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The purpose of this paper is to address the case of toxic metal contamination of Sepetiba Bay caused by the Ingá Company. The paper reviews the history of the contamination and discusses the current presence of metals in the bay sediments, demonstrating that the toxic metals are clearly enriched. Sepetiba Bay is prone to significant dredging activities that make metals available in the food chain, affecting human populations, mainly fishermen communities.

The study presents the case of the Ingá Company based on international literature and data provided by previous studies.

Through the analysis and compilation of diverse data from the literature, this study demonstrates that the Ingá Company is a major source of Cd, Pb and Zn due to its calamine processing activities used to obtain high purity Zn.

This study highlights important research to complete the historical scenario of heavy metal contamination of the Sepetiba Bay by Ingá Company. The results indicate that the contaminants from the Ingá Company can indeed be traced in the sediments of Sepetiba Bay. These data have the utmost value for the environmental management of this coastal system, because such high concentrations of toxic metals in marine sediments have serious implications for the environmental quality of the bay and may negatively affect biota and human health. Therefore, this study suggests that it is now necessary to monitor this region for contamination continuously.

The paper represents a starting point of a broader research project in strategic start-up communication. The main purpose of this study is to demonstrate the current state of research in this area and to compare those insights with an explorative study on the start-up ecosystem.

A neo-institutional framework is combined with the dual narrative framework of strategic communication and emergence to explain the emergence of strategic communication in this organizational field (start-up ecosystems). Research questions are derived from a systematic literature review and subjected to exploratory testing in two different qualitative surveys, with experts and investors, reflecting an external perspective, and with start-ups themselves.

Results from the literature review and the explorative interviews with expert external actors indicate eight areas in which start-ups face strategic communication challenges: the basic orientation of strategic communication, branding, external image, stakeholder relations, allocation of financial resources, owner centricity, human resources and internal communication. External consultants and funders recommend highly planned approaches like target group-oriented communication, well thought-out positioning with uniform messages and precisely applied communication channels. However, the internal perspective of start-ups presents a contrary picture based on emergent products of strategic communication.

The study indicates the importance of both the emergence in strategic start-up communication and the demonstration of planned strategic communication. Investigating a whole start-up ecosystem in a country regarding the emergence of strategic communication forms, practices and products offers potential for cross-country comparative research.

The findings indicate key challenges of strategic communication of start-ups. Bearing in mind these key challenges when founding a start-up can make a difference in the success of the start-up.

The article presents the first systematic literature review in the area of strategic start-up communication and a theoretical framework for further investigation. Moreover, the results of the explorative study demonstrate the importance of the different forms of planning and emergence in strategic start-up communication. Hence, this paper provides practical implications for practitioners working and investing in the start-up ecosystem.

In this chapter, Lituchy, Reavley, and Bryer report on their interviews with women entrepreneurs from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Japan. Eastern European respondents expressed a desire for and the importance of business training. Many who had attempted to get bank loans were refused for lack of collateral or because their business plans were inadequate. Japanese respondents felt that experience was most valuable. They stated that gender adversely affected their financing prospects. Human resources issues as well as dealing with clients or suppliers from other cultures were concerns for all the women. Discussion and implications are presented.

Cumulative capability models are dominating frameworks explaining how manufacturing organizations gain their performance capabilities, such as quality, delivery, flexibility and cost. When innovation capabilities are excluded from the framework, the models are incapable of explaining how companies sustain substantive capabilities in a changing environment. Responding to this gap, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a “sand cone” cumulative capability model that includes the innovation competitive performance alongside the competitive performance of quality, delivery flexibility and cost.

Two competing cumulative models were proposed. The extended cumulative capability model hypothesizes the development of innovation in sequence with other competitive performance dimensions. The affected with innovation cumulative model hypothesizes innovation performance as a predecessor of other performance dimensions. The models were tested using a multimethod approach on a representative sample of 500 manufacturing companies. An analysis of correlations among competitive performance, frequencies of plants following prescribed sequences, fit statistics of covariance-based structural equation modeling and analysis of strength and statistical significance of path coefficients enabled us to select a model that best represents the collected data.

