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1 – 10 of over 109000The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total…
Abstract
The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total employment. It is estimated that in 1970, average annual hours worked per employee amounted to only 60% of those for 1870. Two major factors are attributed to explaining the underlying trend towards a reduction in working time: (a) the increase in the number of voluntary part‐time employees and (b) the decrease in average annual number of days worked per employee (Kok and de Neubourg, 1986). The authors noted that the growth rate of part‐time employment in many countries was greater than the corresponding rate of growth in full‐time employment.
The object of this research is the reconstruction of the existing legal response by European Union states to the phenomenon of immigration. It seeks to analyse the process of…
Abstract
Purpose
The object of this research is the reconstruction of the existing legal response by European Union states to the phenomenon of immigration. It seeks to analyse the process of conferral of protection.
Design/methodology/approach
One main dimension is selected and discussed: the case law of the national courts. The study focuses on the legal status of immigrants resulting from the intervention of these national courts.
Findings
The research shows that although the courts have conferred an increasing protection on immigrants, this has not challenged the fundamental principle of the sovereignty of the states to decide, according to their discretionary prerogatives, which immigrants are allowed to enter and stay in their territories. Notwithstanding the differences in the general constitutional and legal structures, the research also shows that the courts of the three countries considered – France, Germany and Spain – have progressively moved towards converging solutions in protecting immigrants.
Originality/value
The research contributes to a better understanding of the different legal orders analysed.
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This paper aims to provide a comparison of job satisfaction levels between countries of Western and Eastern Europe by first examining the extent of difference between the two sets…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a comparison of job satisfaction levels between countries of Western and Eastern Europe by first examining the extent of difference between the two sets of countries and then explaining these differences in terms of differences in job characteristics between the countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology employed is to use the estimates from an ordered logit model to decompose the probability of being at a particular level of satisfaction into its “attributes” and “coefficients” parts. The empirical foundation for the study is provided by data for over 20,000 employed respondents, pertaining to the year 2000, obtained from the 1999‐2002 Values Survey Integrated Data File.
Findings
Compared to East European countries, job satisfaction levels were considerably higher in West European countries. Moreover, there was considerably greater inequality in the distribution of job satisfaction in East European, compared to West European, countries. Job satisfaction depended critically on the constellation of job‐related attributes that employees regarded as being “important”. The greater the weight that one placed on the external aspects of a job – pay, holidays, promotion chances etc. – the more likely one was to be dissatisfied. The greater the weight one placed on the internal aspects of a job – responsibility, usefulness, social interaction – the more likely one was to be satisfied.
Practical implications
The methodology and conclusions will be useful to labour economists and to human resource managers.
Originality/value
The reason that West European countries have higher levels of job satisfaction, compared to East European countries could, in part, be because they are better endowed with the “attributes” that promote job satisfaction; it could also, in part, be due to the “coefficient responses” of workers in West European countries, to a given set of attributes, being more conducive to job satisfaction than the corresponding responses of workers in East European countries. This paper estimates the relative importance of attributes and coefficients in determining differences in levels of job satisfaction between the two sets of countries.
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Mohammad Nazim and Raj Kumar Bhardwaj
This paper aims to analyze open access (OA) scholarly publishing patterns as well as OA policies and mandates across European countries.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze open access (OA) scholarly publishing patterns as well as OA policies and mandates across European countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a descriptive research approach using data from Web resources, directories and bibliographic and citation databases, namely, DOAJ, OpenDOAR, SCImago journal and Country Ranking portal, ROARMAP and Web of Science.
Findings
The findings indicate that the initiatives and measures in Europe that promote OA are adequate. OA journals and digital repositories have progressively increased over the past two decades. Of the total journals (n = 25,231) published worldwide and indexed in Scopus, 53% are published in European countries, with 23.7% being OA journals. In total, 34% of the OA repositories (n = 5,714) are in European countries. The proportion of OA journal papers has grown significantly in all European countries, with a 14.3% annual growth rate. The average proportion of OA publications in European countries is significantly higher (39.07%) than the world average (30.16%), with a clear inclination for making research literature openly accessible via the green OA route (79.41%) compared to the gold OA route (52.30%). Most European research funders and institutions have required researchers to make OA available for their research findings, either by publishing them in OA journals or depositing accepted manuscripts in repositories.
