Charles M. Vance and H.R. Kropp
Researchers and organisational practitioners must become partners in the research effort; both parties must accept the other's knowledge as valid information. A process model is…
Abstract
Researchers and organisational practitioners must become partners in the research effort; both parties must accept the other's knowledge as valid information. A process model is presented, based on applied research, for use in various disciplines of applied research where co‐operation between academic and practitioner is paramount, and where both become members of research steering groups. Recommendations are made on how such groups can become effective in operation and for further research.
Details
Keywords
Stephen Korutaro Nkundabanyanga, Julius Opiso, Waswa Balunywa and Isaac Nabeeta Nkote
The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between managerial competence, managerial risk-taking behaviour and financial service outreach of microfinance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between managerial competence, managerial risk-taking behaviour and financial service outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs).
Design/methodology/approach
In this cross-sectional and correlational study, the authors surveyed 52 branches of MFIs from a population of 60 branches of 20 MFIs in eastern Uganda. Two respondents, a branch manager and a senior loan officer, were the units of enquiry for each branch. The authors put forward and tested four hypotheses relating to the significance of the relationship between perceived managerial competence, risk-taking behaviour and financial service outreach using SPSS version 20. The authors established the hypothesized relationships using Pearson correlation coefficients and obtain a mediating effect of risk-taking behaviour using partial corrections and regression analysis.
Findings
The results suggest positive and significant relationships between perceived managerial competence, risk-taking behaviour and financial service outreach. However, while the direct relationship between managerial competence and financial service outreach without the mediation effect of risk-taking behaviour of managers was found to be significant, its magnitude reduces when mediation of risk-taking behaviour is allowed. Thus the entire effect does not only go through managerial competence but majorly also, through risk-taking behaviour of managers.
Research limitations/implications
This study did not control for environmental factors such as laws and regulations. As such the model may have been under fitted. Nevertheless, the study has introduced a clearer understanding that outreach performance in MFIs rests with competent managers in strategic positions operating in synergy with their risk-taking behaviour. The study informs policy makers that outreach performance of the MFIs depends on the quality of the competence managers have in addition to their risk-taking propensities.
Practical implications
Efforts by the stakeholders to improve financial service outreach must be matched with appropriate competences and risk-taking behaviour of managers.
Originality/value
The results contribute to extant literature by investigating two explanatory variables for financial service outreach and provide initial evidence of the mediating effect of intrinsic high risk-taking behaviour of managers. Results add to the conceptual improvement in risk-taking behaviour and lend considerable support for the behavioural perspective in the study of financial service outreach of MFIs.
Details
Keywords
Stephen Korutaro Nkundabanyanga, Denis Kasozi, Irene Nalukenge and Venancio Tauringana
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit by small and medium enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
In this cross-sectional study, the authors surveyed 384 business owners or managers of SMEs in Uganda. The authors applied confirmatory factor analysis to reduce the number of factors and identify the important elements that capture commercial lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit. The authors put forward and tested two hypotheses relating to the significance of the relationship between perceived commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit using structural equation modelling with analysis of moment structures 18.
Findings
The results suggest a positive and significant relationship between perceived commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit. Moreover, the ANOVA results serendipitously show that access to formal credit varies with type of business and turnover. However, collateral and loan repayment periods are not observed variables for commercial bank lending terms. The most significant observed variable for commercial bank lending terms is interest rates. This, together with financial literacy, explains 31 per cent of the variances in access to formal credit by SMEs in Uganda.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to the SME firms registered and operating in Kampala, Uganda and it is possible that the results are only applicable to these firms in Uganda. Nevertheless, the findings have implications to commercial banks wishing to improve the turnover of their micro-lending schemes.
Practical implications
Efforts by the stakeholders to improve financial literacy of SMEs owners and managers must be matched with favourable interest rates if access to formal credit is to be enhanced.
Social implications
The findings also have implications for governments aiming at improving access to finance to overcome income inequality problems, and also improve their growth.
Originality/value
The results provide initial evidence of the aggregate explanatory power of interest rates and financial literacy for the criterion variable, access to formal credit by SMEs.
