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Article
Publication date: 23 November 2022

Hamfrey Sanhokwe

Exposure to a public health threat of significant proportions made current models inadequate to explain the failure phenomenon in small businesses. Hence, the need to reimagine…

Abstract

Purpose

Exposure to a public health threat of significant proportions made current models inadequate to explain the failure phenomenon in small businesses. Hence, the need to reimagine the phenomenon. Borrowing from the principles of biology, this study extended theoretical and empirical perspectives on the failure phenomenon by unpacking its constituent elements and the measurement metrics using the regeneration lens.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a cohort tracked over time, the study estimated the survival probabilities of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) with and without regeneration using the Kaplan–Meier method. The study investigated the factors that predict enterprise regenerative capacity using the multivariate Cox proportional hazard ratios.

Findings

Rates of interruption in business activity, by month, ranged between 0% and 18% during the follow-up period. True mortality rates hovered between 0% and 4% over the same period. Over three in five SMEs that experienced interruption in business activity without ceasing operations regenerated at some point in time during the follow-up period. The survival probabilities beyond the follow-up period were 0.85 and 0.44 with and without regeneration effects, respectively. Fresh capital injection (+), the introduction of new/improved processes or products/services (+), perceived business outlook (+) and the presence of debt (−) influenced the capacity to regenerate.

Research limitations/implications

The cohort was followed for only six months. There is a need to continue interrogating the failure phenomenon in other contexts over longer periods using the regeneration lens. Bringing on board academia, financial institutions and other SME-related ecosystem players will be strategic.

Practical implications

The approach provides a more nuanced understanding of the life and well-being of enterprises under conditions of disruption. Improving the precision and validity of failure-related statistics enhances their utility in policy and remediation-related discussions.

Social implications

The results did not show significant differences in SME mortality rates between male and female-owned enterprises. The results provide further evidence that the failure phenomenon is ungendered. As such, financial institutions and the SME ecosystem at large must eliminate perceptual gender biases in the financing and other support to SMEs.

Originality/value

The study used the principles of biology to reimagine the failure phenomenon in small businesses. The approach breathes life into entrepreneurship research and policy.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2023

Elizabeth Latham

This study aims to explore the values, resilience and innovation of four food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and their responses to the chaotic environment they find…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the values, resilience and innovation of four food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and their responses to the chaotic environment they find themselves in. It also evaluates whether there is evidence of a thriving food in tourism environment propelling these businesses forward within an innovative regenerative tourism system.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive and comparative case study approach is used using a holistic design with four in-depth interviews for each business over 18 months. A thematic analysis of the qualitative data provides answers to the key research questions and informs our understanding of the ecosystems in which food businesses reside.

Findings

The findings indicate that an internal business ecosystem with a strong value base and effective networks across a range of stakeholders enhances resilience. The crisis refocused and stimulated a variety of innovations.

Practical implications

An ethos of collaboration and cooperation for food businesses provides opportunities for a shared future where it is implemented.

Social implications

A values-based food in tourism system that gives back to communities potentially creates an external environment that better supports small food businesses; however, the place of food in tourism and the food story of Aotearoa New Zealand continues to lack clarity.

Originality/value

The exploration of four food businesses in the time of crisis provides new insights into the multidirectional inter-related factors that either drive success or hinder it.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2023

Miriam Eugenia Wolf, Agnes Emberger-Klein and Klaus Menrad

This paper aims to determine, which values guide consumers decision-making on natural health products for concentration and cognition (NHPCC) and how they link to choice-relevant…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to determine, which values guide consumers decision-making on natural health products for concentration and cognition (NHPCC) and how they link to choice-relevant product attributes. The purpose is to contribute to a better understanding of NHPCC consumption choices, which can encourage more consumer-centric product development and positioning.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the means-end chain approach, in-depth laddering interviews with 26 consumers of NHP were conducted in Germany from October to December 2020. Qualitative content analysis was applied and a hierarchical value map over the dominant association was built and analyzed.

