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The paper provides a brief introduction to the historical development of accounting in Russia prior to 1917 before providing an exposition of accounting immediately prior to the disintegration of the USSR. Finally, the paper presents, as at that time, an assessment of the prospects for accounting development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores business-related sites on the Russian Web and estimates usability for the Western user by focusing on the following: type of businesses; language on sites; communication capability; and response time of site servers. Findings suggest the Russian Web is more usable in terms of language and communication capability than ordering capability and response time. (Author/AEF)

Entrepreneurship has been constrained in post-Soviet Russia by unsympathetic legislation and punitive taxation. In consequence the registered small business sector in Russia is very much smaller than its counterparts in cither Eastern or Western Europe though a high proportion of the population is in some way reliant on entrepreneurial income. Although only 6% of registered workers are entrepreneurs, surveys indicate that one-third of households derive income from independent business activity. As it is a sector in which many people are giving up after two to three years' hard work and tribulations', far more will have been involved in running a small business, often with family members and friends. For many in Russia, the impact of marketization on personal relations has been experienced in the everyday travails of running a small business. People have tested the ethic of family duty, the bounds of friendship and the utility of the economy of favours' originating in Soviet society in business activity.

The paper seeks to explore via a series of interview-based case studies aspects of the emergence of an entrepreneurial middle-class in Russia. The paper notes the origins of those studied in the professional or highly skilled workers in the former Soviet Union. The paper reveals the complexity and fragility of the circumstances of these entrepreneurs and suggests that commentary in both Russia and the West that pins its hopes for social stability on the emergence of a new property owning middle class in Russia are, at best, premature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is focused on the trends in accessing the financial resources for new business formation in the Russian transitional economy. Two hundred and forty-nine managers and entrepreneurs from 18 industries (response rate 26%) surveyed differentiate available vs desirable financial resources. The authors compare entrepreneurs' assessments to those of company managers. Current low-to-medium attractiveness of main sources of financing reflects extremely high interest rates, underdeveloped banking mechanism for crediting new business formation, heavy taxation and differences in new business strategies (entrepreneurial vs privatization). The findings correlate with the current cultural and managerial characteristics of the Russian transitional economy (low uncertainty avoidance, low future orientation). At the same time, among the positive shifts in the Russian economy in the year 2000 is the commercial banks and government funds increased interest in financing not only large businesses, but new start-ups and SMEs as well. The authors discuss the desirable sources of financing and analyse the differences between the views of managers and of entrepreneurs. The survey results display growing interest to accessing medium and longterm sources of financing (bank and commercial credit, foreign credit and others), tax breaks expectations, and lower interest in personal financial contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this comparative survey of seventy-three Russians and ninety-two US managers, we explore differences and similarities in ethical decision-making among respondents from these two countries within a business context. Using Reidenbach and Robin's (1988) multi-criteria ethics instrument, we examined whether business people in Russia and the US differed in their judgement of the ethical content of business decisions. Russia and the US provide an interesting comparison because of the extreme differences in their cultural characteristics as well as in their economies and related business development. Our results indicate that, while Americans, in general, tended to assess certain actions as less ethical when applying utilitarian or justice criteria, the ethical judgements of the two groups differed by situation and by criteria employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This survey-based study compared socio-cultural values and perceptions of organizational culture characteristics held by more than 3,300 managers and employees in twelve business organizations in Hungary, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. Significant differences were found between the five countries on all socio-cultural and organizational culture dimensions. The relationship between socio-cultural values and the organizational culture perceptions was only moderately significant. The paper concludes with implications for professionals seeking to enhance organizations' performance in these countries and suggestions for further research. (Contains 6 tables.)

This paper explores the role of different trust environments in West and East Europe on the behavior of entrepreneurs. In a stable institutional environment (e.g., Germany, core regions in Russia) personal trust mainly plays a complementary role for entrepreneurial behavior, while in more fragile environments (e.g., peripheral regions in Russia) it can substitute for institutional deficiencies. The exploratory empirical data analyzed in this study comprise three countries (Estonia, Germany and Russia), and they stem from an international research project, which was supported by the Volkswagen Foundation. The empirical discussion focuses in particular on interfirm relations of small businesses as well as on the sources of assistance used by entrepreneurs in solving business problems. The preliminary results indicate that the forms of trust depend on the respective regional and sectoral environments, which draws attention to the difficulties of classifying whole countries as "high-trust" versus "low-trust". Limitations of the analysis refer to the cross-sectional nature of the survey data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports that the Russian businesses experience chronic shortages of working capital, and it is very hard for them to borrow from banks for this purpose. Commercial banks are unwilling to loan to individual independent or small enterprises, or they charge prohibitively high interest rates, since many banks are inclined to overestimate the credit risks and do not have the equity capital needed for long-term lending to enterprises. Systems for microlending and lending to small and medium-size businesses in Russia, where they exist, are found in very isolated areas.

