David Ansong, Chesworth Brittney Renwick, Moses Okumu, Eric Ansong and Cedrick Joseph Wabwire
The purpose of this paper is to examine the spatial patterns of gender inequality in junior high school enrollment and the educational resource investments associated with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the spatial patterns of gender inequality in junior high school enrollment and the educational resource investments associated with the spatial trends.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses data on 170 districts in Ghana and hot spot analysis based on the Getis-Ord Gi statistic, linear regression, and geographically weighted regression to assess spatial variability in gender parity in junior high school enrollment and its association with resource allocation.
Findings
The results reveal rural-urban and north-south variability in gender parity. Results show that educational resources contribute to gender parity. At the national level, educational expenditure, and the number of classrooms, teachers, and available writing places have the strongest positive associations with girls’ enrollment. These relationships are spatially moderated, such that predominantly rural and Northern districts experience the most substantial benefits of educational investments.
Practical implications
The findings show that strategic allocation of infrastructure, financial, and human resources through local governments holds promise for a more impactful and sustainable educational development of all children, regardless of gender. Besides seeking solutions that address the lack of resources at the national level, there is a need for locally tailored efforts to remove the barriers to equitable distribution of educational resources across gender and socioeconomic groups.
Originality/value
This paper’s use of advanced spatial analysis techniques allows for in-depth examination of gender parity and investments in educational resources, and highlights the spatial nuances in how such investments predict gender disparities in junior high school enrollment. The findings speak to the need for targeted and localized efforts to address gender and geographical disparities in educational opportunities.
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David Ansong, Gina Chowa and Bernice Korkor Adjabeng
Expanding access to financial services for the 70 percent of Ghanaians who are unbanked is critical. Bank branches have been the primary channel for financial service delivery…
Abstract
Purpose
Expanding access to financial services for the 70 percent of Ghanaians who are unbanked is critical. Bank branches have been the primary channel for financial service delivery, but this may be changing because of technological innovations. Analysts believe branch-based banking still has a role in promoting financial inclusion. The purpose of this paper is to examine the pattern of bank branch presence across rural and urban Ghana; the disparities in the spatial distribution of domestic, foreign, and rural and community bank branches; and the district level characteristics associated with the pattern of spatial distribution of bank branches.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses spatial analyst tools, geographically weighted Poisson regression, and data from Ghana’s banking sector to show the inequality in availability of branch-based services and to highlight the district and regional level differences in the determinants of branch allocation.
Findings
The study finds evidence of inequality in access to financial services. Physical bank branches are disproportionately more accessible in the urban south compared to the rural north. The study also finds that population size, percentage of urban residents, workforce size, and literacy level are associated with bank allocation but the results vary by district.
Practical implications
Branch banking needs modernization to continue to bring financial services in closer proximity. Development of physical and electronic infrastructure could attract financial institutions to serve deprived areas with significant concentration of unbanked populations.
Originality/value
Findings of the study point to the need for banks to re-envision branch banking technology to make branch banking more interactive. Banks need to find ways to fuse transferable elements of mobile phone banking into branch-based banking, not just to attract younger technology-savvy customers but also to help make operations more attractive, efficient, and cost effective.
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Olusesan Ayodeji Makinde, Emmanuel Olamijuwon, Nchelem Kokomma Ichegbo, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe and Michael Gboyega Ilesanmi
Incidents of violence perpetrated through digital technology platforms or facilitated by these means have been reported, often in high-income countries. Very little scholarly…
Abstract
Incidents of violence perpetrated through digital technology platforms or facilitated by these means have been reported, often in high-income countries. Very little scholarly attention has been given to the nature of technology-facilitated violence and abuse (TFVA) across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) despite an explosion in the use of various technologies. We conducted a literature review to identify and harmonize available data relating to the types of TFVA taking place in SSA. This was followed by an online survey of young adults through the SHYad.NET forum to understand the nature of TFVA among young adults in SSA. Our literature review revealed various types of TFVA to be happening across SSA, including cyberbullying, cyberstalking, trolling, dating abuse, image-based sexual violence, sextortion, and revenge porn. The results of our online survey revealed that both young men and women experience TFVA, with the most commonly reported TFVA being receiving unwanted sexually explicit images, comments, emails, or text messages. Female respondents more often reported repeated and/or unwanted sexual requests online via email or text message while male respondents more often reported experiencing violent threats. Respondents used various means to cope with TFVA including blocking the abuser or deleting the abused profile on social media.
