Colin Williams and Jan Windebank
The aim of this paper is to evaluate contrasting ways of tackling self-employment in the informal sector. Conventionally, the participation of the self-employed in the informal…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to evaluate contrasting ways of tackling self-employment in the informal sector. Conventionally, the participation of the self-employed in the informal sector has been viewed as a rational economic decision taken when the expected benefits outweigh the costs, and thus enforcement authorities have sought to change the benefit-to-cost ratio by increasing the punishments and chances of being caught. Recently, however, neo-institutional theory has viewed such endeavor as a product of a lack of vertical trust (in government) and horizontal trust (in others) and pursued trust-building strategies to nurture voluntary compliance.
Design/methodology/approach
To evaluate these contrasting policy approaches, data are reported from special Eurobarometer survey 92.1 conducted in 2019 across 28 European countries (the 27 member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom) involving over 27,565 interviews.
Findings
Using probit regression analysis, the finding is that the likelihood of participation in informal self-employment is not associated with the level of expected punishments and chances of being caught, but is significantly associated with the level of vertical and horizontal trust, with a greater likelihood of participation in informal self-employment when there is lower vertical and horizontal trust.
Practical implications
The outcome is a call for state authorities to shift away from the use of repressive policy measures that increase the penalties and chances of being caught and toward trust-building strategies to nurture voluntary compliance. How this can be achieved is explored.
Originality/value
Evidence is provided to justify a shift toward seeking trust-building strategies by state authorities to engender voluntary compliance among the self-employed operating in the informal sector in Europe.
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Tamara Gajić, Marko D. Petrović, Ivana Blešić, Milan M. Radovanović and Julia A. Syromiatnikova
During the pandemic, two types of fear were identified that occur significantly in all groups or profiles of people. The aim of this paper is to determine which of the two types…
Abstract
Purpose
During the pandemic, two types of fear were identified that occur significantly in all groups or profiles of people. The aim of this paper is to determine which of the two types of fears exist in certain psychological groups, and which of the fears strongly influence the decision to travel.
Design/methodology/approach
The VALS 2 method and standardized questionnaire were used for the segmentation of the tourist market or for the determination of the psychographic profiles of the consumers, and three additional questions were joined to it as they were vital for the research of the type of fear and its impact on the decision for traveling. When the reliability of the questionnaire and the validity of the sample were determined, the data were further processed using a computer program package IMB AMOS SPSS 21.00, and then, based on the theoretical suppositions and hypotheses, the SEM structural model was created.
Findings
The paper indicates the existence of established types of fears in humans, when it comes to pandemics and similar crisis situations. People are most afraid of infection during travel, and lack of funds and job loss during the critical period of the pandemic. The research conducted confirms that all groups of people, who are determined by the psychological technique VALS 2, react with a certain dose of fear and make decisions under the pressure of fears.
Research limitations/implications
The research had limitations in terms of contact with people and conducting live surveys. The measures during the pandemic, which were carried out by the state, included social distance and limited movement of people.
Practical implications
The work can contribute to the community, along with similar research. The results of the research will be available, and it will be possible to see the behavior of people during crisis situations, and the impact of fears on making decisions, both travel decisions and decisions related to other areas of life.
Originality/value
The paper provides research results on a large sample of respondents, and can serve as a basis for further research in the field of tourism, psychology and similar fields. It is crucial to consider the type of fears, and the strength of the impact of these fears on the decision to travel, during crisis situations.
This article aims to explore how Japanese women with younger children changed their commitment to the labour market between 2000 and 2019 by comparing mothers in three-generation…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to explore how Japanese women with younger children changed their commitment to the labour market between 2000 and 2019 by comparing mothers in three-generation and nuclear family households.
Design/methodology/approach
Japan currently has the highest ageing rate in the world at nearly 30%. Since the 1990s, employment flexibilization and women's labour market participation have proceeded in parallel, and the conservative family values of the patriarchy and gender division of labour that have provided intergenerational aid for care within households have been shrinking, by conducting a descriptive analysis of the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
Findings
This study identified that a conspicuous increase in part-time employment among mothers in both household types and a decrease by half in the working mother's population in three-generation households. These results suggest that the function of inter-generational assistance by multi-generation cohabitation, which was once thought to be effective in helping working mothers with younger children, is declining.
