Effect of internal integration on SMEs’ performance: the role of external integration and ICT

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Amoako ◽  
Zhang Huai Sheng ◽  
Courage Simon Kofi Dogbe ◽  
Wisdom Wise Kwabla Pomegbe

PurposeThe paper investigates the mediation role of external integration in the relationship between internal integration and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance. Information and communication technology (ICT) was used to moderate the relationship between internal and external, and external integration and SMEs performance.Design/methodology/approachCross sectional method was used to distribute questionnaires to owners of SMEs in Abossey Okai business enclave to assess the various dimensions in the study. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess the relationship among the dimensions, based on 163 validated questionnaires. Analysis of Moment Structures (Amos) and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used in analyzing the data.FindingsThe results indicate that, external integration mediated the relationship between internal integration and SMEs performance. In addition, ICT had positive moderating effect in the relationship between internal and external integration, and external integration and SMEs performance.Practical implicationsPractically, this research informs owners and managers of SMEs to appreciate the importance of developing internal structures of a firm and further linking their operations with external partners. Additionally, findings will aid managers’ and owners’ leverage on ICT capabilities to enhance performance in their operations.Originality/valueEngaging external integration to mediate the relationship between internal integration and SMEs performance and extending the relationship to include moderating role of ICT in both relationship that is internal and external integration on one side, and external and firm performance, the current study contributes to supply chain integration (SCI) and ICT available literature.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isa Nsereko ◽  
Samuel S. Mayanja ◽  
Waswa Balunywa

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of novelty ecosystem in the relationship between prior knowledge and social entrepreneurial venture creation (SEVC) among community-based organizations (CBOs) in Uganda.Design/methodology/approachThe study is cross sectional and quantitative. Data were collected from CBO owner-managers. Mean, standard deviations, correlations and structural equation modeling were conducted to check the relationships among variables.FindingsResults show that both prior knowledge and novelty ecosystem are significantly associated with SEVC. Results further indicate that novelty ecosystem partially mediates the relationship between prior knowledge and SEVC.Research limitations/implicationsThe design was cross sectional in nature, thus limiting monitoring changes in knowledge and its effect on SEVC. The results should be interpreted as they are because there could be some endogeneity biases, which were not detected like measurement errors and failure to identify appropriate instruments.Originality/valueThis study provides an initial empirical evidence on the relationship between prior knowledge, novelty ecosystem and SEVC using evidence from a developing African country – Uganda. Mostly, this provides an initial evidence of the mediation role of novelty ecosystem in the relationship between prior knowledge and SEVC.


Author(s):  
Ismail Raisal ◽  
Arun Kumar Tarofder ◽  
Aboobucker Ilmudeen

PurposeDeveloping countries’ economic growth very much depend on the successful performance of entrepreneurial-oriented firms. Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a valuable conjecturer of firm success. This study mainly focuses on analyzing the effect of EO on the firm performance (FP) with the mediating role of absorptive capacity (ACAP).Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypothetical model, we collected 226 valid responses from senior managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The structural equation modeling technique is performed and research hypotheses are validated.FindingsThe findings show that the strong causal relations exit between EO, ACAP and FP. In brief, EO was found to be a predictor of ACAP, and ACAP has a strong positive impact on FP. Moreover, ACAP substantiated to be a mediator between EO and FP.Research limitations/implicationsA notable ramification of this finding is that for SMEs to enhance their performance via EO, the presence of ACAP as a mediator is essential.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can be used as a basis to consider EO to increase firms' level of ACAP and to enhance FP. As a whole, the findings offer pragmatic insights for SMEs and pertinent stakeholders.Originality/valueSo far, little is known about the interrelationship between EO, ACAP and FP. Importantly, the mediating role of ACAP between EO and FP has remained unexplored. This study fills this gap in the existing literature.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bilal Ahmad ◽  
Shahid Latif ◽  
Ahmad Raza Bilal ◽  
Mahnoor Hai

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationships between career competency, career resilience and career success. The study further examines the mediating role of career resilience on the relationship between career competency and career success. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 284 Islamic bank employees across Pakistan through a cross-sectional, self-reporting, online questionnaire. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses using Smart PLS version 3.0. Findings The study’s results indicate that career competency is a significant predictor of career resilience, and that career resilience is subsequently a significant predictor of career success. Further, the results of the structural equation model analyses supported the proposition that career resilience mediates the relationship between career competency and career success. Practical implications Human resource practitioners and managers can increase the likelihood of their employees’ career resilience by focusing on developing career-related competencies – an antecedent of career success. Originality/value The study clarifies prevailing misconceptions that assume a direct linear relationship between career competency and career success by establishing, through empirical evidence, that success is not an ultimate outcome of competence. In addition, it proposes an oversimplified model of the competence–resilience–success relationship.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sevenpri Candra ◽  
I Nyoman Agus Dwi Wiratama ◽  
Muhammad Airlangga Rahmadi ◽  
Vincent Cahyadi

Purpose Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are a critical part of a country or region’s economy. They have contributed to more than half of Indonesia’s gross domestic product. However, MSMEs today are still getting problems and obstacles in the Indonesian industry. One of them is the lack of knowledge about entrepreneurship that hampers the development of a business and the emergence of innovation. This study aims to understand the innovation process and extend the knowledge regarding entrepreneurship in food and beverage MSMEs in Greater Jakarta Area. Design/methodology/approach This study is descriptive–associative research. It uses the online survey as a data collection method with a cross-sectional design. The sampling technique is purposive sampling with the criteria foodpreneurs from MSMEs in Greater Jakarta Area. The data are measured using Likert scale and analyzed using structural equation modeling-partial least squares. Findings The results suggest that centralized decision-making positively impacts collaboration, communication and contributes to innovation. Communication effects the entrepreneur's knowledge and collective entrepreneurship. In terms of collaboration, it affects entrepreneur's knowledge and collective entrepreneurship. Then, the entrepreneur's knowledge and collective entrepreneurship influence innovation. Research limitations/implications This research is only conducted using MSMEs of food and beverages in Greater Jakarta Area as the samples. Hence the results cannot be generalized. Different sectors may have different results. Practical implications A centralized decision can be done but limited in certain situations only. Then, foodpreneurs should collaborate and communicate more intensely with their employees. It will impact the harmonious collaboration and collective problem-solving to achieve creative solutions. Originality/value There is limited research focusing on foodpreneurs and the innovation process. So, this research results can add to the existing literature review.


