Ummah Business Market (UBM): Mosque-Based MSME Empowerment Application for Optimization of SDGs in the Time of Covid-19

During the covid-19 pandemic, MSME business activities have decreased and have received small profits. Operations of mosques and amil institutions also experienced a decline. So, it needs an innovation that synergizes the community with MSMEs and mosques to increase the profits in economic and social activities that can encourage economic recovery. In this case, the mosque becomes the center of religious, economic, and social activities. The purpose of this study is to identify and produce a development model for the use of the Ummah Business Market (UBM) for mosque-based MSME empowerment applications and support post-Covid-19 economic recovery and poverty reduction as stated in the SDGs in goals 1 and 8. This study uses primary data with the type of action research that raises issues, makes solutions, and compiles a review of solutions from the Ummah Business Market (UBM) application process in empowering MSMEs during the pandemic. The results of this study indicate that the use and innovation of the mosque-based Ummah Business Market (UBM) application can increase operations and income for MSMEs and mosques, as well as create new jobs. In addition, able to optimize funds. Thus, benefits are obtained for economic recovery, poverty alleviation, and decent work. Ummah Business Market (UBM) also fosters a new attitude of society towards the economy and society, namely care, safe, and sharia.

Green House Smart Farming Echosystem

The future of farming has been one of the most talked-about issues on world forums, with the world population increasing yearly there is a special need to develop more efficient ways to grow food and distribute them effectively. This work discusses the design and implementation of a greenhouse smart farming echo system for the cultivation and distribution of plants using mushrooms as a focused product, linking a farm environment to a business market (cultivation processes and supply chain). A greenhouse farm smartly monitored with embedded devices, a control interface for these devices, and a web platform for product distribution and consumer management platform was developed to create a unified smart agricultural echo system. The embedded system has sensors that monitor the levels of light, temperature, soil moisture and humidity and automatically open the tap to water the farm. In addition, the supply chain was designed for the distribution of farm products. The prototype was fabricated and tested. The results showed that both the electronic part and the supply chain are working as proposed.

The Perception of Market and Economic Risks by Owners and Managers of Enterprises in the V4 Countries

The aim of the paper is to assess the impact of the length of entrepreneurship on the perception of the most important business risks in Slovakia and the Visegrad Group of Countries (V4 countries). The empirical research was conducted in 2019-2020. It was focused on assessing the state of enterprise risk management (ERM) application. The research file contained 422 online questionnaires completed by owners and managers of enterprises (OMEs). The results of this case study were compared with the results of similar studies performed in the V4 countries in 2017-2018. In total, 1,781 OMEs participated in the surveys mentioned. The following statistical methods were used to assess the data: ANOVA, Bartlett’s test, Agostini test, good fit test, and Grubbs test. The overall results of the empirical research highlight the significance and importance of the assessment of business risks in the V4 countries. The results in Slovakia in 2019-2020 and the research results in the V4 countries in 2017-2018 show that OMEs still consider market and economic risks to be most important in their business. Market and economic risks are related to sources that exert the most negative influence on enterprise success. The results are valuable for entrepreneurs, enterprise managers and institutions that provide comprehensive entrepreneurship support in the V4 countries. The overall results are significant at the regional, national, and international levels of the V4 countries and have the ability to strengthen the competitiveness of entrepreneurs within the EU common market.

The The Role of Customer Satisfaction on the Relationship between Service Quality, Price and Word of Mouth (WOM): The Experience of EDTL.EP in Dili, Timor-Leste

Service quality, price, customer satisfaction and word of mouth (WOM) appear to be the most important variables in today’s business market, and many researchers have focused their attentions on their relationships. This research aims to test the influence of service quality and price to customer satisfaction and WOM, as well as the mediation effect of customer satisfaction in the relationship between service quality and price with WOM. Using accidental sample method, this study collects data from 315 respondents from Timor-Leste Electricity, State-owned Entreprise namely Eletricidade de Timor Leste, Empresa Publica (EDTL.EP) customers who are based in Dili Municipality, and tests hypothesis using SMART-PLS 3.0. Result shows that relationship between both service quality, price, customer satisfaction and WOM have positive and significant effect. This study contributes to the extensive discussions related to service quality, price, customer satisfaction and WOM in different industries. It is also expected to contribute to the improvement EDTL.EP management to provide better service quality and meet customers’ expectation to encourage more positive recommendations to other customers via WOM.

