Cristian Gherhes, Tim Vorley and Chay Brooks
Despite their economic significance, empirical evidence on the growth constraints facing micro-businesses as an important subset of small and medium enterprises remains scarce. At…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite their economic significance, empirical evidence on the growth constraints facing micro-businesses as an important subset of small and medium enterprises remains scarce. At the same time, little consideration has hitherto been given to the context in which entrepreneurial activity occurs. The purpose of this paper is to develop an empirically informed contextual understanding of micro-business growth, beyond firm-level constraints.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on 50 in-depth interviews with stakeholders and micro-business owner–manager entrepreneurs (OMEs henceforth) in a peripheral post-industrial place (PPIP henceforth).
Findings
The paper shows that, beyond firm-level constraints generated by their OME-centric nature, there are “additional costs” for micro-businesses operating in PPIPs, specifically limited access to higher-skilled labour, a more challenging, “closed” business environment and negative outward perceptions stemming from place stigmatisation. All of these “additional costs” can serve to stymie OMEs' growth ambition.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is based on a limited number of interviews conducted in one region in England. However, the contextualisation of the findings through a focus on PPIPs provides valuable insights and enables analytical generalisation.
Originality/value
The article develops a context-sensitive model of micro-business growth constraints, one that goes beyond the constraints inherent in the nature of micro-businesses and is sensitive to their local (socio-institutional) operating context. The implications serve to advance both how enterprise in the periphery is theorised and how it is addressed by policymakers and business intermediaries to support the growth of micro-businesses.
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Chay Brooks, Cristian Gherhes, Tim Vorley and Nick Williams
The aim of this paper is to unpack the nature of business innovation and understand the impact on regional innovation and competitiveness.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to unpack the nature of business innovation and understand the impact on regional innovation and competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a qualitative study of Advanced Manufacturing and Advanced Materials businesses in the Sheffield City Region (UK). Interviews were conducted with 23 firms in exploring how innovation in the firm translates to innovation-led regional economic growth.
Findings
The paper demonstrates that there is a tendency of owner managers to focus on innovation in terms of the development of new products, processes and/or services. Many of the businesses interviewed were technologically innovative, yet there was little evidence of wider business model innovation. This, the authors conclude, stymies regional innovation and with it regional economic growth.
Research limitations/implications
This study is based on a case study of the Sheffield City Region and is not generalizable, but offers insights into the nature of business model innovation which are valuable in generating questions for further research.
Practical implications
The paper highlights the need to think of innovation in broader terms and the scope of business model innovation to not only improve the performance of firms but also regional economic growth.
Originality/value
Business model innovation is a growing domain of the literature, and this paper highlights how narrow interpretations of innovation may serve to limit growth business growth, and with it regional economic growth.
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Chay Brooks, Tim Vorley and Cristian Gherhes
The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the role of public policy in the formation of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Poland.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the role of public policy in the formation of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Poland.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper assumes a qualitative approach to researching and analysing how public policy enables and constrains the formation of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The authors conducted a series of focus groups with regional and national policy makers, enterprises and intermediaries in three Polish voivodeships (regions) – Malopolska, Mazowieckie and Pomorskie.
Findings
The paper finds that applying the entrepreneurial ecosystems approach is a challenging prospect for public policy characterised by a theory-practice gap. Despite the attraction of entrepreneurial ecosystems as a heuristic to foster entrepreneurial activity, the cases highlight the complexity of implementing the framework conditions in practice. As the Polish case demonstrates, there are aspects of entrepreneurial ecosystems that are beyond the immediate scope of public policy.
Research limitations/implications
The results challenge the view that the entrepreneurial ecosystems framework represents a readily implementable public policy solution to stimulate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial growth. Insights are drawn from three regions, although by their nature these are predominantly city centric, highlighting the bounded geography of entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Originality/value
This paper poses new questions regarding the capacity of public policy to establish and extend entrepreneurial ecosystems. While public policy can shape the framework and system conditions, the paper argues that these interventions are often based on superficial or incomplete interpretations of the entrepreneurial ecosystems literature and tend to ignore or underestimate informal institutions that can undermine these efforts. As such, by viewing the ecosystems approach as a panacea for growth policy makers risk opening Pandora’s box.
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Alessio Fusco and Nizamul Islam
This paper investigates the effect of household size, and in particular of the number of children of different age groups, on poverty, defined as being in a situation of low…
Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of household size, and in particular of the number of children of different age groups, on poverty, defined as being in a situation of low income. We apply various static and dynamic probit models to control for the endogeneity of the variables of interest and to account for unobserved heterogeneity, state dependence, and serially correlated error components. Using Luxembourg longitudinal data, we show that the number of children of different age groups significantly affects the probability of being poor. However, the magnitude of the effect varies across different specifications. In addition, we find strong evidence of true poverty persistency due to past experience, spurious poverty persistency due to individual heterogeneity, and transitory random shocks.
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Traci May‐Plumlee and Trevor J. Little
This paper presents a model for an effective product development process, which is now becoming increasingly critical to success of apparel firms.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents a model for an effective product development process, which is now becoming increasingly critical to success of apparel firms.
Design/methodology/approach
This research modeled apparel product development as a market driven process and integrated the consumer purchase decision in the model of proactive product development integrating consumer requirements (PPDICR). The PPDICR links the consumer purchase decision and multiple consumer research strategies to specific stages of the no‐interval coherently phased product development model for apparel through 15 avenues of consumer input.
