Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
The small savings scheme plays a vital role in mobilizing savings for the economy, and the post office provides a variety of products to people to promote a savings habit. The current research attempts to analyze the moderation effect of financial consultants in relationship between the small savings scheme of the post office, financial literacy and behavior, and the savings habit of people. The study exhibits a significant positive impact of predictors and moderation variables on savings habits. In this regard, a two-phase structural equation modeling (SEM) has been employed to validate the hypothesized measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and in the next phase, the structural model verifies the hypothesized association between exogenous and endogenous variables to draw rational inferences. And a positive effect of predictors and interaction variables is observed. Finally, the study concluded with an important suggestion for the investment manager and other intermediaries: integrate the financial engineering process by giving due importance to investor needs.
Category Archives: Business Perspectives and Research
Servitization and Performance in Manufacturing Firms: The Mediating Role of Radicalness
Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
Drawing on the knowledge-based view and insights from a literature review, the author built up a conceptual framework aiming at investigating the complex relationships between three learning processes and servitization and, more importantly, the interplay between servitization, radicalness, and firm performance. This conceptual framework was tested using data gathered from senior managers of manufacturing firms in Vietnam. PLS-SEM was utilized to analyze the measurement and structural models. The results illustrate that exploitative learning has a positive impact on servitization. Additionally, servitization was found to influence firm performance through radicalness. To that end, manufacturing firms are encouraged to develop an acceptable level of exploratory learning and a significant level of exploitative learning to facilitate servitization. Particularly, servitization was found to be a promising strategy for manufacturing firms in developing countries and could help these manufacturing firms obtain substantial benefits. Given that manufacturing firms in developing countries normally lack critical resources and capabilities, servitization has an even more critical role to play in bringing about a competitive advantage. Managers in manufacturing firms should also offer a variety of integrated services because these services could bring firms novel ideas for innovations that can result in considerable competitive advantage.
Drawing on the knowledge-based view and insights from a literature review, the author built up a conceptual framework aiming at investigating the complex relationships between three learning processes and servitization and, more importantly, the interplay between servitization, radicalness, and firm performance. This conceptual framework was tested using data gathered from senior managers of manufacturing firms in Vietnam. PLS-SEM was utilized to analyze the measurement and structural models. The results illustrate that exploitative learning has a positive impact on servitization. Additionally, servitization was found to influence firm performance through radicalness. To that end, manufacturing firms are encouraged to develop an acceptable level of exploratory learning and a significant level of exploitative learning to facilitate servitization. Particularly, servitization was found to be a promising strategy for manufacturing firms in developing countries and could help these manufacturing firms obtain substantial benefits. Given that manufacturing firms in developing countries normally lack critical resources and capabilities, servitization has an even more critical role to play in bringing about a competitive advantage. Managers in manufacturing firms should also offer a variety of integrated services because these services could bring firms novel ideas for innovations that can result in considerable competitive advantage.
Using Topic Modeling for Extracting Customers’ Expectations: A Case of Women Apparel
Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
Increased internet usage has fueled significant growth in online retailing. The textile business has benefited in all countries thanks to the surge in online sales. Women’s fashion is having a huge impact on the world stage as women are the most concerned about what they wear and also new attractive clothes are released regularly. Electronic word of mouth (EWOM) is considered to be an important source of information and helps potential customers in purchasing decision-making. This study attempts to gather in-depth information about the women’s apparel sector by mining these EWOMs. Topic modeling through latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) is utilized here for extracting the key aspects about which the customers chat in their reviews that are posted online. A total of 23,486 reviews were accessed on which the LDA technique was applied after preprocessing the data for potential cleaning. LDA technique resulted in six topics, namely, aesthetic, functionality, expressive, performance, extrinsic, and return policy. These are the aspects that the customers mention while commenting about their shopping experience. The findings of this study provide the key aspects that customers expect while purchasing women’s apparel online. The study discusses some implications for online marketers that may help them achieve a competitive edge.
