Marketplace Research Articles

THE MEDIATING ROLE OF EARNINGS MANAGEMENT IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FIRM LIFE CYCLE AND THE COST OF EQUITY: EVIDENCE FROM BANKS IN IRAQ

The present study seeks to examine the interaction among three separate variables. The initial variable relates to the organization's life cycle and financial attributes. The second variable pertains to the procedures of firm management that influence performance and financial condition, as demonstrated by earnings management. Investors manage the impact of the previous two factors by weighing the risks and potential gains, which the corporation terms as "the cost of equity." We utilized these variables to analyze 15 Iraqi commercial banks that have been listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange for 10 years, equivalent to 150 observations.Our quantitative assessment of the study variables, conducted using models from the relevant literature, has yielded significant findings. We have uncovered a direct correlation between the life cycle and earnings management, indicating a beneficial association. Moreover, we have revealed that each factor exerts a unique and favourable influence on the cost of equity. The correlation between the life cycle and earnings management has led to an increase in the favourable influence of earnings management on the cost of equity. Conversely, the life cycle now has an inverse impact on the cost of equity, with the cost of equity being mainly influenced by the maturity stage. These findings have important implications for stock market traders, as they guide them to direct their investments towards banks that offer higher returns relative to the level of risk, considering the age group and the administration's approach to managing announced profits. This study's implications for stock market traders are significant, as it provides them with valuable insights for making informed investment decisions. It also serves as a guide for future studies in this field.

A Rise in the No. of Initial Public Offer’s in the Indian Public Markets

The research paper is an analysis of the Indian stock market and analyses an increase in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) made between 2012 to 2024 The growth is also attributed to factors such as positive economic data, growing investor interest, and regulatory softening. No doubt that there has been some change, but the trend has overall remained stronger riding high on bullish market sentiment as well as confidence from investors. The study stresses that this growth is only possible if the continued regulatory oversight and investor protection measures in place remain following the growth.

EXPLORING THE PRICING STRATEGIES OF VEGETABLES VENDORS

Pricing is one of the determining factors in assessing gross sales and profit, especially in vegetable vendors. Pricing techniques shall be assessed to reach long-term profitability. This study examines how vegetable vendors of Bongao Public Market decide on prices. Five standard pricing methods were explored, including adding a markup to costs, pricing based on competitors, setting prices according to perceived value, setting high prices then lowering them over time, and adjusting with low prices to gain market share. Fifty respondents were chosen to participate in this study through simple random sampling. This study used surveys, interviews, and market observations. The findings show that vendors are aware of pricing techniques. They use different strategies depending on factors like production costs, competition, and customer preferences. This study aimed to help vendors and others in the vegetable business make better decisions by understanding these pricing methods and their effects. KEYWORDS: Pricing, Pricing Strategies, Vendors, Vegetables Vendors

Can you bear with me? A comparison study of multifaceted discrepancy–brand avoidance relationships between China and the USA

PurposeBrand information is ubiquitous online and offline; consumers exhibit brand avoidance tendencies towards brand stimuli when there is a discrepancy between a brand image/personality and one’s self-concept. Given the multifaceted culturally constituted self-domains and self-importance, this research investigates how cultural variation affects reactions to self-brand discrepancy, considering two types of narcissist orientations.Design/methodology/approachUsing national culture as proxy for cultural orientation, sample data were collected through surveys administered to 410 participants (210 in China and 200 in the USA). A multi-group structural equation model was adopted to examine the conceptual model and proposed hypotheses. The follow-up qualitative study was conducted to allow further discussion of the quantitative results.FindingsThe results show that self-brand discrepancy can only be converted into brand avoidance tendency through the activation of cognitive dissonance for both Americans and Chinese. Specifically, for Chinese consumers only (ideal) social identity self-brand discrepancies can activate avoidance behaviour. In addition, grandiose and vulnerable narcissism orientations co-exist for both Chinese and Americans, these negatively moderate the relationship between social self-brand discrepancies and cognitive dissonance. For US consumers, idealised identity discrepancies mitigate dissonance; only those with a vulnerable narcissistic orientation would act on avoidance when experiencing dissonance.Originality/valueBy incorporating cultural variations in the investigations of self-brand discrepancy, this paper advances existing knowledge on dissonance and coping mechanisms. In addition, by bringing narcissistic orientations to the fore, it allows for a deeper understanding of how these cultural variations operate. In addition, our research provides important guidelines for brand practitioners to better leverage their marketing campaigns in offline and online contexts and to reduce brand avoidance tendencies across the international marketplace.

