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Article
Publication date: 13 July 2021

Yeri Tordecilla Avila, Jana Schmutzler, Patricia Beatriz Marquez Rodriguez and Eduardo Gómez Araujo

This paper aims to evaluate whether entrepreneurs with an innovative product/service are more likely to formally register their businesses. Understanding the decision of business…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate whether entrepreneurs with an innovative product/service are more likely to formally register their businesses. Understanding the decision of business registration as a rational choice of the entrepreneurs, where she weighs the costs versus the benefits of such formalization, the study expands the literature on informal entrepreneurship by looking at the benefit-side rather than the typically evaluated cost-side of an individual cost-benefit evaluation.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors relied on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) adult population survey to evaluate the hypothesis. Specifically, the authors used the GEM data of 2016 for Colombia, covering 2,069 observations (a representative sample at the country level), evaluating the relationship between innovativeness and business registration for the early stage of the entrepreneurial process. Given the nature of our dependent variable, the authors estimated a logistic regression model.

Findings

Different from what the authors hypothesized, they did not find empirical evidence for a positive correlation between an innovative product or service and business registration. Instead, businesses that compete with many others offering the same product/service have a higher tendency to register at the Chamber of Commerce. Contrarily of what might be suspected, opportunity-based entrepreneurship – as opposed to necessity-based – is not a relevant variable when formalizing a business, providing evidence for our hypothesis that necessity-based entrepreneurship cannot be equalized with informal entrepreneurship. Additionally, the authors show that an entrepreneur with higher socioeconomic status is more likely to register his company.

Research limitations/implications

The results provide first exploratory evidence that the benefit evaluation may play a role in formalizing a start-up, thus calling for future research that not only tackles the influence of registration costs and administrative burden but rather looks at the outcome of a cost-benefit analysis. The data imply several limitations which future research should address: variables measuring the innovativeness of the product/service are rather coarse measures and need to be expanded and detailed in future research. Additionally, the authors acknowledge that a relatively high number of missing values may generate a selection bias in our population sample. Finally, because of situating the research in a developing country, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.

Practical implications

In a country like Colombia with very high levels of informality, it is necessary that the government fully understands the role of innovation in the formalization process of start-ups. The results indicate that a differentiation of support mechanisms to increase the formalization of businesses according to the different stages of their development may be necessary and that aside from costs, benefits of formalization play a role. A higher level of formality is not only related to economic growth but also much better protection of workers, therefore going beyond the reduction of registration costs and the implied administrative burden should be an additional public policy target for decreasing informality. Finally, the correlation of socioeconomic stratum with the decision to register hints at a varying evaluation of formalization, a point that merits attention by government and academia.

Originality/value

The study shifts the focus from the evaluation of solely costs for business registering as a barrier to start-up formalization to the cost-benefit analysis. The authors propose – and show – that such an evaluation is not generalizable for all kinds of business. Specifically, the authors show that a start-up is more likely to register when it competes with a large number of competitors than when it competes with a smaller number of others offering the same. At the same time, the authors also show that the stage at which the start-up company is at influences the decision to formalize.

Propósito

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo evaluar si los empresarios con un producto/servicio innovador son más propensos a registrar formalmente sus negocios, entendiendo la decisión de registrar el negocio como una elección racional, en la que el emprendedor sopesa los costos frente a los beneficios de dicha formalización. Este estudio amplía la literatura sobre el emprendimiento informal al plantear un análisis enfocado en los beneficios de una formalización del negocio.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Se utiliza la encuesta Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Adult Population Survey para evaluar nuestras hipótesis. Específicamente, utilizamos los datos del GEM de 2016 para Colombia, cubriendo 2.069 observaciones (una muestra representativa a nivel de país), evaluando la relación entre una oferta innovadora y el registro de negocios para la etapa temprana del proceso emprendedor. Dada la naturaleza de nuestra variable dependiente, estimamos un modelo de regresión logística.

Conclusiones

Contrario a la hipótesis propuesta, no encontramos una correlación estadísticamente significativa positiva entre un producto o servicio innovador y el registro de empresas. En su lugar, las empresas que compiten con muchas otras empresas que ofrecen el mismo producto/servicio tienen una mayor tendencia a registrarse en la Cámara de Comercio. Asimismo, el emprendimiento basado en la oportunidad -en contraposición al basado en la necesidad- no es una variable relevante a la hora de formalizar un negocio, hallazgo en congruencia con a nuestra hipótesis de que el emprendimiento basado en la necesidad no puede equipararse al emprendimiento informal. Además, mostramos que un emprendedor con un estatus socioeconómico más alto tiene una mayor probabilidad de registrar su empresa.

