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Article
Publication date: 5 September 2016

Kamran Ahmed and Rakib Khan

The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of governance structure and composition and other institution-specific attributes in disclosure practices of microfinance…

1131

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of governance structure and composition and other institution-specific attributes in disclosure practices of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in an emerging market contest. Bangladesh is a country which is considered to be a pioneer in providing micro-finance to the underprivileged people to improve their entrepreneurial capacity.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilises a survey of three groups of users to elicit their opinions and the recommendation of the donor and regulatory agencies to construct a disclosure index. Further ordinary least squares regressions, both parametric and non-parametric, are used to analyse the association between disclosure levels and governance mechanisms and other MFI characteristics.

Findings

Using a large sample of 564 MFI firm-year reports in Bangladesh, the results show that the overall disclosure levels were around 70 per cent in 2010 and have not improved since 2004. The results also show that the frequency of board meetings, qualifications of MFIs’ board members and MFI size are positively associated with MFIs disclosures. However, board size, board independence, audit firm and other control variables have no such effect on disclosure. This implies that MFIs should focus in board effectiveness rather than its composition.

Research limitations/implications

Using a general purpose financial reporting framework, the paper examines how effective boards can improve financial reporting standards of MFIs for better monitoring by international donor agencies, regulatory bodies and depositors.

Originality/value

This is the first substantive study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, that uses data based on a questionnaire survey and the annual financial statements of a large sample of MFIs from Bangladesh that has been at the forefront of microfinance in emerging countries. Prior studies only used Web-based information, namely, Mix-Market, which ranks country on the basis of its disclosure criteria supplied voluntarily by MFIs, and thus suffer from selection bias. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop an empirical model to explain the role of governance quality in disclosure practices of MFIs.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

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Article
Publication date: 8 November 2018

Sardana Islam Khan, Timothy Bartram, Jillian Cavanagh, Md Sajjad Hossain and Silvia Akter

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perspectives of 26 business owners, managers and supervisors on “decent work” (DW) in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh.

2407

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perspectives of 26 business owners, managers and supervisors on “decent work” (DW) in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative study draws on a framework of ethical human resource management and situated moral agency to establish the ways in which RMG workers are afforded DW. This study uses semi-structured interviews to assess the prospect of DW through applying the ILO’s four-pillar framework of DW.

Findings

Findings indicate there is a concern among owners and managers of the need to reconcile internal and external pressures to maintain and improve DW. It is evident that ethical practices and moral agency are not self-initiated but in response to mounting political and legal pressures and those of external stakeholders. Employers favour the concept of workers’ participation committees as one means to communicate and negotiate with workers rather than recognise trade unions.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to six organisations in the RMG sector in Bangladesh, but there are implications for all RMG sector organisations to promote reform and DW for all workers.

Practical implications

DW necessitates major national and international stakeholders to negotiate and cooperate to ensure the long-term competitiveness and survival of the Bangladeshi RMG sector.

Originality/value

The study calls for reform in a developing country where many workers are denied DW.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 48 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

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Publication date: 30 October 2024

Md. Wasiul Islam, Md. Mahfuz Ur Rahman and Shakil Ahmed

Visits to locations connected to historical atrocities, tragedy, suffering, or presumably dreadful events are referred to as “dark tourism”. While Bangladesh may not be widely…

Abstract

Visits to locations connected to historical atrocities, tragedy, suffering, or presumably dreadful events are referred to as “dark tourism”. While Bangladesh may not be widely known for dark tourism, several unexplored avenues may be of interest to those who engage in this type of unique and unconventional tourism experience. In addition to creating job opportunities and income generation in Bangladesh, it can achieve educational objectives, communicate with a broad audience, raise awareness of events of the past, and quench people's thirst for information, which can help them to comprehend a society. Though Bangladesh has several somber locations connected to tragic events including World War II, liberation war sites, mass killing sites, shipbreaking yards, Rohingya refugee camps, riots, and the mother language movement, traditional tourism predominates there. If managed responsibly, these varied resources, somber locations, and histories, some of which date back to 1800, could make Bangladesh a dark tourism destination. Although dark tourism in Bangladesh has the potential to contribute to historical awareness, preservation, educational opportunities, and socioeconomic development, it is yet unexplored due to a lack of knowledge, experience, policy, effective marketing, and some controversies. By approaching responsibly, Bangladesh can leverage its history to attract visitors' interests in exploring the darker aspects of the country's past. Hence, this chapter is designed to explore the status and potential significance, prospects, and challenges of dark tourism in Bangladesh. The findings will help policymakers, tourists, and other stakeholders to explore and enjoy enormous benefits from Bangladesh's untapped dark tourism opportunities.

