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The purpose of this paper is to indicate an innovative solution to address the financing issues faced by “Micro-, Small and Medium Enterprises” (MSME) in emerging economies.

Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) especially Islamic banks are competing for high net worth individuals, whereas the MSME sector is largely untapped. A collaborative model for IFIs is suggested, to explore the MSME sector. Islamic Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs) are operating in these markets through their extensive gross route networks. The multistep collaborative model proposes “Special Purpose Entity (SPE)” partially owned by a single Islamic Bank or consortium and NBFI/s. SPEs can be incorporated with a defined scope, focus areas, risk profile, budget and shareholding patterns.

Risk and profit sharing instruments also known as Musharakah and Mudarabah have less than 6 percent share within total financing offered by Islamic banks globally. Risk sharing products offered by Islamic banks are not targeting this sector due to the underdevelopment of instruments, lack of knowledge and resources. Proposed SPEs can operate regionally with a concentration on specific business sectors.

The SPE model would enable Islamic banks to enter the huge MSME market while mitigating risk. On the contrary, it would enable the large segments of emerging economies (bottom 40 percent population of developing nations) to get involved and actively play their role to attain long-term development goals.

In early September 2008, in the midst of the subprime crisis, a manager with the student-run Darden Capital Management fund, wants to evaluate whether Comerica Incorporated, a regional bank based in Dallas, Texas, is a good candidate for inclusion in his portfolio. He needs to perform a valuation of the bank to assert whether the bank seems to be undervalued by the market or whether a further decline in value might be possible. He must account for all the factors that affect bank valuation, both as related to the bank itself as well as to the current market conditions. The case can be taught to: a) examine the valuation of a bank during turbulent times; b) understand the key accounting statements (balance sheet and income statement) for a bank and how they may differ from those for an industrial company; and c) understand the key value drivers of bank value (metrics for profitability, credit quality, liquidity, and capital).

“It should also be noted that the objective of convergence and equal distribution, including across under-performing areas, can hinder efforts to generate growth. Contrariwise, the objective of competitiveness can exacerbate regional and social inequalities, by targeting efforts on zones of excellence where projects achieve greater returns (dynamic major cities, higher levels of general education, the most advanced projects, infrastructures with the heaviest traffic, and so on). If cohesion policy and the Lisbon Strategy come into conflict, it must be borne in mind that the former, for the moment, is founded on a rather more solid legal foundation than the latter” European Commission (2005, p. 9)Adaptation of Cohesion Policy to the Enlarged Europe and the Lisbon and Gothenburg Objectives.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

The purpose of this paper is to address the strategies adopted by science-based start-ups to gain access to knowledge resources at diverse spatial levels. It investigates the presence and relative importance of ties endowed with different types of proximity in firms’ knowledge networks, and the role played by non-geographical proximity in gaining access to knowledge sources, both nearby and distant.

An analytical framework is proposed that distinguishes between two dimensions of proximity – geographical and relational – leading to different forms of proximity, which are further linked with modes of knowledge interaction (formal or informal). A methodology for network reconstruction is developed and applied to Portuguese molecular biology firms, permitting to identify the origin, location and nature of the ties and to position them along forms of proximity.

The results show that the incidence and mix of the different forms of proximity vary in firms’ individual networks, being possible to identify several patterns. They also uncover the relevance of relational proximity, whether or not coexisting with geographical proximity and often compensating for its absence.

This approach needs to be complemented with further research that refines the operationalization of relational proximity, by attempting to disentangle the influence of different types of non-geographical proximity. Further research will also explore in greater detail the factors that may explain variety in the proximity mix of firms’ networks.

The paper offers insights into the knowledge sourcing strategies adopted by science-based firms located outside the main concentrations of knowledge in their field.

The paper contributes to the literature on the role of proximity in knowledge access, by developing and empirically testing a taxonomy of forms of proximity, considering the characteristics of science-based firms. It uncovers the mechanisms through which relational proximity can contribute to span spatial boundaries, highlighting the role played by entrepreneurs’ personal networks.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

This research paper explores the tourism industry's globalization by examining 10 location strategies of 102 globally operating tourism firms who have a total geographical presence in 547 cities. The results reveal that there's no unified pattern that tourism forms follow when globalizing their business. Furthermore, most of the strategies are hybrid regional-national approaches, and they vary quite minimally. Complexity in the globalization journey of these firms is punctuated by the evolution of two geographic elements: boosting international visitor numbers, and creating global business environments where tourism services can succeed.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The current “Anthropocene” epoch has witnessed an imbalanced global change, but it is an opportunity to design a better and sustainable future. Sustainability criteria need to be fully implemented in political institutions, companies and universities. Moreover, sustainable pedagogies must accompany the process in terms of students’ professional competences to overcome crisis situations. This paper aims to evaluate geography degrees in Spain to corroborate whether students and teachers consider that students are prepared to address the challenges of global change.

