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This study analyzes the production of knowledge in the field of eco-innovation, checking its state of the art in order to discuss topics of future research. Specifically, it assesses the pulp, paper, and paper products industry in Brazil in order to examine the drivers of the adoption of eco-innovation strategies. The study is essentially a review of the literature, with a methodology based on exploratory research, and using the documental and bibliographical qualitative method. The empirical research was based on a quantitative approach using the strategy of a cross-sectional survey by means of a self-administered online questionnaire. It was verified that the studies related to eco-innovation are still preliminary and that the subject lacks specific research with empirical data from survey and in-depth case studies. The following topics were checked for studies on innovation in environmental issues on conceptual and theoretical discussion; models and indicators for evaluating the eco-innovation; types; and political arguments for their development, with the proposition of research lines within this context. The results of the empirical research allow us to conclude that factors such as environmental regulation, the use of environmental incentives and innovation, reputation effects, top management support, technological expertise, and environmental formalization in the context of domestic enterprises are crucial to the adoption of eco-innovation. Further, the higher the extent to which companies embrace an environmental and innovative culture, the greater the internalization of eco-innovative practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Manufacturer governance of foreign distributor relationships: Do relational norms enhance competitiveness in the export market? These may include, but are not limited to (see also, Aykol & Leonidou [[2]] for an excellent set of research topics in the import-export domain): Initiation and dissolution of export relationships. Submission Deadline: August 1, 2022 B Guest Editor: b Claude Obadia, ESCE International Business School, Paris B JIOR Editor: b David Gilliland, Colorado State University and Aston University Background A long history exists of IOR scholarship in international settings. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines whether holistic systems thinking in a performance measurement context can benefit business development and managerial decision-making in innovative companies utilising a business network. A single-case study examines a logistics network entity consisting of multiple companies committed to an open business ecosystem seeking to create new business opportunities and proposes a testbed simulation tool to benchmark three distinct conceptual models. The systemic approach offers both operational and strategic benefits in supporting managerial decision-making to deliver process efficiency and generate customer value. Findings conclude that holistic business perspective governs the complexity of a logistic system via deeper qualitative investigation, while hard systems thinking captures the quantitative details of the system allowing network performance optimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In other words, a firm's business model is mainly determined by its innovation capability and to develop a value network. However, in recent years, more and more entrepreneurial companies from emerging markets, particularly those from the Asia Pacific region have displayed novel, heterogeneous paths and forms of value creation in creating business models. Effects of organizational innovation and technological innovation capabilities on firm performance: evidence from firms in China's Pearl River Delta, Asia Pacific Business Review. doi: 10.1080/13602381.2019.1592339. [Extracted from the article]

Based on Karl Popper's approach to science, this conceptual article aims at promoting a discussion on important issues debated in the OM literature. Our focus is on the different types of hypotheses used in OM investigations and the implications of this for the formulation and testing of theory with an emphasis on case study research. Given that Popper's methodology calls for an adequate testing of scientific propositions (universal-deterministic or probabilistic), we illustrate how case study research can be used to conduct a severe test of a scientific theory. It is also explained how case studies can be utilized to propose universal-deterministic hypotheses that should then be tested. Our investigation further discusses why it is important to clearly acknowledge the differences between the two types of hypotheses. Otherwise, inadequate research designs, deficient policy advice, and other similar problems, can arise. Topics for future research and discussion are also offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Global Sport Management is the property of the Global Alliance of Marketing & Management Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A key aspect of sustainable business development involves protecting a company's products from counterfeiting. Since this can impact brand's image and often, product counterfeits are of a minor quality which can be dangerous and even pose health hazards. Counterfeiters gain profits by manufacturing products using lesser quality materials and production methods. Many counterfeit products in the market are difficult to identify for a normal customer and require to be examined by a trained professional which is time-consuming and costly. In this paper, we propose a method for identifying counterfeit by a simple scan of the quick response code on the product. Since these codes are unique and are implemented by unique algorithms, it is almost impossible to forge them. Also, implementing an encrypted peer-to-peer system for the database makes it impossible for attackers to tamper with the database. The proposed method collectively not only helps laypersons to identify the authenticity of products but also an ownership tracking system where products are linked to the owners' account which will allow them to produce proof of purchase and authenticity when reselling products and when claiming the warranty of the product. This will help in reducing manufacturing and materials costs used from traditional methods against counterfeiting such as Radio-Frequency Identification and the Hologram technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a key for implementing circular economy. Through