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Open research questions in Firm Innovation and Growth

182 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 1,724 Firm Innovation and Growth papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The study faces challenges in measuring the impact of digital justice on labor income share. The paper needs to address the issue of outliers in the data. The study requires a robust methodology to empirically assess the effect of digital justice on corporate labor income share.

    The Impact of Digital Justice on the Corporate Labor Income Share: Empirical Evidence from Listed Companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-Share Markets · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research could explore the mechanisms through which digital justice alters corporate labor income share, - Additional studies could examine the impact of digital justice on other economic outcomes

    The Impact of Digital Justice on the Corporate Labor Income Share: Empirical Evidence from Listed Companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-Share Markets · 2026 · DOI

  • Originality/value This study aims to fill the gap in literature by linking technological advancements with financial market outcomes in emerging markets.

    Impact of ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF on stock market dynamics in emerging economies · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper documents that leverage (LEV) exhibits a positive coefficient (1.525-1.472) driven by tax shield benefits but issues a cautionary note about excessive leverage amplifying financial risks without providing quantitative analysis. Research must specify the debt-to-equity thresholds at which the value-enhancing tax shield effect reverses into value-destroying financial distress risk for high-tech enterprises with high R&D capital intensity and prolonged development cycles during crisis periods.

    Influence of equity structure in China’s high-tech manufacturing industry on enterprise value under epidemic shocks · 2026 · DOI

  • The negative relationship between firm size and enterprise value (SIZE coefficient: -3.565 to -3.865) contradicts conventional expectations and is attributed to managerial complexity and reduced operational flexibility, but the paper does not stratify analysis by firm size categories or investigate threshold effects where these diseconomies of scale emerge in high-tech manufacturing. Research should determine optimal firm size ranges and examine whether the size-value discount varies across aerospace, pharmaceutical, and instrument manufacturing subsectors.

    Influence of equity structure in China’s high-tech manufacturing industry on enterprise value under epidemic shocks · 2026 · DOI

  • The unstable and unpredictable nature of the growth of HGFs. The lack of understanding of the relationship between growth rates and company sizes. The need to develop effective methods for selecting firms supported as HGFs within the framework of industrial policy.

    A Nonlinear Approach to Forecasting Rapid Firm Growth · 2026 · DOI

  • The analysis is limited to only permanent firms, which may not be representative of the entire population of firms. The study only includes firms that have been in operation for at least 20 years. The results may be affected by the exclusion of companies that had been in operation for less than 20 years.

    A Nonlinear Approach to Forecasting Rapid Firm Growth · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should examine the impact of external factors on cost behaviour. Future research should examine the cost behaviour of SMEs in other industries.

    COST STICKINESS IN CROATIAN MANUFACTURING SMES: EVIDENCE FROM PANDEMIC AND POST-PANDEMIC PERIODS · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of research on the cost behaviour of Croatian manufacturing SMEs. There is a need for new methodological approaches to examining cost behaviour.

    COST STICKINESS IN CROATIAN MANUFACTURING SMES: EVIDENCE FROM PANDEMIC AND POST-PANDEMIC PERIODS · 2026 · DOI

  • MSME bakeries face challenges in adapting to changing consumer needs and market trends. The study highlights the challenge of scaling beyond the micro and small level in the bakery industry. MSME bakeries operate in a resource-constrained environment, which underscores the importance of innovation as a growth mechanism.

    Innovation Dynamics and Business Growth in Philippines’ Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Bakeries: The Moderating Role of Entrepreneurial Experience in Product and Process Innovations · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should explore factors such as digital transformation and technological adaptation to develop a better understanding of how innovation drives business growth. The study suggests that future research should investigate the role of other market factors in influencing the relationship between product innovation and business growth.

    Innovation Dynamics and Business Growth in Philippines’ Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Bakeries: The Moderating Role of Entrepreneurial Experience in Product and Process Innovations · 2026 · DOI

  • Gender is examined as an independent variable in Zambian hardware enterprises but is never studied as a dependent variable or outcome of business development interventions; across this set, no study measures how local business growth initiatives differentially affect gender participation or women entrepreneur outcomes.

