Enterprises In Bangladesh Research Articles

Empirical Study on the Antecedents Predicting Organizational Innovation of the Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangladesh

In the era of global competition, innovation has become a central object to obtain a sustainable future by an organization outrunning their counterparts. Based on the questionnaires survey on Ready-made Garment (RMGs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh, this empirical study aims at finding the impact of transformational leadership (TL), knowledge management (KM), citizenship behavior or positive deviance (PD), and intrinsic motivation (IM) on organizational innovation (OI). Stratified random sampling has been used for collecting the responses of the SMEs in Bangladesh. Data analysis shows that TL, KM, IM, and PD can predict OI significantly. Limitations, implication and further research directions have also been discussed in this article.

Islamic social enterprises in Bangladesh: Conceptual and institutional challenges

AbstractTo date, very little attention has been given to Islamic social enterprise although it has huge potential within the context of third sector economy. Addressing this gap, taking Bangladesh as a point of departure, this paper explores how Islamic social enterprise can contribute to enhance the effectiveness of third sector economy. Drawing on lessons from different case studies, it finds that government of Bangladesh should provide a separate legal and regulatory environment for Islamic social enterprise for it to grow in size and scale. In addition to that, the paper came up with three themes which could provide crucial guidelines for Bangladeshi Islamic social enterprise to improve operation and effectiveness. These themes are: leveraging social capital, product and service innovation, and formation of apex institutional bodies. The paper ends with actionable and transparent policy and strategy recommendations for all the stakeholders.

Workplace Safety: A Necessity or a Luxury in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises of Bangladesh?

Following the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history, Bangladesh Government has been getting external pressure to amend and properly implement its “Workplace Safety Laws”. Garment factories like the ones in Rana Plaza (the collapsed building in Savar) are large organizations. Along with the large companies, there are a significant number of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Bangladesh which are employing more than 31 million people. Obviously, workplace safety should be a matter of concern for their employers, or is it? Why are they reluctant about it? What is being done to ensure safety? Are they getting pressures or motivated by externalities? Safety measures if taken, is it enough? What else can be done to improve workplace safety? The purpose of this research paper is to find out and analyze the answers to the above questions concerning workplace safety in the MSMEs of Bangladesh. A blend of secondary sources and primary sources (survey amongst a significant number of owners of various MSMEs and observation of a few organizations) of data were used from which both quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out for the purpose of exploring the unknown. The results show a rather reluctant approach by the owners regarding this issue. However, it was also found that the government has taken a lot of initiatives to minimize workplace safety hazards and is on the verge of implementing them. Thus, a few alternatives that involve lobbying and use of marketing activities to create greater awareness were recommended.
 JEL Classifications Code: J81, J88

Women Entrepreneurs Development in Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangladesh: Exploring the Supportive Factors

Bangladesh envisages a vision to become a Middle Income Country by 2021. Women entrepreneurs’ development and their contribution to the economy has been considered one of the accelerating contributor in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and economic growth. The author undertaken the study to explore the supportive factors which promote and develop the women entrepreneurs in SMEs and demonstrate linkages with institutional and policy framework. A mixed research methods were applied, including review of literature, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions.

Strategic orientation and performance of small and medium enterprises in Bangladesh

The performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is considered one of the driving forces for developing countries like Bangladesh, where the economy has benefitted greatly from the contribution of SMEs. Hence, the aim of this study is to identify whether there is any relationship between strategic orientation and the performance of SMEs operating in Bangladesh. From the existing literature, three variables of strategic orientation have been developed: market orientation, learning orientation and entrepreneurial orientation. The result shows that six out of ten variables of strategic orientation, e.g., customer orientation, inter–functional coordination, proactiveness, autonomy, risk taking behaviour and innovativeness are statistically significant with SME performance. However, the study found that learning orientation has no notable relationship with performance. The findings of this study can be useful for researchers as well as SME owners to generate further ideas about their business strategy and enhance their financial performance.

