Search results

Metasearch engines (MSEs) which have been designed to solve problems of internet users in finding relevant resources are not seemingly as recognized as the other web search tools such as search engines (SEs) and directories. As a result, this paper aims to compare and evaluate some of them in terms of search features included in their interface so that users can be familiar with these search tools.

This research compares and evaluates 20 general MSEs in English, which are free of charge, based on a researcher‐made checklist. Finally, those MSEs which have better search features have been introduced.

According to results obtained, it is self‐evident that most MSEs offer an excellent alternative for users.

MSEs which have great features and high facilities are not necessarily user‐friendly. So, usability studies or user‐oriented ones on MSEs seem to be required.

Hopefully, these findings help users choose and make use of an MSE, MSE developers design more efficient and effective ones and information professionals identify and retrieve high relevant documents, meeting their information needs.

This paper provides clear and relatively comprehensive descriptive evidence for evaluating search facilities and potentials of MSEs which are commonly used by internet users today.

Little is known about the role causation plays in establishing the necessary conditions for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to face the first stages of a major crisis. Our study aims to investigate how causation affects their ability to be successful at the onset of widespread calamities.

We examined how 191 Brazilian MSEs utilized causation in managing different aspects of their operating cycle before the COVID-19 pandemic using a combinatory methodology.

Causation is more important than usually supposed for MSEs when facing widespread crises.

Our study did not explore the specific interactions between the intensified use of causation practices and other factors within MSEs that may lead to superior outcomes. The limitations of our data prevented a fully assessment of sales fluctuations of firms and how they responded to the latter stages of the COVID-19 crisis.

Our findings underscore the significance of causation in helping MSEs navigate future crises, emphasizing the enduring value of time-tested management practices. MSE owners and managers should ensure the presence of causation-oriented practices, as these forms the foundation for well-established management principles. This strong foundation equips MSEs to effectively employ effectuation strategies when it is needed.

Small enterprises are the backbone of every economy and play a vital role in economic recovery. Our findings offer valuable insights that can help these enterprises effectively navigate major crises and contribute to economic recovery.

This study is among the first to answer to the call for more research that isolates and investigates granular elements of causation. Additionally, our study is original in that we address the need to consider the temporal dimension of causality.

The field of Supply Chain Management (SCM) has mainly focused on applications for large firms, where significant amount of theory has been developed in the last decades. Little attention has been received by micro and small enterprises (MSEs) that in Latin America represent approximately 99% of all businesses and are the key for the development of the economy, employment, and growth of the region. Due to MSEs' lack of productivity, only a fraction of them survive and thus contribute to Latin America's economic growth. In this chapter, we discuss the connection between MSEs' productivity growth and SCM. We present key takeaways from the literature and summarized different research approaches used to study this emerging field, specifically related to the impact of the size of the company, the use of surveys to gather data, and the importance of field interventions. We also present a large-scale project (i.e., MIT GeneSys) that focuses on improving survival of MSEs in developing countries and discuss some preliminary learnings gained via conducting shadowing/immersion of ∼250 MSEs from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. We conclude the chapter by presenting some recommendations for the future research agenda for the emerging field of SCM for MSEs in Latin America.

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) play a crucial role in the development of any country by generating innovative ideas. However, they face inherent restrictions that hinder their innovation capabilities. It is essential to support innovation policies to overcome these barriers and foster innovation. This study aims to explore how innovation policies can reduce barriers to innovation in MSEs using the lens of innovation capabilities.

Through a multiple case study, the authors examined eight MSEs in São Paulo (Brazil) and five in Florence (Italy) to conduct this study. These countries share a similar level of importance when it comes to MSEs.

Current innovation policies could be more effective for MSEs if certain barriers they encounter are faced and resolved, such as limited financial resources and a scarcity of qualified workers. These barriers directly affect two key elements of their innovation capability: financial resources and human resources. Therefore, it is essential to develop innovation policies that target these elements directly to enable MSEs to overcome these obstacles and thrive.

This study aims to enhance the knowledge of how innovation policies can help alleviate obstacles to innovation and how they can influence the various components that comprise the innovation capability of MSEs. This research can be valuable for policymakers as it provides insight into which innovation policies impact each aspect of innovation capability, enabling them to choose the most suitable policy based on the specific needs and local circumstances of the MSEs.

