Commercial Business Research Articles

President’s Column: SPE Finances

_ Editor’s Note: The November edition is a written column only, with the vodcast set to resume next month. _ SPE finances are not the most interesting or exciting topic for most members, and you will be forgiven if you pass this column. You may not be interested at all if you only want to know what SPE does. However, you may be interested in this column to understand how SPE functions financially. SPE is not a commercial business, but it has an events business that de facto finances most of its other services to members—direct membership fees are a relatively small part of SPE’s revenue. In the current model, if the events business fails, SPE collapses. Finances are always important, but they have become critical in the current context, including the 2015 downturn and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, especially the latter, which have brought an existential threat to our Society. As shown in Fig. 1, between 2014 and 2023, we lost 65% of our revenue, 200% of our profit (Net Operating Income), and 50% of our net assets. Even last year, 3 years after the pandemic, we still had an operational deficit of $3.6 million, and this was expected to be a “good year” with Offshore Europe and two Offshore Technology Conference events. Operationally, we are still hemorrhaging money. SPE’s finances are public, but I thought it would be good to present this information in plain English and with illustrative graphs to explain how we operate financially and how SPE can prevail while its traditional business model is being challenged. I have occasionally heard and read severe statements about SPE’s financial management, allusions to staff being oversized and overpaid, our lack of willingness to adapt, etc. So, it is also a good opportunity to clear up some of these misunderstandings. Conventions and Definitions Until 2024, SPE’s fiscal year (FY) started in April and ended in March. For example, FY24 started on 1 April 2023 and ended on 31 March 2024. This has recently changed and will be explained below. The numbers presented in this document are consolidated in USD (SPE has several offices handling different currencies) and corrected for US inflation using factors listed in Fig. 2. The reference is the USD from the middle of FY24, i.e., October 2023. One important result to gauge our operational results is our Net Operating Income (NOI), which would be equivalent to profit if SPE were a commercial venture.

Consumer engagement with shopping platforms: focused on crowdsourcing and crowdsending

PurposeIn the context of growing efforts by online businesses to enhance consumer connections, understanding consumer engagement behaviors is imperative. This study explores consumer engagement within online shopping platforms, specifically introducing and examining the roles of crowdsourcing and crowdsending.Design/methodology/approachThe study developed and validated measurement scales for crowdsourcing and crowdsending engagement across transactional, multi-sided and inspirational platforms.FindingsIdentifying five sub-dimensions within crowdsourcing and crowdsending, the results unveiled nuances in consumer–platform interactions, emphasizing the value of co-creation. Crowdsourcing entails transaction-oriented engagements such as knowledge gathering, utilitarian and hedonic browsing, interaction and co-shopping. The findings revealed that crowdsourcing significantly influenced platform commitment, surpassing the impact of crowdsending on transactional platforms. Conversely, crowdsending involves knowledge sharing, feedback, participation, advocacy and reciprocity, fostering active engagement and shared value within the platform ecosystem. Notably, the results showed that crowdsending strengthened commitment to inspirational platforms more than to conventional shopping platforms.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the theoretical understanding of a range of consumer engagement experiences in online shopping environments and presents practical applications, offering valuable insights for commerce businesses aiming to optimize their digital strategies.

