Marketing of Start-ups and Innovations in Agricultural Entrepreneurship

Agricultural development is a determining factor in ensuring food security. The intensification and innovation of agriculture is a prerequisite for meeting the food needs of the world’s population. Any innovative activity is Entrepreneurial and is based on the search for new ideas and their assessment; finding the necessary resources; Enterprise creation and management; receiving cash income, and personal satisfaction with the achieved result. The specificity of innovation is its riskiness, so often, investors simply ignore insufficiently substantiated projects. Currently, the due diligence procedure is gaining popularity, during which an investment study is carried out to establish the risks of a proposed capital transaction and develop a competent mayor to manage them. In the article, the authors considered the features and difficulties of marketing for startups and innovations in agricultural entrepreneurship and proposed a due diligence procedure to improve it. Due diligence is actions aimed at obtaining an objective picture of the object of financing. Due diligence is necessary both before investing, merging or buying a company and before starting any kind of cooperation with startups and innovations. The authors considered introducing the due diligence procedure and alternative ways of acquiring a business, indicated and analyzed the main stages of the financial due diligence procedure, and gave an example of the report of the diligence procedure for an agricultural startup.

The Role of Cooperative Societies in Advancing Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Osun State, Nigeria

Due to dwindling economic situation most especially in developing countries, people have resulted into self-help through cooperative societies to raise funds for starting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It was on this premise that the study critically examined the activities of cooperative societies in Osun state in furthering SMEs advancement. The study adopted qualitative research method through in-depth exploratory design to explain ‘what’ and ‘how’ rather than mere prediction. A comparative multiple case study was used as it closely links empirical observations with existing theories to explore the effect of cooperative societies on enterprise creation and expansion and its impact on the advancement of SMEs in Osun State, Nigeria. Four cooperatives were selected and studied. Findings affirmed the significant role played by cooperative societies in advancing SMEs in Osun State. The study concludes that cooperative societies intervention in providing micro loans to members for investment purpose in the area of enterprise formation and expansion is encouraging and should be sustained to improve the prosperity of individuals in Osun State. It was recommended that the promoters of cooperative societies in the State and Nigeria must sustain and increase efforts towards advancing SMEs through the provision of financial facilities to members. Keywords: Cooperative society, Small and Medium Enterprises, Osun State

International Trade in the High-Tech Sector—Support or Obstacle to Start-Up Processes at the Macro Level in European Union Countries?

High-tech internationalization touches on two aspects impacting entrepreneurship: openness of the economy and its level of innovativeness. Both of them might positively or negatively affect the process of new company creations, as suggested by the concept of entrepreneurial regime with creative destruction or by the concept of routinized regime with creative accumulation. The aim of the article is to assess the impact of high-tech internationalization on the start-up process of new company creation. Cluster analysis and panel modeling for European Union countries in 2009–2018 were conducted. The research results distinguish clusters of European Union countries with a different level of high-tech internationalization. The impact of high-tech internationalization on start-up rates is significant in the case of both clusters; however, it is stronger in the cluster of countries with a relatively higher level of high-tech international openness. The high-tech intra-EU import and extra-EU high-tech export negatively affect the rate of new enterprise creation in both clusters. Additionally, extra-EU import in clusters with a relatively higher level of high-tech internationalization also negatively impacts start-up rates. The only aspect supporting the start-up process is the level of intra-EU export in clusters with higher levels of high-tech internationalization. The results suggest that in European Union countries, creative accumulation is the dominant phenomenon.

Top Ways To Improve Retail Marketing

This article discusses the development of marketing strategies for a retail enterprise begins at the earliest stage of enterprise creation. From the point of view of marketing, when choosing a location, it is necessary to assess the prestige of the area, its sociological portrait, purchasing power, as well as the presence of competing stores.

