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The article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of older people's situation in the labour market in three Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Three Nordic countries are taken as a reference point to compare the countries in order to better understand the situation from a comparative point of view. The article asks the questions: Does a longer working life for older people contribute to their better economic situation? How satisfied are they with a longer working life and their working conditions? Do they experience any discrimination in the labour market because of their age?

In order to understand the situation of older people in the labour market, the authors employ welfare state models and the Active Ageing Index. The welfare state models help us to understand the context in which the working life of older people is taking place. The Active Ageing Index helps to gain a better understanding of the employment domain of active ageing. The analysis is based on several Europe-wide data sources: statistics on earnings from Eurostat database, information on income, job prospects, occupational safety and health, training, working life perspectives from the European Working Conditions Survey as well as a special survey, conducted by the authors, of Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian residents aged 50 years and older.

Analysis conducted reveals that in the Baltic countries older employees, although actively participating in the labour market, face unfavourable material, physical and psychological situation in the labour market more frequently than their younger colleagues. The findings show that the most important factors influencing older employees' decision to stay longer in the labour market in the Baltic countries are linked mostly to welfare state-related issues, i.e. financial benefits, healthcare, possibility to reconcile work and family obligations. These welfare state-related issues are even more important for those who are going to stay longer in the labour market after reaching the retirement age.

This article contributes to a better understanding of older (50+) people's situation in the labour market. It suggests that, while the increasing employment of older people increases the Active Ageing Index and is generally viewed positively, in some countries with less developed welfare states high employment rates of older employees, although providing them with an additional means of livelihood, do not ensure a higher quality of life and, on the contrary, act as a factor reducing the quality of work and, at the same time, the quality of life.

This paper aims to review female entrepreneurship in a (post) transition context, analysing its almost three-decade development in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Little research has focussed to date on female entrepreneurship in the Baltic countries. Using an institutional perspective, this paper aims to explain the unique interplay of formal and informal contexts that have shaped the development of female entrepreneurship in (post-) transition contexts.

This paper is based on an institutional reading and analysis of secondary data: statistical data, international reports and previous studies on female entrepreneurs.

There are more than 130,000 female entrepreneurs in the Baltic countries who share many common features and challenges. While the formal entrepreneurship environment is considered to be very developed in the Baltic countries, women are under-represented among the population of entrepreneurs, and there is gender-based sectoral segregation of female entrepreneurs in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This indicates a need to recognise the diversity of patterns in entrepreneurial development, reflecting different inheritances from the Soviet past and the inertial character of some informal institutions, not to mention the differences in the pace of change during the transition period following the Soviet era.

This research can be used for academics, professionals, researchers and policymakers working in the fields of small business and entrepreneurship. Its data can furthermore be used to develop evidence-based policy and actions that would foster the participation of women in entrepreneurship in Baltic countries.

So far, little research has focussed on female entrepreneurship in the Baltic countries. The paper attempts to investigate that Baltic countries with their history of emphasis on gender equality on one hand and the award-winning business and entrepreneurship system on the other hand demonstrate relatively low levels of women’s entrepreneurship. This paper aims to contribute to the field of entrepreneurship, illustrating how entrepreneurship is linked to its social context.

Purpose – Chapter 3 analyses if Russia's current problems in agriculture, particularly the slow growth of labour productivity are due primarily to the weak property rights of shareholders stemming from the privatisation and therefore attributed to Russia's failure to implement the family farm project as supposed by the World Bank and many other international institution.

Methodology – To compare the development of labour productivity and farm structure in Russia and the Baltic countries after decollectivisation.

Findings – The comparisons show that the outcomes in Latvia and Lithuania are not in fact any better than in Russia, even though large-scale farms here have largely been replaced by individual farms. They also show that the most likely explanation for the extremely poor results in Lithuania lies in the overly strong property rights of shareholders. Estonia's success compared to Russia's failure cannot be explained away by stronger property rights or family farming, but the reasons lie in the country's more successful application of Soviet farming traditions, the capability of the middle class of former Soviet farms to maintain and modernise large-scale production in capitalist conditions.

Originality/value of chapter – It calls into question one of the basic interpretations presented by World Bank, IMF, OECD and EBRD.

The paper seeks to disclose the features and implications of the neoliberal VET and employment policy agendas for the social and institutional VET ecosystems and the integration of at-risk youth in the labour market in the Baltic countries.

The research is based on the comparative policy analysis approach with reference to the theories of social and skill formation ecosystems and the historical institutionalism perspective.

The research has revealed three interconnected and alternately/simultaneously applied development pathways in the skill formation and vocational education of at-risk youth in the Baltic countries: (1) the market-oriented approach based on fostering immediate employability based on the momentary skills needs in the economy; (2) the state-assistance approach based on ensuring equal access to the VET and employment services by the state and (3) the approach of systemic support to socially disadvantaged or at-risk young people in developing their capabilities.

The originality of the paper lies in a new, holistic and comparative perspective in analysing the implications of the “Baltic neoliberalism” for the development of skill formation systems, VET and employment of at-risk youth in this region.

All three Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – share common features, similar history, and took similar steps to establish an external evaluation of their science base. Even though the three countries have similarities in terms of their geography, size, economic structure, development and demography, they demonstrate differences, for example Estonia is often considered to be ahead of Latvia and Lithuania in terms of the economy and development. So, do the Baltic countries share similarities or differences from the point of research management and administration?

