The objective of this paper is to understand the contribution of networks to innovation and firm performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Based on longitudinal data from 1,435 SMEs, we show that strong, heterogeneous ties improve innovation in SMEs. However, the connections between network ties and firm performance are more complex than previously thought, as the positive association is mediated by innovation. Consequently, SMEs should only concentrate on cultivating and maintaining networks if they lead directly to improvements in innovation.

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The importance of resilience for tourism organizations facing crises and disasters is indisputable. Yet little is known about how these organizations become resilient. This paper proposes that dynamic capabilities provide a mechanism that enables tourism organizations to respond to disruptive environmental changes through a process of routine transformation, resource allocation, and utilization. The resulting theoretical framework takes a processual view to show how an organization's existing operational routines transform into new ones that are resilient to disruptive events, enabled by dynamic capabilities and slack resources. The paper outlines six research propositions and suggests methods for future empirical research.

The impact of environmental regulation on innovation is of central interest to many industries and policy makers alike. While traditional research adopts a top-down view of regulation and attempts to measure the innovation response, the more bottom-up view of contemporary theory argues that firms produce innovations that exceed compliance levels as a competitive strategy. We approach this dichotomy by investigating innovation introduced by Australian oil and gas firms in light of environmental regulatory compliance burden and firm-level characteristics, including competitive capabilities. Analyses of survey responses, executivelevel interviews and conference proceedings reveal both regulatory (top-down) and competitive advantage (bottom-up) perspectives explain innovation in this industry.Regression analyses reveal that product/service and novel innovations (all types) are related to a high compliance burden, competitive skills, research and development activity, and engagement in formal collaborations. Interview and conference data add nuance to our findings revealing collaborative compliance frameworks result in similar innovation outcomes.

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This study develops a typology of dynamic capabilities to advance knowledge on how tourism organizations can manage disruptive external changes. It uses the context of a natural disaster. The article goes beyond a simple classification of organizational activities in responding to crises/disasters to create a typology of 12 dynamic capabilities. The typology is based on three dimensions that align with the disaster life cycle, source of resources, and deployment of resources. This study also provides empirical explanations for each type of dynamic capability, using qualitative data collected from 40 in-depth interviews with tourism organizations and other stakeholders across two years. Several practical implications and future research directions are provided based on the findings and limitations of the study.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the integration of entrepreneurship and strategy to develop a conceptual framework of strategic entrepreneurship. The framework is developed through an analysis of theory and refined through an examination of practice.Design/methodology/approachThis framework is considered in the context of potentially entrepreneurial and strategic activity undertaken by 12 of the 17 state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) operating in New Zealand in 2006‐2007. Based on a review of documents, observation, and interviews with SOE executives, cases of 12 SOE activities were analysed to compare and contrast strategic entrepreneurship in practice.FindingsThe findings reveal distinct elements within the four activities classified as strategic entrepreneurship, activities, such as leveraging from core skills and resources from a strategic perspective, and innovation from an entrepreneurial perspective.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to examine the nature of strategic entrepreneurship in practice and the associated financial returns.

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis for healthcare systems worldwide. There have been significant challenges to managing public and private health care and related services systems’ capacity to cope with testing, treatment and containment of the virus. Drawing on the foundational research by Frow et al. (2019), the paper explores how adopting a service ecosystem perspective provides insight into the complexity of healthcare systems during times of extreme stress and uncertainty.Design/methodology/approachA healthcare framework based on a review of the service ecosystem literature is developed, and the COVID-19 crisis in Australia provides an illustrative case.FindingsThe study demonstrates how the service ecosystem perspective provides new insight into the dynamics and multilayered nature of a healthcare system during a pandemic. Three propositions are developed that offer directions for future research and managerial applications.Practical implicationsThe research provides an understanding of the relevance of managerial flexibility, innovation, learning and knowledge sharing, which offers opportunities leading to greater resilience in the healthcare system. In particular, the research addresses how service providers in the service ecosystem learn from this pandemic to inform future practices.Originality/valueThe service ecosystem perspective for health care offers fresh thinking and an understanding of how a shared worldview, institutional practices and supportive and disruptive factors influence the systems’ overall well-being during a crisis such as COVID-19.