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The author invokes the concept of strategic adaptation to first specify the evolutionary as well as the strategic character of the causal mechanism (“intra-industry exit”), and second to explain its effect on the evolution of firms' within-industry geographic scope. The author reconciles the two competing logics for firm behavior – strategic choice and environmental selection – that underpin alternate explanations for the relationship between intra-industry exit and the evolution of geographic scope. This paper contributes to both theory and empirics concerning the dynamics of firms' competitive scope, in general, and within-industry geographic scope, in particular.

The US long-distance telecom services industry during the period 1984–1996, which satisfies the empirical requirements of a geographically fragmented industry characterized by demand-side heterogeneity across the submarkets, provides the research setting and panel data to test the empirical hypotheses.

The author finds that while the firms' overall performance influences their intra-industry exit decisions, it is the firm-in-market performance that influences their decision to exit a specific submarket. The author also finds that intra-industry exit decision, when influenced by firm performance, does lead to reduction in geographic scope.

This context-specific theory, which conceptualizes the dynamics of firms' geographic scope as an evolutionary process, explains the temporal change in the geographic scope of firms during the latter part of the demand growth stage of a geographically fragmented industry.

This analysis of the demand-side dynamics of firms' within-industry geographic scope focuses on the hypothetical causal effect of intra-industry exit, a pervasive business phenomenon. First, the demand-side analysis of the evolution of geographic scope is grounded in a theoretical framework that melds firm dynamics with submarket dynamics and industry dynamics. Second, this analysis explicates the demand-side underpinnings of the strategic adaptive mechanism.

This study aims to identify the involuntary barriers of financial inclusion which are affecting the usage of Islamic microfinance services in PROCAPEC institution located in Nouakchott-Mauritania. Subsequently, it also examines the effect of gender as a moderator in the model.

Primary data was collected through a cross-sectional questionnaire from 381 beneficiaries of PROCAPEC – a major Islamic microfinance provider in Mauritania. In methodology, the study uses confirmatory factor analysis to identify relevant involuntary factors affecting usage, followed by structural equation modelling to test the impact of these factors on the usage of Islamic microfinance (IsMF) products.

Two of the four factors are statistically significant in affecting the usage of IsMF products, namely, affordability and eligibility. Gender is a moderator in the relationship between affordability and usage, as well as eligibility and usage.

Policymakers, practitioners and managers of Islamic microfinance institutions can consider these factors and focus on strategies, including pricing and promotion, which aim to further develop the Islamic microfinance industry in Mauritania. Also, reducing documentation required from clients and adopting lenient rules to provide suitable products will enhance the use of IsMF products, which may lead to more customers’ attraction.

Although several researchers have articulated financial inclusion, this study sheds light on a specific dimension of financial inclusion to determine the factors impacting IsMF products’ usage. In Mauritania, there are few studies about microfinance. This study will be amongst the pioneer contribution to the geographical gap.

The objective of this study is to investigate how country risk, different political actions from the government and bureaucratic behavior influence the activities in industry supply chains (SCs) in emerging markets. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of these external stakeholders’ elements to the demand-side and supply-side drivers and barriers for improving competitiveness of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry in the way of analyzing supply chain. Considering the phenomenon of recent change in the RMG business environment and the competitiveness issues this study uses the principles of stakeholder and resource dependence theory and aims to find out some factors which influence to make an efficient supply chain for improving competitiveness. The RMG industry of Bangladesh is the case application of this study. Following a positivist paradigm, this study adopts a two phase sequential mixed-method research design consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. Qualitative field study is then carried out to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. A survey is carried out with sample of top and middle level executives of different garment companies of Dhaka city in Bangladesh and the collected quantitative data are analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling. The findings support eight hypotheses. From the analysis the external stakeholders’ elements like bureaucratic behavior and country risk have significant influence to the barriers. From the internal stakeholders’ point of view the manufacturers’ and buyers’ drivers have significant influence on the competitiveness. Therefore, stakeholders need to take proper action to reduce the barriers and increase the drivers, as the drivers have positive influence to improve competitiveness.

This study has both theoretical and practical contributions. This study represents an important contribution to the theory by integrating two theoretical perceptions to identify factors of the RMG industry’s SC that affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. This research study contributes to the understanding of both external and internal stakeholders of national and international perspectives in the RMG (textile and clothing) business. It combines the insights of stakeholder and resource dependence theories along with the concept of the SC in improving effectiveness. In a practical sense, this study certainly contributes to the Bangladeshi RMG industry. In accordance with the desire of the RMG manufacturers, the research has shown that some influential constructs of the RMG industry’s SC affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. The outcome of the study is useful for various stakeholders of the Bangladeshi RMG industry sector ranging from the government to various private organizations. The applications of this study are extendable through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

The purpose of this study is to explore the demand side factors affecting financial inclusion in general and credit uptake in particular.

