SMEs and their e-commerce Implications for training in Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract: One of the greatest challenges facing traditional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs

Business issues and business prospects of immigrant entrepreneurs in New Zealand: an empirical analysis of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM)

Immigrant entrepreneurs are widely perceived as being highly sought after for innovation and economic growth. This view is commonly shared by many developed countries where immigration policies favourably reflect special visas and entry programmes to attract immigrant entrepreneurs. It is also widely acknowledged that business ownership is not only higher, but also growing among the foreign-born population rather than the native-born population in a country. New Zealand is not an exception to this, as immigrants turn more frequently to self-employment and start up their own than do native-born workers. This paper seeks to examine whether a relationship between certain business issues and business prospects of immigrant entrepreneurs in a constructed Structured Equation Modelling (SEM) approach exists. This analysis is carried out on the basis of a face-to-face questionnaire survey on the 262 immigrant entrepreneurs of small retail businesses in Auckland. A step by step approach was utilised by means of a quantitative analysis starting from an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to comply with the structured model. Subsequently, structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to obtain results. The finding shows that the ratio of Chi-square (x2) to the degree of freedom (df) is 2.072. The value of CFI is 0.922 and RMSEA is 0.074, satisfying the goodness of measures in the model constructed. Furthermore, the structural path (relationships) between immigrant business issues in relation to business prospects is significant (p < 0.05). The study concludes that there are specific issues or factors that positively contribute to business prospects of immigrant entrepreneurs. With the increase in the awareness of business issues which immigrant entrepreneurs are confronted with, there is a greater possibility that business prospects will also be promising. This may reflect the overall growth of small businesses in which the immigrant entrepreneurs are involved, given the possibility that they would potentially contribute to economic growth activities in New Zealand

Halalpreneurs among immigrants and their business prospects in Malaysia

Immigrant entrepreneurial involvements in economic activities have been well noted. Scholars tend to agree that the presence, and contribution of immigrant entrepreneurs to business and growth of new businesses lead to economic prosperity, job creation, multiple monetary benefits and overall economic well-being. The immigrant-entrepreneurial activities are found in many countries, developing and developed alike. However, immigrant who involve in halal entrepreneurship or halalpreneurs is less known. Immigrant Halalpreneurs, their business success and business prospects are not found, discussed and researched. In constrast, immigrant entrepreneurial activities and halal industry are both growing tremendously over decades, globally and domestically. This study aims to identify issues and challenges of immigrant halalpreneurs, and their business success and prospects in small retailing businesses. Based on 274 immigrant halalpreneurs surveyed at Klang Valley, Malaysia, it was found that the majority of immigrant halalpreneurs come from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Immigrant halalpreneurs are found to be relatively well prepared for business and obtained experience before initiating a business. They are positive about their business issues as well as business success and prospects, with the highly significant relationship between those variables. The research concludes that immigrant halalpreneurs and their business activities can be a source of entrepreneurial development, employment generation and future impetus for economic growth and development

Small medium enterprises (smes) in Turkey and Malaysia a comparative discussion on issues and challenges

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) inTurkey and Malaysia play significant economic and social roles by offering new job opportunities, lowering unemployment rate, increasing competition, productivity and providing substantial benefits to the economy of both countries. It has contributed to more than 90 percent of total establishments and more than 40 percent of countries GDP. The purpose of this study is to investigate issues and challenges that have affected the growth of SMEs in both countries. In identifying the issues and challenges, three factors in the Kobayashi (1997) micro model for SMEs namely, financial assistance, the impact of knowledge-based economy and impact of marketing assistance were analyzed. The methodology employed is by means of secondary data and literature review. This study will contribute to the understanding of the similarities and differences on issues and challenges faced by SMEs in both countries. This will assist policymakers and regulators in taking the remedial steps to improve their performance

