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SMEs have received much recognition as they continue to be the backbone in the development and economic growth of nations. This study intended to investigate how the entrepreneurial orientation moderates the relationship between the utilization of the financial support services and the firm’s performance. This study used Structural Equation Modeling to evaluate the impact of financial support services on SME performance. The sample for this study involved SMEs in Malaysia. The result indicates that financial support services significantly associated with the firms’ performance and entrepreneurial orientation failed to influence significantly the relationship between the usage of the services and the performance. The findings of this study could be useful for the government business support services providers to enhance further the quality of services and will provide an understanding of how effectively the characteristics of SMEs related to entrepreneurial orientation would help increase the effectiveness of the support services.

O Futebol é um desporto que está ligado por diversas vertentes globais e conta com milhões de espetadores, amantes e desportistas espalhados pelo mundo. A nível nacional, tem-se assistido a uma inconsistência e instabilidade no que toca ao nível competitivo dos vários clubes representantes da 1ª Liga como também da sua sustentabilidade a longo prazo. Deste modo, para dotar os clubes portugueses de uma gestão mais adequada e fazer face ao desnível interno e externo, é necessário renovar o modelo de negócio atual com novas ideias e medidas que permitam atingir ganhos incrementais a médio e longo prazo. O Business Model Canvas é defendido por vários autores e consiste na demonstração da visão geral do negócio através de nove building blocks, destacando os principais pontos em cada vertente relativamente às atividades-chave, relação com os clientes, fontes de rendimento, entre outros. Com isto, o objetivo passa por aplicar uma reestruturação completa ao Business Model Canvas atual (elaborado de forma ilustrativa com base nas informações públicas e de conhecimento geral) através de uma análise detalhada de cada building block e a inclusão de visões de profissionais que já tiveram em contacto e podem trazer soluções para o modelo em si. Esta análise será feita por uma metodologia qualitativa, através do recurso às entrevistas semi- estruturadas e à análise documental, de forma a extrair a informação mais relevante e que se encaixa no Business Model Canvas. Com esta extração, será possível identificar várias oportunidades de melhoria dentro do modelo de negócio e aplicar na reestruturação do mesmo, alcançando uma gestão mais eficiente e que consiga captar maior valor para os clubes portugueses em todas as vertentes. Football is a sport that is connected in several global aspects and has millions of spectators, lovers and sportsmen around the world, being the number one sport in Portugal. At the national scope, there has been an inconsistency and instability regarding the competitive level of several clubs representing the 1st League as well as their long-term sustainability With that, to provide Portuguese clubs with a more adequate management and face internal and external gaps, it is necessary to renew the current business model with new ideas and actions that will allow incremental gains in the medium and long-term run. Business Model Canvas is backed up by several authors and consists on demonstrating the general view of the business through nine building blocks, highlighting the main points in each area such as key-activities, relationship with customers, sources of income, among others. Thus, the goal is to apply a complete restructuring to the current Business Model Canvas (prepared in an illustrative way based on public information and general knowledge) through a detailed analysis of each building block and including the vision from professionals who already had contact and are able to provide solutions to the model itself. This analysis will be carried out using a qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews and document analysis, to extract the most relevant information that fits the Business Model Canvas. With this extraction, it will be possible to identify several opportunities for improvement within the business model and applying it on the restructure, achieving an efficient management and more value creation to Portuguese clubs on all areas.

Das IfM Bonn schätzt seit 2001 wiederholt die Zahl der Familienunternehmen sowie die Zahl der frauengeführten Familienunternehmen in Deutschland. Die aktuelle Schätzung kommt für das Jahr 2019 auf eine Zahl von rund 3,2 Mill. Familienunternehmen. Dies entspricht rund 90 % aller Unternehmen. 591.000 oder 18 % dieser Familienunternehmen sind frauengeführt. Familienunternehmen erwirtschaften in Deutschland rund 37 % aller Umsätze. In ihnen sind rund 56 % aller sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten tätig. The IfM Bonn has been estimating the number of owner-managed enterprises (family businesses) and the number of female-led family businesses repeatedly since 2001. Our current estimation concludes that around 3.2 million or roughly 90 per cent of all enterprises in Germany were family businesses in 2019. 591,000 or 18 per cent of these family businesses were under female leadership. Family businesses were responsible for around 37 per cent of all sales and for 56 per cent of all employees subject to social security contributions.