Transformation of e-commerce business models in the digital economy

Purpose. Research on the transformation of e-commerce business models in the conditions of the digital economy, analysis of the main directions of changes in business processes, as well as the determination of key differences between Internet commerce, e-commerce and online commerce, substantiation of the difference in the sources of generation of added value and identification of the factors that facilitate the transition from traditional e-commerce business models to digital ones. Methodology. When conducting the research, the trends of the development of electronic commerce and the factors contributing to their transformation in the conditions of the digital economy were revealed by the method of formal analysis. Findings. This study presents an analysis of trends and factors affecting the development of digital commerce and the transformation of digital commerce business models. The directions of integration of digital technologies into business processes and strategic aspects of the implementation of digital solutions into business practice are substantiated. The key factors that contribute to the transformation of e-commerce business models into digital commerce business models are identified, in particular, in the creation and implementation of new business models that allow for effective adaptation to the conditions of the digital economy. It is found that the economic basis of transformations of business models is the sources of creation of added value. It has been proven that digital technologies, which form the basis of e-business, are carriers and main sources of added value creation, which is reflected in business monetization models. The impact of artificial intelligence on the prospects and further development of digital commerce business models is analyzed. Originality. The scientific novelty obtained as a result of this research consists in the definition and substantiation of a new factor – added value, which is the main factor influencing the transformation of e-commerce business models into a digital commerce business model, which takes place under the influence of the digital economy. The novelty of the obtained research results in terms of substantiation of added value as a factor of transformation is proven by confirming the hypothesis that the formation of e-commerce business models and their transformation into digital commerce models take place under the influence of digital sources of added value creation.

Using 3rd -Party Logistics Services OR Developing Own Capability to Cater to ECommerce Demands - A comparative Analysis

Ecommerce is an inseparable part of modern global lifestyle, connecting people across international borders and enabling sellers to access global. Despite growing massively over the last couple of decades, its growth is far from over. In fact, the pandemic has acted as an accelerator and the growth momentum is continuing despite people returning to the conventional brick and mortar shops. Ecommerce innovations are constantly being rehashed and improved – especially after the global pandemic this transition is now innovating at a much faster pace. For responding to the ever-increasing demand for swifter yet efficient fulfillment of customer order along with timely shipment, a larger number of e- commerce businesses are turning towards third-party logistics or 3PL providers. While it offers them the freedom from the hassles of storing and delivering finished products to the end-users, the human resource that is therefore freed, can then focus on core competencies of the business thus allowing them to give attention to product development, innovation along with marketing and sales. There is always the risk of poor fulfillment and delayed shipments or goods getting damaged in transit which deteriorates customer satisfaction and company profitability. This article compares the use of third-party logistics (3PL) against building in-house capabilities and highlights the virtue of careful selection and employment of experienced 3PL in helping an enterprise ride the anticipated growth wave by offering cost advantages and flexibility.

Large commercial business aircraft acoustic design with SEA

As air travel becomes more frequent, customers are demanding a quieter cabin environment. Over the past two decades, Gulfstream has developed a suite of predictive tools based on Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) to create a quiet cabin on business aircraft. This paper discusses the most recent collaboration between Gulfstream and Jet Aviation to develop an acoustic design for a large commercial business aircraft. SEA analysis played a key role to identify the risks, determine the driving mechanisms, and develop solutions to meet the established target. Besides SEA model development and analysis, this paper will also discuss some unique challenges to this aircraft and some innovations that were developed to mitigate them. One year after the acoustic design was released, flight test data on the completed aircraft confirmed the success of the acoustic design as the quietest cabin to date on the specific aircraft type.

Research on the Impact of Digital Financial Technology on the Business Model Transformation of Commercial Banks

This paper explores in depth the broad impact of digital financial technologies on the business models of commercial banks and analyzes in detail the transformation strategies that commercial banks should adopt in response to these changes. With the rapid development of cutting-edge technologies such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, digital finance has become an irreversible trend in the financial industry, which has not only changed the way financial services are provided, but also reshaped the market competition pattern of commercial banks. This paper first expounds the impact of digital financial technology on the traditional business model of commercial banks, including the reduction of market entry threshold, the change of competition focus and the innovation of risk management model. Then, the paper focuses on the specific strategies of commercial bank business model transformation, including technological innovation, organizational structure optimization, process management improvement, talent training and introduction, and strengthening cooperation and win-win situation. Through the introduction of the actual case analysis, it shows the successful practice and lessons of commercial banks in the business model transformation. Finally, this paper concludes that the key to the successful transformation of commercial banks' business model lies in the deep integration of technology and business, as well as the ability to flexibly respond to market changes and customer needs. Only in this way can commercial banks remain competitive and achieve sustainable development in the era of digital finance.

