Search Results (20)

The impact of COVID-19 on the economy was devastating. Small businesses typically have few resources to fight against such adversity. Many businesses remained closed for some time during the pandemic period, resulting in significant consequences for people in terms of jobs, income and life. The objective of this research is to identify the factors that contributed to increasing company failures during the pandemic. Furthermore, this study aims to verify whether the size of the companies, the sectors of economic activity in which they operate and their geographic location influence enterprise failure. This article analyzes the survival of 8931 small businesses from 2017 to 2023, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The study applied a survival analysis using the Kaplan–Meier procedure, complemented with the Cox procedure, to determine the effects of the size of companies, sector activity and location on the survival time. The results indicate that survival is much higher in small companies with large revenues that are located in the Campaign and West Frontier regions, as well as in the Northeast, North, Production, South, Taquari, and Rio Pardo Valleys regions, whereas the survival rates were extremely lower in the commercial sector and in financial intermediation activities. In the second analysis restricted to the commerce sector, the data highlighted the retail activities, accommodation and food activities sectors as the most affected in terms of overall survival. The results indicated that the survival of small business remained relatively strong during the COVID-19 pandemic, signaling the pertinent support from the government. The smallest business with revenues under USD 15,576 (BRL 81,000) per year were the most affected, with only 39% survival after 7 years. Some activities and some regions suffered more than others, emphasizing the need for special attention from authorities in future catastrophes. Full article

Rising fossil energy prices and the significantly decreasing prices of energy technology have resulted in electricity consumers having the option to install solar PV rooftops to rely on the self-consumption of clean energy. However, the increase in this amount is affecting the revenue of electricity as a utility, which must adapt and develop its business model to accommodate the situation. If the utility cannot be adapted in time, it may lead to a loss of income from services and the sale of electricity from fossil energy. The utility in Thailand’s electricity market that acts as the distribution system operator (DSO) is known as the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) is responsible for managing distribution networks and customers. There are four types of solar rooftop-as-a-service (RaaS) business perspectives they could consider as opportunities through which to minimize revenue impact. The business services were designed for the DSO customer as follows: Consulting, Design, and Installation (CDI); Operation and Maintenance (O&M); Energy Service Company (ESCO); and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The model comprises four customer segments: residential buildings and small-, medium-, and large-scale commercial buildings. This paper applies SWOT, Five Forces, 4P marketing, and economic impact analyses to identify the possibilities when using the DSO business model. The SWOT analysis demonstrates that ESCO and PPA are strengths in the DSO’s performance characteristics and existing customer data. In the electricity industry, both models offer enormous customer bargaining power in terms of a Five Forces analysis. The main reason is that there is currently high competition in the installation service. In the 4P analysis result, the price per unit is found to be significantly lower than in residential scenarios. Therefore, there is a format for presenting promotions with an advantage over competitors. Deploying an after-sales service that brings convenience to all customer segments is needed. The economic analysis conducted using Cournot competition game theory shows a significant differential in the Medium (M) and Large (L) customer sectors’ competition due to lower technology prices. In conclusion, with the current regulatory framework and criteria, the ESCO and PPA show the best practical model from a utility business perspective. The recommendation for DSO is to create a strategic ecosystem and to link it with private companies as their partnership business. Full article

There is a growing consumer interest and public health mandate to reduce sugar intake, and an increased iimpetus to innovate in the food sector to develop new and more acceptable sweeteners and sweetness enhancers (S&SEs) as low- or non-calorific replacements for sugar. Within the European context, S&SEs are subject to stringent risk assessment and regulatory framework to permit new S&SEs in the European market. There has been a long-standing debate about the role of regulation in facilitating or slowing down innovation processes. The aim of this study is to examine the S&SE regulation and risk governance framework, with a specific focus on the implementation of the precautionary principle to assess its perceived impact on the food industry’s ability to innovate. We conducted six semi-structured interviews with food industry applicants for new and novel S&SE approval. The study results indicate that the legislation is achieving its primary aims of harmonising the approval process, ensuring consumer safety, and contributing to the public health policies of the EU. However, there are several barriers to innovation associated with the regulatory framework, including the application of the precautionary principle and the burden-of-proof requirement facing the industry. The barriers are particularly relevant to small and medium organisations who have limited resources to accommodate these uncertainties. An open dialogue between business operatives and risk assessors would be an important step towards raising this awareness and addressing the uncertainties within the process. Full article