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 November 2020

Md. Tarek Chowdhury, Aditi Sarkar, Pronab Kumer Saha and Rakib Hasan Anik

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupts the supply chain of products around the world. The supply chains of beauty and personal care products in Bangladesh are also heavily interrupted…

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Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupts the supply chain of products around the world. The supply chains of beauty and personal care products in Bangladesh are also heavily interrupted during this pandemic. While these products are perceived as essential by mass people, retailers are struggling to get the supply of the products and maintain a smooth delivery to the people. Considering such facts, the purposes of the study are to identify how the supply of retailers of these products is interrupted and how they can overcome the interruptions to ensure supply resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study method has been used in this study. The data has been collected through interviews from 16 retailers of beauty and personal care products.

Findings

The results show that the supply of retailers of beauty and personal care products is interrupted in several ways. These include product shortage, limited delivery service, interruption of supplier payment, limited credit facility and irregularity in product delivery. To minimize the impacts of the interruptions and enhance supply resilience, retailers can undertake several strategies including intensive interactions and developing cooperation with the distributors and manufacturers, ordering bulk quantity, formulating an adjusted credit ratio and focusing on product availability over brand preference.

Research limitations/implications

The context of this study is limited to the beauty and personal care products of Bangladesh. Further study can be conducted in other countries and also supply chains of other products to enhance the generalizability of the findings of this study.

Practical implications

Supply interruptions are identified, and strategies are suggested to ensure the supply resilience of retailers of beauty and personal care products. If proposed strategies are implemented by retailers of these products, supply interruptions can be minimized.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the knowledge of the retail supply chain during a pandemic. It also contributes to the supply management and resilience of retailers. As the context is a developing country, the study also contributes to the literature on developing countries.

Details

Modern Supply Chain Research and Applications, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3871

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Article
Publication date: 4 October 2022

Carolyn Caffrey, Hannah Lee, Tessa Withorn, Maggie Clarke, Amalia Castañeda, Kendra Macomber, Kimberly M. Jackson, Jillian Eslami, Aric Haas, Thomas Philo, Elizabeth Galoozis, Wendolyn Vermeer, Anthony Andora and Katie Paris Kohn

This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…

4526

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for busy practitioners, library science students and those wishing to learn about information literacy in other contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This article annotates 424 English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and information literacy published in 2021. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science, and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and WorldCat, published in 2021 that included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction,” or “information fluency” in the title, abstract or keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations summarize the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was categorized into one of seven pre-determined categories: K-12 Education, Children and Adolescents; Academic and Professional Programs; Everyday Life, Community, and the Workplace; Libraries and Health Information Literacy; Multiple Library Types; and Other Information Literacy Research and Theory.

Findings

The paper provides a brief description of 424 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy within 2021.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 50 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

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Article
Publication date: 28 October 2022

Minhajul Islam Ukil

This study aims to investigate how entrepreneurial anxiety develops during the entrepreneurial intention stage in a developing country such as Bangladesh, where doing business has…

264

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how entrepreneurial anxiety develops during the entrepreneurial intention stage in a developing country such as Bangladesh, where doing business has long been a challenge, and examine how individuals manage their entrepreneurial anxiety. Indeed, understanding how anxiety is formed when individuals decide to start a business has been a challenge, because such a decision is influenced by both individual and contextual factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies thematic analysis to examine how individuals experience and react to entrepreneurial anxiety in a developing country context when they make a decision to start a business using data from 30 in-depth semistructured interviews with 20 aspiring and 10 active entrepreneurs. All participants are Bangladeshi nationals.

Findings

Consistent with earlier studies, the findings of this study revealed that entrepreneurial anxiety is regarded as a type of distress, doubt, fear, uneasiness and worry. Moreover, 11 distinct sources of entrepreneurial anxiety were identified, suggesting that some individuals develop problem-focused coping strategies to stay firm on their decision to start a business as planned, whereas others procrastinate.

Research limitations/implications

The findings add new dimensions to the theory of entrepreneurial anxiety and offer practical implications for aspiring entrepreneurs, policymakers, parents and society as a whole.

Originality/value

This study contributes to an underexplored area of emotion in entrepreneurship by conceptualizing how entrepreneurial anxiety develops during a specific stage of the entrepreneurial process, that is, entrepreneurial intention.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 24 December 2024

Yanyan Zhang and Tat-Huei Cham

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence customers’ green consumption intention by integrating social cognitive theory (SCT) and the cognitive…

68

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence customers’ green consumption intention by integrating social cognitive theory (SCT) and the cognitive affective conative (CAC) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey questionnaire was employed to collect data. Then, this study adopts artificial neural network (ANN) to check the robustness of partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) empirical results.

Findings

The findings confirm that social media marketing and collectivism are potent external stimuli to promote green consumption intention. Significant variables identified in the PLS-SEM analysis were used for ANN models, demonstrating the robustness of the PLS-SEM findings.

