Commercial Firms Research Articles

Digital finance infrastructure and growth of commercial banking firms in Nigeria

This study delves into the intricate relationship between digital finance infrastructure and the growth of commercial banking firms in Nigeria. Through a comprehensive analysis of various financial indicators and statistical tests, we offer critical insights into the dynamics of the Nigerian banking sector. The findings reveal a resilient and steadily growing banking industry, even in the face of economic challenges and the global COVID-19 pandemic. Key highlights include the exponential rise in digital infrastructure, exemplified by the proliferation of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sale (POS) machines, and web banking accounts. These digital channels have significantly influenced the accessibility and convenience of banking services in Nigeria. Our analysis employs correlation, regression, and Granger causality tests to explore the intricate relationships between bank total assets and digital infrastructure components. While positive correlations between bank total assets and digital infrastructure components suggest a strong link between technological expansion and banking growth, the analysis reveals nuanced relationships. Furthermore, while web banking accounts have grown significantly, their influence on bank total assets remains limited. Our findings emphasize the paramount importance of continued investments in digital finance infrastructure for the Nigerian banking sector's growth. However, they also underscore the need for a more profound understanding of the underlying drivers of these trends. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers, financial institutions, and researchers interested in fostering financial inclusion and optimizing digital banking services in Nigeria's ever-evolving financial landscape. In conclusion, this study highlights the critical role of digital finance infrastructure in driving the growth of commercial banking firms in Nigeria, while also calling for more targeted strategies to maximize the benefits of technological advancements in the banking sector.

Analyzing the influence of the sustainability shift in European building codes on the alignment of identity, practice, and knowledge in commercial real estate firms

Sustainability has become a key concern across multiple sectors, including commercial real estate. Due to environmental challenges, numerous new European building regulations emphasize sustainability, pushing businesses to adapt. This research examines the effect of these sustainability-driven changes in European building codes on commercial real estate companies by utilizing the identity-practice-knowledge framework. Existing studies highlight external pressures and catalysts for change, while insights from seven interviews with industry experts reveal internal challenges, such as the need for additional expertise, and opportunities, such as enhancing sustainable practices. This paper explores how the shift in European building regulations impacts the alignment of identity, practice, and knowledge within commercial real estate firms and identifies the priorities these companies must address. The findings aim to assist these firms in preparing for the sustainability transition and in designing effective change processes for a seamless transformation.

Measuring and Mitigating the Risk of Advanced Cyberattackers

Sophisticated cyberattackers (commonly known as advanced persistent threats (APTs)) pose enormous risks to organizations such as financial institutions, industrial and commercial firms, government institutions, and power grids. This study presents a method and an index to measure the vulnerability of organizations to APT risk and shows why a one-size-fits-all solution to mitigate APT risk does not exist. Our vulnerability index is based on a model that describes the optimal behavior of a cyberattacker (APT) with research and development capabilities aspiring to attack a network that manages the organization and a network operator that deploys blocking and detection measures to protect its organization from the attack. We demonstrate how our vulnerability index, which accounts for the network’s structure and the APTs’ resources and strategy, can be used in realistic risk assessments and optimal resource allocation procedures and serve as a benchmark for organizations’ preparedness against APTs’ cyberattacks. We also propose that regulatory agencies of financial (and other) institutions provide the parameters that define an APT’s profile and request, as part of their periodic assessments of the organizations that they regulate, that our (or similar) vulnerability index will be reported to them by the regulated institutions. Finally, the viability of our index in modeling modern cybersecurity defense procedures shows that not only there is no silver bullet defense against all types of APTs, it is also imperative to account for APTs’ heterogeneity because detection and blocking measures can be complements, substitutes, or even degrade each other. For example, when the attacker’s (defender’s) budget is extremely large (small), the defender should deploy only detection measures, strongly advocating Zero Trust practices. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/deca.2023.0072 .

Retrospective Radiology Research: Do We Need Informed Patient Consent?