This chapter offers a survey of education development in the Baltic region and the dynamics of global forces in the three Baltic states’ contexts. First, a brief overview of the incoming new-liberal global trend that impacted the education in the Post-Socialist European region will be provided, followed by a discussion of similarities and differences in the development of education in Baltic states as co-shaped by contextual contours of the post-socialist region at whole. It shows that the contextual social and cultural realities of Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania not only have a powerful mediating role on the impact of global forces but are in their own right an agency in shaping the education response of Post-socialist societies of this region. Second, the knowledge of the interrelationship between education and societal cultural contexts in the Baltic region will be explained, stressing the lack of research on informal settlements or the informal economy and its intersection with education. The International Comparative Education research agenda will not only be of significance for the Baltic states but to the entire world. Many aspects of the contextual architecture of the region are becoming increasingly evident world-wide tending the neo-liberalism in education as distinct from liberalism insofar as it does not advocate market-economic policy but instead is highly constructivist and approve a strong state to bring reforms in every aspect of society transforming the education and teaching labor market.

The purpose of this paper is to show how the inward‐outward dynamics in the internationalisation of Baltic banks have led towards higher incorporation into Nordic banking groups and subsequently towards diminishing autonomy.

The paper presents two case studies, which characterise the evolution of international inward‐outward connections in two major Baltic banking groups – Hansabank Group and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) Group.

Acquisitions by Swedish banks in 1998 had a different impact on the internationalisation of the two leading Baltic banking groups. Inward‐outward connections in the case of the Hansabank Group meant that they obtained strong autonomy in controlling Swedbank's activities in the Baltic. In the case of Eesti Ühispank, Latvijas Unibanka and Vilniaus Bankas inward‐outward linkages meant that they lost autonomy about the further expansion to other Baltic countries and were eventually transformed into Baltic subsidiaries of SEB. These differences in strategies between Swedish banks could be explained by the background of the companies (especially their previous internationalisation experience). However, latest developments point towards growing similarities between two groups via incorporation of Hansabank into Swedbank group.

The case study has inherently limited the capacity to offer generalisations concerning other service companies.

These results indicate the inward‐outward development pattern of international service companies. The managers of similar companies can use this development pattern to project the dynamics of market entry strategies.

The paper introduces original experience allocation framework in the context of inward‐outward internationalisation and outlines the dynamic nature of the strategic relations between the foreign owner and its subsidiary.

In the context of falling demand for higher education and, in particular, doctoral studies, it is important to understand how to attract new students. The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of the decision-making process the PhD students of Baltic universities followed when choosing whether to continue their education at doctoral level and in which institution to do it.

It uses the data gathered in 2014 from all major Baltic universities providing access to higher education at doctoral level.

At macro-level, the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are rather different in the supply of doctoral programmes and the level and dynamics of the popularity of doctoral-level studies in the population. Besides, strong country-specific effects on the goals students pursued when they enrolled in a doctoral programme and the information about the university or the programme they found useful are observed at micro-level. The main result is related to systematic differences in the perceptions students have about the benefits they will get from a doctoral degree across the current (at doctoral level) and previous (at Bachelor’s and Master’s levels) fields of study, as well as depending on labour-market experience and family and social circle.

These findings suggest that Baltic higher education institutions should employ different marketing communication strategies when attracting new doctoral students, depending on the field of study and the country they operate in.

This is the first comprehensive study on the motivation of enrolment at doctoral level in the Baltic countries. It gives the management of Baltic universities a general picture of the motivation to get a PhD degree and factors affecting the choice of university, which can be readily incorporated into universities’ strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to define the potential to promote healthy nutrition in workplaces in the Baltic States and to provide the strategic structure for health promotion at national level.

A survey, using the telephone questionnaire method, was conducted among the adult population in the three Baltic countries in 2007, to compare the general eating habits of the residents in those states. The sample for the survey was random, with 500 (or slightly more) consumers between the ages of 15 and 74 in all three countries surveyed.

The survey showed that eating habits in Estonia differ from other Baltic countries. Estonians are the most urban consumers, who eat their lunch outside of the home; they use a broader selection of ready‐to‐eat meals than Latvians and Lithuanians. The lunch choice made by Estonians is therefore more influenced by what is offered in their workplaces. Estonian National Strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Estonian health are the main national public health policy documents. The development of the Network for Workplace Health Promotion is one of the actions carried out within above‐mentioned strategies, as are county‐based health councils, responsible for management and coordination of implementation of the strategies at local level, including cooperation with local workplaces.

The paper presents useful, practical examples of where changes in the composition of food in catering have improved not only workers' eating habits, but also their satisfaction and commitment to work. There have been positive changes in CVD mortality in Estonia. Still, the mortality rate in Baltic countries is considerably higher compared to the other EU countries and this calls for the direction of the health promotion activities in workplaces in other Baltic States also.

The purpose of this paper is to set the papers included in the special issue into their unique contextual stage of entrepreneurial eco-systems in Nordic and Baltic countries.

The editorial first presents the current status of entrepreneurship in the Nordic and Baltic regions. It then provides an overview of the papers included in this special issue, while highlighting their contributions. Finally, it concludes with suggestions for further research, while pointing out promising areas for future investigations.

The papers included in this special issue help advance the understanding of important aspects of entrepreneurship in general, and within the context of Nordic and Baltic countries in particular. The first two papers focus on antecedents of entrepreneurial behaviour, namely – education and passion, while the last two papers address entrepreneurial behaviour and its outcome in terms of both growth aspiration and actual growth. Finally, the editorial identifies three important themes for future research, namely – the roles of Web 2.0 and online communities, crowdfunding and alternative finance, as well as current immigration trends on entrepreneurship development and dynamics in Nordic and Baltic Europe.

This editorial and special issue are in tune with current calls for better understanding of entrepreneurship-related phenomena within their social context, and some of the linkages between social settings and manifestations of entrepreneurship. And while most papers concentrate on themes that may be associated with mainstream entrepreneurship research, each introduces new angles and/or conceptual combinations surrounding such themes and variables, which are unique and inspirational.