GPH-International Journal of Business Management

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Digital Trade Payment Systems in Facilitating Export Growth in Emerging Economies

2025-12-07T07:15:24+00:00

This paper highlights the role of digital trade payment systems in improving the export growth of emerging economies. Drawing on a comprehensive review of technological innovations, including mobile wallets, blockchain-based platforms and regional real-time settlement systems, the paper explores how these digital platforms reduce transaction costs, improve settlement speed and foster financial inclusion. Empirical evidence from countries such as Nigeria, India and Brazil shows that the widespread adoption of digital payment platforms is correlated with increased export businesses, particularly among micro and small enterprises. The analysis highlights key theoretical frameworks, transaction cost economics, network effects and institutional interoperability that explain the mechanisms linking digital payments to export expansion. Additionally, the study identifies persistent challenges, including cybersecurity risks, regulatory framework, infrastructure gaps and high compliance costs, which hinder the full realization of potential benefits. Policy implications emphasize the importance of harmonized regulations, interoperability standards, digital identity systems and public-private partnerships to unlock the full trade-facilitating potential of digital payment systems. Overall, the findings confirm that strategic investments and policy actions are crucial for leveraging digital trade payment systems to achieve sustained, export growth in emerging markets.

ISPS CODE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF SEAPORTS IN EASTERN NIGERIA

2025-12-14T11:25:52+00:00

This study examines the relationship between ISPS code implementation and operational efficiency of Eastern Nigeria seaports The specific objectives are to empirically examine the relationship between ISPS code implementation and operational efficiency in terms of cargo dwell time, stakeholder satisfaction and operational cost of seaports in Eastern Nigeria. The study adopted the cross- sectional survey as its research design. The study population consists of - four (4) seaports operating in Nigeria. The study took a census. Thirty (30) respondents were drawn from each of the seaport making a total of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents to whom copies of structured questionnaires were administered. However, one hundred and fourteen (114) respondents were retrieved and used for analysis. The hypotheses were tested using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation with the aid of statistical packages of social science (SPSS) version 27.0. The study’s findings revealed that there is a very strong, positive and statistically significant relationship between ISPS code implementation and operational efficiency of seaports in Eastern Nigeria. The study concludes that ISPS code implementation significantly relates to operational efficiency of seaports in Eastern Nigeria; and it is recommended that, port administrators in Eastern Nigeria should continually evaluate and gauge outcomes of implementation to the code in order to improve operational efficiency of the seaports.

SUSTAINABILITY DISCLOSURE PRACTICE AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF QUOTED PHARMACEUTICAL FIRMS IN NIGERIA

2025-12-23T10:52:29+00:00

Triggered by the persistent high inflationary trend among other fierce dynamic business environments that characterize the Nigerian business landscape, the study examines the effects of sustainability disclosures on the financial performance of quoted pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria. Community development cost disclosure, employee welfare cost disclosure and environmental protection cost disclosure are the dimensions of the predictor variable while return on assets and profit after tax measure financial performance. Panel regression analysis techniques with the aid E-views were employed to estimate the residuals of the econometric models for multi-year period on audited annual reports of the pharmaceutical firms. The results show that disclosing Community Development Costs, Employee Welfare Costs, and Environmental Protection Costs has a positive and statistically significant effect on Return on Assets and profit after tax, implying that sustainable investments improve asset utilization efficiency in the pharmaceutical sector. Similarly, Community Development Cost Disclosure and Employee Welfare Cost Disclosure have a positive and substantial impact on profit after tax, although Environmental Protection Cost Disclosure, related positively but insignificantly. The study concludes that investing in sustainability disclosures has a significant effect on the financial performance of Nigerian publicly traded pharmaceutical companies. It is recommended that pharmaceutical firms' management teams incorporate sustainability disclosure practices into their business models because they significantly increase profit after tax and return on assets, whereas environmental investment disclosures ensure long-term competitive advantage, regulatory compliance, and public trust. Furthermore, regulatory authorities should strengthen sustainability disclosure required indices for the pharmaceutical industry to adopt for consistent reporting, as well as providing incentives such as tax credits or green finance to encourage acceptable practice. The pharmaceutical business in a developing market revealed that sustainability disclosures serve not only as ethical imperatives but also as strategic financial performance levers, which is why comprehensive reporting is sought.