We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.

Download

Immigrant and Ethnic Entrepreneurship

Author(s): Jan Brzozowski / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2015

The importance of businesses started and developed by immigrants is host countries is substantial. Just in the US, 90 of the enterprises listed on Fortune 500 have been founded by immigrants, and additional 114 have been started by the second-generation immigrants, i.e. children of foreign-born persons (cf. Partnership for a New American Economy, 2011). As the contribution of immigrant entrepreneurship for the global economy is recognized by policy makers and experts, it is also reflected in the growing research on this topic. Research papers on immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurship have increased in numbers in 2000s and in the second decade of 21st century, including articles in such respected journals as Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (Drori, Honig, & Wright, 2009), Small Business Economics (Mueller, 2014) or Entrepreneurship and Regional Development (Aliaga-Isla&Rialp, 2013).Still, this emerging and rapidly growing field of study suffers from a number of limitations. The first one is the concentration of the bulk of the research on a small number of countries (mostly the US and Canada) and few, selected ethnic groups (Latino, Chinese, Korean). The second deficiency is the modest number of theoretical concepts developed for the analysis of the phenomenon, especially the development of immigrant enterprises. Another gap in the current research is the small number of quantitative approaches, as most of the studies remain qualitative. Then, there are several underserved topics, including less popular geographical locations, disadvantaged immigrant ethnic groups (especially refugees), immigrant entrepreneurs at the risk of marginalization on one hand, and the successful intentional immigrant entrepreneurs on the other, and the gender perspective just to mention the most obvious candidates. Finally, the most visible drawback in current research agenda is the limited interdisciplinary approach both to empirics and theory. Although immigrant entrepreneurship research is firmly established within the business/entrepreneurship studies, it needs a more comprehensive dialogue with the migration studies, including such disciplines as sociology and anthropology.Our thematic issue on immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurship aims to address at least some of the aforementioned research gaps.

More...

Download

The Role of Public–Third Sector Relationships in Solving Social Issues: the Case of One-Stop-Shop Service for the Promotion of Female Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Montreal

Author(s): Sylvie Paré,Ralph Christian Maloumby-Baka / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2015

Objective: The objective of this paper is to review the most relevant literature on the relationship between the State and the third sector in the development of responses to important social issues. This exploratory paper specifically examines a case of pub-lic–third sector relationships, Montreal’s CEMFII, within the most consolidated relation types to highlight what characteristics match with it and what do not match. Research Design & Methods: An extensive review of the literature on the relationship between the State and the third sector was performed in order to develop a model of such relationships and stress their principal characteristics. A conceptual effort was made to situate the CEMFII within the more consolidated relation forms, in order to provide evidence of their pros and cons in such specific case. Findings: It is suggested that the development of a One-Stop-Shop service could remedy some of the difficulties female immigrants face when attempting to develop businesses. The paper also argues that the CEMFII, as a product of the ‘State – third sector’ interactions, has been risky and complicated. However, while there is no evidence that its public funds’ dependency constitutes a threat to the mission and autonomy of the not-for-profit organisations involved, there exists a sustainability issue linked to political leadership changes. Implications & Recommendations: While the effectiveness of the CEMFII to solve female immigrant entrepreneurs’ difficulties, which should be furthermore ascertained with data in a future research, is generally acknowledged, it might be useful that the third sector organisations acquire a financial autonomy to diminish their dependency on the public funds, which is subject to political leadership changes, and to guarantee the sustainability of the project. Contribution & Value Added: The uniqueness of this work lies in applying general frameworks of ‘public – third sector’ relations to a specific case within a specific urban socioeconomic context, where the effects of political leadership changes can be clearly viewed.

More...

