Independent Business Owners Research Articles

Microenterprise performance amidst environmental turbulence and resource scarcity: an integrated capital approach

PurposeMicroenterprises in emerging economies are known to operate in turbulent and resource-scarce environments. We test our hypothesis that a more comprehensive “Integrated Capital-Based Model” (ICBM) is needed when explaining the performance of microenterprises in such an environment. The model combines traditionally researched financial, human and social capital with more recently emphasized psychological and cognitive capital, providing greater explanatory power than models using only the traditional types of capital.Design/methodology/approachWe use a pooled linear regression to analyze an existing survey of more than 900 independent business owners who were interviewed seven times between 2008 and 2012 in the Accra and Tema marketplaces in Ghana. We measure the performance of microenterprises using three dependent variables (revenue, profits, and productivity). We contrast the explanatory power of ICBM models against the more traditional models.FindingsThe ICBM has significantly higher levels of explanatory power over the traditional models in examining the performance of these microenterprises. These results highlight the importance of psychological and cognitive capital in emerging economies.Research limitations/implicationsWe advocate for a more comprehensive view of capital as shown in our ICBM. However, the data were gathered only in an urban setting, which limits the generalizability to rural parts of emerging economies.Practical implicationsThese findings suggest the utility of government and appropriate agencies finding ways to enhance the level of psychological and cognitive capital of microenterprise owners.Originality/valueThis paper's originality stems from hypothesizing and empirically confirming the higher predictive efficacy of ICBM against more traditionally researched capital sources.

Diffusion of the Internet-of-Things (IoT): A framework based on smart retail technology

Internet-of-Things (IoT) innovations are reconfiguring our societies and day-to-day lives. How do these new technologies enter our communities, and when they do, how do they complement or disrupt existing activity? This paper provides a framework for addressing these questions, building on a case study of the automated pizza vending machine that is proliferating in France. Relying on an exclusive and newly constructed database, we examine the diffusion of smart pizza vending machines across over 30,000 French communities. Contrary to our expectations, we find that neither the large, dense, and most connected urban centers nor the rural areas with limited access to food options are the first adopters of these machines. Instead, small but well-connected communities, with attractive consumer bases but which lack 24/7 amenities, are at the vanguard of the adoption of this "frugal" IoT innovation -- i.e., one that requires little capital investment but potentially meets widespread demand. Furthermore, we find that independent business owners and small entrepreneurs are the early adopters of the new technology, but they act as forerunners for larger corporate actors. Based on these findings, our proposed framework highlights the decentralized and bottom-up processes that give rise to the rapid penetration of frugal IoT technologies and their associated socio-economic effects.

중국 네트워크 마케팅 산업에서 제품 애용자가 독립사업자로 활동하려는 의도에 관한 연구

Purpose - This study aims to investigate the motivations of product enthusiasts in China's network marketing industry to engage in independent business activities, using an extended Theory of Planned Behavior as the theoretical framework. Additionally, it explores the moderating role of prior knowledge of network marketing.
 Design/Methodology/Approach - By integrating perception as a variable, this research assesses its influence on the entrepreneurial intentions of product loyalists within China's network marketing sector. Furthermore, the study examines how prior knowledge of network marketing affects the relationships among attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, perception of network marketing, and intent.
 Findings - The results indicate that variables derived from the extended Theory of Planned Behavior, including attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and awareness, positively impact individual intentions to become independent network marketers. Notably, perceived control and awareness also influence actual behavior. Moreover, prior knowledge serves as a moderator for all pathways, except in the relationship between perceived control, awareness, and intention.
 Research Implications - Network marketing companies should prioritize maintaining high product quality to establish consumer trust. Engaging in corporate social responsibility initiatives can enhance company image. Consistent education for consumers about network marketing can help foster entrepreneurial intentions among potential independent business owners.

Implementasi Pendidikan Entrepreneur di PTKI

PTKI offers entrepreneurship education. This paper provides a systematic explanation of the importance of PTKI entrepreneurship education. This paper also assumes that PTKI students will begin to recognize and start businesses as a result of entrepreneurship education. In order to prepare students to become independent workers or business owners in the future, entrepreneurship can be taught through inculcating entrepreneurial values. An integrated curriculum developed at the Islamic Religious College (PTKI) that applies principles and methodologies for the development of life skills in students is a feature of entrepreneurship-oriented education. This research is a library research, namely a study in which data collection is carried out by collecting data from various literatures. This research is also an analytic descriptive research, namely trying to present data related to the Implementation of Entrepreneur Education in PTKI This research results that through entrepreneurship education it will prepare PTKI students to be more able to compete in the job market, have quality and expertise, have a strong work ethic, and perform well in the institution where they work, and have new ideas while serving. . They can demonstrate their value in a variety of development endeavors, including development programming, agency management, business operations, and other social endeavors. If PTKI alumni were previously educated as entrepreneurs, they are believed to have higher quality, expertise, and work ethic because they are taught good work habits and management skills, develop self-confidence, and are used to mastering business or work fields

