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The subject of entrepreneurship has generated swathes of interest from a variety of stakeholders seeking to address economic challenges in Africa. At the heart of this interest is the fact that the businesses created by entrepreneurs create employment opportunities which, in turn, have the potential to reduce poverty at all levels of African society. Yet, while research into entrepreneurial activity is well established in the developed countries of the western world, there remain large gaps in knowledge about key issues such as why entrepreneurs in Africa start businesses, how these businesses are sustained, and the specific contextual influences and challenges which affect African entrepreneurs' decision-making and behavior. In this introductory paper, we highlight the importance of attempting to understand how African entrepreneurs, working outside the strictures of strong formal institutions, navigate difficult challenges and make decisions using fragments of informal traditions originating from prevalent African philosophies such as Ubuntu. We also draw attention to the need to assess the notion of entrepreneurial business success or failure in Africa from a cultural context perspective which takes into account considerations aside from the solely rational-economic. We conclude with a series of questions which remain largely unanswered but will, we trust, be addressed in future research on entrepreneurship and Africa's cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to increased digitalisation and dematerialisation, the traditional value chain concept appears to be outdated. Instead, the term value network has emerged to describe how organisations co-create value in today's economy. However, it remains unclear what contributes to success or failure of collaborative business models in value networks. The article closes this research gap. The authors identify relevant papers through a systematic literature review process and review them using qualitative content analysis. From the 45 papers analysed, 21 critical factors contributing to success or failure of business models in value networks were extracted. They can be structured along 6 dimensions. From a theoretical perspective, the article deepens the understanding of business models in value networks and provides clear perspectives for future research. From a practical perspective, managers can use the results as target variables for strategic management to ensure success of their value network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only recently have scholars begun to explore the cross-section connection of entrepreneurship and personal selling and introduced the notion of entrepreneurial selling. This study contributes to the emerging debate by addressing the personal selling role of business owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the business-to-business (B-to-B) market in the context of failure. It examines how business owners make sense of their entrepreneurial selling activities and how underperformance in this role contributes to failure. Based on a literature review and interviews, the paper concludes that entrepreneurial selling is a crucial activity for preventing business failure and one that business owners recognize. Reasons for underperformance include business owners spending too little time on selling, their lack of personal selling skills, and procrastinating their selling activities. Answering the "bird-in-the-hand sales means" questions can produce either success or failure. Future research avenues are then suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores predicting early signals of business failure using modern models for bankruptcy prediction. It reviews how continuous operations enhance market value, strengthening competitiveness and reputation among stakeholders. The study involves medium and large companies in the Montenegrin market from 2015 to 2020, comprising 30 bankrupt and 70 financially stable firms. Logistic regression is also employed to create a logit model for early detection of bankruptcy signals in companies. This research establishes the empirical validity of modern models in predicting business failure in the Montenegrin market, particularly through logistic regression. Significant indicators, such as the Degree of Indebtedness (DI) and turnover ratio of business assets (TR), exhibit strong predictive power with a p-value less than 0.001 according to Likelihood ratio tests. The paper underscores the potential benefits of bankruptcy prediction for both internal and external stakeholders, especially investors, in enhancing the competitiveness of Montenegro's large and medium-sized companies. Notably, the research contributes by bridging the gap between theory and practice in Montenegro, as bankruptcy prediction models have not been extensively applied in the market. The authors suggest the possible applicability of the created logit model to neighboring countries with similar economic development levels. In that sense, the concept of predicting bankruptcy is positioned as integral to corporate strategy, impacting the overall reduction of bankruptcies. The paper concludes by highlighting its role as a foundation for future research, addressing the literature gap in the application of bankruptcy prediction models in Montenegro. The created logit model, tailored to the specific needs of Montenegrin companies, is presented as an original contribution, emphasizing its potential to strengthen the competitiveness of companies in the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociology & Technoscience / Sociología y Tecnociencia is the property of Universidad de Valladolid, Escuela Universitaria de Educacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the early stage of business, which is where most new ventures fail, many entrepreneurs experience discrepancies between their entrepreneurial expectations and business realities. These discrepancies referred to by this paper as an entrepreneurial gap (EG) are, therefore, among other factors, professed to be responsible for the high attrition rate of emerging ventures in South Africa. An oversight in this area of EG, despite the provision of most required resources, may still lead to business failure. This paper argues that there is more yet to be comprehended regarding early-stage business success, concerning the entrepreneur component. The purpose of this paper was to recognize and classify factors responsible for establishing entrepreneurial gaps with the intent to improve the level of preparedness among emerging entrepreneurs. A qualitative approach with in-depth interviews was employed in the data collection. ATLAS ti 8 was used to unpack factors that instigate entrepreneurial gaps while posing challenges to emerging entrepreneurs in the early stage of business. The groups identified were: entrepreneur management, familism and personal management. The findings provide information that is credible to improving the level of preparedness among emerging entrepreneurs, and could be used by mentors, coaches and relevant support structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The primary purpose of this paper is to identify the so-called core authors and their publications according to pre-defined criteria and thereby direct the users to the fastest and easiest way to get a picture of the otherwise pervasive field of bankruptcy prediction models. The authors aim to present state-of-the-art bankruptcy prediction models assembled by the field's core authors and critically examine the approaches and methods adopted. