Under Law No. 73-17 on the prevention of business difficulties, the Moroccan legislator aims to align the national legal framework with international standards, particularly those promoted by the World Bank and UNCITRAL on corporate insolvency. The reform’s main objective is to strengthen preventive mechanisms and, when prevention is no longer sufficient, to ensure effective collective proceedings that safeguard viable firms and preserve value for creditors. Given the sharp rise in business failures, with 7,659 bankruptcies in 2024 (a 14 percent increase according to Info Risk), early warning systems deserve close attention. Very small entreprises account for 98.8 percent of these failures, compared with 1.1 percent for small and medium-sized enterprises and 0.1 percent for large firms. This pattern supports the study’s central argument: early vigilance is the most effective remedy against economic imbalance, since prompt detection of warning signs can prevent reversible difficulties from escalating into irreversible crises. A preventive approach, supported by efficient collective proceedings, forms the cornerstone of a coherent framework for managing corporate distress in Morocco.

ABSTRACT Retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries can be repurposed to stationary storage batteries. While this circularity solution has attracted attention from entrepreneurs, falling battery prices, along with the longer lifetime of new batteries, high consumer expectations and limited governmental support challenge the approach. This paper investigates whether the second‐use EV battery industry is at risk of getting trapped in the ‘valley of death’ (VoD). We developed a system dynamics model and assessed the impact of 12 business strategies. Based on the simulations, some strategies yielded positive returns, while others resulted in a VoD scenario, risking business failure. Subsidising repurposed EV batteries emerged as the most effective strategy to boost commercialisation. Conversely, two plausible and well‐intended strategies risk reinforcing VoD conditions: focusing exclusively on the premium end‐of‐life battery market and relying solely on cooperation with original equipment manufacturers.

Small and Medium sized Enterprises, SMEs, represent the vital economic backbone of emerging economies, yet they contend with an increasingly asymmetric threat environment characterised by sophisticated cyberattacks and severe resource scarcity (Sultan, 2025; Hadap et al., 2025). This paper provides an empirical investigation into the necessary link between robust Cyber Resilience, CR, capabilities and the effective achievement of Business Continuity, BC, in these resource constrained settings. By synthesising existing empirical data on the quantifiable economic and operational risks of cyber incidents, this study asserts that traditional, reactive BC planning is insufficient, robust proactive CR is an indispensable prerequisite for sustainable operational survival (Splunk, 2025; Everbridge, 2025; Sultan, 2025). Findings indicate that successful breaches impose substantial financial losses, averaging $30,000 USD for sampled SMEs post breach, alongside significant operational downtime, evidenced by a mean system disruption of 12.5 hours (Sonkar et al., 2025). This level of disruption is linked to an estimated 60 per cent business failure rate among unprepared small businesses following a major cyber attack (Sonkar et al., 2025). The paper details strategic, cost-effective interventions including risk-based governance, high return on investment employee training, and the leveraging of scalable open-source security stacks, all of which offer a pragmatic pathway for SMEs to enhance their defences and secure long-term viability in the digital economy (Ejaz & Matthew, 2024; Ilca et al., 2023).

Start-up and growing businesses require adequate financial resources to survive and achieve sustainable growth. Empirical evidence indicates that a significant proportion of business failures result from inadequate financing alongside operational and managerial challenges. This study investigates the effectiveness of capital structure on the growth and start-up of businesses, focusing specifically on the roles of equity capital, debt capital, and retained earnings. A desk review methodology was adopted, synthesizing relevant theoretical and empirical literature. The study draws on the Pecking Order Theory, which emphasizes the superior impact of internal financing on financial performance, favoring equity and retained earnings over debt. The Modigliani–Miller Capital Structure Theory provides a conceptual benchmark, though its relevance is limited to perfect market conditions. Agency Theory highlights the influence of corporate governance and managerial decision-making on capital structure choices, while Trade-off Theory underscores the cost-effectiveness of equity and retained earnings relative to debt. Empirical evidence indicates that equity financing significantly enhances financial performance, and retained earnings support firm growth when effectively reinvested. In contrast, debt financing generally has an insignificant or negative impact on start-up and growing businesses. The study concludes that low-cost, internally generated financing is most effective in promoting sustainable growth and recommends that start-up businesses prioritize equity mobilization through personal savings and family contributions while strategically limiting external borrowing and reinvesting retained earnings. Keywords: Capital Structure, Business Start-up and Growth, Pecking Order Theory, Modigliani–Miller Capital Structure Theory, Agency Theory, Trade-off Theory, Empirical Review.

