Hee Song Ng, Daisy Mui Hung Kee and T. Ramayah
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of core competencies, namely, transformational leadership (TFL), entrepreneurial competence and technical competence on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of core competencies, namely, transformational leadership (TFL), entrepreneurial competence and technical competence on financial performance through the mediation effect of innovativeness, among owner-managed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
A research model was developed to test nine research hypotheses. Self-report questionnaires designed for this study were sent to SME owner-managers in Malaysia. A total of 178 completed questionnaires were successfully collected. SPSS and SmartPLS were used to perform the data analysis to test the measurement model and structural model.
Findings
This paper provides empirical evidence that behavioural innovativeness mediates the relationship between TFL and financial performance, product innovativeness mediates the relationships among entrepreneurial competence, technical competence and financial performance and process innovativeness mediates the relationship between technical competence and financial performance.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study are potentially limited by perceptual measures, cross-sectional data and the risk of response bias from a single informant.
Practical implications
Owner-managed SMEs can focus on developing the core competencies to achieve financial performance through innovative products, processes and behaviours. Policymakers and practitioners can gain fresh insights into the complexity of sustaining the business activities and financial performance of SMEs through the core competencies and innovativeness.
Originality/value
The extant literature has revealed that entrepreneurship, leadership, expertise and innovativeness are considered key factors in promoting financial performance, yet little is known about the combined effects of the core competencies on financial performance through innovativeness for owner-managed SMEs in the context of a developing country. The study makes an important contribution to filling this research gap.
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Hee Song Ng and Daisy Mui Hung Kee
The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of transformational leadership, entrepreneurial competence and technical competence on firm performance via innovativeness in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of transformational leadership, entrepreneurial competence and technical competence on firm performance via innovativeness in owner-managed small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered from 178 owner-managers of SMEs operating in Malaysia using a self-report questionnaire. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results show that, except in the link between transformational leadership and process innovativeness, all relationships linking transformational leadership, entrepreneurial and technical competence with innovativeness, and linking innovativeness with firm performance are significant.
Research limitations/implications
The self-report questionnaires that were administered to owner-managers of SMEs constitute a limitation for this research, as they may not always produce reliable and valid responses due to single informant response and common method bias.
Practical implications
The study findings have strong theoretical and managerial implications for owner-managed SMEs seeking to adopt the four core metrics, namely, transformational leadership, entrepreneurial competence, technical competence and innovativeness, as the management core, all of which are necessary for meaningful, sustainable, disruptive transformation to do well in business, even with limited resources.
Originality/value
The value of this study lies in its effort to focus on the core competence of owner-managed SMEs, which remains relatively underexplored in the context of developing countries. Moreover, little is yet known about their combined effects on firm performance.
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Hee Song Ng, Daisy Mui Hung Kee and Mohammad Jamal Khan
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of proactive personality (PP), entrepreneurship education (EE) and entrepreneurial opportunities (EO) on shaping…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of proactive personality (PP), entrepreneurship education (EE) and entrepreneurial opportunities (EO) on shaping entrepreneurial intentions (EI) among university students through attitude toward entrepreneurship (ATE) and perceived behavioural control (PBC) according to Ajzen’s (1985) theory of planned behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used questionnaires to collect data from university students enroled in undergraduate programmes. A total of 209 surveys were successfully collected. SPSS and SmartPLS 3.0 software were used to analyse and test nine hypotheses derived from the intentions-centred model.
Findings
The results supported seven hypotheses. There were positive relationships between PP and ATE; PP and PBC; EE and ATE; EO and ATE; EO and PBC; ATE and EI; and PBC and EI. However, there were no relationships between EE and PBC, and subjective norms and EI.
Research limitations/implications
This study used a cross-sectional survey and self-report data which hinder conclusively making correlational inferences. In addition, the various developmental stages of students may influence perceptions of EI.
Practical implications
The empirical findings provide new insights for policymakers, educators and academics about the antecedents governing EI. This study also enhances the understanding of the preconditions for EI, which can be utilised by practitioners to encourage and manage graduate entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This study advances an intentions-based model which suggests a simultaneous presence of the three core factors, PP, EE and EO for an effective formation of EI. By doing so, the study addresses the issue of the scarcity of investigations on the combined effects, thus closing the research gap and bringing new perspective to the antecedents-intentions nexus of graduate entrepreneurship.
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Hee Song Ng and Daisy Mui Hung Kee
Entrepreneurial small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face ever increasing competition not only at the domestic level but also at the global level. While large-scale…
Abstract
Entrepreneurial small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face ever increasing competition not only at the domestic level but also at the global level. While large-scale enterprises and multinational corporations often hog the limelight, research and studies reveal that SMEs form the core of the growth engine of most of the national economies and are critical to rebuilding the economy from an economic crisis. In fact, SMEs make a significant contribution to economic growth and continue to play a pivotal role as a catalyst for development to drive innovation, competitiveness, and future growth. However, due to their size and limited resources, most SMEs often struggle to keep on top of new development in capabilities and skills and encounter difficulties keeping their operational activities in balance. Therefore, it is inevitable that most governments have taken a keen interest in SMEs’ development by providing infrastructure and financial grants. As such, it is argued that resource-constraint SMEs need to preserve the focus and drive to survive and grow in today’s interconnected, interdependent world. SMEs need to be properly equipped with deep capabilities in transformational leadership, technicality, and entrepreneurship, and innovativeness required to go international more rapidly and profitably in today’s increasingly borderless world.
