Environmental sustainability orientation and financial resources of small manufacturing firms in the Philippines

Purpose - This study challenges the conventional view that resources determine the extent of environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) of small firms in a developing Southeast Asian country context. First, this study attempts to develop a measurement model of ESO of small firms in the manufacturing sector in the Philippines. Second, the study explores the impact of the financial resources on the ESO of firms.

Design/methodology/approach - The study uses survey data from 166 small manufacturing firms in three Philippine cities. Multiple regression modelling is used to estimate the relationships between firm resources and ESO.

Findings - The results indicate that ESO is a multi-dimensional construct with three facets: awareness of, actions for, and appreciation of environmental sustainability. The empirical evidence does not support the conventional firm resources – ESO proposition.

Research limitations/implications - A proactive ESO is not necessarily beyond the reach of resource-constrained small firms. The generalisability of the findings however is limited to small manufacturing firms in the Philippines.

Practical implications - This study informs owner-managers of small firms that a proactive ESO does not largely depend on financial resources. Government policies and programs to encourage small firms to become sustainable should not only focus on financial forms of assistance.

Originality/value -  To date, this is the only Philippine-based study and one of the scarce small firm-focused studies that examine the proposition that small firms are unable to pursue a proactive ESO due to resource-constraints.

Economic accountability in the context of local governance in the Philippines : a structural equation modelling approach

This study posits that by virtue of the enabling role of local governments, the economic development of their locality must be at the core of their public accountability, which is referred to here as “economic accountability”. Grounded on this idea of accountability, along with enabling theory and institutional theory, the study presents empirical evidence supportive of the argument that the enabling role of local governments, as manifested in a capacity to establish or adhere to formal institutional arrangements, has a direct impact on the entrepreneurial strategic posture and performance of local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which are key players in local economic development.The results of the structural equation modelling support the view that institutional arrangements as manifestations of the enabling role of city governments are positively associated with an entrepreneurial strategic posture of local firms, which consequently improves the firms’ overall economic performance. Therefore, SME development in particular, and local economic development in general, should be part of the economic accountability of local governments in the Philippine context of local governance.

Effects of formal institutions on the performance of the tourism sector in the Philippines: the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation

Although formal institutions and entrepreneurial orientation have both been found to contribute separately and positively to firm performance, the interplay between the two factors has not received much attention. This study draws from institutional theory and the entrepreneurship literature to argue that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) provides the mechanism through which the formal institutional environment influences the performance of firms in the tourism sector. Using structural equation modelling and data from a large-scale survey of firms in the tourism sector in the Philippines, it is shown that elements of the institutional environment, by themselves, only have limited influence on tourism firms' performance. EO is shown to partially enhance the effects of the institutional environment on firm performance. The strong mediating effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between the institutional environment and firm performance is a novel finding and highlights the important role of the government in ensuring that the formal institutional environment promotes entrepreneurship which, in turn, enhances the performance of the tourism sector.

The geopolitical economy of social policy in the Philippines: securitisation, emerging powers and multilateral policies

Recent geopolitical and economic changes have altered global social policy formation. Bretton Woods multilateral development agencies (MDAs) have selectively incorporated ideas that have emerged from developing country states and decision makers. Recent years have witnessed an increased acceptance of social transfers as part of renewed efforts at poverty alleviation policies based on social risk management. There has been an instance in the use and promotion of conditional cash transfer (CCT) policies by MDAs. One case is the Philippines. CCTs were a product of the emergence of a neostructuralist welfare regime (understood as an ideal type) in Latin America. There was an attempt to reconcile neoliberal strategies of development with aspirations for guaranteed minimum incomes. The Bretton Woods and regional development bank MDAs have facilitated the adoption of CCTs in other developing country contexts. In the Philippines, a combination of actions by national political actors and MDAs resulted in the implementation of a securitised and compliance-focused version of CCTs derived from the Colombian security state. Although poor households welcome income assistance, CCTs have acted to enforce further state monitoring without altering the national-based political and economic processes that replicate poverty.

Securitising participation in the Philippines: KALAHI and community-driven participation

Participatory approaches to development have been implemented increasingly. One form is the World Bank’s community-driven development (CDD) programme. Participation has, also, become increasingly securitised since 2001. One instance of these trends was the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) project in the Philippines. This paper examines the implementation of CDD and the problems of its securitisation, using the Philippines as a case study. A composite conceptual framework is advanced that draws upon the international analyses of development. Adapting the concepts of securitisation and de-politicisation, it argues that a new hegemonic-development framework has appeared: the Securitised-Washington consensus. The analysis assesses these trends through the examples of KALAHI and Philippine politics and economics. It suggests that securitised CDD projects result in token efforts at political reform and poverty alleviation that often are contradicted by counter-trends towards development decline and militarisation. Unless these deep-rooted problems are confronted, localised participation is likely to remain ineffectual.

Knowledge management view of environmental sustainability in manufacturing SMEs in the Philippines

This study highlights the role of knowledge management (KM) in enabling small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a manufacturing industry in a developing country to engage in environmentally sustainable business. Drawing on the knowledge-based view of the firm, it argues that resource-constrained SMEs rely on their relational capital to augment their capability to innovate in order to find better and environmentally sound ways of doing business. However, SMEs need to harness their KM orientation in order to leverage the knowledge-based resources emanating from their relational capital towards building their innovation capability. This capability is essential in integrating effective environmental management practices in business. The findings from our analysis of data from a survey of 241 manufacturing SMEs in the Philippines support these hypotheses and underscore the importance of developing an organisational capability to engage in KM in order to adopt sustainable business practices. The implications of the findings are also discussed.

Innovations in microinsurance: evidence from the Philippines

A popularidade e o interesse em microsseguro, especialmente nos países em desenvolvimento, tem aumentado nos últimos anos. Parte do sucesso se deve às inovações desenvolvidas principalmente para a indústria de microsseguros, que é bastante diferente do seguro tradicional. No entanto, há pouca informação sobre o impacto real dessas inovações em termos de aumento da demanda por microsseguro. Este estudo investiga quais as inovações de fato ajudaram a aumentar a demanda de microsseguros. Um método de estudo de caso qualitativo é aplicado sobre a MicroEnsure Filipinas , uma das empresas de microsseguro de maior sucesso no país. Os resultados mostram que as inovações precisam ser implementadas em vários aspectos de uma empresa de microsseguros para que elas sejam um meio eficaz de aumentar a demanda por microsseguro. As descobertas podem apoiar os gestores de microsseguros e formuladores de políticas na tomada de medidas para a criação de inovações de microsseguros benéficas em toda a Filipinas.