This study investigates the effect of intangible resources and entrepreneurial orientation in export performance, by examining the mediating effect of dynamic capabilities. A framework of export antecedents is developed and empirically tested. A survey of 265 Portuguese exporting companies shows that dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation directly impact export performance while financial, informational and relational resources have an indirect impact in export performance through dynamic capabilities. These results point to the important role of dynamic capabilities, sheding light on how intangible resources can be used by companies to enhance export performance, highlighting also the role of entrepreneurial orientation to leverage business’ export performance.Our findings have relevant theoretical implications. For the Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV) literature, given the support for the impact of dynamic capabilities in performance by leveraging the impact of resources, and for the entrepreneurship literature, given the finding that entrepreneurial orientation potentiates export performance. More importantly, our study provides support for these relationships in the context of international markets. Practical implications for export supporting policies are also noted. JEL classification: M10, M16, M19, M20, M29, Keywords: Intangible resources, Entrepreneurial orientation, Dynamic capabilities, Export performance, SEM

The clinical trial process has become a significant type of services that provides huge added value to any national economy. Undoubtedly, the primary group of stakeholders in clinical trials of medicines is pharmaceutical companies that obtain a product as a result of successful clinical trials. However, other groups involved will also obtain materials and intangible benefits from the process of clinical trials of medicines. In this context, the authors tended to find out: What are considered to be the primary economic benefits of clinical trials of medicines in a society with small population? Aim of the research is to analyse economic factors of clinical trials of medicines in countries with small population, taking Latvia as an example. Object of the research: economic factors of clinical trials of medicines. The principle of snowball has been used to make the selection of the participants' survey. The empirical analysis and evaluation of economic factors in unique clinical trials of medicines are based on the qualitative research method of semi-structured individual (in-depth) interviews. According to the survey, the most important economic type of clinical trials of medicinal products in Latvia is “socioeconomic factors”, the average index of the factor being 0.82. The most significant three categories of the socioeconomic factors are “Access to the latest treatment methods and preparations” (Index max 1), “Improved patient care (time used per patient)” (Index 0.87) and “Exchange of experience, transfer of knowledge on the most innovative treatment methods” (Index 0.86). Society with small population values the primary economic benefits from clinical trials of medicines. It can be concluded that the socioeconomic factor is the most significant, compared to the direct economic factor and the alternative cost savings factor.

Wegen fehlender amtlicher Statistiken schätzt das IfM Bonn seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre die Anzahl der Unternehmen in Deutschland, die vor der Übergabe stehen. Die vorliegende Schätzung kommt zum Ergebnis, dass im Zeitraum 2022 bis 2026 etwa 190.000 Unternehmen zur Übergabe anstehen. Die höchste Anzahl an Übergaben findet sich in der Branche der Unternehmensbezogenen Dienstleistungen sowie unter den Unternehmen der Größenklasse 500.000 bis 1 Mio. Euro Jahresumsatz. Überdurchschnittlich viele Übergaben (gemessen am Unternehmensbestand) werden für Bremen und Niedersachsen vorausberechnet. Von der Corona-Pandemie erwarten wir nach derzeitigem Stand keine starken Auswirkungen auf die Zahl der Unternehmensnachfolgen. Von besonderer Bedeutung für das Nachfolgegeschehen ist hingegen der demografische Wandel. Due to missing data from official statistics, IfM Bonn has been estimating (since the mid-1990s) the number of enterprises that are about to be transferred to new owners. The present estimation concludes that from 2022 to 2026, about 190,000 companies are due to be handed over. The highest number of handovers is forecast for the business-related services sector and companies in the size category 500,000 to 1 million euros in annual sales. An above-average number of handovers (measured relative to the total number of businesses) is forecast for companies in Bremen and Lower Saxony. We do not expect the Covid-19 pandemic to have a significant effect on the number of transfers according to the current state. In contrast, demographic changes have a more pronounced effect on the overall number of business transfers.

