The impact of selected factors on new business formation in the private healthcare sector

Numerous factors influence the development of the private healthcare sector. Therefore, the selection of these factors, which represent a potential opportunity for forming new entities, is a crucial from the point of view of entrepreneurship. In our research we selected strategic variables which have got direct influence on entrepreneurship in the private healthcare sector in Poland. Theoretical approach was based on literature review which have revealed the main factors and their relationships with entrepreneurship according to the previous research studies. This research study was conducted for the entire population of municipalities in Poland. Methodology was based on Intelligent Data Analysis (IDA) which can be applied for a large amounts of data in order to extract useful knowledge from it. Moreover, in research study were applied explanation techniques – decision rules –in order to indicate, to what extent the environment have influence on strategic choices conditioning the success of businesses. The results have revealed that it is possible to determine a set of the most important factors influencing entrepreneurship in the private healthcare sector in Poland. On the other hand, were indicated these variables which do not participate in process of influencing on entrepreneurship in private healthcare sector in Poland.

     

Intergenerational Earnings Inequality: New Evidence From Italy

Using an innovative dataset built by merging survey and administrative data, we provide new estimates of intergenerational earnings’ inequality between fathers and sons in Italy, extending previous evidence in several directions. We rely on the TSTSLS method to predict fathers’ earnings and compute intergenerational elasticities and imputed rank–rank slopes, trying to reduce estimation biases. Confirming previous evidence, we find that Italy is characterized by a high intergenerational inequality in cross-country comparison. Extending previous analyses, we show that the intergenerational association increases when sons at older ages and multi-annual averages of pseudo-fathers’ and sons’ earnings are considered. We also find that the intergenerational persistence differs across geographical macro-areas and is high also for daughters, especially when family earnings are considered. Furthermore, estimates where possible mediating factors of the parental influence are included among the covariates show that a high intergenerational association persists when sons’ education and occupation are controlled for.     

The environmental benefits of changing logistics structures for fresh vegetables

The transport phase is one of the crucial stages that can be improved to reduce the environmental impact of the fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain. In this paper, we calculate the environmental impact of feasible logistic alternatives for the above-mentioned supply chain so as to identify the type of transportation that incurs the lowest environmental costs. Specifically, we consider the early potato supply chain as a case study, as it involves one of the main fresh vegetables exported from Italy. Consumers' willingness to pay for the environmental impact of different logistic chains was obtained through life cycle assessment. Our results show that rail transport could reduce environmental impact in terms of tons of oil equivalent, environmental loads, and fuel consumption while ensuring reasonable shipment times. Development of an efficient rail transport system would be positively considered by consumers, enhancing their preferences for Italian products.     

Crisis leadership in economic recession: A three-barrier approach to offset external constraints

An economic recession is a type of crisis originated from external factors that may imperil an organization’s survival depending on the intensity and duration of the crisis. In peripheral European countries, such as Portugal, the recent financial crisis had devastating effects on various business activities. As a result, Portugal represents an important case study in examining how some corporate leaders have handled the economic recession successfully. I interviewed 20 corporate managers to capture their perceptions of the leadership traits and behaviors exhibited by their CEOs in guiding their companies through the recession. In economic recessions, negative constraints do not affect the most effective leaders, who instead erect barriers against the high-pressure conditions to create a supportive, positive work environment. In order to achieve maximum effectiveness, leaders must act as blocking agents against the negative social impacts of the economic crisis, including the fragility of trust in organizational life (i.e., a barrier against distrust), uncertainty of the future (i.e., a barrier against uncertainty), and toxic emotions (i.e., a barrier against toxic emotions).     

Does integrity matter for CSR practice in organizations? The mediating role of transformational leadership

Scholars have long debated whether leader's integrity affects managerial decision making with respect to social responsibility. In this paper, we propose a model in which transformational leadership mediates integrity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and examine the relationship between these concepts. A survey of 170 senior managers from 50 organizations was conducted. Results indicate that integrity is a predictor of transformational leadership behavior and that transformational leaders’ behaviors are linked to CSR practices. It was also found that leaders rated with higher integrity are engaged in CSR because they exhibit more transformational leadership behaviors. These findings add to the extant literature by demonstrating that integrity is important as transformational leaders engage more actively on ‘responsible’ behaviors. Practical implications call for an understanding among corporate leaders of the benefits of integrity and how it relates to transformational leadership. Organizations can improve their selection and leadership development processes by focusing on these two dimensions.     

Analysis of Domestic Factors Affecting Outward Foreign Direct Investment in Brazil

Developing markets have increasingly gained prominence in the world economy, but the domestic factors behind this success are not well established. This uncertainty may interfere with multinational expansion plans. In this article, we examine several macroeconomic and institutional factors affecting Brazilian outward foreign direct investment in 17 destination countries. We applied a pooled ordinary least squares regression over the 2001–2014 period. The findings suggest that macroeconomic factors are still statistically significant to explain investment abroad, but several institutional factors such as corruption have emerged, having a negative effect and political violence having a positive effect on Brazilian outward foreign direct investment.     

Enablers for end‐user entrepreneurship: An investigation on Italian food bloggers

This article examines unconventional entrepreneurship (accidental or end‐user entrepreneurs) to determine whether the decision‐making phase of the entrepreneurial process is collective. The analysis identified a virtuous circle that links knowledge, innovation, judgment, and decision making to collective interactions built on passion, experience, and sharing. To study food bloggers as unconventional user entrepreneurs, data were collected and analyzed using netnographic analysis. A supplementary online survey of food bloggers and their followers was also performed. Three groups of food bloggers are identified: amusing, functional, and fervent. Only fervent food bloggers, thanks to the virtuous circle built on passion, experience, and sharing as enablers, can be considered accidental or end‐user entrepreneurs.     

Modelling innovation support systems for regional development – analysis of cluster structures in innovation in Portugal

The present article offers a concise theoretical conceptualization and operational analysis of the contribution of innovation to regional development. The latter concepts are closely related to geographical proximity, knowledge diffusion and filters and clustering. Institutional innovation profiles and regional patterns of innovation are two mutually linked, novel conceptual elements in this article. Next to a theoretical framing, the article employs the regional innovation systems concept as a vehicle to analyse institutional innovation profiles. Our case study addresses three Portuguese regions and their institutions, included in a web-based inventory of innovation agencies which offered the foundation for an extensive database. This data-set was analysed by means of a recently developed principal coordinates analysis followed by a Logistic Biplot approach (leading to a Voronoi mapping) to design a systemic typology of innovation structures where each institution is individually represented. There appears to be a significant difference in the regional innovation patterns resulting from the diverse institutional innovation profiles concerned. These profiles appear to be region specific. Our conclusion highlights the main advantages in the use of the method used for policy-makers and business companies.