Future Business Journal最新文献

This research aimed to explore the factors influencing the behavioural intention to use over-the-counter (OTC) QR codes for purchasing products in Vietnamese supermarkets. The study included 996 consumers and employed a questionnaire-based survey method to test the hypotheses using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Drawing on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and signalling theory, the findings identified five key factors that positively affected the intention to use OTC QR codes: perceived usefulness of OTC QR codes (e.g., for payment and traceability), attitude, customer satisfaction, and supply chain transparency. Additionally, the perceived usefulness of OTC QR codes positively impacted attitude and customer satisfaction, while its usefulness for traceability enhanced supply chain transparency. The study also identified the moderating influence of personal innovativeness on the relationship between perceived usefulness of OTC QR codes for payment and attitude and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the moderating role of electronic Word-of-Mouth (e-Word-of-Mouth) in the relationship between customer satisfaction, attitude, and behavioural intention was discovered. This research contributes to the existing literature by expanding our understanding of the perceived usefulness of OTC QR codes and elucidating the various mechanisms through which their both functionalities could encourage consumer adoption in the context of Vietnamese supermarkets.

This study explores the effect of competitive advantage on sustainability within Ghanaian microfinance institutions (MFIs), emphasizing the mediating role of strategic capabilities. We conducted a quantitative analysis using survey data from 500 managers representing 150 MFIs in Ghana, analyzed through structural equation modeling. Our findings indicate that competitive advantages and strategic capabilities have a positive significant influence on MFI sustainability. Additionally, strategic capabilities were found to mediate the relationship between competitive advantage and sustainability within Ghanaian MFIs. This study expands the theoretical framework by incorporating cost differentiation, pricing strategy, focus strategy, market strategy, efficient operations and risk management, innovation in product offerings, target market considerations, and client relationship management. We highlight how MFIs can maintain competitiveness through technology, partnerships, training, career development, and knowledge transfer. This mediated relationship underscores the crucial role of strategic capabilities in achieving sustainable operations. The study provides a conceptual framework for understanding MFI sustainability and offers a roadmap to enhance competitive advantage. By integrating elements from the competitive advantage theory and extending the resource-based view theory, this research contributes to the existing knowledge by clarifying the connections between competitive advantage and sustainability in the context of MFIs. Furthermore, the study addresses the dynamics of competitive advantage, strategic capabilities, and sustainability in a context with limited research. It offers practical implications for policymakers and practitioners, providing insights that can inform targeted interventions to enhance capacities and foster sustainability in the microfinance sector.

Crowdfunding has emerged as a transformative alternative to traditional innovation financing. Limitations of conventional funding sources have led to increased interest in alternative financing mechanisms. Crowdfunding, leveraging online platforms, has democratized access to capital, enabling entrepreneurs to develop products and services that align with broader population needs. This paper surveys the literature, demonstrating how crowdfunding platforms have opened doors to capital for entrepreneurs who might otherwise have found it challenging to secure funding through established channels. While crowdfunding's impact on innovation is multifaceted and contingent on factors like innovation type, entrepreneur quality, and regulatory frameworks, its growth trajectory remains robust, solidifying its significance as a source of entrepreneurial finance. The study aims to (1) analyze the effectiveness of crowdfunding in bridging the funding gap for startups, (2) compare crowdfunding with other forms of entrepreneurial finance, (3) assess crowdfunding’s role in fostering innovation, (4) differentiate between crowdfunding and crowdsourcing, and (5) identify the types of innovation facilitated by crowdfunding. Effective crowdfunding implementation hinges on these factors, necessitating concerted efforts from entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers to surmount associated challenges and harness its potential for innovation and economic growth. The findings highlight the necessity for a supportive regulatory framework and the importance of transparency and trust in crowdfunding practices. This study underscores the role of policymakers in creating an environment that fosters innovation through alternative financing. However, this study is limited by the availability of comprehensive data across different crowdfunding platforms and regions. Further empirical research is needed to generalize the findings across various contexts, deepen our understanding of crowdfunding's impact on innovation, and develop strategies to leverage the potential of crowdfunding for innovation.

