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1 – 10 of 316The unprecedented economic crisis in Greece deeply affected entrepreneurship, which was traditionally characterised by low levels of innovation and competitiveness, the dominant…
Abstract
Purpose
The unprecedented economic crisis in Greece deeply affected entrepreneurship, which was traditionally characterised by low levels of innovation and competitiveness, the dominant presence of micro-sized enterprises and the weak signs of prosperity in large firms. This paper, in acknowledgement of the necessary transformations that production incurred due to the crisis, attempts to detect the characteristics of large manufacturing firms that contributed to their greater resilience during the unstable period of 2011–2016 by analysing the determinants of the higher profitability of firms. The analysis shows that firms that improved their productivity and sales levels and in parallel are flexible, in the sense that they have limited amounts of both assets and liabilities and thus a small risk, are those that presented higher profits during the period under study. Initial conditions, sectoral characteristics and the broader national environment do not seem to have a strong contributive role in firms' profitability.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis follows a dynamic system generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation based on a panel data set of 125 Greek large firms over the time span 2011–2016.
Findings
The analysis shows that firms that improve their productivity and sales levels and in parallel are flexible, in the sense that they have a limited amount of both assets and liabilities and thus a small risk, are those that present higher profits during the period under study. Initial conditions, sectoral characteristics and the broader national environment do not seem to have a strong contributive role in firms' profitability.
Research limitations/implications
The present paper attempts to explain the performance of the most dynamic large manufacturing firms in Greece by investigating the role of some of the most important determinants of firm profitability (according to data availability), acknowledging, however, some analysis' limitations as the absence of some other parameters like the export activity or the incorporation of any innovative features in the firms
Originality/value
The novelty of this paper lies in two points. First, the subject of the analysis is the large firms in Greece, which have not received much attention as Greek entrepreneurship was traditionally based on the light, labour- or resource-intensive production and the main bulk of the literature was not on that topic. Second, during the deep and protracted crisis that Greece has experienced, several production transformations have taken place that remain partly undiscovered. The present paper attempts to analyse the characteristics of large firms that drove their profitability and improved their resilience during the crucial time period 2011–16.
研究目的
在希臘出現的史無前例的經濟危機深深地影響了該國的創業能力,而希臘的創業能力有其傳統特徵:低水平的創新與競爭力、微型企業佔主導地位和大企業呈現微弱的繁榮跡象。本文在承認這經濟危機導致生產必須轉型的前提下,研究那些於2011年至2016年這不穩定期間營運的大型製造公司,透過分析它們能取得更高利潤的決定因素,以探求是哪些公司特徵使其有更強的抵禦和復原能力。分析顯示,那些改善了生產率和銷售水平的公司,亦同時是靈活變通的公司 (所謂靈活變通,是指公司無論在資產抑或負債方面的數量上都是有限的,因此,它們只需冒小風險),就是那些在本研究涵蓋期間展示獲取更高利潤的公司。初始條件、行業的特徵和更廣泛的國家環境,就公司的盈利能力而言,似乎沒有扮演重要的促進角色。
研究設計/方法/理念
分析用了廣義動差估計(GMM)這動態系統,基於涵蓋125間希臘大公司、橫跨2011年至2016年期間的面板數據。
研究結果
分析顯示,那些改善生產率和銷售水平的公司,亦同時是靈活變通的公司 (所謂靈活變通,是指公司無論在資產抑或負債方面的數量上都是有限的,因此,它們只需冒小風險),就是那些在本研究涵蓋期間展示獲取更高利潤的公司。初始條件、行業的特徵和更廣泛的國家環境,就公司的盈利能力而言,似乎沒有扮演重要的促進角色。
研究的局限/含意
本文擬透過探討一些決定公司盈利能力最重要的因素 (根據數據的可獲性),來闡釋在希臘那些最有動力的大型製造公司的績效,但亦同時承認分析有局限之處,那就是,分析沒有涵蓋一些其它決定因素:出口活動和那些公司有否納入任何創新功能。
研究的原創性/價值
本文有兩個創新之處:首先,本研究分析的對象是在希臘的大企業,而這個研究對象和課題未曾得到頗多的關注,這是因為希臘的創業能力一向基於勞動密集型或資源密集型的輕工業生產,而過去大部分文獻都不涉及這個課題。另外,當希臘經歷這個巨大且持久的危機時,國內有些仍未普遍察覺的生產轉型出現了。本文擬分析推動大企業於2011年至2016年間這關鍵時刻取得利潤,及改善其抵禦和復原能力的公司特徵。
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Anthony Alexander, Maneesh Kumar and Helen Walker
The purpose of this paper is to apply the aspects of decision theory (DT) to performance measurement and management (PMM), thereby enabling the theoretical elaboration of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply the aspects of decision theory (DT) to performance measurement and management (PMM), thereby enabling the theoretical elaboration of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity in the business environment, which are identified as barriers to effective PMM.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of decision theory and PMM literature establishes the Cynefin framework as the basis for extending the performance alignment matrix. Case research with seven companies explores the relationship between two concepts under-examined in the performance alignment matrix – internal dominant logic (DL) as the attribute of organisational culture affecting decision making, and the external environment – in line with the concept of alignment or fit in PMM. A focus area is PMM related to sustainable operations and sustainable supply chain management.
