Migration in the Baltic Sea Region in the Context of Demographic Change

Due to increasing life expectancies and low birth rates, the population will shrink, and its average age will increase in most of the regions in the Baltic Sea area during the next decades. Especially in the Baltic states, population decline is intensified by emigration of people. There are plenty of factors stimulating emigration from the eastern part of the Baltic Sea Region to Western countries, especially wage disparities and differing opportunities for finding a job in knowledge-intensive sectors. However, it can be expected that in the course of economic convergence, wage gaps and structural disparities will shrink in the Baltic Sea area. Nevertheless, this will take a longer time, making it necessary for countries to think about policy options suitable for reducing emigration. Among these, reinforcing structural change and improving overall living conditions are at the top of the agenda.     

Introduction

SUMMARY

Since the beginning of the transition from centrally planned to market economy, the FDI outflows of the Russian Federation have consistently exceeded the inflows. In the 1990s, most of the outflows were of an informal nature, and unregistered in the balance of payments, or misregistered under other items. Since 2003, their recording has improved. However, the question remains: how can a lower-middle income country become a net capital exporter? It is supposed to be the combined result of economic and political factors such as the economic and business environment, still deemed to be difficult. The fact that the ‘oligarchy’ created under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999) continues to control large parts of the privatized natural resources of the country also stimulated capital exporting behavior. With the political changes currently taking place, only a limited increase in the influence of the State is expected to happen. Moreover, the strategic interest of Russian firms to control their vertical value chains through outward FDI is expected to remain in the longer term.     

Transport and Logistics Developments in the Baltic Sea Region until 2025

The aim of this article is to chart likely futures of transport and logistics in the Baltic Sea Region in 2025. The research draws on a Delphi study data collection process, which included an international panel of experts. Several sector-related factors are identified that affect competitiveness of the region by 2025 from transport and logistics perspective: fuel and operational efficiencies, technology diffusion, labor productivity, low-cost country subcontracting, under-capacity in road and rail infrastructure, blue-collar labor scarcity, and sector regulation. Competitiveness oriented policy recommendations are presented accordingly.     

Michael Porter’s Competitiveness Framework—Recent Learnings and New Research Priorities

The conceptual framework of competitiveness and clusters introduced by Michael Porter in his Competitive Advantage of Nations (Free, New York, 1990) remains exceptionally influential, especially among practitioners. The article discusses recent learnings about Porter's conceptual framework from practical applications and research directly driven by his work. It also outlines developments in the creation and analysis of empirical datasets and the analysis of policy processes, two main areas of current research in this field that are likely to increase in importance. The aim is to provide a coherent and current representation of key elements of the framework, while also discussing a few misperceptions about the concept present among practitioners or researchers.      

产业集群成长与经济发展阶段相关性初探 --基于世界经济论坛《全球竞争力报告》的分析

产业集群是提升国际竞争力与促进经济发展的重要途径。本文根据世界经济论坛对全球4700多位工商业精英的调查资料,对世界80个国家和地区的产业集群发展进行整体评估,在些基础上,探讨了产业集群成长与经济发展阶段及国际竞争力之间的关系,并就加快我国两岸三地产业集群发展提出了相应的建议。     

产业集群成长的外部法律环境简析

产业集群是提升区域经济竞争力的有效手段和重要途径。作为一类商业生态系统,产业集群的成长方式符合一般生态系统的基本规律,需要优越的外部环境配合。健全的外部法律环境是产业集群形成的基础性条件。     

The Long-Term Performance of Small Businesses: Are there Differences Between “Christian-Based” Companies and their Secular Counterparts?

Recent years have witnessed the proliferation of “Christian” companies in the U.S. These firms declare their belief in, and active pursuit of, the successful merging of biblical principles with business activities. Economic success, hard work, and biblical values are seen as capable of existing together in harmony. While the number of such businesses appears to be growing, there has been a dearth of any scientific study of these companies. No empirical research has been conducted to determine whether these religious values and behaviors have any significant impact on a company’s performance. The present study is designed to partially fill this gap. Specifically, it seeks to determine whether there are differences in long-term performance between self-proclaimed “Christian-based” businesses and their secular counterparts. Data were collected from 312 companies. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), followed by univariate ANOVAs, found significant differences between these two groups of firms on three of the four performance variables that were analyzed. Some explanations as well as limited generalizations and implications are developed.     