Research limitations/implications
The study analyzed OA trends in Europe; other continents and countries were not included in the analysis. The study only described OA policies and mandates; the extent to which the OA policies and mandates were implemented was not studied. However, the results of the study may be helpful to policymakers, funders, research institutions and universities in other countries in adopting and implementing OA policies and mandates.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first that used multiple data sources for investigating different facets of OA publishing in European countries, including OA journals, digital repositories, research output, mandates and policies for publicly funded research. The findings will be helpful for researchers and policymakers interested in promoting OA adoption among researchers worldwide.
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José Fernando López-Muñoz, Josefina Novejarque-Civera and Mabel Pisá-Bó
This study investigates the personal factors influencing innovative entrepreneurship combined with additional contextual insights from high-income European countries…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the personal factors influencing innovative entrepreneurship combined with additional contextual insights from high-income European countries. Specifically, this study has three main objectives: (i) to measure differences in the level of entrepreneurial innovativeness activity among high-income European regions; (ii) to uncover key factors leading to appropriate levels of entrepreneurial innovativeness and (iii) to suggest policies that may enhance the regional level of entrepreneurial innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 4,430 nascent and new entrepreneurs from 16 different high-income European countries drawn from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Adult Population Survey (APS) was used in conjunction with macroeconomic indicators. Data were analyzed using a logistic regression analysis.
Findings
There are significant differences in the conditions that influence entrepreneurial innovativeness in European regions. These variations in entrepreneurial activity can be explained using contextual factors and individual characteristics. Although technological novelty increases the probability of innovative entrepreneurship, the technology effect is significantly greater in Western Europe than other regions across Europe.
Originality/value
This study illustrates how a contextualized view of entrepreneurship enriches the knowledge of the human and dynamic socioeconomic drivers that motivate innovative entrepreneurial action in high-income European countries.
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Christian Ketels and Michael E. Porter
This paper aims to review the evidence on Europe’s economic performance and on the role played by policies pursued at the European Union (EU) level, using the competitiveness…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the evidence on Europe’s economic performance and on the role played by policies pursued at the European Union (EU) level, using the competitiveness framework as the conceptual lens.
Design/methodology/approach
Why has Europe not made more progress on upgrading its competitiveness over the past few decades, despite the many initiatives that the EU has launched?
Findings
It finds Europe’s sluggish performance to be driven by a failure to adjust the EU’s policy approach to fundamental changes in the competitiveness context and challenges faced by European economies.
Originality/value
Based on this analysis, the paper suggests a new role for the EU in supporting EU member countries and regions in achieving higher levels of competitiveness.
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Mohamed Ali El-Moghazi, Jason Whalley and James Irvine
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the European countries in Region 1 of the Radio Sector of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-R). More…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the European countries in Region 1 of the Radio Sector of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-R). More specifically, the focus is on the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 meeting to explore whether European influence is in decline.
Design/methodology/approach
This article adopts in-depth case study of the 700-MHz issue. Qualitative data are drawn from semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders who participated at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 meeting.
Findings
This article concludes that the influence of European countries in the ITU-R in Region 1 has changed. The influence of Arab and African countries has increased, with that of European countries declining. However, European countries remain more influential than their African and Arab counterparts.
Research limitations/implications
This article sheds light on an often overlooked but pivotal element of the international spectrum allocation mechanism.
Originality/value
This article sheds light on important developments in the international spectrum policy that are largely overlooked in the current debate.
