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The purpose of this article is to investigate how national-level characteristics such as country wealth, a floating exchange rate and European Union (EU) membership influence firm-level perceptions of competition and firm-level innovation. Greater understanding of these relationships can promote more effective policymaking as well as add to the existing academic conversation regarding national factors and firm competitiveness.

The authors’ data consist of a panel of 27 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia from 2002 to 2009 with a total of nearly 27,000 firms from the World Bank Enterprise Survey. The authors utilize a multinomial logistic regression to estimate firm-level perceptions of both domestic and foreign competition upon decisions to introduce new products and manage new product costs. The authors then estimate the probability of innovation (introduction of a new product/service, obtaining international quality certification) using a logistic regression. The marginal effects of the key explanatory variables for country wealth, floating exchange rate and EU membership are calculated.

While EU membership heightens perceptions of competition, firms in the EU are less likely to introduce new products or services. On the other hand, a firm in an EU member country is more likely to obtain international quality certification than one that is not. Both country wealth and a floating exchange correlate with enhanced perceptions of competition and innovation as expected.

The first finding regarding heightened perceptions of competition yet lower likelihood of introduction of new products/services among EU firms is surprising. Beyond adding to the empirical store of knowledge regarding the relationship of national factors to firm competitiveness, it suggests that more needs to be done with regard to innovation policy. The authors offer a general recommendation to employ more public–private partnerships for innovation among small and medium enterprises, as this has been effective in other parts of the world.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main insights current literature offers regarding initial coin offerings (ICOs) and the avenues for future research.

The approach consists of a systematic literature review of 130 papers from the SCOPUS database published in English between January 2018 and December 2020, with supplemental semantic analysis of the abstracts to obtain key themes and concepts.

Regulation and the determinants of ICO success are the main themes for current research and represent fruitful areas of continued scholarship. The research agenda in ICOs is just beginning and several topics and questions merit future inquiry: the behaviour of issuers and investors, the importance of human capital, the role of intermediaries and infomediaries and the use of signalling.

To the knowledge, this is one of the first systematic studies of current literature in ICOs. It provides a roadmap for future work on a phenomenon that will only grow in significance.

Drawing on the confirmation–disconfirmation paradigm and the elaboration likelihood model, this study builds and tests a conceptual model that examines the effect of perceived authenticity on affective and behavioural outcomes as well as the moderating role of consumer involvement on the link between authenticity and satisfaction. The model was tested on data collected from 224 members of a theatre audience using structural equation modelling. Results indicate that perceived authenticity associated with both the core arts product and the venue enhances audience satisfaction which is a strong predictor of intention to recommend. Audience involvement with theatre moderates the link between authenticity of venue and satisfaction, with this association being stronger for low-involvement consumers.

The aim of this study is to examine the divide between academicians and professionals in the applied field of real estate in the USA and the impact of this divide on the use of best evidence by professionals. Its purpose is to introduce the concept of evidence‐based management to the discipline of real estate, to propose a framework for gathering best evidence, and to develop a stream of translational research to bridge the academic‐professional divide.

The paper takes an interdisciplinary conceptual approach regarding the gap between academic theory and practice, and its resolution. The authors apply the idea of best evidence and its management from the field of medicine to construct guidelines appropriate for real estate scholars and practitioners.

The paper offers a framework as a starting point for handling the academic‐professional divide. The paper borrows the concept of translational research from medicine to discuss how basic theoretical knowledge may be communicated to real estate professionals to improve performance.

The main contribution is to suggest means for building relevant, practical knowledge in real estate. Application of the evidence‐based method can make the work of researchers more rewarding by solving pragmatic, real‐world concerns. Real estate professionals can allocate scarce resources more effectively by following the evidence‐based approach. The use of evidence separates fact from fiction and enables prioritization of concerns.

This paper seeks to consider selected aspects of the relationship between real estate valuation, human cognition, and translational research. Its purpose is to introduce the concept of cognitive risk, to propose a framework for mitigating it, and to develop a stream of translational research to transfer knowledge to real estate valuers.

The paper takes an interdisciplinary conceptual approach towards the development and study of cognitive risk, and its mitigation. It proposes to broaden the study of behavioral issues in real estate valuation beyond cognitive psychology to cognitive science, and also fields such as time studies and human failure, in order to identify and mitigate cognitive risk.

The paper offers a framework as a starting‐point for handling cognitive risk. It borrows the concept of translational research from medicine to discuss how basic theoretical knowledge may be communicated to real estate valuers to improve performance.

The paper's concept of cognitive risk and discussion of its mitigation will enrich behavioral real estate by introducing the wisdom of other fields such as cognitive science and time studies. These fields have much to say about managing the risk surrounding human cognition, and will be of both academic and practical value to the discipline of real estate valuation.

The purpose of this paper is to research the extent to which different types of values influence a woman's decision to become an entrepreneur.