Women entrepreneurs continue to face substantial barriers in accessing financial resources, which significantly impedes their ability to initiate and grow business ventures. Despite global efforts to promote entrepreneurship, business failures remain prevalent among women-led enterprises, particularly in developing economies such as Rwanda. This persistent challenge underscores the importance of examining the relationship between Financial Inclusion and the development of women’s entrepreneurship. Financial Inclusion has long been recognized as a critical enabler of entrepreneurial activity. However, the availability of financial resources alone does not guarantee business success or sustainability. This study investigates the extent to which Financial Inclusion influences entrepreneurship development among women in Rwanda. Specifically, it explores the role financial access plays in entrepreneurial growth, identifies key strategies that promote women’s entrepreneurship, and analyzes the correlation between access to financial services and entrepreneurial outcomes. To quantify the impact of financial access on entrepreneurship development, the study employed statistical methods, including the use of beta coefficients. The findings reveal that women entrepreneurs in Rwanda face significant difficulties in accessing affordable and adequate financial services. This limited financial inclusion constrains their potential to scale their businesses and contribute to economic development. Based on the findings, the study recommends the implementation of targeted financial interventions, the development of inclusive financial policies, and the provision of entrepreneurship education and training programs. These strategies are essential for creating an enabling environment that supports and strengthens women’s entrepreneurship in Rwanda.

This paper examined how the accessibility of loans affects the performance of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within Shurugwi Rural, Zimbabwe. Using a mixed methodology, the study involved the use of quantitative data from 385 SME respondents and the use of qualitative data from 20 SME stakeholders and lenders. Findings indicate that there is a negative counterintuitive relationship between credit access and long-term SME performance. Some businesses had registered growth of revenues in the short term after taking loans, but the growth was not sustainable, and, on average, credit-accessing SMEs recorded lower revenue and employment growth than those accessing funds through personal savings or informal sources. High interest rates, strict collateral terms, and short repayment terms were the main obstacles to effective credit use that, taken together, redirected resources from business growth to debt repayment and to risky business failure. Qualitative responses highlighted the emotional and economic burden of restrictive conditions of lending to entrepreneurs. The results emphasise the incompatibility of existing financial products with rural SMEs and the need for a more flexible and context-driven lending experience and financial literacy interventions. Formal credit is likely to remain a barrier instead of an accelerator of sustainable economic growth and development in Shurugwi Rural unless there are such reforms

India hosts two dominant business models: long-established family-owned enterprises and rapidly scaling venture-capital-backed startups. While venture-backed startups are often associated with innovation and rapid growth, family businesses are frequently linked to stability and long-term continuity. This study examines whether Indian family businesses demonstrate higher long-term survival rates than venture-backed startups, and explores the factors contributing to differences in business longevity. Using a mixed-method approach, the paper combines secondary data analysis on business survival and failure rates with comparative case studies of selected Indian family enterprises and venture-backed startups. Key variables analysed include governance structure, leadership continuity, financial risk management, growth strategy, and capital structure. The findings suggest that Indian family businesses tend to exhibit stronger long-term survival due to conservative risk-taking, patient capital, and intergenerational leadership continuity, whereas venture-backed startups experience higher failure rates despite faster early-stage growth and innovation. However, the study also highlights that family businesses may face challenges in scalability and adaptability. The paper concludes that long-term business sustainability in India is influenced not only by access to capital, but by governance, strategic decision-making, and cultural business practices. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of business resilience within emerging economies.

Abstract This study aims to explore the economic importance of board gender diversity for the likelihood of firm failure among state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in South Africa between 2011 and 2022. This study employs a binary logistic regression technique as the primary estimation technique. To corroborate the outcomes from the logistic model, the study also utilises panel regression approaches such as probit and feasible generalised least squares to control for nonlinearity, heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation and heterogeneity. The key finding from the study reveals that female board representation significantly reduces the odds of corporate failure. A further outcome from the study reveals that women directors must constitute a critical mass of at least 50% of the boardroom to significantly mitigate business failure among the selected SOEs. The outcome provides solid support for board gender diversity, inclusivity and equity as effective governance mechanisms to promote the financial health of SOEs. The study thus offers proof in favour of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5, which aims to attain gender equality, particularly in positions of leadership and decision-making in the public and private sectors, and the King IV Code of corporate governance for firms in South Africa on board gender diversity.

