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Small farmers in India are collectivized and legalized as Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) to progress in agri-food value chains as small agribusiness enterprises. FPCs are dependent on timely information for their sustainability and profitability. Mobile apps are a cost-effective form of information and communication technology. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the major determinants of mobile apps adoption by FPCs.

Quantitative and qualitative data are collected by administering a semi-structured questionnaire and conducting in-depth interviews with board members of 115 FPCs, with a total membership of 30,405 farmers operating in 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The logit model is used for quantitative analysis, while dialog mapping is used for qualitative analysis, based on an integrated technology acceptance model and technology organization environment framework.

Logistic regression results evidence that amongst FPC characteristics, while company size and age are significantly impacting apps adoption, there is no significant association between board size, education level, multiple commodities business or export intention of companies on apps adoption. Digital literacy and technical hands-on training for FPC board members are quintessential to facilitate mobile apps adoption.

The findings are pertinent to policymakers to earmark funds for technical handholding and digital upskilling of FPCs. The need for developing comprehensive, location-centric, farmer-friendly apps by agritech companies is evidenced.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a pioneering work in the domain of mobile apps adoption from a farmers’ agribusiness enterprise perspective in an emerging market economy using a mixed-methods approach.

This study aims to investigate the possibility of practicing cross-subsidisation of underwriting surplus among different takaful operators. It responds to the recent discussion paper published by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on broader application of tàawun (mutual assistance), which seeks insights into cross-tàawun of underwriting surplus within takaful industry.

A qualitative, semi-structured interview is used to gather primary data, featuring 13 one-to-one interviews with selected Sharìah and operational experts in takaful. Open-ended questions are drafted according to BNM’s discussion paper to guide the interview. A content analysis method is used to delve into the topic based on scholarly papers, books and regulatory guidelines. A thematic analysis is applied to explore the qualitative data.

This study establishes the feasibility of cross-subsidisation of underwriting surplus in takaful. Given that participants are the rightful owners of the underwriting surplus, cross-tàawun is deemed permissible with participants’ consent. With the view that underwriting surplus belongs to the fund due to outright transfer of contributions by participants, the regulators have discretion to permit cross-tàawun. The authorities can make any decision if it serves the public interest. Furthermore, the study provides Sharìah and regulatory requirements to govern the practice of cross-tàawun in takaful. Respondents of the study advocate for policy reviews and regulatory adjustments to facilitate cross-subsidisation of takaful surplus.

This study significantly contributes to the existing body of knowledge in Islamic insurance studies. It offers valuable insights for the regulators to formulate the required policies and guides takaful operators to develop products accordingly. Moreover, the study supports Sharìah scholars in making informed decisions about cross-tàawun practices.

This study fills a critical gap in the existing literature by being the first to examine cross-subsidisation of underwriting surplus in takaful. The proposed cross-subsidisation of underwriting surplus will enhance sustainability of takaful funds and contribute to stability of takaful industry. As a foundation, this study encourages future research to explore other relevant aspects of cross-subsidisation of underwriting surplus in takaful operation.

This study aims to examine the effects of payment methods used in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) conducted by UK companies spanning the period from 2007 to 2019.

The study used the estimated expected returns method to identify abnormal returns during the deal announcement period, applying event study analysis with both univariate and multivariate regression models to detect cumulative abnormal returns around the announcement timeframe.

The results show a short-term positive return increase for acquiring firms, controlling for deal-specific characteristics like target firm location and payment methods. The authors observed a preference for cash financing across domestic and cross-border transactions. Multivariate analysis revealed insignificance between payment methods and deal characteristics like cross-border acquisitions and diversification.

The study’s focus on publicly traded firms in the UK and the absence of a comparative analysis across different regions and markets limits the sample size and may impact the generalizability of findings.

The study proposes three practical implications. Firstly, firms should tailor payment methods to each transaction, aligning with strategic goals to optimize value and mitigate risks. Secondly, decision-makers must prioritize comprehensive due diligence and strategic alignment throughout M&A processes to enhance success and maximize synergies. Finally, analysing broader strategic contexts and regulatory landscapes when structuring transactions enables goal attainment, such as market expansion or value creation.

The study’s findings can promote transparency and accountability among corporate decision-makers in M&A transactions. Stakeholders can advocate for transparent decision-making processes, enhancing trust in corporate governance.

This study provides valuable insights into the impact of payment methods on shareholder value in M&A transactions involving UK companies, informing strategic decision-making and contributing to the understanding of corporate finance dynamics.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a policy, the 2014 UK Supply Chain Plan, which aimed to create a local supply chain in a sector (offshore wind) where the central manufacturing node capabilities and knowledge are not possessed locally. It aims to address the following question: can policy create a new manufacturing supply chain from a void?

A qualitative field research approach is used to derive an original set of theoretical propositions explaining the motivation behind the Supply Chain Plan policy. The outcomes of this policy are examined 10 years later in order to provide an opportunity to observe the impact of the policy.

The conclusion is that the policy has been successful in increasing local content, and some of that local content has benefited local manufacturers. However, a lot of the increase in local content has been achieved in non-manufacturing areas or in new areas. The main issue, i.e. the lack of a central manufacturing capability, remains unaddressed. The impact of the local content policy on cost is undocumented.

There is an increasing amount of interest in regional/local supply chains after the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing geopolitical tensions. This paper's originality is to document with an industry case study the fact that manufacturing knowledge and capabilities are the central growth engine of supply chains and that creating a new manufacturing supply chain competing with well-established clusters is not a simple matter that can be achieved through a local content policy. Such policies raise critical questions about the policy makers' implicit valuation of manufacturing technology.

