• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.863-872
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• 2021

The main goal of this research is to understand how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owners in Oman perceive the factors that drive or impede their growth and sustainability. Based on survey data of 395 SMEs in Oman, factor analysis was conducted to check if all the items load as one factor in each of the constructs. The results show that all the items measuring motivators and barriers loaded significantly for the respective scales, with high reliability (Cronbach alpha for Motivators = 0.991 and Barriers = 0.995). Relationships between the demographic factors of entrepreneurs and firm characteristics were tested and it was found that all the four variables: age of the entrepreneur (p = 0.00), qualification of the entrepreneur (p = 0.00), SME sector (p = 0.00), and age of the firm (p = 0.00) have a significant relationship with both the Motivators and the Barriers. The findings of this study could have significant implications for policymakers in Oman and other Middle Eastern countries. Since SMEs face similar problems and are given priority around the world, the findings could be applicable to other countries, as well. The findings also add important results to the empirical literature on SMEs.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.15-29
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• 2020

Purpose: Due to an ever more interconnected global commercial environment, the role of SMEs from emerging markets has attracted considerable attention in business literature of late. Reinforced by strategic management theory, this study builds on aspects such as entrepreneurial orientation and dynamic capabilities to construct and test a framework that focuses on exploring their associations with export performance. Research design, data and methodology: To contribute further towards a deeper understanding of these markets, the current study empirically tests a model using data collected from 225 exporting firms located throughout South Africa. Results: The results from the data analysis show that entrepreneurial orientation contributes significantly towards improving the performance of South African SMEs. Additionally, this study integrates three dynamic capabilities in the strategy-performance relationship to test their interacting effects on the correlation between entrepreneurial orientation and export performance. Further findings advocate support for relationship-based capabilities playing a moderating role between entrepreneurial orientation and the exporting performance of small and medium firms emanating from emerging markets. Conclusions: Findings provide substance to the argument that entrepreneurship, as a strategy-making process, leads to export performance in emerging nations. Especially, this study provides several suggestions as to how small and medium-sized organizations can develop their exporting performance based on the research findings.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.69-83
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to present Blue Ocean strategies by deriving the strategic elements of a visiting nursing center and conducting a survey on the importance and satisfaction of care clients. Methods: First, a FGI was conducted targeting the head of the visiting nursing center to derive its strategic elements. Subsequently, importance and satisfaction surveys on the derived strategy elements were analyzed, an IPA matrix was derived, and an as-is ERRC Blue Ocean strategy was established. Kano's Three-Factor Theory was used to derive a competitive position matrix and establish a to-be ERRC Blue Ocean strategy. The Blue Ocean Strategy for Visiting Nursing Center Management is presented in this study. Results: Four as raise factors were derived from combining the results of the as-is, to-be ERRC strategy element analysis: retention of competent nurses, education in medication management, maintenance of high customer satisfaction, and prompt handling of customer complaints. Additionally, the customer's health condition evaluation was derived. Conclusion: Blue Ocean Strategies can be used to analyze, derive, and establish management strategies in various nursing-related entrepreneurship fields.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.113-124
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• 2018

The objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of signals and advancing our understanding of the relationship between ratings and audience decisions based on the signaling theory. Though many studies argue that information asymmetry affects decision making, few studies have examined two key signaling factors: its potential to have multiple sources and the effect of time on its effectiveness. This study examined how experts' and the general audience's ratings affect decision making. We also considered change patterns in ratings to explore how time effect on ratings affect selection behavior. We tested our hypotheses using the latent growth model based on signaling theory and behavior approaches. The results show that a general audience's ratings is perceived as more credible than are those of experts and that audience members are significantly affected by upward patterns in ratings. The findings suggest that general audiences play a critical role as signal providers. Thus, market participants such as producers should pay more attention to the general audience's ratings in order to increase revenues. They should also consider the time effect of signaling, such as upward trends in ratings.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.75-96
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• 2011

Recently, Dennis et al.(2008) proposed media synchronicity theory. In this theory, for conveyance communication processes, use of media supporting lower synchronicity should result in better communication performance. But for convergence processes, use of media supporting higher synchronicity should result in better communication performance. This paper proved a part of the propositions of media synchronicity theory, because media synchronicity theory was proposed theoretically, not empirically. We used a data set generated from the survey. The respondents of survey were 163 students who had experienced the communication media in the classes that should summit result of team projects or team reports. According to the results of data analysis, higher use of communication media led to better learning performance. The familiarity of task moderated the effect of communication media on learning performance. And use of media supporting higher synchronicity led to better learning performance.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.113-127
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• 2020

