Risks of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Attracting to Government and Municipal Procurement and Economic Growth

One of the strategic goals in the Russian Federation is to relieve social tension by increasing the number of people employed in the segment of small and medium enterprises (hereinafter - SMEs) up to 25 million people by 2024. In order to stimulate the development of this segment, the Government of the Russian Federation sets the task of expanding the access for SMEs to the procurement system. That’s why the analysis of the existing mechanism for attracting SMEs to procurement is of interest. The primary purpose of the study is to investigate the peculiarities of SME involvement in procurement within the framework of two main laws operating in the sphere of procurement activity and problems arising in the procurement’s organization and economic growth. The practice of procurement activity is accompanied by the emergence of risks that affect the procurement result. These risks are inherent both to customers and suppliers of procurement activities. In the article risks are classified by stages of procurement activity. In particular, risks of poor-quality performance of the contract arise long before the stage of its conclusion. In the conclusion, recommendations are made which can be directed to solving the issues of SMEs access to procurement

Going international to the united arab emirates

Classificação: M00, M160The objective of the thesis is to describe the process of internationalization of three Portuguese companies into the market of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in general and the Emirate of Dubai in particular and to explore the reason for the differences in the internationalization process of the companies. The companies addressed by the thesis were Gelpeixe, Quidgest and Enouida. Although the three companies already possess some international presence and experience, they are eager to explore business opportunities in new emerging markets. The study applied the analyses of internationalization process concepts and theory, the target market characteristics, the three companies’ profiles, international objectives and product/ service particularities as well as a data qualitative analysis provided by a few Portuguese companies with operations in the UAE. The findings in this thesis show that the internationalization strategy of a company is assumed to depend upon internal and external factors such as a company´s different level of international experience and objectives, different business sectors and characteristics of its products or services and particular target market conditions and requirements. Although the three companies share similar internationalization objectives the findings suggests different market entry strategies for each company, namely, direct export with an agency agreement, wholly owned branch and franchise. Regarding the companies internationalization objectives and the target market characteristics each market entry strategy entails specific steps which each company is advised to follow in order to raise the chances of success in terms of market entry and future development starting from a moderate risky approach to a more committed local presence.A tese tem como objectivo descrever o processo de internacionalização de três empresas portuguesas para o mercado dos Emiratos Árabes Unidos (EAU) em geral e do Emirato do Dubai em particular e explorar a razão pela qual existem diferenças nos processos de internacionalização entre as empresas. As empresas alvo de análise na tese foram a Gelpeixe, a Quidgest e a Enouida. As três empresas já possuem alguma experiência e presença internacional e continuam a desenvolver esforços na busca de oportunidades de negócio para explorar em novos mercados emergentes. A realização do estudo envolveu a análise de diversos conceitos e teorias sobre processos de internacionalização, características do mercado alvo, perfil e objectivos de internacionalização das empresas, particularidades dos produtos/ serviços das empresas bem como uma análise qualitativa sobre a informação obtida através de empresas portuguesas com actividade nos EAU. A tese permitiu entender que a estratégia de internacionalização de uma empresa deverá depender de factores internos e externos tais como os diferentes níveis de experiência internacional e objectivos da empresa, diferentes sectores de negócio, características dos produtos/ serviços e em particular das condições e requisitos do mercado alvo. Apesar das três empresas partilharem objectivos de internacionalização idênticos foi possível identificar diferentes estratégias de entrada no mercado para cada uma das empresas nomeadamente, exportação directa através de acordo de agência, subsidiária detida totalmente pela empresa mãe e franchising. Considerando os objectivos de internacionalização de cada empresa e as características do mercado alvo foi delineada uma estratégia de entrada para cada empresa que começará por uma aproximação de risco moderado até atingir uma posição local com maior grau de compromisso. Cada estratégia inclui um conjunto de passos que se aconselha serem seguidos por forma a maximizar o sucesso de entrada no mercado e assegurar um crescimento sustentável

Consumer food shopping behaviour in Libya

PhD ThesisThis thesis explores consumer food shopping behaviour in an emerging economy, taking the Libyan case as an example. As in many other emerging economies, Libya’s retail environment has been dominated for generations by traditional markets and small independent stores but has recently witnessed the spread of ‘modern’ formats such as supermarkets. The study draws on both qualitative and quantitative research. The qualitative research provided evidence of a complex picture, highlighting significant variations, from family to family and geographically, in the social acceptability of females shopping at traditional markets and other retail formats. In Libya, food shopping has traditionally been a task for male household members, with traditional markets regarded as inappropriate spaces for females. However the safer, cleaner, and less crowded environment offered by large supermarkets contributed to some women feeling more comfortable shopping for food and henceforth being able to shop as independent consumers. Traditional culture, rather than constraining the spread of supermarkets, may act as a facilitator of the growing popularity of supermarkets in Libya. The main quantitative research instrument was a self-administered questionnaire of Libyan food shoppers in Benghazi city. 371 completed questionnaires were obtained. Factor analysis revealed 12 factors that underlie the reasons consumers go shopping for food. The application of cluster analysis to the dimensions factor scores revealed six segments of food shoppers. The characteristics of each cluster were described by average factor scores on the dimensions of shopping motivations, demographic characteristics, and behavioural variables. The most important retail outlet attributes in the choice of where to buy food were, in descending order, food safety, quality of products, quality of service, speed of service, and variety of products. The findings also indicated that on all items supermarkets performed the best; except for freshness of products and in-store credit (traditional markets were perceived as superior on freshness of products and independent stores for in-store credit). Only for one attribute (car parking) were differences in the mean scores between supermarkets, traditional markets and independent stores not statistically significant. ii Econometric modelling considered the possible relationships between shopping behaviour and the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents. This confirmed a major finding of the qualitative research - that females were significantly less likely than males to visit traditional markets and spent proportionally more in supermarkets. Supermarket visitors were more concerned with social acceptability whereas, patrons of traditional markets placed greater emphasis on freshness. Heavy users of independent stores placed greater emphasis on in-store credit

