CBERICGEEE December-2020

This study examined the nexus between microfinance banks and the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. Research design method through a self-administered questionnaire to respondents was adopted for the study. The respondents comprise the microfinance banks’ management and staff and micro, small and medium business entrepreneurs, in Lagos State, the commercial hub of Nigeria. The targeted population of this study was 250 with 223 validly responded. The study tested two hypotheses using logit regression analysis. The hypothesis one shows that the null hypothesis is rejected with the acceptance of the alternate that the microfinance banks in Nigeria channelled their resources to the intended target (t-calculated of 8.181 is greater than t-tabulated of 0.000 at 5% level of significance). The findings further showed that a significant positive relationship exists between microfinance banks, proxied by Small Scale Financial Services (SSFS); Financial Sustainability (FST); Absence of Assets-based Collateral (AAC); and Advisory Services (ADS) and the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. This implies that any upward movement in the services of microfinance banks will enhance the growth of MSMEs. This is further affirmed with the t-calculated of 6.540 > t-tabulated of 0.000 at 5% level of significance. Thus, rejecting the null hypothesis two and accepting that there is significant positive link between microfinance banks and MSMEs in Nigeria. This study then recommended among others, the need for government to put in place, a strong and more effective team comprises of all stakeholders, to ensure that the microfinance banks do not derail from their primary responsibility of sustaining funding for the MSMEs.

Different firms follow different strategies. It is partially dependent on the industry they operate in. The objective of the study is to find out whether there are similarities between firms operating in the same industry sector in terms of strategy. Another subsequent objective is to look at the similarities in strategy undertaken by firms in the same industry sector and whether and how the strategies pursued by firms in different industry sectors are different. The study was carried out in India. It was found that there are lot of commonalities in strategy between firms operating in the same industry sector. Also, strategies pursued by firms in different industry sectors are distinctly different. There are certain strategic factors like price and quality which are common to all industry sectors. The bottom line is that consumers want value and firms has to provide value, the composition and factors comprising value differs according to the industry the firm operates in.

Organisations depend on employees as crucial resources to execute duties aimed at realisation of organisational objectives. Organisational justice has been found to be a major predictor of employees’ performance and wellbeing. Studies found that employees tend to view justice in a different manner and that majority of employees tend to enjoy their work when they perceive that organisational justice exist within their organisation. The objective of this study was to examine the academic employees’ perceptions of organisational justice at a selected higher learning institution. A descriptive quantitative research approach was adopted in this study. A structured questionnaire developed by Colquitt (2001) was used to collect data from a convenient sample of 50 academic employees. The questionnaire consists of 20 items measuring three dimensions of organisational justice (procedural justice, distributive justice, and interactional justice) rated on a 7- point Likert scale. The collected data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 26.0 published by the International Business Machines (IBM). The research findings revealed that in general, a slight majority of the respondents perceived some form of organisational justice to exist within their organisation (mean of 4.64). Although similar results were found in terms of the three dimensions of perceived organisational justice (4.19 for procedural justice, 5.14 for distributive justice and 4.78 for interactional justice), some form of injustice was reported to exist in relation to procedural justice. The study recommends that future researchers should continue to explore all the prospects of organisational justice in higher institutions of education.

Scholars have declared that underserved communities will face the greatest marginalization due to disruptions in the 21st century. In our previous research engagements, we developed papers and presentations on 'The Future of Work and Entrepreneurship for the Underserved' and we shared data and our concerns for global income disparities and the need for a global perspective in this discourse. Purpose of Research- In this paper, we present a global snapshot regarding the future of work and entrepreneurship for the underserved and various perspectives from different authors on what these new changes predict for the underserved in the world. Design/ Methodology: After reviewing literature and determining key themes imperative to this topic, we put up a call for chapters that attracted diverse authors in academia and industry across the world representing different geographical regions including the USA, South America, Asia, and Africa. The abstracts were peer-reviewed and analyzed to identify commonalities and key areas of focus among the underserved communities worldwide. Results/Findings: The submitted abstracts found aligned with themes in education, technology and innovation, small business development, and diverse labor markets to the future of work and entrepreneurship for the underserved. They also explored other areas such as increasing utilization of labor in the unscaled economy through creativity and the use of emerging innovations and technologies. Additionally, the COVID 19 pandemic phenomenon was highlighted as a challenge that has exacerbated the need to address the future of work and entrepreneurship post-COVID. Practical Implications and Conclusions: We propose that unity in community and capacity building is vital to create shared prosperity. In this paper, we will share a summary of the chapters which will be included in the forthcoming handbook and perspectives on what the future of work and entrepreneurship will evolve into the new normal. We hope that this analysis will create further dialogue in academia, industry, and policy on how to ensure that the underserved are included in the future of work and entrepreneurship.

