<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The study profiled and compared household multidimensional poverty status and its determinants among urban and rural households in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, using information from a sample population of 3033 households interviewed from the Province during the General Household Survey conducted by the Statistics South Africa in 2014. Analytical techniques utilized include the recent multidimensional poverty index (MPI), descriptive statistics and Tobit regression. Findings reveal that multiple deprivations are found mostly in the rural area of the province; the multidimensional headcount is highest in the rural area, though the intensity of multidimensional poverty is almost similar in both geographical locations. The standard of living dimension is also the largest contribution to MPI in both locations. MPI has significant links with education attainment of household head, access to electricity and asset stock in both geographical locations, but is influenced by the gender of head, agriculture engagement and household monthly income in rural areas only. In order to improve households’ multidimensional poverty status in both urban and rural locations, there is the need to take into account some significant variables such as education of head, increase electricity subsidy coverage during winter period, asset accumulation and increase in households’ participation in agricultural activities, especially those residing in rural areas.</abstract>

Multidimensional Poverty Analysis of Urban and Rural Households in South Africa

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Increased organizational efficiency should be one of the main strategic goals of every business. Ways of achieving it differ and one of the many choices is to improve business operations using available tools such as the “20 keys methodology”. This methodology is used to achieve strategic goals through the enhanced speed of learning and innovation. The aim of this paper is to look at the potential of 20 keys methodology for the improvement of company’s organizational efficiency in today’s global market. This integrated set of different tools is intended to increase the company’s efficiency and level of quality with synchronized cost reduction. 20 keys tend to eliminate various “wastes” in production processes to improve buyer’s satisfaction and motivate employees to act towards achieving company’s goals. Eventually, the methodology application should ensure a sustainable development, profitability, and integrated approach to competitiveness and long-term success of the company. The paper examines the implementation of the 20 keys methodology in Croatia and presents one case of a local production company using the methodology aiming to increase the organizational efficiency. Further research proposals are brought to confirm the potential influence of methodology on organizational efficiency.</abstract>

Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek

The 20 Keys Methodology – Continuous Improvement for Organizational Efficiency

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Dividend policy remains one of the top ten unresolved issues in corporate finance including in the banking sector. Hence, this study explores data from 250 commercial banks in 30 Sub-Saharan African countries to establish the causal relationship between the use of two major dividend policies in the sector and financial performance for the period 2006 to 2015. The empirical results of the vector error correction block exogeneity Wald test and Pairwise Granger causality test reveal that only retention policies Granger cause performance (ROA), even though both major policies posit a positive relationship with performance (ROA) in the Vector Error Correction Model estimate. Therefore, commercial banks in Sub Saharan Africa and also in the entire world should use their free cash flows wisely by exploring all available viable investment opportunities. By doing this, not only owners’ profit but wealth is fully maximised such that their survival, value creation, and future growth is fully justified.</abstract>

Dividend Payout, Retention Policy and Financial Performance in Commercial Banks: Any Causal Relationship?

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This paper examines the impact of financial literacy on stock price informativeness in a sample of firms from 20 countries. Using four measures of stock price informativeness, we find a significant relationship between higher financial literacy and higher stock price informativeness. The individual investors’ contribution regarding the incorporation of specific information into stock prices includes private information also and not mere specific information in the general sense. Financial knowledge is the key element that helps individual investors to incorporate specific information into stock prices.</abstract>

Financial Literacy and Stock Price Informativeness: a Cross-Country Study

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The present study attempts to understand the use of three information processing mechanisms – cognitive, affective, and normative – to assess the quality of cashmere products made in Mongolia. For attaining the above aims, semi-structured interviews were conducted to test a framework that resulted from literature reviewed on country of origin (COO) effect and information processing mechanisms. Results demonstrate that for Business-to-Business (B2B) clients, the COO is an extremely relevant cue to evaluate the quality of cashmere. Conversely, most of the consumers do not seem to include the COO effect on their information processing and base their evaluation on four distinct product-related attributes: quality, brand, social status, and price. Results are relevant for the Mongolian cashmere industry, as well as for marketers interested in understanding what drives consumers of cashmere in their buying decisions. We also understand these findings to assist in improving the image of Mongolia as one of the world’s best manufacturers of cashmere.</abstract>

What Mongolia Produces that the World Should Know About? Consumers’ Information Processing Mechanisms

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 68 (2023): Issue 3 (December 2023)

Volume 68 (2023): Issue 2 (August 2023)

Volume 68 (2023): Issue 1 (April 2023)

Volume 67 (2022): Issue 3 (December 2022)

Volume 67 (2022): Issue 2 (August 2022)

Volume 67 (2022): Issue 1 (April 2022)

Volume 66 (2021): Issue 3 (December 2021)

Volume 66 (2021): Issue 2 (August 2021)

Volume 66 (2021): Issue 1 (April 2021)

Volume 65 (2020): Issue 3 (December 2020)

Volume 65 (2020): Issue 2 (August 2020)

Volume 65 (2020): Issue 1 (April 2020)

Volume 64 (2019): Issue 3 (December 2019)

Volume 64 (2019): Issue 2 (August 2019)

Volume 64 (2019): Issue 1 (April 2019)

Volume 63 (2018): Issue 3 (December 2018)

Volume 63 (2018): Issue 2 (August 2018)

Volume 63 (2018): Issue 1 (April 2018)

Volume 62 (2017): Issue 3 (December 2017)

Volume 62 (2017): Issue 2 (August 2017)

Volume 62 (2017): Issue 1 (April 2017)

Volume 61 (2016): Issue 3 (December 2016)

Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Oeconomica

 The journal is an official publication of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeș-Bolyai University, from Cluj Napoca. It is focused on scientific research of general interest in a broad range of disciplines, including:   macro- and microeconomics  economic policy  international and public economics  urban, rural and regional economics  finance and banking  accounting and audit  marketing  management and business  statistics, econometrics, and other quantitative methods  mathematics, game and decision theories  The journal is edited by an international board of editors, which ensures access to an international pool of referees and guarantees a high standard of contributions. The journal maintains a balance between theoretical and empirical work.  Rejection Rate   40%   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 