Agricultural sector remains the main source of food and income for most rural communities in Ethiopia. Being dependent mainly on rainfall, this sector has been affected by climate change. Hence, employing adaptation strategies within the agricultural sector to climate change is vital to ensure food security and care for the livelihoods of farmers. Food security and adaptation are among the options to abate the negative impact of climate changes. This study has analyzed factors influencing the impact of climate change on food security and adaptation choices by farm households in eastern Ethiopia. The study used data obtained from 330 household heads randomly and proportionately sampled from two agroecologies in East Hararghe Zone of Oromiya Region and Dire Dawa Administration, Ethiopia. The study used a univariate profit model and multinomial logistic regression model to identify factors affecting food security and the choice of adaptation strategies to climate change. As food security indicator, calorie intake per adult equivalent per day was considered for adaptation strategies; changing planting date, irrigation water use, soil and water conservation, and crop variety selection were considered. The result indicated that farmers in the study area are vulnerable to climate change and the factors determining the choice of climate adaptation options were determined by sex of household head, family size, education status of household head, Agroecology, distance to market, cultivated land, credit access, decreasing precipitation and change of temperature. Policy thrust should focus on linking farmers to fertilizer usage, credit access and social participation as well as in creating awareness of climate change.

This paper explores the determinants of innovation in small businesses from a survey covering fifty self-employed people in and around Madurai in India. Self-employed people running businesses with and without employees were included in the study and the types of innovation were differentiated. The business units selected were classified as small scale enterprises owing to their investment and capital structure. Though the units considered for the study are suppliers catering the needs of other industrial units their involvement in innovation practices and its impact is studied. The Education of the people running the business is considered as a vital factor as it has impact on the innovation practices and management style. The purpose of this study was to find out the major constraints in running small and Medium Scale Enterprises pertaining to innovation practice. The methodology adopted in this study was a random sampling of 50 self-employed people. The findings of the study indicated that the major barriers to implement innovation in small and medium scale enterprises are lack of infrastructure, financial deficiency, technical and professional constraints, and uncertainty regarding return on investment, inexperience and lack of awareness and need to practice innovation. The limitation of the study is that the sample size of small and medium scale enterprises selected was small to generalize the results.

The strong brand equity value has turned into an exceptionally critical element that influences customers’ behaviour of a brand. Success brand management climbs from understanding and overseeing brand equity fittingly to create the characteristics that will impact customers’ behaviour when settling on their decisions. The study makes use of primary and secondary data relating to consumers’ behaviour and brand equity. Data collected from 100 customers from two major cities in odisha. Convenient sampling method is adopted for the selection of samples. This paper stresses on the examination of the effect of purchaser behaviour and brand equity dimensions on purchase of durable products. Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient is used for analysis and interpretation in order to study the difference among the purchase value of durable goods, consumer’s buying behaviour of durable goods, brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, brand association and brand loyalty.

This paper examines the determining mechanism of executive compensation gap (ECG) by initiatively introducing the concept of knowledge coordination needs (KCN) as the critical antecedent, since the relationship between KCN and ECG is still unexplored to date, particularly in china. Based on economic view and behavioral view, two competitive hypotheses on the effect of KCN on ECG are respectively proposed. By adopting the listed companies in Chinese manufacturing industry over the period of 2009-2013 as the sample, both multiple linear regression and hierarchical linear regression results confirm that KCN has positive effect on ECG. Our finding suggests that under the condition of higher KCN, it is much more important for the board to align interests between the shareholders and the top executives by enlarging ECG than to enhance knowledge coordination among executives by constraining ECG. The performance consequence of such a positive relationship between KCN and ECG within TMT should be explored further in the near future.

