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1 – 10 of over 8000Examines the role and effect of the small scale private sector on Eastern Europe’s economic development, i.e. small private companies, partnerships and entrepreneurs, indicating…
Abstract
Examines the role and effect of the small scale private sector on Eastern Europe’s economic development, i.e. small private companies, partnerships and entrepreneurs, indicating why it is important in the reform programmes. Discusses the need for an entrenchment of the small scale private sector’s contribution to economic development, through adequate legislation and the right regulatory framework including a competition policy, and a commercial code for business formation and insolvency. Focuses mainly on Poland, and takes into account the author’s own views, observations, discussions and interviews whilst working in Poznan from 1996 to 1997. In particular, finds evidence of an abundance of innate entrepreneurial skills in Poland including the propensity for risk taking, and the presence of one of the best laid regulated economic climates of the transforming economies, although there is still a need for government to encourage small business into manufacturing.
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K. Lavanya Latha and B.E.V.V.N. Murthy
The purpose of this paper is to study the problems faced by small‐scale entrepreneurs in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh, India and also to study the opinions of entrepreneurs…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the problems faced by small‐scale entrepreneurs in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh, India and also to study the opinions of entrepreneurs regarding what are the different factors which are helpful for success of entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
The present paper is conducted by choosing a sample size of 30 per cent (196 units) randomly from the total population of 653 units. The data are collected through a structured questionnaire, informal interview and analyzed by using mean, ANOVA and Z‐test.
Findings
It is found that high price of raw materials, lack of marketing information and marketing of products are major problems faced by the entrepreneurs, followed by competition from small industries and absenteeism of labour. The majority (about 90.3 per cent) of the respondents did not want to make any complaint to government agencies.
Originality/value
The findings help to know the problems faced by small‐scale entrepreneurs in a developing country such as India and also help the policy makers to solve these problems.
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Russia's size – both in terms of population and geography, spanning 11 time zones, 89 oblasts (states or regions) and autonomous republics and its privatization program…
Abstract
Russia's size – both in terms of population and geography, spanning 11 time zones, 89 oblasts (states or regions) and autonomous republics and its privatization program, encompassing some 100,000 small-scale enterprises, 25,000 medium to large firms, and 300 or so of its largest firms, made its privatization program the largest sale/transfer of assets conducted among the transition economies, with the possible exception of China. Comparisons by many of the program's critics, and there are many, to Poland, Hungary, or the Czech republic are invidious, especially the latter two countries whose populations are similar to just that of greater Moscow.
Akizumi Tsutsumi, Natsu Sasaki, Yu Komase, Kazuhiro Watanabe, Akiomi Inoue, Kotaro Imamura and Norito Kawakami
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive review on the implementation and the effect of Japan's Stress Check Program, a national program to monitor and control…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive review on the implementation and the effect of Japan's Stress Check Program, a national program to monitor and control workplace psychosocial factors that was initiated in December 2015.
Design/methodology/approach
We comprehensively reviewed articles published in Japanese and English, assessed the performance of the Stress Check Program and summarized future challenges. We also discussed the implications for practice.
Findings
The available literature presented a scientific basis for the efficiency and validity of predictions using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire, which is the instrument recommended to screen workers with high stress in the program. No study has verified the effect of the program on workers' mental health by using group analysis of stress check results. There is room for improvement in tools that contribute to identifying workers with high stress and in measures for improving the work environment. The Stress Check Program contrasts with risk management of psychosocial factors at work, widely adopted in European countries as a strategy for improving workers' mental health by focussing on the psychosocial work environment.
Practical implications
Although the effectiveness of the Japanese program needs further evaluation, future developments of the program would provide insight for national policies on psychosocial risks/psychosocial stress at work.
Originality/value
This paper is the first systematic review on the implementation and effects of Japan's Stress Check Program.