Recent surveys have indicated that the most difficult task for entrepreneurial structures is the selection and training of staffers whose qualities are in keeping with the realities of Russia. Contributing to this difficulty, according to this author, is the fact that the traditional forms and methods of training in colleges and universities are not only failing to foster but are in many ways inhibiting the development of the abilities that young people already had when they enrolled. Hence, the problem of searching for up-to-date forms of organizing the teaching and learning process in higher educational institutions takes on special urgency. In this paper, the author defines the basic qualities that are essential for entrepreneurial activity and presents proposals to revise the basic teaching process and the activities of college and university instructors.

Issues relating to the organization of the process of education via the network system is being discussed vigorously among specialists in the field of social economic theory and economic sociology. An example of network education is seen in the network of affiliates and branch offices of institutions of higher learning. This journal has already focused attention on this topic, having printed two articles that prompted very promising discussion. In issue no. 5 of 2001, it published an article by G. Okorokova and N. Klikunov, the rector and vice rector of the Kursk Institute of Management, Economy, and Law, titled "On the Status of the Affiliate". In issue no. 1 of 2002, an article titled "Once More About the Status of the Affiliate" by T. Vladykina, a representative of Urals State Academy of Law, examined a number of aspects from the legal point of view. This paper continues that discussion, particularly as it relates to an alternative form of network education known as educational franchising, which is defined as a manner of conducting business by transferring the rights to provide educational services, in the name of the franchisor, on a strictly defined territory, and in compliance with standards of quality.

Much has been written about how e-business can serve as a strong homogenizing influence and essentially make the world into one market. Yet, little research has empirically investigated this question. This study seeks to describe e-business activity in China, Sweden, and Russia to identify similarities and differences in the portfolios of e-business applications in these countries. Our results indicate that different e-business applications are emerging as more prevalent in different countries. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Russian law provides strong legal protection for minority shareholders, individual shareholders will not benefit from these provisions without a ‘hands-on’ policy with respect to their direct investments in Russia. Minority shareholders must proactively pursue their rights and insist upon compliance with the technical provisions of Russian law. This article describes and analyses such key provisions, assesses the extent of shareholder protection under Russian law and describes areas where abuse has shown the need for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the repeated failures of the English merchants in bargaining to sell tobacco in Muscovite Russia during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The author presented an overview of the beliefs of the English traders that there was a vast market for tobacco that waiting in Russia and that the trade was said to be crucial in civilizing the Muscovites were presented. Events involving the resistance to tobacco by the Russian Orthodox Church were also presented. It was suggested that the Russian Orthodox Church preached to show their lack of respect for foreign customs making it very difficult for the English traders to avoid.

Even though entrepreneurs are commonly depicted as risk takers, little evaluation has occurred on whether they weigh the costs of being caught and the level of punishments, and engage in off-the-books working practices. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the degree to which entrepreneurs engage in such off-the-books work. Reporting a survey conducted in Moscow during late 2005 and early 2006 of 81 entrepreneurs (defined here as individuals starting-up an enterprise in the past three years), just 3.7 percent are found to operate on a wholly legitimate basis. The remaining 96.3 percent have not registered their business, have no license to trade and conduct all of their trade on an off-the-books basis. The outcome is a call to move beyond the wholesome and virtuous ideal-type of legitimate super heroes that pervade textbook depictions of entrepreneurs and toward a fuller understanding of the lived realities of entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Presented on behalf of the Evian Group @ IMD, this paper aims to expand upon points made in the keynote speech at the 9th Annual EABIS Colloquium on Corporate Responsibility and Emerging Markets held in St Petersburg, Russia on 20-21 September 2010.Design/methodology/approach – Three themes are explored within the context of the BRICs: geopolitics and global governance in the twenty-first century; the balance between public good and private enterprise; and frameworks for equitable trade and inclusive growth.Findings – The global situation is precarious, characterized by multi-polarity, asymmetrical power threats, and a vacuum in global governance. The trade-based economic development of the BRICs is a positive economic sign but raises implications for sustainability. There is a need for balance between the ability of the public sector to provide public goods, including global public goods, and the need for government to create incentives for the private sector and unleash its creativity and energy. With the proper incentives and legal structure, including respect for the rule of law, the energy and creativity of the private sector can be harnessed to develop a framework for equitable trade and inclusive growth, and to further the development of a sustainable global market economy.Originality/value – The paper provides a catalyst for discussion that bridges the gap between business school education, legal education, political science and economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the institutional and cultural roots of post-Soviet business revealing the paradoxes in which the new businessmen are caught, that of new actors using their ex-Soviet experience and connections to act in a particularly shaped "market" economy. It reveals how post-Soviet business fed from the Soviet old institutional setting and combined old resources in a new environment. For example people active in the Komsomol or the secret services were able to both enhance their wealth but adapted to the needs of "the new electoral system". The main ethnographic example focuses on the case of an ex-Soviet businessman, who acted as an intermediary between the Western markets and the ex-Soviet political elites. He alternatively acted out a triple role, that of a western businessman, an ex-Soviet citizen and an expert, thus enabling the conversion of politics into economic gains and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information related to breaks in the intellectual property reforms of Russia and discusses the Soviet regulations on intellectual property. It further discusses the intellectual property law reform projects and attempts of harmonizing legislation through international norms. It also focuses on the normative approaches to laws and compares with the U.S. copyright laws related to fair use.

