Narrow Results

In this paper we analyze the development of venture capital in Thailand. We use institutional theory in order to better understand the context of developing venture capital investment and operations strategies in a developing country, which lacks fully-developed legal and financial institutions. The major challenges for venture capitalists are maintaining a viable presence and exiting their investments through alternatives other than an IPO.

It is widely reported that entrepreneurial activity has a significant role to play in transition economies such as Central and Eastern Europe but little is known about the role that the family unit plays in facilitating small business emergence in the former command economies. This is surprising given that the link between family and small business development has been widely researched in market economies. In this study, attention is drawn to the role that family relations and resources play in small business emergence. The study focuses on Bulgaria, a country in the Balkans with much cultural diversity and which became a European Union member in 2007–8. Analysis is undertaken of research material drawn from a survey of 69 small firms. 42% of the surveyed firms are two generation businesses involving the entrepreneur and children or parents. 35% of the businesses are three generation businesses involving the lead entrepreneur, parents, children and siblings. The remaining 33% are firms that are run by couples and/or siblings. This suggests that the family household is the key channel for (and of) small business formation. In neglecting the role of family start-ups, this gives a false understanding to the role that households and families sometimes contribute to the economy. At the same time, it is also partly because of this dependency on family relations and resources that small businesses become rooted in the 'informal economy' — an economy that is based on family favours and which it is difficult to break out of.

This article examines the speed of internationalization by newly established firms operating in the rapidly changing environment of a country undergoing radical systemic transition, as exemplified by Poland. A longitudinal analysis of the speed of internationalization, measured by the time between the year of establishment and the year of the first export sale, identified three interesting patterns. First, both incumbent state-owned firms and private companies operating under communism played marginal roles in the internationalization process after transition to the market economy system. Second, the entrepreneurial start-ups typically embarked on exports shortly after their establishment. Third, the entrepreneurial start-ups that focused initially on the domestic market were rarely engaging in export operations later on. This aspect of the internationalization process has not been adequately explained by the extant mainstream management theories (new institutional economics, transaction cost and resource-based view). This paper offers an alternative theoretical framework for the internationalization of entrepreneurial start-ups in transition economies by extending Shapero's social psychological model of entrepreneurial events.

In this study, we augment Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with an institutional embeddedness logic to develop and test a mediated model of the effects of perceived corruption on attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioral control, which in turn determine entrepreneurial intentions. We test our three hypotheses on a sample of 231 aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to start a non-farm business in three rural regions of Bulgaria. In our exploratory case study, we find that corruption perceptions are partially mediated by entrepreneurial attitudes and perceived control, but not by social norms. Corruption perceptions are positively associated with entrepreneurial intentions, indicative of the deeply rooted social acceptance of corruption in many transition economies. Theoretical, practitioner and public policy implications are discussed.

Previous studies have been silent on how institutional factors influence scientists’ entrepreneurial cognitions and behavior. Transition economies offer a unique opportunity for addressing this issue since different generations of scientists experienced vastly different ideology and management systems. Built on the entrepreneurial cognitions and contextualization views and interview data from scientists in Vietnam, this study found that scientists internalized institutional factors to form their motivations, partnership approaches, and behavioral competencies, which in turn influence their chosen modes of entrepreneurship. This suggests that new institutions which address younger generations and focus on developing entrepreneurial qualities are pertinent to promote commercialization in transition economies.

Innovation is of critical importance for business productivity and economic growth. Firm characteristics and economic geography have been identified as influential drivers of innovation output. More recently, scholars have investigated the influence of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on firm performance. There is evidence that productivity gains from adapting HRM practices are higher if supported by investments in ICT. Therefore, we hypothesise that ICT-use and HRM practices are complementary inputs with respect to firm innovation. Our data source is the Management, Organisation, and Innovation (MOI) Survey which assesses management practices in manufacturing establishments in transition economies. We find that firms that employ HRM practices are more likely to innovate relative to firms that do not use HRM practices. Our analysis also reveals a complementary relationship between ICT-use and HRM practices which positively influences firm innovation performance.