While knowledge of the population's view on the need for informed consent for retrospective radiology research may provide valuable insight into how an optimal balance can be achieved between patient rights versus an expedited advancement of radiology science, this is a topic that has been ignored in the literature so far. To investigate the view of the general population, survey data were collected from 2407 people representative of the Dutch population. The results indicate that for non-commercial institutions, especially hospitals (97.4 per cent), respondents agree with the retrospective use of imaging data, although they generally indicate that their explicit consent is required. However, most respondents (63.5 per cent) would never allow commercial firms to retrospectively use their imaging data. When including only respondents who completed the minimally required reading time of 12.3s to understand the description about retrospective radiology research given in the survey (n = 770), almost all (98.9 per cent) mentioned to have no objections for their imaging data to be used by hospitals for retrospective research, with 57.9 per cent indicating their consent to be required and 41.0 per cent indicating that explicit patient consent to be unnecessary. We conclude that the general population permits retrospective radiology research by hospitals, and a substantial proportion indicates explicit patient consent to be unnecessary when understanding what retrospective radiology research entails. However, the general population's support for the unrestricted retrospective use of imaging data for research purposes without patient consent decreases for universities not linked to hospitals, other non-commercial institutions, government agencies, and particularly commercial firms.

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.

MARKET SEEKING OF AMERICA IN MERSIN IN THE LATE OTTOMAN PERIOD

The capitalist economy and industrial revolution developments, dominated the world conjuncture in the 19th century, formed the political infrastructure of European states. The gradual development of production technologies with the industrial revolution caused western countries to search for markets to sell manufactured goods and raw materials to put production Technologies into practice. Commercial firms were marketing their products through intermediary firms or individuals by determining the target market they identified. They run a series of promotional campaigns to make the products or services of companies preferred by people. How these marketing techniques were used by American companies in Mersin, which was a quite new and open port to growth and demand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, can be found in the letters of American Consulate. The knowledge about the marketing techniques applied by American companies, has been obtained from the letters of the American Consulate. The aim of the study is to reveal how the search for the market in Mersin, port city, which was open to growth in the late 19th century and early 20th century, was carried out by these numerous American companies.

The metamorphoses of denationalization of 1993. Report-I. The market fight for medications import

In the history of the Russian pharmaceutical market the year of 1993 became the year of formation of rules of market relations and changing under them of market landscape. The significant segment of state-centralized purchases moved under responsibility of regional authorities and their health care authorities. At that, powers of three former state organizations being occupied with purchases of imported medications were distributed between new state companies of Ministry of Health and commercial organizations and firms that entered pharmaceutical market. This diversity rather soon gave rise to competitive fight for budget funds and experiments of Government with market regulation. The traces of these clashes and attempts to make market regulated can be found in Ministry of Health archives and journal publications. The Report I reveals circumstances of entrance of Ministry of Health into market relationships and its acquisition of market player identity.

Challenges in Constructing a Commercial Public Sector Entity Definition Framework in Malaysia

Purpose: This study aims to examine the challenges in constructing a commercial public sector entity definition framework in Malaysia. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: This study employed a qualitative methodology, specifically utilising interviews as the primary data collection method. The participants in this study were individuals affiliated with public sector organisations in Malaysia. A total of 23 individuals were involved in this study. Findings: This study identified ten primary challenges surrounding the construction of a commercial public sector entity definition framework in Malaysia. The ten issues comprise the legal identity of an entity, controlling party, internationally recognised accounting standards for private companies, the future of Malaysian Public Sector Accounting Standards (MPSAS), threshold setting in categorising entities, guidelines on the application of accounting standards, profit distribution of entities, Malaysian Accounting Standard Board (MASB) mandate, government funding, and establishment. These ten issues were evaluated to determine the definition of a commercial public sector entity (CPSE). Research Limitations/ Implications:The implications of the study's results highlight that it is necessary to assess these issues prior to developing the framework for defining commercial public sector firms. This assessment is crucial to guarantee that the framework aligns appropriately with the scope of public sector entities in Malaysia. Practical Implications: The implications of the study's results suggest the potential for developing a framework for defining commercial public sector entities within Malaysia. Originality/ Value: This study is the first attempt towards constructing a commercial public sector entity definition framework in Malaysia.

Dark triad and knowledge hiding in firms: Mediating role of perceived organizational politics

Negative behaviors at the workplace always disturb the management of the firms. This research investigates the link between the dark triad and various types of Knowledge hiding (Evasive hiding, Playing dumb, and Rationalized hiding) in firms. In addition, this study explores perceived organizational politics as a mediator. The design of this study is quantitative and positivist. The data were collected in three waves (45 days gap) with a random sampling approach from 383 personnel/staff working in Chinese commercial banking firms. The data were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique and Smartpls-4 software. This study confirms that dark-triad has a positive relation with knowledge hiding, except psychopathy and Machiavellianism, which have no significant correlation with playing dumb and evasive hiding, respectively. Perceived organizational politics significantly mediate the association between dark triad personality traits and the types of knowledge hiding. Employees with political skills and a trust-based culture can counter the dark-triad personalities and discourage the knowledge-hiding culture. For effective management of knowledge-hiding issues in firms, codifying implicit and explicit Knowledge and developing knowledge repositories can discourage a knowledge-hiding culture.

