Opening the black box: Exploring innovation pathways from entrepreneurial ecosystems to financial performance in healthcare organisations

Intenza, M.; Capobianco, N.; Sarto, F.; Saggese, S. Journal of Business Venturing Insights. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2025.e00586.

By adopting a sequential mixed-method research design, this study investigates the dynamics of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EEs) and their influence on the financial performance of hospital facilities, as well as the mediating role of innovation. The analysis is focused on the Italian context and is structured around three interrelated research phases that integrate qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Main findings suggest that stronger EEs enhance the financial performance of Italian private healthcare organisations by fostering access to resources and collaboration. Besides, innovation has a nuanced mediating effect: while R&D investments support long-term innovation, tangible outputs such as patents are crucial for generating positive financial returns. As one of the first studies linking EEs to financial outcomes in healthcare, the paper highlights the distinct roles of innovation inputs and outputs. These findings offer insights into the complex mechanisms through which EEs influence financial performance, supporting strategic policy and management decisions. © 2025 The Authors

The Frugal Scalability Paradox in Emerging Innovation Ecosystems

Socorro Márquez, F.O.; Reyes Ortiz, G.E.; Torrez-Meruvia, H. Administrative Sciences. DOI: 10.3390/admsci15110455. 

This integrative systematic review addresses the existing gap in understanding how frugal innovation can scale sustainably in emerging economies. Through a mixed-methods analysis based on the PRISMA 2020 protocol, 142 documents published between 2019 and 2025 in Scopus and Web of Science were examined. Scientific and grey literature. The methodology combined bibliometric mapping using VOSviewer, qualitative analysis with NVivo, and a Delphi panel of 15 experts, allowing for the triangulation of theoretical, empirical, and prospective evidence. The findings reveal a transition from a phase of contextual adaptation (2019–2021) to one of systematization and governance (2022–2025), highlighting that the so-called «Frugal Scalability Paradox»—the tension between hyper-contextualization and standardization—constitutes the main obstacle to the sustainability and expansion of frugal models. This study contributes both theoretically and practically by offering a taxonomy of value mechanisms, proposing a hybrid governance framework, and outlining a research agenda focused on inclusion, technological modularity, and impact funding. Frugal innovation is redefined here as a paradigm of intelligent tension management, capable of balancing local relevance and global replicability. © 2025 by the authors.

Agents in the Alps: The Functions and Impacts of Orchestrator Platforms in the Mountains

Landoni, M. Administrative Sciences. DOI: 10.3390/admsci15110441.

This article integrates diverse strands of theory and empirical research to combine views on economic complexity and entrepreneurial ecosystems in the context of mountain regions, focusing on the role of orchestrator platforms in shaping innovation and growth. Mountains are often marginal, dispersed, and loosely integrated areas that suffer from scarce opportunities for resource combination and interaction at the basis of the innovative process. The research relies on the case study of the European Alps, combining multiple sources of data—surveys, interviews, and ethnographic studies—to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the mountain ecosystems. Orchestrator platforms emerged as the central actors in the innovative network that overcomes the difficulties and constraints of the mountains. The article provides a comprehensive perspective on how economic complexity can drive development in mountain regions, offering both theoretical and practical contributions to the broader discourse on entrepreneurship and regional growth. © 2025 by the author.

Navigating uncertainty in a nascent ecosystem: How shifting cognitive frames influence an incumbent firm's platform scope strategies

Putra, F.H.R.; Khanagha, S.; Pandža, K.; Suárez, F.F. Strategic Management Journal. DOI: 10.1002/smj.70040.