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a literature search in November 2022 through scientific databases Scopus, ScienceDirect and the Web of Science, focussing on a publication period from 2010 to 2022. The database search query was formulated as "Bankruptcy Prediction" and "Model or Tool". However, the authors intentionally did not specify any model or tool to make the search non-discriminatory. The authors reviewed over 7,300 articles. Findings: This paper has addressed the research questions: (1) What are the most important publications of the core authors in terms of the target country, size of the sample, sector of the economy and specialization in SME? (2) What are the most used methods for deriving or adjusting models appearing in the articles of the core authors? (3) To what extent do the core authors include accounting-based variables, non-financial or macroeconomic indicators, in their prediction models? Despite the advantages of new-age methods, based on the information in the articles analyzed, it can be deduced that conventional methods will continue to be beneficial, mainly due to the higher degree of ease of use and the transferability of the derived model. Research limitations/implications: The authors identify several gaps in the literature which this research does not address but could be the focus of future research. Practical implications: The authors provide practitioners and academics with an extract from a wide range of studies, available in scientific databases, on bankruptcy prediction models or tools, resulting in a large number of records being reviewed. This research will interest shareholders, corporations, and financial institutions interested in models of financial distress prediction or bankruptcy prediction to help identify troubled firms in the early stages of distress. Social implications: Bankruptcy is a major concern for society in general, especially in today's economic environment. Therefore, being able to predict possible business failure at an early stage will give an organization time to address the issue and maybe avoid bankruptcy. Originality/value: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to identify the core authors in the bankruptcy prediction model and methods field. The primary value of the study is the current overview and analysis of the theoretical and practical development of knowledge in this field in the form of the construction of new models using classical or new-age methods. Also, the paper adds value by critically examining existing models and their modifications, including a discussion of the benefits of non-accounting variables usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is a first attempt to deal with the phenomenon of new venture failure from the business network perspective of the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) Group. In particular, this study aims to explore the post-failure phase of a new venture to investigate what happens to the new venture's resources and relationships in the aftermath of its failure and the role of the entrepreneur in this process. Design/methodology/approach: The paper builds on an explorative multiple case study of two failed new ventures, unfolding the failure and post-failure phase: evidence from both cases is confronted and discussed. Findings: This study shows that the post-failure is a complex phase of recombination of activities and residual resources that may lead to new business opportunities. It is discussed that residual resources influence the direction and extent of post-failure activities in terms of restrictions as well as opportunities to restart new projects or ventures. It is also shown how the entrepreneur deals with the "business remains". Originality/value: While much attention has been devoted to new ventures' failure, the paper focuses on the post-failure phase, an almost neglected topic in industrial marketing research. This study sheds some new light upon the journey through which entrepreneurs come to develop the set of resources, activities and relationships that are not only key to the establishment of the venture but also relevant in the complex and intricate trajectories of post-failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to find out how the development of citations, publication trends, a collaboration of authors, trends in title terms, and trends in keyword terms in Continuous Auditing articles (2013-2022). Data collection using publish or perish (PoP) software in bibliographic search as the initial database on Scopus. The results showed that from 200 scopus papers, the number of citations 2,5781 citations, with an average annual citation of 2915 citations, 14.58 citations per paper, and an average h-index of 26. The highest citations with authors from various countries; C. Sarkar (115 cites, rank 1). The most frequently used term in the title is continuous auditing with 27 items. It can be concluded that the trend of continuous auditing research is that various aspects are developed in preventing company failures and financial statement errors in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transformations in Business & Economics is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the context of public administrations after COVID-19, this paper formulates and validates a digital model of tutoring (e-tutoring) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by public administrations or PAs to help the former reduce their risks to fold in their first few years of existence and with the support of private professionals (economists, accountants, business advisors, managers, etc.). The model draws on ideas about relational administration (RA), a concept that is yet to be fully exploited or assessed in the literature. Several hypotheses derived from the model are formulated and tested using a polytomic-nominal logistic regression. A questionnaire was sent to and returned by 236 small and medium entrepreneurs in Spain facing insolvency proceedings to identify main reasons for business failure and if or how they would accept online tutoring from private professionals associated with PAs. Findings suggest that SM entrepreneurs agree with receiving selected forms of tutoring, requiring public administrations to enhance capabilities for joint information provision and decision making through the use of information and communication technologies or ICTs. These findings have important implications for the potential restructuring of public administrations, their collaborations with professionals, and the future co-design and implementation of e-government services by PAs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ekonomika is the property of Society of Economists 'Ekonomika' and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Due to operating in the mining and iron sectors with fierce competition and encountering more financial obstacles compared to larger enterprises, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) become more likely to face business failures, have lower financial performance and have high financial risk. To overcome those financial impediments and become more competitive against their rivals, social media usage might be a solution. This is because even under the conditions of the covid-19 pandemic, social media has also stimulated