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Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

Sherwat Elwan Ibrahim and Raghda El Ebrashi

This paper supports the call for using a separate research stream for long-term recovery vs disaster relief in humanitarian studies. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper supports the call for using a separate research stream for long-term recovery vs disaster relief in humanitarian studies. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the thematic shift towards service operations during this developmental phase and explores the role of social entrepreneurial organizations. It builds from the literature on service operations management and social entrepreneurship to promote theory in humanitarian operations management.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory study uses literature concepts and field data from multiple development case studies of social entrepreneurial organizations and social enterprises in Africa and the Middle East to analyze service operations.

Findings

Clear contributions to the role of social entrepreneurship in providing humanitarian and development services were identified and categorized according to service operations management stages.

Practical implications

This paper has important practical implications. The positioning of social entrepreneurial organizations as humanitarian service providers would open opportunities for new collaborations between donors and social organizations. Mainstream NGOs dominate the scene of servicing local communities; leaving aside social entrepreneurial organizations with substantial room for innovation that they might bring to the sector. In addition, social entrepreneurial organizations’ ability to build business models and design sustainability and scalability aspects for their operations may bring long-term development to impoverished communities. Global NGOs as well as government actors who carry out the first three stages of humanitarian operations could plan on working with (or even help creating) social entrepreneurial organizations to help with long-term recovery.

Originality/value

This study examines the implications of two bodies of literature; service operations management and social entrepreneurship on humanitarian operations management research. It concludes with a conceptual framework emphasizing the contributions of social entrepreneurship in planning, development, delivery, and distribution of services in the long-term recovery humanitarian and development operations.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 13 June 2023

Abstract

Details

Industry Clusters and Innovation in the Arab World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-872-2

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2017

Raghda El Ebrashi

Building on the resource-based view of the firm the purpose of this paper is to study the intangible resources available for social ventures, and presents a typology of growth…

1679

Abstract

Purpose

Building on the resource-based view of the firm the purpose of this paper is to study the intangible resources available for social ventures, and presents a typology of growth strategies based on the intangible resources possessed by those enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

This research applies a multiple case study technique for ten social enterprises in Egypt listed on Ashoka and Schwab Foundation websites. The research employs a purposive sampling technique. Data triangulation is used based on reports, websites, and interviews with social entrepreneurs and employees.

Findings

The study has three main findings: describing the intangible resources needed by social ventures to grow; detailing the growth strategies adopted by social ventures and corresponding funding mechanisms; explaining how intangible resources affect the selection of growth strategies, and how these interact with the context to produce expected outcomes. Overall, a typology for growth strategies of social ventures is presented.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is an original attempt to advance research on social enterprises in relation to the RBV and the domain of venture growth and impact scale-up.

Practical implications

This research is beneficial for social ventures and venture philanthropists who wish to learn about the specific resources important for venture growth, and understand the suitable strategies and context for organizational growth and impact scale-up.

Originality/value

This research is one of the few attempts to study and explain the types of intangible resources in social ventures and the role of different resource bundles in deciding social venture growth strategy.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 25 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 June 2018

Raghda El Ebrashi, Rania Salem, Dina El Kayaly and Noha El-Bassiouny

This paper aims to investigate the role of demographics and sector type in determining consumer preferences of Islamic micro-credit products, namely, Musharka and Murabha, versus…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the role of demographics and sector type in determining consumer preferences of Islamic micro-credit products, namely, Musharka and Murabha, versus conventional micro-credit financing in Egypt.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is a quantitative study that uses surveys on 1,125 current micro-credit consumers in Cairo and Upper Egypt using multi-staged cluster sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential analyses were used to explain results.

Findings

The study revealed the potential of Musharka mode of financing among micro-credit borrowers in Egypt, specifically in the manufacturing sector, followed by the trade sector. Although previous researches showed correlations between income, age and other demographic factors with consumer financing choices, the current research indicated no significance for consumer demographics in determining preferences of Islamic micro-credit contracts in Egypt. However, the sector type showed high potential in determining consumer choices of Islamic micro-credit contracts.

Research limitations/implications

This paper advances knowledge in the domain of consumer behavior, specifically in bottom of the pyramid and subsistence markets that are under researched.

Practical implications

The results highlighted are important for micro-finance institutions, NGOs and policy makers, as they delve deeper into the consumer preferences for Islamic financial products and attempt to present innovative solutions toward poverty eradication.