The findings reveal that innovation competitive performance operates as a predecessor of quality, delivery, flexibility and cost and is developed in relation to these performance dimensions. The modified model also provides a theoretical explanation of how innovation performance helps to sustain reliable production systems that can perform consistently over time within a tolerable range of quality, delivery, flexibility and cost performance.

The results are significant for practitioners, especially for companies that are operating in volatile environments because the results provide insight on how to develop innovation competitive performance in relation to quality, delivery, flexibility and cost performance.

This study extends the cumulative capability models with innovation competitive performance. It advances the contingency approach on cumulative capability models.

The fundamentals of Lean are applicable and can be used in any industry, even non-profit and government organizations, however, there might be certain limitations due to the nature and the specifics of the industry. This study aims to explore what barriers of Lean implementation textile manufacturers might encounter. The authors consider the problem is worth to be explored for the potential to improve the effectiveness of Lean implementation in textile sector companies.

This research was conducted by using qualitative content analysis with open coding of the selected literature followed by empirical research in a Latvian textile manufacturing company.

The presented literature review shows Lean implementation barriers and critical success factors in various industries. The findings from the case study can be divided into two groups. The first confirmed the barriers already identified in the previous research. The second identified industry specific implementation barriers that were not recognized in the related literature.

The original research was limited in scope to one Latvian textile manufacturer, therefore future studies on the subject to confirm the outcome of the research are required.

There is a limited number of studies on the application of Lean in the textile and apparel industry. The literature on Lean implementation in the Latvian manufacturing sector is also limited. The results of this research may have a practical application for textile manufactures considering implementing Lean in their processes.

Intellectual capital (IC) investments yield both financial and non-financial outcomes, and several groups of stakeholders are beneficiaries in the process. There are different approaches to appraisal of IC investments; most of them emphasise financial benefits. In turn, non-financial return is difficult to measure because of the lack of measurement indicators, as well as unavailability of accounting data and/or statistical data. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate non-financial return on investments in IC, based on the financial data of Latvian higher education institutions (HEI).

The methodology of Social Return on Investments (SROI) was applied. SROI metric is used to measure an expected return, considering the anticipated social benefits of an investment against its costs. The procedure is based on the principles of the “time value of money” concept and stakeholder management theory.

Non-financial outcomes (benefits) from investments into implementation of e-learning study process were defined, separately for each stakeholder group. Specific metrics for each outcome were determined, and the result was estimated (expressed in monetary form).

There are different types of IC investments, but the authors of the given paper focussed on the digitalisation of study process, i.e. investments into the process of implementation and development of on-line studies were analysed. The proposed approach (SROI) is applied for measuring of IC investments, based on financial data of only one Latvian HEI.

SROI estimation for financial assessment of implemented innovations in Latvian higher education was made. This approach can help organisations to make decisions about IC investments, and the authors’ application of the methodology can be used as a pattern for HEI executives. This paper provides an example of the practical application of the methodology, using HEI real financial data.

The present study has been designed with the aim to determine whether there are differences in individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) between students, doing their major in business studies and the ones whose areas of study are science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The theoretical research methods comprise the review of secondary sources to build a sound theoretical framework for the research activities. The empirical research method is a survey in Latvia and Poland applying non-parametric inferential statistical methods as well as linear regression analysis to investigate which factors and components contribute to EO orientation development among different groups of students, and, thus, verify the research hypotheses.

The yielded research results demonstrate that there are significant differences between business and STEM students when they analyze their IEO. It turned out that STEM students obtain significantly lower scores for risk-taking and innovation but higher for proactiveness. Additionally, it was detected that the chosen field of study affects students’ perception of educational support, thus, influencing their innovation, proactiveness, and risk propensity characteristics.