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Edem M. Azila-Gbettor and Martin K. Abiemo
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between academic self-efficacy, study engagement and perceived lecturer support within a higher education setup.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between academic self-efficacy, study engagement and perceived lecturer support within a higher education setup.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sample of 376 respondents from a technical university in Ghana took part in the study by completing self-reported questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and partial least square-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
Findings suggest academic self-efficacy and perceived lecturer support are positive and significant predictors of study engagement. In addition, perceived lecturer support was a significant moderator between academic self-efficacy and study engagement.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first to have tested a model including academic self-efficacy, study engagement and perceived lecturer support in a technical university setup from a developing country perspective.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the international migration-and-development story of the Philippines, amongst the leading migrant-origin countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the international migration-and-development story of the Philippines, amongst the leading migrant-origin countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Migration and socio-economic development data are used to depict the migration-and-development conditions of the Philippines.
Findings
The Philippines has mastered the management of overseas migration based on its bureaucracy and policies for the migrant sector. Migration also rose for decades given structural economic constraints. However, the past 10 years of macro-economic growth may have seen migration and remittances helping lift the Philippines' medium-to-long term acceleration. The new Philippine future beside the overseas exodus hinges on two trends: accelerating the economic empowerment of overseas Filipinos and their families to make them better equipped to handle the social costs of migration; and strategizing how to capture a “diasporic dividend” by pushing for more investments from overseas migrants' savings.
Research limitations/implications
This paper may not cover the entirety of the Philippines' migration-and-development phenomenon.
Practical implications
Improving the financial capabilities of overseas Filipinos and their families will lead to their economic empowerment and to hopefully a more resilient handling of the (negative) social consequences of migration.
Social implications
If overseas Filipinos and their families handle their economic resources better, they may be able to conquer the social costs of migration.
Originality/value
This paper employed a population-and-development (PopDev) framework to analyse the migration-and-development conditions of the Philippines.
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Zulqurnain Ali, Bi Gongbing and Aqsa Mehreen
A growing need for financing in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become a significant obstacle to the development of firms. To remove this barrier, the purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
A growing need for financing in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become a significant obstacle to the development of firms. To remove this barrier, the purpose of this paper is to examine how supply chain finance (SCF) assists the firms to improve their performance by utilizing the resource-based view (RBV). Furthermore, the present study also pursues to test the effect of trade digitization as a moderating variable in the relationship between SC finance and the firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from the textile sector, the authors run confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS 24 and hierarchical linear regression model in SPSS 23 to measure the proposed model and hypotheses, respectively.
Findings
The study suggests that SCF significantly improves the SMEs performance. Moreover, trade digitization strengthens the relationship between SCF and SMEs performance. Thus, the current study significantly describes the firm RBV through SCF and trade digitization to predict the SMEs performance.
Practical implications
SMEs entrepreneurs or executives can optimize the working capital through SCF and enhance the visibility of transactions through digitization for improving SMEs performance. Moreover, SCF protects the SMEs due to its nature of risk mitigation strategy.
Originality/value
This study covered the unexplored gap in the previous literature of supply chain management by establishing the relationship between SCF and the firm performance empirically while identifying the role of trade digitization as moderating variable in the context of textile SMEs by employing RBV theory.
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Phuoc Hong Nguyen, Long Thanh Nguyen and Linh Tran Cam Nguyen
This study applies the target similarity model to examine the effects of servant leadership on supervisor commitment and supervisor citizenship behavior. The mediating role of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study applies the target similarity model to examine the effects of servant leadership on supervisor commitment and supervisor citizenship behavior. The mediating role of supervisory commitment is explored to determine the relationship between servant leadership and supervisor citizenship behavior. The difference in supervisor gender is examined in the linkage between servant leadership and supervisory commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected through a survey of 478 salespeople in the retail industry. Structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques were used to verify the hypotheses of this study.
Findings
The findings showed significant support for the direct and indirect effects of servant leadership on supervisor commitment and supervisor citizenship behavior. Furthermore, the positive relationship between servant leadership and supervisory commitment was stronger among female supervisors than male supervisors.
Originality/value
Due to the scarcity of studies conducted on the linkages of servant leadership, supervisory commitment and supervisory citizenship behavior, this study theoretically and empirically contributes to the leadership literature as it is the first study to investigate these direct and indirect relationships. Similarly, this study examined gender differences in servant leadership to fill the gap in the research field.
