Local formal interpersonal networks and SMEs internationalisation: Empirical evidence from the UK

This article uses data from the UK Longitudinal Small Business Survey (2015) to empirically test the relationship between local (formal and informal) interpersonal networks and exporting. Our results suggest that local interpersonal networks increase the likelihood of exporting. More importantly, we find that the role of formal interpersonal networks (e.g. accountants) on internationalisation increases as firm size increases, while the link between informal interpersonal networks (e.g. family) and exporting becomes weaker. We argue that larger firms have more complex operations and diverse structures than smaller firms that require the engagement of formal interpersonal networks to help with the internationalisation process.     

Assessing the socio-economic dimensions of the rise of organic farming in the European Union

Organic farming is considered one of the most important rural development tools in the European Union, often connected to the socio-economic objectives of small-farm support and employment generation. Using an EU-27 regional panel data-set from 2000 to 2010, I show that the share of a region’s agricultural area under organic methods is positively associated with average farm size. Furthermore, I show that the share of organic farming in a region is not associated with higher application of agricultural labor per hectare. Both results question the connection between organic farming and the aforementioned objectives, and point to the conventionalization of European organic farming.     

New small firm survival in England

This paper investigates the determinants of the survival, between 2001 and 2004, of 622 small firms in England. Seventy one percent of these firms were less than 5 years old in 2001. Prior work by industrial economists has primarily focussed upon factors such as profitability and exit barriers. In contrast, this paper adopts a more managerial approach by examining whether the human capital of the business owner and organisational variables explain survival and non-survival. Our results suggest the founder’s education and bank finance promote firm survival. Firms which compete on price, or report being financially constrained at start-up, are much less likely to survive.

Small and Productive: Kenyan Women and Crop Choice

The question of gender differences in agricultural productivity has received particular attention in the development literature. The stylized fact that women produce less than men, while on average occupying smaller farms, presents a quandary as it is also a stylized fact that smaller farms have higher yields per unit of area. Using data from the 2006 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey, this study examines whether there is a gap in output per acre between men and women farmers in Kenya. Using ordinary and two-stage least-squares (OLS and 2SLS) analyses, it shows that when crop choice is taken into account, women are as productive as men. Specifically, the study finds that market-oriented crops are the source of differences. This suggests that further research into what determines crop choice is needed, in addition to policy that ensures that women have the same access as men to support for market-oriented crops.     

Examining the role of CSR skepticism using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

This study shows the value of a set-theoretic comparative technique—namely, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis—as a means to supplement other traditional techniques, such as regression analysis and structural equation modeling. The study illustrates the technique by using the empirical dataset in Skarmeas and Leonidou's (2013) study on consumer skepticism about corporate social responsibility (CSR). The investigation provides more nuanced coverage of the role of CSR skepticism than the conventional “net effect” symmetrical explanation and illustrates that CSR skepticism and its impact are contingent on combinations of complex antecedent conditions and several alternative paths. Specifically, the study expands on Skarmeas and Leonidou's findings by showing that the degree of CSR skepticism depends on the combination of “ingredients” in the CSR-induced consumer attribution causal “recipes.” The study also shows that the deleterious influence of CSR skepticism on consumer-related outcomes, such as retailer equity, resilience to negative information about the retailer, and word of mouth, is conditional and depends on the combination of antecedent conditions that occur in the causal statements.     

A hybrid conjoint model for the identification of the UK supermarket choice determinants: an exploratory study

Supermarket competition has increased tremendously during recent years and the need for a deeper understanding of the key criteria for consumers' store patronage has never been greater. Against this background, the present study tries to identify and analyse the basic determinants that drive supermarket choice. This paper, which is primarily methodological, applies a large-scale hybrid conjoint experiment to a UK setting with the purpose of examining the relative impact of various supermarket attributes on the actual choice. The hybrid conjoint model deals with the problem of designing and analysing studies involving large numbers of attributes and/or attribute levels, and makes it possible to estimate individually based part-worth values, determines the most important supermarket choice criteria and yields useful implications for strategic retail management.     

The Impact of Enterprise Size on Employment Tribunal Incidence and Outcomes: Evidence from Britain

Employment Tribunals are the formal means of adjudicating disputes over individual employment rights in the UK. This article hypothesizes that, because small firms favour informality over formality, they are more likely (i) to experience employee claims than large firms; (ii) to be subject to different types of claims; (iii) to settle prior to reaching a formal Tribunal; and (iv) to lose at a Tribunal. Data from the 2003 Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications are used to examine these hypotheses. They are generally supported, although in relation to the third there was no size effect. Furthermore, our results show that firms that have procedures and follow them are more likely to win than those firms that do not have any procedures. Recognizing the benefits of informality, while also ensuring that small firms follow proper standards of procedural fairness, is a policy dilemma that has yet to be resolved.     

The Impact of Competitiveness on the Shadow Economy

International Advances in Economic Research - The shadow economy absorbs critical resources from the formal economy and to a certain extent impedes the implementation of policies that are necessary...     

Exploring the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment: an instrumental variable approach

Abstract

The possible role of job satisfaction (JS) on organizational commitment (OC) has been a very important and hotly debated topic among experts. However, existing studies have yielded mixed results potentially due to utilization of small datasets, different methodological designs, estimation techniques that do not control for potential endogeneity between the variables, or a combination of these issues. Using a large matched employer-employee data-set from Britain (WERS2011), we find that increases in employees’ JS positively influence OC. We also show that this relationship holds when an instrumental variable framework (IV ordered probit/IV probit) is adopted to take into account the potential endogeneity of JS. However, throughout the analysis, the IV estimates are smaller in magnitude in comparison to where JS is considered as an exogenous variable. Moreover, utilising a two-stage probit least square (2SPLS) estimator, we support our previous findings i.e. increased JS is likely to lead to enhanced OC, but we also show that greater OC leads to higher levels of JS suggesting that JS and OC are likely to be reciprocally related. Overall, the IV estimates confirm the importance of addressing the endogeneity issue in the analysis of the relationship between JS and OC.     

The balance between size and power in testing for linear association for two stationary AR(1) processes

The classical statistical procedure in testing the null hypothesis of zero correlation for two independent stationary AR(1) processes produces spurious correlations, contrast to the alternative testing approach that has been proposed by Agiakloglou and Tsimpanos (2012). This study examines the trade-offs between size distortions and power using both testing techniques, including the case where the true values of the autoregressive parameters are replaced by their estimates.