Society for the Study of Business & Finance- SSBFNET: E-Journals
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The influence of strategic flexibility on green business performance mediated by eco innovation and green manufacturing
Get PDFThe study aims to examine and analyze the role of strategic flexibility on green business performance with eco innovation and green manufacturing as mediating variables. This research adopts a quantitative approach with a purposive sampling technique. The object of the study is manufacturing companies in East Java that are registered under the PROPER program. A total of 136 respondents participated in this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The research results show that strategic flexibility significantly influences green business performance, strategic flexibility has a significant effect on eco innovation, strategic flexibility significantly affects green manufacturing, eco innovation and green manufacturing positively influence green business performance, and eco innovation and green manufacturing partially mediate the effect of strategic flexibility on green business performance. The importance of green business performance lies in its ability to support long-term environmental and economic sustainability through innovation and operational transformation. Companies with greater flexibility are more likely to adopt green practices and respond to dynamic environmental changes effectively. This research makes a theoretical contribution by supporting the Resource-Based View (RBV), which highlights the importance of internal resources and capabilities in achieving sustainability goals. Practically, the study provides insights for companies to strengthen strategic adaptability and promote innovation-driven environmental practices
Transformational leadership, organizational learning, and employee performance: the mediating role of affective commitment in Cement Company X, Rembang
Get PDFThis study examines the influence of transformational leadership and organizational learning on employee performance, mediated by affective commitment, in Cement Company X, Rembang Regency. Using a quantitative approach with 163 respondents, data were analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Partial Least Squares (PLS). The results indicate that both transformational leadership (? = 0.369, p < 0.001) and organizational learning (? = 0.265, p = 0.012) significantly enhance employee performance. Affective commitment partially mediates these relationships, with mediation effects of 0.129 (p = 0.035) for transformational leadership and 0.093 (p = 0.047) for organizational learning. Transformational leadership, measured through idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass & Avolio, 1994), fosters emotional bonds (? = 0.490, p < 0.001), while organizational learning (Watkins & Marsick, 1993) strengthens employee competencies and affective ties (? = 0.352, p < 0.001). Affective commitment itself significantly boosts performance (? = 0.263, p = 0.019). These findings align with prior research (Park et al., 2022; Naim & Lenka, 2020) and highlight the dual pathways—direct and mediated—through which leadership and learning culture drive performance in Indonesia’s competitive cement industry. The study underscores the importance of fostering transformational leadership practices and a robust learning environment to cultivate employee engagement and achieve organizational goals.Keyowrd: Transformational leadership, Organizational learning, Affective commitment, Employee performance, PLS-SEM, Cement industr
Transformer-Based Sentiment Analysis for classification of non-depressive and suicidal thought from Bangla Text
Get PDFThe growing prevalence of mental health issues, particularly depression and suicidal thoughts, points to the need to develop automated tools capable of detecting such sentiments from online communication. This study addresses some critical challenges by introducing a novel sentiment analysis framework for Bangla text, aimed at classifying content into non-depressive, depressive, and suicidal categories. We propose a hybrid deep learning model leveraging the strengths of transformer-based architectures, designed to manage long textual sequences effectively, a critical aspect in the context of natural language processing. Our model integrates RoBERTa (Robustly Optimised BERT Pre-Training Approach) with a Self-Attention Network (SAN), creating a synergistic framework for nuanced sentiment detection in Bangla social media posts, comments, and articles. This method addresses the scarcity of Bangla specific datasets by utilising a dataset curated for the study. The results demonstrate the superiority of our model, achieving an accuracy of 82.58%, alongside precision, recall, and F1-scores of 82%. Subsequently, it emphasises the potential for the proposed model to support early identification of mental health concerns, thereby enabling timely interventions and contributing to mental health awareness and prevention efforts. In the future, deploying the model as a real-time chatbot or browser extension could scan Bangla social media for depressive, non-depressive, and suicidal content and alert professionals to the risk factors
Commodity Pricing through Crises: A Markov Switching Regime Probabilities Analysis
Get PDFThe pricing of six highly liquid futures commodity contracts is investigated using a Markov switching procedure. The data set spans an exceptionally turbulent period, characterized by a complex interplay of economic/financial and political shocks. Markov switching analysis exploits time series nonlinearity to identify the nature and the timing of the implicit changes of regime. Building on a HAM framework, we use the time varying parameterization of the transition probability estimates to link these shifts to exogenous variables. We provide in this way additional information on the co-movement of the time series and on their regime shifts, eventually conducive to herding pricing behaviour. The WTI oil futures price and DJIA stock index are used as proxies for global shocks as they turn out to be the main common drivers of the changes in regime of most futures commodity prices.