GLOBAL HALAL INDUSTRY: REALITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The purpose of this study is to realize the opportunities of Halal industry exploring the driving factors of this fastest growing industry in the world. The global Halal industry as a whole is estimated to worth around USD2.3 trillion (excluding Islamic finance) a year, is now one of the fastest growing markets. Simultaneously, the global market growth is estimated to reach at an annual rate of 20 percent per annum. Such expansion of the industry is because the global halal market of 2.18 billion Muslims is no longer confined Muslims only. Similarly, the Halal industry is no longer confined to food and food-related products, but rather to include pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, health products, toiletries and medical devices as well as service sector components such as logistics, marketing, print and electronic media, packaging, branding, and financing. This paper attempts to examine the current realities of the global halal industry by observing the factors determining such increasing demand for Halal industry in addition to the opportunities that are offered from on recent global development in the market.  According to the Islamic rules and regulations the word halal is rooted from an Arabic word which means ‘permissible’ or ‘lawful’. The concept of halal is not bound to food-related items only but to multiple other aspects such as products, which can be further categorized into various groups, for instance, cosmetics, self-care, health, tourism and services. A global survey discovered that the Muslims spend on food, beverages and lifestyles amounting to USD$2 trillion in 2016. Moreover, the global Muslim market spends on travel reaching USD$169 billion in 2016 and expected to increase to USD$283 billion in 2022. Meanwhile, the Muslim average per capita income (GDP) has risen from USD$1763 to USD$6530 from 1993 to 2010. To achieve the objectives of the study, a methodology of analyzing secondary data was adopted in this paper. The sources of all secondary data and information were extensive literature review, library search, a number of different websites, online journal publications, conference proceedings, thesis, different institutional reports and publications. The findings show that there are three major factors driving the rapidly growing global halal market. First, sizable and growing Muslim population at 1.8 per cent per annum, Second, growing economic development and hence increasing purchasing power among the Muslim. Lastly, emergence of the potential halal market in non-Muslim nations and halal industry players. Nonetheless, numerous challenges confronting Halal industry players. These include the standardization of halal, lack of data, animal right, halal is not compulsory in many Muslim countries and others. As a way forward, industry players need to deepen knowledge and understanding of the Muslim market (pattern and behavior), regularly update data, and exploit untapped market niches as well as product sales and promotion. Findings and recommendations of this work will be a great resource for future researchers and scholars in relevant areas as well as policy makers to make their strategic decisions in the fields of Halal Industry

Halal entrepreneurship from Maqasid-al-sharia’h perspective: inseparable concept for Halalpreneurs

Entrepreneurship has become one of the vital activities for economic development. It is synonymous with job creation, innovation, improvement in the societal well-being and economic growth in developed and developing countries alike. There is great interest in entrepreneurship globally as well as in Malaysia. Over the past few years, many individuals, as well as families, are actively engaged with the small business. Also, in light of the 2013 GEM study, 12.7% of Americans are effectively occupied with beginning a business or are the proprietor/director of a business that is under three years of age. Simultaneously, the Halal industry, that represents the global Islamic economy, is the fastest growing market in the world with $2.3 trillion market value. Halal entrepreneurs (Halalpreneurs) are the major contributors to this achievement as they constitute a significant portion of the total establishment in most of the Muslim countries. That is the reason Entrepreneurship has turned into a conventional term that depicts a wide range of practices that include being innovative, devilish and tricky. Entrepreneurship has been defined by many scholars, researchers, industry players, and academicians globally which has also been perceived in the same way by most of the economies around the world. However, the Islamic economy looks at the concept of ‘entrepreneurship’ in a different way and perceives it as ‘Halalpreneurship’. To define entrepreneurship in the Halal industry, although, the term ‘Halalpreneurship’ is being used, surprisingly the term has not been defined properly yet. It is essential for the Muslim entrepreneurs to have a proper understanding of Halalpreneurship from Maqasid-al-Shariah perspective. Such point of view is crucial to justify the term in the Halal industry and differentiate from conventional entrepreneurs. On this context, this paper provides concept and definition of Halalpreneurship justifying from the perspective of Maqasid-al-Sharia’h. It also identifies the differences between Halalpreneurs and entrepreneurs using secondary resources available in the forms of literature, research papers, journal papers, articles, conference papers, online publications, etc. The findings of the study will clarify the concept of Halalpreneurship from Maqasid-al-Sharia’h perspective and recognize Halalpreneurs distinguished from conventional entrepreneurs

Halal tourism: definition, justification, and scopes towards sustainable development

