M.J. Panthaki, J.F. Abel and P.A. Wawrzynek
An important objective of 3‐D graphical finite element postprocessing is the facility to indicate to the engineer the accuracy of analysis results. The inclusion of mesh quality…
Abstract
An important objective of 3‐D graphical finite element postprocessing is the facility to indicate to the engineer the accuracy of analysis results. The inclusion of mesh quality sensors permits a subjective evaluation of the adequacy of a single analysis being interpreted. For graphical approaches, both strain energy density gradients and discontinuities of unsmoothed responses and their gradients have proved to be effective sensors. Interactive graphical tools which can display discontinuity information effectively are described; these are essentially different from the ordinary methods used for the viewing of smoothed results.
Kuldeep Singh and Arpita Sharma
Funding startups is usually perceived as a risky investment for money lenders and investors due to the high failure rate of such early-stage firms. Therefore, funding startups may…
Abstract
Purpose
Funding startups is usually perceived as a risky investment for money lenders and investors due to the high failure rate of such early-stage firms. Therefore, funding startups may negatively impact the profitability of the lending institutions. The current study aims to test how financing startups (the percentage of financed enterprises that are startups) affects the profitability of microfinancing institutions (MFIs). It also attempts to determine the conditions that allow MFIs to limit the negative effects of such risky investments on their profitability.
Design/methodology/approach
The study considers panel data of 2,694 global MFIs hosted on the Microfinance Information Exchange Market on the World Bank website. Dynamic panel data methodology (generalized methods of moment) is applied to conduct the econometric analysis. In addition to regression analysis, to test the main and interaction effects, interaction graphs are plotted to elaborate on the findings.
Findings
Direct evidence implies that financing startups negatively impacts the profitability of MFIs. Therefore, MFIs should act per two necessary conditions to reduce risks associated with startups financing. First, MFIs should optimize their risk cover and use these funds to finance startups. Second, an increased use of non-earning liquid funds to finance startups is recommended to maintain profitability.
Practical implications
The findings of our study will help MFIs continue lending to startups while protecting their profitability.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the institutionalization approach of MFIs while providing favorable conditions for financing startups and protecting profitability at the same time.
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Kaja Tvedten, Michael Wendelboe Hansen and Søren Jeppesen
In light of recent enthusiasm over African private sector development, the purpose of this paper is to review the business literature on African enterprise development with a view…
Abstract
Purpose
In light of recent enthusiasm over African private sector development, the purpose of this paper is to review the business literature on African enterprise development with a view of identifying lacunas in the literature and of developing an analytical framework that may guide future research on this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a review of the extant literature on African enterprise development by juxtaposing the traditional pessimistic view of African business performance with more recent, optimistic accounts. Based on the literature review, lacunas in the literature are identified and an integrative framework for analysing African enterprise development is developed. The framework is used to provide an overview of the received literature on African enterprise development, to identify voids and lacunas and to identify new research agendas.
Findings
While a growing number of studies suggest profound improvements in the performance of African enterprises, data limitations, conceptual ambiguities and absence of comprehensive studies still cautions against sweeping generalizations. The paper reviews the literature on factors shaping the performance of African enterprises, observing that while much research is focusing on the role of the African business environments for enterprise development, much less attention has been devoted to the role of firm-specific capabilities, strategies and management. The paper concludes by advocating a contingency approach to research on African enterprise development that emphasizes the interplay between firm-specific factors and the specificities of the African business environment.
Originality/value
The paper provides a comprehensive literature review on African enterprise development and presents a novel framework for understanding African enterprise development from a business perspective.
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The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the factors that affect microfinance institutions’ (MFI) credit risk. These factors include MFIs’ characteristics and country-level…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the factors that affect microfinance institutions’ (MFI) credit risk. These factors include MFIs’ characteristics and country-level indicators.
Design/methodology/approach
This empirical study uses an unbalanced panel data of 638 MFIs from 87 countries observed over a period ranging from 2005 to 2015. Random-effects models are used to estimate the models.
Findings
The results reveal that group-lending methodology, percent of loan granted to women and diversification activities reduce credit risk; credit quality is enhanced by the relevance of the information published by public or private bureaus and law enforcement cost increases credit risk. Finally, credit risk tends to be limited in a good institutional environment.
Practical implications
Several implications can be drawn in light of these findings. For MFIs’ managers, using group lending or granting more credit to women and diversifying their activities enhance their credit quality. Furthermore, authorities need to strength debt repayment institutions and reinforce institutional environment to help MFIs to limit their credit risk.
Originality/value
Previous studies focus on specific MFIs’ practices that enhance repayment rate or on country-level indicators. One of the contributions of this paper is the use of both types of indicators.