Entrepreneurship literacy in South Africa: The Imperative for Higher Education Institutions
No full textEntrepreneurship literacy has become a critical response to South Africa’s pressing socio-economic challenges, particularly high unemployment and poverty. This paper examines the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in embedding entrepreneurship literacy into their curricula, going beyond traditional entrepreneurship education by integrating competencies such as innovation, economic management, and technological fluency across disciplines. Using a narrative literature review complemented by a meta-analytic synthesis, the study systematically analysed global and South African scholarship published between 2007 and 2025. The findings reveal that entrepreneurship literacy programmes have a moderate positive effect on students’ entrepreneurial intentions and self-efficacy, but only a small effect on actual venture creation, highlighting persistent structural barriers such as funding gaps, limited incubation, and insufficient staff training. In contrast, international contexts where entrepreneurship education is deeply integrated across disciplines show stronger outcomes. The study concludes that for South Africa to realise the transformative potential of entrepreneurship literacy, a unified national policy, adaptive curricula, academic staff development, and robust industry partnerships are essential. Without these systemic reforms, entrepreneurship literacy will remain an underutilised resource, but with them, it can become a cornerstone for innovation, employability, and inclusive economic growth
A monotheism-based human resource development model to support Indonesia as the world\u27s halal center
No full textIndonesia is optimistic about becoming the center of the world\u27s halal industry and the halal industry covers very diverse aspects of life, from the financial, food and beverage, tourism, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries to the fashion industry. This very broad aspect of course requires the support of a lot of reliable human resources, namely human resources that are in accordance with the characteristics of Islamic values ??such as professional (kafa\u27ah), trustworthy (amanah) and himmatul amal (work spirit). For this reason, developing human resources who are currently or will be involved in the sharia industry is important. This research is qualitative research by conducting searches and comparisons of related concepts and policies, then analyzing them using the monotheism concept approach and finally describing the results of the interpretation of the data collected so that finally conclusions are drawn and convey the development model that should be carried out
Contributions of traditional healers and traditional birth attendants to maternal health in Soweto, South Africa
No full textThis paper aims to explore how Traditional Healers (THs) and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) support women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period in Soweto, Johannesburg. Traditional healing remains a central part of maternal healthcare in South Africa, where cultural beliefs and accessibility influence women’s health-seeking behaviours. Using a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive design, data were collected through key informant interviews with eight participants (five THs and three TBAs) selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was employed to identify patterns in traditional knowledge, practices, and beliefs related to maternal healthcare. Findings revealed that THs and TBAs play an essential role across the maternal care continuum. In the diagnostic phase, they identify fertility challenges, breech pregnancies, and spiritual causes of illness through ancestral guidance, bone divination, and dreams. During the antenatal period, they provide herbal remedies such as isihlambezo to cleanse and strengthen the womb and perform protective rituals against witchcraft and evil spirits. In the perinatal stage, TBAs assist with labour management, delivery, and placental expulsion using culturally informed methods. Their postnatal care includes uterine cleansing, breastfeeding support, newborn care, and follow-up home visits. These practices, grounded in indigenous knowledge systems, coexist with biomedical care and remain vital due to their cultural resonance and accessibility. The study concludes that strengthening collaboration between traditional and biomedical health systems could enhance culturally sensitive, community-based approaches to maternal healthcare in South Africa
Maritime based drug-trafficking in South African communities: the case study of youth-network engaged scholarship project