Limitaciones/implicaciones de la investigación

Los resultados obtenidos proporcionan la primera evidencia exploratoria de que la evaluación de los beneficios puede desempeñar un rol en la formalización de una empresa de nueva creación, por lo que se requiere mayor investigación que no sólo aborde la influencia de los costos de registro y administrativos asociados, sino que examine el resultado de un análisis costo-beneficio. Los datos utilizados tienen varias limitaciones que una investigación posterior debería abordar: las variables que miden el carácter innovador del producto/servicio son medidas muy básicas y deben ampliarse y detallarse en futuros estudios. Además, el número relativamente alto de valores perdidos puede generar un sesgo de selección en nuestra muestra empleada. Por último, al situar nuestra investigación en el contexto de un país de desarrollo, los resultados pueden ser poco generalizables. Por lo tanto, futuras investigaciones deberían abordar en detalle los hallazgos presentados.

Implicaciones prácticas y sociales

En un país como Colombia, con niveles muy altos de informalidad, es necesario que el gobierno comprenda plenamente el papel de la innovación en el proceso de formalización de las empresas emergentes. Nuestros resultados indican que una diferenciación de los mecanismos de apoyo para aumentar la formalización de las empresas según las diferentes etapas de su desarrollo puede ser necesario. A su vez, además de los costos, los beneficios de la formalización juegan un papel importante. Un mayor nivel de formalidad no sólo está relacionado con el crecimiento económico sino también con una mejor protección de los trabajadores, por lo que ir más allá de la reducción de los costos de registro y de la carga administrativa implícita debería ser un objetivo adicional de política pública para disminuir la informalidad. Por último, la correlación del estrato socioeconómico con la decisión de registrarse sugiere que la evaluación de formalizarse varía dependiendo del estatus socioeconómico, un punto que merece la atención del gobierno y la academia.

Originalidad/valor

Nuestro estudio desplaza la atención exclusiva en los costos de registro de una empresa, y sus barreras asociadas, hacia el análisis costo-beneficio como parte de la evaluación y decisión de formalización de las nuevas empresas. Proponemos ‐y demostramos‐ que dicha evaluación no es generalizable para todo tipo de empresas. En concreto, demostramos que es más probable que una empresa emergente se registre cuando compite con un gran número de competidores que cuando compite con un número menor de otras que ofrecen lo mismo. A su vez, también mostramos que la etapa de desarrollo en la cual se encuentra la empresa emergente influye en la decisión de formalizarse.

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1992

John Conway O'Brien

A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balanceeconomics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary toman′s finding the good life and society enduring…

1155

Abstract

A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balance economics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary to man′s finding the good life and society enduring as a civilized instrumentality. Looks for authority to great men of the past and to today′s moral philosopher: man is an ethical animal. The 13 essays are: 1. Evolutionary Economics: The End of It All? which challenges the view that Darwinism destroyed belief in a universe of purpose and design; 2. Schmoller′s Political Economy: Its Psychic, Moral and Legal Foundations, which centres on the belief that time‐honoured ethical values prevail in an economy formed by ties of common sentiment, ideas, customs and laws; 3. Adam Smith by Gustav von Schmoller – Schmoller rejects Smith′s natural law and sees him as simply spreading the message of Calvinism; 4. Pierre‐Joseph Proudhon, Socialist – Karl Marx, Communist: A Comparison; 5. Marxism and the Instauration of Man, which raises the question for Marx: is the flowering of the new man in Communist society the ultimate end to the dialectical movement of history?; 6. Ethical Progress and Economic Growth in Western Civilization; 7. Ethical Principles in American Society: An Appraisal; 8. The Ugent Need for a Consensus on Moral Values, which focuses on the real dangers inherent in there being no consensus on moral values; 9. Human Resources and the Good Society – man is not to be treated as an economic resource; man′s moral and material wellbeing is the goal; 10. The Social Economist on the Modern Dilemma: Ethical Dwarfs and Nuclear Giants, which argues that it is imperative to distinguish good from evil and to act accordingly: existentialism, situation ethics and evolutionary ethics savour of nihilism; 11. Ethical Principles: The Economist′s Quandary, which is the difficulty of balancing the claims of disinterested science and of the urge to better the human condition; 12. The Role of Government in the Advancement of Cultural Values, which discusses censorship and the funding of art against the background of the US Helms Amendment; 13. Man at the Crossroads draws earlier themes together; the author makes the case for rejecting determinism and the “operant conditioning” of the Skinner school in favour of the moral progress of autonomous man through adherence to traditional ethical values.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 19 no. 3/4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 April 2019

Rossella Canestrino, Marek Ćwiklicki, Primiano Di Nauta and Pierpaolo Magliocca

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key factors for successful creation of social value using the social business model (SBM) as an explanatory framework.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key factors for successful creation of social value using the social business model (SBM) as an explanatory framework.

