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This study aims to find out how social media marketing activities influence consumer equity through brand equity in a culinary brand. The study sample is men and women, 200 respondents, within the age range of 18 to 30 years old This study uses quantitative methods and questionnaires as data collections tools. The data was then analyzed using SmartPLS with the Structural Equation Modelling approach. It is found that social media marketing activities positively influence consumer equity through brand equity in culinary brands. Customer equity is also indirectly affected by brand equity. Therefore, this research can be a basis for future research in social media marketing activities within the scope of culinary brands especially in the context of small-medium enterprises.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the sustainability of cryptocurrency in blockchain technology in African countries for securing financial business transactions. Following the subprime crisis that shook the world economy, a new perception of money has emerged. It is a fully digital currency whose transactions are made through a distributed network. This algorithm-encrypted currency, reputed to be tamper-proof, transparent and inclusive, relies on a distributed network called the Blockchain. By comparison with traditional registers in which operations are paginated and successively recorded, transactions in blockchain technology are aggregated within the chain of blocks. It is decentralized since it is replicated on several geographic sites around the world. It enables peer-to-peer transactions, automated in real-time, reliable, secure, without intermediaries and non-repudiable. To ensure maximum security during financial transactions, blockchain miners use cryptography. This distributed system is, therefore, a major technological innovation capable of securing the financial infrastructure and mitigating failures by reducing operational risks. According to our analysis based on the Merkle tree model and blockchain energy consumption, the sustainability of cryptocurrency is a major issue for developing countries. Especially in Africa, its practicality poses a number of constraints.

This study aims to determine the effect of business diversification on stock prices by mediating company performance, represented by the variable ROE and EPS in a fluctuating coal price situation. The data used are 16 companies engaged in coal mining in Indonesia and listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from 2012 to 2019. Using two analysis methods: path analysis to examine direct and indirect relationships between variables and different tests to see differences in the performance of companies that diversify and do not diversify. The results showed that coal commodity prices had a significant positive effect on stock prices and indirectly, through ROE and EPS, had a significant positive impact on stock prices. Business diversification directly has a significant negative impact on stock prices and indirectly through EPS positively affects stock prices. Business diversification provides a substantial difference to EPS and does not provide a significant difference to ROE.

Despite the institutionalization of operational risk management in banks and the strict supervision of bank regulators, operational risk events are still on the increase. It is becoming evident to banks that there is a need to identify the drivers of this risk and nib it at the root to reduce the probability of recurrence. Hence, this study examined the drivers of operational risks in Nigerian commercial banks and the extent to which each driver contributes to operational risk. To achieve the study’s objectives, primary data were collected from the Operational Risk Management Desks of six (6) sampled commercial banks and analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The result showed that Internal processes, IT systems and Quality of Risk Officers are determinants of operational losses in banks. The internal process was however indicated as having the most impact. The study concluded that Internal Process is the major driver of operational risk in Nigerian Commercial banks. The researcher, therefore, recommends that bank management must have defined procedures for core activities and prioritize regular review of their critical processes to reduce operational risk events and the associated costs.

This study discusses the influence of relationship conflict, turnover intention, and employee performance of Gladish Medical Center General Hospital on work burnout as a mediator. The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the influence of relationship conflict on work burnout as a mediator on turnover intention and employee performance of Gladish Medical Center General Hospital Pesawaran. Researchers use census technique with 70 respondents who are employees of Gladish Medical Center General Hospital Pesawaran. The analytical test uses SmartPLS v.2.0 with SEM (Structural Equation Modelling) analysis method. The results reveal that relationship conflict has a positive and significant influence on turnover intention. Work burnout is proven to mediate the influence of relationship conflict on turnover intention. While relationship conflict has no significant influence on employee performance. Work burnout is proven to mediate the influence of relationship conflict on employee performance. Relationship conflict has a positive and significant influence on work burnout. Work burnout has a positive and significant influence on turnover intention. Work burnout has a negative and significant influence on employee performance.

The aim of this study is to determine the causality relationship between energy prices, which are among the most important inputs of the economy, and selected stock market indices of developed countries. Crude oil and natural gas are used as energy variables. G7 countries were selected to represent developed countries. Stock indices used in the study are Dow & Jones (USA), DAX (Germany), CAC40 (France), FTSE250 (England), FTSE Italia All Share (Italy), NIKKEI225 (Japan), and S&P/TSX (Canada). In the study, Johansen (1988) cointegration test and Granger (1969) causality test were used to analyse the causality relationship between energy prices and selected stock market indices. The research could not find a long-term balance relationship between energy prices and developed country indices. Also, while the causality relationship was determined between crude oil prices and NIKKEI225, DAX, and CAC40 indices, a causal relationship between natural gas prices and Dow & Jones and FTSE250 indices was determined. In the study, it was found that energy prices can be used for diversification in investments to be made with stock market indices of developed countries. This study is one of the most comprehensive studies in the literature that examines the relationship between energy prices and the stock market indices of G7 countries. It is expected to contribute to the literature in this way.