In this research, the authors focused on exploring IEO among business and STEM students in Latvia and Poland, hence the findings cannot be one-to-one applied to other countries.

The topicality of the theme is determined by the fact that changes in external environment require higher educational institutions (HEIs) in Latvia and Poland to foster their entrepreneurial ecosystems and re-master study programs both for business and STEM students as well as conduct projects that include students, academic staff, and business representatives – the transformation is necessary to create positive attitude towards entrepreneurship among the students and help them to consider entrepreneurial career path later.

Factors and components which contribute to IEO development among different groups of students are under-researched in the Baltic countries, experiencing systemic transformation. The authors believe that universities can use the analysis of their students’ IEO to allocate their resources in a better way, adjust curricula to the real needs of students and facilitate entrepreneurship.

Nowadays, the aspects of the intellectual capital (IC) management have become important, valuing it as an integral part of the organisation. Researchers emphasise the strategic importance of IC management, particularly in the context of satisfying the stakeholders' interests and value creation. However, the existing studies reflect individual elements of IC management, not analysing them as a system which is a part of the organisational management system, and hence it is impossible to draw valid conclusions on the impact of IC on the organisation's performance. The aim of the paper is to describe an approach to the elaboration of the IC management strategy and its integration into the organisation's management system.

The developed approach is based on a holistic and systemic view of the organisation, where IC management is integrated into the organisation's management . This approach is based on the structure of IC developed by Lentjušenkova and Lapina (2016). In this structure, business processes are the IC component that unites the other three ones – human capital, technologies and intangible assets. The study has used induction and deduction, as well as analytical and synthetic qualitative research methods, including logical constructive and conceptual (concept) analysis.

Elaborating the organisational strategy by taking into account the stakeholder interests, the organisation is able to ensure sustainable development. Using the integrated management approach, IC management is integrated into the organisation's activities and joint operational strategy. In this case, IC management becomes an integral part of the organisation's activities functioning in conjunction with the other organisation's systems, and it is integrated into all ongoing business processes.

The approach the authors have proposed to IC management could be adapted by small and medium-sized companies. Using it, companies do not need to create special functional units or division, because IC becomes an integral part of organisation's processes.

In previous studies, business processes were considered as one of the components of IC. In the study’s approach, business processes imply integration of IC into the overall organisation management system. As a framework for the proposed approach, the authors have used the Deming cycle “Plan-Do-Check-Act” that envisages dividing the development and implementation of the IC management and development strategy into four phases, with a clear allocation of tasks and a defined outcome for each individual phase. To use this approach, it is enough for organisations to conduct an analysis of processes and, depending on the strategic goals of the organisation, make additions related to managing IC.

The world financial market is facing another blow. Sumitomo, one of Japan's most conservatively managed companies and the world's largest copper trader, admitted it had lost an estimated $1.8bn (£1.2bn) in unauthorised copper dealings over the past ten years.

This paper aims to analyse the question of whether women freely choose to pursue a non‐linear career or whether they are forced by their circumstances to take this path.

Semi‐structured interviews with older female employees, who had non‐linear careers, were conducted. The qualitative analysis of women's biographical narratives was achieved through adopting a socio‐biographical approach. The subjective view of success in the non‐linear careers was addressed.

All respondents would have preferred a linear career. However a non‐linear career is accepted as a possibility to follow one's own professional interests and to cope with professional insecurity. Moreover women discover strategies to cope with insecurity, organizational injustice or life course stereotypes, such as networking, additional qualifications, and making the change over to a self‐employed position.

As all interviews were conducted with German professionals and a small qualitative sample, the results need an adaptation for other countries, younger generations and different social strata.

The need for social political concepts for non‐linear careers became evident. The risk of the non‐linear careers should be pooled between individuals and organizations.

The study found that some decisions, which aim to avoid professional insecurity (e.g. additional qualification), produce non‐linearity and hence increase the insecurity. The importance of social constraints for individual career decisions has been emphasized in the paper.