IS, wastes produced by one company are used as inputs by other companies. The operations of IS suffers from uncertainty barriers since wastes are not produced upon demand but emerge as secondary outputs. Such an uncertainty, triggered by waste supply-demand quantity mismatch, influences IS business dynamics. Accordingly, companies have difficulty to foresee potential costs and benefits of implementing IS. The paper adopts an enterprise input-output model providing a cost–benefit analysis of IS integrated to an agent-based model to simulate how companies share the total economic benefits stemming from IS. The proposed model allows to explore the space of cooperation, defined as the operationally favourable conditions to operate IS in an economically win-win manner. This approach, as a decision-support tool, allows the user to understand whether the IS relationship is created and how should the cost-sharing policy be. The proposed model is applied to a numerical example. Findings show that cost-sharing strategies are dramatically affected by waste supply-demand mismatch and by the relationship between saved and additional costs to run IS. Apart from methodological and theoretical contributions, the paper proposes managerial and practical implications for business strategy development in IS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the goal of carbon reduction, China has been piloting the Carbon Emission Trading System (CETS) since 2013. As the economy faces a downward trend, it is significant to explore the impact of CETS on business development. There is still debate in academia about whether this policy can boost the level of business development. This paper, based on all A-share data of listed companies in China from 2009 to 2018, uses the Difference in Differences (DID) model to verify the impact of CETS on the input of capital and labor factors and the level of technology in enterprises and discusses the industry heterogeneity of this impact in detail. Placebo tests, propensity score matching, and triple differences ensure the robustness of the conclusions. In further research, this paper decomposes the policy effect of CETS. It regresses the impact of carbon quota prices and carbon market trading scale on business development. The final conclusion is that CETS has a positive impact on the input of capital and labor in enterprises and a negative impact on the level of technology. After distinguishing industries, this conclusion shows differences according to different characteristics of high emissions and low emissions. In addition, the increase in carbon quota prices hinders business development, while the scale of carbon market trading shows an inverted "U" relationship with business development. The article provides meaningful policy references for China and countries in the early stages of CETS construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In peacebuilding contexts unemployed youth are frequently perceived as a high risk for the stability of a country while employed youth are seen as carrying an enormous potential for economic growth. This paper applies a social justice framework (4Rs) in analysing a Business Development (BD) programme that was implemented as part of Sierra Leone's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) strategy to promote entrepreneurship development and reduce unemployment among youth. Despite the BD programme's initial strengths, to recognize youth's heterogeneity with the aim to address some of the root causes of the war, we show how the programme struggled to counter social inequality, unemployment and neopatrimonialism. Sudden decreases in donor funding led to severe modifications of redistribution processes, thereby hampering youth's representation. This raises questions about the design of TVET strategies and BD programmes in post-conflict settings in general. Our paper further showcases how the resurfacing of the root causes of a conflict in the scope of small-scheme development programmes, can have far-reaching effects on young people's various relationships of trust, if not reconciliation process as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to uncover the values that underlie farmers' strategic choices for business development. In particular, we uncovered farmers' values related to business development through farm diversification and compared these with values regarding business development through non-diversified farm activities. We considered diversified and non-diversified farm activities as two possible strategic orientations related to farm development. For each strategic orientation, the study systematically uncovered its values grounded on in-depth interviews with 23 farmers in Sweden, using the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique. We analyzed values in terms of use- and non-use values related to the choice of strategic orientation. The results suggested that a heterogeneous set of use- and non-use values guide choices for farm strategic orientation. Particularly, for non-diversified farm activities, we identified eight values, of which three were categorized as use values and five as non-use values. For diversified farms, we found four values, all of which were categorized as non-use values. Our results highlight that policymakers need to approach farm development differently for each strategic orientation, considering that the underlying values between these two groups differ. Also, for farm advisors, results can be useful for improving and adapting the communication and interaction with farmers, which can further improve the content and influence of advisory services. The Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique expands the methodology of eliciting farmers' values and especially regarding farmers' strategic choices. This paper extends the knowledge of the driving forces that underlie farmers' choices for farm business development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents the extant literature on evolutionary economic geography (EEG) and tourism studies and briefly reviews what has been produced thus far. There are two main areas addressed: path dependence (and how to break from a path) and co-evolution (of tourism paths within a given region and of regional paths including tourism). The papers already published on EEG and tourism feature cases from resort communities, mass tourism destinations and rural and peripheral areas with all cases from highly developed countries (Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and