Francis Ndudi

Academic resilience and emotional intelligence are considered important personal resources for furthering students’ academic performance. However, many educational organizations seem to trivialize the performance implications of these constructs in teachings and curriculum. Consequently, it can decrease not just their academic performance but also their employability, as they lack the generic competencies to adapt and survive in a stressful context. Even so, empirical evidence on integrating academic resilience, emotional intelligence, and academic performance remains unexplored in the Nigerian university context. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the linkages between academic resilience, emotional intelligence, and academic performance in Nigeria. The partial least square (PLS) modeling method was utilized for testing the stated hypotheses with data collected from 179 final year undergraduate students in the regular B.Sc. Business Administration and B.Sc. Marketing program at Delta State University, Nigeria. From the PLS results, the study reported that academic resilience was positively related to emotional intelligence (β = 0.125, p = 0.007), academic resilience (β = 0.231, p = 0.000) and emotional intelligence (β = 0.260, p = 0.000) were positively related to academic performance, and emotional resilience mediated the positive relationship between academic resilience and academic performance (β = 0.057, p = 0.005). While academic resilience predicted academic performance, it also predicted emotional intelligence, which affected academic performance significantly and positively.

The influence of family support and psychological capital (PsyCap) is a topical discourse in entrepreneurship studies due to the unsupportive and turbulent environments most entrepreneurs operate in. However, studies concluding on the nature and direction of family support and PsyCap effects on start-up formation appear scant. This study aims to empirically examine family support effects on start-up formation with psychological capital (PsyCap) as a mediation factor. Specific emphasis was given to extended family support. The study utilized the partial least square (PLS) method for hypotheses testing with cross-sectional data collected from 261 randomly sampled trainees in an entrepreneurship training program organized by the Delta State Ministry of Youth Development. The PLS analysis showed that family support (β = 0.317, p = 0.000) and PsyCap (β = 0.202, p = 0.000) have a significant positive effect on start-up formation. The results proved that family support and PsyCap are valuable antecedent factors for positioning entrepreneurs to engage and thrive productively in the start-up formation process. Furthermore, PsyCap did not mediate the significant positive effect of family support on start-up formation (β = 0.235, p = 0.000; β = 0.103, p = 0.052). This result demonstrates that family support may not be enough for PsyCap to transmit its significant positive effect on start-up formation. Hence, there is a need to procure other alternate support from formal or informal settings.

The concept of green manufacturing is a topical discourse in sustainability studies, but its adoption seems to be lagging due to an unclear link to financial performance. The study aims to test the relationship between green manufacturing and financial performance, with quality performance as a mediator and entrepreneurial orientation as a moderator. The partial least square (PLS) method was applied for hypotheses testing. Data were randomly obtained from 116 managerial staff in manufacturing firms operating in the polymer industry in Southern Nigeria. From the PLS results, green manufacturing is positively related to financial performance (β = 0.167, p = 0.027), and this relationship is mediated by quality performance (β = 0.194, p = 0.000) and moderated by entrepreneurial orientation (β = 0.115, p = 0.000). The results demonstrated that green manufacturing spurs financial performance directly. However, optimality can be achieved indirectly through quality performance and under generative conditions or behaviors effectuated by entrepreneurial orientation. In conclusion, quality performance and entrepreneurial orientation may account for the ways in which green manufacturing enhances financial performance significantly and positively.