The audit profession currently faces several challenges to improve audit quality and efficiency. In response to these challenges, audit firms have invested considerably in implementing emerging technology. Although technological innovation may improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations, using these technologies creates several threats, which, if not adequately addressed by auditors, may harm audit quality, efficiency, and the professional development of the auditor. This paper performs a qualitative analysis of prior literature regarding the threats created by audit firms implementing emerging technology. These threats include concerns related to the integrity and security of data inputs, the auditor placing too much reliance on technology to the detriment of their professional development and exercise of professional judgement, a shortage of skills, the costs of technology implementation, disruptions to the status quo of the audit profession and auditing standards potentially being outdated. This paper adds value firstly by helping to determine how technology impacts the future of the auditing profession and secondly, by helping firms determine whether to invest in new technologies by providing a comprehensive overview of the threats resulting from such a decision.

The audit profession currently faces several challenges to improve audit quality and efficiency. In response to these challenges, audit firms have invested considerably in implementing emerging technology. Although technological innovation may improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations, using these technologies creates several threats, which, if not adequately addressed by auditors, may harm audit quality, efficiency, and the professional development of the auditor. This paper performs a qualitative analysis of prior literature regarding the threats created by audit firms implementing emerging technology. These threats include concerns related to the integrity and security of data inputs, the auditor placing too much reliance on technology to the detriment of their professional development and exercise of professional judgement, a shortage of skills, the costs of technology implementation, disruptions to the status quo of the audit profession and auditing standards potentially being outdated. This paper adds value firstly by helping to determine how technology impacts the future of the auditing profession and secondly, by helping firms determine whether to invest in new technologies by providing a comprehensive overview of the threats resulting from such a decision.

Purpose of Research: The present paper studies the effectiveness of the factors in motivating the employees working in the retail industry. It also analyses the perception of the employees about the effectiveness of the factors influencing staff motivation and the difficulties faced by them in their workplace and their opinions on being better off. This study is very crucial in present day context as competition in retailing is getting steeper. Particularly after the economic slowdown in a highly volatile economic environment, retailers must analyse the factors affecting their employee motivation. Methodology: In this study, the researchers have tended to highlight the positivist philosophical approach. The research has been carried through the survey done on the staffs of operations and sales team of some top organised retailers in Kolkata by a standardised questionnaire, blended with open ended and close ended questions. It also delves into the effect of demographics and psychology of the staffs and their perception about the factors influences their motivation level in the workplace, by using various statistical tools like Chi-Square Test, Cronbach’s Alpha and Factor Analysis in the study. Findings: Reward and Recognition structure and Cash Benefit structures are the most influential factors in motivating the staffs to work in retail sector, closely followed by Career growth opportunities. Again, the Incentive structure influences the staff motivation to perform better in sales. Practical Implications and Conclusions: The components give an unadulterated and fulfilling experience to the staffs which makes them feel good about their work and also make them feel hopeful in order to make betterment in their career. These leads to positively influencing the motivation level of the staffs in the retail industry. This leads to better performance from the staffs in both quality and quantity. This also reduces employee turnover. This helps in maintaining a healthy environment work balance with a healthy relationship between the staffs and the management, in the retail sector. This in turn helps the retail sector to grow and prosper.

