Aims: The study was conducted to explore the factors that influence the acceptance of Moodle (VLE) among students and to study the behavioral intention of students to use VLE in Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) based on modified technology acceptance model (TAM). Study Design: This exploratory research incorporated a quantitative approach. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in nine constituent colleges under Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) in the period of one year (2019-2020). Sample: A total of 384 samples were drawn from population size of 9590 students under RUB colleges proportionately by using Yamane (1967) formula of sample determination.  Methodology: The research used the modified TAM model to study the factors that influence the acceptance of virtual learning environment (VLE) and the behavioral intention of students to use VLE. This study mainly used primary data collected through a self-report online questionnaire adopted from context-based literature. Results: The study observed that while the facilitating condition (FC) has a weak positive effect on perceived usefulness (PU) of VLE, the users’ experience (E) has a very strong positive influence over it. However, self-efficacy (SE) and subjective norms (SN) do not affect PU. Similarly, SE, E and SN have a positive effect on perceived ease of use (PEU), but the effect of SE is observed to be very strong. However, FC does not affect PEU. PEU has a very strong positive effect on PU, and both PEU and PU strongly affect the behavioral intention (BI) to use VLE. BI also has a strong positive affect on actual system use (SU). The study also observed that students in RUB demonstrate a high degree of behavioral intention to use VLE which appears to be a strong indicator of actual system use. Conclusion: The study concludes that the students’ experience in using VLE is comparatively more important determinant of perceived usefulness than the technical and infrastructural support that enables them to use VLE; the better the experience of using VLE the more useful it appears. Similarly, students’ ability and the perceive social pressure to use VLE do not influence the students’ perception about the usefulness of it. However, if students are confident in their ability to use VLE, it appears easy to them, and if they perceive VLE to be user friendly, they consider it very useful. Students intend to use VLE when they are convinced that the system is useful and easy to use.

Entrepreneurship plays an important role in generating employment opportunities, enhancing public income and promoting societal change, particularly in a budding economy like Bhutan. Given its importance to the country, this paper investigates the challenges faced by aspiring entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ventures, and their future prospects in Bhutan. The paper adopts qualitative research methodology to study the perspective of business educators through a semi-structured interview with fifteen participants from Gedu College of Business Studies located at Gedu, Bhutan. The study reveals that, due to a range of challenges the aspiring entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial ventures face today, the Bhutanese entrepreneurs have a long way to go before they can effectively drive changes in the economy. However, the findings suggest that there is a good prospect for the entrepreneurial ventures in the country, and the ventures will have an undue advantage if it can leverage on the technological support from other countries. To ease the way for entrepreneurs in the country, the study finds it important to encourage the consumption of indigenous products by discouraging the import of the goods and services that can be produced within the country, regulate the price of the home made product, explore market and marketing facilities beyond the country to encourage large scale production, initiate discussion about entrepreneurship and the associated benefits at school levels and also take adequate infrastructural facilities (water, electricity and transportation network) across all parts of the country.

This research was conducted across nine constituent colleges under the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) with the aim to investigate the influence of job flexibility on the organizational commitment by using explanatory (causal) and inferential research design. From the total of 550 populations, 232 samples were drawn proportionately by using Yamane’s (1967) formula. The structured survey instrument was used to collect the primary data. The four term variables i.e., time, location, amount of work and continuity flexibility were used to measure job flexibility. Similarly, affective, continuance and normative commitment were used to measure organizational commitment. The mean value analysis and also regression analysis were used respectively to study the degree of job flexibility and organizational commitment, and the relationship between them. The amount of work flexibility has a weak but positive relationship with affective commitment (r=158, p<0.05) and continuance commitment (r=283, p<0.05). The findings revealed that respondents have a high degree of affective commitment and a moderate degree of normative and continuance commitment towards the organization. Respondents perceived that they have a moderate degree of time, amount of work and continuity flexibility and a low degree of location flexibility in the organization. It is concluded that job flexibility is not a strong determinant of organizational commitment. This may be because of the intermediating effect of job security between job flexibility and organizational commitment which needs further investigation.

Chilli is the most ubiquitous spice used in Bhutanese cuisine. Almost all dishes in Bhutan contain chillies in various forms. Bhutan produces many variants of chilli, one of which is Namgang chilli. Commonly known for being one of the hottest and tastiest variants in Bhutan, it is cultivated in Pakshikha, Bongo Gewog, Chukha. This study is aimed at identifying value chain actors of Namgang chilli, their roles, margins, and mapping out its overall value chain. The quantitative and qualitative data for this study were obtained from 29 of the 49 Namgang chilli-cultivating households in Pakshikha. Other published sources were also referred for gathering secondary data required for this study. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and chain mapping was performed to identify actors and their supply linkages. Margin analysis was conducted to assess the value gained by each player in the value chain. The identified actors of the value chain were input suppliers, farmers, transporters, retailers, and consumers. Farmers, retailers, and transporters share 53.6, 28.7, and 5 percentage of the margin respectively. Some of the critical constraints and challenges faced by farmers are rising pest infestation; lack of awareness about modern tools and techniques; lack of agency support; lack of motivation and encouragement for mass commercial farming; no initiative for organizing farmers’ cooperative/group; and ack of crop protection mechanism. The findings suggest that the overall value chain of Namgang chilli is underdeveloped. Therefore, relevant agencies should intervene and encourage farmers to form groups/cooperatives for Namgang chilli cultivation. The chilli farmers could be provided with technical supports in the form of knowledge and training to improve efficiency in the production and marketing of the commodity.

Financial literacy, in a broad sense, is the knowledge and skills that empower people to make informed decisions regarding the use of financial services and the management of one’s private and business finances. The study discusses the detailed analysis of financial literacy, financial education, and management by the people of Bongo Gewog in Bhutan. The findings suggest that the financial literacy among the people of Bongo is high; however, the literal knowledge of financial literacy is low. The research also found that education has a significant relationship with financial literacy wherein people with higher levels of qualification demonstrated a higher level of financial literacy and vice versa. This research concluded that males were more financially literate when compared to females.