Increased internet usage has fueled significant growth in online retailing. The textile business has benefited in all countries thanks to the surge in online sales. Women’s fashion is having a huge impact on the world stage as women are the most concerned about what they wear and also new attractive clothes are released regularly. Electronic word of mouth (EWOM) is considered to be an important source of information and helps potential customers in purchasing decision-making. This study attempts to gather in-depth information about the women’s apparel sector by mining these EWOMs. Topic modeling through latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) is utilized here for extracting the key aspects about which the customers chat in their reviews that are posted online. A total of 23,486 reviews were accessed on which the LDA technique was applied after preprocessing the data for potential cleaning. LDA technique resulted in six topics, namely, aesthetic, functionality, expressive, performance, extrinsic, and return policy. These are the aspects that the customers mention while commenting about their shopping experience. The findings of this study provide the key aspects that customers expect while purchasing women’s apparel online. The study discusses some implications for online marketers that may help them achieve a competitive edge.
A. K. Khandelwal (Ed.), Transformational Leadership in Banking: Challenges of Governance, Leadership and HR in a Digital and Disruptive World, Sage Publications. 2021. 514 pp. ₹995. ISBN: 978-93-5388 (Hard Bound)
Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
The Nonlinear Effect of Executive Compensation on Financial Performance
Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
The agency theory propagates the use of compensation as a motivational measure to get the interest of the firm’s owners and the managers aligned. However, after a series of scandals, there has been a widespread focus on the payments made to the executives and their relationship with the organization’s financial performance. Although the relationship between compensation and performance has been observed extensively, the change in the relationship at various levels of compensation and the nonlinear aspect in the relationship still remain unanswered. Under this backdrop, the study makes an in-depth analysis of the relationship between executive compensation and firm performance in the context of 182 nonfinancial NSE-listed companies of India for the period 2014–2020. The study besides applying the static panel data analysis also advances to generalized method of moments based dynamic panel model to overcome the issues of endogeneity and declares that the relationship existing between executive compensation and firm’s Tobin’s Q is seen to be an inverted U-shaped curve. As per the robust estimator, an increase in the level of executive compensation is found to affect financial performance positively until it transcends a threshold level of 2.6% of the firm’s net profit.
The agency theory propagates the use of compensation as a motivational measure to get the interest of the firm’s owners and the managers aligned. However, after a series of scandals, there has been a widespread focus on the payments made to the executives and their relationship with the organization’s financial performance. Although the relationship between compensation and performance has been observed extensively, the change in the relationship at various levels of compensation and the nonlinear aspect in the relationship still remain unanswered. Under this backdrop, the study makes an in-depth analysis of the relationship between executive compensation and firm performance in the context of 182 nonfinancial NSE-listed companies of India for the period 2014–2020. The study besides applying the static panel data analysis also advances to generalized method of moments based dynamic panel model to overcome the issues of endogeneity and declares that the relationship existing between executive compensation and firm’s Tobin’s Q is seen to be an inverted U-shaped curve. As per the robust estimator, an increase in the level of executive compensation is found to affect financial performance positively until it transcends a threshold level of 2.6% of the firm’s net profit.
Influence of Family Social Support on Employee Engagement: Influence of Moderator and Mediator
Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
This article aims to unearth the association between family social support (FSS) and employee engagement (EE) with the moderating effect of work social support (WSS) and the mediating effect of family interfering work (FIW). This study used a quantitative approach to perform the research and collected 277 replies from a variety of organizations in Saudi Arabia’s Western region using a multi-item questionnaire and analyzed data using IBM SPSS 25 and IBM AMOS 24. The findings show that FIW plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between FSS and EE. However, WSS is found to have no significant moderating effect. The study provides important learning for practicing professionals and policymakers to adopt family-friendly policies and facilities for enhancing the work–life balance of the employees so as to strengthen the engagement of the employees in the organization. Former studies have emphasized the role of social support in buffering work–family conflict, but there is a dearth of studies linking FSS and EE in a moderated mediation. Thus, the present study endeavors to address the above-mentioned gap. Moreover, the notes for future research are also highlighted in the limitations section.
This article aims to unearth the association between family social support (FSS) and employee engagement (EE) with the moderating effect of work social support (WSS) and the mediating effect of family interfering work (FIW). This study used a quantitative approach to perform the research and collected 277 replies from a variety of organizations in Saudi Arabia’s Western region using a multi-item questionnaire and analyzed data using IBM SPSS 25 and IBM AMOS 24. The findings show that FIW plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between FSS and EE. However, WSS is found to have no significant moderating effect. The study provides important learning for practicing professionals and policymakers to adopt family-friendly policies and facilities for enhancing the work–life balance of the employees so as to strengthen the engagement of the employees in the organization. Former studies have emphasized the role of social support in buffering work–family conflict, but there is a dearth of studies linking FSS and EE in a moderated mediation. Thus, the present study endeavors to address the above-mentioned gap. Moreover, the notes for future research are also highlighted in the limitations section.
