PurposeThe objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the structural capital of SMEs in the capacity of innovation and organizational performance, in the context of an emerging country.Design/methodology/approachThe sample consisted of 259 industrial SMEs from the province of Córdoba Argentina. The data was analyzed by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS–SEM).FindingsThe study provided evidence that acquisition of information and knowledge management, organizational culture and structure, systems and processes have positive and significant effects on the innovation capacity of SMEs. Only the communication and cohesion component did not show positive and significant results on it. It also showed a positive and significant relationship between the capacity for innovation in processes and performance, contributing to the scarce empirical literature in the context of SMEs.Research limitations/implicationsThe research exposes some limitations that uncover a path for the development of future lines of research. In the first place, the work focuses on the use of a single source of information, the consultation at the managerial level of the company, without considering other representative variables to measure the capacity for innovation. Second, the study covered only companies in the industrial sector and country. Future studies should focus on other sectors and countries.Practical implicationsThe results of the study can have important practical implications for the owners and managers of SMEs. The results offer a vision of the dimensions of structural capital that most influence the innovative capacity of the organization. This is especially useful given that in the context of Argentina there is a low level of knowledge and structural capital is key to being more competitive. The managers of SMEs can thus increase the innovative potential of the company and favor the acquisition of information and knowledge and improve its processes and systems to contribute to the development of innovation capabilities to make SMEs more competitive.Social implicationsThe results obtained can be useful for those responsible for making public policy decisions, since in the knowledge of the economy to maintain a developed state and nation, it is necessary to include as one of the main issues on the national agenda the improvement of intellectual capital of its people to promote the competitiveness of companies.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the development of intellectual capital literature focused on the generation of innovation and performance in the perspective of SMEs in emerging countries.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) facilitates increased innovation and enhanced reputation and business performance. Small and medium-sized enterprises are commonly acknowledged to be a driver of economic growth, so these firms’ CSR and the competitive advantages it generates are of great interest. This study examined whether corporate managers’ positive predisposition toward CSR initiatives explains their companies’ level of innovation, achieved performance, competitive success, and reputation. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze a sample of 109 companies operating in Spain’s Autonomous Community of Extremadura. The results confirm that companies generally have a favorable orientation toward CSR and this strategy’s benefits include developing and improving firms’ reputation.

Currently, companies and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) are looking to be more competitive. To achieve this, they are adopting new business models and strategies that allow them to move towards sustainability. Strategies such as CSR (Corporate social responsibility) and supply chain management have become essential for ensuring a company's permanence and financial consolidation. The literature has stated that theories on stakeholders and sustainability are fundamental pillars for the development and sustained growth of business. The purpose of this article is to examine the effects of CSR and SCMM (supply chain management) on innovation, image and reputation, and, in turn, their influences on profitability in SMEs. An additional purpose is to verify the bidirectional relationship that exists between CSR and SCM in SMEs. This research was based on a sample of 143 companies in the city of Guaymas Sonorain Mexico. For the analysis and validation of the results, we used the ordinal least squares method (OLS) through multiple linear regressions and SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) statistical technique based on the variance, through PLS (Partial Least Squares) (using SmartPLS version 3.2.6 Professional). The findings show that SMEs that develop social and sustainable practices increase their level of innovation, and improve their image, their reputation, and their financial profitability. The results also indicate that CSR and SCM have a strong interdependence. This work contributes mainly to the development of the literature on stakeholders and sustainability.

Currently, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a leading role in most of the world’s economies. For this reason, they seek technological competitiveness and improvement of their innovation activities. In this context, open innovation and eco-innovation are important elements to achieve these goals. With this background, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between technological capability, open innovation, and eco-innovation in corporate performance, testing a structural equation model using SmartPLS in a sample of 684 small and medium-sized companies in Mexico. The main results show that technological capability significantly influences open innovation and eco-innovation practices, not directly in corporate performance, but through open innovation or eco-innovation. Our results also confirm the positive effects that eco-innovation and open innovation have on SMEs’ corporate performance. These results have important implications in the literature on dynamic capabilities that have not been previously tested. For companies and decision-makers, it shows why these practices in small and medium-sized companies should be encouraged.

