Road accidents involving bicycles: configurations and injuries

This study analyzed the most common types of accident involving bicycles and compared the frequency of injuries. The data source was the database of German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS). Cases consist of bicycles and their riders involved in accidents between 2000 and 2010. In most collisions, the bicycle impacted with a car. The percentage of injured bicyclists was higher in collisions with a heavy vehicle and decreased when the bicycle impacted with lighter vehicles. A high percentage of injured bicyclists in single accidents was observed; the most severe injury was more frequently to head and extremities. Accidents involving a car and a bicycle with the right of way in a bicycle path represented about 20% of involved and injured bicyclists. The ten most frequent configurations represented about 60% of involved and injured bicyclists. These results contribute to understand the dangerous scenarios for bicyclists and to suggest preventive actions.     

Just about money? CEO satisfaction and firm performance in small family firms

This paper examines how family ownership and family ties influence the relative importance of economic and non-economic goals on the CEO’s satisfaction with the firm. Using a sample of small high-tech family and non-family firms, we show that the influence of past firm economic performance on CEO satisfaction is weaker in the case of CEOs leading a family firm. Our results also suggest that this influence becomes weaker as the family firm transitions into subsequent generations. However, contrary to our expectations, we were not able to find a differential effect of firm performance on CEO satisfaction between CEOs who belong to the controlling family and those who do not.     

Africa’s contribution to Qatar’s diversification priorities in the immediate to long term

Diversification experiences started across the African continent in the immediate post-independence period, in an attempt to break with traditional colonial models of development. Most African countries embarked upon industrial development during the 1960s and the 1970s, in order to diversify their economies and reduce their risk dependency on primary commodities due to the fluctuation in prices. After a change of priorities in the 1980s and 1990s, there has recently been a renewed attention and debate on economic diversification in Africa. Insight gained from African experiences demonstrates that new activities and capacities can be set in place via linkages with natural resource exploitation. Investment opportunities in non-energy sectors in Africa are nevertheless also critical and need to be examined. In fact, the success of diversification strategies depends on a sound development strategy, inspiring comprehensive public policy frameworks, strong political leadership, and a sound natural resource governance framework including diversification. Presenting examples and insights from various African countries, the article highlights misperceptions and improvements of socio-economic conditions in Africa useful to properly assess risks and opportunities in various contexts. Analyzing the role of the private sector and of African state-owned institutions related to foreign direct investments in non-energy sectors, the article focuses on strategies, lessons learned, and challenges of economic diversification.     

Conflicts and value co-creation in project networks

The present study aims to (i) extend knowledge of the nature of conflicts and of their influence on value co-creation in project networks and (ii) contribute to the management of conflicts to enable value co-creation.This work is based on an action research methodology conducted during a five-year case study of a firm operating in the Information and Communication (IT) industry. Three dimensions of conflicts are identified: (i) types, (ii) timing and (iii) effects. An understanding of these dimensions facilitates the management of conflicts. Two levels of intervention are isolated: (i) the strategic level and (ii) the operational level. The paper offers a new understanding of conflicts that should precede their management, which is crucial to enabling project network value.     

The influence of remittances on education and health outcomes: a cross country study

We study the effect of international remittances on aggregate educational and health outcomes using a sample of 69 low- and middle-income countries. We find that remittances play an important role in improving primary and secondary school attainment, increasing life expectancy and reducing infant mortality. Our results suggest that as migration laws continue to support greater emigration and remittances, policies should be enacted to facilitate the flow of remittances as they represent a significant source for economic development.     

Complementarities of human capital and information technology: small businesses,emerging economy context and the strategic role of firm resources

How information technology (IT) may complement other key firm resources such as human capital is a question that has drawn increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. Answers to this question are crucial for small businesses in today’s environment. These businesses face a growing demand for IT usage at the same time that they typically can count only on limited resources. This has become a common situation that is particularly critical for small businesses operating in developing countries with emerging economies. We develop propositions and test them with a dataset of service small businesses in an emerging economy. We find that the use of IT services is positively related to firm productivity and that this relationship is positively moderated by entrepreneurs’ management education. Our findings indicate that firm productivity is associated with a combination of human and technology resources.     

Does innovativeness of knowledge-intensive business services differ from other industries?

This article seeks to determine whether the innovative capabilities of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) do actually differ from other industries through comparing the innovation capacities and financial performance of KIBS with firms operating in other sectors (non-KIBS). Based upon a 1000-firm sample, the results of our estimated econometric model demonstrate that non-KIBS firms are in possession of significantly greater innovation capacities than KIBS firms. These differences were observed across factors such as organisational process innovation, the launch of already existing products in new markets, branding and new product designs. Nevertheless, as regards the actual importance attributed to product/service innovation, KIBS firms place a greater comparative importance on innovation in comparison with their non-KIBS peers. In addition, the empirical evidences display a significantly different range of effects of innovation capacities on financial performance and concludes that non-KIBS firms turn in better comparative performances than specialist KIBS firms.     

Services specialization (a possible index) and its connection with competitiveness: the case of Romania

In the authors' opinion, specialization stands for both an expression of competitiveness, and a continuity and attention paid to some activities, thus reflecting the positive evolution of a national economy. By increasing the specialization of service functions, qualitative changes occur in the evolution of an economy. In this study, the authors emphasize the importance of specialization implications by reference to services development in Romania, since the Romanian economy requires an increase in services activities. Finally, a formula is proposed to determine the specialization degree, which is exemplified by calculating a specialization index in tourism.     

Measuring Consumer Sensitivity to Corporate Social Performance Across Cultures

ABSTRACT

In the context of a severe economic crisis, the objective of this research is to examine to what extent the economic crisis and austerity's measures have generated new marketing strategies in food companies. We develop a comparative analysis though multivariate analysis of variance, consisting of 10 food product categories across eight European countries, distinguishing between countries that needed financial support—the so-called rescued countries—and the countries with better economic development. Our findings show an increasingly trend toward increasing product prices and price per quantity in the rescued countries, along with an increase in the package content. Our findings suggest that food companies have been raising prices through the recession, as consumers continue to pare their spending and demand.