Australia). Next, the papers of the special issue are explored and show a broadening of the geographical reach (to include China and Spain) and a move to apply EEG theory as part of a hybrid theoretical framework. Finally, the paper concludes with a call for broader evolutionary approaches in tourism studies beyond strictly business development studies. This ultimately requires the development of EEG measures in line with the goals of sustainable tourism development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a meta-analysis of the impact of business formalization on performance. We exploit a meta-dataset of 1,271 estimates derived from 20 studies available until October 2019. The analysis reveals that formalization is associated with fairly small benefits that take time to materialize. We then exploited the difference between policy-induced formalization and self-induced formalization investigating underlying effects, publication bias, and sources of heterogeneity. Policy-induced formalization brings large benefits, whereas self-induced formalization only results in medium benefits, suggesting that indeed formalization can be spurred by adequate policy actions. To be most effective, formalization policies should be implemented with information sessions, trainings/workshops, and business development services to unleash the growth potential of newly formalized firms in the most potent way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, its impacts on the maritime transportation and logistics field have been multi-dimensional. In addition to the green shipping corridor proposed by the Clydebank Declaration in the United Kingdom in 2021, port digitalisation and decarbonisation of the maritime industry have become focal issues in the field. The industry needs a new framework to offset the negative impacts of the pandemic and to accommodate integrated technologies comprising of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud systems, internet of things (IoT) and others, which have been applied to the industry. Having considered these circumstances, this paper aims to propose the 6th-generation ports model with smart port (6GP) as a new framework for the port logistics industry in the post-COVID-19 period. The proposed 6GP contributes to providing business development strategy and port development policy for stakeholders in the industry in the post-pandemic era reflecting focal challenges such as digitalisation, decarbonisation, sustainability and smart transformation. It also contributes to expanding port devolution theory from the fifth-generation ports (5GP) to 6GP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the concept of quality management is a key factor in organisational success and survival. Over the past decades, a wide range of approaches has been introduced in regard to quality management. These approaches have resulted in the development of various tools, techniques, principles, and models utilised for quality management purposes. Using these management methods and models, in addition to an understanding of their outcomes, is a necessary factor to choose wisely in the development of businesses and novel ideas. The present paper overviews some of the methods and models of quality management which employ Systematic Literature Review and Text Mining. Moreover, we examine the models summarised in the papers published on Web of Science from 1900 onwards. Through this paper, we (1) review the history of quality management and its trends, (2) identify the most well-known journals in formation of quality management literature, (3) determine the value of quality management techniques, (4) cluster the quality tools, (5) map the extracted quality tools and techniques, and (5) interpret implementations effects studied by the scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a case study, this paper explores the pedagogy and logistical best practices of leading short-term study trips to the indigenous highlands of Guatemala. The goals of community-engagement are to have students: 1) interact with people of different cultural, linguistic, political, and economic world views, expanding their range of diversity-training; and 2) think critically about poverty and human agency in a global context. Logistical considerations are a key component of the learning experience when markets suffer from asymmetric information and moral hazard. This paper contributes to the literature by highlighting the ways that planning, programming, and logistics need to be woven into sustainable approaches to community engagement. For this to be an ethical endeavor, local peoples should be involved with the development and execution of the program. A barrier to learning can be a perception by students that, given their comparative economic privilege, they are there to "help" poor families. Students learn from host families about a different and holistic worldview, and gain insights into business development and its barriers. After the trip, students have a new way of thinking about diversity, agency, and workable approaches to ethical and sustainable self-help business developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A system of 36 regional-level indicators is selected to create a new index measuring a location's attractiveness for business development (the LA-index), on the criteria of intelligence, networking and infrastructure, sustainability, digitalisation, learning, agility, innovativeness and knowledge. Business establishment is defined by nine indicators. Overall, the research data include 5,170 observations. The methodology presented is suitable for assessing the attractiveness of any region if the necessary data are available. We use correlation analysis and the Granger causality test to analyse the impact of business attractiveness on the establishment of new businesses. The main findings reveal that attractiveness for business development has a positive impact on the establishment of new businesses, but the determinants and time lags of this impact vary depending on the level of economic development of the region. The paper contributes to the regional economic development literature by exploring the concept of a location's attractiveness using the smartness approach, and by discovering the time lags of the impact of this on the establishment of new businesses. The paper provides original empirical evidence, which helps policy makers to develop more accurate strategies and decision-making process based on smartness determinants and delayed effect (impact over time). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between the level of competition and innovation output for domestically focused businesses in emerging economies in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It uses survey data from 5054 businesses from the fifth Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey. A multivariate probit estimation of the likelihood of different innovation types finds that higher levels of competition are associated with greater likelihood of innovation, but this rises at a decreasing rate as competitor numbers grow. Also, firms operating in economies where competition policy is more effectively enforced are more likely to innovate. However, there is a point where ‘too much’ competition leads to less innovation – suggesting a tipping point effect. This suggests that policies to maximise competition, as measured by number of competitors, may not be optimal for promoting innovation in emerging economies. This requires a need for more nuanced competition policy approaches. The paper also finds that businesses relying on local markets are significantly less likely to introduce innovations than businesses trading domestically outside their local area, but increased competition in local markets increases the likelihood of businesses introducing product innovation. This points to a local rivalry effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of the level of spatial uncertainty builds theoretically on fuzzy set theory and the premise that the affinity of a basic spatial unit may assume values along a continuum between zero and full affinity. The paper briefly presents the motivation for the evaluation of fuzziness in functional regions based on daily travel-to-work flows. It discusses the existing measures of affinity and proposes a new approach to evaluate the fuzzy nature of functional regions. The proposed methodological innovations are tested using the example of the two-tier hierarchical system of functional regions in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a systematic review of challenges to doing business in Africa. It complements the extant literature by answering two critical questions: what are the linkages between the ease of doing business and economic development; and what are the challenges to doing business in Africa? In providing answers to these questions, the nexus between the ease of doing business and economic development is discussed in six main strands, namely: wealth creation and sharing; opportunities of employment; balanced regional and economic development; Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GDP per capita; standards of living and exports. Moreover, challenges to doing business are articulated along the following lines: (i) issues related to the cost of starting a business and doing business; (ii) shortage of energy and electricity; (iii) lack of access to finance; and (v) high taxes and low cross-border trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African management theories and practices have received scant scholarly attention in organization and management literature. The recognition for vast opportunities for developing, adapting and extending management concepts, theories and practices in situ has become topical. Scholars have responded thus far, as a bourgeoning body of Africa-centric management and organization knowledge is gradually building as never before. The modest strides made to date covering research approaches are currently limited. By reference to an empirical study this paper explicates a more qualitative, nuanced, relational, and socialized strategy-as-practice research approach that is better attuned to examining strategy as a social practice in context. Extant studies have advanced arguments for the need and value in African-focused management research (the why), the current paper brings the salience of research approaches to the African-focused management scholarship agenda (the how) into sharper focus. The paper specifically, articulates a social practice-inspired research approach for theorizing strategic management in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the "era of sharing economy 2.0", China's B&Bs industry enjoys rapid development as a new business format, boosting regional economy to reach a new height. This paper selects the Yangtze River Delta region, China's largest economic zone, as the research area, and takes exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and GIS to study the agglomeration characteristics and evolutionary trajectories of B&Bs spatial patterns amid 2013–2017. The results indicate that: (1) B&Bs in the Yangtze River Delta region exhibit balanced development. (2) From the perspective of global spatial autocorrelation analysis, B&Bs spatial distribution features significant spatial autocorrelation, with spatial agglomeration degree on the rise. (3) From the perspective of local spatial autocorrelation analysis, it gradually shows a gradual decreasing pattern from the east to the west, forming a significant high concentration of eastern cities and a low concentration of western cities. By comparing the results of the 3 years, Huzhou and Shanghai showed a significant high concentration from 2013 to 2015, and neighboring cities such as Suzhou, Jiaxing and Hangzhou have shown a high approaching trend, indicating that in recent years, the development awareness of the industry is converging. (4) The four factors: endowment of tourism resources, transportation convenience, policy conditions and residents' living standards exert important influences on B&Bs spatial distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are growing numbers of business—development hybrids that combine a commercial orientation with an intent to deliver development goals. Yet, within development studies research to date, there has been limited conceptualization of these organizations. Borrowing from the extensive literature in other disciplines, this paper argues that the concept of institutional logics can be used as a basis for understanding business—development hybrids. The lens of institutional logics is used to analyze two hybrid case studies of 'impact sourcing' that outsource IT work to disadvantaged groups in Pakistan and India. Synergies between business and development logics were managed by combining those logics, but tensions between the two required techniques of compromising or decoupling the logics. Organizations also managed the logics by presenting a more