Corporate board of directors’ knowledge heterogeneity: a literature review and multi-domain research agenda (with Virginia Bodolica)
Management Review Quarterly [Published: 02 August 2025]
Abstract: In an era of digitalization, sustainability concerns, and environmental jolts, directors’ tasks become increasingly more demanding, particularly with regard to the breadth of knowledge that is required in the boardroom to guide informed decision making. This paper takes stock of the past 30 years of scholarship on board of directors’ knowledge heterogeneity to synthesize the field, uncovering the underlying theoretical assumptions and methodological considerations, and establish more broadly its contribution to the corporate governance literature. Through a systematic review, analysis, and synthesis of 137 articles published in leading business journals, we conceptualize knowledge heterogeneity in a corporate board setting, disentangle board knowledge heterogeneity effects, and model a comprehensive process of directors’ knowledge heterogeneity. To encourage scholars’ engagement with the topic in novel ways, we articulate several directions for further inquiry around owners-board-managers’ interactions and advance a multi-domain research agenda with an emphasis on group dynamics, knowledge transfer, and supra top talent management.
Cite: Selivanovskikh, L. and Bodolica, V. (2025). Corporate board of directors’ knowledge heterogeneity: a literature review and multi-domain research agenda. Management Review Quarterly. DOI: 10.1007/s11301-025-00539-z
Strategic ambiguity: a systematic review, a typology and a dynamic capability view (with Pier Luigi Giardino, Matteo Cristofaro, Yongjian Bao, Wenlong Yuan, and Luming Wang)
Management Decision, Volume 63, Issue 13, pages 123–145 [December 2025]
Abstract: While strategic ambiguity has increasingly been used as a communication practice in response to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and global conflicts, its proactive role in shaping organizations remains underexamined. Moreover, a comprehensive investigation into its antecedents, moderators, mechanisms, and outcomes – aligned with specific strategic ambiguity aims – is still lacking. We investigate how organizations deploy strategic ambiguity to shape their environment and identify the factors that affect the effectiveness of strategic ambiguity in achieving diverse strategic aims. We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) of 22 empirical studies on strategic ambiguity in organizational communication. We analyzed articles using the Gioia method to identify its key components – antecedents, mechanisms, moderators, and outcomes – based on the pursued aim. We reframe strategic ambiguity as a dynamic capability and, building on this, we introduce a novel typology of strategic ambiguity based on two key dimensions: organizational flexibility (centralized vs decentralized) and environmental responsiveness (proactive vs reactive). Four distinct aims of strategic ambiguity, each with specific antecedents, mechanisms, moderators, and outcomes, emerge: (1) collaboration and engagement, (2) flexibility and adaptability, (3) control and influence and (4) reputation and legal protection. We reframe the understanding of strategic ambiguity by positioning it as a dynamic capability rather than merely a strategic communication practice. By introducing a typology that outlines antecedents, mechanisms, moderators, and outcomes for each specific aim, we offer a structured framework for comprehensively understanding and leveraging strategic ambiguity.
Cite: Selivanovskikh, L., Giardino, P. L., Cristofaro, M., Bao, Y., Yuan, W., and Wang, L. (2025). Strategic ambiguity: a systematic review, a typology and a dynamic capability view. Management Decision, 63(13), pp. 123-145. DOI: 10.1108/MD-05-2024-1021
Nascent entrepreneurs’ progress in the venturing process: the role of proactiveness and cultural values (with Emilia Karpinskaia, Galina Shirokova, and Virginia Bodolica)
Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Volume 37, Issue 1, pages 111-145 [2025; Published: October 2023]
Abstract: Understanding what entrepreneurs do and how their actions relate to successful new venture creation is a central research topic in the field of entrepreneurship. However, a comprehensive understanding of what leads to venture success is currently lacking. In our study, we explore the role of nascent entrepreneurs’ proactiveness in the process of new venture creation in different national cultural settings. We use a generalized linear model estimation with a negative binomial probability distribution to analyze a sample of 22,163 nascent entrepreneurs from 32 countries to assess the effects of proactiveness and national culture on venturing progress. Our findings demonstrate that individual proactiveness positively relates to the progress of new venture creation by nascent entrepreneurs. The dominance of embeddedness and harmony values is associated with lower levels of progress in the venturing process, although in more autonomous and mastery cultures the effect of proactiveness on venturing process is stronger. Our research highlights the importance of both individual-level characteristics and country-level contextual variables when studying nascent entrepreneurship.
