Marketisation of adult education in Sweden

The aim of this study is to analyse how formal adult education in Sweden is enacted locally. For this analysis, the data consist of a nationwide survey sent to Swedish municipalities, background data on municipalities from public statistics and interviews with representatives of 20 municipalities. Swedish formal adult education, which includes general, vocational and Swedish for immigrants courses, is a responsibility of the municipality, but courses are not necessarily organised internally by the municipality. The results show how adult education is enacted in different ways. There are systems for outsourcing courses to various other providers, typically private training companies. There are thus both private and public providers, but courses are paid for by the municipality, which is also responsible of quality assurance. The quality assurance is typically enacted with a focus on students, via surveys and statistics on outcomes, but quality measures also target providers. Swedish adult education is characterised by extensive marketisation with many private providers and a broad supply of courses, but the municipalities are experiencing quality problems among providers, and some municipalities are considering extending their internal provision. There is also a labour-market focus where training programmes to improve adults’ employability are prioritised.

Porter’s Generic Strategies and Market Share Growth of Skol Brewery Ltd in Rwanda

The purpose of this study was to examine porter’s generic strategies and market share growth of Skol Brewery in Rwanda. The specific objectives were to: determine effect of cost leadership, differentiation, and market focus on market share growth of Skol Brewery in Rwanda. The target population consists of 287 staff members of Skol Brewery Ltd. The study used simple random and purposive sampling techniques to select a sample of 167 employees. Quantitative data was obtained using questionnaire while a documentary checklist was used to obtain secondary data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for quantitative data analysis while content analysis was used for qualitative analysis. Results on cost leadership show a tight cost in all business activities (mean of 4.333), economies of scale (mean of 3.666), and efficient cost saving for designs (means of 4.000) and effective operational cost reduction (mean of 3.666) were used as a cost leadership component. A positive correlation was found between cost leadership and sales (r=231**, p=0.006), investment rise (r=.159**, p=0.043) and profit margin (r=.174**=0.014).Results on differentiation felt that cost allocated to the control of quality of goods and services (mean of 4.333), effort in reputation management (mean of 4.000), names (mean of 4.833). A positive correlation was between differentiation and sales (r=.274**, p=0.039), investment rise (r=.187, p=0.035) and profit margin (r=.324, p=0.032).Results on market focus found that marketing specification for products (mean of 3.833) is the measurement that has the highest level of application. A positive correlation was between market focus strategy and sales (r=.854**, p=0.018), investment (r=.873**, p=0.035) and profit margin (r=.750**, p=.0.036). The study concludes that there is no significant relationship between porter strategies and market share growth. The study recommends that management of the brewery company should evaluate implementation of cost leadership, conduct a study on market focus to respond to market niches as any gap in customer centric products would yield customer non responsiveness, benchmark differentiation, and hire competent staff to achieve its success. Keywords: Porter’s Generic Strategies, Cost Leadership Strategy, Differentiation Strategy, Market Focus Strategy, Market Share Growth

Do Chinese-focused U.S. listed SPACs perform better than others do?

The extraordinary growth of China from the early 2000s until now made it one of the biggest economies in the world. Over the years, more and more Chinese companies merged with the U.S. listed special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) to become public and attract foreign capital. This paper examines the differences between this specific subsample of SPACs focused on completing a merger with a business located in China among those listed on the U.S. Stock Exchanges and the other U.S. listed SPACs. The intent is to verify whether the sample differs from the rest of the market in their main characteristics, have better, equal, or worse prospects of completing a merger, and offer better, equal, or worse returns to investors. 329 SPACs were identified, of which 41 targeting Chinese businesses. Logistic regression is performed to understand whether the China market focus influences the chances of consuming a business combination. Moreover, two different models (event study approach and buy-and-hold approach) are implemented to assess the share performances of the two subsamples. The conclusions that stem from the obtained results are that China-focused SPACs differ consistently from the rest of the market in certain features but need similar time to identify a target and close the deal. Focusing on China seems to be beneficial for the SPAC’s prospects of closing a deal, being statistically significant at a 10% level. Last, a portfolio composed of the sample SPACs’ shares overperforms the non-China one in both the short and long terms. Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank their brilliant student, Mr. Daniele Notarnicola, for the precious support given during the review of the paper.

