| 61. |
- Golubeva, Olga, 1965-
(författare)
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Foreign Investment Decision-Making in Transition Economies
- 2001
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this project is to describe and explain the foreign investment decision process in the uncertain and turbulent environment of transition economy. By getting an in-depth understanding of how decision-making works in the environment of transition economy, the study intends to contribute to the development of business administration theory in the area of foreign investment decision-making, particularly its application in the turbulent and uncertain world.Theoretical ‘blocks’, elaborated on the basis of literature study, include the following concepts: the framework of transition economy; initial motivation (or reasons) of companies to make foreign direct investments (FDI); investigation of the investment climate and information collection methods; project evaluation and investment decision criteria; risk assessment factors and risk reduction measures.Transition economy is defined in the study as ‘a non-planned, non-market economy’ where the new emerging market institutions coexist with the bureaucracy and hierarchy inherited from the old administrative system. Investment projects, therefore, should probably be seen as being under institutional influence from both the local (i.e. transition economy) and the Western investor’s home country environments. The empirical data presented in the paper also shows that it is necessary to establish the relevant economic, legal, political and social institutions in order to attract FDI. The study further includes the analysis of the main components and features of transition economies and their influence on FDI decision-making.One of the results of the study is that FDI decision-making in transition economies is largely consistent with different theoretical approaches suggested in the literature. On the other hand, the empirical support obtained for different theoretical approaches is often questionable and opened to alternative interpretations. The presented project suggests that theoretical perspectives do not preclude each other, but rather have a complimentary character.The study attempts to contribute to the mainstream FDI theories through a firm-level approach based on the case studies. Two in-depth case studies are presented in the paper: Ericsson’s direct investments in Russia and Vattenfall’s investments in the Baltic countries. A formal questionnaire based on the parameters of theoretical ‘blocks’ was created and 25 top executives from Ericsson and Vattenfall who participated in FDI decision-making were surveyed. The empirical investigation took place during the period 1997 - 1998 with partial updating of the cases during the year 2000. The study shows that where companies confront stable environments, investment decision routines and procedures will be less necessary and important than where market uncertainty is high. The strong appreciation of the local business partners for properly done investment calculations increases the importance of capital budgeting in transition economies more than in developed market economies.Besides, traditional investment appraisal methods provide managers with an ‘objective’ or ‘materialistic’ feedback for the decision-making in the rapidly changing uncertain environment. On the other hand, the study emphasises the importance of strategy over financial techniques and argues that FDI decisions in transition economies should be based on methods consistent with the company’s long-term objectives. In case of permanent changes, new approaches as well as better co-ordination of traditional techniques with strategic, political, historical, geographical and cultural issues are required.Ericsson’ s direct investments in Russia are presented in the paper in connection with other factors: the company’s historical involvement in Russia, marketing strategy, human resource development, privatisation and restructuring of the telecommunication sector in Russia, etc. Nordic Electric Power Co-operation (Nordel), the EU’ s decision in 1996 to create an internal electricity market in Europe, Baltic ring study, future plans to privatise the energy companies in the Baltic countries, etc., are the framework to present the second case.An application of project evaluation and risk assessment techniques for broader and more complicated environments shows that investment decision-making is probably as much, if not more, a social, political and cultural technology as an economic one. The study argues then that the rational choice decision-making model often co-exists with alternative models elaborated in social science - limited rationality, political and garbage can.According to the empirical data, the investment decisions are largely based on intuition, business experience and judgement, personal contacts with representatives from the local country, and these investment criteria are inevitable and acceptable in a situation of total chaos and permanent change. The right chosen partner, for example, is one of the major criteria for the success of the investment project in a transition economy. One of the outcomes of this study is that the revitalised form of investment decision-making will differ rather markedly from much of what has gone before: less emphasis on the quantitative aspects of capital budgeting, more on the qualitative aspects of companies and investment environment.The project also argues that determinants, approaches and criteria of investment activity in transition economies are largely consistent with patterns observed in other parts of the world. A few specific environmental conditions of transition economies, however, are shown in the study to affect the pattern of FDI decision-making. The level of turbulence is still different compared to the developed market economies due to uncertainties and unpredictibilities associated with environment of transition economies. Other major differences are the large power distance with authoritarian leadership, strong hierarchy and bureaucracy as well as the vital role of personal contacts in transition economies. It is not clear, however, if these features of transition economies should be seen as inherited from the past communist system or as an alternative way to organise the economic actors through networks, a way that is natural and appropriate for the majority of Asian societies.
