Marika Intenza

This article aims to provide an overview of family firms and entrepreneurial ecosystems regarding their current trends and future research directions. A systematic literature review was carried out on 37 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters extracted from the Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection databases up to December 2025. By carrying out a coding procedure and thematic approach, we blend the input-process-outcome model with three levels of analysis (i.e., individual, family, and firm). Findings reveal that family firms shape and are conditioned by entrepreneurial ecosystems. At the same time, resource deployment and embeddedness foster knowledge transfer and regional resilience, thus corroborating the co-evolutionary relationship between family firms and entrepreneurial ecosystems. The contribution of this work is threefold: (i) an integrated theory-driven conceptual model; (ii) an inductive thematic map grounded in coded outcomes; and (iii) a future research agenda steering scholars towards novel research directions.

Purpose: This study addresses the persistent issue of gender diversity in the high-tech sector, where women remain particularly underrepresented. We investigated the relationship between the presence of women managers and the percentage of female employees within high-tech firms. Furthermore, the moderating role of work–life balance (WLB) policies was examined. Drawing upon social role theory (SRT), our research highlighted the twofold relevance of leadership diversity and structural support in promoting gender equity at all organisational levels. Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample of 512 firm-year observations from European listed companies operating in the high-tech sector, a longitudinal analysis spanning the period 2014–2020 was carried out. Findings: Our findings proved that women in top management team (TMT) positions positively influence the percentage of female employees, with WLB policies significantly and positively moderating this relationship. Originality/value: While much of the existing research has focused on women’s representation within boards of directors (BoD), scant attention has been devoted to the influence of women in leadership positions. This study enriches the SRT framework by emphasising the theoretical link between female leadership representation and organisational mechanisms encouraging gender diversity. To this end, this research further feeds diversity management and organisational change literature. The focus on the high-tech sector aims to provide intriguing food for gender disparities in one of the most male-dominated industries. By demonstrating that women managers can help close the gender gap through both role-modelling and structural support mechanisms, this study offers a pathway to mitigate cascading inequities and nurture a more inclusive labour market.

For small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), engagement in nonfinancial reporting (NFR) often reflects a commitment to accountability, yet the engagement in NFR remains lower than that of large firms. Given SMEs' widespread presence across markets, clarifying the determinants of their reporting behaviour is a relevant research objective. Guided by an integrated framework that combines stakeholder theory (ST) with dynamic capability theory (DCT), this study assesses whether responsible innovation (RI) raises SMEs' propensity to engage in NFR. Environmental innovation ambidexterity (EIA) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) are modelled as mediators, while stakeholder pressure is posited as an antecedent to RI. Survey data from 559 SME managers are analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS‐SEM). The structural estimates reveal a positive association between RI and NFR engagement. RI also stimulates both EIA and EO, and each mediator exhibits a significant indirect effect on NFR. Stakeholder pressure displays a substantive positive link with RI. These findings extend current discussions on SME sustainability disclosure by highlighting the relevance of RI and its capability‐based mechanisms.

Climate change poses several challenges for ecosystems and business operations, prompting scholars, practitioners and policymakers to seek novel solutions. This paper focused on a sample of listed companies on the STOXX Europe Small 200 index and examined the interplay between stakeholder engagement and environmental innovation across 9 years (i.e., 2015–2023). By single‐mediator models through ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and path analysis, we ran a mediation analysis to assess the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee and the environmental management team as mediators of the baseline relationship. Drawing upon an Integrated Theoretical Framework, combining Stakeholder Theory (SKT), Knowledge‐Based View (KBV) and Stewardship Theory (SWT), our empirical evidence showed that increased stakeholder engagement is positively associated with higher levels of environmental innovation activities, possibly suggesting that small‐cap firms mitigate climate risks by further engaging with their stakeholders. Still, the mediating factors at both the management and board levels positively mediate the aforementioned relationship. Overall, our findings contribute to the broader academic debate on climate change management, providing novel insights to understand how companies can navigate climate change‐related risks.

Purpose: The present work looks into the relationship between entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) and firm performance, considering some drivers such as differentiation strategy and firm size. The aim is to understand how some firms’ specific characteristics are intertwined within their EEs and influence financial performance. Design/methodology/approach: We conducted a panel data analysis on 325 companies within the textile sector across 20 NUTS-2 Italian regions, using secondary data from 2013 to 2019. Findings: The results point out that regional EEs positively influence financial performance. Moreover, differentiation strategy and firm size represent key moderating variables, either fostering or hindering this positive relationship. Practical implications: The findings seek to support practitioners in their innovative investment choices to improve firm performance. Larger firms should build stronger relationships with the surrounding EEs to exploit their positive impacts effectively. In such a context, policymakers should strengthen regional EEs, promote innovation and foster collaboration among firms. Originality/value: This study enriches the academic debate on the interplay between EEs and firm performance by combining firm and regional-level data as well as exploring the effect of differentiation strategy and firm size within the textile industry.

Over recent years, a growing body of empirical evidence highlights a positive correlation between ecological innovation and firm value creation. Building on natural resource‐based view and upper echelons theory, this study examines the relationship between environmental innovation and the cost of debt, by verifying whether and to what extent there is a moderation effect due to the board gender diversity. Using a sample of 458 European firms belonging to the healthcare industry, we carried out a cross‐sectional analysis, given that the sample is based on just the fiscal year 2020. The empirical evidence shows that environmental innovation decreases the cost of debt, by reducing company's perceived risk. In addition, board gender diversity negatively moderates the foregoing relationship. Therefore, our study suggests that public policy makers might underpin environmental innovation policies and specific features on board of directors, since they exert relevant implications on firm's value creation and investors' decisions.