Abstract
The theme of this special issue indicates an investigation of the bidirectional (two-way) relationship among management practices, innovation, and firm productivity across various types of organisations and countries. Drawing on data from developing, emerging, and least developed economies, this special issue assesses the interplay among firm-level management quality, innovation activities, and country-specific context to identify the factors contributing to differences in firm-level performance and competitiveness. A series of studies covers an array of topics, including management practices, R&D investment, digital transformation, blockchain use, AI adoption, sustainability, resilience, export performance, and innovation capability at both the small- and medium-sized enterprise and large-firm levels. While there was a strong association between effective management practices (i.e., performance monitoring, target-setting, and incentive-based systems) and increased innovation outputs (and thus productivity), the positive relationship between innovation and firm performance was found to depend on specific environmental, financial, institutional, or technological characteristics. An additional number of studies have identified the mediation effect of innovative activities (e.g., R&D, patents, intangibles), while other studies highlighted the inhibiting effect of financial constraints on innovation-driven firms without tangible assets. Also, a significant portion of the studies included in the special issue demonstrated that digital and technological innovations will play a key role in determining future business performance and sustainability. By integrating various theories and methodologies, the collection provides a comprehensive review of how firms can align their management practices and innovation activities to improve long-term productivity, competitiveness, and sustainable development in increasingly complex global markets.