Strategic Innovations in Apple's Supply Chain Management: Objectives, Methods, and Strategies for Navigating Global Market Challenges

This study looks at global supply chain risks and remedies in the context of Apple Inc.'s supply chain, which is renowned for being efficient and complicated. Apple's supply chain management strategy (SCM) optimizes costs and efficiency by integrating the planning and control of manufacturing, distribution, and sales. Efficient worldwide product delivery and very high operational standards are guaranteed by centralized strategic decision-making and collaboration with key suppliers like Foxconn. The report emphasizes how Apple uses cutting-edge logistics technology to reduce risks like supply interruptions and geopolitical unrest, which are becoming more common in today's international marketplace. Additionally, the study holds that in order to gain a long-term market competitiveness and manage a more uncertain external environment, today's smart device and electronic equipment manufacturers represented by Apple need to embrace the wave of digital transformation and increase resilience through strategic innovation and the construction of ethical and sustainable supply chains. This entails building morally and environmentally sound supply networks as well as implementing strategic innovations that increase supply chain resilience. Businesses that use this approach not only mitigate short-term risks but also establish a strong basis for sustained prosperity, guaranteeing their ability to adjust and prosper in the dynamic international arena.

Effects of Packaging on Consumer Buying Decision: A Study of African Black Soap (Alata Samina)

Product packaging plays a key role in consumer purchasing decision as packaging promote brand identity and customer loyalty. However, the African black soap prepared in Ghana has not seen the best of packaging, hence, its rejection in international marketplace. It is in this vein that the researcher sought to examine effect of packaging on consumer buying decision of African black soap (Alata Samina). Correlation and cross-sectional design were used. Cluster and simple random were used to select 245 respondents. Findings revealed that best packaging influence consumers’ perception to buy local Alata Samina soap recorded a cumulative mean of 4.69198 and standard deviation of 3.31842, suggesting respondents’ agreement that best packaging induce consumer buying decision. In terms of relationship, it was clear that strong positive link exist between packaging elements and consumer buying decision; Packaging colour had r(245) = 0.882, p<0.05, Background image had r(245) = 0.881, p<0.05, Packaging materials had r(245) = 0.882, p<0.05, Font style had r(245) = 0.876, p<0.05. Printed information had r(245) = 0.772, p<0.05, Labelling, wrapper design and creativity had r(245) = 0.882, p<0.05. Standard Multiple Regression was used to analyzed the effect of packaging elements on consumer buying decision and the result were packaging colour had 53.8% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.538, p<0.05. Brand image had 85.3 % and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.853, p<0.05. Printed information had 73.8% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.738, p<0.05. Packaging materials had 62.6% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.626, p<0.05. Innovation had 92.3 % and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.923, p<0.05. Labelling quality had 76.5% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.765, p<0.05. Design of wrapper had 44.2% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.442, p<0.05. However, font style had only 1.2% and this effect is not statistically significant; r(245) = 0.012, p<0.05. This means that most consumers do not believe that font style influences consumers’ purchase decision. The study recommends that Institute of Packaging Ghana, Federation of Ghanaian Exporters, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana Exports Promotions Authority and Association of Ghana Industries should collaborate to improve the packaging skills of the local African black soap producer. The essence is to enable them to package their products to meet the export market standards.

