Networking, Resource Acquisition, and the Performance of Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises: An Empirical Study of Three Major Cities in China
Baoshan Ge, Robert D. Hisrich and Baobao Dong
Previously, resource-based view (RBV) research has focused on the
characteristics of resources, paying less attention to the relationship between
resource acquisition and the acquisition method. In addition, entrepreneurship
research has focused a lot on the firm’s entrepreneurial
network to explain performance. This network is critical not only to resource
acquisition but also to overall firm performance. The results of
a study of small and medium-sized firms in three major Chinese cities
support these notions. The results differ when dividing the sample into
two groups (young vs. old).
Key Words: resource acquisition, networking, performance, SMEs,
entrepreneurship closedowns JEL Classification: M20
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Urban Dynamism within the Vienna-Bratislava
Metropolitan Area: Improving Regional Competitiveness and the Constructed Regional Advantage Concept
Danes Brzica
The paper focuses on the Bratislava metropolitan area (BMA) and its
strategic positioning within the broader cross-border metropolitan area
(VBMA). It provides a review of the internal/external urban dynamism
of BMA and other processes ongoing within VBMA. We introduce the
constructed regional advantage (CRA) concept and indicate factors
which contribute to the higher socio-economic dynamics of Bratislava
and VBMA. Our focus is on two inter-related areas: industrial sector
development and urban dynamics. The idea is that only a sufficient
level of urban dynamics allows VBMA to generate an adequate complexity
of activities, which can promote regional competitiveness. The
CRA concept is used here for better understanding of existing developmental
factors in territorial cooperation. It allows one to look at various
knowledge bases existing in vbma and to show that regional similarities/
complementarities can contribute to dynamic changes within
this area.
Key Words: constructed regional advantage, urban dynamism, regional
development, competitiveness, innovation, trans-metropolitan region JEL Classification: R11, O18
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Are National and Organizational Cultures Isomorphic? Evidence from a Four Country Comparative Study
Rune Ellemose Gulev
This pilot study investigates whether organizational practices as observed
through differing organizational cultures systematically replicate
or reject national values. It is among the first to project delineated,
narrow national cultural portrayals of Germany, Austria, Slovenia and
Denmark against pattern-specific organizational cultures. Through
country cluster analysis and correlation tests, the results achieve significance
along all three dimensions. Trust allocations, authority perceptions
and independence assertions were significant predictors for organizational
traits of knowledge sharing practices, structure and control
utilization, respectively. This demonstrates the value of assessing
national values in conjunction with organizational culture in order to
further understand the origins of corporate behaviour and the mechanisms
that can help promote organizational effectiveness.
Key Words: national culture, organizational culture, multinational corporations, Europe JEL Classification: Z10, F23
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Corporate Risk Management in Slovenian Firms
Aleš S. Berk, Jožko Peterlin and Mitja Čok
In today’s competitive environment the modern firm increasingly focuses
on identifying, measuring and managing various risk exposures.
Risk management is interwoven with the firm’s business strategy and
impacts considerably on its competitive position. Thus, management
should develop an integrated approach to address it. Although hedging
using derivatives accounts for just one part of such an approach,
the article solely covers financial risk management using derivatives.
Namely, it is found that even Slovenian blue-chip firms still have room
to improve as they have only recently started to use derivatives. The article
reviews some of the most interesting characteristics and practices
of modern Slovenian financial risk management departments and provides
a practically oriented case-study which describes the important
steps a risk manager must take to hedge commodity price exposure.
Key Words:risk management, derivatives, corporate finance, hedging accounting, reporting, supervision, auditing JEL Classification: G32
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Risk and Efficiency in Credit Concession: A Case Study in Portugal
Carlos Arriaga and Luis Miranda
The relationship between banks and customers has contributed to several
theories in banking economics. The quality of the credit is crucial
for banks. Banks classify the risk through quantitative and qualitative
indicators. Quantitative indicators are much used by banks, but qualitative
indicators are also considered in credit risk evaluation. Taken
together, they contribute to increase efficiency and decrease doubtful
credit. Several issues arise in order to understand if risk evaluation affects
the efficiency of the banking sector or if it affects the bank customer
relationship. We wish to analyse some quantitative and qualitative
indicators used by the Portuguese banking system. Despite the
reputation of a client being a very important qualitative indicator, it is
not enough to determine a classification of low risk.
Key Words: credit, banks, bankruptcy, risk JEL Classification: E51, G21, G32, G33
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