Edinburgh Napier University

About: Edinburgh Napier University is a education organization based out in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 2665 authors who have published 6859 publications receiving 175272 citations.

Entrepreneurship in the small hotel sector

Abstract: Reports the findings from a study of entrepreneurial activity in the small hotel sector in a Scottish town, St Andrews. Applies bodies of theory on the small entrepreneurial firm, developed for other sectors of the economy, to an examination of small firm activity in the hotel sector. The central thesis is that small hotel entrepreneurs will have had to adopt a business‐oriented approach to ensure the success, or at least the survival, of their firms. Findings from a survey of the small hotel sector in St Andrews provide some evidence to support this thesis, and conflict with those of an earlier study of the small hotel sector in the Bournemouth area in the 1980s. Recommends that further research should consider the nature of entrepreneurial activity in the small hotel sector generally. If a significant proportion of the sector overall is representative of the small entrepreneurial firm, this may have positive consequences for local economic prosperity in many areas.

Language choices and 'blind shadows': Investigating interviews with Chinese participants.

Abstract: This article shows the importance of the language chosen for research interviewing when more than one language could be used. It does so through the context of research with Chinese speakers publis...

International diversification strategies: Revisited from the risk perspective.

Abstract: Following Roll [Roll, R., 1992. Industrial structure and comparative behaviour of international stock market indices. Journal of Finance 47, 3–42] and Heston and Rouwenhorst [Heston, S.L., Rouwenhorst, G.K., 1994. Does industrial structure explain the benefits of international diversification. Journal of Financial Economics 36, 3–27], researchers have decomposed stock returns into country and industry components. Evidence suggests that industry components have become more important in recent years, but the reasons for this are unclear. Existing research concentrated mainly on stock returns in industrial countries. In this paper we consider instead the decomposition of stock risks within emerging equity markets. We provide a rationale for this procedure and its relationship to return decompositions. The results provide new firm-specific evidence on the debate over country and industry components, their stability over time, and the implications for portfolio diversification.

Harnessing the climate mitigation, conservation and poverty alleviation potential of seagrasses: prospects for developing blue carbon initiatives and payment for ecosystem service programmes

Abstract: Seagrass ecosystems provide numerous ecosystem services that support coastal communities around the world. They sustain abundant marine life as well as commercial and artisanal fisheries, and help protect shorelines from coastal erosion. Additionally, seagrass meadows are a globally significant sink for carbon and represent a key ecosystem for combating climate change. However, seagrass habitats are suffering rapid global decline. Despite recognition of the importance of ‘Blue Carbon’, no functioning seagrass restoration or conservation projects supported by carbon finance currently operate, and the policies and frameworks to achieve this have not been developed. Yet, seagrass ecosystems could play a central role in addessing important international research questions regarding the natural mechanisms through which the ocean and the seabed can mitigate climate change, and how ecosystem structure links to service provision. The relative inattention that seagrass ecosystems have received represents both a serious oversight and a major missed opportunity. In this paper we review the prospects of further inclusion of seagrass ecosystems in climate policy frameworks, with a particular focus on carbon storage and sequestration, as well as the potential for developing payment for ecosystem service (PES) schemes that are complementary to carbon management. Prospects for the inclusion of seagrass Blue Carbon in regulatory compliance markets are currently limited; yet despite the risks the voluntary carbon sector offers the most immediately attractive avenue for the development of carbon credits. Given the array of ecosystem services seagrass ecosystems provide the most viable route to combat climate change, ensure seagrass conservation and improve livelihoods may be to complement any carbon payments with seagrass PES schemes based on the provision of additional ecosystem services.