Editorial: Current issues in business innovation, governance structure and business performance

The literature on business performance incorporates various theoretical lenses, research methodologies and different research paradigms regarding the influence of contextual factors on business performance. This includes country specific context- ownership structure, organisational culture, external governance structure and boardrooms.

Current issues in corporate governance structure and business performance are crucial matters open for debate among scholars, practitioners, regulators and policymakers. Current issues in business performance include rethinking companies business model and key performance indicators towards sustainable performance maximization.

The study of Tenuti and Cambria investigates the influence of gender diversity on firm performance. Using a sample of Italian listed companies over the period (2006-2015), their study offers insights into the impact of Italian Law (120/2011) that forces listed companies to reserve a mandatory quota for female directors on boardrooms. Findings of their study indicate positive association between the percentage of female directors and superior financial performance. Companies with a higher percentage of independent female directors strengthen firm performance. However, their study reveals that the percentage of female-executive is not associated with firm performance.

Di Carlo and Ravalli explore the influence of holdings, and sub-holdings, within business groups on the financial performance of listed subsidiaries. Their study examines the potential bias inherent in empirical studies that overlook the management and coordination activities of parent companies, particularly when listed subsidiaries are directed by their parents. Their study sheds lights on the need to improve the regulatory disclosure requirements to enhance transparency and articulate potential biases in future research.

The study of Rautenstrauch and Mosar articulates key properties that adequate maturity model for robotic process automation (RPA) require to effectively support service companies in successfully implementing and using RPA. Their study offers perspective on a maturity model for RPA to facilitate the assessment of Swiss service organizations regarding their RPA readiness. Their study utilizes qualitative content analysis to offer a better understanding regarding a variety of elements concerning organizational structure, RPA goals, process handling, culture, and technology with significant influence on RPA success. Combining this practical evidence with theoretical principles results in an RPA maturity model with 15 elements, pertaining to the four defined categories organization, education, technology, and process and data. By reaching initial, integrated, or optimized maturity, the model does not only assess the current state of specific elements but also suggests potential room for improvement. Reaching from end user level to upper management, the RPA maturity model enables a facilitated but important assessment of RPA use when considering its implementation or improvement, even before consulting any external partners. Findings of their study have organizationally far-reaching, theoretically profound, and easily applicable tool to support the implementation or adaptation of RPA use.

The above papers add to our knowledge regarding the influence of various domains on business performance. The extant literature documents ample research evidence regarding key pillars reinforcing sustainable business performance including; the influence of transformational leadership, employee commitment, and employee performance (see Abu-Mahfouz, 2023), advanced technological adoption, effective internal and external governance structure, boardrooms dynamic capabilities (see Alkaraan, 2017; Wu et al., 2023; Alkaraan et al., 2023; Napoli, 2023; Ajadi, 2023; Balla et al., 2023; Hundal, 2023; Afolabi et al., 2023; Alkaraan, 2023)

Yet, there is a need for further theoretical and empirical research in this arena of business performance including: financial and non-financial performance; FinTech and business performance; investment efficiency and business performance; ethical environmental issues and business performance; organisational culture and business performance; technological adoption and business performance; innovation strategies and business performance; quality management and business performance; CSR and business performance; SDGs and business performance; ESG and firm performance; human resource management and business performance; ethical and environmental issues and business performance.