Do Risk-Taking, Innovativeness, and Proactivity Affect Business Performance of SMEs? A Case Study in Bangladesh

Md,Atikur RAHAMAN,Kaniz Fatema LUNA,Zhao Lin PING,Mohammad Saiyedul ISLAM,Md. Mobarak KARIM 한국유통과학회 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.5

In the current technology-driven era, Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been deemed as one of the leading and prominent drivers of sustainable economic progress in emerging and developing economies such as in the Bangladesh context. Hence, it is of significance to understand what might fuel accelerating performance of SME business as increased SME performance will bring about more sustainability and strong development of SME sector within the country, through which more employment is anticipated to be generated. Therefore, the current study examines the impact of three factors: risk-taking, innovativeness, and proactiveness on SME performance in Bangladesh. The study has gathered data from SME entities in Dhaka city of Bangladesh, by applying a non-probability sampling strategy. 250 SME owners were contacted to act as respondents and finally, 180 SME owners fully completed the survey questionnaire, indicating that the final sample size is n=180. SPSS is used as a purpose of testing the hypotheses by considering a 5% significance level as acceptance criteria of the hypothesis. Hierarchical regression analysis was run to understand the impact of control variables and independent variables on SME performance and found that age of business, risk-taking, innovativeness, and proactiveness have an important impact on SME performance in Bangladesh.

Kidney protective potential of lactoferrin: pharmacological insights and therapeutic advances

Md,Sarwar Zahan,Kazi Ahsan Ahmed,Akhi Moni,Alessandra Sinopoli,Hunjoo Ha,Md Jamal Uddin 대한생리학회-대한약리학회 2022 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.26 No.1

Kidney disease is becoming a global public health issue. Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) have serious adverse health outcomes. However, there is no effective therapy to treat these diseases. Lactoferrin (LF), a multi-functional glycoprotein, is protective against various pathophysiological conditions in various disease models. LF shows protective effects against AKI and CKD. LF reduces markers related to inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and kidney fibrosis, and induces autophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis in the kidney. Although there are no clinical trials of LF to treat kidney disease, several clinical trials and studies on LF-based drug development are ongoing. In this review, we discussed the possible kidney protective mechanisms of LF, as well as the pharmacological and therapeutic advances. The evidence suggests that LF may become a potent pharmacological agent to treat kidney diseases.

Quality Assessment of Beef Using Computer Vision Technology

Md,Faizur Rahman,Abdullah Iqbal,Md,Abul Hashem,Akinbode A,Adedeji 한국축산식품학회 2020 한국축산식품학회지 Vol.40 No.6

Imaging technique or computer vision (CV) technology has received huge attention as a rapid and non-destructive technique throughout the world for measuring quality attributes of agricultural products including meat and meat products. This study was conducted to test the ability of CV technology to predict the quality attributes of beef. Images were captured from longissimus dorsi muscle in beef at 24 h post-mortem. Traits evaluated were color value (L*, a*, b*), pH, drip loss, cooking loss, dry matter, moisture, crude protein, fat, ash, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), peroxide value (POV), free fatty acid (FFA), total coliform count (TCC), total viable count (TVC) and total yeast-mould count (TYMC). Images were analyzed using the Matlab software (R2015a). Different reference values were determined by physicochemical, proximate, biochemical and microbiological test. All determination were done in triplicate and the mean value was reported. Data analysis was carried out using the programme Statgraphics Centurion XVI. Calibration and validation model were fitted using the software Unscrambler X version 9.7. A higher correlation found in a* (r=0.65) and moisture (r=0.56) with ‘a*’ value obtained from image analysis and the highest calibration and prediction accuracy was found in lightness (r²c=0.73, r²p=0.69) in beef. Results of this work show that CV technology may be a useful tool for predicting meat quality traits in the laboratory and meat processing industries.

The Effect of Promotion and Job Training on Job Satisfaction of Employees: An Empirical Study of the SME Sector in Bangladesh

Md,Atikur RAHAMAN,Md,Sayed UDDIN 한국유통과학회 2022 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.9 No.2

SME sector’s success also depends on its employees’ job satisfaction as satisfied employees are likely to be more productive at the workplace and positively enhance SME business performance. Small and medium firms are the heart of the economy, and employees are the main and valuable asset for the SME firms. If SME business managers can increase employee satisfaction, then SMEs’ performance will also increase in the future. Hence, the current study aims to determine the job satisfaction of SME employees by analyzing the impact of job training (JT) and promotion (PRO) opportunities on employee job satisfaction. Purposive sampling is applied in the study, and 202 SME employees have participated as sample respondents. The final sample size is n = 202. SPSS 26.0 version is used to analyze the hypotheses. The study findings show that both job training (JT) and promotion (PRO) have a positive effect on SME employee job satisfaction. It does indicate that SME managers need to provide necessary training programs and timely promotion to their current working employees to keep them satisfied with their job. Promotion and effective job training will certainly enhance employees’ job satisfaction. The study has also offered a few strategic implications for SME business managers.

Relation to Demographic Factors

Md,Abu Issa GAZI,Hasanuzzaman TUSHAR,Razuan Ahmed SHUVRO,Sajun SAHA,Md,Atikur RAHAMAN 한국유통과학회 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.6

The primary objective of this study is to observe the impact of demographic factors on the job satisfaction of workers of the sugar industry in Bangladesh. Current research determines whether the age, level of education, marital status, and years of experience play a role in the job satisfaction of respondents and whether job satisfaction level differs among respondents in terms of age, level of education, marital status, and years of experience. A total of 300 respondents who are permanent production workers have been selected from state-owned sugar mills in Bangladesh on a random basis. A pre-structured questionnaire and for the information required face-to-face interview was conducted by the researcher. In analyzing data different statistical tools like Chi-square tests, ANOVA, Correlation were applied and data processed by using SPSS. The results of the present study revealed that a higher percentage of the high age workers was more satisfied with their present job than that of low age but statistically not significant. Other factors such as education, experience, and marital status, do not affect overall work satisfaction. The findings of this study suggest that the government and the concerned authority should draft proper policies and special programs to improve the level of satisfaction of sugar industrial workers.

