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1 – 10 of 14Munshi Naser Ibne Afzal, Kasim Mansur and Umme Humayara Manni
The entrepreneurial capability (EC) environment refers to the general social and economic settings of a given local/regional entrepreneurship environment. The primary purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
The entrepreneurial capability (EC) environment refers to the general social and economic settings of a given local/regional entrepreneurship environment. The primary purpose of this study is to uncover key indicators of the EC milieu and test these components empirically within the context of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-5 economies to elucidate the current state of their EC environments, at the regional and national levels. To this end, the aim of this study is twofold. First, this work endeavors to explicate the determinants of EC, with aims of elucidating its association to commercial opportunities in (ASEAN)-5 economies, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Next, this study applies the developed theory, including the identified determinants of EC to empirically test the efficiency and imperative coefficients of variables that have an impact on perceived entrepreneurial capabilities within a given environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This research applies two frontier models, namely, the consistent estimation of fixed-effects and linear transformation stochastic frontier models, to assess the coefficients of significant EC variables for the panel sample. Data corresponding to the assessed variables were retrieved from the databases of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) – 2016 and the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) – 2016, for the period, 2010-2016.
Findings
The attained results suggest that factors corresponding to the variables “Entrepreneurship as a good career choice” and “perceived opportunities” have played a significantly positive role on the EC environment of ASEAN 05, although findings suggest both factors may still be improved upon. Conversely, the “fear of failure rate” factor was shown to have exerted a negative impact on the efficiency of the EC environment of ASEAN 05. Other important variables – such as intellectual property rights, university education and knowledge transfer rate – were shown to generate a positive impact on the EC environment of these economies.
Originality/value
This study makes an important contribution to the entrepreneurship literature and can stimulate policymakers to rethink the EC settings of ASEAN-05 in their pursuit of an innovation-driven region.
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Fabio Iraldo, Francesco Testa, Pietro Lanzini and Massimo Battaglia
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a survey-based study performed on Italian SMEs in the “hotel, restaurant, café” (HORECA) sector, aimed at investigating the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a survey-based study performed on Italian SMEs in the “hotel, restaurant, café” (HORECA) sector, aimed at investigating the relationship between pro-environmental strategies and competitiveness and how such strategies can be exploited to outperform competitors.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey involved 317 Italian SMEs. Regression models have been developed to analyze the causal relationship between three dimensions of competitiveness (competitive advantage over competitors, customer satisfaction and employees’ motivation), and environmental practices that can be adopted by HORECA SMEs.
Findings
Top management commitment emerges as a key driver of competitiveness, confirming the strategic relevance of a sound approach to sustainability also in SMEs operating in the tourism sector. Moreover, actions aimed at investing in green food products (e.g. organic food) and awareness campaigns emerge as strong predictors of good business performance. Finally, at managerial level, entrepreneurs and owners evaluate the implementation of internal sustainability monitoring systems as a relevant support to increase their competitive performance.
Research limitations/implications
Since the results are limited to Italian HORECA businesses, a cross-country comparison could represent a potential improvement of the research. Moreover, since the sector is characterized by the predominance of small and micro firms, specific attention should be devoted to the role played by entrepreneurs’ personal values in shaping business strategies.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the relationship between SMEs in the tourism sector and the environmental dimension analyzing the link between the adoption of “green” practices and the competitive performance. The results suggest that customer involvement represents an essential pre-requisite to turn sustainability into an opportunity of market distinctiveness and stress the strategic role of the implementation of performance monitoring systems.
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J. Alberto Aragon-Correa, Inmaculada Martin-Tapia and Jose de la Torre-Ruiz
This paper aims to review the main literature on the relationship between the natural environment and management in hospitality and tourism firms and uses strategic lenses to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the main literature on the relationship between the natural environment and management in hospitality and tourism firms and uses strategic lenses to propose a general framework of previous works and a map for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
A detailed collection of the most relevant literature on organizations and the natural environment in general is used, along with a specific compilation of the analysis in hospitality and tourism firms. The analytical comparison between the general studies and tourism literature provides opportunities for the discussion of research gaps.
Findings
The growing volume of research on environmental management in the hospitality and tourism firms suggests increasing interest in the topic in the past decade. However, our analysis uses a strategic framework to identify multiple relevant topics that are due for exploration. The generation of more robust theoretical and empirical contributions should also be prioritized in the future.
Research limitations/implications
The findings provide insight into the growing importance of environmental issues in multiple areas of hospitality and tourism firms, including corporate strategy (new green business and implications of the environmental issues on the attractiveness of traditional tourism activities), competitive business strategy (differentiation and reduction of costs through environmental management), functional strategy (eco-labels, certifications and environmental management systems), green marketing, responsible supply chain and training.
Originality/value
While previous literature has emphasized the macro analysis of environmental challenges in the industry, this paper is one of the first to provide an analytical review of the literature on the natural environment and management of hospitality and tourism firms and will be particularly useful to better understand the organizational challenges.