Although the sustainable development (SD) is associated with the triple balance of economic, social and environmental areas, we raised a question: whether it is an achievable goal for ordinary business units to develop sustainably. The theoretical research substantiates the contradictory essence of the SD in the context of entrepreneurship. Having employed the method of projection, we offered an advanced definition of the SD for an enterprise. Having applied the theory of the company life-cycle, we obtained stages of the enterprise’s SD. The method of typology analysis allowed distinguishing new types of the SD. By means of the cost-benefit analysis, the research reveals OVAL-sustainability as a function of two variables (cost and value).

Globalisation affects the behaviour of managers of companies and brings many new possibilities in management. These changes affect activities related to tax optimization and they can be collectively called as international tax planning. This paper monitors current situation of tax planning activities and its aim is to present a current state of knowledge. It contains data showing high frequency of tax planning activities. There are briefly outlined ways of international tax optimization and attitude of organisations to the tax planning of multinationals corporations. Significant part of this paper is devoted to the overview of literature, which deals with measuring international tax optimization. There are several attitudes in selected studies that can be also used (with adaptation to the different data) for monitoring of situation in the Czech Republic. Overall, the most attitudes use applications of effective tax rate and this rate, which is for every country and corporation different, is a key factor for tax planning decision-making.

The aim of this paper is to show the importance of accounting information for management, especially in medium-sized companies. Sampling was carried out according to the accidental principle, after which we selected 300 medium-sized and large companies. We used the questionnaire, which was standardized and implemented online. Two hypothesis were tested with a chi-square test and contingency table. In this study of Slovenian large and medium companies, we want to find out whether the size of the company has an impact on organizing a specific controlling service in a company and whether, in large companies, heads of accounting are more often members of management than in mediumsized enterprises. We discovered a bias between organizing a specific controlling department and the size of a company, and that large companies have more often organized a special controlling service than medium-sized enterprises. We also discovered the accounting officer’s membership in a company’s management team is not related to the size of a company. The results of the research could be used in controlling in medium-sized companies, where we suggest that management accounting in these companies is part of management decisions.

The article presents the principled model for managing the selection of wind power generation technologies enabling business organizations to transform rationally their fossil fuel-based business models towards greater renewable energy reliance. The model is aimed at complex improvement of management of the evaluation, selection processes for public and private organizations keen on switching their business models towards greater use of wind power (including (or) other renewable energy-based technologies). The set of measures proposed has a pivotal focus on the economic utility of the latter with respect to balanced and sustained strategic development of business concerned. Accordingly, the model involves tools for solving the following tasks: setting up an evaluation unit revealing critical factors for rational execution of this task; contributing to situation analysis when determining wind power generation options and assessment criteria. In this respect, besides recommendations on managing data collection, the paper also provides a spectrum of criteria for measuring the attractiveness of wind power generation technologies in terms of economic utility. The latter allow to evaluate, compare possible options in a comprehensive and complex manner; improving assessment and selection task involving and rationally utilizing multi-criteria decision analysis measures including possibilities for combination of MCDA tools if needed. In the context of empirical investigations of the evolution of wind power generation technologies in the EU and globally over the last decade, the paper reveals the benefit of the use of the proposed model specifying all its phases to relevant techniques and actions. Results of its application in practice also confirm the prevailing flexibility when adjusting the model to the specifics of activities of public and private organizations as well as of economic sectors at state, county, and municipal levels.

