Analysis of determinants of youth self-employment career choices

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Degsew Melak ◽  
Tegegne Derbe
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Skill Training ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Youth Engagement ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Loan Size

PurposeGiven the different manifestations of the unemployment crisis, the main purpose of this study was to identify what characteristics influence the participation of youth in key self-employment business options.Design/methodology/approachThe study has used both probability and nonprobability sampling techniques. Purposive sampling methods were used to identify target study areas (districts and Kebeles) while the systematic random sampling method was used to locate sample respondents. A total of 424 sample respondents were interviewed through interview scheduled questionnaires. Statistical data analysis was carried out using STATA 14 software.FindingsAgriculture, local value-added business activities, food-related services, petty trade and local transportation were common business choices where unemployed youths were engaged in. The findings of the study also showed that sex, loan size, loan repayment period and training gap were predictors of youth engagement in various self-employment career choices.Practical implicationsIncreasing loan size has a positive and significant influence on youth engagement in all self-employment business choices and has reminded us the need to revise or lift up loan size celling to assist youths in engaging in productive sectors. Similarly, the favourable correlation between female youths and value-added activities necessitates a well-designed female-specific intervention.Originality/valueAn understanding of the key determinants of youth preference to engage in specific self-employment career choices enables practitioners to intervene where necessary in supporting youth self-employment engagement. A combination of skill training, relaxed loan size and relaxed repayment is likely to gain sustainable business, which would benefit the local economy by transforming small businesses to a higher level and creating more job opportunities.

Young People and Employment in the South West

1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Dunkerley ◽  
Claire Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
South West ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
The Family

From a comprehensive survey of over 1200 17 and 18 year olds in Devon and Cornwall, the paper concentrates on the economic position of young people. Important differences were found between the young people in urban and rural areas. Of interest here is the role played by them in the local economy. The rural South West is shown to be characterized by a prevalence of self-employment and small businesses. Furthermore, factors such as a shortage of housing and travelling difficulties leads to different kinds of interdependence between parents and children in rural areas from those found in urban areas. Although in rural areas a dependence of young people upon the family was found, this was balanced by the dependence of the family on them in the sense of a young person’s labour often being a crucial part of the family business. This interdependence is intensified in many rural businesses where there is often no geographical separation of home and workplace. The far South West experiences some of the highest unemployment and the lowest wages in the UK and yet young people in rural areas were found to have developed coping strategies manifested in both formal and informal work practices, casualization and self-employment. The ‘pluriactivity’ found shows young people socialized into long hours, hard work and poor rewards. It is clear from the results that young people are not simply passively dependent upon the household nor that the flow of resources goes simply from parents to children. Small scale rural enterprises in which young people are employed or seek to be employed still show a marked gender division of tasks. Further, it was difficult in many instances to make a clear distinction between work and non-work although again distinct gender differences are visible.

Business models and closed‐loop supply chains: a typology

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Wells ◽  
Margarete Seitz
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Closed Loop Systems ◽  
Closed Loop Supply Chains

PurposeTo delineate typologies that capture the relationship between closed‐loop supply chains and value‐added business models, and thereby to suggest a research agenda for the transition to sustainable business.Design/methodology/approachDevelops four new theoretical categories or typologies of closed‐loop systems and applies them to the context of the automotive industry. Conceptual, rather than empirical.FindingsThat hybrid closed‐loop systems can be combined with innovative non‐linear value configurations to enable the transition to more sustainable production and consumption.Research limitations/implicationsIdentifies research agenda to explore how novel business models can integrate with various closed‐loop systems. Theoretical, but grounded in research into the automotive industry.Practical implicationsThat closed‐loop systems are best implemented outside traditional linear value added structures.Originality/valuePlaces closed‐loop systems at the heart of the (redesigned) business model rather than as an accessory that must be adapted to the demands of existing approaches. Suggests scholars should be part of this innovative process, not merely observers.

scholarly journals Factors and “illusions” influencing the choice of PFI-type public private partnerships

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-238
Author(s):  
Ronald McQuaid
Keyword(s):  
Risk Sharing ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Public Private Partnerships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alternative Funding ◽  
Published Evidence ◽  
Wide Range