Wildlife is an essential element of our environment for the ecosystem to maintain the ecological balance. Tourism is also a crucial factor for the development of our infrastructure, economy, and social well-being. Tourism plays a positive role in our economy by directly and indirectly involving different industries and generating revenues, but tourism also plays a different role to the society and the environment as more people cause more pollution. The industry of domestic tourism has been on bloom before covid-19. As nature recalls the natural resources are now better than before. Various occasions are counted, and important measures are taken into account. It also shows how the industries are harming the wildlife situations alongside the locals in those selected areas. The aim of this study is to find a way to establish a sustainable tourism specially giving emphasis on wildlife. This research goes deep with the altercation of human thinking as a local and also as a tourist. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire survey from 140 respondents following a random sampling method. SPSS software was used for data analysis. The statistical findings reveal that tourists are indirectly involved with reduction of wildlife species in Bangladesh. The industry of domestic tourism has been on bloom before covid-19. As nature recalls the natural resources are now better than before. Various occasions are counted, and important measures are taken into account. It also shows how the industries are harming the wildlife situations alongside the locals in those selected areas. The findings of this study might help reshape the tourism industry and find ways for coexisting of wildlife with modern tourism

Racial transformation is essential for the South African accounting profession. Consequently, adequate support is required for students pursuing the chartered accountant (CA(SA)) designation. This study examines determinants of success in private tertiary institutions in South Africa. The variables considered are demographic details (age, gender, and race), prior academic performance, prior tertiary institution, previous attempts, time lapses between undergraduate and postgraduate study, class format selection, use of technology and mentorship. While this study reviews prior work on private higher education, it is also innovative as it extends existing research by considering several variables which have not been investigated before in South Africa. The findings highlight the need for further empirical research on the determinants of success in private tertiary education to better support accounting students.

The aim of the study was to investigate students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of product placements and to determine whether they are aware of product placements, whether they pay any attention to product placements and whether the exposure to product placements has influenced their purchasing behaviour in any way. This study adopted a quantitative research approach and employed the case study design; hence, the main focus of this study is on how students, based at private higher institution in Durban, perceive the effectiveness of product placement. The study was conducted at a private higher education institution with an estimated population of 1000; the sample size was 135. The form of non-probability convenience sampling method was employed. Although the form of nonprobability sampling techniques is not common in quantitative studies, sufficient representation was ensured. Hence, the research results were able to be generalised from a sample to a population. Quantitative data was collected using the questionnaire method. SPSS statistical package was used to capture numerical data. The study also employed both descriptive and inferential statistics in order to infer the sample results to the entire population. The quantitative data analysis results indicated that product placements are similar to traditional advertising in terms of capturing the audience’s attention, developing positive feelings towards the product and recall when faced with a purchase decision. The study has also contributed immensely to the digital and social media advertising theory and practice

This study appraised the problems of microfinance banks in Nigeria and evaluated the mitigating factors. Survey research design through the administration of structured questionnaire was adopted for data collection. The targeted population was 250 microfinance banks operators and micro, small and medium entrepreneurs. The respondents validly returned 223 copies of the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics like table, mean, standard deviation and percentages were used for data analyses. The findings revealed that high operating and financial expenses (99.6%); low revenue base (99.6%); lack of effective corporate governance (99.6%); lack of standard and uniformity in financial transactions (99.6%); insiders’ abuse (99.6%); and ineffective monitoring of the allocated funds to ensure the utilisation as intended (99.6%) are highly critical among the twenty identified problem confronting microfinance banks in Nigeria. The results also showed that majority of the respondents believed that among the twenty identified mitigating factors to the problems of MFBs in Nigeria, timely preparation of financial statements (99.6%); adoption of cost efficiency mechanism (99.6%); investing more on information technology for enhancement of operations (99.6%); standardisation of the quality, experience and qualifications of management of microfinance (99.6%); and effective background check of staff and customers are the most important. The study therefore recommends the need for government to evaluate these findings and timely deploy the mitigating factors for the enhancement of the growth of microfinance banks in Nigeria.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the factors that affect developing countries especially Egyptian users to adopt IOT Applications/devices, and to what extent those variables affect the overall attitude towards, behavioral intentions and actual usage of IOT applications/devices. Moreover, to develop an extended adoption model by integrating the security concern and privacy concern in UTAUT2 model. Design/Methodology: a descriptive quantitative approach was adopted, and a comprehensive research model was adapted from literature and then tested via an online questionnaire. Results/Findings: The findings revealed that Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions and Security Concern all have a significant positive effect on the overall intention towards using IOT applications/devices in Egypt. Theoretical and practical implications: The Internet of Things (IOT) has emerged as an innovative computing technology destined to optimize business operations and create new products and services. IOT enable the devices to communicate and integrate with one another to collect, exchange, and make data accessible through the Internet. It is projected that by 2025, over 50 billion devices will be connected to the IOT network, reaching a market value of up to $11 trillion. This study adapted the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) as the theoretical framework and its findings contribute to the literature by adding security and privacy concerns as new predictor variables. This contributes theoretically to the current literature by providing meaningful insights into the main factors that affect using IOT Applications/Devices in developing countries specially Egypt. This study’s conceptual effort provided an overall overview of how IOT users arrive at choosing (or not choosing) to use IOT applications/devices. Additionally, the analytic effort of this study provided a holistic assessment of the role of each variable. One critical question in this case is whether industrial leaders should assign an equal number of resources to each variable or not. By assessing the significance of each variable, the researcher attempted to clarify the comparative importance of each variable in forecasting purchase intentions and decisions to use IOT applications/devices.