Author(s):  
Harleen Kaur ◽  
Palvi Bansal

The study’s main aim is to figure out what function financial goods and services play in mediating the link between financial access and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)’ growth in developing markets. Consequently, this article aims to see whether the usage of monetary goods and services in a developing nation like India mediates the connection between financial access and MSMEs’ growth. The data were collected from 392 MSMEs in the Jammu region using a cross-sectional research method. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to see whether the use of financial goods and services in developing nations had a mediating consequence on the link between financial access and MSMEs’ growth. The study exclusively collected data from MSMEs in India’s Jammu region. There is still the possibility of confirming this result in other emerging economies. MSMEs may participate in financial access initiatives provided by organisations to use financial services better.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Rahman El Junusi

This study attempts to fill the gap in the literature between self-efficacy and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of self-efficacy and EO mediated by moral intelligence. Data collection was carried out from a population of 17,603 Muslim entrepreneurs in the city of Semarang who are engaged in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector. The data collected from the online survey was applied to structural equation modeling (SEM). From this study, it was found that self-efficacy has a significant effect on EO and moral intelligence, while moral intelligence affects EO. This study contributes to the literature on the role of self-efficacy and moral intelligence in increasing EO. The originality of this study is to offer the concept of moral intelligence which plays a central role in the relationship between self-efficacy and EO. Thus, no studies have investigated this causality.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Lu ◽  
Jinliang Chen ◽  
Hua Song ◽  
Xiangyu Zhou

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how cloud computing assimilation reduces supply chain financing (SCF) risks of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study also investigated the mediating roles of internal and external supply chain integration between cloud computing assimilation and the SCF risks of SMEs, as well as the moderating role of environmental competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from surveys of SMEs located in China. Multiple regression analysis was used to validate the proposed theoretical model and research hypotheses. Findings The findings show that cloud computing assimilation could reduce the SCF risks of SMEs directly. The results also indicate that both internal and external supply chain integration mediate the relationship between cloud computing assimilation and SCF risks. Furthermore, environmental competitiveness inhibits the effects of cloud computing assimilation on SCF risks. Originality/value To our best knowledge, this is the preliminary study to explore the role of cloud computing assimilation in reducing the SCF risks of SMEs. Also, this study attempted to investigate the process by which cloud computing assimilation affects the SCF risks of SMEs.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shampy Kamboj ◽  
Shruti Rana

PurposeThe main objective of this paper is to study the role of supply chain performance (SCP) as a mediator between big data-driven supply chain (BDDSC) and firm sustainable performance. In addition, the role of firm age as a moderator between BDDSC and SCP as well as between SCP and firm sustainable performance has also been explored.Design/methodology/approachThe 200 managers of medium or senior level positions in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) located at Delhi-NCR have been contacted. Further, collected data have been confirmed with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In this paper, structure equation modeling (SEM) has been employed to empirically check the proposed hypotheses and their relationships.FindingsThe findings confirmed that SCP mediates the link between BDDSC and firm sustainable performance. Additionally, firm age moderates the association between BDDSC and SCP as well as between SCP and firm sustainable performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe role of SCP and firm age between BDDSC and sustainable performance have been examined in the context of MSMEs in Delhi-NCR and thereby limit the generalization of results to other industries and country contexts.Originality/valueThe present study adds to the existing literature via recognizing the blackbox using SCP and firm age to comprehend BDDSC and firm sustainable performance relationship.


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Oliveira ◽  
Carlos Cabral Cardoso

Purpose Taking a social identity approach, the purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which age-based stereotype threat mediates the relationships between older workers’ negative age-based metastereotypes and two negative work attitudes: organizational disidentification and work disengagement. Design/methodology/approach A two-wave cross-sectional design was adopted to collect data from 423 blue-collar older workers of the Portuguese manufacturing sector. Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediation model. Findings The analyses show that age-based stereotype threat partially mediates the relationship between negative age-based metastereotypes and negative work attitudes. Moreover, findings suggest that older workers respond to negative age-based metastereotypes through threat reactions, and undesirable work attitudes. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by showing the importance of negative age-based metastereotypes and age-based stereotype threat in workplace dynamics. It also provides evidence that age threats impair the relationship older workers keep with their organization and their work.


Author(s):  
Francisco Alejandro Pérez Gilabert ◽  
Jorge Luis Pena Acevedo

The objective of this study is to develop and test a framework for the role that supply chain strategy (SCS) and supply chain integration have in a firm’s financial performance and to increase the understanding of the role that these factors play in supply chain design. Structural equation modeling was used to test these relationships based on data obtained from small and medium exporting enterprises in Peru. This study responds to a gap in understanding the role of supply chains in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and how firms in Latin America, especially in Peru, apply supply chain concepts. Findings indicate that companies should prioritize their integration efforts depending on the type of supply chain strategy. Likewise, results show that customer integration is directly related to a firm’s financial performance. This study responds to the need to understand the development of supply chain strategies and the generation of competitive advantage in Peruvian export-manufacturing SMEs.


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