Marketing Strategies and Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Ikare Akoko Ondo State

Marketing strategies has been a functional desire and a method for attaining all-inclusive business success. This paper examined effect of marketing strategies on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Ikare Akoko. A descriptive research design was employed. Sample size of 350 was drawn from a population of 2825 which comprised selected registered SMEs owners in Ikare Akoko. Multiple Regression Technique was used to test research hypothesis. The findings obtained revealed that marketing strategy (promotion marketing strategy, price marketing strategy, place marketing strategy, and product marketing strategy) significantly influence performance of SMEs in Ikare Akoko. The research concluded that marketing strategy (product strategies, promotion strategies, price strategies and place strategies) have a significant and positive impact on performance of SMEs in Ikare Akoko. Hence, the paper recommended that SMEs in Nigeria should establish varieties of quality products with new features and design. This will increase many customers to patronize their products. They should also charge equitable price, position suitably to the final consumers. More so, Management of the SMEs in Ikare Akoko should ensure that they increase effort in product advertisement in order to enhance promotional strategy in the organisation. Finally, SMEs should continually ensure goods and services produced reach final consumers or users by locating convenient place for their varieties products. Keywords: Marketing Strategies, Performance, Price Strategies, Promotion Strategies, SMEs,

Do Financial Community’s Tweet Sentiments Affect the Stock Market? Evidence from an Emerging Economy

In the era of social media and internet, Twitter (presently ‘X’) has been recognized as the prominent factor for financial markets by multiple corporates and experts. The motivation of present research hinges on burgeoning popularity of Twitter in the financial community for sharing information and impact of their hidden sentiments on financial markets. Research on tweet-based sentiments and their influence on financial markets in India is still in the infancy stage. To cover this gap, the present study empirically investigates the predictive impact of financial tweet sentiments on the Indian stock Index’s returns over a short period. The paper scraped 22,816 tweets and Nifty 50 index’s intraday hour end values for January 2023. Using Natural Processing Technique, the overall sentiments of the financial community are found as highly positive for each trading hour. Next, it presents a low positive correlation between positive sentiments, sentiment polarity, and hourly returns. Lagged negative sentiments reflect the better ability to impact current period returns than positive sentiments and polarity. Additionally, sentiment polarity and returns reflect bi-directional causation for the future period impact. Investors, stock market traders, and other practitioners can employ the proven concept of linkage between tweet sentiments and returns for constructing effective investment and trading strategies. JEL Classifications: G41, D53, G17, G02, G19

Split Payment as a Method of Consumer Payment in Online Buying and Selling Practices Is Reviewed From the Principle of Legal Certainty

Current technological advances have led to the development of payment methods in online buying and selling practices. Usually the payment method is made via cash and non-cash; one of the current payment methods is known as the split payment method. Split payment is a payment made using more than one payment method to complete the entire transaction. There is a case where a consumer buys goods online by paying using split payment and the consumer will be given cash back when using split payment. However, the goods that have been purchased do not reach the consumer. The consumer and the shop agreed to ask for compensation from the market place, which is a meeting place for online buyers and sellers. Based on this case, the author is interested in researching the problem of how to complete online buying and selling transactions using split payments. This research uses normative legal research methods with a statutory approach. The results of this research show that it is important to have special regulations regarding the definition and validity of split payment methods for online buying and selling transactions in order to provide guarantees, justice and consumer security in order to realize the principle of legal certainty.

