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Traditional contracting often leads to claims during construction by contractors, increasing transaction costs for both parties in the form of policing and enforcement costs. Partnering is widely advocated as a governance form to more cooperative relationships between client and contractor. However, partnering requires a significant investment in elaborating a specific procurement approach, and is regarded as inappropriate for small, one-off, less complex projects. Dutch municipal governments are searching for alternative solutions to increase cooperation with contractors and reduce transaction costs by applying immediate post contractual negotiations in traditionally procured projects. We studied four such municipal projects which have shown that immediate post contractual negotiations achieve the effects of partnering despite the initial traditional procurement procedures. These negotiations seem to reduce the transaction costs of traditional procurement making them particularly applicable in smaller projects where high set up costs would not be justifiable due to their limited size, complexity, or cost.

In this paper, I explore what shapes the identities of digital nomads (DNs), a class of remote workers who travel and work concurrently. Through extensive fieldwork and interviews with 50 digital nomads conducted in seven coworking hostels in Mexico in 2022, I construct a theory of DN identity. I base this upon the frequent transformations they undergo in their Circumstances, which regularly change their worker identity.

DNs relinquish traditional social determinants of identity, such as nationality and religion. They define their personal identities by their passions and interests, which are influenced by the people they meet. DNs exist in inherently transitive social spaces and, without rigid social roles to fulfil, they represent themselves authentically. They form close relationships with other long-term travellers to combat loneliness and homesickness. Digital nomads define their worker identities around their location independence. This study shows that DNs value their nomadic lifestyle above promotions and financial gain. They define themselves by productivity and professionalism to ensure the sustainability of their lifestyle. Furthermore, digital nomad coworking hubs serve focused, individual work, leaving workplace politics and strict ‘office image’ norms behind. Without fixed social and professional roles to play, digital nomads define themselves personally according to their ever-evolving passions and the sustainability of their nomadic life. Based on these findings, I present a cyclical framework for DN identity evolution which demonstrates how relational, logistical, and socio-personal flux evolves DN’s worker identities.

The purpose of this paper is to present a method of solving a thermal conduction equation in three‐zone axially‐symmetrical systems.

In the method developed, the field functions are determined in the analytical way by the superposition of states and separation of variables method. The coefficients of the field functions and eigenvalues of the boundary‐initial problem are computed by the numerical method. The coefficients are the solution to the corresponding sets of equations. These sets are the result of scalar products of non‐orthogonal functions at the respective zones of the cable. The eigenvalues are determined by an algorithm, which uses the field properties and elements of the golden cut method.

The method made it possible to develop a mathematical model of the dynamics of the thermal field in a polymer DC cable. This model has good physical interpretation. The paper also presents the field distributions determined in an analytical form. Some arguments of the expressions derived are however computed numerically. The results obtained by the paper's method and by the finite elements methods were compared. The relative differences are less than 6 per cent.

The method concerns axially‐symmetrical three‐zone systems under nominal conditions.

By means of the method important parameters of DC lines can be determined (e.g. spatial‐temporal heat‐up curves, admissible sustained currents, time constants).

An analytical‐numerical method of analysis of the thermal field in a three‐zone axially‐symmetrical system was developed. Its original element is the algorithm of determination of eigenvalues of the boundary‐initial problem and coefficients of non‐orthogonal field functions.

The business angels market dramatically changed the modus operandi and nature of business angels’ activity, evolving from lone investors to angel groups managed professionally. This paper aims to analyze the impact of angel perceived career development on angel satisfaction and, consequently, on their intention to continue investing.

A model was tested through covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS based on data collected from 336 business angels from seven European countries.

The results highlight that: the perception of personal development is a decisive factor in pursuing the career of business angel; personal development has a higher explanatory power in angel career development than fostering innovation; and the perception of career development has positive impacts on angels’ job satisfaction and reinvestment intention. The paper ends with implications and guidelines for angels, gatekeepers and entrepreneurs, which may increase satisfaction with the angel experience and contribute to enriching business angel work.