Two important managerial strategies have shaped organizations’ initiatives in recent years: corporate social responsibility (CSR) and intellectual capital (IC). Organizations’ implementation of voluntary CSR practices implies a commitment that goes beyond mere actions and it constitutes a step toward securing benefits for these entities. In contrast, IC refers to a set of intangible organizational assets (i.e., human, structural, and relational capital) that are capable of providing greater value than tangible assets do. Putting both strategies into practice independently of each other is a source of competitive advantages for organizations, including more legitimacy in their sector. However, the present study sought to explore the possibility of strengthening the link between CSR and IC by integrating socially responsible practices into the configuration of each IC dimension. Thus, this research’s objective was to determine whether CSR initiatives can generate improvements in key IC components in organizations. The study included extremely diverse Spanish organizations ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises to large firms, private and public companies, and organizations serving multiple purposes, such as universities—all of which were implementing CSR initiatives. The partial least squares technique was applied to estimate a structural equation model to achieve the objective. The findings include that CSR improves organizations’ IC and that the resulting competitiveness is a source of legitimacy.

For more than two decades, the literature has shown that information and communication technology (ICT) and knowledge management (KM) are among the best business practices in the development and competitiveness of large corporations. Recently, for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), these elements have represented a challenge and an opportunity for the consolidation of innovation processes, knowledge protection, and the path to sustained profitability. The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of ICT on KM and their link with innovation and intellectual property (IP) in order to identify how SMEs can achieve higher yields. The data were obtained from a self-directed survey administered to the managers of 412 industrial and service companies established in Northwestern Mexico. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for the statistical analysis of the data. This work contributes to the development of the literature on the strategic management of SMEs, particularly in relation to the theory of resources and capabilities (TRC) and the theory of dynamic capabilities (TDC). The results show that ICT significantly influences KM, innovation and profitability. In addition, KM significantly influences innovation, and innovation and IP management significantly influence profitability. However, innovation does not influence IP management.

This study focused on university social responsibility (USR). Corporate social responsibility is currently an extremely common strategy implemented by organizations. Higher education institutions are also introducing this strategy to enhance their performance, seeking to ensure that every university action is socially responsible and oriented toward achieving advantages over competitors. This competitive advantage is the result of a social responsibility vision, which has an ethical core, that the University has implemented or is implementing among all its stakeholders. These institutions work in four areas: instruction, research, management, and projection to society. Universities must thus strive to meet the interests of different stakeholders’ interests. This research concentrated on university students as an important stakeholder. The main objective was to evaluate university students’ participation in USR activities, as well as assessing the impact of relevant university practices. In addition, the study sought to measure the existing causal relationship between students’ participation and their university’s practices in terms of student satisfaction. The fieldwork was conducted with an electronic survey distributed to a group of University of Extremadura students in Spain. A total of 362 valid questionnaires were collected, which were processed using structural equation modeling and partial least squares. The results have implications for university management in the area of social responsibility, with regard to the new USR trends are revealed. In terms of originality and value, this research emphasized a specific stakeholder in universities, namely students, and ways their satisfaction can be achieved through USR.

The main objective of this article is to examine the effects of the organizational learning and corporate social responsibility (social, economic and environmental) practices that exert on the financial performance of SMEs (small and medium enterprises). The research is based on a sample of 343 companies of which 19.8% belong to the primary sector, 26.6% to the secondary sector and 53.6% to the tertiary sector of the northwestern region of Mexico. The data were collected from February to May 2018 with the support of a self-directed structured survey of company managers. For the analysis and validation of the results, the statistical technique of the structural equations model (SEM) based on the variance was used to validate the structured relationships in this investigation through PLS (partial least squares). These analyses were prepared with the support of SmartPLS version 3.2.8 Professional. The results indicate that OLE (organizational learning) is a key element to strengthen CSR (corporate social responsibility) practices and increase financial performance in these types of companies, and that CSR is key to increasing financial performance. In addition, it was found that the OLE is a variable that mediates the relationship between CSR and financial performance. The work contributes to the development of the literature of organizational learning, the theory of resources and capabilities, and stakeholder theory