Environmental Impact of Waste Produced in Street Markets: A Study on Challenges and Opportunities in Serra Da Ibiapaba, Ceará

Objective: The objective of the article is to analyze the environmental impact of vegetable waste produced in street markets in the Serra da Ibiapaba region, Ceará, Brazil, and propose solutions to the identified impacts in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Method: This is a qualitative and quantitative research study that uses field data collection, the Leopold matrix for environmental impact assessment, and descriptive analysis to evaluate the current state of waste management practices in the region. Results and Discussion: The results indicate that inadequate waste management practices lead to environmental pollution, including the presence of insects and leachate in urban areas. The study identifies common problems related to waste management and low environmental awareness among vendors and public authorities. Originality/Value: The Serra da Ibiapaba region is an important agricultural area in Brazil, and the inadequate disposal of vegetable waste in street markets poses relevant environmental challenges for society. This research is relevant because it addresses a gap in the literature regarding the environmental impacts of street market waste in a region that is significant both environmentally and economically, offering practical solutions aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Сенсорный маркетинг в условиях диджитал-экономики

In the context of the increasing complexity of marketing relations associated with the transformation of understanding the role of the consumer, the issues of a deeper study of consumer behavior and its features in the “black box” model are of particular importance, since understanding consumer motives and reactions to marketing incentives will contribute not only to sustainable production and sale of goods, increasing the effectiveness of marketing solutions and maximizing profits in the long run, but also to the fast search and selection of goods by consumers that really meet their needs. The development of sensory marketing, taking into account the emergence of new neuromarketing technologies, meets the challenges of modern society. Previous studies of the influence of sensory stimuli on consumer behavior, as a rule, focused on the use of traditional marketing tools (observation, survey, focus groups, etc.), as a result of which only one-sided results of visible consumer reactions were obtained, which do not always reflect their true intentions to purchase a product. Marketing concepts in the context of changing market relations during the transition to a post-industrial society are examined; identifies the place of sensory marketing in the digital economy and its importance in the transformation of society into a humane community, shows the relationship between sensory marketing and neuromarketing, the use of technological tools which will allow to obtain hidden neurophysiological reactions of consumers to marketing incentives, which will provide a comprehensive an approach to evaluating incentive triggers in the purchase decision-making process. The role of neuroethics in conducting these studies is indicat.

Impact Assessment of Technological Innovation Policy on The Competitiveness of Spain's Cloud Computing Market

This paper discusses the impact assessment of technological innovation policy on the competitiveness of Spanish cloud computing market. The research points out that under the wave of digitalization, cloud computing technology has become the key to promote the development of informatization. As an important economy in Europe, the development of Spain's cloud computing market is of great significance to digital transformation. The technological innovation policies introduced by the European Union and the Spanish government, such as GAIA-X project, Industry 4.0 strategy and carbon neutrality goal, not only promoted the development of cloud technology, but also promoted the prosperity of the Spanish cloud computing market. GAIA-X project has brought opportunities for cooperation and competition for Spain, while Industry 4.0 strategy and carbon neutrality goal have stimulated the demand of enterprises for cloud computing. At the same time, Spain's domestic policies such as "Digital 2025 Plan" and Microsoft and Amazon's investment in data centers in Spain provide a good environment and opportunities for the cloud computing market. These policies have promoted the standardized development of the cloud computing market and enhanced the market competitiveness. Spain's public cloud market is growing steadily and is expected to continue to expand in the next few years. The establishment of a data center in Spain by cloud vendors not only promoted the country's position in the global cloud computing network, but also brought significant feedback effects to the local cloud computing market. The research reveals the mutual promotion relationship between policy and market, emphasizing the key role of policy in creating favorable environment and promoting market demand growth, while the development of market promotes the improvement and innovation of policy. This paper provides valuable insights and suggestions for the further prosperity of Spanish cloud computing industry.

