Perceptions of the importance of business ethics in SMEs: A comparative study of Czech and Slovak entrepreneurs

This article focuses on the perception of the importance of business ethics among Czech and Slovak entrepreneurs (this includes business owners and managers) within the SME sector. The comparison is based on an analysis of the approach to business ethics according to a set of parameters, namely company size, years in business, and the gender and education of the entrepreneurs. Empirical research was conducted in 2020 on a sample set consisting of 454 respondents in the Czech Republic and 368 respondents in Slovakia. The most important outcome of the research was the finding that business ethics is considered extremely important in both countries. The research results not only revealed that just over 90% of Czech entrepreneurs and 88% of Slovak entrepreneurs within the SME sector agreed that they should take into account the moral and ethical consequences of their decisions, but that the structure of their answers was very similar. Also, of interest were the findings that women were more aware of business ethics than their male counterparts, as were those entrepreneurs who possessed a higher education over those with a secondary education. © 2020 Sciendo. All rights reserved

Significant aspects of managing personnel risk in the SME sector

Personnel risk significantly affects the operation of small and medium-sized enterprises. The aim of the paper is to define and present significant factors affecting the perception of personnel risk in the SME segment, and compare the current status and development in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The empirical research was conducted in 2020 in the SME segment in the Czech Republic and Slovakia via an online questionnaire, using a sample of 822 respondents. The obtained data were evaluated using the Chi square and Z score. Personnel risk significantly affects the SME segment and its business activities. This risk is perceived as the most significant business risk in both countries, even though its intensity is moderate and does not have a heavy negative impact on SMEs' activities. The overall evaluation of personnel risk's impact on SMEs' activities is similar in both countries. The evaluation of employee turnover was relatively positive, as a considerable part of entrepreneurs stated that turnover is low and does not have a negative impact on their business. The evaluation of turnover was similar in both countries. Based on entrepreneurs' statements, there are certain gaps in employee error rate, which affects their business. Slovak entrepreneurs provided a worse evaluation of the quality of their employees than the Czech entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs in both countries are dissatisfied with the way their employees strive to improve their performance or how they compete among each other. The comparison based on business size and age did not yield significant differences, nor did it provide a clear trend despite the general belief presented in literature that larger enterprises have a better access to important fields of business management

Electronic payment system use: A mediator and a predictor of financial satisfaction

This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of financial capability, financial advice, financial anxiety, and the use of an electronic payment system (EPS) on financial satisfaction. In the current era of digitalization and financial innovations, it seems quite unlikely that an individual remains unaffected by its use. The research was conducted in northern India on individual level using a partial least square structural equation modeling statistical technique to analyze responses collected from a closeended questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale. The results show that financial capability, financial advice, financial anxiety, and EPS usage have a direct positive effect on an individual's financial satisfaction. EPS usage plays a significant mediating role, as all the financial constructs depict a positive effect on financial satisfaction via EPS use. These findings contribute to the literature by offering an understanding of the determinants of financial satisfaction in the context of a low-income developing country, as well as the vital role of using EPS in an individual's financial satisfaction in today's digitally driven era. The results of this study could be a useful factor for policymakers and digital service providers for implementation and control. © 2020 LLC CPC Business Perspectives. All rights reserved

Linking individual demographics to antecedents of mobile banking usage: Evidence from developing countries in southeast Europe

This study investigates the linkages between the antecedents of the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model and an individual demographics in four developing countries in Southeast Europe. Three unexplored linkages are introduced, such as employment status, living settlement and financial experience. The article applies the partial least square and non-parametric methods to examine the proposed associations from a dataset of 959 individuals. Evidence reveals that those individuals who are employed, live in urban areas, and have financial experience scored higher in the UTAUT2 constructs. The article suggests the inclusion of additional moderating factors into the UTAUT2 model, which gives a better understanding of the individuals’ technology adaption to scholars and practitioners. © 2021 International Management Institute, New Delhi

Motivation among travel agents in India: The moderating role of employee's expertise and marital status

This study contributes to the literature by offering insights over the relationship between job satisfaction and work stress with employees' motivation among travel agencies in India. The paper aims to determine the impact of job satisfaction and work stress on employees' motivation level with a specific focus on the moderating impact of employees' expertise and marital status in the context of travel agencies in Southern India. A survey was conducted over employees of travel agencies in Southern India by adopting scales from the extant studies, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling through Smart PLS. The outcome of the study reveals that job satisfaction has a strong significant effect on employees' motivation, unlike work stress and employees' expertise has a partial significant moderating effect on the relationship between work stress and motivation. The study stressed much about the combined effects of the mediators. The present study has tested the new composite scale to measure the overall motivational level, unlike the previous studies. The survey was conducted between November 2019 and December 2019 and entails 164 respondents, the majority of the subjects are millennials between 18 and 35 years, with 43.3% having master's degree, all were found to be pre-qualified for the investigation. © 2020 LLC CPC Business Perspectives. All rights reserved

Financial Anxiety, Financial advice, and E-payment use: Relationship and perceived differences between males & females of Generation Z

This study sets out to solve a couple of research problems. First, to explore the correlation between individuals' financial anxiety, financial advice, and EPS (electronic payment system use) initially. Secondly, to explore the perceived differences among males and females, and to answer whether the gender inequality still prevalent amongst generation Z in India. This study applies basic statistics, spearman correlation and Man-Whitney U test on the dataset collected through 205 questionnaires from the northern states in India. The outcomes reveal few significant correlations and also give a positive indication that the gender differences are reducing, especially among the youth belonging to generation Z. Keeping in mind policymaker's viewpoint, it is vital to fully understand financial anxiety, financial advice seeking behaviour and EPS use, for designing better social policies, to empower the upcoming generation with adequate skills and abilities to tackle financial anxiety, avail proper financial advisory services and use EPS appropriately. This paper offers insights for the stronger investigations in future. The originality of the paper lies in the chosen variables, which are not explored thoroughly yet. The present research is an initial investigation concerned with young generations' financial anxiety, financial advice and EPS usage pattern. It contributes to the existing literature and intends to attract the attention of the researchers towards the investigated relationships. However, limitations detected in self-reporting and generalisation of the outcomes in other contexts, but authors believe that they can be overcome with further and extended research. © 2020 Innovare Academics Sciences Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved

Predictors of financial advice: An evidence from a developing nation

The financial markets and products become increasingly complicated day by day, and the current pandemic is adding fuel to the fire, causing volatilities in the financial markets around the globe and a tough time to the individuals. To make better financial decisions, one needs sufficient level of financial literacy, but past studies revealed that most countries have below-average financial literacy, and it takes a long time to improve it. So, in such a scenario, financial advice is a quick way for individuals to make a better financial decision. It can be an easy and quick substitute for financial literacy in the short run. Therefore, considering the usefulness of financial advice, this paper investigates the direct effect of demographic (gender and education), financial anxiety, financial capability, financial satisfaction, and online fransaction use on financial advice. The main objective of the paper is to understand the determinants of financial advice. The study is conducted in the northern part of India, collecting data through a self-reporting scale from individuals above 18. The paper applied hierarchical multiple regression with three steps in order to find the effects on financial advice. The findings indicate that financial advice is affected by financial anxiety, financial satisfaction, and online fransaction use. Gender and education failed to reflect a significant effect on financial advice. Hence, this paper strengthens the existing literature of financial advice through the integrated framework, considering how an individuals' financial anxiety, financial capability, financial satisfaction, and online transaction use (being a part of digital financial literacy) drive individuals' financial advice-seeking behaviour. The novelty of the paper is the integrated framework itself as the chosen variables combined on the individuals' financial advice are not explored yet.Internal Grant Agency of Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata University [IGA/FAME/2019/002

Mobile banking usage and gamification: the moderating effect of generational cohorts

Purpose: The extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model has been adapted and applied by scholars to gain insight into mobile banking (m-banking) usage. By combining three perspectives, UTAUT2, gamification (GM) and generational cohort theory, this study aims to investigate the factors which impact m-banking usage and examine the moderating effect of generations Y and Z on the relationship between GM and intention to use m-banking. Design/methodology/approach: The adopted model was tested in a quantitative study by using partial least square structural equation modelling. A total of 380 valid questionnaires from a transition country, Albania, have been examined. Findings: In the study, scientific evidence concerning the UTAUT2 model and GM elements are provided. Thus, facilitation conditions, habit and hedonic motivation were found to be significant determinants of GM. Moreover, the results revealed that age moderates the relationship between GM and behavioural intention (BI). Compared to generation Z, individuals born prior to 1996 (generation Y), exhibited a much stronger relationship. Research limitations/implications: Although Albania bears similarities with other transition countries in terms of regional, economic and political environments, the generalisation of these results to another context is rather limited. Practical implications: This paper offers a model integrating UTAUT2, GM and generational cohorts in the context of a transition country. The findings can be applied in the form of guidelines for a number of financial institutions. Originality/value: Besides identifying the determinants of m-banking adoption and GM, this study notably reveals the importance of generational cohorts because it governs the effect of GM on m-banking BI. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

Business recovery and institutional constraints: evidence from Visegrad Countries and Serbia

The current study investigates how institutional constraints and firms’ and entrepreneurs’ characteristics affect business recovery. Some elements have not yet been rigorously examined in the existing literature, especially not concerning the post-communist countries’ business recovery component and the same is the research gap current study intended to address. To evaluate the study model, ordinal logistic regression was used. More than 300 valid questionnaires are collected from the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Serbia. The findings show that factors such as firm tenure and size, location, sector, entrepreneurial motivation, product change, etc., have conflicting effects on business recovery. Some of the outcomes of the present study is supported by the existing studies and some requires further research. The study focuses on the less explored independent variables and their association with business recovery, specifically on SMEs, which highlights the paper’s originality. The output of the current study adds to the existing literature of business recovery and institutional constraints. Policymakers interested in removing institutional limitations and promoting a quicker business recovery for SMEs are drawn to the research. The study findings are also helpful from a managerial standpoint because business owners and managers significantly impact decisions about entrepreneur motivation, product change, and other issues

Antecedents of sustainable SMEs in the social media space: A Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach

Social media has become explosive, permeating every sphere of the socio-cultural lives of individuals and businesses, and causing nations to technologically evolve. The dramatic growth in the adoption and use of social media has become beneficial to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), significantly contributing to resolving a nagging challenge of effectively advertising their goods and services. Consequently, SMEs can achieve business growth and sustainability through increased adoption and harnessing the opportunities provided through the use of social media. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an impetus for both consumers and SME businesses to leverage interaction through social media, which may lead to business growth. This research thus sets out to identify how social media contributes to the growth of SMEs within a developing country context. To accomplish this objective, primary data was collected from SMEs in the hospitality industry across the sixteen administrative regions of Ghana using survey and simple random sampling techniques. Questionnaires were distributed to the managerial staff of each randomly selected survey participant. Out of the 900 questionnaires distributed, 718 were filled correctly for the data analysis. The researchers quantitatively analyzed the responses using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling(PLSSEM) statistical software ADANCO 2.0 version. The results indicated that Small and Medium Enterprises are capable of using social media for customer attraction, business marketing strategy, communication channel and increased financial performance. © 2021 John Amoah et al., published by Sciendo 2021.Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FaME/2021/005