Why do small businesses in developing countries embrace sustainable business practices and what are the effects on their performance? We address these questions by drawing on the natural‐resource based view of the firm to argue that the environmental sustainability orientation of small businesses can be explained by their entrepreneurial orientation. Our study of 197 small businesses in the Philippines shows that an entrepreneurial strategic orientation enables them to develop a more proactive stance toward environmental sustainability practices which lead to superior firm performance. The implications of the findings for future research and for public policy for small businesses are also discussed.

With personalization, consumers can choose from various product attributes and a customized product is assembled based on their preferences. Marketers often offer personalization on websites. This paper investigates consumer purchase intentions toward personalized products in an online selling situation.The research builds and tests three hypotheses: (1) intention to purchase personalized products will be affected by individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity dimensions of a national culture; (2) consumers will be more likely to buy personalized search products than experience products; and (3) intention to buy a personalized product will not be influenced by price premiums up to some level. Results indicate that individualism is the only culture dimension to have a significant effect on purchase intention. Product type and individualism by price interaction also have a significant effect, whereas price does not. Major findings and implications are discussed.

This article develops a new conceptual model of knowledge flows within international service firms. Our model takes explicit account of the critical role of relationships and the individual as being central to the process of knowledge transfer for service firms. The model is then validated with data collected from five international service firms using critical event analysis techniques. The findings reinforce our contention that the individual plays a critical role in the process of knowledge transfer and that relationships form an integral part of this process. The implications of this finding are also discussed.

This paper argues that the effectiveness of HRM practices in tackling employee retention can be enhanced by improving the compatibility between employee and organisational values. We test our hypothesis using structural equation modelling on a sample of 258 employees in business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in the Philippines. The results show that the fit between employee and organisation values positively and partially mediates the effects of HRM practices on employee retention. However, employee-organisation value clash in US-owned BPOs was found to have a negative effect on employee retention. Because employees are less likely to leave when they share similar values as their organisations, HRM practices can be used strategically to improve the employee-organisation value fit to improve retention. The implications of the findings for HR managers of BPOs in developing countries are fully discussed.

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