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Promoting entrepreneurship within agri-food sectors in developing countries can be a viable strategy towards economic development. Predicting which factors will foster entrepreneurial behaviour is somewhat complex. Specifically, a deeper understanding of precursory effects on entrepreneurial behaviour is required to enhance entrepreneurship in the agri-food sectors. This paper aims to explore what predicts the entrepreneurial decisions in the dairy industry of Pakistan.

The research used an integrative framework built on the entrepreneurial event model and determinants of entrepreneurial intention. Using a partial least square approach to structural equation model estimation, this study tested a conceptual model and its hypotheses based on 174 cases sampled from Pakistan’s dairy industry.

The research showed that intention is a strong predictor to start entrepreneurial activities in the Pakistani dairy industry. Amongst precursory factors, perceived feasibility, readiness and conviction were found strongly linked to intention when explaining the causes of entrepreneurial start-ups. Surprisingly, the impact of attitude and triggering event was not significant in explaining the phenomenon under investigation.

The findings suggest that training and education programmes can enhance critical perceptions such as desirability, feasibility and conviction among farmers to become entrepreneur. For this purpose, government should establish dairy incubation centres in different cities and transform agricultural extension department to help farmers understand market-oriented dairy farming businesses and build their capacity in farm entrepreneurship.

This research attempted to shed light on fostering entrepreneurship in the context of agri-food sectors in developing countries such as Pakistan’s dairy industry.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how farmers perceive and exploit business opportunities to foster entrepreneurship in developing country agriculture.

In total, 174 milk producers completed a face-to-face survey within a posttest- pretest research design. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

Results revealed that intentions, channelled through desirability, feasibility and optimism, become a strong predictor to recognise the opportunity to be entrepreneurial; however, the presence of a munificent environment and participation in apprenticeship and training programmes are the main and direct source of exploiting farming business opportunities.

The major limitation of the study is that cross-sectional data collected only from milk producers in Pakistan, signifying a need to include other agricultural sectors across different developing countries for further contextualising the results.

Research on entrepreneurial behaviour among farmers is scant. This study emphasises how cognitive heuristics guide intentions influencing the process of opportunity formation, and a munificent environment and entrepreneurial skills trainings are necessary for starting dairy farming business with modern practices.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effect of partial quantity rationing of credit on the technical efficiency of dairy farmers in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

Prior to the field survey, the authors constructed a theoretical model for clear identification of partial quantity rationed dairy farmers. Data from 154 dairy farmers were collected that represented three districts of the province. The collected data were analyzed in two stages: first, the efficiency level of dairy farmers was estimated using a stochastic frontier approach; second, the authors employed an inefficiency-effects model to estimate the effect of partial quantity rationing of credit on technical efficiency.

The results revealed that education level of the household head, cross-breed and imported cattle, and electric chaff cutter, all had significant positive impacts on technical efficiency, followed by diversified sources of income. Conversely, the analysis of our key variables, interest rate on principal amount and partial quantity rationing of credit had significant negative effects on the technical efficiency of dairy farmers in selected districts of the Punjab province in Pakistan.

The study will be an important contribution to the existing credit constraints and technical efficiency literature and will particularly help the rural financial institutions in terms of approving the loan amount according to the actual requirements of the borrowers. The study’s findings and subsequent recommendations will be useful for policy makers in achieving the actual production level, bringing down the poverty levels and ensuring food security in the country.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had profound economic effects, putting women entrepreneurs at considerable risk of losing income and sales growth as a result. This study aims to examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic is a blessing or a curse for women entrepreneurs in Pakistan’s informal sector. The influence of business type, family support and other socio-economic factors on the sales volume of women’s businesses is examined.

Data were collected from 400 women entrepreneurs using a survey questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to investigate the relationships between perceived sales volume and socio-economic as well as demographic factors of women entrepreneurs.

Findings for RQ1 revealed that the pandemic was a blessing for cloth and cosmetic entrepreneurs, but a curse for those women selling dairy products. Results for RQ2 showed that age, homeownership, household size, family support and type of business were significant predictors of sales. Furthermore, women entrepreneurs were greatly influenced by their family’s desires and decisions, such that women entrepreneurs who received support from families and relatives reported higher sales than those who did not receive such support.

