Leadership styles and company performance: the experience of owner-managers of SMEs

Leadership styles of owner-managers were explored in the context of a developingcountry in South Asia with a view to examining their impact on financial performanceof SMEs. It was justified that the study has both theoretical and contextualsignificance. Data were collected from 204 companies in Sri Lanka by adopting mixedmethodologies that consisted of both qualitative and qualitative approaches.Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficient were used in the analysis. The findingsrevealed that the existence of three main leadership styles in the sample, namely;entrepreneurial, managerial, and mix of both entrepreneurial and managerialleaderships. The analysis indicated that 60 percent of firms had increased financialperformance, while 35 percent firms had decreased financial performance. The impactanalysis showed that entrepreneurial leadership style is more effective than managerialleadership styles and the mixed style of leadership in terms of increasing financialperformance. Overall, the study contributes to the theory of leadership styles andperformance in the context of developing countries. It also has practical implicationsfor business leaders and owner managers of SMEs

Profitability analysis of listed manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka and Malaysia: An empirical investigation

This paper uses empirical data on 161 listed manufacturing companies in Sri Lankaand Malaysia over the period of 2006 to 2008, and compares the performance of thesecompanies against two commonly used financial performance indicators: Return onAssets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). The results indicate that during this periodSri Lankan manufacturing companies were considerably more profitable than theircounterparts in Malaysia in terms of ROA but less profitable in terms of ROE. It alsoidentifies a relatively weaker position of equity investments in the manufacturing sectorof Sri Lankan companies and attributes this to a number of factors, including: arelatively poor equity market, high interest rates, and excessive fear of high-riskinvestment. A similar trend was observed when the profitability and equity ofcompanies were analysed by industry

Capital structure and its implications: empirical evidence from an emerging market in South Asia

Using panel data regression analysis for a sample of 171 companies, this paper examines the implications of capital structure of corporate entities in an emerging market, Sri Lanka. The results demonstrate that most of the Sri Lankan firms finance their operations with short-term debt capital as against the long-term debt capital. It provides strong evidence to indicate that debt capital has a negative impact on firm performance. The study also found a significant negative relationship between tangibility and performance indicating inefficient utilization of non-current assets. The negative performance implications associated with over-utilization of short-term debts and the under-utilization non-current assets provide corporate managers with useful policy direction on appropriate capital structure and operational decisions. The findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge pertaining to capital structure-performance link in emerging economies

Divergent east-west lineages in an Australian fruit fly, (Bactrocera jarvisi), associated with the Carpentaria Basin divide

Bactrocera jarvisi is an endemic Australian fruit fly species (Diptera: Tephritidae). It occurs commonly across tropical and subtropical coastal Australia, from far-northern Western Australia, across the ‘Top End’ of the Northern Territory, and then down the Queensland east coast. Across this range, its distribution crosses several well documented biogeographic barriers. In order to better understand factors leading to the divergence of Australian fruit fly lineages, we carried out a population genetic study of B. jarvisi from across its range using genome-wide SNP analysis, utilising adult specimens gained from trapping and fruit rearing. Populations from the Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia were genetically similar to each other, but divergent from the genetically uniform east-coast (= Queensland, QLD) population. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the NT population derived from the QLD population. We infer a role for the Carpentaria Basin as a biogeographic barrier restricting east-west gene flow. The QLD populations were largely panmictic and recognised east-coast biogeographic barriers play no part in north-south population structuring. While the NT and QLD populations were genetically distinct, there was evidence for the historically recent translocation of flies from each region to the other. Flies reared from different host fruits collected in the same location showed no genetic divergence. While a role for the Carpentaria Basin as a barrier to gene flow for Australian fruit flies agrees with existing work on the related B. tryoni, the reason(s) for population panmixia for B. jarvisi (and B. tryoni) over the entire Queensland east coast, a linear north-south distance of >2000km, remains unknown.</p

