Public Enterprises Research Articles

Wither and survive or die? An analysis of public enterprises in Namibia

The performance of Public Enterprises (PEs) in Namibia has been a long and contentious issue, clamored by continuous bailouts in the face of constant poor performance. The trend of financial bailouts to PEs in Namibia over the years has attracted increased attention into the dynamics of poor PE performance and their fiscal burden on the state. The Namibian government has taken active steps in cutting on PE bailouts and demanding improved performance or face closure. By looking at recent developments in the governance of PEs in Namibia, the purpose and objective of the current study is to analyze whether the current stance and trajectory of government decisions spells a post-honeymoon period in which poor performing PEs will ‘wither and survive or die’ if they do not improve their sustainability index by not relying on financial bailouts. This analysis is aided by the insights provided by the stakeholder, institutional and principal-agent theories. Through the qualitative research method, this study finds that the Namibian government has taken a new attitude and approach in which it will no longer blindly accept and tolerate the poor performance of PEs through continuous bailouts as seen in the past. PEs that are withering will now either survive (through reforms) or die (through liquidation or dissolution).

Improving the Laboratory Investigation Price Revising Process at Sri Jayawardhanapura General Hospital

Sri Jayawardhanapura General Hospital (SJGH) is a non-profit public enterprise that offers reasonable services. The hospital relies on government grants and revenue generated by patient care services for funding. One of its crucial departments is a laboratory, which serves as a vital support service and the main profit center. However, the frequent rise of consumable prices during economic crises significantly impacts the variable costs of laboratory tests, resulting in financial losses.Calculating the cost incurred by laboratory investigations is essential for implementing a price revision strategy to address this issue. Given the absence of a recognized method for calculating investigation costs, adopting the World Health Organization's Laboratory Test Costing Tool (LTCT), a user-friendly Microsoft Excel-based tool, is recommended. This tool is specifically designed to assist in calculating laboratory test costs, ensuring a more accurate understanding of expenses incurred.Additionally, establishing key indicators to signal the need for price revision and assigning responsibility to initiate the price revision process when these indicators are triggered will streamline the process and improve its responsiveness to financial challenges. By employing such a system, SJGJ can better manage its laboratory costs, maintain service quality, and ensure sustainable operations even during economic hardships.

Comparative Analysis of Incentive Mechanism of Human Resource Management in Public Management and Enterprise Management

With the progress of society, the market economic system continues to develop and improve, the market environment is becoming more and more complex, and the market competition is becoming more and fiercer. Human resource management plays an increasingly prominent role in public management and enterprise management. As an important part of human resource management, incentive mechanism affects the flow of talents, work efficiency, enthusiasm, work quality and other aspects. How to improve the incentive mechanism to promote the healthy development of employees and achieve the organizational goals has become a practical problem that public organizations and enterprises must solve. This paper will focus on analyzing the differences and commonalities between the incentive mechanisms of public management and enterprise management, and then propose feasible innovation strategies and implementation paths for the incentive mechanisms of public management and enterprise management according to China's actual situation and combined with international advanced experience The purpose of this paper is to improve the two internal structure management and work efficiency and quality to meet the new requirements of future social and economic development.

Digital Transformation and Enterprise Financialization: The Role of Operating Capacity

Digital Transformation (DT) is a new business model developed by adopting digital technologies. DT creates opportunities for enterprises to gain and collect information on operations for visible analysis. Due to the benefits of DT as well as the harms of Enterprise Financialization (EF), the impact of DT on EF and its mechanism are worthy of further investigation. In this paper, Chinese public enterprise observations of the panel data from 2011 to 2020 are adopted to investigate the impact and the mechanism of DT on EF. The results show that DT can restrain EF through enhancing Operating Capacity (OC). More specifically, this effect is much more pronounced in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), start-up enterprises, and board minor-size enterprises. The findings provide contributions for digital transformation policy enactment as well as suggestions for enterprises to improve OC and reduce EF tendencies.