Brexit and the London housing market: An empirical contribution

This study aims to analyse the impact of Brexit on London’s housing market, exploring socio-economic and regional disparities. By examining property transaction data from 2012 to 2022, the research seeks to understand how Brexit has influenced real housing prices across different boroughs of London. The methodology involves aggregating transaction data from the Her Majesty (HM) Price Paid database and normalizing prices using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to obtain real price variations. These data were segmented into three distinct periods: pre-Brexit (2012–2016), post-plebiscite Brexit (2016–2019), and post-implementation Brexit (2020–2022). Spatial analysis was conducted using the software Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS), transforming point data (postcodes) into polygonal data (wards) for better visualization and comparison. The findings reveal significant socio-economic impacts, with traditionally affluent areas such as Westminster, Kensington, and Chelsea experiencing notable declines in real housing prices. Conversely, certain outer boroughs like Newham and Barnet showed resilience, with positive real price variations despite decreased sales. This geographical disparity underscores the uneven distribution of Brexit’s economic consequences, highlighting the critical role of localized economic policies and development projects in mitigating adverse effects. The results confirm existing literature on the polarization and regional inequalities exacerbated by Brexit while providing new insights into the complex interplay of local and global factors affecting housing markets. The findings emphasize the need for targeted policy interventions to address the diverse challenges posed by Brexit, ensuring both affluent and disadvantaged areas receive adequate support. This research is crucial for informing public policy, urban planning, and housing market strategies in a post-Brexit context, promoting equitable and sustainable development across London.

Deciphering the Cape Gooseberry Fruits Mycobiome for Further Safety Improvement Postharvest.

Cape gooseberries are exquisitely flavored fruits; their rapid deterioration reduces their shelf life. Understanding the unique mycobiome of fruit peels is an essential step in identifying the taxa causing postharvest loss. The current study proposes to analyze the fungal communities of cape gooseberry peels collected from an organic orchard at unripe and ripe stages and purchased from open-air market sites, using the ITS2 region metabarcoding. According to the Kruskal-Wallis test, there were no statistically significant differences found in either the phylogenetic or non-phylogenetic alpha diversity indices. Significant differences in fungal communities were observed between the market and orchard groups based on beta diversity results. Ascomycota (85.72-96.76%), Basidiomycota (3.21-13.91%), and Chytridiomycota (0.07-9.35%) were the most common fungal phyla, their abundance varying with the ripening stage and origin. Dothideomycetes in the orchard group and Saccharomycetes in the market group were the two most prevalent classes. Furthermore, we investigate which taxa showed a significant difference in abundance between the two conditions (market vs. orchard) using the analysis of compositions of microbiomes with bias correction (ANCOM-BC) test. Regardless of the phase, the orchard samples exhibited a notable increase in the mean absolute abundance of various beneficial fungal taxa, including Tilletiopsis washingtonensis and Articulospora proliferata, whereas the market samples demonstrated a high abundance of harmful yeasts and molds such as Meyerozyma guilliermondii, Candida railenensis, and Botrytis caroliniana. Although it is unclear how these microorganisms augment at the market sites and might impact the fruit quality after harvest, from a fruit safety perspective, it is essential to comprehend the diversity and variation of the mycobiome composition at different ripening stages to further develop strategies to improve food safety postharvest.

Risk-Adjusted Returns of Private Equity Funds: A New Approach

Abstract This paper introduces a new metric, α, to benchmark the performance of individual private equity funds. Our metric is substantially less sensitive to noise in fund cash flows compared to the popular public market equivalent (PME) and its generalization (GPME), while having the same aggregate pricing implications as GPME. For a large data set of fund cash flows, α estimates have much lower standard deviation across funds than does (G)PME. For buyout funds, PME and α are close, but deviate in certain subsamples. Using α increases power in regressions involving fund performance and improves performance predictability of future funds. (JEL C58, G12, G23, G24)

High Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Female Vegetable Market Traders in Hargeisa, Somaliland: Risk Factors and Implications

High Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Female Vegetable Market Traders in Hargeisa, Somaliland: Risk Factors and Implications

