The Concept of “Progressive” Institutional Change and Its Implications for Economic Policy Formation

Institutional economics has long shown that entrepreneurship plays a critical role in the pursuit of economic development and wellbeing. At the same time, entrepreneurship is complex and evolving. The path between entrepreneurship and wellbeing is not clear-cut, and not all types of entrepreneurial activity are correlated with economic growth. Failure to acknowledge this heterogeneity has important consequences for entrepreneurship policy and human development, particularly where gender is concerned. The paper treats the complexities involved in defining and conceptualizing entrepreneurship, setting the stage for a focus on the gender dimension. As female entrepreneurial activity has risen in many countries around the world, it is important to acknowledge the diversity of such activity and the ways it does (or does not) correspond to an increase in human freedom. Highlighting the differences between necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship, this paper illustrates the formal and informal institutions that shape gender inequity in the entrepreneurial environment. It concludes with some suggestions for addressing this important issue.     

Capabilities and (Missed) Opportunity for Women’s Entrepreneurship in Kuwait

Abstract

Kuwait offers a powerful context for investigating the entrepreneurial cultures developing in Gulf countries in response to the concurrent trends of pursuing economic diversification and efficiency, and the constraints posed by cultural narratives that maintain inequality between the sexes. Bringing a capabilities lens to the analysis of entrepreneurship promotion programs means shifting from a focus on meeting basic human needs to ensuring capabilities development. To begin, we discuss the capabilities approach to entrepreneurship with a focus on the necessity/opportunity classification. Next, we review the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Kuwait, including its focus on opportunity entrepreneurs and the legal, economic, and sociocultural framework in which they operate. After considering the impact of Kuwait’s gender-blind approach on women’s entrepreneurship, we conclude with some suggestions for strengthening Kuwait’s potential for capability expansion through entrepreneurship.     

资源基础观的微观基础探寻:领导者对组织资源获取的影响

对资源基础观、资源依赖理论、企业家精神、动态能力等理论进行整合,将组织资源获取过程划分为资源识别、资源外部获取、资源内部积累3个阶段,并提出了8种领导者影响组织资源获取的途径,可为研究资源基础观的微观基础提供一个系统分析视角,为领导有效性研究提供启示。     

数字能力对公司创业的影响研究——竞争强度的调节效应

公司创业对企业成长、价值增值、生产边界扩大至关重要，现今数字能力极大地颠覆了传统创业逻辑，学界呼吁对“数字时代下公司创业”问题展开研究。基于资源编排理论和数字跳升逻辑，对240份问卷进行实证分析，探究数字能力对公司创业的影响作用以及竞争强度对二者关系的调节作用。研究结果表明：①数字感知能力、数字运营能力、数字协同能力均可以正向影响公司创业，但数字感知能力的作用最为明显，其次是数字协同能力，最后是数字运营能力。②竞争强度增强了数字感知能力、数字运营能力、数字协同能力对公司创业的正向影响。结论的实践启示是：若企业自身要开展公司创业，则应首先注重数字感知能力的培育；若企业要防御其他公司进行相同领域的公司创业，则应首先关注数字运营能力的培育。本文对数字能力3种表现形式内在逻辑的打开，有利于企业针对性地分配资源和精力。     

Distinguishing characteristics of ahuman economics

What are the requirements for an economics that is compatible with, and affirmative of, a meaninful image of human nature? Where does conventional economic theory show its most glaring deficiencies in this respect? What are the core human values that need to inform economic thought capable of guiding us in the design and construction of a more humane economic system? Why is the bulk of contemporary heterodox economic thinking antagonistic to the project of a human-centered economics? These are the basic questions addressed and explored in this article.     

