Milena Ratajczak-Mrozek

Internationalizing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must develop organizational routines under uncertainty while balancing local responsiveness with control over scarce resources. This study examines how affordable loss estimation, autonomy-granting, and routine development jointly relate to international performance. Drawing on effectuation theory, we conceptualize affordable loss estimation as an organizing logic that enables managers to decentralize decision-making while maintaining acceptable limits on resource exposure. We test the proposed relationships using survey data from internationally operating manufacturing SMEs in Brazil, China, and Poland, analyzed through structural equation modeling. The findings support the proposed indirect relationships, indicating that affordable loss estimation is associated with international performance through autonomy-granting and the development of routines suited to international operations. These findings suggest that autonomy and routines operate as complementary organizational mechanisms: autonomy facilitates locally informed responses to uncertainty, whereas routines enable firms to consolidate and coordinate knowledge gained through international activities. The study contributes to international entrepreneurship and effectuation research by extending affordable loss beyond opportunity evaluation and resource commitment to the internal organization of internationalizing SMEs. It highlights how managerial decision logic, decision-authority allocation, and routine development jointly explain international performance.

Purpose: The paper aims to identify how entrepreneurs’ identities intersect with interaction patterns to facilitate sustainability-driven activities in microenterprises. In addition, it proposes a typology of sustainable entrepreneurs, ranging from Mission-Embedded Activists to Instrumentally Sustainable Entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts a qualitative study and presents the results of in-depth interviews conducted with entrepreneurs running 20 plant-based restaurant ventures, serving as a suitable context for examining sustainable entrepreneurship. Findings: Sustainability-oriented activities in microenterprises emerge through the interplay between entrepreneurial identity, sustainability-driven identity and interaction patterns. This study develops and implements a four-part typology of sustainable entrepreneurs: Mission-Embedded Activists, Value-Oriented Practitioners, Health-Oriented Problem Solvers and Instrumentally Sustainable Entrepreneurs. Based on this typology, the study demonstrates how different identity configurations translate into distinct approaches toward actor selection, relational openness and the use of close cooperation and pure exchange interactions. The findings further show that interaction patterns are shaped not only by sustainability-driven values but also by resource availability, operational constraints and actors’ local proximity. Originality/value: This paper advances understanding of sustainable entrepreneurs in microenterprises by demonstrating how entrepreneurial identity shapes interaction patterns and the enactment of sustainability-oriented activities. It contributes to the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group tradition by integrating entrepreneurial identity into the analysis of interaction, thereby extending micro-foundational perspectives in business network research. The study also shows that sustainability-oriented interaction patterns emerge through the interplay among identity, resource constraints and contextual conditions. Finally, it proposes a typology grounded in entrepreneurial identity and sustainability-driven identity, which is subsequently used to explain variation in interaction patterns across sustainable entrepreneurs.

Objective: As the increased number of studies on governance mechanisms is accompanied by a similarly increased lack of terminological consistency, the paper aims to propose a systematisation of the governance mechanisms in B2B relationships based on a systematic literature review. Research Design & Methods: The paper is based on a systematic literature review of 53 papers from Scopus and Google Scholar databases. Findings: Based on the detailed governance mechanisms identified in the literature, the own classification of governance mechanisms applied in B2B relationships is proposed. Concurrently with the process of analysing the detailed mechanisms in B2B relationships, the factors influencing the mix of relational, contractual and virtual governance mechanisms were investigated. Implications / Recommendations: The paper contributes to the theoretical development by providing systematisation of governance mechanisms. The proposed implications are also important for managerial practice as they systematically present the mix of available detailed mechanisms to be applied in B2B relationships depending on the company’s goal and situation. Contribution: The paper contributes to the theoretical development by providing the systematisation of governance mechanisms in B2B relationships. We have divided broad types of governance mechanisms into detailed types and in some cases additional subtypes. Thus, relational governance mechanisms include mutual trust, social norms and values and day-to-day contact between B2B actors. Contractual governance mechanisms cover written contracts, formal control of activities, formalisation of activities and resource investments in B2B relationships. Finally, virtual governance mechanisms include electronic integration, IT policies and procedures and handling social relationships and norms through IT.