Design/methodology/approach

This study follows the Krippendorff and Gioia’s methodology seeking the rigor while examining the selected case study – a social cooperative named La Paranza, in the city of Naples in the south of Italy. In doing so, the SBM canvas is used to present the research’s results in a systematic way.

Findings

The existence of a strong “identity” with the local context, the “enthusiasm and the wish to change things”, the presence of a “visionary”, acting as an orchestrator and the ability to provide for responses to the local needs were identified as key factors in the successful creation of social value in the examined case.

Research limitations/implications

The main research limits stem from the single case study methodology approach, which embodies the researchers’ subjectivity. A comparative study based on the collection of multiple successful case studies is therefore suggested to develop a generalization of the key drivers underlying the process of social value creation.

Originality/value

The study’s originality results from its use of the SBM framework in presenting a successful example of social value creation. The examined empirical evidence is also original in itself, mainly because of its inner uniqueness as a new and innovative formula: this allows an in-depth investigation and the inspiration for new ideas in the ground of SBM and, in a broader sense, in the field of social innovation and social value creation.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 48 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1986

Johan Arndt

Claims that the consumer behaviour field, during the last two decades, has become both multinational and multidisciplinary. States that marketing with its consumer behaviour…

2084

Abstract

Claims that the consumer behaviour field, during the last two decades, has become both multinational and multidisciplinary. States that marketing with its consumer behaviour, has become the most import sub‐field, while significant contributions to its understanding have been made by economists, psychologists, sociologists and political scientists. Attempts to prove that integrating the field into comprehensive models has not been very successful thus far, by using a different track. Organizes into 9 sections and addresses, finally, the further development of consumer theory and research. Posits that the majority of studies on consumer behaviour have approached the subject matter at the individual, rather than the group, level. Summarizes that the ‘gospel’ preached is that of individual, proactive, foresightful choice ‐ which is compatible with rationalistic culture, stressing volition and personal responsibility by broadening the field of consumer behaviour

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 20 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1957

THERE are no motions of ultimate importance to be submitted to the Library Association Annual General Meeting this year. That which, if passed, is to provide that the President…

Abstract

THERE are no motions of ultimate importance to be submitted to the Library Association Annual General Meeting this year. That which, if passed, is to provide that the President shall be installed in office at the opening of the Annual Conference in itself is merely a domestic or internal Association matter. As we have argued in THE LIBRARY WORLD such an arrangement would give a more dramatic and dignified opening to the President's year; he would be installed by the outgoing President in the presence of the largest assembly that the members can make in body; indeed on the only occasion in a normal year in which he sees and is seen by a full meeting; instead as now rising to take charge of us and to make his most important address as unobtrusively as an ordinary member at a time when his term is almost over. It is a better entry for him and for us, as a spectacle and demonstration, than a small January induction on a cold and usually wet evening at Chaucer House attended at best by not more than a hundred members.

Details

New Library World, vol. 59 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 24 February 2020

Reza Alizadeh and Leili Soltanisehat

The purpose of this paper is to envision the alternative futures of the design and manufacturing industry using an integrated foresight method based on scenario planning. Also…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to envision the alternative futures of the design and manufacturing industry using an integrated foresight method based on scenario planning. Also, the authors aim at developing robust strategies for an enterprise that aims to be placed as a leading high-tech international design and manufacturing company in 2035.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed approach is created by integrating several foresight methods such as Delphi, scenario planning, MICMAC and cross-impact analysis.

Findings

Automation and sustainable development are found as the fundamental driving forces in the design and manufacturing industry. Four scenarios based on these driving forces and expert knowledge are created: innovation adaptation, forced automation (business-as-usual), sustainable era and automationless scenarios. For the developed scenarios, a set of strategies are proposed by asking experts about the strategies which can be taken to make the enterprise competitive in all developed scenarios in 2035. The main macro-level outcome is that economic and technological drivers will be the most important factors for design and manufacturing, followed by environmental and social factors.

