The purpose of this paper is to identify the principal qualities that define a good worker for microenterprises of the trade sector according to the contemporary literature of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the principal qualities that define a good worker for microenterprises of the trade sector according to the contemporary literature of the human capital and associated with the Big Five personality traits. It also determines the effect of those skills over the success of trade microenterprises in the context of a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 393 owners/managers of microenterprises located in six trade zones of Lima district in Peru were involved in this study. They were randomly selected and asked to answer a survey of perceptions about the microenterprise’s performance and workers’ behavior.
Findings
The results demonstrate that workers that possess mainly non-cognitive skills would be considered as good workers for trade microenterprises. These skills are associated with four of the Big Five personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, openness or autonomy and conscientiousness. Also, the results show that punctuality, honesty and assertiveness, associated with the traits such as extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness, are the principal non-cognitive skills that impact positively over microenterprises’ success.
Research limitations/implications
The performance of workers is only based on owners/managers’ perceptions.
Practical implications
The owners/managers’ role is important to help workers to develop the necessary skills that can contribute to the microenterprise. In that sense, if the direct contact that exists between them is leveraged, owners/managers could implement strategies such as mentoring to promote the personal and professional growth of their workers.
Originality/value
This study provides useful information about how specific non-cognitive skills of workers can contribute to the success of trade microenterprises in developing countries like Peru.
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Edgar Alva, Vanina Vivas and María Urcia
The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented effects around the world and particularly on vulnerable populations, such as female entrepreneurs in developing…
Abstract
Purpose
The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented effects around the world and particularly on vulnerable populations, such as female entrepreneurs in developing countries. They are facing a new normal, characterized by high uncertainty and resource constraints. This paper aims to use the experiential learning theory applied to entrepreneurship to propose the entrepreneurial bricolage approach to study how female entrepreneurs can overcome this type of crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
Within the research designs of conceptual papers, the study is situated within the model approach because the authors propose novel relationships between constructs to answer the research questions through the development of theoretical propositions.
Findings
The analysis suggests that the entrepreneurial bricolage process represents a type of strategy that allows these women to adapt to this new normal. Based on this approach, the authors suggest that crowdfunding represents a financial resource at hand for both pre-existing female entrepreneurs and new female entrepreneurs.
Practical implications
The theoretical implications suggest an alternative conceptual framework of the entrepreneurial bricolage process to analyse the female entrepreneurial activity in developing countries and during crisis’ contexts. The managerial implications suggest that crowdfunding is a financial resource at hand for female entrepreneurs that allow them to perform well, innovate or implement growth strategies and have more chances of surviving and growing during the crisis. Finally, the policy implications are oriented to the promotion of this kind of financial alternative and the generation of trust for users, along with the strengthening of a regulatory framework to attract more investors and entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
This study provides useful information on how the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting female entrepreneurs in developing countries. It also expands on the literature on crowdfunding in terms of its advantages as a non-traditional funding source for women.
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Television became a possible medium for advertising in the late 1930s but its emergence as a major medium dates from 1947. Arguments about the likely effectiveness of television…
Abstract
Television became a possible medium for advertising in the late 1930s but its emergence as a major medium dates from 1947. Arguments about the likely effectiveness of television as a source of entertainment attracting large numbers of viewers were coloured by fears of responses to ill‐devised uses by advertisers of the presentation of products or services. The profitability of television selling was forshadowed in 1947.
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BOTH BRADBURY AND ASIMOV write science fiction. That statement is like saying that both the Financial Times and the News of the World are newspapers; they are worlds apart…
Abstract
BOTH BRADBURY AND ASIMOV write science fiction. That statement is like saying that both the Financial Times and the News of the World are newspapers; they are worlds apart. However, the contrast between the two may give some idea of the range in ideas, attitudes and approach to their subject.
THE scientist and philosopher will tell us that the mind of man cannot in a lifetime fully grasp and understand any one subject. Consequently it is unreasonable to expect that the…
Abstract
THE scientist and philosopher will tell us that the mind of man cannot in a lifetime fully grasp and understand any one subject. Consequently it is unreasonable to expect that the librarian—who, in spite of popular belief, is but man—can have a complete understanding of every department of knowledge relative to his work. He must, in common with his fellows in other callings, content himself with a more or less general professional knowledge, and may specialize, if he be so disposed, in certain branches of that knowledge. The more restricted this particular knowledge is, the greater will be its value from a specialistic point of view.
This content analysis examines the historical representation of Margaret Sanger within trade books. From the framework of the historiography, this paper unpacks how common…
Abstract
Purpose
This content analysis examines the historical representation of Margaret Sanger within trade books. From the framework of the historiography, this paper unpacks how common curricular resources depict an American icon with a complicated past.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the author conducted a content analysis of biographies and expository compilations featuring Sanger. The entire data pool were sampled and analyzed.
Findings
The trade books, particularly the biographies, historically represented Sanger in most categories. Sanger's international direct action and eugenics were two misrepresented areas. Expository compilations, with more limited space than biographies, contained more omissions and minimized or vague depictions of key areas. Findings did not appear dependent upon date of publication.
Originality/value
This study explores an icon of America's free speech battles and birth control rights at a time when culture wars are shaping current events. No researchers have previously explored Sanger's historical representation within trade books.
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Charles D. Wrege, Peter J. Gordon and Regina A. Greenwood
The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of electric lamp renewal systems, an early, successful program to encourage the adoption of new technology, electric…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of electric lamp renewal systems, an early, successful program to encourage the adoption of new technology, electric lighting.
Design/methodology/approach
Much material for the research comes from a variety of archival sources and publications of the early part of the twentieth century.
Findings
The free lamp renewal system was brilliant and effective: its high level of customer service and human contact dispelled fear raised by the new energy source, increasing the acceptance and use of electric lighting and thereby electricity. Lighting, in the absence of electrical appliances, was one of the few users of electricity. Thus, the electric companies created a marketing strategy that encouraged adoption of the new technology.
Research limitations/implications
We examined the electric lighting industry at the turn of the twentieth century. Other examples of technology adoption could generalize our findings.
Practical implications
Our research suggests that supportive programs, which are high in customer contact and customized service, can aid in the adoption of new technology and unfamiliar products. By encouraging the use of such free or cheap products, customers are induced to higher usage of related products that increase the revenue stream to the provider.
Originality/value
The lamp renewal system is forgotten today, yet was a crucial factor in winning consumer acceptance of electric lighting and an early example of how companies can encourage adoption of new technology. Although the concept of uniformed men in trucks coming to customer homes once a month to clean and replace light bulbs is quaint – it worked!