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Article
Publication date: 8 November 2011

Michael A. Gunderson, Joshua D. Detre, Brian C. Briggeman and Christine A. Wilson

The purpose of this paper is to identify relevant financial concepts and skills that are being taught and/or should be taught, as part of the financial management curriculum in…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify relevant financial concepts and skills that are being taught and/or should be taught, as part of the financial management curriculum in undergraduate agricultural economics and agribusiness programs.

Design/methodology/approach

The skill gap analysis uses survey respondents' rankings of the importance and competence scores of recent graduates' skills. The scores help to identify opportunities for improvement in the most critical areas of importance. The skill gap is calculated as (Average importance–Average competence)*Average importance.

Findings

Generally, employers in the agricultural financial services sector saw greater opportunities for improvement in finance skills relative to non‐finance skills. The results also indicated a greater focus on business and financial risk might be helpful in increasing the competence of new hires. Finally, respondents strongly endorsed maintaining a focus on the problem‐solving skills in undergraduate agribusiness programs.

Originality/value

The value of the study would be that departments of agricultural and applied economics would use the results of this survey to enhance their financial management curriculum and their undergraduate program. By responding to the desires of employers, agricultural economics and agribusiness programs cannot only remain relevant as a source of employees for the industry but the first choice of agricultural financial services sector when they are searching for new hires. This should also help inform students of the desirability of the skills they acquire in their degree programs. This information will also benefit the agricultural finance services sector by assisting college and university instructors in developing and/or enhancing their agricultural finance course(s) so that the may provide their students with the requisite financial and non‐financial skills that they require.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 71 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 May 2023

Ogochukwu Gabriella Onah, Ogwu Chris Attah, Umaru Isaac Ibrahim, Chiebonam Chukwuemeka Onyia, Esther Rita Gever, Peter N. Nwokolo and Verlumun Celestine Gever

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of oral communication in improving the marketing and financial management skills of sweet potato farmers.

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of oral communication in improving the marketing and financial management skills of sweet potato farmers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a quasi-experimental design with a pre- and post-test approach. The sample was 540 sweet potato farmers that were randomly assigned to training (n = 270) and no-training groups (n = 270) with analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) as the method of data analysis. While the training group received oral training sessions for three farming seasons beginning in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the no-training group did not receive any intervention.

Findings

Before the training sessions, all the sweet potato farmers scored low on marketing skills like advertising, sales promotion and sales forecasting. Both groups also scored low on financial management skills like budgeting, investments, saving and controlling expenditures. Their annual income level was also low and both groups did not significantly differ. However, after the training and during the follow-up evaluation, the participants in the training group reported a significant improvement in their marketing skills and financial management skills. There was also an improvement in their income level from $238 (N109,480) at baseline to $523 (N240,580) after the training and $782 (N359,720) after the follow-up evaluation. On the other hand, the no-training group reported a staggered fluctuation in their income of $241 (N110,860) at baseline, $371(N170,660) during post-training evaluation and $214 (N98,440) at follow-up assessment.

Research limitations/implications

The first limitation is that the study examined only one crop. There is a need to pay attention to farmers of other crops for better understanding. Another limitation of the study is that the researchers examined only oral communication. There is a need to compare more than one training to understand which is more effective. Finally, the current study did not consider the moderating effect of other factors like the source of labour and expenses.

Originality/value

This study has shown that oral communication is an effective tool for promoting the acquisition of marketing and financial management skills and enhancing agribusiness.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2020

Erik Hanson and Cheryl Joy Wachenheim

This paper aims to describe the nature of an agricultural lending position and reports an industry perspective of skills required for a new graduate entering the profession.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the nature of an agricultural lending position and reports an industry perspective of skills required for a new graduate entering the profession.

Design/methodology/approach

Loan officers and those directly supervising loan officers were surveyed regarding job characteristics and perceptions of the skills needed for career success.

Findings

Lenders perceive on-the-job training to be slightly more valuable than post-secondary training for preparing students for a career in agricultural lending. Financial skills were rated to be roughly as important as non-financial skills for early career success. Financial topics identified as important include financial statements, breakeven analysis and accrual-basis earnings. Communication and risk analysis were rated as the most important non-financial topics needed for early career success. Regarding their jobs, lenders indicated that they devote much of their time to managing loans and developing or maintaining relationships with customers. Benefits were identified as the most important feature for job satisfaction, particularly among agricultural lenders, that also work essentially full time on a farm or ranch. Work environment, work flexibility, location and salary were also considered to be important job characteristics.

Originality/value

This paper updates the literature regarding industry's preferred skills and refines the surveyed audience to only those currently performing or directly supervising agricultural lending. It adds a unique perspective on the work time allocated to various agricultural lending activities and lenders' valuation of job characteristics. These insights may guide curricular and course design, career planning and employee recruitment and marketing efforts.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 80 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2007

Cathy Burgess

The purpose of this article is to investigate whether managers in hotels have sufficient financial skills to help them effectively manage their areas, within the context of a…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to investigate whether managers in hotels have sufficient financial skills to help them effectively manage their areas, within the context of a changing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Additional findings from a series of recent research projects amongst hospitality financial controllers have been utilised to give an alternative viewpoint to those found from literature.

