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The objective of this chapter is to lay the foundation for the edited collection of contemporary research contributions contained in this book. Specifically, the chapter is concerned with defining and conceptualising rural entrepreneurship.

The chapter seeks to explore why and how a rural enterprise can be defined, and determines whether rural entrepreneurship is a distinctive category of entrepreneurship theory and practice. Building on descriptive rural enterprise taxonomies proposed in previous studies, the chapter considers the drivers and barriers impacting on firm start-up, growth and decline in rural environments.

The authors argue that there is little difference between a rural and non-rural enterprise in terms of structure, that is how the business is organised or managed, or how the characteristics of the individual entrepreneur are exhibited. Thus, it would appear that there is no specific category for, nor definition of a rural entrepreneur beyond that of ‘an individual who manages a venture in a rural setting’.

The chapter is based mainly on a review of extant literatures.

The chapter concludes that it is the exogenous factors that differentiate rural from non-rural ventures, and it is these factors that will have a significant impact on start-up, growth and failure rates.

This study examines how the introduction of mobile money transfers, while making it efficient and convenient to access funds, has affected rural households’ savings behavior and the banking sector.

This study utilizes Fiji’s most recent agricultural census data to model the agricultural household’s saving decision. The study estimates an probit model to examine rural households' savings behavior. Furthermore, it utilizes time series secondary data to examine how funds transfer has been channeled to rural households in Fiji.

Firstly, the results demonstrate that with the mobile money transfer platform launch, the banking sector has lost substantial money previously used to pass through its system, thus losing service fees and interest income. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that those using mobile wallet platforms to receive money are more likely not to have a savings account with the bank. Noting the cultural systems and social settings of the native households and the ease of payments via the mobile platform, they tend to spend more on consumption rather than saving, thus making these households more vulnerable during shocks such as natural disasters.

While mobile money transfer is hailed as a revolution, no research has yet picked up the downside to it, that of undermining the very effort by policymakers to get low-income rural households to save. Secondly, this study also highlights how mobile money transfer deprives the banking system of a significant transfer fee income and a source of funds to pool and lend to earn interest income. Furthermore, this study brings to the forefront a dichotomy about how a rural indigenous community sees the welfare and prosperity of their community much differently than what economics textbooks portray.

This paper presents a case study of successful rural school leadership in Victoria, Australia. The purpose of the paper is to identify how particular leadership practices were adapted to secure rural school success.

The author used the International Successful School Principalship Project research protocols to develop a multiple-perspective, mixed-method case study that investigated the principal's leadership at the school.

The findings illustrate how the leadership practices of the principal healed the fractured school–community relationships, which allowed the school community to work together towards a common school vision. A key factor in the school's success was the principal's personal connection to the local rural community of which he was a part. This notion of native connection could have practical implications for the recruitment and retention of rural principals in the future.

Whilst it is widely acknowledged that principals need to consider their school and community contexts when making leadership decisions, there have been few studies that have focussed on understanding how this can be achieved in the context of rural schools. This case provides a rich account of a principal's leadership practices in one successful school in rural Australia.

Since smartphones became ubiquitous, online grocery and food purchases through take-away delivery platforms have steadily increased in China. Nevertheless, whether the development of take-away delivery can ameliorate urban–rural wage inequality still requires further analysis. The purpose of this paper is to clarify whether this positive effect exists.

This paper makes estimations based on city and individual levels combining the Chinese Household Income Project (CHIP) 2008, CHIP 2013, CHIP2018 survey data and the take-away delivery site data. At the city level, the Oaxaca-Blinder (O-B) decomposition method is employed to construct wage inequality index of urban and rural labors. At the individual level, this paper analyzes urban–rural wage differentials with high or low formal education level.

The rapid establishment of take-away delivery sites has resulted in an increase of 52.425 yuan on average in the annual wage of rural labors with low formal education level. When the cumulative number of sites increases by 1 unit, the annual wage inequality index decreases by 0.007 on average. Labors with the characteristics of rural household registration and low education can enjoy more dividends. Through inter-/within-industry decomposition, this paper elaborates formal education, age and cross-industry transfer as the main factors for the improvement of urban–rural wage inequality. Narrowing effect of wage differences between different groups in multiple sample slices also contributes to the mechanism analyses.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to analyze the impact of take-away delivery development on the urban–rural wage inequality from the perspective of the establishment of take-away delivery sites. This empirical study will enrich the existing theoretical perspectives on urban–rural divide under the emergence of new forms of employment. The results indicate that new forms of employment represented by take-away delivery can not only promote economic growth, but also eliminate urban–rural inequality.

Rural development programs are widely used policy instruments mitigating rural-urban economic disparities. Yet, little research has examined their effect on rural labor. This study fills this knowledge gap by quantifying the causal impact of such programs on the labor allocation of farm households in Taiwan.