online purchasing behaviours of customers and has been used as an effective tool by SMEs for marketing purposes. However, SMEs' usage of these channels might differ depending on the countries where they are located, so their impacts on financial obstacles might be different. In this regard, this research examines whether the impacts of social media usage on the financial problems of SMEs differ depending on their location. To achieve this goal, the researchers employ an online survey and direct it to the executives of 1156 Czech, Slovakian and Hungarian SMEs. The researchers apply Ordinal Logistic Regression with the Logit function in SPSS statistical tool for analyzing purposes. The results confirm the fact that while differences do not exist among countries regarding the impact of social media usage on business failures, the effects of social media usage on financial performance and financial risk differ between Hungarian and Czech-Slovakian SMEs. Czech and Slovakian SMEs show similar attitudes in all of the analyzed variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the risk of financial distress is an important component of effective management because it helps companies make right financial decisions, avoid potential risks and improve business operations. This study provides more empirical evidence on the role of the Z-Score model in predicting financial distress of companies in emerging markets like Vietnam. This research paper uses data from 30 companies that delisted on UPCOM due to financial distress and 30 companies with Z-score greater than 4.35 on Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) for 5 years from 2018 to 2022, corresponding to 300 observations. The selected companies have enough audited financial statement data during the research period which are collected from websites such as cafef.vn, vietstock.vn, and websites with data on companies' financial statements. The financial factors are taken from the balance sheet and income statement by the authors to calculate the Z-Score. The authors use the Independent-samples T-test with data collected delisted companies due to financial distress and stably listed firms on the Vietnam Stock Market to test whether there is a difference in Z-score and independent variables in the Z-score model between these two groups of companies. The research results show that, there is a significant difference in the Z-score and the factors in the Z-Score model between the group of listed companies and the group of delisted companies, and between companies with low level of financial distress and those with high level of financial distress. From the findings obtained, the authors have made suggestions and recommendations for relevant parties such as the State Securities Commission of Vietnam, users of financial statements, and companies in order to contribute to preventing and limiting the risk of corporate financial distress in the most effective way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social enterprises play a key role in the social and economic development of the European Union, and in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Following the European Commission's 2011 Social Business Initiative, national legislation on social enterprises has been adopted by almost all European countries. In 2019 the Act on Social and Solidarity-Based Enterprises entered into force in Bulgaria, introducing social enterprises as subjects of the social and solidarity-based economy. Four and a half years after the adoption of the Act, there are only fifty-one officially registered social enterprises in Bulgaria, indicating a major failure of the social business initiative. This paper explores the reasons for this significant backlog through both desk research and primary data analysis of a survey of non-profit organisations, which are supposed to be the main actors of the social economy and therefore the focus of the Act on Social and Solidarity-Based Enterprises. The main findings point to critically low awareness of the new Act and weak motivation to apply for a Social Enterprise statute, poorly designed conditions and ineffective communication. The lessons learnt can be used to prevent similar mistakes in other countries and to improve support for social entrepreneurship initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business failure and exit are concomitants of business discontinuance which must be extensively studied as businesses such as tutorial centers can experience unfavorable events. This paper investigated the internal (i.e., owner/founder orientations) and external (i.e., compliance with government policies) antecedents leading to business failure and the eventual exit in the shadow education industry in 2013, particularly of Philippine privately owned tutorial centers which are divided into non-registered and registered services. Using the multiple case study approach, empirical findings showed that business failure is primarily caused by internal factors specifically the owner/founder orientations, while non-compliance with government regulations is secondary. The owner/founder orientations were comprised of motivation, characteristics/behavior, skill managerial deficiencies, capabilities, and financial knowledge shortcomings. Nonregistered tutorial centers asserted that only skill/managerial deficiencies and capabilities lead to failure while registered tutorial services perceived all as reasons for business failure. Not complying with government policies can affect more the registered tutorial services than the non-registered centers. Business exit was chosen by all the owners of tutorial centers as a viable option in case of business failure. Future studies can consider obtaining more participants and comprehensively investigating tutorial centers from different countries to enrich cross-country research in shadow education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) proves decisive in today's rapidly developing society and is a motive force for the evolution of financial technology. As a subdivision of artificial intelligence research, machine learning (ML) algorithm is extensively used in all aspects of the daily operation and development of the supply chain. Using data mining, deductive reasoning, and other characteristics of machine learning algorithms can effectively help decision-makers of enterprises to make more scientific and reasonable decisions by using the existing financial index data. At present, globalization uncertainties such as COVID-19 are intensifying, and supply chain enterprises are facing bankruptcy risk. In the operation process, practical tools are needed to identify and opportunely respond to the threat in the supply chain operation promptly, predict the probability of business failure of enterprises, and take scientific and feasible measures to prevent a financial crisis in good season. Artificial intelligence decision-making technology can help traditional supply chains to transform into intelligent supply chains, realize smart management, and promote supply chain transformation and upgrading. By applying machine learning algorithms, the supply chain can not only identify potential risks in time and adopt scientific and feasible measures to deal with the crisis but also strengthen the connection and cooperation between different enterprises with the advantage of advanced technology to provide overall operation efficiency. On account of this, the paper puts forward an artificial