The study investigates the mediating role of e-commerce through organizational and environmental factors with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance. The study follows a cross-sectional survey method approach. The study's theoretical foundation is based on the resource-based view (RBV) and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory. The current research identifies four manufacturing SMEs' strata based on participation in the country's exports using a stratified proportional random sampling technique. The research questionnaires were distributed among 700 top and middle-level managers of manufacturing SMEs. The data were analyzed by applying partial least square structural equational modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the relationship between the exogenous, mediator, and endogenous variables. The finding reveals that top management support and competitive pressure have a significant positive impact on the use of e-commerce direct and mediation. At the same time, the adoption cost and government support have an insignificant impact on e-commerce usage. This study results can be used to enhance the use of e-commerce in Pakistan's manufacturing SMEs to improve the country's overall exports.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of corporate governance and human governance on management commentary disclosure among Malaysian Public Listed in the Main Market, Bursa Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe annual reports of 150 companies listed on the main market, Bursa Malaysia, for the year ended 2014, are examined to analyze the company's management commentary disclosure using content analysis. A management commentary disclosure index was developed based on the five elements that had been established by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) in Practices of Management Commentary's framework. The study considers four corporate governance mechanisms such as board composition, board size, board's education and ownership structure. Structural equation modeling (SEM -PLS), partial least squares (PLS) and SmartPLS software were used to measure the impact of corporate governance and human capital on management commentary disclosure.FindingsThe results reveal that most of the information disclosure by Malaysian Listed companies was not presented in a complete and balanced manner and not providing an insight because they are more focused on describing the process. Besides, there was no clear link between companies' strategies and performance measure. Consequently, the reporting is not balanced and cannot assist the shareholders in understanding the opportunities and risk associated with the business. The results, based on a structural model, indicated that only two variables, namely, board size and board independence, showed a positive and significant influence on the degree of disclosure information of management commentary. Board independence is the most significant variable that influences the degree of corporate governance and human capital on management commentary disclosure.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the information disclosure literature as it presents in empirical evidence proving that governance mechanism affects the management commentary disclosure of information by companies. This study also provides additional information which is expedient to other researchers since there is lack of studies in management commentary which relates the attributes of corporate and human governance mechanisms as key drivers in providing management commentary information. Importantly, this study will stimulate the interest of academics in research activities concerning the attributes of governance mechanisms and corporate and human governance on management commentary activities.
The COVID-19 has forever changed the way firms use digital solutions for their B2B ecommerce activities. During this pandemic, only those industries are surviving, which have shifted their business model to online. Most of the counties' SME growth is badly affected by the COVID-19. Business-to-business e-commerce (B2B) is essential for a rapidly changing business environment and increases SME's overall performance. The study aims to explore the influence of technological (relative advantage and technology readiness), organizational (cost of adoption and top management support), and environmental (government support and competitive pressure) factors of the technological, organizational, and environmental (TOE) model on B2B e-commerce. The research framework was developed based on diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and the TOE model. The research collects data from two heterogeneous groups sports and surgical. The 500 questionnaires were distributed to top and middle-level managers of Pakistan's manufacturing SMEs. Thus, 262 were returned. The study applies multi-group analysis by using the SmartPLS 3.3.2 to investigate the hypothesized relationships. The result shows that technological factors have a significant positive relationship with B2B e-commerce in sports and surgical SMEs. However, competitive pressure as an environmental factor differs in sports and surgical SMEs to use B2B e-commerce. The study provides theoretical and practical implications. The study helps SME managers and practitioners in understanding the underlying factors for the successful implementation of e-commerce.
PurposeThis paper investigates the literary corpus on the role of intellectual capital (IC) for the sustainable and innovative development of organisations. It provides a quantitative overview of the academic literature that constitutes this field. The paper discusses whether IC, through the implementation of knowledge management (KM) processes, can influence the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) towards the creation of sustainable business models (SBMs), which are outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 agenda and adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015.Design/methodology/approachBased on a database containing 45 publications in the English language with a publication date from 1990 to 2019 (October), a bibliometric analysis was conducted. Data on publications, journals, authors and citations were collected, re-checked and examined by applying bibliometric measures.FindingsThe bibliographic analysis identified that the research published on IC in the perspective of sustainability focusses mainly on the measurement of results, in terms of increased business performance. The results show that the IC is linked to the concept of long-term value. Therefore, the development potential of the IC is linked to the 2030 agenda for sustainable development (SD). These results also provide a framework for the literature on IC and SDGs by highlighting the connection with the EO to develop SBMs.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature on IC as a driver for SD. In more detail, it provides a systematic review of the literature on these topics under the umbrella of the SDG perspective.
This research aims to examine the mediating role of the use of the e-commerce and moderating influence of entrepreneurial competencies on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study data were collected via a structured questionnaire comprised of a seven-point Likert scale from practitioners serving at the top and middle-level positions in Pakistani SMEs. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was applied on 250 useable returned questionnaires. The results showed that the association between the use of e-commerce and firm performance is positively significant. Moreover, the use of e-commerce mediates the positive association between technological readiness, adoption cost, and firm performance. However, the moderating role of entrepreneurial competencies does not appear as significant between the use of e-commerce and manufacturing SMEs' performance. The present study is the first to explore entrepreneurial competencies as a moderator between e-commerce adoption and firm performance. The empirical outcomes of this research provide useful theoretical and practical implications for the managers and practitioners to understand the underlying factors for the successful implementation of e-commerce in the SME sector to enhance firm performance.