This paper seeks to determine whether South African tax legislation would limit the effectiveness of tax avoidance schemes used by multinational enterprises to avoid their tax liabilities. The paper reviews two commonly used multinational tax avoidance schemes, namely, disregarding controlled foreign companies (‘check box’ regulations) and royalty payments. Using a doctrinal research methodology, the paper considers the application of these schemes within the context of South African legislation. The findings indicate that the effectiveness of the schemes is somewhat curtailed. However, the South African tax base remains at risk, and efforts to combat base erosion are still necessary.

At present, Higher education sector in Egypt plays an important role. The exponential change in technology initiates improving its services. As a result of the increased pressure to improve competitiveness, and due to COVID19 circumstances, academic institutions are motivated to adopt a system perspective, elevating strategies towards achieving E-learning. This research is mainly targeting exploring practices of E-learning in higher education, its influence on enhancing the education process and in-house customers' satisfaction (students). There’s a dissimilarity between Elearning teaching and the traditional teaching, there are many debates. Creating effective E-learning environment has become a top priority for higher academic institutions. The parameters of the E-learning system effectiveness are not revealed. The main objective of this research is to find out whether the online teaching method compared to the traditional teaching method, in different colleges of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT); will achieve a higher quality level than that created using the traditional education approach in specific. The research aims at exploring students’ perceptions towards E-Learning teaching method & traditional teaching method concerning learning environment satisfaction, quality of achievements and performance. The research approaches adopted in this study includes executing an experimental study using a quasi-experiment design to direct the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime transport (AASTMT) to different knowledge bases in instruction technology. Moreover, the findings from this research would provide evidence and add to the body of knowledge in higher education. The methodology of the research is seeking to apply E-learning to manage development and improve performance, as a starting point to assess the effect of applying E-learning on enhancing the education process. This research is the first in higher education in Egypt to hold a comparison between teaching methods and study the effect of this combination of dimensions together and analyze the E-Learning teaching method effect on enhancing education and improving quality. Finally, the research will elaborate the problems faced to improve the E-Learning teaching method as a prerequisite for higher education since the beginning of COVID19 pandemic.

The spreading of business improvement districts (BIDs) and similar forms of a public-private partnership, as a new mechanism of urban revitalization and economic development, have emerged in Canada five decades ago and quickly adopted to many cities in countries such as the USA, Germany, UK, South Africa and lately Denmark and Sweden. This form of a public-private partnership with local authorities is created when a significant number of businesses or business property owners agree through a democratic process ballot to manage a delimited area and offer additional public services such as security, maintenance, infrastructure improvement, and marketing, to improve decaying commercial and residential areas. Since 2011, the model has been applied in 8 districts in Albania, contributing to improved business life, infrastructure improvement, and enhanced general public services. The period is long enough to offer insights regarding their evolution and transformative effect in the areas where it has been applied. This paper aims to explore the adaptation of the business improvement district (BID) model in urban areas in Albania and, at the same time, point out its characteristics, activities, and contribution to the area development. The methodology used includes a qualitative research design, including primary and secondary data sources. Primary data sources include interviews with BID association members, administrators, and consultants in Albania, businesses, local government officials, and lawyers. Secondary sources include different research papers on BID functionality and BID legislation, conference proceedings, project reports, entrepreneurship magazines. By identifying the effects of the model in area transformation, this study results have important implications for Albania's public and development policies and extracts practical lessons from its introduction in this local context. The findings presented demonstrate BID's transformative role for area renewal, economic and social development of the areas where it has been applied.