Sustainability is a worldwide concern embedded in every sphere of human life including economic, environmental, and as well as social aspects. Similarly, tourism is one of the major areas of many economies where sustainability is a rising concern. Sustainable tourism has been defined by several organizations like WTO, ICOMOS, and many studies as well. Additionally, Halal tourism, often termed as Islamic tourism or Muslim friendly tourism, is a new concept in the tourism industry that opens up new and exciting opportunities for enhancing economic growth. The idea 'Halal' additionally relates the idea 'Toyyib' which means great. Along these lines, the importance of 'Halal' is anything which is allowed by sharia’h and great for human being. The coordination of moral qualities alongside religious qualities opens up the limit of halal tourism from 2.8 billion Muslim consumers to non-Muslim consumers too around the globe. The fusion of halaln-toyyiban (Lawful and goodness) can be related to every field of sustainability. Halal tourism, one of the components of the Halal industry, in fact, addresses a few of the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) and can have a significant contribution towards sustainability. It has now become a lifestyle choice of Muslim travelers and also drawing the attention of non-Muslims as well. Recent data shows Muslim spending on Halal travel was USD169 billion in 2016 and estimated to reach USD283 billion by 2022. It is essential to understand and also spread the sustainable aspect of Halal tourism in the global economy which can enhance the growth of the industry. This perspective will also make all consumers welcome and accept halal tourism keeping aside any religious zeal. Based on literature review and secondary data, this paper defines and justifies the term ‘Halal’ accepted and welcomed by all. The study provides the definition of Halal in the form of a table where the term has been adopted as an acronym. Each letter of the acronym HALAL stands for different attributes of Halal concept. Combining all these aspects together completes the definition of Halal. The definition of Halal tourism has also been deducted integrating all the aspects (Shariah law, target customer, destination, purpose, and product and services) together to be covered in terms of both sustainable and halal tourism. Simultaneously, it justifies the definitions of tourism from both sustainable and Islamic perspective. The study also identifies how halal tourism addresses four important SDGs and contributes towards sustainable development. Additionally, and it explores the scope of halal tourism to contribute more in relation to other SDGs in a greater extent. This paper contributes to the halal industry, that represents Islamic economy as well, providing a universal definition of Halal, clarifying the sustainability perspective of both Halal and halal tourism, and identifying the SDGs addressed by Halal tourism. This study opens up greater research scopes regarding other components of Halal industry and sustainable development

IDENTIFYING AND MEASURING THE WEIGHTS OF HALAL COMPLIANCE RATING (HCR) COMPONENTS OF BEST HALAL PRACTICES BY APPLYING AHP METHOD

The halal industry in restaurant chain is lacking a rating system that would help the consumers to choose their preferences and enhance the halal integrity. In this regard, as a first step to develop a halal compliance rating (HCR) tool, the objective of this research is to identify and select the components of best halal practices for restaurants. This was achieved by reviewing existing relevant rating systems, standards, and research papers. The selected ten components were weighed by applying Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method of decision making through the participation of 15 experts where the maximum priority was given to ‘Hygiene and Food Safety (HFS)’ component with a weightage of 22.3%. The least priority was given to ‘Branding, Packaging, and Labelling (BPL)’ with a weightage of 4.4%. The consistency ratio was checked as 0.015. Additionally, the study investigates the auditable and measurable areas of the selected ten HCR components

Islamic business coaching from the perspective of Indonesian coaches

In an increasingly competitive era of trade, training is insufficient to help solve business problems and challenges that often change daily. Meanwhile, business professionals realize that the coaching process used for the past dozen years by athletes, orators, and artists to improve their performance can also be used to help entrepreneurs to help accelerate business goals and personal success. Organizations that offer coaching have grown rapidly over the past decade. Even though in Indonesia, several coaching Islamic businesses have their communities, until now there is limited literature on Islamic business coaching. This study develops definitions for Islamic business coaching along with its characteristics for the Indonesian setting. This was achieved using qualitative research. Data were collected with interviewing 5 Islamic Indonesian master coaches. Recording of interviews was transcribed and coded. Then, those were analyzed with content analysis. The paper concludes that Islamic business coaching differs from conventional coaching due to being based on Islamic religiosity and principles. In Addition, the characteristics of Islamic business coaching include Islamic business coach’s role, Islamic business coaching session focus, and Islamic business coaching results

Halal Entrepreneurship: Concept and Business Opportunities

The concept of entrepreneurship is not something new in Islam as it can be observed from the history as a noble profession practiced by the Prophet (PBUH) and His companions. However, in recent times, scholars of the Islamic economy have introduced a new term, “Halal entrepreneurship” or “Halalpreneurship” to define and differentiate entrepreneurs in the Halal industry from the conventional entrepreneurs. The integration of Islamic values reshapes the entrepreneurs in the Halal industry through certain features that justify using the term Halalpreneurs and Halalpreneurship. However, a limited number of research papers have attempted to define Halalpreneurship. In this context, this chapter aims to achieve two main objectives. Firstly, to provide a comprehensive overview of Halal entrepreneurship (Halalpreneurship) by identifying its salient features that differentiates from entrepreneurs. Such understanding and knowledge will help someone to identify his/her role as Halalpreneur in the Halal industry. Secondly, to explore the business opportunities in different sectors of the global halal industry for the Halalpreneurs to tap. To achieve the objectives, the chapter adopts the methodology of content analysis by reviewing research papers, books, journals, and articles from different secondary sources