Determinants of Entrepreneurial Success in a Conflict-affected Region: Investigating the Role of Select Entrepreneurial Competencies and Environmental Factors on Entrepreneurial Success in Kashmir
Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
Entrepreneurship is not only limited to the stable contexts; rather it exists in conflict zones as well. The current study presents empirical findings from a conflict-affected region Kashmir. We specifically investigated the role of select entrepreneurial competencies including opportunity, commitment, and organizing competencies and environmental factors which include entrepreneurial finance and government policies on entrepreneurial success. We found that entrepreneurial competencies and environmental factors had a direct, positive, and significant impact on entrepreneurial success in a conflict zone Kashmir. The analysis of the data also revealed that the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial success was moderated by government policies. The study is a response to the call of multiple authors for providing empirical evidences from conflict-zones. This study provides evidence for multiple stakeholders including entrepreneurs, governments, and entrepreneurship development institutes to focus on the competencies and policies so that the entrepreneurs may benefit in the long run. The study is significant because findings of this research can be extended to many areas, especially for business and entrepreneurship to survive in places undergoing conflict and strife over long years where sustenance and livelihood due to lack of stability is a continued challenge.
Entrepreneurship is not only limited to the stable contexts; rather it exists in conflict zones as well. The current study presents empirical findings from a conflict-affected region Kashmir. We specifically investigated the role of select entrepreneurial competencies including opportunity, commitment, and organizing competencies and environmental factors which include entrepreneurial finance and government policies on entrepreneurial success. We found that entrepreneurial competencies and environmental factors had a direct, positive, and significant impact on entrepreneurial success in a conflict zone Kashmir. The analysis of the data also revealed that the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial success was moderated by government policies. The study is a response to the call of multiple authors for providing empirical evidences from conflict-zones. This study provides evidence for multiple stakeholders including entrepreneurs, governments, and entrepreneurship development institutes to focus on the competencies and policies so that the entrepreneurs may benefit in the long run. The study is significant because findings of this research can be extended to many areas, especially for business and entrepreneurship to survive in places undergoing conflict and strife over long years where sustenance and livelihood due to lack of stability is a continued challenge.
An Empirical Study of the Impact of Accounting Conservatism and Ownership Structure on Firm Performance in Indonesia
Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
This study aims to investigate the impact of accounting conservatism and ownership structure on the firm performance of Indonesian active manufacturing companies. To achieve this goal, 44 qualified manufacturing companies were used as a sample of the 153 manufacturing companies in Indonesia. The data collection method was preceded by conducting surveys and observations to determine the purposive sampling method as the method used for data collection and data analysis using multiple regression. The company’s ability to use asset resources and equity to generate net income is used as a measure of firm performance. The results of the analysis using the multiple regression method in regression Equation 1 show that accounting conservatism and foreign ownership have a positive effect on return on assets, while managerial ownership and institutional ownership have no effect on return on assets. Similarly, the analysis result of Equation 2 shows that accounting conservativeness and foreign ownership have a positive effect on the return on equity, while managerial ownership and institutional ownership have no effect on the return on equity.
This study aims to investigate the impact of accounting conservatism and ownership structure on the firm performance of Indonesian active manufacturing companies. To achieve this goal, 44 qualified manufacturing companies were used as a sample of the 153 manufacturing companies in Indonesia. The data collection method was preceded by conducting surveys and observations to determine the purposive sampling method as the method used for data collection and data analysis using multiple regression. The company’s ability to use asset resources and equity to generate net income is used as a measure of firm performance. The results of the analysis using the multiple regression method in regression Equation 1 show that accounting conservatism and foreign ownership have a positive effect on return on assets, while managerial ownership and institutional ownership have no effect on return on assets. Similarly, the analysis result of Equation 2 shows that accounting conservativeness and foreign ownership have a positive effect on the return on equity, while managerial ownership and institutional ownership have no effect on the return on equity.
