Journal of Economics and Business Research

Calvert K and Simandan D (2010) Energy, space, and society: a reassessment of the changing landscape of energy production, distribution, and use Journal of Economics and Business Research XVI(1), pp. 13-37. Abstract: While geography has always mattered for the energy sector, the relative effects of location and distance on the economics of energy regimes are increasing as we begin to deploy more renewable energy technologies. This reintroduction of the friction of distance is leading to an energy landscape that is far different from fossil-based regimes. The new energy paradigm, based as it is upon the physics and the economics of renewable energy, is being reflected in the landscape as distributed, decentralized, and diversified patterns of energy generation. Because the increased use of renewable energy technologies is beginning to change the spatial patterns of political and socioeconomic activities, a thorough understanding of these patterns is crucial to increasing the socio-political acceptability of new technologies and to avoiding the socially costly unintended consequences of policy and investment decisions. This paper proposes a theoretical foundation upon which economists and economic geographers could scaffold their analyses of the spatial characteristics of the economics of energy use. To this end, we bring together two complementary conceptualizations of economic geography: firstly, as the study of the effects of location and distance on energy economics, and secondly, as the study of the ways in which political, economic, and technological energy-related practices give rise to particular spatial patterns of socio-economic welfare. We end the paper by developing the concept of energy rationality and showing how it relates to discussions of metarationality, common sense, and wisdom.

The creation and the proper functioning of the organizations efficient structures depend on the knowledge one has of the normal consumptions and expenses in expense centers and compartments of structures. The comparison between the actual performances and the stipulations facilitates the appraisal and control of the accuracy of the costs employed on the principle of reverse connection. Consequently, the organisation's managers can intervene in due time to eliminate the factors and causes that disturb the proper functioning of the economical and financial mechanisms . The prerogatives of management can only be exercised by taking into account a group of managerial strategies and tactics which are defined in connection with a fundamental criterion. Thus, if the criterion consists of the company's objectives, we talk about "management by objectives"; if the criterion consists of the deviations between the actual performances and the purposes of the organization, we talk about "management by exceptions"; if the criterion consists of the products manufactured, we talk about "management by product"; if the criterion is the cost, the management is "by costs and budgets"; in the case of large actions like the redesign of the firm or the adoption of Communicational and Informational Technologies, we talk about "management by project", etc. In fact, it can be stated

This study examines the effect of budget deficit on exchange rate in Nigeria using a time series data from 1980 to 2017. The study employs an ECM approach for evaluation. The descriptive statistics indicates that from 1980 to 2017, the variables show an averaged positive mean values. The stationarity tests result of the variables under consideration, all the variables are stationary and integrated of order one at 5% level of significance. The Johansen hypothesized cointegration test result show that the trace likelihood ratio and the maximum Eigen value results point out that the null hypothesis of no cointegration among the variables is rejected in favour of the alternative hypothesis up to five cointegrating equations at 5% significant level respectively. The long run analysis of the effect of the budget deficit on the exchange rate performance reveal that the coefficient of the variables, DEFICIT_1, LOG(M2)(broad money supply) , and OPEN(trade openness) show positive signs. The coefficient of the variables INF(inflation), DEEP and LOG(CONSUM) (Government consumption expenditure), indicate negative signs. Statistically, the F-statistic result indicate that the entire regression are adequate while the R2 - (R-squared) the adjusted R2 results shows that the independent variables explain the dependent variable to the tune of 98 %. The equilibrium error-correction coefficient ECM (−1) is -0.784058 has the expected negative sign and statistically significant. Its t-ratio and the probability of the null hypothesis is significant at α = 0.05. The pairwise Granger Causality test result shows that there is a uni-direction of causality from EXCHR to DEFICIT_1. A bi-directional causality exists between OPEN and EXCHR. Equally a uni- direction of causality from DEEP to EXCHR. The study therefore recommends that the Federal Government should adopt policy that encourages foreign capital inflow in order to boost the country’s productive base. This would shift the country from import to an export oriented economy JEL Classification: C10, C32, F31, N17, N47 Keywords: Budget deficit, exchange rate, unit root, cointegration, ECM, Nigeria

Milk tea became so popular that numerous entrepreneurs tried to venture into this business. The Philippines is dubbed the second-most populous country in Southeast Asia regarding bubble tea users. Though the Philippines was dubbed as such, it was not until late 2019 that Pearl Milk Tea exploded its popularity in the country. It paved the way for the tea-enthusiast to venture into the business by experimenting with various creamers, flavors, and sweeteners. In Minglanilla, Cebu, Philippines, there is also a growing Milk tea shop on every corner of the street; however, before the boom reached a year, a pandemic halted every operation on every establishment. Through a phenomenological approach, the researchers of this study interviewed the owners and management of milk tea businesses in this new level of difficulty. The study's significant findings merged the theme scope, including Covid-19 Business Impact, Digital Marketing, Adapt Delivery Services, Safety and Security Protocols, and Menu Engineering. Furthermore, findings suggest that Covid-19 negatively impacted business establishments. Nevertheless, the management and entrepreneurs still push through and invest more in their business, with a clear perspective of success and execute modern alternatives that keep the business operating.