Download

Dilemmas of Modern Economy and Business

Author(s): Jelena Stankevičienė,Marek Szarucki / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

Various dilemmas concerning modern economy and business have been in the focus of scientific discussion in recent years (Klich, 2013; Renko & Knezevic, 2013; Szarucki, 2013; Agrawal & Gugnani, 2014; Pardhasaradhi & Grace, 2015). In modern economy, not only researches but corporations face complex economic and business dilemmas in their daily routine. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission addresses key economic challenges by stimulating innovations, sustainability policies, social and environmental responsibilities. These challenges require the mobilization of significant resources by science, innovation and regional policy makers and scientific communities across Europe (EUA, 2014). Broader scientific discussions are crucial for the success of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.According to the Global Risks Report 2015, the biggest threat to world stability in the next 10 years arise from the four most serious economic risks. These are high structural unemployment or underemployment, energy price shock, critical information infrastructure breakdown and fiscal crises. We continuously agree that innovation is critical to global prosperity (WEF, 2015). Currently, the internationalisation of family businesses is an increasingly important research area. Substantial numbers of FBs are forced to expand into foreign markets in order to survive and grow in the competitive environment (Daszkiewicz & Wach, 2014). The roles of business angels are especially important taken both decreasing the levels of formal venture capital investment and growing average amount of individual deals. Angel investors are the key players in generating high-growth companies, essential to regional economic development. As a result, they have attracted the attention of policy makers (Rostamzadeh et. al., 2014). Consequently, this issue of EBER concentrates on the current dilemmas of modern economy and business, particularly dealing with the Baltic States, Slovenia and Poland. Five out of eight articles published in this issue are research papers, two are conceptual papers, while one is a literature review.

More...

Download

Internationalisation at Home: Exploiting the Potential of the Non-nationals' and Expatriates' Community

Author(s): Andreja Jaklič,Paraskev Karageorgu / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

Objective: The paper explores the first-time internationalisation strategy and discusses whether firms could actually begin internationalisation at home without crossing the border by approaching the international expatriates’ community in the home city/market.Research Design & Methods: The concept of internationalisation at home is studied through the case study method. An example of a public company from the creative industry in the capital city from the Central and Eastern European region is studied.Findings: The expatriates’ community, so far often neglected market segment, has a rising potential in several European cites. The results highlight a positive impact on performance after approaching the expatriates’ community. Organisational learning effects result in improved and stabilised sales and strengthened firm-specific advantages.Implications & Recommendations: Internationalisation at home is disruptive innovation, especially appropriate for enterprises under high resource constraints. It is fast, cost efficient and has positive externalities. The international expatriates’ community in the home city/market offers fast organisational learning and a testing area for enterprises.Contribution & Value Added: Internationalisation at home adds to the existing understanding of internationalisation. The findings that firms could begin the organisational learning process of internationalisation before or even without the first foreign entry and proposals for the integrating expatriates’ community into the marketing strategy may influence future internationalisation paths.

More...

Download

Social problems as sources of opportunity – antecedents of social entrepreneurship opportunities

Author(s): Agnieszka Żur / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

Objective: Based on extensive literature review, this paper aims to establish if, why and how, in given environmental and market contexts, social entrepreneurship (SE) opportunities are discovered and exploited. It positions social problems as sources of entrepreneurial opportunity. The article presents an integrated process-based view of SE opportunity antecedents and concludes with a dynamic model of SE opportunity.Research Design & Methods: To fulfil its goal, the paper establishes opportunity as unit of research and explores the dynamics of opportunity recognition. To identify the components of SE opportunity through a process-based view, the study follows the steps of critical literature review method. The literature review follows with logical reasoning and inference, which results in the formulation of a model proposition of social entrepreneurship opportunity.Findings: The paper presents a holistic perspective on opportunity antecedents in SE context and introduces social problems, information, social awareness and entrepreneurial mindset as fundamental components of social entrepreneurship opportunity equation.Implications & Recommendations: It is necessary to remember for policy makers, investors and partners involved within the social sector, that social problems can be the source of entrepreneurial opportunity. Training, assisting and engaging socially aware entrepreneurs is a promising line of development for all communities.Contribution & Value Added: The major contribution of this study lies in extending the existing body of social entrepreneurship research by providing a new perspective, placing social problem as opportunity in the centre of the discussion.

More...

