The financing of small firm product innovation within the UK

This paper investigates the funding environment facing product innovating small manufacturing firms and both supports and contradicts a number of “stylised facts” which have emerged over the last decade. Amongst the key findings it appears that, whilst innovators were no more nor less likely to have sought external funds, they were significantly less likely to have successfully accessed bank finance. This finding is of particular gravity since bank debt remains the primary source of external finance employed. Further, the paper notes the low use of genuine risk capital to fund product innovation and raises the question as to what extent this reflects supply or demand side deficiencies. The role of public subsidies, in the form of grant funding, is also investigated with some tentative evidence pointing to the role grants play in validating technology or as leverage to access further funds.     

Can risk aversion explain schooling attainments? Evidence from Italy

Using unique Italian panel data, in which individual differences in behavior toward risk are measured from answers to a lottery question, we investigate if (and to what extent) risk aversion can explain differences in schooling attainments. We formulate the schooling decision process as a reduced-form dynamic discrete choice, which we estimate flexibly. We analyze how grade transition from one level to the next varies with preference heterogeneity (risk aversion), parental human capital, socioeconomic variables and persistent unobserved (to the econometrician) heterogeneity. We find that differences in attitudes toward risk account for a modest portion of the probability of entering higher education.     

Cyber supply chain risk management: Revolutionizing the strategic control of critical IT systems

Cyber supply chain risk management (CSCRM) is a new discipline designed to help IT executives address the challenges of the rapid globalization and outsourced diffusion of hardware and software systems. CSCRM is an integrative discipline combining elements of cybersecurity, supply chain management, and enterprise risk management into a new and powerful concept to exert strategic control over the end-to-end processes of the focal organization and its extended enterprise partners. This article provides a survey of the field, as well as a detailed analysis of the results of a four-year research project on CSCRM, conducted by the Robert H. Smith School of Business Supply Chain Management Center for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, that focused on the development of organizational assessment tools and a capability/maturity model for this emerging discipline.     

Small firms and the governance of interorganizational exchange

This article explores some new concepts concerned with the coordination of environmental exchange in small firms. The management of communicative networks is presented as a method supplementary to market steering and administrative coordination of exchange relations. The article is based on the results of in-depth studies of 20 sets of inter-organizational relations in five small firms. The results suggest that the building, maintainance and decoupling of the personal relations in a communicative network affects the costs associated with environmental exchange. Communicative networks make it possible to operate at a higher level of system complexity without increasing the transactions costs or losing any of the small-scale advantages of small firms. In this study the difference between discrete instrumental action and communicative action occupies a central place. Communicative action in networks is based on rationality norms that differ from the pure instrumental action patterns of the marketplace. The manager has to act in accordance with the different personal life spheres of the actors involved. The implications for leader competence managing this kind of relations are discussed.     

风险评价在企业中的发展及应用研究

风险评价是风险管理的重要内容之一,也是完善管理体制和降低生产事故的有效手段。文章分别探讨了企业的风险分析、风险评价体系的建立以及实施的方法与其作用等问题,这对于风险管理的实施具有重要的理论与现实意义。     

Managing radical product development in large manufacturing firms: a longitudinal study

This study explores and documents the processes by which large manufacturing firms develop and produce radical products. Seven projects from five Fortune 500 firms were analyzed over a 3-year period. Through the use of these case studies, we found common themes emerging in the way these firms manage their new product development (NPD) process in this turbulent environment. Our observations suggest that these high levels of uncertainty result in several unique challenges in developing the project, especially in the areas of managing functional integration and finding a divisional home for the emerging product.     

Human resource management and organizational performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria

The link between human resource management (HRM) and firm performance of organizations has received significant research attention, generally focused on large firms from developed countries to the omission of studies focused on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and those from developing countries. This study partially addresses this gap in the literature. We investigated the relationship between HRM practices and the financial (FIN) and non-financial performance (NONFIN) of SMEs in Nigeria. A survey design with 236 respondents was used to test the hypotheses. Multiple regression results showed that human capital development and occupational health and safety had a direct relationship with NONFIN, and employee performance management and NONFIN on FIN performance. HRM practices as a group accounted for 16% of the variance in NONFIN and 12% of the variance in FIN. Regression analyses controlled for size and age of the firm. This study partially supports a model of positive relationships between certain HRM practices and firm performance.     

A review of the literature on environmental innovation management in SMEs: implications for public policies

The aim of this article is to collect and make up the most important contributions in the economic literature in relation to the special characteristics of the management of the environmental innovation in the SMEs. Specifically, we want to show their strengths and weaknesses in order to make up the main conclusions of these analyses with the literature in relation to the way Public Administrations face this situation. The scarce development in the SMEs in respect to their environmental strategy may be a consequence of the links among some of the following factors: limited financial resources, the type of organizational structure, a little influence of the strategic adaptation competence against the changes in the SMEs, the managers’ scarce environmental training and short term orientation, the staff’s scarce environmental awareness and training, the status of the environmental issues in the company, the SMEs’ lower ability to obtain highly radical innovations, the scarce influence of manufacturing process flexibility in the most advanced states of the environmental strategy in the SMEs and their lack of relation ability with external stakeholders—very important in the success of the most advanced environmental approaches. Besides, the lack of regulation neutrality must be added as a key difference among companies of different sizes. So specific actions seem be necessary, such as technological advice and awareness, and training programs in order to cooperate with external stakeholders.     