Findings
Alignment between DL, external environment and PMM is found, as are instances of misalignment. The Cynefin framework offers a deeper theoretical explanation about the nature of this alignment. Other findings consider the nature of organisational ownership on DL.
Research limitations/implications
The cases are exploratory not exhaustive, and limited in number. Organisations showing contested logic were excluded.
Practical implications
Some organisations have cultures of predictability and control; others have cultures that recognise their external environment as fundamentally unpredictable, and hence there is a need for responsive, decentralised PMM. Some have sought to change their culture and PMM. Being attentive to how cultural logic affects decision making can help reduce the misalignment in PMM.
Originality/value
A novel contribution is made by applying decision theory to PMM, extending the theoretical depth of the subject.
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Junchao Li and Shan Huang
Under the background of the overall increase of China's economic policy uncertainty and the urgent need for the transformation and upgrading of the substantial economy, this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Under the background of the overall increase of China's economic policy uncertainty and the urgent need for the transformation and upgrading of the substantial economy, this paper studies the time-varying causality between China's economic policy uncertainty and the growth of the substantial economy through bootstrap rolling window causality test, further refines economic policies and studies the causal differences between different types of economic policies and substantial economic growth, refining the conclusions of previous studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper first studies the causal relationship between China's economic policy uncertainty and substantial economic growth in the full sample period through bootstrap Granger causality test. Then, the paper tests the short-term and long-term stability of the parameters of the VAR model, and it is found that the model parameters are unstable in both the short and long term, so the results of the Granger causality test of the full sample are not credible. Finally, we conduct a dynamic test of the causal relationship between China's economic policy uncertainty and substantial economic growth by means of rolling window, so as to comprehensively analyze the dynamic characteristics and sudden changes of the relationship between them.
Findings
The research shows that economic policy uncertainty in China has a significant inhibiting effect on the growth of substantial economy. Growth in the substantial economy will drive up economic policy uncertainty before 2016 and restrain it after that. In addition, this paper further subdivides economic policy uncertainty to explore the causal differences between different types of economic policy uncertainty and substantial economic growth. The test results show that the relationship between them has obvious policy heterogeneity. The fiscal policy uncertainty and the monetary policy uncertainty, as the main policy means in China, has a significant impact on the growth rate of substantial economy in multiple ranges, but the effect time is short. Although trade policy uncertainty has a significant impact on the growth rate of substantial economy only during the financial crisis, the effect lasts for a long time. The impact of exchange rate and capital account policy uncertainty on the growth rate of substantial economy is mainly reflected after 2020.
Originality/value
The values of this paper are as follows: First, the economic policy uncertainty is combined with the growth of substantial economy, which makes up the gap of previous studies. Second, the economic policy uncertainty is further subdivided. The paper explores the causal differences between different types of economic policy uncertainties and the growth of substantial economy, so as to make the research more detailed. Finally, different from the previous static analysis, this paper uses dynamic model to examine the relationship between China's economic policy uncertainty and the growth of substantial economy from a dynamic perspective, with richer research conclusions.