Insurance Solution for Climate Change: Legislation Analysis in Türkiye

In the light of changing and evolving parameters throughout the World, risk definitions vary as well, leading to the necessity to make new risk definitions in various fields in addition to those, the effects of which can be easily observed and measured, such as technology and information securiAty. This change also manifests itself in the insurance industry based on climate change. The increase in the number and scale of climate-based natural disasters throughout the World, in conjunction with global warming, made the economic losses caused by natural disasters visible. Climate changeA caused and will continue to cause significant changes in many fields of the insurance industry, such as property insurances, agricultural insurances, and health insurance. The insurance industry attempts to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change through active risk measures such as mapping, risk analysis, funding research, collective data sharing, and active participation in climate protection activities throughout the World. However, it is crucial for the State and affiliated public enterprises to support this process as a regulatory and adequate power, create a suitable legal, financial and regulatory framework for private sector initiatives, and conduct informative activities about the importance of insurance in natural disasters. Emerging financial burden should be divided between individual-public-private enterprises, and this division should be made in a balanced and fair manner in the light of the applicable legislation. This study primarily addresses the devastating impacts of climate change on the World and Turkey, which emerged notably in the recent era and the financial burden brought about by this. Then the issue of responsibility of the public sector, which is responsible for taking necessary and adequate measures against climate change, was explored in the context of both national legislation and international agreements. The adequacy of the applicable legislation for the State and public enterprises to create a suitable consciousness-raising, a preventive and compensatory legal framework specific to the climate change in Turkey was reviewed, and suggestions were made.

The Impact of Intelligent Transportation Technology on The Operational Efficiency of Public Transportation Enterprises

With the acceleration of urbanization, the public transport system is facing increasingly severe challenges. How to improve the operational efficiency of public transport enterprises has become an urgent problem to be solved. Intelligent transportation technology, with its advanced information technology means, provides a new solution for the operation management of public transportation enterprises. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of intelligent transportation technology on the operational efficiency of public transportation enterprises. Through the field investigation and data analysis of a number of public transportation enterprises, the application of intelligent transportation technology in bus scheduling, vehicle tracking, passenger information service and other aspects is studied. The results show that the application of intelligent transportation technology significantly improves the operating efficiency of public transportation enterprises, which is reflected in shortening the driving time, reducing the empty driving distance, and improving passenger satisfaction. In addition, the study also found that smart transportation technology can help reduce operating costs and reduce environmental pollution. Future research will further explore the application of smart transportation technology in a wider range, and put forward corresponding policy recommendations, with a view to providing technical support for the sustainable development of public transportation enterprises.

Key organisational barriers to effective knowledge risk management in South African public sector enterprises

Purpose: The aim of this study was to delve into the obstacles preventing the effective management of tacit knowledge risks in South African public sector enterprises (PSEs) from the perspectives of human resource management (HRM) and knowledge management (KM).A perusal of the literature reveals that most South African PSEs are grappling with significant challenges related to potential tacit knowledge loss risks.Design/methodology/approach: The research utilised a mixed methods exploratory sequential design, collecting qualitative data through interviews with 20 HR managers in 9 PSEs and survey data from 585 questionnaires. The reliability of the data was tested, and thematic analysis was performed using Atlas.ti software.Findings: The study identified key barriers to effective tacit knowledge loss risk management in PSEs, including a silo mentality, organisational red-tape, knowledge as a power source, lack of recognition and rewards, KM awareness, cultures and structures, employment equity, fixed-term contracts, competing priorities for leadership, knowledge hoarding, HRM practices, and inadequate KM technologies and systems. These pressing issues need to be addressed to improve knowledge risk management (KRM) efforts in PSEs.Research limitations/implications:The exploration of organisational barriers was only limited to the tacit knowledge loss risks category, induced by human resource turnover in country-specific PSEs. Future studies could explore the organisational barriers and factors affecting other types of knowledge risks in PSEs or similar knowledge-intensive business enterprises across the globe using different samples and populations. Other similar studies could include strategic sectors of the economy such as energy generation, civil aviation, defence, mining and rail. The study contributes to the knowledge-based view and knowledge stickiness theories, and proposes an interdisciplinarity approach using mixed methods for future research on tacit knowledge loss.Practical implications: The research findings conclusively indicate that PSEs face the aforementioned barriers that hinder the effective implementation of the KRM system. This study identifies that key organisational barriers were mainly due to a lack of knowledge-driven HRM strategies in KM. To address these barriers, HR managers and other stakeholders must collaborate to ensure effective knowledge management and mitigate the negative impact of knowledge loss risks on organisational performance.Social Implications: The study highlights the importance of removing key barriers for improved KRM in PSEs. The improved KRM can enhance public service delivery efficiency, transparency and the accountability of PSEs by addressing socio-economic developmental issues in developing economies.Originality/value: Using South African PSEs as a case to address this challenge, the paper sought to explore key organisational barriers to effective knowledge loss risk management in organisations with a view to shaping discourse, policies, research, theories and practices in KM and HRM. Organisational barriers affecting the management of such risks remain unexplored in the extant body of knowledge and practice.