Diversity of Sources of Income for Smallholder Farming Communities in Malawi: Importance for Improved Livelihood

Agriculture is vital to global food production. Around 550 million smallholding households produce most of the world’s food, and many rely on livestock rearing for a living. Smallholder farms must survive and thrive to maintain and increase food production. Baseline information is vital for further extension service interventions. The goal of this Malawian study was to collect quantitative baseline data on crop and livestock production, agriproduct sales, and other indicators through a household survey, and to compare the efficacy (in terms of income) of using the concept of “Lead and Follow” farmer training programs. The baseline study survey was carried out in 44 sections of 11 extension planning areas from Malawi’s five districts (Dowa, Kasungu, Mchinji, Mzimba, and Rumphi). In total, 1131 smallholder households were interviewed. Crop production, livestock farming, and providing casual labor for others were all identified as significant sources of income for smallholders, implying that all agriproducts (the whole-farm approach) is equally important for improving smallholder livelihoods. On the one hand, the whole-farm approach should improve smallholders’ resilience regarding climate change and poverty. Lower agriproduct sales, on the other hand, indicated that links to the market were frequently poor but an increased market focus should help smallholders sell their produce at a fair margin. In terms of best practices adoption, both Lead and Follow farmers adopted similar farm practices (crops and livestock) to increase income. In general, no significant difference in income was calculated from many farm enterprises for both Lead and Follow farmers. However, the income from pigs and firewood was significantly higher for Follow farmers than for Lead farmers. Lead farmers reported significantly higher off-farm income sources. Significant changes are proposed to the “Lead farmer extension approach”.

Systematic Literature Review: Faktor Keunggulan Kompetitif Hotel di Indonesia

The aim of this research is to identify and evaluate the factors that give hotels in Indonesia a competitive advantage. This research approach is based on a three-stage protocol, which includes an initial stage, implementation, and writing. The initial search string yielded 1,250 journal articles, of which 12 were chosen for further investigation. This study employs qualitative methods, after which the data is extracted and research questions are generated. Differentiation, environmentally friendly technology, service quality, marketing efficiency, market focus, creativity or image, leadership style, information systems, knowledge management, customer intimacy, hotel budgets, and human resources are among the factors that affect hotels' competitive advantage, according to the findings of this report. Both of these factors have a favorable or important impact on hotels' competitive advantage. Originality based on this literature can be seen as a potential research agenda and can aid the growth of the hospitality industry. Keywords: Competitive Advantage, Hotels

Enhancing the Competitive Advantage of the Germinated Parboiled Rice

Objective - This research aims to; 1) study the competitive advantage and firm performance of the geminated parboiled rice community enterprise group, 2) investigate the differences in competitive advantage and firm performance when classified by organizational factors, 3) study the difference in the influence of competitive advantage on firm performance, and 4) determine proposals to enhance competitive advantage. Methodology/Technique - This research uses mixed research methods. The quantitative method was used to study the influence of competitive advantage on firm performance of community enterprises, and a qualitative method was used to determine proposals to enhance competitive advantage. In Step 1, a quantitative research method was used to identify the population which includes management groups of 36 geminated parboiled rice community enterprises consisting of a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and a supervisor of 208 people, and 137 samples. Proportional sampling and simple random sampling were used in this process. Data was collected using questionnaires. The statistics used for data analysis was frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, F-test (one way ANOVA), Pearson's correlation coefficient, and hierarchical regression analysis. In step 2, data was collected from in-depth interviews with key informants, using a purposive sampling method. Data analysis from the interviews using the information obtained from the interview into categories and using content analysis to determine proposals. Findings - The research results found that competitive advantage and firm performance was high. The hypothesis testing results show that only the age of the community enterprise has an effect on the image of the community enterprise with the statistical significance of 0.05. All 3 independent variables composed of cost leadership, differentiation, and market focus had an influence on firm performance, by standardized coefficients (β) was .398, .426, .654 respectively. Novelty - The proposals from this research include the establishment of newly geminated parboiled rice community enterprises to accelerate the creation of the organization image to be known and accepted by consumers. Further, community enterprises should focus on developing a competitive advantage that comes from a market focus strategy. This will have a positive impact on firm performance. Type of Paper - Empirical. Keywords: Geminated Parboiled Rice; Community Enterprise; Competitive Advantage; Firm Performance JEL Classification: URI: http://gatrenterprise.com/GATRJournals/GJBSSR/vol9.2_5.html DOI: https://doi.org/10.35609/gjbssr.2021.9.2(5) Pages 152 – 164

Critical strategic analysis forecast of the oil and gas business unit of General Electric Company: A conceptual review

The General Electric Company (GE) is considerably assessed as one of the world’s most successful corporations in the 20th Century. GE is a huge multinational conglomerate with one of the most highly innovative business units/divisions in the world. Due to the vast majority of GE’s products and services, a critical strategic analysis forecast of one of the conglomerate’s eight business units – Oil and Gas is presented for a conceptual review. The paper details how these Strategic Business Units (SBUs) explored the efficiency and market focus of their business portfolio through diversification, innovation, and acquisition. Resource allocation and value chain analysis of the SBU was conducted to determine the certainty of the company’s competitive edge. The portfolio of the SBU; oilfield services, oilfield equipment, turbomachinery, and process & digital solutions were reviewed using the Boston consulting group (BCG) matrix while the Ansoff matrix was employed to analyze and predict the company for sustainable future growth and divestment. In 2017, the synergy between these SBU and Baker Hughes to deliver a full-stream integrated oilfield portfolio revealed a strong and enhanced competitive advantage of the SBU across the global oil and gas industry, however, the analysis of the company shows that the SBU still experiences underperformance in the stock market.