COVID-19, Remittance Inflows, and the Stock Market: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh

Md,QAMRUZZAMAN,Salma KARIM,Ishrat JAHAN 한국유통과학회 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.5

This study’s motivation is to investigate the association between the stock market, remittance, and the pandemic of COVID-19 for the period from March 3, 2020, to December 14, 2020. For evaluating the impact of COVID-19 and remittances on stock market behaviour during the pandemic, the study applies Autoregressive Distributed lagged (ARDL) for magnitudes estimation and directional association through the Toda-Yamamoto causality test. Study findings from ARDL estimation revealed that COVID-19 measured by detecting new cases negatively influences the stock market both in the long-term and short-term. Remittance positively influences the stock market behaviour, particularly in the long-term. Furthermore, the directional causality test disclosed unidirectional causal effects between COVID-19 and the stock market behaviour, which establishes all proxy measures for the equation’s stock market. The hypothesis results explain the causal relationship between remittance inflows and the stock market in Bangladesh. The study’s application will help policymakers rethink the policies for channelizing remittances for productive investment areas. Furthermore, the study’s findings will reinstate the widely perceived notions, which is the critical role of remittance in the economy even though the economy passes through a great pandemic.

Antiproliferative and Cytotoxic Effects of Resveratrol in Mitochondria- Mediated Apoptosis in Rat B103 Neuroblastoma Cells

Md,AtaurRahman,Nam-HoKim,Seung-HyukKim,Sung-MinOh,Sung-OhHuh 대한약리학회 2012 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.15 No.5

Determinants of Accepting Internet Banking System: A Case Study in Bangladesh

Md,Atikur RAHAMAN,Kaniz Fatema LUNA,Zhang KEJING,Zhao Lin PING,Rupali Dilip TARU 한국유통과학회 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.5

Since the service organizations have been moving towards digitization across the world, there is a wide range of technological innovations that have been integrated within the service firms, especially in banking services. As such, Internet banking is one of the innovative services that have reshaped the traditional banking activities, particularly in Bangladesh. In line with this, the research is designed to examine the Internet banking adoption based on five variables: perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use, trust, social influence, and perceived enjoyment, and the study also explores differences among respondents on these study variables based on gender and academic disciplines. The study has selected university students as study samples as they are the prospective customers to use Internet banking. Sample size in the research is 300, and a well-designed questionnaire was distributed to collect data. SPSS is used for statistical analysis. The research used ANOVA test to capture any difference on variables based on gender and academic disciplines. The findings indicate that male students in business have more intention to adopt Internet banking and preference for ease-of-use than female students, and business students will be more favorably inclined to adopt Internet banking service than students in other academic disciplines.

The Effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation, Market Orientation and Gender on Business Performance

Md,Atikur RAHAMAN,Kaniz Fatema LUNA,Shi MITE,Monwarul ISLAM,H,M,Atif WAFIK 한국유통과학회 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.6

The implications of both entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) have been very critical in grasping business performance in terms of SMEs. Still, the research application of EO and MO on performance is not very abundant in a developing country perspective. Also, past studies did not take into account gender difference in understanding the performance of SME business in light of EO and MO. The research has been undertaken in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, as there is a number of SME businesses currently developing, which are expected to contribute to the economic progress by generating new employment and more opportunities. Hence, the ultimate objectives of the study are to examine the impact of EO and MO on performance of SMEs, along considering gender difference. 233 SME entrepreneurs responded to this study as survey respondents, followed non-probability sampling measure (n = 233). For analysis, SPSS software is used, through which correlation, regression, and ANOVA analysis were run. Results reveal that both EO and MO were strong predictors of SME performance, while no gender difference was noticed among EO and MO. Also, study findings suggest that enhancing and implementing EO and MO will heighten business performance of SMEs in Bangladesh context.

Social Support for Social Commerce: An Empirical Study with Trust as a Mediator and Culture as Moderator

Md,Alamgir Hossain,Nusrat Jahan,Minho Kim,Most Nirufer Yesmin,Raquibul Hasan 한국무역학회 2021 Journal of Korea trade Vol.25 No.7

Purpose – Social commerce (SC) is the growth of social media highlighting the e-commerce transactions and currently, the greatest challenges of e-commerce have attracted the influence of trust in social commerce intention (SCI). Based on the challenge, the study s purpose is to discover the effect of social support (informational and emotional support) on the SCI. The study also explores the mediation effect of trust and the moderation impact of culture between the USA and Korea. Design/methodology – This study used a sample of 482 surveys filled out by online shoppers from the US and Korea, two countries with divergent cultural values. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to analyze the hypothetical paths. In addition, bootstrapping and multi-group analysis are perform to view mediation and moderation effects respectively. Findings – The results of our study shows that both informational and emotional support significantly influences trust and SCI. Our results also supports the mediating effect of trust in social support and the moderating effect of culture in forming SCI. Originality/value – Our empirical results provide important information to businesses formulating cross-cultural SC strategies. This will help SC companies to analyze the aspects of customer trust through social support, which in turn will increase SCI and thereby established a competitive position for SCs. Our results will also be holistic directions for SC vendors in cross-cultural settings, which will offer important social and economic contributions to the sustainable growth of SC’s business.