This study aimed to explore the importance of various factors considered in the bank selection decisions of micro- and small-sized enterprises (MSEs) in Ethiopia.

The study used a structured questionnaire to collect data from 300 MSEs selected through a convenience sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and linear regression analysis methods are used to identify the most important factors determining bank selection by MSEs.

The results of exploratory factor analysis revealed that the availability of credit at a reasonable interest rate, lower service charges and the availability of better automated teller machine (ATM) services are the priorities of MSEs in their bank selection decisions. In addition, the results of regression analysis indicated that price competitiveness is the most important factor determining bank selection decisions of MSEs.

This study has two major limitations: first, due to resource constraints, the samples included in this study were taken only from the capital city of the country, Addis Ababa. As customer preferences are likely to vary from region to region, future studies could be carried out by including samples from other cities and rural areas of the country. Second, the study relied on a single data collection instrument. The use of additional data collection instruments, such as interviews and focus group discussions, could provide additional insights into the topic.

Commercial banks need to devise a flexible lending policy and set affordable interest rates and collateral requirements to meet the credit needs of MSEs. MSEs, on the other hand, need to improve their bankability by improving their operating and financial reporting practices. Further research can be conducted by covering other cities and the rural parts of the country.

The topic of bank selection has not been explored with a specific reference to MSEs in Ethiopia. The present study addressed this gap by investigating the factors influencing bank selection decisions of MSEs.

The effectiveness of any government interventions to support small firms is always a concern in achieving improvements in enterprise performances. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate thoroughly the impact of micro and small enterprises’ (MSEs’) support programs on core intermediate and final outcomes of interest.

The impact evaluation employs a non-parametric matching procedure for parametric outcome analysis using the propensity score matching (PSM) method. Aiming at a doubly robust evaluation process, the study applies parametric analyses than non-parametric permutation-based tests to investigate the causal effects of the public intervention.

The study reveals that the public intervention encouraged MSEs to develop innovative business practices and improve their human capital development process. Moreover, the intervention had a positive effect in expanding employment opportunities in urban areas. Contrariwise, the study shows that support beneficiaries are not at an advantage in investment intensity. The lower level of investment intensity on fixed capital resulted inefficiency among the recipients. Moreover, the intervention did not have an effect on changing the net-asset over time for the recipients.

This study implies that the support programs need to be dynamic and also targets on creating innovative high-growth MSEs.

This paper is fairly original and provides policy makers and MSE promoters/facilitators evidence-based information on the effectiveness of the support services, with looking at firm-level analysis.

From an institutional theory perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the combined impact of financial capital (microcredit) and human capital development (entrepreneurship training) delivered by financial non-governmental organisations (FNGOs) on the performance of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Ghana.

Adopting a multiple linear regression analysis, the study used primary data collected from 506 Ghanaian MSEs. Microcredit was measured using four main constructs, namely, loan cost, loan amount, the flexibility of loan repayment and loan accessibility. Entrepreneurship training was measured using four main constructs, namely, training content, training efficiency, training frequency and training accessibility. MSE performance was also measured using three main indicators, namely, sales, employment and profitability growth. The study controlled for business age, industry category, manager’s educational level and gender.

The results of this study show that the combined delivery of financial and human capital development by FNGOs has a significant impact on MSE performance. The social welfare logic adopted by FNGOs seems to be legitimate to the needs and growth of MSEs in Ghana. However, the cost of microcredit remains a drawback, constraining the performance of MSEs in Ghana.

This study was carried out in the Volta Region, which is one of the ten regions of Ghana. Even though the sample size suffices, the findings from this study could not be generalised to the whole of Ghana. Also, this study is a quantitative study and could benefit from a triangulated method where the qualitative inputs could offer insights into the findings in this study.

Theoretically, this study contributes to the understanding of institutions and the type of impact they have on the growth of MSEs. Practically, the provision of a conducive environment and access to financial capital is crucial to the growth of MSEs. Also, the adoption of the social welfare logic in microfinance delivery could be one of the major steps in promoting the performance of MSEs in Ghana.