Download

Children-Engaging Social and Environmental Initiatives as Determinants of Corporate Reputation

Author(s): Ingrida Smaiziene / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

Objective: The paper aims to explore children-engaging social and green initiatives as determinants of corporate reputation. Research Design & Methods: The research data were collected by means of a consumer survey (n=354) in Lithuania. During the research, consumers’ perception and attitudes towards companies which take children-engaging social and environmental initiatives were surveyed. Findings: The research findings indicate that consumers tend to agree that companies implementing children-engaging CSR initiatives contribute to the development of children as responsible citizens. However, consumers have a different attitude towards companies which implement children-engaging environmental initiatives and companies which take children-engaging social initiatives. Implications & Recommendations: The research results suggest that consumers form opinions about the company not only by assessing the company’s behaviour towards them, but also by assessing the corporate performance targeted at children. Therefore, companies should consider children-engaging CSR as determinants of corporate reputation. Contribution & Value Added: The paper provides some empirical evidence on how CSR practices targeted at children may affect corporate reputation.

More...

Download

Wpływ szerokości skali na miary dopasowania modelu ścieżkowego

Author(s): Łukasz Skowron / Language(s): Polish Issue: 48/2015

Research problem analysed in the paper concentrates on the impact of the choice of scale on the the goodness of fit of the Structural Equation Model. For that purpose the primary research tool were built and used for conducting two rounds of research. In the first round two groups of respondents were given two different questionaries dealing with the same research problem (same set of research questions) but using different, 5 or 10 point scales. After one week the same groups of respondents were asked again to assess the research problem by using different type of scale. Obtained empirical data were used to build the structural equation models (for 5 and 10 point scales) of the analysed research problem. Thanks to the collected empirical data it was possible to analyze the impact of the choice of scale on internal (AVE, Cronbach’s Alfa, Composite Reliability) and external (R2) goodness of fit of the model.

More...

Download

ANALYSIS OF THE DEGREE OF APPLICATION OF ELECTRONIC AND MOBILE TRADE IN AIRLINE SECTOR

Author(s): Marko Gašić,Vladan Ivanović,Goran Perić / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

In this paper, the authors study and analyze the degree of application electronic and mobile commerce in the airline sector, arguing that modern information and communication technologies provide a powerful tool for airlines and can significantly affect their operations, structure and strategy. In the airlines sector Internet is considered to be the most important technological revolution, because upon its appearance the booking systems ceased to be passive computer archives and records and become active operating systems that with immense speed transform the air traffic. In the mid 80's years, specific types of information systems appeared and these were global distribution systems which were designed for the distribution of tourism products, whose implementation on the website gave access to the airlines to an electronic trading and enabled them to carry out the provision of services and conduct the sale of air tickets on the Internet. However, the development of technology, the appearance of smart phones and numerous other factors today necessitate airlines to access mobile commerce and make their services available to smart phone users as well as on the website.

More...

Download

EXAMINATION THE PERFORMANCES OF MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD METHOD AND BAYESIAN APPROACH IN ESTIMATING SALES LEVEL

Author(s): Nataša Papić-Blagojević,Vinko Lepojević,Sanja Lončar / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

The method of maximum likelihood and Bayesian method are widely used in data processing, not only in economics but also in other fields of research. In order to identify which approach has better performances, these methods are analyzed on the selected economic data. By comparing the estimated values obtained by applying the maximum likelihood method and Bayesian method on the data that was taken from the company CaliVita Int., it was concluded that the Bayesian inference with informative priors gives more accurate estimates.

More...

Download

Earnings Management and Corporate Social Responsibility Perspectives

Author(s): Yousuf Almahrog,Awidat Marai,Goran Knežević / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

The ethics of financial reporting assumes a centre stage in the corporate world in the background of an emerging understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR). We review the literature on the link between earnings management (EM) and CSR and reveal that there are two contradictory perspectives. One perspective assumes that EM is negatively associated to CSR, while the other argues that EM and CSR are positively related. These perspectives are based on the competitive existence theories such as agency, singling, stakeholder, legitimacy theories. While, the negative relationship between EM and CSR perspective is in line with the legitimacy, agency and singling theories, the positive relationship is in accordance with stakeholder theory.

More...

