External cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation in industrial clusters

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between external cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). This relationship is explored in cluster environment, wherein entrepreneurial organizations compete and cooperate simultaneously to pursue opportunities. The following hypothesis is tested: External cooperation is positively correlated with entrepreneurial orientation. The hypothesis is tested with a correlation analysis on a sample of 77 small-sized enterprises operating in the Malopolska region in Poland, wherein several clusters are active. Additionally, the regression analysis is conducted to examine the associations between inter-organizational cooperation and EO dimensions. The findings confirm that external cooperation is positively correlated with EO. This observation is confronted with a pro-competitive approach that is a constitutional element of the entrepreneurship concept. Moreover, the findings show that the correlation between external cooperation and a firm’s performance is stronger than between some other EO dimensions and performance. Additionally, the findings show the important role of relationships between organizations and their clients. In the paper, several remarks for development of the theory are discussed, including the need for incorporating inter-organizational cooperation into a set of entrepreneurial traits and reflecting it in entrepreneurial orientation scales. The findings confirm the importance of that direction of theory development that focuses on inter-organizational collaboration in the context of entrepreneurship.     

A UNIFIED PRESENTATION OF COMPETITION ANALYSIS IN TWO-SIDED MARKETS

The goal of this paper is to present quantitative tools to manage competition policy analysis in two-sided platforms, based on a common framework for transaction and non-transaction platforms. We explore tools for relevant market definition [Critical Loss Analysis and a small but significant non-transitory increase in price (SSNIP) test], unilateral effects indicators [Upward Pricing Pressure (UPP) and Gross Upward Pricing Pressure Index (GUPPI)] and tests for exclusionary practices. We review dispersed results in the literature and fill the gaps where appropriate. We highlight the required changes from the usual one-sided market framework and tools. While discussions of antitrust tools can be found in specialized forums devoted to advances in competition policy analysis, we organize the material in an integrated framework.     

The spanish restaurant sector: evaluating the perceptions of quality

The restaurant sector is one of the fastest growing sectors within the Spanish economy and looks likely to continue its development into the future. The implementation of total quality (TQ) systems in the tourist industry is still a recent phenomenon in Spain. Hence the importance of the client's satisfaction, resulting in the acquisition of an optimum quality level: i.e. cooking is culture and it has to be culturally adapted and promoted. The survey on the customers of Spanish restaurants reported in this article has gathered the perception of quality according to a likert scale from one to five. The objective of the survey was to determine the degree of satisfaction as well as the quality of the establishment, by using a cluster analysis of the data. Amongst the findings of the survey was the importance of the motivation of pleasure that makes people go to restaurants and it is therefore necessary to create a favourable atmosphere of quality the customers will want to come back to. This provides the sector's greatest challenge.     

Road accessibility and cohesion in lagging regions: Empirical evidence from Portugal based on spatial econometric models

A number of transportation infrastructure projects were conducted in Europe during the 1990s with the explicit objective of promoting regional cohesion goals through the improvement of the accessibility of peripheral regions. Given its peripheral situation in the Union, Portugal was a key target for some of these projects. A decade later, it is pertinent to ask whether the new infrastructure achieved its objective of promoting lagging regions. The objective of this paper is to analyze one of the lagging regions in Portugal, to try to establish the link between changes in accessibility levels brought by improvements in the transportation network, and two indicators commonly used in accessibility research (population and purchasing power), while controlling other variables of possible relevance, such as the levels of educational achievement of the population in the region. The analysis is based on the use of spatially autoregressive models which allow the representation of accessibility as spatially lagged variables of first and second order. The results place the contribution of accessibility changes in context, and point at the relevance of education as an alternative policy.     

The use of Fx derivatives and the cost of capital: Evidence of Brazilian companies

Large corporations have been using derivative instruments as a tool to protect their indirect exposure, as FX risks. A sample with 47 non-financial Bovespa Listed Brazilian companies from 2004 and 2010 was used to test the hypothesis that use of derivatives as a risk management policy tool reduces companies' cost of capital. In contrast to other countries, results rejected this hypothesis, showing that in Brazil there is a positive relationship between using these tools and cost of capital. However, a more in-depth analysis based on the TACC model for a Brazilian company, this hypothesis was not rejected after the 2008 crisis.     

Access to finance,working capital management and company value: Evidences from Brazilian companies listed on BM&FBOVESPA

In this research, we have analyzed the impact of financial leverage on the relationship between working capital and company value and how financial constraints on access to financing affect this relationship. In addition, we have analyzed the relationship between working capital and company value. Using a sample of Brazilian public companies listed on BM&FBOVESPA from 1995 through 2009, we found evidence for the following conclusions: an extra Real (R$) of investment in working capital is significantly less worth, on average, than an extra Real (R$) of investment in cash; and, on average, increasing the level of working capital at the beginning of a fiscal year reduces company value.     

The impact of education,experience and inner circle advisors on SME performance: insights from a study of public development centers

In this study, we investigate the effects of entrepreneurial human capital on SME performance using data on 2,713 SMEs within the European Union. Performance was measured in two ways: profitability as ROA and productivity as revenue per employee. Results indicate that both profitability and productivity are positively related to industry-specific knowledge possessed by the CEO-owner prior to starting up the firm and the general business knowledge acquired once the firm is up and running. Experience as a result of having previously worked in a firm in the same industry before starting a business was related to productivity, but there is no relation with profitability. There is a link between performance and inclusion of other CEO-owners in the founder’s inner circle of advisors. This relationship is positive when the advisor’s venture has experienced failure and negative when the advisor’s venture has been successful. We discuss the significance of these findings for research and practice.     

The use of management control mechanisms by public organizations with a network coordination role: A case study in the port industry

Our paper addresses two gaps in the literature on management control mechanisms in the context of inter-organizational relationships. Firstly, several studies have focused on one-to-one relationships, but few take a network perspective which analyses the deployment of management control mechanisms in the context of networks involving multiple interactions between organizations. Secondly, even fewer studies have specifically tackled the use of these mechanisms in the context of mixed-type networks, where a public organization acts as the network coordinator responsible for key governance activities. This is the position in Ports, which are collectives of several related organizations and in which one organization – the “port authority” – assumes the role of network coordinator. In this paper we report the results of a case study, the aims of which were: to identify the management control mechanisms deployed, or relied upon, by the Portuguese Port Authority in the Port of Aveiro in the exercise of its coordinating role; and to discern – on the basis of theoretical reasoning and empirical evidence – the factors explaining the nature and use of these mechanisms.Several conclusions emerged from the study. A general conclusion was that our prior literature-based theorization is generally consistent with the case observations. That is, in mixed-type networks, the nature and use of management control mechanisms by the public organization acting as a network coordinator seems to be shaped by its assessment of motivations to cooperate and of the contribution to network performance of the various organizations involved in the network. Other more specific conclusions are encapsulated in a “coordination framework”, which relates those assessments to specific features of the management control mechanisms. Crucially, our results provide insights into the roles of public organizations acting as network coordinators in the context of mixed-type networks, and, in general, on the nature of the numerous such public organizations in today's economy and society.