Entrepreneurship by immigrants: a review of existing literature and directions for future research

The topic of immigrant entrepreneurship has gained considerable attention in social and policy circles around the world. Likewise, research on it has grown significantly over the past few decades, with studies examining the micro-, meso-, and macro-level antecedents and consequences of this phenomenon. While contributing to our knowledge, this growth in literature has also created complexity within this domain. As such, there is a need to take stock of current research. In the present study, I advance in this direction. I delineate the boundaries and outline the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurship research to the field of entrepreneurship. Thereafter, based on a comprehensive review of 69 studies published between 1980 and 2016 in journals across multiple disciplines, I develop a framework to integrate findings within this domain. Finally, I identify gaps and advance suggestions for future research. It is hoped that these steps will provide a clear vision of common research ground on which to build theory, identify assumptions, develop meaningful research questions and establish the ontological and epistemological base of this domain.     

Pricing behaviour in UK manufacturing and service industries

This paper reports the findings related to pricing behaviour of 1775 manufacturing and service firms. Its objectives were to examine the nature of pricing objectives at differing stages of market evolution and for companies of differing size and to examine the association between pricing objectives and performance. Princing objectives were found to vary with stages of market evolution and firm size. Both positive and negative relationships between pricing objectives and performance were revealed.     

Ethical issues in counseling: a trend analysis

The purpose of this study was to examine research about Ethical Issues in Counseling published in selected professional sources and databases between the period of 1986–2017. The data on documents relating ethical issues contained in the Web of Science, EBSCO, Scopus, Taylor & Francis collected were analyzed using content analysis. Ethical issues, Ethical dilemmas and counseling psychology related keywords and phrases were employed together in the analysis of the documents. In total 157 documents were categorized among be relevant to Ethical issues and counseling and they were analyzed. The results reveal that 2010 was the year the most articles on counselling ethics were published. From 2014 to date there has also been a steady increase in articles on ethics in counseling. This is largely because of the increase in articles in counselling psychology as both developing and developed countries employ such research more to solve their social problems, indigenizing psychological research. The study also revealed that America produced more than half of the sampled articles (51.6%).     

Quality management and organizational context in selected service industries of China

By developing an empirical taxonomy of quality management systems (QMS) in selected service industries in China, we compare the taxonomy of QMS developed in the service industries to that found in previous studies in manufacturing industries. We further investigate contingency relationships between the development of a QMS and its organizational contexts. Based on cluster analyses of quality management practices measured by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria, we found four patterns of service quality management practices: undeveloped, accommodating, strategic, and soft quality systems. Our research indicates that the type of quality system adopted by an organization is highly associated with organizational contextual factors. Our results indicate that environmental uncertainty shapes the development of a QMS in the early stage, while the perceived importance of quality induces the further development of a QMS to a strategic quality system. The results also show that small service firms that compete locally can achieve very good performance results using a soft quality system, a QMS with no formal process management systems. This research provides empirical evidence on contingent relationships among quality management practices, organizational context, and business performance, thus contributing to contingency theory in quality management.     

Electronic marketplace definition and classification: literature review and clarifications

The definitions and classifications of any new phenomenon build a strong foundation for further research. Although research on electronic marketplaces (EMs) has proliferated in recent years, related definitions and classifications are still confusing and misleading. The purpose of this paper is to perform a review of the EM literature, and to clarify and explain published information about electronic marketplaces. For EM definitions, we emphasise (1) the difference between EMs as governance structures and as business models, and (2) EMs at different levels of centralisation. For EM classifications, we summarise nine of the most commonly mentioned classifications, and examine the differences and correlations among them. By doing so, potential confusion and common misunderstanding about the different EM definitions and classifications are clarified.     

Empirical research consolidation: a generic overview and a classification scheme for methods

I define research consolidation as comparing and combining (amalgamating or, at least, juxtaposing) results or other output from multiple previously conducted research activities, relevant to a goal or topic of interest. The concept, not limited to empirical research or any specific method, is similar to and subsumes what is often referred to as research synthesis or research integration; I explain the concept and my rationale for the new term. After introducing the broader concept, I focus on consolidation of empirical research. As background for this, I offer a brief introduction to empirical research. Then I provide a generic overview of empirical research consolidation, abstracted from several of its specific methods, such as quantitative meta-analysis and qualitative meta-synthesis; this sort of overview—method agnostic and capturing the commonality—is not readily available in the literature. At the core of the paper, I propose a scheme to classify methods for empirical research consolidation followed by a review and classification of selected methods, illustrating the scheme. I also discuss and clarify related terminology. The classification scheme differentiates between two major attributes of methods—consolidation technique and type of content to be consolidated—that may reflect the positivist or constructivist research paradigm. Consolidation techniques could be aggregative, interpretive, or a combination thereof. Content consolidated, from empirical research reports, could be empirical or not and could be from quantitative research, qualitative research, other kinds of empirical research, or a combination thereof.     

