Shahrokh Nikou

Purpose: Digital transformation (DT) demands more than technology adoption; it reshapes organisational routines, knowledge and decision structures, and the capabilities firms rely on to compete. Yet many firms fail to move DT beyond pilots, revealing a deeper problem: organisations lack the knowledge mechanisms needed to sustain transformation at scale. Design/methodology/approach: This paper positions design thinking (DTk) as a knowledge practice system: an interrelated set of methods, mindsets and artefacts that shapes the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities (DCs) during DT. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 14 practitioners in the Dutch financial services sector, the authors inductively identify and elaborate three DTk-shaped microfoundations: Adapting (sensing through problem framing bounded by strategic intent and short, iterative experiments), Governing (seizing through user evidence, structured decision checkpoints, role clarity and contracting mechanisms) and Conveying (reconfiguring through storytelling, boundary artefacts and shared vocabulary that transfer and translate knowledge across organisational boundaries). Findings: The authors demonstrate how these mechanisms address key DT challenges – strategic misalignment, decision risks, legacy-system constraints and cross-functional coordination failures – that are, at their core, knowledge management (KM) challenges. The analysis further specifies the knowledge processes each microfoundation enacts, a configuration logic among the three microfoundations and the failure modes that arise from imbalanced enactment. Practical implications: For managers, this paper provides guidance for embedding DTk as a practice system to strengthen knowledge transfer, strategic alignment and coordinated organisational change. Organisations in regulated, legacy-intensive settings are encouraged to emphasise Adapting to manage integration risk, Governing for compliance-robust decisions and Conveying to coordinate across stakeholder groups. Originality/value: This paper contributes to DC, DTk and KM literature in four ways, it offers a mechanism-level specification of how DTk practices serve as the microfoundations of DCs during DT; repositions DTk as a knowledge practice system connecting DC theory and KM scholarship; articulates a configuration logic and failure modes arising from imbalanced enactment and incorporates a monitoring loop consistent with capability dynamisation that sustains transformation momentum without disrupting core operations; and identifies boundary conditions as simultaneously KM conditions that intensify specific knowledge processes in highly regulated, legacy-intensive contexts.

Understanding why some firms succeed during strategic change while others fail represents a central question to entrepreneurship and Dynamic Capability (DC) theory (Arend, 2014; D. J. Teece et al.,...

The transition to recyclable packaging is a strategic priority for the Fast‐Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector, aligning with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). Adapting to regulatory uncertainty and integrating evolving recyclability criteria require not only technical innovation but also organisational transformation and cross‐functional alignment. This paper investigates how FMCG companies can develop dynamic capabilities to embed recyclability into packaging design, balancing sustainability, functionality and business viability. This paper aims to develop and validate design‐led toolkits that enable FMCG companies to integrate recyclability and regulatory compliance into packaging innovation in alignment with the EU PPWR. Drawing on a mixed‐methods approach combining literature review, stakeholder interviews and a case study within the case company's packaging division, we develop and validate strategic and tactical roadmaps and a recyclable‐ready design process template. The toolkits support managerial decision‐making by enabling regulatory preparedness, sustainable innovation and enhanced collaboration across R&D, marketing and supply chain functions. By framing recyclability as both a design and strategic organisational challenge, this paper positions PPWR compliance readiness as a dynamic capability and offers actionable frameworks for FMCG companies' transition towards circular packaging in a complex regulatory landscape. The findings contribute to sustainability‐oriented innovation literature and provide practical recommendations and solutions to managers and decision‐makers aiming at sustainable packaging transitions while maintaining competitive advantage.

Efficiency‐led sustainability is important but often fails to deliver absolute reductions in resource use, leaving organisations exposed to rebound effects. What remains underexplored is how sufficiency, the strategic limitation of consumption and resource use, is operationalised within organisational contexts. We address this gap through a systematic review of 70 peer‐reviewed studies, using the Structure‐Conduct‐Performance (SCP) framework to connect enabling conditions, organisational practices and sustainability performance. We identify eight thematic clusters reflecting how sufficiency is enacted across domains such as governance and policy, organisational practices, social norms and infrastructural systems. Building on these, we develop a typology of five strategic types through which organisations operationalise sufficiency. This paper (1) adds a system‐level perspective that bridges structural, strategic and performance domains; (2) extends the SCP framework as a theory‐building lens to expose misalignments that hinder sufficiency transitions; and (3) highlights tensions that challenge dominant assumptions in sustainability‐oriented organisational strategy.

Purpose: For two decades, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) has collected survey and national expert data to better understand entrepreneurial activity and the country context within which this occurs. In this paper, we re-envision GEM’s country groupings, positing a novel approach to more fully understanding the nuances of entrepreneurial activity. Design/methodology/approach: Using data from the GEM’s Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions (EFCs) (2017–2020), we employ an unsupervised machine learning method (clustering) to classify countries into distinct groups according to country-specific government policies, education, sociocultural, and entrepreneurship infrastructure support. Then, building on the identified two sets of distinct economies (termed as “matured” and “maturing” entrepreneurial economies) and using the GEM’s data on Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Attitudes (EBAs), fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is applied to highlight the complex nature of entrepreneurial intentions and to identify configurations of possible conditions that confirm intention pathways in entrepreneurial activities in each cluster of economies. Findings: Our key findings suggest that in “matured” economies, where entrepreneurship is well-supported, people are driven by opportunity and a supportive environment. Moreover, in “maturing” economies, where there is less support, factors like personal status and overcoming fear of failure play a bigger role in their motivations. This new perspective is crucial not just for understanding entrepreneurship but also for shaping policies that truly support budding entrepreneurs. The results suggest that governments should tailor their support for entrepreneurship based on their maturity level. Originality/value: Historically, GEM grouped countries based on the level of economic development (efficiency, innovation and factor economies) and, more recently, used the level of income (high, medium and low). Both categorisations are essentially outcome factors reflecting economic progress. While it is useful to compare countries based on these dimensions, we propose grouping based on entrepreneurial framework or contextual conditions, enabling scholars and policy makers alike to better understand how context influences entrepreneurial activity.

The pervasive integration of digital platforms into daily life has amplified their perceived indispensability. This study investigates the factors influencing this perception across countries with contrasting platform landscapes, focusing on platform quality and usage patterns. We conducted surveys in Finland and Korea, countries representing distinct platform ecosystems. The results revealed higher perceived indispensability in Korea than in Finland, with usefulness and habitual platform use emerging as significant predictors of indispensability in both countries. However, the specific aspects of platform quality influencing this perception diverged. In Finland, the platform’s comprehensiveness and security risk significantly impacted indispensability, while social interaction features played a negligible role. Conversely, in Korea, social interaction features significantly influenced indispensability, while platform comprehensiveness and security risk were non-significant. These findings underscore the multifaceted nature of digital platform indispensability, shaped by the interaction of platform quality and usage patterns. The contextual variations highlighted by our cross-country comparison suggest that a one-size-fits-all approach to platform regulation or user education may be ineffective. Future research should explore these cultural and platform-specific nuances to devise tailored policies.