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There is significant amount of literature tackling different issues related to the port industry. The present chapter focuses on a single business unit of seaports aiming at the…
Abstract
There is significant amount of literature tackling different issues related to the port industry. The present chapter focuses on a single business unit of seaports aiming at the documentation of works related to container terminals.
An effort to review, collect and present the majority of the works present in the last 30 years, between 1980 and 2010, has been made in order to picture the problems dealt and methods used by the authors in the specific research field. To facilitate the reader, studies have been grouped under five categories of addressed problems (productivity and competitiveness, yard and equipment utilization, equipment scheduling, berth planning, loading/unloading) and four modelling methodologies (mathematics and operations research, management and economics, simulation, stochastic modelling).
The analysis shows that most works focus on productivity and competitiveness issues followed by yard and equipment utilisation and equipment scheduling. In reference to the methodologies used managerial and economic approaches lead, followed by mathematics and operations research.
In reference to future research, two fields have been identified where there is scope of significant contribution by the academic community: container terminal security and container terminal supply chain integration.
The present chapter provides the framework for researchers in the field of port container terminals to picture the so far works in this research area and enables the identification of gaps at both research question and methodology level for further research.
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Johannes Hellrich, Christoph Rzymski and Vitus Vestergaard
This chapter explores metal albums as media, and their relationship to medieval media, as well as secondary media as a resource for reception studies. Examination of metal music…
Abstract
This chapter explores metal albums as media, and their relationship to medieval media, as well as secondary media as a resource for reception studies. Examination of metal music as media reveals broader trends in modern media representations of the medieval in respect to race, gender, and cultural identity. Albums are composite object, using different media and secondary media products. The methodology used to approach these media and which elements of an album are examined in combination have a significant effect on the results. This chapter brings together three authors to discuss and compare methodologies and make the case for a combination of contextual analogue and quantitative digital approaches.
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Jian Mou, Dong-Hee Shin and Jason Cohen
The purpose of this paper is to help understand consumer acceptance of online health information services by integrating the health belief model and extended valence framework.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to help understand consumer acceptance of online health information services by integrating the health belief model and extended valence framework.
Design/methodology/approach
A laboratory-based, experimental-scenarios research design is used to collect data, and the structural equation modeling technique is used to test the research model.
Findings
The model explains 47.6 percent of the variance in intentions to use online health information services. Trust appeared to have the strongest effect on acceptance. Perceived risk also had a significant impact on acceptance. Furthermore, health belief variables are confirmed as important factors for consumer acceptance. Self-efficacy was found to moderate the effect of perceived severity on acceptance.
Research limitations/implications
This study helped identify the relative salience of the health belief model and extended valence framework in consumer acceptance of online health information services.
Practical implications
This study can help practitioners better understand the development of trust and the profiles of consumers who may browse their sites. When online health service providers promote their information to encourage potential online health information seekers, they should use countermeasures against risk perceptions.
Originality/value
This study attempted to extend the valence framework to the non-commercial service context. Moreover, health beliefs and the valence framework are two fundamental aspects that health information seekers consider when making decisions about online health services.
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Jeongjoon Boo, Seung Yeob Lee and Byung Duk Song
The next generation of mobility is arising, and various challenging mobilities have entered the limelight. One of the most exciting of these is urban air mobility (UAM), and one…
Abstract
Purpose
The next generation of mobility is arising, and various challenging mobilities have entered the limelight. One of the most exciting of these is urban air mobility (UAM), and one of its challenges is constructing effective and efficient UAM service network. This study took a quantitative approach to the problem in an effort to support and facilitate the UAM service industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study derived a multi-objective and multi-period (MOMP) location optimization model to support strategic UAM service network design. The model, based on its long-term service plan, determines where and when to open UAM airports. In addition, this study applied a modified e-constraint algorithm to derive managerial decisions on the Pareto relationship in consideration of multiple objectives and multiple periods.
Findings
Each Pareto solution represents a different UAM service network configuration. Thus, the model can analyze the trade-offs between Pareto decisions for the UAM service network. A case study of UAM service network design in South Korea demonstrates the validity of the proposed mathematical model and algorithm.
Practical implications
The design of a UAM service network should consider various aspects. Its construction and operation would require significant investments of time, capital and people, which would redound to society over a significant span of time. The results of this study provide quantitative guidelines for derivation and analysis of various UAM service network configurations in consideration of multiple objectives and multiple periods.
Originality/value
This paper proposes MOMP optimization, which approach is suitable to the fundamental characteristics of expanding UAM service networks and their design. It is expected that the present study will make significant contributions to the efforts of those deriving and analyzing future UAM service networks.