Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on business model (BM) design by deepening the relationship between BM design themes and performance in a sample of firms based in a developing country. In particular, the authors deepen the relationship between business model novelty (BMN), business model efficiency (BME), the trade-off between novelty and efficiencythat the authors call BM ambidexterityand performance. Design/methodology/approach-Data are drawn from a sample of 107 manufacturing and service firms based in a developing country (Albania). Hierarchical regression is used to assess the impact on firm performance from the two BM design themes and their interaction. Findings-The authors find novelty-centred BM design is significantly related to firm performance while efficiency-centred design has no direct effect on performance. However, the authors also find that BME positively moderates the relationship between BMN and firm performance. Research limitations/implications-The relationship between BM design and firm performance can be better understood if contextualised. In the paper, the authors find that different types of BM designs have different impacts on the performance of firms based in a developing economy. While novelty matters, quite surprisingly the authors find no support for efficiency. Additionally, the authors find the interaction between the two design themes (BM ambidexterity) to have a positive impact on firm performance. Practical implications-The surveyed firms based in a developing economy appear to benefit from novelty-centred BM designs. Efficiency-centred designs have a more ambiguous role: while efficiency alone seems not to pay off, an efficient BM design may facilitate the market exploitation of a novel design. Originality/value-This study responds to a precise call for additional quantitative empirical studies on the relationship between BM and performance. The study also contributes to an emerging stream of research focused on BM ambidexterity.

Emergency remote teaching (ERT) is a new concept that describes the context in which instructional delivery is switched entirely online due to crisis circumstances. Recent research in such a context has been focused either on exploring the unique learning environment and enabling factors or on instructors’ intended behavior, with few studies exploring the students’ perspective. This study aims to contribute to the literature on technology-mediated teaching and learning by deepening the knowledge of the factors determining students’ behavioral intentions (BI) in ERT settings, using a survey of 487 graduate students attending public and non-public universities in Albania conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was employed to explore the chain relationship between ease of use (EASYUSE), expected efficiency (EE), attitudes (ATT), and BI. We expand the TAM model and increase its explanatory power by introducing new variables, such as co-presence (CP), and emergent variables, such as lack of learning materials and time constraints. Variance-based partial least squares techniques were used to validate our conceptual model. As hypothesized, EE and EASYUSE have a direct, positive effect on BI and an indirect effect via ATT. CP does not influence the BI directly but only indirectly via ATT and EE. Finally, the lack of learning materials is shown to negatively affect EE. While some of the findings have limited generalizability the specific research setting provides a unique opportunity to investigate the critical role of interactive teaching methods and learning barriers on students’ intentions and ATT. The fresh insights gained from the extended TAM model have important implications concerning the effective and systematic use of online modalities in similar settings. Supplementary Information The online version of this article (10.1007/s40692-022-00239-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This article analyses the determinants of access to the VET system in Albania and its impact on the inclusion of young people and vulnerable groups. The VET system often attracts students who have completed the compulsory levels of education with weak academic results. Many come from families with a low level of income and a low education level. Skill development can make a positive contribution to social inclusion and is particularly important for Albania at a time of greater unemployment among young people, lack of proper skills and competences of the labour force, demographic changes, and high levels of emigration. Yet, Albania has the lowest enrolment rate in the vocational education and training (VET) system in the Western Balkans and a variety of factors hinders access to VET schools. This article draws on original research based on in‐depth interviews with national and local actors, school managers and parents, focus groups and structured survey questionnaires with teachers and students at three VET providers in Albania. It finds that social, individual and school‐based factors all place barriers for enrolment of children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the VET system and that this contributes to the wider landscape of social exclusion in Albania.

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