Rural Enterprises Research Articles

Theoretical and methodological aspects of sustainable development management of agricultural enterprises

The article systematizes theoretical and methodological approaches to managing the sustainable development of agricultural enterprises and substantiates the need to form a new management model, the main goal of which is the creation of values. It is highlighted that the sustainable development of the enterprise can be defined as its ability to maintain competitiveness, profitability or break-even based on making effective management decisions. It is argued that the management of the sustainable development of the enterprise is a purposeful development that ensures the emergence of new opportunities for positive changes at the macro level in the aspect of sustainable development of the economy, ecology and society. It has been proven that the management of the sustainable development of the enterprise should be oriented towards meeting the needs of interested parties in order to achieve economic, social and environmental goals in the long term. It is proposed to consider the concept of managing the sustainable development of an agricultural enterprise as an abstract model designed to characterize organizational and economic relations formed in society at various levels of the economic system, in the process of interaction of interested parties to achieve the goals of long-term development. It is substantiated that with such an approach to the definition of managing the sustainable development of rural enterprise, due to the rational use of production resources, it will contribute to obtaining a high amount of added value, which is distributed within the social strata of the population, ensuring the balance of all spheres of the internal and external environment in terms of coordinating the interests of stakeholders in the early period. The main approaches to managing the sustainable development of the enterprise from the standpoint of the concept of corporate social responsibility have been supplemented, and the social, environmental, and economic aspects of management based on the principles of corporate social responsibility have been highlighted, which will allow the corporate structure to have a multiplier effect. It is indicated that the economic effect at the level of an agricultural enterprise is provided by its ability to create conditions for increasing economic indicators and the purchasing power of the rural population; social - the ability to ensure the improvement of the welfare of the rural population and workers (safety, health care, education), optimal distribution within social strata; ecological - the ability to preserve the main functions of the environment over a long period of time in the aspect of resource provision, waste collection and their use. Key words: sustainable development, social corporate responsibility, management of sustainable development, agricultural enterprise.

Rural merchants in the Early Modern Republic of Venice

This article innovatively analyses the economic structure of sixteenth century Venetian rural areas, specifically the countryside of the province of Vicenza. Many studies have proposed general reconstructions of the manufacturing and agricultural characterisation of the Venetian rural areas in the Early Modern period, but little is known about the behaviour of the rural merchants, organisation of rural enterprises, scope of their businesses, and their relationship with urban entrepreneurs. Apart from shedding new light on these topics, this article will also permit a comparison of the characteristics of Vicentine rural merchants with those of rural entrepreneurs operating in other European regions, based on information gathered from accounting books and trials. Consequently, this article will contribute to the discussion of Mendel’s proto-industrialization theory and, more generally, it will offer new insights into the ‘ruralization’ of the Italian economy during the sixteenth century.

Impact Mechanism of the Three Pilot Reforms of the Rural Land System on Rural Residential Land Use Transition: A Regime Shifts Perspective

Understanding the impact of the three pilot reforms of the rural land system (TRRLS) on rural residential land use transition (RRLUT) based on the land use transition (LUT) theory is crucial for promoting rural land system reform. However, there is still a lack of research on this, and the LUT theory also needs to be improved from a systematic perspective to eliminate the misunderstanding of LUT in academia. To address this, this study firstly attempts to deepen the conceptual model and the understanding of characteristics of LUT from a regime shifts perspective. LUT is the transformation of the land use system as one regime passes into another, where a difference in the analytical perspective of land use morphology generates different transition results. The process of LUT can simultaneously or solely involve dominant morphology and recessive morphology transitions, and there are two types of LUT: positive and negative transitions. Moreover, LUT in different regions may have pathway differences and the convergence of results. Then, a theoretical analysis framework of the pathways of RRLUT under the TRRLS is constructed to detect the impact mechanism by using Wujin district, China to obtain empirical evidence. The results reveal that the recessive morphology transition of rural residential land in Wujin under the TRRLS is significant, while the dominant morphology transition in land quantity structure and spatial distribution is relatively slow. Furthermore, two internal factors of population urbanization and migration, the demand for rural collective economic development, as well as the two external factors of the TRRLS and market factors, such as nonlocals’ demand for housing and rural enterprises’ demand for land, have, to a certain extent, weakened the resilience of the rural land use system and promoted RRLUT. Here, the TRRLS have, by removing the institutional barrier to RRLUT, become the key to the transition.