The Decision to Install a Rooftop Photovoltaic System by a Small Business: A Case Study

The potential of rooftop solar power has been identified as a main driver of clean energy adoption in an urban environment. While residential solar projects have lower capacity than commercial systems, residential solar represents most of the installation base for rooftop solar projects. Rooftop solar adoption in the commercial market lags behind residential solar installation. To better understand why this is the case, we conduct a case study of a small manufacturing firm. Based on the firm’s energy demand and the physical attributes of its location, we study a 25-kilowatt solar array using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) System Advisor Model (SAM). Our empirical study evaluates the economic prospects of a rooftop solar installation project for the firm under study. This analysis sheds light on the financial ramifications of the adoption of solar panels by small, commercial firms in New York state.

The Impact of International Business Transitions on India: Opportunities and Challenges

International business transitions are becoming more important for emerging countries like India as globalization continues to transform the global economy. Particularly in the previous three decades, Indian commercial firms, innovation, and entrepreneurship have undergone numerous transformations. The biggest shift came about as a result of national government policies that moved away from postcolonial Nehruvian socialism and opened up more economic opportunities for private companies and entrepreneurs. The decade of the 1990s marked a turning point for these momentous shifts. of the 1990s, Indian business experienced an incredible surge of energy and passion that had never been seen before in the post-Independence era. This study looks at how international business shifts affect India, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of globalization. The study assesses how global business shifts have affected India's economy, society, and business environment. It also addresses the policies and tactics required for India to successfully manage these changes, maximize their potential advantages, and reduce any hazards involved.

МЕХАНІЗМ ДЕРЖАВНОГО РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ ПРОЦЕСІВ ЗЕМЛЕКОРИСТУВАННЯ

The article examines the peculiarities of the mechanism of state regulation of land use processes. Groups of social, ecological and economic aspects have been studied. It is emphasized that the regulation of economic processes of land use is impossible without reliable information about the qualitative characteristics of each specific plot, its economic and biological fertility, because ignoring or incorrect assessment of its potential can negate the results of planning, which is one of the main functions of management.
 By the economic aspects of land use, we primarily understand transferability as a property of a land plot, expressed in its ability to be freely alienated or transferred from one person to another in the order of universal legal succession or in another way; forms of ownership and management characterizing legal issues of land use, as well as organizational and technological conditions of agricultural production; the value of land resources as a measure of materialized labor necessary to support sustainable and effective development of agricultural production.
 Selected aspects of land use regulation formed the basis of the structural diagram of the mechanism of state regulation of land use processes presented by us and allow not only to clarify its content, but also directly determine its structure.
 It was determined that in the conditions of market relations, an important place in the system of state regulation of land use began to be assigned to the cadastral assessment of land plots. The content of the use of the land resource potential of the territorial formation is given.
 In the regulation structure, special attention should be paid to the issue of comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the use of land resources and the resulting need for further development of the methodological base for the assessment of land use.
 The key link in the process of state regulation should be the evaluation of the efficiency of land use, which is based on a system of quantitative parameters for the evaluation of the efficiency of the use of land resources.
 Land owners are mainly municipal authorities, enterprises (legal entities), citizens (individuals) or their associations (cooperatives, commercial firms, etc.).
 The denationalization of land ownership and the introduction of private land ownership on this basis, the privatization of land, the introduction of paid land use fundamentally changed the structure and content of land relations in the conditions of village land use, changed the structure, content and principles of planning land resource formations.
 The effective organization of state regulation of economic processes of land use has a significant impact on the process of creating the necessary organizational, territorial, legal and social conditions for full involvement in turnover, increasing the return of each hectare of land while preserving or reproducing soil fertility.