T: The cultural sector today operates in a global environment that is constantly changing at a rapid pace. In order to respond to this highly competitive environment, cultural organizations and institutions need to apply modern strategic methods, implementing best practices and tools, in order to achieve the successful development of human resources. Strategy and Human Resource Management tend to become more and more connected by giving a comparative advantage to cultural organizations and entities. Τhe survey was conducted through interviews, following a semi-structured questionnaire. The main findings of the research were the following: Kalamata’s Lyceum The UNIVERSITY WITHOUT BORDERS Journal of ECONOMICS & BUSINESS 66 association of Greek Women implements a strategic management of its human resources, there is a strong element of "organizational commitment", due their volunteer character of the staff. The KLCoGW uses its unique culture in all its aspects to maintain a competitive advantage.

ABSTRAK ABSTRAK Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) merupakan salah satu bentuk Sistem Informasi yang dibangun dan diperuntukkan kepada suatu badan usaha manufaktur maupun jasa yang menginginkan automatisasi proses bisnis yang meliputi aspek Produksi, Operasional dan Distribusi di perusahaan tersebut. Tetapi tidak semua konsep-konsep bisnis ERP tercakup dalam paket Enterprise Software (ES) standar. Demikian juga sebaliknya, dalam paket ES standar terdapat proses-proses bisnis yang bukan bagian dari ERP. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) dan pendahulunya, Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), memungkinkan terjadinya kemajuan yang sangat besar dalam manajemen proses-proses manufacturing. ERP juga salah satu faktor penyumbang pada performa ekonomi Amerika yang luar biasa pada era 1990-an. Tidak diragukan bahwa ERP adalah tonggak sejarah dalam proses industri. Secara garis besar, ERP bisa digambarkan sebagai perkakas manajemen yang menyeimbangkan persediaan dan permintaan perusahaan secara menyeluruh, berkemampuan untuk menghubungkan pelanggan dan supplier dalam satu kesatuan rantai ketersediaan, mengadopsi proses-proses bisnis yang telah terbukti dalam pengambilan keputusan, dan mengintegrasikan seluruh bagian fungsional perusahaan; sales, marketing, manufacturing, operations, logistics, purchasing, finance, new product development, dan human resources. Sehingga bisnis dapat berjalan dengan tingkat pelayanan pelanggan dan produktifitas yang tinggi, biaya dan inventory yang lebih rendah, dan menyediakan dasar untuk e-commerce yang efektif. Perencanaan Sumber Daya Perusahaan, atau sering disebut ERP dari istilah bahasa Inggrisnya, enterprise resource planning, adalah sistem informasi yang diperuntukkan bagi suatu perusahan manufaktur maupun jasa yang berperan untuk mengintegrasikan dan mengotomasikan proses bisnis yang berhubungan dengan aspek operasi, produksi maupun distribusi di perusahaan bersangkutan. ERP adalah singkatan untuk perencanaan sumber daya perusahaan. Itu merujuk pada sistem-sistem dan paket-paket perangkat lunak yang digunakan oleh organisasi-organisasi untuk mengelola kegiatan bisnis sehari-hari, seperti akunting, administrasi personalia, manajemen organisasi, pengadaan, pengelolaan dan pemeliharaan proyek. Sistem-sistem ERP terikat bersama, menentukan kebanyakan proses bisnis, dan memungkinkan aliran data di antara mereka. Dengan mengumpulkan data transaksi bersama suatu organisasi dari banyak sumber, sistem-sistem ERP menghilangkan duplikasi data dan memberikan perpaduan data dengan satu "sumber tunggal kebenaran." Keuangan dan pengendalian biaya, penganggaran. Sistem ERP dapat dipadukan dengan sistem Perencanaan dan gudang data. Selain itu, kami dapat memberikan integrasi ERP dengan sistem SRM (manajemen hubungan pemasok), manajemen tender dan sistem-sistem lain. Semua klien, nasabah dan pemasok bank dapat diklasifikasikan di dalam direktori terpadu di bawah manajemen data induk (MDM). Ini berarti pengintegrasian ERP (pemasok, penyedia layanan, penerima sewa, dan pemberi sewa), CRM (klien) dan sistem-inti (semua klien dan koresponden perbankan, non-perbankan) dalam klasifikasi terpadu. Pendekatan ini memungkinkan kita memberikan metodologi dan data manajemen terpadu tentang para nasabah dan pihak mitra. PENDAHULUAN

ISO 9001 certification is new to Algerian industry, but it has been adopted with great speed in recent years. Using a case approach, this study investigates the effect of ISO 9001 certification of Beni Saf company performance, as perceived by the management. Results indicated that the ISO 9001 certification has a positive impact on Beni Saf Company’s performance. The marketing advantages were the principal benefits and the benefits related to the human resources occupied the lowest position in the company.