Tourism entrepreneurship in rural destinations: measuring the effects of capital configurations using the fsQCA approach

Emprendimiento turístico en los destinos rurales: Midiendo los efectos de las configuraciones de capital utilizando el enfoque fsQCAResumenDiseño/metodología/enfoqueLos datos de esta investigación se recopilaron sobre una muestra de 140 propietarios de empresas rurales en China y se analizaron mediante un análisis comparativo cualitativo de conjuntos borrosos (fsQCA).PropósitoEl objetivo de este estudio fue investigar el efecto de la configuración causal de los determinantes del emprendimiento turístico en destinos de turismo rural basados en el marco de capital.ConclusionesTodos los factores de capital investigados son relevantes para el emprendimiento turístico, aunque solo facilitaron el emprendimiento turístico cuando se han combinado. Además, se observó que cuatro configuraciones de capital promueven el emprendimiento turístico en destinos rurales, destacando los múltiples caminos hacia el emprendimiento turístico rural. Los capitales humano y físico de los emprendedores son clave para el emprendimiento turístico.Implicaciones prácticasEs relevante que los empresarios y gestores se den cuenta de la existencia de múltiples estrategias a la hora de promover el emprendimiento turístico en los destinos rurales. Las cuatro configuraciones de capital reveladas aquí ofrecen pautas para evaluar el potencial y la posibilidad del emprendimiento en turismo rural. Los administradores y gobiernos locales deben priorizar los capitales humanos y físicos cuando el capital de riesgo y los recursos son limitados.Originalidad/valorPrimero, los hallazgos han profundizado en la comprensión de los factores que influyen en el espíritu empresarial turístico que emplea el marco de capital. En segundo lugar, se revela que las configuraciones de capital determinan el emprendimiento turístico y que la existencia y las interacciones de las diversas formas de capital afectan el emprendimiento rural. En tercer lugar, este estudio revela que el éxito del emprendimiento turístico depende de la capacidad del empresario para combinar las diversas formas de capital y recursos.

FORMATION OF VECTORS OF MANAGEMENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS

The article presents the results of research on the main indicators of business development management in rural areas. Accordingly, the theoretical and methodological principles of modeling rural business development management are formed and substantiated, in particular, the main problems of rural business structures development are identified, vectors in managing the development of existing rural potential are identified, approaches, methods, modeling tools are determined, which facilitates their selection and application. As a result of the study, a system of indicators for assessing the processes of differentiation of business development management, which comprehensively reflects its main characteristics, and is based on the calculation of an integrated indicator to assess the level of diversification of rural business, identify its parameters get options for combining results with the selection of alternative activities. The necessity of creating centers of economic growth by stimulating the development of innovative entrepreneurship in rural areas is substantiated and proved, first of all, due to the processes of diversification of business development management taking into account the specifics of a particular rural area. as well as their continuous improvement for the full use of the potential of each rural enterprise individually and the comprehensive development of local communities, increase new jobs, increase the competitiveness of rural areas and more.

A Future for Mountain Terraces: Experiences from Mediterranean Wineries

Agriculture in mountain areas is typically practiced on terraces. This form of farming is facing significant challenges across the globe related to high production costs, land abandonment, and rural depopulation. The aim of this study was to explore the viability and prospects of mountain farming using the wineries in the terraced mountains of Cyprus as a case study. A semistructured questionnaire was developed, and 11 family wineries were selected and surveyed. The study found that mountain winery owners envision a future where abandoned mountain plots are productively utilized. The survey showed that mountain wineries are financially viable agribusinesses and share a common desire for sustaining and enhancing the quality of the wine produced to support their long-term success. The revitalization of mountain farming can potentially lead to the development of other rural enterprises and create employment opportunities to sustain young families in the mountains. Investments in drystone terraces were found to be costly, especially for wineries that were located at higher elevations (€ 150/m or US$ 171.30/m) compared to those on gentler slopes and lower elevations (€ 20/m or US$ 22.84/m). Nevertheless, the majority of winery owners recognized the provision of ecosystem services by drystone terraces, such as the reduction of soil erosion and the formation of a unique mountain terroir that enables the production of niche wines. Although the survey found that subsidies for terrace construction and maintenance are a small part of the revenue for these wineries, policy measures can become more targeted, effective, and equitable by considering the actual costs of terracing, as determined by site-specific characteristics such as elevation, slope, and geology.

Rural venture investments with credits mortgaged on farmer's forests—A case study of Zhejiang, China

This study investigates how a seemingly innovative arrangement—using the non-public forests designated for ecosystem services by the government as collaterals to borrow from financial institutions—has mitigated the credit constraints and benefitted the rural enterprises. Based on data generated from two recent surveys of 856 households in 14 counties of Zhejiang, China, our econometric estimations show that an increase in the lending by 10,000 yuan leads to the likelihood of venture capital investments increasing by 20%, and the income generated from them to gain by 18,500 yuan. On the other hand, when the lending interest rate is raised by 1%, the likelihood of engagement is reduced by 3%, and the income generated is reduced by 3600 yuan. Moreover, unlike better-off farmers, those with low assets or other low capabilities are more sensitive to the lending interest rate, rather than the size of the loan. These findings have major policy implications to the continued growth of rural business and sustained development of rural society in China and many parts of the world.