The Management System of Dairy Buffalo in Peninsular Malaysia

Background: In Malaysia, there has not been enough the research on the cost of producing buffalo milk and the in different management system and insight into the industry’s current state is inadequate. This study aims to determine the cost of dairy buffalo milk in selected regions of Peninsular Malaysia Methods: A survey was conducted on 14 dairy buffalo farms from selected regions in Peninsular Malaysia: Selangor (six farms), Kedah (four farms), Penang (three farms) and Pahang (one farm) using a developed questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of farm management aspects like the socio-economics of the farmers, nutrition management, health management, dairy production management and the calculation of the production cost. The collected data were edited in Excel and analysed descriptively using IBM SPSS Statistics. Result: Based on the surveyed, The net profit was RM79,444.56, RM1,924,24.82 and RM2,220,519.02 in traditional, semi-commercial and commercial farms, respectively. This study reveals that milk costs are lowest at commercial farms, indicating the efficiency of farms. When more output is produced, the cost per production unit is reduced. Hence, the government should initiate and encourage the farmers to expand their farm business from traditional to commercial business and, at the same time, produce more skilful farmers.

Business continuity as self-efficacy: Augmenting existing business continuity practice

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings of traditional business continuity principles. As much of the novel response to COVID-19 involved a curtailment or cessation of in-person commercial activity, businesses and communities were at unprecedented financial risk. Traditional methods of ensuring business continuity were likely insufficient; thus, an improved understanding of business continuity through disaster is needed for both business and community well-being. Canonically, academic studies examining business survival post-disaster have emphasized vulnerability characteristics and focused on factors outside the businesses’ locus of control. Recently, studies have found that business survival is related to features of self-efficacy that are not easily developed through succinct templates: creativity, flexibility, and improvisation. By critically examining ninety-three publicly available business continuity guides in a content analysis approach, we point to the need for further research on business preparedness as the building of self-efficacy and the effectiveness of converting these scientific findings into useful formats for business operators.

‘These KMA People are also our Customers’: Coconut Sellers Making Space in Downtown Kumasi

Street vendors are some of the most put-upon actors in urban Africa and elsewhere, vulnerable to harassment by government, commercial businesses, and residents. We look at a group of vendors occupying a sidewalk next to the offices of the Kumasi Metropolitan Authority (KMA) in Ghana’s second city. We demonstrate how the sidewalk functions as a family-like space for the coconut sellers. They not only work there, but also use the sidewalk as a space to sleep and bathe. The coconut sellers are migrants from the central region of Ghana and spoke of their relationship to one another, as they lived and worked on the sidewalk, as that of a ‘family’. We build on recent scholarship that focuses on sidewalks as places where economic activities are shaped by social relationships. We also show how the location of the sidewalk – near local government offices, next to an urban park – made the coconut sellers less vulnerable to harassment and being moved along.

The Market Life of Japanese Literature in Postwar America: Knopf, Translation, and the Archives of Cultural Commerce

This article examines the aesthetic and economic forms of judgment that guided the Japanese literature translation program at the American publisher Alfred A. Knopf Inc. in the 1950s—1970s. During these years, the editor Harold Strauss coordinated Knopf’s ambitious translation program that made dozens of recently written Japanese novels available in English to an American audience. This article provides a fresh perspective on Knopf’s well-known Japanese literature translation program by understanding it to be an illuminating case study that reveals how the practical business of cultural commerce mixes aesthetic and economic modes of valuation, producing provocative connections that link what might otherwise seem to be the antagonistic realms of art and the market. Guided by documents held in the Knopf corporate archive, the article shows how the aesthetics of modern Japanese literature and the economics of publishing each encountered the other in the transactional territory of translation.