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Afef Khalil and Imen Ben Slimene
The purpose of this paper is to examine the Board of Directors’ characteristics and their impact on the financial soundness of Islamic banks.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the Board of Directors’ characteristics and their impact on the financial soundness of Islamic banks.
Design/methodology/approach
Regression analysis is applied to test the impact of the Board of Directors’ characteristics on the financial soundness of Islamic banks, using a panel data set of 67 Islamic banks covering 20 countries from 2005 to 2018. The Z-score indicator is used to evaluate the Islamic banks’ soundness. To check the robustness of the results, this paper uses other dependent variables (CAMEL) than the Z-score.
Findings
The main results show that the presence of an independent non-executive director negatively impacts the financial soundness of Islamic banks, while the chief executive officer duality practice has a positive effect on it. Other characteristics of the Board of Directors do not significantly impact the financial soundness of Islamic banks (foreign director, institutional director, chairman with a Shari’ah degree, interlocked chairman and the Board of Directors’ size).
Practical implications
This study aims to fill the gaps in the literature that discuss the Board of Directors’ role in corporate governance and its impact on the financial soundness of Islamic banks. In other words, it shows the role played by the Board of Directors and improves the knowledge of the corporate governance-financial soundness relationship. Plus, managers, investors and regulators may gain evocative insights, particularly those looking to improve their Islamic banks’ soundness by restructuring their boards’ composition.
Originality/value
This study sheds new light on the literature on Islamic banking by clarifying the relationship between the Board of Directors and the financial soundness of Islamic banks. Contrary to previous research, this paper uses an additional hypothesis stating that a chairman with a Shari’ah degree (Fiqh Muamalt) has a positive impact on the financial soundness of Islamic banks.
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Sanderson César Macêdo Barbalho and Gladston Luiz Silva
This paper aims to explore how new product development (NPD)-based project management offices (PMOs) work, their drivers to deliver performance and their project success impact.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how new product development (NPD)-based project management offices (PMOs) work, their drivers to deliver performance and their project success impact.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a survey of 35 Brazilian and multi-national companies that identified the effort to perform a list of PMO functions, some PMO drivers in the company and five project performance perception indicators. The authors apply a specific set of statistics to uncover the relations between these dimensions of interest.
Findings
The factorial analysis allows us to find the main functions influencing each other. The project teams’ perception of project management (PM) performance is suggested as a success factor that drives PMOs when working on portfolio management issues, managing project files and promoting PM over the company.
Practical implications
This paper contributes to a contingency approach for designing a project machine involving PMOs to support NPD projects. Managers can set the most suitable PMO functions avoiding mimicry when structuring their NPD efforts.
Originality/value
PMOs have impacted team satisfaction and control of project data but not indicators related to triple constraints.
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Ricardo Jorge Correia, Mário Sérgio Teixeira and José G. Dias
This paper aims to explore a new causal link between learning, market and entrepreneurial orientations and firms' performance by introducing dynamic capabilities and competitive…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore a new causal link between learning, market and entrepreneurial orientations and firms' performance by introducing dynamic capabilities and competitive advantages as mediator variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The mediating role of dynamic capabilities and competitive advantages is tested using a sample of 1,190 Portuguese firms, and structural equation models.
Findings
It is shown that dynamic capabilities mediate the relationship between the three orientations–learning, market and entrepreneurial–and competitive advantages of differentiation and cost leadership, and both competitive advantages lead to firm's performance. It is also shown that learning orientation is an antecedent of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation.
Practical implications
This research shows that firm's performance depends on the capacity of firms to learn, innovate, be proactive, take risks and collect the best market data. Indeed, by optimizing the internal management and knowledge dissemination, firms will develop a set of capabilities and competitive advantages that lead to an appropriate response to market challenges.
Originality/value
This study tests the relationship between strategic orientations and firm's performance by taking the mediating effects of dynamic capabilities and competitive advantages into account. This research was conducted in Portugal.
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Rebekka Küchler and Christian Herzig
As members of the food supply chain, food manufacturers acquire power and hold responsibility for the sustainable transformation of our food systems. Sustainability assessment and…
Abstract
Purpose
As members of the food supply chain, food manufacturers acquire power and hold responsibility for the sustainable transformation of our food systems. Sustainability assessment and reporting frameworks function as instruments to shape sustainable transformation processes. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the suitability for food manufacturing companies and their connectivity with the up- and downstream food supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
The first section of the study explores the need for holistic, company-based sustainability frameworks in the food manufacturing sector from the literature. The second part compares seven frameworks, in terms of content and supply chain connectivity.
Findings
Food sector specificity demands the inclusion of topics specific to food systems. Furthermore, none of the investigated frameworks fulfil both food sector specificity and full connectivity with the up- and downstream supply chain.
Research limitations/implications
As a limitation to this work, comparison of the frameworks at topic level instead of indicator level is considered. The findings call for more harmonised and integrated sustainability assessment throughout the food supply chain.
Practical implications
The framework a food manufacturer should apply depends on their motivation behind conducting the sustainability assessment and reporting. Evidence is provided from various perspectives and with regard to key issues such as content, certification and communication.
