Agricultural Prices in Transition Economies: The Case of Bulgaria and Slovenia1,2

The paper studies the extent to which the transition in agricultural prices has satisfactorily been implemented in Bulgaria and Slovenia and the degree to which actual prices reflect the equilibrium conditions of the market. In Bulgaria, a model in which the new and old regime can co-exist, was estimated using the Kalman filter while in Slovenia, a market clearing supply-demand model for each agricultural product is estimated. The quantitative results show that the liberalisation process in agricultural prices is implemented in Bulgaria in a satisfactory way. The way of price determination is shifting from a cost-based approach to a market clearing one. The conclusions for Slovenia suggest that, at least for the period studied, convergence to a market clearing economy, as measured by the state intervention, is not as rapid as desired.     

Agency controls and subsidiary strategic initiatives: The mediating role of subsidiary autonomy

Prior studies examining the impact of organizational controls on subsidiaries’ strategic initiatives have to a large extent failed to find a significant direct association between the two. We argue that this lack of direct association may be due to the fact that the control mechanisms used exert their influence on subsidiaries’ strategic initiatives indirectly by suppressing subsidiaries’ decision-making autonomy. Drawing upon agency theory we consider the effects of two types of controls, monitoring and incentive alignment, as mediated by subsidiaries’ decision-making autonomy. We test this effect on data from 115 subsidiaries of foreign multinationals operating in Greece. The results of our analyses empirically validate this assertion for both mechanisms. Our findings further show that, when both mechanisms are present, one may accentuate the effect of the other, highlighting the value of employing a contingency approach to fully capture the effects of organizational controls on the pursuit of subsidiaries’ strategic initiatives.     

The effect of the euro on foreign direct investment

In this paper the recent effect of the European Monetary Union on inward FDI-flows is examined using a difference-in-differences approach. The estimated results show that the introduction of the euro raised inward FDI flows by approximately 16% within the euro area, by approximately 11% to non-members and weakly by around 8% from non-member countries into the euro area. Moreover, the geographical effects of the euro are explored. The results show partial agglomeration tendencies for the euro area. There are also some indications of increased importance of vertical specialization in the sample.     

Economic impacts of highway infrastructure improvements part 2. The operational model and its application to Ontario communities

The environmental assessment process in Ontario requires an assessment of the economic impacts of highway infrastructure improvements. This paper describes an operational model that is based on the analytical framework introduced in Kanaroglou et al (1997). The model makes use of widely available data and can be used as a planning tool for fast and efficient assessment of short term direct and indirect local economic impacts in terms of a community's sectoral employment levels. The accuracy of the assessment can be improved by modifying the model parameters using information collected locally. The model can presently be applied to communities in Ontario.     

International entrepreneurial culture—Toward a comprehensive opportunity-based operationalization of international entrepreneurship

Despite the abundance of international entrepreneurship studies, there is a need to develop valid measures of the international entrepreneurship construct. Based on prior conceptual studies, we contribute to the literature by advancing a scale of the international entrepreneurial culture (IEC) that considers opportunity-based behavior; and, aims to capture the overarching context of international entrepreneurship. We followed established scale development practices and conducted a research on UK and US medium-sized firms. Our proposed six-dimensional operationalization of IEC, which sufficiently matches the initial conceptualization, consists of international entrepreneurial orientation; international market orientation; international motivation; international learning orientation; international networking orientation with competitors; and, international networking orientation with non-competitors. The main implication from this study is that international entrepreneurship scholars can use in future research these six dimensions of the encompassing IEC context rather than a confined international entrepreneurship construct.     

The firm's location in the home country and internationalisation: Some evidence from Greek smaller firms

The literature on the firm's international behaviour and growth is extensive. However, certain parameters which exert influence on the international growth of the firm and bear important practical and theoretical interest are comparatively underinvestigated. Such a parameter is the geographic location of the internationalised firm within its home country. Few studies have examined the impact of this variable on the firm's international behaviour and performance. The following article deals with this issue by investigating internationalisation ventures by small and medium-sized enterprises based in a small EU country, namely Greece.     

International Entrepreneurship Research: What Scope for International Business Theories?

International entrepreneurship (IE) research has commonly neglected significant perspectives applied by international business scholars. Explanations for the emergence and growth of international entrepreneurial firms largely focus on the resource-based view and the network perspective. While these approaches are useful, we suggest that IE would benefit significantly from a greater emphasis on its international nature. Therefore, theories of international business should be employed in conjunction with other approaches in order to appropriately emphasize the international character, holistically study the IE notion, and considerably broaden the scope of IE examination. Suggestions for relevant research directions are discussed.     

Does smallness affect the liberalisation of telecommunications? The case of Cyprus

A review of the literature on small economies and on telecommunications policy suggests that policy makers disregard the possible effects of the size of the economy on liberalisation outcomes. This paper builds on the literature on small economies to classify economy size according to economic, demographic, and geographical measures in order to empirically examine whether small size affects the effective culmination of liberalisation of telecommunications. A cluster of small economies that have a maximum population of 9.2 million (Guinea), GDP of US $86.17 billion (Singapore), and arable area of 19.3 thousand km² (Central African Republic) are the main focus of analysis. In particular, the paper capitalises on an in-depth analysis of the liberalisation of telecommunications in Cyprus and an econometric analysis of the respective European experience. The country-specific outcomes of liberalisation in Cyprus are consistent with the general tendency in small European economies and jointly provide strong evidence that smallness affects the success of liberalisation. The paper concludes with an array of policy suggestions for small economies.     

Employment impacts of energy: A survey and framework for analysis

This paper provides a critical review of the alternative approaches used for assessment of the employment effects of energy development. It also attempts an evaluation of the policy implications of their use in real-world planning cases. The presentation is based upon an extensive survey of the current practices in energy and employment analysis in Western countries. In the paper, we present an economic framework for the analysis and evaluation of the employment impacts caused by energy development. We proceed with a review of methods, models and techniques available for the study of the labour impacts of energy, their informational requirements, as well as their output and use characteristics. Finally, we attempt a critical presentation of the current practices in energy and employment issues and review the policy options usually employed. Directions for future, related research are identified and discussed.     

Images of Women in Online Advertisements of Global Products: Does Sexism Exist?

Research on female stereotypes in online advertisements is particularly scant, and thus, we lack evidence on whether women are depicted in derogatory (stereotypical) terms on the Internet or not. This theme has significant ethical implications. Hence, the objectives of this study are: (1) to provide evidence on female role portrayals in online advertisements of global products, and (2) to explore female role portrayals across web pages for different audience types. The results indicate that women are generally portrayed in a stereotypical way, supporting the notion that sexism is prevalent in online advertisements worldwide. Portrayal of women across web pages varies considerably, with female-audience web pages embracing “decorative” female images; male-audience web pages promoting polarizing depictions of women in “dependent” or “non-traditional” roles; and general-audience web pages using portrayals of women as housewives or equal to men. Overall, the findings suggest that “traditional” or “decorative” stereotypes are largely evident in all three audience types, although some “non-traditional” roles may occur. Implications and future research directions are discussed.