Complexity, Compliance Costs and Non Compliance with VAT by Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangladesh: Is There a Relationship?

Similar to many developing nations, Bangladesh’s small and medium sector enterprises (SMEs) constitute some 90% of all businesses and play an important role in the country’s economic growth and employment. This study investigates the nature and extent of the relationships between the complexity of Bangladesh’s Value Added Tax (VAT) legislation, the costs of compliance with VAT in Bangladesh, and non-compliance (either intentional or unintentional) with the VAT legislation by Bangladeshi SMEs. These results could be important as it appears that SMEs are under-represented in terms of their contribution to Bangladesh’s VAT revenue collection, which if other foreign studies are relevant could be due in part to compliance costs. The current study is the first to empirically examine the relationships between the complexity of VAT legislation, compliance costs and noncompliance for SMEs in Bangladesh context. The study involved firstly a series of focus group interviews involving different types of SMEs taxpayers in Bangladesh. This was then followed by survey through a purposive sample of SMEs taxpayers in Bangladesh. The results suggest that a majority of the compliant SMEs taxpayers listed complexity in VAT law and compliance costs as the two important factors influencing VAT noncompliance in SMEs. On the other hand, non-compliant taxpayers emphasised more about the positive relationship between taxpayers and VAT officials for compliant behaviour. The likelihood of audits, penalties and sanctions were found to have less effect on VAT non-compliance for non-compliant taxpayers. In comparison, such monitoring and penalties would apparently improve compliant behaviour by compliant taxpayers. The findings of this research have practical policy implications, in that they can assist policy makers and administrators in their understanding of the potential interrelationships between legislative and regulatory complexity, the costs of complying with VAT legislation, and non-compliance with VAT legislation by SMEs. Having a robust and functioning VAT system is seen as an important attribute for a developing economy, so these findings may be important not only for Bangladesh, but also similar developing economies.

Entrepreneurs’ biographic characteristics and small enterprise growth in Bangladesh: an empirical analysis

The growth of any business enterprise depends on different factors including its entrepreneur's biographic characteristics. The present paper aims at exploring these characteristics and analyzing their effects on the growth of small enterprises in Bangladesh. The entrepreneurs (400) were selected randomly for the study using multi-stage sampling technique constitute and have been interviewed personally. Findings of the study reveal that relatively higher educated and married male entrepreneurs, having business experience of less than ten years, were significant group to enter the business. The majority of the sample entrepreneurs hailed from non-business family and had started their business at young and middle age. Results also claim that entrepreneurs’ biographic characteristics except family background and marital status play a significant role in the growth of small enterprises’ equity capital, production, employment, sales, and profit.

Generational Effects of Handicraft Fair Trade Production: A Bangladesh Case Study

Fair trade movements aim to respond to economic and social inequality and to support poor farmers and artisans in developing countries through trade. Many scholars are investigating to what extent and how the production of fair trade products affects those who are making them. Some studies have indicated benefits to producers in certain areas such as income, access to market, and business and other skill development. Others suggest concerns about negative effects of fair trade such as increased dependency of producers on particular fair trade endeavors, limited ability to address gender inequality, and increased financial burden on producers. However, little attention has been paid to generational effects on fair trade producers. To explore one of such effects, this paper investigates children’s educational achievements in relation to their parents (who make handicrafts). Survey responses and interviews with handicraft producers and their children were collected from seven fair trade enterprises in Bangladesh in summer of 2012. The results indicate that producers value children’s education highly, and many children, both male and female, gain more education than producers themselves. In the majority of cases, children finished the highest grade in their households. Children’s interviews suggest that mothers’ work often inspires them to continue their education, while they also recognize their limited economic situations. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n9p284