business-oriented face to clients and a more development-oriented face to workers, by protecting their development logic from commercial pressures, and by seeking to institutionalize both logics. Implications are considered for practice and for future development research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results from the first international comparative study of non-profit housing organizations in Australia, England and the Netherlands to engage with panels of organizational leaders. The study uses a 'modified Delphi method' with Likert-type scaled surveys, followed by in-depth interviews. The paper introduces the concept of hybridity as a way of understanding the interaction of state, market and community drivers in steering non-profit housing organizations. In all three countries, findings indicate that there are clear limits to independence from continued state influence. In England this takes the form of state-directed cross-subsidy and welfare reform, in Australia business development strategies have had to respond to volatility and reductions in state funding, while in the Netherlands public policy has recently restricted the remit of associations to a low-income niche and reduced commercial involvement. These findings lend support to 'contested logics' models of organizational hybridity rather than either 'out-of-control monstrous hybrids' or linear privatization models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many companies have lately started to use open laboratories for innovation. This paper looks into the added value of these practices for corporate foresight. To differentiate corporate foresight in open laboratories from innovation, the paper uses the concept of translation from cultural theory, which addresses the treatment of semantic differences in the ways how different groups of people express meaning. Based on a multiple case study, the paper collects evidence about translation practices in open laboratories and investigates how they relate to corporate foresight. The results show that translation in open laboratories enables companies to gain insight into their own situation and engage in an ongoing re-negotiation of their relation with other stakeholders in commercial interactions. This is a distinctive aspect of corporate foresight in open laboratories which has so far been widely neglected in research. It creates various opportunities for further development of foresight practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research consistently shows that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) struggle with public procurement processes. The aim of this paper is to extend the research agenda using the lens of supplier development. Dyadic mentoring theory is used to classify three role sets that buyers are willing to use in order to develop small firms. This paper's findings distinguish budget holders from traditional buyers in terms of how and what processes they are willing to use to develop SMEs. Role theory is used in the paper to explain the different mentor behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes a course project that delivers the theoretical application of effective team processes through a unique blend of service-learning and social innovation. Through this project, student teams develop collaborative relationships with military veterans who are in the early stages of business development, resulting in both educational and social benefits for the students, veterans, and the surrounding community. The authors describe the design of the course project and partnership with veterans, as well as the interactive poster-presentation forum that showcases the results of these service-learning projects. We discuss relevant supporting theory and conclude with pedagogical recommendations for instructors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper compares two government-sponsored education programs for agricultural entrepreneurs: a Leadership program and a Lean program. Methodology: The paper takes both a qualitative and a quantitative approach in its collection and analysis of data from 54 semi-structured interviews and from a survey with 109 participants. Findings: The main challenges to business and personal development are time pressure and the need for better communications. The Leadership program participants emphasize the effect of internal barriers such as fixed mind-sets. The Lean program participants emphasize the effect of external barriers such as financing. Both groups emphasize personal and business growth more than the control group. Practical Implications: Entrepreneur education programs can help participants, program developers, and advisory organizations identify and manage business challenges and barriers. Theoretical Implications: The paper contributes to the literature about educations for entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector with its examination of agricultural entrepreneurs' reflections on barriers and challenges in business development and their linkage to overcoming barriers focused on a resource-based perspective with different types of resources. Originality/Value: The paper encourages examination of development challenges and barriers from the perspective of participators in entrepreneur education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest cooperatives are essentially a form of entrepreneurship. However, they are confronted by various problems and they cannot pay enough attention to value creation. The aim of this paper is twofold: (a) the identification of the structural factors supporting the function of Greek forest cooperatives and the exploration of the possibilities of applying business model innovation to them; (b) the investigation of how the development of an integrated business model can help cooperatives stay ahead in the innovation game, while securing sustainability. By applying business modeling procedures to the forest cooperatives of the Region of Thessaly (Greece) this paper presents, the implementation of innovative development strategy, within the current legislative framework. Results show that the business model approach gives them the ability to develop a shared vision for value creation and delivering through the establishment of a framework related to sustainable forest management based on creation of bonds for achieving a win-win strategy, satisfying the increasing needs for innovative forest-based products, which constitutes a challenge for the sustainable management of forests. We