Effects of the entrepreneurial and managerial orientations of owner-managers on company performance: An empirical test in Sri Lanka

In this paper we have made strong distinction between managerial and entrepreneurial orientations of leadership and argued that these orientations should have different effects on the performance of companies. Data were collected from a sample of 204 owner-managers of Sri Lankan companies by administering a mailed paper questionnaire. Company performance was measured by the ratings of sales performance on the part of managers concerned. Correlation and regression analysis were then performed in the impact analysis. Our findings indicate that the leadership orientation of owner-managers of small firms is more entrepreneurial than managerial. Also, entrepreneurial orientation (EO) correlated more significantly with firmsÿ performance than did managerial orientation (MO), and the relative impact of mixed orientations of leadership on company performance is more positive than that of MO in the case of medium and large firms. This paper advances the theoretical work into leadership and entrepreneurship and adds to the body of knowledge in the context of developing countries. Practical implications for the research include assisting owner-managers to determine the likelihood of appropriate leadership orientations relevant to their particular context and firm size

Capital structure and firm performance in emerging economies: an empirical analysis of Sri Lankan firms

This paper offers an empirical analysis of the impact of capital structure on firm performance in thecontext of an emerging marketÿSri Lanka. The study applies both pooled and panel data regressionmodels for a sample of 155 Sri Lankan-listed firms. The results demonstrate that most of the SriLankan firms finance their operations with short-term debt capital as against the long-term debtcapital and provide strong evidence that the firm performance is negatively affected by the use of debtcapital. The study also finds a significant negative relationship between tangibility and performanceindicating inefficient utilization of non-current assets. The negative performance implicationsassociated with over-utilization of short-term debts and the under-utilization non-current assetsprovide corporate managers with useful policy directions

Effect of Different Processing Conditions on Bioactive Compounds of Selected Grape Varieties

Bioactive compounds in grapes vary in terms of cultivar and processing conditions. Raw juice and treated grape juices from locally grown Israel blue and locally available, imported, Red Globe and Michele Palieri varieties in Sri Lanka were used for the analysis. Grape juices were subjected to different processing conditions such as pasteurization and pectinase enzyme treatment. Total Monomeric Anthocyanin content (TAC), Total Phenolic Content (TPC), and antioxidant activity were analyzed. Compared to the imported grape varieties, the locally grown, pectinase enzyme-treated Israel blue grape juice with 2% pectinase enzyme concentration, 40 0C incubation temperature, and 2 hours incubation time, under dark condition had the significantly highest values (p &lt; 0.05) for TAC at 177.03±4.15 mg/L of malvidin-3-O-glucoside (M3G), TPC at 527.07 ± 3.55 mg/L of Gallic acid equivalents and antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH radical scavenging assay with IC50 value at 7.05±0.35 mg/mL Gallic acid equivalents and ABTS radical scavenging assay with IC50 value at 0.31±0.01 mg/mL of Trolox equivalents. TAC, TPC, and antioxidant activity of three grape varieties showed the highest values in pectinase enzyme-treated grape juice which was followed by raw juice and the pasteurized juice respectively. This research has taken an approach to enhance the bioactivity of grape juices via pectinase enzyme treatment and evaluate the suitability of locally grown Israel blue grape variety in Sri Lanka to form as a functional beverage to meet nutritional and health requirements

[[alternative]]The effects of gender composition between the owner and employees on profit performance : a case of sole-proprietor CPA firms

