1,720,965 research outputs found
The role of microfinance on entrepreneurial development: the case of urban Maseru
No full textSmall, Medium and Micro Enterprises have been identified as one of the key components to advancing growth and development in Lesotho. This study assessed the role of microfinance on entrepreneurial development with the aim to identify the key inhibitors for Small, Medium and Micro Eenterprises (SMMEs) to have access to microfinance services. The study was conducted in Urban Maseru, Lesotho with the aim to assess the challenges faced by SMMEs in Urban Maseru in accessing microfinance services, then examine the impact of micro-finance on the output of SMMEs in Urban Maseru and further examine the contribution of microfinance on business growth of selected SMMEs in Urban Maseru. The study made use of quantitative research method and questionnaires for collection of primary data and analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and tables and figures for the presentation of results. A descriptive variable sampling technique was employed and the Solvin’s formula was used in selecting the sample of 400 respondents from SMMEs in Urban Maseru that have benefited from microfinance services between 2016 and 2019. The study concludes that there are various barriers that impede entrepreneurs’ development. The fundamental impediment faced by SMMEs is the burdensome procedure that is related to access for credit of which high- interest rates and collateral security are major setbacks. The study submits that microfinance has had a positive influence on entrepreneurial performance measured in terms of output. In the same vein, the study concludes that microfinance has had a significantly positive effect on the business growth of the SMMEs sampled in Urban Maseru. To this end, SMMEs need to be assisted to use the identified factors to promote growth in order to realise full potential of microfinance contribution on SMMEs development. As such Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) need to review their policies on the terms of credit extension and other finance related development to SMMEs to enhance accessibility to finance by SMMEs. Furthermore, government’s support through appropriate policies and business extension services is necessary for SMMEs’ capacity development
The level of financial literacy of agribusiness entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe
No full textSubmitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Specialising in Business Administration in the Faculty of Management Sciences at the Durban University of Technology, 2023.Agribusiness is the cornerstone of the Zimbabwean economy as most people survive on
agricultural related activities, and it is regarded as the first step to fighting poverty among the
rural population. However, the sector has not been performing well in terms of productivity due
to various factors, which include poor management of borrowed funds, higher loan defaults,
and financial exclusion. The study sought to assess the level of financial knowledge, financial
behaviours, and financial attitudes of agribusiness entrepreneurs. Pragmatism research
philosophy guided this research. The study made use of the mixed method approach and
sequential mixed method research design. Quantitative data was first collected using a
questionnaire, followed by interviews that were conducted to build upon quantitative results.
Multistage cluster sampling and convenience sampling were used to select research
participants. The study also sought to determine the major factors affecting the financial literacy
of agribusiness entrepreneurs and the nature of financial products demanded by agribusiness
entrepreneurs. Research findings established that agribusiness entrepreneurs: (1) have low
financial knowledge, (2) exhibit poor financial behaviours, and (3) have good financial attitudes
except for diverting a portion of business loans for personal use. The general level of financial
literacy was very low among agribusiness entrepreneurs but extremely low among women, lowincome earners, those with low levels of education, and those living with several dependants
below 18 years. Most smallholder agribusiness entrepreneurs earned very low incomes of less
than US$500 per month due to lower yields and, therefore, could not afford bank loans usually
charged at very high interest rates. Agribusiness entrepreneurs usually relied on non-financial
products like rotational savings (mukando in Shona), selling something owned and family and
friends to make ends meet. There was a disassociation between financial products needed by
agribusiness entrepreneurs and the products offered by financial institutions. The study
developed and recommended a financial literacy operationalisation model for agribusiness
entrepreneurs for consideration by policy makers.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Unveiling the Role of Investment Tangibility on Financial Leverage: Insights from African-Listed Firms
No full textThe asset structure of a firm plays a pivotal role in determining its leverage. A higher proportion of physical assets is often associated with high debt ratios. This study explores the impact of investment tangibility on financial leverage, examining both tangible and intangible investments. Using a dynamic panel data model estimated through the two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM), we analyse a dataset encompassing 815 non-financial listed firms from 22 African stock markets. The results show that African firms have higher inclinations to invest in physical assets. We found a statistically significant negative relationship between leverage and tangible and intangible investments. The findings indicate that African firms tend to maintain lower leverages regardless of whether they invest in tangible or intangible assets. The observed relationship aligns with the hypothesis that high-growth firms, in their expansion efforts, strategically tend to opt for low debt to mitigate the agency costs associated with debt and to help prevent underinvestment. This outcome underscores the interconnected nature of financing and investment decisions. This research contributes to the literature on financial leverage and investment by dissecting investments into tangible and non-tangible components and highlighting their distinct impacts on leverage. Moreover, it provides empirical evidence for previously unexplored African firms, shedding light on the reasons behind the relatively low leverage levels observed in African firms
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Cash Flow Volatility and Firm Investment Behaviour: Evidence from African Listed Firms
Full text linkThis study explored the association between cash flow variability and investment behaviour of African listed firms. The research employed a dynamic panel data model estimated with the difference and system Generalised Method of Moments estimation techniques on a panel of 815 listed African non-financial firms. The estimation techniques control for unobserved heterogeneity, endogeneity, autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity and dynamic panel bias. Two different measures of volatility were employed; the exponentially weighted moving average, a forward-looking measure that captures innovations in cash flow volatilities and the coefficient of variation that captures the mechanical effect of the possible relation between cash flow levels and volatility. The results obtained suggested that cash-flow volatility is associated with average lower investment in African firms. These findings show that not only cash flows are an important determinant of investment decisions, but the variability of the cash flows also has a significant bearing on the investment levels of African firms. Cash flow volatility has a significant negative impact on investment even for firms with higher cash flows and unconstrained firms. African firms should not only aim at achieving higher cash flows, but the stability of the cash flows is equally important to sustain solid investment levels
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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