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| 62. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, et al.
(författare)
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Does microfinance empower women? : Evidence from self-help groups in India
- 2009
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Ingår i: International review of applied economics. - : Taylor&Francis Group. - 0269-2171 .- 1465-3486. ; 23:5, s. 541-556
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Microfinance programmes like the Self Help Bank Linkage Program in India have been increasingly promoted for their positive economic impact and the belief that they empower women. However, only a few studies rigorously examine the link between microfinance and women's empowerment. This article contributes to this discussion by arguing that women's empowerment takes place when women challenge the existing social norms and culture, to effectively improve their well-being. It empirically validates this hypothesis by using quasi-experimental household sample data collected for five states in India for 2000 and 2003. A general model is estimated by employing appropriate techniques to treat the ordinal variables in order to estimate the impact of the Self Help Group (SHG) on women's empowerment for 2000 and 2003. The results strongly demonstrate that on average, there is a significant increase in the empowerment of women in the SHG members group. No such significant change is observed however, for the members of the control group. The elegance of the result lies in the fact that the group of SHG participants show clear evidence of a significant and higher empowerment, while allowing for the possibility that some members might have been more empowered than others.
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| 63. |
- Lagrosen, Stefan, 1960-, et al.
(författare)
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Social media marketing as an entrepreneurial learning process
- 2011
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Ingår i: International Journal of Technology Marketing. - Geneva : InderScience Publishers. - 1741-878X .- 1741-8798. ; 6:4, s. 331-340
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose for this paper is to explore social media marketing fromthe perspective of entrepreneurial learning. The theoretical basis consists ofcontributions from the fields of organisational learning and entrepreneurship.An empirical study involving ten companies has been carried out. Thedata were analysed with methods inspired by grounded theory. Categoriesdescribing the companies’ social media presence from an entrepreneuriallearning perspective are provided. The value of using organisational learning asa framework for social media marketing is shown. Thus, the paper presents anovel way of studying social media activities which should contribute to thetheoretical fields of organisational learning and entrepreneurship as well as tothe understanding of social media marketing. For practitioners, the findingsprovide additional knowledge that should be useful for their own social mediaactivities.
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| 64. |
- Madanaguli, Arun, et al.
(författare)
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Literature review on industrial digital platforms : A business model perspective and suggestions for future research
- 2023
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Ingår i: Technological forecasting & social change. - : Elsevier. - 0040-1625 .- 1873-5509. ; 194
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rapid digitalization of industries has led to the proliferation of complex industrial digital platforms; however, few industrial platform leaders have successfully established sustainable business models around their offerings. The need for a concrete definition of industrial digital platforms and their business models further complicates our understanding of the issue. In this prospecting review, we critically analyze the existing literature on industrial digital platforms to identify key research themes and research gaps and propose a future research agenda for the industrial digital platform literature from a business model perspective. Drawing on insights from research on industrial platforms, digitalization, digital servitization, and business-to-business (B2B) relationships, our analysis focuses on three key themes in defining the boundaries of industrial digital platforms and the crucial aspects of value creation, value delivery, and value capture on such platforms: (a) co-creative value creation, (b) digitally integrated value delivery, and (c) mutual value capture. The findings of this study and a future research agenda framework provide a roadmap for advancing the understanding of business models for industrial digital platforms. This research aims to contribute to the emerging field of industrial digital platforms and guide future research endeavors in this domain, unlocking the full potential of these platforms for businesses and industries.
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| 65. |
- Rytkönen, Paulina, 1961-, et al.