The research is focused on the sustainable development goals (SDGs), a clear and easily identifiable framework for society that reflects the principles of the UN 2030 Agenda. A statistically validated questionnaire answered by 319 respondents has been used. Data analysis with descriptive and inferential techniques was performed.

The results show that geography degrees do not meet the needs of students, for whom career opportunities will be related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda; there are significant gaps between the perception of teachers and students; some geographical topics are undervalued; SDGs are more present in optional subjects; and there is a need to “sustain” the curriculum, following this highly valued framework.

Geography educative programs had scarcely been empirically evaluated to check a sustainability framework implementation. This research provides innovative and unprecedented self-assessment results from higher education agents, in an empirical and statistically validated way.

This paper aims to examine the effect of geographical diversification on corporate liquidity in Malaysian firms. Liquidity is represented by both cash and working capital.

Data for this study is collected from a total of 735 firms over a period of five years, from 2010 to 2014, resulting in a total of 2,904 firm-year observations. The effect of geographical diversification on the cash and working capital of the firms is analyzed by using the ordinary least squares (OLS) with standard errors adjusted for firm level clustering and the quantile regression (QR) analyses. Control variables which represent the characteristics of the firms are also considered.

Analysis using the OLS regression technique indicates that geographical diversification has a highly significant positive influence on corporate cash holdings, while the influence of working capital is negative and its significance is only at the 10 per cent level. However, when QR is used to analyze the relationships, it is found that geographical diversification is only significant in positively influencing cash holdings for firms with low cash holdings, but the relationship is insignificant at high levels of cash holdings. Additionally, working capital is significantly influenced by geographical diversification at high levels of working capital but not at low levels.

To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the influence of geographical diversification on liquidity by considering both cash and working capital. The effect of diversification on liquidity is mostly studied in developed countries, whereas this study is focused on a developing country. Additionally, this study uses QR to analyze relationships at different levels rather than at aggregate level as done in OLS regression analysis.

Through an intervention from a geographical perspective on organizational space, this article aims to offer a new horizon in understanding international business strategy.

Starts with two interrelated questions: does space exist in organizations and how does an organization manipulate and produce this organizational space in order to gain competitive advantage? By tackling these questions in the context of international business activities, this paper engages existing (international) management theories.

This article critically reviews the narrow focus of most international business theories on physical location and distance as a significant determinant of foreign direct investment and diverse activities of transnational corporations (TNCs). Quantitative empirical studies in this genre tend to emphasize physical space as a mere “container” of different locations of TNC activities and to measure the distance between these locations as an independent variable in statistical models. Drawing upon recent theoretical developments in economic geography, the paper develops a relational perspective on business organizations. In such an organization space, there are no fixed locations manifesting themselves in physically measurable forms. Instead, locations and distances in an organizational space are relational and thus discursively constructed through actor‐specific strategies and practice. The paper argues that one key strategic goal of business organizations is to continuously expand its organizational space (viz. physical space) and to economize on this spatial expansion.

Reveals the need for a critical reexamination of existing management and organization theories to take account of how space and boundaries may influence the strategy, structure, and performance of business organizations.

Examines the properties of organizational space and applies the proposed concept to the case of TNCs.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that an e‐collaboration environment, driven by awareness of social presence, may provide the just‐in‐time learning support needed by postgraduate students. The academic challenges faced by students may be alleviated if a correct electronic platform is provided for them to be able to consult with each other or their instructors, regardless of time or their locations. Thus, the paper conceptualises how awareness of social presence may help address the challenges by facilitating e‐collaboration of postgraduate students.

The interpretive paradigm was followed in the study, where a university of technology, located in the city of Pretoria, South Africa, was used as a case study. Selective sampling, specifically purposive sampling was then used to select participants. This kind of sampling is suitable for qualitative case studies and focuses on sample selection based on relevance to the context and problem.

The limited and inconsistent learning support hinders a smooth learning experience, often leading to delayed or incomplete learning tasks, including research works. The alternative for students is then to seek support from knowledgeable peers, who are often dispersed in varied geographical locations. Thus, it is important that the framework for e‐collaboration amongst postgraduate students be developed cognizant of the social presence awareness indicators that would help students to establish sense of togetherness during e‐collaboration.

Social presence and e‐collaboration literature inadequately addresses both, with respect to graduate candidates. This paper looks at how awareness of social presence and context effects e‐collaboration.