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically assess some of the micro- and macro-economic reasons for using public finance initiative types of public–private partnerships (PPPs) and how a lack of transparency may result in an “illusion” of making optimal, rational decisions related to them. A series of balances that decision makers need to make in order to choose whether or not to use PPPs are set out, as well as 15 potential “illusions” may affect such decisions. Design/methodology/approach This paper synthesizes published evidence and develops a framework for analyzing PPPs. Findings A wide range of factors influence the choice of PPPs, including: budget enlargement; efficiency and value for money; certainty of expenditure and delivery; flexibility; financing costs; risk sharing; procurement process and transaction costs; legacy and public assets; and the wider impacts on the local economy. However, reasons why PPPs can provide improved infrastructure and services may not be realised due to in-built incentives, behavioural biases and implementation shortcomings. Necessary support for PPPs includes strong, robust and transparent regulatory and governance systems, the dissemination of good practice to all partners, consideration of alternative funding models and high-quality advice and training. Research limitations/implications The paper sets out a number of reasons for using PPPs, and also assesses potential drawbacks and identifies areas where greater research is required. A number of potential “illusions” are identified, whereby decisions may be affected by factors not explicitly or transparently considered, hence giving the decision an “illusion” being rational. Practical implications PPPs are significantly influenced by the socio-economic, legal, legislative and financial system they are embedded in. A clear process for approving projects and recognising all the costs and benefits of PPPs is needed, including developing criteria and instruments to measure each phase of a PPP and its overall value added to the economy and society over its lifetime. Full transparency, having suitable support and explicitly taking account of potential “illusions” affecting decisions, could lead to different decisions, including the decision not to progress the project or to use alternative funding and development methods. Social implications Decisions on PPPs should be based on a clear and transparent long-term basis which includes the perspectives of the full range of stakeholders to help improve the appropriate operation and social sustainability of a PPP. Originality/value The paper sets out some key arguments for and against the use of PPPs in different circumstances, including why non-optimal decisions may be made.

scholarly journals A tale of two universities: graduates perceived value of entrepreneurship education

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 689-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Jones ◽  
David Pickernell ◽  
Rebecca Fisher ◽  
Celia Netana
Keyword(s):  
Course Design ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Career Outcomes ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Sample Number ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Skill Sets ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate career impact of entrepreneurship education (EE) considering evidence drawn from a quantitative study of alumni within two UK higher education institutions (HEIs) from a retrospective perspective. The findings inform the value of the EE experience and its impact on both self-employability and wider employability career choices. This study will be of relevance to both enterprise support agencies and government policy makers. Design/methodology/approach This research study considers evidence drawn from an online quantitative survey of EE within two UK HEIs. The survey evaluated a range of issues including course design, programme satisfaction, impact, career outcomes and respondents demographics. Over 80 respondents completed the survey in full which was analysed using a range of bivariate techniques. Findings The evidence suggested here indicates that EE programmes provide value both in terms of helping to enable business start-ups and also in supporting other career paths, through the enterprising knowledge and skill sets graduates acquire during their specialised studies. This study contributes to the literature by recognising and measuring these contributions. For example, this study enables discernment between different EE course components and their value for different career outcomes. Research limitations/implications The study recognises the limitations of this survey data in terms of the size of the sample, number of HEIs evaluated and its point in time design. Practical implications The HEI sector must evaluate its practices and measure the effectiveness of its graduates in terms of achieving sustainable business start-up. In course design, the evidence suggested that students value both the enterprising and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge components and discern value between them in their later careers. The findings suggest that EE graduates typically experience portfolio careers with multiple occupations in different sectors and roles within both employment and self-employment. Thus it is important that EE programme design includes both enterprising and entrepreneurial components to meet the future requirements of their graduates postgraduation. Originality/value This study contributes new evidence regarding the value of EE in UK HEIs. This evidence should inform course design and policy makers regarding the value of EE in creating self-employment and creating enterprising employees.

scholarly journals The impact of the international crisis on the entrepreneurial intentions of refugees

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne H.B. Welsh ◽  
Dalia Othman ◽  
Baker Alserhan ◽  
Jusuf Zeqiri ◽  
Amro Al-Madadha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
International Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activities ◽  
The Impact

PurposeWe investigate the entrepreneurial intentions of a population under crisis — namely, recent Syrian refugees in Jordan — and Jordanian citizens to start small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachUsing a structured two-part survey, data were collected through online self-reported questionnaires in which respondents subjectively reported self-perceptions. The first part dealt with respondents’ characteristics and the second with their entrepreneurial intentions. The survey took place in Jordan, sampling Jordanian citizens and Syrian refugees. A nonprobability sampling technique was used to collect the data.FindingsThe results show that net desirability for self-employment, tolerance for risk and self-efficacy are related to entrepreneurial intentions. We find significant differences between the Syrian refugees and the Jordanian citizens in terms of risk-taking and self-efficacy as determinants of engagement in entrepreneurial activities.Originality/valueThis study offers guidance to institutions working with refugees during times of crisis. Implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Mobile application supported urban-township e-grocery distribution