Trade flows that one region establishes with other regions in the same country are very rarely analyzed in the economic literature. Even less frequently are the trade relations with other regions in a neighbor country. Based on previous estimates of interregional trade within the Iberian Peninsula, this paper analyses the trade patterns of the four major trading regions: Madrid, Cataluña, Comunidad Valenciana and Lisboa e Vale do Tejo. Similarities among them are identified. A sector analysis is performed showing high levels of concentration. Confirming the literature a strong border effect is identified.

The e-tax system offers electronic registration, filing and payment, as well as education and information to taxpayers. The study examines the influence of an electronic system of taxation on tax administration efficiency and tax revenue generation in Lagos state, Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted using a structured five point Likert-scaled questionnaire to obtain data. A response rate of 73.33% was achieved as 110 copies of the questionnaire were duly returned out of the 150 copies that were administered. Data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics while hypotheses were tested using the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) with the aid of SPSS. Major findings from the study revealed that respondents do not differ that e-tax system has enhanced revenue generating potentials of Lagos State and as well, has positive impact on the efficiency of tax administration in Lagos State. The study recommends that relevant tax authority should: formulate and implement policies that would promote the sustainability of positive effects of the e-tax system and train tax officials on how to harness the benefits of administering taxes electronically.

This paper explored the factors affecting financial advisers’ readiness of advising socially responsible investment. Based on the literature, the investment decision making process is identified. However, very limited literature discussed how the attributes and attitude of financial advisers (planners or consultants) affect the inclination of the advisers’ to provide suggestion on socially responsible investment. A conceptual model is developed for the understanding of how financial advisers’ concerns about environmental and social issues affect their readiness and hence may influence investors. A focus group comprise 6 experienced financial planners were organized to brainstorm the factors that affect their advice to clients. The Readiness to advise SRI is measured by knowledge , attitude, motivation and profile in this study. The self-perceived readiness of advising may also be generalized into other regime of financial planning and consultation on other products or services.

African economic integration initiatives have been judged by models and theoretical concepts developed outside Africa. Findings from such unrealistic and simplified models, rather than augment the continental initiatives, often create pessimism among stakeholders in the continent and outside. Hence, this paper emphasizes the fact that integration attempts should be evaluated in the context of their objectives, and the political, economic, and institutional setups in which they operate. To understand the economic integration dynamics in Africa and other developing regions, our sets of analysis should go beyond the common approaches which are based on optimum currency area (OCA) theory Declaration The authors would like to confirm that there is no conflict of interest in this submission.

The increasing amount of carbon dioxide emissions over the past two decades remains a major important developmental concern. Incidentally, the growing commitment by South Africa to achieve greater economic expansion has culminated into consistent increase in economic activities which invariably entail ever-increasing energy consumption and its associated inevitable stern implications on the quality and sustainability of environment especially on CO2 emissions. Clearly, these emissions, which emanate from sources such as transport, residential and commercial activities inter alia, are attributable mainly to human activities that are directly linked with economic growth (activities) and development. Yet, to date, growth in scale of economic activities appears not to have been matched by a comparable growth in environmental protection policies. In the wake of economic expansion and industrial activities in South Africa coupled with rising mining activities, population and rapid urbanisation; energy consumption/demand could be expected to rise monotonically in the years ahead, a situation that could have severe adverse implications on the environment. In this study, a comprehensive analysis is conducted to understand the drivers of CO2 emissions and the potential existence of the EKC hypothesis for various sources of CO2 emissions in South Africa, one of Africa's industrialized economies.

It has been traditionally recognized that agricultural production has primary role in the alleviation of poverty. However, more recently, produce processing and preservation and marketing have received increased attention in food security considerations of developing countries (Bencini and Watson, 1991). This is due to the fact that although self-sufficiency in food remains one of the priorities of the Nigerian government, this objective cannot be solely achieved by increasing production. This paper therefore examines how agricultural products processing and marketing can be used as a strategy for poverty alleviation in the new millennium.

In Romania, starting with the financial statements of the year 2017, companies with more than 500 employees are required to report the non-financial information in line with the requirements of the 2014/95/EU Directive transposed into Romanian legislation. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the degree of disclosure of this information by the Romanian companies in the field of agriculture and manufacture of food products before applying these regulations. The analysis reveals that the level of information disclosure is low, influenced by a number of factors: the type of ownership, the membership of a group and the trading of shares on the capital market. The evaluation of reporting practices is useful to track how companies in the future will apply to non-financial reporting requirements.

Trade relations are traditionally studied on a national dimension. However, it is becoming more necessary to have a regional view, not only for a clear perspective of the economy, but also to understand the possible appearance of crossing borders interregional trade based on a proximity perspective, instead of in internationalization processes. Portugues Alentejo and Spanish Extremadura are neighbour regions with many similarities. These are natural trade partners, separated by a border, not a formal and fiscal barrier, but still with a diminishing effect on trade. To contribute to the comprehension of these phenomena we produce a characterisation of interregional trade flows of Alentejo, focusing on its relations with Extremadura. We also present a short review on existing estimation on the border effect for Portugal. Main conclusions are that regional flows are diverse from national ones. To understand Alentejo's economy we must consider the regional specificity, including regional trade within the country. Also regional trade is dangerously concentrated on a very short number or sectors. One of the main possible readings from the results is that most of regional companies do not face the neighbour market as a proximity one. Large trading opportunities can be perceived if regional companies learn to look at the neighbour not as a foreign market but as a natural continuation of their home markets.

