Moderating influence of religiosity on the causality between taxpaying attitudes and tax compliance behaviour of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the moderating influence of religiosity on the effect of taxpaying attitudes on the tax compliance behaviour of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach Using a cross-sectional survey design, we collected primary data from 368 owner managers of entrepreneurial firms in Southwest Nigeria using structured questionnaires. Respondents were purposefully selected based on the purposive sampling technique. The data collected with the structured questionnaires were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Two linear regression models were compared. Findings Estimations in Models 1 and 2 suggest that taxpayers’ attitudes and religiosity (intra- and interreligiosity) have significant effects on the tax compliance behaviour of firms, but the influence of intrareligiosity is insignificant. Estimations in Model 3 suggest that taxpaying attitudes without the moderating influence of religiosity exerted a significant effect on tax compliance behaviour by 13%, while taxpaying attitudes with the moderating influence of religiosity exerted 17%. Estimations in Model 4 suggest that taxpaying attitudes with the moderating influence of the interreligiosity dimension had a more significant contribution to the changes in tax compliance behaviour than the intrareligious dimension. Research limitations/implications From the findings, the following policy implications can be deduced: (i) if taxpayers’ attitudes improved and religiosity was leveraged by the tax authorities, tax compliance behaviour of entrepreneurial firms would be induced in Nigeria; (ii) the consistent positive influence is a strong indication that religious values are critical elements of tax compliance interventions that should be considered by policymakers when designing public policies on tax evasion and avoidance in developing countries. Originality/value We bridge the gaps in the literature because our study affirmed that taxes are religiously driven. In addition, the study validates the applicability of theory of planned behaviour in investigating the moderating influence of religiosity on the causality between taxpaying attitude and tax compliance in the developing context.

Analysis and Impact Evaluation of Entrepreneurs’ Improvisational Behavior Trigger Patterns

How entrepreneurial firms can enhance the level of exploratory and exploitative improvisation in a balanced manner to enhance organizational dynamics has become an important research topic. Current research on the triggers of duality entrepreneurial improvisation has just started, exploring mainly abstract characteristic variables, and has not paid attention to the impact of entrepreneurs’ daily behaviors. In order to make up for the shortcomings of current research, the research goal of this paper is to construct a triggering model of entrepreneurs’ improvisation based on the research of entrepreneurs’ daily behaviors and then to evaluate the influence of the improvisational behavior trigger patterns. Based on the paradoxical and theoretical perspective of duality, a structured observation method is used to explore which behavioral patterns of entrepreneurs tend to trigger dual improvisational behaviors in themselves, their teams, and their organizations. After observing and recording the creators and collecting phenomenal data, six entrepreneurial behavior patterns containing 39 specific operational behaviors have been extracted from the phenomenal data by drawing on the rooted theory approach. In addition, the influence of entrepreneurial patterns is evaluated and ranked using the pairwise hesitant fuzzy set evaluation method. This study reveals the relationship between entrepreneurs’ daily behaviors and dyadic entrepreneurial improvisation at the operational level and provides guiding plans for entrepreneurs to improve their own and their organizations’ improvisation levels.

How international marketers make decisions: exploring approaches to learning and using heuristics

PurposeThe paper addresses the following research question: how do decision-makers use heuristics in their international business (IB) environment? Whereas, the literature has focused on entrepreneurial companies, here contrasting approaches to learning and using heuristics in international marketing (IM) decisions are examined and discussed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper aims to address a gap in the study of micro-foundations of internationalization, exploiting research from other disciplinary fields. It combines a multidisciplinary literature review and longitudinal case studies to illustrate different approaches in learning and using heuristics by international marketers.FindingsInternational marketers can adopt “closed” heuristics that are consolidated and consistently followed, or “open” heuristics, which are constantly being adapted and learned. Established multinationals learn heuristics in international marketing decision-making, following both “closed” and “open” models.Originality/valueThis paper offers an original contribution by presenting different approaches not yet examined in the literature, focusing on how international marketers make decisions through learning and using heuristic rules. The focus is on established exporters, in contrast to the literature that has largely paid attention to the effectiveness of heuristics in new entrepreneurial firms.

Does eWOM influence entrepreneurial firms’ rate of diffusion of innovation?

