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1 – 10 of 18Emil Lucian Crisan, Madalina Dan, Ioana Natalia Beleiu, Eugenia Ciocoiu and Paula Beudean
In literature, it is recognized that there is no universal set of critical success factors (CSFs) applicable to all projects. The goal of this research is to validate a…
Abstract
Purpose
In literature, it is recognized that there is no universal set of critical success factors (CSFs) applicable to all projects. The goal of this research is to validate a theoretical model which considers that CSFs’ influence on project success (PS) is configurational, that CSFs combine to influence PS.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors proposed a theoretical framework which operationalizes CSFs considering contingency and institutional theories' terms, as external contingencies, organizational resources and project strategies, which influence PS. The framework is validated through a qualitative approach on 18 social projects implemented by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Based on the conducted semistructured interviews with NGO managers or project managers, 91 instances when CSFs combine to influence PS were identified.
Findings
The dominant path reveals the combination of CSFs in terms of strategies adopted to face contingencies (70 instances), another as resources which moderate managers' strategies (14 instances), and in seven instances positive contingencies and resources combine and influence the PS. The results reveal that CSFs combine in reactive and dynamic ways to influence PS.
Originality/value
The research contributes to the vast literature on projects' success by adopting a different perspective. Configurational theory explains project management and projects' complexity better than the traditional approaches, which have a rather correlational perspective.
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Madhabendra Sinha, Samrat Roy and Darius Tirtosuharto
This paper aims to empirically investigate the dynamic interlinkages among globalization, digitalization and economic development in the top 75 most globalized countries from 2000…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to empirically investigate the dynamic interlinkages among globalization, digitalization and economic development in the top 75 most globalized countries from 2000 to 2019. The selection of the 75 most globalized developing countries is based on the overall scores of the KOF Globalization Index (2021).
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is based on secondary data collected from the World Bank (2021), the International Telecommunication Union (2021) and the KOF Globalization Index (2021). The study uses panel unit root tests followed by the panel cointegration techniques. Further, the estimation uses panel fully modified ordinary least squares and panel dynamic ordinary least squares methods.
Findings
The empirical results reveal that the effect of globalization on economic development is sensitive to different estimation procedures; in some cases, but not in every case, the effect is positive and significant. However, the positive and significant effect of digitalization on economic development is robust across all estimated models. Long-run equilibrium relationships and bidirectional causalities strongly affirm the nexus among globalization, digitalization and economic development, substantiating the interconnectedness among 75 developing economies.
Originality/value
The study reinstates that the forces of globalization and digitalization will be instrumental in shaping the selected most globalized economies in the long run. Adopting various econometric methodologies takes care of the time-specific and cross-sectional dynamics, as evident in the panel framework considered in this study. The empirical findings truly ascertain the theoretical synergy among the forces of globalization leading to more digitalization and economic development. This makes the empirical interplay highly conducive to framing long-term policies to expand the information communication network in terms of its access and reach.
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Mirco Peron, Nicolò Saporiti, Majid Shoeibi, Jan Holmström and Mika Salmi
This works provides a thorough understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with Additive Manufacturing (AM) adoption in the medical sector. Through this analysis…
Abstract
Purpose
This works provides a thorough understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with Additive Manufacturing (AM) adoption in the medical sector. Through this analysis, we aim to better understand when to adopt AM, how to do so, and how such adoption might change in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
This research first conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify AM challenges and opportunities in the medical sector, which were then validated through a Delphi study. The 18 Delphi study participants were also asked to suggest countermeasures for the challenges and help identify future AM adoption scenarios. Finally, these findings were analyzed according to the ecosystem pie model to design an ecosystem model for AM in the medical sector.
Findings
Among the 13 challenges and 13 opportunities identified, the lack of a skilled workforce and the responsiveness achievable via AM were by far the most relevant challenge and opportunity. Moreover, the participants identified countermeasures for 10 challenges, as well as three future AM adoption scenarios. Finally, leveraging these findings, an ecosystem model was developed.
Originality/value
This work contributes to the limited understanding of the AM challenges and opportunities in the medical sector. It helps medical practitioners to better understand the challenges and opportunities associated with AM and AM manufacturers to better identify where to focus their R&D efforts and how this would impact future AM adoption levels. Furthermore, this work extends current theory supporting the design of an ecosystem model for AM in the medical sector following the ecosystem pie model.
