Innovations in the Baltic Rim Region until 2025: Challenges and Prospects

This article examines the role of different actors (European Union [EU] structures, governmental institutions of the member-states, and regional companies with global outreach) in development of the innovation strategy in the Baltic Sea Rim. We identify three sub-regions, which are now in the stage of gradual convergence (“old” and “new” member-states of the EU as well as Russia), and focus on the main challenge to the region today, which is the ability of its countries to secure and strengthen the liberal nature of their socioeconomic systems. This research is based on the findings of the studies undertaken by authors as well as on our personal experience in the development of the Russian innovative ecosystem. It concludes that to avoid technological lagging behind other regions, governments of the Baltic Sea countries should complement the EU policies by implementing a set of proactive measures aimed at promotion of national innovations and intraregional cooperation.     

State Aid Policy, Territoriality and Federalism: EU Scrutiny and Control of Regional Aid and the Supranationalisation of Subnational Autonomy in Federal Member States

Whilst its impact on national industrial policy has attracted considerable attention in the scholarly literature, the implications of EU state aid policy on regional development policy and its effects on territorial relations inside EU member states have been largely neglected. Drawing on the experience of Bavaria, Flanders and Upper Austria, this article shows how EU action has imposed increasingly wide reaching and detailed constraints on subnational authorities, undermining and eroding their capacity to define and implement regional policy. It thereby also challenges the widely held presumption in the EU literature, as for example by proponents of multi-level governance, that European integration works invariably to empower and strengthen regions in Europe. To the contrary, the case studies show that the autonomy of subnational states in EU member countries with federal systems has been eroded as they have been forced to abandon traditional policies and practices. More generally, the article invites reconsideration of the relationship between European integration and subnational authorities.     

资源-能力框架下朴素式创新演变机制——以Kilimall为研究案例

随着全球环境变化，新兴市场在狭缝中寻求机会，而盛行的朴素式创新理论为多样化和资源匮乏背景下新兴市场的崛起提供思路。基于Kilimall案例，文章在资源-能力观和朴素式创新视域下，运用程序化扎根理论分析企业如何突破新兴市场的资源约束、消费者可负担能力约束和体制约束，并随之形成企业独特的能力进阶与创新演变机制。文章发现：(1)资源能力与朴素式创新融合机制可解读为识别机会与约束、确定企业主导逻辑、采取创新与资源行动、形成相应能力和构建可持续竞争优势五个时序阶段，通过各阶段依次正向反馈再进入下一周期。(2)朴素式创新演变阶段可分解为产品与服务创新、产业链创新与生态体系创新三个层次，!创新层次由点及面逐步扩展。(3)企业始终围绕企业的发展和可持续竞争优势为目标，实现创新与资源能力的演变。在不同阶段创新和资源行动会积淀不同层次的能力，形成“零阶能力-一阶能力-二阶能力”的进阶过程。文章在丰富朴素式创新理论的同时，也为入驻新兴市场的中国企业开展朴素式创新活动提供了借鉴和启示。     

Financial services spillover effects on informal economic activity: evidence from a panel of 20 European countries

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the spillover effects of the financial services sector development on the size of informal economic activity in the case of the European Union (EU) countries. The results from panel data analysis show that there exists an inverted U-shaped relationship between financial services and informal economic activity in the EU; that is, at the initial levels of the financial development, the reaction of informal economic activity is positive while it becomes negative at the further stages of the financial development in the EU. Thus, this study finds that financial services sector is a major contributor to changes in the volume of informal economic activity in the EU countries.     

Internationalization and innovation performance of emerging market enterprises: The role of host-country institutional development

We examine how host-country institutional development influences innovation performance of internationalized emerging market enterprises (EMEs). Our panel-data analysis of Chinese EMEs shows that although host-country institutional development on average enhances innovation performance of the parent, such effects are more pronounced for EMEs with strong absorptive capacity and for those diversifying into a larger number of countries. Interestingly, EMEs with a higher level of state ownership gain more when entering countries with a lower level of institutional development. Our findings offer insights regarding how latecomer EMEs should configure their portfolio of subsidiaries in order to enhance innovation performance of their parent.     

What Makes German Banks Different

The past few years have seen a revival in the academic debate over the economic functions of German banks. This paper takes the position that large non-financial firms have become highly autonomous of the banks, and the corporate governance role of banks, while still important, is much less significant than widely presumed. German banks, however, do fulfill certain economic functions to a greater degree and in a different manner than banks in other countries. These bank functions of long-term commercial financing, comprehensive management consulting, and supporting diversified quality production strategies are made possible by the institutional character of the banking system itself and the institutional context in which it operates. A complex web of government laws, regulations, and government financial aid combine with bank group competition to create an extensive and successful financial support system for German SMEs. This system faces various adjustment challenges — from international financial market integration to EU regulatory harmonization — but it has thus far managed to adapt while sustaining its core functions.     