Purpose This research aims to investigate the influence of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on the diffusion rate of innovation in the context of entrepreneurial firms in emerging markets. It examines a comprehensive model for the effect of eWOM dimensions (including Content, Intensity, Positive Valence and Negative Valence) on the diffusion of innovations. Thus, it provides new insights on how entrepreneurial firms can use eWOM as a communication tool to facilitate the diffusion rate of innovations in emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach was adopted, consisting of 215 responses from Jordan. Data were analysed using Linear regression analysis tools. Findings A significant relationship exists between eWOM dimensions (Content, Intensity, Positive Valence and Negative Valence) and the Diffusion Rate of Innovations. In emerging markets, eWOM content highlights critical information regarding consumers’ sentiments towards new products (including features, price, design), which consumers use in judging innovations. Especially when there is a high volume of eWOM about a new product, consumers are likely to gain reassurances regarding their purchase decisions. Specifically, the valence of eWOM (including reviews, complaints and suggestions) generate adoption/risk-aversion attitudes towards new products. Consequently, entrepreneurial firms must carefully analyse eWOM regarding their products and integrate them into their marketing strategy. 10; Originality/value This research extends the eWOM literature by developing a comprehensive model for the effect of eWOM dimensions on the diffusion of innovations. Additionally, it sheds new light on the effect of eWOM valence on consumers’ attitudes towards innovations. Finally, it provides significant theoretical and managerial implications and future research direction to deepen our understanding of the effect of eWOM on entrepreneurial firms.

Interpretation of successful and failed events at entrepreneurial firms: Acknowledgement practice under uncertainty

Event interpretation and acknowledgement drive behaviour and identity formation in organisations. Extant studies exploring this link have focused on large, stable organisations. We extend these studies to entrepreneurial contexts where individual behaviour and organisational identity are especially fluid. We analyse narratives of success and failure in entrepreneurial firms to identify and explore acknowledgement practice, which is the ad-hoc action (or inaction) of organisational actors and groups responding to observed events. We explore how uncertainty affects event interpretation and acknowledgement. Within entrepreneurial contexts, we show that event interpretation and acknowledgement biases influence responses to success and failure. The combination of these biases reveals four broad emergent organisational characteristics, which have important implications for organisational identity.

DESIGNING LIGHTWEIGHT OPEN INNOVATION: A CONCEPTUALISATION OF HOW LARGE FIRMS ENGAGE WITH SMALL ENTREPRENEURIAL FIRMS

There is increasing scholarly interest in how large corporations engage in open innovation with small entrepreneurial firms, with synergies potentially producing positive outcomes for both the involved parties and the surrounding ecosystem. “Lightweight models” of open innovation (LOIs) have recently been introduced, governed by trust and relationships rather than by equity ownership and transactional control. This paper introduces a design framework and an alignment model for LOIs, based on 19 inductively generated and highly interrelated design elements associated with five design themes. The study uses empirical data from 18 LOI initiatives in Sweden, and the framework explains important differences in their motives, value propositions, innovation localizations, involved participants, and forms of interactions. Applying a value perspective to open innovation highlights two different value logics, suggesting that LOI initiatives can approach value by emphasizing either value creation or value capture. These logics may greatly influence other important design elements of LOIs.

The impact of entrepreneurs' full-time versus hybrid employment and social connections on new venture survival: a USA–India comparison

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how the entrepreneurs' social connections and types of employment differentially affect the survival of startup firms in the USA and India. Further, the authors analyze the differences during both the early stage and the later stages of new ventures.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database between 2012 and 2014 and examine the hypothesized effects with logistic regression analyses.FindingsThe analysis reveals that an entrepreneur's social connections with other entrepreneurs favor the survival of the focal entrepreneur's early-stage business in the USA. However, social connections are more critical for later-stage ventures in India. During the early stage, new ventures of full-time entrepreneurs are more likely to survive in India, whereas those by hybrid entrepreneurs are more likely to survive in the USA. The differences between the importance of full-time and hybrid entrepreneurs across geographies are less discernible during the later stages of new ventures.Originality/valueThe novelty of this paper is that it demonstrates the significant differences in the way social connections and types of employment (hybrid versus full-time) affect the survival of entrepreneurial firms in the early and later stages. The study also expands the international business literature by shedding new light on country-level differences that affect the survival of new ventures.