Faced with the current challenges of the climate emergency and global change, the revaluation of local products, their knowledge, consumption, and distribution is emerging as one of the strategic actions aimed at reducing the carbon footprint. Agritourism, as an activity that values everything that is related to the agricultural heritage and that enables direct contact between visitor and farmer, contributes to positioning and strengthening the local agrifood product in tourist destination areas and becomes another link in the production chains, promoting direct sales and the short distribution circuit of the products. This research aims to measure the presence of the local agrifood product in the context of agritourism developed in the Western Catalan Pyrenees (Spain). To do this, it analyses the presence of the local product and the ways used to incorporate it into the travel experience. It explores (through interviews) the opinions of the owners of agritourism farms/businesses in relation to the repercussions of the producer–consumer connection through food. To reach this goal, secondary sources are reviewed—bibliographical, statistics, and web pages—and a total of 26 interviews are carried out. In terms of the results, we highlight that in the Western Catalan Pyrenees, about 70% of agritourism accommodations include local products in their offer. Additionally, the professional project is strengthened by including the agrifood product in the offer’s structure through catering and/or direct sale, generating positive dynamics among the rest of the producers in the area. However, only a small percentage of agritourism accommodations fully diversify their project with the production, consumption, and distribution of their own and local food. A total of four different profiles of agritourism are identified regarding agrifood products. Full article

There is a considerable debate in the literature regarding the real impact of tourism on the environment and human communities, specifically with respect to tourism’s openness to sustainable innovation. The way in which the different forms of tourism and entrepreneurial and managerial initiatives respond to the new economic, technological, social and environmental challenges acquire considerable importance for academics, practitioners, decision makers and consumers. The purpose of this research is to assess the potential for sustainable innovation in spa and health tourism in a relevant area in Romania through a survey-based study of both entrepreneurs who own a tourist accommodation unit, as well as top and middle managers from large tourism enterprises. The results of our research show that the development of spa and health tourism offers multiple examples of good practices, and that stimulating innovative entrepreneurial initiatives can lead to a sustainable reinvention of the tourism and local economy, in line with the international health tourism market. In the case of small businesses, even though sustainable initiatives are present, they are at an earlier stage and are less diversified compared to hotels, the scope of innovation is smaller and their motivation weaker. In other words, a large part of the objectives of modernization and sustainability in spa and health tourism (equipment, services, qualification and hiring of employees, sustainable and environmentally friendly orientation) are the responsibility of large hotel resorts. This research provides valuable insights into the ongoing debate surrounding the impact of tourism on the environment and local communities, with a specific focus on the potential for sustainable innovation in spa and health tourism within a significant region of Romania. Full article

Measuring efficiency and determining factors that may influence it are very important steps to improve the businesses’ competitive position, growth, and sustainability. This paper aims to investigate the efficiency of small accommodation businesses located in Greek non-coastal areas and to determine a set of factors that may affect it, from the perspective of the three dimensions of family businesses (family, business, ownership). The method adopted, in order for the research objective aim to be fulfilled, is the two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis model. In the first stage, the efficiency was estimated from a sample of 150 businesses. In the second stage, the influence of various factors on the examined efficiency was investigated by implementing a Bootstrap Truncated regression. The results showed that the majority of the examined businesses presented a low level of efficiency. Regarding the determination of the factors, it occurred that the manager’s age, ownership form, and business type influenced the relative efficiency level in contrast to the factors of the business’s age, the manager’s sex and education level, the state of succession, as well as the manager’s agricultural employment. By fulfilling the aim of this study, a significant contribution to the relative literature and especially to the hospitality field is offered. Full article

COVID-19 impacted lives and business activities across all sectors of the economy, and farmers were no exception. Utilizing the lens of the transactional theory of stress and coping, the present study explores the stressors among small-scale farmers and the strategies they adopted for farm management during the pandemic. This study follows qualitative research design principles and collects the data of farmers from Pakistan on their lived experiences via in-depth interviews. We selected the farmers based on the purposive criterion sampling method, selecting farmers whose farm management practices were affected by the pandemic. The findings suggest that the pandemic created stress among farmers through internal and external factors. The low income of farmers and decline in their yield appeared as internal factors, and hindrances in utilizing resources, strict lockdown measures, worsening supply chain, and market conditions were major external factors impacting farmers emotionally and economically. Farmers utilized their available resources to cope with these factors, i.e., family labor, on-farm labor accommodation, and self-transportation. Nonetheless, farmers demanded the government, fellow farmers, and wholesalers to build a better system to cope with any crisis such as COVID-19. This study provides two primary contributions: First, it provides theoretical contributions to the transactional model of farmers’ stress and coping during COVID-19, taking evidence from farmers in the agricultural sector. Second, it provides a comprehensive framework through which researchers, practitioners, consultants, and government authorities can build future scholarship and develop strategies to enhance sustainability and cope with future pandemics. Full article