The Effects of Working Capital Management on the Financial Performance of Commercial and Service Firms Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya

Working capital management is critical because it affects a company’s profitability, liquidity, and investment decisions, all of which have an impact on financial performance. As a result, effective and efficient working capital management is an essential component for commercial and service businesses. Given the importance of the commercial and services industries to the Kenyan economy, the goal of this research was to investigate the impact of working capital management on the financial performance of these firms, particularly those listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), from 2003 to 2022. Working capital management was measured using the average age of inventory, average collection period, average payment period, and cash conversion cycle, whereas financial performance was measured using return on asset, return on equity, and net operating profit margin. Using panel regression analysis, the results showed that the average inventory age, average collection period, average payment period, and cash conversion cycle were all negatively related to financial performance for NSE-listed commercial and service firms. Based on the findings, it is recommended that Kenyan commercial and service firms adopt prudent optimal working capital management practices to improve firm financial performance and maximize shareholder wealth.

The Form of Responsibility of Airlines as Business Entities For Unilateral Flight Cancellations Is Viewed From The Minister of Transportation Regulation Number 89 of 2015 Concerning Handling of Flight Delays In Scheduled Commercial Air Transport Business

An airline is a company that provides services to goods and passengers traveling by air. The definition of aviation based on Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 1 of 2009 concerning Aviation is a unified system consisting of the use of airspace, aircraft, airports, air transportation, flight navigation, safety and security, environment, supporting facilities and other public facilities. . Every flight activity is the responsibility of the airline company. Specifically responsible for errors in unilateral cancellation of passenger departures made by the airline. As a corporation or legal entity, airlines are obliged to provide compensation to passengers in accordance with the policies contained in aviation law and consumer protection law (UUPK). The research method used in this research is normative research which examines library materials sourced from secondary data, namely primary legal materials, secondary legal materials and tertiary legal materials. This legal material was obtained by taking a statutory approach and a conceptual approach. Then it is analyzed using qualitative methods to obtain a conclusion from the problem formulations that have been discussed. The purpose of this research is to find out the factors that cause departure cancellations by airlines and to find out how airlines are responsible for unilateral flight cancellations in terms of Regulation of the Minister of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 89 of 2015 concerning Handling Flight Delays in Scheduled Commercial Air Transport Business Entities in Indonesia.

Fostering Women Entrepreneurs: Exploring the Drivers of Successful Social Commerce Business Adoption Among Women

This study explores the determinants that contribute to the successful adoption of social commerce businesses among women, including entrepreneurial mindset, perceived value, social commerce literacy, and collaborative ecosystems. It also explores the potential impact of collaborative ecosystems and the successful adoption of social commerce businesses on women’s entrepreneurship. Targeting 223 women who are actively involved in social commerce businesses, data was analyzed using Smart PLS software. The results indicate that entrepreneurial mindset, perceived value, social commerce literacy, and collaborative ecosystems significantly impact the successful adoption of social commerce business among women. Furthermore, the study also found that the successful adoption of social commerce businesses and collaborative ecosystems has a significant impact on women’s entrepreneurship. This study contributes to the literature and theory of social commerce adoption, women entrepreneurship, and collaborative ecosystems in several ways. It makes a valuable contribution to social commerce theory by spotlighting the intricate interplay among diverse factors that collectively shape the successful adoption of social commerce ventures among women. The study’s findings also hold significant implications for a range of stakeholders, encompassing practical insights that can instigate positive transformations and enrich the realm of social commerce business and women’s entrepreneurship.

Innovative Approaches in Business Psychology: A Comprehensive Review and Development Strategies in Jordan

The business sector in Jordan significantly impacts the economy, which has led to the development of disciplines like commercial psychology, business psychology, and industrial psychology. This paper discusses innovative solutions and developmental trends in these fields. Thus, the research of current methods and techniques allows us to define new models with great potential that can be used in further adaptations. The present paper is a systematic review that seeks to discuss the current practices and present new methods that can improve the efficiency of business psychology. By critically analyzing the literature, this research provides guidelines and suggestions for applying these sophisticated methods in the ideal setting, which is helpful for developing business psychology in different fields.