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R.N. Joshi and S.P. Singh
The Indian garment industry has witnessed a significant change since the inception of the New Textile Policy 2000 that suggests removing the industry from the list of small‐scale…
Abstract
Purpose
The Indian garment industry has witnessed a significant change since the inception of the New Textile Policy 2000 that suggests removing the industry from the list of small‐scale industries with a view to improving its competitiveness in the global market. As productivity is the driving factor in enhancing the competitiveness of any decision‐making entity (firm), a study of total factor productivity (TFP) and its sources can provide vital inputs to a firm for improving its competitiveness. Keeping this as a backdrop, the paper attempts to measure the TFP in the Indian garment‐manufacturing firms; identify sources of the TFP; and suggest measures for the firms to enhance their productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on the firm‐level panel data collected from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy for the years 2002‐2007. One output variable, namely, gross sale and four input variables, namely, net fixed assets, wages & salaries, raw material, and energy & fuel, have been selected. The DEA‐based Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) approach has been applied to measure the TFP.
Findings
The Indian garment industry has achieved a moderate average TFP growth rate of 1.7 per cent per annum during the study period. The small‐scale firms are found to be more productive than the medium‐ and large‐scale firms. The decomposition of TFP growth into technical efficiency change (catch‐up effect) and technological change (frontier shift) reveals that the productivity growth is contributed largely by technical efficiency change rather than by technological change.
Originality/value
Earlier studies on the Indian garment industry have applied the partial factor productivity approach, which has several limitations. This paper measures the TFP and identifies its sources through applying a non‐parametric DEA‐based MPI approach. Through this approach, the productivity growth is decomposed into technical efficiency change and technological change. Further, an attempt has also been made to study the variation in the productivity growth rates across location, scale‐size and type of garments.
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Peter Nderitu Githaiga and Stephen Kosgei Bitok
This paper examines the influence of financial leverage on the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and the moderating role of the percentage of female…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the influence of financial leverage on the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and the moderating role of the percentage of female borrowers (PFB).
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a global sample of 646 MFIs drawn from the World Bank Mix Market and panel data for 2010–2018. The study employs ordinary least squares (OLS) and the one-step system generalized method of moments (SGMM) as regression estimation methods.
Findings
The findings of this study reveal that financial leverage and the PFB have a negative and significant effect on financial sustainability. The findings further show that the interaction between financial leverage and the PFB positively affects the financial sustainability of MFIs.
Practical implications
The findings inform MFIs' managers on the adverse effect of financial leverage and the PFB in their quest for financial sustainability. The findings also demonstrate that MFIs can leverage female borrowers to reverse the adverse effect of financial leverage on financial sustainability of MFIs.
Originality/value
Previous studies examined the direct effect of financial leverage and reported incongruent results. Because female borrowers are at the epicenter of MFI lending, this study fills the gap in the literature by examining whether the proportion of female borrowers moderates the relationship between financial leverage and MFIs' financial sustainability using a global dataset.
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Nsubili Isaga, Enno Masurel and Kees Van Montfort
This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the motives of individuals in Tanzania to start their own businesses on the one hand and the growth of their firms on the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the motives of individuals in Tanzania to start their own businesses on the one hand and the growth of their firms on the other hand.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey method was used to gather data from 300 small business owners and managers located in selected cities in Tanzania. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyse the relationship between the motivation to start an own business on the one hand and firm growth on the other hand. Three indicators for growth, namely, employment, sales and assets, were used to measure growth.
Findings
The results suggest that that pull factors are more important to start the businesses than push factors. This contradicts the common opinion and previous research that push factors are more important than pull factors in developing countries. Furthermore, the study found that pull factors are positively related to firm, whereas push factors are negatively related to firm growth.
Research limitations/implications
It should be noted that while this paper makes a number of contributions, there are some limitations that should be considered when interpreting the results. For instance, the data for this study were collected from only one type of business, i.e. the furniture industry (in Tanzania). Accordingly, we do not know the applicability of these findings to other businesses in other sectors. Therefore, future research should include businesses in other sectors to ascertain if the present findings are specific to the furniture business only or are applicable to other businesses as well.
Practical implications
Our findings indicate that there are differences in motivations among owner-managers in starting the business and subsequent firm performance. Therefore, individuals need different forms of support depending on the level of development of their business, as well as their motivation. For example, we have seen that the presence of role models has a significant effect on business growth. Therefore, the government might consider using the media and other mechanisms to feature stories about successful entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
The authors extend the findings of previous studies that investigate the owner-manager motives and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) growth in developed economy settings, but neglected emerging economies. The study also contradicts the common opinion and previous research that push factors are more important than pull factors in developing countries.