A study on awareness of women policies in rural areas

This paper deals with the general status of the rural Indian women and the Awareness of women Policies in rural areas and impact of women Policies on rural women. Women Plays vital role in our Indian Society. Rural women play a key role in supporting their households and communities in achieving food and nutrition security, generating income, and improving rural livelihoods and overall well-being. They contribute to agriculture and rural enterprises and fuel local and global economies. In concern Government has taken so many Programmes and Policies for women empowerment. The National Policy on Empowerment of Women adopted in 2001 states that All forms of violence against women, physical and mental, whether at domestic or societal levels, including those arising from customs, traditions or accepted practices shall be dealt with effectively with a view to eliminate its incidence. However, some positive intentions of the ground-level officials and the awareness of the beneficiaries can really bring in a revolution in the lives of Indian rural women. The Study is Practical and Theoretical oriented. The Study is based on Primary and secondary data sources. The necessary information about the Policies for Women Empowerment and its various components are collected from Books, Journals, Internet Source or related topic. The Researcher is going to study about Awareness of Women Policies in rural areas. The Research Work includes I. Introduction II. Methodology III. Women Specific Policies in India IV. Conclusion.etc

A case study of the bui division in Cameroon's rural women's diversification of rural occupations to support rural families' livelihoods

Rural women's efforts to sustain their families' livelihoods by diversifying their occupations in the rural areas cannot be ignored. Although rural women attempt to maintain the household's livelihood through the diversification of rural enterprises, demographic factors influence their struggle. The purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate the demographic factors that affect rural women in Bui Division. It was necessary to conduct a study of the relevant literature in order to achieve this goal. The next step was gathering data on the ground, which included on-the-spot observations, interviews, and the completion of questionnaires. 749 rural women participated in our study (20 years of age and above). Despite the fact that age is a significant factor influencing rural women's decision-making and the manner in which they diversify their rural activities, the findings show that "age" as a demographic factor has no effect on how rural women diversify their rural activities in order to maintain their households' livelihoods. Approximately 45% of rural women who only had informal education were unable to support their family' livelihoods through diversification of rural occupations because they could not read, write, or comprehend. Unmarried and divorced rural women have a negative impact on the diversification of rural activities necessary to sustain households' livelihoods. According to research, rural women with "big" households are better able to diversify their income sources than those with "small" houses.

Assessing the Performance of Farmer Producer Organizations: A Study in Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh, India

Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) are need for the hour to empower the agrarian community in various dimensions. Farmers are organized into FPOs for tackling marketing problems, productivity issues, collective farming and challenges arising from small farm sizes. In view of reality the present study was carried out to assess the performance of FPOs. The present study was conducted in the Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh. The findings of the study revealed that there was a provision of input services like quality seeds, custom hiring centers, fertilizers and micronutrients to members of FPO. Timely information on crop production and protection was easily accessible to members. The findings also revealed that FPO members got reliable market information, through collective procurement of produce got more remunerative prices and transparent payments. These aspects built trust among the members towards FPO. Like-wise in networking facilities improved knowledge and skill of farmers through contact with SAUs and KVKs were observed. The financial services offered to FPO farmers enhanced their access to government schemes and subsidies. Hence, improvements were observed in revenue generation, profit attainment, social recognition and self-confidence. FPO needs further improvements to compete with corporate enterprises and international markets. So the concept of collectivization should be promoted, nurtured and supported by the government to improve the farmer's share in rural enterprise. Through consistent efforts by the government for FPOs will be reached in near future for the concept of a farmer to Agri entrepreneur.

The geography of innovation in times of crisis: a comparison of rural and urban RDI patterns during COVID-19

ABSTRACT There is an evident research gap in the literature on the geography of innovation: very little is known about the innovation activities of rural enterprises in times of crisis. The topic is addressed here by analysing space–time differences in the receipt of research, development and innovation (RDI) funding by Finnish firms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic as a major economic shock. Using firm- and municipal-level panel regression analyses, the main goal was to identify key differences and temporal changes in RDI funding patterns across different region types. The empirical results show that firms located in urban regions have been generally more successful in applying for competitive public RDI funding than firms located in rural regions, but that rural firms have caught up to their urban counterparts during the COVID-19 pandemic. This narrowing of the rural–urban RDI funding gap (1) shows that easy and flexible access to RDI funding during the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be especially attractive for small rural enterprises, (2) points to the strategic flexibility of small rural enterprises in times of crisis, and (3) indicates that the innovation capacity of these firms/regions is more resilient to economic shocks than typically thought.

