Search results

Family businesses (FB), mostly small-sized, dominate the tourism and hospitality industry (THI), especially in the rural areas. While many would have been used to the impact of demand seasonality, it is unknown how these businesses would have survived through the restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as compared to non-family business (NFB) counterparts. This study aims to determine if there were differences on how family and non-family enterprises in the THI coped with government restrictions.

By subjecting the survey data from tourism enterprises to non-parametric techniques, the authors establish empirical evidence on similarities and differences of coping strategies adopted by FBs and NFBs; their required support from government and their perceptions of a post-pandemic THI.

The analysis revealed that family-owned tourism and hospitality businesses in the Philippines tended to collaborate with other businesses to manage the impact of the pandemic restrictions. Since they hired more seasonal workers prior to the restrictions, they tended to avoid hiring workers during the restricted period. NFBs, on the other hand, that were generally larger in size and more professionally managed with more regular employees, tended to streamline operations for greater efficiency.

The study relied on survey results distributed and collected online. There is an innate bias against those firms that did not have access to the survey links.

The comparative study suggests that interventions to assist firms in the THI should consider the differences in firm ownership as “one size does not fit all.”

The study provides evidence about how environmental factors impact the operations of family firms. Thus, it provides valuable insights for both the academic community and industry practitioners.

This is the first study in the Philippines that was able to capture response of family and non-family firms in the THI during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Much of the resources for mitigating the impact of poverty found their way into new technologies or programs that aimed to provide energy access to the poor in the “bottom of the pyramid” (BOP). Thus billions have been spent and will be spent on projects such as expensive line extensions or solar panels to the poor living in “last mile” communities. The purpose of this paper is to review the traditional responses to income and energy poverty, and describe a sustainable community model to address the poor at the BOP.

This paper looks at the approaches that have been tried in making a dent in the poverty incidence in households living in last mile, BOP areas in the Philippines and posits the critical question of why these approaches have failed despite successes in the more economically positioned strata of society. After identifying the critical variables that militate against the successful programs, the authors seek to proscribe a separate methodology for interventions in the BOP tiers of society.

The initial hypothesis garnered from examining the data suggests that BOP communities lack access to managerial and entrepreneurial skills required to sustain relatively advanced technology applications when seeking to improve livelihood opportunities.

The sources of primary data for this research work are interviews with community workers, energy project proponents and BOP community leaders. Future research requires pilot programs where results can be measured and successes can be replicated in other communities.

The insights derived from the research work will enable the design of better programs aimed at the BOP. Positive outcomes can be expected to come from improved effectiveness and efficiencies of current approaches and possible new opportunities for leveraging current efforts by governments and civil society with business.

The most significant, possible outcome of this research would be to enhance the sustainability of current interventions aimed at the BOP. Many corporate social responsibility activities are superficial, short-term initiatives, with time frames corresponding to quarterly statements meant for the public and external stakeholders. Unfortunately, the BOP environment is more structurally complex and requires systemic understanding.

Many of the existing interventions do not capture the needs of the BOP. This paper looks at this segment of the client system and tries to identify gaps in the program design to focus on this segment.

This paper aims to highlight the degree of diffusion and intensity of use of knowledge management systems (KMSs) among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil and apply a taxonomy that synthesizes the strategies of use of KMSs by the SMEs. In addition, it seeks to better understand the processes, practices and technologies of KM by SMEs, pointing improvements in the KMS of Brazilian SMEs and contributing to obtain better results in the search for efficiency and innovation.

Based on a literature review on KMSs used by SMEs, an empirical investigation was conceived, developed and conducted through online questionnaires involving 49 selected SMEs operating in several sectors.

This paper reinforces the results of the previous work of Cerchione and Esposito (2017) that point to the existence of a reciprocal relationship between KM-Tools and KM-Practices: one reinforces the other and vice versa. On the other hand, it indicates a difference in the behavior of Brazilian companies in relation to the sample of Italian companies studied by Cerchione and Esposito (2017), which presented a negative correlation between the general differentiation index and the general use intensity index of SMEs, while the Brazilian ones showed a positive correlation.

The study points out the need for greater dissemination of practices and tools to support knowledge management (KM), as well as greater support for the implementation and effective use of these practices and tools within the organizational context of SMEs.

This paper identifies the main practices and tools to support KM used by Brazilian SMEs, indicating the need for investments in employee training and acquisition of tools.

SMEs represent an important part of the generation of jobs and income in Brazil. Initiatives that lead to the successful implementation of tools and practices to support KM can increase the efficiency and productivity of these organizations.

