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It is widely acknowledged that the export-oriented garment and textile industries have been playing important role on the overall economic development in developing countries. However, the performance of the developing countries in exporting garment and textiles is in fact, highly heterogeneous. While some of the developing countries such as, China, Vietnam and Bangladesh have been highly successful in exporting highly labor-intensive garment and textiles products, not all of the developing countries have been equally successful in doing so. Using cross-country panel data, an attempt has been made in this paper to ascertain the importance of infrastructure and business environment in explaining the heterogeneous performance in exporting garment and textiles by the developing countries. The paper empirically demonstrates that in addition to the availability of cheap labor, the availability of basic infrastructure, and a business friendly environment significantly affect the export of labor-intensive garment and textiles by the developing countries. The paper, thus, suggests to invest on infrastructure, and to develop a business friendly environment in developing countries to strongly link the growth potentials of labor-intensive products and economic growth.

Small businesses are critical to improving economic development in rural areas of South Africa. However, rural entrepreneurs are still faced with challenges and problems which make the success of small businesses, especially in rural areas, uncertain. This paper investigates business environmental, financial and infrastructural factors that influence the success or otherwise of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas. Primary data was collected in five rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) from a sample of 374 business owners/managers, with respondents completing a questionnaire. Access to finance and skills shortages were the factors that most significantly differentiated between more successful and less successful rural businesses in KZN. The majority of respondents indicated that poor roads/transport and access to electricity were major problems.

This study aims to contribute to the Knowledge Management Theory under a social perspective. It evaluates the Knowledge Management Cycle applied in a Brazilian high technology-based industry, a former national company which had been privatized in 1994, and passed through a huge organizational transformation and, after few years, became a market leader in one of the most competitive business sectors. Social organization covers Corporative Culture, Human Resources and Leadership aspects seen as knowledge enablers. This research used a qualitative approach and took a Knowledge Management Model developed by the Fraunhoffer Institute researchers and associates as a reference. Conclusions indicated that in order to become competitive in the new Management Model the studied company had to develop a cluster of human and business competencies. These were developed through educational processes which included personnel and leadership development. Organizational Culture had also contributed to KM process nurturing a sense of continuous improvement, customer and shareholder satisfaction.

This study investigates the barriers to growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kosova. It is based on a SME survey conducted by Riinvest Institute at the end of 2002 which identified critical business environment barriers perceived by entrepreneurs such as legal environment, administrative burden, external financing, tax burden and unfair competition. First, based on this SME survey, the econometric model is constructed in order to test empirically the validity of Gibrat's Law. Then, in order to identify and measure the impact of current reported business environment barriers on SME growth, the Gibrat's Law is augmented with other business environment variables. The econometric results suggest that firms' growth is negatively linked to firms' size and age, suggesting that Gibrat's Law does not hold for growing SMEs in Kosova. Also, the growth of the SMEs is reduced by the presence of the business environmental barriers such as tax burden, unfair competition and inadequate financing. Econometric results raise important issues and policy implications for the development of the SME sector in Kosova.

This study empirically investigates the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and sustainability performance. It also explores the direct effects of financial capital, human capital, social capital, government support and business environment on sustainability performance of micro-enterprises operating in the informal sector. The study is conducted within the context of Senegal and through the lens of resource-based view theory. Employing a cross-sectional design, data is collected from randomly selected micro and small entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector. The outcomes include a positive effect of opportunity recognition competency, commitment competency and government support on the sustainability performance of micro-enterprises. An Importance Performance Matrix analysis indicates that these factors are the most important factors determining sustainability performance of micro-enterprises within the context of the informal sector. The findings extend the scope of RBV while simultaneously enhancing the knowledge and understanding pertaining to the interplay of entrepreneurial competencies and sustainability performance, particularly for small business operators in the informal sector. Implications are drawn to theory development, practice and public policy.