intelligence-based corporate financial-risk-prevention (FRP) model, which includes four stages: data preprocessing, feature selection, feature classification, and parameter adjustment. Firstly, relevant financial index data are collected, and the quality of the selected data is raised through preprocessing; secondly, the chaotic grasshopper optimization algorithm (CGOA) is used to simulate the behavior of grasshoppers in nature to build a mathematical model, and the selected data sets are selected and optimized for features. Then, the support vector machine (SVM) performs classification processing on the quantitative data with reduced features. Empirical risk is calculated using the hinge loss function, and a regular operation is added to optimize the risk structure. Finally, slime mould algorithm (SMA) can optimize the process to improve the efficiency of SVM, making the algorithm more accurate and effective. In this study, Python is used to simulate the function of the corporate business finance risk prevention model. The experimental results show that the CGOA-SVM-SMA algorithm proposed in this paper achieves good results. After calculation, it is found that the prediction and decision-making capabilities are good and better than other comparative models, which can effectively help supply chain enterprises to prevent financial risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to develop a map of the contours of the phenomenon of retailer failure by aggregating, parsing and extracting known findings regarding business failure in marketing, business and other streams of inquiry to provide a comprehensive understanding of research on the topic. Defined as the converse of retailer performance, an understanding of retail failure is expected to yield insights for performance measurement and benchmarking studies. Design/methodology/approach: The paper includes a systematic literature review, employing state-of-the-art tools such as VOSViewer. Findings: The analysis reveals patterns in the intellectual structure of the research on retail failure, as well as patterns of influence. While the discipline of marketing has been surprisingly limited in the study of retail failure, study of retail failure has been pursued by other branches of the business discipline, and even some disciplines other than business. Originality/value: This paper provides a comprehensive and systematic literature review on the topic of retail failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central thesis of the paper is the failure of globalized business practice to address the social ethical concerns relevant to human and commercial behavior. As a result, globalization has produced very inequitable outcomes based on class and wealth. Specifically, the benefits have largely accrued to the rich, while bringing meager benefits and even net costs to the working class. In answer to the generalized justifications of globalization, the paper cites the many weaknesses of the globalization phenomenon in terms of its impacts on workers, the environment, and the economies of both developed and developing countries. It cites the greed and sociopathic tendencies of business leaders who use cold economic rationality in place of social ethics such as compassion, caring and fairness in deciding global investment strategies as causes for these damaging externalities. Finally, it offers solutions in terms of Integrative Economics and Stakeholder Theory and calls for personal renewal and the embracing of internalized values that counter the “economism” of purely rational profit maximization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Start-ups is a hot topic around the world in general and Vietnam in particular. People in Vietnam and from all over the world are focusing and investing a lot on start-ups. There are many start up crowding programs in all over the world. However, the achievements from start-ups are not as high as expected, and those in Vietnam are not exceptions. The performance of Vietnamese startup companies is becoming a matter of great concerns, especially with high economical contribution, and even so, startups in Vietnam market have not achieved much success. Therefore, by using qualitative research method with conducting in-depth interviews with startup companies, this article is to find out current factors that Vietnamese startup companies faced and propose solutions to support the growth of their businesses. In addition, after investigating the factors and answers to those factors, there are opens up to further research from this paper which can help to facilitate this content in larger scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because entrepreneurship entails uncertainty, business failure is a common outcome for entrepreneurs. When entrepreneurs encounter business failure, they carry a financial, social, and emotional burden associated with the failure. However, the magnitude of this burden differs by institutions, influencing entrepreneurial decisions and behaviors. Although institutions governing the rules of business failure are a topic for a rapidly growing field of research, research on this topic is highly fragmented. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review is to unpack the relationships between institutions—governing the rules of business failure—and entrepreneurial decisions/behaviors. The paper provides a fine-grained and comprehensive review of the relevant literature and develops an agenda to guide future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COMPETITION, CHOICE AND RESILIENCE IN THE AUDIT MARKET Section 8 of the UK report includes competition in the audit market, covering areas such as operational separation between the audit and nonaudit practitioner. Keywords: audit reforms; competition; public interest; research opportunities; trust EN audit reforms competition public interest research opportunities trust 32 36 5 03/06/22 20220101 NES 220101 INTRODUCTION In this paper, I explore the topic, 'Rebuilding Trust and the role of Audit: The Impact of the UK Audit Reform Proposals on Other Standard-setters'. Rebuilding trust and the role of audit: The impact of the UK audit reform proposals on other standard-setters Additionally, it is difficult to examine any specific recommendation to enhance audit quality in isolation, as audit quality is impacted by overlapping engagement, audit firm and national regulatory initiatives and processes (IAASB, 2014). [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: Guar Gum (GG) is used in Shale oil exploration. Excessive price increase in the Guar futures market had a spillover impact on Guar spot prices and affected Guar export from India as Shale oil producers started exploring alternate sources. In this paper, the role of excessive speculation in the futures market, and its adverse impact on the guar-based agri-business ecosystem have been empirically explored. Design/methodology/approach: Volatility spillover dynamics between WTI crude oil and Guar futures have been explored using bivariate-Granger Causality, BEKK–GARCH models with Wavelet multi-resolution analysis. The wavelet-based models capture the multi-scale features of mean and volatility spillover to identify the effect of heterogenous investment behavior in the time and frequency domain. Findings: The results provide evidence that excessive speculation in futures markets increases spot market volatility. The results also suggest that the excess presence of