A theoretical framework based on the agricultural household model is constructed to guide the empirical specification. A unique dataset compiles administrative data on the program’s subsidies with farm household surveys across seven years. To cope with endogeneity bias, an instrumental variables model is applied. The eligibility rule for a township to participate in the program is used as the instrument.

We find that the program increases the labor supply of farm household members. These effects are more pronounced for off-farm work, particularly non-heads of farm households. The program’s subsidies supporting culture and promotion-related activities have larger effects. Finally, females benefited more from the program.

We focus on farm households since this group is the target of place-based rural development programs. In addition, we identify the causal impact of place-based development programs on rural labor. Finally, this study is relevant to the literature on intra-household models by demonstrating that place-based rural development programs can affect the labor supply of farm household members.

This paper aims to understand tourist behavior in Indian rural tourism by integrating the stimuli-organism-response (SOR) framework, service quality model (SERVQUAL) model and theory of planned behavior. It investigates the role of positive tourist-host interactions, destination image, trust and attitude in shaping pro-tourism intentions. Additionally, it explores the moderating effect of Indian traditionality on these relationships.

This study uses a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative data from 15 respondents with quantitative analysis involving 580 tourists engaged in Indian rural tourism. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling are used to examine relationships among tourist-host interactions, destination image, trust, attitude and pro-tourism intentions.

The study reveals that positive interactions and a positive destination image play crucial roles in building trust and shaping favorable attitudes toward rural tourism. Trust and attitude, in turn, significantly drive pro-tourism intentions. Furthermore, tourist attitude partially mediates the relationship between trust and intentions. The study introduces the novel concept of Indian traditionality as a moderator, highlighting its impact on trust, attitude and pro-tourism intentions.

Limitations include the focus on Indian rural tourism, which may limit generalizability, and potential response bias due to self-reported data. Future research could explore other cultural contexts and use diverse data collection methods.

This research offers practical insights for policymakers and stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of fostering positive tourist–host interactions and cultivating a positive destination image to enhance the overall tourist experience and promote sustainable rural tourism practices.

This study’s innovation lies in harmonizing theoretical frameworks to shed light on Indian rural tourism’s multifaceted aspects. It introduces Indian traditionality as a cultural moderator, enriching understanding of tourist behavior. The research contributes to academia and industry by guiding the development of sustainable tourism practices and improving the tourist experience.

本研究旨在通过整合 SOR 框架、SERVQUAL 模型和计划行为理论来理解印度乡村旅游中的游客行为。研究探讨了游客与东道主的积极互动、目的地形象、信任和态度在形成亲旅游意愿中的作用。此外, 本文还探讨了印度传统对这些关系的调节作用。

本研究采用混合方法, 将 15 名受访者的定性数据与 580 名参与印度乡村旅游的游客的定量分析相结合。研究采用了确证因子分析（CFA）和结构方程模型（SEM）来考察游客-接待方互动、目的地形象、信任、态度和亲旅游意愿之间的关系。

研究表明, 积极的互动和正面的目的地形象在建立信任和形成对乡村旅游的良好态度方面发挥着至关重要的作用。信任和态度反过来又会极大地推动亲旅游意愿。此外, 游客态度在一定程度上调节了信任与意愿之间的关系。研究引入了印度传统这一新颖的概念作为调节因素, 强调其对信任、态度和亲旅游意愿的影响。

研究的局限性包括：研究重点是印度乡村旅游, 这可能会限制研究的普遍性, 以及由于自我报告数据而可能产生的反应偏差。未来的研究可以探索其他文化背景, 并采用不同的数据收集方法。

这项研究为政策制定者和利益相关者提供了实用的见解, 强调了促进游客与东道主之间的积极互动以及培养积极的目的地形象对于提升整体游客体验和促进可持续乡村旅游实践的重要性。

本研究的创新之处在于协调理论框架, 揭示印度乡村旅游的多面性。它引入了印度传统作为文化调节因素, 丰富了我们对游客行为的理解。该研究通过指导可持续旅游实践的发展和改善游客体验, 为学术界和产业界做出了贡献。

Esta investigación pretende comprender el comportamiento del turista en el turismo rural de la India mediante la integración del marco SOR, el modelo SERVQUAL y la Teoría del Comportamiento Planificado. Investiga el papel de las interacciones positivas entre el turista y el anfitrión, la imagen del destino, la confianza y la actitud en la formación de las intenciones proturismo. Además, explora el efecto moderador de la tradicionalidad india en estas relaciones.