我院科研工作现状分析及其发展趋势研究

本文分析了我院近年来科研活动的基本规律与科研队伍的构成及其特点,在此基础上,对我院科研工作的发展趋势进行了探讨,明确了科研工作在我院可持续发展中的作用,并对我院科研队伍的培养和科研质量的提高提出了建设性意见.     

Entrepreneurship and the systemic consequences of epidemics: A literature review and emerging model

The Covid-19 epidemic is a global challenge requiring adequate public and private responses to overcome the emergency, shape new development trajectories, and prepare for future outbreaks. As socioeconomic turning points, epidemics imply an entrepreneurial response in which not only managers and entrepreneurs, but also policymakers, health professionals, and civil society as a whole are active participants. Using the PRISMA methodology, we provide a comprehensive review of the complex interactions between entrepreneurship and epidemics over time. Applying a combined Kirznerian-Schumpeterian theoretical framework, we find that, in the short term, epidemics trigger a wave of Kirznerian entrepreneurship aimed at reducing the uncertainty generated directly and indirectly by the medical emergency. In the long term, as medical uncertainty abates, Schumpeterian entrepreneurship can contribute to transforming the post-crisis environment, either supporting or undermining the public reaction to the crisis and determining the path of institutionalization, in the process of defining a new normal. Thus, epidemics could lead to unpredictable socioeconomic and technological improvements, but also to highly undesirable outcomes. The construction of a satisfactory new normal requires the integration of entrepreneurial capabilities within the public sector and an explicit policy of cooperation with the private sector. Therefore, as the short-term phase of the Covid-19 pandemic draws to a close, policymakers must shift their focus away from restrictions and obligations towards a collaborative framework supportive of private entrepreneurial efforts.

     

现代服务业与城市转型关系的审视与思考

现代服务业发展与城市转型升级的对应关系,是后工业社会以来学界研究的重点问题。在综合考察国内外相关学者研究成果的基础上,对现代服务业发展与城市转型对应关系、互动关系进行了梳理,并探讨了现代服务业发展对城市化进程、城市转型的作用机制,提出了当前我国城市围绕转变发展方式的主线、以现代服务业的大发展来加速城市转型升级、构建服务经济体系的实践性对策。     

The impact of employee satisfaction on quality and profitability in high-contact service industries

The extant operations management literature has extensively investigated the associations among quality, customer satisfaction, and firm profitability. However, the influence of employee attributes on these performance dimensions has rarely been examined. In this study we investigate the impact of employee satisfaction on operational performance in high-contact service industries. Based on an empirical study of 206 service shops in Hong Kong, we examined the hypothesized relationships among employee satisfaction, service quality, customer satisfaction, and firm profitability. Using structural equations modeling, we found that employee satisfaction is significantly related to service quality and to customer satisfaction, while the latter in turn influences firm profitability. We also found that firm profitability has a moderate non-recursive effect on employee satisfaction, leading to a “satisfaction–quality–profit cycle”. Our empirical investigation suggests that employee satisfaction is an important consideration for operations managers to boost service quality and customer satisfaction. We provide empirical evidence that employee satisfaction plays a significant role in enhancing the operational performance of organizations in the high-contact service sector.     