"Evolving Horizons: The Journey And Impact Of LIC's Landmark IPO"

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in May 2022 marked a pivotal transition for one of India’s largest financial institutions from a state-owned entity to a publicly listed company. This move was part of the government's broader strategy to divest its stakes in public sector enterprises, aiming to enhance operational efficiencies, improve transparency, and maximise shareholder value. Navigating through a series of legislative amendments and complex valuation challenges, the IPO drew substantial attention from both domestic and international investors, reflecting strong confidence in LIC's market fundamentals. This paper provides a detailed review of the IPO process, the subsequent market response, and its impact on LIC’s business operations and governance structure. It discusses the strategic motivations behind the IPO, the execution challenges, and the implications for future economic reforms in India. By analysing LIC’s performance post-IPO, the study highlights the critical role such transformative events play in modernising state-owned enterprises and integrating them with global financial markets, projecting significant implications for similarentities considering public offerings.

Perception of the Importance of Internal Audit Effectiveness and Its Impact on Organizational Performance in Public Enterprises: Empirical Evidence from Morocco

Perception of the Importance of Internal Audit Effectiveness and Its Impact on Organizational Performance in Public Enterprises: Empirical Evidence from Morocco

Impact of Public Private Partnership on the Development of Critical Infrastructure in Nigeria during the Fourth Republic

The use of Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the provision of critical infrastructure became imperative in order to reduce cost, absorb risk, improve quality, guarantee effective service delivery and obtain value for money. However, the extent to which the use of PPP in the provision of critical infrastructure in Nigeria during the fourth republic has not been established due to lack of access to necessary data. This is the gap that this study intends to bridge by providing necessary information on the impact of PPP in the development physical infrastructure within the period under review. Therefore, the main objective of the study is to examine the impact of PPP in the development of road, rail and water transportation in Nigeria during the fourth republic. Methodologically, the paper adopts a qualitative approach for the purpose of obtaining the required materials through the contents analysis of documents from the Ministry of Transport, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and National dailies. The findings of the study reveal that the impact of PPP in the development of road, rail and water transportation during the fourth republic in Nigeria have not be quite impressive due to poor maintenance culture, poor funding, lack of accountability and evading due process in contract award .Therefore, the study recommends for the use of cost benefit analysis in ensuring value for money, replacement of obsolete equipment, increase in budgetary provision and compliance with the provisions of Public Procurement Act in contract award.