Responsibility Accounting: A Control Tool for Management

Large organizations are segmented for the sake of effective managerial control. These segments are responsibility centers. The individual in charge of a segment has been assigned authority and responsibility to control his or her responsibility center. But the extent of controllability depends on various technical and behavioral aspects. The objective of goal congruence and success of the organization as a whole depends on the proper coordination among various responsibility centers and the consideration of various behavioral aspects related to the problem. Lean enterprise concepts only can be applicable ensuring proper communication and coordination between responsibility centers. Responsibility accounting is practiced somewhat satisfactorily at profitable enterprises in Bangladesh.
 JEL Classification Code: M14, M41, M49

Management of Public and Private Sector Enterprises in Bangladesh: A Comparative Study during 1971-2011

The management practices of private and public sector enterprises of Bangladesh have been continually improving since the independence of the country. From the inception of the country in 1971, there was a highly disorganized management in both the public and private sectors. However, it has now been reached to a reasonable shape that can be claimed as moderate management practices like other developing countries of the world. Observation shows that a rapid development in the management of private sector has been occurred since early 1990s. In 2000, there has been a substantial change and modification in management practices of the private sector enterprises in Bangladesh due to shifting focus of the government from public to private sector. The reasons can be attributed by the development of information technology and introduction to the privatization policy of the enterprises. This study shows that the development of management practices followed an upward trend in Bangladesh. The higher the development in private sector management is inducing the higher development of public sector management in Bangladesh.

Effect of Entrepreneur and Firm Characteristics on the Business Success of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh

This study examines the effect of characteristics of entrepreneur and characteristics of the firm on the business success of Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangladesh. The study is based on survey methodology through a questionnaire administered on the owners and employees of small firms. Data are analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Two hypotheses are proposed and tested. The characteristic of entrepreneur is found to be a significant factor for business success of SMEs in Bangladesh. However the firm characteristics are found not to be significant factor on the business success of SMEs in Bangladesh. The results of the analysis show that only one of the demographic factors which is duration of organization operated has significant effect toward business success of SMEs. SMEs that are operated longer period have been more successful in comparison to those who have been in operation for a shorter period. In addition to this, independent sample t-test shows that gender plays a significant role on business success of SMEs in Bangladesh. This study has implications for entrepreneurs and policy makers.

Constraints And Contingencies Of The Small Business: A Comparative Perspective

Small businesses relative to the medium and large businesses tend to demonstrate culture (country) specific business practices. However, in spite of the recognized diversity of business practices, strong homogeneous tendencies and norms have been developing specially among the small businesses that operate in the global market place. These tendencies and norms offer unique opportunity for a comparative perspective. This paper is an attempt in this regard toward identifying the issues of constraints and challenges of the small business from a comparative perspective. A part of multi-country study, authors collected data in 2006 from 133 small businesses of India, and 112 small enterprises in Bangladesh. The findings provide a varying degree of supports for two illustrative hypotheses concerning issues, constraints and contingencies of small businesses in these two countries. The authors believe that the paper is likely to enhance empirical understanding of the small business from a comparative perspective.

A Practical Study on the Micro Enterprises in Bangladesh

The objective in preparing this paper is to find out the sources of finance of micro enterprises in Bangladesh, educational qualification of the owner, number of employment created by each micro enterprises, contribution of banks, financial institutions and NGOs in the micro enterprises etc. For fulfilling the objective of the paper data are collected by interviewing 120 micro enterprises owners in various areas of the country. Finally, the results of the accumulated data are presented in the paper.

