Face to face and telephone surveys in terms of sampling representativeness: a multidimensional analysis

This paper analyzes sample structure in a survey-based research project using both face-to-face and telephone survey techniques, at a time when the telephone survey has completely ousted the face-to-face survey; particularly in electoral studies. Multiple Correspondence Analysis is applied to the data from a political poll conducted prior to regional elections held in Spain’s Autonomous Community of Galicia in which half of the questionnaires were administered by telephone and the other half via face-to-face interview. Unlike other studies—that use a partial approach based on bivariate analysis—this one examines all the sociodemographic variables simultaneously.     

区域协调下的昆明市域城镇空间发展布局研究

文章以研究昆明市域城镇空间结构演进和重组的导向为主要内容。对昆明市市域城镇空间发展布局的成因布局进行研究,分析了昆明市域城镇空间发展布局的影响因素及存在的问题,进而对昆明市域城镇空间的发展布局提出相应的原则和对策。旨在区域协调下的昆明市域城镇空间发展布局更加完整、稳定的前进。     

Intention as a cognitive antecedent to international entrepreneurship��understanding the moderating roles of knowledge and experience

While International Entrepreneurship has attracted scholars’ attention during the last two decades, the impact cognitive aspects exert has been studied on cursory level only. The purpose of this paper was to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to the very field of International Entrepreneurship in order to examine whether this theory contributes to clarify what influences Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’ (SME) decision-makers’ intention—an important cognitive antecedent to behavior—to play an active part in internationalization. In particular, it had to be clarified whether or not International Entrepreneurship—due to its contextual specificities—deserves to be extended by further elements, i.e. experience and knowledge. Based on more than 100 responses from German SME executives, the study yielded several interesting results. First, TPB indeed helps explain how intentions to actively participate in international business are built. Second, an extension of the theory’s basic model seems to make sense, probably due to the specificities of international entrepreneurial behavior. As for the extensions, direct and moderating effects have been observed. Furthermore, cognitive elements seem to be key entrepreneurial resources which serve as sort of enablers. From these results several conclusions can be drawn. Cognitive aspects are a promising starting point for understanding decision-making in SME. Thus, the intersection of international entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial cognition deserves further attention—several examples for possible future studies are presented. Policies supporting SME should be extended: pure resource-based approaches seem to be insufficient. Furthermore, entrepreneurship courses and curricula should reflect the relevance of cognitive aspects.     

Challenges for spatially oriented entrepreneurship research

During the past two decades, interdisciplinary oriented entrepreneurship research focused increasingly on spatial aspects of entrepreneurial activities and support policies. This paper takes stock of central themes in entrepreneurship research at and across different geographic scales, the preferred sources of data and information as well as methodological approaches. It sets out to discuss the shifting interest of research over time and to sketch out theoretical and methodological challenges for further research. This paper is based on a review of 18 international journals in small business and entrepreneurship research, economic geography, regional economics and neighbouring sciences for the period 1990–2007. Altogether, 348 relevant articles were identified, read and classified. The analysis reveals that the entrepreneur's socio-spatial contexts in which they operate on a daily basis are still absent from much of the entrepreneurship debate. We suggest intensifying research efforts on the linkage between entrepreneurial activities and localities in order to reach a better understanding of the everydayness of entrepreneurship.     

Radicalisation: old and new a comparative analysis of the Red Brigades and the Islamic State

This study aims to broaden and refine our knowledge on radicalisation by applying a different lens derived from communication sciences, it also aims to minimise the bias resulting from the several studies focusing on one movement—the Islamic State. The research utilises a qualitative thematic analysis triangulated with a quantitative content analysis to compare 30 documents: 15 belonged to an old radical movement—the Red Brigades and 15 to a new radical movement—the Islamic State, to explore possible strategic communication patterns used by both organizations to establish their legitimacy among their target audiences. The findings revealed a similar division in the construction of the documents of both movements under four main themes, high and equivalent proportions in the representations of ‘violence’, and an extensive concentration of ideological terms in the Islamic State documents compared to a large focus on organizational aspects in the Red Brigades documents. The principal and wide gap existing between both movements is related to the organisational tactics. Likely to be one of the main distinctions contributed by modernisation in the world today.     