The results may assist policymakers in designing supportive programs to encourage women’s informal entrepreneurial activities. Creating entrepreneurial ecosystems may provide support for women entrepreneurs beyond family support. The findings provide a better understanding of women’s business effectiveness during COVID-19 pandemic. It reveals the resilience of women entrepreneurs in the face of cultural, economic and institutional constraints encountered during the pandemic.

This study is unique because it focuses on the impact of the pandemic at the household level rather than examining broad macroeconomic scenarios. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to explore the informal, home-based business sector of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan during the pandemic.

Pakistan’s natural endowment of labour and land is suitable for labour-intensive agriculture and manufacturing sector. This study aims to investigate international trade competitiveness of Pakistan in 14 major industries of agriculture and manufacturing sector, accounting more than 85 per cent of total export receipts.

The competitiveness of Pakistan in selected industries of agriculture and manufacturing sectors from 2003 to 2014 is investigated using the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index, introduced by Balassa (1965) on HS data collected from the United Nations Commodity Trade database. The obtained indices in this study are then subjected to panel regression analysis to investigate the effect of domestic productivity growth and real exchange rate on international trade competitiveness of major industries.

The results show that the agriculture sector of Pakistan has higher comparative advantage in raw cotton, cereals, raw leather and fruits. The raw cotton shows the highest competitiveness of 54.46 which is followed by cereals (17.13), leather (9.83) and fruits (1.97). The RCA of the manufacturing sector shows that textile (54.85), carpets (10.72), sports goods (2.18) and beverages (1.47) have higher competitiveness. The RCA, in relatively capital-intensive industries, shows a high disadvantage. The trend analysis shows distorted competitiveness in labour-intensive, textile, carpet and footwear industries. The results of panel regression analysis show that the domestic productivity growth and real exchange rate depreciation have a significant positive impact on the international competitiveness of selected industries. The study urges Pakistan to make its macroeconomic environment investment-friendly and encourage investment in deteriorating labour-intensive industries.

Globalisation has significantly increased international competition, and Pakistan is losing its competitiveness in labour-intensive industries owing to lack of domestic value addition and development efforts. The major problem with the productivity of these industries is the lack of proper infrastructure, acute energy crisis, lack of domestic and foreign investment and overvaluation of real exchange rate. The domestic investors are shifting their capital either to other domestic sectors and/or other investment-friendly countries. Policymakers in Pakistan should address the problems of these important labour-intensive industries. The government needs to understand macroeconomic uncertainties and make investment-friendly policies to encourage domestic and foreign investment. The future studies should perform in-depth research to identify both microeconomic and macroeconomic variables responsible for deterioration in competitiveness of major labour-intensive industries in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors of Pakistan.

This study is a comprehensive examination into the nature and pattern of international competitiveness of Pakistan in 14 important industries of the agriculture and manufacturing sector which has seldom been investigated empirically. The obtained indices in this study are also subjected to panel regression analysis to explore the effect of domestic productivity growth and real exchange rate depreciation on the international competitiveness of Pakistan.

Pakistan has made significant progress since its birth in 1947, keeping in mind the enormous difficulties it was confronted with at that time. Pakistan's development has not been commensurate with its potential. The formation of Pakistan, as is the case with a number of developing countries in Asia, South America and Africa, is a story of betrayal by its politicians and leaders, the mismanagement and inefficiencies of economic managers, and the pilferage of national wealth and resources by the privileged and influential. This has been compounded by external shocks: the increase of oil prices during the late 1970s, the international recession during the late 80s, and recent economic sanctions against Pakistan. The country is, therefore, now straddled with numerous economic, social and political problems.

This study aims to estimate and compare the effect of EU and US GSP schemes on the cotton and textile sectors of Pakistan.

The analysis used data from 2003 to 2014 for all the 14 categories of cotton and textile products at two-digit using HS commodity classification. Effects of the EU and US GSPs are estimated using a gravity trade model.

Both the concessions are statistically significant determinants of wadding and nonwoven special yarn, articles of apparel-knitted, articles of apparel-not-knitted and made-up textiles sectors. In the rest of the sectors, the results are a mix. Among these, EU GSP is a statistically significant determinant of wool and animal hair and manmade filaments yarn exports, while the US GSP is important for the exports of cotton yarn and woven fabrics, manmade staple fibers, carpets, impregnated fiber and knitted or crocheted fabrics.