(författare)
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Small Island Societies, Livelihoods, Challenges and Opportunities duringthe Covid-19 Pandemic in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: AGER: Journal of Depopulation and Rural Development Studies. - Zaragoza : Universidad de Zaragoza. - 1578-7168 .- 2340-4655. ; :36, s. 131-158
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Covid-19 increased the social and economic vulnerability of island societies. Swedishislands are key tourism destinations but are also home to many island residents. Previous studies have highlighted the impact of Covid-19 on core areas, but our knowledge of its impact on island communities is lacking. We use phenomenology to analyse how communities in small Swedish islands perceive the impact ofCovid-19. We use institutional theory and the concepts of social capital and accessibility in the analysis.Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with islanders and representatives of local organizations on sampled islands. Pandemic regulations affected island communities differently.Authorities and shipping companies strove to discourage people from visiting islands. This affected tourismnegatively in some islands, whereas tourism increased in others. Informal institutions established a basis forgood community relations; enabled the mobilization of social capital, especially given action by local agentswho were endorsed by the community. Cooperation was a key to reducing negative impact. Accessibilityincreased on islands with well-developed and expanded IT-infrastructure that enabled holiday homeownersto work from their holiday islands. This helped create a sustained positive economic trend for grocery storesand the construction industry
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| 66. |
- Brockwell, Erik, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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Spatial analysis of water quality and income in Europe
- 2021
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Ingår i: Water Resources and Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-4284. ; 35
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) relationship between water quality and income within the European Union, considering spatial interdependences across countries. To this end, we apply a spatial econometrics framework using panel data, at the national level, for twenty EU countries across seventeen years, 1998 to 2014. Furthermore, we account for the role of human and livestock population size, institutional quality and economic openness for water quality. Results show that a significant EKC relationship is seen with an inverted N-shaped relationship between income and water quality. Water quality is decreasing in income for low income levels, increasing in income when GDP per capita for medium income levels, and deteriorating for high income levels. Eight out of twenty countries have income levels associated with a declining water quality. Spatial spillovers between countries are significant. Higher livestock density levels are associated with lower levels of water quality, while institutional quality and openness to trade are positively associated with water quality
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| 67. |
- Westling, Nils, et al.
(författare)
-
Can upstream ecosystems ensure safe drinking water—Insights from Sweden
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier. - 0921-8009 .- 1873-6106. ; 169
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Clean water is not only the product of expensive treatment technology, but also of upstream ecosystems. Yet, the effect of land use on downstream water quality is poorly understood. We investigate the value of ecosystem water purification as an input to the production of drinking water in Sweden. We employ a recently modified empirical approach, complementing ex-ante modelling. We capture plant operator behaviour, rather than assuming rational individuals that value ecosystem services as a factor in the drinking water production function. The GMM technique is applied to estimate the marginal contributions of different land uses to water quality and chemical costs of treatment plants. The analysis is based on upstream land-use data, raw water quality, and chemical costs for a large share of Sweden's municipal surface water treatment plants, for the period 2000 to 2012. Our results show that upstream forests lead to lower levels of E. coli (a pathogen associated with disease outbreaks) in downstream water and indicate the same effect on turbidity (not significant). We also find that turbidity increases treatment costs, but the effect of E. coli remains unclear. Consequently, in addition to water treatment equipment, decision-makers should consider investment in upstream ecosystems.
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| 68. |
- Palmié, M., et al.
(författare)
-
The evolution of the digital service ecosystem and digital business model innovation in retail : The emergence of meta-ecosystems and the value of physical interactions
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Technological forecasting & social change. - : Elsevier. - 0040-1625 .- 1873-5509. ; 177
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As e-commerce has increasingly gained traction in the retail market, many traditional “brick-and-mortar” retailers are innovating their business models and making the transition towards digital business models. While scholars have started to examine the influence of digitalization on various business model elements, they have so far paid little attention to its implications on the external relationships in which firms engage for value creation. Building on a qualitative analysis of seventeen interviews, this study develops a two-stage framework for the transition to digital business models. In Stage 1, retailers collaborate with specialized service providers to implement a digital business model. As firms from the retail ecosystem collaborate with firms from the digital-service ecosystem to create a value proposition for end-customers, a meta-ecosystem emerges. In Stage 2, firms (retailers) seek to differentiate themselves from their competitors in the meta-ecosystem. Physical interactions with the digital service providers, the product suppliers, and the customers are a primary means towards this end. Thus, digitalization does not make physical interactions and close personal ties obsolete. Our study has substantial implications for the academic literature and management practice.
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| 69. |
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| 70. |
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