Search results

As many businesses faced economic disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic and sought financial relief, existing bank relationships became critical to getting a loan. This study examines factors associated with the development of personal relationships of rural small businesses with community bank representatives.

We applied a mixed-method approach. We employed descriptive statistics, principal factor analysis and logistic regression for data analysis. We distributed an online survey to rural small businesses in five states in the United States. Key informant interviews with community bank representatives supplemented the survey results.

A business owner’s trust in a banker was positively associated with the establishment of a business–bank relationship. However, an analysis of individual trust’s components revealed that the nature of trust is complex, and a failure of one or more components may lead to decreased trustworthiness in a banker. Small businesses that preferred personal communication with a bank were more inclined to relationship banking.

Due to the relatively small sample size and cross-sectional data, our results may not be conclusive but should be viewed as preliminary and as suggestions for future research. Bankers should be aware of the importance of trust for small business owners and of the actions that lead to increased trustworthiness.

The study extends the existing knowledge on the business–bank relationship by focusing mainly on social (instead of economic) factors associated with the establishment of the business–bank relationship in times of crisis and high uncertainty.

Knowing financial and economic information beforehand benefits in planning and developing policies for every country especially for a developing country like Thailand and for other Asian countries. Unfortunately, missing data or non-response plays an essential role in many areas of studies including finance and economics. Eradication of missing data in a proper way before further analysis can gain remarkable outcomes and can be effective for planning policies. This review on the generalized regression estimators for population total can be applied to financial, economic and other data when missing data are present.

The generalized regression estimators for estimating population total, including the variance estimators under unequal probability sampling without replacement with missing data are explored under the reverse framework. Applications to financial and economic data in Thailand are also reviewed.

The review of literatures related to the proposed estimator shows the best performance, giving smaller variances in all scenarios.

The generalized regression estimators can assist in estimating financial and economic data that contain missing values with different missing mechanisms and can be used in other applications which help gain more superior estimators.

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and knowledge management (KM) on firm performance (PERF), as well as the mediating role of KM in the EO–PERF (EO-PERF relationship). In particular, this study aims to explain the impact of KM on the relationship between the EO dimensions and PERF; dimensions are risk-taking (RT), innovativeness (IN) and proactiveness (PR).

This study uses structural equation modelling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methodologies to explore target relationships. The sample consists of 150 small furniture manufacturers operating in Poland (out of 1,480 in the population).

The study findings show that KM partially mediates the IN–PERF relationship. Furthermore, fsQCA reveals that KM accompanied by IN is a core condition that leads to PERF. Moreover, the absence of KM (accompanied by the absence of RT and IN) leads to the absence of PERF. In addition, the results show that all the variables examined (RT, IN, PR and KM) positively impact PERF.

This study explores the role of KM in the context of EO and its impact on PERF in the low-tech industry. The study uses simultaneously two methodologies that represent different approaches in the search for the expected relationships. The findings reveal that KM mediates the EO-PERF relationship.

The purpose of the research is to analyze the factors that determine the intention of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt the Metaverse. For this purpose, the analysis of the effort expectancy and performance expectancy of the constructs in relation to business satisfaction is proposed.

The analysis was performed on a sample of 182 Spanish SMEs in the technology sector, using a PLS-SEM approach for development. For the confirmation of the model and its results, an analysis with PLSpredict was performed, obtaining a high predictive capacity of the model.

After the analysis of the model proposed in this research, it is recorded that the valuation of the effort to be made and the possible performance expected by the companies does not directly determine the intention to use immersive technology in their strategic behavior. Instead, the results obtained indicate that business satisfaction will involve obtaining information, reducing uncertainty and analyzing the competition necessary for approaching this new virtual environment.

The study represents one of the first approaches to the intention of business behavior in the development of performance strategies within Metaverse systems. So far, the literature has approached immersive systems from perspectives close to consumer behavior, but the study of strategic business behavior has been left aside due to the high degree of experimentalism of this field of study and its scientific approach. The present study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the factors involved in the intention to use the Metaverse by SMEs interested in this field.

This study aims to examine the relationship between internal and external factors and job satisfaction, and between job satisfaction and auditors’ performance.

This research used deductive approach. Data was gathered from 83 auditors in the Saudi Organisation for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) database. By implementing the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique, the suggested hypotheses were examined.

The results show that internal factors, i.e., achievement, advancement, recognition and growth, significantly impact job satisfaction. Subsequently, the external factors, i.e., company policies, relationship with a peer and relationship with supervisor, significantly impact job satisfaction. In contrast, work security has no relationship with job satisfaction. Furthermore, job satisfaction is a significant driver for auditors' performance.

This research sheds light on the relationships between internal and external factors, job satisfaction and auditors' performance in the Saudi context. It would be interesting to investigate these relationships in a different setting, such as a different country, time or industry. Future studies should broaden the sample frame to include different types of employees to obtain more generalisable results.