argue that this is the first time this approach has been made regarding forest cooperatives in Greece in relation to the emerging parameters of the general business environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of open source participation and employment in the service industry in development. We statistically analyze country-level data from publicly available global databases. The findings suggest that open source participation and employment in the service industry are together and individually positive moderators in the positive correlation of new business formation and development outcomes. This paper contributes to socioeconomic development by identifying ways in which open source participation contributes to development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mekong Delta has been identified by the International Panel on Climate Change as one of the three most vulnerable areas in the world as sea levels rise due to climate change. The Vietnam Government has implemented a range of policies to assist migration in order to address these environmental problems. While much research has focused on the environmental causes of, and responses to, climate change there has been less research on the impact of environmentally motivated responses to climate change on labour force and human capital factors. This paper examines the experience of the Vietnam Government in encouraging internal migration from vulnerable agricultural areas to urban industrial cities, to explore the human capital effects of these environmentally motivated response to climate change. The paper first presents the environmental argument for migration in response to climate change, together with examples of what the Vietnam Government has done to encourage migration from the rural (originating) areas to other rural resettlement and city (receiving) areas. It then uses data collected as part of recent study into the impact of government encouragement for internal migration to explore the labour force and human capital impacts in both the originating region and receiving areas. The findings suggest that while there are social and economic advantages there are challenges, including ensuring that job opportunities are available, migrants and appropriate skills, and that labour contracts provide for job security and healthy and safe working result in improved living conditions. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a more integrated approach that acknowledges and addresses associated human capital (skills upgrading) and business development needs and integrates these with environmentally-motivated policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There has been a significant increase in the use of entrepreneurship education in schools, university colleges and universities in Europe. This paper investigates entrepreneurship education in secondary education and training in Norway. Entrepreneurship is organized as a separate subject, as a topic in other subjects, or is integrated in subjects through projects. The first part of the paper systematizes entrepreneurship education in secondary schools, using a distinction between three approaches:about, forandthroughentrepreneurship. The second part is empirical, and presents the first high-quality quantitative study of the distribution of entrepreneurship education projects in secondary education and training in Norway. It shows that approximately 90% of secondary schools provide entrepreneurship education. The authors use a combination of data covering the whole population of secondary schools and data from a survey among a representative sample of school leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a Special Issue on the theme of Entrepreneurship and Institutional Change. Drawing upon the accumulated literature and three original contributions it aims to explore the conditions and the processes through which entrepreneurship may influence institutional change. The paper argues that entrepreneurs are not only influenced by the prevailing institution(s) but they can also influence (both intentionally and unintentionally) institutional change. This challenges prevailing views about the ability and effectiveness of the state to drive change. The paper also outlines an agenda for future research into how entrepreneurship shapes emerging institutional arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a simple theoretical framework to obtain a tractable equation that considers the traditional criteria for allocating public infrastructure investment and variables to capture decentralization. Panel data for the regions of Spain over the period 1986–2010 are used. Positive effects of fiscal and administrative decentralization on public investment in infrastructure are found. The results are strongly robust to different relative measures of public infrastructure investment, estimation methods and databases. Moreover, in line with recent theoretical literature, additional estimations suggest that such effects are bounded and there is no long-run relationship between decentralization and public infrastructure investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a tailored case study design for strategic asset management research. It draws on the notions of 'contextualist approach' and 'retroductive strategy' used in case study research, and follows the multiple embedded-case design advocated within qualitative research. Using a published asset management research study as a primer, it demonstrates the application of the proposed research design and its methodological rigour. This research design could serve as a reference framework, as well as a research instrument, for guiding asset management research. As such, it facilitates the development of theory that accounts for the multi-faceted nature and current priorities of asset management. Overall, this research design helps determine what activities to be incorporated into an asset management program to enhance an organization's ability to capture value from its operations system. In so doing, it promotes a holistic perspective on asset management that is currently lacking in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates the role of trade, remittances, and institutions in economic development in a large sample of developing countries using recently developed instruments for all these variables. Both cross-country (over 30 years) and dynamic panel data (over 5-year periods) regressions of growth rates on instrumented trade, remittances, and