The aim of this paper is twofold. The main objective is to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the tensions that characterize social enterprises because of their dual (economic and social) commitments in a Hungarian context.

The research was exploratory, as no structured inquiry has been carried out in a Hungarian context concerning the sources of tension social enterprises encounter because of their dual commitments. Therefore, a qualitative approach was chosen to achieve the exploratory goal. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out with one expert and nine social entrepreneurs to map and understand these tensions in a Hungarian context.

The research provides a comprehensive three-level model of tensions in which concrete (observable) tensions are grouped into 4 main groups of tensions and 15 subgroups.

This study is original in two ways. First, besides the numerous tensions other researchers have already observed, this study revealed some that have not been empirically observed. Second, being the first research on tensions in a Hungarian context, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the results increase understanding of social entrepreneurship in a Hungarian context based on the lived experiences of Hungarian social entrepreneurs.

Taiwan promotes social enterprises with the Social Enterprise Action Plan and Social Innovation Action Plan, focusing on solving social problems and achieving sustainable development goals. This study aims to clarify the impetus for the above policies and determines whether the relevant policy tools can achieve the established policy goals.

This study adopts the in-depth interview method and uses the “social impact investment framework” constructed by OEDC and Dunn’s definition of public policy stakeholders to select 22 respondents, who were divided into three groups.

Taiwan’s decision-making in social enterprise policy is mainly driven by the pressure of youth unemployment and the 318-student movement. Intrinsic motivation strategies popularized the concept of social enterprise. Various strategies are used to break the limitations and diversify the organization, trigger more diverse social investments, broaden the goals of investment and complete the social enterprise ecosystem through these. Taiwan’s social enterprise policies are consistent with the global trend of “replacing subsidies with investment.”

This study shows that social enterprises generate mutual benefits between investors and social enterprises, that is, achieve free matching through external mechanisms. This study fills the gaps in Oliver’s “behavioral cube” framework of policy instruments. A “behavioral four-dimensional matrix” composed of nudge, shove, budge and reciprocity is proposed to complete the framework for social enterprise policy analysis tools.

Historically, governments have favoured the economic benefits associated with tourism development resulting in many tourism destinations being confronted with overdevelopment, crowding, environmental degradation as well as damage to the social and cultural fabric, especially pronounced in high attractivity destinations. The devastating consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic for tourism have led to a realisation that actors participating in tourism are especially susceptible to major health and security crises or natural disasters, mainly because their services are location bound and cannot be sold elsewhere. The involuntary ‘pause’ in travel worldwide has led many governments to realise that tourism policies must be placed in a broader context and that stakeholders, including residents and the environment where the brunt of the negative consequences are most deeply felt, must be an intrinsic part in determining the outcomes to be achieved. To Snowclone John F. Kennedy: ‘Ask not what your destination can do for tourism, ask what tourism can do for your destination’. Indeed, the visitation process involves the demand-driven co-creation or co-production between visitors (resident, day and overnight) and hosts, mostly based on the use of public goods. The complexity of this visitation system with its myriad stakeholders means that there cannot be a single tourism or visitation policy, but that there must be different policies that intervene at different points in the system and create an impact. Thus, policy formulation must be context-specific, individualised and take into account the interdependence among policies to achieve the desired outcomes.

In metropolitan areas experiencing rapid urbanization and housing production, the size of housing units emerges as a crucial factor to consider in housing policy formulation. This study aims to focus on Turkey, a developing country undergoing rapid urbanization and a construction boom in recent years, to examine households’ housing size preferences. Through a detailed analysis, this research delves into the causal relationships between income, education and housing size preferences.

This study uses the Family Structure Survey in Turkey 2016 data set collected nationwide by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). To address potential endogeneity issues related to income and education levels in households’ choice of house size, an extended regression model is used. In addition, survey weights are applied to the statistical model to generalize the results of the study.

The study demonstrates that household income correlates with an increase in house size, while household education is associated with a decrease in house size. Variables such as household age, composition and vehicle ownership are found to impact the choice of house size. Particularly, one-person and couple-only households tend to prefer smaller dwellings compared to others. Lastly, the results reveal that the influence of household composition on dwelling size varies according to household age.

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the determinants influencing households’ housing size preferences within the framework of a developing country context, focusing on Turkey. It specifically offers insights into the causal impact of education and income levels on housing size preferences, as well as the intricate interplay between household characteristics in shaping these preferences.

This study examines the impact of outcome uncertainty on the National Football League (NFL) secondary ticket market prices. As a demand-driven market, it is essential to comprehend how resellers respond to outcome uncertainty, one of the consumer demand factors in sports.

Using real-time ticket prices and money lines as a proxy of the probabilities of winning, this study employs a regression analysis and examines 33,554 price observations from the NFL’s secondary ticket market partner, StubHub.

The result shows a positive relationship between outcome uncertainty and secondary market ticket prices, indicating that resellers adjust the prices in response to the level of outcome uncertainty and put more value on games with greater uncertainty. This finding confirms the demand-driven nature of the secondary ticket market, as outcome uncertainty is one of the demand factors in sports.

This study links the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis with secondary ticket market pricing and fills a gap in the literature by providing an important perspective on games with uncertainty in the secondary ticket market. Outcome uncertainty has limited understanding in relation to secondary ticket market pricing despite its relationship with consumer demand. The positive relationship between outcome uncertainty and the ticket prices, grounded in real-time price data and win probability from sport betting markets, enhances our understanding of price determinations in the secondary ticket market.