环渤海中心城市服务业的结构及特征

以环渤海区域地级及以上城市为主要考察对象,以从业人员为主要指标,分析了该区域中心城市服务业发展现状、内部结构差异及服务业发展的空间分异特征。研究认为,近年来环渤海区域服务业发展迅速,服务业布局呈现梯度化空间分布特征;服务产业,尤其是消费性服务集中于行政级别较高的中心城市。研究还发现,环渤海区域服务业存在城市之间服务产业发展不平衡、部分区位条件优越的城市服务业发展滞后以及山东半岛和辽东半岛部分中心城市服务职能有待强化等问题。在此基础上,提出了根据服务业内部各行业特点和城市的发展条件、遵循区别对待原则确定具体服务行业的发展重点和优先顺序等对策措施。     

新常态下北京CBD现代服务业融合发展的对策研究

在经济新常态的时代背景及京津冀协同发展的要求下,北京要重点发展生产性服务业、高端服务业和高技术产业,推动CBD区内国际金融、文化传媒以及高端商务等现代服务业的融合发展,使其成为现代化高端商务区.根据现代服务业在北京CBD内融合发展的现状及面临的问题,本文从产业发展重点、科技创新投入、优惠政策、高端服务业融合发展示范区和低碳交通这五大方面,提出了相应的对策建议.     

Some factors influencing labour turnover: a review of research literature

The analysis is predominantly undertaken within the framework of the theoretical model of March and Simon [1]; additional factors being inserted where necessary. March and Simon discuss the factors affecting labour turnover in terms of the influences affecting two components: (a) the perceived desirability or undesirability of leaving the employer; and (b) the perceived ease or difficulty of movement from the employer [1, pp. 93–106]. All the factors discussed by March and Simon have been extracted from the text and are shown in diagrammatic form in Figures 1 and 2 along with several additional factors. The procedure adopted in the analysis is as follows: (1) to state March and Simon's hypotheses with regard to specific factors affecting labour turnover; (2) to discuss these hypotheses in the light of relevant research studies; (3) to discuss further variables omitted by March and Simon in the light of relevant research studies; and (4) to discuss the limitations of many of the studies discussed.     

A classification of response scale characteristics that affect data quality: a literature review

Quite a lot of research is available on the relationships between survey response scales’ characteristics and the quality of responses. However, it is often difficult to extract practical rules for questionnaire design from the wide and often mixed amount of empirical evidence. The aim of this study is to provide first a classification of the characteristics of response scales, mentioned in the literature, that should be considered when developing a scale, and second a summary of the main conclusions extracted from the literature regarding the impact these characteristics have on data quality. Thus, this paper provides an updated and detailed classification of the design decisions that matter in questionnaire development, and a summary of what is said in the literature about their impact on data quality. It distinguishes between characteristics that have been demonstrated to have an impact, characteristics for which the impact has not been found, and characteristics for which research is still needed to make a conclusion.     

服务业结构升级与就业之间相关关系研究

大力发展现代服务业,促进服务业结构优化升级是我国服务业发展的重要方向,与此同时,我国服务业仍肩负着解决就业问题的重要使命.如何使服务业结构向着优化升级的目标逐步演进,但又不影响劳动就业目标的实现,是我国改革与发展过程中必须协调解决的一个重要问题.探讨了服务业结构升级与就业之间的相关关系,并提出了政策建议.     

城市可达性研究的理论与方法评述

首先探讨了可达性的涵义与主要特征.其次综合可达性的主要定量评价方法,对各种方法的优缺点进行比较,并总结了近期可达性评价方法的进展情况.最后对可达性研究中存在的问题进行了探讨.     

浅谈知识创新与"产学研"合作

知识经济时代,人们越来越注重知识的生产、传播、转移和转化.在时代的大背景下,"创新"成为主流话题.一个企业是否具有知识创新能力,成了其生存和发展的根本.自从1912年美籍奥地利学者熊彼特提出创新理论以来,国内外诸多学者对创新问题愈来愈加关注.企业的发展在很大程度上应当依靠创新能力,这已成为国内外学者所达成的共识.而知识经济时代下合作竞争的趋势促使"产学研"合作成为知识创新的必然发展方向.     

A look at productivity at the firm level in eight French service industries

In this paper, we take advantage of information collected by the French annual survey of market services to analyze productivity differences and changes among firms in eight major industries (restaurants, hotels, engineering, computer programming, computer processing, legal services, accounting and building cleaning), over the five-year period 1984–1988. We find a pattern of cross-sectional and time-series type estimates of the Cobb-Douglas production function, which is comparable to that typically found in studies of manufacturing industries, thus raising similar issues of interpretation and modeling. Using a capital stock measure corrected for rented equipment and building and taking into account the number of hours of work of work per employee improve these estimates to some extent. An interesting finding is that the output elasticity seems significantly smaller with respect to hours per employee than with respect to the number of employees.