Este estudio emplea un enfoque metodológico mixto, combinando datos cualitativos de 15 encuestados con un análisis cuantitativo en el que participan 580 turistas en el ámbito del turismo rural en India. Se utilizan el análisis factorial confirmatorio (AFC) y el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) para examinar las relaciones entre las interacciones turista-anfitrión, la imagen del destino, la confianza, la actitud y las intenciones a favor del turismo.

El estudio revela que las interacciones positivas y una imagen favorable del destino desempeñan un papel crucial en la creación de confianza y en la formación de actitudes positivas hacia el turismo rural. La confianza y la actitud, a su vez, impulsan significativamente las intenciones proturismo. Además, la actitud del turista es un mediador parcial en la relación entre confianza e intenciones. El estudio introduce el novedoso concepto de tradicionalidad India como moderador, destacando su impacto en la confianza, la actitud y las intenciones proturismo.

Las limitaciones incluyen el hecho de centrarse en el turismo rural en India, lo que puede limitar que sea generalizado, y el posible sesgo de respuesta debido a los datos auto declarados. Futuras investigaciones podrían explorar otros contextos culturales y emplear diversos métodos de recogida de datos.

Esta investigación ofrece ideas prácticas para los responsables políticos y las partes interesadas, haciendo hincapié en la importancia de fomentar las interacciones positivas entre el turista y el anfitrión y cultivar una imagen positiva del destino para mejorar la experiencia turística en general y promover prácticas sostenibles de turismo rural.

La innovación de este estudio radica en la armonización de los marcos teóricos para arrojar luz sobre los aspectos polifacéticos del turismo rural en India. Introduce la tradicionalidad India como moderador cultural, enriqueciendo nuestra comprensión del comportamiento turístico. La investigación contribuye al mundo académico y a la industria orientando el desarrollo de prácticas turísticas sostenibles y mejorando la experiencia del turista.

In this viewpoint, the theme editors provide an overview of the theme issue that aims to address the role of rural tourism in supporting the wellbeing and socio-economic development of local stakeholders.

The paper covers different facets of rural tourism in promoting the socio-economic development of rural communities. Specifically, the articles in this issue capture the nuances of how local stakeholders in rural tourism in different geographical regions use various strategies to promote the well-being and socio-economic development of local communities.

The papers in this theme issue demonstrate the potential role of rural tourism in promoting the socio-economic development of rural communities. These papers make an important contribution to the theory and practice of rural tourism by providing in-depth insight into the recovery and growth strategies adopted by stakeholders in diverse rural tourism destinations, especially in the wake of turbulent times such as the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. These papers suggest frameworks for further research and provide case studies of innovation and adaptation.

This theme issue analyses stories of innovation, adaptation, and growth of rural tourism in various destinations that presented the industry with unique challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion provides some lessons and charts direction for the industry. The significance is greater when stakeholders of rural tourism and policymakers view rural tourism as an engine for the recovery and growth of the rural and national economy.

The aim of this study is to discern the role of digital finance in driving rural industrial integration and revitalization. Specifically, it intends to shed light on how the deep development of digital finance can contribute to the optimization and transformation of the rural industrial structure. The research further explores the particular effects of this financial transformation in the central and western regions of China.

This research studies the influence of digital finance on rural industrial integration across 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2020. Utilizing the entropy weight method, a comprehensive evaluation index system is established to gauge the level of rural industrial integration. A two-way fixed effects model, intermediary effect model, and threshold effect model are employed to decipher the relationship between digital finance and rural industrial integration.

Findings reveal a positive relationship between digital finance and rural industrial integration. A single threshold feature was identified: beyond a traditional finance development level, the marginal effect of digital finance on rural industrial integration increases. These effects are more noticeable in central and western regions.

Empirical outcomes contribute to policy discourse on rural digital finance, assisting policymakers in crafting effective strategies. Understanding the threshold of traditional finance development provides a new perspective on the potential of digital finance to drive rural industrial integration.

This study sought to examine the interaction between rural bank performance, information and communication technology (ICT) investment, ICT diffusion and financial development.

Data were sourced from the Association of Rural Banks (ARB) Apex and World Development Indicators (WDI) for the period 2014–2020. A total of 122 rural banks were used for this study. The study adopted the two-step system generalized method of moments (SGMM) estimation technique in assessing the interactions among variables.

This study found compelling evidence to support the positive effect of ICT investment on banks’ performance (return on asset and net interest margin). Further, ICT diffusion and financial development positively influence banks’ performance. The results show a positive moderating effect exerted by ICT diffusion and financial development on the impact of bank risk (bank stability) and ICT investment on all three performance measures.

The study focuses on the rural banking sector in the Ghanaian economy, compared to related studies that examine the subject matter for commercial banks. The moderating effects of ICT diffusion and financial development are assessed to guide policy on rural banking development in Ghana.