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The financial industry offers a unique setting to study innovations. Financial innovations have fueled the growth of economies, markets and societies. The financial industry has…
Abstract
Purpose
The financial industry offers a unique setting to study innovations. Financial innovations have fueled the growth of economies, markets and societies. The financial industry has successfully become the breeding ground for innovative services, processes, business models and technologies. This study seeks to provide a holistic view of the literature on financial innovations, synthesize the research findings and offer future directions for research in light of three market developments that are disrupting the industry and opening up a new era for the financial services industry. Disruptions from within and outside the industry offer new generations of radically innovative services. Moreover, new generations of consumers differ from previous generations in their needs and wants and look for innovative ways to handle their financial needs. Finally, significant developments related to financial innovations have emerged in Asia and developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This study systematically reviews the academic research literature on financial innovations in two phases. The first phase provides a quantitative review of 546 journal articles published between 1990 and 2018. In the second phase, the study synthesizes the extant research on financial innovations and maps them in five research areas: firms' introduction and adoption of FIs, financial innovation development, the outcomes of financial innovations, regulations and intellectual property, and consumers.
Findings
The analysis found that disciplines differ with regard to the employed research methodologies, the units of analysis, sources of data and the innovations they examined. A positive trend in the number of published articles during this period is observed. However, studies have primarily focused on the USA and Europe and less so on other parts of the world. The literature synthesis further identifies research gaps in the available research that highlight future research opportunities in light of the three market disruptions. The financial services industry is on the brink of a new era due to disruptions from within and outside the industry and the entrance of new generations of consumers. Moreover, the financial industry has successfully become the breeding ground for innovative services, processes and business models. Therefore, financial innovations offer promising opportunities for bridging the gap between research on product and service innovations.
Research limitations/implications
The work provides a holistic and systematic overview of extant research on financial innovations and highlights future research opportunities in light of the three disruptive market developments. It helps researchers take advantage of the opportunities in studying financial innovations while maintaining industry relevance.
Originality/value
The study is the first to review and synthesize the academic research literature on financial innovations across marketing, finance and innovation disciplines. In addition, the study highlights three primary disruptive forces in the financial industry and identifies future research directions in light of these disruptive forces.
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This paper aims to examine the relationship between family firm generation, performance and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in investments in sustainability initiatives. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between family firm generation, performance and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in investments in sustainability initiatives. The objective of this research is to establish EO as an important antecedent of investments in sustainability initiatives, assess EO’s interaction with firm performance and establish that later-generation family firms are more environmentally and socially responsible.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected in-person from 151 top managers in automobile and motorcycle dealerships in the southwestern USA. Regression analysis was utilized to analyze the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
EO is significantly and positively related to investments in sustainability initiatives. That relationship is dependent on the performance of the firm. At low levels of EO, high-performing firms invest significantly more in sustainability initiatives. However, at high levels of EO, low-performing firms invest slightly more in sustainability initiatives. The generation of the family business is moderately related to sustainability investments, with later-generation family firms investing more.
Originality/value
The findings herein bridge the gap between the entrepreneurship and sustainability literature by establishing EO as an important antecedent of corporate responsibility. Further, the results indicate that firm mechanisms such as EO are more important than the performance of the firm or slack resources available.
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Samuel Nii Boi Attuquayefio, David Aboagye-Darko and Amanda Quist Okronipa
Through the lens of the information systems success model, self-determination theory, and TAM2, this study proposes and tests an integrative model to investigate students’…
Abstract
Purpose
Through the lens of the information systems success model, self-determination theory, and TAM2, this study proposes and tests an integrative model to investigate students’ satisfaction with the use of e-learning systems in higher education institutions in a developing country context.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a quantitative approach. Based on data collected from a sample of 185 students, the study used partial least squares-structural equation modeling to investigate and test the model’s hypothesized relationships.
Findings
This study revealed that gamification significantly influences behavioral intention and learning engagement. Also, our study suggests that behavioral intention significantly influences learning engagement and students’ actual use of e-learning systems. In addition, our study revealed that learning engagement significantly influences students’ satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study contributes theoretically and practically by proposing an integrative model to investigate the antecedents to students’ satisfaction in the context of developing countries. In addition, this study extends the research stream of gamification and perceived security within the e-learning context in developing countries.