By 1995 the EC hopes to have in force a new directive to replacedirective 85/339 on containers of liquids for human consumption.Hopefully, this new directive will be more…
Abstract
By 1995 the EC hopes to have in force a new directive to replace directive 85/339 on containers of liquids for human consumption. Hopefully, this new directive will be more successful than its predecessor. By the directive the EC hopes to increase protection of the environment by establishing a return system for empty containers. It covers waste management by: (1) prevention, i.e. reduction of quantity or harmfulness of waste; (2) recovery, especially recycling; and (3) disposal, as a last resort. Discusses the impact of the directive on companies involved and how much can realistically be recycled; and that products cannot be recycled indefinitely. Also discusses the marking of packaging to indicate that it is reusable, recoverable, and its composition; and considers the value of this information to the consumer and those involved with disposal and waste management.
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Lisa J. Servon, M. Anne Visser and Robert W. Fairlie
Previous research suggests that inefficiencies in the small business market exist surrounding the availability of capital by Small and Microenterprises (SMMEs). Using data from…
Abstract
Previous research suggests that inefficiencies in the small business market exist surrounding the availability of capital by Small and Microenterprises (SMMEs). Using data from the 1992 Characteristics of Business Owners Survey (CBO), the 2002 Survey of Business Owners (SBO), and the 2003 Survey of Small Business Finance (SSBF) this paper empirically estimates the "capital gap"- that is the unmet capital demand for business by SMMEs. We find that there is in fact a capital gap as the supply of capital available in the SMME market is not large enough to meet market demand. Given the importance of small businesses to economic vitality, growth, and recovery of the United States economy, the research provides critical and timely findings for policymakers and public finance managers seeking economic development and recovery
Aleksandra Gawel and Timo Toikko
This paper aims to verify the positive impact of legislative changes aimed at decontrolling the market on the entrepreneurial process of new companies’ creation. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to verify the positive impact of legislative changes aimed at decontrolling the market on the entrepreneurial process of new companies’ creation. The entrepreneurial process has been analysed in the context of innovation, risk and market opportunities, which represent the three main approaches to entrepreneurship theories. The analysis is focussed on the social service sector in Finland.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on an ex post facto research design. The data are based on official statistics and the data bank of legislation. The case of Finland is used as an example for explaining the determinants of new company creation.
Findings
Legislative changes aimed at decontrolling the market seem to have a positive impact on the entrepreneurial process of new company creation. This influence is manifested in the form of market opportunities, risk bearing and the introduction of innovation. Of these three factors influencing the start-up process, the opportunities for market exploitation seem to have the greatest impact. In the Finnish social service sector, entrepreneurial opportunities are based on changes in the political structures that influence the market conditions. Entrepreneurs have also contributed to the opportunities by being active and innovative in filling any new gap in the market structures.
Practical implications
These results might be useful in the debate on policies supporting entrepreneurship. The example of the Finnish social service sector indicates that political changes in market regulations are a very effective method of supporting the process of entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
The paper is among the first to analyse both legislative changes and market changes affecting the entrepreneurial process, which indicates that the research is comprehensive. Second, legislative political actions to decontrol the market are a starting point in the discussion on the determinants of the entrepreneurial process. Third, the contribution of legislative changes in terms of market opportunities, innovation and risk bearing as avenues of influence on the entrepreneurial process is analysed.
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Using the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II dataset, we examine the role that household income plays in the emergence of consumer-oriented start-ups by individual (solo)…
Abstract
Using the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II dataset, we examine the role that household income plays in the emergence of consumer-oriented start-ups by individual (solo), family-based (family), and non-family based start-ups (team). In particular, we address the research question: Does household income impact firm emergence, and if so, is emergence impacted differently based on start-up configuration? Our results indicate that household income does have a significant impact on average firm emergence, as well as on emergence growth rates for solo and family firms, playing an especially significant role for family firms. Furthermore, we found that household income is not a significant predictor of start-up activity completion for teams. Results from our study reinforce the extant literature on the benefits of starting a firm with teams, and suggests that these enterprise types may provide a more stable platform on which to launch a start-up. Implications of these findings and opportunities for future research are offered.
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Muhammed Abu Nasra and Amalya Oliver
This study examines the social and human capital of successful Arab and Jewish technological entrepreneurs in Israel, and explores how human and social capital differ between…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the social and human capital of successful Arab and Jewish technological entrepreneurs in Israel, and explores how human and social capital differ between technology-based industries.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was conducted using a sample of 1,184 technology-based ventures from two technology-based industries—life science (LS) and information technology (IT)—that were founded by Jewish and Arab entrepreneurs.
Findings
The results show that in the LS industry, successful Arab entrepreneurs possess higher human and social capital compared with Jewish entrepreneurs. However, in the IT industry, the Jewish entrepreneurs possess higher human and social capital. These findings reflect the deeper entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities regarding ethnic entrepreneurs' ability to break through technology-based industries. Future research directions are provided.
Originality/value
This study makes two contributions to the theoretical understanding of ethnic entrepreneurship and technology-based ventures. First, this study focuses on the impact of human and social capital on economic growth in the context of technological entrepreneurship in technology-based industries, since the ethnic entrepreneurship literature has mainly focused on traditional industries. Second, this study examines the effect of the founders' ethnicity, and explores how human and social capital factors vary across industries due to their specific contextual characteristics.