跨境电商综合试验区演化动力与创新实现机制研究

中国跨境电子商务综合试验区建设的本质是通过制度创新促进跨境电商产业集群的发展，文章基于制度创新、产业集群等相关理论，结合中国跨境电商综合试验区发展实际，从创新演化阶段和阶段动力作用机制两个角度出发，探析跨境电商综合试验区多阶段创新演化机理。研究结果表明，中国跨境电商综合试验区发展经历了创新培育、创新突破、创新深化和创新扩散四个阶段；产业发展与制度环境的冲突是推动跨境电商综合试验区创新演化的重要动力；在各不同阶段，主体通过构成行动集团来推动跨境电商综合试验区的创新演化。     

The Future of European Growth Policies: Resetting Integration

This note argues that one should lay the focus of future European growth policy on integration and technology. This focus should be on maximising the growth effects of their interaction, with an emphasis on the importance of deep integration. The note provides three examples that show how deep integration has contributed to stop the relative economic decline in the UK vis-à-vis the EU founding members; how deep integration increased productivity in Sweden, Austria, and Finland compared to that in Norway; and how a key mechanism to advancements in the new EU member states has been the capacity of deep integration to generate institutional change.     

Sustainable banking in Latin American developing countries: Leading to (mutual) prosperity

This article examines multinational banks’ (MNBs) approaches to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developing countries’ subsidiaries, particularly in Latin America. Building on in-depth case studies of two MNBs that are based in Europe and market leaders in Latin America, we analyze their CSR motivations and outcomes in host countries. We examine institutional environments by applying the national business system framework, and we suggest missing categories in its financial and educational dimensions. We theorize how institutional necessity determines MNBs' CSR in developing countries. Finally, we examine the CSR outcomes in Latin America, where banks’ responsible conduct has led to major improvements in educational levels and financial inclusion. These improvements alleviate poverty and enhance both country's social wellbeing and MNBs’ legitimacy, leading to mutual prosperity.     

The effects of economic development and the evolution of social institutions on the level of corruption: comparing the Asia-Pacific with other regional blocs

ABSTRACT

The variation in the level of economic development across countries has been proposed as an explanation for the disparity in the level of corruption that is observed. As a country evolves from one stage of economic development to another and its social institutions as a result become more refined and sophisticated, their capacity to tackle corruption and poor governance practices becomes increasingly better. Improvements in the overall quality of institutions, including better policing and justice systems, increase their capacity to detect and deter corruption. This evolution of institutional quality improves social and economic well-being of society, which in turn pressures regulators, legislators and politicians to continue in the fight against corruption. The objective of this paper is to examine how economic development mediated by improvements in the quality of social institutions impacts on the level of corruption. Lessons from worldwide trends, including the Asia-Pacific region, provide opportunities for countries to enact strategic measures that can accelerate the fight against corruption.     

我国吸纳金融创新的时滞效应及其制度因素分析

长期以来,对金融创新在中国金融市场扩散吸收中的时滞效应的认识往往归咎于微观市场主体缺乏吸收能力或竞争所致,而忽略了中国这样的转型经济国家所具有的制度性因素的影响。本文通过分析我国与金融创新国在金融体系、经济体制、经济发展水平、金融相关率、产权制度、市场结构等因素上存在的结构性不均衡,发现异质性金融市场间的结构和金融工具比例的差异性对金融创新扩散可能产生的阻碍机制也是引发我国采纳金融创新扩散中出现时滞现象的重要原因。     

Nexus between Institutional Quality and Capital Inflows at Different Stages of Economic Development

We examine the determinants of capital inflows for a global sample of countries at various stages of economic development, namely factor‐, efficiency‐, and innovation‐driven stages. We investigate the effect of institutional quality on capital inflows. The magnitude of institutional quality effect depends on the stage of economic development. Both public and private institutional qualities positively affect capital inflows in efficiency‐ and innovation‐driven countries. Specifically, corporate ethics and accountability are pull factors for capital inflows at all stages.     

进一步创新民营经济政策的路径研究

当前,民营经济在发展中存在着经营环境不够宽松,发展资金短缺,科技创新制约因素较多等突出问题。为进一步加快民营经济发展步伐,应当放宽行业准入领域,落实税收优惠政策;加强投资与发展指导,进一步提升产业层次;创新金融体制机制,拓宽直接融资渠道;整合创新要素资源,提升企业科技创新能力。     

Transfer of corporate governance practices into weak emerging market environments by foreign institutional investors

We advance the practice transfer theorising of corporate governance (CG) by developing a framework that uncovers how foreign institutional investors (FIIs) improve on CG practices of firms in weak institutional environments. Using hand-collected data for 85 listed Nigerian firms covering the 2011–2016 period, we show that FIIs bypass the weak regulatory environment in emerging markets by transferring good CG standards to host countries. Furthermore, FIIs’ ability to enhance the CG quality of firms in such environments is moderated by their home country’s legal system, with FIIs from countries with strong legal enforcement having an enhanced ability to improve CG practices of firms in weak institutional environments. However, cultural differences between the FIIs’ home and host countries negatively moderate this relationship. Our results are robust to the choice of estimation technique and various sources of endogeneity.     