ct China’s engagement(s) throughout the African continent has met with mixed reactions from academics, politicians, civil society, and interest groups. In that regards, this paper questions the link between China-Africa, if this is a new form of colonialism or is China kind to the continent. Thus, this paper examines whether the debates regarding the nature of the China-Africa relations can be qualified or categorized as a new form of colonialism approach or not. Also, the paper analyzes the perception of academics, politicians, civil society and interested groups about the implications towards the ChinaAfrica economic cooperation and explains whether China is taking advantage of the weak African states in the name of South-South cooperation or playing the role of a contemporary substitute of the old colonial system. The paper has adopted an Afrocentricity theory as a lens sometimes referred as a theory of social change that is initiated and better clarified by Asante Molefi Kete (1980 and 2003). Afrocentricity is an approach to the study of world history that focuses on the history of people of recent African descent. To achieve the aims of this paper, the author(s) benefited from Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of secondary data covering China’s economic engagements in Africa. Conceptually, it is found that China has a large influence in Zambia over the mining industry. It is affirmed that China’s investments in the mining sector control over 88%. Therefore, it is concluded in this paper that China’s presence on the African continent presents equal opportunities (economic development, e.g., employment creation) and threats (loss of Sovereignty, employment exploitation). Thereafter, this paper recommends that African governments should be pro-active in order to exploit the potential opportunities. The paper also recommends that there should be an economic winwin cooperation as per China’s African Policy (2006), which implies that there should be a mutual benefit.

This research paper suggests the Means-End Chain theory, has relevant and potential application in domestic tourism research and, as such, should receive wider debate in emerging tourism destinations. It is argued that the theory is particularly useful for understanding personal values as the basis of tourist behavior. This paper argues a personal values approach is a more potent way to understanding domestic tourist participation in contrast to previous survey research findings. A dominate narrative in most developing nations is to target domestic tourist with amenities envisioned for global tourists as a result of failure to generate international tourist demand. The review of literature method was used in this research paper as methodological approach. The study shows the effectiveness of Means End Chain analysis in understanding travel markets and demonstrated the use of motivation chains as a basis for segmenting, positioning, and targeting domestic tourist; The study deduces that means end chain analysis has advantages over quantitative research methods in crosscultural research given the ability of the approach to reveal unique insights.

Traditional banking methods evolved and include services as a method of differentiation, reducing operating costs, and providing additional benefits to the customer. Banks re-invented themselves and provide innovative solutions to remain competitive. This research explores whether using value added services contributed to changes in transactional banking behaviour and was done in one of the largest banks in South Africa over a period of four months. Two banking products in the youth customer segment were selected. The control group received one treatment at the beginning of the four-month period, and the experimental group received a further three treatments at different times of each month. Two data sets (1) VAS usage and (2) bank transactions were analysed. The results showed that the intervention had a positive effect on transactional banking behaviour. Additional causative factors were identified that increased the usage of value-added services and increased transactional banking behaviour.

Trust is seen to include both emotional and cognitive dimensions and to function as a deep assumption underwriting social order. In the past three decades, the importance of trust in the workplace & its influence on organizational performance has been recognized by research scholars, and practitioners. This research paper aims to examine the impact of employee trust on leaders' ethical decision-making. This study applies literature review method to address the above subject showing that the impact of employee trust on leaders’ ethical decision-making relates to organizational aspects, as well as personal characteristics of leaders. Consideration of organizational aspects include performance, effective communication, and organizational culture. The personal aspects relate to leadership self-certification, guilt, rational attitude, leader learning, and moral model. Further, this study suggests that employee trust enhances e& & motivates leaders to make ethical decisions. However, organizational culture and leadership personal characteristics may have a negative impact on ethical decision-making. This study suggests that organizations could make collective decisions on major issues to reduce the impact of these negative factors on ethical decision-making.