This study presents a quantitative survey to measure the different factors that affect users' satisfaction in the Algerian Social Insurance Fund. The research uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze and confirm the conceptual model proposed in the study. The findings show that (1) reliability, insurance, relations and ethics have a significant effect on user satisfaction; (2) transparency and tangibility have no significant effect on social insured satisfaction. These findings can help decision makers in public service sector to keep monitoring performance and improving service quality.

The paper focuses on the role of Apex banks, with special focus on Nigeria between 1981 and 2015. Findings from the study showed that Apex banks have significant role to play in stimulating an economy. It is therefore suggested that monetary policy instruments like broad money supply and monetary policy rate are very effective monetary policy tools and that monetary authorities should design appropriate interest rate target that can galvanise the private sector's interest in the economy.

Smartphones are an integral part of everyday life, and more people buy the latest technology, including tourists. Technology evolves at an exponential pace, smartphones are increasingly becoming an indispensable accessory and less a luxury item like it might have been considered before. The smartphones are now a powerful tool for tourists and travelers, thanks to the mobile applications that help so much the independent travelers.

Our study focuses on the fruit and vegetable farmers in Arad County aiming to offer a clearer image on vegetable and fruit production. This paper is part of a larger study and only wishes to address aspects related to the fruit and vegetable farmer's property forms and product diversity. Introduction Vegetable production was an important part of Arad County's exports before '89, and we would only mention the greenhouses that practically no longer exist today. Also there were a large number of small scale fruit and vegetable farmers grouped in production areas that provided for the county's markets. Today, fruit and vegetable production is fragmented and grouped around diverse vegetable categories due to the soil's quality being determined for quality as well as vegetable type. Thus Arad has areas acknowledged as specialized vegetable crop sites such as: Curtici for tomatoes, Semlac for yellow and red watermelon, Podgoria for grapes, Socodor for cabbage, Turnu for greens and Seleus which is acknowledged as the largest greenhouse and sun foil vegetable production site.

Our study on vegetable and fruit producers from Arad County intends to offer a clear cut image on the vegetable and fruit production, but also on the producers' technological endowment. This paper is part of a large work and we wish to present aspects regarding the technological endowment and the producers' content towards the middleman companies. Introduction After 1989, the Agricultural Production Cooperatives disapeared, the existing technological equipment was divided or left neglected. The farmers have got back their land properties, so the production area has been reduced and the mass production has disappeared. There are no written evidences regarding the vegetable and fruit quantitative and qualitative production of Arad county. The lack of a system able to collect and process these data cannot offer a starting point to build up strategies necessary for the formation of the association of small producers in order to offer the product quantity necessary for entering the multinational markets. From the technological point of view, the vegetable and fruit producers, namely those who have greenhouse or solarium productions, which require small investments, are able to keep the step with

Human capital as the wealth of nation supports the economy in a variety of ways. This study intended to elucidate the significance of education, technology utilization and health investment in economic affluence of East Asia. The finding shows a significant relationship between human capital investment and economic growth in East Asia. Human capital investment has become an essential tool to determine nations productivity in both, micro and macro level. The findings come across to assume that, in order to be successful, HC investment through the improvement of technology, education and health system must be cautiously considered in any endeavor towards economic development and sustainability. The study concluded that a person with poor health, lack of knowledge or vocational training will offer less, theoretically, than a person who has been specifically trained or who has attained a higher level of education. Also, can be accessed on the following Link. http://www.uav.ro/jour/index.php/jebr/article/view/701

This research explores how a financing practice of the dominant society is contested in an indigenous context. Considering a traditional handloom business of indigenous women in a South Asian country, Bangladesh, this article investigates into the collateral practices in accessing bank loans. Based on an extensive literature review, it reveals that the normal practice of providing collateral places constraints for accessing loans and provides a scope for conflicts with dominant society. In so doing, it significantly extends the view beyond the issue of discrimination for the non-dominant society. The broader contribution of the paper is to underscore the impact of historical, traditional and cultural aspects on debt financing for small businesses.

Like many developing countries remittances are relatively larger capital inflows in Bangladesh in recent years. Hence, understanding the impact of remittances on macroeconomic variables such as inflation is essential for policy makers of recipient economy. Incorporating remittances as an exogenous variable to the standard inflation function this paper verifies how it affects the inflation rate in Bangladesh using data over 1972-2010 period. Applying Vector Autoregressive (VAR) techniques the empirical results find that a one percent increase in remittances inflows increases inflation rate by 2.48 percent in the long run, whereas no significant relationship is evident between these two variables in the short-run in Bangladesh.

