The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between strategic planning as busi-ness management dimensions and financial management (FM) practices. To achieve this objective, employees from various firms working in Kuwait are under observation. A survey questionnaire is developed, considering fifteen items of strategic planning and five for financial management practices. A final sample of 276 respondents is considered for investigating the empirical relationship between the selected variables. Both descriptive and traditional linear regression modelling techniques are applied. However, the study findings are pretested through model specification for all five items of FM. It is found that various strategic planning items are significantly associated with financial management proxies including staff turnover, safeguarding physical and financial assets, and development of financial budgets in selected firms. Significance of the study can be viewed as emerging contribution in the present literature while assimilation strategic planning with financial management too. Besides, the study findings are useful for both strategic planning and finance departments in the business organizations for their better future development. Limitations of the study cover limited sample size and application of traditional method of analysis. Future studies should be in direction while addressing these boundaries.

This article aims to investigate the effect of market-sensing capability among knowledge creation and process and product innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan. We propose that market-sensing capability will influence knowledge creation and process as well as product innovation. The study develops a model that contributes to the flourishing marketing management literature, i.e. the higher the knowledge creation, the higher the performance of SMEs. Data are collated from valid (n=304) respondents of Jordanian SMEs. The study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the analysis and the results indicate a positive effect of market-sensing capability on knowledge creation, and process and product innovation. Knowledge creation process has also maintained a positive effect on process and product innovation. Knowledge creation process mediated the link between market-sensing capability and process and product innovation. The study suggests that market sensing abilities of an enterprise are important for SME’s improvement which requires learning-positioning for firm effectiveness. In addition, managers need to harmonize their procedures concerning market sensing and learning. Future study can streamline the findings with a longitudinal design and insights can be acquired by exploring the impact of environmental factors surrounding strategic entrepreneurial orientation.

The research paper studies the topical problem of increasing the competitiveness of modern enter-prises through the application of creative methods of innovation process management. The expediency of the use of creative methods of the innovation process management is revealed, which is predetermined by the necessity of the formation of long-term competitive advantages in the modern conditions of operation of the enterprises at the level of management tools. To achieve the goals set in the research paper, a system of general scientific and special methods of studying processes and phenomena in their interrelation and development is used, namely: system approach, methods of analysis, synthesis, modeling, systematization, grouping, logical generalization, structural and logical analysis. The research paper presents the role and place of creative management methods in an enterprise management system, which characterize the ways of influencing the management of an enterprise on the activity and interaction of employees of an enterprise involved in the creation of innovative ideas, products and solutions. The place of creative management methods as a tool for achieving the goals of providing innovation-oriented development of enterprises is grounded, which is a stable prerequisite for ensuring the competitiveness of companies in modern highly competitive innovative product markets. Recommendations for implementation of creative methods of innovation activity management of enterprises have been formed; the procedure and the main directions of the solution of existing problems of implementation of the innovation process at enterprises are proposed. The results of this research paper should be considered in the context of their importance to stimulate innovation-oriented development of enterprises, in particular, in the context of the vital need for the formation of sustainable competitive advantages under the conditions of liberalization of markets and globalization.

This paper evaluates the efficiency of five Indian pharmaceutical Industries using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. The paper uses Net Block, Cash and Bank Balance, Share Capital, Reserve and Surplus, Secure Loan and Unsecured Loan as input variables and Investments and ‘Loans and Advances’ as output variables. In this study, the Basic Radial Models input oriented with Constant Returns to scale (CRS) are used to estimate the efficiency of pharmaceutical Industries. The DEA tool assists the administrators to identify the inefficient measures and take necessary actions for improvement. The results are indicative of the scenario that changed patent laws in India are not detrimental to the financial and overall health of Indian pharmaceutical companies in general. The Indian pharmaceutical companies have suitably modified their business model to cope up with the changed legal environment. It is a positive sign for all Indian pharmaceutical companies that they are dynamic in management and operational policies to face any new situation and shall flourish more in the coming days.

This paper examines the relationship between entrepreneurial training, entrepreneurial culture and organizational performance. Accordingly, the study also investigates the moderating effect of gov-ernment funding on the relationship between entrepreneurial culture, entrepreneurial training and business performance among the public universities in Pakistan. The respondents include 415 heads of department out of 1100 identified in the study. Structural equation modeling using PLS 2.0 M3 reports significant relationship between entrepreneurial training and organizational performance. Likewise, entrepreneurial culture is also reported to be significantly important for boosting organizational performance. Importantly, the study reports significant moderation of government funding on the relationship between entrepreneurial culture and organizational performance. How-ever, no moderation is reported on the entrepreneurial training and organizational performance relationship. The findings of this study have enhanced the understanding regarding government funding in the prospect of improving the performance of the HEIs in Pakistan. The study recommends that the state government and higher education institutions in Pakistan allow room for entrepreneurial activities, and development of entrepreneurial principles and opportunities, and further encourage entrepreneurial practices through the development of public entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial training on innovation to generate/create positive effects on the organizational performance of HEIs.

