Evaluation of the Information and Communications Infrastructures of Bulgaria and Romania Following Their Accession to the EU

ABSTRACT

The European Union (EU) completed a massive expansion in 2004. On January 1, 2007 Bulgaria and Romania were admitted into the union. EU accession requires the fulfillment of a list of requirements relating to judicial, economic, information and social infrastructures. This article examines Bulgaria's and Romania's National Information Infrastructures (NII) analyzing traditional, high technology and competitive structures. Comparisons are made to the original 15 European Union member countries' (EU15) NII structures and to those ten countries which entered in 2004 (EU10). Results of the analysis indicate that Bulgaria and Romania compare favorably on traditional measures, though high technology infrastructures lag considerably in some instances, and will be costly to build well beyond available EU funding sources. The gap will provide opportunities for western high technology firms which should be favorably embraced by the two resource strapped governments.     

The Impact of Changes in the Political and Economic Environment on Foreign Direct Investment Opportunities in Romania

Abstract

This study reports findings of a survey including 139 Finnish and 97 Austrian companies active in Eastern Europe. The study focuses on two major areas in the firm's business activities in Eastern Europe, namely on market strategies-the timing of market entry, market selection, entry modes and motives-and company performance. The number of market entries has increased after the transition, but the majority of business activities still take place in geographically-close countries. Companies have gradually started to use more high-commitment modes of operation, but contrary to our expectations, high commitment modes were also frequently used in more unstable markets. Company performance in Russia and especially in other countries of Eastern Europe was in general clearly lower than in domestic markets and foreign markets in general. Against expectations, firm size, dependence on international markets, length of operation, and mode of operation in Eastern Europe did not significantly influence the performance. However, firms which concentrated on Russian markets on a continuous basis performed much better than other firms.     

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption and its Impact on International Companies

Corruption is a serious economic, social, political, and moral blight, especially in many emerging countries. It is a problem that affects companies in particular, especially in international commerce, finance, and technology transfer. And it is becoming an international phenomenon in scope, substance, and consequences. That is why, in recent years, there has been a proliferation of international efforts to tackle the problem of corruption. One such international cooperative initiative is the United Nations Convention against Corruption, signed in 2003, which came into force in December 2005. This is the first truly global instrument to prevent and combat corruption, built on a broad international consensus. The purpose of this article is to explain the origin and content of the Convention, what it adds to existing international instruments for combating corruption, and its strengths and weaknesses, mainly from the point of view of companies.     

腐败对银行不良贷款的影响--基于中国省级动态面板数据GMM方法

运用动态GMM回归方法,探讨了2005－2013年我国各地区腐败与银行不良贷款之间的关系,结果表明：腐败程度与银行不良贷款规模正相关。同时,银行信贷规模增加会导致不良贷款增加,而经济发展水平、非国有化程度提高,政府干预程度以及企业资产负债率提高都能抑制我国银行业不良贷款增加。据此,提出如下政策建议：继续加大对腐败案件的查处力度,完善相关法律法规体系;商业银行应建立科学有效的风险防范机制;政府职能应由干预型向服务型转变,在提高经济增速的同时加快提高经济非国有化程度;企业应合理利用银行贷款,控制贷款资金流向。     

企业腐败动机与“最优”腐败程度实证研究

对于企业向官员行贿动机的解释主要有两种相反的观点,一是企业为了获取政府帮助而主动行贿,二是企业在威胁逼迫条件下的被动行贿。文章从企业在应对政府和应对市场两项事务间的权衡出发,构建企业绩效与腐败强度间的二项式回归模型,通过与传统线性回归模型的比较,发现企业腐败是一种主动行为,腐败的目的是为了构建政治关系以获取相应回报。运用世界银行企业调查数据,二次项回归模型显示出绩效与腐败强度间显著的倒U型曲线关系,文章得出了企业的“最优”腐败程度并对其政策含义进行了解释。     

Determinants of Russia's Informal Economy: The Impact of Corruption and Multinational Firms

Based on the electricity consumption approach, this study examined empirically (among other determinants) the impact of corruption and multinational firms (MNEs) on the relative size of the informal economy in Russia's regions in 1995–2012. Strong evidence is provided of the positive effect of corruption on the informal regional economies. The significant role of MNEs and regulation in curbing informal activities is revealed. A larger informal economic sector is observed in regions with a higher number of local firms and unemployment. An integrated strategy of dealing with corruption and informal businesses is suggested to be more effective in reducing informal practices.     

Advertising in English in Nonnative English-Speaking Markets: The Effect of Language and Self-Referencing in Advertising in Romania on Ad Attitudes

As a potent symbol of globalization, English has become one of the most popular foreign languages used in advertising in many nonnative English-speaking markets. This study aims to explore the effect of language used in advertising (English versus local) and self-referencing on consumers' ad attitudes in Romania, a country where the population is not necessarily speaking English fluently. The results indicate that multinational brands benefit from using English in advertising, whether a high or a low level of self-referencing is used. For local brands, different language formats do not vary in their advertising effectiveness. However, if English is to be used to advertise a local brand to give a “modern” flavor to the product, a high self-referencing format should be used.     