Originality/value

The primary theoretical contribution lies in the application of SCT theory and the CAC framework in the context of green consumption, an area that has been relatively underexplored in previous studies. Additionally, the study provides managerial implications for marketers by emphasising the significance of social media marketing and collectivism in influencing consumers’ cognition and affect.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

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Article
Publication date: 12 October 2020

Md. Rakibul Hasan, Abu Hashan Md Mashud, Yosef Daryanto and Hui Ming Wee

External factors such as improper handling, extreme weather and insect attacks affect product quality. It is most obvious in fruit products which have a high deterioration rate…

238

Abstract

Purpose

External factors such as improper handling, extreme weather and insect attacks affect product quality. It is most obvious in fruit products which have a high deterioration rate. Moreover, decaying fruits will increase the deteriorating of other good ones. The purpose of this study is to derive the optimal pricing and replenishment decisions for agricultural products considering the effect of external factors that induce deterioration.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the study investigates ways to reduce the product deterioration rate by separating the near defective items from the other good products and accelerating the quick sales of the near defective items at a discounted price. The objective is to maximize the total profit by optimizing the selling price and the replenishment cycles. Two scenarios are investigated. In the first scenario, the retailer offers a selling price discount for near defective products to stimulate customer demand. In the second scenario, the retailer does not offer such discounts.

Findings

An algorithm to solve the model is derived. Further, numerical examples are developed to compare the total profit for the two scenarios. Theoretical derivations and graphical results show the concavity of the profit function. Finally, the sensitivity analysis shows that the total profit of the discount model is higher.

Originality/value

This study contributes to a new pricing and inventory decision model. The research provides insights to retailers on making optimal pricing and replenishment decisions for non-instantaneous deterioration items, as well as reducing the external factors that influence higher deterioration rate through separating good products from the near defective ones which are sold at a discount to induce the sale.

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Article
Publication date: 18 September 2019

Abu Hashan Md Mashud, Md. Rakibul Hasan, Hui Ming Wee and Yosef Daryanto

This paper aims to simultaneously consider an inventory model with price and advertisement dependent demand, non-instantaneous deterioration rate with preservation technology…

261

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to simultaneously consider an inventory model with price and advertisement dependent demand, non-instantaneous deterioration rate with preservation technology investment, partially backlogged shortages and trade credit.

Design/methodology/approach

This model considered a non-instantaneous deterioration, which starts after a certain storage period with a constant rate. The proposed model focused on two things. The first one is to reduce the deterioration rate by preservation technology investment, and the second one is using an appropriate trade credit period to maximize the total profit. The classical optimization technique is used to solve the problem.

Findings

The authors found that trade credit, advertising cost, preservation technology affect the total cost and selling price is one of the most important decision variables affecting the model.

Practical implications

This study provides a reference for a manufacturer and a retailer on making inventory decisions under different pricing, advertisement expense, preservation technology investment and credit strategies. Four cases are presented to illustrate the inventory model. Sensitivity analyses are performed to gain managerial insights for decision-making.

Originality/value

The study simultaneously considers a non-instantaneous deterioration inventory model, trade-credit, and preservation technology and advertisement policy. From our literature search, no researcher has undergone this type of study.

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Article
Publication date: 23 November 2021

Srinivas Talasila, Kirti Rawal and Gaurav Sethi

Extraction of leaf region from the plant leaf images is a prerequisite process for species recognition, disease detection and classification and so on, which are required for crop…

164

Abstract

Purpose

Extraction of leaf region from the plant leaf images is a prerequisite process for species recognition, disease detection and classification and so on, which are required for crop management. Several approaches were developed to implement the process of leaf region segmentation from the background. However, most of the methods were applied to the images taken under laboratory setups or plain background, but the application of leaf segmentation methods is vital to be used on real-time cultivation field images that contain complex backgrounds. So far, the efficient method that automatically segments leaf region from the complex background exclusively for black gram plant leaf images has not been developed.

Design/methodology/approach

Extracting leaf regions from the complex background is cumbersome, and the proposed PLRSNet (Plant Leaf Region Segmentation Net) is one of the solutions to this problem. In this paper, a customized deep network is designed and applied to extract leaf regions from the images taken from cultivation fields.

Findings

The proposed PLRSNet compared with the state-of-the-art methods and the experimental results evident that proposed PLRSNet yields 96.9% of Similarity Index/Dice, 94.2% of Jaccard/IoU, 98.55% of Correct Detection Ratio, Total Segmentation Error of 0.059 and Average Surface Distance of 3.037, representing a significant improvement over existing methods particularly taking into account of cultivation field images.

Originality/value

In this work, a customized deep learning network is designed for segmenting plant leaf region under complex background and named it as a PLRSNet.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

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