The Online Shopping Acceptance Model

E-commerce in general, and online shopping in particular, are becoming popular ways of utilizing the Internet throughout the world. Social media is also becoming a widespread tool, not only for interaction with others but also for marketing. Despite this trend, there is a dearth of knowledge about the acceptance of online shopping and the use of social media in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. Technology adoption levels in Saudi Arabia are growing rapidly but have yet to reach their full potential. One of the leading theories explaining online shopping behaviour – the online shopping acceptance model (OSAM) – has not been employed in previous studies of social media use or in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia to understand online shopping. To address this research problem, the researcher implemented a study using a positivist approach. Quantitative data was gathered using an online survey. This survey was conducted with Saudi residents who engage with online shopping. A data set of 423 completed survey responses is used in this thesis for statistical analysis. The data was collected using a random sample and was collected from January to September 2015. The structural equation modelling tested the hypothesised relationships between the constructs as postulated in the model. Nineteen of the hypothesised links were supported and ten were rejected. Eventually, the model that has statistical and explanatory power was confirmed. The findings indicate a positive relationship between online shopping intention and other factors of online shopping acceptance in Saudi Arabia. A positive relationship is also seen between online shopping orientation and online shopping experience. The case examines the relationship between online shopping orientation and online shopping motivation. The same applies for the relationship between online shopping and social media through the mediation of online shopping intention. This research contributes to understanding the role of social media in OSAM in Saudi Arabia as a developing country, as OSAM incorporates social media as a new factor that influences acceptance aside from what is traditionally stipulated. A second contribution is the finding that shopping orientation is the most important construct affecting online shopping intention in Saudi Arabia

Evaluating M-Commerce Systems Success: Measurement and Validation of the DeLone and McLean Model of IS Success in Arabic Society (GCC Case Study)

This study focused on testing and verifying the 2003 DeLone and McLean Model (otherwise known as the Information System Success [ISS] Model), which represents the achievement of success in electronic systems, including smartphone commercial applications. Previous studies indicated that the DeLone and McLean Model has not been validated experimentally in the context of m-commerce, as there exist some differences between m-commerce and e-commerce. Moreover, the ISS model, for the m-commerce field, has been highly debated in terms of constructs such as perceived usefulness and IS use. These constructs create discrepancies in the acceptance of the ISS Model for the m-commerce field, especially in communities that have different technological requirements than other global communities. Previous studies focusing on the relationship between culture and electronic systems indicated that there are differences in the communities’ requirements that will directly affect the success of those electronic systems in Arabic communities. According to previous studies, there are verification shortages in the ISS model used to evaluate the success of m-commerce systems. The ISS model consists of six dimensions, which are system quality, information quality, service quality, user satisfaction, intention to use, and net benefit. The structural equation modelling technique was applied to the data for this model, which was collected by questionnaire. Responses were gathered from 803 actual users of online purchasing systems from three Arabic Gulf countries (171 from Qatar, 246 from the United Arab Emirates [UAE], and 386 from Saudi Arabia [KSA]). According to empirical evidence on the intention to use construct, which in turn is affected significantly by system quality and information quality constructs, reusing m-commerce applications is associated with quality of systems and information requirements in commercial applications. The results of this study on Arabic society will be beneficial for many future studies, such as ones determining the target characteristics of Arabic technology users and, especially, what features can be added to increase the level of satisfaction with m-commerce applications. This paper contributes several important implications to the field and discusses the additions and limitations that should be addressed in future studies

Factors That Predict the Adoption of Online Shopping in Saudi Arabia

Despite the increased numbers of online consumers, e-commerce growth is slow in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In this correlational study, the technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as a theoretical framework to examine whether perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and perceived usefulness of e-commerce platforms could predict consumers\u27 intention to adopt shopping online. A pre-existing TAM survey instrument was used to collect data from consumers (N = 95) who live in a City and have shopped at least once online. The regression analysis confirmed a positive statistically significant relationship between perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping. The results showed that perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and perceived usefulness of e-commerce platforms were statistically significant in predicting consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping, with F(2, 92) = 241.630, p \u3c .001, R2 = .840, and adjusted R2 = .837, and accounted for 84% of the variance in consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping. The correlation between perceived ease of use and consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping was (PEOU) r= .916, p \u3c .001 and the correlation significance between perceived usefulness and consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping was (PU) r= .591, p \u3c .001. Using study results, retailers may be able to develop improved strategies to increase profitability via online shopping. The implications for positive social change include the potential for improved quality of life for consumers in Saudi Arabia