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Alex Rialp-Criado, Seyed Meysam Zolfaghari Ejlal Manesh and Øystein Moen
This paper aims to elaborate on the crucial effects that a seemingly detrimental policy change in Spain has had on the international entrepreneurial activities of domestic…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to elaborate on the crucial effects that a seemingly detrimental policy change in Spain has had on the international entrepreneurial activities of domestic renewable energy (RE) firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data were collected from nine RE companies in Spain and then triangulated with secondary data and interviews from informants in other local institutions.
Findings
Domestic RE firms, due to an institutional scape driver action, reacted to an increasingly uncertain and generally more adverse renewable energy policy framework in this country by preferring to internationalise towards foreign markets that had lower political uncertainty than the domestic one.
Research limitations/implications
This paper complements previous research primarily on firm-specific factors that enhance internationalising firms’ survival and growth through a focus on the impact of a changing institutional-political environment at the home country-level.
Practical implications
Practitioners in the RE sector should analyse the risk of focusing only on the home market, as it can be too dependent on uncontrolled variations in domestic energy policy.
Social implications
The findings indicate that a more stable and supportive, long-term perspective in the domestic RE policy is essential for the sustained growth and development of this emerging industry.
Originality/value
To analyse the strategy by which a number of purposefully selected companies were able to use international expansion as a survival-seeking strategy against a drastic policy-level change in the domestic RE market.
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Henrik Franke, Finn Wynstra, Fabian Nullmeier and Chloe Nullmeier
Managing projects is an important part of operations management, but many projects fail. This study focuses on attribution processes of such disruption from the underrepresented…
Abstract
Purpose
Managing projects is an important part of operations management, but many projects fail. This study focuses on attribution processes of such disruption from the underrepresented perspective of the project manager. The authors consider two types of causes: the more frequently researched environmental uncertainty (i.e. uncontrollable events) and the scarcely researched uncertainty imposed by non-collaborative project sponsors (i.e. other-controllable events).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors test conceptual arguments grounded in attribution theory and the notion of psychological contracts in a scenario-based experiment among 325 practicing project managers.
Findings
The findings indicate that non-collaborative project sponsors negatively affect project managers' motivation, whereas uncontrollable disruptions leave hope to achieve positive future outcomes. This latter effect is further strengthened when project managers have an internal attribution style. They tend to blame the disruption on themselves and generally feel in control of achieving success even if they are not.
Originality/value
These socio-psychological insights nuance the economic idea that uncertainty reduces motivation per se in the context of project disruption appraisal. The authors contribute to the behavioral project management literature and general attribution theory and help guide the allocation of resources during the recovery of failed projects.
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Nicholas Addai Boamah, Francis Ofori-Yeboah and Kingsley Opoku Appiah
The study investigates the effect of political instability and employee tenure security on the performance of firms in middle-income economies (MIEs) after controlling for the…
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates the effect of political instability and employee tenure security on the performance of firms in middle-income economies (MIEs) after controlling for the influence of corruption, international quality certification, external auditor services and firm age. It examines whether ownership and sector effects matter in the explored relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts the generalized method of moments estimator and collects firm-level cross-sectional data from 77 MIEs.
Findings
The evidence shows that political uncertainty, employee tenure security and firm age negatively impact firm performance. Also, external quality assurance mainly improves firm performance. Additionally, foreign-owned firms benefit from corruption more than their domestic counterparts. Moreover, there are ownership and sector effects in the firm performance drivers.
Practical implications
The findings suggest the need for MIE firm managers to implement policies and programs to improve permanent employees' efficiency, commitment and honesty. Policy makers and political actors must work toward a stable political environment in MIEs. The policy must also focus on at least minimizing corruption.
Originality/value
The study shows the contributions of employee tenure security, political instability and corruption to the performance of MIE firms. It documents sector and ownership effects in the factors influencing firm performance.
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In this article, the author discusses dynamical behaviors of a prey-predator population model with nonlinear harvesting rate and offers a mathematical analysis of the model.
Abstract
Purpose
In this article, the author discusses dynamical behaviors of a prey-predator population model with nonlinear harvesting rate and offers a mathematical analysis of the model.
Design/methodology/approach
The design is by using modelization of populations interaction, qualitative theory of ordinary différential equations, bifurcations analysis, invariant center manifolds theory and Dulac's criterion.
Findings
The author studies the stability of solutions and the existence of periodic solutions in the model, and proves the existence of some invariant sets and the production of a transcritical together with a saddle-node bifurcation.