Originality/value

The proposed method uses the strengths of traditional scenario planning but overcomes its weaknesses by suggesting a systematic process for scenario building and easy application.

Details

foresight, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2018

Michael Hitt and Katalin Takacs Haynes

Based on the findings of Aguinis et al. (2018) that only a few executives are properly compensated, the purpose of this paper is to examine potential causes and consequences of…

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the findings of Aguinis et al. (2018) that only a few executives are properly compensated, the purpose of this paper is to examine potential causes and consequences of CEO overpayment and underpayment. Ineffective compensation of the CEO represents a governance failure by the board of directors. Better understanding the reasons for such failures may help boards to correct their processes and to enact more effective governance. Boards must look beyond the normally constrained focus of agency theory to examine executive characteristics and motivation. Thus, tailoring compensation plans and governance to the executive and organizational context requires attention to a broader set of theoretical notions.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the Aguinis et al. (2018) work, this paper conceptually identifies and explains the causes and consequences of CEO overpayment and underpayment along with their implications for governance and future research.

Findings

This paper identifies potential reasons for CEO overpayment and underpayment. For example, in addition to poor hiring decisions and inadequately designed compensation plans, CEO overpayment can occur because of executive hubris and greed. Alternatively, CEO underpayment may occur because of a poorly designed plan, inadequate information about the external labor market and the executive’s interests in non-pecuniary benefits (e.g. socio-emotional wealth, altruism). Without proper monitoring and oversight by the board, firm performance commonly suffers.

Originality/value

This work extends our understanding of why CEOs may be overpaid (e.g. hubris, greed) and why some executives may accept underpayment (e.g. desire for non-pecuniary benefits from SEW or altruism). This paper explains the consequences of ineffective corporate governance practices that allow inefficient CEO compensation. Finally, this paper explores several contingencies that can affect the governance practices and research needed to enhance our knowledge of this important area.

Objetivo

Partiendo de los resultados de Aguinis et al (en prensa) de que solo unos pocos ejecutivos están retribuidos correctamente, examinamos las causas y las consecuencias potenciales del pago excesivo y pago insuficiente a los CEO. Una retribución inadecuada al CEO es un fallo de gobierno por parte del consejo de administración. Comprender mejor las razones de dichos fallos puede ayudar a los consejos a corregir sus propios procesos y desarrollar un gobierno corporativo más eficiente. Los consejos de administración deben mirar más allá de la teoría de agencia para examinar las características de los ejecutivos y su motivación. Por tanto, ajustar los planes de retribución y gobierno a los ejecutivos y al contexto organizativo requiere prestar atención a un conjunto más amplio de conceptos teóricos.

Diseño/metodología/aproximación

Utilizando el trabajo de Aguinis et al (en prensa), identificamos y explicamos las causas y consecuencia del pago excesivo y pago insuficiente a los CEO, junto con las implicaciones para el gobierno corporativo y la investigación futura.

Resultados

Identificamos las posibles razones para el pago excesivo o insuficiente a los CEO. Por ejemplo, además de malas decisiones de contratación y planes de retribución mal diseñados, el pago excesivo puede deberse a la arrogancia y codicia de los ejecutivos. Alternativamente, el pago insuficiente puede generarse por un plan de retribución mal diseñado, por inadecuada información sobre el mercado laboral externo y el interés del ejecutivo en beneficios no pecuniarios (e.g., riqueza socio-emocional, altruismo). Sin una supervisión adecuada, los resultados de la empresa normalmente sufren.

Originalidad/valor

Este trabajo amplia nuestra comprensión sobre porque los CEOs pueden recibir una retribución excesiva (e.g., arrogancia, codicia) mientras otros pueden aceptar un pago insuficiente (e.g., deseo de beneficios no pecuniarios o altruismo). Explicamos las consecuencias de un gobierno corporativo inadecuado que permiten una retribución ineficiente del CEO. Finalmente, exploramos varias contingencias que pueden afectar a las prácticas de gobierno y que la investigación deben considerar para mejorar nuestro conocimiento en esta importante área.

Objetivo

A partir dos resultados de Aguinis et al. (em imprensa) que apenas alguns executivos são pagos corretamente, examinamos as causas e as consequências potenciais do pagamento excessivo e do pagamento insuficiente ao CEO. Uma compensação inadequada ao CEO é uma decisão governamental do conselho de administração. Uma melhor compreensão das razões para tais falhas pode ajudar os conselhos a corrigir seus próprios processos e desenvolver uma governança corporativa mais eficiente. Os conselhos de administração devem olhar além da teoria da Agência para examinar as características dos executivos e sua motivação. Por conseguinte, ajustar a remuneração e os planos governamentais aos executivos e ao contexto organizacional requer atenção a um conjunto mais amplo de conceitos teóricos.

