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The purpose of the article is to discuss the multidimensionality of the distance construct and to provide a critical overview of the existing research on distance and its significance for the internationalization process. The review of relevant literature, based on databases such as EBSCO, Elsevier, JSTOR and ProQuest, covered empirical papers (keyword: “distance” included in the title or abstract) investigating the relationship between the distance and key issues in the companies’ internationalization. The presentation of results was structured along five key dimensions of distance: geographic, economic, institutional, cultural and psychic. The first four dimensions are antecedents to psychic distance, which itself relates to the managerial perception of differences between the countries. The development of new forms of transportation and communication technologies, together with the increasing economic integration, have made many authors and managers believe that distance is no longer relevant to the companies’ internationalization process. However, the empirical studies do not confirm this claim. The multidimensionality of distance and inconsistencies in the body of research concerning the cultural dimension of distance create new research challenges. The present article provides recommendations for the scholars interested in the role of distance in international business. The article presents an extensive literature review, explicitly indicating the role of different dimensions of distance in key internationalization issues, i.e. motives, market selection, mode of entry, level of local responsiveness and global integration. It makes a clear distinction between psychic distance and country-level distance.
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The aim of this article is to analyze the potential of a simulation game addressing the issue of implementing risk management within public sector organizations. Recent legislation obliges public sector organizations to have a risk management system in place as part of their managerial control system. The author conducted interviews with key personnel responsible for risk management within their public organization. This preliminary findings of the study, among public sector organizations, shows that these organizations have a problem implementing the risk management process. The author after deep analysis of the different educational methodologies decided to propose an experiential learning method in a form of simulation game. Originality/value: Usage of simulation game to teach risk management is unique. It can be helpful for public sector organizations not only to understand the process but also to implement it and became an effective tool.
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The objective of the article is to present the changes that have taken place in relationships between business partners in the FMCG distribution channels in Poland after 1989 and to identify the consequences for competitiveness in particular groups of commercial enterprises. The scope of analysis covers relationships between chains of large trade facilities and FMCG manufacturers and wholesale enterprises, inclusive of cash and carry, as well as between goods suppliers and receivers. The article is prepared on the basis of relevant literature on cooperation of enterprises in the distribution channels, as well as on the results of surveys carried out by the Institute for Market, Consumption and Business Cycles Research (IBRKK) in the 1990s and in the first years of the 21st century. It also includes mid-2011 survey results among independent commercial enterprises and companies operating in the chain as well as among FMCG producers. In individual periods, the same research method is applied - face-to-face interviews, carried out among representatives of the surveyed firms. They were based on a questionnaire, which was expanded in subsequent research periods with new aspects of cooperation between enterprises, i.e. creation of private labels, training and consulting for business partners, and integration processes. The description and analysis of the phenomena and processes occurring in relationships between subjects in various channels of FMCG distribution covered multiple criteria. These include selection of a business partner, enterprise position in its contacts with business partners, expected and achieved benefits of cooperation, impediments and abnormalities occurring in contacts between the goods supplier and the commercial company, and new areas of cooperation.
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The article investigates whether performance of government-owned banks is influenced by electoral considerations. To verify the political interference hypothesis, net interest margins recorded by banks during different stages of the electoral cycle are studied. Univariate tests are applied and random effects regression models are estimated. It is established that government-owned banks exhibit statistically and economically significantly lower net interest margins and interest incomes during pre-electoral periods in Central European countries. The results support the view that government-owned banks do realize political goals. The role of only one political factor, i.e. electoral cycle is analyzed. A comprehensive research project should encompass the effect of such factors as political competition, non-electoral political events, electoral expectations, government political complexion, and institutional development on governmentowned banks’ behaviors. It should also assess the political determinants of lending volume. The article uses a new dataset including financial information since 1992, i.e. since the early transformation years.
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The aim of this study is to show how the concentrations of primary income can be related to the labour market structure in two samples of selected European and transition countries. Then it focuses on the differences in the transitional path of Poland and Russia that justify the current divergences in the distribution of income in these two countries. This research, in its empirical part, is based on cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). By these techniques, the study defines which main factors of the labour market are more involved in the distribution process in the selected countries. On the basis of the data used, it seems possible to establish a relationship between different labour market models and the degree of primary income inequality, focusing on which variables are more relevant with respect to the different labour market systems. This research deals with the aspect of the concentration of primary income in different economies with cluster and principal component analyses, considering the shortage of related economic data in this field of research
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The process of regional integration in South America, or more specifically the process of regional integration with regard to MERCOSUR, took place in parallel to an increase in the municipal paradiplomacy. The globalization process, which took place after the end of the Cold War, opened a space for a greater participation of sub-national actors in international relations, not only because of the inability of the state to satisfy all local demands, but also because the sub-national governments´ perception of a new opportunity for cooperation being opened. In this sense, the South American regional integration process, which gave rise to MERCOSUR, was a base for the creation of an intermunicipal network called MERCOCIDADES, which resulted in an institutional space for greater involvement of sub-national governments in the regional integration process, with the establishment of the Consultative Forum of Cities, States, Provinces and Departments of MERCOSUR. That is, the diffusion of the integration process, from a paradiplomatic perspective, was an important element for the incorporation of new actors, strengthening it and making it more open to local demands. It is said that the local is at the basis of national development, considering the ‘islands of development’ which are built along the territory of a country.