Effects of Microfinance Intervention on Multiple and Non-multiple Financing Clients: A Case of Gandaki Province of Nepal

The objective of this study is to examine the effects of microfinance intervention on multiple and non-multiple borrowings clients in the Gandaki province of Nepal. Further, the study aims to explore the reasons for multiple borrowings and the impact of microfinance intervention on micro-enterprise creation, total investment, profit per month, income, and saving. The research is based on primary sources of data and confined to Muktinath Biikas Bank Limited (MBBL). Microfinance clients involving MBBL for the last five or more years are the respondents, and 311 MF clients were randomly selected from 10 branches of MBBL. Both descriptive and inferential statistics have been applied to find out the effects of microfinance intervention. The key reasons behind multiple financing are forced by friends, the presence of other MFIs, insufficient loan, meeting domestic requirements, repaying other MFIs loan, lending to others at high interest, and repaying a high-interest loan. There are significant differences between multiple and non-multiple financing clients in terms of micro-enterprise creation, total investment, profit per month, and saving. The result shows that non-multiple financing clients are more likely to earn more profit, create new business, and have the potential for large-scale investment. The mean score shows that non-multiple financing clients are saving more than multiple financing clients, indicating more commitment to saving for future funds requirement to expand the business. At last, the study concluded that the performance of non-multiple financing clients is significantly better than multiple financing clients. Since multiple financing creates problems if it is not controlled properly, so microfinance institutions (MFIs) and regulatory authorities should discourage multiple borrowing practices through proper regulation, adequate supply of loans, and its productive orientation.

From entrepreneurial intention to enterprise creation: the case of Estonia

Purpose The present paper aims to identify a set of cognitive and contextual characteristics that explain entrepreneurial intentions, actions and venture creation, thereby covering three successive stages of becoming an entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on entrepreneurship data from a self-reported online survey (n = 1,492) gathered among the Estonian population in 2017. The authors use an exploratory factor analysis to reduce initial survey responses about the external environment into latent factors. Linear regression models are applied to predict the determinants of entrepreneurial intention and actions, whereas the logit model is applied to find out the determinants of being or not being an entrepreneur. Findings Younger people, respondents with vocational education and the unemployed have a higher intention to start up. Men are more active than women in the second stage of taking real action, whereas middle-aged respondents and managers are less active. In the final stage of enterprise creation, men become more likely entrepreneurs, whereas younger people and those who do not have higher education become less likely entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial attitudes and competencies as preconditional factors of entrepreneurial readiness have a positive effect in all three stages. The role of motivation appeared to be controversial – it has a weak positive effect on the intention stage but a strong negative effect on the action stage, becoming insignificant in the final stage of becoming an entrepreneur. In the final stage, taking real action has the strongest positive effect. Regarding differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs have a more positive perception of the business environment and the ease of doing business, including the simplicity of entrepreneurship-related legislation. On the other hand, entrepreneurs are more skeptical about the availability of financial resources, and they perceive public attitudes and the role of entrepreneurs in a society less positively. Research limitations/implications As data of this study originates from a survey, the sample may not represent the whole population. This might limit the extent to which the conclusions of this study can be generalized. Also, the study’s data do not enable us to consider all potential factors that may affect entrepreneurial intention, action and venture creation. For example, the authors do not consider the effect of income or differences between opportunity and necessity entrepreneurship because of data limitations. Practical implications This study focuses on environmental obstacles and individual restrictions that are important in different stages of becoming an entrepreneur. In terms of policy implications, providing better financing opportunities both from private and public institutions and keeping entrepreneurship legislation simple and transparent have the utmost importance in increasing the share of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship-related benefits in society. The younger population’s high entrepreneurial intentions should be transferred more effectively into real actions toward starting up, paired with supportive entrepreneurship education. Social implications The study results show that developing positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship and providing relevant competencies through the education system are relevant factors in all stages of becoming an entrepreneur, thus enabling entrepreneurial activities in society. Originality/value First, the authors investigate the factors of entrepreneurship separately during the three stages in the journey of becoming an entrepreneur, starting from intentions, followed by preparation actions and finalized by real enterprise creation. Second, the analysis of this study is based on the original Environment-Readiness Entrepreneurship Intention model, which emphasizes the role of the external environment in entrepreneurial processes. Ten factors of the external environment are extracted using exploratory analysis instead of using three traditional predefined factors of the economic, political and socio-cultural environment. Third, our focus on Estonia broadens the knowledge about entrepreneurship in the Central and Eastern European region in general and in the Baltic region, more specifically.

Modern process of personnel improvement potential of enterprise

The features of modern process of improvement of skilled potential of enterprise are considered, namely: expansions of plenary powers of performers on places and change of control form; joint acceptance of decisions, creation of atmosphere of trust, is in a collective, development of mechanisms of planning of career for leading workers, complex vision of problem and integral going near still human resources in cooperation the strategic settings of enterprise; creation of corporate culture of innovative type.