RECAR: Robust and efficient collision-avoiding routing for 3D underwater named data networking

Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) has important application prospects in fields of both scientific research and commercial business. As a future network architecture, Named Data Networking (NDN) is starting to be applied to IoUT. Although Underwater Named Data Networking (UNDN) has unique advantages in dealing with bandwidth usage, multi-path forwarding, and node mobility, there is still no specific routing protocol for UNDN. The existing underwater routing protocols are either difficult to combine with NDN, or are limited by channel collision and redundant forwarding, especially broadcast suppression routing. In this paper, we propose a routing method named Robust and Efficient Collision-Avoiding Routing (RECAR) for 3D UNDN. RECAR consists of three combined forwarding modes: Directive Mode (DM), Directive Flooding Mode (DFM), and Flooding Mode (FM). In DFM, we propose Segmentation Suppression for Optimal Position (SSOP), an elaborate waiting time algorithm of broadcast suppression which can effectively reduce channel collisions and redundant forwarding. For DM, failure path recovery and unreliable path elimination are proposed to address failure paths. Additionally, several forwarding efficient mechanisms are designed including flexible mode shift, unified data forwarding and scope control. Simulation results show that RECAR has excellent and robust performance, even in the cases of node failure and void hole. Compared with a recent underwater routing method (adaptive location-based routing protocol), RECAR improves the average interest satisfied rate by 19.57% while reducing the request time, collisions, redundant forwarding, total traffic, and energy consumption by 19.5%, 91.7%, 71.4%, 78.4%, and 27.3%, respectively.

Gentrification of Communities Surrounding Chedi Luang Worawiharn Temple, Sri Phum Subdistrict, Muang District, Chiang Mai Province

Modification of building structure and use by new investors to achieve increased economic returns by pushing former residents out of the areas is the process of gentrification.The purpose of this article is to investigate the gentrification of communities surrounding Chedi Luang Worawiharn Temple, Sri Phum subdistrict, Muang district, Chiang Mai province, and to analyze changes in the gentrification phenomenon during the coronavirus disease 2019 situation. Data collection was composed of physical surveying, interviews, and questionnaires. Three major groups were interviewed including 18 persons from the original community, 15 newcomers, and 10 community leaders and government officials. The 268 questionnaires were sampled in three communities including the Phra Chao Mengrai Samakkhi community, the Chang Taem community, and the Phranon community. The study found that there is mostly commercial land use in all three communities. Most of the new occupants used to live in the central region. The study area has three stages of gentrification. The development process begins with the first stage, early development, and then completes development in the second stage, and lastly to the third stage, which is the community's adaptation to the emergence of the gentrification phenomenon. The study also discovered that, before the emergence of coronavirus disease in 2019, the communities were significantly impacted by the economy due to gentrification, such as increased living costs and rent/land prices. While the rise of commercial and service businesses is a beneficial result of gentrification. During coronavirus epidemics, certain localities witnessed population declines whereas land prices climbed with a stagnant economy, increased speculation, and a drop in commerce and services. However, gentrification improves better relationships between former inhabitants and newcomers for overcoming the 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak.

Eastern Lanna Product Design for Guest room of Northern Hotel in Thailand

This research is integrated the architecture and art design creative work with community for developing local products of Eastern Lanna, by design the interior decoration prototype in 36 square meter guest room (price 600 - 800 baht per night) of Phayao university hotel to inform Kham Mok Luang flower as symbolic media or one element of identity. The objectives of study is to set research teamwork of interior designer, architect, artist- designer to design decorative objects or props with community craftmans to increase value added handicraft products and community can develop their products to commercial business by their competency. The method is qualitative research that 4 designers collaborate with 10 textile and basketry handicrafts in Ang Thong district, Phayao Province by sharing their knowledges and skills together, start from design the symbolic pattern of Kham Mok Luang of cloth weaving and basketry raw material process, design the guest room decoration, produce the decorative objects or props : curtain, bed runner, head of bed, lamp, basket. After finishing the props the researcher set them in the mock up room, and take the pictures of decorative room and objects to be survey tool of stakeholders satisfaction opinion about symbolic pattern design and all decorative products. The result is to the most satisfaction in symbolic pattern, the products or props satisfaction is more to the most.