Women’s entrepreneurship from an institutional perspective: the case of Uzbekistan

This paper aims to make a contribution to our conceptual understanding of women entrepreneurship under ‘early stage’ transition conditions, by researching the nature of it in Uzbekistan. Institutional theory is used as a guiding frame of reference because the specific characteristics of the external environment under transition conditions make the latter a particularly strong influence on entrepreneurship. Empirically, the paper draws on data which was collected in Uzbekistan, within a collaborative research project (INTAS 00-843). The empirical material demonstrates that informal institutions dominating Uzbek society contribute to the prevailing forms of female entrepreneurship.     

Fostering entrepreneurship: impact of specialization and diversity in education

The present research aims to enhance our understanding of how prospective entrepreneurs benefit from specialized entrepreneurship education combined with a diversified educational experience. We find intriguing evidence that depth or specialization of entrepreneurship education is not enough for wealth creation from future entrepreneurial activities. Instead, it is breadth or diversity of educational experiences that positively influences future wealth creation, in terms of both the entrepreneur’s personal income as well as personal net worth. The results of the study have important implications for entrepreneurship educators and their students, researchers, policy makers, as well as nascent entrepreneurs.     

What makes entrepreneurship research interesting? Reflections on strategies to overcome the rigour–relevance gap

As entrepreneurship researchers compete to have their work published and universities strive to attract the best entrepreneurship scholars, it is appropriate to examine what makes entrepreneurship research interesting. Interesting studies are usually defined as well-crafted and well-written studies that challenge established knowledge, and produce new theories and findings. This paper examines entrepreneurship scholars’ views on the characteristics of interesting entrepreneurship research by means of a qualitative approach. Eight focus group interviews comprising junior and senior entrepreneurship scholars were conducted. A core finding is that interesting studies must be relevant to practice. However, the institutionalization of entrepreneurship as an academic field has favoured rigour at the cost of relevance, leading to scholars’ frustration with the rigour–relevance gap. In this paper, we analyse various dimensions of interestingness and reflect on strategies for overcoming the rigour–relevance gap, with particular focus on the creation of applicative knowledge.     

If Urban Regions are the Answer,What is the Question? Thoughts on the European Experience

This essay contributes to the current debate in the field of critical urban and regional studies on the meanings of the ‘regional’ and the ‘urban’. From a political science perspective, we focus on the European case. Firstly, we argue that the conception of the regional scale is not the same in various languages and traditions. Regions in Europe carry meanings and connotations that are not always easy to translate without losing their specific histories. Secondly, our analysis of contemporary debates on the ‘regional’ in the field of urban studies reveals that both practitioners and academics consider the regional scale mainly as a functional space, as the space for economic competitiveness. However, urban regions are also to be regarded as spaces for social and political mobilization. I argue that the political dimension of the ‘regional’ deserves more attention and that further research needs to be undertaken in this respect.     

Regional differences in environments for enterprises

Over the past decade there has been a strong emphasis on the analysis of local economic development. Current research on local development has strongly promoted endogenous growth mechanisms, stressing factors such as local entrepreneurship, social networks, synergy, innovativity, dynamic learning processes and factor flexibility. Accordingly, there has been an increasing interest in the role of innovations and their diffusion in regional development and growth. However, few studies have focused on lagging regions and the problems that they are faced with. This paper attempts to chart the existing regional differences in environments for enterprises in Finland following the concept of innovative milieu.     

Refugee entrepreneurship in Belgium: Potential and practice

By promoting refugee entrepreneurship, both the integration of refugees in society can be aided and domestic entrepreneurship can be boosted. Refugee entrepreneurship has been an underdeveloped domain of scientific research though. There clearly exists a potential for refugee entrepreneurship in Belgium, but this is too seldom realized in practice. Male refugees who have been self-employed in the past and whose family is active as an entrepreneur have a higher appetite for entrepreneurship. Refugee entrepreneurs are mostly male, in their thirties and forties and active in ‘inferior’ sectors. It was also found that refugee entrepreneurs earn less than other entrepreneurs.     

