Ahmed Al Asheq

This study has investigated the extent to which individual and contextual factors determine the entrepreneurial intention in Bangladesh. Also, this study examined the comparative impact of both individual and contextual factors on entrepreneurial intentions. Sample data (n = 270) have been collected through using a survey questionnaire from a renowned public university of Bangladesh. This study has applied both correlation analysis and hierarchical regression for testing the hypotheses. Total eight hypotheses are tested to examine the influence of seven independent variables on entrepreneurial intentions, in which six factors have been found as significant predictors of entrepreneurial intentions. The correlation analysis revealed that risk-taking, locus of control, self-efficacy, and job autonomy are significantly correlated with entrepreneurial intention at 5% significance level. The regression result indicated that individual factors such as risk-taking, locus of control, self-efficacy, and job autonomy and contextual factors such as social networks and university educational program have positive effect on entrepreneurial intention. The study also found out that individual factors have more influence on entrepreneurial intentions than contextual variables. This paper also offers some implications for academic scholars.

Currently, Internet penetration is accelerating across the country in Bangladesh, which, in particular, has led to the simultaneous development and growth of online businesses. Due to increased internet availability and accessibility, a number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) continue to operate using an Internet-driven online platform. This context requires a research effort to investigate the underlying factors that might influence the business performance of online SMEs. Thus, the aim of the study is to examine the impact of e-marketing orientation (EMO), technology orientation (TO), and learning capability (LC) on online SME performance in the context of Bangladesh. In this study, the dependent variable is online SME performance, whereas the independent variables are EMO, TO and LC. To achieve this objective, the study developed a questionnaire based on past literature. Following a non-probability random sampling approach, 320 survey forms were distributed among online SME owners using the online survey system (Google form), and finally 156 responses were realized as fully complete responses. Hence, the study sample size is n = 156. SPSS version no. 26 was used to analyze the correlation among independent and dependent variables and to test the hypotheses. During statistical analysis, the 5% significance level is used as a threshold value to accept hypotheses. The study results show that EMO, TO and LC have a statistical and significant impact on online SME performance. Finally, this paper seeks to outline several important implications for online SME owners, as well as suggest several directions for future research.

The paper strives to investigate the influential factors that might significantly affect consumers’ intention to shop from online websites. On this premise, this paper aims to examine the impact of perceived trust (PT), convenience (CONV), perceived website quality (PWQ), and subjective norm (SN) on individuals’ intention towards online shopping (ITOS). The paper proposed a study framework based on previous relevant literature. The study has drawn samples from private university students of Bangladesh. A quantitative research approach was adopted, followed by a survey method. Only undergraduate and postgraduate students of two Bangladeshi universities were considered as respondents as it is believed that they were the primary online shoppers in Bangladesh perspective. The sample size in this paper is 339, which was deemed adequate to run regression analysis. SPSS software has been utilized to conduct correlation and regression analysis. The convenience sampling method was applied in the study as the population is not known. This paper applied a 95% confidence interval to accept the hypotheses. Correlation results confirm that all independent variables correlated with ITOS. The findings of the paper report that PT, CONV, PWQ, and SN have a significant impact on students’ intention towards online shopping (ITOS). Henceforth, the online business managers can utilize the findings of this paper to understand the young consumer behaviors and develop a solid and effective online marketing plan for sustainable business performance.

As the number of smart phone users and the popularity of Internet among people are growing day by day in Bangladesh, it became necessary for Bangladeshi local banks to provide mobile banking services to their customers. Therefore, this study seeks to identify the crucial and determining factors that may affect the intention of customers to use mobile banking services. The sample size in this study is 91, in which majority are the students of Business Studies. All respondents have mobile banking at the time of the survey. The samples in the study were mainly drawn from the private university students (i.e. Business Administration students) and faculty members, and some bank officers participated as sample respondents in this study. A non-probability random sampling method is applied, and a 5% significance level is used to accept the hypotheses. Cronbach alpha (α) of 0.7 and above is considered to measure the reliability of the item wise variables. This study examines six variables (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, security, perceived privacy, and technology competency) to analyze their impact on the behavioral intention of banking customers to use mobile banking services. Three variables, namely perceived usefulness, security, and technology competency, are found to be significant predictors of customers’ intent to use mobile banking in Bangladesh. For analytical purposes, SPSS version 23.0 is used to test hypotheses. The paper also provides significant implications for bank managers to increase the adoption of mobile banking for their sustainability.