Originality/value
A study examining the transformation of mothers' employment behaviour differences between three-generation households and nuclear family households is rare. This paper makes a new contribution to the research regarding the grandparents' caregiving, household types and mothers' employment.
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Jorge Villagrasa, Alejandro Escribá-Esteve, Colin Donaldson and Esther Sánchez-Peinado
In this paper we propose to study the differences among family and non-family-firms in relation to its financial strength, and therefore its potential position to resist in front…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper we propose to study the differences among family and non-family-firms in relation to its financial strength, and therefore its potential position to resist in front of financial crisis and receive financial support or conditions by public or private institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
We used multiple hierarchical regressions on a sample of 137 Spanish medium-sized firms (SMEs).
Findings
We observe that the perspectives and idiosyncratic characteristics of family-firms (strongly influenced by their socioemotional wealth) will affect the way these companies invest and operate in the market, which would be more related to efficiency because of their higher willingness to continue the legacy of the business and their weak risk-bearing attributes.
Research limitations/implications
Our study adopts a measure of familiness with a dummy variable, and not as a continuous variable as proposed by recent research. Therefore, our results although relevant and significant for the family firm literature, must be viewed carefully. Additional research could also retest some prior studies to depict differences caused by “real” family firm involvement.
Practical implications
Under a non-munificent environment, the financial strength maintained by firms will be highly relevant since this context could likely stress and influence their immediate future and viability, overcoming and blurring any other characteristic present in the firm or its managers.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the family firm literature by offering insights into the nuanced dynamics between family and non-family firms during economic downturns, specifically examining their financial strength when different strategic options are pursued and when firms are managed by different type of managers.
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Marte Mangset, Fredrik Engelstad, Mari Teigen and Trygve Gulbrandsen
Critiques of elites define populism, which conceives of power relations as a unified, conspiring elite exploiting the good people. Yet, populism itself is inherently elitist…
Abstract
Critiques of elites define populism, which conceives of power relations as a unified, conspiring elite exploiting the good people. Yet, populism itself is inherently elitist, calling for a strong leader to take power and channel the will of the people. Elite theory, surprisingly overlooked in scholarship on populism, can clarify this apparent paradox and elucidate the dimensions of populism and its risk of authoritarianism in new ways. In contrast to populist ideological conceptions of power relations in society, elite theory points to the possibility that several elites with diverging voices and interests exist. Furthermore, elite theorists argue that such elite pluralism is a necessary component of a well-functioning democracy. Much scholarship on populism, often aiming to understand its causes and focussing on Western Europe and North America, points to the similarities of populist movements. The focus on similarities strengthens the understanding of populism as a uniform phenomenon and populist elite critiques as homogeneous. However, broader comparative studies show that different populist movements target a range of various elite groups. Indeed, the empirical reality of populist elite critiques targeting diverse elite groups is more in line with elite theory than populist ideological conceptions of power relations in society. A key to grasping the democratic challenges posed by the power relations between elites and masses in both populist critiques and populist solutions is an understanding of the institutional conditions for elite integration versus elite pluralism. This central discussion in both classical and modern elite theory is applied to analyse populism in this contribution.
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Monder Ram, Paul Edwards, Trevor Jones and Maria Villares-Varela
The purpose of this paper is to assess ways in which informality can be understood and reviews an emerging area of management scholarship. The origins and nature of informality…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess ways in which informality can be understood and reviews an emerging area of management scholarship. The origins and nature of informality are discussed with the aid of two different theoretical tools: “workplace sociology” (WS) and “mixed embeddedness” (ME).
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is grounded in empirical material reflecting different aspects of informality mainly within the ethnic economy, such as a study on the implementation of the National Minimum Wage regulations (Ram et al., 2007; Jones et al., 2004, 2006).
Findings
The authors argue that the combination of WS and ME provides a valuable means of content and character of informality. It can also help to explaining variations and patterns within the informal economy, as well as understanding new forms of informality in the ethnic economy and beyond in “superdiverse” contexts.