Understanding the importance of farmer–NGO collaboration for sustainability and business strategy: Evidence from the coffee supply chain

AbstractDespite the attention to governance strategies based on international market intervention and product differentiation, research on how farmers and NGOs collaborate and share knowledge in production countries to help address sustainability challenges bottom‐up remains limited. Through evidence from the coffee supply chain, this article endorses a human ecology viewpoint and shows how farmer–NGO collaboration in domestic markets can help foster relevant environmental, social, and economic upgrades. More significantly, it provides evidence of the importance of farmer–NGO collaboration for business strategy and indicates how NGOs can help farmers to grow as independent business owners and build their own market channels locally. By conceptualizing a strategic framework of farmer–NGO collaboration to better overcome sustainability challenges bottom‐up and empower farmers as independent business owners, while also outlining the possible unintended consequences of such collaboration, this article finally contributes to the literature on the coffee supply chain and offers generalizable takeaways for NGO strategy.

The Formation and Repercussions of Routine Resistance in Online Labor Platforms

There is growing research into worker resistance in organizations that focuses on routine or mundane forms of resistance, and this study attempts to advance this field by examining the formation and repercussions of routine resistance on an online labor platform. Several studies suggest that workers cannot resist the control imposed by technology in modern organizations such as online labor platforms, which encourage independent work. But another set of studies suggests that some characteristics of these organizations encourage worker resistance. In this paper, we examine this paradox through a detailed ethnographic investigation of routine resistance and its ability to limit the management control of an online labor platform. Using the findings of Netnography - ethnographic fieldwork conducted in online environments, we examined routine resistance of the labor platform’s contract workers against the platform’s appointment of a vice president for community. The routine resistance was discursively formed and restricted the control mechanism of the online labor platform by confirming the identities of independent business owners and renegotiating the dominant discourse by the management.

Bio-Economy and Sustainable Agri-Food Value Chains: Involvement of Local Stakeholders through Contract Farming

Due to expanding middle-class populations’ increased awareness of food safety and quality as well as the high standards set by developed countries’ export markets, contract farming has a bright future. In many developing nations, contract farming has become more significant. Previous research examined the impact of contracts on the welfare of smallholder farmers, but they often did not take into account the variety of contractual arrangements. As a result, agrifood sustainability makes an effort to use acceptable farming methods’ potential for mitigation to lessen rather than exacerbate the environmental problem and climate change. Prior to now, the focus of policymakers has mostly been on the production end of the food chain. However, for food systems to be sustainable, they must also be productive, environmentally friendly, and provide equitable revenue distribution across the food chain. Whether the products are bought by governmental organizations, multinational corporations, smaller businesses, farmer cooperatives, or independent business owners, it is a factor that is becoming more and more significant in agribusiness. Sponsors must therefore assess how a replacement crop might also be introduced and take into account social attitudes before implementing new cropping practices. Contract farming is frequently seen as a crucial strategy for raising social welfare, strengthening food security, increasing food quality and productivity, and protecting the environment. It aids farmers in overcoming obstacles such lack of capital, insurance, good input availability, output markets, and managerial and technical skills. The majority of studies show that contract farming increases income. The influence of contract farming on farmers’ income, according to certain research findings, is either negligible or even detrimental. This study empirically examines the effects of local stakeholder participation in contract farming on income and farming challenges and theoretically hypothesizes the influencing mechanism.

THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF E-COMMERCE IN THE WORLD

The article represents the study of the development of information technologies and their impact on the spread of modern retailing – e-commerce. The total penetration of the Internet, made possible by the latest information technology and the creation of "smart" mobile phones, has led to the growth of online commerce around the world. The number of Internet users around the world continues to grow. The Internet has also had an irreversible impact on retailing: the rise of e-commerce has not only forced regular retailers to adapt to new digital sales channels, but also allowed small and independent business owners to do business outside their local borders. Today, the global Internet penetration rate is 59 percent, with Northern Europe ranking first with a 95 percent Internet penetration rate. Online shopping is one of the most popular online activities around the world. Today, you can compare prices or read reviews online or go to the store to check the quality of the product before buying something online. In 2021, global electronic retail sales reached 4.9 trillion US dollars. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has gained momentum since 2020, has clearly strengthened the development trends of e-commerce and the digital technologies that support its development. Competition in the market for mobile devices, which currently account for a significant share of Internet traffic, is leading to rapid technological upgrades of modern smartphones. Samsung and Apple, which currently account for nearly half of the mobile gadget market, produce a significant number of applications that complement mobile devices. The widespread use of smartphone applications designed for trade operations has brought the level of e-commerce to a qualitatively new stage of development. With the almost ubiquitous presence of mobile devices, it is not surprising that the implementation of mobile payment solutions is growing worldwide and is contributing to the growth of cashless transactions. Keywords: information technology, Internet, smartphones, e-commerce, mobile applications.

Keep it Oakland: e-commerce meets social justice

This article examines the labor involved with the upkeep of social media accounts for Oakland-based brick-and-mortar boutiques and their digital storefronts, particularly as businesses move their wares online during shelter-in-place amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Focusing on independent shops in Oakland, California, particularly those which are part of Oakland’s Indie Alliance – a coalition of independent small business owners – this article explores the role of shop workers in producing the authentic aesthetics of themselves and store accounts as a replacement for brick-and-mortar shops. How do small-scale shop owners and clerks make platforms, which were not designed with their needs in mind, work for them? How does sellers’ performance of the local interface with a global digital marketplace and platform infrastructures? In what ways do existing racial hierarchies and structural inequalities affect shop personnel’s experiences of platforms and apps meant to facilitate business transactions? I focus on the Oakland Indie Alliance’s Covid Recovery and Repair funds, which employ social media and crowdfunding platforms or payment apps to provide assistance to local businesses, particularly those which are BIPOC and/or immigrant owned, connecting commercial and social justice oriented goals.

Social Capital, Innovation, and Local Resilience

This paper is based on research that centres on the city of Tokyo, a mature city that is experiencing various transformations, in order to show how social capital and innovation can help build up resilient communities. It presents two major topics: 1) the potential of localities and their social capital and social innovation to actively react to change, and 2) the role of localities for inclusive urban governance. By focusing on five small neighbourhoods in the south of Taito-ward in central-east Tokyo, the paper addresses the following questions: a) what kinds of social networks and interaction exist at the local level, b) how are residents contributing to neighbourhood revitalization and community identity, and c) what are specific examples of social innovative practices, emerging in periods of crisis, in the case-study area as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic? By adopting a mixed methods approach drawing especially on in-depth interviews conducted with a range of independent business owners, the study reveals the dynamics between long-term residents and newcomers as they negotiate shared identities that continue to shape the present and future of some of Tokyo’s oldest neighbourhoods. The research findings highlight the need for good urban governance to draw on an improved understanding of the potential of localities, place-based social capital building, and new social practices that are emerging in local third sectors, such as volunteer-run industry-based organizations, which are vital in maintaining informal networks as an alternative to more traditional neighbourhood groups to bond, bridge, and link diverse community members.

A theoretical analysis of independent business owners' preferences for informal information sources

AbstractIndependent business owners often prefer informal information sources to formal ones such as library collections. Part of these preferences is rational because contextual and application‐oriented information is usually available from informal sources, which are theoretically the best matches for this kind of information. This suggests that, in addition to outreach strategies, efforts to integrate informal sources of business‐relevant information can improve public libraries' ability to support independent business owners' information needs. Through interviews with business information providers and users, we explore the multi‐dimensional space of information needs in independent businesses.

“Conflict-performance assumption” or “performance-conflict assumption”: Insights from franchising

Franchising is an organizational governance form where relational and formal contracts complement each other and where franchisor and franchisees together may obtain better performance than working alone. Although relational contracts may adapt to changing environments, they are not as efficient in ambiguous settings. In franchised stores, liability for low performance is not always clear. Indeed, franchisor and franchisees work in close collaboration, and, therefore, this ambiguity on causes of low performance may lead to conflicts. The franchising literature, as far as we know, has addressed practitioners' concerns regarding performance on one side, and conflicts on the other side, but no study has exclusively focused on low performance and the emergence of conflicts. Our research contributes to the franchising literature by filling this relative gap and, contrary to “conflict-performance assumption” (Pearson, 1973; Duarte and Davies, 2003) held in the broader context of distribution channels, we consider low performance to be a cause, rather than a consequence, of franchisor/franchisee conflicts. This empirical study deals with franchising in France, the leading market in franchising in Europe and the third largest in the world. We used a qualitative approach based on 44 in-depth interviews with 27 franchisors and executives/high-level managers of franchise chains, as well as 17 franchisees from various industries to get a dual, and so more complete, assessment of franchising practitioners' views of performance-related conflicts. Our research findings show that franchisees, as independent small business owners, give priority to financial results compared to other goals and they are driven to continuously improve the performance of their store(s). When expectations are not met, franchisees sometimes blame franchisors because they are interdependent in their success and liability is not straightforward. As a collaborative team, franchisors and franchisees may benefit from minimizing conflicts and preventing them with the careful selection and management of franchisees that share franchisor's values and have internal locus of control.