Originality/value

This research is one of the few attempts to study and explain consumer preferences toward Islamic micro-credit products in Egypt, and the role of sectors in determining consumer choices for specific Islamic micro-credit contracts.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 June 2023

Menatallah Darrag, Raghda El Ebrashi, Amira Aldibiki and Salma Tosson

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (2017, pp. 14–15) identified that “industrialization is the seedbed for entrepreneurship, business investment…

Abstract

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (2017, pp. 14–15) identified that “industrialization is the seedbed for entrepreneurship, business investment, technological progress, the upgrading of skills, and the creation of decent jobs.” This placed studying different industrial sectors and their respective clusters, which are key drivers for economy, innovation, and knowledge creation (Slaper, Harmon, & Rubin, 2018), at the forefront of research. This chapter tackles the automobile industrial cluster in Egypt that possesses promising potential yet faces some challenges. It aims to provide an overview of the cluster, alongside underpinning its strengths and obstacles facing it. Moreover, the chapter displays the importance of the labor dimension in increasing the labor competitiveness of the cluster and showcases this through two cases of German automobile manufacturers that pioneered in venturing into the market through employing technical and vocational education and training. In conclusion, recommendations are provided to help in steering the cluster toward success.

Details

Industry Clusters and Innovation in the Arab World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-872-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 June 2019

Florian Becker-Ritterspach, Katharina Simbeck and Raghda El Ebrashi

This paper aims to provide multinational corporations (MNCs) with a portfolio of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) responses that help curbing the exacerbated negative…

1802

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide multinational corporations (MNCs) with a portfolio of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) responses that help curbing the exacerbated negative environmental externalities caused by their business activities in emerging and developing economies.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper transposes the market-related concept of institutional voids to the context of CER, that is, to the context of exacerbated negative environmental externalities as result of absent, weak or incoherent institutions.

Findings

This paper proposes that the transfer of products, processes and business models from developed to emerging or developing economies often gives rise to exacerbated negative externalities because of institutional voids in environmental protection. Thus, it suggests a portfolio of CER responses – circumventing, coping and compensating – that allow MNCs to mitigate the exacerbated negative environmental externalities caused by them.

Research limitations/implications

The authors present an analytical framework for identifying and navigating environment related institutional voids, which serves as a starting point for an action research approach. In tune with recent calls for critical performativity in critical management studies, the action research approach aims at tackling the real-life problem of exacerbated negative environmental externalities caused by MNCs’ activities in emerging and developing economies.

Social implications

This paper sensitizes scholars, policymakers and managers to exacerbated negative environmental externalities within the context of international business activities in emerging and developing economies. The contribution provides stakeholders with a better understanding of the causes as well as alternative responses to the problem.

Originality/value

This paper transposes the market-related concept of institutional voids and the strategic responses to dealing with them to the non-market context of CER. The authors argue that institutional voids can be seen as the absence or poor functioning of formal and informal institutions for environmental protection, resulting in exacerbated negative environmental externalities.

Details

critical perspectives on international business, vol. 15 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 July 2022

Yasmin Fayad and Raghda El Ebrashi

This paper studies the role of inter-firm supply chain social capital and intra-firm social capital in enabling Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE), and also investigates the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper studies the role of inter-firm supply chain social capital and intra-firm social capital in enabling Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE), and also investigates the moderating and mediating effect of absorptive capacity.

Design/methodology/approach

A correlational descriptive survey research is employed for 200 firms; adopting a 13-item Likert scale obtained from Wang and Li (2016) for measuring inter-firm social capital, and an eight item Likert scale for measuring absorptive capacity. This is in addition to a nine item Likert scale obtained from De Clercq et al. (2013) to measure the intra-firm social capital, and a nine item semantic differential scale developed by Covin and Slevin (1989) for measuring the level of corporate entrepreneurship. Statistical analysis packages SPSS V.24 and AMOS V.24 were used.

Findings

Results provide evidence that structural supply chain social capital has an effect on corporate entrepreneurship; mediated by potential absorptive capacity. Additionally, the effect of relational supply chain social capital on corporate entrepreneurship is fully mediated by potential absorptive capacity. Furthermore, the effect of cognitive supply chain social capital on corporate entrepreneurship is fully mediated by potential absorptive capacity. On the other hand, results show that both intra-firm social capital and realized absorptive capacity moderate the relationship between potential absorptive capacity and corporate entrepreneurship.

Research limitations/implications

The convenience sampling technique increases the probability of selection bias. In addition, the research focused on two aspects of intra-firm social capital, namely relational and cognitive dimensions, and overlooked the structural dimension of social capital.

Practical implications

Providing managers with insights about the critical role of developing social capital among supply chain partners to facilitate the transfer and exchange of crucial knowledge necessary for product development and innovation. This is in addition to the need to capitalize on intra-collaborations and cross-functional routines to facilitate CE.

