From offline shopping to online shopping in Nigeria: evidence from African emerging economy

PurposeThe study builds on studies in online shopping. Existing studies in online shopping proved that it is an attraction to shoppers. In Nigeria's emerging economy the increasing Internet penetration does not equate with intention to use online shopping because it is not really used by users for online shopping. Consumers are considering it unattractive because of serious concerns that border on product quality of online shops and poor know-how on e-tech. The study sought to explore factors that could mitigate challenges to successful online shopping in Nigeria's emerging economy.Design/methodology/approachOnline survey method was used to sample 246 respondents. Measurement items were adapted from related literature. Confirmatory factor analysis and content validity were used to check the reliability and validity. A set of fit indices were used to check the goodness of fit. Data was analysed using structural equation model.FindingsResults indicate direct effects of consumer attitude, perceived usefulness and social influence on intention to use online shopping with consumer attitude shown to have a greater degree of importance towards intention to use online shopping. Thus, consumers' attitude of browsing online and going offline for purchases is dependent on attitude of like or dislike. Perceived ease of use, social influence and perceived usefulness had an indirect positive effect on consumer attitude to intention to use online shopping. Social influence is indicated to have a direct positive effect on perceived ease of use. Also perceived ease of use had a positive and direct effect on perceived usefulness.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size is not large enough and the use of snowball sampling limits representativeness.Practical implicationsThe study indicated vital factors African emerging economies like Nigeria can use to improve consumer confidence towards intention to use online shopping and drive cashless policies. Several studies have missed the indirect effect of referents (social influence) on adoption of technology. The study proved that it can produce indirect effect as well as direct effect on intention to use online shopping.Originality/valueSeveral studies have missed the indirect effect of referents (social influence) on adoption of technology. The study proved that it can produce indirect effect as well as direct effect on online shopping.

The dynamics of survey-based household inflation expectations in India

PurposeThe authors analyze households' inflation expectations data for India, collected quarterly by the RBI for more than a decade. The contribution of this paper lies in two folds. First, this study examines the relationship between relatively recent inflation expectations survey of households (IESH) and the actual inflation for India. Secondly, the authors employ a structural VAR with the time period 2006 Q2 to 2020 Q2 on inflation expectation survey data of India. A short-term non-recursive restriction is imposed in the model in order to capture the simultaneous co-dependence causal effect of inflation expectation and realized inflation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper studies the dynamic behavior of inflation expectations survey data in two folds. First, the authors analyze the time series property of the survey data. The authors begin with testing the stationarity property of the series, followed by the casual relationship between the expected and actual inflation. The authors further examine the short-run and long-run behavior of the IESH with actual inflation. Employing autoregressive distributed lag and Johansen co-integration, the authors tested if a long-run relationship exists between the variables. In the second approach, the authors investigate the determinants of inflation expectations by employing a non-recursive SVAR model.FindingsThe preliminary explanatory test reveals that inflation expectation is a policy variable and should be used in monetary policy as an instrument variable. The model identifies the price puzzle for India. The authors find that the response of inflation to a monetary policy shock is neutral. The results also indicate that the expectations of the general public are self-fulfilling.Originality/valueIESH has only commenced from September 2005, hence is relatively new as compared to other survey in developed countries. Being a new data set so far, the authors could not locate any study devoted in analyzing the behavior of the data with other macroeconomic variables.

Individual entrepreneurial orientation on MSME's performance: the mediating effect of employee motivation and the moderating effect of government intervention

PurposeThis research would like to address the issues associated with individual entrepreneurial orientation, which involves entrepreneurial leadership and entrepreneurial ability as the key determinants of MSME growth. It will also explore both mediating and moderating roles of employee motivation and government intervention, respectively during the pandemic situation.Design/methodology/approachA purposive sampling technique was applied during pilot study and during the final data collection phases. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted using varimax rotation to reduce a large number of variables into a smaller set of interpretable underlying factors. Further CFA and SEM are respectively applied to examine the psychometric properties of the scales and test the hypotheses of the research model.FindingsThe study's findings revealed a favourable association between entrepreneurial orientation, business financing, management, market practices, and MSME growth performance. The results support the notion that government policy plays a significant role as a full moderator.Practical implicationsAlthough the MSME sector receives government support, its implementation requires a skilled leader who can run the business profitability. The findings support this objective.Originality/valueThis paper seeks to give important insights into one of the understudied but quickly expanding MSME entrepreneurship, and how this environment influences individual entrepreneurial orientation and the formation of entrepreneurial leadership. This opens up a previously unexplored area for fresh insights and future study on enhancing entrepreneurship development research and practice for the MSME sector.