Wegen fehlender amtlicher Statistiken schätzt das IfM Bonn seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre die Anzahl der Unternehmen in Deutschland, die vor der Übergabe stehen. Die vorliegende Schätzung für den Zeitraum 2018 bis 2022 kommt zum Ergebnis, dass etwa 150.000 Unter-nehmen mit rund 2,4 Mio. Beschäftigten zur Übergabe anstehen. Eine zusätzlich durchge-führte Approximation des Nachfolgegeschehens auf Basis der Gewerbeanzeigenstatistik belegt, dass die aktuelle Schätzung des IfM Bonn die Zahl der tatsächlich erfolgten Unter-nehmensübertragungen relativ gut abbildet. Wie letztlich die Nachfolge geregelt werden wird (familienintern, unternehmensintern oder -extern), ist wegen fehlender amtlicher Statistiken ebenfalls schwer vorherzusagen. Unsere Analysen lassen jedoch die Vermutung zu, dass gut die Hälfte der vor der Nachfolgefrage stehenden Familienunternehmen ihr Unternehmen innerhalb der Familie weitergibt. Etwa 18 % der Familienunternehmen werden von Mitarbei-tern übernommen und die restlichen 29 % werden an Externe verkauft. Due to a lack of data from official statistics, IfM Bonn regularly estimates (since the mid 1990s) the number of enterprises which are to be transferred to new owners. The current estimation for the period 2018 until 2022 calculates a number of approx. 150 000 enterprises with some 2.4 million employees in search of new owners. Based on the statistics of busi-ness notifications, we carried out an additional approximation of business transfer activities which shows that the estimated data from IfM Bonn reflect the number of actual business transfers quite well. How enterprise succession is eventually organised (i.e., family-internal, company-internal or company-external) is also difficult to predict due to the lack of official statistical data. Our analyses, however, suggest that approx. half of family businesses that face enterprise succession transfer their company to a family member. Approx. 18 % of fami-ly businesses are transferred to employees, while the remaining 29 % are sold to outsiders.

Football Industry has changed a lot during the last decades and turned into more than just sports or entertaining, into a more complex management challenge. It is now influenced by and influences international environment and organizations, as there is an increasing number of followers and money generation associated with this Sport. For all the complexity and diversity that can be found in the Football business, which cannot be studied all at once, this dissertation’s focus was to find out how competitive the Portuguese Football Clubs are between each other. Although the findings haven’t been compared to other football leagues, it is a starting point to further compare with other international leagues. A Indústria do Futebol mudou completamente durante as últimas décadas, transformando-se em algo mais do que um Desporto ou entretenimento, transformandose num maior desafio de gestão. Como tal, é agora influenciado e influenciador do ambiente em redor e de organizações, com crescente influência devido ao constante aumento de seguidores e movimentação de dinheiro associadas a este desporto. Dada a complexidade existente na Indústria do Futebol, que não é possível cobrir de uma só vez, optou-se, através desta Dissertação, em focar-se no Futebol Português e no quão competitivo serão os seus clubes de futebol entre si. De referir que, apesar de não existir, neste estudo, uma comparação direta com clubes de outras ligas, trata-se de um bom ponto de partida para o fazer e procurar perceber mais sobre os clubes de futebol portugueses.

The paper argues that Thailand's economic and social development from the late 19th century to the early 21st century presents a puzzle. For much of the period from 1870 to 1940, the country's economic growth was slow, and the economy remained agricultural, with little diversification into modern industry or services. It was the only Southeast Asian country to escape direct colonization, and yet it did not use its relative freedom from colonial control to embark on a programme of accelerated economic, social and political modernization. The contrast with Meiji Japan has been made by several Thai and foreign scholars, but Thailand's growth was also slow in comparison with several neighbouring countries under colonial control. Only in the late 1950s did economic growth start to accelerate and by 1996, per capita GDP was well ahead of other ASEAN countries except Malaysia and Singapore. The paper explores the reasons for the accelerated growth, looking particularly at the role of government. The paper also examines the reasons for the growth collapse of 1997/1998, and the slower economic growth since then.

This study estimates the suitability of prediction markets (as instruments of internal control) by analyzing their event and progress sensitivity based on comprehensive experimental data. The underlying experiment was designed using expected average grades and closely observing students' (rank and file) and teachers' (leadership) behaviors. First, a kick-off study asked both parties about the factors that may influence the outcome of the teaching process. The resulting data served as the basis for a detailed tracking survey of four topic-specific indicators. Each week of the experiment, both students and teachers were asked to report on these indicators for 12 courses, thus producing two sets of 48 time-series data. Concurrently, 12 prediction markets were set up, in which the participants could buy and sell their forecasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The market utilized just one type of variable (i.e., the final average grade of each course) and the best traders could earn special commendations. The students were also encouraged to keep a trading journal that included the motives for their purchases and sales. For some courses, fake information was fed to the students in order to understand how it would influence the survey indicators, the prediction market prices, and their sensitivity to misinformation. Finally, this study reveals the results of these two extremely different control mechanisms (i.e., periodic detailed surveys vs. voluntary single-number prediction markets) and reports on how they performed and how fast their indications were adapted.

