International Journal of Economics & Management Sciences

The Kenyan financial institutions structure has changed for the last two decades. The commercial banks have undergone incredible development. The study attempts to investigate technical efficiency of Kenyan commercial banks during 2004-2013 by using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The results suggests that the degree of technical efficiency was found to be lower which indicates that the inefficiency is due to producing at an inefficient scale level rather than producing below the production frontier.

The paper deals the consumers perception towards e-banking system related to consumer awareness towards e-banking system with special reference to Tuticorin District of Tamilnadu. Data for this investigation were collected from primary as well as secondary sources. The sampling is random. The data was collected during the months between April to June, 2015. The data collected from the primary source were analysed with the help of various statistical measures such as simple percentage analysis, averages, F-Statistic, chi square test and probability analysis were used. Secondary data have been collected from books, journals, newspapers, internet and periodicals. It is inferred that 36.67% of the respondents income levels are up to Rs. 1,00,000, 52.22% of the respondents are Rs. 1,00,001 to Rs. 3,00,000 and 11.11% respondents are belonging to above Rs. 3,00,000 and the average income is 167222. The study reveals that, the opinion of customers on future expectations. Out of the total respondents, Majority (i.e.) 58.89% of the sample respondents have mentioned that they would like operate their banking transactions in a core banking environment which is free from neither technical intervention such as computer connecting nor 23.33% of the samples respondents expect the bank will provide security. 17.78% of the sample respondents have stated reasonable charges have to be imposed on their banking transaction. The main difficulty for using the E-banking facility is less knowledge about the operations of banking facility (50%). Respondents also feel the services of E-banking too complex to use (30%) and respondents also believe the E-banking to be risky (12.22%). The research report is based on primary data. According to the study, the researcher concludes that the most of the bank customers are aware about all the banking services in Tuticorin District of Tamilnadu. The banks further have to take necessary steps to educate the customers regarding the new technology and other services offered by the banks.

The main aspiration of the current study is to explore the determinants of university performance. The study also explored the mediating effect of career success between human resource management practices and university performance. Data were collected from 265 faculty members working in public sector universities of Punjab, Pakistan; by online survey, using Google docs through random sampling. The results demonstrate the partial mediation of career success between human resource management practices and university performance. Structural equation modelling-Partial least square (SEM-PLS) technique has been applied to acquire the results. The results will be helpful for policy makers in devising policies for universities and monitor the university performance. The results will also be helpful for faculty members working in public sector universities of Pakistan to know about their career success. Perceived university performance and human resource management practices have been found associated positively with university performance and individuals’ career success. In the study both motivation and skill enhancing practices are included to acquire accurate results.

The study investigated how Unemployment problem is tackled through Skills Acquisition by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Different measures have been adopted by the government to tackle the challenge with very little result. Using data obtained from both primary and secondary sources for the period 1987-2012, we found that positive link exist between Skills Acquisition by NDE and Unemployment reduction in Akwa Ibom State even though not without daunting challenges. However, the results of the income contributions of Skills Acquisition by NDE to the States’ economy were mixed. While 48% asserted to a positive link, 40% accepted a minimal influence. Thus, we recommend more spread of NDE training centers to all the Local Government Areas in the State for more benefits to be realized, among others.

Globalization has undoubtedly emerged as one of the leading characteristics of the contemporary world. On the one hand, it has ushered in a new and promising era marked by rapid movements of large volumes of money and the increased volume of trade and has led to a growing density of market relations resulting in faster growth and creating unprecedented new opportunities for sustainable development and poverty reduction. At the same time, it also implies increased risk, uncertainty and vulnerability because of the widely fluctuating flows of capital around the globe and unstable exchange rates.
In the context of the above, the paper proposes to examine the situation in Meghalaya, a state located in North East India and argues that globalization which entails greater interaction among cultures has generated a feeling of insecurity among the indigenous population, thereby consolidating the urge for preserving the indigenous culture from being invaded by the powerful waves of globalization. Globalization has undoubtedly led to increased transnational flows such as migration. The enhanced volume of migration has already unleashed the forces of ethnic backlash in most states of northeast India. In the context of the above, the paper will focus on the impact of greater global investment possibilities and migration of labor on local communities in Meghalaya in terms of the perceptions of regional political parties and local pressure groups. It will also examine the contradictions arising out of the desire to explore opportunities to capture the benefits of globalization on the one hand and the compulsion to protect local identities and heritage on the other. The paper has been divided into five sections. The first section focuses on the development constraints in northeast India and the difficulties in the land acquisition process. The second section highlights the global investment potential in Meghalaya and examines local resistance to the same. The next section discusses some initiatives taken by the Government of Meghalaya to attract investment. The fourth section examines local perspectives on uranium mining in Meghalaya. The fifth section comments on the impact of migration in northeast India as a whole and Meghalaya in particular. The fifth and the final section summarize the concluding observations of the paper in terms of the contradictions emanating from the parallel processes of globalization and local protest movements.