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Ilan Danjoux: Political Cartoons and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Manchester–New York: Manchester University Press, 2012, 144 pages, ISBN: 978-0-7190-8362-4. Kateřina Bartošová Noah Feldman: Cool War: The Future of Global Competition. New York: Random House, 2013, 224 pages, ISBN: 978-0-8129-9274-8 (hardback), ISBN: 978-0-679-64383-8 (ebook). Břetislav Panák Lamia Karim: Microfinance and its Discontents. Women in Debt in Bangladesh. Minneapolis–London: University of Minnesota Press, 2011, 255 pages, ISBN: 978-0-8166-7094-9. Tomáš Profant
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Since 2003 and the accession to power of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkish diplomacy has moved from a conservative (or Realpolitik) doctrine of foreign policy (sovereignty and security as priorities, the doctrine of ‘balance of power’, the use of military force being possible in cases where other democracies would negotiate) to a more liberal policy (trade, including cultural goods, as a priority; negotiations with all the neighbours to meet the targets of the ‘Policy of Zero Problems with our Neighbors’; the use of cultural and/or religious proximity with certain countries to increase trade and influence). The Turkish case is interesting because the Realpolitik doctrine was implemented for decades by politicians and diplomats concerned with the idea of ‘modernization’, i.e.making Turkey a ‘normal’ European country with a ‘normal’ foreign policy according to the dominant Western European conception of international relations. How far is such a move to a different doctrine possible? Under which conditions is it possible? What could the consequences be, and what kind of consequences would be acceptable?What could the internal and external purposes be in fine? ‘National issues’ such as Turkey’s rivalry with Greece on the Aegean, the Cypriot and Kurdish questions obviously slow down the transition because of the internal resistance fromthe military, the diplomats, and the political parties (in power or in opposition). External factors such as the hostility to the Turkish candidacy for EUmembership in theWest European political elite and public opinion, the Arab revolutions or the Iranian nuclear crisis forced the AKP government to adapt, to adjust and to take risks it was not ready to take at the beginning of the process.
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Soft power is an increasingly important concept that attempts to explain how states and organisations shape shared interests across national borders and between political, economic, social and cultural spaces. However, many of the theoretical and methodological flaws identified by scholars engaging with the term are familiar to Media & Communications research, and particularly to the sub-field termed ‘cultural imperialism’ during the 1970s and 1980s. This article builds upon the insights of research that explores contemporary theoretical innovations upon the cultural imperialism field, and applies it to a case study of German soft power. The aim is to explore the usefulness of the ‘spatio-temporal turn’ as a way of interpreting the epistemological and ontological consequences of German soft power strategies. The study includes empirical material on the recent Land of Ideas and Year of Germany campaigns.
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International activities of local governments (city-diplomacy) have significantly increased since the last quarter of the 20th Century. A clear indication of this evolution is the acknowledgement of these initiatives by central governments and international organisations. Using the case-study of the UCLG Decentralisation and Local Self-Government Committee, this paper presents several new trends of city diplomacy. To do this, an analysis of the activities and results of a network led by the Province of Barcelona shows its impacts in at least three areas: capabilities, norms and relations.
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The EU says Bulgaria is getting too rich too fast, but it doesn’t look that way to most Bulgarians.
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The Kyrgyz government desperately needs the money generated by gold mining. But can it live with the growing international criticism?
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The West is forgetting the lessons of Bosnia in Syria.
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Plus, Medvedev wants Khodorkovsky’s case reviewed and Moldovan towns ban promotion of homosexuality. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Plus, Belarus and Brussels trade diplomatic blows and Orthodox Christmas still isn't official in Latvia. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Plus, Azerbaijan mourns Karabakh massacre victims and Putin tells Europe to put its economic house in order. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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The current financial and economic crisis has affected many sectors, and also the construction sector. The construction market has been and will be an important source of income for the entire Europe, totaling about 1.650 thousand billion euro, which is more than the GDP of Italy. Building no doubt brings significant percentage in the GDP of any European country, which of course is different from country to country. In Western European countries, the residential market is almost 50% from the construction market, while in Eastern European countries the majority is held by the civil and non-residential constructions. In addition, in the West the medium budget per capita spent on construction is 3-4 times higher than that spent in Eastern countries. But, according to previsions in the coming years the countries that will witness a growth, albeit small, will be the Eastern ones. The paper highlights the impact of the economic and financial crisis in the construction industry on a European and national level, as the sustainable constructions that may represent the sector’s future.
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