This study explores the critical role of intellectual capital (IC) in ensuring the sustainable performance and growth of European hospitality firms, both large and small, during the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. Based on an extensive analysis of data from 42,516 accommodation, food, and travel sector firms operating in 18 EU countries during 2012–2021, this research provides crucial insights into the differential impacts of human, structural, and relational IC on profitability and asset growth. The results show that human IC positively affects SMEs’ profitability, while relational IC benefits both small and large firms. On the other hand, structural IC negatively impacted asset growth for both SMEs and large firms before the crisis but had no impact during the crisis. This study offers crucial insights for policymakers, investors, and business leaders alike, emphasizing the importance of investing in human and relational IC as key drivers of sustainable growth and profitability in the hospitality industry. The findings of this study will help firms better navigate the challenges and uncertainties of crises, such as COVID-19, ensuring their long-term viability and success. Full article

The subject of generations and their differences has been intensely analyzed and debated. Each generation has its own characteristics, regardless of the element that differentiates them. Gen Z’s relationship with tourism has been approached in recent years from various perspectives by many scholars. For the current research, representative characteristics were identified as important for Gen Z: off-the-beaten-path locations and experiences. Off-the-beaten-path locations refer to small-scale destinations, under-tourism, local businesses, sustainability, and local traditions. All of the aspects mentioned before are typical of rural tourism. Experiences are introduced by various elements of rural attractiveness: material cultural heritage (MCH) and immaterial (ICH), the living human treasures program (LHT), wine tourism, products with a protected designation of origin (PDO), products with a protected geographical indication (PGI), culinary diversity, and other rural leisure facilities. Two purposes have been established: to identify the relationship between Gen Z and rural tourism and its components defined by cultural heritage and traditional gastronomy, and to construct a predictive model regarding Gen Z’s behavior when traveling to rural destinations. For this, we performed a quantitative investigation among university students from Romania using an online survey. Using 280 Gen Z respondents from 323 valid responses, we performed a direct logistic regression. The results showed that they value local gastronomy and unique attractions, which we can include in MCH. The price represents an important element when choosing an accommodation unit. Due to the constantly increasing share of Gen Z in the tourism market, destinations and tourism operators will have time to prepare and adapt to new realities. Transversal research will benefit from the opportunity to compare Gen Z’s preferences and changes over time. Full article

Deployment of photovoltaic (PV) systems has recently been encouraged for large-scale and small-scale businesses in order to meet the global green energy targets. However, one of the most significant hurdles that limits the spread of PV applications is the dust accumulated on the PV panels’ surfaces, especially in desert regions. Numerous studies sought the use of cameras, sensors, power datasets, and other detection elements to detect the dust on PV panels; however, these methods pose more maintenance, accuracy, and economic challenges. Therefore, this paper proposes an intelligent system to detect the dust level on the PV panels to optimally operate the attached dust cleaning units (DCUs). Unlike previous strategies, this study utilizes the expanded knowledge and collected data for solar irradiation and PV-generated power, along with the forecasted ambient temperature. An expert artificial intelligence (AI) computational system, adopted with the MATLAB platform, is utilized for a high level of data prediction and processing. The AI was used in this study in order to estimate the unprovided information, emulate the provided measurements, and accommodate more input/output data. The feasibility of the proposed system is investigated using actual field data during all possible weather conditions. Full article

In this study, we carried out seven distinct and independent rounds of correspondence tests to detect discriminatory behavior in domains and markets in France that have not previously been subjected to much investigation in the literature. The study areas included: purchasing a used car; purchasing an auto insurance policy; applying for a car loan; purchasing supplemental health insurance; enrolling in an adult training program; purchasing an existing small business; and renting vacation accommodations. Access to these items and services are associated with either potential pathways to a middle-class job or hallmarks of a middle-class living standard. We seek to discern evidence of discriminatory behavior according to the criteria of age, gender, ethnic origin, and the reputation of the neighborhood of residence (advantaged or disadvantaged). We discern statistically significant patterns in our observed statistical outcome (callback rates) in all seven markets, which we interpret as possibly indicative of discriminatory behavior; however, the criteria, the magnitudes, and the signs differ from one market to another. One finding is that differential treatment based on ethnicity and the reputation of the neighborhood (i.e., neutral or disadvantaged) might not be as systematic and mutually reinforcing as they are frequently perceived to be in the domains of labor and housing markets. Full article