Findings
The PPDICR model contributes to our understanding on how consumer input can be used to facilitate the process and through what avenues that input may be acquired. This model provides an effective tool for intra‐company to inter‐business analysis of consumer input into the apparel product development process.
Research limitations/implications
The PPDICR provides a theoretical understanding of apparel production, and is useful to researchers in visualizing the impact of changes in the business environment, integrating research projects, and establishing research priorities.
Practical implications
Practitioners may use the model to improve and develop products, select appropriate consumer input, and strategically plan organizational changes.
Originality/value
This model is a useful tool for effective product development both for researchers and industrialists alike. It brings in the important element of the integration of consumer information.
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Arawati Agus and Rajni Selvaraj
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between quality of work life (QWL), employee commitment and the intention to stay of nurses in private hospitals in…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between quality of work life (QWL), employee commitment and the intention to stay of nurses in private hospitals in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study. Primary data were collected through self-administered questionnaires with nurses as the respondents from four private hospitals in the states of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Out of 300 questionnaires distributed, 202 valid responses were received. Statistical analyses employed were descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The strongest QWL construct that contributed significantly to the intention to stay among respondents is work context, followed by work world, work design and work life/home life. The findings further indicate that employee commitment partially mediates the relationship between QWL and the intention to stay. In conclusion, if employees are contented with their QWL, the stronger will the employee commitment be in the organization and ultimately their intention to stay.
Originality/value
This study provides robust evidence for private hospital administrators to enhance their employees' QWL, especially if they are opting to ensure that the turnover of the staff is contained.
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This paper aims to provide an overall picture of Vietnamese international student mobility which remains silent in Vietnamese international education and migration research.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide an overall picture of Vietnamese international student mobility which remains silent in Vietnamese international education and migration research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper traces the evolvement of Vietnamese student outflows in a historical approach by analyzing official documents published by governmental agencies, public media and international education and migration literatures.
Findings
While the early Vietnamese student movements from the early 20th century to the 1986 Open Door period were mostly shaped by political purposes, the current trend is influenced by social and political transformations in Vietnam and host countries and by changes in the practices of higher education internationalization policies in host countries. It also argues that the present movement of Vietnamese students, which is seen as the government's strategic approach to improve the quality of the existing workforce for their industrialization process by 2020, becomes politicized as human capital is recognized as the focal force for the country's development and global integration.
Originality/value
By analyzing the factors behind Vietnamese international student mobility, the paper hopes to contribute an understanding of the international student movements and professional migration in Vietnam which are still under‐researched.
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Many, if not all, professions place a high value on ethical conduct. Professionals working in organisations that are perceived to have a low regard for ethics should therefore…
Abstract
Purpose
Many, if not all, professions place a high value on ethical conduct. Professionals working in organisations that are perceived to have a low regard for ethics should therefore experience occupational‐organisational conflict leading to lower organisational commitment. The purpose of the paper is to examine the relationship between police officers' perceptions of their organisation's commitment to ethics, and their affective commitment to that organisation and their occupation.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from a recent survey (2005) of frontline police officers in Western Australia are analysed (n=1,837). Analysis of the gender, age, years in the organisation and other demographics show the sample of respondents is representative of the total workforce of frontline officers. The moderating role of tenure is examined for officers with two to ten years (n=697), 11‐20 years (n=687), and more than 20 years (n=453) using multi‐sample analysis.
Findings
Perceptions of officers early in their career about their organisation's commitment to ethics is more important to their commitment to their occupation than for officers with more than ten years' tenure. Perceptions of officers about their organisation's regard for ethics in the middle stage of their careers were found to impact relatively weakly on their commitment to their organisation compared with officers earlier or later in their career.
Practical implications
The study suggests that leaders and managers in policing organisations should pay particular attention to the perceptions early career officers develop regarding ethics if they want to strengthen occupational and organisational commitment and increase the likelihood they will remain in working in the profession.
Originality/value
The paper shows that police work demands that a strong climate for ethics exists within policing organisations. The importance to officers' sense of identification with their profession and commitment to their organisation at different stages of their career has received limited attention despite the implications for leadership and management practices.
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Serap Benligiray and Harun Sonmez
It is very important for health institutions to develop the occupational commitment of their nurses. While the occupational commitments of the nurses develop during their…
Abstract
Purpose
It is very important for health institutions to develop the occupational commitment of their nurses. While the occupational commitments of the nurses develop during their education, they also change according to certain variables during their work life. In order to employ nurses who are more committed to their occupation, it is essential to know the effects of these variables on occupational commitment. The purpose of this paper is to exhibit and test a model that will display the correlation between demographic, work life and family life variables and occupational commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted with the participation of 355 nurses employed in seven state hospitals with 500 or more bed capacity and three medical faculties under the administration of Ankara Ministry of Health, using the proportional distribution method in stratified sampling. Structural equation modeling was used for analysis.
Findings
The results of the analysis suggest that there is a relationship between the nurses’ professional commitment and age, education, parental status, tenure and working hours scheme. Although the previous studies generally revealed a positive relationship between professional commitment and age and tenure, the relationship found out in this study is a negative one. Similarly, although a negative relationship was presented between professional commitment and parental status and working hours scheme, the relationship revealed in this study is a positive one. Further, unlike the previous studies, this study found out no relationship between the nurses’ professional commitment and weekly working time.
Originality/value
This study is an original study, having been applied to a different sample in a different cultural environment. The authors sincerely believe that the results of the study will be beneficial to the scientific world.