Academic interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be traced back to the 1930s. Since then an impressive body of empirical data and theory-building has been amassed, mainly located in the fields of management studies and business ethics. One of the most noteworthy recent conceptual contributions to the scholarship is Midttun's (Corporate Governance 5(3):159-174, ) CSR-oriented embedded relational model of societal governance. It re-conceptualises the relationships between the state, business, and civil society. Other scholars (In Albareda et al. Corporate Governance 6(4):386-400, ; Business Ethics: A European Review 17(4):347-363, ; Lozano et al., Governments and Corporate Social Responsibility, ) have recently successfully used the model as the basis for their analytical framework for researching CSR activities in a large number of western European countries. While this research offers valuable insights into how CSR is operationalised, it also suffers from a number of significant limitations. To develop a stronger analytical framework with which to explore CSR, this article draws more deeply on political science literature concerned with governance and public policy analysis. This represents the main purpose of this article. In addition, this article also addresses a second and more modest aim: to reflect on the ways in which relational governance-inspired frameworks could be adapted and applied to politico-economic systems where state-industry-third sector relations differ from those found in North America and Western Europe. Both lines of argument are illustrated using vignettes from a case study of the Evenkia Hydro-Electric Station building project in the Russian Federation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we regard public procurement as an instrument used by the government for indirect support of enterprises. In this context, we have investigated the place that public procurement occupy in state-business interrelations. Using data from a large survey of Russian manufacturing enterprises conducted in 2009 we show that in Russia public procurement cannot be regarded as a component in the system of exchanges, and the extent of combination between direct and indirect support depends on the level of government. At the federal level direct and indirect instruments of government support complement each other. At the regional and local levels the effect of mutual complementation can be observed only in relations with firms, which conceal information about their ownership structure and are supposedly affiliated with regional and local bureaucrats. In relations with other firms at regional and local levels direct and indirect support substitutes each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective support for certain businesses represented an important part of Russia’s anticrisis policy during the 2008–9 period. The officially stated purpose was to maintain the sustainability of certain “strategic” businesses. Using regression analysis, the author assesses the extent to which an enterprise’s inclusion on the “List of Strategic Organizations” was defined by its “social significance,” and to what extent by its affiliation with one of the sixteen largest Russian business groups. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An optional course, "Geographical Aspects of Business" in the framework of the Bachelor of management program in the Lomonosov Moscow State University Business School is setting the goal to introduce future discipline specialists with geographical topics of current interest for management and provide knowledge, skills and expertise of geospatial analysis and the use of geoinformation technologies in finding solutions to economic and managerial tasks. The students' feedback shows interest and demand for such a course for management students. The course has an interdisciplinary links with the main subjects such as marketing, public administration, visual communication, etc., and is based on the set of business cases dealing with Web-GIS Services, LBS, Geomarketing, Spatial analysis, etc. Open Data and corporate geodata sets are used. The pragmatist approach is selected for successful accomplishment of the course's goal, which is based on using Web-GIS tools. The Geomixer -- a free web- GIS product by the company SCANEX -- is chosen to be one of them. The principle "I do -- I analyze" helps to minimize the theoretic constituent of the course improving the outcome of the classes. Owing to innovative methods of teaching, the educational goal of the course is achieved to the full scope despite the small number of allocated hours. The classes surely improve both the general level of geographic competence of students and provide them with the skills to work with GIS. Such optional courses will undoubtedly contribute to the development of GIS-education in management administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late 20th century was an era of social, economic, technological, and political change, resulting in significant shifts in the perception of enlightenment, knowledge, and education. The impact of these changes have become quite apparent in higher education where there is now mounting pressure for faculty to deliver high quality education to an internationally mobile cohort and where institutions are striving to attract funding, researchers, research grants, top students, and teaching staff. To cope with the many challenges, new business models are needed. Introducing change, however, is fraught with many problems; in particular, institutional barriers among disciplines, management commitment, socio-economic factors, and cultural issues. In this paper, we take a look at and discuss three European higher education institutions currently undergoing transformation--a British, a Finnish, and a Russian--to draw attention to some of the inherent factors that higher education institutions face when they seek to implement new business models to manage the competitive environment for higher education.