Agritourism is not a new phenomenon; moreover, it has increased significantly over the past decade and is expected to continue growing in the future. Despite this growth, there is no shared understanding of agritourism, which is problematic because it creates confusion and diminishes its appeal among consumers, thereby impeding communication and collaboration between stakeholders. Agritourism activities can be carried out on a microscale in rural areas by families and agricultural practitioners or on a large scale by hotels, restaurants, and catering firms. Despite many developing countries’ agricultural potential, agritourism has not been inserted into development plans in these countries. Only agritourism in small accommodation enterprises is carried out on a microscale by rural families. This study seeks to test the relationship between the positive impacts of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation and agritourism performance, with the mediating effects of support for P2P accommodations and organizational citizenship behavior towards P2P accommodations. The data were derived from 300 Airbnb consumers and hosts of agritourism accommodations in the eastern province of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The results of “Structural Equation Modeling” (SEM) via the “Partial least squares” (PLS) showed a positive direct relationship between peer-to-peer accommodation and agritourism performance with a significant mediating role of Organizational Citizenship Behavior and a positive moderating role of information on Agritourism destinations. Several theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Full article

With the deployment of the fifth generation (5G) mobile network systems and the envisioned heterogeneous ultra-dense networks (UDNs), both small cell (SmC) and distributed antenna system (DAS) technologies are required by mobile network operators (MNOs) and venue owners to support multiple spectrum bands, multiple radio access technologies (RATs), multiple optical central offices (COs), and multiple MNOs. As a result, the neutral host business model representing a third party responsible for managing the network enterprise on behalf of multiple MNOs has emerged as a potential solution, mainly influenced by the desire to provide a high user experience without significantly increasing the total cost of ownership (TCO). However, designing a sustainable business model for a neutral host is a nontrivial task, especially when considered in the context of 5G and beyond (5GB) UDNs. In this paper, under an integrated optical wireless network infrastructure, we review how SmC and DAS technologies are evolving towards the adoption of the neutral host business model and identify key challenges and requirements for 5GB support. Thus, we explore recent candidate advancements in heterogeneous network integration technologies for the realization of an efficient 5GB neutral host business model design capable of accommodating both SmC and DAS. Furthermore, we propose a novel design architecture that relies on virtual radio access network (vRAN) to enable real-time dynamic resource allocation and radio over Ethernet (RoE) for flexible and reconfigurable fronthaul. The results from our simulations using MATLAB over two real-life deployment scenarios validate the feasibility of utilizing switched RoE considering end-to-end delay requirements of 5GB under different switching schemes, as long as the queuing delay is kept to a minimum. Finally, the results show that incorporating RoE and vRAN technologies into the neutral host design results in substantial TCO reduction by about 81% in an indoor scenario and 73% in an outdoor scenario. Full article

This paper argues that brick-and-mortar retail Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can benefit significantly from the capabilities of mobile commerce (m-commerce) to respond to the unpredictable changes in the business environment, accommodate new consumer experiences, boost sales of products/services, and achieve a competitive advantage. Consequently, this study explored the potential application of the Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework for m-commerce by brick-and-mortar retail SMEs. The study adopted the positivist paradigm and followed a cross-sectional study design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 263 retail business personnel. The Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software was used to analyse the data. The findings unveil that all the proposed constructs associated with the organisational context and technological context are critical for the use of m-commerce. The proposed framework provides a fresh set of contextual variables which align with brick-and-mortar retailer operations and mobile commerce practices. It is envisaged that the extended framework may help conventional businesses to understand and identify the requisite factors in the adoption and use of m-commerce and assist business supporters in the process of technological innovation transfer. Full article

Small accommodation businesses dominate the rural hospitality industry, producing simple or complex tourist products and services in order to be sustainable and competitive. In this paper, a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was applied in a representative sample of 151 small accommodation businesses in non-coastal areas in the region of Central Macedonia in Greece. In the first stage, DEA-bootstrapping is applied to estimate point and interval efficiency ratios of accommodation businesses and identify the benchmark accommodations. The double bootstrapping truncated procedure of Simar and Wilson is implemented in the second stage to investigate the role of five business factors in terms of efficiency. The findings suggest that small accommodation businesses, although they are based in areas where tourist resources abound, are inefficient. Moreover, the results of the truncated regression method showed that the business’s size, the operating days, and the variety of activities (simple/complex) affect business’s inefficiency. On the contrary, the business’s age and their engagement in agriculture or not do not affect business’s efficiency. The results are important for rural entrepreneurs and policy makers, and they will also be useful for the adaptation of businesses to increase their efficiency. Full article