Impact of women’s economic empowerment on technology entrepreneurship intentions via mediation of self-efficacy

The 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.

In the modern world, developing countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and several others in the African continent have been encouraged to reform their public expenditure management systems through computerization of the entire public sectors in response to the increasing volume of data or information that need to be processed. There are, however, various factors to be considered prior to the implementation of the public expenditure management information systems. This paper undertakes a theoretical review of the critical success factors that impact on the implementation of an Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) with a view to identify factors applicable to the Migori County of Kenya. The paper, then, identifies the key factors to be incorporated in the proposed IFMS framework. The proposed framework draws from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) and the Work Around Theory (WAT). The paper fuses these theories towards a successful adoption of use of modern technology within the public sector IFMS. The key factors include technical, organizational, environmental, cultural and ethical behavior. These factors could improve efficiency and transparency through direct payments to suppliers and contractors, reduced prices due to gains based on the time value of money, as well as the comparative analysis of market rates and advanced relations across the numerous organizational units within government on execution, reporting, and thoroughness of budget transactions.

Researchers 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.