This study presents the results of a need assessment survey on entrepreneurship education conducted at BBA and MBA programs of a tertiary level university in Bangladesh. For this purpose, Institute of Business Administration (IBA-JU) and four departments of Faculty of Business Studies: Department of Finance & Banking, Department of Marketing, Department of Management Studies and Department of Accounting and Information Systems at Jahangirnagar University were targeted for this survey. Survey on needs assessment was carried out based on factual data and perceptual data. Factual data were collected through review of BBA and MBA curricula of the target institutions. Perceptual data were collected from undergraduate and graduate level students, alumni and faculty members through structured questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII). It is observed that neither the target institutions offer major/minor in entrepreneurship, nor the need for entrepreneurship education is fulfilled by the existing curricula. There seems to be interest among students in learning entrepreneurship and pursuing such a career, however, institutional support is lacking significantly in case of Bangladesh. Recommendations to address the need are also discussed.

This exploratory study attempts to provide a theoretical and empirically informed analysis on why and how a person with a disability becomes an entrepreneur. The paper describes the findings of a study designed to understand the experiences of persons with disabilities turning to be entrepreneurs. The schools of entrepreneurial thought approach have been used as the theoretical basis for the research, which has been used to analyze the findings. The study was conducted with a sample of 23 persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, identified through referral sampling technique. In depth interview (IDI) method was adopted to collect data from the respondents. Findings reveal that persons with disabilities turn to entrepreneurship when they are supported by their social and cultural atmosphere (social/cultural school of thought), when they have funds available (financial/capital school of thought), when they go through economic hardship (displacement school of thought) or when they possess an entrepreneurial spirit (entrepreneurial trait school of thought) that drives them to seek entrepreneurial opportunities. Findings also show that social/cultural school of thought has the highest representation among the male and female respondents. Sector-wise, majority of male and female respondents are involved in production based businesses.

Corporate governance has become a worldwide concern over the year due to numerous corporate financial failures which has redirected the attention of policy makers to the significance of board characteristics. This study examined the relationship between board characteristics and performance of quoted Nigerian consumer goods firms. This study adopted historical research design and ten firms were selected from

Regardless of their formal existence, borders do have an effect of diminishing trade. The reduction that the existence of a border causes on potential trade flows is classified as “border effect”. The present paper provides an estimation of such effect on the Portugal –Spain border. For this, interregional trade relations are considered. All 20 peninsular NUTII regions are concerned. Data used are the interregional Iberian trade matrices provided in Ferreira (2008). A model for these flows is conducted using, among several other explaining factors, the existence of a national border between regions. Thus the border effect is predicted. On this paper we provide an estimation of border effects by economic sectors, showing that different industries experience in different manners the consequences of borders

Regardless of their formal existence, borders do have an effect of diminishing trade. The reduction that the existence of a border causes on potential trade flows is classified as “border effect”. The present paper provides an estimation of such effect on the Portugal –Spain border. For this, interregional trade relations are considered. All 20 peninsular NUTII regions are concerned. Data used are the interregional Iberian trade matrices provided in Ferreira (2008). A model for these flows is conducted using, among several other explaining factors, the existence of a national border between regions. Thus the border effect is predicted. On this paper we provide an estimation of border effects by economic sectors, showing that different industries experience in different manners the consequences of borders.

The concept of brand equity has gained in popularity since the 1980s, and since then, the field has undergone significant development. The concept of consumer-based brand equity has become a central marketing concept due to the increasing scientific and business interest in brands, since the approach according to which brands constitute one of the most valuable intangible assets of the companies is becoming increasingly widespread. The paper offers an updated literature review of this important research topic, providing a classification of brand equity models focusing on consumer based models. The most important models are critically reviewed from the perspective of model structure, methodology used and validity.

This article outlines the development of the Sugarcane juice, its opportunities and Threats faced and also offer suggestions for growth the Sugarcane juice market.

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between urbanization and CO2 emissions in the case of Turkey by adding economic growth and energy consumption to the CO2 emissions specification. The study covers annual time series data over the period of 1960-2014. The autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach to cointegration was utilized to investigate the long-run relationship among under structural breaks. The causal relationship among the variables was explored through Toda-Yamamoto test. The empirical findings reveal that i) each variable (except for energy consumption) is integrated at I(1) under structural breaks, ii) the variables are cointegrated in the presence of structural break, iii) the validity of environmental Kuznets curve was confirmed both in the short-run and long-run, iv) CO2 emissions are primarily affected by economic growth, energy consumption and urbanization in the long run and v) urbanization causes CO2 emissions. The study provides important policy implications for Turkish economy.

