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The paper aims to provide a better understanding of the interactions between housing investment and economic growth. In particular, the paper emphasizes the separate effects of private housing investment (PHI) on the aggregate economy using quarterly data in the UK from 1974 to 2015. This is important due to the relatively growing interest around the world, including the UK, in encouraging greater private housing investment as a way of boosting economic growth.

The paper used the widely accepted and recognized econometric concepts of unit root, Granger causality and co-integration and provides tentative quantitative evidence of the causal and predictive effect of PHI and economic growth.

The key finding is that the level of investment directed by individual and institution into the private housing sector is key to future development, and will strongly reduce economic performance volatility.

Given that this is a bivariate time series analysis of PHI and economic growth (proxy by gross domestic product), the conclusions of this paper need to treated with caution, as there are other potential variables that might be omitted to make the model more robust so as to reach a more conclusive result.

This study complements existing literature, not only by providing new empirical evidence on the nexus between housing markets and the business cycle but also by being the pioneering attempt at examining the impact of PHI on the economy in the UK.

This chapter presents a recent study which explored the impact of entrepreneurship education on South African tourism students' entrepreneurial intention, regarding starting a tourism-related business after graduation. The study used a structured questionnaire to collect data from randomly selected tourism students in a South African comprehensive University. Study findings show that entrepreneurship education has an influence on tourism students' entrepreneurial intentions and perceptions of desirability and feasibility. The study results moreover reveal that having entrepreneurial family background and entrepreneurship education played a role in achieving entrepreneurial attributes and desirability. The adoption of various reform programmes targeted at enhancing the graduate employability and/or self-employment, such as the inclusion of a new entrepreneurial track to the undergraduate curriculum, is one of the study's recommendations for the department of tourism studied. Students should be encouraged to apply for the entrepreneurship education track, which includes business training as well as customised coaching and mentorship sessions with accomplished businesspeople, as early as in their first academic year.

Firms' knowledge-processing capabilities have a central role in achieving innovation performance and competitive advantage. Absorptive capacity capabilities and innovation are viewed as essential for enterprise success. Absorptive capacity is deemed as a highly important organizational capability to recognize value and assimilate both external and internal knowledge in order to enhance firm innovation. The aim of this study is to determine if innovation performance can be improved through absorptive capacity (knowledge acquisition, dissemination and utilization), when it is supported by internal (firm experience) and external knowledge sources (R&D cooperation and contracted R&D).

A quantitative methodology based on employing a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The proposed research model and its associated hypotheses are tested by using Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) on a data set of 248 manufacturing companies located in the Northern Region of Malaysia.

Results showed that firms' experience is significantly related to absorptive capacity, while for R&D cooperation and contracted R&D findings were mixed. In addition, absorptive capacity was found as a strong predictor of innovation performance.

One of the defining features of competition in many industries has been the extremely rapid pace of technological change, marked by a continuous stream of innovations. Manufacturing firms, therefore, face the challenge of nurturing existing knowledge and developing novel knowledge in order to create new business opportunities. This study makes valuable contributions with regard to understanding the behavioural of manufacturing firms towards process and product innovation.

Building upon the theory of planned behaviour and the entrepreneurial event model, the purpose of this paper is to test the effects of the following covariates in predicting entrepreneurial intention among tourism students in Bangladesh, namely, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control (PBC), perceived desirability and perceived feasibility.

A total of 137 private university students participated in the study by means of questionnaire. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares (PLS) analysis.

Findings indicate that attitude and subjective norm significantly influence perceived desirability. It was also found that subjective norm and PBC positively influence perceived feasibility. Interestingly also, both perceived desirability and perceived feasibility predict entrepreneurial intention.

The study proves the robustness of the integration of the two intent models in explaining entrepreneurial intention in a developing country. The new PLS predict algorithm has been used to generate and evaluate predictions from the path model estimations.

This paper aims to evaluate the effects of banana (Musa) peel and guava (Psidium guajava) leaves extract as mordants on jute–cotton union fabrics dyed with onion skin extract as a natural dye.

The dye was extracted from the outer skin of onions by boiling in water and later concentrated. The bio-mordants were prepared by maceration using methanol and ethanol. The fabrics were pre-mordanted, simultaneously mordanted and post-mordanted with various concentrations according to the weight of the fabric. The dyed and mordanted fabrics were later subjected to measurement of color coordinates, color strength and colorfastness to the washing test. Furthermore, the dyed samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, and different chemical bonds were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis.

Significant improvement was obtained in colorfastness and color strength values in various instances using banana peel and guava leaves as bio mordants. Post-mordanted with banana peel provided the best results for wash fastness. Better color strength was achieved by fabric post-mordanted with guava leave extracts.

Sustainable dyeing methods of natural dyes using banana peel and guava leaves as bio mordants were explored on jute–cotton union fabrics. Improvement in colorfastness and color strength for various instances was observed. Thus, this paper provides a promising alternative to metallic salt mordants.

