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The low-cost carrier's model made remarkable gains across the globe in the prior decade, although growth was uneven domestically and intraregionally. Within this region, there are significant differences in overall country size, the size of the domestic aviation market, and the number of carriers serving the market. The largest and most developed market is in Russia, but rest of the region also experienced growth in economy airlines' activity as they discovered the power of the model to expand aviation access and lower costs. The success of low-cost carriers, however, has been halting and hampered by government decisions on foreign investment, ownership, and leasing. Still, some carriers have been able to grow and achieve gains over rivals. The recent Russian-Ukrainian war has further complicated the situation.

Over the past decades, Islamic finance has expanded its presence to many countries including post-Soviet region. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate this phenomenon in Kazakhstan by adopting qualitative sociological approach. The study also aims to provide vital information and propose recommendations for market participants to contribute to the development of Islamic finance industry in Kazakhstan.

Primary data were gathered using the qualitative method of in-depth expert interviews with nine Islamic finance professionals representing Islamic banks, ijarah companies, funds and development institutions in Kazakhstan who occupy senior positions (directors, managers, heads of departments, etc.). Furthermore, the primary data of interviews were analyzed and processed using another qualitative method of cognitive mapping, the essence of which is to graphically display the concepts that are most often used by informants.

The study has shown that first there is a demand for Islamic finance among Kazakh business and population. At the same time, Muslims are not the only consumers of Islamic financial services; therefore, it is affordability rather than religiosity that is an important criterion for choosing Islamic finance. Second, murabaha and ijarah are the two most popular Islamic financial products in Kazakhstan, while equity-based instruments are hardly ever used. Third, Kazakhstan government policy toward Islamic finance received controversial assessments of experts: the state support is declared, but specific actions required by the market participants are not taken. Fourth, key factors that significantly limit the development of the Islamic finance market in Kazakhstan include a shortage of supply, which, in turn, is strongly associated with the second factor – limited funding of local Islamic finance institutions, the absence of insurance (or guaranteeing) system of investment accounts of the local Islamic banks, insufficient economy of scale, lack of convenient service and weak marketing policy of the existing Islamic banks and, finally, lack of educational programs.

The study reveals the potential development of Islamic finance in Kazakhstan which is a rarely studied topic. The findings and recommendations of this study can be used by the regulators, market players and policymakers of Islamic finance industry in Kazakhstan, post-Soviet and other Islamic finance-oriented countries.

This study offers new insights on the future of Islamic finance in Kazakhstan: in long term, the development will be determined by new financial technologies – Islamic FinTech, but in short term – by Islamic windows (currently not allowed by Central Bank) that will help to significantly expand the audience, increase awareness and demand for Islamic finance among local businesses and public. The current study is original, important and up-to-date, as it uses an approach that sources primary data in the form of experts’ point of view instead of relying on literature or document analysis. It is not a mere theoretical study of the literature but an empirical investigation of the problem. Moreover, it seeks to contribute to the Islamic finance literature in the post-Soviet region, particularly from the experts’ perspective.

The history of the profession in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries is not a long one; it results from their history, their size, their spending on research and innovation, their position in geopolitics and world economy. Nevertheless, what makes it exciting is the fact that we are just at the birth of the profession in the region. Historically, there have been very few professionals either related to or officially recognised as Research Managers and Administrators (RMAs) in CEE countries, resulting in their limited resources and capabilities. Nevertheless, some RMAs have found the way to start mutually beneficial collaboration for the sake of their own professional development, for their institution’s and country’s competitiveness by launching networks of RMAs or using regional or European funds for capacity building and developing training or educational programmes.

This chapter aims to provide a short summary of the profession in CEE countries while highlighting a few cases which show how the RMA profession is moving forward but still lagging behind.

This section focuses on Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye where knowledge on children and youth has been misconstrued as homogenous and ahistorical. To address this epistemic gap, authors explore the social, cultural and economic experiences of children and youth, their expectations, aspirations and risks under the premise that the region's imperial history, participation in the Soviet Union and postindependence transition, and postimperial present account for and produce social and historical continuities which persist and make for differently experienced childhood, adolescence and youth. Chapters in this section emphasize diverse and creative ways in which young citizens living in Central Asia and Caucasus (CAC) countries engage in negotiating, collaborating, adapting and confronting challenges and barriers presented by the rapidly changing social realities shaped by global labor market transformation, growing economic inequalities and advanced communication systems. This analysis is done from the standpoint of those on whose behalf research is conducted – the youth and children themselves.

This paper aims to investigate the role of corruption and income inequality in three-dimensional sustainable development in the post-Soviet countries.

The methodology is based on dynamic panel regression with the fixed effects approach.

The authors' findings depict that increasing corruption and income inequality undermine sustainable development. Specifically, increasing corruption and income inequality negatively affect sustainable development. Moreover, unemployment and trade liberalization negatively impact sustainable development, whereas foreign direct investments (FDIs) positively affect sustainable development.

Policy implications enclose galvanizing strong institutions and redistributive policy mechanisms that the bottom income groups enjoy in promoting sustainable development to keep away the distressful phase of corruption and income inequality.

This is the first paper on corruption, income inequality and sustainable development in the post-Soviet countries employing a sustainable development index (SDI), which is calculated by considering three factors including economic, social and environmental development.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2023-0065

This study aims to explore the research internationalization process in Georgia, one of the post-Soviet countries. Specifically, it examines the individual-level reasons that motivate faculty at Georgian universities to engage in the process of research internationalization. It also unpacks scholars’ perspectives on the driving factors for selecting the key partners in international research.

