Högskolan i Skövde

Purpose: This study aims to formulate propositions based on combinations of causal conditions that lead to high or low financial anxiety among European students, particularly in Poland and Czechia.

Design/methodology/approach: The data for this study were collected in September 2023 from 265 undergraduate and graduate students with their income at one university in Poland and three in Czechia. Students’ views on financial anxiety were explored using a seven-item Likert scale. This study uses fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), an emerging marketing research technique.

Findings: There are specific factors that may cause increased financial anxiety among young adults in Poland and Czechia, leading to the following key findings: (1) A mix of factors such as perceived lack of financial knowledge, being female, living with parents, having a low monthly income, single status and working a few hours or not at all is linked to higher financial anxiety. (2) Experiencing financial anxiety is also likely when there is low financial knowledge, female gender, living away from parents, single status and a high number of work hours. (3) The combination of low financial literacy, female gender, living with parents, being single and working more hours can elevate financial anxiety.

Originality/value: This study expands the scope of personal financial research by examining how cultural, socioeconomic and psychological factors affect students’ financial anxiety in two European countries that were infrequently studied in this context. It contributes to identifying the drivers of increased and diminished financial anxiety among young adults in Poland and Czechia.

Purpose: This study aims to explore the impact of social comparison orientation (SCO) on financial management behavior (FMB) in a developing country with a collectivist culture. It examines how SCO is related to FMB directly and through financial self-efficacy (FSE) and how financial socialization (FS) moderates the SCO–FMB relationship.

Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected from 301 adults in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using self-administered survey questionnaires. Mediation and moderation analyses were performed using Smart PLS software.

Findings: The results indicate that SCO was positively associated with FMB. FSE mediates this relationship, enhancing SCO’s positive impact on FMB. Additionally, FS moderates the effect of SCO on FMB, with higher levels of FS strengthening this positive relationship.

Research limitations/implications: The primary implication of this research is the revelation that SCO can positively impact FMB, contrary to traditional views, particularly when FSE mediates the relationship and FS moderates it. The findings suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing FSE and promoting FS can improve FMB. These insights are valuable for financial educators, policymakers and individuals in developing countries seeking to improve financial behavior.

Originality/value: This study makes four significant contributions: first, it demonstrates a positive direct relationship between SCO and FMB. Second, it reveals that FSE mediates the relationship between SCO and FMB. Third, it shows that FS moderates the SCO–FMB relationship. Fourth, it focuses on a sample from the emerging middle class in a developing country representing a collectivist culture, providing unique insights into this dynamic segment.

Individuals’ subjective well-being is influenced by their financial well-being, family relationship quality, spiritual well-being, gender, and age. However, our knowledge of potential associations between these factors is limited, especially in non-western developing countries. Further, human thinking’s complexity, interconnectedness, and asymmetry fit nicely with subjective well-being conceptualizations. Therefore, this research is one of the very first studies from a typical Asian country that conceptualizes subjective well-being asymmetrically. The primary objective of this study was to determine which combinations of these factors resulted in higher or lower subjective well-being. We used a self-administered questionnaire to survey 250 married working people in Bangladesh’s capital city. The factor combinations are identified with a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Despite not finding any necessary condition for high or low subjective well-being, the analysis identifies two equifinal combinations of high subjective well-being and four combinations of low subjective well-being. In Asian cultures, where family bonds and spiritual well-being are feared to be declining, the combination of identified configurations re-emphasizes the importance of family relationship quality and spiritual well-being. Using a configurational approach, the findings contribute to the literature on subjective well-being and family relationships by explaining how different combinations of factors determine an individual's well-being. Additionally, this has important implications for policymakers and society as a whole.

This longitudinal qualitative study examines how globally operating readymade gar-ment exporters from Bangladesh build organisational resilience in order to cope inthe turbulent business environment. We found that at the time of crisis, such as theone caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the studied exporters lacked robust-ness, and were not prepared for unexpected external shocks. However, the compa-nies built resilience by adaptation to the situation as well as possible. Their ability tobuild resilience was found to be partly rooted in the local culture. At the time of cri-sis, the companies combined jugaad—a regional cultural practice—with a Westernmindset and management tools. In this study, this unique combination of regionaland Western practices is labelled as jugalbandi. Interestingly, organisational resil-ience which is achieved in this way seems to be temporary: the exporters discardedthe locally-embedded practices when the situation stabilised. Our study challengesthe mainstream views on organisational resilience espoused in earlier research, anddevelops a context-sensitive, culture-embedded framework of resilience building.

The Covid-19 pandemic had devastating effects on small and medium businesses (SME). The immediate shock, uncertainty, varying restrictions, and the risk to life disoriented the small and medium industries. In the last 4–5 years, we’ve seen small and medium businesses worldwide gradually return to their former state. Digital transformation is one of the tools used in this comeback effort. This topic has been the subject of several conceptual, empirical, and review studies. However, no systematic review has been conducted that examines digital transformation enablers and how digital transformation can lead to organizational resilience. This study aims to fill the gap. I conducted this systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines. On the basis of the 37 studies that met the inclusion criteria, I identified two clusters of enablers (strategic orientations, capabilities, and capacities) as well as six mediating strategies (frugal innovation, organizational agility, strategic agile process, dynamic strategic planning, social entrepreneurship and competitive intelligence, and sustainable business processes) of digital transformation on SME resilience. A consolidated conceptual model was developed based on the findings of this review. Scholars will be able to use these results to understand the knowledge boundary and develop effective strategies for promoting the resilience of SME’s. 