УДОСКОНАЛЕННЯ СИСТЕМИ ІНФОРМАЦІЙНО-КОНСУЛЬТАЦІЙНОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ АГРАРНОГО ВИРОБНИЦТВА В УКРАЇНІ

The proposed article emphasizes the formation and development system importance of information and advisory support for agricultural producers in Ukraine. The main information and consulting (advisory) support system components in the country's economy agrarian sector have been determined. The information and consultation process components are characterized and the advisory services purpose in the agrarian sector of the economy is defined. The main existing information systems shortcomings of the agro-food complex are highlighted. It is noted that the effective mechanism construction of information and consultation support for agricultural producers requires streamlining the activities and integration of all relevant services both at the national level and at the regional level, regardless of the ownership forms management. The available information and consulting support system components for agricultural producers in Ukraine are characterized: advisory services, scientific support regional centers for agro-industrial production of Ukraine Agrarian Sciences National Academy, commercial agro-consulting firms – their tasks and shortcomings in their work. The organization principles of effective information and consulting activities are described. It is proposed to create a regional information and consulting centers system with their tasks indication of organizational, managerial and production nature. The main department’s role in this process of agro-industrial development as centers for the relations coordination between farmers with state management bodies, information and consultation centers and the public is characterized. The single agrarian information environment role and an automated information and analytical system for monitoring the Ukraine agro-industrial complex in the information and consulting support updated system formation for agricultural commodity producers has been determined. It is proposed to separately study the issue of domestic system efficiency and effectiveness functioning and information and consulting support regional services for the Ukraine agrarian sphere.

Conceptualising the “Hospitable Service Mindset” for the future hospitality workforce

The ability to provide hospitable service is a differentiator for commercial hospitality firms. As a result, hospitality educators have a crucial role in developing hospitableness in the future hospitality workforce. Nonetheless, limited research investigates the stakeholder groups' perspectives of hospitableness and the competencies required for providing hospitable service. Through semi-structured interviews with hospitality educators, this paper explores the concept of “Hospitable Service Mindset” (HSM), a type of service mindset that imbues service provision with hospitableness in commercial hospitality. The findings illustrate that HSM is comprised of an understanding of what it means to be hospitable, which enables a set of competencies required for the delivery of hospitable service. Theoretically, the study contributes with the original conceptualisation of HSM as a medium enabling the translation of hospitableness into service provision. Practical implications related to the translation of hospitableness into organisational practices and the ‘pedagogy of hospitableness’ are also offered.

Introduction: Architects as Global Entrepreneurs in the Long 20th Century

Throughout the 20th century, architects have become global entrepreneurs in expanding their portfolios and businesses. The far-reaching consequences of this historical development are at the core of this Special Collection. Our basic assumption is that since a substantial part of the modern built environment has been produced at the hands of private business, it is only logical to investigate it as such. During the period under research in this collection, architects and the commercial firms they were associated with played instrumental roles in the design, financing, construction and development of a wide range of building typologies, from sprawling suburbia to inner-city redevelopment schemes and social infrastructures.

EFFECTS OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE ON AGENCY COSTS IN COMMERCIAL AND SERVICES COMPANIES LISTED AT THE NAIROBI SECURITIES EXCHANGE IN KENYA

<p>Academic and business research has focused on the competing interests of shareholders and managers, as well as the resulting agency fees. It is well known that managers have a strong desire to advance their own interests, such as their pay, the size of their companies, and the value of their securities. According to agency theory, shareholders will pay agency costs in order to reduce these conflicts. According to the free cash flow principle, when a company creates considerable free cash flow, there are significant agency conflicts between stockholders and executives. A number of empirical studies have proposed solutions to this problem, one of which is the use of a capital structure. Numerous studies on the effect of capital structures on agency costs have been conducted, with varying degrees of success. However, the majority of these studies took place in industrialized nations. The primary goal of this study, which lasted from 2012 to 2018, was to determine how capital configuration affected agency expenses in Kenyan commercial and service firms that were listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The study's specific goals included investigating the effects of equity on agency costs, retained earnings on agency costs, long-term debt on agency costs, and firm size as a moderator of the effects of investment configuration on agency costs. A descriptive research method was used in this study to provide a thorough examination of the relationship between capital structure and agency costs. To collect the required seven-year panel data from the entire population of firms, the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the Capital Market Authority's data banks, and the firms' websites were used. These data were then examined at two levels of statistics: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. In Kenyan commercial and service firms, variations in equity capital, retained earnings, and long-term debts jointly accounted for 65.9% of the variations in agency costs, according to the regression results.</p><p><strong>JEL:</strong> E22; G31; L10</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0075/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Europe and Latin America: Analysis of the Effect of Trade Agreements on Exports