Cite: Karpinskaia, E., Selivanovskikh, L., Shirokova, G., and Bodolica, V. (2025). Nascent entrepreneurs’ progress in the venturing process: the role of proactiveness and cultural values. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 37(1), pp. 111-145. DOI: 10.1080/08276331.2023.2269411
Exploring the born global firms from the Asia Pacific (with Amitabh Anand, Sanjay Kumar Singh, and Shuang Ren )
Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Volume 42, pages 969-991 [2025; Published: August 2023]
Abstract: This study aims to synthesize the extant research on the Born Global Firms (BGF) phenomenon, mainly focusing on the Asia Pacific region (APAC). We adopt the systematic literature review methodology to identify the main context-specific drivers (‘success factors’) and outcomes of BGFs’ accelerated internationalization and the challenges they face before, during, and after global expansion. The analysis and evaluation of relevant studies reveal several critical variables that need to be extensively investigated (separately and in tandem) by scholars in order to advance existing theories and, at the same time, explain the out-of-pattern behaviors of BGFs outside the typical ‘Western economy’ context. Among the core variables are international entrepreneurial orientation and culture adoption, organizational learning and networking strategies, global strategic human capital and network resources (as predictors of BGFs’ international performance) and resource constraints, institutional and cultural distances, and liabilities of newness, smallness, foreignness, outsidership, and emergingness (as constraints to BGFs’ success). By identifying the research gaps and proposing a comprehensive framework with promising avenues for future research into the phenomenon of BGFs from the APAC region, this study helps enhance our understanding of the global strategy formation and execution processes of international new ventures from ‘the East’ and stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue between international business, strategy, and entrepreneurship scholars.
Cite: Anand, A., Singh, S. K., Selivanovskikh, L., and Ren, S. (2025). Exploring the born global firms from the Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 42, pp. 969–991. DOI: 10.1007/s10490-023-09913-5
Exploring firm innovation capability as the ‘black box’between human capital and performance in Russian SMEs
Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Volume 28, Issue 1, 2350007 [March 2023]
Abstract: This study examines the mediating role of firm innovation capabilities as a strategic choice for Russian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which translates their managerial and worker human capital stocks into enhanced firm performance. The results of a survey conducted on 366 CEOs and business founders indicate innovation capabilities are the intermediate variable between firm human capital and SME performance. Further parallel mediation regression analysis demonstrates that human capital is positively and significantly related to all innovation capability dimensions (client-, marketing- and technology-focused); however, the mediation effect is significant only in the case of client-focused innovation capability–SMEs’ ability to provide clients with services that offer unique benefits, solve clients’ problems in innovative ways and seek out novel ways to tackle problems. These findings suggest that SMEs operating in turbulent transition economy environments can be more innovative and achieve the best performance using intangible, highly valuable and rare talent resources.
Cite: Selivanovskikh, L., 2023. Exploring firm innovation capability as the ‘black box’between human capital and performance in Russian SMEs. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 28(01), p.2350007. DOI: 10.1142/S1084946723500073
Unravelling the Relationship between Dark Triad Traits and Effectuation and Causation within Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (with Galine Shirokova, Michael H. Morris, and Aleksandra Bordunos)
British Journal of Management, Volume 34, Issue 3, pages 1555-1583 [July 2023; Published online: August 2022]
Abstract: Prior studies have examined effectuation and causation as alternative behavioural logics used by entrepreneurs to manage uncertainty, noting a number of antecedents of the tendency to rely on a given logic at different levels of analysis. This study aims to broaden the understanding of individual-level antecedents by examining the role of the so-called dark side of the CEO personality on decision-making processes within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using the lens of upper echelons theory and trait-activation theory, we focus on three personality characteristics: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. The impact of dark triad traits on the behavioural logic employed by the CEO is argued to be moderated by the perceived level of uncertainty experienced by the firm. A set of hypotheses regarding these relationships are tested with a random sample of CEOs of Russian SMEs. The findings suggest that CEOs scoring higher in psychopathy tend to adopt a causal logic, while Machiavellians rely on an effectual logic. The level of uncertainty shapes these relationships by weakening the links between dark triad traits and behavioural logics.