Purpose: The paper aims to identify particular traits of the Russian context which condition two key enablers of organizational learning--organizational culture and transformational leadership. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on a literature review, the study determines management challenges by implementation of organizational learning in the Russian business context. Taking this into account, the authors suggest specific model of organizational learning which contains organizational learning processes, organizational culture oriented towards learning and transformational leadership. Empirical justification of this model is provided using a sample of more than 100 respondents. Partial least squares-analysis is applied to define structural relationships between the elements of proposed model. Findings: The study reveals the positive and significant influence of transformational leadership and an organizational culture on organizational learning processes. Moreover, transformational leadership is shown to have a positive impact on an organizational culture, confirming the hypothesis regarding the pivotal role of leaders in the Russian business context. Research limitations/implications: The findings of this study can assist managers doing business in Russia to improve organizational learning processes. The size of the sample appears to be the main limitation of this study. Questions that might also be addressed in additional research concern the influence of organizational learning on the performance of Russian companies. Originality/value: The paper contributes to a better understanding of the barriers and stimuli exacted on organizational learning and provides empirical evidence of organizational learning practices of Russian companies.

This article examines the current state of development of innovative infrastructure in the Volga State University of Technology and provides an analysis of the university's role and place in the system of preparing students for the development of innovative businesses based on the commercialization of intellectual property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper defines a complex of manager's qualities based on theoretical and methodological analysis and synthesis methods, available national and world literature, research papers and publications. The complex approach methodology was used, which provides an innovative view of the development of modern manager's qualities. The methodological background of the research are theoretical and methodological analysis and synthesis methods of available national and world literature, conceptual analysis of issue-related research papers and publications; study and generalization of both national and foreign developments and introduction of projects regarding actualization of manager's effective activity; the use of generalization, comparison, forecasting methods. The carried out research made it possible to distinguish a number of factors, which will have the major effect on managers' innovative entrepreneurial activities in the coming decade. Management as a social and economic phenomenon is under constant development--going to the future, and every efficient manager should accordingly improve himself. Therefore, today not only the level of professional training but such components of the profession as innovations and creativity, which are business advantages, important economic recourse and intensive economic development condition, become characteristic of manager's activity. They're defined as abilities to reveal and encourage employees' creative and innovative ideas. These aspects are reflected in the development of innovative business model of modern manager, each component of which is a key and independent element. Special attention is paid to the creative and innovative component of the suggested model. The suggested model might be used in order to create a manager's unique image and lead the company he manages to a long expected result.

The relevance of the research problem Urban district, management, trade, sales network is determined by the number of complex problems that exist in present Samara municipal retail trade system, which is manifested in the lack of regulation, a glut of sales area, and poorly developed infrastructure. The purpose of this article is to form a quantitative base for determining the municipal needs in the floor space. The leading method to study this problem is the method of empirical observations and mathematical modeling. The study results: the article contains the analysis of sales area availability on the example in the urban district and presents a quantitative method to determine predictive values for retail trade turnover. Practical significance: the paper is aimed to develop managerial decisions in the sphere of municipal trade regulation. [The page range (6796-6810) listed on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 6796-6809.]

The relevance of the chosen problem is caused by the necessity of finding a model of qualitative growth of specialists training in conditions when cuts in expenditure of the state budget allocated to education occurs annually. Besides, the development of technology inevitably leads to the expansion of the list of subspecialties employers need. The imbalance of demand and supply of labour in the labour market takes place in Russia today. This is due to consequence of inconsistencies between the structures of workforce development in the field of education and the structure of needs of the industries. With this purpose some new models of professional education have been investigated, one of which was dual (or practice-based) learning system. The aim of the study was to analyze and to form the basic principles and proposals on legal regulation of practice-based model of professional education. Methodology: empirical, comparative-historical, system analysis, structural-functional, statistical methods, and scientific methods of cognition are used in the study. Besides the dialectical method of cognition, which allows to consider the phenomena in their interrelation and development is used. The paper formulates the basic principles, benefits of practice-oriented model of professional training, the concept of social partnership in the field of education and forms of implementation of the model. Formed principles and proposals for improving the legislative framework in practice-based learning will help to implement this training model, which allows to overcome the imbalance of staffing requirements on the labour market.