Findings

Five terminal values were found to be relevant for NHPCC decision-making. The personal focused values security, self-direction and stimulation are via health mainly associated with trust and a conscious decision-making, which is linked to the product attributes of effectiveness, tolerance and declaration. Social focused values of universalism or benevolence guide attention on the attributes of sustainability and regionality.

Originality/value

The study contributes to close the knowledge gap concerning the linkages between abstract values and concrete product attributes of NHP through associated consequences. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzed these links for NHPCC, although such products are gaining more interest among companies and consumers. Companies can benefit from the outcomes by developing more consumer-centric product concepts and marketing communication strategies for NHPCC. Due to higher attention on relevant information, consumers’ decision-making could become safer and more conscious.

Details

International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6123

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 April 2023

Rana I. Mahmood, Harraa S. Mohammed-Salih, Ata’a Ghazi, Hikmat J. Abdulbaqi and Jameel R. Al-Obaidi

In the developing field of nano-materials synthesis, copper oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are deemed to be one of the most significant transition metal oxides because of their…

Abstract

Purpose

In the developing field of nano-materials synthesis, copper oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are deemed to be one of the most significant transition metal oxides because of their intriguing characteristics. Its synthesis employing green chemistry principles has become a key source for next-generation antibiotics attributed to its features such as environmental friendliness, ease of use and affordability. Because they are more environmentally benign, plants have been employed to create metallic NPs. These plant extracts serve as capping, stabilising or hydrolytic agents and enable a regulated synthesis as well.

Design/methodology/approach

Organic chemical solvents are harmful and entail intense conditions during nanoparticle synthesis. The copper oxide NPs (CuO-NPs) synthesised by employing the green chemistry principle showed potential antitumor properties. Green synthesised CuO-NPs are regarded to be a strong contender for applications in the pharmacological, biomedical and environmental fields.

Findings

The aim of this study is to evaluate the anticancer potential of CuO-NPs plant extracts to isolate and characterise the active anticancer principles as well as to yield more effective, affordable, and safer cancer therapies.

Originality/value

This review article highlights the copper oxide nanoparticle's biomedical applications such as anticancer, antimicrobial, dental and drug delivery properties, future research perspectives and direction are also discussed.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 42 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 April 2024

Geetika Madaan, Amrinder Singh, Amit Mittal and Padmakar Shahare

The circular economy (CE) promotes the recovery of value from waste while also working towards achieving long-term environmentally sustainable goals. The goal of this research is…

Abstract

Purpose

The circular economy (CE) promotes the recovery of value from waste while also working towards achieving long-term environmentally sustainable goals. The goal of this research is to explore the challenges, opportunities, future scope and green practices that small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) face as they move from the linear economy to the CE.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a structured questionnaire, a survey was conducted with representatives from 163 SMEs in India. The data were analysed using co-variance based structural equation modelling technique.

Findings

This research identifies various challenges, including consumer acceptability, worries about awareness, recyclability issues, financial constraints and the absence of a defined management plan for SMEs in adopting the CE. Further, strong management will, innovation, technical up-gradation, training of employees, employee motivation and appropriate guidelines are recognized as essential possibilities for CE implementation.

Originality/value

While there has been some work on CE, no studies have directly compared these efforts with the goal of shifting from a linear economy to a CE. Given the transient nature of many archives, it is critical that the efforts put into them and the opinions of those who work in them be recorded so that communities can benefit from a shared linear economy in making decisions about their own history.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2024

Evette Smith Johnson and Nanibala Immanuel Paul

The purpose of this qualitative, single-case study was to explore the development of Jamaica’s maritime education and training (MET) curriculum within the local education context…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this qualitative, single-case study was to explore the development of Jamaica’s maritime education and training (MET) curriculum within the local education context. In this research, the story of the development and sustainability of the local MET curriculum in its 40-year journey from 1980 to present (post 2020), as communicated by various maritime stakeholders and archival documents, is chronicled.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilized a qualitative orientation and was an embedded single-case study in its design. The entire local MET institution community and those legislatively and operationally allied to its sustained viability constituted the general population of this study. Non-probability sampling techniques were used to arrive at a maximum variation sample. Three sources of data were used in this study: individual interviews, focus group discussions and documents.

