Impact of ethical practices on small and medium enterprises’ performance in Saudi Arabia: An Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling analysis

IF 0.9 4区管理学 Q4 BUSINESS

South African Journal of Business Management Pub Date : 2021-08-25 DOI:10.4102/sajbm.v52i1.2551

T. Abalala, Mazharul Islam, Md. Mahmudul Alam

{"title":"Impact of ethical practices on small and medium enterprises’ performance in Saudi Arabia: An Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling analysis","authors":"T. Abalala, Mazharul Islam, Md. Mahmudul Alam","doi":"10.4102/sajbm.v52i1.2551","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: The real challenge of establishing and maintaining business ethics in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become a global issue. We investigated the driving forces of ethical practices (EP) and its contribution to the overall performance in businesses.Design/methodology/approach: This study collected primary data from 117 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia by using a well-designed questionnaire survey amongst SMEs and draw inferences using the structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis.Findings/results: Findings suggested that top management’s characters and ethical commitment, ethical policy and culture of the organisation and external pressure positively influence the ethical practice in the organisation, which leads to a significant positive impact on both financial and non-financial performances of SMEs. But the level of fraud and corruption and the level of monitoring show a mixed moderating effect on the relationships between ethical practice in the organisation and business performance.Practical implications: The findings of this research will help SMEs’ administrators and managers, as well as the companies to instil workplace ethics, which manages the level of business performance. The policymakers and other relevant authorities can also utilise the outcomes of this study to develop ethical policy guidelines and frameworks to improve SMEs’ competitiveness and sustain their companies in the long run.Originality/value: The unique feature of this research is that both the causes and effects of EP are considered in one integrated model. This gives a more vivid picture of the ethical issue in a business organisation.","PeriodicalId":45649,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Business Management","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2021-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"4","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South African Journal of Business Management","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v52i1.2551","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 4

Abstract

Purpose: The real challenge of establishing and maintaining business ethics in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become a global issue. We investigated the driving forces of ethical practices (EP) and its contribution to the overall performance in businesses.Design/methodology/approach: This study collected primary data from 117 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia by using a well-designed questionnaire survey amongst SMEs and draw inferences using the structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis.Findings/results: Findings suggested that top management’s characters and ethical commitment, ethical policy and culture of the organisation and external pressure positively influence the ethical practice in the organisation, which leads to a significant positive impact on both financial and non-financial performances of SMEs. But the level of fraud and corruption and the level of monitoring show a mixed moderating effect on the relationships between ethical practice in the organisation and business performance.Practical implications: The findings of this research will help SMEs’ administrators and managers, as well as the companies to instil workplace ethics, which manages the level of business performance. The policymakers and other relevant authorities can also utilise the outcomes of this study to develop ethical policy guidelines and frameworks to improve SMEs’ competitiveness and sustain their companies in the long run.Originality/value: The unique feature of this research is that both the causes and effects of EP are considered in one integrated model. This gives a more vivid picture of the ethical issue in a business organisation.

查看原文本刊更多论文

道德实践对沙特阿拉伯中小企业绩效的影响：偏最小二乘结构方程建模分析

目的：在中小企业中建立和维护商业道德的真正挑战已成为一个全球性问题。我们调查了道德实践（EP）的驱动力及其对企业整体绩效的贡献。设计/方法/方法：本研究通过对沙特阿拉伯117家中小企业进行精心设计的问卷调查，收集了主要数据，并使用结构方程建模（SEM）分析进行了推断。调查结果/结果：调查结果表明，最高管理层的性格和道德承诺、组织的道德政策和文化以及外部压力对组织的道德实践产生了积极影响，这对中小企业的财务和非财务表现都产生了显著的积极影响。但欺诈和腐败的程度以及监督的程度对组织中的道德实践与业务绩效之间的关系显示出混合的调节作用。实际意义：这项研究的结果将有助于中小企业的管理者和经理，以及公司灌输工作场所道德，管理企业绩效水平。政策制定者和其他相关当局也可以利用这项研究的结果制定道德政策指南和框架，以提高中小企业的竞争力，并从长远来看维持其公司。独创性/价值：这项研究的独特之处在于，EP的原因和影响都被考虑在一个综合模型中。这为商业组织中的道德问题提供了一个更生动的画面。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

South African Journal of Business Management Multiple-

CiteScore

2.00

自引率

7.70%

发文量

审稿时长

25 weeks

期刊介绍： The South African Journal of Business Management publishes articles that have real significance for management theory and practice. The content of the journal falls into two categories: managerial theory and management practice: -Management theory is devoted to reporting new methodological developments, whether analytical or philosophical. In general, papers should, in addition to developing a new theory, include some discussion of applications, either historical or potential. Both state-of-the-art surveys and papers discussing new developments are appropriate for this category. -Management practice concerns the methodology involved in applying scientific knowledge. It focusses on the problems of developing and converting management theory to practice while considering behavioural and economic realities. Papers should reflect the mutual interest of managers and management scientists in the exercise of the management function. Appropriate papers may include examples of implementations that generalise experience rather than specific incidents and facts, and principles of model development and adaptation that underline successful application of particular aspects of management theory. The relevance of the paper to the professional manager should be highlighted as far as possible.