基于扎根理论的大学生创业团队凝聚力影响机制研究

团队模式已成为大学生创业的重要形式,然而,“不能同甘也不能共苦”使得大部分大学生创业团队在其合作前期就发生决裂甚至解散。关于大学生创业团队凝聚力如何产生,受哪些因素影响,其形成机理是什么等问题,目前少有考察。运用扎根理论,通过对6组创业团队24个团队成员的深度访谈,挖掘出“认可共同利益”等17个子范畴和“工作事件的影响”等5个主范畴,构建工作事件工作环境的激活—认知评价—情感反应—态度形成理论模型,并运用情感事件理论和情绪归因理论分析深层次原因。在此基础上探讨增强创业团队凝聚力的外部干预措施。     

Marx on entrepreneurship: A note

This paper argues that in mainstream economics the concept of entrepreneurship is imposed by the theoretical framework adopted in order to justify the source of profits. In contrast, in Marx’s analysis there is a consistent theory of profit which inevitably leads to a specific theory of entrepreneurship. (JEL: B10, B14, B21)     

社会创业活动驱动机制研究——一个模糊集定性比较分析

利用fsQCA方法,以22个经济体为样本分析个体、制度环境以及文化层面的5个条件联动匹配对社会创业活跃度的影响。结果表明：第一,机会感知、失败恐惧感、制度环境以及人文导向文化维度无法单独构成高或者非高社会创业活跃度的必要条件。第二,高社会创业活跃度路径有3种：高人文导向下的环境—能力型、低人文导向下的环境拉动型与环境推拉型。第三,非高社会创业活跃度产生路径有两种：低人文导向及拉动型制度环境缺失条件下,与其它要素联动匹配;高人文导向文化、低机会感知以及低失败恐惧感条件下,与不同类型制度环境联动匹配。第四,社会创业活跃度影响路径具有非对称性。     

Gender,Distribution, and Balance of Payments Constrained Growth in Developing Countries

An unresolved debate in the development literature concerns the impact of gender equality on economic growth. Previous studies have found that the effect varies, depending on the measure of equality (wages or capabilities). This paper expands that discussion by considering both the short and long run, evaluating the effects of gender equality in two types of economies—semi-industrialized economies (SIEs) and low-income agricultural economies (LIAEs). Further, it incorporates gender effects on the balance of payments constraint to growth. The results suggest that gender wage and capabilities equality work in opposite directions in SIEs and in the same (positive) direction in LIAEs. In the long-run analysis, government macroeconomic management policies are shown to be necessary in order to ratify movements towards gender equality.     

Training,human capital,and gender gaps in entrepreneurial performance

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, policymakers have been increasingly striving to support female entrepreneurship as a possible growth driver. This paper contributes to reconciling mixed findings in the literature on the effectiveness of entrepreneurial training with an analysis that links training and human capital, including tertiary education and non-cognitive skills, with gender gaps in entrepreneurial performance in Africa. We have found that while financial literacy training directly benefits men, it does not raise the sales levels of women entrepreneurs. Instead, tertiary education has a direct positive link with the performance of women. Consistent with our theoretical model where different skills are complements, tertiary education can act as a channel that makes training effective. Regarding non-cognitive skills, evidence shows that women entrepreneurs who are tenacious achieve stronger sales performance. Our results underscore the importance of including tertiary education and entrepreneurial training programs focused on a balanced set of skills, including non-cognitive skills, among policies for women entrepreneurs.     

Entrepreneurial ecosystem for cooperatives: The case of Kyrgyz agricultural cooperatives

The article discusses the development of agricultural cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan from an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) perspective. Agricultural development priorities explain cooperatives’ importance in Kyrgyz government's policies, but cooperatives still fail at countering the challenges of the smallholder economy. Considering agricultural cooperatives as a form of rural entrepreneurship, this paper aims to contribute to the discussion of the factors that support cooperatives in developing countries adapting the EE framework to cooperative entrepreneurship. Using a content analysis method, we analysed and coded textual data from documentary and archival publications on the agricultural cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan published by the government, cooperatives and their unions and the reports of international organizations. We identify five main dimensions of the cooperative entrepreneurial ecosystem for cooperatives: (1) policy and regulatory framework; (2) education and skills; (3) market environment; (4) culture; (5) networks. We found that even if the overall structure of cooperatives’ EE can be comparable to conventional enterprises, its sub-elements significantly differ for cooperative enterprises. Despite its exploratory character and single-case research design, this article contributes to the theoretical discussion on cooperative entrepreneurial ecosystems in post-socialist developing contexts and offers a framework of analysis for cooperative development policies and practices.     