Download

Analiza kultury organizacyjnej placówki sieci sklepów sportowych - raport z badań

Author(s): Mirosław Wiśniewski,Krzysztof Leja / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2015

The article discusses the research of organizational culture at the retail sport outlet. Increasing consideration of the organizational culture as the key to success, not only in the literature but in practice as well, was the main reason such research was conducted. The aim of the study was to answer the following questions: what should be done to build employee-friendly organizational culture and whether it would contribute to the success of the company. The study was conducted based on competing values framework by K. Cameron and R. Quinn, within the group of employees of chain retail sport outlets. The existing and desired organizational culture was evaluated. As a result of this analysis good examples were identified, practices that should be ceased were indicated, and new ones were suggested.

More...

Download

MAINSTREAMING THE GENDER DIMENSION IN THE EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY

Author(s): Diana-Gabriela Reianu / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

The purpose of this paper is to underline the importance of the gender dimension, which, unfortunately, was not specifically addressed in any of Europe 2020’s seven flagship initiatives. In spite of the fact that European Union has specific priorities and objectives regarding gender equality, clearly emphasized in the Strategy for equality between women and men, the gender dimension was omitted from those five quantifiable targets, except as regards the employment rate. Hence, the paper aims to emphasize the link between the Commission’s Strategy for equality between women and men (2010-2015), which is the best attempt to define a set of strategic objectives and indicators for gender-related issues, and the Europe 2020 Strategy, which puts forward a set of measures that will generate a smarter, more sustainable and more inclusive model across the European Union, by analyzing each of them, and to highlight that, in order to achieve the Europe 2020 targets, there is a sharp need for mainstreaming gender equality in the Europe 2020 Strategy.

More...

Download

EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY - RESPONDING TO (UN)EMPLOYMENT WITH EDUCATION

Author(s): Delia Pop-Flanja / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

In this article, we analyse the response that education strategies and student mobility programmes can offer to the requirements of the Europe 2020 strategy. The main aspects brought forward are the current results obtained in the domains of education and employment, the outcomes of the mobility programmes and the issue of brain drain, with particular emphasis placed on Romania’s situation from these perspectives.

More...

Download

DIGITAL AGENDA FOR ROMANIA, PROGRESS TOWARDS 2020 TARGETS

Author(s): Rada Cristina Irimie / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

The present article shall provide the reader with a presentation of the main points of the Digital Agenda for Romania, as well as brief pieces of information on how it is to be implemented in Romania in the following years. The first part of the article shall offer a short presentation of the Digital Agenda for Romania, by reference to the Digital Agenda for Europe and by placing the latter in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy of which it is a part. Another part shall refer to the main institutions in charge with creating the framework of implementation of the Digital Agenda for Romania, namely the Ministry for Communication and Information Security and the Agency for the Digital Agenda for Romania. Within this section, the author shall also deal with the Digital Agenda for Romania website, which can be seen as a means of managing the implementation process within the country. A third part of the article shall present in extenso the main aspects of the National Strategy for the Digital Agenda for Romania, along with the directions and the trajectories to be followed, the expected results and the means of achieving them. Finally, the article shall present examples on how the Digital Agenda for Romania created evolutions in the field in recent months.

More...

Download

THE EUROPEAN UNION’S INVOLVEMENT IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA AND GEORGIA. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Author(s): Maria-Cristina Coleașă / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

The article will present the European Union’s involvement in the two conflict-ridden states of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Georgia. Secondly, it intends to provide a comparative analysis of the two case studies, both in terms of the distinct international status of the two states and of the particularities in the EU’s involvement. The purpose of the article is to analyze the effectiveness of the EU’s use of socialization as a means of tackling the two conflicts, as well as to provide a prognosis of the conflict resolution process. It also aims at analyzing the extent to which the use of socialization on its own is enough for the EU to ensure an effective peacebuilding process in its near abroad and whether other means of conflict resolution are needed to render the EU’s involvement more successful.

More...