    An examination of the determinants of business growth among small scale hardware enterprises:A case study of the central business district of Lusaka · 2026 · DOI

  • While prior work identifies financial constraints, weak managerial capacity, and limited infrastructure as barriers to small business growth, none of these studies longitudinally tracks how these constraints evolve or how interventions addressing them affect growth trajectories over 5–10 year periods in specific localities.

    An examination of the determinants of business growth among small scale hardware enterprises:A case study of the central business district of Lusaka · 2026 · DOI

  • Few studies have considered a spatial approach to unveil regional dependencies among economies. Prior studies have not accounted for the heterogeneity of SMEs in CEE countries. The paper identifies a gap in the existing literature by studying the impact of digitalisation and innovation on SMEs in CEE countries.

    Digitalisation, Innovation, and Performance of SMEs in Central and Eastern Europe: A Spatial and Distributional Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • The agricultural sector is characterized by high price fluctuations, climate-related risks, and pronounced seasonal variations. Limited access to capital and market fluctuations pose challenges for agricultural enterprises.

    Internal determinants of sales revenue growth in agricultural enterprises: A strategic management approach · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding of the extent to which internal financial and strategic factors contribute to the dynamics of sales growth in agricultural enterprises. The study addresses this gap by examining the impact of internal factors on sales revenue growth in the agricultural sector of Serbia.

    Internal determinants of sales revenue growth in agricultural enterprises: A strategic management approach · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of research on the impact of the lean startup methodology on corporate labor investment efficiency. The need to explore the internal working mechanism of the lean startup method on corporate labor investment efficiency.

    Research on the Impact of Lean Startup Methodology on Corporate Labor Investment Efficiency · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of inventory write-down provisions in the new energy vehicle industry. The study notes that public information is insufficient to fully verify alignment.

    Differences in inventory write-down provisions of new energy vehicle enterprises: a multiple-case analysis of Changan Automobile, SAIC Motor and BAIC BluePark · 2026 · DOI

  • 19 | Issue 8 cannot represent the entire industry, and annual reports lack data on model-level transaction prices, model years and inventory age, making it impossible to prove a strict causal relationship between price competition and impairment.

    Differences in inventory write-down provisions of new energy vehicle enterprises: a multiple-case analysis of Changan Automobile, SAIC Motor and BAIC BluePark · 2026 · DOI

  • The scarcity of research on digital washing in the ASEAN-4 and Vietnam. The lack of understanding of the effects of digital washing on firm value. The need to examine the mediating role of ESG performance in the relationship between digital washing and firm value.

    The Effect of Digital Washing on Firm Value: The Mediating Role of ESG Performance · 2026 · DOI

  • These findings enrich the literature by clarifying the effects of digital washing; moreover, they provide updated empirical evidence from the ASEAN-4 and Vietnam, where research on digital washing remains scarce.

    The Effect of Digital Washing on Firm Value: The Mediating Role of ESG Performance · 2026 · DOI

  • Many MSMEs have not optimally utilized existing features on marketplaces. There is a lack of understanding of the influence of the marketplace on MSMEs.

    THE INFLUENCE OF THE MARKETPLACE IN INCREASING THE COMPETITION OF MICRO, SMALL, AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSMES) · 2026 · DOI

  • further studies can investigate the impact of other economic drivers on GDP per capita, - research can explore the relationship between technological cooperation and GDP per capita

    Economic drivers of GDP per capita growth in Tanzania: the role of start-up costs, industrial employment, and technological cooperation · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in understanding the economic drivers of GDP per capita growth in Tanzania. It highlights the need for empirical evidence to guide policy interventions in developing economies.

    Economic drivers of GDP per capita growth in Tanzania: the role of start-up costs, industrial employment, and technological cooperation · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap is the need for a model that can handle high-dimensional data and provide accurate predictions of firm survival. Traditional statistical models have limitations in handling high-dimensional data. Machine learning methods have shown superior accuracy, but there is a need for a model that can handle censored data.

    High-dimensional censored MIDAS logistic regression for corporate survival forecasting · 2026 · DOI

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182 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 1,724 Firm Innovation and Growth papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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