The main aspiration of the study remained to explore and examine the predictors of perceived university performance. While career success for the faculty members of public sector universities in Pakistan is becoming the area of interest for researchers and academicians. Data were collected from 223 faculty members who are currently serving as faculty members in public sector universities of Pakistan. The results supported the significant positive association of career success and organizational justice with perceived university performance. The study applied SPSS Version 20 for data screening and Structural Equation Modelling – Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) technique through, Smart PLS 2.0 applied to explore the results.

Nation, society or organization’s prosperity depends on how creative and innovative the human assists they possess. It is widely believed that human creativity is one of the main sources of gaining sustainable long-term competitive advantage for an organization or a Nation. Low oil prices has continued to weigh heavily on the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) economies and forced these countries to diversify its economy and become less reliant on crude oil. In this context the need for creating a society that is creative and could use its creativity to innovate in the different sectors will be critical of its future success. This article shall discuss what creativity is and its evaluation and highlight the need for creativity in organization and how they could gain a competitive advantage. The authors have further investigated the present status of Innovation in the GCC counties by considering the Global Innovation index report 2015.

The paper explored Chinese consumers’ behavior with specific focus on categories of “mass consumers” and “new mainstream consumers” who together constitute the vast majority of consumers, using an online questionnaire hosted on a Chinese survey website called "So jump" was used. Through email and social networking, personal requests were sent to known associates across the six strata of the Chinese populations to complete the online questionnaire as well as forward it to their extended networks. It became evident that the consumers have extremely low levels of knowledge about MEISs; they ranked the best method of storing MEIS data as “database storage” such as a cloud service that was managed by an emergency Call Centre operation, followed by “personal portable electronic storage”, and then “printed format.” An overwhelming majority of the respondents believed that a MEIS would offer considerable benefit to their families in an emergency.

This paper provides a brief review of the connecting literature in management science, economics and finance, and discusses some research that is related to the three disciplines. Academics could develop theoretical models and subsequent econometric models to estimate the parameters in the associated models, and analyze some interesting issues in the three disciplines.

In the setting of this paper, we compare the usefulness perception of 42 items of voluntary information on intellectual capital of 22 Tunisian financial analysts and portfolios managers with the degree of their disclosure in the annual reports of 50 firms listed on the Stock Exchange Securities of Tunisia. The analysis is led on the primary data extracted from a survey and from secondary data extracted from annual reports. Given the purpose of our study, we developed a weighted disclosure index comparing the supply of information on intellectual capital in annual reports and user’s demand.
Results highlight the existence of an important gap between the supply and the demand of voluntary information on intellectual capital. More specifically, the offer of the majority of information diverges completely with their demand by the Tunisian financial market.

Very few studies examined the antecedents of illiquidity in the finance literatures. This research investigates factors contributing to the problem of illiquidity, a common feature of frontier markets, on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). The general objective of the research was to analyze the illiquidity phenomena- its origins, impacts, and potential remedies. More specifically, the research focused on the effect of illiquidity on stakeholders and identified measures in place to improve the condition. The research adopted a qualitative methodology research with unstructured phenomenological interviews, which enabled participants to share experiences, opinions and perspectives on the problem. Twenty-two participants representing the major stakeholders on the market were selected for the study, including: (i) registered brokers; (ii) listed companies; (iii) unlisted companies; (iv) government institutions, (v) regulatory agencies, and (vi) investors. The results indicated that there is lack of equity culture in Ghana, with bank loans and personal savings being primary sources of business funding. Macro-economic instability also affects businesses and investors. Government borrowing at high treasuries interest rates makes stock market less attractive. The study also revealed that market inefficiencies, lack of clear government policy direction and effective regulation also contribute to illiquidity. To deal with the problem, the exchange has recently introduced the Ghana Alternative Market (GAX) for SMEs, and the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM). Based on the findings, it is recommended that the government tackles anti-equity culture through financial literacy programs or education, and establish financial incentives for listed companies. Government must control borrowing through prudent fiscal policies, maintain macro-economic stability, and implement effective policies and regulations that promote listing of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), local private companies and foreign businesses on the GSE.