浅议企业应收账款风险的成因与控制

随着市场经济的发展,企业在扩大销售的同时,形成了一定的应收帐款,进而增加了企业的经营风险。文章针对应收帐款风险产生的主要原因,进而提出了防范和控制应收帐款风险的几点策略。     

Finance and Growth: Evidence from Some Arab Countries

Abstract

Some analysts contend that the ‘size effect’ -the higher returns associated with small-capitalization companies over those with large-capitalization, are a myth. Most empirical studies to date relate to U.S. stock exchanges. Since the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange is considered an ‘emerging market,’ it is valuable to explore this phenomenon in this market.

This empirical study considers the performance of individual stocks and two alternative portfolios. The results show that the ‘size effect’ does not exist on the TASE, and that the large-capitalization stocks and portfolios generated higher returns versus their small-capitalization counterparts. Thus, the ‘size effect’ may only be a myth.     

Surplus distribution and characteristics of social enterprises: Evidence from microfinance

The issue of surplus distribution has hardly been analyzed in the context of the social economy. This paper highlights the main drivers of distribution between various stakeholders of microfinance institutions (MFIs), which are an example of social enterprises. We focus on three major variables: size, governance structure and subsidies. Our results show that the size of the institution is the main indicator of the surplus that the organization keeps as a self-financial margin. Moreover, MFIs with a cooperative ownership structure allocate a larger part of their surplus to their employees, whereas non-profit organizations and shareholder-firm MFIs do not allocate their surplus in a significantly different way among their main stakeholders. Finally, we do not find any clear-cut effect of subsidies on the surplus allocation process.     

Analysis of the effect of risk management practices on the performance of new product development programs

Risk management is receiving much attention, as it is seen as a method to improve cost, schedule, and technical performance of new product development programs. However, there is a lack of empirical research that investigates the effective integration of specific risk management practices proposed by various standards with new product development programs and their association with various dimensions of risk management success. Based on a survey of 291 product development programs, this paper investigates the association of risk management practices with five categories of product development program performance: (A) Quality Decision Making; (B) High Program Stability; (C) Open, problem solving organization; (D) Overall new product development project success; and (E) overall product success. The results show that six categories of risk management practices are most effective: (1) Develop risk management skills and resources; (2) Tailor risk management to and integrate it with new product development; (3) Quantify impacts of risks on your main objectives; (4) Support all critical decisions with risk management results; (5) Monitor and review your risks, risk mitigation actions, and risk management process; and (6) Create transparency regarding new product development risks. The data shows that the risk management practices are directly associated with outcome measures in the first three categories (improved decision making, program stability and problem solving). There is also evidence that the risk management practices indirectly associate with the remaining two categories of outcome measures (project and product success). Additional research is needed to describe the exact mechanisms through which risk management practices influence NPD program success.     

黄石市中小企业筹资风险研究

黄石市的中小企业在金融危机和经济转型的大背景下,遇到了生产成本不断上涨,利润下滑的不利局面,更糟糕的是中小企业的融资遇到了较大困难。本文从企业自身和环境的因素做了原因剖析,并探讨了黄石政府、金融机构和企业的努力方向。     

The impact of stakeholder heterogeneity on risk perceptions in technological innovation

Managing risk has been widely acknowledged as a crucial managerial task in the development of new technology. More recently, the acceptance of new technologies has increasingly been influenced by secondary stakeholders, some of which are difficult to identify, or whose concerns are not easily reconciled. This paper develops a conceptual framework based on the management of technology and research & development literature, stakeholder theory, risk and social judgment to describe how traditional approaches based on reducing uncertainties through estimating probabilities may not work for social uncertainties; different heuristics are needed to understand and resolve such heterogeneous stakeholder perspectives. We contribute to the discourse by describing how risk perceptions among stakeholders vary, and how this may change over time. The framework suggests that the perception of primary stakeholder towards a specific innovation is ‘Standard’ when information is well known, but becomes riskier when information is unclear. For secondary stakeholders, when there is a low degree of imperfect information, the stakeholder relationship is an ‘Irritant’ but becomes increasingly ‘Dangerous’ when information becomes ambiguous. We conclude with implications for management and future research.     

