Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the impact of strategic competitive innovation types on the financial performance of SMEs during a very critical period: the COVID-19 pandemic. Four strategic competitive innovation types are considered in this study: marketing innovation, organizational innovation, product innovation and processes innovation. Design/methodology/approach To examine empirically the relationship between strategic competitiveness and financial performance, data were collected from a sample of 426 Lebanese SMEs belonging to seven different sectors. Findings The empirical findings of principle component analysis model (PCA) and multiple regression model (MR) reveal that the ability to innovate is essential to an SME’s survival during a crisis. The results of this study confirm the existence of a positive impact of marketing innovation and processes innovation on the financial performance of SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implications Moreover, results suggest that, in Lebanese SMEs, product innovation and organizational innovation do not have any impact on the financial performance during the pandemic period. Originality/value This research focused on strategic competitive innovation as a broadly considered essential condition for the survival of SMEs during the COVID-19 crises.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the impact of dynamic managerial innovative capabilities on the competitive advantage (CA), financial performance (FP) and non-financial performance (NFP) of the health-care sector during the very turbulent Covid-19 pandemic period. The focus is on human behavior and personnel interaction in the hospitals that receive Covid-19 cases. Design/methodology/approach Data for this research was collected from the medical sector in Lebanon. The authors approached 14 public hospitals and 60 private hospitals for the study and only 48 hospitals (total of 284 respondents) accepted to complete the survey and provide data using a structured questionnaire. Findings This study reveals the moderating impact of CA on the relationship between dynamic managerial innovative capabilities and the performance of the health-care sector. Based on 48 Lebanese health-care centers during the Covid-19 pandemic, the results of the structural equation modeling model indicate that dynamic managerial innovative practices positively impact on CA and NFP. The results also reveal that CA has a moderating effect on the relationship between dynamic managerial innovative practices and NFP. Practical implications This study does not reveal any direct or indirect relationship between managerial capabilities and FP during the pandemic. Originality/value As the world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, the health-care sector needs new approaches and methods for confronting the constantly evolving and turbulent environment. This study examines how health-care leaders are dealing with these dynamic challenges and tests a three-dimensional SEM model of dynamic managerial capabilities (sensing, seizing and reconfiguration) that impact CA.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand and accentuate the value of social media in international student recruitment in Lebanese higher education institutions (HEIs). This study analyses the significance of social media and the changes occurring in the means of communicating with the potential international students, with an aim to understand how the HEIs could adapt with the changes to implement a model of engagement to include social media as a fundamental constituent of the Lebanese HEIs’ international student recruitment strategy.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers carried out a study through quantitative descriptive approach by using a probabilistic simple random sample and a self-administered questionnaire on 230 international students from several universities and colleges in Lebanon as a data collection method.FindingsThe findings demonstrated a certain level of engagement in social media networks from the part of the students during their search for college or university and course information. Research showed that international students still prefer the traditional sources, apart from social media, during their search. Among traditional media sources, friend, family and university website were the highest in ranking. Among social media sources, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube showed the highest ranks. Most students have, indeed, contacted a friend or a university staff for university course information by using social media sites.Practical implicationsFor managerial practice, this is an incentive for institutions of higher education to re-evaluate and assess the effective impact of social media on the recruitment of international students and to regulate their social media marketing strategies. For research in international education, the insights of this study are useful to explore further research avenues in the area of capacity building for business innovation, marketing and quality assurance in higher education in the cross-cultural context.Originality/valueThis study offers insights on the implications of social media for international student recruitment strategies in a particular Lebanese context of HEIs.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to extend the current literature on international entrepreneurial careers by employing the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. It mainly aims at identifying determinants of international entrepreneurial intentions among young people and after their first employment experience in Lebanon.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses SEM on a sample of 150 young Lebanese employees to analyze the relationships among the model constructs.FindingsThe SEM broadly holds and adequately fits the data. The entrepreneurship context and the motivation of young employees are the variables that positively affect entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship education and social norms have no statistically significant impact. Finally, risk awareness and professional experience are the variables that negatively affect entrepreneurial intentions. The level of international entrepreneurial intentions among young Lebanese employees is relatively low, which may be justified by the bad economic and political situation.Research limitations/implicationsData were drawn from organizations located in a specific geographical area, namely, Lebanon. Thus, this may constrain the generalizability as well as causality of the results.Originality/valueThis study provides an empirical explanation of having an international entrepreneurial career after the first employment experience, with a sample of 150 young employees in Lebanon. By applying the SEM, this study developed a multi-perspective framework covering various factors that may affect the choice of an international career in entrepreneurship, especially after the first job experience. Even though this study's results reflect a particular case, its recommendations could facilitate the achievement of better learning outcomes.