Details
Keywords
Paul E. Levy, Steven T. Tseng, Christopher C. Rosen and Sarah B. Lueke
In recent years, practitioners have identified a number of problems with traditional performance management (PM) systems, arguing that PM is broken and needs to be fixed. In this…
Abstract
In recent years, practitioners have identified a number of problems with traditional performance management (PM) systems, arguing that PM is broken and needs to be fixed. In this chapter, we review criticisms of traditional PM practices that have been mentioned by journalists and practitioners and we consider the solutions that they have presented for addressing these concerns. We then consider these problems and solutions within the context of extant scholarly research and identify (a) what organizations should do going forward to improve PM practices (i.e., focus on feedback processes, ensure accountability throughout the PM system, and align the PM system with organizational strategy) and (b) what scholars should focus research attention on (i.e., technology, strategic alignment, and peer-to-peer accountability) in order to reduce the science-practice gap in this domain.
Details
Keywords
This paper presents a systematic method for classifying research on international channels of distribution. It is used to examine 79 articles published during an 18‐year period…
Abstract
This paper presents a systematic method for classifying research on international channels of distribution. It is used to examine 79 articles published during an 18‐year period (1988‐2005). Based on content analysis, each article is classified by its primary research framework. Two frameworks are identified: (1) structural ‐ based on the economic and organizational aspects of international channels of distribution; and (2) behavioral ‐ based on the exchange relationship between channel members from different national environments. This simple organizing system offers a comprehensive way to analyze scholarship that has emerged in the field. For managers, it can bring the theoretical and practical developments together in an understandable fashion as they seek to interpret and apply research findings. For scholars, it may bring focus to an increasingly complex area of international business and guide future research efforts.
Details
Keywords
Cyrine Ben-Hafaïedh and Frédéric Dufays
Purpose: Entrepreneurial teams are one of the most crystallized forms of collaboration in the generically collective dynamics underpinning social entrepreneurship. Despite their…
Abstract
Purpose: Entrepreneurial teams are one of the most crystallized forms of collaboration in the generically collective dynamics underpinning social entrepreneurship. Despite their quantitative prevalence, social entrepreneurial teams (SETs) remain quite absent from the scholarly literature. This chapter aims to develop a research agenda addressing this gap. Methodology/Approach: This chapter first reviews the scarce literature dealing with this subject and develops an operationalizable definition of SETs. Next, it confronts current knowledge on entrepreneurial teams with the specific context of social entrepreneurship to introduce and discuss main topics of investigation on SETs. Findings: Six topics are suggested to have a high potential for developing knowledge on SETs: formation, size and extended team, gender, decision-making and leadership, identity, and turnover. Research Implications: This chapter frames these research avenues within a developmental stages perspective with the aim to contribute to help form and maintain effective SETs. Originality/Value of Chapter: This research has implications for scholars as it defines SETs as a distinct object for research, which allows extending knowledge on collaborative dynamics in social entrepreneurship, but also on entrepreneurial teams in general. The suggested research agenda and its orientation toward the development of effective SETs should be a springboard for future research on this subject.
Details
Keywords
Fredric Kropp, Anne M. Lavack and David H. Silvera
This cross‐cultural study examines inter‐relationships between values (using the list of values), collective self‐esteem (CSE), and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal…
Abstract
Purpose
This cross‐cultural study examines inter‐relationships between values (using the list of values), collective self‐esteem (CSE), and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through surveys administered to 783 university students in four countries (Australia, English‐speaking Canada, Korea, and Norway).
Findings
Results indicate that external and interpersonal values are positively related to the normative component of CSII, while internal values are negatively related to the normative component of CSII. The CSE subscale measuring importance of the group to one's identity is positively related to normative CSII, while the CSE subscale of membership esteem is negatively related to normative CSII. Normative CSII was substantially higher among Korean participants than among participants from the other countries.
Research limitations/implications
This research was limited to a sample of university students in Canada, Australia, Norway, and Korea. Future research could expand the sample to include a more representative adult sample, in order to ensure the generalizability of the results.
