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Purpose: Farmer producer organisations (FPOs) are considered as a strategy to improve the livelihoods of small farmers through economies of scale by providing collective strength to farmers for improved access to production technology, value-addition services, high-quality inputs and marketing services for improving their incomes. This study investigates the impact of FPO membership on organic farming household's income in Northeast India. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses field survey data collected from all four districts of Sikkim. Primary data were obtained from a survey of 560 organic farming households, 280 of which are FPO members and the rest 280 are non-members. Propensity score matching (PSM) is used to estimate the impact of FPO membership on net returns, return on investment (ROI) and profit margin. Findings: Results show that the FPO members had, on average, Rs. 7,254–8,133 higher annual net returns, 4.6–4.8% higher ROI and 8–8.4% higher profit margin than the non-members. The findings confirm that FPO membership has a positive and significant impact on net returns, return on investment and profit margin. Also, heterogeneity analysis indicates that FPO membership has larger positive impact on relatively bigger farmers and female-headed households. Research limitations/implications: As the study was based on a cross-sectional survey, the findings may be subjected to some limitations. Originality/value: This study is based on a novel data set, collected specifically to examine the economic impact of FPO membership on organic farming in India. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2023-0451 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Few empirical studies examined the relationship between life expectancy and income in India. This study aims to examine the impact of life expectancy on economic growth in India by incorporating all the major states of India. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on secondary data and includes 16 major states of India covering the periods 2000–2014. The author used panel fixed effect model (FEM) to examine the impact of life expectancy on economic growth. Findings: Empirical analysis revealed a positive trend in life expectancy in India. In association with life expectancy, the author found continuous growth in the elderly population. The result of the FEM shows that gains in life expectancy positively affect economic growth in India. The empirical findings do not support any negative impact of life expectancy gains on economic growth. Originality/value: This study is the outcome of the independent and original research work of the authors and contributes significantly to the literature on the demography–economic relationship. The findings of this study help the author to understand that life expectancy gain is in no way a constraint, rather the skill and experience of the workforce are crucial to determining economic growth. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2022-0422. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze which socioeconomic factors (economic, demographic, and political) most commonly affect the social expenditure of the European Union (EU) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Design/methodology/approach: A panel data fixed-effects model is employed for 34 OECD and 23 EU countries between 2000 and 2020. Findings: Results indicate that, in all country groups, economic factors have the most significant influence on social expenditures, with income being the primary determinant, particularly in EU countries. The negative impacts of unemployment and inflation underscore the importance of counter-cyclical measures adopted by countries to maintain stability in their social expenditures. The most influential demographic factor is found as the old-age-dependency ratio. While the rule of law affects social expenditure positively, government effectiveness and female labor force participation affect it negatively. The positive effect of Konjunkturforschungsstelle (KOF) indexes shows the globalization effect, which can be attributable to the compensation hypothesis. Practical implications: Governments enforce inclusive and sustainable policies to boost economic activities and GDP, thus combating inflation and unemployment and regulating the labor market and socioeconomic problems about aging populations and women's economic participation to control social expenditures. The rule of law and institutional quality will also boost economic growth. Originality/value: This study focuses on the effects of social expenditures in a broader view within the framework of the three main factors (economic, demographic, political) and attempts to determine the key factors that account for the differences in social expenditure between the OECD and EU countries. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0384 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Cluster management organizations (CMOs) have emerged over the past few decades as intermediaries that support the competitiveness of place-based clusters of economic activity. Despite their economic origins, policymakers are now starting to experiment with a broader use for cluster policies that seeks to leverage CMOs to tackle societal challenges in approaches aligned with the concept of creating shared value (CSV). However, there remains a void in conceptual understanding around the specific roles that CMOs might play in overcoming the barriers faced by their members for CSV, which this paper aims to address. Bridging this gap presents an opportunity for cluster practitioners and policymakers in a context in which environmental and social sustainability are at the top of policy agendas. Design/methodology/approach: Based on analysis of literature around collaborative approaches to CSV for mitigating transaction costs, the authors define the contours of a new conceptual framework for the roles that CMOs can play in fostering collective CSV. The authors illustrate how the different components of the framework are reflected in emerging cluster practice in the context of a new wave of European cluster-based projects tackling CSV elements. Findings: The resulting framework reconciles the concepts of clusters and CSV by explicitly positioning CMOs as intermediaries for facilitating the CSV strategies of their members. CMOs embrace emergent strategy making that targets (tangible and intangible) collective CSV capabilities and addresses collective CSV challenges. Collective CSV can provide a theoretical anchor guiding future cluster policies to fully leverage the transformative potential of CMOs. This conceptual framework opens a promising empirical research agenda, particularly around evaluating the plurality of impacts of CMOs. Originality/value: By stressing the social impact of CMOs alongside their well-understood economic impacts, and by enabling a categorization of functions that can support the monitoring of CMO activities toward collective CSV strategies, the framework provides a novel basis for inspiring further empirical research into the evidencing of these roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to analyse the effect of competition on retail fuel prices in a small European Union (EU) country with high market concentration. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers use a panel data set to estimate a fuel price equation that includes supply and demand factors as well as time-fixed effects. Findings: The study finds that more competitors in the local market decrease prices, whereas the high market share of oligopoly brands does not condition this effect. Additionally, independent brands set lower prices than wholesalers, and gas stations located near the borders of almost all neighbouring countries are associated with higher prices. Research limitations/implications: The study suggests that Slovenia's retail fuel market maintains competitive pricing despite high oligopolistic shares because of historical regulatory influences that shaped firm behaviour and pricing strategies, along with geographical and economic factors such as Slovenia's role as a transit country. External competitive pressures from neighbouring countries and high levels of traffic, combined with the remnants of regulatory structures, help prevent market abuses and keep fuel prices lower than in other EU countries. Practical implications: It also indicates that policy should encourage fiercer competition in the local market by increasing the density of gas stations, especially from independent brands. Originality/value: These findings may be associated with specific country characteristics. This paper introduces unique findings that shed light on the impact of a small market on competition, with a particular focus on highlighting the effect of oligopolistic brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the level of economic efficiency and factors that influence economic efficiency among seed potato producers in South-western Uganda. Design/methodology/approach: The paper analyses the economic efficiency of 499 informal and 137 formal seed producers using primary data collected through a structured questionnaire. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the study sites and specific farmers. A one-step estimation procedure of normalized translog cost frontier and inefficiency model was employed to determine the level of economic efficiency and the influencing factors. Findings: The results showed that mean economic efficiencies were 91.7 and 95.2% for informal and formal seed potato producers, respectively. Furthermore, results show significant differences between formal and informal seed potato producers in economic efficiency at a one percent level. Market information access, credit access, producers' capacity and experience increase the efficiency of informal while number of potato varieties, market information access and producers' experience increase economic efficiency for formal counterparts. Research limitations/implications: Most seed potato producers, especially the informal ones do not keep comprehensive records of their production and marketing activities. This required more probing as answers depended on memory recall. Practical implications: Future research could explore panel data approach involving more cropping seasons with time variant economic efficiency and individual unobservable characteristics that may influence farmers' efficiency to validate the current findings. Social implications: The paper shows that there is more potential for seed potato producers to increase their economic efficiency given the available technology. This has a direct implication on the economy through increased investment in the production and promotion of high yielding seed potato varieties to meet the growing national demand for potatoes. Originality/value: The paper bridges the gap in literature on economic efficiency among seed potato producers, specifically in applying the normalized translog cost frontier approach in estimating economic efficiency in the context of potato sub-sector in Uganda. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2021-0641 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the interrelated role of relational commitment and dependence as drivers of key performance outcomes. Specifically, the authors provide a conceptual model of the impact of commitment on relationship value dependence and switching cost dependence. The authors further investigate how these dimensions of dependence offer differing noneconomic and economic paths to strategic and financial performance. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data was collected from 296 purchasing agents across multiple industries located in the USA. The conceptual model and accompanying hypotheses were tested via partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings: The results show that the relational path is driven by affective and normative commitment, which are related to relationship value dependence. Conversely, calculative commitment is related to switching cost dependence. This economic path is related to both strategic and financial performance, whereas the relational path is more closely related to strategic as opposed to financial performance outcomes. Research limitations/implications: This study extends research on Business-To-Business (B2B) relationships by leveraging social exchange theory to examine the interrelated roles played by two forms of dependence on performance outcomes. Thus, the authors answer Scheer et al.'s (2015) call for research into the two distinct types of dependence – relationship value and switching cost dependence – and their roles in determining B2B relationship outcomes. The findings contribute to the literature by integrating social exchange and relationship marketing concepts to develop a dual pathway approach to B2B partnerships. Practical implications: The results suggest that dependence is not necessarily negative for firms. Specifically, buyers can and do still exhibit positive performance, both strategic and financial, in relationships with suppliers even when dependent on the relationship. Regardless of whether buyers are dependent due to a relationship or economic factors, both can, in different ways, lead to positive strategic and financial outcomes. Together, the authors contribute to the understanding of B2B partnerships by offering guidelines for both buyers and suppliers in the dyad. Originality/value: The authors derive a comprehensive model depicting primarily relational and economic paths to performance through different types of commitment and dependence. The authors contribute to the literature by demonstrating that relational and economic paths to success are not the same, highlighting how firms could influence performance even when the relationship is not necessarily characterized by generally positive relational benefits and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze how sentiment affects economic activity in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model, this study examines in detail the short-term and long-term asymmetric impacts between the variables during the period from January 2007 to December 2020. Findings: There are three main results of this study. First, sentiment is an important factor for economic activity in Brazil, and its effect possibly occurs through the channels of consumption and investment, which are the two main components of economic growth. Second, sentiment affects economic activity in different ways in the short and the long term: in Brazil, although in the short-term, immediate shocks of sentiment may be confusing, the negative shocks from previous periods have a negative impact on economic activity. Third, the effect of shocks of optimism and pessimism on economic activity is asymmetric, and in the long run, only shocks of optimism have a significant and positive impact. Originality/value: The relationship between sentiment and economic activity is still a controversial issue in the literature and this study seeks to advance its understanding in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With a start in the observation that there is a large variation in how companies interact with each other, the paper aims to anlayse the economic consequences of this variation. As the more extensive interaction is costly, the variation also indicates a variation in the economic dimension. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper. Findings: Three different economic streams can be identified. Firstly, the interaction costs can be reduced by taking advantage of time and scope. Interaction over time give opportunity to use some of the costs as investments through creation of relationships. By using the same counterpart for several products, scope can be used to reduce interaction costs. Secondly, developed business relationships can be used to create relation revenues. The counterparts can use each other for developing better solutions and for development of knowledge. Finally, the actors can also get positive network effects. One example is the joint development with third parties such as sub-suppliers or customer's customer. Research limitations/implications: The discussion ends in two major implications. One is the central role of managers and the other the crucial role of economic deals. Managers are crucial both to identify relevant cost and revenue items as well as to exploit them. Deals are important as it is only with direct counterparts where there are monetary streams. In all other relationships, there is only indirect consequences. Originality/value: It is obvious that the type of cost and revenue streams identified above will require new and different economic tools. A base for this is given here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the role of corruption and income inequality in three-dimensional sustainable development in the post-Soviet countries. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology is based on dynamic panel regression with the fixed effects approach. Findings: The authors' findings depict that increasing corruption and income inequality undermine sustainable development. Specifically, increasing corruption and income inequality negatively affect sustainable development. Moreover, unemployment and trade liberalization negatively impact sustainable development, whereas foreign direct investments (FDIs) positively affect sustainable development. Practical implications: Policy implications enclose galvanizing strong institutions and redistributive policy mechanisms that the bottom income groups enjoy in promoting sustainable development to keep away the distressful phase of corruption and income inequality. Originality/value: This is the first paper on corruption, income inequality and sustainable development in the post-Soviet countries employing a sustainable development index (SDI), which is calculated by considering three factors including economic, social and environmental development. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2023-0065 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper explores the inflationary consequences of the Lebanese economic and financial crises on Lebanese society. The study investigates the distribution of inflationary harm across various demographic characteristics, including age, marital status, educational level, employment type, region of residence, income range and type. It also identifies the different coping mechanisms adopted by the Lebanese people to survive during the inflationary period. Design/methodology/approach: The study surveys 168 Lebanese citizens to determine which groups of people are most affected by inflation, its impact on their quality of life and the different coping mechanisms the citizens employ to endure the period of growing prices. Findings: The results show that some groups of Lebanese citizens are more influenced than others by rising prices. The categories of people who suffer the most from inflation are the elderly, the widowed, those characterized by low educational and low-income levels, the unemployed, the retired and public sector employees, as well as homemakers. Originality/value: This study provides policymakers with substantial information regarding the economic and social well-being of Lebanese citizens by highlighting the categories of people in need for special financial and social support. The findings can guide targeted policy interventions to support vulnerable populations. The study can also inform future research on the impact of the crisis and the effectiveness of policies. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0736 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In Argentina, soy and maize represent 28% of the total country exports, affecting the balance of payments, international reserves accumulation and sovereign credit risk. In the past 10 years, three extreme and moderate droughts have affected the agricultural areas, causing significant losses in soybean and maize production. This study aims to estimate the economic impact generated by different drought levels for soy and maize production areas through a financial perspective that allows the estimation of the cash flow and income losses. Design/methodology/approach: By analyzing the extreme deviations in yields during dry periods, the losses generated by droughts were valuated among 183 departments nationwide. Findings: The aggregated results indicated a total loss of US$24.170m, representing 57.45% of the international reserves of the Argentinean Central Bank in 2021. This estimate shows the magnitude of the climate impact on the Argentinean economy, indicating that severe droughts have macroeconomic impacts, with the external sector as the main transmission channel in an economy with historic restrictions on the balance of payments, international reserve accumulation and sovereign credit risk. Originality/value: This study analyses the macroeconomic impact of drought on Argentinean soybean and maize production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study estimated total import demand elasticities concerning income, import prices and domestic prices. A high propensity to import constitutes a significant obstacle to economic growth in Mexico since the benefits of increased exports or any other aggregate demand expansion leak to the rest of the world. Design/methodology/approach – This paper estimated a Vector Error Correction Model of the total import demand elasticities concerning income, import prices and domestic prices. Total imports are a dependent variable, while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and import and domestic prices are the independent variables. Findings –The principal finding is that an increase of 1 peso in the Mexican GDP leads to a rise of 0.50 pesos in Mexican imports; the elasticity of import demand for prices is low. Still, the elasticity of import demand for domestic prices is 2.14 times greater than that for import prices. These results have significant economic policy implications, such as promoting the expansion of the domestic market and the national content of exports. Research limitations/implications – It is tempting to estimate the import demand function for the entire 1993–2019 period since such data is available. But by doing so, the authors would overestimate the propensity to import, given that from 1993 to 2019, the proportion of imports as a percentage of GDP went from 11.37 in 1993 to 29.66 in 2019. Therefore, it makes more sense to estimate the import demand function from 2000 to 2019, a period with a stable proportion of imports to GDP. Originality/value – A high level of imports in developing countries means that much of their aggregate demand is filtered abroad. Therefore, the low impact of its exports on GDP is related to the Mexican economy’s high imports. The authors calculate this relationship with new data and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Based on the rankings of the global competitiveness index and the fragile states index, this paper aims to suggest alternative approaches to shed some light on the effectiveness of rankings in helping emerging economies improve their competitiveness from an institutional standpoint. Design/methodology/approach: The statistical analysis consisted of a two-stage analysis; the first stage consisted of constructing an updated Alternative Institutional Quality Index (AIQI), intending to design a comparative measure between dimensions over time. The second stage consisted of evidencing the structure of each of the observed dimensions' variance to evidence the existing changes or gaps of the AIQI and its components. The authors incorporated the Kruskas–Wallis (KW) model to test the results. Findings: This paper demonstrates that the analyzed countries generally maintain their competitive position, even though changes in their scores are reflected. This makes invisible the development and progress factors generated by the countries that are mainly found with low scores and only reflect stable structures that allow them to maintain their position. Research limitations/implications: The current study has a limitation because it concentrated on a few selected indicators based on the literature review. The limitations of this research may be overlooked in the future by adding additional variables and observations. The paper could be improved by including intra- and inter-regional approaches to control based on the occurrence of specific circumstances (i.e. informal institutions, economic development or factor endowments). Practical implications: The paper contributes to the applicable measurement of competitiveness and its structural change over time. Originality/value: This paper proposed an alternative and simple methodology to assess the evolution of the competitiveness indicators; this methodology could be used to measure structural changes at different levels, which may be an input for the design and implementation of policies to foster competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In order to effectively promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence and the real economy and empower real enterprises to improve quality and efficiency, this study regards the CEO as a high-end innovation resource and aims to empirically test the impact of scholar-type CEOs on the industrial artificial intelligence (AI) transformation of manufacturing enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: Grounded on the upper echelons theory, this paper preliminarily selects A-share manufacturing listed companies in Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange that are affiliated to enterprise groups from 2014 to 2020 as samples. Furthermore, the Logit regression is conducted to analyze the influence of scholar-type CEOs about industrial AI transformation. Findings: The results show that scholar-type CEO plays a significant role in promoting industrial AI transformation. The parent-subsidiary corporations executives' ties positively moderates the impact of scholar-type CEOs on industrial AI transformation. Further, internal control quality plays a partial mediating role between scholar-type CEOs and industrial AI transformation. Compared with private enterprises, scholar-type CEOs play a stronger role in promoting industrial AI transformation of state-owned enterprises. Originality/value: First, this paper expands the research related to the influencing factors of industrial AI transformation based on upper echelons theory and clarifies the influencing mechanism of scholar-type CEOs affecting industrial AI transformation from the perspective of executives' behavior. Second, this study further enriches the research framework on the economic consequences of scholar-type CEOs and provides a useful supplement to the research literature in the field of upper echelons theory. Third, this paper is not limited to a single enterprise but involves the management practice of resource allocation within the enterprise groups, further clarifies the internal logic of the decision-making of industrial AI transformation of listed companies within the framework of enterprise groups, providing theoretical reference for the scientific design of the governance mechanism of parent-subsidiary companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Literature has widely discussed the relevant role of financial development in determining atmospheric quality. However, there has not been much discussion of how financial inclusion (FIC) plays its role in environmental quality. Thus, this research aims to unveil the role of financial inclusion in determining the CO2 emissions which serve as a proxy of environmental quality. In addition, this study examines the moderating role of corruption control (CC) in the nexus of FIC-CC. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical results were based on 22 years of annual data from five Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economies, covering the years 1996–2017. The authors use the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to check regression among variables. Findings: The empirical findings first disclosed the positive impact of FIC whereas CC had an inverse impact on CO2 emissions. However, the moderating role of CC was observed in mitigating the adverse impact of FIC on ecological quality. In addition, the statistical analysis further showed an inverse impact of economic growth and foreign investment and a positive impact of trade volume and energy consumption on CO2 emissions. Practical implications: This analysis states an important policy regarding integrated FIC and green environmental requirements. Additionally, the negative externality of FIC can be controlled by improving the CC. Originality/value: This study complements the existing literature on FIC and environmental quality by adding the moderating role of CC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the dark side of business-to-business (B2B) relationships in traditional business practices worldwide that rely on strong networks. Design/methodology/approach: This study applies a questionnaire survey to collect data from buyers in 224 Kuwaiti firms and uses the partial least squares structural equation model for data analysis. Findings: Drawing on the social exchange theory, we test the relationships between B2B wasta, relationship satisfaction, innovation and efficiency. The findings show that despite the belief that wasta brings long-term benefits when applied in B2B relationships, it negatively impacts the firm's efficiency. Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing literature on B2B relationships by identifying important issues related to the multifaceted nature of B2B wasta relationships. The study confirms the importance of relational and innovation benefits over economic consequences based on elements of social exchange theory, which extends our current understanding of the application of SET in B2B wasta relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of earthquakes on the labor market. The authors try to estimate the impact of two major earthquakes (Izmir and Elazig) in Turkey. Design/methodology/approach: In order to analyze the effects of devastating earthquakes in the nearby regions of the province where the earthquake took place, on the labor market, monthly and annual data from the TUIK and ISKUR database will be used. For this purpose, the authors consider the earthquake a natural experiment and employ a Synthetic Control Method (SCM). In addition, the analysis will be carried out using seasonally adjusted data, taking into account the seasonal effects of the monthly data to be used in the study. Findings: The results show that the impact varies based on the labor market structure of the regions. While the earthquake positively affects the labor market of agriculture-oriented regions, it harms the labor market of nonagricultural-oriented regions. Research limitations/implications: A major limitation of the study is that we cannot fully separate the impact of Covid-19 from our estimate. The authors believe that Covid-19 overestimates the negative impact of earthquakes on the labor market. Social implications: Earthquakes have adverse effects on the labor market. The estimation of the earthquake-related costs may provide a useful guide on policy planning and government incentives. Originality/value: The originality of the study lies in the fact that this is the first study to evaluate how the dynamics of the labor market has changed as a result of the earthquakes that have taken place in Turkey, within the framework of causality. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0568 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores coopetition opportunities between e-tailers and brick-and-mortar (BM) retailers and provides a conceptual framework. These opportunities may be triggered by events such as social distancing causing crises (SDCC). Design/methodology/approach: A grounded theory based approach was used wherein 119 news articles and 48 academic papers are the main sources of data to analyse the real-world responses. A typical qualitative methodology, including open and axial coding, was used. To further analyse the insights obtained, six in-depth interviews were conducted. Findings: Non-customer-interfacing-based coopetition, such as small BM stores serving as e-marketplace sellers and customer-interfacing-based coopetition, such as large BM stores serving as showrooms, are some potential coopetition opportunities. Research limitations/implications: The majority of the available studies dwell more on offline retailers developing online channels. This study investigates the opposite situation and conceptualises a new understanding of how e-tailers and BM retailers can work together more harmoniously. This study can be used as a springboard by academicians for future research on a larger scale. Five research propositions are offered that can guide hypothesis generation. Development of case studies and consulting services for the industry are the other research opportunities. Practical implications: Social distancing as a measure may vanish from the world with time; however, social distancing's implications are still pertinent given that new diseases, including new variants of pandemic potential, could continue to emerge. The study puts forward propositions based on theoretical dimensions and second-order themes derived from first-order categories. These propositions are about the drivers of coopetition and the opportunities with both large and small BM stores that e-tailers can leverage during a crisis, given that launching e-tailers' own BM stores demands large investments. This study has social and economic implications too. Originality/value: This study investigates coopetition, an important trend but lacking adequate research. Whilst only few studies examine coopetition from a crises' perspective, this study investigates develops a new understanding of coopetition opportunities between e-tailers and BM retailers. This study adds to the scarce literature how such opportunities may be triggered by events such as SDCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Software has become increasingly important in business. However, the value of aggregate in-house and packaged software investments and the influence of an industry's software investment opportunities (SIOs) are poorly understood in the literature. This study addresses this research gap and proposes that an industry's SIOs play an essential role in the economic impacts of industry in-house and packaged software investments. Design/methodology/approach: A model of the economic impacts of in-house and packaged software investments at the industry level under different SIOs is developed and empirically tested based on a panel dataset of private industries in the USA between 1998 and 2020. Findings: The results show that with the increase in the number of SIOs in an industry, the economic performance of in-house software investments increases, while that of packaged software investments decreases. Originality/value: By highlighting the role of SIOs in moderating the economic performance of in-house and packaged software, this study shows the critical role of the information technology (IT) environment in understanding software's economic value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study analyzes the dynamic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumption among Ghanaian households, by identifying the existing consumption inequalities in the households according to the different age categories of the household head and changes in consumption patterns among the household constituents. In particular, the study examines the effects of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) on household consumption and the differing impact on the different age categories of the household. Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology of the study is based on the input–output analysis of the Ghanaian economy during the years 2015 and 2021 by using data on household consumption disaggregated by age. Economic impact is estimated through multi-sector modeling, specifically a demand model expressed based on a money metric measure valued in Ghanaian cedis. This model allows us to obtain the direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the manufacturing sector, professional, scientific and technical activities, Water supply, sewerage, and waste management within Ghanaian households. The model also observed a negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public sector works and defense, and SSNIT sectors of the Ghanaian economy. Findings: The findings of the study revealed that for the category of age group between the ages of 15–29 years, the consumption of manufacturing products experienced an increase of 6.20% whiles that of electricity consumption, air conditioning and heating reduced by 2.26% for the period under consideration. However, public sector works and defense, and SSNIT experienced a decline by 8.24%. For the age group between 30 and 45 years, the highest and most positive percentage change in household consumption was noted to be professional, scientific and technical activities (6.20%), Water supply, sewerage, waste management (5.98%), as well as manufacturing (5.65%). However, there was a decline in the consumption level of education by Ghanaian households during the lockdown especially among people within the age group of 46–65 years. There was a decline of 6.11% for the administrative and support services and there was also a decline the services of defense and SSNIT service consumption by 2.10%. For the final age group of 66 years and above, there was an increase of 6.94% in the consumption of such essential utilities in Ghana between 2015 and 2021. The demand for education however showed a drastic reduction of 8.1% over the study period due to this category of age group with majority of them retiring from work. Research limitations/implications: The findings from this study will help in understanding the effects caused by the pandemic on household consumption and the differing impact on different age category of the household, especially on young households. This can potentially shape future policy by especially helping policymakers to device a more targeted social safety-net policies not only to speed-up recovery, but also to mitigate the negative impact of any future outbreak of a pandemic on household consumption and limit the age gaps in consumptions. However, the study does not consider the income levels of the different age groups. This becomes a limitation of the study and can be further explored in future studies. Originality/value: This study measures the impact of a global health pandemic on the consumption of all households, with its accompanying impact of this variation. It can be noted that analyzing household consumption and quantifying the positive and negative impact on different age category of the household and the different sectors of the Ghanaian economy add to the limited knowledge of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at the household level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure (hereafter CSRD) on the Corporate Economic Performance (hereafter CEP) of a group of public shareholding companies in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses different proxies to examine the impact of CSRD on companies' financial and economic value. The data were collected from a sample of 94 companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2016. Based on a checklist of 41 indicators, this study employed the manual content analysis technique to collect and analyse CSRD data. A statistical analysis technique was also used to examine the hypothesized relationships between collected data on CSRD and profitability. Findings: The findings indicate that CSRD is value-relevant. It is positively and statistically associated with firm value proxied by Tobin's Q. In addition, it is positively and statistically associated with firm financial performance proxied by ROE and ROA. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to the research debate on the relationship between CSRD and CEP, particularly in developing nations. The study draws attention to the need for information on different dimensions of CSR, including human resource, environmental, product responsibility, and community participation, as disclosure on such dimensions is positively associated with profitability. Practical implications: The findings provide important implications for Jordanian corporate managers to maintain CSRD in their best interest. With more emphasis on disclosing stand-alone CSR reports, corporate managers can present more information on different dimensions of CSR, attracting the attention of stakeholders such as investors, the government, media, and humanitarian activists and enhancing overall corporate goodwill. Originality/value: CSRD activities reflect a positive impact on CEP. Due to the dearth of relevant research conducted in developing countries, this study provides empirical evidence on the positive relationship between CSRD and CEP in an emerging economy, with more emphasis on specific dimensions of CSR, including human resources, environmental, product responsibility, and community participation. Since multiple proxies exist to measure profitability, this study uses multi-approaches for profitability examination proxied by Tobin's Q, ROE, and ROA. Moreover, the issue of CSR is original and interesting to be examined in the Jordanian context, where the listed firms have reported a homogeneous perception of CSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study is to examine the economic consequences of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) converged standards by exploring its phased manner implementation in India. Design/methodology/approach: The study measures the economic outcomes in the form of capital market reactions such as cost of equity capital, cost of debt capital, information asymmetry and market liquidity. Difference-in-difference (DiD) methodology has been used to analyze the data for this study. Findings: Based on a sample of 2,685 Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) listed firms, results show that the Indian capital market reacts negatively to the adoption of IFRS-converged standards. In particular, results show that the cost of equity capital, cost of debt capital and information asymmetry have been increased and market liquidity has been decreased for test firms relative to benchmark firms immediately after IFRS convergence and this negative effect is more pronounced among small firms than large firms. Subsequent tests suggest that test firms have better capital market reactions in the later year of implementation