Reconnoitering the Effects of Risk and Knowledge on Use Intention for E-money Services Among Saudi Arabian Residents
Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
Technology impacts human life in multiple ways, and the internet offers the facility to perform traditional money transactions instantly. However, technology adoption is risky, and numerous risks hinder the intention formation from using e-money services. The current work investigates four types of associated risks (financial, service, time, and psychological risk) impacting the use intention for e-money services among Saudi Arabian and estimating the effect of e-money services knowledge on the use intention. For the existing cross-sectional study, quantitative data were collected in Saudi Arabia on social media. Analysis was executed with 328 valid sample data with the partial least square structural equation modeling software SmartPLS 3.3. Results revealed that e-money services’ financial, time, and service risks insignificantly influence the e-money usage intention. However, psychological risk and knowledge about e-money services significantly influence the use intention for e-money services. E-money services firms reduce financial, time, and service risk perceptions. Improving knowledge of e-money services and reducing the psychological risk build a favorable usage intention. The results help develop appropriate management and policy guidelines to facilitate Saudi Arabia to become a cashless society by 2030. The study’s limitations and future research options are stated at the end.
Technology impacts human life in multiple ways, and the internet offers the facility to perform traditional money transactions instantly. However, technology adoption is risky, and numerous risks hinder the intention formation from using e-money services. The current work investigates four types of associated risks (financial, service, time, and psychological risk) impacting the use intention for e-money services among Saudi Arabian and estimating the effect of e-money services knowledge on the use intention. For the existing cross-sectional study, quantitative data were collected in Saudi Arabia on social media. Analysis was executed with 328 valid sample data with the partial least square structural equation modeling software SmartPLS 3.3. Results revealed that e-money services’ financial, time, and service risks insignificantly influence the e-money usage intention. However, psychological risk and knowledge about e-money services significantly influence the use intention for e-money services. E-money services firms reduce financial, time, and service risk perceptions. Improving knowledge of e-money services and reducing the psychological risk build a favorable usage intention. The results help develop appropriate management and policy guidelines to facilitate Saudi Arabia to become a cashless society by 2030. The study’s limitations and future research options are stated at the end.
Investigating the Determinants of Financial Well-Being: A SEM Approach
Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
Studies reveal that the financial well-being of employees has a direct bearing on their productivity and overall well-being. The wellness initiatives organized by the information technology (IT) companies operating in India have also started focusing on the contributing aspects of financial well-being. In this context, the article explores the determinants of financial well-being of IT professionals in India. The article utilizes confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the analysis. The study employs a survey questionnaire covering financial literacy, financial behavior, and financial fragility. It also attempts to recognize the influence of gender and job roles (technical or managerial) in ascertaining financial well-being. The sample data used in the study include 237 professionals employed in the IT sector. The study uses partial least squared structured equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to understand the connection between the determining factors. The results indicate that financial well-being is positively influenced by financial literacy and financial behavior while financial fragility has a substantial negative impact. The financial literacy and financial fragility are significantly different between technical and managerial roles. Gender appears to have a sizeable impact on the financial behavior and financial fragility levels—women employees performed better in both the factors. Interestingly, financial literacy levels of the two genders are not significantly different. The results show that there is a need to focus on literacy, behavior, and fragility in financial wellness programs organized by the IT industry. Further, the study recommends offering tailored financial wellness training modules created based on the job levels and gender instead of following “one program, fits all” standardized approach.
Studies reveal that the financial well-being of employees has a direct bearing on their productivity and overall well-being. The wellness initiatives organized by the information technology (IT) companies operating in India have also started focusing on the contributing aspects of financial well-being. In this context, the article explores the determinants of financial well-being of IT professionals in India. The article utilizes confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the analysis. The study employs a survey questionnaire covering financial literacy, financial behavior, and financial fragility. It also attempts to recognize the influence of gender and job roles (technical or managerial) in ascertaining financial well-being. The sample data used in the study include 237 professionals employed in the IT sector. The study uses partial least squared structured equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to understand the connection between the determining factors. The results indicate that financial well-being is positively influenced by financial literacy and financial behavior while financial fragility has a substantial negative impact. The financial literacy and financial fragility are significantly different between technical and managerial roles. Gender appears to have a sizeable impact on the financial behavior and financial fragility levels—women employees performed better in both the factors. Interestingly, financial literacy levels of the two genders are not significantly different. The results show that there is a need to focus on literacy, behavior, and fragility in financial wellness programs organized by the IT industry. Further, the study recommends offering tailored financial wellness training modules created based on the job levels and gender instead of following “one program, fits all” standardized approach.