rawalpindi and Islamabad made up the study's population. For the sample selection, a total of 18 public and private universities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad were chosen. A 20% representative sample was used for the final investigation. 186 samples were chosen from a total of 358 students in the social sciences departments of both public and private universities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad using a basic random selection procedure. A self-made questionnaire was created in order to accomplish these goals, and it was distributed to supervisors in the social sciences departments of both public and private institutions in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Descriptive analysis and Pearson correlation statistical techniques were employed in the processing and analysis of the data using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The study's findings revealed a moderate to significant positive association between supervisory performance and inventive capacities, with a correlation coefficient of 0.579. This implies that supervisors' performance rises in tandem with their capacity for innovation. This suggests that the association is reliable and that the correlation is statistically significant. Supervisors should thus concentrate on encouraging a creative culture, enhancing the incorporation of new technologies, encouraging ongoing professional growth, and utilizing data-driven decision-making. An important area of study in education is the connection between supervisors' performance and their capacity for innovation. Therefore, based on the data gathered, it was determined that the majority of respondents strongly agreed with the statement regarding inventive capabilities.

Factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions of international and local students in Hungary

This study offers valuable insights for educational institutions by comparing the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of international and local students in Hungary and analyzing the impact of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on their EI. A quantitative empirical approach was conducted to collect a total of 824 copies of electronic questionnaires from five universities in Hungary, which included valid responses from 345 international students and 309 local students. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, independent samples t tests, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. In this study, entrepreneurial self-efficacy was examined through four components: operation and management capacity (OMC), relationship coordination capacity (RCC), risk tolerance capacity (RTC), and innovation and opportunity identification capacity (IOIC). The findings indicated no significant differences between entrepreneurial intentions of international and local students in Hungary. However, OMC and RTC were found to significantly influence the entrepreneurial intentions of both international and local students. In contrast, RCC did not show any significant impact on either group, while IOIC significantly affected only the entrepreneurial intentions of international students. To address these findings, universities should implement tailored workshops that focus on communication, teamwork, and networking to help bridge the gap between international and local students, as well as promote the generation of creative thinking and entrepreneurial engagement. The findings of this study have practical implications for improving the policy and practice of entrepreneurship education.

Biological innovation evaluation in higher education for the reform and exploration of innovation and entrepreneurship course teaching

Since biological technology is developing so quickly, one of the most important responsibilities for scientific research and technological innovation in higher education institutions is evaluating innovation capability. In order to thoroughly monitor and document the creative advancements made by higher education institutions in the field of biotechnology, this paper suggests a novel assessment technique that blends cutting-edge communication technology with Internet of Things technology. We can create a multifaceted innovation capability evaluation system by using the Internet of Things (IoT) technology to gather a variety of data in real time during biological experiments, including experimental results, feedback information from technology applications, and environmental data of biological samples. This study offers an assessment framework for biological technology innovation that can successfully identify and analyze important technical factors and possible bottleneck issues in the innovation process by combining the real-world scenario of biological research with intelligent computing and machine learning algorithms. According to the experimental data, this approach may reliably assess how well higher education institutions do biological technology research and identify key indications of biological technology innovation. In addition to offering a fresh viewpoint on how to improve the capacity for innovation in biology at higher education institutions, this study offers scientific underpinnings and technical assistance for biotechnology research and implementation.