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Long‐standing vocational training institutions in Latin America countries are undergoing significant transformation to improve their relevance, efficiency and effectiveness in…
Abstract
Long‐standing vocational training institutions in Latin America countries are undergoing significant transformation to improve their relevance, efficiency and effectiveness in responding to the challenges of increased competitiveness, economic restructuring, technological change and evolving social demands. Based on an extensive survey conducted in 1990, reviews and analyses the recent changes and innovations taking place in such organizations, focusing on their institutional policies, strategies, programmes and services delivered. Trends show that training authorities are evolving towards: (1) emphasizing in‐service training; (2) up‐grading the level of training; (3) organizing training by economic sectors; (4) transferring training delivery to enterprises; (5) focusing on direct support to small‐scale enterprises; and (6) taking on new roles in technology transfer. national training authorities have thus managed to strengthen their linkages and legitimacy with enterprises against a background of reduced public funding and mounting pressure from enterprises to satisfy their increasing and more diverse demands.
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The purpose of this study is the empirical measurement and analysis of economic size and performance of dispersed and clustered small‐scale enterprises (SSEs) in India.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is the empirical measurement and analysis of economic size and performance of dispersed and clustered small‐scale enterprises (SSEs) in India.
Design/methodology/approach
Methodology is descriptive and comparative, using a combination of different official databases. Economic size is measured by distribution of SSEs by employment, output, fixed capital investment, and export variables. Measurement of economic performance is focused on output/capital ratio, output/labour ratio, and labour/capital ratio.
Findings
The results offer evidence for economic diversity in the size compositions and performance variations of dispersed and clustered SSEs; and bigger economic size and higher economic performance of clustered than dispersed SSEs.
Research limitations/implications
Subject to the comparability of economic structure, the results and implications for India are of relevance for promotion and development of clustered SSEs in other developing countries.
Practical implications
From the viewpoint of policy formulation, the results offer a strong empirical basis for a cluster approach rather than a dispersed approach for promotion and development of SSEs in India. The cluster approach has implications for establishing linkages between formal and informal SSEs and for elimination of smallness of dispersed SSEs.
Originality/value
The paper provides a comparative analysis of economic size and performance of the dispersed and clustered SSEs by consolidating the diverse databases in India.
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Ankita Sarmah, Bedabrat Saikia and Dhananjay Tripathi
Generating meaningful employment has become a major concern for countries across the globe to break the vicious circle of poverty. Employment creation becomes more intricate in a…
Abstract
Purpose
Generating meaningful employment has become a major concern for countries across the globe to break the vicious circle of poverty. Employment creation becomes more intricate in a developing economy like India where the population is at an incessant rise, without a simultaneous increase in the employment generation. In the event of situations of mounting unemployment, micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) being largely labour-intensive have been claimed as a significant contributor in an economy’s development to induce employment generation. The study at hand is an attempt to gauge the overall contributions of MSMEs in employment creation in Assam, a developing region of the Indian sub-continent. However, most importantly, the purpose of this paper is to determine if men and women are differently employed in the sample MSMEs and if the pattern of employment creation is different across male and female-owned sample MSMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a uniquely large sample of 320 MSME entrepreneurs with an equal representation of 160 each from male and female entrepreneurs. Secondary data sources were also consulted. Study areas comprising Kamrup-Metropolitan and Kamrup-Rural, depicting both urban and rural Assam, respectively. The choice of activities undertaken by the entrepreneurs includes a wide variety of 12 activities pertaining to all the MSME entrepreneurs in general and certain gender-specific in particular. The two hypotheses (H01 and H02) formulated were tested using the Chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney U test. Furthermore, the growth rate of employment generation in Assam along with the growth rate of the number of MSMEs established and investment made by the MSMEs were computed.
Findings
The calculated growth rate of employment creation, capital investment and MSMEs established were found to be positive. Based on the results of the Chi-Square test and Cramer’s V test, this paper establishes a strong association between the MSMEs and the total employment generation by the sample entrepreneurs (H01). The primary data suggested that 320 MSMEs are Employing 2,766 people in the study area with an average of 8 people per unit. Employment in the service sector is higher than the manufacturing units with an average of 4 people per unit. Another vital finding of the study professed that the women-owned MSMEs have a relatively lesser number of people (32.2%) employed than their male counterparts (67.8%). The mean rank of male entrepreneurs is considerably higher (211.49) testifying a higher employment creation by the male-owned MSMEs than the women-owned (H02). Moreover, women (33.4%) are thinly employed than men (66.5%). Women entrepreneurs were seen to have mostly limited themselves in micro-units followed by small-units. In terms of the nature of employment, full-time employees (81.8%) supersede part-time employees (6.6%). The pattern of self-employment is equal (5.8%) across both male and women entrepreneurs. MSMEs have been well identified as an impeccable answer to mitigate the problem of mounting unemployment.
