Born globals: A cross-country survey on high-tech start-ups

The paper empirically investigates what drivers affect the decisions of high-tech start-ups to internationalize from the outset, and their degree of born-globalness. The empirical data have been obtained from a cross-country survey on internationalized high-tech start-ups operating in the ICT and electronics sectors. The present findings show that the presence of a small domestic market and the scalability of the product put on sale have a positive effect on the probability of a start-up internationalizing from its inception. We have also observed that the niche strategy and the network relationships built up by the entrepreneur are key drivers for both an early internationalization and the scope of international expansion. The experiential knowledge and international commitment of an entrepreneur, as well as the diversity of team competences and organizational flexibility of a firm, have a significant impact on a born global's degree of born-globalness, although it is not a fundamental precondition for early internationalization.     

Using the theory of planned behaviour to predict public sector training participation

Workplace learning is essential to the continuous improvement and competitiveness of organizations. Antecedent training conditions are crucial for training participation. Despite its recognized importance, few studies have proposed theory-based models for predicting the antecedents of training participation. The principal objective of this study was to test the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) for predicting public sector training participation. The second aim was to elucidate the factors that influence, directly or indirectly, employee intentions and behaviours to participate in training. A sample of 1108 participants was analysed by structural equation modelling to assess path suitability and significance. The empirical results confirmed the applicability of TPB for predicting training participation in the public sector.     

FDI是打破西部地区制度瓶颈的突破口

制度瓶颈是阻碍西部经济发展的主要因素。FDI (外商直接投资 )的进入有助于促进体制改革、转变企业经营方式 ,带动民营经济发展 ,影响居民思想观念、促进技术进步、扩大市场规模 ,从而对地区制度变迁产生强大的推动力。西部地区应加快制度创新 ,改善投资环境 ,积极吸引FDI (外商直接投资 ) ,以此来促进西部制度变迁 ,使西部经济发展摆脱制度瓶颈的束缚。     

Fostering Corporate Social Responsibility Through Public Initiative: From the EU to the Spanish Case

Should CSR be approached only on a voluntary basis or should it be complemented with a compulsory regulatory framework? What type of government intervention is more effective in fostering CSR among companies? This paper is an attempt to answer these questions, reviewing the debate between proponents of the voluntary case and the obligatory case for CSR, and critically analysing current international government-led initiatives to foster CSR among companies, and national government-led initiatives in the EU area. Finally, the paper focuses on the Spanish case, as an example of the failure of an exclusively voluntary approach. Despite the rapid uprise of CSR, Spain is still far behind late in CSR promotion strategies. Most action has been undertaken by companies themselves with no common guidelines, governmental support, or independent verification. The lack of a regulatory framework for CSR or ethical investment issues and the virtual absence of other indirect incentives, explains the misbalance between private, public and Third Sector initiatives. Based on the Spanish context which is quite similar to other non-OECD countries, the authors call for a more proactive government position in CSR related issues. The conclusions of the paper detail the features of this regulatory framework and other policies to promote CSR in Spain as well as in other OECD countries.     

充分发挥财务管理在高校转型发展中的积极作用——以Y学院为例

在高校转型发展时期,高校财务工作也应随之及时转型:从核算型转为管理型财务;提高财务工作的主动性;逐步建立创新型财务;加强财务工作实践和理论有机结合;提高财会队伍综合素质。财务管理工作应为高校的转型发展重点做好资金筹措、科学化精细化预算、支持学校参与地方经济、努力提高教育资金使用效益等方面的工作,建立优良的财务运行机制,更好地服务高校事业的健康快速发展。     

Networking responses to different levels of institutional void: A comparison of internationalizing SMEs in Egypt and the UK

This paper reports a comparative qualitative study of how decision-makers in internationalizing SMEs respond to relevant institutions in their domestic environment through networking activity. Twenty SMEs are compared respectively from a developing economy (Egypt) and a developed economy (UK). The two countries contrast both in the effectiveness of their institutional support for SMEs and in their cultural norms towards network relationships. Substantial differences are found between the two national samples in SME decision makers’ networking behaviour in response to specific institutional conditions. The links between institutional conditions, national cultural norms and SME networking responses are explicated in a new theoretical model.     

Moral Agency,Profits and the Firm: Economic Revisions to the Friedman Theorem

The paper reconstructs in economic terms Friedman’s theorem that the only social responsibility of firms is to increase their profits while staying within legal and ethical rules. A model of three levels of moral conduct is attributed to the firm: (1) self-interested engagement in the market process itself, which reflects according to classical and neoclassical economics an ethical ideal; (2) the obeying of the “rules of the game,” largely legal ones; and (3) the creation of ethical capital, which allows moral conduct to enter the market process beyond the rules of the game. Points (1) and (2) position the Friedman theorem in economic terms while point (3) develops an economic revision of the theorem, which was not seen by Friedman. Implications are spelled out for an instrumental stakeholder theory of the firm. Dr. Sigmund Wagner-Tsukamoto is researcher in business ethics at the School of Management of the University of Leicester, UK. He holds two doctorates, one in social studies from the University of Oxford, UK, and one in economic studies from the Catholic University of Eichstaett, Germany. He has widely published on green consumerism and institutional economic issues that concern organization theory and business ethics theory. His publications include the books Understanding Green Consumer Behaviour (Routledge, 1997 & 2003) and Human Nature and Organization Theory (Edward Elgar, 2003).