Design/metodologia/aproximação

Usando o trabalho de Aguinis et al. (em imprensa), identificamos e explicamos as causas e consequências do pagamento excessivo e do pagamento insuficiente ao CEO, junto com as implicações para a governança corporativa e a pesquisa futura.

Resultados

Identificamos as possíveis razões para pagamento excessivo ou insuficiente ao CEO. Por exemplo, além das pobres decisões de contratação e dos planos de compensação mal projetados, o excesso de pagamento pode ser devido à arrogância e ganância dos executivos. Alternativamente, o pagamento insuficiente pode ser gerado por um plano de compensação mal concebido, por informações inadequadas sobre o mercado de trabalho externo e o interesse do executivo em benefícios não-pecuniários (por exemplo, riqueza sócio emocional, altruísmo). Sem supervisão adequada, os resultados da empresa geralmente sofrem.

Originalidade/valor

Este trabalho amplia o conhecimento sobre porque os CEOs podem receber a retribuição excessiva (por exemplo, arrogância, avidez) quando outros podem aceitar o pagamento insuficiente (por exemplo, o desejo por benefícios não-pecuniários ou altruísmo). Explicamos as consequências de uma governança corporativa inadequada que permite uma compensação ineficiente do CEO. Finalmente, exploramos várias contingências que podem afetar as práticas govern

Details

Management Research: Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1536-5433

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1908

EVERYONE interested in the British library movement will learn with sorrow and regret that one of its greatest friends and strongest champions has passed away, in the person of…

Abstract

EVERYONE interested in the British library movement will learn with sorrow and regret that one of its greatest friends and strongest champions has passed away, in the person of Thomas Greenwood, the kind‐hearted and generous advocate of libraries, who won the respect and regard of every English libiarian. From one of his own periodicals the following particulars are abstracted:—

Details

New Library World, vol. 11 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1914

WHEN the history of librarianship comes to be written, the closing years of the 19th, and the opening ones of the 20th centuries must be recorded as a period of great advancement…

Abstract

WHEN the history of librarianship comes to be written, the closing years of the 19th, and the opening ones of the 20th centuries must be recorded as a period of great advancement. In every department of the profession is the advancement pronounced. Elaborate systems of classification have been perfected, cataloguing in its varied branches has been brought to a fine art, and special provision for children has, in some places, been carried so far as to be almost overdone. Specialisation for the uplifting of the masses has been the order of the day in every section, and in the near future the public libraries will compel recognition as educational centres. Not the least important part in this library awakening has been the education of the librarian, and it is now generally admitted that for efficient library service a man must not only be well‐educated, but highly trained in his work. Professional bibliographies and carefully planned courses of study are the signs of this advancement, and the provision of suitable literature to meet the higher educational demands, is one of the most pressing needs of our time.

Details

New Library World, vol. 16 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2020

Marco Ranuzzini and Giovanni Gallo

This paper highlights to what extent an emporium of solidarity may affect poverty conditions of its recipients, and whether it generates net social benefits to different actors…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper highlights to what extent an emporium of solidarity may affect poverty conditions of its recipients, and whether it generates net social benefits to different actors involved.

Design/methodology/approach

To evaluate the effect of an emporium of solidarity project on poverty conditions of its recipients, we run Probit estimation models. As for the efficiency evaluation, we develop instead a social cost–benefit framework which considers benefits and costs to different actors somehow involved in the program. Results are based on survey data collected by the authors and administrative data.

Findings

Using the emporium attendance length as a measure of the treatment intensity, results underscore that the emporium significantly reduces the monetary poverty only, while it is ineffective on the severe material deprivation. The robustness of our results is confirmed by the implementation of a propensity score matching estimator. Our study suggests that emporia can be efficient in term of resources usage and they can determine positive returns to actors involved, implementing a redistribution of goods toward poor households.

Research limitations/implications

The paper and its conclusions are based on a case study, thus an Italian emporium called “Portobello” and located in the inner-city area of Modena (Emilia-Romagna region, Italy).

Originality/value

The main novelty of our paper to the literature consists of the elaboration of a first comprehensive framework for the social impact assessment of an emporium of solidarity, regarding both its effects on socio-economic conditions of poor recipient households and its contribution to the local welfare as a whole.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 47 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

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