Dynamics of circular business development: The case of social clothing recycle

AbstractNowadays, scholars and policymakers see circular economy (CE) as a relevant paradigm to pursue sustainability. Despite the mushrooming literature on CE, management studies lack in describing CE implementation features at a firm level and the driving forces for circular conversion. This paper thus seeks to investigate the key dynamics occurring in native circular firms to support hypotheses generation on the development and diffusion of circular business models. For this purpose, two representative case studies in the social clothing sector have been performed with a qualitative and participative approach, making use of system dynamics (SD) tools. Cases' narrative and embedded SD causal structures depict the organization's business, environmental, social and educational features. The model illustrates self‐reinforcing dynamics of circular consumptions and sales, organizational capacity building and consumer conversion to circularity. Composite learning mechanisms and educational initiatives catalyse the commercial business and disclose a role for circular companies in the affirmation of CE as an alternative paradigm to the linear economy. Furthermore, case‐based inductive understanding is discussed through a typological matrix that contains a classification of CE businesses. Overall, the paper attempts to contribute to the management field by describing the development dynamics of CE business models. The case studies, faced with an SD approach, provide insights on implementation mechanisms of CE at a company level and are the basis of new hypotheses generation on circular development and conversion.

Concrete vs. abstract

Purpose: Posting content on social media by companies, especially smaller ones, is a reality; however, entrepreneurs still need to discover commercial returns from this content. Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate the prediction of visual content manipulation in social media posts on a small company's commercial business results. Design/Methodology/Approach: Our research was conducted via a quasi-experiment in a natural environment over 144 days in a business social media profile that sells its products in a physical store and via an app. Two types of publication content were manipulated: concrete and abstract. Findings: The content of social media posts affected sales differently, depending on whether they were concrete or abstract. Concrete posts increased sales (in-store and via app) on the same day, while abstract posts increased sales the day after the post, especially considering the period. Originality/value: Our study contributes to the discussion of how the typology of the posts can influence a company's commercial result, going beyond the metrics assessment of social media platforms to the company's cash flow.

Reducing Commercial Tobacco Sales to Youth On and Around California Tribal Reservations With a Reward and Reminder Retail Intervention.

High prevalence of commercial tobacco product (CTP) use among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth is a public health crisis. A multi-level Tribal-community-based participatory research project under Tribal public health authority implemented a retailer-focused intervention to reduce AI/AN youth CTP use. We sought resolutions in support of a retailer-focused CTP intervention from Tribal Nations organized by a Tribally directed research program. We identified tobacco retail outlets operating on and within five miles of nine Tribal reservations, and CTP products sold at these outlets. We conducted a four-wave Reward and Reminder intervention with apparent minor buyers. Clerks who complied with the law received a modest reward and commendation in social media posts to the local Tribal communities, while clerks who sold without age verification were reminded of the laws. Of 18 retail outlets selling CTP, eight sold e-cigarettes, and all sold combustible cigarettes. The Reward and Reminder intervention showed an approximate 25% reduction in sales of CTP to apparent minors, with a 33% baseline CTP sales rate without age verification and an 8% intervention CTP sales rate without age verification. The intervention increased awareness of laws prohibiting CTP sales to minors and mandating age verification for young adults seeking to buy CTP. The intervention, which had support from all governing Tribal Nations, builds the evidence base of effective practices which Tribal public health authorities may utilize to reduce youth access to CTP on and around Tribal reservations. Sovereign Tribes have authority over commercial businesses operating on their lands. Tobacco 21 laws aiming to restrict commercial tobacco availability to youth are supported by Tribes. A retailer intervention in which apparent minors attempt commercial tobacco purchases can offer accountability feedback to retailers both on and near Tribal reservations. Obtaining Tribal support and publicizing the interventions helps mobilize Tribal communities to support commercial tobacco prevention and promote healthy youth.