基于内、外部环境分析的小微企业竞争力研究

目前,我国约有6000万中小微企业,占全国企业总数的99%。影响小微企业竞争力的因素主要来自内部与外部环境方面。提升我国小微企业市场竞争力,在外部环境方面,我国应完善国家技术创新体系,优化技术创新投入机制;进一步改善小微企业融资机制;建立小微企业人力资源培训平台;降低小微企业税费负担。在内部环境方面:小微企业应转变企业发展观念,找准市场定位;建立小微企业组织变动机制;规范小微企业经营行为,增强小微企业信用强度;提高企业领导者的素质;重视人才建设,建立企业机动用人机制;提高企业技术创新能力;发展企业文化。     

我国棉花生产比较优势与出口竞争力的区域差异分析

我国是世界产棉大国之一,棉花在农业生产和国民经济建设中占有十分重要的地位。本文运用生产规模和生产效率两项指标,通过建立综合比较优势指数模型,分析了我国各产棉省区棉花生产的比较优势差异。同时,运用显示性比较优势指数和净出口贸易指数两项指标,分析了各产棉省区棉花出口竞争力的区域差异及其动态变化,并根据研究结果提出了简要的对策建议。     

基于动态面板GMM的海运服务贸易开放度与竞争力关系的实证研究

在对传统方法计算得到的海运服务贸易开放度进行修正的基础上,基于26个世界主要海运国家2001~2012年面板数据,运用动态面板广义矩估计(GMM)方法对海运服务贸易开放度与竞争力的关系进行了实证研究。结果显示:海运服务贸易开放度与竞争力之间并非简单的线性关系,而是呈现倒U型曲线关系,即在海运服务贸易自由化进程初期,一国海运服务贸易的竞争力会随其开放度的提高而增强,但开放度超越某一水平后则会给竞争力的持续提升带来负面影响。因此,中国应在海运服务贸易市场适度开放原则的指导下,适当加强对本土海运服务贸易企业的支持与保护,并通过进一步推动其管理创新等方式促进其整体竞争力提升。     

Effect of Business Education on Women and Men Students’ Attitudes on Corporate Responsibility in Society

This article describes a survey among Finnish business students to find answers to the following questions: How do business students define a well-run company? What are their attitudes on the responsibilities of business in society? Do the attitudes of women students differ from those of men? What is the influence of business education on these attitudes? Our sample comprised 217 students pursuing a master’s degree in business studies at two Finnish universities. The results show that, as a whole, students valued the stakeholder model of the company more than the shareholder model. However, attitudes differed according to gender: women students were more in favor of the stakeholder model and placed more weight on corporate ethical, environmental, and societal responsibilities than their men counterparts – both at the beginning and at the end of their studies. Thus, no gender socialization effect of business school education could be observed in this sense. Business school education was found to shape women and men students’ attitudes in two ways. Firstly, valuation of the shareholder model increased and, secondly, the importance of equal-opportunity employment decreased in the course of education. This raises the question whether the educational context is creating an undesirable tendency among future business professionals. The results further suggest that the sociocultural context can make a difference in how corporate social responsibility is perceived. The article also discusses possible ways to influence the attitudes of business students.     

上海中外资保险公司竞争力排名研究

从实证角度出发,通过运用主成分法构建评价模型,对近期上海主要中外资保险公司的竞争力进行排名和比较分析。研究结果发现:中外合资寿险公司较中资寿险公司更具市场竞争力,而中资产险公司竞争力显著落后于外资保险公司;同时,无论是在寿险还是产险领域,中资保险公司与外资或中外合资保险公司的差距主要表现在综合运营能力方面。     

The mediating role of communication satisfaction in relational demography – a study in Macao,SAR context

Challenges in the global market and sensitive cross-Straits relations negatively influence Taiwanese industries. Continuous learning is the way to respond to the challenges posed by the rise of China in the world economy. Learning is the process by which knowledge is refreshed. A learning organization is a more competitive organization. Many researchers have discussed the relationship between organizational learning and business performance, but few of them have explored the issue in practice. This article provides a more thorough assessment of the link between organizational learning and organizational performance for industry comparisons. It also aims to determine the status of Taiwan's industries with regard to organizational learning. The findings of the study demonstrate that applying organizational learning influences corporate performance; however, only high-tech and financial firms have consistently applied the organizational learning concept throughout their organizations. Our investigation may offer new insights into organizational learning, and enable leaders and scholars alike to develop strategies to enhance competitiveness.     

电子商务发展路径与环境问题研究

本文认为,电子商务是一个既求同又存异由低级到高级不断演化的过程;电子商务企业提升竞争力的关键在于增强获得信息熵的能力,在于求同存异的创新;我国在解决电子商务发展中的环境问题时,既要从国情出发又要对接世界先进水平;既要以市场导向为主,又要加强宏观调控;既要抓住电子商务带来的发展机遇,又要避免电子商务泡沫,重视培育电子商务市场,加强与国际电子商务标准的对接,建立信息化连锁物流企业,制定并完善电子商务法律法规。