Major sporting events (MSEs) have always contributed to sustainable change. Many owners and organizers of MSEs have gradually institutionalized the governance of sporting events legacies. International sports organizations and past studies currently have a vision for sporting event legacies. However, a specific legacy governance system has not been developed. Thus, this study explores stakeholder's perspectives of post-event effects and the legacy governance strategies for Taipei 2017 Universiade (TU).

The representatives of the various stakeholders of the TU are selected and an in-depth interview approach employed. Archival material, including official organizing documents and information from the TU website, is used to increases the reliability of the results.

The benefits of MSEs are not always long-lasting. The TU has created a significant breakthrough for Taipei City, and its successful hosting has raised the image of the city and strengthened its infrastructure and national identity. Thus, the TU must leave sustainable legacies to benefit society and urban development.

Although the study has revealed diverse perspectives from the representatives of stakeholder groups and highlighted the uniqueness and future directions of legacy governance that the TU has produced and learned, the findings may not be fully applicable or replicated in other cities or small countries, especially given Taiwan's international political status. For further study, a systematic model can be constructed to more accurately analyze the interconnected relationship to determine the extent to which various MSE legacies are regarded as “successful” governance, and other significant aspects should be incorporated into the model as a basis for comparing traditional legacy assessment.

This study developed a theoretical account of legacies and their relevance to MSEs, thus emphasizing that, in addition to “hard legacies” (concrete infrastructure or athletes' village), hosting the TU has established “soft legacies” (memories enshrined in the public's consciousness). Regarding the Taipei city government, the sustainable strategies of legacy governance after learning from the hosting experience are probably more complex. Nonetheless, hosting MSEs has been regarded as a crucial medium for urban development across the globe. It would be helpful to further this line of inquiry via the TU stakeholder perspectives regarding legacy governance concerns.

The study contributes to the literature by proposing feasible directions of legacy governance for a host city. As Taiwanese are concerned, the political legacy has the most profound influence among all types of the legacies generated by the TU. The followed is the infrastructure legacy, which can be utilized as the core of the sustainable development strategies of the legacy governance, thereby expanding the post-event governance of various legacies.

The purpose of this study is to highlight the main factors that affect the management of the WGs' Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Kakamega District and Africa in general.

The study adopted a descriptive research design. This is because the study was concerned about a univariate question in which the researchers asked about the size, form distribution and existence of factors affecting management of the Women Groups' (WGs) MSEs. The study created a profile on variables affecting WGs' MSEs through collection of data and the tabulation of the frequencies on the research variables and their interaction. Systematic random sampling was used to select the sample. This technique resulted in a sample size of 310 respondents distributed as follows: 95 WGs leaders; 143 group and community members; and 72 donor, government and non‐governmental agents.

The study found that the factors that affect management of WGs' MSEs could be categorised as financial, administrative, managerial, technical, political, traditional and cultural. The WGs lack skills in these areas, which adversely affects the MSEs. The study then calls for full support of WGs' MSEs by all those involved in one way or another, remembering that “for women, a common theme cuts across the struggles … whether at independence, liberation movement, the New International Economic Order, or development, women have learned that the change, reforms and revolutions were not intended for them”.

The study is limited to the data obtained through questionnaires and interviews which were descriptive and qualitative in nature. A study that uses both quantitative and qualitative data is recommended.

The study is ground‐breaking in terms of looking at the management of WGs' MSEs in Kenya.

The purpose of this research is to shed light on the main barriers faced by Mozambican micro and small enterprises (MSEs) and their implications in respect to the support policies available for these enterprises.

A literature review was made on those barriers faced by the MSEs and on the policies and governmental instruments of assistance available for MSEs. Then, a two‐step research was conducted. The first phase consisted of collecting data from 21 MSEs in Mozambique, mainly by means of interviews where the main barriers faced by those interviewed were identified and hence, this led to the second phase, which was interviewing governmental/support entities in order to know what they had done to minimize those barriers which had been identified by the entrepreneurs.

The results show that financial and competitive barriers are the main barriers faced by the analyzed MSEs. These barriers vary according to the field of activity of the enterprises.

This study serves to enrich the state of the art on the subject of smaller enterprises in Africa and will specially help to fill the lack of academic research available about Mozambique.