No full textThe South African communities are being buffeted by illicit drug markets. While the dynamics of drug markets are shaped by a range of domestic political and socioeconomic factors, these states have been rendered vulnerable also by their proximity to major transnational drug trafficking routes that link illicit drug production origin points with regional and global marketplaces. Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis and a wide array of synthetic substances flow through the region along various routes, exploiting vulnerabilities in port facilities and interdiction agencies, and connecting the substances, their markets and their organized criminal beneficiaries. The results show that illicit drug detection systems may be inadequate due to a lack of experience with online fraud. From a South African standpoint, the study found that there is a high risk due to a lack of legal regulation. Maritime Based Drug-Trafficking in South African Communities are encouraged to acquire and develop Maritime expertise because the South Africa communities lacks these specialists. To achieve the study\u27s goals, a literature analysis was used, and secondary data was evaluated and deconstructed. This paper major goal was to look at the causes and motivations behind Maritime Based Drug-Trafficking. The inquiry concentrated on young people\u27s excessive and unusual drugs and alcohol consumption. The study made recommendations for potential research topics that the South Africa communities could look into in order to create and improve Maritime models
Repurposing the use of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework for South Africa’s public sector
No full textClimate change is increasingly recognised as a significant threat to economic development. As efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy continue to intensify, there is a growing realisation among proponents of sustainable development that public sector organisations need to disclose climate risks and opportunities associated with their operations. Climate risk disclosures in the public sector offer countries unique insights and opportunities to pursue a sustainable path toward a low-carbon economy. Although there are many studies on climate-risk disclosures in the private sector, studies on the public sector are scarce. A systematic review of academic and grey literature was used to analyse the potential of adapting the TCFD framework to the public sector of South Africa. The study found that the TCFD recommendations provide a globally standardised approach to climate risk disclosure, allowing comprehensive reporting and comparison of climate-related information between sectors and entities to promote climate resilience and transition to a green economy. To effectively implement the recommendations of the TCFD in the public sector of South Africa, improved capacity building, strong legal and institutional frameworks, bold multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral approaches, adequate budget support and strong advocacy and communication efforts are needed. The study will be important to the IPSASB and other stakeholders to develop sustainability reporting standards for the public sector, as well as promote climate risk disclosures by government entities.
Aligning human capital with business objectives: A blueprint for modern organisations
No full textThis study provides a comprehensive review of recent academic literature (from 2017 onwards) that investigates the essential connection between workforce management and strategic business objectives. The review integrates a diverse array of studies that emphasise the complex nature of human capital, which includes employee skills, knowledge, motivation, and engagement, and their influence on organisational performance. A key focus of the discussion is the importance of leadership in establishing a clear strategic vision, nurturing a culture of communication, and encouraging employee participation in decision-making processes. Additionally, the study examines the transformative potential of data-driven human resource practices, such as people analytics, in identifying skill deficiencies, enhancing talent management, and facilitating evidence-based workforce planning. Despite these advancements, challenges like organizational silos, misaligned incentives, and resistance to change continue to pose significant barriers. The findings indicate that effective alignment necessitates a holistic approach that merges strategic HR leadership, continuous professional development, cultural flexibility, and transparent performance management systems. Practical recommendations are provided to assist business leaders and HR professionals in crafting and executing strategies that ensure employees\u27 efforts are intentionally aligned with organisational priorities. The study highlights deficiencies in existing research, especially regarding the variations in alignment strategies across different industries and geographical areas, and advocates for additional empirical investigations to enhance comprehension. In summary, this review underscores that strategically aligned human capital can act as a significant catalyst for innovation, competitiveness, and organisational resilience in today\u27s business environment