Historicizing the ‘ethnic’ in ethnic entrepreneurship: The case of the ethnic Chinese in Bangkok

This paper aims to come to a better understanding of the meaning of ‘ethnic’ in ethnic entrepreneurship for second- and third-generation ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs in Bangkok, Thailand. Research on ethnic Chinese entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia typically investigates the dominance, attributed to specific ‘Chinese’ cultural values and strong intra-ethnic networks, of the ethnic Chinese in business and entrepreneurship. Our research among second- and third-generations shows an inclination of the interviewees to emphasize the irrelevance of their ‘ethnic’ Chinese background in entrepreneurship. To understand the meanings of the expressed irrelevance, we argue that it is constructive to incorporate a historical/generational approach of the ethnic group (migration history, nationalism) and of the business (social organization) into the study of ethnic entrepreneurship. The contribution to ethnic entrepreneurship research is threefold. Firstly, we show how a generational lens provides a more nuanced understanding of the ‘ethnic’ in ethnic entrepreneurship. Secondly, we show how incorporating the historical context helps to position business conduct in the social/societal experiences of entrepreneurs. Finally, our case study of ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs in Thailand brings an Asian perspective to ethnic entrepreneurship debates that generally concern European and North American research studies and thus hopes to inspire future comparative research.     

SPATIAL INTEGRATION OF URBAN WATER SERVICES AND ECONOMIES OF SCALE

This research attempts to analyze economic effects of spatial integration of urban water service markets in Korea, employing the notion of economies of scale in terms of cost-effectiveness. The economies of scale are measured by the elasticity of supply with respect to the production cost from the translog cost function of urban water supply enterprises. It was found that the economies of scale in most urban water utility firms of Seoul Metropolitan region have continuously increased during the period 1989–1994. While the economies of scale would be hardly influenced by the changes in population density, they would tend to decrease marginally in response to the rise in employment density. If the urban water markets of the Seoul Metropolitan Region were consolidated into a single water service market without any changes to the current spatial network of water supply and regional economic attributes, the production cost would be reduced up to 47.1 percent of the actual cost in 1994. Those savings would be enough to make up for the financial deficit of the water production of the Seoul Metropolitan Region.     

城市经济对住宅价格影响研究--以35个大中城市为例

住宅市场具有很强的地域特性,不同城市由于经济发展等因素的影响,造成住宅价格具有较大的差异。将城市经济分为城市经济规模、城市产业结构和城市经济效率,以35个大中城市为例,运用静态面板数据模型研究城市经济对住宅价格的影响。结果表明,城市经济对住宅价格具有很强的正相关作用,尤其是城市经济规模和城市产业结构。城市经济规模方面,GDP、地方财政支出对住宅价格具有显著的正面影响;城市产业结构方面,第三产业增加值占GDP比重越高,住宅价格越高;城市经济效率方面,人均地方财政收入和第二、三产业增加值与建成区面积之比都对住宅价格具有显著的正相关性。因此,城市在区域经济一体化的带动下将追求创新高效率的发展,同时优化城市空间结构和产业结构,有助于住宅市场的健康发展。     

全球价值链:世界城市网络研究的新视角

城市网络是城市存在的空间范式,它在空间尺度上可划分为世界城市网络和区域城市网络。其中,世界城市网络研究经历了世界城市、世界城市等级体系、世界城市网络三个阶段;区域城市网络则包括巨型城市区、全球城市区域、城市群等研究领域。世界城市网络所运用的生产者服务业分析方法中的单一中心城市模式与区域城市网络的封闭模式相互割裂,不能合理解释当代世界城市体系的空间格局及内在关系。全球价值链可将世界城市网络与区域城市网络有效融合,是研究不同功能城市所组成的多元世界城市网络模式的分析工具。     