This article analyzes a current financial reporting and accounting issue regarding diversity in financial reporting practice. Since the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) first issued accounting statement 157 Fair Value Measurements, entities have been required to measure investments at fair market values. This included the requirement to categorize investments within a fair value hierarchy in preparation to report such in the financial statements. To do this, the FASB allows companies to either categorize the investment in the fair value hierarchy using three different input levels (Level 1, 2 and 3) or by estimating the net asset value as a practical expedient. If the entity uses the practical expedient, the investment would be placed within the fair value hierarchy based on whether the investment is redeemable with the investee at the measurement date, never redeemable, or redeemable in the future. Based on this information, the investment would be placed in either level 2 or 3 of the hierarchy. As a result, there is diversity in practice when estimating the length of time in the near term the investment would be redeemed. This article reports the results of evaluating how can the diversity in accounting practice related to how certain investments measured at net asset value are categorized within the fair value hierarchy be resolved. The results of the qualitative research conducted on the FASB proposal concluded that fourteen out of the eighteen public comment letters agreed with FASB proposal that eliminating the requirements to classify these investments in the fair value hierarchy would increase comparability in accounting practice among entities.

This article documents increased diversity in financial accounting practice. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standard-setting process for the Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-18 is used as documentation. The FASB ASU 2014-18 was approved by a slim margin of four to three of the FASB members. This indicates continuing controversy around accounting for goodwill that relates to the public interest goal of similar accounting for similar transactions and events. This article analyzes the content within the 52 Comment Letters submitted in response to 18 questions asked by the Private Company Council (PCC) that lead to the promulgation of the FASB ASU 2014-18. Private companies are to include non-marketable intangibles in the account goodwill that non-private companies are to continue measure and report separate from goodwill. Plus private companies are allowed to either amortize or test for impairment in measuring and reporting goodwill. Non-private companies are to test for impairment. Non-private companies do not have the option of using amortization as part of the measurement and reporting process regarding goodwill. This diversity in measuring and reporting goodwill decreases progress toward the public interest goal of comparability of financial reports. Comparability is a significant quality thought to improve decision usefulness of information.

The thrust of this paper is to provide an alternative strategy for solving the problem of food insecurity in Nigeria through the social entrepreneurship initiative which is gaining prominence in recent times. The paper explains the numerous efforts adopted by government to engender food security in the country but which yielded infinitesimal results. It concludes that the problem of food insecurity in Nigeria can be solved with collective efforts of the relevant stakeholders: international donors, government, professional institutions, banks, nongovernmental organisations, faith based institutions, schools, families, farmers, and media. The paper recommends the adoption of social entrepreneurship initiative by all stakeholders as an alternative strategy for achieving the dream of food security in Nigeria.

This study brings to an academia table the discussion on whether investment incentives are a motivator or a gift and also explores the moderating effects of Investors’ Perceptions on Stock market Performance. By use of key word characters the search initially identified 93 published and unpublished research papers and after a tentative scrutiny, 66 papers were selected in a random sampling manner in order to give the birth to this discussion paper. Exploratory research design was used. The key objective of this article was to investigate on the question as to whether incentives are a gift or a motivator. The study findings reveal than investor perceptions affects stock market performance more than incentives do. The paper concludes that the availability, adequacy, and timeliness of relevant information about marketable securities are important for both pricing efficiency and market confidence. Investment incentives work well in an ideal world to promote investment while investors’ perceptions are relevant in the real world. Hence, stock market incentives were concluded as being a gift and not a motivator for investors to make investment decisions at the stock market.

Although management consulting activities have obtained a considerable growth in terms of economic significance in recent years, these results have not been duly followed by a greater number of conceptual and empirical researches in this area. In order to fight the lack of studies on the actual work of management consultants, this article aims at answer to one question that remains open. Are consultants the real experts and the true practitioners of strategy as practice? The results of the empirical analysis in the form of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires given to management consultants and SME managers in Portugal shows that management consulting is founded on a knowledge-intensive base, although consultants cannot be called strategy practitioners as many authors call them. This is illustrated in the model presented in this article, which means this proposition is a new direction in strategic thinking in what the field’s research strategy-as-practice concerns.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of insecurity on business activities in Kogi State. Questionnaire was used to collect the primary data from targeted groups in the population. The findings of this study suggest that the security situation in Kogi state has become a major challenge for investors, and this could pose a threat for its economy with implication for investment and job losses. The present security challenge could diminish the state’s ability to command local and international respect. The study recommended among others that government of Kogi state should overhaul the security agencies in the state to meet the current security challenges. Provision of new infrastructure as well as mending of dilapidate ones should be carried out in the state. It should be ensured that the major cities have functional street lights to enhance security. Similarly, the state government should create more job opportunities for the teeming number of unemployed youths.in the fair value hierarchy would increase comparability in accounting practice among entities.