One of the leading commercial drivers applied in developing countries, especially in economies with conservative policies, is free trade agreements or tariff preferences with strategic economic zones worldwide. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are no exception. The United States is the region's leading trading partner; however, several countries have signed trade agreements with the European area in recent years. In this paper, we ask ourselves to what extent these agreements are beneficial. In addition, we evaluate the impact on exports with other world regions. Mainly, we analyze the effect of commercial firms in the European zone on the level of exports of the other partners, especially with the United States. The results consistently suggest that signing trade agreements with the European zone generates an export displacement effect. In other words, although the gross level of exports to the European zone increases, the level of exports to other regions of the world, especially to the United States, grows faster than other countries that do not even have agreements with the Europeans. Generally, exports do not have a statistically significant effect on signing trade agreements with the European zone.

Influencing Corporate Culture On Internal Control In Commercial Firms

Objective: Corporate culture is the perception, behavior, communication style, and qualities that are unique to a firm. One of the core factors that makes a firm successful is its corporate culture. The article aims to determine the corporate culture factors and their influence on internal control in commercial firms in Hanoi. Method: The major method of study used by the author is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Scale adjustments are made via qualitative research. The model is examined, measured, and tested using quantitative research. We use primary data from a survey of commercial enterprises in Vietnam. The research sample is 225 and is analyzed using regression models. Results: Research results have determined that corporate culture factors, including collaborative culture, hierarchical culture, and competitive culture (sig. = 0.000 < 0.05), affect positive internal control in commercial enterprises in Hanoi. Conclusions: The article is based on the empirical data collected from various types of participants, including accountants (for information provision), managers (for decision-making), sales staff (for work), and lecturers (for research) in Vietnam. By drawing the concept from previous research, the study explores corporate culture as an internal control determinant. The study contributed to a theoretical enhancement of the current level of knowledge on the factors that affect internal control and developed a reliable scale for measuring the corporate culture and internal control of commercial firms in Hanoi, Vietnam. Besides, our study emphasizes that the corporate culture in commercial enterprises in Hanoi needs improvement to support internal control. Policymakers are required to make strategic efforts for internal control system reform in firms to increase the likelihood of business performance. The value of the study is that it provides an expansion of the corporate culture factors that influence internal control in commercial firms in Hanoi, thereby proposing governance implications for the business leaders of these firms to improve internal control. Besides, research results provide useful references for research on related issues.

The US Space Program's Path Forward for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) after Decommissioning of the International Space Station (ISS)

As activities in space rapidly evolve, the International Space Station (ISS) is approaching its retirement date. Since decommissioning of the ISS is scheduled for 2030, the United States (US) must identify paths forward for space station operations in low-earth orbit (LEO). Having a manned LEO space station after the conclusion of the ISS program will allow the US to continue possessing a platform to conduct scientific research, advance technology, and investigate the effects of microgravity on biological physiology. Options to continue LEO operations include having private entities construct and operate commercial space stations, reusing components of the ISS, directing NASA to spearhead efforts in building a new space station, or abandoning US-led space stations in LEO altogether. We recommend that commercial firms build and operate space stations, permitting multiple platforms to be created while maintaining the legacy of the ISS. The US will have facilities in LEO for research and development, thus advancing technological and scientific knowledge for Earth-based applications and future space missions.

Solar panel adoption among Mexican small and medium-sized commercial and service businesses

We analyze the determinants of adoption of distributed solar photovoltaic systems, focusing on small and medium-sized commercial and service firms. We use monthly billing data that are perfectly matched with data from a novel survey that gathers information on electricity consumption, stock of electric equipment, and a rich set of firm characteristics in the Metropolitan Area of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Using an econometric model, we find evidence that a set of explanatory variables such as business characteristics, the economic sector, ownership status, stock and usage of equipment and appliances, presence of other solar technologies, and views about the use of renewable energy are important determinants of the probability of adoption of solar panel systems. Furthermore, using machine learning methods to identify the best predictors of solar adoption, we indirectly validate the theory-driven empirical model by assessing a large set of explanatory variables and selecting a subset of these variables. In addition, we investigate relevant cases where a priori solar panel adoption seems to be cost-effective but structural adoption barriers and adoption gaps might coexist for certain groups of electricity users. We also calculate the social cost savings and the avoided CO2 emissions. Finally, based on our results, we provide several policy implications and recommendations.