short-term investors can destabilize the futures market. Research limitations/implications: The purpose of the commodity futures market is to support price discovery and risk management. However, speculative practices can destabilize these purposes leading to the failure of the business ecosystem. Originality/value: The novelty of this paper is twofold. First, it explores the economic linkages between the spot and futures market and tests whether the presence of heterogeneous traders affects the economic linkages. Second, it models the impact of short-term speculative investment on the destabilization of the spot market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian insolvency regime has undergone a historic change with the introduction of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. This paper empirically analyses the effectiveness of the Code in the Indian economy. The paper also studies the insolvency frameworks that existed in India, the distinguishing features, and the legal framework of the Code. The analysis of the current status of the Indian insolvency regime with timelines and cross-sectional data clarifies the non-performing assets trajectory, recovery rates, and time required under different recovery mechanisms, a summary of cases under the new Code and the status of India in the international insolvency systems. The empirical evidence of this study suggests that the Code is an improvement over its predecessors in terms of recovery rates, resolution of non-performing assets, and resolution costs. The Code should be subjected to necessary improvements to evolve and become a foolproof mechanism. Suggestions to that effect are offered in the final section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many have argued that the technocratic apparatus of development is sustained – and not undermined – by its fallacies. Building on previous failures, development experts envision new plans, new analytical tools and new modes of governance. One recent example is the bottom-of-the-pyramid approach (BOP), a development doctrine predicated on the failure of previous anti-poverty approaches and based on the creation of products, services and entrepreneurial opportunities for the poor. Critically bracketed as a hallmark of millennial neoliberalism in the Global South, BOP projects, like previous development schemes, fail too. Through the narration of two experiments that, in 2015, had failed to create profit at the bottom of the pyramid in Cape Town (South Africa), this paper focuses on how development expertise makes sense of and engages the lack of profitability at the BOP, showing that failure is an important entry point into the actually existing forms of neoliberal anti-poverty enterprises in the Global South. Using J. K. Gibson-Graham's feminist economic geography framing, this article argues that neoliberal doctrines themselves sank these market experiments, whilst opening possibilities for development experts to engage alternative economic forms that stemmed from their failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deteriorated track infrastructure can lead to significant consequences, such as derailment incidents, loss of revenue-service hours, reduced train operation speed, and even failure of the business. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requires thorough and timely rail track inspections to keep trains operating safely. Approaches using advanced and emerging technologies have become more accessible and broadened their applications. Unfortunately, for Class II (regional) and III (short line) railroads (referred to as local railroads hereafter), there are many obstacles for deployment of these advanced technologies, such as budget constraints and lack of workforce skills. Local railroads are actively seeking cost-effective and efficient approaches to replace conventional methods of manual inspection. This paper, for the first time, aims at identifying the key challenges for local railroads regarding the demand for reliable and timely rail track inspection, lack of advancement of emerging technologies, and unique constraints faced by the local railroads. Through a comprehensive review of the common rail and track geometry defects and state-of-the-art track inspection techniques, this paper critically analyzes the knowledge gaps from four key perspectives from the perspective of local railroad operation: finance, technology, standards, and operation. It is found that automated nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques and inexpensive alternatives to the Automated Track Inspection Program (ATIP) may still be cost-feasible and effective for local railroads with future technological and operational upgrades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that public sector organizational failure may be best understood from a perspective of collective denial. The rise of this phenomenon is examined using testimony from a Public Inquiry into the downfall of a UK hospital, where falling organizational standards led to unethical decision making and an unacceptable number of patient deaths. In this paper, we show how collective denial, over time, became a process that resided within the fabric of organizational life. To explore the organizational processes associated with collective denial, and how and why it occurs, we identify the influence of a 'narrative of silence.' This narrative allows ever more serious failings to be justified as organizational members lose contact with reality entering a downward spiral with no recovery. The combined impact of assumptions about leadership capability, enculturated professional identities, and organizational loyalty create an environment where a narrative of silence can develop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmonizing Member States' insolvency frameworks has been a goal for the European Union for the past years, dating back to 2016, when the European Commission issued a Proposal for a Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks, second chance and measures to increase the efficiency of restructuring, insolvency, and discharge proceedings [COM (2016) 723 final], based on the Commission's Recommendation regarding a new approach to business failure and insolvency [C(2014) 1500 final]. This led to the Directive (EU) 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring frameworks, on discharge of debt and disqualifications, and on measures to increase the efficiency of procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency, and discharge of debt, and amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132. One key topic addressed by the "Directive proposal" [COM(2022) 702 final] is the "pre-pack proceeding", meant to offer an efficient alternative for safeguarding businesses. Underlining the achievements of this Directive proposal by regulating pre-packed administrative proceedings is our scope in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Given the unique nature of Indian family firms and the recent failure of many business houses (Bhushan Steel Ltd., Hotel Leela Ventures Ltd. etc.) it is important to understand the relationship between the earnings management practices of the family firms and the debt. In this paper an attempt towards this has been made. Design/methodology/approach: This study makes use of an empirical approach to understand the relationship between earnings management and debt in the Indian context. This study was conducted by considering