碩士[[abstract]]本論文主要目的是探討單獨開業會計師事務所業主與員工性別組合對其利潤績效之影響。本論文試圖以女王蜂理論，將業主性別對企業經營績效影響的課題，延伸至業主性別與員工性別之組合對企業經營績效之影響。本論文以台灣1992年至2008年所發行之「會計師事務所服務業調查報告」為樣本資料，研究有兩個主要發現，其一為獨資型會計師事務所女性員工比例偏多的利潤績效會較低，其二為以女性為業主的獨資開業會計師事務所，在女性員工比例偏多時其利潤績效最低。研究結果除可供會計師產業，尤其是獨資型的會計師事務所的管理階層做為相關決策的參考外，由於會計師產業係專業服務業的一種，故對於專業服務業的其他次產業，如律師事務所或管理顧問公司等的管理階層亦具潛在的參考性。[[abstract]]The purpose of this thesis is to explore the impact of gender composition between owners and employees in the sole-proprietor accounting firm on its profit performance. Based on the Queen Bee Syndrome, we attempt to extend prior literature simply discussing owners’ gender on profit performance by discussing the gender composition of owner and employees on profit performance. The data used for this thesis are obtained from Annual Survey of Accounting Firms in Taiwan, and the sample period is from 1992 to 2008. The study has two major findings. First, the higher proportion of female employees, the sole-proprietor accounting firm has the lower profit performance. Secondly, abstracted form the female owner of sole-proprietor accounting firm, we find the sole-proprietor accounting firm has the lowest profit performance while there is higher proportion of female employees. These findings provide the guidance for decision making to managers in accounting industry, particularly the sole-proprietor accounting firm. Since the professional services characteristic of accounting industry, the results also offer potential reference to managers in sub-industries such as law firms and consulting firms.[[tableofcontents]]第一章 緒論……………………………………………..1 第一節 研究背景與動機………………………………....1 第二節 研究目的………………………….......................2 第三節 論文結構與研究流程…………………………....2 第二章 文獻探討………………………….....................5 第一節 會計師事務所的利潤績效…………...........5 第二節 業主性別與利潤績效之關聯性……………...6 第三節 員工性別比例與利潤績效之關聯性…………..8 第四節 業主性別與員工性別比例之配適對利潤績效之影 響……………………………………...10 第五節 文獻評述………………………………….13 第三章 研究設計……………………………………....15 第一節 研究架構……………………………….....15 第二節 研究假說………………………………….15 第三節 變數選擇………………………………….16 第四節 實證模式………………………………….18 第五節 資料來源………………………………….19 第四章 實證分析結果………………………………...20 第一節 敘述性統計分析………………………… 20 第二節 相關性分析……………………………….27 第三節 共變異數分析結果……………………….34 第五章 結論與建議…………………………………...36 第一節 研究結論…………………………………36 第二節 研究限制…………………………………36 第三節 未來研究建議……………………………37 參考文獻………………………………………………… 38 表目錄 表4.1.1 全體樣本之敘述性統計……………………………...…21 表4.1.2 男性業主與女性員工比例高配適之敘述統計量…….…21 表4.1.3 男性業主與女性員工比例低配適之敘述統計量…….....22 表4.1.4 女性業主與女性員工比例低配適之敘述統計量……….22 表4.1.5 女性業主與女性員工比例高配適之敘述統計量…….…23 表4.1.6 員工女性比例低之敘述統計量……….…………………24 表4.1.7 員工女性比例高之敘述統計量………………………….24 表4.1.8 業主性別為女性之敘述統計量………………………….25 表4.1.9 業主性別為男性之敘述統計量………………………….26 表4.2.1 全體樣本各變數間相關係數矩陣……………………….29 表4.2.2 男性業主與女性員工比例高配適之各變數間相關係數矩陣……30 表4.2.3 男性業主與女性員工比例低配適之各變數間相關係數矩陣……31 表4.2.4 女性業主與女性員工比例低配適之各變數間相關係數矩陣……32 表4.2.5 女性業主與女性員工比例高配適之各變數間相關係數矩陣……33 表4.3.1 業主性別與女性員工比例高低之共變異數分析摘要表………....34 表4.3.2 會計師性別與員工性別比例之配適對利潤率影響之共變 異數分析摘要表………………………………………....35 VI 圖目錄 圖 1.3.1 研究流程圖……………………………………………….4 圖3.1.1 研究架構圖……………………………………………15[[note]]學號: 799600217, 學年度: 10