Findings

The Jamaican (local) MET curriculum was the brainchild of local perspicacity that was empowered by international benevolence. It was developed to satisfy market demands that existed at the time of its inception. These market requirements of the maritime industry are what impacted the development of the local MET curriculum over four decades. Several other factors led to the sustained viability of the local MET curriculum. These included the ability of the local MET curriculum to meet direct market needs and maintain its fitness for purpose.

Research limitations/implications

It is the view of the researcher that the findings of this study were limited by the fact that the voices of current students and employers from the four decades of the curriculum's existence are not represented in this initial study. The perspectives from these two sources would have broadened the description presented in this study.

Practical implications

This research has shown that specialized higher education (HE) institutions are better served in their business when they maintain a symbiotic relationship with the industry for which they are producing graduates.

Social implications

The treatment of HE as a service industry has gained traction globally. This would suggest that ‘product placement' in specialized HE is important to the growth, development and longevity of that course of study within the society in which it exists.

Originality/value

There is a dearth of national research on Jamaica's four-decades-old MET curriculum and the elements that lend to the sustained viability of same. This discussion of sustainability of the MET curriculum will benefit maritime educators and policymakers, who must continue to hone this curriculum so that it is fit for purpose. The study will also identify some of the elements of a sustainable, specialized HE curriculum. The elements identified herein can serve as exemplars and conceptual starting points for other contexts where the discussion of the sustainability of curriculum needs to be had.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2024

Sze Yee Boo and Consilz Tan

This research intends to investigate the determinants that affect consumers’ purchase intention of electric vehicles (EVs) in Malaysia using an extended theory of planned…

Abstract

Purpose

This research intends to investigate the determinants that affect consumers’ purchase intention of electric vehicles (EVs) in Malaysia using an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB).

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected with a sample size of 306. The research used SmartPLS 4.0 structural equation modelling tool to analyse the data. Reliability and validity tests (discriminant and convergent validity) were used and subsequently assessed the measurement and structural models. Mediation analysis was conducted to identify the role of the latent constructs.

Findings

The findings indicated that a green purchase attitude plays a complete mediation role in the effect of environmental knowledge on the purchase intention of EVs. In the same notion, the effect of price perception and availability of charging facilities on the purchase intention of EVs passes completely through perceived behavioural control. However, the subjective norm was an insignificant mediator of the impact between government support and EV purchase intention.

Research limitations/implications

This paper helps to examine the latent constructs that impact purchase intention using environmental knowledge, government support, price perception and the availability of charging facilities. Successful green marketing and a sustainable consumerism framework are seen as a booster to promote the usage of EVs in Malaysia.

Originality/value

An extended TPB model has been employed in this research to study the effects of the above-mentioned constructs. The results show that most of the extended constructs are significant in explaining the purchase intention. The empirical results address the gap in the consumer green attitude and provide insight into this area of study.

Details

Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-7480

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 January 2024

Ali Sevilmiş, Mehmet Doğan, Pablo Gálvez-Ruiz and Jerónimo García-Fernández

The user experience during the use of activities and services is a fundamental aspect for sports managers and can provide a competitive advantage. The purpose of this study was to…

Abstract

Purpose

The user experience during the use of activities and services is a fundamental aspect for sports managers and can provide a competitive advantage. The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions of experiential quality and the relationship of this construct with customer trust and customer satisfaction in achieving behavioral intention.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a convenience sampling technique, a total of 322 gym users in Turkey participated. A two-step approach was used to test both the model and the research hypotheses [confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM)].

Findings

The interaction quality, physical environmental quality, outcome quality and enjoyment quality were positively related to experiential quality. Similarly, the experimental quality was positively related to customer satisfaction and customer trust. Finally, customer satisfaction was related to behavioral intentions.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical evidence about the importance of experiential quality to gain a competitive advantage in the context of fitness centers.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

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