Effect of Transformational Leadership on Employees’ Innovativeness and Job Satisfaction in Pakistani Private Sector

According to leadership literature, current transformational leadership styles are associated with job satisfaction to varying degrees. According to several studies, transformational leadership leads to higher levels of job satisfaction. Given the current state of the Pakistani business market, the study's overarching goal was to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership styles and employees' levels of innovativeness and job satisfaction in the Pakistani private sector. To achieve the study's objectives, a quantitative study was conducted. Questionnaires were distributed to employees in Pakistan's private sector from a predetermined target population. The data collected was analysed using statistical software. According to the study's findings, there are statistically significant relationships between overall transactional leadership, employee innovativeness, and job satisfaction, as well as overall transformational leadership and job satisfaction. This study is one of the few that focuses on the private sector to help improve understanding of how to manage and retain employees in the private sector. These findings are also useful for the Asia-Pacific private sector in maintaining the work-life balance of affective commitments, which leads to positive in-role performance. Keywords: Leadership, Leadership styles, Job satisfaction, employees, Private sector

Gym-Goers Preference Analysis of Fitness Centers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Conjoint Analysis Approach for Business Sustainability

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on the fitness centers industry. The purpose of this study is to analyze the preference of gym-goers on fitness centers in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing a conjoint analysis approach. One thousand gym-goers voluntarily participated in this study and answered 22 queries created from the orthogonal design. The results indicated that Price was the highest attribute considered (21.59%), followed by Ventilation (17.56%), Service (16.59%), Trainer (14.63%), Payment Method (11.95%), Operating Hours (8.90%), and Login (8.70%). The results also indicated that comfort, security, and fitness center services were the main aspects that gym-goers would consider as their main preference. The study highlighted how gym-goers are sensitive to the price set by the fitness centers. Moreover, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ventilation and size are considered highly important attributes among gym-goers. Comfort, safety, and security are the main consideration to have sustainable fitness centers during and even after the COVID-19 pandemic. The outcome of this study may benefit fitness centers and increase their business market by considering the preference of customers. Finally, the result of this study can be utilized by fitness centers to promote a generalized fitness center for gym-goers of different generations, statuses, and even socioeconomic status during and even after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rural Winery Resiliency and Sustainability through the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the tourism industry worldwide, including the wine industry in the western U.S. due to mandated winery and tasting room closures, followed by restrictions on capacity and food- and drink-handling once wineries reopened. In California, tasting rooms were fully closed from mid-March to mid-May 2020 and could not have visitors indoors through to October 2020. Hence, this study examines the resiliency of wineries in minor California wine regions, including the challenges faced during the pandemic, strategies used to sustain their business, and the attributes of their operation which contributed to success. Data were collected through structured in-person interviews with five wineries in minor California wine regions, specifically Russian River Valley and Sierra Foothills. The four themes which emerged include: lifestyle business; market differentiation; direct marketing; and the effects of COVID-19. These wineries are primarily family-owned, which gives them the ability to control costs and make decisions rapidly. They did not have a large workforce or multiple layers of management, allowing them to pivot quickly to adjust to the regulatory environment. This study on rural winery resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic will assist rural tourism operations in dealing with social and economic shocks in the future.

P.T. Barnum's activities in the context of the American show business development of the XIX century

The purpose of the article is to analyze the main milestones of the activity and reveal the cultural and artistic features of the figure of Phineas Taylor Barnum as a representative of show business and professional art of the showman. The methodology combines methodological tools of culturological, historical, art history, bibliographic, socio-cultural approaches. Also used general scientific research methods - analysis, synthesis - to detail the subject of research; generalization - to conceptualize the conclusions. Scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian culturology and art history, an attempt was made to briefly analyze the activities of FT Barnum and its significance for show business. Conclusions. Thus, the popularity of F. Barnum's show was based on the exploitation of unusual images and the image of his "star" artists. He also proved that show business is not only a part of mass culture, but also entrepreneurship, which should bring financial benefits. Any offer in the show business market is just a product, no matter what wrapper it is packaged to be in demand. It is the financial gain and tastes of the mass public that dictate the rules of the game in the show business market. That is, at the end of the XIX century, the showman understood and substantiated the main components that contribute to success in show business: finance, advertising, image. Thus, F. Barnum actually became the first image-maker, publicist and producer in one person. A man who may have been intuitive at first, but understood not only all these things, but also the subtleties of the psychology of the mass consumer of products in the show business sphere.

What Stops the Internationalization of Emerging Market Multinational Corporation (EMNCs): Designing a Strategic Framework for Global Business

The aim of the study is to formulate strategic guidelines for organizations to achieve successful globalization. The study is mainly focused on organizations for emerging markets or underdeveloped economies that have the capacity to grow globally and capture international market share. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a questionnaire has been adopted and data was collected from a business market. Regression analysis, Pearson correlation, and descriptive analysis have been applied to collected data. Results of the study reveal that all of the three variables Foreign Regulations (FR), Institution support (IS), and Corporate Strengths and Competencies (CSC) have a positive and significant relationship with corporate globalization. Results of the study may be used for the strategy formulations process for globalization and companies may adopt the results for strategic decision-making.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Migrant Entrepreneurship: Responses to the market shock

The economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced existing inequalities in the business market. Typically facing numerous structural constraints, during the ongoing crisis migrant entrepreneurs appear to be at greatly heightened risk. Applying Davidsson’s and Gordon’s (2016) classification of crisis responses to the realm of migrant entrepreneurship, the current article intends to shed some light on what coping strategies are used by self-employed migrants when economic shocks arise. Four types of responses, namely, disengagement, delay, compensation, and adaptation, as well as their combination were identified in business practices of African entrepreneurs in Finland. The responses prove to be tightly linked to disrupted transnational business networks, limitations of technological solutions and restricted access to funding and assistance.