Sixteen faculty members for this exploratory qualitative study were selected through stratified purposeful sampling from five higher educational institutions in Georgia. Participants were asked to discuss their participation in international research projects and underline the activities and events that motivated them to participate in international collaborative projects. The critical incident method was used to analyze our qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews.

The research revealed that faculty at Georgian universities are more oriented toward collaboration with their peers from European countries and the USA. This preference is influenced by such factors as higher quality of science, higher level of freedom and autonomy, personal contacts and networks, as well as language competencies. The data also helped to unpack Georgian scholars’ individual-level rationales that were conceptualized into three domains: human capital, financial capital and physical capital.

This study is an original work conducted in Georgia. It contributes to the development of the field of internationalization of research. The three-domain conceptual framework on the individual-level rationale for internationalization can be used in future research on post-Soviet countries and beyond.

After the collapse of the USSR, Eurasian integration projects, proposed by Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey, began to develop in the post-Soviet space. Hence, there is growing interest in Eurasianism as an ideology. In this context, the study of the use of the Eurasianism's ideas in practice becomes relevant. The argument of this article is that Russia, Turkey, and Kazakstan have their own interpretations of Eurasianism's ideas to develop the ideological basis of their own integration projects. The purpose of the article is to answer the question: How is the Eurasianism used in integration projects of Russia, Turkey and Kazakstan?

The concept of Eurasianism has been viewed in terms of constructivism. On the basis of the principles of social constructivism, and in particular the works of constructivist ideologue Alexander Wendt, a comparative analysis was made. The ideas of Eurasianism in the integration processes of Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey has been carried out based on the criteria such as the role of common ideas, identity, consciousness, memory and culture. The examples of mentioned countries were compared, to consider the development of the ideas of Eurasianism in practice.

The ideas of Eurasianism have a significant impact on the integration processes of the post-Soviet space. Eurasianism advocates for important factors such as respect for cultural and civilizational differences between different nations, their equality in the overall union and common development opportunities. Such factors are undoubtedly important for the success of integration projects. The reflection of many individual thoughts of classical Eurasians and Neo-Eurasians can be seen in the statements of various ministers and leaders of Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey. The initiatives of these countries in creating integration projects also show the influence of the Eurasian concept.

In the 1990s, the study of Eurasianism gained new significance in academic circles. Articles and periodicals devoted to this concept were published. However, all parallels between variations in concepts of Eurasianism have been conducted on a theoretical level. The importance of this article lies in the fact that conceptual differences are compared in practice. Researchers had not previously considered the study of the relevance and productivity of Eurasianism in practice by comparing examples and experiences from different countries. The novelty of this article lies in its attempt to solve this problem.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) does not always create added value. Depending on the employee attributions to a socially responsible organisation, it can lead even to negative behaviour. One of the dangers discussed in this article is the employees’ turnover intentions. To analyse the relationship in-depth, it is important to identify phenomena that could be significant to the strength of the relationship between the employees’ attributions to socially responsible organisations and the turnover intention. Organisational justice can be considered as such a phenomenon. This article is aimed at analysing the relationship between employees’ attributions to socially responsible organisations, organisational justice and turnover intention in a post-Soviet country context.

The study involved 83 employees from different socially responsible organisations operating under the United Nations Global Compact and belonging to LAVA (Lithuanian Responsible Business Association). Regression analysis was used to analyse the data.

Employees whose attributions to a socially responsible organisation are other-oriented are less likely to have turnover intention and perceive the organisation as fair. The organisational justice perceived by employees does not affect the relationship between the other-oriented attributions and turnover intention.

In Lithuania, CSR is a very new concept and it still lacks evidence-based answers to the issue of sustainable employee–organisation interaction. Although many scholars in Western countries have studied CSR at the macro and micro levels of an organisation, there is still a lack of evidence-based research in post-Soviet countries to assess the impact of organisational social responsibility practices on employees’ behaviour. In addition, researchers have so far done more research into the positive relationship between CSR and employees’ behaviour, and there is a lack of research to answer whether employees’ attributions to socially responsible organisations can have a negative impact on employees’ behaviour, e.g. stimulating their turnover intention.

The purpose of this study is to investigate university–industry partnerships in Armenia from the viewpoint of universities. By doing so, it contributes to the existing literature on university–industry collaboration by identifying and addressing the specific challenges that impede the establishment of successful university–industry partnerships in Armenia and other post-Soviet countries.

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to examine the barriers, benefits and institutional, functional framework of collaboration. Additionally, this study used a survey methodology to gather data from faculty managing staff members at six Armenian higher educational institutions on various aspects of university–industry collaboration as well as the perceptions and experiences of the participants.

The results show that the effectiveness and applicability of the university–industry collaboration channels and institutional structures in six higher educational institutions are limited. Specifically, the channels that rely on academic entrepreneurship and innovation were found to be currently unviable. Moreover, the existence of spin-offs and start-ups is notably absent. Furthermore, limited access to funding and inadequate entrepreneurial support systems pose significant barriers to developing university–industry partnerships in Armenian reality.

This study represents a pioneering effort within the context of Armenian higher educational institutions, as it is the first time a survey has been organized to specifically investigate the topic of university–industry partnerships. Before this study, there was a lack of empirical research and data collection on this topic in Armenian higher education settings. Therefore, this research holds significant originality and contributes to filling the existing gap in knowledge regarding university–industry partnerships in Armenia. The research is shedding light on a previously unexplored area and providing a valuable contribution to the field of university–industry collaboration research in Armenia and other post-Soviet countries.