Originality/value
The novelty of the study lies in its meticulous and explicit understanding of the employment scenario in Assam by the MSMEs. Empirical works on employment creation by the MSMEs in Assam were fundamentally based on secondary data sources. The study fills in the gap by providing a holistic picture of employment creation based on both primary and secondary data, but prominently on the primary. The study accounts details about the nature of MSME employment, the gender of the MSME employees, employment creation by male and female MSME entrepreneurs, the growth rate of MSME employment and self-employment to name a few
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Phuong Thi Nguyen and Minh Khac Nguyen
The purpose of this paper is to examine resource misallocation among Vietnam’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector. The paper also aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine resource misallocation among Vietnam’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector. The paper also aims to consider selective factors on reducing the level of resource misallocation in SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
Resource misallocation and efficiency gains in total factor productivity (TFP) are assessed using Vietnam’s annual enterprise survey data for the period 2000–2015 and an appropriate productivity decomposition framework.
Findings
Resource misallocation is found to be higher among SMEs than large scale enterprises. TFP is found to 116.3 per cent greater if there is no resource misallocation among SMEs. Smaller scale, lower market concentration, trade liberalisation and corruption control are found to be associated with lower level of resource misallocation in SMEs.
Research limitations/implications
The major limitation of this study is that it has only decomposed misallocation of resources arising from output and capital distortions and that it focusses on selective factors contribution to reducing misallocation level in SMEs.
Originality/value
Resource misallocation is attracting attention in both developed and developing countries. However, knowledge about resource misallocation among SMEs is limited, particularly in the context of developing countries. This paper assesses the level of resource misallocation among SMEs in Vietnamese manufacturing sector.
This article aims to clarify the impact of stock market liberalization on corporate green technology innovation, analyze its mechanism from the perspectives of financing…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to clarify the impact of stock market liberalization on corporate green technology innovation, analyze its mechanism from the perspectives of financing constraints and environmental management level and explore heterogeneity.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the panel data of Chinese enterprises from 2010 to 2020, this article adopts the multi-point difference-in-difference (DID) method to test the impact of stock market liberalization on enterprise green technology innovation and its conduction pathway.
Findings
The outcomes demonstrate that stock market liberalization contributes to the furthering of green technology innovation. The heterogeneity test reveals that this promotion is more pronounced for private companies, small-scale companies and companies with high information transparency. The mediating effect test shows that stock market liberalization boosts green technology innovation by alleviating corporate financing constraints and improving corporate environmental management.
Originality/value
This article elucidates the impact path of stock market liberalization on corporate green innovation based on alleviating corporate financing constraints and improving corporate environmental management levels. From the perspective of corporate green technology innovation, this article provides evidence from emerging market countries for the economic effects of capital market opening, which helps to further improve the level of green innovation.
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Meike Siegner, Rajat Panwar and Robert Kozak
Community forest enterprises (CFEs) represent a unique business model in the forest sector which has significant potential to foster community development through sustainable…
Abstract
Purpose
Community forest enterprises (CFEs) represent a unique business model in the forest sector which has significant potential to foster community development through sustainable utilization of forest resources. However, CFEs are mired in numerous management challenges which restrict their ability to harness this potential. This paper identifies those challenges and, by drawing on the field of social enterprises, offers specific solutions to address them. The paper also enriches the social enterprise literature by highlighting the role of decentralized decision-making and community empowerment in achieving sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative meta-synthesis, the paper first identifies key challenges from the CFE literature. It then draws on the social enterprise literature to distill actionable insights for overcoming those challenges.
Findings
The study reveals how the social enterprise literature can guide CFEs managers in making decisions related to human resource management, marketing, fundraising, developing conducive organizational cultures and deploying performance measures.
Originality/value
The paper provides novel and actionable insights into managing and scaling CFEs. It also identifies opportunities for future inter-disciplinary research at the intersection of decentralized management of natural resources and social enterprises that could facilitate progress toward achieving sustainable development.
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