Collaborator or competitor: assessing the evidence supporting the role of social enterprise in health and social care

In many countries, social enterprise has been introduced into a competitive market-oriented environment as a substitute for publicly owned services, particularly in healthcare. In the United Kingdom, evidence for this move seems to derive from case studies where social enterprise operates in collaboration – as opposed to competition – with publicly owned services. Our systematic review demonstrates that there is no evidence to support the role of social enterprise as a substitute for publicly owned services. However, there is evidence to show that where social enterprise operates in a collaborative environment, enhanced outcomes can be achieved, such as connectedness, well-being and self-confidence.     

Poverty trap,boom and bust periods and growth. A nonlinear model for non-developed and developing countries

This work investigates the qualitative and quantitative dynamics of a Solow–Swan growth model with differential savings as proposed by Böhm and Kaas (J Econ Dyn Control 24:965–980, 2000) assuming the shifted Cobb–Douglas (SCD) production function (see Capasso et al. in Nonlinear Anal. 11:3858–3876, 2010) which makes it possible to consider the long-run dynamics of non-developed and developing countries as well as that of developed economies. The resulting model is described by a nonlinear discontinuous map generating both a poverty trap and complex dynamics. Furthermore, multistability phenomena may emerge: besides the “vicious circle of poverty”, long-run behaviours may include boom and bust periods. Complex basins can emerge, hence, economic policies trying to raise the capital per capita may fail and economies may be captured by the poverty trap.     

Non-compliant behaviour in public procurement: an evolutionary model with endogenous monitoring

Decisions in Economics and Finance - In recent years, the study of the evolution of non-compliant behaviour in public procurement has been widely developed due to the growing economic relevance of...     

Patterns of trade restrictiveness in online platforms: A first look

This paper develops a digital platform restrictiveness index for 64 countries based on ECIPE’s Digital Trade Estimates database and the Digital Trade Restrictiveness Index. We identify specific restrictions that affect online platforms with a focus on online search, e-commerce and social media. The results show that both OECD and non-OECD countries show high levels of trade restrictions on online platforms. Moreover, some of the most restricted countries are characterised by large markets, signifying that a substantial part of the global economy gravitates towards restricting online platforms. Based on the platform restrictiveness index, we perform an econometric analysis showing that trade restrictions for online platforms are significantly associated with lower contributions of the ICT sector to productivity growth in the entire economy. The results suggest that reducing restrictions on online platforms can increase the ICT’s contribution to overall productivity growth towards a level seen before the global financial crisis. Sectors that would benefit the most are those that make wider use of online platforms and the Internet, including information services, business services and financial services.     

Sustainability and financial performance of small and medium sized enterprises: A bibliometric and systematic literature review

Based on a 20‐year dataset collected from the Web of Science database, this study aims to present a comprehensive knowledge map of the intellectual structure of the field of study of sustainability and financial performances in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review method were employed by analyzing articles published between 1999 and 2018, using the VOSViewer software. The study provides an overview of articles, authors, the most influential journals, and themes of research. The results reveal the existence of three themes in research: the role of innovation and entrepreneurship and their impact on sustainability in SMEs (cluster 1), corporate social responsibility in the context of SMEs (cluster 2), and green management and environmental issues for SMEs (cluster 3). In sum, this paper discusses prominent insights from the research analyses and recommends future research directions for the field.     

Industry 4.0 and circular economy: An exploratory analysis of academic and practitioners' perspectives

The union between Industry 4.0 and the circular economy (CE) appears relatively recent. In this sense, new trading zones for sharing a common scenario among academics and practitioners are needed. The paper aims to investigate the link between Industry 4.0 and the CE by understanding how Industry 4.0 can foster the impact of the CE on companies. The study proposes a broader perspective that includes thematic and content analysis gathering data on professional documents based on business cases, newspaper articles, press releases and specialised blogs, as well as scientific papers. The joint academic-practitioners view highlights how Industry 4.0 has the potential to impact on the CE through countless actions: increasing waste disposal; promoting remanufacturing; enhancing the efficiency of critical resources such as water, energy, gas and CO₂; and improving business models and the mission of companies. However, barriers still exist in its adoption, stressing the need for holistic and integrated design and a proactive environment of collaboration among stakeholders. Results lead to practical as well as research implications.     

Sustainable development of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises in the European Union: A taxonomy of circular economy practices

This paper focuses on the implementation of circular economy (CE) practices in small‐ and medium‐sized firms in all 28 European Union (EU) countries. The analyses take into account the hierarchical nature of the collected data as firms are nested within EU countries, that is, the heterogeneity between different types of firms and countries according to practices and attitudes towards CE. The multilevel latent class model identifies groups of firms and groups of EU countries that are homogeneous in terms of CE, that is, how the homogeneous groups of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are distributed across the groups of EU countries. These results, together with the fact that firms with similar CE attitudes and practices have different demographic and business profiles across groups of countries, shed further light on the topic of green behavior in the EU with implications for businesses' environmental policies. Moreover, indications emerge that European policies favoring the implementation of CE practices should be targeted at least for subgroups of European countries, considering the different composition by typology of SMEs operating in their territories and that, at the same time, policies should be defined within each group of countries to account for the specific features of each of the four classes of SMEs.     

The inoperability extended multisectoral model and the Role of Income Distribution: A U.K. Case Study

In this paper, an effort is made to enrich the current input–output (I–O) methodologies employed for studying disruptive events, by extending the I–O framework and including all the phases of the circular flow of income into the overall disaster impact. In this respect, the Inoperability Extended Multisectoral Model is created and implemented in order to estimate the higher‐order effects in terms of value added and disposable income. The social accounting matrix, referred to the United Kingdom, is constructed and proposed as a starting point for assessing the effects of a system perturbation related to the eruption of the Volcano Eyjafjallajökull, in mid‐April 2010, which affected air transport services due to the full closure of the U.K.'s airspace for several days. Finally, the ranking of those commodities and institutional sectors which are badly affected can provide guidance to policymakers in order to minimize the overall impact on the economy.     

Dressing a ghost: size and value of unpaid family care

Unpaid family care work encompasses care and assistance provided by members of a household to other members. It is not considered to be a productive activity, and its exclusion from national account statistics contributes to keeping it invisible. We compare Italy and Poland, two countries that have taken different paths towards economic development, but share cultural features that influence unpaid family care work. We estimate the value of unpaid family care work with the opportunity cost and the market replacement cost methods, drawing data from the Polish and the Italian time use surveys and the IT-SILC. Our results show that unpaid family care work represents a substantial proportion of national production in both countries, ranging from 3.7 to 5% of GDP, depending on the method of estimation. The results likewise show that the size, gender distribution and value relative to GDP of unpaid family care work are remarkably similar, suggesting that, in spite of the different history of economic development in the two countries, cultural factors play a key role in determining family decisions that affect unpaid family care work.