Internationalisation of developing economy small and medium-sized enterprises: social capital and learning in Palestinian pharmaceutical firms

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Khoury ◽  
Mira T. El-Far ◽  
Elena Noor Khoury ◽  
George Tovstiga
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Developing Economy ◽  
International Expansion ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach

PurposeThe paper examines the role of learning through social capital on the internationalisation process of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based within extreme contexts. The study focuses on the Palestinian pharmaceutical industry.Design/methodology/approachThe inductive, exploratory research used in this study adopts a case study approach. Data derived from semi-structured in-depth interviews held with senior management and companies' founders were analysed using content and thematic analysis techniques.FindingsThe findings suggest that accumulated learning by SMEs seeking international expansion is enhanced with stronger social capital ties and networks through structural, relational and cognitive mechanisms. Serendipity and liability effects enabled modes of foreign entry with higher degrees of commitment than efficacy-related factors.Practical implicationsThe Palestinian pharmaceutical industry presents a benchmark for other industries in comparable developing economy contexts. This study elucidates the important interrelationship between social capital and learning for SMEs seeking to expand internationally; the findings have implications for regional policymaking in developing economy regions.Originality/valueThe case study investigation focuses on the pharmaceutical industry and SMEs operating within the extreme context of Palestine, thereby contributing insights in an area of management enquiry that is under-represented in the extant literature.

Renewable energy market SMEs: antecedents of internationalization

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-447
Author(s):  
Agnes Asemokha ◽  
Ali Ahi ◽  
Lasse Torkkeli ◽  
Sami Saarenketo
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
International Expansion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Empirical Context ◽  
Environmental Level

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide a foundational understanding of the internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the context of renewable energy markets. The focus is on exploring and identifying the managerial-, firm- and environmental-level antecedents to their international expansion, which also furthers the understanding of the distinct SME’s internationalization context within the renewable energy market. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative multiple case study approach in a Finnish SME context and identifies the antecedents’ relative prominence at the managerial, firm and environmental levels. Findings The findings indicate that, although internationalization antecedents of renewable energy SMEs differ owing to market forces such as trends, networks and changing regulatory policies, they share antecedents similar to those of SMEs in other industries. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study is its single-country home market empirical context. Future studies should expand analysis to different regulatory and regional environments. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, there are few studies that explore the antecedents of SMEs’ internationalization, especially in the renewable energy market context. Hence, this study contributes to the international business and entrepreneurship literature by illustrating the fundamental managerial-, firm- and environmental-level antecedents to the internationalization of SMEs operating in the renewable energy business. In addition, it highlights the peculiarities of renewable energy SMEs’ internationalization, suggesting that extant research on SMEs’ internationalization has not adequately captured the intricacies present in the internationalization of renewable energy enterprises.

Sharing towards cohesive community: the role of social capital in sharing economy

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Ka Wai Lai ◽  
Amy Po Ying Ho
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Business To Consumer

Purpose Whilst the majority of academic studies have focused on the for-profit business-to-consumer type of sharing economy, the community-based peer-to-peer sharing economy is under-studied, particularly the role of social capital, which is essential to sharing behaviours. This paper aims to unravel the role of social capital in developing sharing communities, particularly as to how sharing can establish social capital and community building in community-based sharing economy projects. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopted a case study approach by selecting a local project in Hong Kong, which aims at achieving sharing community. A total of 10 in-depth interviews of major stakeholders were conducted, including founders, active and inactive members to explore how social capital is developed and its impacts on sharing community. Findings The research finding showed that social capital plays an important role in structural dimensions, on social ties building, cognitive and relational dimension facilitates and motivates sharing behaviour and trust, which are essential in building up a sharing community and in developing a sharing economy in Hong Kong. Originality/value This paper contributes to the current theoretical and empirical discussion that supplements the current study of the community-based sharing economy, from the perspective of social capital, in exploring how a sharing community can be developed.

Post-disaster recovery through the evolution of the lakou, a traditional settlement pattern

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Patrick Miller
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Settlement Pattern ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose Historically, post-disaster reconstruction policies and practice ignore the embedded knowledge of the affected population; the process following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti followed this trend. This paper aims to examine the production of social space in self-settled post-disaster settlements in Leogane and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the paper demonstrates the role that traditional settlement patterns played in the production of social capital. Design/methodology/approach A multi-sited case study approach was implemented to uncover the patterns of the lakou, which is a primary Haitian, traditional settlement pattern reflecting the familial social structure, present in self-settled post-disaster settlements. The study took place between February and June of 2012, two years after the 2010 earthquake across settlements in Leogane and Port-au-Prince. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 inhabitants across the settlements to uncover meanings attached to the creation of space. Together with behavior mapping and participant observations, the interviews were analyzed to validate the reproduction of the lakou. Findings This paper demonstrates that endogenous inhabitants create the lakou in post-disaster settlements in Haiti. This case study validates the resilience of the lakou, the inclusive nature of the lakou system, and the important role it plays in the production of social capital within post-disaster communities. Originality/value This study demonstrates the importance of traditional settlement patterns in post-disaster community well-being and it demonstrates the need to incorporate traditional settlement patterns into post-disaster planning strategies. Furthermore, the study validates that traditional settlement patterns support the production of social capital within a community.