Originality/value

This study provides a required extension to the previous literature, which has not empirically modeled the role of potential absorptive capacity as means by which supply chain social capital dimensions enable CE. Also, the research identifies contingency factors that enable the effect of potential absorptive capacity on CE; namely intra-firm social capital and realized absorptive capacity.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 60 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2022

Salma Gayed and Raghda El Ebrashi

This study aims to study the impact of organizational ambidexterity capability and resource availability on firm resilience along with perceived environmental uncertainty playing…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to study the impact of organizational ambidexterity capability and resource availability on firm resilience along with perceived environmental uncertainty playing a moderating role. This study also intends to investigate the interplaying relationship between exploration capability and exploitation capability as components of organizational ambidexterity with resource availability.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative data was collected through self-administered surveys targeting 202 firms in Egypt. SEM (AMOS-SPSS) was used to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicated that both organizational ambidexterity capability and resource availability impact firm resilience. Moreover, the relationship between the enablers was found to be significant, where resource availability has a positive impact on the firm’s exploitation capability, the firm’s exploitation capability has a positive impact on its exploration capability and finally, the firm’s exploration capability has a positive impact on resource availability. However, the moderating role of perceived environmental uncertainty was found to be insignificant.

Research limitations/implications

Nonprobability convenience sampling technique, cross-sectional design and the relatively small sample size may hinder the ability to generalize this study.

Practical implications

This study identifies the importance of exploration (innovation) and exploitation (efficiency) capabilities for managers to build responsive organizations.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the understanding of firm resilience in times of uncertainties, where empirical research has not been enough. In addition, this study contributes to the identification of possible antecedents of firm resilience, highlighting the importance of certain strategic features including organizational ambidexterity capability and resource availability. This study also investigates the relationship between exploitation capabilities, exploration capabilities and resource availability, which was not empirically tested in the literature.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 May 2013

Raghda El Ebrashi

The purpose of this research is to introduce a theory for social entrepreneurship based on integrating the entrepreneurship literature with a global empirical research carried out…

13262

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to introduce a theory for social entrepreneurship based on integrating the entrepreneurship literature with a global empirical research carried out on social entrepreneurs using grounded theory. Theoretical contributions and insights from the social entrepreneurship literature are integrated into the research.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is an exploratory inductive qualitative research based on the grounded theory methodology developed by Glaser and Strauss, and procedures developed by Strauss and Corbin with a constructivist stance.

Findings

The behavioral theory of social entrepreneurship studies the contextual factors that lead to social venture creation, the underlying organization dynamics and structures, and how these typologies measure social impact, mobilize resources, and bring about sustainable social change.

Research limitations/implications

The result of the research is a behavioral theory for social entrepreneurship, which introduces new organizational typologies that create, measure, and sustain social change. Studying the underlying motivations and conditions upon which social enterprises evolve will help in extending the research on management of social outcomes and impacts. As the focus of the different typologies of social enterprises is to produce measurable social impact, researching these types of social organizations will advance research in social sciences.

Practical implications

Studying the phenomena of social entrepreneurship and explaining the social enterprises' unique behaviors, characteristics, and typologies will advance research for creating sustainable public wealth rather than just focusing on private wealth and business performance. While Schumpeter's entrepreneurship theory led the literature on economic growth, social entrepreneurship theory might be a factor for social development through economically sustainable and viable models.

Social implications

This research will help in studying the role of social entrepreneurs in creating new social institutions and structures, promoting social movements, and mobilizing resources to create sustainable social impact.

Originality/value

This research is an attempt to contribute to the social entrepreneurship literature by providing new insights about social entrepreneurship behavior. The result of the research is a behavioral theory for social entrepreneurship, which introduces new organizational typologies that create, measure, and sustain social change.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 June 2023

Enas Moustafa Mohamed Abousafi, Mohamed Abouelhassan Ali and Jose Louis Iparraguirre

This chapter applies the five drivers of productivity framework to regional microdata for Egypt and extends it by introducing an index of industrial clusters as an explanatory…

Abstract

This chapter applies the five drivers of productivity framework to regional microdata for Egypt and extends it by introducing an index of industrial clusters as an explanatory factor of the productivity performance of local private sector firms. Applying structural equation models, the geographic concentration of sectoral economic activity is found to have a positive and statistically significant effect on labor productivity. The transmission mechanism is conjectured to be the positive spillovers that are created, which local firms can tap into. In contrast, a higher concentration of skilled workers in an industrial sector in a region is associated with lower levels of labor productivity – a finding that suggests there may be structural deficiencies in the allocation of skilled workers. Regional policy should focus on net investments in gross capital formation throughout the country, for which the national and regional governments should improve how public investments are managed and the institutional framework – including the rule of law, bureaucracy and red tape, conflict of interest, transparency, and governance – so that private investment (both local and foreign) may substantially increase.

Details

Industry Clusters and Innovation in the Arab World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-872-2

Keywords

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