Business Cycles: A Theoretical, Historical, and Statistical Analysis of the Capitalist Process.

Purpose




By drawing upon institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of four critical resources (credit, electricity, contract enforcement and political governance) in explaining the quality of entrepreneurship and the depth of the supporting entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa.




Design/methodology/approach




A quantitative approach based on ordinary least squares regression analysis was used. Three data sources were employed. First, the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) of 35 African countries was used to measure the quality of entrepreneurship and the depth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa which represents the dependent variable. Second, the World Bank’s data on access to credit, electricity and contract enforcement in Africa were also employed as explanatory variables. Third, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance was used as an explanatory variable. Finally, country-specific data on four control variables (GDP, foreign direct investment, population and education) were gathered and analysed.




Findings




To support entrepreneurship development, Africa needs broad financial inclusion and state institutions that are more effective at enforcing contracts. Access to credit was non-significant and therefore did not contribute to the dependent variable (entrepreneurship quality and depth of entrepreneurial support in Africa). Access to electricity and political governance were statistically significant and correlated positively with the dependent variables. Finally, contract enforcement was partially significant and contributed to the dependent variable.




Research limitations/implications




A lack of GEI data for all 54 African countries limited this study to only 35 African countries: 31 in sub-Saharan Africa and 4 in North Africa. Therefore, the generalisability of this study’s findings to the whole of Africa might be limited. Second, this study depended on indexes for this study. Therefore, any inconsistencies in the index aggregation if any could not be authenticated. This study has practical implications for the development of entrepreneurship in Africa. Public and private institutions for credit delivery, contract enforcement and the provision of utility services such as electricity are crucial for entrepreneurship development.




Originality/value




The institutional void is a challenge for Africa. This study highlights the weak, corrupt nature of African institutions that supposedly support MSME growth. Effective entrepreneurship development in Africa depends on the presence of a supportive institutional infrastructure. This study engages institutional theory to explain the role of institutional factors such as state institutions, financial institutions, utility providers and markets in entrepreneurship development in Africa.

/pdf/developing-entrepreneurship-in-africa-investigating-critical-3ubn3rziq7.pdf

Developing entrepreneurship in Africa: investigating critical resource challenges

http://library.um.ac.id/free-contents/downloadpdf.php/buku/the-community-tourism-industry-imperative-the-necessity-the-opportunities-its-potential-by-uel-blank-22532.pdf

The Community tourism industry imperative : the necessity, the opportunities, its potential / by Uel Blank

Viešoji politika ir administravimas

This unique Handbook provides a solid foundation for essential study in the nascent field of entrepreneurship policy research. This foundation is initially developed via the exploration of two significant propositions underpinning the nature of entrepreneurship policy research. The first is that entrepreneurship has emerged as a bona fide focus of public policy, particularly with respect to economic growth and employment creation. The second is that neither scholars nor policy makers are presently equipped to understand the public policy role for entrepreneurship.

Public Policy and Entrepreneurship

Innovations play a significant role in surviving in economic and market games. However the innovation is not self-sufficient tool for response of all future challenges and needs. It requires potential for new knowledge generation, adaptation and commercialization, and support of government. Therefore the article presents a conceptual analysis of the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship, with the main focus being on the business sector, highlighting the role of government policy in the promotion of innovation through entrepreneurship. It is said that the dimension of innovation is at the core of entrepreneurship, but at the same time these concepts still often are defined singly. The concept of entrepreneurship is often wrongly explained, just as business activity or establishment of new enterprises without focus on innovation. In this respect, there is a suggestion to adopt the concept of innovative entrepreneurship as the new direction for development of innovation through entrepreneurship.

https://www3.mruni.eu/ojs/public-policy-and-administration/article/download/1120/1072

Allusion to public policy: innovative entrepreneurship

Community-based tourism has become an important part of tourism research worldwide. In Lithuania, however, it has not gained much academic attention yet. With this study, the authors try to deliver more knowledge on the subject in their home country. The aim of the study is to examine the potential of community-based tourism in Vilnius district municipality, as well as to propose measures to ensure its feasibility. A qualitative approach is used. The data mainly comes from literature review and semi-structured interviews. The research reveals a number of issues that need to be addressed and tackled if a community-based tourism is sought. Therefore, a number of corresponding measures are proposed. JEL codes: L830, L300, O200.