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Ravi S. Behara, Sunil Babbar and Philip Andrew Smart
The purpose of this paper is to examine the leadership role of authors, institutions, and countries based on research co-authorship networks in the field of operations management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the leadership role of authors, institutions, and countries based on research co-authorship networks in the field of operations management (OM) and ranks European authors, institutions, and countries using network centrality measures. It also identifies the primary research areas of each of the leading European authors and maps the areas that European research in general has focussed most on.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on co-authorships in publications appearing in a representative set of three leading OM journals over the 15-year period of 1998-2012, network measures of total degree centrality and betweenness centrality are used to identify influential European agents serving as leaders and bridge builders in OM research. Keyword analysis is used to identify the dominant areas of OM research in Europe as well as the primary areas of research of the leading authors.
Findings
With UK, Spain, The Netherlands, and Italy accounting for the dominant share of authorship of papers in the journal set, many authors and institutions from these countries are also found to rank high on network centrality measures. While certain authors, institutions, and countries are found ranking high on total degree centrality based on number of direct connections in the network, others are found to play uniquely important roles as gatekeepers and bridge builders in network relationships. The body of research is found to be focussed most on the area of supply chain management. It is also found to be focussed more on manufacturing than service.
Research limitations/implications
The examination of networks in this study based on co-authorships in publications in the set of three leading journals: Journal of Operations Management, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, and Production and Operations Management, is not all encompassing as there are likely other co-authorship relationships of OM researchers that go beyond publications in this set of journals.
Practical implications
Co-authorship of papers in the leading academic journals in a discipline provides a window on patterns of collaboration among key researchers within that academic community. The findings of this study inform the community of stakeholders on who the leading European agents in OM research are, what the primary areas of research of the leading European authors are, and areas that European research has focussed most on.
Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind that identifies and maps key European authors, institutions, and countries based on the analysis of co-authorship networks of researchers who have published in a set of leading OM journals that are considered to be among the most relevant outlets in the field of OM. It also maps the primary areas of research.
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Niels Hermes, Theo J.B.M. Postma and Orestis Zivkov
The paper seeks to analyze to what extent the contents of corporate governance codes of countries in the European Union are driven by external (internationally accepted corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to analyze to what extent the contents of corporate governance codes of countries in the European Union are driven by external (internationally accepted corporate governance best practices) or domestic (institutions, culture, etc.) forces.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper compares the contents of codes with the priorities set by the European Commission with respect to modernising company law and enhancing corporate governance in the European Union.
Findings
The analysis shows that the majority of the codes of the European Union countries are not in full accordance with the priorities of the European Commission. This may reflect that codes are driven by both external and domestic forces. Whether there is a difference between Western European and Central and Eastern European countries in this respect is also investigated, but no difference, at least at the aggregate level of the codes of both groups of countries has been found.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis excludes five (prospective) European Union members. The analysis does not provide a comprehensive overview of domestic determinants of why codes of individual countries diverge from the European Union communication. Future research should systematically explore whether and to what extent domestic forces are indeed determining the contents of codes and, if so, which country‐specific forces have an impact on establishing code contents.
Originality/value
This paper is the first comprehensive attempt to analyse the contents of corporate governance codes. Such an analysis is important to understand the underlying forces that shape the diffusion of codes and their contents.
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Alessandro Giosi, Silvia Testarmata, Sandro Brunelli and Bianca Staglianò
Recently many European countries have incurred crises in public finance despite the fact that EU institutions have pushed the national governments toward the sustainability of…
Abstract
Recently many European countries have incurred crises in public finance despite the fact that EU institutions have pushed the national governments toward the sustainability of public finance with compulsory and voluntary rules regarding fiscal governance. This paper investigates the relations between the quality of fiscal governance and the financial virtuosity of national fiscal policy. We proposed a general framework for analyzing the fiscal governance issue and we empirically tested the correlation between the dimensions of fiscal governance and the budgetary performance of EU countries. The results showed a positive correlation between the quality of fiscal governance in the EU countries and financial surplus in the period concerned. However further investigations are needed and an effort should be made to collect uniform data on fiscal governance in the European Union.