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This paper aims toanalyse the difference in business performance and obstacles across male-owned versus female-owned enterprises in India.

This study is based on a comprehensive enterprise survey of 9,281 Indian firms operating in different regions of the country, conducted under the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey, 2014. The survey contains information on a variety of enterprise characteristics such as ownership, type of firms, size of firms, locations and age, performance indicators and information on 16 parameters of business obstacles. Business performance indicators have been derived from data in the form of growth in sales, employment, labour productivity and capability utilization by gender ownership of the firms. Simple statistical tools such as descriptive statistics, chi-square test and the independent-samples t-test have been used to analyse the data. Further, an ordered probit regression model has been estimated to identify the relative importance of parameters affecting female-owned enterprises.

Of the total 9,281 firms surveyed under the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey, about 8 per cent were being managed by a top female manager and about 15 per cent firms reported to have at least one female owner. Among the female owners, about 36 per cent were reported to own 50 per cent and above share of the firm. Chi-square statistics indicate that there is a significant difference in enterprise characteristics of male- versus female-owned firms in terms of location, size, type and age. Result of the independent-samples t-test indicates a significant difference in business performance across male- and female-owned businesses in terms of annual sales growth, labour productivity growth and capacity utilization of the firms. Similarly, the perception of male- and female-owned firms significantly vary on 10 obstacles out of total 16 business obstacle parameters. Overall, females perceive comparatively less business obstacles as compared to males. An ordered probit regression model has revealed the relative importance of enterprise characteristics, performance indicators and extent of business obstacles among female-owned enterprises.

This study provides an insight on the differences in the firms’ performance across gender ownership based on a large survey data. This study can be helpful in designing policies for promoting gender-based business enterprises in a focused manner.

There are limited empirical evidences on difference in organizational profile, business performance and understanding business obstacles across male- versus female-owned firms in India based on a large survey data.

Effective business and investment climate can lead to a higher rate of investment, profits and improved productivity, through the creation of an institutional environment, where the state provides high-quality public goods. This study aims to explore the impact of the business–investment climate on firm performance in a sample of six countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and Turkey. Furthermore, we extend our analysis to explore the impact of business–investment climate on the resource misallocation in Egypt and Turkey.

The study used fixed effects models to investigate the relationship between the business and investment climate, expressed by the obstacles in state–business relations- and the firm performance, which is measured by the firm's value-added, the labour productivity and the total factor productivity To reduce the endogeneity coming from possible reverse causality and the perceptions about the business climate, an instrumental variables (IV) approach applying the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method was followed. The empirical analysis relies on data derived from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys.

Based on estimates, the obstacles in business climate may reduce the firm performance measures by 15–40%. These findings indicate the importance of quality in the business climate and how the improvement in its efficiency can have a very considerable positive impact on firms' performance and thus on the overall economic growth of a country.

This is the first study exploring the impact of business–investment climate on various measures of the firm performance and the resource misallocation in a large sample of countries in the MENA region.

This paper aims at identifying the major obstacles to business enterprise in an emerging economy and how these obstacles are associated with different characteristics of the enterprises.

The study relied on the World Bank Enterprise Survey data on Ghana and applied binary and ordinal probit regression techniques to estimate the associations between the characteristics of the enterprises and the identified obstacles. Significance testing of the associations is also conducted.

The five main obstacles perceived by most of the enterprises in the study are access to finance, electricity, access to land, customs and trade regulations and tax rates. These obstacles are associated in different ways to growth rate (high vs low growth), scale (small and medium vs large), age, size of employees, the experience of the top manager and ownership (wholly domestic vs foreign ownership).

As a cross-sectional study focusing on Ghana, the findings are informative about the major obstacles facing business enterprises in an emerging economy; however, the ecological validity of these findings may be limited to factors specific to Ghana.

Given the representativeness of the Enterprise Survey, policymakers can rely on these findings to formulate useful policies to promote the operations of business enterprises.

The purpose of the study is to examine the obstacle in doing business and determinants of credit adoption by the textile enterprises in India.

The study is based on World Bank’s Enterprises Survey, there are 571 enterprises involved in textile business. The enterprises survey has response on wide range of business obstacles which are categorized under three broad categories, namely, access to resource, business regulations and market externalities. Chi-square test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) have been used to examine the significant difference among firm’s profile and perceived business obstacles across the firm size. Furthermore, binary logistic regression model has been applied to explore the determinants of credit adoption by textile enterprises.

A statistically significant difference has been found in size of firms and legal status nature of establishment, gender of top manager, main product market and credit adoption from financial institutions. Majority of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are sole proprietorship firm while large enterprises are limited partnership firms. Similarly, large enterprises have relatively more female as a top manager and international market for their product. ANOVA reveals equal degree of obstacles in doing textile business across the firm size. The logistic regression coefficient and marginal effects reveal that firm size, main market,gender of owner, number of establishment in the firms positive and significantly affects the credit adoption by 3 textile enterprises.

The study has some policy implications for various stakeholders such as textile business managers and promoters, government, investors and bankers for entrepreneurship development in textile sector. The study suggests that the government should incentivize small- and medium-sized businesses to increase their exports. The results show that despite government efforts to finance SMEs, fewer SMEs are receiving both short- and long-term credit. To help SMEs in the textile industry overcome financial difficulties and expand their main product market to both domestic and international levels, a soft loan should be provided based on the characteristics of textile enterprises.

The present study suggests the evidence-based understanding of textile business environment. The value and uniqueness of this study is to explore an ease of business textile sector using comprehensive enterprises survey data of World Bank.

