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The purpose of this study is to explore the elements of the Marwari business community’s sociocultural context, which influence entrepreneurial behaviour. The entrepreneurial behaviour of the Marwari community is interrogated in the context of the wider indigenous entrepreneurship literature.

The study adopts a qualitative approach in exploring the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and effectual entrepreneurial behaviour of a sample of Marwari entrepreneurs. An exploratory, qualitative content analysis method was adopted to highlight the emerging insights into traditional entrepreneurship.

The study identifies unique, traditional Marwari behavioural constructs such as Sakh and Samai and the role it plays in trust-based business relationships. Overall, the study finds that although the Marwari practices and ecosystem enable a deep understanding of the entrepreneurial and business process, they do not facilitate creative innovation or entrepreneurial experimentation as seen within modern start-up incubation ecosystems.

The study took a conscious decision to restrict further data collection upon saturation and used a purposeful sampling technique to increase the richness of this study rather than enlarge the sample and dilute the quality of the data.

The study identifies nuances of Marwari’s traditional practices that have come to determine their effectual tendencies that support business growth and sustainability. The study, however, finds that the restrictiveness of the Marwari ecosystem practices on fluency of doing business rather than creative innovation and thought experimentation risks the longevity of the traditional ecosystem advantage enjoyed by the Marwaris for centuries.

The study broadens the understanding of the uniqueness of traditional business communities, which are comparatively marginalized in mainstream entrepreneurship research. Via this study, it is seen that the Marwari form of entrepreneurship is collectivist rather than individualist in nature, which differentiates them from their Western counterparts. This helps to explain why entrepreneurs tend to behave differently; hence, achieving a universal definition of entrepreneurship remains a challenge.

While the relationship between the sociocultural aspects of communities and their entrepreneurial behaviour is known, the role of the constituent elements of the Marwari sociocultural context and influence on business is unclear. This study takes the lead in identifying such elements of the Marwari sociocultural construct and argues how these elements can play a role in the Marwaris demonstrating tendencies of effectual behaviour.

Integration is a complex, contested and multidimensional concept. This paper aims to examine the impact of small voluntary agencies (SVA) in the integration of refugees into social, economic and citizenship structures in the UK.

This study is rooted in in-depth interviews with 20 participants and a case study (ethnography research) that focuses on a refugee-assisting organisation in Southeast England.

The findings reveal cases of exemplary leadership in actions and social solidarity exhibited by SVA through innovative actions aimed at helping individuals and communities which may be particularly disadvantaged. It revealed the mixed embeddedness that these agencies create that enable refugees to pursue a new life, employment and citizenship.

One of the limitations of the study is the focus on one case study. However, this provided an opportunity to conduct in-depth interviews and examination of the research objectives.

With the ever-decreasing government revenues, there is evidence of the tremendous achievement of the voluntary sector in many endeavours in the community. This provides an opportunity for a more strategic partnership between public and private actors.

The activities of the SVA are the catalyst to refugees’ integration as policies that enable regaining self-esteem, seeking employment or starting a business.

This study provides the opportunity to explore the relatively under-research and under-publicized role of SVA in the migrants and refugee literature.

There has been much debate in recent times about the factors that improve the quality of teaching in higher education (HE) institutions. This has been especially fueled by the increasing importance attached to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) qualification. To fill the existing gap in the current literature in this regard, this study aims to investigate whether HE teachers (lecturers) who undergo pedagogical training (PT) in addition to obtaining PhD qualification possess higher knowledge and pedagogical competencies (PCs) than those that relied only on having PhD qualification without further teaching qualifications.

Drawing upon data collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 1,174 Nigerian HE teachers in various disciplines from 39 HE institutions, in addition to two focus groups, the study adopts a mixed-methods research. The quantitative data were analyzed descriptively while qualitatively data were coded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically.

This article proposes that teachers who undergo PT in addition to obtaining PhD tend to have more PCs and perform better than those that have not undergone any form of PT. Also, it found a statistically significant difference between PCs of HE teachers who have undergone PT in addition to PhD qualification from those without PT. The implication is that teachers who have undergone PT are more effective in facilitating teaching and learning than those who have not completed PT.

Despite the merits of the mixed-methods research, a major limitation of this study is the failure to compare students' achievements or successes based on the two distinct samples. However, the limitations create opportunities for further studies into the subject matter.

This study is timely, given that Nigeria (like many African countries) has a low quality HE system and low graduate outcomes (related to knowledge, employability, and skills). More so, research into pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and practices are rare or nonexistent in the literature related to Nigeria and other African countries' HE system.

