The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of status motivation on customers' purchase intention of a green-luxury car associated with owning a green-luxury car, and whether materialism and horizontal-vertical individualism/ collectivism moderate this relationship. The quantitative research methodology using online survey technique was used to collect cross-cultural data from respondents (507) from China and Germany. Purposive sampling technique was used to identify and collect data from current and prospective customers of the BMW brand. Collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results demonstrated that materialism and cultural value (horizontal-vertical collectivism and vertical individualism) can serve as moderators of the effects of status motivation and purchase intention of the green-luxury car. Although some studies have explored the factors involved in customer purchasing behaviour for green-luxury products, our results theoretically and empirically show that materialism, vertical individualism, horizontal collectivism, and vertical collectivism enhance the positive effects of status motivation on customer purchasing behaviour for a green-luxury car.

PurposeThis study focuses on the Critical Success Factors (CSF) for developing sustainable entrepreneurship in the Pakistani telecommunication industry. Despite the efforts made by governments and stakeholders to stimulate sustainable entrepreneurship initiatives, contributions in the telecommunications sector are lacking. Therefore, this study has the major objective of identifying a transformation path for these firms. This is done by providing a theoretical framework for sustainable entrepreneurship in the telecommunications industry, focusing on managerial and operational practices that should be modified according to a set of CSFs identified by experts in Pakistani firms.Design/methodology/approachThis article proposes a novel Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) approach based on Grey Systems Theory (GST) and Best-Worst Method (BWM) while unveiling endogenous relationships among current managerial/operational practices and the CSFs for sustainable entrepreneurship in the telecommunications industry.FindingsCSFs for achieving sustainable entrepreneurship in the Pakistani telecommunications industry were found to rely on a tripod, based on effectiveness, transparency, and accountability that are embedded within the ambit of managerial and operational practices, such as focusing and reducing digital illiteracy, targeting poor communities, helping the young in structuring start-ups.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the MADM research stream by proposing a novel use of the BWM technique based on GST to promote sustainable entrepreneurship CSFs in Pakistani telecommunications firms.

The unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak strengthened the critical manifestation of the rapid development vs. survival for pharmaceutical companies, deploying strategic conduct worldwide. This study therefore explores the endogenous relationship among pharmaceutical companies’ manufacturing strategy and their performance indicators within the ambit of creating a long-lasting competitive advantage in turbulent times. Very often, it is not possible to launch a cause-effect relationship between performance and their drivers. To achieve this end, multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques are employed in a hybrid fashion in this study. The notion has simultaneously ranked critical success factors (CSFs) in the manufacturing strategy and performance indicators in the limelight of managerial perceptions, while controlling the inherent bias concerning the causality direction in the ambit of these two entrenched concepts. A case study on the Iranian pharmaceutical companies is piloted to demonstrate this hybrid-fashion multifarious approach. Overall, the results revealed the most pertinent CSFs that reached superior-performance echelons in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

There is a growing emphasis on sustainability within the hospitality industry. However, research on hyper-local restaurants’ strategic sustainable strategies is scarce. Accordingly, this study aims to unveil the hyper-local Chinese restaurateurs’ critical success factors (CSFs). Grounded on the CSFs identified in the literature and validated by experts, data were collected from hyper-local restaurant owners and analysed through multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), best–worst method (BWM) and hesitant fuzzy shapely order weights average (HSFOWA) approach. Results suggest that green entrepreneurial orientation is symbiotic, and green customer education, ability, motivation, capability, entrepreneurial orientation and high-commitment work practices significantly impact the sustainability of hyper-local restaurants. Findings stimulate sustainable strategies based on available CSFs. Practical and managerial implications are discussed.

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