institutions provide evidence of a significant impact of trade, institutions, and remittances on growth. While institutions foster growth, remittances hamper it. The effect of trade on growth is positive in cross-sectional regressions but ambiguous in dynamic panel data regressions. These results are indicative of a more important role for trade in explaining growth in the very long run compared with over shorter horizons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2004 saw eight states from Central and Eastern Europe become members of the European Union. Never before had so many recipients of EU aid joined the Union and taken on the commitment to become aid donors. Although only four years since they became members of the EU, it is possible to identify the key improvements made by the new member states (NMS) in the area of development policy as well as the challenges still to be faced. To do so this paper explores three questions. First, what are the key challenges facing the new donors? In particular it examines administrative capacity within governments, the level of political will and the level of public awareness. Second, it assesses how the development policies of the NMS have evolved since accession, focusing on meeting ODA goals, the geographical focus of aid and the types of projects favoured by CEE states. Finally, the paper explores the challenge presented by Eastern enlargement for EU development policy. In particular, it will assess the impact of enlargement on EU-ACP relations and the future of the EDF, whilst also considering the impact of enlargement on the three Cs of EU Development Policy as well as the comparative advantages offered by the NMS in particular geographic areas/policy sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores evolution and current state of the Russian corporate governance in cultural context. Russia has a relatively short history of corporate governance, and securities market and stock capital play a less significant role, compared to the West. The evolution of culture and corporate governance is analyzed in a comparative setting. Under the Soviet framework, business and corporate developments were non-existent or severely restricted. The post-Soviet capitalism is characterized by dynamic and turbulent developments in corporate governance and business culture. The paper examines the Russian findings from the recent international studies of culture and explores cultural impact on corporate governance in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper uses the notion of material affordances to show that a focus on how people engage with materials helps understanding how organizations transit toward sustainability. Material affordances refer to the enablements and constraints afforded by materials to someone engaging with an environment for a particular purpose. Based on a qualitative study of a company's efforts at becoming circular, we show that material affordances are evolutive as organizational members shift focus from the development of products to the establishment of a circular business model. We also show that affordances are distributed across the company's circular ecosystem. Between what they enable and prevent, they invite humans to a dynamic engagement with materials that decenters human agencies to incorporate material agency in such efforts. A key contribution of the notion of material affordances is to put the relationships of humans and materials at the core of a transition toward circularity and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between risk and innovation in public services, presenting the state of the literature across different disciplines and the academic and policy literature. It suggests a novel framework to approach risk, emphasising the importance of differentiating between different types of risk and risk management. The paper offers a typology of risk types and management approaches that indicates different effects on the type of public service innovation. It concludes by considering the implications for theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Branded convenience grocery stores have become commonplace in UK retailing, increasingly adopted by retailers traditionally associated with superstore retailing. This paper initially explores the conditions in which this shift has occurred, looking at supply-side changes, planning policy, and changing demographics and consumer behaviour. Subsequently, this paper quantifies the geographical market share of a number of prominent convenience grocery retailers at the postal area level across the UK in 2012. Finally, the paper offers a segmentation of the convenience market into a series of clusters by location type. By understanding the drivers of trade in different locations, through the cluster analysis outlined in this paper, a more powerful set of location strategies can be adopted by companies expanding in this market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Web services facilitate reusability that allows cost-effective development of business applications using web services composition. Due to the proliferation of web services, different service providers are providing similar functionality web services. But these web services can have different values for QoS attributes and transactional properties. Thus, it is difficult to build a transactional and QoS optimal composite web service. Most of the existing works used the scalarization-based method for selecting optimal composite web service. In the scalarization-based method, the service user should have a priori knowledge of its preferences about the nonfunctional requirements of desired solutions. This paper proposes a Multiobjective Discrete Grey Wolf Optimization (MDGWO)-based approach for Transactional and QoS-driven Web Services Composition. The Pareto dominance concept is used to select optimal composite web service. Generational Distance (GD), Inverse Generational Distance (IGD), and Spread measures are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. Experimental results indicate that the proposed approach performs well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extensive outsourcing of forest harvesting operations means that the operational performance of contractors has an immense impact on the forest industry supply chain. This study describes perceived drivers and obstacles for strong performance in harvesting service based on semi-structured interviews with four production supervisors and eight contractors. The analysis