低碳城市发展地域系统优化研究：以上海临港新城为例

城市地域系统的结构决定了城市低碳发展的基础。在反思传统城市地域系统规划低碳发展的局限性基础上,以临港新城低碳城市地域系统优化案例为研究对象,对空间结构、土地利用、交通体系等城市地域系统核心构成要素进行低碳优化分析。研究指出低碳城市地域系统在空间结构上具有高密度、高容积率、高层的紧凑型特征,多中心的梯级空间格局,分散组团式的空间开发;集约化、多样化的复合功能的土地开发;公共交通导向的走廊式空间规划,发达的小地域空间道路体系等特点。     

长江中游城市群空间结构效益比较与优化研究

基于OpenStreetMap公路路网和社会经济数据,利用可达性分析及空间相互作用引力模型,从规模效益、距离效益、空间联系效益3个方面对2017年长江中游城市群的空间结构效益进行比较分析。研究发现:武汉城市圈城市紧凑度高,平均可达性最好,内部联系强度大,空间凝聚力强;长株潭城市群在人口及经济规模上具有明显优势,中等联系层面网络趋于完善,一体化程度高,但空间可达性差;环鄱阳湖城市群综合竞争能力弱,空间联系松散且较弱,但空间可达性较好。未来,长江中游城市群的发展可以从重构区域发展空间结构、加强不同等级规模城市梯度建设、构建综合交通运输网、建立区域发展协调机制和促进产业生态绿色发展等方面寻找着力点。     

Reconceptualizing entrepreneurial framework conditions

This report is an empirical examination of entrepreneurial framework conditions—the environmental conditions that encourage and support entrepreneurial activity at the national level. In particular, it attempts to validate the framework conditions employed in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), a multi-year, multinational study of entrepreneurial activity widely used in entrepreneurship research. The validity of the GEM entrepreneurial framework conditions is examined using empirical analysis of data drawn from Global Competitiveness Report measures for 53 countries over 4 years. The data suggest an alternative conceptualization of entrepreneurial framework conditions: commercial munificence, technology openness, regulatory openness, and technology influx. These findings have implications for theorists and policy makers interested in antecedents to entrepreneurially based economic growth.     

The spatial dynamics of new firm births during an economic crisis: the case of Great Britain, 2004–2012

Abstract

Spatial variations in entrepreneurial activity have been shown to be a time persistent phenomenon in many countries. This paper analyses how these spatial variations have been affected by the recent financial crisis within the context of theories of regional resilience and adaptability. The analysis applies Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis techniques to data on firm births across Local Authority Districts of Great Britain during the period 2004–2012. The results demonstrate that, whilst the overall shape of the spatial distribution of firm births remained persistent, there is evidence of an increase in regional inequality. This is primarily associated with a divergence between London and the rest of the distribution. London, together with part of its surrounding area, appears to constitute a resilient entrepreneurial regime that has generated a dynamic, adaptive response to the crisis with high rates of new firm formation in contrast to other regions which have remained locked into lower rates of entrepreneurship. This supports the view that regional entrepreneurship is a path dependent process: entrepreneurial regions are more adaptable to the effects of an exogenous shock than less entrepreneurial regions. Accordingly, entrepreneurship is a critical factor influencing the resilience of regions in responding to an economic crisis.     

城市经济带的理论问题

"城市经济带"是本文基于城市经济学、区域经济学、空间经济学与产业经济学理论的交叉融合,针对国内外城市经济发展中的现实问题提出来的概念.作为城市经济未来发展的一种趋势,"城市经济带"对于促进中国转轨经济中区域经济快速健康发展的实践具有重要的指导意义.鉴于当前学术界尚未对"城市经济带"给出明确的阐释,本文对"城市经济带"的相关理论问题进行了初步探讨,如理论溯源、内涵阐释等方面,以期达成对"城市经济带"相关实践领域的理论自觉.