The potential of community-based tourism development in vilnius district municipality

Žmogiškųjų išteklių valdymo kaitos ypatumai

One of the main characteristics of modern day economic activity is the increasing number of companies with employees, producible goods and services provided that are constantly crossing national borders. The internationalization of activity of organizations over the past 15 years is concurrent with the globalization of management processes. Companies with fewer than 20 employees are becoming increasingly active in this process and their influence on the economic and social results of nations are at a constant growth. In this respect, it can justifiably be said that an organization’s successful practice is mostly predicated by their managers’ preparation to get involved in the processes of the times, when one of the main aspects of their activity becomes the ability to involve human resources in the changes that time has wrought and to effectively organize the activity of their employees. This is of prime significance to Lithuanian organizations, because studies conducted in the field of human resources illustrate that most organization leaders have insufficient competence to involve their personnel in change while also actively integrating in the processes of current times themselves. Remarks made by European Union (EU) experts that Lithuania should pay more attention to investment to immaterial assets, remain relevant to this day. The first section of the article outlines the viewpoint of Lithuanian and foreign management professionals on management theories and characteristics of practice in an environment of new challenges, and the portrait of a manager in the world of the present. K Adams (1996) notes that managers operating in an international environment have little to do with manager activity solely based on the national characteristics of their country. It is acknowledged in the article that globalization of management necessitates pursuit of reconciliation of internal and external environments and demands for constant changes within its organizations. Accordingly, managers have to initiate change and pursue managing the destiny of the organization itself, i.e. be „proactive“. In addition, managers are responsible for maintaining the balance of „collective“ and „personal“ domains; therefore their activity should be based on „reactivity“. The author of the article consents with a remark made by J.M. Kouzes and B. Z. Posner (2003), that optimal results cannot be reached by maintaining the standing situation, therefore, the main condition for the survival of organizations in the environment of management globalization and increasing competition becomes not so much the decision whether to accept or reject change, but the decision how to participate in change as well as when and how to implement reforms in one’s organization. The author presents his vision on the variables that influence the world of a modern manager by summarizing the manager’s universe of the recent decades and by utilizing Harvard Professor M. Porter’s (1990) theoretical „Diamond“ model on competitive advantages. The second section of the article covers the topicalities of current day management practice. The stereotype of the chrestomathic organization manager that formed in the West (which poorly evaluates the situational world of a manager, therefore insufficiently considers circumstances, under which, managers differently plan, organize and motivate) has taken deep roots in Lithuanian management study programs. However, by focusing most attention on developing their business, managers pay little attention to the competence of their employees and improving their skills. It is noted in the article, that the viewpoint of an organization as a living system is not progressing enough in Lithuania. This section presents results of empirical research conducted by the author, which confirm the statements made by various professionals that many managers in Lithuania are still not sufficiently oriented towards the rapidly changing world of the manager due to gaps in knowledge of management theory. In the third section of the article identifies the causes for the situation at hand - the poor quality of management studies, because most viewpoints presented in textbooks still invoke the concept of a simple and unchanging manager’s world; textbook information is not tied with practice and the main focus during classes falls on dictation, which results in chaotic teaching. This section presents the author’s viewpoint on studies of management in the circumstances of change, with their main quality being the ability to motivate students to cultivate personal skills - to get initial experience in independent interest on the theoretical provisions of management; to get to know one’s personal qualities; to prepare for participation in change and to become aware of other of one’s merits and demerits. It is acknowledged in the article that effective teaching of management is impossible if students do not accept the study methodology proposed by the lecturer and the latter fails to compose a common team with students. Conclusions of the conducted research are presented at the end of the article.

/pdf/discovering-possibilities-in-personnel-management-in-an-10n79o7964.pdf

Discovering Possibilities in Personnel Management in an Environment of Challenges

Straipsnyje teoriskai ir empiriskai analizuojamos savivaldybių administracijų personalo specialistų veiklos charakteristikos, susijusios su strateginio žmogiskųjų isteklių valdymo (SŽIV) įgyvendinimu. Vadovaujantis požiūriu, kad personalo vadybos ir žmogiskųjų isteklių vadybos funkcijos formuoja SŽIV funkcijų sistemos pradmenis, taikant SŽIV nuostatų analize sudaryta sią koncepciją atitinkanti funkcijų sistema. Atlikus SŽIV funkcijų ir esminių nuostatų analize, isryskėjo personalo specialistų svarba ir jiems keliami nauji reikalavimai. Atlikus savivaldybių administracijose personalo specialistų anketine apklausą, galima teigti, kad strategiskesnį požiūrį į įgyvendinamas funkcijas sukuria specializuotuose skyriuose dirbantys, turintys pakankamą patirtį, einantys vadovaujamas pareigas, savo vaidmenį strategiskai suvokiantys ir į vykdomą veiklą įsitrauke personalo specialistai. http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.10.3.636

/pdf/personnel-specialists-as-the-factor-of-implementation-of-k0zhbxumph.pdf

Jonas Jagminas

Papers

Allusion to public policy: innovative entrepreneurship

The potential of community-based tourism development in vilnius district municipality

Žmogiškųjų išteklių valdymo kaitos ypatumai

Discovering Possibilities in Personnel Management in an Environment of Challenges

Personnel Specialists as the Factor of Implementation of Strategic Human Resource Management in Municipalities’ Administrations