Research Summary: We examine how an incumbent firm navigates internal and external uncertainties when entering a nascent platform ecosystem. Drawing on a longitudinal study of a large telecommunication firm's transition into an evolving IoT ecosystem, we advance a cognitive perspective on platform strategy. We explain how managers' cognitive frames shape platform scope decisions based on shifting assumptions and interpretations of ecosystem dynamics and internal capabilities. Our process model shows how deviations between expected and actual developments trigger changes in managers' attitudes toward uncertainty, thereby shifting their cognitive frames and prompting them to modify platform scope strategies, leading to oscillation between shaping and adapting strategic postures. Our theorization sheds light on the cognitive foundations of platform strategy and the dynamics of incumbent platform transitions in a nascent ecosystem. Managerial Summary: Incumbents often enter nascent digital ecosystems by introducing a platform, yet uncertainty complicates decisions about the appropriate platform scope. Our nine-year study of TELECO’s IoT platform reveals three takeaways. First, scope is not a one-off decision; it evolves as managers revisit assumptions about opportunities and constraints. Second, scope decision rarely move linearly; firms oscillate between broad and calibrated scopes, creating episodes of overreach and retrenchment. Third, interpretations of uncertainty steer these shifts: reading uncertainty as an opportunity supports shaping bets, whereas interpreting it as a constraint encourages adaptation and selective coopetition. Overall, platform decisions in uncertain ecosystems reflect organizational tensions as firms balance ambitions for dominance against market realities and the actions of ecosystem members. © 2025 The Author(s). Strategic Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Nurturing the sustainable and circular economy: an integrated ecosystems model

Ferreira, J.J.; Fernandes, C.; Veiga, P.M.; Dooley, L. Journal of Technology Transfer. DOI: 10.1007/s10961-025-10295-7.

This research investigates factors contributing to the transition towards green innovations. The study employed a four-study research design to achieve a holistic understanding across the multiple levels of the ecosystem. Firstly, a systematic literature review is conducted to develop a conceptual model for identifying variables to nurture transition (study 1) across the ecosystem layers. Secondly, micro-level analysis examines the strategic orientations (market and product) that impact companies' green innovations (study 2). Thirdly, meso-level analysis identifies the moderating effect of industry type on the relationship between strategic orientations and green innovations (study 3), and the final study evaluates the impact of environmental assets on economic growth and the mediating role of Industry 4.0 on this relationship (study 4). The development and testing of the multi-level model contribute to this emerging field, reflecting the integrated nature of ecosystems and identifying advantageous strategies for nurturing ecosystem transition towards increased sustainable and circular economies. Our results highlight the evidence on the relationship between environmental asset management and economic growth. This shows the importance of technology transfer in this context cannot be underestimated. This multi-level model, developed through systematising the different theories of this field of study, contributes not only by illuminating the inter-relationship across these multiple levels of the ecosystem but also by providing quantitative analysis of the key macro, meso, and micro variables that will nurture transition to ecosystem circularity. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.

International niche market leaders as drivers of industrial districts: a value chain perspective

Kamp, B., Murciego, A. Review of Regional Research. DOI: 10.1007/s10037-025-00255-x.

Research on Industrial Districts (IDs) as spatial and regional economic phenomena has led to the development of various classification schemes aimed at distinguishing different types of IDs. However, these typologies have largely overlooked the presence and role of International Niche Market Leaders (INMLs). This gap prompts an important question: do IDs that host INMLs fit within existing classifications, or do they require adjustments or extensions to current frameworks? To explore this issue, we analyze two Spanish IDs and demonstrate that INMLs can indeed be embedded within these districts. Notably, INMLs may occupy either upstream or downstream positions in the value chain, and the segments they inhabit often play a critical role in shaping the technological trajectory and internationalization dynamics of the ID. Although leadership within IDs is traditionally attributed to downstream producers, our findings reveal that upstream suppliers can also be central to the district’s development. These insights allow us to refine existing ID typologies by incorporating the role of INMLs. We argue that the relationship between IDs and INMLs is potentially symbiotic: while IDs can nurture the emergence of INMLs, these firms, in turn, can significantly contribute to the evolution and competitiveness of the districts. Based on this perspective, we offer a set of policy recommendations.

Adopting green and intelligent strategies to enhance productivity and competitiveness: Evidence from China's photovoltaic industry

Zhang, A.; Guo, X.; Liu, K. Journal of Cleaner Production. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.147169.

