Female Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Japan – A Study on Business Life Cycle Stages of Small and Medium Enterprises

There is a growing emphasis on the relationship between immigrant women and businesses. With time, it has come to knowledge that immigrant entrepreneurship is largely dependent on the opportunities and resources offered by the host country and this will determine the growth in small and medium enterprises, new ventures and overall entrepreneurial activity. Japan has traditionally been slow in entrepreneurship even as recent data shows a poor TEA score for the country. Women also have a limited participation and they are expected to be more involved in domestic activities. Although much is now changing in the face of an aging population, changing social structure and the need to boost economic activity, its impact on immigrant entrepreneurship, especially by owned by women, is yet to be understood. This paper looks at the issue by exploring such businesses across stages in a business life cycle. It identifies key motivators, challenges and barriers that most immigrant females face in business creation and development in Japan. Finally it proposes instrumental changes in the system to build a more positive environment and strengthen the prospects for immigrant entrepreneurship in Japan

The static force in background perturbation theory

The static force $F_B(r)$ and the strong coupling $\alpha_F(r)$, which defines the gluon-exchange part of $F_B(r)$, are studied in QCD background perturbation theory (BPT). In the region r\la 0.6 fm $\alpha_F(r)$ turns out to be essentially smaller than the coupling $\alpha_B(r)$ in the static potential. For the dimensionless function $\Phi_B(r) = r^2 F_B(r)$ the characteristic values $\Phi_B(r_1) =1.0$ and $\Phi_B(r_0)=1.65$ are shown to be reached at the following $Q\bar Q$ separations: $r_1\sqrt{\sigma} =0.77, r_0\sqrt{\sigma} =1.09$ in quenched approximation and $r_1\sqrt{\sigma}=0.72, r_0\sqrt{\sigma}=1.04$ for $n_f =3$. The numbers obtained appear to be by only 8% smaller than those calculated in lattice QCD while the values of the couplings $\alpha_F(r_1)$ and $\alpha_F(r_0)$ in BPT are by $\sim 30$ and $50$ larger than corresponding lattice couplings. With the use of the BPT potential good description of the bottomonium spectrum is obtained.Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure. To be publised in Phys. Atom. Nucl. dedicated to the 70-th birthday of Yu.A. Simono

Effect of the nitrile group in extraction and bulk liquid membrane transport of amino acids

Extraction and transport of amino acids through a liquid membrane system is an emerging field of supramolecular as well as biomedical science. In this piece of work, series of podands are used with triethylene and tetraethylene glycol chains having benzonitrile (PBT3, PBT4), anthraquinone (PAT3, PAT4) and naphthyl (PNT3,PNT4) end groups. Extraction and transport studies performed with amino acids: glycine, valine and threonine using these receptors. From the results, it is observed that the extraction efficiency of PBT3 and PBT4 is double than PNT3 and PNT4 podands, and also transport ability is double in PAT3, and PAT4. Thus we conclude that the nitrile group-containing podands (PBT3 and PBT4) are better extractants as well as a carrier than PAT3, PAT4, PNT3, PNT4, in which nitrile groups is a key component for molecular recognition of glycine, valine, and threonine, which are further used in the separation of amino acids.

Sintered-silver bonding of high-temperature piezoelectric ceramic sensors

Silver sintering is used to bond five components together, in order to form a piezoelectric sensor. A description is provided of the preparation of these components, and of the manufacturing steps, which are carried out at a low temperature (280 °C). The resulting sensor assemblies are then characterized: cross-sectional views show that the silver layer has a very dense struc-ture, with less than 1 % porosity, although further focused-ion beam investigations show that this porosity is closer to 15 %. The shear strength is approximately 30 MPa. The Young's modulus of the silver bondline is measured using nanoindentation, and is found to be comparable with that of bulk silver (56.6 GPa). Finally, a silver-sintered sensor is compared with a sensor bonded using conventional techniques, showing that an improvement in sensitivity by a factor of more than 3 is achieved

Internationalization of SMEs and market orientation

Purpose This paper aims to study the context of market orientation and the contribution of customer knowledge, networking and cultural knowledge to market orientation particularly to the internationalization of firms in developing economies. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case approach is adopted with four Swedish firms internationalizing to the Indian market. The data was obtained through personal interviews and typically lasted an hour. Follow-up questions were obtained by personal meetings or on Skype. Data was collected over a period of seven months during 2016-2017. Findings This study highlights the importance of customer knowledge, networking and cultural knowledge for foreign small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the initial stages of internationalization. It proposes that a holistic market sensing of the target market can be achieved as the three constructs contribute to the market orientation of the firms and help in devising relevant strategic fit with the market. Research limitations/implications The sample size is small due to a limited number of Swedish SMEs who have the experience of operating in the Indian market. Future studies may include the Nordic region, and a quantitative approach for testing market orientation frameworks can be adopted. Originality/value This study lifts the concept of market sensing as customer knowledge, networking and cultural knowledge strengthen the market orientation of the firm. It addresses the research gap about limited research in developing market contexts for SME internationalization and specifically on Swedish SMEs in the Indian market. </jats:sec

Innovation in the Indian Banking Industry

The purpose of the chapter is to discuss the evolution of the Indian banking industry and the role of innovation within the industry. It explores the motivations for innovation, types, actors involved, investments made and protection issues of banking innovations. The study showcases the current situation while also instigating future possibilities of research for the topic. To meet the objective, data was obtained via interviews with management representatives of 5 Indian banks. Given the changes witnessed by the Indian banking industry since independence and after the liberalization phase in 1991, innovation in Indian banking is seen as a fit solution for addressing the increased competition in this sector. Innovation is seen as important to create differentiation and respond to evolving consumer needs. Given the paucity of academic literature on innovation in Indian banking, this exploratory study can be taken as contributory to academics and research for this topic. </jats:p

Consumption switch at haste: insights from Indian low-income customers for adopting Fintech services due to the pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has created an environment of uncertainty, stress and financial vulnerability. As countries all over the world adopted preventive strategies ranging from voluntary isolations to stringent lockdowns, people and businesses were required to adjust their dispositions to the new normal resulting in new behaviors. The customer behaviour in financial services was also impacted and especially in developing economies as people were required to move to digital financial platforms at haste. In recent times, Fintech services are on a steady rise globally but their presence in the emerging markets is in a nascent stage and adoption by the low-income segment customers has largely been elusive. Much work is required to understand the needs of this customer cohort to identify factors for product adoption. This study investigates the impact on financial behavior among low-income segment customers for Fintech services due to the pandemic. By testing a set of hypotheses regarding inclination to adopt Fintech the study presents prominent antecedents such as fear, social influence, awareness and trust that led to positive product adoption. The study discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of the study and presents direction for future research.</jats:p