The present study is descriptive and exploratory in nature and is purely based on primary data. The data collection instrument has been scientifically after thorough review of literature and seeking expert opinion. Primary data have been collected from the respondents of lower socioeconomic class in selected rural areas in the State of Maharashtra, India. Exploratory technique like factor analysis and structural equation modelling have been used to identify the inter-relations between financial inclusion and underlying barriers.

The study concludes that there are major latent issues that determine the uptake and usage of financial services, major being “operational and implementation challenges”, “financial literacy” and “affordability”. The “usage” aspect further impacts financial inclusion along with “access” variable. These are some of the most important factor for creating demand-driven approach towards financial products and services specially credit. The author concludes that the identified latent barriers with respect to the “usage” dimension of financial inclusion require greater policy attention so that it can complement the supply-side measures.

The study establishes that merely having “access” through bank account ownership will not fulfil the objective of financial inclusion, and it is the “usage”, which is also important to realize the full potential of financial inclusion at the bottom of the pyramid. So, policy actions should be directed toward enhancing the “usage” aspect of financial services. The “usage” dimension could be enhanced through targeted interventions to mitigate the effect of identified latent barriers.

Though researchers have made a mention of demand-side barriers to financial inclusion, detailed study on the topic is missing. The study is one of its kinds in exploring the severity of various demand-side barriers that determine financial inclusion. In the context of emerging economies like India, financial inclusion is often measured in terms of banking outreach and “access”. There are limited studies capturing the “usage” dimension of financial inclusion.

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review and analyse the critical challenges and barriers of e‐government adoption. Such review aims to suggest the salient facts about the issues of successful implementation or adoption of the e‐government services under different circumstances to the researchers.

A total of 78 relevant research papers reviewing and analysing the challenges, barriers, and critical success factors were selected from a set of overall 448 articles on e‐government adoption research. These studies were comprehensively reviewed to examine some of the most significant supply and demand‐side challenges, barriers, and critical success factors explored by different studies in this context.

The findings indicated that technological barriers, lack of security and privacy, lack of trust, lack of resources, digital divide, poor management and infrastructure, lack of awareness, legal barriers, lack of IT infrastructure, and resilience were among some of the most commonly experienced challenges and barriers across the relevant studies. Moreover, it was also found that challenges and barriers associated with supply‐side (i.e. implementation) (C=53) were almost three times to the one applied to the demand‐side (i.e. adoption) (C=18). Furthermore, it was also found that citizen's satisfaction, information accuracy, security, and privacy were some of the critical factors for the success of e‐government initiatives.

This research only reviews the challenges, barriers and critical success factors and leaving apart many other research themes such as impact, digital divide, security, privacy, trust, and risk of e‐government adoption. Moreover, the theoretical and methodological paradigm of this research have not been explored.

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the challenges, barriers, and critical success factors of the e‐government adoption research both with regard to supply as well as demand side. Such review allows us to provide not only a brief account of the issues experienced in the e‐government research, but also prescribes the guidelines for the governments to consider certain facts before successfully implement their e‐government initiatives. Such a comprehensive review of e‐government adoption literature has not been performed earlier.

Most research studies have examined financial inclusion from a supply-side perspective, which measures access and usage of formal financial services by banking outreach indicators, the number of borrowers and the availability of other financial services in a given area. However, this approach is often insufficient to nuance the degree of financial exclusion faced by segments of the population. This study's overall objective is to empirically examine demand-side determinants of financial inclusion.

This research examines the impact of these variables on the level to which an individual is financially included. Notably, the metric employed goes beyond the basic ownership of a bank account and measures the usage of financial services rather than just access. Quantitative data were collected through self-administered surveys targeting 456 individuals in Egypt in order to test the proposed hypotheses. Three different econometric models were tested using regression analysis.

The findings imply an insignificant relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion. Results suggest that financial exclusion is associated with low trust in financial institutions, low-income level, low education level and being elderly, with a more substantial influence on income and education.

Egypt suffers from a lack of up-to-date demand-side data and data available at hand allow us to know very little about the factors underpinning financial inclusion. This study is contributing demand-side, up-to-date primary data, that provides multiple insights for Egypt regarding the subject, which helps provide answers and suggestions to policy implications.