This case discusses Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam’s (BIBD) social responsibility initiative. Social marketers are committed to people’s health and well-being; they are not profit-oriented and are seeking a larger market share than commercial marketers. One such example is “Community for Brunei” the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by BIBD. It is an online marketplace designed to help small businesses, highlighting different social and philanthropic causes that are important to Bruneians’ nurturing identity. BIBD assists the country’s small, medium, and micro entrepreneurs to actively and competitively expand their businesses through the Brunei community. It aims to help ease and transform the marketplace for struggling entrepreneurs during the pandemic. The Brunei Community Platform uses technology to bring communities together and provide an online ecosystem with integrated digital payment gateways as part of their efforts to encourage a digital society driven by a cashless economy. Other than a digital marketplace, the Community for Brunei has evolved into a social charitable platform conducting charity drives in collaboration with other non-government organizations as well as a donation platform enabling the community to donate and give back to the nation in difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of BIBD’s overall commitment to maintain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, events related to Community for Brunei also guards urban areas to ensure its safety, resilience and sustainability. BIBD’s CSR projects also promotes sustainability in consumption and clean production patterns, and takes urgent action by responding to climate change and its impact. The key takeaways of BIBD’s digital platform Community for Brunei is not only to accept but to fully embrace digitization of today’s businesses to not only continue thriving in this very restricted and scarcely resourced environment but to also open up opportunities to enter their goods and services into the global market. It has also become a community-driven and socially responsible platform providing a place for the society to give back to the community.

This paper explores the reasons behind the slow uptake of mobile payment (m-payment) from a switching intention (SI) perspective. The antecedents of SI from cash to m-payment were explored using an integrated conceptual model of the push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework and the status quo bias (SQB) perspective.

A self-administered survey was used to collect data, which are empirically tested using SmartPLS 3.0.

The push factor was found to have an insignificant effect on SI to m-payment whereas the pull factor was significant. Furthermore, the results revealed that the two mooring variables have contrasting results as trust is not a significant determinant of SI to m-payment while perceived security and privacy (PSP) is. Additionally, all SQB-related relationships were found to be statistically significant

This study determined the factors that play vital roles in the consumers' decision-making to transition from cash to m-payment. This was done via a uniquely developed conceptual model that incorporated the PPM framework with the SQB perspective.

This paper focuses on the factors that affect entrepreneurs' performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the context of a developing nation. Despite the advances in this literature, examination of opportunity recognition in the same model with personal factors and environmental factors on entrepreneurs' performance is lacking.

A quantitative survey was carried out and the data sample of 198 SMEs entrepreneurs in Bangladesh was collected using quota sampling technique. Partial least squares-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships.

The study found that the direct effect of personal and environmental factors significantly influences entrepreneurs' performance and opportunity recognition, and opportunity recognition significantly influences entrepreneurs' performance. The results further indicated that opportunity recognition mediates the relationships between environmental factors and entrepreneurs' performance, but not on the relationships between personal factors and entrepreneurs' performance.

The findings from the study guide SMEs entrepreneurs' performance by utilizing the opportunity recognition more efficiently and effectively. The study further enhances practitioners' understanding of the drivers and motivations of entrepreneurs within a developing nation context.

Although some previous studies already exist that discuss SMEs entrepreneurs' performance, there have been few studies focusing on opportunity recognition and mediation role of opportunity recognition, and far lesser in the context of a developing nation.

This study aims to empirically explore e-banking service quality and its impact on the e-banking loyalty through a mediating impact of e-banking satisfaction. The account holders of three domestic systemically important banks of Pakistan were surveyed during COVID-19 to examine the electronic services provided by these banks.

The data was collected through an adapted questionnaire by using emails and messaging applications. The database of a local marketing company in Pakistan was used, and 976 responses were included in the analysis. The structured equation modeling was used to test the propositions of study.

The findings delineate that reliability and website design proved to increase e-banking loyalty, particularly during COVID-19. The link between e-banking privacy and security and e-banking loyalty was proved as fully mediated by e-banking satisfaction; however, indirect effect of the reliability and website design with e-banking loyalty was partially mediated.

In strategic planning of e-banking mechanisms and the associated consumer behavior, the results of this study can be helpful for policymakers. In case of similar epidemics and natural calamities, consumers may depict similar behavior as shown during the lockdown and social distancing during COVID-19; hence, the study can help regulatory bodies in preparing their safety roadmap.

The mediating effect of e-banking satisfaction between privacy & Security and e-banking loyalty implies that customer give importance to secure e-banking platforms. There can be a variation in their loyalty because of privacy concerns. The application of cognitive–motivational–relational (CMR) theory in a relationship between e-banking service quality and e-banking loyalty with a mediating role of satisfaction is an emotional response to capture the behavioral changes during COVID-19. It enables researchers to understand the CMR theory concerning COVID-19 and e-banking perspective.

The present study predicts attitude towards entrepreneurship among the students of Thailand through the entrepreneurial attitude orientation (EAO) model.

A quantitative approach is used, based on cross-sectional data from public sector universities of Thailand. The respondents are bachelor's and master's students who are acquiring entrepreneurship education. A random sampling technique was used to approach students to participate in the survey. A total of 392 useable questionnaires were returned, providing data for analysis.

Using structural equation modeling, the results show a positive and significant impact of achievement, personal control and innovation on attitudes towards entrepreneurship. Self-esteem, however, has a non-significant impact on attitudes towards entrepreneurship.

This study may be helpful for university policymakers wishing to know more about students' entrepreneurial attitudes, as there is a strong need to divert more students towards entrepreneurship. This study may contribute to the entrepreneurship literature and the EAO scale, particularly in developing and Asian contexts.

This study offers evidence of the development of entrepreneurial attitudes among the students of Thailand, which ensures the further validation of the EAO scale in a developing country.