科技型中小企业网络发展对其融资的影响

科技型中小企业是我国技术创新的重要力量和源泉,但一直面临着融资难的问题。从企业网络的角度分析科技型中小企业网络对其融资获取、不同生命周期企业融资选择的影响。在此基础上,提出企业网络战略管理的各项对策及政府职能,以缓解科技型中小企业融资难问题。     

The Competition Policy Approach in the New Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications. Comments on Koski and Kretschmer

Koski and Kretschmer have presented a large review of the recent literature on network industries, particularly on market structure, firm strategies and public policies. They provide a very useful summary of the main papers and highlight some important conclusions, in particular in the context of the policy debate. My objective in this paper is to provide short and limited comments on the first two parts, on market structures and firm strategies, and to discuss more the last section, on public policy issues, in particular on the basis of the competition policy aspects of the new regulatory framework for electronic communications.     

Consumer response to food labels in an emerging market: the case of Romania

This study investigates consumer response to food labels in an emerging market. More specifically, it measures the levels of awareness, objective and perceived understanding, perceived usefulness and perceived trustworthiness of the most prominent food labels found in the Romanian market. An online survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 428 respondents (45.6% males of an average age of 30.6 years). Results revealed that for most respondents, awareness levels towards food labels are generally low, except for the Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) and the organic food labels. Objective understanding towards food labels was relatively high, especially towards those food labels that included a clear text element. Perceived understanding, perceived usefulness and perceived trustworthiness were found to be consistently high with regard to the GDA and the national organic food labels, while the European organic label scored lower. Finally, response to food labels was found to differ between aware and unaware respondents.     

Retailing in the Transition Economies of Poland and Romania: A Comparative Analysis

This research compares and contrasts the current state of development in the retailing industry in the transition economies of Poland and Romania. Two issues examined in this research are (a) the process of market reforms and resulting developments in store-based and non-store retailing, including the competition among large multinational retail chains and small local retail stores, and (b) the structure of the retail industry in terms of market share of 17 different categories of retailers within their respective sectors, namely, grocery retailers, specialty retailers, and non-store retailers, and overall growth registered by these retailers in the last 5 years (2004–2009). Managerial implications of the findings in terms of the opportunities and challenges in different categories of retailing business in the two countries are discussed, and directions for future research are identified.     

A critical review of primary health care reform in Bulgaria: impact on consumers

The Health Care System in Bulgaria is in a period of transition and is undergoing profound changes in financing, organization and ownership. A priority of this reform is to shift the focus of healthcare to the primary sector and to emphasize general practice. New legislation in support of this health care reform has been passed over the last few years. However, this legislation, although consistent with the global aims to be achieved, has proven to be contradictory in terms of its practical implementation. This has had a negative impact on health care consumers’ interests and rights. This paper evaluates the effects of primary health care reform in Bulgaria from the perspective of patient satisfaction. For this purpose, a major task to be fulfilled is to identify the contradictions emerging between the legislation outlining the reforms and the realities of practical implementation with respect to its impact on consumers. The methods applied include: a review of the legislation, a review of the practical progression of the reform process, and an assessment of the new developments in health care consumers’ interests and rights. Considerable contradictions have been found between the legal framework of health care reform in primary care and existing experiences, traditions and expectations. The legislation is inconsistent with the existing realities of healthcare provision. This is leading to turmoil in the health care system during its present transformation and is infringing upon consumers’ rights. Problems emerging in the process of reform need to be identified, and solutions need to be found and worked out as the reforms progress. An assessment system has to be developed to monitor the overall reform process and to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the changes introduced. The impact on consumer and patient satisfaction should be an area of prime concern during these assessments.     

政府采购腐败的机理分析及其防范措施

本文认为,腐败是公共权力在民众与国家或官员之间委托代理运行的必然产物。在政府采购活动中,存在着"纳税人—政府—财政部门—政府采购机构—政府采购官员"这样一条长长的委托代理链,作为初始委托人的纳税人实际上没有行为能力,既不能在政府采购市场决策中签约,也不能从中直接受益,而其他委托代理人则由于利益关联会产生一系列政府采购腐败。政府采购腐败产生的根源主要是制度的缺失,也受非制度因素的影响。政府采购腐败的防范既需要政府采购制度的创新,也需要非制度措施的配合。对政府采购腐败的制度防范,一要完善采购制度,加大寻租成本,降低寻租收益,抑制寻租行为;二要建立政府采购公开制度,增加采购透明度,使政府采购行为各环节在相关法定程序及政府部门和社会的监督下进行;三要加强政府监管制度,健全政府采购招投标竞争机制。对政府采购腐败的非制度防范,一要完善政府采购相关法律体系,对政府采购的使用范围、管理权限、履约责任等政策性和技术性问题进行明确界定;二要加强政府采购人员教育工作,建立政府采购人员资格认证制度;三要努力提高各利益主体的相互监督意识,建立全方位监督体系。     