This paper applies in a sample of Brazilian companies the taxonomy proposed by Cerchione and Esposito (2017) combining strategies of SMEs for the use of KMSs.

This paper aims to examine whether the position of universities in the times higher education (THE) impact rankings (IR) is related to the different dimensions of academic quality of universities according to the THE world universities ranking.

The research, based on universities ranked in the top 100 of THE IRs, uses a regression model obtained by the panel data method, using the fixed effects approach, to identify the relationship of academic quality dimensions with that ranking.

The results show an increase in the dissemination of information on sustainable development goals (SDGs) by universities. In addition, it is shown that research, number of citations and international outlook are positively associated with a higher score obtained by universities in THE IRs, which implies a higher impact on the SDGs by these universities.

Based on multifaceted theories, the study highlighted the universities that are best positioned in the THE IRs in relation to their contribution to the SDGs.

This paper aims to examine the ethical beliefs of consumers with regards to their levels of mindfulness. Furthermore, it aims to investigate if mindfulness is related to gender differences among respondents in their ethical beliefs about consumer unethical practices.

University students in India were surveyed with self-administered questionnaires comprising the consumer ethics scale and mindfulness attention awareness scale. Mediation analysis was conducted to test whether gender differences in ethical judgements are due to the different levels of mindfulness.

The results indicate that mindfulness is not only a predictor of ethical beliefs but also a mediator of the relationship between gender and ethical beliefs. Individuals with greater mindfulness reported greater acceptance towards the five dimensions of consumer ethics scale. Indian male participants were found to be more mindful and lenient in ethical judgements than female participants.

The present work is a novel attempt in examining the effect of mindfulness on the relationship between gender and ethical beliefs of consumers. The results of this study can have positive implications for organizations, managers, public policy makers and consumers.

This paper is a companion piece to the short documentary Breakin' Away. The paper aims to touch on Texas b‐boy culture and tourism, the hip‐hop industry at large, book publishing, intra‐industry media‐synergy, the Hollywood film industry and related aspects of pop culture.

Part ethnographic memoir, part confessional, part anecdotal how‐to, the article is written in the first person and fits within the tradition of autoethnography.

Given its autoethnographic focus, the paper follows several unique cases rather than attempting to abstract generalizable principles.

The paper provides an inside view of Texas b‐boy subculture and reveals specific aspects of the hip‐hop industry.

Small businesses growth has become an important area of study in the field of entrepreneurship. This paper aims to extend the inquiry by investigating whether there is a significant difference in growth between firms from the formal sector and the informal sector in the least developing countries (LDCs), particularly Tanzania.

A survey strategy as well as non-probability sampling are used. The sampling included 50 formal and 61 informal small businesses from the furniture industry. Data collected were evaluated using chi square and compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) techniques.

The results indicate that firms from the formal sector do not grow faster than firms from the informal sector. on the contrary, our tests reveal that firms from the informal sector predominantly grow faster than firms from the formal sector.

The study was conducted in Tanzania which is just one of the 48 LDCs in the world. Second, the literature that is used predominantly applies to developed countries. Third, the field work dependent on the respondent’s perception. Finally, change of measurement scale from five to three is ought to have contributed to mixed findings.

The overall implications are that external factors like inadequate regulatory tax systems may affect growth of formal small businesses and thus influence market opportunities for informal small businesses. Further, internal factors like inefficiencies of workers from formal enterprises may affect growth and therefore create more opportunities for informal enterprises.

Exploring differences between firms from the formal sector and the informal sector, and the way five scales were aggregated into three scales in the methodology.

Understanding the factors that advance green innovation is crucial for firms to deal with the complexity of green innovation. In light of this, this study aims to explore the influence of supply chain knowledge, non-supply chain learning and corporate reputation on green innovation.

This study uses a quantitative research approach where data is gathered from managers of 208 small and medium enterprises in Ghana using survey questionnaires. The structural equation modeling is used to analyze the survey data.

The findings reveal supply chain knowledge relates positively with non-supply chain learning, corporate reputation and green innovation. Corporate reputation also impacts green innovation positively and provides partial mediation effect between supply chain knowledge and green innovation. Meanwhile, non-supply chain learning does not relate positively with green innovation as well as fails to mediate the impact of supply chain knowledge on green innovation.

This study contributes to knowledge in the mediating mechanisms of corporate reputation and non-supply chain learning between supply chain knowledge and green innovation. Through this, the authors propose a theoretical model to explain how firms can leverage supply chain knowledge, corporate reputation and non-supply chain learning to improve green innovation and can serve as the basis for further theoretical and empirical research in innovation and external sources of knowledge.