a large sample data of 16,629 family firm years spread across nine years. This study makes use of fixed effects and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) regressions to test our hypothesis. Findings: First and foremost, this research supports the socioemotional wealth theory. It indicates that maintaining the control of the business is one of the socioemotional factors for the Indian family business and Indian family businesses ladened with debt engage in earnings management to protect their socio emotional wealth (control of the business). Evidence for higher earnings management practices for firms with above average debt has also been documented. Further, the fact that real activity earnings management is the preferred earnings management choice over the accrual-based earnings management as majority of debt is from the banks and financial institutions has also been demonstrated. Finally, the analysis indicates that accrual-based earnings management and real activity earnings management are complementary to each other. However, real activity earnings management can also act as a substitute for the accrual-based earnings management but the reverse is not true. Even among the real activity earnings management, cost-based real activity earnings management was preferred over the revenue-based real activity earnings management as the former is more elusory. Research limitations/implications: This research is limited to the listed family firms of India. Since the family firms around the world are heterogeneous the findings from this research might not be extended to other economies. Practical implications: The study has meaningful insights for policy making and monitoring of the family firms. It also aides the investors in taking investment decisions with respect to family firms in India. Originality/value: The study is unique as it integrates the family firms, debt and various types earnings management. Previous studies have focused mainly on accrual-based earnings management. The study also provides insights on the relationship between earnings management practices and debt covenants at various levels of family holdings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing the microfinance to rural women is the prime concern of the government at central and state level in which the best microfinance programme is the Self Help Group Bank Linkage Programme. However, the Delinquency rate of the SHGBLP loan is on the higher side. As, borrowers do not make their loan repayments on time. The purpose of this research is to examine which types of self-help groups make timely repayments of an old loan. Also, to find out the different aspects of the loan delinquency rate which affect them and to find out the impact of self-help group maturity on loan repayment. For this a total of 300 members were selected from the Udaipur and Banswara district of Rajasthan. Further, Tobit Regression has been applied to find out the factors which affect the loan delinquency percentages in the Self Help Group Bank Linkage Programme. The results highlighted that the maturity of the SHG group affects their repayment performance as old SHGs are functioning well in terms of repayment. The reason for the high delinquency rate is that the members had no surplus Income to repay back because of the failure of Business, natural calamities and medical issues. The members who are repaying the loan back on time are giving from their agriculture and enterprise profits. A lot of research has been carried out on the Impact of SHGBLP on many other factors but there is no research that has been done to find out why the programme has high loan delinquencies after being the best together with the impactful microfinance programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether firms use different earnings management approaches when facing financial difficulties and the effects of industry-specialist auditors in constraining those choices. The empirical results suggest that (1) firms with lower risk of business failure but with stronger incentives to adjust earnings upward tend to use real earnings management (REM) income-increasing approaches while (2) at the same time, using discretionary accruals for income-decreasing earnings management, due to constraints imposed by specialist auditors on the use of accrual-based earnings management (AEM). This is consistent with the findings of Chi et al., and the authors do not find similar evidence for the firms with higher risk of failure. Also, (3) regardless of the level of failure risk, firms turn to REM while interestingly, such REM behavior is effectively curbed by industry-leading specialist auditors (specialist auditors with the highest client market share) on financially distressed firms. These results extend the findings of Chi et al. (2011), suggesting that industry-specialist auditors have different tolerance levels for earnings management approaches by firms with different levels of business failure risk. That is, when auditing clients with higher risk of failure, specialist auditors are more likely to maintain higher audit quality through more stringent audit testing and use of more audit staff time to prevent an occurrence of audit failure. Design/methodology/approach: The authors examine earnings management behavior across firms in Taiwan with different levels of business failure risk and the effects of audit partner industry specialization in constraining that behavior. Chi et al. (2011) studied low-risk firms with incentives to adjust earnings upward and found firms use REM when the auditors constrain AEM. The authors extend the work of Chi et al. and observe firms with different levels of failure risk. Findings: The authors find (1) lower risk firms may use discretionary accruals to adjust earnings downward while the authors find no similar evidence for financially distressed firms, (2) lower risk firms may use REM when their industry-specialist auditors curb AEM and (3) the industry leaders among specialist auditors do the same for the financially distressed firms. The results demonstrate the extent to which industry-specialist auditors apply different tolerance levels for earnings management behaviors across firms with different levels of failure risk. Originality/value: The study contributes to the literature in the following three ways: first, the authors fill a gap in the existing literature by comparing firms with higher risk of business failure to firms with lower risk of business failure to explore the possible difference in the two different kinds of earnings management behavior; second, the authors extend the findings of Chi et al. (2011) and examine whether specialist auditors, when auditing firms with higher risk of business failure, will input more audit effort to constrain their clients' use of REM and third, since business failures have a significant impact on the capital markets and any associated audit failures can have an even greater negative impact on investor confidence, the study provides information useful to auditors and regulators in the formation of salient policy regarding the use of REM by firms experiencing high risk of business failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends prior scholarly works on entrepreneurial failure, entrepreneurial resilience and learning from failure by examining how the effects of prior experiences of entrepreneurial business failure (EBF) manifest in the entrepreneurial process of subsequent venture