Purpose: Literature shows that it is a paradox whether employees can achieve performance in telework, especially during COVID-19. Our aim is to clarify the relationship between telework and employees' job performance through a moderated mediation model. Methods: This study employed two-wave surveys with the aim of reducing the potential risk of common method bias. The 1309 participants of the survey were mainly employees who used telework during COVID-19, and they were mostly in positions such as product design and scheme planning. SEM was used to test the hypotheses. Results: Results from two-wave surveys of 1309 Chinese employees indicated that telework positively influenced job performance via job crafting. That is, job crafting played a mediating role between telework and job performance. And performance-prove goal orientation positively moderated the relationship between telework and job crafting but performance-avoid goal orientation negatively moderated the relationship between them. Conclusion:This study shows that telework can improve job performance through job crafting in COVID-19, in response to the paradox implied in the literature. In addition, we use COR theory to explain the role of performance goal orientation and job crafting in telework. We add these variables to the theoretical framework of COR theory, thereby enriching the theoretical research from the COR theory perspective.

PurposeThis study aims to examine how and when digital platform capabilities drive technological innovation from a strategic information perspective, regarding information flow and information quality as mediators and business intelligence analytics as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachThis study engaged corporate executives in surveys and obtained 182 firm data and then tested the hypotheses using linear regression models and the robustness using the structural equation model.FindingsDigital platform capabilities drive corporate technological innovation through access to strategic information, i.e. strategic information mediates between digital platform capabilities and technological innovation. Business intelligence analytics increases the influence of strategic information on technological innovation.Practical implicationsThis study underlines the importance for companies to construct digital platform capabilities to access strategic information to achieve technological innovation and the role of business intelligence analytics in processing strategic information.Originality/valueThis study finds a new perspective, strategic information, to explain the mechanisms by which digital platform capabilities drive firms’ technological innovation. In addition, the robustness of the resource-based view in understanding digital platform capabilities is stressed.

PurposeThis study aims to explore whether digital platform capabilities (integration and reconstruction) affect technological innovation through knowledge bases in the dimensions of breadth and depth and the moderating role of organisational routines updating.Design/methodology/approachHierarchical regression, mediation effect test macro and bootstrap were conducted to empirically analyse two waves of longitudinal survey data from 179 Chinese technology firms.FindingsResults confirmed that knowledge bases (breadth and depth) mediated the effect of digital platform capabilities (integration and reconstruction) on technological innovation and that updating of organisational routines moderated the relationship between knowledge bases and technological innovation.Practical implicationsThese findings offer guidance to firms that aim to achieve technological innovation and advantages, highlighting the importance of digital platform capabilities, knowledge bases and organisational routines updating.Originality/valueAdvancing from existing digital strategies and firm innovation literature, the authors provide a new perspective (knowledge bases) to respond to the information technology (IT) paradox and understand the role of digital platform capabilities in improving technological innovation.

Purpose This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of digital platform capability on firm performance in the business-to-business (B2B) context. This study draws on the core competence theory and the resource-based view and includes resource identification, resource allocation and intrapreneurship into the research framework. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 167 B2B firms with survey questionnaires in central, eastern and southeastern coastal areas of China. The firms were mainly involved in e-commerce, manufacturing, service industry and internet technology. Participants were mainly middle and senior managers with a comprehensive grasp of their firms’ information. Findings This study found that digital platform capability has a positive impact on a B2B firm’s performance. Resource identification, resource allocation and intrapreneurship play a chain mediating role between digital platform capability and firm performance. That is, digital platform capability could promote employee intrapreneurship through resource identification and resource allocation, thereby improving firm performance. Practical implications Aiming to gain performance, firms should pay attention to the construction of digital platforms, increase venture capital investment and provide more resources to support intrapreneurship. Originality/value Based on empirical evidence, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to link digital platform capability and firm performance in the B2B context of emerging markets, providing a new perspective to clarify its relationship mechanism.

PurposeThis study aims to examine how and when leader bottom-line mentality (BLM) affects employee innovation (EI) in the context of Chinese organisations in which psychological contract breach (PCB) is a mediator and moral identity (MI) is a moderator.Design/methodology/approachThe authors distributed the questionnaires to technology and culture firms in 2 waves and obtained a sample of 308 employees in 56 teams. The authors used the hierarchical linear model (HLM) and bootstrap method for the hypothesis testing.FindingsThe authors conclude that leader BLM negatively influences EI. Specifically, leader BLM leads mainly to low EI by increasing PCB amongst employees. Moreover, MI plays a moderating role in the above mechanism, i.e. the higher the MI degree of employees, the stronger the mediating role of PCB and the stronger the negative impact of leader BLM.Practical implicationsThis study argues that BLM is necessary for firm development, but paying too much attention to BLM may achieve the opposite effect. Reducing BLM or buffering the negative impact of BLM through various measures (e.g. human resource management) is appropriate for managers.Originality/valueThe authors discover a new mechanism and boundary condition, i.e. leader BLM has a negative impact on EI through PCB and MI strengthens the effect of leader BLM.