scholarly journals Does Environmental Sustainability Impact Innovation, Ecological and Social Measures of Firm Performance of SMEs? Evidence from South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reginald Masocha

This study investigated the question of whether environmental sustainability influences firm performance. Firm performance, a multidimensional construct, was researched utilizing innovation, ecological and social measures on the premises of SMEs in South Africa. Thus, the study hypothesized that environmental sustainability is positively and significantly related to innovation, ecological and social measures of firm performance. A cross-sectional research design was adopted in this study to test the abovementioned hypotheses. A total of 208 self-administered questionnaires distributed to SME owners and managers were analyzed utilizing structural equation modelling (SEM) and Amos Version 24 software. Primarily, the study established that environmental sustainability was significantly and positively correlated to all three measures of firm performance used in this study. Thus, the inferences from the findings suggest that environmental sustainability practices contribute positively towards firm innovation, ecological and social performances. The findings of this study greatly contribute towards the practice and theory of small businesses and firm performance by providing a more specific and streamlined perspective for approaching firm performance.

Author(s):  
Monday Otali ◽  
Godwin Idoro ◽  
Godfey Udo

AbstractThe need to carry out construction activities in a sustainable manner in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria has become very imperative. The aim of the study was to establish the relationship between the adoption of sustainable construction practices and performance of construction firms using a structural equation modelling approach. In tandem with the survey approach adopted for the study, 1179 copies of structured questionnaire were administered while 980 valid responses were received giving a response rate of 83.2 %. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling. This study revealed that the extent of implementation of sustainable construction practices accounted for 36 %, 37.8 %, 43.5 %, 51.6 %, 65.8 %, and 32.9 % of the variability in annual employment growth, annual financial turnover, remuneration and benefits, general employee satisfaction, social performance and net income growth of the construction firms, respectively. The study concluded that there was a positive relationship between the extent of implementation of sustainable construction practices and firm performance. It was also concluded that the adoption level of sustainable construction practices accounted for 85 % of the variability in the overall firm performance. Hence, proper implementation of sustainability practices at the firm level leads to improvement in the firm performance. It was recommended that construction firms should not use only financial performance indicators to evaluate their performance level but rather use multi-dimensional approaches. This will enable firms to have holistic knowledge of the level of their performance. The construction firms should adopt the structural equation model developed in the study to carry out integrated performance measurement.


Author(s):  
Benny Olivier ◽  
Nico Martins

The aim of this study was to propose and validate a model of organisational effectiveness which could be utilised by a metropolitan municipality to address problems and weaknesses in order to maintain its credibility in the eyes of the public and fulfil its legislatively prescribed mandate. As a first step, this study designed a conceptual model of organisational effectiveness for a metropolitan municipality by including organisational and behavioural variables published in previous studies, as well as variables contained in existing models of effectiveness. In order to validate the model, the next step was to conduct a cross-sectional survey using the Effectiveness Survey (ES) in an existing metropolitan municipality in South Africa (n = 6 514) and expose the data gathered to structural equation modelling (SEM). The confirmatory factor analysis that was conducted subsequently confirmed the existence of the three main variables proposed in the conceptual model, namely Healthy Systems, Goal Achievement and Service Delivery, but did not support all the hypothesised relationships between these variables. The implications of the statistically significant and insignificant relationships obtained are discussed and the utility of SEM as a means of validating a conceptual model is confirmed


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Alicia Ramírez-Orellana ◽  
Daniel Ruiz-Palomo ◽  
Alfonso Rojo-Ramírez ◽  
John E. Burgos-Burgos

This article aims to explore the perceptions of banana farms managers towards environmental sustainability practices through the impact of innovation, adoption of information systems, and training employees through a case study in the province of El Oro (Ecuador). Furthermore, the paper assesses how farmers’ perceptions could guide public policy incentives. PLS-Structural Equation Modeling are used as the framework by which the constructs is represented within the model. The model explained 59% of the environmental sustainability practices of Ecuadorian banana farms. The results indicate that environmental sustainability practices were positively influenced mainly by training employees, innovation, and adoption of information systems. Additionally, both the adoption of information systems and training employees indirectly influenced sustainable practices through innovation as a mediator. We may conclude that in the Ecuadorian banana farms, changes in environmental practices are derived from innovation strategies as an axis of development of useful information and training employees in public policies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reginald Masocha ◽  
Olawale Fatoki

The study sought to examine the role that coercive isomorphic pressures play in the sustainable development practices by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The survey research approach was utilised in the research through 222 self-administered questionnaires distributed to SME owners and managers. The structural equation modelling (SEM) method was utilised to analyse the data through the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method in Amos Version 24 software. Major findings in this study are that coercive isomorphic pressures have a significant impact on all the three dimensions of sustainable development which are economic, environmental and social. The implications are that government, environmental pressure groups and other stakeholders need to take into consideration the coercive pressures such as laws and regulations in pressuring small businesses to enhance sustainability practices. The research contributes by unearthing the extent to which coercive pressures impact the behaviour and practices of SMEs in sustainability practices. The study indicates that eventually small firms are expected to behave the same when it comes to adopting sustainability practices due to coercive isomorphism. The findings of this study further contribute toward understanding the concept of sustainable development in practice and theory.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e021741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengyun Luo ◽  
Yajiong Xue ◽  
Shunxing Zhang ◽  
Yuanyuan Dong ◽  
Dandan Mo ◽  
...  