Rural Non-Farm Enterprises Supporting the Agricultural Sector and their Relative Success in Kiambu County, Kenya

Rural areas encounter numerous challenges, which include poverty, food insecurity and unemployment. Declining productions in agribusiness plays a critical impact in having more individuals to partake in agricultural non-farm activities in the rural area to support their livelihoods. This study sought to identify the different kinds of rural non-farm enterprises (RNFEs) that support the agricultural sector in Kiambu County and their relative success. Ann epistemology philosophy was adopted. The target population was all non-farm small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kiambu County who have prevailed by supporting agrarian related exercises. This population of RNFEs came from every one of the 12 sub-areas: Gatundu North, Gatundu South, Thika, Juja, Githunguri, Ruiru, Kiambu, Kiambaa, Kabete, Kikuyu, Lari and Limuru. The study investigated five rural non-farm undertakings occupied with the accompanying regions: agribusiness activities, rural industrialisation ventures, transport services, the travel industry activities and development ventures. The study used questionnaires and interview guides for primary data collection. The findings indicated that what made most of RNFEs to begin the business was to bring in cash and utilized as a type of revenue. The study correlation results between the diversity of RNFEs that support the agricultural sector and rural livelihood outcome was positive and significant. The regression model depicted a positive and significant relationship between the various kinds of RNFEs that support the agricultural sector and rural livelihood outcomes. The inferential statistics demonstrated that the relationship between various types of RNFEs that help the effect of country non-farm undertakings on rural business results are significant. Therefore, is the study concluded that the help of RNFEs occupied with farming does affect rural business results in rural regions. Besides operating related rural-based commercial activities including agro-processing and ancillary commercial, it is possible to introduce activities to provide services to facilitate the adjoining agricultural commercial activities such as sale of fertilisers, insecticides or improved seeds.

The Role of Women in the Development of the Rural Areas of Kosovo: Evidence from Skenderaj Municipality

Abstract Subject and purpose work: The study analysed the role of women in the development of the rural areas of the municipality of Skenderaj and its agriculture. Despite the fact that the women in agriculture in this municipality are highly influential and contribute to its economic development, gender equality in the area is not at the desired level. Materials and methods: The study is based on primary and secondary sources and it aims to describe the state of the women’s rural society in the municipality of Skenderaj and the women’s role in decisionmaking at the local and national levels. Results: The results of this study show that in the Government of the Republic of Kosovo gives priority to women farmers in its agricultural policies. The support could be seen as the offer of good employment opportunities since women are the most vulnerable part of society in Kosovo. Furthermore, the support given to the women engaged in agriculture will help the agricultural sector to improve productivity, efficiency, and efficacy through a better and faster connection of producers with the market. It will also help to promote a new way of monitoring and ensuring thar agricultural products are in compliance with the set standards. Conclusions: The study confirms that the women in the municipality of Skendraj makes ubstantial contributions to agriculture and rural enterprises. There is a wide diversity in women roles and any overgeneralisation undermines the importance and planning of policies.

Changing role of finance in rural small enterprise growth in Ghana

Purpose This study aims to build on the emerging understanding that small enterprise growth results from a confluence of different factors. This study seeks to provide additional insights into the nature of these factors and how they influence the growth process of small businesses in rural communities in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach This study undertook a qualitative investigation of 28 small enterprises in three Ghanaian rural districts. Interviews were conducted with owners of the businesses. Findings The results indicate that growth-enabling conditions such as entrepreneurial ambition, market demand and infrastructure combine with finance to define small enterprise growth trajectories in rural Ghana. However, finance may not always be the major factor driving the growth. Originality/value Most past studies about small enterprise growth in Africa have concentrated on firms in urban communities and see finance gap as the most serious constraint to growth. This study joins the few recent studies about rural enterprise growth in Ghana, showing that the growth of these businesses depends on an interplay of a variety of factors.

Enterprise hubs as a mechanism for local economic development in rural areas

Until recently, rural areas have been largely disregarded in innovation policies, due to the lack of physical proximity between businesses required to create agglomeration benefits. Rural enterprise hubs – defined as physical infrastructure that provides workspaces to multiple tenant businesses, with additional services such as shared equipment, meeting rooms, co-working spaces, and business advice or support - are one means of increasing not only physical, but a wide range of non-spatial proximities between rural businesses. Drawing on and extending proximity theory, and based on qualitative case study research, this paper provides the first in-depth analysis of how co-location of businesses within Rural Enterprise Hubs can generate benefits for tenants and overcome a lack of proximity to networks and support systems. It identifies the salience of these benefits for different types of businesses and the extent to which hubs help to overcome common constraints faced by rural businesses.