MANAJEMEN KEUANGAN KELUARGA PEDAGANG DI PASAR SIBANG GEDE

The income of traders depends on uncertain sales income every day. To be able to manage family finances, management, and planning are needed to ensure that expenses are not greater than income. This study aims to examine the understanding of financial management, the application of financial management, and the obstacles to financial management for traders in the Sibang Gede market. This study's data and information collection methods included interviews using questionnaires and documentation. The analysis method used is qualitative descriptive analysis. The results of this study indicate that traders in the Sibang Gede market do not understand financial management. Traders choose to record income daily, do not apply long-term planning, apply short-term planning, and own assets in the form of houses and motorbikes. Traders in the Sibang Gede market do not make financial plans, do not record family finances in books, and do not compile budgets. Traders do not have investments, and all traders in the Sibang Gede market choose to use banks as a place to save. The obstacles Sibang Gede market traders face are income instability caused by fluctuations in consumer demand, traders not being accustomed to making financial reports, and traders not being familiar with modern finance.

The Critical Role of Soft Skills in Engineering: Enhancing Performance and Career Advancement

Today’s engineering graduates seeking jobs require a combination of technical abilities and the right soft skills, as organizations prefer a professional individual who has developed an overall personality that encompasses both professionalism and alignment with society, rather than relying solely on qualifications and academic scores. The 21st-century workforce has changed the way they define job skills, with managers prioritizing non-technical (soft) skills in addition to technical skills, as having these alone is no longer enough in today's competitive market place. This article aims to analyze the significance of soft skills in the engineering sector, as highlighted in the literature review. An understanding of these soft skills is crucial for organizations to optimize the levels of productivity amongst their employees and for individuals desiring to advance their futures within a competitive job landscape. This article attempts to shed light on these soft skills in the hopes of investing in training program designs that can maximize engineers professional efficacy and career successes within their industry, engineering.

Perceptions of e-lending in Scandinavian libraries: tension and harmony between institutional logics

ABSTRACT This study examines e-lending dynamics in Scandinavian public libraries, by exploring the relationship between libraries and publishing houses. We ask how representatives of both fields perceive the public library’s role. Public libraries and publishers have traditionally served different roles in the book sphere: the library as a key cultural policy institution providing access to information and culture, and the publishers as involved in the production of books, operating on commercial premises. This relationship is affected by the change from ownership to licensing of digital book collections, which occurs along with changes on the national book markets. As a theoretical and analytical tool, the study uses the institutional logics perspective to explore the relations between different perceptions. We argue that this relationship can be illuminated through the dynamics of public service logic, market logic and digital logic. The study is empirically based on 26 in-depth interviews interviews with representatives of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish major libraries and trade publishers. Findings indicate that the relationship is nuanced and multifaceted, more than if it relied on a simple opposition between the public and the market. Both libraries and publishers share a common understanding of public service and market logics; however, they differ in perceptions of library’s role which is amplified by digital logic. The study also indicates that e-lending dynamics are influenced by cultural policies but with different outcomes in the three countries.

Levels of organochlorine pesticides in the chewable and leftover parts of the khat (Catha edulis) sold in local markets of Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the residual levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in chewable (tender leaves) and leftovers (mature leaves) of khat sold in local markets in Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia. Samples were collected from various local khat market places in Jimma town, based on their growing origin. A modified QuEChERS method was used to extract pesticides from the samples before their analysis by GC‒MS. The findings indicated that p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p’-DDE) and p,p’-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p’-DDT) were detected in 88.3% and 76.6% of chewable samples, and in 86% and 69% of khat leftovers samples. The p,p’-DDE and p,p’-DDT levels found in chewable khat ranged from 10.12–45.39 and 8.53–34.15 µg/kg, respectively. While in leftover khat they ranged from 30.12–45.04 and 6.73–32.16 µg/kg, respectively. It was found that the concentration of p,p’-DDE is greater than its precursor compound p,p’-DDT for each sample, indicating past use of DDT in the study area. None of the detected analytes exceeded the maximum residue level (MRL) values established by the FAO/WHO or European Commission (EC) of 50 µg/kg. However, no information is available regarding these pesticides’ collective and synergetic negative impacts on consumers.