Unbanked to banked: reintermediation role of banks in e-government services for financial inclusion in an Indian context

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessy Nair ◽  
Mohith Kumar Jain
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to develop a framework to implement electronic delivery systems for connecting federal government with rural citizens using banking infrastructure as a reintermediation platform; and second, to understand the challenges faced by banks in reintermediation for financial inclusion (FI). Design/methodology/approach This exploratory research adopts case study method to gain insights of the challenges faced by banks in e-government services for FI. In-depth structured interviews are conducted with key respondents: branch managers heading banks in rural areas. Findings Preliminary results based on in-depth interviews with branch managers of banks suggest that banks leverage facilitators called Bank Mitras (BM) (friends from bank as per the local language) to disseminate services offered by the banks to rural customers at each village. However, a key challenge faced by banks is the increased dependency on bank employees to complete the process of e-government transactions by the beneficiaries because of trust factor. Research limitations/implications This exploratory research builds on the case study approach using in-depth interviews with the branch managers of five banks as key respondents to develop the preliminary research framework for FI. Practical implications Policymakers can design banking systems to enhance transparency by implementing technologies and decentralizing routine transactions to citizens by enhancing the role of facilitators (BM). Social implications FI aims to reach out and empower citizens with banking facilities for disbursing e-government services. This process needs to be refined for the rural population of India to understand and better use the e-government services and schemes. Originality/value Insights from in-depth interviews with key respondents of the banks were collated and augmented with literature to enhance the rigor of the exploratory research.

scholarly journals Learning huddles: absorptive capacity and sustainable growth of Chinese incubatees

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-159
Author(s):  
Geraldine Kennett ◽  
Ling Hu ◽  
Alex Maritz ◽  
He Sun
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Business Incubators ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Business Incubation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Learning Practices

PurposeThis study explores the different learning practices of Chinese incubators in Chongqing and Chengdu and delves into how these “learning huddles” influence incubatees' absorptive capacity (the ability to apply knowledge) to improve their chance of success (sustainable growth).Design/methodology/approachThis explorative study uses a qualitative case study approach by means of semi-structured interviews with business incubation managers and incubatees across three business incubators in Chengdu and Chongqing. The data are transcribed, coded and analyzed using an analytic map for the explanation of building and reflecting on the theoretical propositions, leading to a further understanding of the “learning huddle” mechanism.FindingsThe study finds that incubatees perceive that their absorptive capacity is increased through vicarious informal learning practices that promote access to networks and thereby builds social capital to improve their likelihood of success.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has limitations in sample size and design. The explorative case study approach uses a nonrandom case selection of three incubators in Chongqing and Chengdu and has a limited number of interviewees, which may lack representation of the general Chinese business incubation population and may not sufficiently be generalized beyond the sample itself.Practical implicationsThese findings have important implications for business incubation programs. Business incubators that build learning huddles (networks) create a nurturing shared learning environment, which is suitable for incubatees to collectively absorb knowledge at the early stage of their life cycle and improve their likelihood of sustainable growth.Social implicationsSince this study is limited to a Chinese context, it is also hoped that future researchers use the typology of business incubator learning practices to explore cross-culture variables, as these may influence the business incubation operations and performance.Originality/valueThis study adds to the discussion on how collective learning practices facilitate absorptive capacity and build social capital, which in turn improves incubatees' chance of sustainable growth and as such the authors hope that the learning practice's typology and how incubatees determine their success stimulates further research for measuring the likelihood of incubatees sustainable growth.

Corporate governance code comparison for South Asian emerging economies

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mubashir Hassan Qurashi
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
International Investors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare the corporate governance (CG) codes of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh with the CG guide of United Nations (UN) and to identify the similar points of these codes with the requirements of Combined Code (CC) that are not included in the CG guide of UN. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on the qualitative data, while content analysis is used for the analysis. For this exploratory research, different documents have been reviewed and consulted and qualitative data are collected from those. A multiple case study approach is adopted because the codes of three countries (four CG codes used for the analysis) have been reviewed. Findings This study has presented that the Pakistani and Bangladeshi (issued by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute) CG code has approximately 77 per cent convergence (40 out of 52), Indian CG code has 50 per cent convergence (26 out of 52), whereas the Bangladeshi (issued by Bangladesh Security and Exchange Commission) CG code has approximately 41 per cent convergence (21 out of 52) to CG guide of UN. Seven similar points to CC have been found out in all four or few of the codes that were used in this study. Originality/value This study has explored the convergence of CG codes of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India with the CG guide of UN. Furthermore, this study has highlighting the similar mechanisms presented in CC and the codes of selected countries so international investors get clear information about the quality of these codes and take informed investment decision.