Focuses on a business philosophy, usually labelled efficient consumer response (ECR), applied in the retail industry. Its application in a firm’s current business activities may lead to the achievement of substantial business potentials but there can be problems in its implementation. Explores and describes the perceived potentials and obstacles in the implementation of ECR in the Swedish retail industry and introduces a model of a firm’s driving force to implement and incorporate ECR in its current business activities. A firm’s driving force may be in part analysed, if ECR’s achievable and non‐achievable potentials, as well as ECR’s probable and non‐probable obstacles, are simultaneously taken into consideration. Furthermore, a model is introduced in order to analyse the driving force of a business philosophy in a specific firm. The models may be applicable also in the context of classifying, measuring, and evaluating a firm’s driving force to implement and incorporate any other business philosophy.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of agribusiness firms in India, China and Pakistan, as well as the challenges they face in doing business.

This study is based on the World Bank’s Enterprises Survey (WBES) data. The survey was carried out through a questionnaire survey from the owner and top managers of 716, 247 and 174 agribusiness from India, Pakistan and China, respectively. This enterprises survey has comprised the information regarding the wide range of firms’ characteristics and 16 parameters of business obstacles. Simple statistical tools such as chi-square and analysis of variance have been used to analyze the data.

Chi-square test shows the statistically significance difference in firms’ characteristics across agribusiness firms of India, China and Pakistan. Chinese firms are better in terms of having an international quality certification, own websites and getting credit. In Pakistan, access to land for agribusiness is an obstacle while for India and China, it is easy to acquire land for agribusiness purposes. In Pakistan, tax rate and political stability is a moderate obstacle while in India and China, it is a minor obstacle in agribusiness. Labor regulation does not perceive any considerable obstacle in doing business in India and Pakistan.

This study provides an understanding of differences in the agribusiness environment in emerging economies such as India, Pakistan and China based on WBES data. This study can be helpful for agribusiness managers and government policymakers for promoting agriculture-based entrepreneurship.

It is the first attempt to compare the profile of agribusiness firms in growing Asian economies such as India, Pakistan and China, as well as perceived business hurdles, using a comprehensive enterprises survey data of World Bank.

Western Balkans countries (WBCs) have a great potential for growth and among the main focuses of entrepreneurial activity is small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector. Moreover, SMEs are believed to contribute in the economy by stimulating employment, increasing production, transferring new technologies and so forth. Due to this crucial importance the purpose of this paper is to analyze the barriers that hinder labor productivity (LP) of SMEs in WBCs.

The research method employed to discover solution to this research problem is quantitative analysis by using survey data of World Bank. Research methodology applied in this paper found it correctly to use cross-sectional data and conducts a factor analysis and ordinary least square (OLS) regression as the best procedure for this type of data.

The results show variability for different countries access to finance, tax rates, tax administration, corruption, inadequately educated labor force, competition in informal sector and political instability appear to be some of the main obstacles that are negatively affecting LP of SMEs in WBC.

Although this study is the first to analyze all the possible obstacles for the six WBCs using factor analysis better results could be obtained with larger samples and panel data.

The policy implications of this study suggest that in order to boost productivity of these firms there must be a reduction of the barriers and improvement of business environment. Although, this study is the first to analyze all the possible obstacles for the six WBCs using factor analysis and contributes as insight to policy makers, better results could be obtained with larger samples using panel data.

Differently from previous studies this work uses explanatory factor analysis and method OLS to estimate regressions for all barriers in each country of Western Balkan region.

Labour market constraints constitute prominent obstacles to firm development and economic growth of countries located in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of firm characteristics, national locations, and sectoral associations for the perceptions of firms concerning two basic labour market constraints: labour regulations and labour skill shortages.

The empirical analysis is carried out using firm-level data set sourced from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys database. A bivariate probit estimator is used to account for potential correlations between the errors in the two labour market constraints’ equations. The authors implement overall estimations and comparative cross-country and cross-sector analyses, and use alternative estimation models.

The empirical results reveal some important implications of firm characteristics (e.g. firm size, labour compositions) for firm perceptions of labour regulations and labour skill shortages. They also delineate important cross-country and cross-sector variations. The authors also find significant heterogeneity in the factors’ implications for the perceptions of firms belonging to different sectors and located in different MENA countries.

Reforms in labour regulations and investment in human capital are important governmental policy interventions for promoting firm development and economic growth in the MENA region. This paper contributes to the empirical literature by analysing the factors influencing the perceptions of firms located in the MENA region concerning labour regulations and labour skill shortages. It provides policy-makers with information needed in the design of labour policies that attenuate the impacts of labour market constraints and enhance the performance of firms and the long-run economic growth.

This study aims to investigate the level of business exposure to corruption in Malaysia. The authors estimate the effect of bribe requests from business establishments by public officials and identify the level of vulnerability of businesses to such requests.

This study uses firm-level data from the World Bank Malaysia Enterprise Survey 2014. The analyses are based on binary logit, tobit and generalized ordered logit regressions.

The authors find that one-fifth of firms applying for construction permits or had visits or meetings with tax officials were expected to pay bribes. Firms’ encounters with corruption were higher still when applying for import (29%) or operating license (24.7%). About 40% of the firms considered corruption an obstacle to their business operations to the degree of moderate, major and even severe. On average, 11% of firms’ total annual sales were apportioned for informal gifts or “speed money.” The authors also find that larger, younger and women-managed/owned companies were more likely to be targeted for bribe payments. The amount of bribe paid by foreign-owned firms was higher than the local firms. Manufacturing firms had lower incidences of bribe requests, but the amount paid was higher than services-related companies. Firms run or owned by women also, on average, paid a higher amount bribe.

These findings should be taken into consideration in the efforts to eradicate corruption affecting businesses in Malaysia.

This study is unique in the sense that it is based on firm-level data for a Malaysian case.