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Several empirical studies indicate that the existence of a large informal sector is a major obstacle to firms’ choices of innovation strategies. This paper aims to address this…
Abstract
Purpose
Several empirical studies indicate that the existence of a large informal sector is a major obstacle to firms’ choices of innovation strategies. This paper aims to address this issue and investigates the effect of the informal sector on the innovation of formal firms in Greece.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey data, the impact of informal competition on formal firms’ innovation in Greece is investigated by testing whether formal firms use innovation as a tool to protect and sustain their competitive advantage vis-à-vis informal firms and whether overall and informal competition has an inverted-U relationship with the innovation of formal firms. The effects of bribing and other variables drawn from the empirical literature are also controlled for.
Findings
The findings fill a gap in the literature regarding the effects of the informal sector on formal economic activity in Greece, by indicating that the informal sector puts pressure on formal firms to innovate, in order to differentiate their product or service and enhance their productivity and by offering learnings to help policymakers to promote innovation in Greece.
Originality/value
The originality of this study is that it investigates the impact of informal competition on formal firms’ innovation in Greece, a developed economy with a large informal sector. It does so by focusing on the effects that formal firms’ informal practices have on their competitors’ innovation activities, and the role of informal competition in creating and sustaining a competitive advantage in Greece.
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Jhon James Mora and Andres David Espada Castro
This article analyzes the determinants of credit constraints and their effects on the productivity of micro-firms in Colombia.
Abstract
Purpose
This article analyzes the determinants of credit constraints and their effects on the productivity of micro-firms in Colombia.
Design/methodology/approach
An Endogenous Switching Regression Model (ESRM) is estimated to analyze credit constraint impact on economic performance.
Findings
The results show that owner characteristics such as age and gender decrease the likelihood of being constrained. Firms' characteristics, such as legal status, the formality of the employees, commercial property and savings, are important for reducing credit constraints.
Originality/value
This article discusses how formal credit restrictions harm the economic performance of Colombia's micro-firms. The results show that the productivity of the micro firms in Colombia could increase, on average, by U$ 825 USD when all types of restrictions are eliminated.
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N'Banan Ouattara, Xueping Xiong, Abdelrahman Ali, Dessalegn Anshiso Sedebo, Trazié Bertrand Athanase Youan Bi and Zié Ballo
This study examines the impact of agricultural credit on rice farmers' technical efficiency (TE) in Côte d'Ivoire by considering the heterogeneity among credit sources.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the impact of agricultural credit on rice farmers' technical efficiency (TE) in Côte d'Ivoire by considering the heterogeneity among credit sources.
Design/methodology/approach
A multistage sampling technique was used to collect data from 588 randomly sampled rice farmers in seven rice areas of the country. The authors use the endogenous stochastic frontier production (ESFP) model to account for the endogeneity of access to agricultural credit.
Findings
On the one hand, agricultural credit has a significant and positive impact on rice farmers' TE. Rice farmers receiving agricultural credit have an average of 5% increase in their TE, confirming the positive impact of agricultural credit on TE. On the other hand, the study provides evidence that the impact of credit on rice production efficiency differs depending on the source of credit. Borrowing from agricultural cooperatives and paddy rice buyers/processors positively and significantly influences the TE, while borrowing from microfinance institutions (MFIs) negatively and significantly influences the TE. Moreover, borrowing from relatives/friends does not significantly influence TE.
Research limitations/implications
Future research can further explore the contribution of agricultural credit by including several agricultural productions and using panel data.
Originality/value
The study provides evidence that the impact of agricultural credit on agricultural production efficiency depends on the source of credit. This study contributes to the literature on the impact of agricultural credit and enlightens policymakers in the design of agricultural credit models in developing countries, particularly Côte d'Ivoire.
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Dikshit Poudel and Munisamy Gopinath
Ensuring adequate access to food to all has remained a major challenge of the 21st century. To aid the effort of hunger alleviation, many studies have quantified the prevalence of…
Abstract
Purpose
Ensuring adequate access to food to all has remained a major challenge of the 21st century. To aid the effort of hunger alleviation, many studies have quantified the prevalence of undernourishment (PoU), mostly at the national level. There has been limited attention to understanding the intra-country variation in undernourishment estimates.