Based on the social exchange theory and innovation diffusion theory, this study is to identify the correlation between factors influencing investor's funding intention in crowdfunding and to analyze moderating effect of trust in the relationship of shared value, communication and individual innovation. The purpose of this study is to consider the funding trends of crowdfunding investors from a personal point of view through the results of the study and to help fundraiser of crowdfunding establish specifically strategies for financing. In order to conduct empirical analysis, an online survey was conducted on people who had participated in crowdfunding, and a total of 228 questionnaires were collected and a total of 186 responses were finally analyzed, excluding outliers. For data analysis, structural equation model analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0 and Smart PLS 3.0. The results of this study showed that shared value in the relationship between fundraiser and investors has a significant effect on the perceived risk. High level of communication between fundraiser and investors showed positive effects on the level of commitment of the crowdfunding project and the innovation of the individual investor. And commitment had a positive effect on the funding intention. According to the results of this research, trust has moderating effect only in relationship between shared value and perceived risk. It is significant that investors share the value of fundraiser together is a motivation factor to fund in crowdfunding and an opportunity to recognize the risk. Through this study, it is expected to utilize them in establishing strategies for start-ups and marketing plans to raise funds through crowdfunding and to empirically identify factors influencing the funding intention through individual levels of crowdfunding investors.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.153-165
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• 2022

The COVID-19 Pandemic incident forced all educational and learning activities to move online, so it is no longer an option to use information and communication technology for education and learning. Venture capital has made the largest investment ever in Edu-tech startups. This study investigates the factors influencing the intention to use digital technology in education, taking into account the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) along with digital literacy, which has become an essential ability in the digital age. As a result of the structural equation model analysis, we find that performance expectation, effort expectation, and social influence have a positive effect on the intention to use digital technology in education. Moreover, digital literacy has a positive effect on performance expectation, effort expectation, and social impact, but the direct effect on the intention to use digital technology on learning is not significant. Furthermore, to see the moderating effect of age, the results of multi-group analysis present that the differences between 10s and 60s, between 20s and 60s, between 30s and 60s on the path of social influence on the intention to use digital technology in education are significantly reduced. This study academically contributes to expanding the research on the factors affecting the intention to use digital technology in a specific situation of education by considering both digital literacy and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). In addition, it can be used as a practical guide to the factors to be considered for each age when making learning participants more actively use digital technology.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.159-179
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• 2024

Based on the case of collaboration between large companies and startups, this study suggests the importance of establishing mutual cooperation and trust relationships for the success of open innovation strategy from the perspective of cooperative game theory. It also provides implications for how this can be implemented. Due to information asymmetry and differences in organizational culture and decision-making structures between large companies and startups, collaboration is likely to proceed in the form of non-cooperative games among players in general open innovation, leading to the paradox of open innovation, which lowers the degree of innovation. Accordingly, this study conducted a case study on collaboration between large company 'G' and startup 'S' based on the research question "How did we successfully promote open innovation through cooperative game-type collaboration?" The study found that successful open innovation requires (1) setting clear collaboration goals to solve the organizational problem between large companies and startups, (2) supporting human resources for qualitative growth of startups to solve reliability problems, (3) leading to strategic investment and joint promotion of new projects to solve the profit distribution problem. This study is significant in that it contributes to expanding the discussion of the success factors of open innovation to the importance of interaction and strategic judgment considering the organizational culture and decision-making structure among players, and empirically confirming the success conditions of open innovation from the perspective of cooperative game theory.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.1-22
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• 2009

A firm's competitive capabilities become greater when the firm has a specific knowledge. There are many studies have been examined how to accumulate the firm specific knowledge and to get the competitive capability on the various perspectives. This study suggest that the conceptual framework on the absorptive capability through reviews on the knowledge management theory. And it also suggests that the proposition about the technological capability building process through the in depth case study on a small and medium sized company in a LCD industry. This study found the following major characteristics about the absorptive capability building and knowledge creating process. First, it is required to building an absorptive capability rapidly that the harmony of local capabilities, integrative capabilities, and intensity of effort. And the most important factor is the intensity of effort in a small and medium sized firm with a weak knowledge base. Second, it is required to develop an innovative new product that the utilization of expeditious learning mechanism based on the exploration and exploitation process. Finally, complementary assets are needed to proactive exploration and exploitation. Based on the findings, the theoretical and managerial implications are derives and the further research directions are proposed.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.43-68
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• 2007

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the actual conditions of entrepreneurial school which was drawn from the new industry-academy cooperation paradigm, and to suggest a role model for educational program for entrepreneurial school, in order to increase its self-generating ability. According to survey of 5 entrepreneurial schools, most of curriculums did not show a user-based. This indicates that series of processes, such as analyzing user's(learner, local community, institution) request and setting up the goal are not being conducted professionally and systematically. Through this study, I would like to deliver the importance of new industry-academy cooperation paradigm of entrepreneurial schools and incite them to apply major principles of new industry-academy cooperation paradigm to their entrepreneurial education program, in order to enable continuous survival and development. This study has conducted research on the actual conditions of entrepreneurial school to examine whether the role model of entrepreneurial education program coincides with the paradigm of new industry-academy cooperation paradigm. Thus, this study has conducted two verifications as whole. First, through theoretical examination, this study has drawn out the major principles of new industry-academy cooperation paradigm and considered effective applying method for it. Second, this study has analyzed overseas' cases for development of entrepreneurial education program and proved the propriety of major principles. Through theory and case studies, the study presented a role models for each subjects and provided necessity for applying major principles to entrepreneurial school's research on the actual operating condition.