Tackling the rational decision-making in ethical consumption. Purpose: The aim of this chapter is to investigate how consumers’ rational decision-making influences their ethical consumption intentions and behaviour. In addition, this systematic literature review reveals research gaps of the existing studies and propose future research propositions based on three themes: reasons for the ethical consumption intention–behaviour gap, psychological factors in ethical consumption, and promoting ethical consumption. Design/methodology/approach: This chapter is based on a systematic literature review using the PRISMA framework. It includes a thematic analysis followed by a bibliometric coupling of 23 documents from the Scopus database. Findings: The study identifies three thematic clusters on rational decision-making and ethical consumption. These cover multifaceted reasons for the intention–behaviour gap (cost–benefit rationalisations, cultural norms, neutralisation tactics), psychological drivers of ethical consumption (guilt, pride, habit, brand strategies), and collaborative promotion strategies (community initiatives, stealth reformulations, cultural narratives). The study also reveals research gaps where current models overemphasise rational cost–benefit frameworks and underrepresent emotional and cultural dynamics. Furthermore, these models lack empirical validation of neutralisation strategies and bounded rationality across diverse contexts. Originality and value: This study maps how psychological drivers shape consumer rationality in ethical consumption behaviour and how rational decision processes influence the intention–behaviour gap. It also identifies key literature gaps and propose research propositions and future research directions to enhance consumers’ ability to leverage rational decision-making for more consistent ethical consumption.

This chapter conceptualises the relational business model and examines its role in driving business performance by integrating inter-organisational relationships, value creation, and the service profit chain (SPC). It proposes a comprehensive, application-oriented conceptualisation of the relational business model by expanding the SPC to encompass diverse inter-organisational relationships and their complexity. This approach highlights the multidirectional processes of value creation involving all internal and external actors, addressing gaps in existing frameworks and offering practical implications for relationship management. The proposed model aligns with the servitisation of the economy and provides a robust foundation for understanding and enhancing the relational dynamics that underpin business success.

This study explores the nexus between business relationships and corporate sustainability through a systematic literature review of 235 publications. By examining interactions among diverse actors – business and non-business – the research identifies critical themes driving sustainability outcomes: collaborative dynamics, sustainable supply chains, customer relationship management, and stakeholder value co-creation within a circular economy. The findings highlight the role of trust, power dynamics, and governance mechanisms in shaping collaborative relationships, and the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Industry 4.0 technologies in sustainable supply chains. Furthermore, stakeholder collaboration emerges as a cornerstone for advancing circular economies, necessitating co-creation and innovation across ecosystems. This research not only advances the theoretical understanding of sustainability but also offers actionable insights for managers seeking to align relationship strategies of inter-organisational networks in fostering long-term resilience and sustainability.

This book explores the power of relationships in shaping resilient and sustainable businesses. In an era of uncertainty, where disruptions challenge

This chapter conceptualises how the performance of sustainable relational business models can be assessed and reinforced through the interconnected dimensions of efficiency, effectiveness, and resilience. Efficiency concerns the optimal use of resources, maximising the output with the minimal input and waste; effectiveness captures the achievement of shared strategic and sustainability goals; and resilience underscores the ability to withstand disruptions and uncertainty, be flexible, and adapt over time. Drawing on insights from research on business models, sustainability, and inter-organisational relationships, the chapter juxtaposes the three performance dimensions of sustainable relational business models and provides practical implications for managers, guiding the performance that supports sustainable value creation. It argues that only by embracing this multi-dimensional view can firms build truly robust, future-ready, sustainable relational business models.

This introduction presents the central argument of the book: that achieving performance, resilience, and sustainability in today’s turbulent business environment requires moving beyond the limits of narrow competitive logic based solely on operational optimisation towards relational business models anchored in collaboration. Resilience is conceptualised as a capability that depends on adaptability, continued resource development, and the willingness to maintain buffers that ensure long-term stability. At the same time, sustainability is framed as an integrated strategic output that combines economic, social, and environmental goals. These objectives cannot be realised in organisational isolation. Performance emerges through embedded relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, and broader business and non-business actors. Relational business models enable co-creation of value, redistribution of risk, stronger innovation trajectories, and shared commitments over extended time horizons. The introduction outlines how the subsequent parts of the book explore theoretical foundations, the influence of digitalisation, and pathways by which inter-organisational collaboration, relationships, and relational business models support sustainable development.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to identify the necessary transformations required to evolve entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) into sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems (SEEs) and to explore the primary challenges involved. By addressing these aspects the study establishes a foundation for future research directions. Design/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a conceptual analysis based on the semi-systematic literature review of the concepts of EEs and SEEs. Findings: An SEE intentionally addresses all three dimensions of sustainability—social, ecological and economic. This requires, on the one hand, a genuine will and effort from individual actors to increase their sustainability, and, on the other, an establishment of systemic conditions that will make this transformation easier and allow for a fair distribution of its costs. Originality/value: The paper bridges the research concerning limited studies on SEEs by presenting a model that delineates the conditions for the development of SEE and identifies the requisite changes necessary to foster sustainability within the EE. Furthermore, the paper outlines potential avenues for future research to explore the conceptual advancement and practical implementation of the SEE concept.