创业抉择的个体因素和生态因泰

本文首先从理论上构建了创业活动水平的分层次决定因素模型，将影响创业活动的生态因素和创业者的人口经济特征联系起来。然后，利用国内外创业研究的最新成果，着重对影响企业家创业活动的经济发展水平因素和年龄、性别、家庭收入、创业动机等个体因素进行了分析。最后,文章以理论模型为基础，从加强创业者素质教育、政府宏观指导和创业理论研究三个层面，为我国建设创新型国家提出了一个视角。     

Risk tolerance,gender, and entrepreneurship: The Palestinian case

This paper analyzes the inter‐relationships between entrepreneurial propensity, fear of failure (FoF), and gender in Palestine, using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) adult population survey (APS) data for 2009, 2010, and 2012, and it is the first that addresses Gender, fear of failure, and entrepreneurship for Palestine. The paper extends the analysis of the endogeneity issue of FoF by using the conditional mixed process (CMP), which improves the efficiency of the estimates. The results show that the fear of failure negatively affects entrepreneurial status, while skill perception does the opposite. It is also found that fear of failure is higher among women, although this result is not stable over time. Using the CMP specification, we find that gender and fear of failure both reduce the predicted probability of entrepreneurship consistently over time. The only variable that consistently predicts fear of failure and is significant is skill perception, which has a negative impact. Policy implications of this research point to the importance of reducing the gender gap in entrepreneurship. In particular, there is a need to improve their skill perception in order to encourage more females to be entrepreneurs. Networking, vocational education and media coverage of success stories are among the tools that could potentially achieve this result.     

Business Cycles in Yugoslavia

Although Haiti's 2010 earthquake brought to light the inconceivable poverty existing in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti's struggle for economic development long pre-dated that earthquake. One problem in Haiti is the high level of gender inequity, and we argue that human development theory is the best mode for change. We provide a brief background of Haiti's economic development over the last several decades, along with the status of women's rights and gender-differentiated socioeconomic outcomes. We analyze the ways that policy neglect of gender equity in Haiti has contributed to failed economic development in the past. Finally, we identify ways that other developing countries have successfully incorporated a focus on gender equity in their development strategy, particularly in the face of natural disaster and financial crisis. Our goal is working toward a set of leading practices consistent with institutionalism that can be used in relating gender (in)equality to economic development.     

人力资源与竞争优势:一个改进的VRIO框架

以RBV理论和动态能力理论(DCV)为基础,采用经典的"输入—转化—输出"分析范式,从系统理论的视角,提出了一个改进的VRIO框架,描述了如何通过HR管理来获取竞争优势。改进的VRIO框架的含义是:组织输入的人力资源应当具备竞争优势潜力;组织的转化能力由组织学习、组织行动和激励机制这三项相互作用的系统要素构成;组织输入的人力资源,经过有效转化,就能输出为竞争优势。     

