Livelihood strategies for widows and divorcees of coastal fishers in Indonesia

In Bugis-Makassar families with a patriarchal cultural system, men are the backbone of the family and women only work in the domestic realm. The main problem faced by widows and divorcees of coastal fishers is the dual role that requires them to take care of the household and children as well as earn a living for the needs of the family. This dual function requires a widow to have a strategy and carry out these two roles simultaneously. This study aims to find out how the strategies for making a living for widows of coastal fishers in improving the family economy. This study uses a qualitative approach with case study method. The data collection technique uses a purposive sampling for determining the informant and conducting in-depth interview technique with eight widows consisting of four widows and four divorcees. We also observed the daily activities of the informants. Meanwhile, the interview process was carried out using semi-structured interviews about how the strategy for earning a living was carried out so that it could support the family economy. The study found social capital-based livelihood strategies for poor fishers. They often interpret the strategy as a way or an alternative to a situation. In this case, the widow or divorcee of a coastal fisher is part of the community. Widows and divorcees who work in more than one type of work make their association with others as a form of social capital. Thus, they can provide support to each other as aform of social security and  social capital to support the family

Does international competition enhance capacity utilisation? : evidence from Indonesia, Philippine and Vietnam

This paper uses firm-level data of small and medium manufacturing firm in Indonesia, Philippine and Vietnam and studies the relationship between capacity utilisation and foreign market competition for the possibility of efficient firms self-selecting themselves instead of learning-by-exporting to enter the foreign markets. Estimating both linear and quadratic model on an unbalanced variance of exporting and non-exporting firms shows that the impact of foreign market competition on capacity utilisation is following a curvilinear relationship with a diminishing marginal point of as a constraint for further expansion. Capacity utilisation rate higher in non-exporting group is not only emphasizing a strong domestic market orientation of firms at large but also indicating the selection of learning-by-exporting entry mode by exporter SMEs in these countries. The paper further explores the impact of firm and industry physiognomies on a firm’s capacity utilisation and finds that the effects of wage productivity, competition, firm size, and legal structure are linearly positive and capacity dependent. The results throughout maintain the importance of capacities, competitiveness, and institutional performance as priorities to promote SMEs growth

Do managerial characteristics promote export development? : a case of manufacturing small and medium enterprises in Indonesia

This paper examines the extent to which the managerial characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector impact on export development in Indonesia. Utilising descriptive and inferential statistics techniques, we find that differences exist between exporting and non-exporting firms in relation to the managerial characteristics of education level, foreign language ability and international business experience. The findings indicate that a manager’s educational attainment, foreign language skills, and international business experience have a significant impact on the export development of the firm. The implication of the findings is that the Indonesian government should pursue policies aimed at encouraging training and improving language skills of managers, as well as promoting international business experience of managers, as these policies are capable of enhancing the export competitiveness of manufacturing small and medium enterprises in Indonesia

Insight: Determinants of SMEs Internationalisation in Indonesia

The paper examines the managerial and organisational factors affecting export development of manufacturing SMEs in Indonesia

Does the board gender diversity enhance firm performance?

Board gender diversity is a keenly debated topic in both management practice and academic discourse. This study examines the influence of board gender diversity on firm financial performance in four ASEAN countries. Adopting agency and resource dependence approaches, board gender diversity’s interactions with three mediating organizational variables are evaluated against four organisational performance measures. Partially supporting agency theory and resource dependence theory, the results suggest that board gender diversity are only positively associated with sales to fixed asset ratio and sales per employee ratio. The BGD’s effects at the organisational level are mediated distinctly by firm size, ownership structure, and industry nature respectively, and by the multivariate interaction among these variables. The results of this paper support the findings of other studies that found a partially significant link between the board gender diversity and the firm’s performance. Decision-makers in society and politics, therefore, need to be aware of the empirical evidence indicating that stimulating organisational environment may need to be configured before the valuable outcomes of gender diversity can be achieved

The impact of domestic constraints on export behaviour of small and medium-sized firms in Indonesia

This paper empirically investigates a domestic business environment and tests its impact on the export behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in manufacturing in Indonesia. It is based on a SME survey conducted by the World Bank in 2009 which identified critical domestic business environmental aspects perceived by entrepreneurs such as labour, infrastructure, regulations, economic and market variables. A conceptual framework linking these domestic environment variables to export intensity is developed and tested for statistical magnitude. Results indicate that international shipping, business licensing and permits, access to a pool of skilled labour, access to land use, and access to alternative sources of external finance significantly affect SMEs’ export intensity. Negative relationships between these domestic environment variables and export behaviour demonstrate the need for the government to support efforts to increase the global competitiveness of Indonesian business and create a conducive economic and political environment by improving the supply chain system and infrastructure, transforming the training and education sector to conform with market demand, trimming down licensing procedures and disseminating export procedures and their alterations in order to increase performance of manufacturing SMEs in Indonesia