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The purpose of this paper is to analyse relations between geographical and competence proximity and development of cooperation in cluster initiatives.

The research was based on an original theoretical concept referring to the trajectory of the development of cooperative relations in cluster initiatives. The research was carried out in mid-2017, in four purposefully selected cluster initiatives. The research sample was 132 cluster enterprises. The main research strategy involved non-experimental models; the basic method of data collection was an online questionnaire.

The results indicated that the role of geographical and competence proximity depends on the level of cooperation in a cluster initiative. In both these dimensions, proximity was important during the initial stage of cluster development: to start cooperation between the members, however, when more mature forms of cooperation were undertaken, the factor of common location was not so crucial any longer. It was also recommended to maintain some competence distance between the partners.

The main limitations referred to the static character of the data, the use of original measurement tools, which had not been tested before, the small and little differentiated research sample and the subjective nature of the research. The above-mentioned limitations should be viewed as a starting point for further empirical research.

Knowledge on the significance of geographical and competence proximity at various levels of cooperation in clusters is valuable for efficient management of a cluster and for higher competitiveness that it can achieve.

The research study contributes to the literature, which refers to the question of proximity in clusters through the analysis of relations between geographical and competence proximity and development of cooperation in cluster initiatives. The results of the research point out that the role of geographical and competence proximity evolves with the development of cooperation in cluster initiatives.

The paper aims to contribute to the Circular Economy debate from the Entrepreneurship Education perspective. Despite scholars' growing interest in both these research streams, scarce consideration is given to the comprehension of their mutual implications and meaning.

The paper is based on a cross-case analysis. It compares 16 higher education programmes launched by Universities in Europe aimed to create competences and skills for Circular Economy in students with different profiles. The analysis provides a critical view of the emerging trends for the entrepreneurship education skills and competencies needed for the emerging circular entrepreneurship paradigm.

The paper discusses the main trends of Entrepreneurship Education focused on Circular Economy debate at the European level: rationale and learning objectives (why); contents (what), target students and stakeholders (who) and the learning processes (how). Four thematic areas are identified as common patterns: circular economy business model, green supply chain management, technology entrepreneurship and innovation and public policies and institutional frameworks.

The paper sheds new light on a still under-researched area, suggesting several implications and avenues for future research in Circular Economy and Entrepreneurship Education. Limitations regard the need to analyse education programmes from a larger geographical area, to take into consideration interesting experiences in the rest of the world and to also collect quantitative data.

Practical implications arise for the development of learning initiatives for the Circular Economy: learning objectives and new thematic areas focused on circular, sustainable and innovative rethinking of the process for creating value in the incumbent companies; exploring meaning and benefits of collaborative approaches and participation in the circular economy innovation ecosystem and developing advanced models for soft-skills development in terms of leadership, motivational and creative skills.

The debate on CE can also be rooted in the paradigm of entrepreneurship as a core process to advance knowledge on valuable and sustainable innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and test technology-related critical success factors (CSFs) and its impact on trust and customer satisfaction.

This paper analyses the causal relationship that exists between technology CSFs and customer satisfaction. It also investigates the mediating role of trust between these two. For this purpose data were collected quantitatively from 349 employees working in different banks, through self-administered questionnaire. The data analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS software. Factor analysis was performed to extract and decide on the number of factors underlying the measured variables of interest. Structural equation modelling was then used to examine the variables and the fitness of proposed model.

The result revealed that technology CSFs positively affect customer satisfaction. Also, trust partially mediates the relationship between technology CSFs and customer satisfaction. A significant positive impact of technology CSFs on trust, and trust on customer satisfaction have also been obtained.

The significant influence that technology CSFs have on customer satisfaction and trust shows that technology-related CSFs are inevitable for the success of customer relationship management (CRM) in financial services industry, particularly banks. Policy makers of service industry in general and financial service industry in particular may benefit from the findings of this study.

Despite the plethora of research on CSFs for CRM, very limited attention has been given to testing and validating the identified CSFs. Negligible research has been conducted to investigate trust as a mediating variable in the relationship between technology CSFs and customer satisfaction. This paper, therefore, offers valuable insight into technology-related CSFs and trust with their impact on customer satisfaction.

A positive perception of work helps counteract the stress and psychological loss because of non-optimal working conditions. This paper aims to hypothesize two pathways through which social-psychological resources in the workplace contribute to positive work perception: one pathway is direct and the other is through the mediating mechanism of youth’s internal resource.

Filipino working youth from a government program for out-of-school poor youth, or working students enrolled in a free night high school, completed pertinent scales of the Multicontext Assessment Battery of Youth Development.

Co-workers’ endorsement of work values and their joint exercise of resilience-building skills build youth’s positive work perception. Youth’s personal initiative contributes to their positive work perception by its direct influence and also by its mediating mechanism.

The cross-sectional survey of this study does not allow for a definitive temporal progression from resources to positive work perception as does a longitudinal study.

For poor working youth, the threats of a financially bleak future can be tempered by an attitude that recognizes work not only as financially necessary but also as beneficial to one’s growth. The social-psychological resources in the workplace and the youth’s emerging personal initiative jointly contribute to a positive perception of work.

The current research shifts the focus of analysis from disadvantageous employment conditions to the affective and motivational aspects of employment and uses the conservation-of-resources theory to plot the flow of resources from the workplace to the worker.