The advent of gene therapies such as Zolgensma, Libmeldy, and Luxturna has given rise to new treatment options for several rare conditions, drastically changing the expectations of affected patients. It has also significantly influenced hopes of medical treatment in general, with an emerging vision of widespread targeted personalised treatment of increasingly segmented conditions. Looking at a newspaper sample from the latest wave of developments in the field (from 01/01/2020 until 30/04/2023), our analysis of current media coverage however finds that this narrative of paradigmatic change operates mostly without regard to the present and its challenges, such as the prohibitive price tag of these treatments and unresolved questions about their accessibility and long-term effects. Drawing on expectations raised in the context of the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2000, the article compares these to current hopes of gene therapy’s safety and effectiveness; profitability; and accessibility. Areas of tension are then interpreted as a guide to an emerging ‘real-life’ understanding of gene therapy’s promise, which is, however, mostly visible in discussions of problems with gene therapy’s accessibility. Similarly marginalised issues include for instance assumptions of effectiveness that do not acknowledge the long-term uncertainty of treatment outcomes; and assumptions of profitability that run counter to real-life examples of business failure. As a revolutionary future becomes reality for some patients, such questions are becoming harder to ignore – but are crucially often omitted from discussion about projected change.

Abstract The food and beverage industry constitutes a fiercely competitive and active sector with a high failure rate for new firms. Despite its appeal, a considerable number of food and beverage businesses fail to make it past their initial year of operation, resulting in huge financial losses and lost resources. This study seeks to analyse the fundamental causes of this phenomenon, with a particular emphasis on identifying the major flaws that lead to the failure of newly established food and beverage firms. This study uses a mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative data, to give a detailed understanding of the problems that new enterprises confront in this industry. The findings emphasise the crucial role of market analysis, financial preparation, operational efficiency, and agility when assessing the success or failures of new food and beverage businesses. The study also investigates the way additional factors, such as severe rivalry, compliance with regulations, and supply chain interruptions, contribute to business failure. The findings of this study have important implications for entrepreneurs, legislators, and industry stakeholders, as they provide useful insights into the obstacles that new enterprises confront in the food and beverage industry and emphasise risk-mitigation measures. Understanding the primary dangers contributing to business failure allows new enterprises to build targeted strategies that increase their likelihood of success and long-term viability in an extremely competitive marketplace.

The study examined Audit practice and fraud control in private tertiary institutions in Cameroon: a systematic review. Audits are concerned with improving the quality of the private sector administration by assisting and encouraging agencies to achieve better practices in areas such as asset management, accounts processing, audit committees, the use of accrual information and debt management. Organization wishing to conduct its business in an orderly and efficient manner and to produce reliable financial accounting information to the entire stakeholders need some measures of control to minimize the effect of endemic business failure. Audit should conform to the structure of the organization and be related to decision centers accountability for performance. Audit is a review of any part of an organization operating procedures and methods for the purpose of evaluating efficiency and effectiveness. It is concluded that, auditing is aimed at prevention of mistakes, shortcomings and misdeeds in the private administration. It is a management function which seeks to ensure that operations are working according to plan.

Abstract This study discusses the determination of risk mitigation strategies in small and medium enterprises. Risk mitigation is an effort made to reduce or eliminate the possibility of losses or negative impacts due to risks identified in an organization or project. This risk mitigation action is needed to control potential threats to product quality. Potential threats that will affect product quality can be mitigated by creating a mitigation action plan to reduce hazards. Risk mitigation analysis uses the House of Risk (HOR) analysis. Observations were made at the XYZ laying hen farm, located in Ngaliyan District, Semarang City, Indonesia. Based on the results of observations, there were chicken deaths with a probability of death of 0.0667% to 0.1333%. If not further identified, it can cause losses if the chicken dies due to contracting an infectious disease. In addition, there are still other risks that will affect the sustainability of the XYZ laying hen farm business. The Current Reality Tree (CRT) method is used to identify risks that can cause business failure in more detail. The results obtained by the CRT method are 26 causes of risk and 27 consequences that can occur if the risk occurs. The House of Risk (HOR) method is used to determine risk mitigation. There are two stages carried out. The final result of the HOR method stage 1 obtained 3 risk agents. Then, risk mapping was carried out and continued to the HOR stage 2. The results obtained 6 mitigation priorities as proposals to the company. Further research can be done by considering the dependence between risk events that may occur in the laying hen farm.

