Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop an original six-phase model describing entrepreneurial learning in the transition of place-based enterprises toward a sustainable exploitation of natural common resources (commons). Design/methodology/approach The six-phase model proposed by this study explains the learning processes involving place-based enterprises through two important existing theories: adaptive co-management and Lachmann’s evolutionary, embedded theory of entrepreneurship. The proposed model integrates these two theories on the basis of a longitudinal case study on the fishing enterprises in an Italian marine protected area (MPA). Findings In the case study, the success factors identified by the adaptive co-management literature proved important in enabling an embedded entrepreneurial learning process consistent with Lachmann’s view. The case analysis allowed the authors to cluster these learning processes around six phases. Further, even if traditional fishing is not knowledge-intensive, this case shows the transition to a sustainable business model required intense efforts of educated institutional work and scientific research. Interestingly, the key learning processes were enabled by the emergence of a larger, networked social entity (a network form of organization) including the community of fishermen, the MPA management and a network of scientists studying the marine area ecosystem. Research limitations/implications This study is explorative and relies on a single case study. Despite this limitation, it opens up new research paths in the fields of entrepreneurship, institutional work, network organizations and adaptive management of the commons. Originality/value This study is strongly interdisciplinary; it proposes an original model based on a theoretical view that is highly innovative for organization and management studies; and addresses a relevant but overlooked issue with important societal implications.

Purpose Current literature recognised big data as a digital revolution affecting all organisational processes. To obtain a competitive advantage from the use of big data, an efficient integration in a performance measurement system (PMS) is needed, but it is still a “great challenge” in performance measurement research. This paper aims to review the big data and performance measurement studies to identify the publications’ trends and future research opportunities. Design/methodology/approach The authors reviewed 873 documents on big data and performance carrying out an extensive bibliometric analysis using two main techniques, i.e. performance analysis and science mapping. Findings Results point to a significant increase in the number of publications on big data and performance, highlighting a shortage of studies on business, management and accounting areas, and on how big data can improve performance measurement. Future research opportunities are identified. They regard the development of further research to explain how performance measurement field can effectively integrate big data into a PMS and describe the main themes related to big data in performance measurement literature. Originality/value This paper gives a holistic view of big data and performance measurement research through the inclusion of numerous contributions on different research streams. It also encourages further study for developing concrete tools.

This paper investigates the effect of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance on credit ratings. We argue that ESG factors should be considered in the credit analysis and the creditworthiness evaluation of borrowers because they affect borrowers' cash flows and the likelihood of default on their debt obligations. Consequently, we develop our research by firstly reviewing the literature regarding ESG commitments within financial decision-making processes and then addressing the relation between ESG performance and the cost of debt financing. We reveal no unanimous results and no clear-cut boundaries on this matter yet. Secondly, to disentangle this relationship, which is not well defined by scholars, we empirically investigate the nexus between ESG performance and credit rating issues on a sample of 56 Italian and Spanish public firms for which ESG performance in 2015 was achieved. Our final sample includes 15 variables for 56 observations: 840 items are under analysis. Our findings suggest that ESG performance, especially concerning social and governance metrics, meaningfully affects credit ratings. We do not sort out significant results referring to environmental scores, so further research is needed to investigate this ever-growing matter and strengthen this considerable nexus.

Purpose This paper aims to reconcile the conflicting understanding on the nexus between corporate governance (CG), corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) by investigating how companies engage with CSR practices. Design/methodology/approach The study carries out a multivariate linear regression analysis on a sample of 361 listed companies from five countries in Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Findings CG mechanisms and CFP have an impact on CSR because they affect social and environmental practices strongly and significantly. Furthermore, the findings describe the capacity of CSR to influence both the CG structure and the CFP. Research limitations/implications The present research limits the analysis on the social and environmental performance of companies that communicate their commitment to stakeholders without distinguishing between “greenwashing” companies that implement CSR to improve corporate reputation and those companies that pursue effective societal benefits, taking care of stakeholder relationships. Practical implications The CSR approach can drive the CG structure and improve CFP if managers perceive the implementation of sustainable practices as an integrated process rather than a mere outcome. Originality/value This paper seeks to disentangle the nexus between CG, CFP and CSR, not yet precisely defined by scholars in the context of five countries in Europe.

This study argues that the common good, besides organizational performance, should be the final goal of organizational learning. However, the organisational learning literature lacks conceptual tools that allow scholars to understand and measure the common good at the ecosystem level as a final goal of organisational learning. Further, the literature has not yet investigated the specific organisational capabilities that are key to pursuing the common good, and lacks conceptual tools to explain the dynamics linking organisational learning, organisational performance, and the common good. We illustrate how these gaps can be addressed by cross-fertilising the literature on organisational knowledge with other viable and intertwining research streams-namely, literature on the commons, adaptive co-management and organisational fields. We argue that the resulting model of organisational learning paves the way for interesting innovations in theory and practice.