There has been series of debate in recent times as to whether the adoption of Information Communication Technology (ICT) improves or worsens the development of a country. Based on these contentions, this study therefore assessed the strategic role of information communication technology (ICT) on the development of businesses in Nigeria. Stratified sampling technique was used to select a sample of three hundred and fifty three (353) respondents from a working population of three thousand (3,000) employees. Primary data was collected through the use of structured questionnaire. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from the study revealed that there is a significant effect of ICT on business development (R2 = 0.183, Adjusted R2 = 0.149, P=0.000). The results also indicated a moderate positive relationship between Ecommerce (r = 0.462, P<0.01), and Social media (r = 0.382, P<0.01) on business development. The study concluded that the adoption of ICT by business owners can lead to expansion of the geographical scope of potential markets, as well as reduction in transaction cost, thereby improving productivity. It was recommended that organizational management should considered ICT as tool to increase the level of profitability, gaining entrance to speedy flow of information and shape inter-organizational coordination. Keywords: ICT; Business Development; Social Media; E-commerce; Productivity.

رفاه اجتماعی و كاهش فقر همواره یکی از مهمترين اهداف اقتصادی و سياسی کشورها بوده است. زیرا فقر همواره یکی از پدیده‏های نامطلوب اقتصادی و اجتماعی جوامع مختلف به شمار رفته و در حال حاضر نیز به عنوان یکی از معضلات بزرگ جوامع جهانی شناخته می‏شود. اما یکی از مهم‌‌ترین راه‌های مبارزه با فقر افزایش تولید ناخالص داخلی می‌باشد که بواسطه آن می‌توان فقر و نابرابری درآمدی را در جامعه کاهش داد اما دستیابی به رشد اقتصادی خود مستلزم بکارگیری عواملی متعددی از جمله سرمایه، نیروی انسانی، انرژی و... است. به همین علت توجه هر چه بیشتر بر بازارهای مالی از جمله بازار سرمایه (بورس و اوراق بهادار) که می‌تواند یکی از ابزارهای مهم تأمین مالی موسسات و بنگاههای اقتصادی باشد قطعاً خواهد توانست زمینه‌ساز افزایش تولید ناخالص داخلی گردیده و در نهایت به کاهش فقر منتهی شود. لذا در این تحقيق سعی شده است با بکارگیری آزمون ARDL روابط بلندمدت و کوتاه‌مدت بین متغیرهای توسعه بازار بورس (ارزش معاملات انجام شده در بورس، حجم سهام‌های معامله شده در بورس و تعداد شرکت‌ها بورسی) و توليد ناخالص داخلي واقعی با متغیر ضریب جینی (میزان فقر) در بازه زمانی 1398-1365و با استفاده از داده‌های سالیانه در کشور ایران مورد بررسی قرار گیرد. لذا نتایج بدست آمده حاکی از آن است كه در کوتاه‌مدت و هم در بلندمدت تأثیرتمامی متغیرهای بکارگرفته شده بر میزان فقر در کشور ایران منفی می‌باشد. همچنین متغیر ارزش معاملات انجام شده در بورس بیشترین تأثیر منفی را در میان متغیرهای توسعه بازار سرمایه بر میزان فقر در کشور ایران داشته است Economic growth and poverty reduction have always been the most important political and economic goals of countries. Because poverty has always been one of the unfavorable economic and social phenomena of different societies throughout human history and is now recognized as one of the major problems of world societies. But one of the most important ways to fight poverty is to increase GDP, which can reduce poverty and income inequality in society, but achieving economic growth requires the use of various factors such as capital, manpower, energy and .... Therefore, paying more attention to financial markets, including the stock market and securities, which can be one of the important tools for financing institutions and enterprises, will certainly be able to increase GDP and ultimately lead to poverty reduction. Therefore, in this study, by performing ARDL test, long-term and short-term relationships between stock market development variables (value of exchanges traded, volume of stocks traded on the stock exchange and number of listed companies) and real GDP with Gini coefficient (amount Poverty) in the period 1365-1398 and using annual data in Iran to be examined. Therefore, the results indicate that in the short run and in the long run, the effect of all the variables used on the poverty rate in Iran is negative. Also, the variable of the value of transactions in the stock exchange has had the most negative impact among the variables of financial market development on the poverty rate in Iran

The relationship between government expenditure and economic growth has been an issue of debate over the years. This study investigates the causal link between government expenditure and economic growth in Nigeria between 1985 and 2014. Following the Toda-Yamamoto non-Granger causality testing approach, it finds that government expenditure and economic growth has no causal effect on each other. This offers evidence to invalidate Wagner’s law and the Keynesian proposition in Nigeria. This study recommends that government should strengthen its efforts to curtail corruption as well as introduce stricter checks and controls to reduce or eliminate the profligacy of public funds.

As a variety of marketing environmental factors have changed and evolved over the past century, so has the definition(s) of marketing. The author provides a chronological listing of the various (and popular) definitions of marketing that have been used in the marketing literature over the past 100 years. The contents of the manuscript represent an important resource for marketing students, faculty, and practitioners in developing a richer understanding of the development and evolution of marketing as both an academic discipline and a business practice.