When we hear the word diversity, usually the first word that comes to mind is difference, and diversity steams from difference, in this paper, board diversity is discussed, in addition to linking it to firm performance, diversity is important, and it’s especially important in the board room of a given firm because it allows for different perspectives and opinions which can impact the decision-making process in the firm, which ultimately can affect the performance of the firm. The purpose of this paper is to give a relational guide on how board diversity can greatly impact the achievements of a firm. This paper is a theory-based study and aims to develop a critical approach of defining board diversity and linking that to the performance of the firm. This paper is a theory-based study because it utilizes the existing literature in order to determine the impact of board diversity on firm performance. This study also uses different theories and existing literature to highlight the relevance of having a diverse board in the firm. To find the relation, various studies and existing literature were analyzed to develop a critical approach to relate board diversity to firm performance. In conclusion, this paper outlines different aspects of board diversity while providing a critical look that allows us to assess the importance of board diversity and its connection to firm performance.

The development of the coffee industry in Indonesia is growing significantly, as it is driven by the number of coffee shops that are developing both in villages to urban areas as a balancer for people's lifestyles who like to drink coffee while enjoying activities outside the home. This phenomenon makes the level of competition for coffee brands in packaging very hypercompetitive. Consumer intentions in deciding to buy packaged coffee are strongly influenced by the perception of the quality of the coffee, so it is not surprising that currently there are many different flavors and brands. To market coffee products, many producers use celebrity endorsement services. However, as time goes by and the marketing strategy through endorsement has become massive, it is necessary to study whether this strategy is still effective in increasing the number of sales. It turns out that currently, endorsements do not really affect consumer purchasing decisions. From the results of the study, it can be concluded that: (1) perceived quality influences the intention to purchase packaged coffee, and perceived quality also influences brand loyalty in packaged coffee; (2) celebrity endorsement does not influence the intention to purchase packaged coffee, but celebrity endorsement influences the brand loyalty; and (3) brand loyalty influences the intention to purchase packaged coffee. So that in general brand loyalty is able to mediate the influence of perceived quality and celebrity endorsement on the intention to purchase packaged coffee.

This study aims to examine and analyze the influence of job insecurity and person-job fit on turnover intention mediated by job satisfaction. The population of this study are permanent and contract employees of Pamella 6 and 7 Supermarket Yogyakarta, with the number of 148 people. From a total of 148 employees from management to subordinates, 108 employees of Pamella 6 and 7 Supermarket Yogyakarta become the research sample. The data analysis used in this study is path analysis using Partial Least Square (PLS). The results of this study prove that: (1) Job insecurity negatively and significantly influences job satisfaction of employees in Pamella 6 and 7 Supermarket Yogyakarta; (2) Person-job fit positively and significantly influences job satisfaction of employees in Pamella 6 and 7 Supermarket Yogyakarta; (3) Job satisfaction negatively and significantly influences turnover intention of employees in Pamella 6 and 7 Supermarket Yogyakarta; (4) Job satisfaction is able to mediate the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intention of employees in Pamella 6 and 7 Supermarket Yogyakarta; and (5) Job satisfaction is able to mediate the relationship between person-job fit and turnover intention of employees in Pamella 6 and 7 Supermarket Yogyakarta.

This paper is driven by the vast influence oil money have on the current account balance of major oil producing countries in Africa and the role policy measures could play to soften these effects. Dwelling on the nonlinear techniques, two types of Threshold Regression were used to estimate data on 8 African countries from 1995-2019. The results show evidence of nonlinear impacts of oil revenue on the current account balances of the 8 countries. The nature of the impact relies significantly on the levels of the threshold variable. Precisely, the estimated threshold benchmark for financial development was 33.34; below this threshold the sensitivity of current account balance to crude-oil shocks is higher and the probability of policy measures to mitigate the effects is low and, beyond the threshold the sensitivity of current account balance to crude-oil shocks is low and the probability of policy measure to mitigate the effects is higher. The finding suggested among others that crude-oil shocks is not the primary problem of the current account imbalance of oil-exporting countries rather the nature of the domestic economic policy environment.