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Yuxin Zhang, Wei Dong, Junyan Wang, Congcong Che and Lefei Li
Through this research study, the authors found that digital thread has made significant progress in the life cycle management of the US Air Force. The authors hope that by…
Abstract
Purpose
Through this research study, the authors found that digital thread has made significant progress in the life cycle management of the US Air Force. The authors hope that by reviewing similar studies in the aerospace field, the meaning of digital thread can be summarized and applied to a wider range of fields. In addition, theoretically, the definition of digital twin and digital thread are not unified. The authors hope that the comparison of digital thread and digital twin will better enable scholars to distinguish between the two concepts. Besides, the authors are also looking forward that more people will realize the significance of digital thread and carry out future research.
Design/methodology/approach
Complete research about digital thread and the relevant concept of the digital twin is conducted. First, by searching in Google Scholar with the keyword “digital thread”, the authors filter results and save literature with high relevance to digital thread. The authors also track these papers’ references for more paper of digital thread and digital twin. After removing the duplicate and low-relevance literature, 72 digital thread-related literature studies are saved and further analyzed from the perspective of time development, application field and research directions.
Findings
Digital thread application in industries other than the aviation manufacturing industry is still relatively few, and the research on the application of digital thread in real industrial scenarios is mainly at the stage of framework design and design-side decision optimization. In addition, the digital thread needs a new management mechanism and organizational structure to realize landing. The new management mechanism and the process can adapt to the whole life cycle management process based on the digital thread, manage the data security and data update, and promote the digital thread to play a better effect on the organizational management.
Practical implications
Based on a review of digital thread, future research directions and usage suggestions are given. The fault diagnosis of high-speed train bogie as an example shows the effectiveness of the method and also partially demonstrates the advantages and effects brought by the digital thread connecting the data models at various stages.
Originality/value
This paper first investigates and analyzes the theoretical connotation and research progress of digital thread and gives a complete definition of digital thread from the perspective of the combination of digital thread and digital twins. Next, the research process of digital thread is reviewed, and the application fields, research directions and achievements in recent years are summarized. Finally, taking the fault diagnosis of high-speed train bogie as an example partially demonstrates the advantages and effects brought by the digital thread connecting the data models at various stages.
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Konstantinos F. Koulouris and Charis Apostolopoulos
As it is widely known, corrosion constitutes a major deterioration factor for reinforced concrete (RC) structures which are located on coastal areas. This phenomenon combined with…
Abstract
Purpose
As it is widely known, corrosion constitutes a major deterioration factor for reinforced concrete (RC) structures which are located on coastal areas. This phenomenon combined with repeated loads, as earthquake events, negatively affects their service life. Moreover, microstructure of steel reinforcing bars has significant impact either on their corrosion resistance or on their fatigue life.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present manuscript an effort has been made to investigate the effect of corrosive factor on fatigue response for two types of steel reinforcement; Tempcore steel reinforcing bars and a new generation dual phase (DP) steel reinforcement.
Findings
The findings of this experimental study showed that DP steel reinforcement led to better results regarding its capacity to bear repeated loads to satisfactory degree after corrosion, although this type of steel has less stringent mechanical properties.
Originality/value
Additionally, a fatigue damage material indicator is proposed as a parameter that could rank material quality and its suitability for a certain application. The results of this investigation showed that the fatigue damage indicator can be used as an appropriate index in order to evaluate the overall performance of materials, in terms of strength and ductility capacity.
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Corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) and its themes have taken root across the globe in the last 25 years. Corporations have generally responded by either embracing CSR as an…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) and its themes have taken root across the globe in the last 25 years. Corporations have generally responded by either embracing CSR as an important tool for productivity and value‐creation or by adapting to the changed and changing business environment caused by CSR. The third sector has a complex set of relationships with CSR, at times exhibiting tension about the changing role of corporations as a result of CSR. This paper seeks to show how conceptions of the value of CSR by corporations and third sector (CTS) organisations affect the nature and outcome of interactions between them.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a framework to assist in explicating the standpoint of an entity and its likely engagement with others in relation to CSR. The framework is used to compared CSR motivations across CTS organisations in order to show where those motivations and orientations are compatible or in conflict.
Findings
The paper finds that CTS organisations may be able to better predict the likelihood of success before engaging with a partner.
Research limitations/implications
The frameworks identified will provide a basis for further research in relation to the pre‐engagement phase of corporate and third sector organisations partners.
Practical implications
The paper will help practitioners and corporations engaging in CSR and those in the third sector seeking engagement to find mutually beneficial grounds for a sustainable relationship.
Originality/value
There is growing concern among those who need to manage the relationship to find better terms of engagement. However, ground is largely unexplored.