The study focused on the importance of per capita and marginal productivity of remittance inflows in Bangladesh. Although remittance as a percentage of gross domestic products has stood above ten percent in recent times, the majority of Bangladeshi remittance earners are unskilled. Unskilled remittance remains a constraint for the development direction of Bangladesh that seeks to make a transition from a low income country to a middle income country. Based on cross section data, a multinomial logistic regression model was fitted to identify the significant inputs of skill development for remitters. Empirical results suggest that the log of remittance, the p-value is statistically significant. The study also found that skill development training and access to credit for remitters would contribute to maximizing remittance in the long run.

This paper aims to identify and analyze the effect of innovations on the employment in Romania. The type of innovation chosen is broadband and we study its impact on human resource in science and technology (HRST) in Romania, compared to the EU average. As representative indicators are taken into account the broadband penetration rate and the number of HRST, during 2007 - 2011. In the research we made the conceptual boundaries of the above mentioned indicators and through a quantitative analysis and a unifactorial econometric model we show the influence of broadband on HRST, in Romania.

For the effective and better implementation of CSR law, development of SRI market in the investment world is essential. Unless the investors turn socially responsible, CSR principles cannot be enforced in practice. This paper examines whether the companies that are socially responsible are performing better than general companies in terms of risk, return and various risk-adjusted measures during pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis periods. We find that despite having higher risk, socially responsible stocks portfolios generated significantly higher returns and hence outperformed other portfolios on the basis of all risk-adjusted measures as well as net selectivity returns during crisis period. The results uphold even with the use of Fama-French three factor model for estimating excess returns. Besides augmenting existing literature, our results clearly corroborate the fact that investors can derive benefits by investing in socially responsible companies (especially in crisis period). The study supports the view that socially responsible products can be used as a safe investment vehicle by investors during adversity. Therefore, regulators, policy makers and mutual funds should construct and make available various socially responsible investment products to initiate the movement of socially responsible investing in India. Keywords – Socially Responsible Investing, ESG Index, GREENEX Index, Dummy Variable, Market Model, Fama-French Three Factor Model

Customers are the main core of economic enterprises, not paying attention to their needs and tastes can remove a business from the cycle of market competition. When an organization focuses only on product production without paying attention to customer needs, it will definitely face many problems in the long run, which may not be possible to compensate for, and will eventually lead the company to bankruptcy. Communication with customers in business has a vital role for companies. Good communication helps businesses to establish mutual trust between customers and companies. Communicating more effectively with customers can potentially improve a company's bottom line. For this reason, communicating with customers to identify their needs, tastes, opinions and complaints will be obvious. Therefore, considering the importance of customer relationship management in economic enterprises, in this research, it has been tried to investigate various aspects of customer relationship management by using the library method and by studying books, magazines and authentic articles. The results of this research clearly indicate that an organization must seek to satisfy its customers in order to surpass its competitors and survive in the competitive market. مشتریان هسته اصلی بنگاه‌های اقتصادی می‌باشند، عدم توجه به نیازها و سلایق آنها می‌تواند یک کسب و کار را از چرخه رقابت بازار خارج نماید. وقتی یک سازمان بدون توجه به نیاز مشتری فقط بر تولید محصول تأکید کند، قطعاً در بلندمدت دچار مشکلات عدیده‌ای خواهد شد که جبران آن شاید دیگر امکان پذیر نبوده و نهایتاً بنگاه را با ورشکستگی خواهد کشاند. ارتباط با مشتریان در تجارت نقش حیاتی برای شرکت‌ها دارد ارتباطات خوب به کسب و کارها کمک می‌کند تا اعتمادی دوطرفه بین مشتریان و بنگاه‌ها بر قرار شود. برقراری ارتباط موثرتر با مشتری به طور بالقوه می‌تواند وضعیت یک بنگاه اقتصادی را بهبود بخشد. به همین علت ارتباط با مشتری به جهت شناسایی نیازها، سلیقه‌ها، نظریات و شکایات آنها امری بدیهی به نظر خواهد آمد. لذا با توجه به اهمیت مدیریت ارتباط با مشتری در بنگاه‌های اقتصادی، در این پژوهش سعی شده است که با استفاده از روش کتابخانه‌ای و با مطالعه کتاب‌ها، مجلات و مقالات معتبر به بررسی جنبه‌های مختلف مدیریت ارتباط با مشتری پرداخته شود. نتایج این تحقیق بخوبی حاکی از آن است که یک سازمان برای پیشی گرفتن از رقبا و ماندگاری در بازار رقابت می بایست در پی جلب رضایت مشتریان خود باشد.

Deforestation is not a new problem although world-wide population awareness is increasing. This issue has terrible environmental, social and economic consequences due to the over-exploitation of the natural resources and to alternative land uses which are more profitable in the short term. The combat and mitigation of deforestation is one of the biggest challenges for the 21st Century in order to achieve the Millennium Goals and a global sustainable development at all levels of human activities. Therefore, this paper will address this concerns focusing on the causes and consequences of deforestation as well as on the actions earned out by the decision makers in order to provide solutions for this increasingly and alarming problem. This paper will also approach the concepts of sustainability as well as the economy and management of the natural resources aiming an insight of the past deforestation in Portugal, the present situation and a sustainable perspective regarding the future.