ABSTRACT This study offers new insights into the association between business failure experience and digitalization in emerging markets. The study also provides contextual evidence about the extent to which micro and small enterprises can leverage knowledge exploitation capabilities for digitalization in resource-constrained economies, where micro and small enterprises are the most ubiquitous form of business entities. Using a survey dataset of 274 firms from Ghana, the study finds a negative association between learning from business failure experience and digitalization. This relationship is attenuated by knowledge exploitation capabilities. This study contributes to the literature on digitalization in emerging markets as well as the knowledge-based theory of the firm. We provide implications for managerial practice, noting that managers with prior entrepreneurial failure experience should focus on developing and leveraging knowledge capabilities to achieve a successful digitalization drive.

People's Business Credit (KUR) is a financing program distributed by the government through banking institutions, including Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives. In its implementation, KUR credit is not free from various problems, one of which is non-performing loans. This study aims to determine the factors causing non-performing loans and efforts to resolve them in KUR loans at Bank BRI Karanganyar Branch, Tasikmadu Unit. The method used in this study is qualitative research, with data sources derived from primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. Data collection techniques were conducted through direct interviews with relevant parties. The results show that the main causes of non-performing loans are divided into two major factors. First, external factors, namely those originating from the customer. This problem is generally related to the customer's inability to pay installments due to business failure. Second, internal factors, such as the failure of creditworthiness analysis by bank officers, resulting in prospective debtors who are actually unworthy actually receiving loans. In resolving non-performing loans, BRI Bank's Karanganyar Branch, Tasikmadu Unit, applies five main methods: (1) changing the loan interest rate, (2) reducing fines or penalties, (3) reducing the outstanding principal, (4) extending the loan term, and (5) selling collateral. Additionally, there are also settlement methods that involve a combination of these five methods, depending on the debtor's circumstances and the agreement between the two parties.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on other aspects of public health and social life are still being studied globally. To determine the relationship between COVID-19 and suicide deaths in Türkiye. This retrospective, descriptive study collected and analysed suicide data for 2019-2023 from the Turkish Statistical Institute to evaluate the causes of the suicide deaths. Chi-square test was used to evaluate the statistical significance of the observed differences. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Between 2019 and 2023, a total of 19 659 suicide deaths were documented in Türkiye. The number of suicides increased during the period, with the highest increases recorded in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. The majority of the cases (76.4% of all cases, P < 0.001) were men. Reasons given for the suicide were illness, family incompatibility, economic problems, business failure, emotional relationship and not marrying the desired person, educational failure, and others. Fear, social isolation, the prevailing situation, and measures taken to control COVID-19 may have contributed to the increases in suicide deaths during the peak pandemic period in Türkiye. There is a need for strategies to help prevent suicide deaths during health emergencies and pandemics.

Abstract Opportunities in developing countries draw multinational companies, which include but are not limited to low‐cost labour and abundant raw materials. As with any enterprise in any part of the world, there is a risk of business failure when multinational companies operate in developing countries. Consequently, the issue that arises is where insolvency proceedings should commence due to the multinational nature of these organisations. There is no international rule about where insolvency proceedings should open, with this being a matter for each country's laws. As a strategy, multinational companies may bypass developing countries' insolvency systems in favour of other jurisdictions with potentially favourable outcomes. For example, there may be a preference for the members of a multinational group to be handled under insolvency proceedings in one particular country, which may be far from the jurisdiction where the companies operated. This article is centred on why laws in developing countries may not be suitable for multinationals and what can be done to ensure cases do not end up in a court far away, in the United States of America (US) or in the United Kingdom (UK). The aim is to identify ways in which developing countries may reform their laws to encourage their use by multinational companies. The following are the key features to be examined to address the aim of the article: (i) to examine some of the justifications provided by multinational companies as to why developing countries are not suitable forums to commence insolvency proceedings; (ii) to make a general assessment of a selection of developing countries' insolvency laws and institutions; and (iii) to identify what essential values should be incorporated in developing countries' insolvency law reforms for effective insolvency laws.