of interview data revealed a wide array of factors considered to drive or hinder the performance. The factors were categorized into five types: Capability, Incentives, Commitment, Involvement and External factors. Factors concerning Capability, especially resources and competence, were most frequently considered by production supervisors as both drivers and hinders. The contractors considered most commonly Incentives to affect performance, especially motivation and strategy, as drivers and the economy as hinder. Both parties considered lack of resources as hinder to performance. For competence, relationship and collaboration interface, on the other hand, the two parties had different views on whether they acted as drivers or hinders. The knowledge presented in this paper is of interest to researchers or practitioners who wishes to understand the complexities underlying successful harvesting service performance. The insights can contribute to the reshaping of business practices to better target and leverage the mechanisms that most strongly affect performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a research project aimed at exploring how designers can activate and sustain entrepreneurial ventures within regional textile communities in the Philippines and the UK. The mindset of consumers, who believe that textiles and fashion should be cheap, has made it difficult to successfully enable regional textile communities. With this in mind, two case studies were undertaken through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in creative enterprises within regional textile communities in the Philippines and the UK. Findings from the research demonstrate how design-driven approaches to entrepreneurship can lead to reaching an untapped market and securing consumer demand for products and services that are better for people and the planet. The original contribution of the paper lies in the development of a business model meta-canvas, informed by an original conceptual framework that, once successfully adopted, could activate and sustain enterprises in regional textile communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From an economic point of view, we can distinguish three successive phases in the development of space business. In the first phase, space activities were government driven and based upon national prestige, and were financed with public money. In a second phase, large space companies, as a reaction against reduced government space funding, responded to a market demand and used their own funds or debt financing to perform commercial space business. Since approximately the year 2000, we note a third phase, whereby entrepreneurs acquire equity funding to develop independently space application projects. This phase is referred to as the New Space economy. The three phases will be covered in this paper, with an outlook to the evolution of the space economy the next decades. The outlook for New Space entrepreneurial business activities, with an emphasis on small satellites and micro-launchers, will be developed further herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shipping industry operates in a regulatory framework, where the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the leading regulatory body. The role of the IMO is to propose maritime regulations to its member states. The successful worldwide implementation of a maritime regulation depends on how many member states adopt it. However, many maritime regulations are not adequately implemented worldwide. As a result, ship operators have found themselves in an uncomfortable position in developing their business in an unstable regulatory regime. This paper proposes an extendable and applicable methodology involving a System of Hierarchical Scorecards (SHS) to measure the implementation costs and benefits of a newly introduced or existing maritime regulation by ship operators. The regulators may use the results in evaluating newly introduced and/or existing regulations through taking into account the economic burden that will be generated to ship operators. In this paper, SHS is extended to demonstrate its applicability on evaluating a ship operator’s organization with regard to his regulatory implementation performance by the means of a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lifting the economic performance of lagging regions continues to puzzle economic development practitioners and analysts. As a means of contributing some solutions to this puzzle, this paper examines a policy intervention that promotes regional development through a public-private-sector initiative that uses a network model to catalyze innovation-driven entrepreneurship. It focuses on a programme operated by the Alacrity Foundation in the region of Wales, UK. The paper argues that Alacrity's model offers a novel means of attempting to facilitate regional development through a programme that intertwines elements relating to entrepreneurship, innovation, and network policy and practice. It is novel in the sense that it seeks to de-risk the entrepreneurial and innovation process in a regional environment that is not traditionally strong in this respect. It is concluded that such programmes indicate that policy is beginning to embrace a number of ideas emerging from theoretical work on the drivers of regional innovation and growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the gendered architecture and industrial design of the most predominant fused space of urban entertainment in contemporary India: the mallitplex. Drawing upon fieldwork conducted in one of South Delhi's most successful mega malls: Select City Walk, along with extensive interviews across several departments (design and interiors, security, business development, marketing, staff recruitment and training, food and beverage etc.) of India's foremost multiplex chain, PVR Cinemas, this paper shows how gendered 'safe' space is industrially constructed, maintained and circulated in the public imagination. The 'safety' of the middle-class consuming woman is crucial to the industrial design of the mall and the multiplex, and its architecture is meant to regulate a specific kind of gendered behavior/code of conduct. Through an unpacking of the various elements of the industrial design of this mall and the multiplex, I argue that the space is entirely predicated upon the two age-old pillars of classed, caste-based, and gendered national anxiety in India: 'security' and 'hygiene.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]