درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The development of the nation’s economy is supported by the growing diversity and enthusiasm of interest among academics, particularly in the transforming procedures with an entrepreneurial orientation. The study investigates changing entrepreneurial-oriented practices and the performance of SMEs utilizing a cross-sectional survey amongst the four top grocery registered SMEs operating in Ikorodu local government division of Lagos State, Nigeria. The tool for gathering data is a questionnaire with two sections: bio-data and research questions. While 100 respondents formed the sample size proportionally selected from the study focus. Pearson correlation is the statistical tool for data analysis. The study reveals that creativeness and alleviation of business loss have a highly significant impact on SMEs performance; with pro-activeness having a weak, but positive relevance on SMEs performance. In conclusion, to further improve and optimize entrepreneurial orientation practices and adapt to future threatening changes, firms need to strengthen the desire for healthy competition, identifying and targeting the weaknesses of their competitors. It is recommended that more innovativeness should be sought after as guiding principles for capability and adaptability to handle the complexity of the ever-changing business surrounding, while involvement in risk-taking should be adopted with inevitable zeal and willingness to attain organizational growth and improved performance. Pro-activeness should be given adequate consideration to maintain and surpass existing performance as opportunities come but once. Despite study limitations, future researchers may need to enlarge the sample size and create awareness of research conducted on SMEs generally. Keywords: Change, Entrepreneurial orientation, Performance, Practices, SMEs.

The positive impacts of fiscal policy could be undermined when accompanied by uncertainty. We examined the effect of fiscal policy uncertainty on economic activities in the provinces of Iran. It includes production, investment, unemployment, and economic participation of the active workforce in these provinces, taking into account the effects of economic sanctions imposed on the economy. We employed two types of shocks: fiscal level shock (representing fiscal policy) and its volatility shock (as fiscal policy uncertainty), which derived from a specified fiscal reaction function. We estimated a Panel VAR model using provincial data from 2003 to 2020. The results of the impulse response function indicated that following the impulse in the fiscal policy uncertainty, the response shows an increase in the unemployment rate in the short run, a decrease in the capital investment, and an increase in the inflation rate in the short and medium terms. In the medium and long term, the response indicates a decrease in GDP growth and a reduction in the economic participation rate of the active workforce.

Technological progress has transformed the payment industry. Although alternative payment instruments such as bank cards share some characteristics with banknotes, they are not direct competitors to cash. First, cash possesses unique attributes—its functionality without electrical power and its inherent anonymity. Second, statistical data indicate that the ratio of cash to M1 has stabilized at approximately 10% in recent years, primarily due to its substitution with demand deposits. In this paper, we model the demand for banknotes by incorporating technology-related characteristics alongside conventional theories of money demand. Our approach has important implications for central bank, particularly in liquidity management, currency issuance, effective management of physical currency, and continued investment in digital payment infrastructures. We adopt a macroeconomic perspective that considers banknote demand from both transactional and asset viewpoints. To this end, we estimate an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, which allows us to analyze both short-term and long-term coefficients within a framework of model uncertainty. A key focus of our study is the estimation of a payment system development index using logistic growth and Gompertz models, through which we assess its impact on cash demand. Our empirical evidence supports the notion of S-shaped growth in the adoption of payment technologies. The findings demonstrate that advancements in the payment sector have led to a significant decline in cash demand. Moreover, while increased real economic activity exerts a positive and significant influence on cash demand, a higher opportunity cost of holding cash has a pronounced negative impact.

The implementation of an effective tax system requires specific conditions, among the most critical being equity and efficiency. Taxation on income must align with the principle of the ability to pay; therefore, governments strive to set tax rates appropriately and impactfully. An disproportionate increase in income tax rates can lead to significant social repercussions on income distribution and public welfare. Consequently, calculating the optimal tax rate to maximize social welfare is deemed essential. This paper models the strategic interaction between taxpayers and the tax authority to achieve an optimal tax rate and identifies the factors influencing this rate. By designing a game among taxpayers, assumed to be uniformly distributed within the interval [0, 1], and evaluating the revenue generation of the tax authority, the paper delves into the game formulation and analyses the results. Findings indicate that the optimal tax rate exhibits an inverse relationship with the assessment rates set by investigating groups. Additionally, under specific conditions, the optimal performance tax rate has been determined to be 18%.

The purpose of this study was to provide a long-term plan for developing the basketball at university of Isfahan, Iran. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used to collect and analyze the research data. Interviews and expert council meetings were used to collect the research data. The research participants included university basketball experts and coaches. Experts were purposefully selected to reach the theoretical saturation (16 experts).  The research instrument was an open questionnaire. The logical induction method was used to analyze the required data in the quantitative part of the situation assessment and strategic action matrix. To analyze the required information, the Strategic Position and Action Assessment Matrix (SPACE) and the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) were used in the quantitative part, and the logical inductive method was used in the qualitative part. The strategic approach of the basketball based on the situation assessment matrix and strategic action was placed in the offensive position. In general, managers can use the present programs to set the major goals as the priorities and provide the conditions for achieving the determined goals in developing university basketball.

This study examines the impact of celebrity endorsements on brand image, brand loyalty, and repurchase intentions within the sports industry, specifically focusing on Nike Product in Tehran, Iran. Employing a survey-based approach with 400 participants, the study utilizes a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique to analyze the relationships between these key variables. The findings reveal a significant positive effect of celebrity endorsement on both brand loyalty and brand image among Nike customers in Tehran. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that brand image and brand loyalty both mediate the relationship between celebrity endorsement and repurchase intention. These results highlight the crucial role of celebrity endorsements in enhancing brand perception, fostering customer loyalty, and ultimately driving sales within the competitive sports industry.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of servant leadership on the human resource productivity through whistleblowing considering the moderating role of work ethics. The current research method is correlation, which was carried out in the field. The statistical population of the research was the employees in track and field sport in Iraq, 152 people were selected as a sample using the convenient method. The servant leadership questionnaires of Luu (2019), the whistleblowing of Park and Blenkinsopp (2009), the Human resources productivity of Hersey and Goldsmith (1980), and the work ethics of Bateman and Snell (2004) were used. SPSS version 18 and PLS version 3 software were used for data analysis. The results showed that servant leadership has a significant relationship with human resource productivity and whistleblowing. Also, there is a significant relationship between whistleblowing and human resource productivity. Finally, there is a significant relationship between servant leadership and human resource productivity with the moderating role of work ethic. Servant leadership is a management approach that prioritizes the well-being and growth of employees, leading to improved human resource productivity and organizational performance. This leadership style, which involves serving employees rather than commanding them, has been shown to have a significant positive impact on productivity and whistleblowing within organizations. By fostering an employee-centric approach and a culture of trust, safety, and open communication, servant leaders can encourage employees to speak up about unethical practices, leading to a more transparent and accountable work environment.