relative to benchmark firms that are implementing IFRS for the first time. It indicates the learning curve effect of IFRS on the economic outcomes as negative impact ameliorates over time. Originality/value: The study is among earlier attempts to investigate the impact of IFRS on capital market reactions by exploring the phased manner implementation framework. The study is also among the pioneering attempts to examine the learning curve impact of IFRS on capital market reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study reviews research that examines economic and behavioural consequences of CSR reporting regulations. Specifically, the authors evaluate the impact of CSR reporting regulations on (1) reporting quality, (2) capital-markets and (3) firm behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: The authors first describe the stated objectives and enforcement level of CSR reporting regulations around the world. Second, the authors review over 130 archival studies in accounting, finance, economics, law and management that examine consequences of the regulations. Findings: The stated objectives and enforcement of CSR reporting regulations vary considerably across countries. Empirical research finds no significant changes in reporting quality and generally concludes that CSR reporting continues to be ceremonial rather than substantive after the regulations – consistent with corporate legitimation and "greenwashing" views. In contrast, growing evidence shows both positive and negative capital-market and real effects of the regulations. Overall, the findings from this review indicate that, on balance, there remains a significant number of questions on the net effects of CSR reporting regulations. Originality/value: The authors offer a comprehensive review of the literature examining consequences of CSR reporting regulations. The authors identify apparent tensions in studies assessing different outcomes after the regulations: between symbolic reporting and positive capital-market outcomes; between profitability and CSR; and between CSR and the welfare of non-shareholder groups. Additionally, we highlight differences in the scope and stated objectives of CSR regulations across countries, with the regulations often reflecting socio-economic development and national interests of implementing countries. Collectively, our review indicates that institutional details are crucial when considering the design or consequences of CSR reporting regulations and/or standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The study aims at estimating the shadow economy (SE) using the method of demand for currency in Palestine for the period 2008–2018 by studying the relationship between a group of variables that affect the ratio of money traded outside the banking system to the money supply in the broad sense. Design/methodology/approach – The study has adopted analytical and descriptive research methods to estimate SE in Palestinian territories. The data has been obtained from the inflation reports issued by the Palestinian Monetary Authority for ten years, from 2008 to 2018. A standard model was constructed using EViews version 8 for statistical data processing after converting the annual data to quarterly data. Findings –The authors demonstrated that the size of the SE in Palestinian territories has varied over time, and the annual average of its size during the study period reached about $1764.893 (in millions). This amount constitutes about 15.5% of the gross domestic product. The study provides recommendations for reducing the size of the SE in Palestinian territories. Practical implications – The current study shows that shadow economics could significantly matter for economic policy design by policymakers. Originality/value – This study deals directly with Tanzi’s “estimation of shadow economy in Palestinian territories” concept and its impact on economic policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to derive the time-varying relative export competitiveness (REC) of the Nigerian cocoa sector against Nigeria's share of world agricultural exports (REC_WA) and world merchandise exports (REC_WM) from 1995 to 2018. By concentrating on different factors such as demand and supply capacity, price factors and exchange rate, the authors examine the determinants of REC. Design/methodology/approach: The authors calculated three different REC indexes. The authors also developed the relative symmetric export competitiveness index for comparative advantage calculation and avoiding the possible bias. The determinants of REC for Nigerian cocoa were captured using the short-run regression (SRR) model. Findings: The study showed that Nigeria's cocoa exports are still competitive despite experiencing some declining stages. Based on the SRR model, higher per capita income had a positive effect on the REC, while higher domestic prices significantly reduced the REC of cocoa. Further, the African Growth Opportunity Act agreement adversely affected the REC of cocoa. Originality/value: This study provides a foundation for future research and enhances the literature on agricultural trade. This research makes a few contributions both from a scientific and a policy perspective. First, it is the first study on the REC analysis for the Nigerian cocoa industry. Second, a wide range of comparisons of REC among the world's largest cocoa exporters was provided following implications of the various economic policies and local policy strategies. Third, the latest 24-year data sets were covered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This work analyzes the economic impact of an economic crisis on consumption in Spanish households, detecting inequalities in household consumption according to the age of the main breadwinner and changes in consumption patterns. In particular, the effects of the financial crisis of 2008 on household consumption are studied and divided according to the main breadwinner's age group to obtain the economic impact of the fall in consumption in young households. Design/methodology/approach: The input–output tables of the Spanish economy during the years 2005 and 2015 and data on household consumption based on age group have been used. Economic impact is estimated through multisector modeling, specifically a demand model expressed in monetary terms. This model allows us to obtain the direct impact on the sectors offering the demanded services and the indirect impact due to increase in intermediate demand from these sectors on the rest of them. Findings: The results obtained show the changes in household consumption and its effects on different productive sectors, highlighting the following sectors: real estate activities, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, accommodation and food service activities and manufacturing. Originality/value: This study measures the impact of an economic crisis on the consumption of young households, analyzing all groups of households according to the main breadwinner's age, with the added value of studying the impact of this variation on household consumption and quantifying the positive and negative impact on the different sectors of activity of the Spanish economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to study through a comprehensive set of socioeconomic indicators the regional level of well-being achieved in Romania, and monitor the improvements and disparities in well-being after a decade of accession to the European Union. Design/methodology/approach: A dashboard of 20 socioeconomic indicators for measuring nine dimensions of well-being for Romanian counties is proposed. Using the Adjusted Mazziotta-Pareto method are built composite indicators, which allow us to assess the trend of overall welfare scores for each county. The data are collected at the county level, for 42 counties, and each year from 2006 to 2017, from administrative sources. Findings: The overall well-being index has an increasing trend for all counties, but the growth rate varies from one county to another. The economic factors, geographic location and share of the urban population matter. For most counties, the evolution of well-being scores is below that recorded at the country level. Romania has registered significant improvements in health, housing, income and access to public utilities dimensions. The counties are ranked by level of well-being. Some empirical measures suggest a slight tendency of socioeconomic disparities to increase over time. Originality/value: The paper attempts to fill some gaps in measuring the level and disparities of welfare in a fast-growing emerging economy. The Romanian regional context is to a lesser extent explored in a multidimensional approach, from spatial and temporal points of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The choice of Southern Europe is partly based on the observation that the sample includes a number of countries whose economies faced more severe difficulties than elsewhere in Europe. Economically they were less able to absorb the economic shock posed by COVID-19. It is also partly based on the characteristics of the pandemic. A number of countries in the sample were amongst the earliest in Europe to be hit by the pandemic and a several were harder hit in terms of both morbidity and mortality. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses evidence from World Bank enterprise surveys of a sample of firms from six countries in Southern Europe. It examines the early evidence of the effects of COVID-19 on labour markets. The economic consequences potentially cover a wide range of issues. The focus of this study is on firm level evidence of the effect on labour. The evidence and the analysis are provided at a time when the pandemic is still in progress. The authors use both traditional regression analysis and IPWRA to assess the joint effect of loans versus government support on, firstly, the change in sales revenues and, secondly, the number of weeks that the firm would expect to survive with no sales revenues. Findings: The study suggests that, despite efforts to support firms and hoard labour, there is a prospect of a significant number of firm closures with a consequent loss of employment. Temporary firm closures also represent a substantial loss of labour weeks. These are partly related to a significant number of workers subject to furloughs. The empirical findings suggest that COVID-19 cases and deaths have directly affected firm sales but government containment measures, particularly closures, have more strongly affected firms. Losses of sales were unsurprisingly related to losses of employment. Remote working has contributed to sustaining employment but online business has not affected most sectors. Research limitations/implications: The future progress of COVID-19 and government containment measures is uncertain, and the full economic consequences will probably continue to emerge after the end of the pandemic. The full extent of the impact on labour will probably not be the first of these. There are obvious advantages in seeking to learn lessons from the early stages of the pandemic but there are also obvious constraints. The full economic consequences will take longer to emerge than the pandemic itself and the full consequences for employment will take longer to be evident than many other economic effects. Practical implications: Both temporary closures and furloughs impose costs that will be borne by firms, workers and government. The effects of COVID-19 on firms differ across sectors. Adverse effects tend to be higher in hospitality, non-essential retail and travel. That many firms lack the capacity to survive further temporary closures of a similar duration to those in the earlier stages emphasises that the support provided in the near future is of critical importance to control employment losses through permanent firm closures. A long-term perspective suggests neither permanent closure nor laying off workers may be the best response to a temporary crisis in demand. A stakeholder model of the firm would often suggest that it is not an optimal for the point of view of workers or the wider economy either. Both imply a preference for labour hoarding. Social implications: The most affected are sectors with a high proportion of female workers and, in consequence, most of the countries in the sample exhibit an early decline of the already lower than average share of women in employment. Originality/value: The data used have been recently released and this is the first analysis using the data to look at the consequence on firms employment decisions during the Pandemic. The case of Southern Europe is much understudied, though one of the most dramatic as to the consequences of the pandemic. From a methodological point of view, the authors use not only traditional regression analysis, but also the matching approach to identify the effect of different policy options on labour demand by firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The authors argue that the mainstream scholarly discourse on hybridity and accounting is thus far primarily interested in the use and effects of accounting "in" hybrid organizations. Consequently, the literature has to a lesser extent explored how accounting mediates hybrid settings (while also being mediated), and the role of disentanglements in such processes. In hybrid settings, objects are difficult to define, and measures and tools difficult to agree upon. However, the literature on hybrid accounting is inconclusive and indicates that accounting can potentially both stabilize and de-stabilize relations in a hybrid setting. The authors address the research question of how accounting emerges and manifests itself in a process of entangling and disentangling in a heterogeneous emerging hybrid setting. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a longitudinal qualitative case study of the implementation of social investments, a public sector calculative framework based on the logic of measuring long term and social and economic impact of prevention. Methodologically, the study was guided by actor-network theory. In total, 18 observations and 48 interviews were conducted. Findings: The observation the authors make in their case study is that much effort was spent on both keeping things apart and tying elements together. What the authors add to the literature is an illumination of how the interplay between entanglements and disentanglements facilitated the design idea of social investments to be enacted as multiple semi-integrated and purified hybridizations. The authors describe different translation points, each representing a specific hybridization where elements were added, recombined and disentangled. Still, the translation points were not completely compartmentalized, but rather semi-integrated where associations were facilitated through active mediation, likeness and productiveness for each other. Research limitations/implications: One limitation is the single case approach. A second limitation arises from the ANT approach to hybridity. Practical implications: A practical implication of this paper is that in hybrid settings, the semi-integrated character may be interpreted as a strength because it allows the mobilization of heterogenous actors. However, this may also come at the cost of governability and raises further questions of managerial practices in hybrid settings. Social implications: The paper suggests the potentially productive role of disentanglements in allowing multiple hybridizations to evolve in hybrid accounting settings. Originality/value: The paper suggests the potentially productive role of disentanglements in allowing multiple stabilized hybridizations to evolve in hybrid accounting settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discover the contradistinctions between the neoclassical and Keynesian paradigms of economics regarding the Greek Financial Crisis. Design/methodology/approach: The answers to the questions and policies regarding the Greek Financial Crisis cannot be derived by using economic analysis alone; they also depend on the perception of social reality and ethical issues. Based on the assumptions about economic behavior, the answers and policies inevitably reflect the observer's assessment of each economic and non-economic performance dimension, as well as the significance assigned to those performance dimensions. Different views on "social reality" and "what is a good society?" are associated with distinct paradigms and a particular set of social values, which have implications for economic policy formulae. These give rise to alternative answers and policies to the Greek Financial Crisis, based on different assumptions, different methods of analysis and different goals. Findings: Overall, in contradistinction, the two paradigms recommend quite distinct policies tackling the Greek Financial Crisis, and at the end, both paradigms have different perspectives on ethics and moral fundamentals regarding debt. Originality/value: Students of the global financial crisis will benefit from this unique approach in testing the two alternative paradigms, between the neoclassical and Keynesian, concerning the Greek Financial Crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Early turnover is a worldwide problem that occurs frequently during the first three years of employment. From a multidisciplinary perspective, this study attempts to find the economic, organizational and psychological factors that account for turnover at the early stage of employment. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used turnover records provided by the human resources division of a US pharmaceutical company operating in China of 222 Medical Representatives (MR). The method of Firth's logistic regression for analyzing was employed. Findings: As an economic factor, the favorable labor conditions (i.e. high ratio of job vacancies) at the time of recruitment were inversely associated with MR subsequent retention. For organizational factors, unsatisfactory supervision and disappointment of intra-organizational career were the major predictors, and job ranks showed a U-shaped relationship to early resignation. Moreover, working pressure was a psychological factor of early exit. Originality/value: This study provides organizations with empirical implications to devise retention plans for newcomers at risk of attrition, which prevent them from early turnover in the industry facing a talent shortage. Studies based on the company exit records have little been done in turnover literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of economic growth, trade openness and manufacturing on CO2 emissions in India. Design/methodology/approach -- The study employed autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) bounds test approach and uses CO2 emissions, trade, manufacturing and GDP per capita to examine the relationship using an annual time series data from World Development Indicators during 1971 to 2016. Findings -- Results depict that there exists a long-run relationship between CO2 emissions and other variables. Trade openness significantly reduces CO2 emissions, whereas manufacturing and GDP have a significant and positive impact on CO2 in the long run. Research limitations/implications -- The findings of the study contribute to the body of knowledge by providing new evidence on the relationship between developmental metrics and the environment. These findings are critical for policymakers and regulatory bodies to focus on economic development without jeopardizing environmental degradation. Practical implications -- In order to keep its commitment to sustainability, India needs to develop policies that encourage cleaner production methods and establishment of non-polluting industries. Simultaneously, it must disincentivize industries that emit CO2 by policy frameworks such as carbon taxes, pollution taxes or green taxes. Originality/value -- None of studies examine at how these environmental factors interact in India. Kilavuz and Dogan (2020) used the same variables, but their scope was limited to Turkey. As a result, the study is the first to examine this relationship for India, contributing to the body of knowledge on economic growth, manufacturing, trade openness and environmental concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to identify the role of age structure in occupational choices and the classification of the occupations based on the age structure of individuals in the Indian labour market. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses the first Periodic Labour Force Survey, 2017–18. The occupational classifications are based on the standardised scores for age groups and their occupations. Further, a multinomial logistic regression model has been used to estimate social and economic factors in determining the age-based occupational classifications. Findings: The authors found age structure an essential factor in determining occupational choices. Hence, occupations in the Indian labour market have been grouped into seven categories, accordingly. In addition, social and economic factors of individuals and households do have a significant influence on the selection of age-based occupational classifications. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to the occupational classification based on the age structure of individuals without any industry effects. The findings suggest that policymakers must adopt occupation-specific policies considering the age structure of individuals. Originality/value: Earlier studies are limited to the dynamics of age either on the basis of specific age groups (younger or older) or on the industrial classification in a disaggregated way. They also lack a rich approach in analysing the occupational classification considering age structure, especially in the Indian labour market. The study adds value when the role of age structure is identified in occupational choices in the Indian labour market, and hence, a novel classification of occupations into seven categories is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper studies the impact of social distancing causing crises (SDCC) such as pandemics in its early stages on e-tailers demand and supply side operations and provides a conceptual framework for adaptation. Design/methodology/approach: A grounded theory-based approach has been used, wherein journal papers and news articles are the key data sources. Standard qualitative methodology, including open, axial and selective coding has been followed. Findings: The study provides second order themes derived from first-order categories, the theoretical dimensions and their interrelationships on how e-tailers need to adapt to variations in online buying behaviour, manage manpower shortage and daily necessities inventory shortage, during SDCC. Panic buying emerges as a key disrupting factor as it has multiple repercussions on demand and supply side operations of e-tailers. Research limitations/implications: Exploratory qualitative research such as this is helpful in early development of a research stream and paves the way for future quantitative studies. Practical implications: This study makes a valuable contribution on e-tailers adaptation to SDCC with significant managerial implications. There are social, economic and policy implications too. For academicians, this study provides a conceptual framework and serves as a springboard for future research. Originality/value: The study is unique as perhaps it is one of the first to study e-tailers adaptation to SDCC. It contributes to a body of the literature which is currently scarce but expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Effective policy to support business ecosystems should build on evidence-based analyses of firm-level activities and outcomes. This paper aims to contribute to this requirement and makes three contributions. The first contribution is to extend the application of the network capital concept to a variety of eight distinct linkage categories (e.g. suppliers, customers and business support agencies) that support networking and clustering, in both activity and impact terms. The second contribution is outlining a novel method of network visualisation (V-LINC) based on the collection of primary and qualitative data. The third contribution is in applying the method to one cluster, information and communications technologies. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research on the nature and extent of organisational network linkages was undertaken. Structured interviews with a set of focal firms followed a tailored design approach. The concept of network capital was extended and applied to the cluster context by measuring network inputs and output (i.e. investments and impact). The approach was operationalised via a novel impact measurement approach, denoted as V-LINC, an acronym for visualising linkages in networks and clusters. Findings: The authors develop a business impact framework exploiting novel linkage visualisations and qualitative data from firms in a cluster in one city region across eight linkage types to capture distinct network capital elements. Organisational inputs into network development, measured as investment and involvement indicators and organisational outcomes from those networks, measured as importance and intensity indicators, are used to assess network performance. A comprehensive, systematic and robust analysis of network elements and performance is possible. Distance is found to interact differently across linkage types. Targeted recommendations may be made from the analysis of local or regional business ecosystems in light of measured business impacts of linkages. Research limitations/implications: Due to the resource-intensive nature of data collection, the current study engages a limited sample of firms and interviewees. Applications of this approach in other contexts will permit further research into its usefulness in evaluating business impacts generated through networking activities. Originality/value: The method introduced here (V-LINC) offers a novel means to include both geography network theory into an understanding of knowledge relationships and networks within clusters. Accounting for both distance and linkage type reveals which categories of intra-regional and extra-regional linkages generate the greatest impact, given their frequency. The approach adds to available cluster visualisation and analysis approaches through identifying patterns of disaggregated knowledge flows and their impacts, with application to evaluation demands of policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to critique the Australian Government's JobKeeper scheme and demonstrate how accounting rationalities were intertwined with the process of governing the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: Adopting a Foucauldian perspective, the authors make use of public discourse to draw attention to the centrality of accounting and quantitative techniques that were used to support government interventions during the pandemic. Findings: The authors show that accounting numbers, techniques and quantitative information were mobilised by the government as a way of formulating and implementing the JobKeeper scheme, a program designed to minimise the economic impacts of COVID-19. Originality/value: The authors demonstrate the centrality of accounting concepts as a rhetorical device and their use by government in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study attempts to establish the relationship between demographic dividend and GDP growth rate by utilising panel data from 1990 to 2017 in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs the pooled OLS model, using data from the World Bank's database for the period 1990–2017 for five selected South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. Findings: The results reveal that demographic dividend affects economic growth in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, thereby supporting the demographic dividend hypothesis. For the country-specific analysis, it was also observed that demographic dividend impacts the economic growth of the five SAARC countries. In addition, growth of gross capital formation is highly significant for both aggregated and country-specific analyses. However, economic growth is unaffected by trade openness and unemployment rates. Moreover, the rate of labour force participation is negatively related to the GDP growth rate in the aggregated model. Originality/value: This paper bestows insight into the fact that the impact of demographic dividend on the economic growth of the SAARC regions cannot be fully actualised if the workforce are underutilised. This region needs to adopt appropriate policies to strengthen the considerable benefits of demographic dividend on the economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the qualification measures of 12 German multi-national companies (MNCs), all of which are present in China, India and Mexico. In particular, the transfer of dual initial training practices and further training measures are investigated. It examines the impact consistent training strategies across national borders have emerged in German companies or local arrangements have developed despite identical internal influencing factors. Design/methodology/approach: Because of its design, the focus is on the external factors that influence the companies' training measures. However, an exploratory approach was followed. To pursue the research question face-to-face expert interviews were conducted with 46 training managers in 12 active companies in all 3 countries. The interviews were completely transcribed and evaluated using qualitative methods. Findings: The analysis shows that it is not internal company factors but country-specific contextual factors that influence training measures and that companies cannot act in the same way worldwide. Research limitations/implications: The study is based on 12 MNC and only analyses the blue-collar area. Therefore, it would have to be evaluated whether a similar analysis would result from a survey of other companies in different sectors or whether the differences in terms of training and further training measures would then be even greater. Practical implications: The study supports the internationalization strategies of MNC by providing first-hand empirical results concerning recruitment and training of blue colour workers on an intermediate skill level. It gives evidence on the need of national adaptation in the process of transferring training cultures from countries of origin into the host countries. More attention must, therefore, be paid to external factors when developing and implementing training measures. Social implications: The economic development in many countries includes an expansion of foreign investments. MNC provides employment and income for workers and their families. However, successful foreign investments also include sustainable recruitment and training strategies of the local workforce. The results of the study support policymakers to guide and support foreign companies to develop successful Human Resource Management strategies in the host countries. Originality/value: This paper is original because due to the research design the internal factors are kept largely constant and the external influencing factors are singularly focused in detail. Therefore, this procedure makes it possible to investigate whether consistency training strategies across national borders have emerged in German companies or local arrangements have developed despite identical internal influencing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate which cross-country characteristics influence the going-public decisions and how the cultural values of the countries affect initial public offering (IPO) firms' profitability and risk of financial distress. Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample of privately held and firms that went public on the European and Asian Stock Exchanges between 2007 and 2011, this paper applies probit model and ordinary least squares regression to examine which cross-country characteristics could affect the decision to go public and how cultural values affect the profitability and risk of IPO firms.