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-53
Author(s):  
Marcia Mkansi ◽  
Sander de Leeuw ◽  
Olatoye Amosun
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Software Application ◽  
Market Opportunities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a mobile application supported townshipand urban e-grocery distribution models that uses a software application (app) to bridge the infrastructural barriers, costs and complexities associated with e-grocery delivery operations in rural township areas. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative multi-case approach and semi-structured interviews, the study explored distribution practices of eight national emerging e-grocery retail businesses to demonstrate how mobile applications can facilitate South African urban and township e-grocery delivery models. Findings The study reveals how the need to scale the use of new mobile application innovations fuels value-added services that power new e-grocery distribution models. Of interest is how the application aggregates demand rapidly, respond to demand within a short lead time and how e-grocers use competitors’ stores as their fulfilment centres. The use of apps reveals a slow transformation of society towards an inclusive model that integrates different types of workers in an informal context. Practical implications The mobile application value-added service business model offers a new wave of scaling e-grocery retail to rural and township areas constrained by technological, economic and road infrastructure. The apps transcend e-grocery barriers and enables small businesses with limited resources to leverage e-grocery market opportunities that are unimaginable in townships and rural areas. Originality/value The innovative mobile platform-base model offers emerging contextual insight of a pull e-grocery distribution model that demonstrates the supply chain innovations for addressing under-resource and under-developed logistics infrastructure.

Performance of unlisted Italian companies acquired by multinationals from emerging markets

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 895-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selena Aureli
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Local Stakeholders

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed lights on both economic and social impacts associated to the increasing amount of western companies acquired by multinationals from emerging countries. Focussing on the Italian context, its main intent is to analyze changes in targets’ performance and capability to contribute to stakeholders’ wealth to assess the business and social viability of this type of deal. Design/methodology/approach – Operations of mergers and acquisitions (M & As) were identified through Zephyr (Bureau VanDijk’s database). Only acquisitions of a controlling interest were considered for a total of eight case studies. Financial Statements and Management Reports over a eight-year period have been analyzed to understand the rationale of the deal and to assess financial performance and company social impact before and after the merger. Findings – Results suggest that foreign investors mainly search for know-how and technical expertise and their arrival does not lead to better financial performance. Only one target records profits. Four companies are still controlled by Indian investors while the other four have been dismissed. Nevertheless Indian investors are not destroying profitable organizations as these were recording negative results already before the merger. With reference to value added distribution, acquisitions do not reduce local stakeholders’ wealth for the benefits of shareholders. Jobs are preserved and valued added is mainly distributed to employees. Great difficulties in achieving the expected value resulting from synergies emerge. Research limitations/implications – Observations emerging from this explorative study are limited to the case studies analyzed while it could be important to enlarge the number of companies to investigate, including targets acquired by Russian, Chinese and Brazilian investors. Moreover, additional information could be obtained from interviews with top managers to reveal how they interpret the merger’s success or failure. Also interviews with local stakeholders like suppliers, clients, representatives of employees and local institutions could be of great importance as they can help identify their specific point of view about the social and economic impact of foreign investors’ arrival. Practical implications – With reference to the public debate on the increasing number of European companies sold to foreign investors, research findings indicate that FDI from emerging economies do not necessarily lead to job losses or target’s closure. Indian investors are interested in brand, knowledge and other intangible assets (like Chinese ones). However they do not relocate production or expertise abroad. Some target companies record higher investments financed by the new shareholder, indicating that the arrival of new investors owing a large amount of money to invest in financial distressed Italian companies, can be beneficial to the local economy. Originality/value – Most literature studies M & As from the buyer’s perspective to assess if shareholders’ value is created (Tuch and O’Sullivan, 2007; Meglio, 2009; Dauber, 2012). On the contrary this research adopts the target’s and stakeholders’ perspective, in order to measure the value created and distributed to the territory. Moreover it focuses on unlisted companies, while most studies deal with publicly traded companies (Meglio and Risberg, 2010; Meglio and Risberg, 2012b). Lastly it enriches M & A mainstream literature, which usually adopts a positivistic mindset and rely on statistical analysis, by adopting a qualitative approach based on case study analysis.