Originality/value
No comparison between sustainability frameworks has been made yet from the supply chain perspective of food manufacturers.
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Christian Nnaemeka Egwim, Hafiz Alaka, Eren Demir, Habeeb Balogun and Saheed Ajayi
This study aims to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework that serves as a foundation for identifying most critical delay risk drivers for Building Information Modelling…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework that serves as a foundation for identifying most critical delay risk drivers for Building Information Modelling (BIM)-based construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to identify key delay risk drivers in BIM-based construction projects that have significant impact on the performance of delay risk predictive modelling techniques.
Findings
The results show that contractor related driver and external related driver are the most important delay driver categories to be considered when developing delay risk predictive models for BIM-based construction projects.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the body of knowledge by filling the gap in lack of a conceptual framework for selecting key delay risk drivers for BIM-based construction projects, which has hampered scientific progress toward development of extremely effective delay risk predictive models for BIM-based construction projects. Furthermore, this study's analyses further confirmed a positive effect of BIM on construction project delay.
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Mukhtar A Kassem, Muhamad Azry Khoiry and Noraini Hamzah
The oil and gas construction projects are affected negatively by the drop in oil price in recent years. Thus, most engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies are…
Abstract
Purpose
The oil and gas construction projects are affected negatively by the drop in oil price in recent years. Thus, most engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies are opting to optimize the project mainly to mitigate the source of risks in construction to achieve the project expectation. Risk factors cause a threat to the project objectives regarding time, cost and quality. It is additionally a vital component in deviating from the client's expectation of productivity, safety and standards. This research aims to investigate the causes of risk in the oil and gas construction projects in Yemen.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive literature review from various sources including books, conference proceedings, the Internet project management journals and oil and gas industry journals was conducted to achieve the objectives of this study. This initial work was predicated strictly on a literature review and the judgments of experts to develop the risk factor framework for the oil and gas construction projects in Yemen.
Findings
The authors found a few studies related to risk factors in oil and gas construction projects and shared a similar view about general construction projects. However, only a fraction of the factors accepted have included the variances of other studies on a regional basis or specific countries, such as the Yemen situation, due to the differences between the general construction industry and oil and gas industry. Moreover, the factors of these attributes were still accepted due to their applicability to the oil and gas industry, and no significant variances existed between countries. Research has indicated that 51 critical factors cause risks in the oil and gas construction projects in Yemen. Such risk factors can be divided into two major groups: (1) internal risk factors, including seven critical sources of risks, namely client, contractor, consultant, feasibility study and design, tendering and contract, resources and material supply and project management; and (2) external risk factors, including six sources of critical risk factors, namely national economic, political risk, local people, environment and safety, security risk and force-majeure-related risk factors. A risk factor framework was developed to identify the critical risk factors in the oil and gas construction projects in Yemen.
Research limitations/implications
This research was limited to the oil and gas construction projects.
Practical implications
Practically, this study highlights the risk factors that cause a negative effect on the success of oil and gas construction projects in Yemen. The identification of these factors is the first step in the risk management process to develop strategic responses for risks and enhance the chances of project success.
Social implications
The identification of risks factors that cause the failure of construction projects helps develop response strategies for these risks, thereby increasing the chances of project success reflected in the oil and gas sector, which is a main tributary of the national economy in developing countries.
Originality/value
This research is the pioneer for future investigations into this vital economic sector. Given the lack of resources and studies in the field of construction projects for the Yemeni oil and gas sector, the Yemeni government, oil companies and researchers in this field are expected to benefit from the results of this study. The critical risk factors specific to the oil and gas construction projects in Yemen should be further investigated with focus only on Yemen and its oil and gas industry players.
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Eugénia Pedro, João Leitão and Helena Alves
For better mapping the path of intellectual capital (IC) research, the purpose of this paper is to selectively review empirical studies of IC published, and identify theories…
Abstract
Purpose
For better mapping the path of intellectual capital (IC) research, the purpose of this paper is to selectively review empirical studies of IC published, and identify theories, components and three dimensions of analysis: national IC (NIC), regional IC (RIC) and organizational IC (OIC).
Design/methodology/approach
The systematic literature review (SLR) subject to analysis is based on empirical studies made between 1960 and 2016, and focuses on three dimensions of analysis: NIC, RIC and OIC. Four research questions were designed, using the following databases, namely, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar, for data collection purposes.
Findings
The SLR unveils a multidimensional taxonomy for measuring and classifying the type of IC applicable to the different levels of analysis and provides some recommendations for future studies of NIC, RIC and OIC, by outlining the need for clear definitions of components and measures of IC and identifying strengths, limitations and future research avenues.
Originality/value
In order to fill the gap found in the literature and the non-existence of a study clarifying the multiple dimensions of analysis of IC, this SLR makes a twofold, original contribution to the literature on management: providing an SLR of the main empirical studies dealing with different units of analysis; and identifying a multidimensional taxonomy for measuring and classifying the type of IC applicable to the different levels of analysis.
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