Financial inclusion has become a topic of discussion in emerging and developing nations since the majority of people continue to lack access to either formal or informal financial services. In many countries, the post office is seen as a vehicle for financial inclusion due to its extensive network. In addition, with the decline in sales of their core business, traditional mail has exacerbated the need for the post office to venture into financial services whilst simultaneously answering the call to bridge the gap in society, especially for the un-banked and under-banked communities. Moreover, there is a need for post-offices to protect their long-term vitality as a business. This paper provides a theoretical perspective of financial inclusion, the role that the post office can play and the challenges preventing an effective rollout of financial services. This review can help postal managers, governments and policy-makers to understand how they can effectively use the post office to serve the un-banked communities. In addition, the study has enriched the academic discourse by providing literature on postal financial services and financial inclusion.

Collapse of companies in Kenya has been on the rise in the recent past. Far reaching endeavors to resuscitate these liquidating and ailing firms have generally been attributed on their corporate financial management decisions.  Multinationals and KTDA managed tea firms in Kenya have been performing poorly in the recent past where audited financial statements and reports revealed a warning signal on its financial performance. Specific objectives of the study were to determine the effect of the accounts receivables period, accounts payables period, inventory conversion period, cash conversion cycle, financing policy, investing policy and moderating effect of ownership structure on financial performance. The study illustrated that accounts receivables collection period is negatively related to return on assets (? = -0.1299, p=0.0160),  accounts payables payment period is negatively related to return on assets (? = -0.0843, p = 0.0070), inventory conversion period is negatively related to return on assets (?= -0.0623, p=0.0180), cash conversion cycle is negatively related to return on assets (? = -0.1107, p = 0.0030), financing policy is positively related to return on assets (? = 0.1589, p = 0.0000), investing policy is positively related to return on assets (? = 0.0291, p = 0.0000).

This study sought to determine the contributions of satellite campuses on financial sustainability of public universities in Kenya. The specific objectives will be to examine how financial accountability and effective management contribute to financial sustainability of public universities in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The target population was 176 selected staff of public universities in Kenya of which all of them were used in the study. The study adopted both descriptive analysis and for inferential statistical analysis data was cleaned coded and correlation analyses done the findings were financial accountability was positively correlated and significant p< 0.0. For regression also financial accountability as well as resource allocation and effective management had a positive relationship with financial sustainability. R squared was 0.731 therefore financial accountability and resource allocation explained 73.1% of variance in financial sustainability. Moderation was established using hierarchical regression, when the interaction terms of the moderator were added the value of R squared changed from 73.1% to 79.4% thus effective management and leadership had moderating effects on the relationship between financial sustainability and contribution of satellite campuses.Thus universities should mobilize resources from development partners and  focus on recovering full economic costs and investing in its infrastructure including human, intellectual and physical adequately to maintain future productive capacity to deliver its strategic plan and serve its customers.

Independent retailers face many challenges that influence their growth and development. Independent retailers are small businesses facing competition from major retailers in South Africa (SA) that have penetrated the townships and rural areas. The purpose of the study was to investigate the challenges that influence the development of independent retailers in SA. A survey was conducted among small independent retailers in SA. The convenience sampling method was adopted for the study due to the inaccessibility of a database on independent retailers in SA. Existing literature was used to design a questionnaire, targeted at small independent retailers, to investigate the challenges that influence their business performance. The findings of the study revealed that finance and marketing are the major challenges influencing the operations of small, independent retailers. Business-related challenges are the least challenging aspects for small independent retailers in SA. Independent retailers need to manage their businesses appropriately in order to survive and sustain their businesses. Independent retailers buy products from wholesalers while a few of them buy directly from manufacturers.

Brand choice has historically played an important role in a wide range of industries, particularly in the private sector, where billions of Rands are invested to entice potential customers. Taking this into consideration, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of brand awareness and brand image on first-year student selection of a University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. The objectives of the study were to establish and identify the brand preference and image attributes that entice first-year students’ selection of a University of Technology (UoT). The study also examined the biographic variables of those students. To accomplish these objectives, an exploratory study using a quantitative research approach was conducted, in which questionnaires were administered to 500 first-year students at the selected Universities of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. The study revealed that topics such as investments in brand awareness and brand image, safety and security, the caliber of staff, delays in academic programmes, student-lecturer relationships, and service delivery were identified as factors that influenced the participants' selection and willingness to recommend their institutions to potential students. Thus, the study recommends that UoTs should pay more attention to branding strategies as an agendum to ensuring institutional profitability and viability, relationship management, and human resource.  Finally, the findings of this study are limited to KwaZulu-Natal and should not be extrapolated outside this region.