[AQ1] In addition, to overcome multicollinearity concerns caused by the use of Global Leadership and Organizational Behavioural Effectiveness culture dimensions, this paper factor analyses the dimensions using principal component analysis. Findings: The results are as follows. First, this paper finds that firms in tradition-oriented countries are less likely to go public, while firms in result-oriented countries are more likely to hold an IPO. Second, this paper finds that country characteristics (i.e. financial deepening and taxation) affect the going-public decision. Third, this paper documents that IPO firms in traditionally and result-oriented countries have positive profitability and less risk of financial distress. Practical implications: This study is intended for all those European and Asian policymakers and managers who want to improve their knowledge about what different indicators can establish the decision of firms that going-public facing different stages of their lifecycle. Specifically, policymakers wishing to promote IPO-activity in their countries may find it useful to strengthen the set of formal-institutions both to reduce corporate-taxation and to reduce the uncertainty associated with first-time share issuance and investment in such initiatives. This study is also intended for managers of companies that are not yet publicly-traded on their national stock-markets to be helpful to their decision-making processes. Originality/value: This paper aims to extend the growing literature on the effects of cross-country factors on economic decision-making in finance and particularly adds to research that investigates the influence of these factors on the IPO decision of European and Asian firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the introduction of three specific fiscal flexible mechanisms such as VAT surcharges/discounts, surcharges on import/manufacture of risk substances and maturity land tax to implement a new environmental fiscal reform that aims to reduce pollutions and emissions and avoid a regressive impact on low-income households using a feedback system. Design/methodology/approach: The idea behind this article is to explore alternative environmental taxation system that aims to foster the transition to social-ecological sustainability without affect negatively poor and low-income households. It looks at the potential of environmental fiscal reform in terms of environmental benefits and present in the first section, evidence of some economic regressive impact caused by environmental fiscal reform in European Union from previous empirical studies. The article then introduces of a feedback mechanism to create a repayment system, such as rebate or cash transfer to compensate the regressive effect of the levy being added to the consumer price affecting low-income households in a very short period and push consumers to buy alternative eco-friendly products and services and to stimulate the market to offer them. Findings: Lowering VAT rate for green products and services has the potential to increase demand for sustainable products and services and stimulate green jobs. Surcharges on import and manufacture of risk substances play a significant role to discourage the import of hazardous and pollutant substances by putting price on them and push the industrial sector towards a medium and long-term transition. Lowering taxes rates for buildings in inner cities encourage improvements and renovations, while raising tax on peri-urban areas discourage land speculation in areas with higher grade of biodiversity. This fiscal mechanism indirectly will reduce private and public transport emissions caused by urban sprawling and travel costs, reduce public infrastructure costs for connecting suburban area to the inner city and reduce the loss of urban-edge farmland area that are vital for smart urban growth. Originality/value: The previous studies on the economic impact of the on environmental fiscal reform analysis, have focused on environmental aspects, economic growth and employment, but little on the regressive impact in short and medium terms on least wealthy sections of society. The proposed feedback mechanism aims to reduce distortion and inequalities caused by surcharges on existing taxation to low-income using monetary repayment measures, especially for products and services with elastic demand and no substitutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the macroeconomic factors that may moderate the psychological contract breach (PCB) and work outcome relationship. Design/methodology/approach: This study conducted a meta-analysis based on data from 134 studies. Findings: The study revealed that the inflation rate and the unemployment rate of a country moderated the association among employee PCB, job performance and turnover. Research limitations/implications: The availability of more detailed macroeconomic data against the PCB and outcome relationship for other countries and studies examining the impact of micro-economic data for PCB and outcome relationship would provide a better understanding of the context. Practical implications: The authors believe that the results highlight the importance of the national economy since it impacts individual outcomes following a breach. Social implications: Employment policies to capture the impact of macroeconomic circumstances as discussed. Originality/value: One of the valuable contributions made by this paper is that the authors capture the current accumulative knowledge regarding the breach and performance and breach and turnover relationship. Second, the study examines how the inflation rate and unemployment rate could moderate the association between PCB and job performance and turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The almost unlimited access of the general public to economic information of all kinds and distributed by very diverse means makes it increasingly necessary to have rigorous analyses that allow critical interpretation of the information and provide economic agents with tools that allow them to make their decisions in the most appropriate way. Using micro-level data from the Spanish Survey on Household Finances (Encuesta Financiera de las Familias) during the period 2002-2017, their results confirm that there is a strong effect of housing wealth on non-durable consumption of the Spanish households. In conclusion, both empirical studies facilitate the understanding of two economic crises (the COVID-19 pandemic and the housing crisis) and their impact in the labour market and the household consumption. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose - This study aims to examine the impact of external debt on economic growth in Bangladesh within a broader macroeconomic scenario. Design/methodology/approach - In the process of doing so, it assesses the empirical cointegration, long-run and short-run dynamics of the concerned variables for the period of 1980-2017 applying the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration. First, debt-gross domestic product linkage explores the impact of external debt impact on economic growth using a set of macro and country risk variables, and then this linkage is also analyzed along with a newly formed macroeconomic policy (MEP) variable using principal component analysis. Findings - The study results reveal the negative impact of external debt on GDP growth, but the larger positive impact of MEP index indicates that this adverse effect of debt can be mitigated or even nullified by sound MEP and appropriate human resource policy. Originality/value - The dynamic effects of different shocks (external debt and macro policy variable) on economic growth by vector autoregression impulse response function also confirm our ARDL findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the impact of economic integration on trade competitiveness and demonstrate its effects on trade and investment performance of member nations. Design/methodology/approach: The study compiles some price indices to provide a systematic assessment of competitiveness in the BRICS region. The panel regression framework estimates the impact of integration on trade competitiveness and the external sector performance of BRICS nations. Findings: The findings of the research highlight the prospects for strong, closer and sustained integration in BRICS and, more importantly, the contribution of competitiveness to FDI receipts and export growth. Research limitations/implications: The assessment of exports and investment experiences of BRICS nations, particularly China and India, provides further evidence in support of the logical design and strategic use of their foreign trade policies. Originality/value: The economic partnership that wants to sustain this high road to global economic space needs strategic orientations to promote their partnership in other interest areas to make the cooperation more competitive in price terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the green talent dividend on China's economic growth and regional differences using a theoretical derivation of the Cobb–Douglas production function. Design/methodology/approach: This study develops a measurement model with human capital based on Chinese inter-provincial panel data for 2001–2017, and analyzes the influences on economic growth of employees' education level, per capita material capital, green labor participation rate and green jobs. The study explores the impact of the green talent dividend on regional economic growth for different regions. Findings: Employees' education level, per capita material capital, green labor participation rate and green jobs promote China's economic growth. The dependency ratio hinders economic growth. The green labor participation rate impacts economic growth more than green jobs do. Furthermore, the scale of green talent in China and its dividend effect are regionally unbalanced. Therefore, to fully release the dividend of green talent, the green labor participation rate should be improved to promote the rational flow of talent among regions. Practical implications: These findings shed light on the talent dividend, provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of relevant talent policies, and show that the demographic dividend can be transformed into the green talent dividend, which has practical significance for the sustainable development of China's economy given its aging population. Originality/value: This study provides a macro perspective on the green talent dividend's impact on economic growth. The Cobb–Douglas production function in this study differs from the traditional micro perspective on green labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]