Cite: Shirokova G., Selivanovskikh L., Morris M. H., and Bordunos A. 2023. Unravelling the Relationship between Dark Triad Traits and Effectuation and Causation within Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises. British Journal of Management, 34(3), pp. 1555-1583. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8551.12646
Talent management, organizational ambidexterity, and firm performance: Evidence from Russian firms (with Marina Latukha, Snejina Michailova, and Tatiana Kozachuk)
Thunderbird International Business Review, Volume 62, Issue 5, pages 379-392 [September/October 2022]
Abstract: This study investigates how the talent management (TM) practices of talent attraction, development, and retention contribute to organizational ambidexterity (OA) and firm performance in the context of Russia. Based on a cross-sectional data set of 88 local Russian firms, we investigate the association between the TM practices and OA dimensions and examine the role of exploration and exploitation in the TM–performance relationship. The ordinary least squares regression results show that the effects of talent attraction on exploration, talent development on exploitation, and talent retention on both OA dimensions are significant and positive. Meanwhile, the simple and parallel mediation analyses (using the Hayes' PROCESS program) demonstrate that OA, particularly exploration, mediates the TM–performance relationship. This study contributes to the overall literature on TM and ambidexterity by considering TM practices as crucial antecedents of OA and explaining how and why TM positively affect firm performance.
Cite: Latukha M., Michailova S., Selivanovskikh L., and Kozachuk T. 2022. Talent management, organizational ambidexterity, and performance: Evidence from Russian firms. Thunderbird International Business Review, 62(5), pp. 379-392. DOI: 10.1002/tie.22251
From brain drain to brain gain in emerging markets: exploring the new agenda for global talent management in talent migration (with Yanbing Mao and Marina Latukha)
European Journal of International Management, Volume 17, Issue 4, pages 564-582 [June 2022]
Abstract: The research aims to provide a review of the brain gain and brain drain phenomena in the emerging market context. Specifically, we investigate the push and pull factors of talent migration focusing at society-, firm-, industry- and location-specific determinants, and develop a theoretical framework that establishes the relationships between different types of factors and global talent management. The paper extends the understanding of the role of global talent management and global talent mobility in non-Western contexts. Through a series of propositions, we claim that global talent management, as a system of practices aimed at attracting, developing and retaining talented workers on a global scale, may serve as a mediator in transforming outward talent migration into inward talent migration, thus stimulating future empirical research on the topic.
Cite: Mao, Y., Latukha, M., and Selivanovskikh, L. 2022. From Brain Drain to Brain Gain in Emerging Markets: Exploring the New Agenda for Global Talent Management in Talent Migration. European Journal of International Management, 17(4), pp. 564-582. DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2020.10025787
The belt and road initiative: a systematic literature review and future research agenda (with Andrei Panibratov, Alexey Kalinin, Yugui Zhang, Liubov Ermolaeva, Vladimir Korovkin, and Konstantin Nefedov)
Eurasian Geography and Economics, Volume 63, Issue 1, pages 82-115 [December 2020]
Abstract: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has attracted substantial academic attention right after its establishment in 2013. It has produced an array of scientific works analyzing various aspects of this multi-component phenomenon. Our paper is an attempt to systematically classify and further scrutinize the BRI literature within the management and economics field in order to navigate further academic inquiry into the BRI phenomenon. We used the Scopus database and a guided delimitation approach to ensure the quality and relevance of the selected papers. Based on the identified themes we propose promising avenues for future research within the Economics and Management research domain.
