Resilience, Leadership and Female Entrepreneurship within the Context of SMEs: Evidence from Latin America

Exploring resilience in public services within marginalised communities during COVID-19: The case of coal mining regions in Colombia

This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on marginalised communities and its effects on the provision of public services. Focusing on two coal mining regions in Colombia during the pandemic crisis, and examining Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, we analyze the provision of public services at a local level, identifying both shortcomings and resilience. Findings show that the lack of resilient public services amplified the effects of COVID-19 and its containment measures, exacerbating existing structural inequalities within local marginalised communities. It also reinforced the control exercised by coal mining companies within local economies. However, the substantial lack of public service provision also provided space for the development and strengthening of several resilience strategies among local communities, such as solidarity networks and schemes and the revitalization of local environmental knowledge. The study identifies multiple shortcomings in how the national and local administrations handled the COVID-19 outbreak and highlights the potential of enhancing resilience in public services to support marginalised communities in times of crisis.

Scientometric Analysis of Hiking Tourism and Its Relevance for Wellbeing and Knowledge Management

Hiking is a sports activity that takes place in the natural environment. From the point of view of well-being, it is an aerobic activity that prevents and improves cardiovascular diseases. According to data provided by the United Nations, within the framework of the International Year of Mountains, mountain tourism represents around 15% to 20% of total world tourism revenue. This approach aims to critically analyze the scientific production on trail tourism (HT) with contributions from authors from around the world from 1991 to 2022, in order to respond to the connection between this research, knowledge management and the sustainable development of the industry. Key knowledge contributions are examined using a scientometric approach as a method (spatial, production, impact, and relational) based on registry data stored in the Web of Science (JCR and ESCI). Regarding the results, there has been an increase in scientific production in the last decade, which is manifested in the quality of the publications.

Purchase Intention and Satisfaction of Online Shop Users in Developing Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of the research is to gain an understanding of consumer behavior in developing countries in the electronic environment. For this purpose, the four constructs of the PREVEINCOSA scale were analyzed: purchase intention as the dependent variable and trust, perceived value, and satisfaction as the determining variables of the former. For this purpose, by means of convenience sampling, an online questionnaire was shared with citizens in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. A total of 330 questionnaires were collected from people who knew or had bought clothes in an online shop of the small company. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to validate the model and test the hypotheses. The results indicate that trust and satisfaction directly and positively influence value perception and online purchase intention and that value perception directly and positively influences online purchase intention of the small business consumer in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. These results may be useful for the small fashion business sector in developing countries since it is observed that the online sales channel is not yet developed, which makes it necessary to develop strategies to reach customers in a more effective way. On the other hand, given the importance of this sector for the economy of developing countries, this study can be useful to governments who can establish public policies to provide training and technical assistance to benefit the development and competitiveness of this sector.

PERVAINCONSA Scale to Measure the Consumer Behavior of Online Stores of MSMEs Engaged in the Sale of Clothing

The objective of the research was to validate an instrument designed to measure the variables value perception, purchase intention, trust, and satisfaction of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) dedicated to selling clothing. The PERVAINCONSA Scale (acrostic formed with the initial letters of the Spanish words “Percepción de Valor”, “Intención de Compra”, “Confianza” and “Satisfacción”) was constructed. A total of 238 questionnaires were collected from users of online clothing stores in Peru, Mexico, and Colombia (38.7% men and 61.3% women) with an average age of 24.29 years (SD = 8.04). The KMO and Barlett’s test was 0.958. Confirmatory factor analysis provided an excellent model (χ2 = 372.76, gl = 164; χ2/df = 2.27; CFI = 0.956; RMSEA = 0.073, SRMR = 0.035; and Pclose = 0.00). The model showed good scale reliability given that the composite reliability index (CFI), and all values exceeded the minimum threshold of 0.6. The results suggest that this first version of the PERVAINCONSA presents adequate psychometric evidence to measure value perception, purchase intention, trust and satisfaction in consumers of online stores in Peru, Mexico and Colombia. Thus, it seeks to contribute to the advancement of the scientific study of these important variables in the study of consumer behavior in Latin America.

Female Immigrant Entrepreneurship: The Experience of Chinese Migrants to Australia

This article reports on findings from interviews with a small group of Chinese female immigrants to Australia who have started up their own business since their arrival. Unlike most publications concerning immigration that focus upon financial factors, we have instead concentrated on their personal journeys, why they started their businesses and the benefits they sought. We interviewed thirteen participants in Adelaide who had recently arrived from China with the aim of immigrating permanently to Australia. Immigration records indicate that by 2020 this figure had risen to over 160,000 per annum. However, it dropped again quickly in 2020 following the beginning of COVID-19. Nonetheless, according to recent Australian government records, over 866,200 current Australian residents have Chinese ancestry and 74% are first-generation migrants. The primary motivators for respondents were independence and control as well as income and skill development. Respondents were also satisfied by the personal development they gained.

Fashion Design Education and Sustainability: Towards an Equilibrium between Craftsmanship and Artistic and Business Skills?

Fashion designers can have a key role to play in making fashion more sustainable, as they are able to influence and contribute to all dimensions of fashion impact (economic, environmental, social, and cultural), both positive and negative. Fashion design education should be seen as a chance to make aspiring designers aware of the challenges and potential of design for sustainability and equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to implement sustainable fashion approaches. Starting from this premise, the approach to various sustainability themes was examined in the particular national context of post-secondary schools offering fashion majors in Poland, one which so far has not been researched in any depth. The authors conducted interviews and analysed the publications, documents, web pages, and Facebook profiles of such schools. Their activities were examined and classified in respect of the main dimensions of comprehensive fashion education: art, craftsmanship, and business. The analysis provides a picture of the current situation and a review of the specific features of sustainable fashion education in both the global and Polish contexts. Contemporary fashion education requires multidimensional adjustments to curricula, reflecting the complex nature of sustainability problems. This is a global challenge, which in the Polish case is additionally exacerbated by insufficient and uncoordinated public support, problems related to the institutional context of private and public schools, and the low level of sustainability awareness among consumers.

The Impact of Direct and Indirect COVID-19 Related Demand Shocks on Sectoral CO2 Emissions: Evidence from Major Asia Pacific Countries

COVID-19’s demand shocks have a significant impact on global CO2 emissions. However, few studies have estimated the impact of COVID-19’s direct and indirect demand shocks on sectoral CO2 emissions and linkages. This study’s goal is to estimate the impact of COVID-19’s direct and indirect demand shocks on the CO2 emissions of the Asia-Pacific countries of Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan (BCIIP). The study, based on the Asian Development Bank’s COVID-19 economic impact scenarios, estimated the impact of direct and indirect demand shocks on CO2 releases using input–output and hypothetical extraction methods. In the no COVID-19 scenario, China emitted the most CO2 (11 billion tons (Bt)), followed by India (2 Bt), Indonesia (0.5 Bt), Pakistan (0.2 Bt), and Bangladesh (0.08 Bt). For BCIIP nations, total demand shocks forced a 1–2% reduction in CO2 emissions under a worst-case scenario. Given BCIIP’s current economic recovery, a best or moderate scenario with a negative impact of less than 1% is more likely in coming years. Direct demand shocks, with a negative 85–63% share, caused most of the CO2 emissions decrease. The downstream indirect demand had only a 15–37% contribution to CO2 emissions reduction. Our study also discusses policy implications.