Practical implications
The author studies the effects of harvesting on the persistence and extinction properties and its influence in the perspectives of economic views.
Originality/value
The authors considers a predator–prey model with a new nonlinear form of harvesting rate. The author’s intention is to make conceptual adjustments to a well-known predator–prey model in order to incorporate the effects of harvesting.
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Qi Xiao, Weidong Yu, Guangrong Tian and Fangxuan Li
This study aims to introduce the achievements and benefits of applying wheel/rail-force–based maintenance interval extension of the C80 series wagon in China.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to introduce the achievements and benefits of applying wheel/rail-force–based maintenance interval extension of the C80 series wagon in China.
Design/methodology/approach
Chinese wagons' existing maintenance strategy had left a certain safety margin for the characteristics of widely running range, unstable service environment and submission to transportation organization requirements. To reduce maintenance costs, China railway (CR) has attempted to extend the maintenance interval since 2020. The maintenance cycle of C80 series heavy haul wagons is extended by three months (no stable routing) or 50,000 km (regular routing). However, in the meantime, the alarming rate of the running state, a key index to reflect the severe degree of hunting stability, by the train performance detection system (TPDS) for the C80 series heavy haul wagons has increased significantly.
Findings
The present paper addresses a big data statistical way to evaluate the risk of allowing the C80 series heavy haul wagons to remain in operation longer than stipulated by the maintenance interval initial set. Through the maintenance and wayside-detector data, which is divided into three stages, the extension period (three months), the current maintenance period and the previous maintenance period, this method reveals the alarming rate of hunting was correlated with maintenance interval. The maintainability of wagons will be achieved by utilizing wagon performance degradation modeling with the state of the wheelset and the often-contact side bearing. This paper also proposes a statistical model to return to the average safety level of the previous maintenance period's baseline through correct alarming thresholds for unplanned corrective maintenance.
Originality/value
The paper proposes an approach to reduce safety risk due to maintenance interval extension by effective maintenance program. The results are expected to help the railway company make the optimal solution to balance safety and the economy.
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Mohammad Nematpour and Amin Faraji
The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the positive and negative impacts of tourism on the process of tourism growth at a national scale in Iran, by taking into…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the positive and negative impacts of tourism on the process of tourism growth at a national scale in Iran, by taking into account the reviews of previous studies, views of experts and structural analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
In this investigation, structural analysis technique has been used to identify the correlation between variables by using mix method data analysis. By using cross-impact analysis (N × N integer matrix) in the form of the Micmac method, the economic, sociocultural and environmental factors have been evaluated.
Findings
The results of the distribution of factors in the coordinate axes and the graphs between them indicate their features, and for reaching a sustainable system of tourism development, at first, priority should be given to the negative influential factors, especially the environmental fields, and then the focus should be on the decrease of the dual and risk variables as they cannot be anticipated.
Originality/value
For the rapid growth of tourism in many countries, governments ensure that policies have been heeded in designing and preparing general plans of the country to understand how the development trend is moving on. In this respect, arisen impacts of tourism system are one of the important issues during the development path and in the field of tourism future. Because of the complexity and broadness of tourism activities, these impacts have also many interconnected dimensions that should also be considered while studying tourism impacts.
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Hong Jiang, Jingxuan Yang and Wentao Liu
This study aims to explore the effect of innovation ecosystem stability (IES) on innovation performance of enterprises through the mediating role of knowledge acquisition (KA), and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the effect of innovation ecosystem stability (IES) on innovation performance of enterprises through the mediating role of knowledge acquisition (KA), and to study how these effects are moderated by unabsorbed slack.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on data from 327 Chinese enterprises and adopts the multiple linear regression method and bootstrapping method to explore the mediating effect of KA and its moderated mediating effect.
Findings
The results demonstrate that IES is positively associated with innovation performance of enterprises, and KA plays a partially mediating role. Moreover, unabsorbed slack negatively moderates the relationship between IES and KA as well as the mediating effect of KA.
Originality/value
This study investigates the relationship between IES and innovation performance, and the mechanism of influence, which has not been previously studied in the field of innovation ecosystem. This study also examines the interaction between unabsorbed slack and IES and further clarifies the mechanism and boundary conditions of the impact of IES on innovation performance.
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