Deforestation is not a new problem although world-wide population awareness is increasing. This issue has terrible environmental, social and economic consequences due to the over-exploitation of the natural resources and to alternative land uses which are more profitable in the short term. The combat and mitigation of deforestation is one of the biggest challenges for the 21st Century in order to achieve the Millennium Goals and a global sustainable development at all levels of human activities. Therefore, this paper will address this concerns focusing on the causes and consequences of deforestation as well as on the actions earned out by the decision makers in order to provide solutions for this increasingly and alarming problem. This paper will also approach the concepts of sustainability as well as the economy and management of the natural resources aiming an insight of the past deforestation in Portugal, the present situation and a sustainable perspective regarding the future

In this paper, we examine potential determinants of firm financial performance using data from 177 USA listed companies for three distinct periods; prior to GFC, during the GFC, and post GFC. Based on the literature we have selected a number of possible determinants and have categorized them into four different groups to facilitate the analysis. They are; (i) executive director and CEO remuneration and incentivisation factors, (ii) institutional ownership factors, (iii) board practice and diversity factors, (iv) remuneration committees and remuneration consultants' factors. The market capitalisation (MCAP) is used as the dependent variable because actual profits and profit forecasts through continuous market disclosure have an immediate influence on share price, which in turn alters the MCAP of the respective company. Based on the results, the study concludes that for all three periods covered executive director and CEO remuneration variables are the most important determinants of financial performance of listed companies.

The importance of export diversification is presently taking a center stage in trade literature. This paper contributed to the evolving literature by examining the extent of export diversification in Nigeria and also analyzed the impact of foreign direct investment on it. Two major methods of export diversification: export count (horizontal) and Herfindahl Index were used. Nigeria’s exports flows based on 4-digit SICT product classification were used. The Generalized Moment Methods (GMM) was used to analyze our specified model. Empirical analysis showed that foreign direct investment discourages export diversification in Nigeria, while domestic investment promotes it. Exchange rate and democratic accountability are other factors that discourage export diversification in Nigeria. No evidence was found on the impact of per capita GDP, trade openness and natural resource.

This study examines the role of education in enhancing inclusive growth in Nigeria for the period 1980 to 2014. The study utilises the Dynamic Error Correction model and the results show that tertiary enrolment positively and significantly enhanced average income while secondary enrolment and literacy rate positively but insignificantly enhanced per capita GDP. Also, tertiary enrolment and secondary enrolment negatively and significantly enhanced unemployment but literacy rate positively impacts unemployment confirming the existence of graduate unemployment in Nigeria. Skills development programmes are therefore recommended to be incorporated into the education system in order to increase economic growth participation and benefit sharing with a view to promoting inclusive growth in Nigeria.

Over the last we have witnessed sweeping changes in trading systems all over the world. Those changes provided academics with an opportunity to look into the microstructure of different markets. Most empirical work in the area has concentrated on comparing changes in liquidity, volatility, trading volume and asymmetric information under different trading settings. Informational efficiency and spread sensitivity to volatility has been neglected, however. This paper looks into informational efficiency and spread sensitivity to volatility under different trading settings namely a dealership, an order driven, market and a hybrid market. We use FTSE100 and FTSE250 stocks as our sample. The evidence shows that order driven markets respond faster to information compared to dealerships and that spread is more sensitive to volatility in a dealership than in an order driven market. The degree of informational efficiency as well as spread sensitivity to volatility is the same between a dealership and a hybrid market.

This study uses a non-linear threshold model to shed light on the impact of interest rates on financial inclusion in Nigeria for the period 1981 to 2014. The findings suggest that the threshold level of interest rates in Nigeria is estimated at 16.9 percent. In other words, interest rate hampers financial inclusion if it exceeds 16.9%. Below this threshold, however, the impact of interest rate remains insignificant. Thus, the results of this study support financial inclusion-dampening effects of interest rates in Nigeria. The logical conclusion is that Nigeria, and other developing countries as well, with lending interest rates above 16.9 percent should aim to attain interest rate levels that do not deter financial inclusion by adopting polices that drive down interest rates.

There have been increasing difficulties in providing qualitative health care services to the public in Nigeria. The development has called for the need to examine ways through which government and other stakeholders resolve these crises in the health sector. The objective of this paper is to examine the level of Government spending to total Health expenditures in Nigeria. This study basically employs secondary data for analysis. The secondary data are provided from the World Bank Development indicators and Internet. The data was analyzed using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient Statistical technique. The result revealed a strong positive Correlation (r = 0.634) between Government Health Spending and Total Health Spending. This indicates that Government Health Spending constitutes a significant proportion of the Total Health Expenditures in Nigeria; despite complains about inadequate health financing. In conclusion, the Nigerian Health sector would become more vibrant, if the Government and the Private sector are ready to give the necessary commitments required to achieve the laudable objective of qualitative health for all. The study recommends for more Government Health funding towards tackling the prevalence of some chronic diseases such as HIV, Asthma, Tuberculosis, Meningitis and Paralysis, etc.