The urgency of the problems stated in the paper is conditioned by the need to develop and adopt a new concept of legislation, which would have fixed the starting positions and the principles of legal regulation of relations in the sphere of fuel and energy complex, including the forms of Russia's participation in international projects in the conditions of civilized market relations. The aim of the paper is to develop basic methods and techniques of energy legislation's systematization, which should be an integrated complex of the Russian Federation legislation, a set of normative legal acts regulating the relations arising in the sphere of organization and functioning of the fuel and energy complex of the Russian economy. The leading method to the study of this problem is the simulation method allowing addressing of this issue as a purposeful and organized process of systematization of energy legislation when activating it in an efficient integrated system. The authors conclude that the modernization of the regulatory framework in the energy sector should be carried out on the basis of the developed general economic and legal concept of energy development and energy legislation of modern Russia and must be based on the accumulated legislative experience of Russia and foreign countries, take into account the successful international practice in this area. The proposals made in the paper are aimed at improving the procedural forms of commercial justice in Russia, first of all--support of and use in the practice of pretrial forms of conflicts resolution, alternative forms, such as negotiations, mediation, arbitration courts, commercial arbitration, negotiations within trial to conclude settlement agreements, including with the use of experts and facilitators, as well as integration with the consent of the parties of simplified, expedited forms of proceedings in a relatively small and less complex cases.

Innovative business development applying new technologies is considered. Historical analysis over recent years in the field under study is conducted. The results of small innovative enterprises development in Russia are analyzed. The ways of persuading the consumer to buy the innovative product are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to determine the influence of various enterprise characteristics on on-the-job training. The paper focuses mainly on identifying the influence of a firm's innovative activity, technological capacity for manufacturing and product market competition on its likelihood of having a training program and on training intensity. Design/methodology/approach: The authors administered a firm-level survey to a sample of 2,000 Russian enterprises. This survey includes questions about on-the-job training and key information about the companies' activities. Probit and ordered probit estimates are used in the statistical analyses. Findings: The results indicate that an enterprise's provision of training is determined largely by firm-specific factors, such as its innovative activity, technical and technological state of manufacturing and product market competition. The authors adopt two widely used measures of training: incidence and intensity. Innovative activity and the technical and technological state of manufacturing are decisive factors in explaining a firm's provision of training, as they have a strictly positive effect on both the incidence and the intensity of training. Product market competition has a positive effect on the incidence of training and a negative effect on the intensity of training. Originality/value: This paper is original because it assumes that the process of deciding whether to implement a training program at an enterprise and the corresponding proportion of employees involved in training is built on the presupposition that the training intensity decision is made in two stages. This paper is the first to present estimates of on-the-job training intensity based on data from Russian enterprises.

Predominant theories of the Russian political economy explain the vulnerability of independent business to the state, but they do not adequately explain why businesses survive and some thrive. Recent empirical studies of business conditions have not helped in this regard because most focus on ascertaining entrepreneurs’ attitudes rather than observing their behaviour. During ethnographic fieldwork within a Siberian business, the author found that informants were pessimistic about business conditions, but that they did not expect any improvement and had developed pragmatic approaches to securing their position in the local market and competencies required to generate a profit. Their relations with dominant elites were, moreover, cordial rather than antagonistic. To account for these findings, the author draws on Douglass C. North et al.’s Limited Access Order theory and Aleksei Yurchak’s concept of ‘entrepreneurial governmentality’, and seeks to reconceptualise the relationship between business and the state. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• The digital economy unfolds new possibilities for optimization of the transport and logistics complex in Russia. • The offered model shows that broad perspectives of application in transport and logistics are real for digital technologies of Industry 4.0. • Russia's experience could be a model for countries where an expansion of the digitalization of transport and logistics is planned. • The paper demonstrates that digital technologies can replace and/or expand transportation infrastructure. This paper aims to explain how the digital economy might unfold new possibilities for optimizing the transport and logistics complex in Russia. This paper develops a new conceptual scenario model and a unique algorithm to show that investing in digital technologies is a critical move in Russia. Blockchain, Big Data, the Internet of Things, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence would be strengthened by ample access to finance, technology availability, government support, and consumers' preferences. Although this paper makes use of Russia's system data where the contribution of transport and logistics in the GDP growth could reach 15–20 % by 2020, our findings may have applicability beyond the Russian case and definitively matter in a broader context of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]