This study explores how the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL) in technical and vocational education training (TVET) systems of Nigerian higher education (HE) can enhance quality graduate outcomes. The study also explores the issues and challenges of PBL implementation in the TVET system of Nigerian HE.

This study follows the assumptions of qualitative research. The authors interviewed 55 participants and had a focus group with 7 TVET postgraduate students. The 55 interviewees were drawn from TVET teachers (n = 33; 24 males and 9 females), Directors at National Board for Technical Education (n = 4; 3 males and 1 female), Directors of National Directorate of Employment (n = 5; 3 males and 2 females), Directors at the Federal Ministry of Education (n = 3 males), and industry executives (n = 10; 7 males and 3 females). Data were collected through a semistructured interview approach, transcribed and coded using NVivo 12 plus and analyzed through thematic analysis.

The results show that PBL in the Nigerian TVET system has positive implications for quality TVET graduate outcomes in that it can enable integrating theory and practice, motivate learning, improve students' self-efficacy, allow students to construct learning on their own, enhance graduate competencies and graduate employability. It also revealed six perceived possible major challenges to effective implementation of PBL in the Nigerian TVET system, which includes inadequacy of teaching and learning facilities; corruption in Nigerian education sector; recruitment of unqualified incompetent TVET teachers; difficulties in identifying real-life problems, among others. Participants offered benchmarks and actions and standards for improving the identified challenges, which formed a framework for coping with issues, challenges, and barriers to effective implementation of PBL in the TVET system of Nigerian HE (Table 1).

The results of this study are original and serve as an advocacy for Nigerian HE authorities to explore how PBL can be implemented in the TVET system to improve graduate outcomes. The study serves as a starting point for more research in the domain of improving the quality of TVET programs in Nigerian HE. Industry leaders and policymakers in Nigeria and other developing countries could use the findings from this study to increase HE and industry participation and partnership for quality of TVET program.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the attributes of the Igbos in Eastern Nigeria and the underlying factors influencing their entrepreneurial behaviour. More specifically, the study highlights the links between family, culture, institution and entrepreneurial behaviour in the African context.

This paper is based on a qualitative research method by interviewing 50 entrepreneurs and community leaders of the Igbo nation. Igbos have been described as “naturally enterprising and ingenious” and can be found throughout Nigeria and West Africa. Understanding the vagaries of ethnic entrepreneurship can arguably only be achieved through research that is undertaken within these socio-historically rich, traditional and cultural contexts.

Linked to the social learning theory, Igbo families provide an entrepreneurial leadership platform which influences youths through role models, providing mastery experiences and socialisation. The extended family provides a safe environment for risk taking, creativity and innovation. Also, an informal apprenticeship system provides entrepreneurial learning that prepares the younger generation to take to business as a way of life.

The study is based on a relatively small sample size of 50 respondents, which makes it difficult to generalise the findings despite the benefits of the research methods adopted in the study. Also, there are limitations to the extension of the findings to a generalised Igbo population comprising individuals who may, or may not, behave entrepreneurially.

There are significant practical implications, both nationally and internationally, for policy makers that are concerned with developing jobs for the growing population of unemployed youths and inclusive entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

The research has three main contributions. First, it valorises indigenous knowledge of family and institutional entrepreneurial behaviour in an African context. Second, it highlights the importance of the linked institutions of the extended family and the informal apprenticeship system in Igbo culture. Finally, it provides a model and an explanation of how the Igbo culture nurtures and develops transgenerational entrepreneurial behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to provide fresh insights into rural artisanal activities in a developing world context. It highlights key determinants of the decision to engage in an artisanal business and the challenges that impact upon the growth of these activities.

The study adopts a mix-method research approach to explore a rural setting where most respondents (81 per cent) combine farm and non-farm livelihood activities. Quantitatively, a multi-nominal regression is used to examine the determinants of diversified artisanal livelihoods. It modelled the differences between farming livelihoods that have not diversified, compared to those also involved in the artisanal activity or wage employment and the intensity of participation.

The findings show that nearly half of artisanal businesses (45.4 per cent) comprise only the owners and no employee, while 54.6 per cent employ one to three workers. Also, some artisanal ventures were more gender-specific than the gender-neutral activities. Other observations were in age (most artisans were under the age of 46 years) and vocational training (most were self-trained followed by a third receiving training only in specific areas such as technical works, building and construction and general trading apprenticeships).

The study is based on a relatively small sample size of 306 business owners, which makes it difficult to generalise despite the persuasiveness of the observations made.