Practical implications
CSII may be an important factor in many consumer purchases that relate to self‐image. The relationship of values and collective self‐esteem to CSII provides valuable insights to managers regarding consumer purchasing behavior.
Originality/value
Given that values, consumer self‐esteem, and country explain a large degree of the variation in consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence, managers can benefit from this knowledge when developing advertising content and marketing interventions.
Details
Keywords
Pi-Shen Seet, Noel Lindsay and Fredric Kropp
This study presents and validates a theoretical model linking individual characteristics of the founding or lead innovative entrepreneur of a start-up venture – the entrepreneur's…
Abstract
Purpose
This study presents and validates a theoretical model linking individual characteristics of the founding or lead innovative entrepreneur of a start-up venture – the entrepreneur's values, entrepreneurial attitudes and entrepreneurial self-efficacy – to the firm's entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) and, ultimately, to firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted a survey on a stratified random sample of founders of early-stage South Australian micro- and small enterprises with a response rate of 24% (N = 204). Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the model.
Findings
The study found that there is a significant relationship between the individual lead entrepreneur and firm strategies developed in early-stage firms in explaining firm performance. It also found that internal values are positively related to entrepreneurial attitude. Entrepreneurial attitude is positively related to entrepreneurial self-efficacy and EO innovativeness. In turn, entrepreneurial self-efficacy is related to innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking. The proactiveness dimension of EO and entrepreneurial attitude is related to MO. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy, innovativeness and MO are related to firm performance.
Research limitations/implications
This research was limited to entrepreneurial ventures in South Australia and may lack generalisability in other states and countries.
Originality/value
The research contributes to the understanding of the heterogeneity within self-employed individuals, in particular among innovative entrepreneurs, by expanding insights regarding antecedents and consequences of the entrepreneurial process. It develops insights into the links of individual-level constructs with firm-level constructs to develop a more meaningful understanding of new venture creation and performance. It enhances our knowledge of the heterogeneity within the group of self-employed by exploring the individual entrepreneurial antecedents of performance in early-stage firms.
Details
Keywords
John Hamel, Sarah Desmarais, Tonia Nicholls, Kathleen Malley‐Morrison and Jon Aaronson
If child custody decisions are based on erroneous beliefs, family courts may not be acting in the best interests of children. This study examined family court professionals'…
Abstract
If child custody decisions are based on erroneous beliefs, family courts may not be acting in the best interests of children. This study examined family court professionals' beliefs about family violence. Respondents (N = 410) of diverse professions, including child custody mediators, evaluators, and therapists, family law attorneys and judges, victim advocates and university students, completed a 10‐item multiple‐choice quiz. Results revealed low rates of correct responding, with respondents correctly answering approximately three out of 10 items on average, based on current research in the field. Overall, response rates were highly consistent with the discredited patriarchal paradigm. Shelter workers and victim advocates had the lowest average score, and men were found to have slightly higher scores than women. More troubling, students' scores were not significantly lower than those of family court professionals. Implications are discussed with respect to decision‐making in the context of child custody disputes.
Details
Keywords
Daniel R. Clark and Jeffrey G. Covin
The literature on international entrepreneurship offers two competing views on why new ventures internationalize: (a) the nature of the opportunity pulls them international or (b…
Abstract
The literature on international entrepreneurship offers two competing views on why new ventures internationalize: (a) the nature of the opportunity pulls them international or (b) the founder pushes the firm international. While these two internationalization drivers are not independent, they do represent unique causal mechanisms. Previously, the tools available to understand the entrepreneur’s disposition toward internationalization were limited. The present study uses the theoretical foundation of the international entrepreneurial orientation construct and from it develops and tests an attitudinally-based individual-level measure of disposition toward internationalization. To ensure the validity and reliability of the new measure, termed International Entrepreneurial Orientation Disposition, studies were conducted to: develop new scale items, examine their psychometric properties and construct validity, and demonstrate criterion validity. A strong measurement model is developed using structural equation modeling (CFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.07), and the measure is shown to be useful as a predictor of perceived international venture attractiveness.