Purpose: Financial anxiety has become a global concern and a growing research area with significant potential to contribute to the behavioral and personal finance literature. Despite this, the literature is fragmented and inconsistent. Prior studies vary greatly in the breadth of definitions and measures of financial anxiety. There has been no systematic evaluation of literature on financial anxiety antecedents, consequences, and coping strategies. This systematic review fills this gap. Design/methodology/approach: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched Scopus and Web of Science and identified 55 eligible studies published between 2009 and 2024. Findings: Financial anxiety is defined and measured differently in different research domains. We identified several antecedents, including socio-demographic factors (e.g. gender, age, ethnicity, income, employment, racial background, and language proficiency), personality traits, compulsive and impulsive buying behavior, depression or other mental issues, family health issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic and consequences of financial anxiety, including psychological and psychic health, societal and personal relations, financial behavior and well-being, and job-related outcomes. In addition, the literature presents six financial anxiety coping strategies (self-imposed coping mechanisms, spiritual and theological resources, increased financial capability, social and family support, seeking professional help, and language proficiency training). Several future research directions are presented. Originality/value: This review represents the first systematic compilation and evaluation of the research findings on financial anxiety.

Retirement planning has been extensively studied in developed countries; however, it received scant scholarly attention in developing nations. Thus, this study examines the role of cognitive factors in retirement planning intentions in the context of a developing country, focusing on financial risk tolerance and self-efficacy within the cognitive appraisal theory framework, considering the mediating role of retirement planning attitudes and the moderating impact of financial resource availability. A survey was conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with 301 valid responses analyzed using a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. Findings reveal that retirement planning attitudes mediate the relationship between cognitive factors and retirement planning intentions. Interestingly, risk tolerance negatively impacts retirement planning intentions through attitudes, while financial self-efficacy shows a positive influence. Furthermore, the availability of financial resources moderates these relationships, indicating that retirement planning attitudes significantly influence intentions when financial resource availability is low. This research contributes to the understanding of retirement planning in a developing country context, highlighting the importance of cognitive factors and financial resources. It suggests that tailored retirement planning strategies should consider individual financial conditions and cognitive beliefs. The insights are valuable for policymakers and financial advisors, particularly in developing nations.

Drawing on the transaction cost analysis perspective, this study examines how three types of exchange risks influence performance in exporter-importer exchange relationships. These risks include cultural distance, which gives rise to behavioral uncertainty and its associated measurement problem; market turbulence, a dimension of environmental uncertainty that gives rise to an adaptation problem; and transaction-specific assets, representing a safeguarding problem. The conceptual model assesses how an informal governance mechanism, inter-organizational trust, responds to these three exchange risks and, in doing so, fosters relational and export performance. Based on a structural equation model conducted in PLS, our findings indicate that cultural distance relates positively to inter-organizational trust, and market turbulence positively relates to exporter-specific assets. Exporter-specific assets and inter-organizational trust were found to have a reciprocal relationship. This research also confirms the mediating role of relational performance concerning the effects of exporter-specific assets and inter-organizational trust on financial export performance. 

Mobile usage and internet consumption have marked tremendous growth in the last decade. The adoption of mobile technology has gained the attention of researchers, and few studies have been carried out to understand the factors of mobile technology adoption. This study aims to understand the factors affecting mobile wallet app adoption among Indian consumers. The study explores the factors that impact wallet app adoption and the mediating role of satisfaction between wallet app adoption and its continuous usage. A conceptual model was developed based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) framework and tested on 424 responses collected from India’s Delhi NCR capital region. The original UTAUT framework has been extended by adding factors: enjoyment, aesthetics, incentives, and trust. The hypothesized relationships were analysed by using the structural equation modelling (SEM) method. Geographical limitations, the younger population as a prominent respondent in the study, and longitudinal study were reported as a few of the limitations of the study. The findings of the study would help the mobile wallet app developers and providers by providing valuable insights which in turn can be implemented by them to frame their strategies for increased adoption of the wallet apps. 

The green cosmetics industry has witnessed significant growth over the last few years. Simultaneously, scholarly interest in the area has grown. However, overall, the evidence is inconsistent. Despite the growing literature, no systematic review has been carried out to summarize and synthesize the empirical studies that have examined factors associated with green cosmetics purchase intention (GCPI) and green cosmetics purchase behavior (GCPB). This study aims to fill this gap. We conducted this systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines. From forty-eight studies that met the inclusion criteria, we identified ten major themes that were significantly associated with GCPI and GCPB. The most frequently demonstrated determinants were the theory of planned behavior components (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control), followed by marketing mix, consumer consciousness concerns, consumer values, brand-related attributes, experience and knowledge, self-efficacy, and perceived barriers. In addition, we identified several gaps that could be addressed through future research. These results will help scholars understand the knowledge boundary and assist marketers in developing effective strategies for promoting green cosmetics.