The research contributes in two major ways. First, it estimates the effects of EU and US GSPs on the textile sector of Pakistan while controlling for the effect of tariffs. Second, the study tests joint hypotheses about the role of EU and US GSPs in the cotton and textile products exports of Pakistan.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of data-driven capabilities on supply chain integration (SCI) and competitive performance of firms in the food and beverages (F & B) industry in Pakistan.

The authors adopt the structural equation modeling approach to test the proposed hypotheses using AMOS 23. Survey data were collected from 240 firms in the F & B industry in Pakistan.

The results revealed that SCI (i.e. internal integration (II) and external integration (EI)) significantly mediates the effect of data-driven capabilities (i.e. flexible information technology resources and data assimilation) on a firm’s competitive performance. In addition to the direct effects, II also has an indirect effect on competitive performance through EI.

The study has several implications for managers in the context of big data application in food supply chain management (FSCM) in a developing country context. The study posits that firms can achieve excellence in performance by governing data-driven supply chain operations. The study also has implications for distributors and importers in the F & B industry. The cloud-based sharing of data can improve the operational performance of channel members while reducing their overall cost of operations. In practice, food franchises largely get the advantage of shared resources of their suppliers in managing orders, payments, inventory and after-sales services.

The study is novel and deepens the understanding about the use of big data in FSCM keeping in view the industry trends and stakeholder’s priorities in a developing country context.

This study aims to estimate Pakistan’s export potential in new and existing export products, as well as their potential destination markets.

This study uses a nonparametric approach based on demand, supply and easiness factors for estimating export potential at disaggregated product and destination levels.

A significant number of new export products (extensive margin) and existing products (intensive margin) are identified that have export potential. The estimated unrealized export potential at extensive margins is $2bn and at intensive margins is $5bn. The range of new products included value-added products, semifinished products and intermediate products. Surprisingly, there is high potential to diversify in China and export existing products more intensively in the EU. Moreover, the potential at extensive margins is regional diverse compared to intensive margins.

The methodology used in this paper only provides export potential for short-to-medium term period because the global demand conditions are varying. Also, the mineral and resource-based products cannot be included in the analysis because their exports are heavily dependent on the availability of natural resources.

The findings have important policy implications in terms of providing guidelines for government policies related to industrial development, international trade and export promotion at the product and destination level. Overall, the study reveals that traditional sectors lack room for product diversification. As the existing export incentives favor major industries. To foster diversification, existing incentives must be redesigned to cover new products or sectors. Moreover, China has the greatest potential for product diversification, while Europe has the greatest potential to export current products more intensively. Further research is needed to simulate trade policy scenarios and estimate demand, supply and ease factors in export potential.

This study provides a unique perspective on export potential assessment at disaggregated product and destination levels, reinforcing the importance of redesigning trade policies and export incentives separately for export diversification.

In large enterprises, the notion is that an organization’s business strategy is a significant determinant of its human resource (HR) practices. However, there is limited evidence in the literature of such linkages for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature and extent of the relationship between the types of business strategies used and HR practices, namely, staffing, training and employee relations among SMEs.

The authors have collected data from 168 SMEs manufacturing autoparts and purposively chosen three SME case studies to derive in-depth observations of business strategies and HR practices. Quantitative results from the survey indicate that these SMEs exhibit a logical relationship between the strategic posture of the SMEs and their adopted HR practices.

This study illustrates that SMEs operating in the risky and lesser developed labor markets of a lower-income country such as Pakistan adopt certain practices that differ considerably from firms operating in more competitive automotive markets using highly skilled labor. The findings suggest that there is a significant potential to be realized through strategically managing HR practices to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

Education of supervisors and management and suitable skill level of labor in tandem with continuous cutting edge industrial training appear to be the most successful business strategy followed by Prospector and Analyzer SMEs. For greater efficiency they need to have dedicated HR management, and financial and auditing services. Meanwhile, public sector entities as well as representative business bodies need to provide targeted practical technical and financial training and assistance to strengthen Defender and Reactor SMEs and improve their range of outputs.

This study contributed to the SMEs’ management literature in the context of Pakistan because there are very few studies that have examined the impact of business strategy on the HR practices in SMEs manufacturing autoparts in the automotive industry of Pakistan. The case study approach captures detailed insights and identifies the areas where the SMEs in developing countries perform differently than the SMEs in developed countries.