The Saudi Arabian insurance sector has two distinctive features. First, major revenue for this sector comes from the mandatory medical and motor insurance. Second, this sector is dominated by a few companies which generally provide the same products in the sector. Therefore, a company may focus on providing better service quality in order to attain future growth and stability. High-quality service is essential to gain a competitive advantage in the insurance sector. In this context, the present study identifies a gap in assessing the quality of service in the insurance sector of Saudi Arabia, using the SERVPERF scale in particular. Structural Equation Modeling is used to assess the quality of service. The results indicate that SERVPERF is not adequate to measure service quality in the context of Saudi Arabia. In the process, this study opens a debate on, whether a universally acknowledged SERVPERF scale is suitable to apply in an environment where service is of mandatory nature.

This study aims to examine the effects of electronic word of mouth communication (eWOM) among consumers on purchase intention and brand image, specifically, Generation Y and Z groups in relation to smartphone brands. The study utilizes an empirical research model using data collected from 402 valid respondents among consumers who use smartphone brands in North Cyprus. The study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore and conduct the analysis. The results confirm the significant effects of eWOM on purchase intention through brand image and the moderating role of product type among eWOM, purchase intentions and brand image. The study also recommends that firms and marketers must concentrate on online communication channels to affect consumers’ intention toward purchasing brands and brand image. Moreover, the current study model suggests that future study can be extended in different context, countries (i.e. developed, emerging, developing), industries (i.e. banks, e-commerce, tourism) and different social me-dia platforms sites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter).

Present research is aimed to analyze the performance factors of flexible manufacturing systems by combined decision-making methodologies like analytical hierarchy process (AHP), combinatorial mathematics-based approach (CMBA) and improved ELECTRE. Six variables affecting the three factors of performance of flexible manufacturing systems viz. productivity, flexibility and quality are considered for the evaluation of performance factors. The weights of the attributes are calculated with AHP and the index score is calculated with CMBA methodology. CMBA methodology is the fusion of AHP and GTMA. ELECTRE approach has been used for the outranking of factors. The results show that productivity had the maximum impact on the performance of manufacturing systems. A high Spearman’s rank correlation also exists among the methods used.

Researching on the concept of work life balance (WLB) becomes imperative for any organization in order to enhance performance efficiency especially the sector concerned. This empirical research is focused on investigating the effect of work-life balance on the performance of money deposit banks in south-south region of Nigeria. In reviewing literature, the study explores alternative work ar-rangement and managerial support as dimensions of work like balance (the predicting variable), and performance as a criterion variable used for goal attainment as measure. 2562 staff of 12 banks spanning through six states was used as population size. Cochran sample size determination statistical technique was used to determine 485 sample size for the study. Questionnaire was used to col-late data and was analyzed with Simple Linear Regression and Pearson product moment correlation with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 17.0 windows). The result shows that work life balance demonstrated a great significant effect on the performance of money deposit banks as the dimensions alternative work arrangement such as compress work weeks, telecommut-ing, flexi time, job sharing and managerial supports predict employee goal attainment. Based on the findings, the study recommends that management should judiciously adopt and implement alternative work arrangement in order to offer a family-friendly atmosphere to attract and retain qualified employees to increase productivity.

Nowadays digitalization is an important topic for businesses and government agencies. There are important reports publishing about digitalization or digital transformation. This study aims to meas-ure the relative efficiency of digital transformation among EU Countries based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). The necessary data are extracted from Digital Transformation Scoreboard 2018 published by European Commission. DEA is one of popular methods for measuring the relative efficiency of similar units. This study empirically proposes an alternative ranking for countries with respect to digital transformation efficiency by using “enablers and output” approach of Digital Transformation Scoreboard. Digital Infrastructure, Investment and Access to Finance, Supply and Demand of Digital Skills, E-Leadership and Entrepreneurial Culture are considered as input while ICT start-ups and Digital Transformation are considered as the output of DEA model. The results indicate that while some countries like Denmark, Italy and United Kingdom are considered relatively efficient, Netherland and Germany are not very efficient according to our results.