Graphical abstract

This research paper outlines the fundamental areas and current complexities of the gender equity in HRM domain; given the importance of HR and gender equity-centre stage of developing this paper, there has been a noticeable rise in publications in recent years, indicating a rising interest in gender equity concerns within HRM. The influence of leadership styles on gender equality, work-life balance, diversity and inclusion policies, and gender bias in recruitment and promotion are some of the major issues that have been discovered gender equity, as shown by the study’s emphasis on inter-connectedness. The connection between gender and other social characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status is a complex issue. Thus, we suggest potential directions for future research. Analysis was conducted on 1555 studies sourced from the Scopus database between 2005 and 2023. This study aimed to identify research initiatives that concentrate on achieving gender equality in HRM. To ascertain the most influential articles and authors, their citation and publication counts were determined. The predominant area of investigation in HRM research is gender equity, a key issue, while other factors, such as age, nationality, ethnicity, professional background, and cognition, are often neglected.

This study examines the factors that influence the blue economy in EUROMED, aiming at promoting economic growth in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. EUROMED was chosen because all of its nations have fisheries and marine tourism, which are the two key indicators of the blue economy. Blue economy contributes to sustainable development in the fisheries and marine tourism sectors. A commitment to sustainability has sped up national and regional blue economy policy development. The study uses secondary qualitative data and literature review to analyse the synergies and conflicts between EUROMED blue economy strategies and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The findings suggest that GDP growth, aqua production, open trade, CO2 emissions, and inflation rate influence the blue economy, and that ecotourism that considers education, society, and the environment may generate sustainable fisheries and marine tourism. Only 21 countries gave the ARDL test between 2000 and 2019. This study analyses synergies and conflicts between EUROMED blue economy strategies and UN Sustainable Development Goals. Location-based contextual development of blue economies that suit all players' requirements is essential to maintain sustainability objectives. Ensure resilience against future environmental and political shocks, preserve the ecological underpinning for vibrant blue economies, and create capacity at all levels to promote effective and fair governance. This study tries to make good use of ocean conservation and aquaculture within the context of the blue economy. This is the first EUROMED blue economy study and contributes to the theoretical and methodological development of blue economy research.

Non-financial companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange face considerable difficulties due to expensive funding and the need to make complex decisions about their capital structure. These problems impact their judgments about dividend policy, resulting in ambiguity and possible inefficiency. This study draws on the bird-in-hand theory to investigate the influence of the cost of capital on dividend policy decisions among non-financial firms listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, focusing on 227 companies from 2005 to 2022. The data for this study were sourced from Thomson Reuters Datastream. Employing the common shock autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) and two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) estimations, findings reveal that the cost of debt consistently negatively impacts dividend payouts and coverage ratios. In contrast, the cost of equity has an insignificant effect. Conversely, the weighted average cost of capital positively influences dividend payouts and coverage ratios but negatively influences dividend yield. All the findings supported the bird-in-hand theory except for the negative impact of WACC on dividend yield. These insights highlight the importance of considering the cost of capital and market share dynamics in dividend policy formulation. Firms should prioritize efficient debt management to sustain dividend distributions, and aligning dividend policies with overall capital structure management is crucial in this regard, providing a sense of reassurance and confidence to the firms and their stakeholders. This study provides valuable guidance for financial decision-makers navigating dividend-related strategies within corporate environments.

Our study delved into an analysis of 128 public companies in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria to explore the influence of diversified board expertise on firm performance. We also investigated the impact of firm size and age on this relationship. Our results indicate that a varied blend of professional experts on corporate boards significantly boosts a company's ROA, although there is no significant effect when Tobin's Q measures firm performance. Nevertheless, we discovered that combining firm size and age negatively impacts the correlation between board expertise diversity and firm performance. Our findings support the significance of integrating agency, resource dependence, and convergence theories, implying that businesses can improve their financial performance by including an appropriate mix of expertise on their boards, especially for relatively younger small-sized firms. In contrast, more prominent and ageing firms may not see the same financial benefits. Consequently, we recommend that corporate executives and practitioners consider implementing board expertise diversity to enhance their firms' financial performance.

