Moderating role of gender in influencing enterprise performance in emerging economies: Evidence from Saudi Arabian SMEs sector
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Received May 9, 2021;Accepted July 14, 2021;Published August 16, 2021
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Author(s)Hend Hassan ,Link to ORCID Index: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4143-7896
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Link to ORCID Index: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3774-1342, Marwa Abdelkader
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DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.19(3).2021.13
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Article InfoVolume 19 2021, Issue #3, pp. 148-161
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- 541 Views
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194 Downloads
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector plays an important role in the development of the local, regional, and global economy. This study seeks to examine the relationships among several factors that are claimed to influence the performance of SMEs. Internal and external environmental factors, as well as the moderating role of gender on the research variables, are empirically examined.
A survey of 142 entrepreneurs in the northern region of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, using convenience sampling was conducted. Path analysis was used to test the research model using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) model by Warp PLS (ver. 7). Results suggest that both internal and external success factors influence enterprise performance. Based on statistically significant relationships, entrepreneurial orientation, human capital, and entrepreneur goals and motives (internal factors), as well as economic factors, socio-cultural factors, and legal and administrative factors (external factors) are influencing SME performance. Additionally, results indicate that SMEs almost perform at similar levels regardless of the gender of the SME owner. Gender is found to moderate the influence of economic factors, and legal and administrative factors on performance. There is no indication that gender moderates the influence of the rest of the factors on the performance. Such finding is surprising given the context of the study, i.e. Saudi Arabia was traditionally considered as a conservative male-dominated society.
Acknowledgment
This study was supported and funded by the research sector of Arab Open University – Kuwait Branch under decision number 21002. Authors would like to thank the National Entrepreneurship Institute “RIYADAH”, Tabuk branch, KSA for their support in data collection.
- Keywords
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JEL Classification (Paper profile tab)M10, M13
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References69
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Tables5
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Figures1
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- Figure 1. Conceptual model
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- Table 1. Scales development
- Table 2. Demographic characteristic profiles of respondents (n = 142)
- Table 3. Measurement model
- Table 4. Correlations and square roots of AVE
- Table 5. Path coefficients for the conceptual model
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Conceptualization
Hend Hassan, Ahmed Abdelkader, Rashed Alhaimer, Marwa Abdelkader
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Data curation
Hend Hassan, Rashed Alhaimer, Marwa Abdelkader
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Investigation
Hend Hassan, Rashed Alhaimer, Marwa Abdelkader
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Methodology
Hend Hassan, Ahmed Abdelkader
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Project administration
Hend Hassan
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Supervision
Hend Hassan
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Writing – original draft
Hend Hassan, Rashed Alhaimer, Marwa Abdelkader
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Visualization
Hend Hassan
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Formal Analysis
Ahmed Abdelkader
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Funding acquisition
Ahmed Abdelkader
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Validation
Ahmed Abdelkader
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Writing – review & editing
Ahmed Abdelkader
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Conceptualization
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Challenges of small and medium enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic: Case of Georgia
Problems and Perspectives in Management Volume 19, 2021 Issue #4 pp. 20-28 Views: 2401 Downloads: 960 TO CITE АНОТАЦІЯThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMEs in Georgia, identify the challenges of SMEs in pandemic conditions, and analyze government economic policy measures. For this purpose, 102 small and medium entrepreneurs from different regions of Georgia were interviewed. The survey was conducted by sending a questionnaire through digital channels. The results were processed using data analysis, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and presented graphically. As a result, key challenges and development directions that are typical for SMEs operations in Georgia during the pandemic were identified. For 60.8% of surveyed SME owners, lockdown is the main challenge. Sales volume of 45.1% of SMEs decreased. In addition, 39.3% of the surveyed SME owners increased the innovative capabilities of a company and 37.2% increased the sales volume of a company through digital channels. The main challenge of the pandemic, lockdown, gave impetus to a change in entrepreneurial behavior. In a pandemic, entrepreneurial activity has become more favorable through digital channels. During the pandemic, there is a need to continue the government’s program of tax incentives and subsidies for SMEs. In addition, the government should promote education in the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology.
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The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on performance of small enterprises that are e-commerce adopters and non-adopters
Dirga Lestari , Saida Zainurossalamia ZA, Siti Maria
, Wirasmi Wardhani
, Rizky Yudaruddin
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.19(3).2021.38
Problems and Perspectives in Management Volume 19, 2021 Issue #3 pp. 467-477 Views: 1702 Downloads: 1001 TO CITE АНОТАЦІЯResearchers have emphasized the role of e-commerce for small enterprises in improving their performance. However, there is limited evidence on the use of e-commerce by small enterprises, and e-commerce adopters and non-adopters dealing with COVID-19. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the differences in the impact of COVID-19 on income between small enterprises that are adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce. This study also explored the impact of restrictions on community activities, the intention to adopt e-commerce, and the types of assistance required by small enterprises due to the pandemic. Data were collected through an online questionnaire survey among small enterprises that operate in the culinary field (1,024 small enterprises in Indonesia). The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, cross-tabulation, and the Mann-Whitney test. This study finds that non-adoption of e-commerce caused small enterprises to experience a decline in income, which worsened due to restrictions of community activities, compared to adopters of e-commerce. Therefore, to overcome this negativity, small enterprises were pushed to adopt e-commerce. Finally, working capital assistance is the main assistance required due to the pandemic both by e-commerce adopters and non-adopters. This study has significant implications for how small enterprises and governments may benefit from e-commerce dealing with extreme disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acknowledgment
We are grateful to Mulawarman University for providing us with the funding necessary to gather the necessary data for the study and complete this empirical investigation. We also would like to thank two anonymous reviewers and seminar participants at Mulawarman University for their helpful feedback. -
Challenges of finance accessibility by SMEs in the democratic republic of Congo: is gender a constraint?
Atsede Woldie , Bushige Mwangaza Laurence , Brychan Thomas doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/imfi.15(2).2018.04Investment Management and Financial Innovations Volume 15, 2018 Issue #2 pp. 40-50 Views: 1573 Downloads: 498 TO CITE АНОТАЦІЯSmall and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in income generation, job creation, poverty reduction and reducing income inequality of all countries, regardless of the level of development. Nevertheless, in developing countries, they are exposed to several challenges affecting their business operations and growth. Among others, access to external financing has been cited to be the most pressing challenge for SMEs in developing economies. The lack of accessibility has been indicated to result from the deficiencies observed from both financial institutions and SMEs. Further, it has been discovered that from the SMEs’ perspective, gender, among other entrepreneurial characteristics, has a role in accessing finance. This paper surveys a sample of 109 SMEs in the Democratic Republic of Congo not only to find what are the challenges faced in seeking finance, but also to investigate the extent to which gender impacts access to finance. The evidence gathered shows that finance is really constraining, there are more rejections than approvals of finance due to the lack of collateral, high interest rates and the inability of SMEs to develop attractive and bankable projects. With regards to gender, the findings were somehow assuring in the sense that when both women and men apply for external finance, they stand the same chances of accessing finance. Recommendations were established to all the actors. SMEs must put more effort into regulating their businesses in order to reduce their risks and build strong relationships with lenders. Financial institutions should not only reconsider the interest rates as they were perceived to be extremely high, but also train SMEs to be “more bankable”. Lastly, the Government should implement policies to support firms and render the business environment more appealing for both SMEs and financial institutions.