formation. We elucidate the pre‐founding and post‐founding effects of prior EBF via insights drawn from 25 serial entrepreneurs in Nigeria. The findings demonstrate that entrepreneurs were often motivated to start another venture as a result of the economic hardship and social stigmatization that occurs after business closure. We identified a three‐stage fine‐grained process perspective of successive entrepreneurial engagement (e.g. pre‐founding, formation and development, and post‐founding conditions and effects on subsequent entrepreneurial ventures). These stages shed light on entrepreneurial fragility, entrepreneurial resiliency and the development of anti‐fragility capabilities that are conducive to subsequent venture formation and survival. We shed light on how individual‐level factors shape how prior failure experiences can shift from liability immediately after business collapse and at pre‐founding to become an asset during and after new‐venture formation. Such learning from past failure is vital in adapting to dynamic environmental changes, especially those observed in emerging‐market settings. Taken together, we demonstrate how entrepreneurs bounce back from errors, failures and setbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analysed how business age and mortality are related during the first years of life, and tested the different hypotheses proposed in the literature. For that, we used data on US business establishments, with 1-year resolution in the range of age of 0–5 years, in the period 1978–2019, published by the US Census Bureau. First, we explored the adaptation of classical techniques of survival analysis (the life table and Peto–Turnbull methods) to business survival analysis. Then, we considered nine parametric probabilistic models, most of them well known in reliability analysis and in the actuarial literature, with different shapes of the hazard function, that we fitted by maximum-likelihood method and compared with the Akaike information criterion. Our findings show that newborn firms seem to have a decreasing failure rate with age during the first 5 years in market, with the exception of the first months of some years in which the risk can rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper is to propose two new procedures that deal with overfitting problem using neural techniques for variable selection and business failure prediction. The first procedure, called HVS-AUC, is based simultaneously on (i) the backward search, (ii) the HVS measure (Heuristic for Variable Selection), and (iii) the AUC criterion (Area Under Curve). The second procedure, called forward-AUC, is based on (i) the forward search and (ii) the AUC criterion. Using a sample of bankrupt and non-bankrupt firms in France, the implementation of the procedures using neural networks shows that the profitability, the repayment capacity, the taxation, and the importance of investment have a strong explanatory power in bankruptcy prediction. These procedures also provide more parsimonious and more efficient models compared to Linear Discriminant Analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on field exploration and surveying small businesses on May 31 and August 13, 2021, this paper provides insight into the economic impact of COVID-19 on small businesses within the Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas markets in the United States. Several themes emerged from the exploratory primary research--first, evidence of massive business closures--second small businesses' financial distress. Third, small business closure directly correlates with the pandemic's longevity. Fourth, small businesses plan to utilize effective recovery strategies such as COVID-19 relief funds (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The research findings bring insight into small business expectations on the long-standing impact of COVID-19 and the suggested effective recovery strategies for small businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self‐perceived cognitive factors are the vital components in the early stage of entrepreneurship development activities. This paper examines the effect of self‐perceived cognitive factors on entrepreneurship development activities in Oman by using the Oman Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey data collected in 2019. Using the ordered logit regression model, the study found that there is a significant and positive effect of business opportunities on the development of entrepreneurship activities. Necessary skills and creativity also have a significant positive effect on entrepreneurship development activities. However, fear of failure in business has a significant negative effect on it. Young and adult Omani populations perceive that they have adequate knowledge, skills, and capacity for innovation and creativity for entrepreneurship, and they have a positive attitude toward entrepreneurship. The majority of young populations perceive that there is enough opportunity to start a business, but many entrepreneurs are afraid to take risks that entail possible failure. To reduce the uncertainty and fear of failure in business, the government needs to create a business‐friendly environment and support entrepreneurs in various aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the configurations of working capital and customer and supplier diversification employed by successful small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a combinatory methodology to analyze how 124 Brazilian SMEs configured – before and during the pandemic – the size of their working capital and their levels of dependency on clients and suppliers. Findings: High levels of working capital and supplier diversification were found to be key to SMEs' ability to thrive before and during the pandemic. However, while SMEs that were growing prior to the pandemic depended on a few major customers, firms flourishing during this time have divided their sales among many clients. Research limitations/implications: This study focuses on what configurations SMEs have adopted during the crisis. Qualitative studies are needed to identify how SMEs reconfigure themselves in the face of a major crisis. Practical implications: The results of this study indicate that SMEs hit by the pandemic should avoid retrenchment strategies. They might have better chances of success if they embrace their vulnerability and take risks to foster growth. Social implications: The results of the study can help SMEs respond to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, which has already caused the failure of millions of businesses worldwide. Originality/value: This is the first empirical investigation of SMEs that are weathering the pandemic, and in this study, the authors have analyzed the three aspects of their operations, which have been struck the hardest by the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel method that uses online ratings to predict business failures. The success, if not survival, of service businesses depends on their ability to satisfy their customers. Yet, businesses often recognize slumping customer satisfaction too late and ultimately fail. To prevent this, marketers require early warning tools. In this paper, we build upon online ratings as a direct measure of customer satisfaction and, based on this, predict business failures. Specifically, we develop a variable-duration hidden Markov model; it models the rating sequence of a service business in order to