Antecedents and Consequences of Trust Development within a Network Marketing Comp

Studies within different fields indicate that the most successful social and business relationships are trustworthy, where partners willingly strengthen the ties with the other part. Trust has been also identified as the catalyst in network marketing companies of direct selling, which is predominantly based in human relationships. The present study aims to investigate trust development in terms of trust antecedents, components and consequences within the Amway Network Company in Greece. Field research was conducted by utilizing a structured questionnaire, which was developed by adopting relative constructs reported in literature. The research target sample consisted of Amway’s Independent Business Owners (IBOs). Two hundred and twenty five questionnaires were distributed during company’s big and small conferences in Greece. Moreover, an online version of the questionnaire was created and communicated to IBOs from various regions of Greece via the web, while the same link was also emailed to a small number of IBOs. The resulting sample comprised 151 correctly answered questionnaires. Principal Component Analysis was initially performed to identify latent factors within the questionnaire items measuring the trust antecedents, components and consequences, which led to alterations of the initial model. The emerged trust antecedents were named cultural similarity, privacy concerns and conflict. The trust components were named ability, integrity and goodwill, while the trust consequences were named commitment and perceived continuity. The results of the regression analyses conducted showed that cultural similarity is the most significant antecedent of trust. Moreover, goodwill was found to be the trust component that leads to higher levels of both commitment and perceived continuity.
 
 
 Keywords: trust, antecedents, consequences, network company, Greece

Influence of Personal Characteristics and Background Characteristics on Entrepreneurship and Perceived Business Performance in Entrepreneurs as Independent Business Owners of Network Marketing

Influence of Personal Characteristics and Background Characteristics on Entrepreneurship and Perceived Business Performance in Entrepreneurs as Independent Business Owners of Network Marketing

Using the CollaboraKTion framework to report on primary care practice recruitment and data collection: costs and successes in a cross-sectional practice-based survey in British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia, Canada

BackgroundAcross Canada and internationally we have poor infrastructure to regularly collect survey data from primary care practices to supplement data from chart audits and physician billings. The purpose of this work is to: 1) examine the variable costs for carrying out primary care practice-based surveys and 2) share lessons learned about the level of engagement required for recruitment of practices in primary care.MethodsThis work was part of a larger study, TRANSFORMATION that collected data from three provincial study sites in Canada. We report here on practice-based engagement. Surveys were administered to providers, organizational practice leads, and up to 20 patients from each participating provider. We used the CollaboraKTion framework to report on our recruitment and engagement strategies for the survey work. Data were derived from qualitative sources, including study team meeting minutes, memos/notes from survey administrators regarding their interactions with practice staff, and patients and stakeholder meeting minutes. Quantitative data were derived from spreadsheets tracking numbers for participant eligibility, responses, and completions and from time and cost tracking for patient survey administration.ResultsA total of 87 practices participated in the study (n = 22 in BC; n = 26 in ON; n = 39 in NS). The first three of five CollaboraKTion activities, Contacting and Connecting, Deepening Understandings, and Adapting and Applying the Knowledge Base, and their associated processes were most pertinent to our recruitment and data collection. Practice participation rates were low but similar, averaging 36% across study sites, and completion rates were high (99%). Patient completion rates were similarly high (99%), though participation rates in BC were substantially lower than the other sites. Recruitment and data collection costs varied with the cost per practice ranging from $1503 to $1792.ConclusionsA comprehensive data collection system in primary care is possible to achieve with partnerships that balance researcher, clinical, and policy maker contexts. Engaging practices as valued community members and independent business owners requires significant time, and financial and human resources. An integrated knowledge translation and exchange approach provides a foundation for continued dialogue, exchange of ideas, use of the information produced, and recognises recruitment as part of an ongoing cycle.

