Purpose Understanding the micro-start-up resources and its relationships with entrepreneurial orientation and performance is unique because it operates a business in a poor resource setting. However, poor resource settings of micro-start-up are not adequately examined into the literature in relation to entrepreneurial orientation and performance. Therefore, grounded on resource-based view, this paper aims to attempt to examine the relationships between resource capital, entrepreneurial orientation and performance in a developing country context. Design/methodology/approach To establish this, the authors conducted a survey among 180 micro-entrepreneurs from Bangladesh and analyzed the data using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. Findings The results demonstrate the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between human and financial resources and performance, while having partial mediating influence between social resource and performance, therefore indicating the importance of resources for determining business outcomes for micro-entrepreneurs. Research limitations/implications These results extend theoretical explanations of micro-entrepreneurship within the poor resource setting context. The findings have implications for identifying micro-firms likely to succeed for the purpose of strategic allocation of resources and supports; they also provide future research avenues. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has established that entrepreneurial orientation plays a critical and mediating role between resource capital and micro-firm performance in a poor resource setting.

PurposeThis study investigates supply chain management (SCM) practices in a specific fast fashion apparel (FFA) industry. The impacts of SCM practices on competitive advantage (CA) are investigated via mediating roles of supply chain agility (SCA) and partnership quality (PQ). Resource advantage (R-A) theory, in addition to resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capability theories, is used as theoretical underpinning.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method approach is adopted: a qualitative field study and survey research. Data from 296 apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh are analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, involving reflective and formative, first- and second-order constructs and mediation tests using the Hayes PROCESS macro.FindingsBoth SCM practices and PQ significantly affect SCA. SCM practices are found to directly enhance CA, but, counterintuitively, only marginally. Only through mediations of SCA and PQ do SCM practices enhance CA significantly. This is a departure from past research that has postulated direct effects between SCM practices and CA.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is confined to the FFA industry and one national setting, Bangladesh. The data analyzed is also cross-sectional, with customary limitations on the temporal dimension.Practical implicationsSCM practices contribute to CA, but only through the mediation of PQ and SCA. This is an important directive to practitioners. Also, the second-order reflective measures for each construct indicate the specific SCM practices needed to maximize CA.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on SCM practices in FFA industry, specifically the mediating roles of PQ and SCA, resulting in new, more nuanced findings that are important in dynamic business settings, driven by new theoretical perspectives incorporating R-A theory, which has hardly been utilized before in SCM research.

Along with the phenomenal growth in fast fashion, the industry is beset with many challenges. Topping the list are design, production, and supply of the fast fashion apparel (FFA). Adoption and effective use of supply chain management (SCM) practices in the FFA industry have become indispensable to achieve this. However, there is a gap in the fast fashion literature on the appropriate modeling of adoption and practice of SCM. In addressing this research gap, this study builds a comprehensive model of SCM adoption and practice by extracting relevant factors and variables from FFA manufacturing firms via qualitative field study. This study is one of the first to analyze SCM adoption from the diffusion of innovation theory perspective in the fashion industry. While existing literature does not clearly differentiate between SCM adoption and practice, this research underpins that the diffusion of SCM practices within FFA firms must go through stages of adoption and practice for successful wide-scale implementation.

Purpose This study aims to examine the link between corporate social responsibility orientation (CSRO) and competitive advantage (CA) in the context of emerging economies. More specifically, the mediating role of intangible resources, namely, trust and corporate reputation (CR), is investigated to explain the above linkage. Design/methodology/approach This study considered a sample of 326 Saudi Arabian businesses that have extensive business-to-business operations across international markets. The analysis uses the partial least-squares-based structural equation model, involving first- and second-order constructs and mediation tests using the Hayes PROCESS macro. Findings The results confirm that the relationship between CSRO and CA is partially mediated. Moreover, CSRO does have a direct as well as an indirect positive impact on CA via the two intangible resources, e.g. trust and CR. In addition, results support the serial mediation model where CSRO was found to exercise its influence on CA via trust and CR in a sequential manner. Research limitations/implications This study enriches the limited literature on CSRO in the context of emerging economies. However, further studies should explore the opposite relationship, i.e. the impact of CA on CSRO. In addition, the authors believe that it would also be useful to study the moderating role of the industry sectors. Practical implications From a practical point of view, this study suggests new applications with respect to the link between CSRO and CA. To enhance their company’s CA, managers need to ensure that intangible resources are managed efficiently. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by examining how a firm’s intangible resources mediate between CSRO and CA. Second, originality is related to studying the link between CSRO and the trust and reputation of business organizations in emerging economies. Third, the findings suggest that the scope of a business is more than being responsible to its stakeholders, and stakeholder-driven CSRO leads to sustainable CA.

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