ObjectivesGiven the increasing need of long-term care and the low occupancy rate of nursing homes in Shanghai, this study attempts to explore what factors influence older people’s intention to enrol in nursing homes.DesignA cross-sectional observational study based on the theory of reasoned action was conducted. Survey data were collected from subjects during face-to-face interviews. Structural equation modelling was employed for data analysis.SettingThis study was conducted in six community health service centres in Shanghai, China. Two service centres were selected in urban, suburban and rural areas, respectively.ParticipantsA total of 641 Shanghai residents aged over 60 were surveyed.ResultsStructural equation modelling analysis showed that the research model fits the data well (χ2/df=2.948, Comparative Fit Index=0.972 and root mean squared error of approximation =0.055). Attitude (β=0.41, p<0.01), subjective norm (β=0.28, p<0.01) and value-added service (β=0.16, p<0.01) were directly associated with enrolment intention, explaining 32% of variance in intention. Attitude was significantly influenced by loneliness (β=−0.08, p<0.05), self-efficacy (β=0.32, p<0.01) and stigma (β=−0.24, p<0.01), while subjective norm was significantly influenced by life satisfaction (β=−0.15, p<0.01) and stigma (β=−0.43, p<0.01).ConclusionsThis study advances knowledge regarding the influencing factors of older people’s intention to enrol in nursing homes. It suggests that Chinese older persons’ perceived stigma has the strongest indirect effect on their intention to enrol in nursing homes. This is unique to the Chinese context and has practical implications for eldercare in China and other Asian countries with similar sociocultural contexts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Vincent Feriano Mulja ◽  
Jacquelinda Sandra Sembel

<p>This research was triggered by the massive disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic which has heavily affected small businesses in a negative way. The unprecedented pandemic resulted in a sharp decline in the number of micro businesses in affected areas in Indonesia, including Semarang. Thus, there is an urgent need to revive micro businesses. This research aims on analyzing the effect of entrepreneurial spirit and values through entrepreneurial behavior to develop business independence. Data analysis in this study was conducted using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Research samples consisted of 200 entrepreneurs in Semarang who have run their businesses for more than one year. The findings show that there is an effect of entrepreneurial value and spirit on entrepreneurial independence directly and through entrepreneurial behavior.</p><p><strong>BAHASA INDONESIA ABSTRACT:</strong></p><p>Penelitian ini dipicu oleh disrupsi secara massif pada usaha kecil di daerah-daerah terdampak di Indonesia di masa pandemi COVID-19, Semarang. Untuk itu perlu adanya upaya untuk membangkitkan kembali geliat para pelaku bisnis kecil menuju kemandirian usaha. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui keterkaitan antara jiwa kewirausahaan para pelaku usaha dan nilai kewirausahaan yang mereka yakini, yang dapat meningkatkan kemandirian usaha melalui perilaku usaha. Penelitian ini menggunakan <em>Structural Equation Modelling</em> (SEM) untuk melakukan analisis data. Sampel penelitian terdiri dari 200 wirausahawan di Semarang yang sudah menjalani usaha selama lebih dari satu tahun. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa jiwa kewirausahaan dan nilai kewirausahaan berpengaruh terhadap kemandirian usaha baik secara langsung mampun melalui perilaku kewirausahaan. Perilaku kewirausahaan berpengaruh positif terhadap kemandirian usaha.</p>


Author(s):  
Willy Arafah

This research is consist of the concepts of how do the consumer involvement, consumer innovativeness, brand parity and brand loyalty could affecting the price sensitivity. Questionaires were used as the research instruments to the 150 of people who wearing shoes with brand “ABC” in Jakarta with using purposive sampling method and cross sectional data. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis system was applied with AMOS software to hypothesized the empirical data. The result shows that there is a significant effect of the consumer involvement to the consumer innovativeness positively that can affecting to the price sensitivity negatively. Brand parity hypothesized proven that it has affected price sensitivity positively and so brand loyalty affecting the price sensitivity negatively. For further research, it’s recommended to extend more objects of study than shoes and add more other variables which are not include in this research.


Author(s):  
Jane Leithead ◽  
Steve Humble

This investigation looks at the antecedents and outcomes of 141 children living in poor informal settlements in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana identifying with global citizenship. It finds that the model of global citizenship devised by Reysen and Katzarska-Miller (2013) is a moderately good fit for this group of children. Structural equation modelling demonstrates that antecedents of global awareness as well as friends and family supporting global citizenship (normative environment) predict the child’s self-identification as a global citizen. This in turn predicts six prosocial traits: intergroup empathy, valuing diversity, social justice, environmental sustainability, intergroup helping and responsibility to act. The research suggests that there may be other elements to a global citizenship model that could be investigated in future research.


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