Green marketing has evolved, although the market share of green products remains considerably low. Green products are part of comprehensive green marketing, and this sort of marketing has progressed to the point that practically every consumer is aware of it. The study focuses on the factors that influence the adoption and consumption patterns of green goods in the greater Durban area. The study used a quantitative, non-probability, and random sampling strategy to discover consumers' sentiments toward the purchase of green products. The data was collected through the use of questionnaires and analyzed using the SPSS.  The sample size was 384 customers from retail malls in selected Durban suburbs, representing a wide demographic and cultural background. The study's findings revealed that customers in the greater Durban area are aware of green products. Green products, on the other hand, are regarded as affluent due to their high pricing. This means that companies developing green products will have to look for ways to cut their pricing. The survey also reveals that when customers must pick between green and non-green items, pricing is a crucial factor. The study's findings are limited to the confines of the wider Durban area and cannot be extrapolated.

The study sought to determine challenges to food security among households of CBOs implementing agroforestry in Rongai Sub County in Nakuru and mitigation factors. The study was anchored on the systems theory and employed a mixed research methods design with simple random sampling used to get the CBOs from which the respondents were drawn. The target population was 630 members of all forty-seven (47) CBOs implementing agroforestry in the study area. The sample size was 245 respondents selected using the proportionate random sampling method. Questionnaires comprising of both open-ended and closed-ended questions were used to collect the data. From the study, the food produced by the households is insufficient and has to be supplemented by those outside the households. The food produced is of quality controlled by factors including farm management practices and capital availability for production. There is food inaccessibility as those produced are a source of income for the households yet insufficient. However, there is an improvement compared to previous years. The households’ food production is unstable as shown by variations in production and insufficiency of the food. Food security is challenged by the failure of all members of CBOs to take part in decision-making processes, reporting, roles, and responsibilities not being assigned appropriately. Mitigation factors are hardly employed by the CBOs to curb the challenges faced in implementing agroforestry. The study recommends building the capacity of CBOs implementing agroforestry in areas of resource mobilization, empowering them to harmonize governance processes, developing and implementing an M&E framework. It also recommends the development and implementation of sound policies that promote agroforestry expansion

This paper examines the effect of a company's innovation orientation culture on employee turnover among selected non-governmental organizations in Samburu, Kenya. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 78 NGOs operating in Samburu County for the analysis, the study population comprised 11 senior management teams, 14 technical teams and 78 junior staff in 24 selected and active NGOs in Samburu. The analysis gathered both qualitative and quantitative data. A structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data and an interview guide was used to collect qualitative data. Thematic data analysis was used to interpret qualitative data, which included common terms, phrases, themes, and patterns. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics which includes frequencies, means, and standard deviation. Findings Results showed that innovation orientation is positively correlated with employee turnover (r=0.375, P=0.01). This supports Chow et al’s (2001) study which revealed that innovation orientation as part of an organization's culture has a significant effect on employee turnover. This study also discovered that an innovation orientation culture embedded in an NGO's ideology will help to reduce turnover because workers feel valued when their work is recognized for creativity and innovation.

The aim of this study was to determine millennial influence on organization change in the hospitality industry Naivasha sub-county, Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: determine the influence of millennial innovativeness on organization change. This study used innovation theory. The study will adopt a descriptive survey research design. The current study targets rated hotels in Naivasha. This study targeted 180 respondents the respondents were: 10 Managers, 40 departmental heads from the four departments in the hotels, 10 Millennial and 120 supervisors. Employees of these hotels will be the respondents in the study. Data was collected via a self –administered questionnaires and an interview guide. Validity and reliability were ensured by conducting a pilot test in Narok County. Analysis of data comprised descriptive statistics and regression analysis with the help of SPSS. Results indicate that organizational change in the hospitality industry was positively significantly associated with millennial Innovation change in the hospitality industry. From the findings, the researcher concluded that millennials are innovative and easily come up with new ideas further they are proficient in technology and techno-savvy.  .

The objective of the study is to analyse the influence of social protection on access to health care among elderly persons in informal settlements Nakuru Town, Kenya. The study was based on the Disengagement theory and utilized a descriptive research design to target individuals of 70 years and above, within the informal settlements in Nakuru Town, Kenya. Cluster and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 399 respondents from a target population of 248,785 elderly persons. Data was collected from the sample using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation with chi-square, and the thematic content analysis method. Quantitative analysis was aided by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27 software. Results showed that the majority of the respondents (70.3%) had low access to health care services. Access to health care services is influenced by social protection programmes specifically cash transfers, government interventions in health care, and retirement benefits. Based on these findings, the study recommends that policymakers should create awareness regarding the existence of government interventions such as health insurance subsidy programme (HISP) and the importance of enrolling to retirement benefit schemes and saving for old age.