Barriers of growth within an informal sector business: narratives of women subsistence entrepreneurs in South Africa

PurposeThe study explores growth barriers experienced by a sample of women subsistence entrepreneurs operating within the informal sector in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilizes a descriptive-exploratory research approach and design relying on semi-structured interviews. A purposive sample of 45 women subsistence entrepreneurs formed the participant pool.FindingsThree main narratives emerged. First, a sense of personal contentment existed as a potential barrier for women subsistence entrepreneurs. Second, the women subsistence entrepreneurs had no expansion strategy due to their circumstances. This served as a barrier to growth. Finally, challenges emanating from the home-front served as a limit to the growth of the informal sector business.Research limitations/implicationsBased on the findings, strategies are offered to assist the women subsistence entrepreneurs in tackling the identified barriers to the growth of the informal sector business. A limitation of the research concerns issues that accompany qualitative research. Notably, these include sampling issues.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, strategies are offered to assist women subsistence entrepreneurs in tackling the barriers that affect their businesses.Originality/valueGiven the popularity of the informal sector in emerging nations such as South Africa, the study proffers suggestions that assist the advancement of subsistence entrepreneurship, especially within the informal sector. The role of women in all this is heightened.

The Role of Trait Competitiveness and Entrepreneurial Alertness in the Cognitive Process of Entrepreneurship Among Students: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study Between Vietnam and Poland

Our study aims to explore the influences of trait competitiveness and entrepreneurial alertness on the cognitive process of entrepreneurship in the cross-cultural context of Vietnam and Poland, two emerging nations with different levels of economic and social development. To achieve this research goal, two student questionnaire surveys were carried out at universities and institutes in Vietnam and Poland. Structural equation modelling (SEM) with a bootstrapping approach was utilised to test the proposed hypotheses and conceptual model. Eight hypotheses were statistically supported by the Vietnamese dataset, confirming the significant and positive effects of both trait competitiveness and entrepreneurial alertness on the cognition process of entrepreneurship. However, for the Polish data, trait competitiveness was not found to be associated with an entrepreneurial attitude, perceived behaviour control, or entrepreneurial intention, while entrepreneurial alertness was positively related to perceived behavioural control. Our study has significantly contributed to the entrepreneurship literature by increasing the knowledge about the central role of trait competitiveness and entrepreneurial alertness on the cognitive process of business ventures in two emerging countries, where to the best of our knowledge, few studies related to our topic have been researched. Moreover, practical contributions are also offered for educational institutions and practitioners to stimulate university students’ business venturing activities.

Impact of Environmental Pollution in the Sustainability of Architectural Heritage: Case Study from Cartagena of India, Colombia

Limited studies have been carried out in emerging nations on the correlation among the environmental pollution, economic factors, and architectural heritage. For this reason, this research presents an assessment of environmental parameter values on materials deterioration used in architectural heritage in Cartagena de Indias; furthermore, it depicts the effect of heritage degradation on socioeconomic aspects of people whose livelihood depends on trade, tourism, and service activities. Dose-response functions were used for estimating of deterioration of carbon steel, copper, and zinc caused by relative humidity (RH), temperature (T), sulphur dioxide deposition (DSO2), and chloride deposition (DCl−). In addition, socioeconomic impact on architectural heritage was studied using a Socioeconomic Impact Survey (SEIS), with the sample of 174 individuals who work in areas of great architectural value in the city. The results show a corrosion rate (Vcorr) in the range of 80 < Vcorr < 200, 2.8 < Vcorr < 5.6 and 4.2 < Vcorr < 8.4 μm/year for carbon steel, copper, and zinc, respectively, due to the high level of pollutants. The high deterioration jointly with the lack of citizen culture affect the architectural heritage monuments causing a negative impact in several economic aspects. The establishment of public programs is essential for the conservation of the heritage monuments of the city.

Academic leadership and research performance: a study among engineering academicians in emerging nations

PurposeThe performance of an academic institution is widely measured by their research performance. In this regard, the role played by leaders in an academic institution is vital. The focus of this paper is on the role played by academic leadership towards research performance.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study is designed, and data are collected from 267 faculty members from various technical institutes across India through an online survey. A snowball sampling is adopted to reach the data point, and structural equation modeling is used to analyze the relationship using Smart PLS (partial least squares).FindingsThe study indicates that leadership in academic setup in developing countries does not directly influence research performance among the faculty members. To enhance research performance, institutes should promote collaboration and facilitate knowledge acquisition and individual development.Practical implicationsThe proposed model aids the leadership in devising strategies and approaches to encourage collaborations and individual initiatives in an academic setup.Social implicationsThe study identifies the importance of Individual initiative in Research Performance and knowledge acquisition for Higher Educational Institutions (HEI).Originality/valueThis research study is unique because it investigates the relationships between Academic Leadership and Research Performance of engineering faculty in emerging nations.

