Innovations

Real Estate construction projects often fail due to several reasons related to management such as poor planning, lack of leadership, inadequate knowledge, people problems, and lifecycle problems. This study investigates the pivotal role of project planning in influencing the performance of housing estate construction firms within the North Central region of Nigeria. Employing the cross-sectional survey research design approach, data was collected from a comprehensive sample of construction firms, incorporating quantitative measures to provide a holistic understanding of the dynamics at play. Quantitative analysis involved statistical techniques such as regression analysis to ascertain the correlation between project planning proxies and performance metrics. A notable finding of this study was the strong positive correlation between project completion time and project efficiency. Projects with longer completion times were found to exhibit higher levels of efficiency, indicating that timely project delivery is a critical factor for enhancing overall project performance within housing estate construction firms in North Central Nigeria.These insights contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding construction management practices in Nigeria and offer practical implications for policymakers, industry practitioners, and researchers alike, aimed at fostering sustainable growth and development within the housing construction sector in North Central Nigeria and beyond.It was concluded that project completion time and stakeholder satisfaction emerged as significant determinants of project performance. Recommendations regarding the impact of project planning on project performance efficiency within housing estate construction firms in North Central Nigeria. Concerning project scope meticulous feasibility studies and needs assessments to accurately delineate project scope parameters, regular reviews and updates of project scope documents should be conducted to mitigate scope creep and ensure alignment with client expectations and market dynamics were recommended.  

Background: Public procurement in Latvia is a crucial component of the national economy, with the private sector actively participating in tenders to secure government contracts. Understanding the factors that determine the success of companies in winning public sector tenders is essential for improving competition, fairness, and transparency. Objective: This study aims to identify the determinants that influence private companies' win rates in public sector tenders in Latvia, focusing on company size, tender value, industry group, and tender characteristics. Methods: Using a dataset of private companies' participation in public sector tenders from 2020 to 2023, we conducted statistical analysis, incl. multiple regression, to explore how these factors impact win rates. Results: Findings suggest that company size and industry group significantly influence tender success rates: larger companies are expected to win more often, especially construction and technology industries. Conclusions: Access to resources is key to enable companies to win more tenders, which could guide policy makers towards supporting resource-lacking companies, such as SMEs.  

Background: Public procurement in Latvia plays a significant role in the economy, with competition in public tenders being essential for ensuring transparency and efficiency. Recent data suggests challenges in attracting sufficient bidders, particularly in relation to tender value, buyer size, industry characteristics, and regulatory frameworks. Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the key factors influencing public tender competition in Latvia between 2020 and 2023, measured by the number of bids received per tender. Methods: A dataset of 137,000 public tenders was analyzed using multiple linear regression to explore how tender, industry and buyer factors influence competition. Results: The analysis shows that higher tender values lead to fewer bids due to increased complexity and stringent requirements, while larger buyers and industries attract more bidders. Legal frameworks with stricter regulations and less transparent procurement procedures are associated with reduced competition. Conclusions: The findings suggest that simplifying tender requirements and improving transparency could increase competition. Policymakers should consider reforms that make public procurement more accessible, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to promote a more competitive bidding environment.  

This research aims to quantify the correlation between ERM indicators and net financing per share of Deposit Money Banks for a group of Nigerian banks through the use of pooled OLS, WG-VC, and flexible GLS techniques. Banks must manage a number of risks, including market, operational, interest rate, liquidity, and solvency (or capital) risks. These risks have reduced the benefits of managing the banking sector. One of the most noteworthy features of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was the unique nature of the liquidity crisis it precipitated, which eventually materialised as a variety of crises prior to reaching a catastrophic threshold. The outcomes demonstrated a favourable and statistically significant relationship between the chief risk officer and risk committee member parameters. Expanding these variables will result in an increase in net financing per share because the two factors have a favourable impact on net financing. However, there is no statistically significant difference between the exchange rate, price, and credit risk hedging derivative instrument and the risk mapping parameter. It demonstrates that these factors and net financing per share do not positively correlate. Derivative tools for hedging foreign exchange rate risk, the chief risk officer, and risk committee members all have positive coefficient values. This evidence shows that these factors and net financing per share are positively correlated. There is typically no positive correlation seen between risk mapping and derivative instruments used to hedge credit risk and net financing per share. Our research leads us to the conclusion that, since more than two ERM indicators have a positive impact on net financing per share, the expected or theoretical sign of the relationship between enterprise risk management and net financing per share is maintained.  