信息约束对信贷效率的影响与对策研究

从信息呈报和信息治理的角度,分析了我国信贷市场存在严重信息约束的原因。认为现阶段信息约束导致了我国信贷市场局部信用膨胀和局部信用紧缩同时并存的局面,严重制约了我国信贷效率。指出要解决我国信贷市场的信息约束问题,必须在信息呈报的基础上完善信息治理,并着重探讨了信息治理的几种主要方式,提出了缓解信贷市场中的信息约束、提高信贷效率的政策建议。     

Spiraling Down into Corruption: A Dynamic Analysis of the Social Identity Processes that Cause Corruption in Organizations to Grow

To date, theory and research on corruption in organizations have primarily focused on its static antecedents. This article focuses on the spread and growth of corruption in organizations. For this purpose, three downward organizational spirals are formulated: the spiral of divergent norms, the spiral of pressure, and the spiral of opportunity. Social Identity Theory is used to explain the mechanisms of each of these spirals. Our dynamic perspective contributes to a greater understanding of the development of corruption in organizations and opens up promising avenues for future research. Niki A. den Nieuwenboer is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Business & Society Management at RSM Erasmus University, The Netherlands. Her research interests include the growth and development of collective corruption in organizations. She holds a Master of Arts in Social Psychology from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. Prior to starting her academic career, she worked as a consultant in business ethics and fraud prevention for KPMG Forensic in Brussels, Belgium. Muel Kaptein is Professor of Business Ethics and Integrity Management at the Department of Business & Society Management at RSM Erasmus University, The Netherlands. His research interests include the management of ethics, the measurement of ethics, and the ethics of management. His␣research has been published in the Academy of Management Review, Business & Society, Corporate Governance, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Organization Studies, among others. He is the author of the books Ethics Management (Springer, 1998), The Balanced Company (Oxford University Press, 2002), and The Six Principles of Managing with Integrity (Articulate Press, 2005). He is also director at KPMG Integrity, which he co-founded in the Netherlands in 1995.     

The Effect of Corruption on Exports and Imports in Latin America and the Caribbean

International trade, in particular exports and imports, are regarded as important factors that can increase the economic development of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. However, little is known whether the ability of these countries to strengthen their global positions in trade can be affected by the pervasiveness of local corruption. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of corruption on exports and imports in LAC countries. Our empirical results from the gravity model indicate that local corruption strongly reduces exports in the region. Thus, we conclude that LAC would be able to achieve more export growth if corruption in the region was effectively reduced.     

转型时期腐败和地方政府公共投资效率的关联分析

运用寻租经济学的分析方法,本文对经济转型时期地方官员腐败和公共投资效率两者之间的内在关联进行了综合研究,结合中国情形进行简要的实证分析,指出基于转型时期有效监管制度的缺失,腐败对地方政府公共投资的规模效率、结构效率以及产出效率都产生了不同程度的负面效应.也就是说,作为带有高成本特性的一种"暗税",腐败租金的存在不仅会导致区域内私人投资偏离社会期望的适度投资率,也会人为增大区域公共投资规模、扭曲区域公共投资结构,并降低区域内公共投资的产出水平.     

学术腐败产生的原因分析及策略研究

近年来,学术腐败事件频繁曝光于媒体,愈来愈成为社会关注的焦点话题。通过对两个学术腐败行为模型的分析,试图找出学术腐败行为产生的根源,并提出了相应的对策,进而为相关部门制定有关政策避免学术腐败行为的发生提供参考。     

A Cross-National Investigation into the Effects of Religiosity on the Pervasiveness of Corruption

Relying on data drawn from more than 70 countries, this study examines the effects of religiosity, religious denominations, and communist heritage on the pervasiveness of corrupt business behavior. It is found that even after controlling for the effects of socioeconomic development, communist heritage and religiosity tend to promote corruption. From the principal–agent and modernization perspectives, the theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, and some avenues for future research are pointed out.     

How the Fall of the Iron Curtain Has Affected Consumers' Perceptions of Urban and Rural Quality of Life in Romania

Summary

Marketing and quality of life (QOL) literature is reviewed to conceptualize a model of the impact of marketing activity on QOL. This model outlines how the four elements of the marketing mix affect the life domain of shopping, dealing with the acquisition, possession, use, and consumption of goods. In turn, four strategic considerations/indicators connecting this life domain with QOL are identified: the four A's linking marketing with QOL -i.e., appearance of goods in the market, and awareness, availability, and affordability of goods for consumers. A large-scale field study in urban and rural Romania, a country undergoing rapid marketization, was conducted to test hypotheses and to validate secondary data findings relating availability and affordability of goods with QOL for urban and rural consumers. The findings support the predictions that availability and affordability are positively related to QOL. Secondary data findings concerning changes in the availability and affordability of goods and services, and hypotheses concerning changes in the QOL in Romania between the years 1989 and 1993/1994 were also validated and supported. The findings indicate that availability has improved during this period, whereas afford-ability has decreased. Overall, as hypothesized, these changes have resulted in the deterioration of QOL in Romania in today's marketizing economy, as compared to the planned economy, before the revolution. Finally, urban versus rural differences in the impact of marketization in terms of changes in the availability and affordability and in QOL are also studied.