The Virtuous Circle of Governance in Tourism Destinations: Enhancing Competitiveness and Sustainability

Tourism governance has evolved significantly since the 1990s, shifting from traditional destination planning to more inclusive and collaborative models. This article explores the evolution of governance in tourism, emphasizing its potential to create a virtuous circle of continuous improvement. Governance in tourism is particularly relevant due to the sector’s transversal nature, which requires the involvement of multiple stakeholders, including public authorities, private enterprises, and local communities. Effective governance aims to enhance both competitiveness and sustainability, two central objectives for destination management. The article identifies seven key dimensions of governance—participation, coherence, responsibility, effectiveness, know-how/quality, openness, and simplification—each of which plays a crucial role in ensuring successful governance. Furthermore, it highlights the dynamics of the virtuous circle, where open communication fosters trust and capacity, enabling productive participation. This, in turn, leads to coherent action aligned with long-term goals, enhanced by expertise and a commitment to quality. Responsible decision-making ensures sustainability, thereby reinforcing the entire process. Ultimately, the virtuous circle of governance creates a self-reinforcing system that continuously improves the effectiveness and adaptability of tourism management. By adopting this governance model, destinations can better address the complexities of the tourism sector, fostering sustainable development while ensuring competitiveness.

The direct energy rebound effects for manufacturing and service sectors in China: Evidence from firm-level estimations

China has implemented a variety of energy efficiency policies to achieve energy saving and carbon abatement targets. While the national carbon market has been launched and China has opted to give market-oriented policies a greater role in achieving net zero, energy efficiency policies still constitute a significant portion of the policy mix. However, the substantial drawback of energy efficiency policies compared to carbon trading, the rebound effect, has made energy efficiency policies debatable. It is crucial to precisely understand the magnitude of the rebound effect to design and implement effective energy policies. Our study estimates and compares the direct energy rebound and output expansion effects in China's manufacturing and service sectors using firm-level data from 2013 to 2016 and employing panel regression analysis. We also analyze the impact of firm characteristics such as ownership status, geographical location, and industry type on enterprises' rebound effects. We found a 33.5% direct rebound effect and a 19.3% output expansion effect in the manufacturing sector. In the service sector, the direct energy rebound effect was 57.9%, a larger one than the manufacturing sector. We also estimate direct energy rebound effects for key manufacturing and service enterprises. Our findings reveal that key manufacturing enterprises exhibit a larger rebound effect compared to the overall manufacturing sector, while key service enterprises show a smaller rebound effect than the overall service sector. Public, foreign, and heavy service enterprises show a smaller energy rebound effect, while northeastern manufacturing and service enterprises exhibit a larger rebound effect. We suggest that China's carbon market should also cover key service enterprises. For those below the threshold, enhancing energy management is essential to mitigate the rebound effect. Aligning with carbon emission cap targets, rather than relying solely on energy efficiency policies, could more effectively achieve energy savings and carbon abatement.

Sustainability reporting from the preparers’ perspective in locally-owned public enterprises

IMPACT Locally-owned enterprises (LOEs), which are businesses that are wholly owned by a local government, provide services that are required by law on a monopoly basis. Preparers of sustainability reports for LOEs know first hand what information is available, how to calculate the indicators and interpret them. These people can provide a first insight into the challenges, political will and local government management priorities that regulators consider in their sustainability reporting requirements. The views of Spanish LOE preparers, presented in this article, can be used to improve sustainability disclosure practices in other European LOEs. Preparers’ experiences can also be useful for policy-makers in improving legislation in this field.

Practices of Management Accounting Techniques in Service Sector Public Enterprises in Nepal

Management accounting is the act of making sense of financial and costing data and translating that data into useful information for management and officers within an organization. This research aims at examining the practice of management accounting and the major difficulties in applying management accounting tools in the public enterprises of the service sector of Nepal. It also tries to assess the impact of management accounting system on the performance of sampled organizations. The specific survey research has been followed with a descriptive-analytical approach. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the respondents which were analyzed by the multiple correlation and regression model. The study employed simple judgmental sampling procedure to draw the samples. Out of the seven public enterprises in Nepal that operate in the service sector five were selected as the samples. The results revealed that there is a significant impact of management accounting systems on organizational performance. The study suggested to implement the effective managerial tools and techniques a separate managerial accounting department should be established within an organization. The study also recommended that academicians who have better knowledge about MA tools and techniques should put in the effort to develop environmentally friendly tools and techniques into practice and also to keep management accounting information system. It helps to keep them informed from time to time about every aspect of MA and its application.