国际金融危机下中小企业的风险管理

金融危机的爆发为我国中小企业的生存与发展带来了巨大的不确定因素。文章结合金融危机对世界和我国经济的影响情况,着重分析了金融危机下中小企业所面临的主要风险,并在此基础上提出相应的一系列防范和化解对策。     

Supply chain risk analysis: a shipbuilding industry case

A lack of empirical studies on Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) is observed, especially in the industries of large projects. Therefore, this paper conducts a risk analysis on the Brazilian Shipbuilding Industry by generating an initial risk profile. A panel was conducted with executives from major shipyards, and the primary risks were identified, assessed, and evaluated. Findings corroborate the academic literature, reinforcing that companies recognise the importance of SCRM, but the concept is incipient and far from being successfully implemented in real life. Despite the fact that the shipyards identified important risks, the focus was on internal factors. Because the industry was exposed to risks from the external environment, no risk mitigation actions existed, resulting in the bankruptcy of many shipbuilders. This research is an initial step toward investigating SCRM techniques, offering academics a novel empirical approach that can serve as a systematic risk management tool for supply chain planning.     

论企业管理在中小企业发展中的作用

文章通过分述企业管理的计划管理、生产管理、物资管理、质量管理、成本管理、财务管理、人力资源管理在中小企业发展中所起的重要作用,来阐明7个要素在中小企业发展中不可或缺的地位,从而为中小企业更好、更快地发展提供思路。     

A new pattern of risk management: The Hyogo Framework for Action and Italian practise

On January 2005, the World Conference on Disaster Reduction adopted the “Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2025: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters” [UN-ISDR (United Nations, International Strategy for Disaster Reduction), Disaster Risk and Sustainable Development: understanding the links between development, environment and natural hazards leading to disasters, World Summit on Sustainable Development, August–September 2002, Johannesburg, 2002]. This “white paper” seeks to promote “an effective integration of disaster risk considerations into sustainable development policies, planning and programming at all levels” [UN-ISDR (United Nations, International Strategy for Disaster Reduction), Disaster Risk and Sustainable Development: understanding the links between development, environment and natural hazards leading to disasters, World Summit on Sustainable Development, August–September 2002, Johannesburg, 2002. p. 1] outlining a strategic and systematic approach to reduce vulnerabilities and risks to hazards.

The current paper discusses each aspect of the Hyogo approach in relation to the Italian experience. Italy represents an interesting case because of its multiple hazard environment, and the fact that it has developed an integrated approach to risk reduction planning. Strengths and weaknesses of the “Italian way” of dealing with risk are identified, and compared with the theoretical processes suggested by the framework. Implementation of selected key actions in Italy has helped identify a series of obstacles to progress, further defining the gap that still exists between theoretical framework and actual practise.

The various activities constituting “risk management” (viz., assessment, prevention, mitigation, monitoring, early warning, preparedness) are here considered in a comprehensive framework wherein each phase is connected to the others. The paper focuses on natural hazards, which are more frequent in Italy (landslides, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, natural soil erosion). The main results include:

• A new process for dealing with risk, using the framework for guidance, is identified. We track the reasons for Italy gradually adopting this process in dealing with her vulnerabilities to natural hazards.

• Those factors that appear to interfere with an integrated approach to risk management are identified as a function of selected experiences.

• Guidelines for analysing vulnerabilities to disaster in a multi-hazard, integrated context are proposed.

基於巴塞尔协议的中国上市金融业实证研究

本研究探讨中国上市金融业资产风险与管制资本的关系。论文以1993年至2002年间上市的金融业为样本。实证结果发现:(1)控制了流动性风险、规模、总体经济等因素后,资本比率与资产风险间成显著正相关,破产理论或管制理论适用于解释样本期间内中国上市金融业风险与资本运作间的关系。(2)1997年参照巴塞尔协议实施相关法规办法以后,金融业资产风险上升,显示此项管制并未达成降低风险的效果。(3)管制实施以后,为维持净资产收益率,金融机构的资产风险反而较管制前为高。(4)核心资本是金融业吸收损失的主要来源。     

Granger causality in risk and detection of extreme risk spillover between financial markets

Controlling and monitoring extreme downside market risk are important for financial risk management and portfolio/investment diversification. In this paper, we introduce a new concept of Granger causality in risk and propose a class of kernel-based tests to detect extreme downside risk spillover between financial markets, where risk is measured by the left tail of the distribution or equivalently by the Value at Risk (VaR). The proposed tests have a convenient asymptotic standard normal distribution under the null hypothesis of no Granger causality in risk. They check a large number of lags and thus can detect risk spillover that occurs with a time lag or that has weak spillover at each lag but carries over a very long distributional lag. Usually, tests using a large number of lags may have low power against alternatives of practical importance, due to the loss of a large number of degrees of freedom. Such power loss is fortunately alleviated for our tests because our kernel approach naturally discounts higher order lags, which is consistent with the stylized fact that today’s financial markets are often more influenced by the recent events than the remote past events. A simulation study shows that the proposed tests have reasonable size and power against a variety of empirically plausible alternatives in finite samples, including the spillover from the dynamics in mean, variance, skewness and kurtosis respectively. In particular, nonuniform weighting delivers better power than uniform weighting and a Granger-type regression procedure. The proposed tests are useful in investigating large comovements between financial markets such as financial contagions. An application to the Eurodollar and Japanese Yen highlights the merits of our approach.