Originality/value
This paper bridges two different theoretical approaches to explain the interactions between the firm and state regulations, as well as the workplace relations between employer and employees.
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Gustav Hägg, Colin Jones and Birgitte Wraae
Entrepreneurial education (EE) has grown rapidly and become important for how we prepare future generations for work. However, a less addressed piece of the puzzle is: who is the…
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurial education (EE) has grown rapidly and become important for how we prepare future generations for work. However, a less addressed piece of the puzzle is: who is the entrepreneurial educator? In this paper, our aim draws upon Palmer’s (1998) idea of wholeness, where we seek to connect the two problem spaces of the role diversity of entrepreneurial educators and how the educator is closely tied to the evolutionary development of the domain in constructing signature pedagogies that could cater for the issue of a low capitalization rate.
Design/methodology/approach
We problematize on a conceptual level the entry-level personas that have been addressed in prior literature by using the processes of transferability and evolutionary theory to tease out how variability among educators could create antecedents to form a signature pedagogy.
Findings
We recognize four archetypes: the experienced entrepreneur, the entrepreneurship scholar, the academic scholar and the pedagogical expert. Our problematization on the variance of the four archetypes provides a fertile ground to engage in addressing “the elephants in the room” in EE, the capitalization rate of graduates and the importance of developing a signature pedagogy, acknowledged in other domains, to enhance legitimacy.
Originality/value
The paper provides a nuanced outlook on who is teaching in the entrepreneurial classroom and problematizes from an evolutionary perspective the potential future paths to continue staying relevant for society as well as justifying our presence as a legit domain in academia.
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Ian Pepper, Colin Rogers and Helen Martin
As the education of new police constables moves to degree level, this paper explores the introduction of Evidence-Based Policing (EBP) as a pillar of the evolution of the police…
Abstract
Purpose
As the education of new police constables moves to degree level, this paper explores the introduction of Evidence-Based Policing (EBP) as a pillar of the evolution of the police service as a profession.
Design/methodology/approach
Combining a review of key literature and explorations of practice, the current situation, challenges, and benefits of the adoption of EBP as philosophy are explored.
Findings
The benefits to the police service and individuals of wholeheartedly adopting EBP are huge; however, such adoption does not come without challenges.
Originality/value
This paper provides a contemporary snapshot in relation to the process of embedding EBP across the new educational routes to joining the police service. The opportunities provided by adopting EBP as philosophy across the service will assist in supporting and strengthening the sustainability of policing locally, nationally, and internationally.
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The purpose of the paper is to theorize how to develop student entrepreneurs' ability to reflect by means of a learning activity called the entrepreneurial diary, which seeks to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to theorize how to develop student entrepreneurs' ability to reflect by means of a learning activity called the entrepreneurial diary, which seeks to develop self-regulated learners capable of intelligent entrepreneurial action. The importance of self-regulation in entrepreneurship is linked to the individual's ability to make judgments under conditions of uncertainty, which requires reflective thinking.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on a synthesized conceptualization of three main literature strands, reflective thinking, cognitive-load theory and experiential entrepreneurship education. In addition to the synthesized conceptualization, it builds on some empirical insights derived from a venture creation master programme in which the learning activity has been developed and refined for the last seven years.
Findings
The main finding from the paper is the theoretical justification for why reflective thinking deserves an important place in the educational process and how the entrepreneurial diary as a learning activity can create a bridge between theory and practice in venture creation programmes that take an experience-based pedagogical approach. Furthermore, the study also provides some empirical insights of how students create self-awareness of their learning through the method and the metareflection reports. Self-awareness is foundational for developing conditional knowledge on why and when to make entrepreneurial decisions to balance the often action-oriented processes seen in venture creation programmes.
Originality/value
The paper provides both a practical learning activity to be used in the entrepreneurial classroom and a theoretical contribution on how entrepreneurial experience is transformed into entrepreneurial knowledge to enhance students' judgmental abilities to make entrepreneurial decisions in future entrepreneurial endeavours.