This paper aims to explain how the dynamic demand environment influences strategic firm behavior along an industry’s evolutionary path. A conceptual gap concerning the influence of demand-side environmental factors (vis-à-vis changes in technology and policy) on firms’ strategic choices motivates the theory developed herein. The paper’s contribution to the literature on “evolutionary perspective in strategy” also addresses an important gap in the emerging literature on “strategy dynamics”.

The conceptual framework in this paper features a dynamic demand environment that provides the structural context for firms’ strategic choices. It conceptualizes demand-side competence as a mediating firm-specific construct to explain the endogenous relationship between the characteristics of the demand environment and firms’ path dependent demand-side investments.

A review of the literature on evolutionary perspective in strategy reveals an important conceptual gap concerning the structural determinants of dynamic firm behavior. There is no explanation of the endogenous relationship between dynamic demand structure, firms’ dynamic demand-side competence, and temporally heterogeneous strategic choices.

The demand-side explanation of how idiosyncratic firm behavior is endogenously determined, with both structural characteristics (demand structure) and firm competences (demand-side competence), addresses an important conceptual gap. The novelty of the theory developed herein lies in its explication of the effect of dynamic demand environment on the evolution of idiosyncratic strategic firm behavior – entry, investment and exit – along the evolutionary path of an industry. The theory developed herein not only explains the effect of both determinants of idiosyncratic strategic firm behavior – the external industry environment (dynamic market structure) and internal firm environment (dynamic firm competences) – but also explains how the determinants evolve along the industry’s lifecycle.

Recent supply chain disruptions have highlighted the global shortage of truck drivers. Because it is a quintessential “masculine” profession, the proportion of women truck drivers is small, although efforts are underway to recruit and retain women. This research offers a comprehensive and theoretically-driven empirical analysis of women in the US trucking industry.

The research utilizes a detailed longitudinal database of 20 million driver inspections from 2010 to 2019. It is paired with US Social Security Administration data to infer the gender of the driver for each inspection. Descriptive evidence is provided, and a logit model is used to test the hypotheses.

The research finds that female truck drivers make up 3.2% of the inspection sample, but their representation has grown by 23.1% over the last decade. Women are vastly overrepresented in the jobs that are the easiest to get and underrepresented in jobs that offer better pay, more regular hours and more time at home. However, the proportion of women in more desirable truck driving jobs has grown from 2010 to 2019, offering positive news for the industry.

The research offers a more credible and realistic statistic for the proportion of women in the industry, contradicting previous industry figures. The research also highlights policy implications for industry stakeholders.

The truck driving industry is vital for a nation's economic sustainability. Truck driving jobs offer better wages and more opportunity than many non-professional female-dominant jobs. The research emphasizes the path to move into jobs that are better suited for women with domestic or family responsibilities.

The authors document hitherto unknown facts about women in the US trucking industry. Using theoretically driven research in organizational science, this study highlights the interplay of supply-side and demand-side factors that help to explain a nuanced perspective of the workforce composition and discusses potential policies to increase the number of female drivers.

The purpose of this paper is to present the current drive for 3 million new homes by 2020. The delivery of this number of homes is a challenge for the house building industry and its associated stakeholders such as local authorities, registered social landlords (RSLs) and others. One mechanism proposed to ensure delivery is the use of modern methods of construction (MMC). There are, however, several problems with this premise including the legacy of non‐traditional housing formats employed in the past, demand side suspicion of MMC, and a lack of capacity on the supply side. The paper concentrates on the implications of MMC in the RSL sector – particularly the potential impacts of MMC on asset management (long‐term maintenance) of RSL housing stock.

A literature review and interviews with key RSL personnel are used to inform the discussion contained in this paper.

Seven overall themes emerged from the research, pointing to the main issues that need to be addressed if MMC housing is to be successfully employed in the RSL sector, while also ensuring that asset management is able to carry out its long term maintenance programmes in an effective and efficient manner.

Little previous research has been located on the subject of MMC and its specific impacts on RSL asset management operations. The research should therefore be of interest to a broad range of people, including asset managers and surveyors, developers, planners, and local, regional and national policy makers.

Focusses on a seldom‐studied barrier to the adoption of innovation, namely, the installed base of the technology or the product being supplanted. Examines three dimensions of this “installed base effect”, namely, supply, demand, and externalities. Describes the magnitude of these barriers and makes recommendations for overcoming them.