Businesses, Volume 2, Issue 4 (December 2022) – 12 articles

(1) Background: Organisational culture provides a framework and guidelines that influence behaviour and control employees’ performance and activities. (2) Methods: This study uses Hofstede’s five dimensions of organisational culture to understand better the organisational culture of three of the National Water Company’s (NWC) branches in Saudi Arabia. A random sample of 500 employees, consisting of 50 managers, 100 supervisors, and 350 officers, were surveyed, and 334 reliable responses were received. SPSS was employed to analyse the responses, and the empirical findings suggest that NWC’s corporate culture is in line with the findings of Hofstede. (3) Results: There was a sharp contrast between the male and female responses, with men ranking power distance, uncertainty avoidance, collectivism, masculinity, and short-term orientation, high, and the women ranking them low. Unfortunately, innovation and productivity suffer within this autocratic culture, resulting in the NWC not meeting Saudi Arabia’s new national mandates outlined in Vision 2030. (4) Conclusion: The study recommends how HRM can help NWC change its organisational culture to increase innovation and productivity. Full article

Branding has become a business priority over the past few decades due to the growing awareness that brands are one of the companies’ most valuable intangible assets. Academics and practitioners have proposed models of components to simplify brands into a small number of parts, or dimensions. Nonetheless, there is a lack of specific approaches to brand management models that fit specific business scenarios. The objective of this study was to propose a general framework to create custom brand management strategies that fit specific business scenarios through a set of independent brand dimensions. The framework was applied to the specific case of SME alliance in a B2B export environment as an example of use. This study reviews the most cited brand management models in literature and classified them into 12 independent brand dimensions. The results suggest that regardless of the brand management model, all of them converge on the fact that creating a high-quality brand relationship with the customer is crucial for the branding process. Findings suggest non-evident relationships between dimensions. The findings also suggest that brand dimensions’ and brand dimension relationships’ importance in specific business scenarios shape brand management models in unique ways. Full article

The concept of a ‘business model’ refers to a collection of descriptions that highlight the most significant aspects of the business. The metaverse is already a reality that can be considered plausible; it is a digital world that can be accessed by various technologies, such as virtual or augmented reality, and it is a place in which people are able to communicate and collaborate with one another. Businesses are making an attempt to capitalize on a trend, since it is anticipated that the metaverse will become more decentralized in the near future because it provides outstanding possibilities for expanding business. In this article, we discuss a few aspects of the current business model, as well as the emergence of the metaverse and their influence in the existing business models, with emphasis on the fashion and retail industry. Users of the metaverse have the ability to personalize digital representations of themselves, known as avatars. These avatars may be utilized in virtual worlds, online games, and other types of online communities. The way advertising works in the metaverse is quite similar to how it operates in the real world. Because of this, there is a promising future in store for the future of marketing and advertising in the metaverse. The new virtual environment will inspire us to devise novel formulae and procedures, which will influence the user in previously unimaginable ways. In addition to that, the possibility of the metaverse becoming connected with generation Z (also known as gen Z) would be additional advantages that will help the company’s bottom line in the decades to come. Full article

This study investigated three key factors (technological-related, organisational-related and environmental-related barriers) affecting the adaptation to or integration of developed ICT. It also examined how SMEs in less developed countries can explore the different stages of developed ICT by moving from one stage to the other. The integration of ICT in SMEs is important as technologies have become competitive tools in contemporary business practices. This study is based on a survey of 322 Nigerian SMEs which was successfully validated using the SmartPLS3 software. The quantitative analysis centred on the three hypothesised barriers to measure the extent to which SMEs’ internal and external variables could limit their competitiveness in relation to business expansion and organisational growth. The analysis helped explain some of the critical challenges faced by rural SMEs in an emerging economy such as Nigeria despite the literature’s previous emphasis on the impacts of ICT on the SMEs’ growth and expansion. A major contribution of the study is the development of a distinct model to help SMEs identify the significance of developed ICT and propose a strategy for SMEs to navigate the stages of developed ICT. Full article

In this exploratory study, we employed multiple case-based approaches to explore and advance our understanding of how some entrepreneurial firms in unstable and extreme contexts achieve and sustain high growth. We included five Palestinian entrepreneurial firms from different sectors. The findings suggest that several factors play a significant role in how entrepreneurial firms in an extreme context such as Palestine achieve and sustain high growth. These factors are innovation and know-how, family growth, opportunities for exploration and exploitation, human capital, focusing strategy, business and social networks, foreign aid, and flexibility and adaptability. Full article

Human resource management practices (HRMPs) cannot thrive in an organisation without communication features. The communication attributes are essential as they are means through which meaningful information is shared or transferred in a functional organisation for effective and efficient work process. This study aims to evaluate the communication features of HRMPs in Lagos State, Nigeria, with a view to improving information dissemination among practising construction professionals and HRs in the built environment. Using a quantitative research design, a questionnaire was designed to achieve the quantitative strand through the target population. Data retrieved were screened and analysed using descriptive and principal component analysis (PCA). The Cronbach alpha and the Kruskal–Wallis H non-parametric tests were both utilised to evaluate the reliability of the data and to determine the respondents’ group opinions, respectively. This study was carried out in Lagos State, Nigeria and was limited to practising construction professionals (CPs) and HR in the built environment. The analysis showed that all the communication features ranked above the average mean, with a good communication network, formal communication methods, and use of appropriate communication channels ranking as the top three. PCA clustered the identified communication features into two components: feedback and involvement system, and communication methods. The originality of this study lies in its ability to display the communication features that will assist stakeholders and policymakers in channeling their resources appropriately with defined clusters rather than the usual mean ranking. Based on the findings, this study recommends that more attention should be given to the cluster groups (same as the two components mentioned above) in order to achieve the best optimal manner for efficiency and effectiveness of communication in the construction industry (CI). Full article