Private Firms and Corporate Governance: An Integrated Economic and Management Perspective

This article provides a definition of corporate␣governance and highlights the challenges in adapting understanding of governance to the privately-held firm. We emphasize the need to develop the scope of governance in privately-held firms beyond the traditional agency theory focus in the financial economics literature relating to large publicly-listed corporations. There is a need to draw on and integrate an array of theoretical perspectives from both economics and other social science disciplines as well. We present a schematic model of corporate governance which places the contributions presented in the special issue in context and which serves as a guide to highlighting gaps in the research base. We review the principal issues relating to corporate governance in privately-held firms which relate to: governance in different organizational contexts (institutional context; the industrial sector within which the firm finds itself, the ownership context of the firm, and the stage within the firm’s life-cycle); the scope of corporate governance; and other internal governance mechanisms to be considered We identify areas for further research on corporate governance in privately-held firms with respect to processes of governance, organizational contexts, assumptions about the owners, executive remuneration, financial reporting, the nature of the dependent variable relating to the expected outcome of different approaches to governance and various methodological issues. We suggest a need to develop governance codes for privately-held firms that are flexible enough to take account of the different types of governance needs of firms at different stages in their life-cycle.      

Organizational coping with institutional upheaval in transition economies

The radical change in corporate governance systems is fundamental to the period of institutional upheaval characterizing transition economies. Using an institutional theory framework, this paper develops a model of responses to this change. The model is tested with data from 1,723 firms in 22 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States. The results suggest that a firm’s adaptation to the new governance order will be facilitated or hampered depending on the characteristics of the institutional and organizational contexts it faces. A major implication of the study is the need to consider cultural and contextual embeddedness in explaining how governance systems transform.     

The European Union’s Constitutional Crisis—Causes and Consequences

The rejection of the treaty establishing a European constitution by French and Dutch voters has thrown the EU into a deep crisis. What developments in the EU contributed to these referenda results? What consequences are to be drawn for the continuation of integration and the integration goal, the governance of the EU-25 and the further planned enlargements? What flaws are there in the present draft constitution and how can these be dealt with?     

欧盟各国税收制度竞争与协调现状分析

伴随着欧洲经济一体化的不断扩大,欧盟各国普遍采用税收竞争的手段来吸引外来投资,改善本国企业竞争力,对于这种税收竞争所带来的后果,各国评价不一.文章试图通过对欧盟各国税收既有竞争又希望协调的现状进行分析,来探讨如何在欧盟内部消除有害税收竞争,实现税收协调的目标.     

Varieties of institutional systems,the belt-road initiative,and the patterned investment flows

Although the Belt-Road initiative (BRI), as a ‘model’ government initiative, has attracted great attention from both academia and industry, one central question related to the location choice of Chinese investment remains under-researched. Our study is motivated to reveal how institutional configurations of BRI participant countries that lead to a high volume of Chinese outward investment vary with the BRI. Utilizing the varieties of institutional systems (VIS) framework, we compare two Waves (2008–2013 and 2014–2019) of Chinese outward investment flows into 120 BRI participant countries. Using institutional elements—the roles of the state, financial markets, human capital, social trust, and corporate governance—as a holistic lens, some intriguing findings of patterned Chinese outward investment are observed. Instead of a single best form of institutional environment, various combinations of institutional arrangements are equally effective, but they differ subtly before and after the BRI in attracting Chinese outward investment. Four prototypes of institutional configurations of BRI participant countries are identified, including configurations with compatible institutional settings, institutional voids, ‘idealistic’ VIS conditions, and emerging institutional elements. Corresponding propositions are proposed for future theoretical advancement.     

How far away is Europe?

Institutional development in new and potential member countries determines the success of deepening European integration. This papers argues that the timing of future enlargement should depend on institutional convergence between the EU and potential accession candidates. It therefore looks at institutional quality in the EU, in the EU's neighbouring Balkan and Black Sea regions, and especially in Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Turkey, i.e. the next countries in the queue for entry. Three dimensions of institutional quality—legislative, administrative and judicial institutions—are analysed on the basis of the World Bank Governance Indicators using institutional quality in EU member states as a benchmark in order to reveal institutional deficits.