Use of Information and Communication Technology by State Owned Enterprises in Bangladesh: Comparison between privatized and non privatized SOEs

Use of Information and Communication Technology by State Owned Enterprises in Bangladesh: Comparison between privatized and non privatized SOEs

Performance Appraisal of the Employees of Local Private Manufacturing Enterprises in Bangladesh

The present study attempts to focus on the performance appraisal practice of the employees of local private manufacturing enterprises in Bangladesh. The researcher found that some enterprises use combined techniques to evaluate performance of the employees and some use single technique. Maximum of the enterprises provide feedback to the employees regarding their performance and all the enterprises use the results of the appraisals for taking decisions regarding confirmation of job, identification of training needs, promotion potential and salary increases of the employees. Maximum of the employees are ‘neither satisfied nor dissatisfied’ with the performance appraisal practice of their enterprises. The researcher recommends further study in this area to cover the performance appraisal practice of local private manufacturing enterprises after 1997 and to evaluate the performance appraisal practice of the employees of local private manufacturing enterprises in Bangladesh. The author also recommends a comparative study between the performance appraisal practice of local private business enterprises of Bangladesh and performance appraisal practice of multinational business enterprises.

Privatization of Public Enterprises in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects

The performance of the public enterprise sector in Bangladesh is poor. The inefficiency of public enterprises places a fiscal burden, diverts limited resources from growth-enhancing public spending to unproductive subsidies, and affects the country's industrial competitiveness. This paper identifies the prospects, problems, and pitfalls of privatization program and policies in Bangladesh. Firstly, the stylized facts about public enterprises are provided and the basic issues in privatization policy as it relates to Bangladesh are discussed. Secondly, the preconditions for efficiency gains arising from privatization are evaluated. Thirdly, the role of public enterprises in the labor market in Bangladesh is examined. Finally, the political and the economic factors that can offset the potential efficiency gains from privatization in Bangladesh are critically analyzed.

Ineffective Privatization of Public Enterprises: The Case of Bangladesh

This paper analyzes some of the limitations of the privatization of public enterprises in Bangladesh, focusing on the debt-default status and the tax registration profile of privatized firms. A model of ineffective privatization, appropriate to the circumstances of developing countries, is constructed to illustrate that perverse outcomes of privatization might occur. Detailed analyses of the debt-default status and the tax registration profile of privatized firms are presented, using unique data sets obtained exclusively for this paper from Bangladesh's central bank and the national tax authorities. Many privatized firms have substantial overdue loans. A large number of privatized firms have been able to evade tax registration. The post-privatization experience of Bangladesh lends credence to the view that in some developing and transition economies debt-default and tax non-compliance are routes by which privatized firms' budget constraints are often softened in spite of privatization. Various types of privatization are classified in terms of social welfare.

Budgetary process in uncertain contexts: a study of state-owned enterprises in Bangladesh

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the budgetary process is used to manage technical and institutional environments. The study was carried out in two state-owned organizations in Bangladesh. The conditions in Bangladesh are such that all state-owned enterprises face a bureaucratic environment. However, the two organizations were selected to provide examples of higher and lower uncertainties in this context. The findings suggest that in conditions of high uncertainty budgeting is more oriented towards the management of external relationships with significant institutional actors than with the management of the organization itself. Budgets are relatively uncoupled from detailed aspects of the organizational task. In more moderate conditions of uncertainty, budgeting appears to be more functionally implicated in the management of the organizational task.

Privatizing public enterprises in Bangladesh: a simulation analysis of macroeconomic impacts

(1989). Privatizing public enterprises in Bangladesh: a simulation analysis of macroeconomic impacts. Applied Economics: Vol. 21, No. 9, pp. 1159-1176.

Employee-Employer Perception towards Healthcare Scheme for Employees of Business Enterprises in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study

There is an increasing need for the management of the large and medium scale businesses to provide health care schemes for their employees as people in all areas as well as commercial area are becoming more health conscious. This study firstly aims at understanding the present status of health care facilities available at the workplace from the viewpoint of both employees and employers. The study then asked the respondents whether a health care scheme is feasible in their organizations and how could they benefit from the health care scheme. Some actions have been suggested in terms of the overall findings that were revealed in the study. Finally the prospect of such health care scheme has been evaluated to understand how far would employers go in keeping their workers happy for ensuring health care for this vulnerable sector. Doi: IIUC Studies Vol.2 2004