To find and adopt those products, solutions, technologies that are suitable for profitable production and ensure viability at the same time is one of the basic tasks of sustainable economy. Viable enterprise means to earn enough revenue to cover all the costs, including the costs of investment and innovation, to operate in an effective way, to "balance" (equilibrate) with the limited resources, (natural, renewable) notwithstanding the limitation of growth. In the study the new paradigm of "degrowth" is examined along the potential alternatives opened for SMEs, based on thoughts of Serge Latouche. In the paper it is summarized the main characteristics of innovative strategies for SMES in agriculture, too. The new values (Réévaluer - reappraise) suggest the intent of preserving the nature at least in the nowadays condition. Precision agriculture is a tool in this and allows the efficient use of natural resources (Restructurer - restructuring factors of production). Each farming strategy in which the farmers' cooperation is the base of an efficient machinery use (Restructurer - restructuring of social relationships), each technology that reduces the human-health risk (Réduire - reduction) shows into the direction of degrowth. We believe that we will not be able to carry out sustainable economy without strengthening the SMEs, helping them to find their successful way/strategy on development, being innovative and to cooperate with each other. Values, attitudes, networks, trust, openness are important to both individual and social utility coincidence that promotes the sustainability of being viable, competitive in wider meaning: future orientation, ability to renew (development, imitation, synthesis), economic/social cooperation.

The article presents the development of a software application that focuses on calculating partnership efficiency. Partnership efficiency is part of the theory of stocks. This software is developed by using Microsoft Excel and the programming language Visual Basic for Applications. The main goal is to create a simple, user-friendly interface designed to calculate partnership efficiency among contractual partners. The contribution is based on the assumption that small and medium-sized enterprises do not use complicated IT systems, but to cater for their needs, they mainly use Microsoft Excel. The main contribution of the article is the software application that calculates, in a short term period, partnership efficiency among contractual partners. The created application is also designed for educational purposes (e.g. aimed to assist university students in absorbing the practical implementation of the Cooperation Model).

The nowadays accounting information user profile became more sophisticated and the financial reports face new challenges in accomplishing process to meet users’ needs. The purpose of financial reports is to provide useful information to users. According to International Accounting Standards Board, the utility of information is defined through the qualitative characteristics (fundamental and enhancing). The financial crisis emphasized the limits of financial reporting who has been unable to prevent investors about the risks they were facing. Some managers expressed reservations about the quality and relevance of corporate reporting, stating that the annual report is no longer a useful tool. Due to the current changes in business environment, managers have been highly motivated to rethink and improve the risk governance philosophy, processes and methodologies. The lack of quality, timely data and adequate systems to capture, report and measure the right information across the organization is a fundamental challenge to implementing and sustaining all aspects of effective risk management. Starting from 80s, the investors became more interested in narratives (Notes to financial statements), than in primary reports (financial position and performance). Our research suggests a framework for risk reporting with the main goal of improving the good practice in risk management field. Also, we will debate the relation between the qualitative characteristics of accounting information, transparency and risk, and explore the possibility of developing some good practices in risk reporting.

This work deals with the issues of the formation and use of costings within the corporate practice. The aim is to create final costings of a selected cost unit (one hour of work of a wheeled excavator) and to evaluate the cost effectiveness and its profitability for the company. The theoretical section of the work focuses on basic terminology and it treats the importance of costings, classification of costs, types of costings, the methods of evaluation of effectiveness and the possible role of the costings within the analysis of the break-even point. The actual costing was compiled in the form of absorption (full) and variable costs. The work is based on the billed items of the costs which were all transferred to the direct and indirect costs. For the allocation of general management and administration costs and the manufacturing costs, the natural allocation basis worked hours was chosen. The obtained data provided the basis for the evaluation of the profitability of the product and for the calculation of the profit in the absolute amount with regard to different prices for one hour of work. The main result of the research was that the amount charged for the product does not reach its complete output expenses. Using the analysis of break-event point, we specified the volumes of output and its prices needed so that the product could make a profit.