Cross-sectional self-reported data were used to analyze the results of this study.

To paper extends the body of knowledge of business angels’ perceived career development, with implications for business angels, which may increase satisfaction with angel experience and, therefore, contribute to enhancing business angels’ activity. Thus, this study provides a consistent reference for forthcoming studies regarding the career of business angels and their relationship with entrepreneurs.

This paper replicates and refines the finding that subsidies for charitable contributions of a rebate type are less effective than matching subsidies. A survey based field experiment with health charities was conducted among a national sample representative of the Dutch population on key demographic characteristics. The greater effectiveness of matching subsidies found in laboratory experiments is replicated. Also some evidence is provided on why matches are more effective than rebates. Matches attract a larger pool of donors, in part because donors expect more people to make donations and “join in.” Matches also increase the amount contributed among the higher educated, higher income households and larger donors. Subsidies of either type do not decrease subsequent giving in a campaign for tsunami relief. The experiment could not test whether the greater effectiveness of a matching subsidy is due to a change in the donor’s attention to the benefits of a donation to the cause. This explanation should be tested in future research. The findings imply that a given budget available to subsidize charitable contributions can be used more effectively if the subsidy is framed in the form of a match than in the form of a rebate. Nonprofit organizations can use this insight in the design of fundraising campaigns. For governments the finding suggests that the effectiveness of current subsidies for charitable contributions can be enhanced by matching them rather than providing a deduction in the income tax, which works as a rebate.

The novel coronavirus (nCoV) pandemic, and the challenges of social distancing, proffer a unique opportunity to re-explore the role of social network support in entrepreneurship. Applying social support theory and gender schema theory, this study aims to examine the gender-based differences in prospective entrepreneurs' reliance on their social networks in their entrepreneurial journey amid social turmoil.

The authors collected two-stage primary survey data of prospective entrepreneurs within the pandemic's timeframe from Science and Technology Parks in Iran, one of the first countries to deal with the first, second and third waves of the 2019-nCoV virus.

The findings demonstrate that female entrepreneurs rely more strongly on their social network support for guidance and encouragement, which positively affects their opportunity intention. While this effect is also seen in men, the effect size is smaller. Also, prospective female entrepreneurs were generally more dissuaded from opportunity intention by the severe perceived environmental uncertainty of the crisis than were men.

Prior research on the interaction between social network support and opportunity intentions has been examined in the context of socio-economic normalcy. The authors test whether, how and why these interactions hold in times of crisis, with especial attention to the mechanisms of experienced stress, perceived environmental uncertainty and idea innovativeness.

Lockdowns and the forced closure of certain industries during the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted workers, particularly entrepreneurs, who were financially and emotionally involved in their businesses. Two studies have shown that entrepreneurs have a lower willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 than employees. In this study, the authors try to replicate the vaccination gap between the two groups. Second, the authors study whether the difference persists when controlling for demographics, vaccination attitudes and the COVID-19 context, including the financial impact of the pandemic, its effect on the wellbeing of workers, and government attitudes. Third, the authors study whether there are differences in how the context of the pandemic relates to vaccination willingness for entrepreneurs and employees.

The authors conduct regression analyses using three large datasets. The authors study vaccination status (February 2022) in a 27-country Eurobarometer sample, vaccination intention (December 2020) in a Dutch sample from the LISS panel and vaccination status (July 2021) in a sample from the Understanding America Study (UAS).

All datasets confirm that entrepreneurs have lower vaccination intention and coverage than employees. Even when controlling for the variables described in the LISS and UAS datasets, this negative difference remains. The study results also indicate that demographics, especially vaccination attitudes, are much more important than contextual influences in the decision to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The authors are the first to dive further into the vaccination differences between entrepreneurs and employees. They advise further research into the drivers of this gap, specifically relating to the role of personality and social normative influences.