scholarly journals What affects length of hospital stay? A case study from Malta

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 714-736
Author(s):  
Lorraine Abela ◽  
Adriana Pace ◽  
Sandra C. Buttigieg
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Hospital Length Of Stay ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
The Subject

Purpose Hospital length of stay (LOS) is not only a function of patient- and disease-related factors, but is also determined by other health system-wide variables. Managers and clinicians strive to achieve the best possible trade-off between patients’ needs and efficient utilisation of hospital resources, while also embracing ethical decision making. The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of the hospital’s major stakeholders as to what affects the duration of LOS of inpatients. Design/methodology/approach Using a data-triangulated case study approach, 50 semi-structured interviews were performed with management, doctors, nurses and patients. Additionally, the hospitals’ standard operating procedures, which are pertinent to the subject, were also included in the thematic analysis. Findings This study shows that LOS is a multi-dimensional construct, which results from a complex interplay of various inputs, processes and outcomes. Research limitations/implications The findings emerging from a single case study approach cannot be generalised across settings and contexts, albeit being in line with the current literature. Practical implications The study concludes that a robust hospital strategy, which addresses deficient organisational processes that may unnecessarily prolong LOS, is needed. Moreover, the hospital’s strategy must be sustained by providing good primary care facilities within the community set-up, as well as by providing more long-term care and rehabilitation beds to support the hospital turnover. Originality/value The subject of LOS in hospitals has so far been tackled in a fragmented manner. This paper provides a comprehensive and triangulated account of the complexities surrounding the duration in which patients are kept in hospital by key stakeholders, most of whom were hands-on in the day-to-day running of the hospital under study.

Team development among physician-leaders at the Cleveland Clinic

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-225
Author(s):  
Tracy H. Porter ◽  
James K. Stoller ◽  
Scott J. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Cleveland Clinic ◽  
Physician Education ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Team Project ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Since 1990, the Cleveland Clinic has trained physicians in team skills through various iterations of a program called Leading in Healthcare (LHC). In the present study, the authors utilize a case study approach to gain insight into the LHC curriculum, and more specifically, the team project. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the Cleveland Clinic’s position on the issue and its approach to education – specifically among physicians. Design/methodology/approach The authors utilized a case study approach with four key program architects. Findings The results of this exploratory research yielded three themes: There is a lack of formal physician education in teamwork, there is a growing trend of inter-disciplinary teams and the team project was an important component of teambuilding in LHC. Research limitations/implications A breakdown in team function adversely impacts patient care. While formal and informal participation in teams is imbedded in the role, physicians are rarely trained in leadership or teambuilding in their formal medical education – much of it is learned on the job in hidden curricula. In addition to the adverse effects of dysfunctional teams on patient care, the authors have explored another area that will be affected by a lack of education – the team experience at the administrative level. As more and more physicians take on leadership roles in healthcare, there is an additional need to build competencies around teams (e.g. team theory, cross-functional team participation and leading teams) from an administrative perspective. Originality/value This is one of only a few studies which have specifically examined the impact of a teamwork education for physicians.

Digital forensics and evolving cyber law: case of BIMSTEC countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 744-752
Author(s):  
Sisira Dharmasri Jayasekara ◽  
Iroshini Abeysekara
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Digital Forensics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Work Done

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of digital forensics in an evolving environment of cyber laws giving attention to Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries, comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan, in a dynamic global context. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a case study approach to discuss the digital forensics and cyber laws of BIMSTEC countries. The objective of the study was expected to be achieved by referring to decided cases in different jurisdictions. Cyber laws of BIMSTEC countries were studied for the purpose of this study. Findings The analysis revealed that BIMSTEC countries are required to amend legislation to support the growth of information technology. Most of the legislation are 10-15 years old and have not been amended to resolve issues on cyber jurisdictions. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to the members of the BIMSTEC. Originality/value This paper is an original work done by the authors who have discussed the issues of conducting investigations with respect to digital crimes in a rapidly changing environment of information technology and deficient legal frameworks.

Social urbanism: public policy and place brand

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Place Brand ◽  
The City

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on how a public policy designed to address a social problem ultimately became the place brand.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a qualitative case study approach focusing on the city of Medellín, Colombia. It draws from fieldwork conducted in Medellín over 2014 and 2015, including semi-structured interviews with an array of local stakeholders.FindingsThe paper concludes that local governments should be aware that the policymaking process can become part of their branding. It also shows the importance of the continual involvement of stakeholders in the place brand process to ensure it is a sustainable brand.Originality/valueThere are limited studies which focus on how a public policy designed to address a social problem ultimately becomes the place brand. This paper shows how a public policy, social urbanism, became the branding of Medellín.

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