This study attempts to investigate the role of Corporate Governance in mitigating agency cost. For this purpose a sample of 100 firms selected on the basis of 100 INDEX of Karachi Stock Exchange during the period 2007 to 2011. To do so, alternative proxies for agency costs are employing: the ratio of total sales to total assets (asset turnover) and the ratio of selling, general & administrative expenses (SG&A) to total sales. Multivariate fixed effect regression is used to analyze the data. The explanatory variables include director ownership, institutional ownership, ownership Concentration, board size, CEO/Chair duality, Non Executive Directors, Debt Ratio, remuneration structure and board independence. The analysis is controlled for the influence of company size. The results show that higher director and institutional ownership reduces the level of agency cost. Smaller sized boards also results in lowering agency cost. Board independence has positive association with asset utilization ratio. The separation of the post of CEO and chairperson and higher remuneration lower agency cost. Bank debt constitutes one of the most important Corporate Governance devices for Pakistani Listed Companies. Also, managerial ownership, managerial compensation and ownership concentration seem to play an important role in mitigating agency costs.

The small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) sector has been identified as a critical sector for the various roles it plays in the socio-economic development of an economy. Such roles include employment generation, bedrock of entrepreneurial development, avenue for investment and innovation, poverty reduction and economic growth. It is also a source of forward and backward linkages to multinational corporations (MNCs) which will engender foreign direct investment and local technological development. In Nigeria, the SMEs are faced with many challenges which include limited access to fund; lack of capacity of managers etc. These have undermined the growth, development and sustainability of the sector. It is in order to ameliorate these numerous challenges that government over the years have formulated and implemented several policies to develop, encourage and sustain SME success in Nigeria. The study is aimed at drawing important lessons from the success stories of German Mittlestand by importing, adopting or adapting their characteristics. The Mittlestand was chosen as a benchmark because the sector is resilient and was able to weather economic storms during the economic meltdown than many of their competitors. Important lessons that could be learnt by Nigeria’s SMEs include amongst others, the importance of investing in human resources through the adoption of Germany’s dual vocational system; production of high quality goods and services; investing in research and development; provision of after sales services; having a sound business plan that consents to business inheritance, etc. On the part of government, the lessons that could be learnt include: provision of critical infrastructure; creating enabling environment for small businesses; passing and enforcing the local content bill etc.

The objective of the paper is to provide an in depth analysis of the concept of intrapreneurship and how it is a leeway to the success of small-scale businesses in South East Nigeria. Extant literature were reviewed and the theoretical framework is anchored on the psychological innovation entrepreneurship theory propounded by Schumpeter in1938 in which he describes the entrepreneur as one forsaking well-trodden paths to open up new territory and as turning dreams into reality. A structured questionnaire that gauged the structure; size, control, organizational and communications levels of Small Scale Businesses, in relation with intrapreneurship was developed and administered to small scale businesses. Data collected were analysed using the Pearson’s product moment correlation, t-test and three (3) simple regression models. Also to show that the data satisfies the conditions for parametric analysis, the F-Statistic linearity test and Shapiro-Wilk’s test of normality was also conducted using the SPSS version 20.0. However, from the data analysis, it was found that small-scale business growth is enhanced through intrapreneurship activities. Consequently it is recommended that small-scale owners should engage people with entrepreneurship orientations.

This paper uses a single qualitative interview with the Warehouse and Ports Operations (WPO) Officer to investigate the operations of Kaase Inland Port as a distribution center of Ghana Cocoa Marketing Company. The findings of the study revealed that during offloading all stakeholders must be present to accept the result; stacks are built to protect the cocoa bean’s health and the quality control division issue purity certificate after analyzing the cocoa beans in the laboratory. The main conclusion drawn from study was that best practices were strictly followed under the inbound and outbound logistics but warehousing was not up to the task. The paper suggests newer and better methods of warehousing technologies.