predict the likelihood of failure. Using 64,887 ratings from 921 restaurants, we find that our model detects business failures with a balanced accuracy of 78.02%, and this prediction is even possible several months in advance. In comparison, simple metrics from practice have limited ability in predicting business failures; for instance, the mean rating yields a balanced accuracy of only around 50%. Furthermore, our model recovers a latent state ("at risk") with an elevated failure rate. Avoiding the at-risk state is associated with a reduction in the failure rate of more than 41.41%. Our research thus entails direct managerial implications: we assist marketers in monitoring customer satisfaction and, for this purpose, offer a data-driven tool that provides early warnings of impending business failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to review the impact of entrepreneurs' attitudes toward the defined business risks on the perception of the future of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 454 SMEs from the Czech Republic (CR) participated in the research and completed an online questionnaire. Structural equation modelling and factor analysis were used to identify the causal relationships between the examined variables. Entrepreneurs' attitudes toward business failure also have a positive effect on the future of the SME. The perception of financial risk in positive indicators of financial performance and the perception of financial risk as part of the company's everyday life have the most significant impact on future business. Operational risk is reflected in the utilisation of corporate resources, reducing customer complaints about the quality of the company's products and the company's independence of a limited number of suppliers. The company's sales volume adequacy provides a source of market risk. It has the third strongest positive impact on the future business in the SME segment. The research results provide a valuable platform for the authors of national and regional development strategic plans looking for SME support and development as well as the authors of the relevant policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: We revisit Zuckerman's (1999) "The Categorical Imperative: Securities Analysts and the Illegitimacy Discount," which theorizes that when organizations are recognized as legitimate players in a category, they perform better. A replication exercise fails to reproduce two of three sets of results. Assisted by data shared by the original author, we find evidence that the inconsistency is due to a coding error in the original and differences between analyst data sets. We illustrate the use of epistemic maps and evaluate the theory's predictive power across a broad set of plausible empirical assumptions and also for a subsequent time period. The results are not robust. We conclude that these data provide little evidence to support strategic recommendations. Challenges and remedies for replication are discussed. Managerial Summary: This paper replicates a 1999 study "The Categorical Imperative: Securities Analysts and the Illegitimacy Discount" (Zuckerman, 1999). A key implication of the 1999 study is that firms should actively seek to be covered by analysts who specialize in their industries, and that a failure to be covered by analysts who are industry specialists will lead to lower capital market valuations. Our replication exercise indicates that there is insufficient evidence to recommend actively managing coverage along this dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study how the support of heterogeneous venture capital firms (VCs), that is: independent venture capital firms (IVCs), bank-affiliated venture capital firms (BVCs), and corporate venture capital firms (CVCs), shapes the delisting route of companies through business failure and merger and acquisitions (M&As), while distinguishing between European M&As and extra-EU M&As after the initial public offering (IPO). We find that the influence of the VCs in the firms' post-IPO delisting varies according to the mode of delisting and the type of venture capitalist. In particular, we find that the presence of leading IVC and BVC investments before IPO is related to a lower likelihood of exiting the stock market through business failure but does not significantly affect the likelihood of M&As. In contrast, the presence of CVC investors is related to a higher likelihood of delisting through extra-EU M&As. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies the relative importance of human and physical capital for entrepreneurship. Microfinance clients were offered business training and a loan lottery of up to seven times the average loan size. Business training increased business knowledge, reduced business failure, improved business practices, and increased household expenditures by US$82 per year. It also improved financial and labor allocation decisions. These effects are concentrated among male clients, however. Access to larger loans, in contrast, had little effect, perhaps because current loan sizes already meet the demand of most clients. Despite these positive impacts, business training was not cost-effective for the lender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Restructuring Directive is Europe's answer to Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. Under the Directive, debtors will have access to early warning tools that enable them to detect a deteriorating business and this should lead to more restructurings at an early stage. The debtor will benefit from a time‐limited 'breathing space' from enforcement action in order to facilitate negotiations on a restructuring plan. This article analyses in critical detail the stay or moratorium on actions against the debtor during the restructuring process. The stay is a fundamental part of the Directive. The paper highlights the importance of the stay and locates the stay in the context of the Directive and also in the light of the international parallels found in the US Bankruptcy Code and the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research aims to assess critically the explanations that make a woman entrepreneur. Is she a born entrepreneur, or has she been trained to become so? The study probes into the nature of the inborn traits (genes) and the acquired or supporting external variables (environment) that contribute to women entrepreneurs' making. Data were collected from four major cities of India based on convenience sampling. The survey employed a total of 401 successful and unsuccessful women entrepreneurs and probed into their characteristics, psychological traits, entrepreneurial attitude, formal educational background, training received, and family support received. The study found a significant difference between the two sets of factors for success and failure in business. The study suggests that women's entrepreneurial success depends on the nature and extent of training and education received towards entrepreneurship. The paper contributes to identifying women's entrepreneurial nature or traits in India and suggests that conducting training programmes to identify entrepreneurial-minded women to enhance knowledge in advanced marketing, product promotion, customer relations and other areas of entrepreneurial competence will help in adding more successful entrepreneurs in the economy and would contribute to sustained development in the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]