Cite: Panibratov, Kalinin A., Zhang Y., Ermolaeva L., Korovkin V., Nefedov K., Selivanovskikh L. 2022. The Belt and Road Initiative: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda. Eurasian Geography and Economics. 63(1), pp. 82-115. DOI: 10.1080/15387216.2020.1857288
Interorganizational learning: a bibliometric review and research agenda (Amitabh Anand, Louise Brøns Kringelum, and Charlotte Øland Madsen)
The Learning Organization: An International Journal, Volume 28, Issue 2, pages 111-136 [May 2020]
Abstract: Scholarly interest in interorganizational learning (IOL) has spiked in the past decade because of its potential to absorb, transfer and create valuable knowledge for enhanced innovative performance and sustained competitive advantage. However, only a handful of review studies exists on the topic. The evolution of IOL has not been studied explicitly and there is a lack of understanding of the field trends. To fill this gap, this paper aims to comprehensively review the literature on IOL and map its evolution and trends using bibliometric techniques. In particular, the authors use visualization of science mapping freeware to systematize the findings and interpret the results. The authors synthesize the findings using “evaluative bibliometric techniques” to identify the quality and quantity indicators of the IOL research and use “relational bibliometric techniques” to determine the structural indicators of the IOL field such as the intellectual foundations and emerging research themes of IOL research. Through an analysis of 208 journal publications obtained from the Scopus database, the authors determine the leading authors, countries, highly cited papers and their contributions to the IOL literature. By identifying the key hotspots, intellectual foundations and emerging trends of IOL, the authors provide promising avenues in IOL research.
Cite: Anand, A., Kringelum, L.B., Madsen, C. Ø., and Selivanovskikh, L. 2021. Interorganizational Learning: A Bibliometric Review and Research Agenda. The Learning Organization: An International Journal, 28(2), pp. 111-136. DOI: 10.1108/TLO-02-2020-0023
Knowledge Management Practices as a Source of a Firm’s Potential and Realized Absorptive Capacity (with Marina Latukha, Ekaterina Mitskevich, and Sergey Pitinov)
Journal of East-West Business, Volume 26, Issue 3, pages 293-325 [January 2020]
Abstract: This paper aims to assess the connections between knowledge management practices and a firm’s potential and realized absorptive capacities. We use hierarchical multiple regression to test our theoretical framework using survey data collected from 94 Russian firms. By critically reviewing the antecedents of particular absorptive capacity subsets at the managerial, intra-organizational and inter-organizational levels, our study reveals the key knowledge management practices—work organization, information technologies, learning mechanisms, training and development and strategic management of knowledge—that enhance a firm’s ability to acquire and assimilate knowledge (potential absorptive capacity) and to transform and exploit knowledge (realized absorptive capacity).
Cite: Selivanovskikh, L., Latukha, M., Mitskevich, E., and Pitinov, S. 2020. Knowledge management practices as a source of a firm’s potential and realized absorptive capacity. Journal of East-West Business, 26(3), pp. 293-325. DOI: 10.1080/10669868.2020.1716129
Talent Management Practices in IT Companies from Emerging Markets: A Comparative Analysis of Russia, India, and China (with Marina Latukha)
Journal of East-West Business, Volume 22, Issue 3, pages 168-197 [August 2016]
Abstract: In this article, the authors review talent management practices in information technology (IT) companies from Russia, India, and China, discussing their differences and similarities. Using the emerging market context, the authors debate the factors influencing talent management, specifically in IT companies. The article examines the relevant research on the main talent management issues in Russia, India, and China, and offers one of the first intercountry comparative analyses of talent management practices in IT companies from emerging markets. The authors argue that although talent management practices are influenced by different institutional and cultural factors, there are similarities and differences that can be explained by the emerging market and industry-specific contexts.
Cite: Latukha, M. and Selivanovskikh, L., 2016. Talent management practices in IT companies from emerging markets: A comparative analysis of Russia, India, and China. Journal of East-West Business, 22(3), pp. 168-197. DOI: 10.1080/10669868.2016.1179702