Design/methodology/approach
Unlike past studies, this study tracks the substantial regional heterogeneity in the undernourishment status within Nepal. Employing Food and Agriculture Organization's methodology and Nepal Living Standards Survey data from 1995, 2003 and 2011, household energy consumption and requirements are computed to determine regional undernourishment.
Findings
Nepal's PoU declined between 1995 and 2003 but increased after 2003 affecting approximately 7.6 million Nepalese in 2011. The Terai domain – Provinces 2 and 5 – are found to be the most vulnerable to undernourishment concerns likely because of economic and natural shocks. Province 4 achieved higher progress in alleviating undernourishment during 2003, but its PoU doubled in 2011 (as in Province 6).
Research limitations/implications
By examining where and how many are undernourished within Nepal, this study has provided a more accurate picture of the PoU for better-targeting assistance to improve the livelihood of its citizens.
Originality/value
Past studies indicate substantial variation in food access and PoU within Nepal. While they provide some answers to “where and how many” questions for some districts, provinces, belts and urban/rural domains at the cross-sectional level (or for selected locales), few have examined intra-Nepal heterogeneity, especially over time. Therefore, this study explores where and how many within Nepal have been undernourished during the past three decades.
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Paul Kwame Nkegbe, Abdelkrim Araar, Benjamin Musah Abu, Yazidu Ustarz, Hamdiyah Alhassan, Edinam Dope Setsoafia and Shamsia Abdul-Wahab
Ghana's economy is largely agrarian, and the business of agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers who are predominantly rural dwellers. As a result, efforts to lift rural…
Abstract
Purpose
Ghana's economy is largely agrarian, and the business of agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers who are predominantly rural dwellers. As a result, efforts to lift rural farming households from poverty have been narrowed to the promotion of agricultural development to the neglect of the rural non-farm sector. However, this is fast changing in the advent of a burgeoning rural nonfarm economy and must engage the attention of policy actors. This study thus assesses the effect of non-farm participation on households' level of commercialization of agricultural crops in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applies a generalized structural equation model (GSEM) to the Ghana Living Standards Survey round 6 dataset, a stratified and nationally representative random sample of 16,772 households in 1,200 enumeration areas.
Findings
This study finds that non-farm participation increases the produce sold to output ratio. It is concluded that non-farm engagement by farmers boosts commercialization in Ghana. Thus, for the Ghanaian and similar contexts, agricultural development interventions that incorporate non-farm activities are more likely to be successful in improving livelihoods.
Research limitations/implications
The study uses only the ratio of sales value to output value definition for commercialization and acknowledges use of multiple definitions could be superior.
Originality/value
Various empirical studies have examined the link between the farm and nonfarm sectors. This paper is original in its approach as it tackles an aspect of the subject that has been understudied, namely, an exploration of nonfarm and farm linkages from the perspective of agricultural commercialization.
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Available studies on anticorruption practices in the construction industry are exploratory with a very limited theoretical basis. This paper aims to provide a solid theoretical…
Abstract
Purpose
Available studies on anticorruption practices in the construction industry are exploratory with a very limited theoretical basis. This paper aims to provide a solid theoretical foundation to examine situational factors that influence the corruption intentions of individuals and organizations in the construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper conducts a systematic literature review to synthesize construction management literature that suggests anticorruption practices. The identified practices are then examined using two theoretical frameworks: the fraud diamond theory and Lange’s corruption control framework.
Findings
The results of this research demonstrate how the four elements of the fraud diamond theory may trigger corrupt behavior in construction projects. The results also highlight conceptual distinctions among different means of corruption controls based on Lange’s corruption control framework. In addition, the findings of this research suggest that anticorruption practices should address (1) the incentives to act corruptly, (2) the normative means of corruption control, (3) the internal means of preventing corruption and (4) the shift in organizational culture.
Originality/value
This paper departs from prior research on corruption in construction projects by (1) identifying a large spectrum of anticorruption practices, (2) presenting a detailed theoretical interpretation of these practices and (3) viewing anticorruption practices as multidimensional constructs, which, in turn, leads to novel ways of examining these practices in construction projects.
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