International luxury marketing

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: The authors outline pivotal changes in luxury marketing including the growing prominence of emerging nations and technology adoption. A systematic review of luxury marketing literature reveals that most research is still centered around developed nations. The field has a relatively low impact and no dominant authors. The research content does not converge with luxury industry trends. This provides an exciting contribution opportunity for academic researchers. Originality: The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format

Growth, performance and projections — Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME\'s) in India: A discourse analysis

The micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector is regarded as an economy's growth engine. During 2012-13, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, including that of the business services industry, contributed 37.54 percent to the nation's exports GDP, with 805.24 lakh people employed inside this sector. For the fiscal year 2014-15, the industry contributed 44.70 percent of India's overall exports. Income and wealth inequality are also widespread, particularly in emerging nations like India. We require a 'Inclusionary Growth' framework to handle these issues. Growth will not even be comprehensive until and unless the benefits of growth reach the other side of the pyramid. A continuous increase in per capita income cannot inevitably translate to a sustained gain in standard of life in a developing country like India, where disparity in wealth and economic activity is large.

Hegemonic Decline, Globalisation and the United States' Strategic Pivot to Asia: Implications for Vietnam

<p>The international order has been much in change since the beginning of the 21st century with the domination of power of the United States and the rise of emerging nations pursuing the ambitions of gaining more prosperity or influence. However, the hegemonic power of the United States is on the way down and this gives space for many other actors to come onto the stage. These movements play the role as an impellent force for the United States to build up and implement the so-called Asia pivot, otherwise known as the rebalancing strategy in Asia Pacific. This paper will discuss the impetus of the pivot and what it has done for the United States. It will examine whether the hegemonic stability of the United States will lead to world order and stability and whether the strategy is welcomed by the majority of world players. The influence of the pivot on the security environment of the Asia Pacific region in general and in Vietnam in particular will also be considered in order to draw up a clear picture for Vietnam to plan foreign policy in the coming years.</p>

Hegemonic Decline, Globalisation and the United States' Strategic Pivot to Asia: Implications for Vietnam

<p>The international order has been much in change since the beginning of the 21st century with the domination of power of the United States and the rise of emerging nations pursuing the ambitions of gaining more prosperity or influence. However, the hegemonic power of the United States is on the way down and this gives space for many other actors to come onto the stage. These movements play the role as an impellent force for the United States to build up and implement the so-called Asia pivot, otherwise known as the rebalancing strategy in Asia Pacific. This paper will discuss the impetus of the pivot and what it has done for the United States. It will examine whether the hegemonic stability of the United States will lead to world order and stability and whether the strategy is welcomed by the majority of world players. The influence of the pivot on the security environment of the Asia Pacific region in general and in Vietnam in particular will also be considered in order to draw up a clear picture for Vietnam to plan foreign policy in the coming years.</p>

A Conundrum of Peer Evaluation of Predicting Poor Prognostic Models Affecting the Mortality Rate of Covid -19

Mankind is confronting these days a histrionic pandemic scene with the Coronavirus proliferation over all continents. The Covid-19 pandemic outbreak is as yet not very much portrayed, and numerous research teams everywhere on the world are chipping away at one or the other restorative therapeutic issues or immunization issues. The outburst of COVID-19 has constituted a danger to wellbeing of world. With the expanding number of individuals tainted, medical services frameworks, particularly those in economically emerging nations, are bearing gigantic pressing factor for the devising a prognostic model. There is a dire requirement for the analysis of COVID-19 and the anticipation of inpatients. To diminish these issues, a data statistical information driven clinical aid framework is advanced in this paper. In view of two real world datasets in Wuhan, China, the proposed framework coordinates information from various sources with tools of Machine Learning (ML) to anticipate COVID-19 tainted likelihood of suspected patients in their first visit, and afterward foresee mortality of affirmed cases. As opposed to picking an interpretable calculation, this framework isolates the clarifications from ML models. It can do help to patient triaging and give some valuable guidance to specialists and doctors. A prognosis model is in the way of extraordinary premium for specialists to adjust their consideration methodology for therapeutic or diagnosis procedure.

A Conundrum of Peer Evaluation of Predicting Poor Prognostic Models Affecting the Mortality Rate of Covid -19

Mankind is confronting these days a histrionic pandemic scene with the Coronavirus proliferation over all continents. The Covid-19 pandemic outbreak is as yet not very much portrayed, and numerous research teams everywhere on the world are chipping away at one or the other restorative therapeutic issues or immunization issues. The outburst of COVID-19 has constituted a danger to wellbeing of world. With the expanding number of individuals tainted, medical services frameworks, particularly those in economically emerging nations, are bearing gigantic pressing factor for the devising a prognostic model. There is a dire requirement for the analysis of COVID-19 and the anticipation of inpatients. To diminish these issues, a data statistical information driven clinical aid framework is advanced in this paper. In view of two real world datasets in Wuhan, China, the proposed framework coordinates information from various sources with tools of Machine Learning (ML) to anticipate COVID-19 tainted likelihood of suspected patients in their first visit, and afterward foresee mortality of affirmed cases. As opposed to picking an interpretable calculation, this framework isolates the clarifications from ML models. It can do help to patient triaging and give some valuable guidance to specialists and doctors. A prognosis model is in the way of extraordinary premium for specialists to adjust their consideration methodology for therapeutic or diagnosis procedure.