This study may help managers of auditing departments formulate appropriate strategies and design effective programs to increase the level of job satisfaction between auditors by enhancing such factors, which will lead to improving the auditors' performance.

This research provide an empirical evidence to support the theoretical assumptions of Herzberg's which is much needed.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the appropriateness of equal weights estimation (sumscores) and the application of the composite equivalence index (CEI) vis-à-vis differentiated indicator weights produced by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The authors rely on prior literature as well as empirical illustrations and a simulation study to assess the efficacy of equal weights estimation and the CEI.

The results show that the CEI lacks discriminatory power, and its use can lead to major differences in structural model estimates, conceals measurement model issues and almost always leads to inferior out-of-sample predictive accuracy compared to differentiated weights produced by PLS-SEM.

In light of its manifold conceptual and empirical limitations, the authors advise against the use of the CEI. Its adoption and the routine use of equal weights estimation could adversely affect the validity of measurement and structural model results and understate structural model predictive accuracy. Although this study shows that the CEI is an unsuitable metric to decide between equal weights and differentiated weights, it does not propose another means for such a comparison.

The results suggest that researchers and practitioners should prefer differentiated indicator weights such as those produced by PLS-SEM over equal weights.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to provide a comprehensive assessment of the CEI’s usefulness. The results provide guidance for researchers considering using equal indicator weights instead of PLS-SEM-based weighted indicators.

Previous literature has identified human resources as a key source of competitive advantage in organizations of all sizes. However, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face difficulty in comprehensively implementing all recommended Human Resource Management (HRM) functions. In this study, we shed light on the field of HRM in SMEs by focusing on the context of Greek Small and Medium-sized Hotels (SMHs), which represent a dominant private sector employer across the country.

Using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and 34 in-depth interviews with SMHs' owners/managers, we explore the HRM conditions leading to high levels of performance, while taking into consideration the influence of internal key determinants.

We uncover three alternative successful HRM strategies that maximize business performance, namely the Compensation-based performers, the HRM developers and the HRM investors. Each strategy fits discreet organizational characteristics related to company size, ownership type and organizational structure.

To the best of the authors' knowledge this is among the first empirical studies that examine different and equifinal performance-enhancing configurations of HRM practices in SMHs.

The present study investigates the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) and governance quality on carbon emissions in the Economics Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

To achieve the objective of this research, panel data for dependent and explanatory variables over the period 2005–2016, collected in the World Development Indicators (WDI) database and World Governance Indicators (WGI), are analyzed using the generalized method of moments (GMM). Also, the panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) method is applied to the four segments of the overall sample to analyze the stability of the results.

The findings of this study are (1) FDI inflows have a negative effect on carbon emissions in ECOWAS and (2) The interaction between FDI inflows and governance quality have a negative effect on carbon emissions. These results show the decreasing of environmental damage by increasing institutional quality. However, the estimation results on the country subsamples show similar and non-similar aspects.

This study suggests that policymakers in the ECOWAS countries should strengthen their environmental policies while encouraging FDI flows to be environmentally friendly.

The subject has rarely been explored in West Africa, with gaps such as the lack of use of institutional variables. This study contributes to the literature by drawing on previous work to examine the role of good governance on FDI and the CO2 emission relationship in the ECOWAS, which have received little attention. However, this research differs from previous work by subdividing the overall sample into four groups to test the stability of the results.

The article shows partial proof for the protean paradox existing outside of the Anglo-Saxon part of the world. We pose questions about the impact of each protean career orientation (PCO) dimension on career outcomes, i.e. objective career success (OCS) and subjective career success including career satisfaction (CS) and perceived employability (PE) of studying employees.

We collected data among postgraduate students (N=239) using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. We estimated the model using structural equation modeling.

The self-direction of PCO improves CS and PE, but only if a person achieves OCS in the organization. We found the same mediation pattern for the values-drive of PCO but in the opposite direction, i.e. greater orientation on personal rather than organizational values – values-drive of PCO was associated with lesser career outcomes. Interestingly, values-drive had a small and direct impact on PE.

This study helps us understand how both dimensions of PCO affect career outcomes differently: objective success and subjective factors like CS and PE among employees who are studying.

This paper aims to identify and prioritize the needs of coworking members. The authors focus on maintaining the existing members rather than attracting new ones.

The authors use two phases and multiple methods. The first phase focuses on a qualitative approach using observations and interviews to uncover and formulate the members’ needs. The second phase focuses on prioritizing the needs using a quantitative approach.

The authors discovered 19 member needs from the coworking spaces. Based on an online survey, the authors classified those needs into three main Kano model’s categories.

The resulting member needs and their strategic priorities provide a useful basis for coworking providers to direct their improvement efforts towards achieving greater member satisfaction.