All other parts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in any country are governed by the political and legal aspects of the system. This study examines the integrated effect of the entrepreneurial ecosystem’s political-legal subsystem on the performance of MSEs based on system theory and the mediating role of entrepreneurial competence, based on a resource-based view. There has been no detailed examination of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs in Africa in general, and Ethiopia in particular. Although the political-legal aspects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem have a major effect on both entrepreneurial competency and MSE’s performance, the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and MSE performance was found to be insignificant. The role of entrepreneurial competency in mediating the relationships between policy and business performance and other business environments and business performance was shown to be insignificant. The study suggests that the policies designed by the government for MSEs should be flexible enough to affect other aspects of the entrepreneurial environment, such as the economic and social dimensions. Finally, additional studies in the field are encouraged to clarify the discrepancies in the findings concerning the relationships between entrepreneurial competencies and the performance of SMEs.

The main aim of this paper is to study the influence of the business environment on innovation strategy, innovative activity and performance in the SMEs. Business environment has been considered, taking into account its dynamism and its hostility. An empirical study is carried out on a sample composed by 302 Spanish firms. Results show that SMEs react in hostile and dynamic business environment by means of strengthening their innovation strategy. Innovation strategy allows firms to carry out higher levels of product and process innovations, which turn out into a positive effect on performance. Results offer important implications for SMEs, as such the relevance to reinforce the importance of developing an innovation strategy in the framework of their formal strategic planning.

Business environment is one of the location factors taken into account by investors while investing abroad. This paper focuses on the relationship between changes in business environments in the new Member States of the European Union (EU) and foreign direct investors' behavior. The analysis concentrates on Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, with special reference to Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. The EU policies and the national incentive-based FDI policies are two driving forces influencing business environment in the new Member States. All the adjustments to the EU requirements reshape conditions for doing business in the new Member States and lead to the improvement of so called economies' 'fundamentals'. The national FDI policies could be treated as a factor disturbing these long term processes and changing economic choices of the established and potential investors. The statistical data on FDI inward stock and annual FDI flows confirm the positive reaction of foreign investors to the changes taking place throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Some data, however, confirm also that there is intense incentive-based competition and a kind of bidding war between them in order to attract foreign investors.

The chapter depicts Bahrain’s current state of entrepreneurship. Followed by introductory words, the chapter’s content elaborates briefly on the history of the country up to the modern times. Then, the entrepreneurship environment is described in which businesspeople undertake entrepreneurial actions. Furthermore, the main players in the current economy and entrepreneurship development are discussed. Finally, the chapter emphasises the current and future opportunities, as well as the government’s effort in achieving prosperous economic and social development.

This chapter describes the historical background of Kuwait as one of the wealthiest countries in the world (by GDP per capita). Entrepreneurial activities and actual policies for the development of entrepreneurship in the country are analysed and described. It also includes essential facts regarding promoting activities of entrepreneurship and the role of the government in creating a favourable environment for domestic and foreign entrepreneurs. The chapter ends with providing useful recommendations on what should be done in the future for the development of entrepreneurship in Kuwait. Besides tables and figures, the chapter includes original pictures of relevant entrepreneurial examples in Kuwait.

The uses of gamification in global business are well known and rapidly evolving across numerous industries. While gamification emerged through gestural patterns, recent advancements have altered such perspectives, leading to significant business changes. Recent industry reports have stated that global businesses are constantly incorporating AI (artificial intelligence), gamification, and sublime business strategies. Similarly, recent audits have highlighted the perspectives of the integration of AI and gamification in personalized services, which will ensure global reach and performance efficiency. While industrial practices observe the perspectives of the integration of AI and gamification, academic discussions rarely address these topics. This chapter primarily covers discussions on the integration of AI and gamification in a digitized business environment. Incorporating such results would significantly benefit businesses, ensuring the seamless personalization, customization, encryption, and culmination of global databases. This chapter discusses the journey of the AI–gamification integration through a navigational model. The academic implications of such discussions conceptualize the theoretical underpinnings of integrating gamification and AI. The proposed model incorporates the interdisciplinary aspects of AI and gamification into the scope of academic research. The chapter discusses the perspectives of the integration of AI and gamification in global business environments, highlighting the strategic setup of international business culture. Finally, the chapter concludes with the practical relevance of such work. It discusses the significance of such integration in terms of personalization, user experience, and real-time business decision-making while highlighting the role of AI–gamification integration in enhancing organizational productivity and preventing the invasion of privacy.