GIRIREJO VILLAGE MICRO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES EMPOWERMENT MODEL THROUGH THE WIRADESA ROGRAM

Background: The Village Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an integrated effort that includes 18 development goals in solving village’s problems. The SDGs are a real effort to accelerate sustainable development at the village level to create villages without poverty, hunger, and equitable national economic growth. One way to achieve this is by building empowered rural micro small and medium enterprises. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the micro small and medium enterprises empowerment program to train village entrepreneurs to develop their businesses in a sustainable manner. This study aims to determine the right empowerment program to be applied to micro small and medium enterprises and identify stakeholders who help implement the program. Method: Determination of the research area using a purposive method, namely village owned enterprises and meatball home industry in Girirejo Village, Imogiri, Bantul, D.I.Y. The sampling method was carried out by purposive sampling using certain criteria. The data used are primary and secondary data using data collection methods in the form of observation, interviews, and documentation. Result: The results show that the empowerment programs that needed by micro, small and medium enterprises include production and operations management training, supply chain management training, digital marketing training, production and product development training, and marketing management training. Conclusion: This empowerment program optimizes and develops existing MSMEs in Girirejo Village for the better, the scope of this program is to increase the capacity of human resources and business capacity. Keywords: SDGs, Empowerment, micro small and medium enterprises

Land property rights and rural enterprise growth: Evidence from land titling reform in China

We exploit a large-scale land titling reform in China that clearly entitles rural households to land rights by issuing uniform land use certificates and study how this impacted entrepreneurship in rural areas. We find that the reform significantly increases business creation in rural areas without decreasing the quality of new entrants or incumbent businesses. It also spurs entrepreneurship among professional and large farmers and attracts more urban residents to start new businesses in rural areas. Additional analysis provides evidence that increased land and labor availability and productivity, and improved social trust may serve as the mechanisms underlying these effects. Altogether, these results reveal that well-defined land property rights have enabled more enterprise growth in rural areas.

The Rise of Rural Industrialization in China with Special Reference to Non-agricultural Development: A Case Study from Guangxi

In recent years, rural transformation has gradually become the focus of scholars and Governments in the context of global sustainable development; it is of great significance to achieve urban-rural integration and coordinated development through studying the spatial-temporal characteristics and driving mechanism of rural transformation development. The ultimate purpose of our study, which is part of an ongoing major research agenda at the Qinzhou Development Institute within the Bei Bu Gulf University is to better understand the origins of, and trends in, the expansion of rural Industrialization. We focused on south-west China – a region much influenced by the Belt and Road initiative. We reviewed the existing literature on rural industrialization and attempted to explore the advantage of rural over urban industries based on the results of case studies in China (mainly pertaining to the coastal zones of the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas). We examined the crucial characteristics of rural enterprises and entrepreneurs based on micro-level evidence from Guangxi and neigbouring provinces.

Can protection motivation theory predict pro-environmental behaviour of small rural tourism enterprises? An extended model including community involvement

ABSTRACT This study explained the generation and implementation of pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) of small rural tourism enterprises (SRTEs) based on protection motivation theory (PMT), and discussed the effect of the contextual variable of community involvement on PEB of SRTEs. The results showed that: (a) the vulnerability to risks, severity of risks, response efficacy, and self-efficacy have significant effects on the pro-environmental behavioural intention (PEBI) of SRTEs; (b) SRTEs’ PEBI further significantly affects their PEB; and (c) community involvement can not only directly affect the PEB of SRTEs, but also positively moderate the relationship between PEBI and PEB of SRTEs.

The Qualitative Case Study Research Strategy as Applied on a Rural Enterprise Development Doctoral Research Project

The purpose of this literature review-based paper is to share some insights into general methodological issues pertaining to the case study research strategy and how I applied it for purposes of my doctoral study on the design and delivery of rural enterprise business support programmes. I hope that the insights I share here will help novice researchers who have intentions of using the case study research strategy for their studies or those who just want to broaden their knowledge about the research strategy. The paper is largely an excerpt of my methodology chapter from my recently completed and unpublished doctoral thesis, derived mainly from the methodology literature. The paper starts by exploring the definition of case studies and goes on to look at case studies issues to do with the unit of analysis; research questions; types of case studies; sampling, data collection, triangulation and quality issues.