First, the use of econometric methods enabled the development of valid data sets (and various descriptive statistical and logit regression) to analyse determinants of the decision to engage in artisanal work, and the intensity of participation. Second, the ambiguity in categorising artisanal activities is unravelled. The study characterises the local artisanal sector and examines the intensity of participation. Without these, targeted support would remain elusive for practical and policy interventions.

Artisanal activities constitute a high proportion of small businesses in the study area – with more than half (54.2 per cent) of respondents being classified as artisans, yet it is an overlooked area of entrepreneurship. Highlighted here are both types of activities and challenges regarding better conceptualising the understanding of artisans and regarding this mostly unarticulated base of practice.

The digital platform (DP) develops through a network capability that combines technological infrastructure and resources to provide goods or services. This article investigates how institutions influence the development of the DP entrepreneurship ecosystem (EE) in a developing economy context.

An exploratory qualitative approach based on interviews with 33 DP business executives in Nigeria was the chosen research method. The interview method took the form of face-to-face, telephone and zoom video meetings, depending on the respective preferences of the participants. The research philosophy is based on interpretivism. Hence, the collected data were analyzed thematically and interpreted to make sense of the business executives' perspectives about the DP landscape as well as its institutional enablers and barriers.

The findings reveal institutional elements that are either too underdeveloped or weak to nurture an effective DP system resulting in high cost of doing business. A key cultural challenge is obtaining an honest workforce and managers. Also, there is lack of effective policies, weak regulation, multiple taxation and foreign competition, which affects local digital firms. Although cultural diversity has several merits, differences in cultural values and languages create marketing and promotion challenges. Moreover, the low level of digital literacy between Generation Z, Millennials and others, such as Baby Boomers and Generation X, poses a significant challenge concerning customer segmentation.

Research on digital technologies, the complexity of platform architectures and institutional logic has attracted interest in recent years. This article explored the institutional logic influencing the development of DP ecosystem (providing knowledge about EE in a developing world context). Despite the institutional challenges, there are multiple opportunities for Nigerian DP sector to flourish in the fast-growing economy.

The value of this article is related to how micro-, meso- and macro-institutional forces combine to support or become barriers to the development of the DP ecosystem, especially in developing economies where digitalization is creeping into every business sector and society.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic lockdowns, stay at home or work from home, many have argued that the westernised non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) do not provide remedial in low-income countries like Nigeria, where informal job seekers, street traders, informal labourers and artisans depend mainly on the informal economy. By applying social solidarity (SS) and community-based approach (CBA), the authors evaluate individual acts (trust, altruism and reciprocity) during the lockdown and how these practices evolve from individual approaches to collective actions.

This study reflects on pragmatism research paradigm that enables researchers to maintain both subjectivity in their reflections and objectivity in data collection and analysis. The authors adopt a qualitative method through purposeful and convenience sampling procedure. Data were analysed thematically to identify elements of SS, individual acts, collective or community actions and perceptions.

The findings reveal that COVID-19 had a disproportionate impact (lack of food and a fall in daily income) on workers, informal job seekers, informal businesses operators and the poor households. As such, the study developed a reflective model of solidarity exhibited by individual acts and collective acts (practices of resource pooling, information sharing, women empowerment, distribution of palliatives and donations) within trusted circles that helped people cope with the lockdown experiences.

Solidarity represents beliefs, practices of values and norms. The SS exhibited by people through NPI would have implications on planning and monitoring the effectiveness of public health programmes during a pandemic in the future.

The findings of citizens and community actions have implications related to the process of building communities – coming together – and solidarity that enhances social development with implications on community health policy agenda during disasters, emergencies and health pandemic.

This is one of the first studies to analyse the relationship between trust, altruism, reciprocity, SS and CBA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, it seems reasonable to clarify the concept of SS given the lack of clarity about the definitions from previous studies.

The types of employability skills and how to infuse employability skills into education is increasingly clear in theory, but in practice, these are proving difficult for the higher education (HE) system in developing countries. A key question is why and how can HE system focus on graduate outcomes? It could be argued that the African debilitating unemployment crisis has been mainly because of the low levels of skills and low standard of education. Building on ‘postcolonial theory’, this chapter focuses on graduate outcomes to examine the current unemployment situation in Africa, causes and solutions to the challenges. By exploring issues related to over-reliance on outdated curriculum, poor teaching pedagogy, low government expenditure on education and ineffective education policies, we hope to contribute to the knowledge of ways to improve HE, labour force and sustainable development. This conceptual contribution argues that HE policies focus should be on skills development, vocational education, digital innovations and less emphasises on degree qualifications.