Findings

A review of literature identified a strong need for managers to have financial skills, but there is little recent evidence as to whether they actually hold these skills. Hotels are changing fast with pressure to maintain profits resulting in new approaches to management, but there is concern that the development of systems has meant an over‐reliance on these to control costs. Financial controllers consider that departmental and general managers do not have enough business skills – and finance skills in particular – to optimise costs and revenues and hence maintain profits.

Research limitations/implications

The findings were based on a fairly small sample of respondents, utilising projects designed for alternative purposes. However, the findings raise questions as to the trust that hotel companies have placed in their systems and approaches.

Practical implications

If the concerns expressed by controllers are not addressed by hotels, then inevitably standards of control will suffer, costs will rise and hence profitability will be negatively affected

Originality/value

There has been little recent consideration of the realities and the impact of systems changes on management, the majority of earlier projects considering the need for skills rather than the actual possession of these amongst managers.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2019

Francesca Costanza

The international community recognizes the role of entrepreneurship education in fostering economic growth and sustainable development. However, preparing the next generation of…

Abstract

Purpose

The international community recognizes the role of entrepreneurship education in fostering economic growth and sustainable development. However, preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs is not an easy task, since today’s complexity requires the creation of skills and capabilities for which the traditional programs reveal their inadequacy. Some scholars remark how entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention are not necessarily related and, in line with policy makers’ concerns, call for educational programs more routed in financial skills’ enhancement. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of system dynamics (SD) for entrepreneurial education, investigating the relationships between financial and entrepreneurial skills’ formation and business development.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper introduces the main elements of SD, describes literature streams of SD applications fitting the entrepreneurial education spheres and proposes an SD’ insight model based on selected literature and declined in terms of stock-and-flow and causal loop structures.

Findings

The study provides a causal model capturing the links between the processes of entrepreneurial skill formation and firms’ start-ups and closures. Such model introduces a double effect of financial literacy on entrepreneurial orientation and locates the contribution of simulated entrepreneurial decisions in formal and informal educational contexts.

Originality/value

The paper displays how SD can contribute to entrepreneurship and presents an original causal model highlighting the accumulation of financial and non-financial skills through education and experience, their impact on business development and the usefulness of SD methodology for skill achievement.

Details

Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, vol. 35 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1026-4116

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 August 2021

Josep Llados-Masllorens and Elisabet Ruiz-Dotras

This study aims to determine the contribution of financial skills to entrepreneurial intentions among women involved in university education.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to determine the contribution of financial skills to entrepreneurial intentions among women involved in university education.

Design/methodology/approach

Clustering and logistic regression analyses were used to infer the determinants and motivators of entrepreneurial intention in a sample of women students at a Spanish online university.

Findings

Financial and numerical skills could play a significant role in boosting entrepreneurial culture, overcoming reticence and increasing awareness of business opportunities, particularly when women are motivated to increase their autonomy and income. The study offers meaningful implications for policymakers.

Research limitations/implications

Further research will be needed before these conclusions may be inferred to other settings and circumstances. Comparison with a similar sample of potential male entrepreneurs may also be necessary to deduce the influence of gender.

Practical implications

The introduction of certain financial content into the education system by governments and policymakers would produce remarkable results on entrepreneurship intention among women.

Social implications

Relational capital and positive social influences also contribute to mitigating the effects of risk aversion, one of the main barriers for potential female entrepreneurs.

Originality/value

The role of financial literacy in entrepreneurial intention among women has scarcely been addressed in academic research. The literature also has paid little attention to the analysis of what motivates women into entrepreneurship, and whether women who decide to embark on a business venture show different profiles. The aim of this study is to contribute to closing these gaps, exploring the effect of cognitive skills, personality traits, contextual factors and motivations.

Details

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-6266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2022

Vera Intanie Dewi and Leo Indra Wardhana

This study investigates the relationship between financial literacy, that is, financial knowledge and financial skills, and market discipline, with financial behavior as the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the relationship between financial literacy, that is, financial knowledge and financial skills, and market discipline, with financial behavior as the mediating variable. The study uses data from Indonesian depositors in commercial banks to estimate the relationship between the variables.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applied an explanatory method with a quantitative approach by surveying 343 Indonesian commercial bank depositors, in both public and private banks. The responses were collected using the purposive sampling technique. This study applied structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS software to analyze the data and then to estimate the relationships between financial literacy and market discipline.

Findings

This study shows that financial knowledge, financial skills, and financial behavior can improve market discipline. This study also provides empirical evidence that financial behavior has a mediation effect on the relationship between financial skills and financial knowledge to the market discipline.

