Environmental sustainability orientation and financial resources of small manufacturing firms in the Philippines

Purpose - This study challenges the conventional view that resources determine the extent of environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) of small firms in a developing Southeast Asian country context. First, this study attempts to develop a measurement model of ESO of small firms in the manufacturing sector in the Philippines. Second, the study explores the impact of the financial resources on the ESO of firms.Design/methodology/approach - The study uses survey data from 166 small manufacturing firms in three Philippine cities. Multiple regression modelling is used to estimate the relationships between firm resources and ESO.Findings - The results indicate that ESO is a multi-dimensional construct with three facets: awareness of, actions for, and appreciation of environmental sustainability. The empirical evidence does not support the conventional firm resources – ESO proposition.Research limitations/implications - A proactive ESO is not necessarily beyond the reach of resource-constrained small firms. The generalisability of the findings however is limited to small manufacturing firms in the Philippines.Practical implications - This study informs owner-managers of small firms that a proactive ESO does not largely depend on financial resources. Government policies and programs to encourage small firms to become sustainable should not only focus on financial forms of assistance.Originality/value -  To date, this is the only Philippine-based study and one of the scarce small firm-focused studies that examine the proposition that small firms are unable to pursue a proactive ESO due to resource-constraints

A resource-based view of small export firms\u27 social capital in a Southeast Asian country

This study empirically examines the social capital that facilitates the flow of export knowledge, thereby supporting the entrepreneurial stance of small export firms. By applying the VRIO (value, rarity, inimitability and organisation of firm resources) framework to the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, this study suggests that superior performance is a function of resources that are valuable, rare, inimitable and sufficiently organised to develop and sustain the firm\u27s competitive advantage. This study argues that small, resource-constrained export firms in a developing economy are able to adopt entrepreneurial tactics and reap positive rates of return by exploiting their relational capital to acquire export knowledge. A survey of 175 small export firms in the Philippines was conducted, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results suggest positive relationships between the firm\u27s social capital and export knowledge. Export knowledge is associated with entrepreneurial orientation, which then correlates with export performance.<br /

Social capital for knowledge management : the case of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Asia-Pacific Region

This article proposes a conceptual framework that explains that the social capital of a community shapes the innovation performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through knowledge management within the firm. The study\u27s significance stems from the unprecedented effort in explaining how community social capital matters in the innovation performance of SMEs, a departure from previous studies that have typically examined market-related or hierarchical social capital in the form of formal networks and directly linked them to a firm\u27s innovation performance without due regard for knowledge management within the firm as an antecedent of organisational innovation performance. The aim is to stimulate further thinking and empirical research on the subject of social capital of a community in the SME and/or entrepreneurial context.<br /

Institutional environment, innovation capacity and firm performance in Russia

Purpose &ndash; Following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1992, Russia undertook major institutional and market-oriented reforms to enhance the competitive advantage of domestic enterprises. Although Russia has experienced rapid growth over the last two decades, the extent to which institutions in Russia impact on firm innovation and performance remains poorly understood due to a lack of research on the subject. This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the competitiveness of Russian firms by focussing specifically on the extent to which the state of the regulatory quality, rule of law, and corruption affect the innovation capacity and performance of firms in Russia.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; The study uses structural equation modelling and data from a large-scale firm level survey (n=787) of firms in Russia undertaken by the World Bank in 2009. It investigates the direct and indirect perceptions of respondents of the effects the current institutional environment has on the innovation capacity and performance of their respective organisations.Findings &ndash; The results show that regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption have strong direct and negative impacts on both the innovation capacity and performance of firms, and that innovation capacity strongly mediates the effects of institutions on firm performance. The results suggest that the current state of the regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption in Russia inhibit firm innovation and their resulting performance.Research limitations/implications &ndash; The findings should be interpreted with caution to the extent that the study is limited to only three elements of the formal institutional environment and does not take into consideration the role of informal institutions. These two limitations present avenues for future research.Originality/value &ndash; The study is one of the first to provide empirical evidence based on a large-scale survey of the extent to which formal institutions inhibit innovation and firm performance in Russia, and provides valuable guidance to business policy-makers in Russia on possible avenues for enhancing the overall competitiveness of Russian firms.<br /

Data ontheno-loadperformanceanalysis of atomatopostharveststoragesystem

In thispresentinvestigation,anoriginalanddetailedempirical data onthetransferofheatinatomatopostharveststoragesystem waspresented.No-loadtestswereperformedforaperiodof96h. The heatdistributionatdifferentlocations,namelythetop,middle and bottomofthesystemwasacquired,atatimeintervalof 30 minforthetestperiod.Thehumidityinsidethesystemwas taken intoconsideration.Thus,No-loadtestswithorwithout introduction ofhumiditywerecarriedoutanddatashowingthe effect ofariseinhumiditylevel,ontemperaturedistributionwere acquired.Thetemperaturesattheexternalmechanicalcooling components wereacquiredandcouldbeusedforshowingthe performance analysisofthestoragesyste

Explaining the environmentally sustainable consumer behavior: a social capital perspective

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of social capital within a community on the adoption of consumer eco-behaviour or environmentally sustainable behaviour of consumers. The authors draw on the behavioural perspective model (BPM) of consumer behaviour and social capital theory in arguing that social capital shapes a consumer\u27s knowledge of environmental issues and pro-environmental attitudes, which in turn influence a consumer\u27s perceived capability to engage in eco-behaviour. Design/methodology/approach - This study uses partial least squares approach to structural equation modelling of survey data involving 1,044 consumers in the Philippines. It involves testing of a measurement model to examine the validity and reliability of the constructs used in the study. This is followed by testing of the structural models to test the hypothesised relationships of the constructs. Findings - The results suggest the substantive influence of social capital on environmental knowledge, pro-environmental attitudes and eco-capability. Both knowledge and attitudes have positive effects on eco-capability, which in turn positively shapes eco-behaviour. Research limitations/implications - Future studies can examine how social capital as a multi-dimensional construct impacts context-specific consumer behaviour. Practical implications - Social and environmental marketing may focus on social network activation to encourage eco-behaviours of consumers. Social implications - Findings highlight the role of social capital within one\u27s community as a resource channel to encourage environmentally responsible consumer behaviour. Originality/value - The study extends the BPM by offering a social capital view as a more nuanced explanation of consumer eco-behaviour