Although algorithms make more accurate forecasts than humans in many applications, decision-makers often refuse to resort to their use. In an economic experiment, we examine whether the extent of this phenomenon known as algorithm aversion can be reduced by granting decision-makers the possibility to exert an influence on the configuration of the algorithm (an influence on the algorithmic input). In addition, we replicate the study carried out by Dietvorst et al. (2018). This shows that algorithm aversion recedes significantly if the subjects can subsequently change the results of the algorithm—and even if this is only by a small percentage (an influence on the algorithmic output). The present study confirms that algorithm aversion is reduced significantly when there is such a possibility to influence the algorithmic output. However, exerting an influence on the algorithmic input seems to have only a limited ability to reduce algorithm aversion. A limited opportunity to modify the algorithmic output thus reduces algorithm aversion more effectively than having the ability to influence the algorithmic input. Full article

In this paper, we analyzed data from publicly listed firms from selected countries of the eurozone between 2008 and 2016, a period of high volatility in the global economy and high uncertainty in financial markets. Economic indicators, such as sales volume, debt accumulation, internationalization, and innovative activity, were combined with firm size and ownership structure to examine their impact on economic performance. We first performed a panel data analysis to associate the economic and non-economic company-specific characteristics with performance and growth, while also examining the possible differences between countries. In the second part of the paper, we focused on ownership structure, an issue of great importance in the literature on business and economics. Through structural equation modeling (SEM), we attempted to shape the profiles of closely held companies, and their impact on performance. Our findings confirmed that significant differences exist not only between firms but also between countries relative to performance indicators; however, a common trend was found relative to debt, size, and ownership. Our findings also revealed a more conservative approach of closely held companies relative to long-term commitment and risky investment projects, compared to their non-closely held counterparts. Full article

The purpose of this research is to develop the concept of product performance, which is influenced by organizational transformation and organizational culture, and is mediated by market orientation. This research uses a quantitative approach, using the sampling method of stratified proportional random sampling, with a sample size of n = 216 employees. The analytical methods used are Important Performance Analysis and SEM—WarpPls. The results of this study indicate that organizational transformation and organizational culture have a significant effect on market orientation, but they have no significant effect on product performance. Moreover, market orientation has a significant effect on product performance. This study combines research variables comprehensively so as to determine the complete relationship between research variables. The novelty of this study is to identify the complete mediating effect of market orientation on the relationship between organizational transformation and product performance. Full article

(1) Background: Marketing and advertising strategies for food products are very diverse and have a differential effect on consumers’ behaviours and attitudes towards products. (2) Objectives: To examine the influence of point-of-purchase (PoP) marketing and advertising strategies and the promotion of products employing opinion leaders (celebrities) on the healthy perception of pre-packaged food and buying behaviour of young consumers. (3) Methods: Online survey (N = 130) of 18–31 years old participants. (4) Results: “Price” was the most influential factor when purchasing a snack (66.2%), although “salt and macronutrient content” had a major influence on females (x²_(1,N=129) = 14.02, p < 0.001). Participants with low or no weight satisfaction were more prone to consider “low fat” (x²_(1,N=130) = 5.02, p = 0.025) and chose “green” as the most suitable colour for healthy snack packaging. Male celebrities were more picked by males than female participants (x²_(1,N=129) = 6.41, p = 0.011). (4) Conclusion: Using green packaging, nutritional claims related to low-calorie intakes or accentuating salt and macronutrient content, and using opinion leaders with whom consumers can relate to, were the most influential factors in fostering a healthy perception of pre-packaged food products. These results highlight the need for policies to limit marketing strategies to avoid misleading consumers’ opinion of a product as healthy when it is not. Full article

The study focused on the role of Nigerian bankruptcy law in fostering female entrepreneurship. The study examined how the current bankruptcy law supports female entrepreneurship in Nigeria. This was motivated by the Nigerian government’s recent entrepreneurship drive to meet the country’s excessive challenge of unemployment and poverty. Five principles were utilised in this study to measure current Nigerian bankruptcy law to evaluate its effect on the female entrepreneurship drive in Nigeria. The study adopted a qualitative research methodology to evaluate legal doctrines and relevant literatures. The study’s findings revealed that the present Nigerian bankruptcy law is not entirely favourable to female entrepreneurship. This conclusion was arrived at having measured the Nigerian bankruptcy law against five testable principles. These principles were developed to help as a guide in measuring bankruptcy laws to determine whether they are entrepreneur-friendly. In light of this, recommendations were proffered to reform the current bankruptcy law to introduce better policies that enhance female entrepreneurship. Full article

Measuring project management performance is complex and requires tools to capture the dynamic nature of the processes involved. Since the conception of system dynamics in the 1950s, the method has been used to solve complex projects. Project management possesses dynamic characteristics that involve planning, human resources, implementation, and control elements; thereby, using system dynamics to measure project management performance is a realistic approach. A research study was conducted using system dynamics to develop project management performance measures to capture the complexity of the process in local government agencies. The research approach considers measuring project engineering management performance as a holistic system influenced by leadership involvement, project management processes, and project engineering manager’s ability. The Zachman architectural framework was used to develop the project-management performance system’s ontology as the system dynamics model’s foundation. A case study was conducted for three cities with local government agencies to better understand the model components and factors that influence performance. Leadership involvement, project management processes, and project manager abilities were identified as critical factors that influence the project management performance level. To validate the results of the case study, the project management performance was further studied for the City of El Paso in terms of capability, capacity, and maturity level. The research study concluded that system dynamics is a feasible method and effective tool to measure management performance for engineering projects at local government agencies. Full article