This is a pioneering study that undertakes a comparative analysis assessing the annual intermediation efficiency of public versus private banks in Egypt. Moreover, liquidity risk is a major threat facing banks in their efforts to sustain financial stability. Thus, this study is the first to model the determinants of liquidity risk in public and private banks in Egypt while examining the impact of banks’ intermediation efficiencies on their liquidity risk levels. The study employs advanced nonparametric econometric approaches on a sample of Egyptian public and private banks from 2014 to 2022. The data envelopment analysis is used in estimating banks’ intermediation efficiency scores, while the quantile regression analysis is applied to examine the impact of bank intermediation efficiency on liquidity risk under different liquidity risk quantiles. The findings indicate that public banks show consistent superiority in terms of their financial intermediation efficiency levels compared to private banks. Moreover, the paper findings demonstrate the negative significant relationship between bank intermediation efficiency and liquidity risk while highlighting the higher significant positive impact of intermediation efficiency on reducing the liquidity risk of banks that are characterized by undertaking high liquidity risk levels. Furthermore, contrary to general assumptions, this study’s findings demonstrate that the significance of micro- and macro-level determinants of a bank’s liquidity risk is dependent on its prevailing liquidity risk level. Hence, the positive impact of equity capital, asset concentration, size, and growth in gross domestic product and the negative effect of asset quality on bank liquidity risk vary under banks’ different liquidity risk quantiles.

Purpose

Financial inclusion aims to provide affordable financial services, including banking, loans, equity, and insurance products, to underserved populations. This study aims to examine the moderating effect of a bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) on the nexus between financial inclusion (FI) and a bank’s financial performance (FP) in the Egyptian setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses two empirical linear mixed models (LMM) to test the moderation effect of a bank’s CAR on the association between FI and FP. The study sample comprises 360 bank quarter-observations of 10 listed banks in the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) from 2013 to 2021.

Findings

The findings show that the bank’s CAR strengthens the association between FI dimensions, namely, deposit growth, loan growth, and the number of employees, and the bank’s FP with contradicted directions.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides policymakers insights into the crucial role of complying with banking regulation, namely, the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and expanding financial inclusion practices to enhance and improve the bank’s FP. Thus, encouraging more strategies and facilities toward financial inclusion.

Originality/value

Due to the scarcity of financial inclusion literature in emerging economies, this paper extends FI literature by highlighting the moderation impact of a bank’s CAR on the relationship between FI dimensions and FP in the Egyptian banking sector. Consequently, this study clarifies this beneficial relationship, which may have significant implications for restoring the challenges faced by the Egyptian economy following the critical events it went through, which, in turn, impacted the country’s poor and vulnerable.

The increasing recognition of mental health, especially since COVID-19, has invoked urgent attention towards HRM and well-being of employees. Despite strong momentum in human resource management (HRM)—employee well-being (EWB) research, EWB dedicated HRM bundles remain under-researched. Thus, this article aims to contribute to the literature by reviewing advances in employee well-being HR practices (EWBHRPs) that induce conceptualization and propose a consolidated framework. We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) with PRISMA 2020 for the systematic selection of 16 conceptual and empirical, peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2010 and 2024. Based on the review of relevant literature, we find that HRM initiatives support EWB. Further, the study finds various viewpoints conceptualizing EWBHRPs and arrives at a constructive decision bundling essential employee well-being HRM practices, positioning it as a crucial tool instrumental for maintaining and enhancing EWB. This article outlines theoretical and practical implications for organizations to develop an HRM system that cares and offers key employee well-being practices that practicing managers and HRM professionals may adopt. The originality of this article is linked with the methodological outlook that uses the PRISMA 2020 approach, which cannot be found extensively in the sparsely investigated EWBHRPs spectrum. The study presents a framework with an exhaustive future agenda that offers a starting point for further discussion.