For local economic developers, succession planning is becoming a significant issue due to the aging workforce. This is especially true in rural communities, like Haldimand County, where the economic base is farming, as the average age of farmers continues to increase while fewer youth are entering the profession. Promoting workforce development through succession planning will increase the likelihood that capable and skilled farmers will continue to farm, which will improve economic stability and reduce the risk of farm business failure. This research is focused on assessing whether or not farmers in Haldimand County are aware of the succession planning process; determining if adequate resources are available to help farmers with the succession planning process; and through a gap analysis identifying key challenges farmers experience during the succession planning process that are not addressed through the available resources. This research will help economic development researchers and practitioners better promote and increase the use of farm succession planning in their region, which in turn will lead to stronger rural planning and development. At the regional level, increased succession planning will improve local food security and safety as knowledge of future farm land use will be more accessible. Succession planning will also improve rural communities land use policies as municipal governments will be able to better predict their future land use needs. Finally, workforce development planning initiatives will be enhanced in the agriculture sector as farm succession.

Purpose Despite an increasing number of marketing-related failures occurring in both advanced and developing countries, accompanied by a growing body of research on the subject, there persists a fragmented debate and a lack of scholarly discourse. The purpose of this paper is to map the state of knowledge on marketing-related failures, identify common themes, gaps, and inconsistencies, and propose a new framework and directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a broad category of approaches to mobilize and analyze the current body of literature. Numerous databases were searched using keywords which denote aspects of failure to identify articles considered for inclusion. The analysis takes stock of methods, data sources and theories used by past studies to develop a conceptual framework linking the current empirical and theoretical research. Findings We present an extensive review of the literature on marketing-related business failure to advance the underpinning “theory” of multiple failures in and around organizations. The conceptualization sheds new light on a range of causes, effects, and outcomes of failure. Our review outlines viable pathways for eliminating the lack of clarity and lack of depth in current literature. The implications for industrial marketing research are proposed. Practical implications This paper is valuable for academics and practitioners interested in understanding causes, effects, prevention and redressing of business failure. Originality/value The study provides new conceptualization of business failure in and around organizations and suggests avenues for future research that fill existing gaps to enhance the business failure literature.

This study explored the root causes of small business failure in Indonesia's manufacturing sector using an integrative framework that combined process management, process innovation, human resource (HR) quality, and technology adaptation. A quantitative explanatory approach with a causal-comparative design was applied, utilizing Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) to analyze both direct and moderating effects. Data were collected from 100 qualified small business owners through purposive sampling and analyzed using SmartPLS. The findings revealed that process management, process innovation, HR quality, and technology adaptation significantly influenced small business failure. Notably, HR quality moderated the relationship between process management and business resilience. These results highlighted the synergistic impact of technical and human factors in shaping business outcomes. The SEM-PLS-based evaluation model provided practical tools for identifying strategic priorities and improving policy and managerial decisions. Theoretically, this research contributed by applying socio-technical systems theory to small enterprises in a developing country context. It supported the notion that sustainable small business performance requires alignment among human capital development, technological innovation, process optimization, and continuous process innovation. Future research could extend this model to other industrial sectors and regions while incorporating external variables such as government policy and market dynamics.

Many small businesses and startups struggle to adjust their operational plans to quickly changing market and financial situations. Traditional data-driven techniques often miss possibilities and waste resources. Our unique approach, Unified Statistical Association Validation (USAV), allows dynamic and real-time data association and improvement assessment to address this essential issue. USAV classifies and validates critical data associations based on business features to improve startup incubation and innovation decision-making. USAV analyses different financial eras using federated learning to find performance inefficiencies using a Kaggle dataset on small business success and failure. USAV recommends actionable improvements during innovation using non-recurrent statistical patterns, unlike standard models that use prior financial data. The framework allows real-time flexibility with continual statistical updates without data redundancy. The proposed approach achieved an improvement assessment score of 0.98, data association accuracy of 96%, statistical update efficiency of 0.97, modification ratio of 35%, and incubation analysis time reduction of 240 units in experimental evaluation. These findings demonstrate USAV’s ability to help strategic decision-making in dynamic corporate situations.