In this study, the researchers provide a fresh examination on the nexus between return on equity and enterprise risk management indicators for a panel of Nigerian banks using pooled OLS, WG-VC and flexible GLS methods. The study aims to determine whether the relationship with ERM will improve the performance (return on equity) of the Deposit Money Banks. The findings show that the chief risk officer, members of the risk committee, and derivative instruments for hedging foreign exchange rate risk have a positive impact on return, while risk mapping and derivative instruments for hedging credit risk maintain a positive relationship with return on equity. Banks have continued to fail due to high levels of non-performing loans, poor corporate governance, negligent credit administration, and failure to meet liquidity and capital ratio prudential ratios. The result clearly showed that enterprise risk management is a positive driver of return on equity. The study concludes that return on equity increase with an increase in risk committee member and derivative instrument for hedging foreign exchange risk, while the other three ERM indicators and return on equity move in a different direction, that is a negative relationship is evident. Financial institutions should weigh the risk vs the potential rewards to decide whether the risk is worthwhile. They can benefit from risks that are worthwhile taking as a result both in the short and long term.  

In this article, we demonstrated the study of the time-fractional nonlinear SharmaTasso-Olever (STO) equation with different initial conditions. The novel technique, which is the mixture of the q-homotopy analysis method and the new integral transform known as I man transform called, q-homotopy analysis Iman  transform method (q-HAATM) implemented to find the adequate approximated solution of the considered problems. The wave solutions of the STO equation play a vital role in the nonlinear wave model for coastal and harbor designs. The demonstration of the considered scheme is done by carrying out some examples of time-fractional STO equations with different initial approximations. q-HAETM offers us to modulate the range of convergence of the series solution using ?, called the auxiliary parameter or convergence control parameter. By performing appropriate numerical simulations, the effectiveness and reliability of the considered technique are validated. The implementation of the new integral transform called the Iman transform along with the reliable analytical technique called the q-homotopy analysis method to examine the time-fractional nonlinear STO equation displays the novelty of the presented work. The obtained findings show that the proposed method is very gratifying and examines the complex nonlinear challenges that arise in science and innovation.  

This study investigated the impact of social capital on the sustainability of family enterprises in South-East Nigeria, using a survey strategy and data from 9,731 small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A sample amount of 518 was finalised using Cochran's formula, and Bowley's proportional allocation technique was used to distribute the questionnaires. Reliability was tested using the test-retest method and Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefficient, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.93. Two hypotheses were tested using Ordinary Least Square Regression at a 0.05 significance level. The findings showed that Interpersonal relationships positively affected innovation (R = .764; p < 0.05); Internal social networks positively impacted financial performance (R = .932; p < 0.05). The investigation established that critical factors of social capital, such as interpersonal relationships and internal social networks, are crucial for the sustainability and longevity of family businesses in South-East Nigeria. It recommended that these factors be identified and effectively implemented to ensure a successful trans-generational transition.  

Consumer behaviour study is crucial to organisational marketing responses, with pricing, brand, promotional programs, and distribution systems forming central points of this study. Qualitative and quantitative research paradigms were incorporated to explore the relationship between consumer behaviour and organisational marketing responses to gather data and information. The study widened its population to include 368 respondents from eight fast-moving consumer goods firms. It is revealed from the investigation that consumer motivation is crucial in organisational marketing response as analysed through the relations between consumer motivation and pricing strategy, brand attributes, and promotional programs as well as brand distribution systems. Thus, the research findings underlined the importance of understanding the consumers' needs and preferences to provide successful marketing responses. The study results are relevant to marketing strategies and consumer behaviour.