As the global energy transition accelerates, the photovoltaic (PV) industry plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable development and achieving carbon neutrality. However, how to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of PV companies through adopting green and intelligent strategies remains a critical unresolved issue in the industry. This study aims to explore how green and intelligent strategies, through the mediating effects of green technological innovation and dynamic capabilities, promote the productivity and competitiveness of PV enterprises. This study employs a mixed-method approach combining multiple linear regression analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to investigate how green and intelligent strategies, green technological innovation, dynamic capabilities, supply chain transparency, and government subsidies jointly influence the productivity and competitiveness of PV enterprises. The findings reveal that green technological innovation, as a mediating variable in the green strategy, significantly enhances the productivity and competitiveness of PV enterprises; similarly, dynamic capabilities play a vital mediating role in the intelligent strategy. In the second study, to further reveal and gain an insight into the compounded and complex interrelationship between green strategy, intelligent strategy, green technological innovation, dynamic capabilities, and policy support, the fsQCA method is employed. The findings show that no single determinant is essential; instead, productivity and competitiveness of PV follow three distinct patterns - namely, Technology Capability-Oriented, Intelligent Technology Upgrade, Green-Intelligence Synergy Promotion. The findings provide new insights into the strategic choices for PV enterprises. Moreover, it offers targeted policy recommendations to help promote the sustainable development of the industry. © © 2025. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Application of artificial intelligence in technology management: status quo, challenges and opportunities

Kim, S.; Song, Y.; Go, M.; Kim, S.; Kim, M.; Yoon, B. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management. DOI: 10.1080/09537325.2024.2389141.

Technology management (TM) aims to enhance technical competitiveness, providing organizations with a market advantage. The increasing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) within TM has sparked debate: supporters praise AI's decision-making capabilities, while critics stress the importance of human expertise. This study advocates for integrating AI into TM as a supportive tool for human decision-making rather than replacing domain experts. To achieve this, a comprehensive literature review examines the integration of AI in TM, exploring potential benefits and challenges. The research analyzes text mining works, existing data, and the suitability of AI models for various TM tasks. Additionally, it reviews AI applications in TM, identifying opportunities and challenges. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Unintended Cluster Emergence: Revisiting Francoist Industrial Policy in the Steelmaking Pole of Asturias (Spain), 1939–1985

Antuna, G. Enterprise and Society. DOI: 10.1017/eso.2025.10098.

Since the 1990s, growing interest in the relationship between clusters and economic growth has highlighted the importance of understanding their internal structures and life cycles. Still, the mechanisms underlying cluster emergence remain largely unknown, especially regarding the influence of public policies in this initial stage. This paper examines the emergence of a metalworking cluster in the Spanish steelmaking pole of Asturias, focusing on Francoist industrial policy and the regime’s relationship with regional firms. Findings indicate that Asturias presented favorable conditions for cluster formation since the late eighteenth century. However, only the establishment of the national steelmaking champion Ensidesa in 1950 triggered the appearance of self-reinforcing dynamics, finally boosting the cluster’s emergence. This process resulted from the indirect externalities generated by the steel industry and was never part of the Francoist industrial agenda. Despite the recognized sector’s potential, the regime prioritized strategic base industries and systematically ignored calls for direct support for metalworking firms. © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Business History Conference.

Value struggles and place: Looking at tradition, authenticity, and heritage through the wine glass

Ponte, S. Competition and Change. DOI: 10.1177/10245294251399855.

Wine is one of the most fragmented and diversified agro-food industries in the global economy, and one that is not yet utterly dominated by large corporate interests. It is also where all sorts of antagonisms to the power of capital are happening, and where the expansion of uniform and branded offerings is counterbalanced by alternative discourses and practices that attempt to instil appreciation for how ‘place’ can deliver a large range of different wines. At the same time, a large proportion of wine has industrial and ‘placeless’ qualities – just like in many other commodities circulating globally through value chains. In this article, I draw on the sociology of value to explore how different ‘worlds of valuation’ shape the ways place becomes a site of value struggles in wine, particularly through contested notions of tradition, authenticity, and heritage. I conclude that capital accumulation along value chains is based not only on superior bargaining power and regulatory and institutional setups that benefit capital against smaller producers and labour but also on the normative work around conflicting worlds of valuation related to place. © The Author(s) 2025