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The recent publication of a sixth edition of Dornbusch and Fischer’s (D&F’s) Macroeconomics will be of interest to many teachers of macro theory. D&F’s text must currently be one…
Abstract
The recent publication of a sixth edition of Dornbusch and Fischer’s (D&F’s) Macroeconomics will be of interest to many teachers of macro theory. D&F’s text must currently be one of the most widely used intermediate‐level guides to macroeconomics; as the authors themselves tell us, the book has been translated into many languages and is in use around the world “from Canada to Argentina and Australia, all over Europe, in India, Indonesia and Japan, from China and Albania to Russia”. The undogmatic “middle‐of‐the‐road” approach, together with the careful and clear presentation characteristic of this user‐friendly textbook, has won it many friends.
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Seyedeh Khatereh Daneshjoovash, Parivash Jafari, Abbas Khamseh and Mohammad Hossein Saber
The study aims to identify a model of commercializing entrepreneurial ideas in information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge-based companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to identify a model of commercializing entrepreneurial ideas in information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge-based companies.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method has been used in the research. The participants of the qualitative part were 15 key informants selected by sampling method purposefully and theoretically, while a sample of 205 experts was randomly chosen for the quantitative part. Data collection was completed through a semistructured interview in the qualitative part and by a researcher-made questionnaire in the quantitative part. The reliability of the research was confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha. The validity of the qualitative and quantitative parts was approved, respectively, by the criteria of Corbin and Strauss (2008) and by the content validity. Data analysis was done in the qualitative part through open, axial and selective coding, while in the quantitative part through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS).
Findings
The commercialization model of ICT entrepreneurial ideas was depicted by the paradigmatic version of Corbin and Strauss (2008). The model has been consisted of six sectors as follows: causal conditions (including stimuli of science and technology parks, interests and motivation of managers of ICT knowledge-based company and environmental stimuli), contextual conditions (including skills and abilities of managers of ICT knowledge-based company, status of ICT knowledge-based company and enabling and facilitating legal framework), intervening conditions (including the complex nature of the ICT industry, science and technology parks’ support of companies, facilities and equipment for commercialization of ICT entrepreneurial ideas and economic system stability), strategies (including marketing research, planning and feasibility study of ICT entrepreneurial idea, design and production of ICT product and release and supply of ICT product), consequences (successful commercialization of ICT entrepreneurial ideas in the post-COVID-19 era) and the central phenomenon (ICT entrepreneurial ideas: commercialization in the post-COVID-19 era). Then, the main factors were confirmed through PLS-SEM and ANFIS. Among the factors, interests and motivation of managers of ICT knowledge-based companies, status of ICT knowledge-based companies, facilities and equipment for commercialization of ICT entrepreneurial ideas and release and supply of ICT products were identified as the most influential factors.
Practical implications
The model can help solve the challenges of managers and policymakers to commercialize ICT entrepreneurial ideas. Therefore, innovative production will increase, value will be created for the beneficiaries and economic, social and political growth will occur in the post-Corona era.
Social implications
Commercialization of ICT entrepreneurial ideas has the potential to affect many aspects of economic and societal activities in the society such as GDP growth, employment, productivity, poverty alleviation, quality of life and education.
Originality/value
The research includes innovation in presenting a multidimensional commercialization model based on an entrepreneurial perspective in the special field of ICT with a mixed approach including grounded theory, PLS-SEM and ANFIS in ICT knowledge-based companies. But the most important innovation of the study is related to the findings. The main categories, subcategories and concepts of the research have been presented in the form of a theory entitled “ICT entrepreneurial ideas: commercialization in the post-COVID-19 era.”
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Important new tools are now available to planning professionals and their information systems support staff. These new tools create both opportunities and hazards—including the…
Abstract
Important new tools are now available to planning professionals and their information systems support staff. These new tools create both opportunities and hazards—including the hazard of overlooking an opportunity for competitive advantage. The problem is that, while changes in price and performance are happening so fast that rapid obsolescence of equipment and software is inevitable, the costs of frequent replacement must be weighted against the cost of missed opportunities.
This paper starts from the familiar premise of evidence-based policy, and examines the active role that researchers play in policy development processes. The interactive nature of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper starts from the familiar premise of evidence-based policy, and examines the active role that researchers play in policy development processes. The interactive nature of much research translation immediately suggests the need to consider the dynamic way in which problems come to be understood, which is explored in this paper. Furthermore, the integration of research knowledge with the knowledges of “ordinary” citizens is a key challenge. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper represents a synthesis of recent studies conducted by the author and her colleagues along with other drug policy literature.
Findings
The interactive and dialogic processes that researchers engage with, whether as knowledge brokers or participants in elite policy development forums, have implications for how policy problems (and solutions) come to be constituted. Four perspectives and theoretical approaches are briefly outlined: research design; policy processes; problematization; and critical social sciences analyses. These offer different ways of seeing, understanding and analyzing the relationship between problems, policy solutions and the policy processes. Yet all have lessons for the ways in which research evidence and researchers constitute policy. This needs to sit alongside the role of other drug policy stakeholders – notably the “ordinary” citizen. It is argued that the elite role of research can be tempered with engagement of ordinary citizens. While it can be challenging to reconcile general public views about drugs with the evidence-base, deliberative democracy approaches may hold some promise.
Originality/value
This paper draws together a number of central themes for drug policy processes research: where the evidence-based policy paradigm intersects with participatory democracy; how problems are constituted; and the privileged role of research and researchers.