Download

THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF IDENTITIES IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF BESSARABIA. THE TRANS-ETHNICAL ORTHODOXY

Author(s): Irina Dercaci Sercau / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

The blending of the national and the religious aspects which occurred in the regions of Central and Eastern Europe has not occurred in Bessarabia, where a transethnic orthodoxy is present (the same religious values are shared due to common religious belonging, even if the ethnicity is different). Thus, it is interesting to understand which theoretical model could explain this relationship or the relationship configuration of ethnical either confessional identity which are different or overlapped in the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia. Another question is to what extent the ethos associated to the orthodox community in Bessarabia, whose distinctive feature is the ethnic diversity, can be considered to be as a model for managing the cultural diversity, a unique model in the area of the Eastern Christianity, which generally has strong ethnical connotations in different countries.

More...

Download

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Author(s): Darius A. Tent / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

Social entrepreneurship is an increasingly important concept in the study of voluntary and nonprofit organizations as it turns out to be the updated version of the latter. Although the popularity of this concept in rapidly increasing within our days, little is known about what individual characteristics might describe a social entrepreneur or how social enterprises differentiate themselves from business enterprises. This paper suggests that social entrepreneurs nowadays are college-educated individuals that overstepped the entry-level business experience, are independent and constantly connected to the globalization process. So that we can suggest ways in which this important actor of the civil society can be better understood, and perhaps helped to flourish, we must first be able to identify him or her.

More...

Download

THE CONVERGENT MOTIONS OF THE SOCIAL DIMENSION AND THE CULTURAL DIMENSION. NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN BLUEPRINTS

Author(s): Ileana Nicoleta Sălcudean / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

Globalisation, Europeanisation and the issues related to postmodernism have faced the Western European welfare states with a series of difficulties and challenges, but the social policy systems adapted to these challenges in various manners and confronted them. The socio-cultural diversity on the one hand, and the attempt to unify the national systems, on the other, are matters which have raised and continue to raise questions on the European level, both in what concerns the social and the cultural dimensions. Why are there social policies in the EU? How have the objectives of these policies developped and changed and how are they convergent with the cultural endeavors? What are the motions of the national, European and global prospects?Starting form the path-dependency theory, we were trying to identify those distinctive marks which are challenges in the attempt to unify the systems from the New Member Stated with those from Western Europe. Later on these distinctive marks became cultural indicators. Concerning the New Institutionalism Theory and Neoclassical Sociology, the attempt was to analyze to what extent is the institutional framework organised by the cultural beliefs or by the common norms of the majority. Moreover, we shall attempt to discover the role played by the state in these exchanges of influence and how the European and global contexts affect the decision making process and that of national policy creation.

More...

Download

LES DYNAMIQUES DES CYCLES DE PROTESTATIONS. LE CAS DE LA ROUMANIE

Author(s): Raluca Abăseacă / Language(s): French Issue: 4/2015

This article analyzes the impact of socio-economic changes on the dynamic of political participation, by taking into account the continuities and the breaks between the anti-globalization movements and the "movements of the economic crisis." From a broader perspective, our main puropse is to focus on the processes of diffusion, global framing, internalization of global movements in the case of political participation in post-communist Romania.

More...

Download

IORDAN GHEORGHE BĂRBULESCU, NOUA EUROPĂ. IDENTITATE ȘI MODEL EUROPEAN, IAȘI: POLIROM PUBLISHING HOUSE, 2015, 623 P

Author(s): Luiza-Maria Filimon / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

Professor Iordan Gh. Bărbulescu’s New Europe covers the latest additions brought to the ever evolving project of the European Union after the successful ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in 2007. One of the main tenets of the book revolves around the fact that this was the rational step towards the establishment and consolidation of a federation comprised of nation-states. New Europe is a scholarly journey into the intricacies of a European Union that is trying to become more transparent for its citizens. At the same time, New Europe constitutes a valuable academic work in support of the idea also advanced by the Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe, Giuliano Amato, that: “The Lisbon Treaty does not shut the door to a future of enduring European constitutionalism. To the contrary, it paves the way for it” . This newest comprehensive textbook on the European Union is a testament to the enduring notion of European unity which has on one hand surpassed the expectations of those familiar with a Europe of nation-states characterised by strife, enmity and war while on the other, remained true to the founding fathers’ idea of building a “Europe of the people”. In other words, a “federal Europe”.

More...