Business Perspective Review

Industry-4, Big Data, and Blockchain Research Prospects in Supply Chain Domain

Jahedul Alam Bhuiyan — 2024-04-07

Purpose: Utilizing technologies becomes a prerequisite in the operations of supply chain management. Research in digitalized supply chain management (SCM) is now trending as a new arena of research. This study investigates and summarizes the research that has been performed so far in this area, and also explains what the future research scopes in the integration of digitalization and supply chain management are.

Method: To execute this study, we carry out a systematic literature review by using numerous software (i.e., BiBexcel, Gephi, and VOSviewer) for clustering existing literature in digitalized SCM from the Web of Science.

Result: Our findings suggest that Industry 4.0, Big data, Blockchain, and supply chain resilience are the four key categories in the research on digitalized SCM.

Implications: This study explains the reasons behind the research in these four categories. This literature review helps researchers to build a comprehensive knowledge of the research status of digitalized SCM and contributes to the direction of future research in digitalized SCM that helps researchers to explore their further investigations in the combination of SCM and Industry 4.0, Big data, Blockchain, and supply chain resilience.

The Effects of Family Culture and Marital Decisions of the Business Owners on Access to Financing of Very Small Businesses

Stanley Kongnyuy Wirkom — 2024-04-19

Purpose: This study seeks to examine the effects of family culture (presence during family meetings, assistance in important family events, and strong family bonds) as well as marital decisions (mutual participation, joint savings decisions, and joint ventures) on access to financing of very small businesses in the North West Region of Cameroon.

Methods: The study used a series of exogenous and control variables adapted from the model of Gikonyo, Agwata, & Anyango (2011) who proposed a strategic model for quantitative research. Primary data were collected through convenient sampling from 293 very small business owners in each divisional headquarters of the North West Region of Cameroon. We used the multiple correspondence analysis to construct indexes for family culture, marital decisions as well as access to financing of very small businesses. The hypotheses of the study were then tested using the ordinary least square estimation technique.

Results: The results obtained showed in aggregate, a positive and significant effect of family culture and marital decisions on access to financing. More precisely, the coefficients of presence during family meetings, assistance in important family events as well as strong family bonds are positive. These results were statistically significant at 1% level.

Implications: This study has significant practical implications on the financial health of very small businesses in the context of developing countries like Cameroon in general and the North West Region of Cameroon in particular plagued by the crisis and COVID-19. The study therefore concluded that if very small business owners can improve on the respect of family cultures and can jointly decide on their financial actions with their spouses, they will have better access to financing, especially in developing countries like Cameroon and more particularly in the North West Region of the country.

Fintech for Sustainability in Business and Economics Research

Ayesha Siddika Arshi — 2024-07-07

Purpose: Fintech for sustainability is pivotal for business and economics as it harnesses technology to drive environmentally and socially responsible practices while enhancing economic efficiency and growth. This paper discusses the research trends and future research implications of fintech in sustainable economic operations.

Methods: This study extracted scholarly articles from the Scopus database and adopted the PRISMA framework and bibliographic analysis to uncover publication trends, research, affiliation, geographical circumstances, keywords trends, thematic trends, and bibliographic coupling to assess current practices and pinpoint future research directions of fintech to adopt the wider sustainability practices in business and economy.

Results: Steady progress has been made in developing fintech applications to achieve sustainability. There is notable research collaboration in both developing and developed economies. Recent keyword trends indicate a growing interest in sustainability and digital transformation. The thematic map demonstrates that the digital economy is a well-established topic. However, there is a need for new research in financial technology-based climate solutions to address significant sustainability gaps. This study identified the impact of emerging financial technologies on sustainability as a widely researched area. We suggested the connection between sustainability and the fintech ecosystem, sustainable financial inclusion, open fintech innovation, and fintech stability as potential areas for future research to expedite fintech adoption in sustainability goals.

Implications: Researchers, regulators, and policymakers can utilize the conclusions drawn from the research questions to craft a distinctive framework outlining strategic approaches and actionable plans for developing fintech policies that facilitate faster adoption of sustainability practices.