能力—机会框架：理解企业创业和成长的统一视角*

“交易范式”影响下发展出来的主流经济学片面强调激励和契约,无法为理解真实世界的企业创业和成长现象提供有效理论支撑。本文重新构建了一个根植于“生产范式”,尤其是资源—能力理论和演化视角的,并能够适用于理解后发展语境下企业创业和成长现象的统一理论框架——“能力—机会”框架。这个框架包含四个基本命题：第一,当讨论企业创业和成长问题时,本质上都在讨论组织能力和市场机会的问题。第二,能力和机会的来源、类型以及二者系统性的变化过程,共同直接决定了企业的创业选择和成长动力。第三,能力和机会同时具有工业和产品特定性,只能在持续的工业生产和管理过程中内生出来。往往已经存在或有条件创造出什么类型的能力和机会时,才可能出现相应状态的创业和成长活动。第四,后发展语境中的特定组织能力和市场机会,从未因为市场经济制度的存在而自动产生。政府部门和公共研究机构等非市场组织,充当了塑造能力和机会的状态及其变化过程的关键力量。总之,“能力—机会”框架提供了一种显著区别于主流经济学的新研究视角,同时有助于弥合创业研究和企业成长研究长期存在的鸿沟。     

Social Innovation,Gender, and Technology: Bridging the Resource Gap

Some of the most important resources are intangible, such as knowledge and access to networks. In the developing world, technology can facilitate these resources and address basic human needs in a variety of ways: from provision of farmer training and cloud-controlled clean water systems to health information and mobile money services. Some of these services expand access to resources in ways that particularly benefit women. In environments where women are disadvantaged socially and economically, information and communications technologies (ICT) can enable women to access valuable information, consider a broader range of business opportunities, access wider markets, partake in educational programs, and share experiences with and gain mentorship from other women. However, there are large gender gaps in the access to technology, particularly in rural areas. To begin, I briefly discuss the role of technology in development, and consider the extent and significance of technology gender gaps. Next, I review key barriers to reducing these gaps, and discuss the concept of social innovation as it applies to technology interventions. Examples from five social innovations in India — a country with large technology gender gaps — illustrate the range of possibilities for innovative access to and use of ICT for diverse target groups. I conclude with some suggestions for further improvement in this area.     

Gender,entrepreneurship and food security in Niger

In many African countries, the income generated from the informal sector and the entrepreneurship is particularly important for reducing poverty. Previous studies have not found clear evidence on the relationship between self‐employment by gender and food security. We argue that this may be a result of the gender inequality in resource accessibility. In this paper, we analyze the implication of household entrepreneurship on food security in Niger, where gender disparities in resource accessibility are reduced. We find that owning female‐managed non‐agricultural enterprises is positively related to food accessibility and food availability within female‐headed households. The results draw the attention on reducing gender differences in resource accessibility in entrepreneurship for improving food security.     

创业团队异质性对创业绩效的影响：团队治理的中介作用

借鉴结构—行为—绩效（SCP）模型，构建创业团队异质性—团队治理—创业绩效的研究框架，从人力资本理论、交易费用理论视角对三者之间的作用机理进行探讨和检验。结果表明，创业团队经验异质性与创业绩效之间显著正相关；创业团队经验异质性水平越高，越倾向于选择契约治理模式；契约治理在创业团队经验异质性与创业绩效之间起部分中介作用。实践中，在组建创业团队时要有意识地保持成员在知识技能、专业职能等经验方面的多样化和互补性，从而获得成长所需人力资本和社会资本。同时，需要在团队运作过程中采取与之相适应的治理模式，以制约由此产生的行为不一致甚至冲突，节约沟通协调成本，提高创业企业绩效。     

制度与社会创业:基于文献的整合框架

社会创业是深嵌于制度情境中的独特创业活动,二者之间的复杂关联是当前社会创业研究的焦点。已有文献对这一问题的探索不仅主题零散,也缺乏一个整合性研究框架。本文运用系统文献综述法对过去30年管理学和创业学主流学术期刊文献进行梳理,概括了四个主要研究议题,即制度对社会创业选择、过程和绩效的影响以及社会创业对制度变革的促进。在此基础上,整合创业研究的“情境-行为-结果”和“情境-思维-行为”两种研究范式,提出了制度与社会创业双向互动的“制度-认知-行为-结果”(简称ICBO)的跨层次分析框架。最后,基于中国情景的历史特征与数字化新兴实践提出了未来研究展望和建议。本文研究有助于深化对社会创业制度成因的认识,也有助于推动合意性的社会创业政策制定。