The paper constructs a two‐stage model to capture the entrepreneurial decision. In the first stage, life values affect the decision to enter the workforce. In the second stage, work values impact the type of employment sought: entrepreneur vs employee.

It is found that women whose life value is that “men should have scarce jobs before women” are less likely to participate in the labor force and hence less likely to become an entrepreneur; work values of initiative, achievement, and respect are positively correlated with entrepreneurship.

The definition of entrepreneurship is limited to those who are self‐employed.

The findings have important policy implications. If policy makers wish to spur the rate of entrepreneurship among women to make it approach or reach the same rate as men's, raising young women's awareness that they need not hold themselves secondary to men in the job market and instilling in them work values of achievement, initiative, and respect are important.

If policymakers address values that impede women's economic participation, they have the potential to assist both women's social status as well as their economic well‐being.

The contribution and originality of the work is the synthesis of labor economics and entrepreneurship scholarship in the two‐stage model of how values influence a woman's decision to become an entrepreneur.

Despite the global economic slowdown, China's economy continues to grow at astonishing rates. This has led some observers to conclude that China must lead the rest of world out of the doldrums, and that China's rise to become the pre‐eminent economy is imminent. The purpose of this paper is to offer a countervailing view. China's rise, while impressive, masks some serious deficiencies in its economic structure. In particular, its growth is largely input driven, and this will constrain the rate of future growth.

Statistics were gathered from a number of sources to make the case that China will face limited growth in the near future. A scenario analysis was performed to model possible outcomes for China vis‐à‐vis the US economy.

In the most realistic scenario, China will close the gap with the USA from its current position of 61.5 percent of the US economy, as measured by 2009 purchasing power parity gross domestic product figures to nearly 88 percent by the year 2020. This will taper to 78 percent by the year 2050.

This viewpoint paper serves as reminder to academics and practitioners alike that most of the media accounts of China's growth are overly rosy, because these accounts do not consider the real difference between inputs and efficiency in total factor productivity (TFP). Just as it was once fashionable to believe that the Soviet Union and Japan would overtake the USA, or in the “Asian Miracle”, so now China is the latest economy to be offered as a model to emulate.

The paper builds on previous scholarship about TFP to question the sustainability of China's economic trajectory in an original way. It adds value by questioning received wisdom about China's economy and its seemingly inevitable rise to become the largest in the world.

The purpose of this study is to understand one portion of the sales ecological system. This paper focuses on the mesolevel or intra-organizational system that includes the sales and marketing functions. This paper examines distinct tensions at three levels of the firm’s hierarchy and the mechanisms used to manage the tensions.

The authors use a qualitative data collection. A discovery-oriented process is used to understand the interconnections that exist among marketing-sales dyads at three organizational levels across several firms.

This paper uncovers distinct tensions and defenses exhibited by managers at each hierarchical level and this paper presents mechanisms that can are used to reduce the tensions.

The multi-level perspective demonstrates the value of examining the intra-organizational aspect of the sales ecosystem. This paper uses a qualitative approach to highlight that sales-marketing tensions are unique to each of the hierarchical levels. This paper demonstrates that the tensions are a function of the unique roles each sales and marketing executive has within the organization.

To make the sales and marketing interface more effective, managers need to view tensions across the sales-marketing interface as complementary versus opposing forces. Managers must balance these tensions, rather than fight them and/or select one of the alternatives over the other. This paper suggests that paradoxical thinking may be a valued skillset for managers at each level of the organization.

The study uses a unique qualitative data set that examines the sales-marketing interface across three levels of an organizational hierarchy. Through this approach, this paper delineates specific tensions between marketing and sales within each level of the firm. This paper also describes mechanisms to manage the tensions common within the sales-marketing interface.

The purpose of this paper is to propose policy suggestions for the financing of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Asia-Pacific region. Recent literature suggests that lack of capital is the most severe constraint for SME survival and growth. Enabling policymakers to assist SMEs in their search for financing will boost economic growth.

The methodology includes both quantitative and qualitative components. Current World Bank data on the strength of various financial institutions in the countries of interest is analyzed to discover areas of improvement. Additionally, 32 experts from East and South Asia were interviewed several times to determine areas of concern in financing SMEs. Their responses and the evidence from the World Bank data form the basis of the policy prescriptions in the paper.

Financing is a critical constraint for SMEs for several reasons. Many SME owners do not manage working capital effectively, information asymmetry between banks and SMEs retards the loan application and approval process, and underdeveloped equity markets deny SMEs future growth opportunities. Policymakers can ameliorate conditions by serving as facilitators and communicators; governments should not provide financing directly if possible.

It is hoped and expected that the policy prescriptions offered herein will enhance the growth and survival prospects of SMES, thereby creating more employment, innovation, and economic growth.

The main contribution of this work is its scope. While the financing of SMEs is a familiar topic, the review of issues and policies in East and South Asia, and their distillation into practical advice for officialdom, is what makes this manuscript unique.