Research limitations/implications

The results show that all financial literacy latent variables have a significant positive effect on market discipline. Financial behavior has a mediation effect on the relationship of financial skills and financial knowledge with market discipline. Depositors with good knowledge of financial products and services, who are skillful in managing their money and who demonstrate good financial behavior can effectively discipline the market. They will punish imprudent banking by actions such as the withdrawal of their funds. Financial literacy significantly enhances market discipline.

Practical implications

This study provides recommendations for regulators, practitioners, academics, and depositors, that is, the actors in the financial industry, on the need to empower consumers with financial literacy, while also promoting market discipline to recognize the importance of these two aspects for the sustainability of financial stability.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical evidence for the market discipline literature, using a behavioral approach, namely, the action of withdrawal of funds. The study then estimates the relationship between financial literacy, that is, financial knowledge and financial skills, and market discipline, with financial behavior as the mediating variable.

Details

Managerial Finance, vol. 48 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 September 2021

Nadiya Parekh and Laurence Attuel-Mendès

Social entrepreneurship is gaining increased attention from academia and practitioners worldwide. Owing to its financing challenges, academic pedagogies are seeking methods to…

Abstract

Purpose

Social entrepreneurship is gaining increased attention from academia and practitioners worldwide. Owing to its financing challenges, academic pedagogies are seeking methods to strengthen the social financing dimension of this emerging discipline. This paper bridges the gap in social entrepreneurship education by portraying diverse perspectives on this topic from multiple actors in two cross-cultural contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case analysis was conducted to explore financing aspects of social entrepreneurship in France and the United States. The authors interviewed academicians and practitioners to learn about their current experiments and thoughts on integrating finance into the curriculum for social entrepreneurship.

Findings

The authors found multiple facets of the social entrepreneurship finance construct, focused not only on specific financial skills but also on a general approach to venture designs. Multidisciplinary knowledge is sought not just on the topic of finance but also in other disciplines that can broaden its scope of financing to a larger investor domain. While in France, this came out as a need for integrating the financial communication skills to personify the social value creation process; in the US, it was pointed out as the need for having a contractual knowledge to differentiate investment opportunities and comprehend their risks levels.

Originality/value

By bringing perspectives from multiple actors who have had experience in social entrepreneurship financing in regions with the fastest development, this paper is seminal in bridging the financing skill gaps that exist in social entrepreneurship discipline. The main theoretical contribution of this article concerns the skills, financial and otherwise that are useful in social finance.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1997

R. Dobbins and B.O. Pettman

A self‐help guide to achieving success in business. Directed more towards the self‐employed, it is relevant to other managers in organizations. Divided into clear sections on…

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Abstract

A self‐help guide to achieving success in business. Directed more towards the self‐employed, it is relevant to other managers in organizations. Divided into clear sections on creativity and dealing with change; importance of clear goal setting; developing winning business and marketing strategies; negotiating skills; leadership; financial skills; and time management.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 16 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

George Okello Candiya Bongomin, John C. Munene, Joseph Mpeera Ntayi and Charles Akol Malinga

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of individual components of financial literacy in promoting financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of individual components of financial literacy in promoting financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was cross-sectional combined with correlation and regression analyses. Data were collected from 400 poor households drawn from four regions in rural Uganda. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test for the contribution of individual components of financial literacy on financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis was used to establish existence of convergent validity between the items used to measure the different constructs under study. Furthermore, analysis of variance was also adopted to test for variation in perceptions of poor households on being financially included.

Findings

The results generated from the study revealed that only attitude as a component of financial literacy significantly and positively predicts financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda. Contrary to previous thinking and empirical studies, behavior, knowledge, and skills are not significant predictors of financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda. Overall, the combined effect of the different components of financial literacy explains about 11.2 percent of the variance in financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda.

Research limitations/implications

The study was not without limitations. The study adopted only cross-sectional study design, thus, leaving out longitudinal study. Therefore, future studies employing longitudinal research design worth undertaking. Furthermore, the sample although large enough focused only on poor households located in rural Uganda, therefore, ignoring peri-urban and urban areas in Uganda. Besides, the study used only quantitative data, thus, qualitative study using key informant interviews may be considered for further research.

Practical implications

The paper indicates that policy makers, advocates of financial inclusion and researchers, should reconsider investigating individual contribution of the different components of financial literacy in promoting financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda. For researchers, it is important to re-analyze the individual components of financial literacy of behavior, knowledge, skills, and attitude in influencing financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda.

Originality/value

This paper combines both functional components (behavior and attitude) and non-functional measures (knowledge and skills) of financial literacy to explain financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda. Most financial literacy studies have mainly adopted only non-functional measures of knowledge and skills. Besides, these studies ignore the individual contribution of functional components and non-functional measures of financial literacy in explaining financial inclusion of poor households. Thus, this study is the first to examine the impact of individual components of financial literacy in explaining financial inclusion of poor households in rural Uganda.

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