Mechanisms of biopower and neoliberal governmentality in precarious work: Mobilizing the dependent self-employed as independent business owners

In the contemporary conditions of neoliberal governmentality, and the emerging ‘gig economy,’ standard employment relationships appear to be giving way to precarious work. This article examines the mechanisms of biopower and techniques of managerial control that underpin—and produce consent for—precarious work and nonstandard work arrangements. Based on an ethnographic study, the article shows how a globally operating direct sales organization deploys particular techniques of government to mobilize and manage its precarious workers as a network of enterprise-units: as a community of active and productive economic agents who willingly reconstitute themselves and their lives as enterprises to pursue self-efficacy, autonomy and self-worth as individuals. The article contributes to the literature on organizational power, particularly Foucauldian studies of the workplace, in three ways: (1) by building a theoretical analytics of government perspective on managerial control that highlights the nondisciplinary, biopolitical forms of power that underpin employment relations under the conditions of neoliberal governmentality; (2) by extending the theory of enterprise culture to the domain of precarious work to examine the mechanisms of biopower that underpin ongoing transformations in the sphere of work; and (3) by shifting critical attention to the lived experience of precarious workers in practice.

Access to finance problems for small retail businesses in South Africa: comparative views from finance seekers (retailers) and finance providers (banks)

Small retail businesses are essential for the growth of the South African economy. Though many of these business entities need more assets to seize business opportunities, previous research studies suggest that their overall access to finance through banks and other finance providers seems to be limited. In general, small retail businesses are usually managed by entrepreneurs who lack financial knowledge, but banks, when deciding on credit applications, rely heavily on financial information, which is provided by these entrepreneurs. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, this study aimed to explore barriers that limit access to finance for South African small retailers, from the perspectives of finance providers (banking institutions) and finance seekers (small retailers). Additionally, measures were highlighted to show how those hurdles could be overcome. Qualitative research was conducted, whereby data were collected via semi-structured interviews with management personnel at banks and other financial institutions, as well as independent experts and small retail business owners and managers. The findings show that many financing opportunities are available to small retail businesses, but access to these opportunities is limited mainly owing to, inter alia, strict bank regulations and factors that are inherent to small retail business owners.

An investigation into independent small business owners’ perception of franchisee relationships

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore independent small business owners’ perceptions of franchisees relationships with their franchisors, their fellow franchisees within the chain, their employees and their customers. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a qualitative approach and, more specifically, 26 in-depth interviews conducted with independent small business owners from various business sectors. Findings – These independent small business owners perceive that franchisees have a dependency-based relationship with their franchisors; a competition-based relationship with their fellow franchisees; a rather complicated relationship with their employees; and a superficial relationship with their customers. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the franchising literature by presenting an outside-chain view of franchisees’ relationships with their franchisors, other franchisees, employees and customers. Practical implications – The findings may have practical implications for franchisors, enabling them to better understand the concerns of independent small business owners as potential franchisee candidates. Originality/value – The outside-chain view of franchisees’ relationships is innovative.

Mainstreaming disability in education beyond 2015

This article presents an exemplary case study of an Independent Business Owner (IBO) from multiple case studies on narratives of differently abled persons. The aim of this article is to illustrate mainstreaming disability through an exemplary case of the IBO. The article is informed by the imperatives of critical theory to understand mainstreaming disability. I examine mainstreaming disability in reference to inclusive education and sustainable development via hephapreneurship (later described in the text). The purposively selected sample of the study was (n=18) participants. The argument forwarded suggests hephapreneurship as one way of mainstreaming disability. Data were collected through interviews, observations and informal conversations. Results indicate the need to unlock entrepreneurial capacities of persons with disabilities such that they may contribute to sustainable development. The study concludes by showing that the participation of independent business owners in sustainable development activities could serve as an anchor for mainstreaming disability beyond 2015. Keywords : actors in development; differently abled persons (DAPs); hephapreneurs; mainstreaming disability

English

This article presents an exemplary case study of an Independent Business Owner (IBO) from multiple case studies on narratives of differently abled persons. The aim of this article is to illustrate mainstreaming disability through an exemplary case of the IBO. The article is informed by the imperatives of critical theory to understand mainstreaming disability. I examine mainstreaming disability in reference to inclusive education and sustainable development via hephapreneurship (later described in the text). The purposively selected sample of the study was (n=18) participants. The argument forwarded suggests hephapreneurship as one way of mainstreaming disability. Data were collected through interviews, observations and informal conversations. Results indicate the need to unlock entrepreneurial capacities of persons with disabilities such that they may contribute to sustainable development. The study concludes by showing that the participation of independent business owners in sustainable development activities could serve as an anchor for mainstreaming disability beyond 2015.