For the world to be a preferred global village, countries in different continents need to get closer to each other not only through the demolition and removal of borderline barriers that separate them, but through international trade and integrated economy. The country’s prosperity is a consequence of the ability by state owned as well as private companies to perform efficiently and competitively. It is critical therefore that for these companies to perform and operate competitively, their visions and missions require visionary leaders who have appropriate foresight, so as to steer the business boat to the right direction. State owned organization in particular can attain their visions if their leaders are knowledgeable of business proficiencies. It should be realized that leaders are not only born to lead but that outstanding leaders are also made. Proper, relevant and adequate leadership development programs are keys to focused business intent. A company that retracts from developing its leaders is not only bound to be a laggard but is doomed to an ultimate downfall. Indeed, a country should identify the problem area so as to decisively and proactively deal with the operational challenges. For the challenges that hamper leadership development to be overcome, it is critical to lay down the background of the problem area, so as to have focused solutions.

The constant, and sometimes radical, changes that are taking place in the business environment demand that companies develop more agile mechanisms and management systems that enable them to adapt and, above all, to be competitive. All this means that companies must be able to continuously and quickly adapt to change. In order to do this, they need to develop agile and flexible structures. Process management is a mechanism that arises to meet these new needs, giving the company the flexibility to develop their business in today’s competitive environment. Despite the importance of process management techniques, several authors affirm that a high percentage of process management initiatives fail. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse how companies implement process management. Specifically, we would like to know who the people responsible for the implementation were and which phases or steps they followed. In order to achieve this aim, a survey was conducted among companies over 20 employees from Cantabria (a region in the North of Spain) which practised process management. Results show that a high percentage of companies sought external consultancy when implementing process management, especially during the initial stages. Concerning the implementation stages, an implementation methodology is proposed. Results show that it may be considered as appropriate due to the fact that all the stages are frequently used. Overall, we consider that from a theoretical point of view this study adds value to the field as it offers, first, a review gathering together the main implementation methodologies identified along the literature; and secondly it describes the results of an empirical study based on Spain, covering an existing gap. On the other side, from the practitioners’ point of view, this study could be used as guide for them. Not only because of the literature review, but especially because of the empirical case. From the obtained result managers could learn what other companies did when implementing process management. And, specially, they can identify what other companies did wrong in order not to repeat it.

In this era of globalization, the companies follow to achieve performance based on the relationship between national culture and new product launch – as an essential field for academic research and managerial practice. Through the literature review, we attempt to provide a clarification of this relationship considering the consumers’ perception on national product originated from Romania. The research conducted in this paper focused on Romanian consumers’ perception of their national products. Through a qualitative study, we explore the importance of country-of-origin on consumers’ decision to buy a new product, as well as their motives to prefer a Romanian product or a foreign one. The findings suggest that a favorable country image is essential in triggering the buying intention and that Romania still has a long path to go in order to establish a positive image in the minds of its targeted segment of consumers.

This study focused on the relationship between access to finance and attrition in small and medium textiles firms in Nigeria. The study became necessary due to the moribund nature of the textile industry in Nigeria. The sector was the second largest employer of labour but declined rapidly in productivity between 1991 and 2000, with 80 textile firms closing shop. The study takes a firm specific approach to help investigate the source of decline. Commentators on the causes of the downward trend in the textile industry had mentioned many perceived factors including access to finance. The purpose of this study is to isolate access to finance and to subject it to more intensive investigation. To do this effectively, a sampling frame which contained the list of the collapsed and standing firms was obtained from the textile manufacturers association of Nigeria based in Kaduna. All the selected firms were of medium category. A purposive sampling was used to enlist 3 entrepreneurs each from both failed and successful textile firms and 10 senior managers of failed and 4 senior managers of successful firms for a pilot study. Using a snow-balling technique, 196 respondents comprising owners and senior managers from failed firms were administered semi-structured & unstructured questionnaire whilst 160 questionnaire were also administered on owners and senior managers from successful firms. A total of 232 questionnaire were retrieved representing 65% of questionnaires sent out. The statistical tools used for testing are correlation, ANOVA and Regression. The analysis shows that the correlation between access to finance and the attrition of textiles industries in Nigeria implying a strong negative relationship between access to finance and the attrition of textile industries in Nigeria. It is recommended that textile industries take advantage of the most recent source of financing which is the Nigeria industrial bank. Financial discipline needs to be practiced by textile entrepreneurs in order to distinguish between company funds and personal funds.