The role of knowledge intermediaries in co-managed innovations

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 951-961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Cantù ◽  
Juho Ylimäki ◽  
Charlotta Agneta Sirén ◽  
David Nickell
Keyword(s):  
Value Added ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Business ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Horizontal Networks ◽  
External Actors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how technological hubs (THs), defined as knowledge intermediaries, can assist companies in creating successful partnerships to develop innovations. Specifically, the authors ask how THs can help firms connect with horizontal networks and how THs can assist firms on finding suppliers and customers from the vertical network with whom to collaborate. By answering these two main questions, the paper sheds light on the important role of THs and its incubators as knowledge intermediaries in innovation co-creation. Design/methodology/approach – The research is founded on a longitudinal case study of an Italian technologic hub, ComoNExT, that aims to improve the competitiveness of its local economy. Specific attention is given to the role of the incubator that was formed as a joint effort in the technology hub. Findings – The authors find that THs can facilitate networking among tenants and among tenants and external actors within the same epistemic network. The TH that the authors studied is characterized by a new business model that is founded on providing value-added services and networking. The TH sustains the networking at different levels: within tenants, with local actors, extra-local and international actors. The authors’ analysis suggest that THs become knowledge intermediaries who allow firms to identify innovation parties and transform them into innovation partners and, thus, outline the shift from outsourced innovation to co-managed innovation. Originality/value – The paper shows how knowledge intermediaries facilitate the intermediation between heterogeneous organizations who are located at different network positions and characterized by relational proximity that is the basis for reaching effective innovation. The research depicts how knowledge intermediaries reinforce the drivers of a co-membership network to co-create innovation to improve the strength of a relationship characterized by a shared vision.

First Steps towards Self-Employment – Microcredit for Enterprise in Scotland

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil McHugh ◽  
Morag Gillespie ◽  
Jana Loew ◽  
Cam Donaldson
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Enterprise Development ◽  
Grameen Bank ◽  
Economic Strategy ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Start Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Poor Communities

While lending for small businesses and business start-up is a long-standing feature of economic policy in the UK and Scotland, little is known about the support available for those taking the first steps into self-employment, particularly people from poorer communities. This paper presents the results of a project that aimed to address this gap. It mapped provision of support for enterprise, including microcredit (small loans for enterprise of £5,000 or less) and grants available to people in deprived communities. It found more programmes offering grants than loans. Grants programmes, although more likely to be time limited and often linked to European funding, were generally better targeted to poor communities than loan programmes that were more financially sustainable. The introduction of the Grameen Bank to Scotland will increase access to microcredit, but this paper argues that there is a place – and a need – for both loans and grants to support enterprise development across Scotland. A Scottish economic strategy should take account of all levels of enterprise development and, in striving towards a fairer Scotland, should ensure that the poorest people and communities are not excluded from self-employment because of the lack of small amounts of support necessary to take the first steps.

Socioeconomic effects of pension spending: evidence from Spain

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 599-617
Author(s):  
Fernando Bermejo ◽  
Eladio Febrero ◽  
Andre Fernandes Tomon Avelino
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Total Output ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Structural Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide broader understanding of the significant role that the pension system has in the Spanish economy by estimating the sectoral production, employment and income sustained by pensioners' consumption.Design/methodology/approachBased on input–output tables by the World Input–Output Database and consumption data from the Household Budget Survey by the Spanish Statistical Office, a demoeconomic model is applied to quantify the direct impacts, indirect impacts from interindustry links and induced impacts from income–consumption connections over a nine-year period (2006–2014). Then, the factors driving the evolution of total output, employment and value added during such period have been examined by using structural decomposition analysis.FindingsThe growing participation of consumption by pensioner households in final demand had proven crucial during the 2008 crisis to alleviate the negative trend in production and employment derived from the collapse in consumption suffered by the rest of households.Practical implicationsDetermining the underlying factors driving changes in both employment and income during the 2008 crisis can be of interest in political decision-making on the sustainability of the Spanish pension system.Social implicationsThe results of estimating both the employment and income supported by pensioners' consumption reveal the significant stabilizing effect of the public spending on pensions, particularly during the 2008 crisis.Originality/valueThe current Spanish approach of attaining the pension system sustainability by merely reducing social protection costs ignores the adverse consequences of a lower pensioners' demand. This paper addresses an alternative view in which pension spending is not considered a burden on economic growth but rather a means of improving the level of production and employment.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2019-0047

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