Analyzing factors influencing SME readiness for smart retail: A structural equation model approach

This paper investigates networking and related activities for marketing performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for the sustainable development and the preservation of the environment. These SMEs have limited business skills and knowledge, and don`t have any marketing funds. As a clearly growing trend aspect in business, networking approaches were blended to find approaches to help these SMEs to take their market niche. Thirty-seven (37) SMEs were used as a convenience sample to experiment with the concepts. They were investigated on what could optimize marketing results and what could offset marketing benefits. The paper finds out that networking provides effective marketing when is modeled under crowdsourcing. Options for crowdsourcing could also involve local organizations in the marketing networks. SMEs should document their activities for proper accountability and transparency. They should also use incentives to volunteers and crowdsourcing participants by giving them shares and be proactive in their approaches. Further, SME practitioners should require them to learn business skills.

Indonesia is a developing country with many local cultures trying to continue increasing electronic transactions with e-Banking. UTAUT2 is the one of acceptance and use of the technology model. This study focuses on investigating the effect of Javanese cultural philosophy (local culture in Indonesia) on banking customer behavior in accepting and using banking transactions. This paper is supported by qualitative information, although it uses a quantitative approach. The Javanese cultural philosophy “Ojo Gumunan, Ojo Kagetan” was the main information before distributing the questionnaire as primary data. This model uses UTAUT2 and data analysis using PLS-SEM with SmartPLS. The main results reinforce the theory that the Javanese cultural philosophy “Ojo Gumunan, Ojo Kagetan” is a significant dominant factor in influencing behavior intention. The results of applying the UTAUT2 model show a variance of 86.4% for the endogenous variable behavioral intention and 72.4% for the endogenous variable use behavior to e-banking, which exceeds the value of the original model. Findings revealed that the variables of Javanese philosophy and promotion conditions have a significant effect on behavioral intentions. The facilitating condition variables, habit variables, and behavioral intentions variables on behavior using e-banking proved to affect significantly. This study aims to evaluate the model of acceptance and use of e-banking with a Javanese philosophical approach. The evaluation results show that Javanese philosophy is the main and dominant factor in the model. The contribution of this study can provide insights for practitioners and researchers that increasing non-cash banking transactions (less-cash society) through e-banking can use a local-cultural philosophical approach.

Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate cultural experts’ contributions, including Magnis Suseno, Didik Nini Thowok, Sujiwo Tejo, and members of the FGD in providing information about Javanese culture. The authors are grateful to all parties who have given their feedback and support in completing this paper.

Immigrant entrepreneurship, like other facets of entrepreneurship, contributes towards a country’s productivity, partly through employment creation. However, the specific factors, in the form of social capital, that lend themselves to this employment creation potential, remain largely unknown. It is against this background that this study sought to determine if the variables of language proficiency and networking ability bear an association with the employment creation ability of African immigrant entrepreneurs.
This quantitative study was executed from a positivism philosophical standpoint. Relying on the population of African immigrants in the small business sector in South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique, the non-probability sampling techniques of convenience and snowball sampling were used to identify 2,500 participants. Data were collected in a cross-sectional manner, with self-administered questionnaires and an effective 33% response rate was realized.
Findings reveal a statistically significant relationship between language proficiency and employment creation, while that between networking ability and employment creation was not significant. Nonetheless, most of the studied African immigrant entrepreneurs across the countries agreed that language proficiency and networking ability have helped them cope with the rigors of operating their businesses. These findings signal the need for interventions for building language proficiency and networking ability for African immigrant entrepreneurs.