Research Article: Profitability of Producing Early Generation Rice Seed Under Pawe Districts: Northwestern Ethiopia

This research was conducted on the profitability of producing early-generation rice seeds under pawe districts in northwestern parts of Ethiopia. Early-generation seed production is a promising business that can be a solution to increase rice productivity and farmers' income. However, limited technology use, soil preference of commodity, and limited rice seed multiplier companies and human resources often become obstacles to addressing improved seed for farmers, especially smallholder farmers. The main purpose of early-generation seed production is to maintain the genetic potential and identity of a variety and regular provision of high-quality breeder seed which is the basis for subsequent seed production. Variety maintenance, production, and distribution of the breeder, pre-basic, and basic seed are carried out by the public breeding institutions or private seed sector. Samples were taken from rice seed farmers within two production seasons. This research aims to understand the economics of current seed production in the case of rice crops and provide basic information cost structure of EGS production for private and public enterprises. The analysis carried out includes cost analysis, income, and profitability analysis. The results showed that rice seed farmers were profitable with a 1.381 benefit-cost ratio and 27.58 profit margins. The total profit of one-hectare pre-basic seed production of rice was 47,433.565 which is the difference between total revenue (Price*Quantity =171939.39) and total cost (124,505.825).

Toward better pandemic governance and preparedness: South Korea’s whole-of-nation approach to COVID-19

BackgroundThe profound impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to an increased demand for sustainable pandemic governance practices. This study explored emerging hybrid governance practices that provide robust evidence on how to address the complex challenges of pandemics effectively. South Korea, which was severely affected by COVID-19, has implemented a novel governance approach using a whole-of-nation (WoN) model. This hybrid pandemic governance approach, which integrates both whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, has enabled synergistic and cohesive multi-sectoral coordination among all stakeholders (public authorities, private enterprises, and civil society) to address multifaceted challenges collectively and strengthen their resilience capacity. This study investigated South Korea’s WoN practices and their embedded context and identified key governance enablers facilitating this approach.MethodsThis study employed a case study design based on an extensive analysis of policy and program documents, drawing on South Korea’s publicly available data from January 1, 2020 to March 30, 2023. It assessed six system-level collaborative pandemic governance practices and key enablers, all of which were intended to fortify the country’s pandemic response.ResultsThe primary areas of the country’s WoN governance practices for COVID-19 control were (i) whole-of-government policy-making and response, (ii) COVID-19 testing system, (iii) digital surveillance of COVID-19, (iv) COVID-19 triage and treatment system, (v) domestic vaccine production, and (vi) community engagement. Key governance enablers for implementing the WoN model were establishing a legal foundation, ensuring decisive and strong governance and leadership, increasing public investment, applying a whole-of-health approach with augmented investment in public health, enhancing crisis communication, and mobilizing local leaders and civil society organizations in the national public health response.ConclusionsIn exploring innovative approaches to pandemic governance for increased efficacy, responsiveness, and impact, the WoN approach emerged as highly relevant. This example of emerging practice allows policy-makers to re-evaluate their governance strategies and initiatives to improve multi-agency partnerships across the country in their pandemic-preparedness planning.

Implications of New Public Management Strategy on Performance of Selected Public Enterprises in Ebonyi State Nigeria

Implications of New Public Management Strategy on Performance of Selected Public Enterprises in Ebonyi State Nigeria

Farsighted Leadership: Long-Term Orientation and Public Enterprise Strategy

Farsighted Leadership: Long-Term Orientation and Public Enterprise Strategy

Determinants of Cultural Intelligence of Public Enterprise Executives

Determinants of Cultural Intelligence of Public Enterprise Executives

Why Public Enterprises fail to provide basic needs in developing countries: The case of rural water supply

Why Public Enterprises fail to provide basic needs in developing countries: The case of rural water supply