This paper provides one of the few assessments of the economic implications of climate change policies in the important region of Eastern Europe and post-Soviet states. We use an integrated assessment model to evaluate the consequences of implementing climate policies consistent with the targets proposed by the Major Economies Forum by mid-century. We decompose the economic impacts in terms of domestic abatement costs, of oil trading and of international emission permit trading for a variety of scenarios, and show that these could be substantial for this region. The results point towards innovation and economic diversification as key complementary measures to be implemented in preparation of climate mitigation strategies.

Since the beginning of transition, Eastern European and Central Asian (ECA) countries compete against one another in attracting foreign investors by offering ever more generous incentive packages. Recent empirical research provides though little support for the idea that foreign direct investments (FDI) have a positive effect on local economies. This paper examines then whether FDI benefits are sufficient to justify the kind of policy interventions seen in practice. Analysis focuses on the impact of the increasing presence of multinationals on the economic development of transition economies in ECA through the generation of vertical and horizontal spillovers. Our theoretical model shows that policies which promote FDI are more likely to be justified on welfare grounds if multinationals engage in technology transfer that improves local suppliers' productivity, multinationals' technological advantage over the local competitors is only moderate, and the establishment of foreign affiliates does not lower the local processors' market share. Using data from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Surveys (BEEPS), empirical research suggests, however, that foreign investments are more likely to have a positive impact on their local suppliers, and a negative one on their local competitors, implying that the second and third conditions are unlikely to hold.

This article provides a comprehensive look at the area of privatization in Poland. It provides a context and discusses the two major forces that have spurred the privatization process, as well as privatizations carried out in developing countries under the auspices of the World Bank and the IMF.The article begins with an explanation of the background to privatization in the context of state central planning, a discussion of the derivative traits of the command-and-control economy, the collapse of the system in the 1990s, the actions necessitated in society in an attempt to reform and change the system, and the reform strategies that were implement as a response to both the economic and political challenges.The article includes a discussion of the core objectives of the privatization process, the requirements of the privatization process, and an important section dealing with the actions that are necessary and complementary in preparing society and individual entities for privatization. The article concludes with an analysis of the models of privatization that were adopted in the region, along with tables delineating proceeds from privatization; the number of privatizations carried out both world-wide and in the region.

It is nearly two decades since economic transformation of the former socialist economies of Eastern and Central Europe and the Baltic states (ECE) began and today most of these countries have joined the European Union (EU). In this paper we analyze characteristics of the banking sector that emerged through the arduous transition process. In many aspects, this sector is similar to that of other countries of the EU but it also varies in significant ways. The very high share of foreign bank ownership is the hallmark of ECE banking. Despite the relative rapid restructuring of the old socialist enterprise financing system, so far the financial depth of ECE countries has remained significantly below the level of other EU members and also below the average of developing countries at a similar income level. Further government policy measures need to address supply and demand conditions so that access to credit is improved both for the aggregate economy and particularly for the small and medium scale sectors.

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• The balance of power between central government and the provinces
  • The increasing power of the provinces
  • The key to central government influence

• The weakness of the evolving regulatory framework

• The impact on regulation of the energy industry

• Issues to be addressed

• Conclusions

• References

Recent evidence suggests that regional economic integration provides an important stimulus not only to trade, but also to FDI. In contrast, the available theory on FDI does not yet provide empirically testable propositions on the effects of concurrent trade and investment liberalisation. Moreover, given the limits of simulation models, which rely heavily upon parameter choice, in assessing the impact of such liberalisation, there is a need for empirical analysis to identify the principal features of FDI. This paper uses a ‘gravity model’ approach to assess the impact of the deepening integration between the EU and the CEECs on FDI flows in terms of three key issues. First, we provide systematic estimates or the expected long-term level of FDI in the CEECs. Second, we investigate whether FDI in the CEECs, on the one hand, and source country exports and imports. on the other hand, are complements or substitutes. Finally, we enquire whether an increase in the attractiveness of the CEECs to foreign investors has affected the magnitude of FDI going to other European countries.