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CHALLENGES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ROMANIA

Author(s): Nicoleta Paina-Racolta / Language(s): English Issue: 27/2018

Social entrepreneurship is a complex phenomenon with various meanings and approaches, its main features being tocreate social value through social innovation, to satisfy diverse social needs at systemic level, from poverty tounemployment, from social exclusion to population aging, and so on. Social entrepreneurship activities areinfluenced by environmental factors that are part of the so-called entrepreneurial ecosystems, and consist ofcomponents whose interdependence and interaction have a major impact on this sector. The purpose of thisexploratory research (the sources used are secondary, which leads to a desk research) is to analyze the challengesfaced by social entrepreneurship in Romania from an evolutionary perspective. The analysis focuses on thelegislative framework and some of the components of the ecosystem of social entrepreneurship.

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MANAGEMENT ELEMENTS OF THE EMERGENT METROPOLITAN AREAS IN A TRANSITION COUNTRY. ROMANIA, AS CASE STUDY

Author(s): Ioan Ianoş,Daniel Peptenatu,Cristian Drăghici,Radu Daniel Pintilii / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2012

Complex processes, specific to the countries in transition, have had major impacts on restructuring the territorial management systems. The removal of restrictions of limiting urban expansion, imposed by the totalitarian regime, has allowed the rapid expansion of cities, beyond administrative boundaries, since 1989. The concept of emerging metropolitan area is explained by the multitude of problems posed by the sketching of these areas and especially by their functioning. Synthesizing, there are presented some managerial experiences considered inchoate, of some emerging Romanian metropolitan areas, with an emphasis on Bucharest’s metropolitan area. The conclusions of these descriptive analysis show the complexity of the problems that can occur during the process of building of the metropolitan areas under the circumstances of lack of an inter-municipal cooperation culture. Integrated management takes into account two realities: firstly, that the management of emerging metropolitan areas is trans-scalar, achieving the partial mergence of the management types (including the collegiate one), and secondly, that insuring a multi-level governance without implementing a polycentric intra-metropolitan development policy, is not sufficient.

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WASTED? MANAGING DECLINE AND MARKETING DIFFERENCE IN THIRD TIER CITIES

Author(s): Tara Brabazon / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2012

Third-tier cities are neglected in the research literature. Global and second-tier cities provide the positive, proactive applications of city imaging and creative industries strategies. However, small cities – particularly those who reached their height and notoriety through the industrial revolution – reveal few strategies for stability, let alone growth. This study investigates an unusual third-tier city: Oshawa in Ontario Canada. Known as the home of General Motors, its recent economic and social development has been tethered to the arrival of a new institution of higher education: the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Yet this article confirms that simply opening a university is not enough to commence regeneration or renewal, particularly if an institution is imposed on unwilling residents. Therefore, an alternative strategy – involving geosocial networking – offers a way for local businesses and organizations to attract customers and provide a digital medication to analogue injustice and decay.

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THE IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS IN THE IT&C INDUSTRY – EVIDENCE FROM BUCHAREST

Author(s): Claudia Popescu,Alexandru Gavriş / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2012

Despite its peripheral location within the European metropolitan system, Bucharest has significant competitive advantages – large scale market, high-skilled labour pooling, dynamic business environment, institutional capacity, and knowledge organizations. The location of MNCs has enhanced the domestic small-scale entrepreneurship and the emergence of an innovative IT&C cluster. As the world economic crises stroke almost everywhere, in the case of Bucharest it was enhanced by a political crisis which diminished the industrial growth. In this context we focus on the IT small and medium enterprises which, by surviving the crises and developing even more, show clear evidence of strengthening the cluster identity. Based on the two-digit CANE data on employment, the paper analyzes in an empirical way the IT firms from Bucharest between two representative moments: 2007 the year of maximum growth for Romania and 2010. We attempt to identify the factors contributing to the growth of the cluster and to assess the contribution of the cluster to the generation of regional wealth and jobs. The results shows that, despite of the crises, the local entrepreneurship alongside the continuous foreign interest in the local workforce have pulled together an emerging industrial cluster

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FROM TRANSFORMATION TO IDIOSYNCRATIC MODERNISATION SHIFTING ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE RE-SHAPING OF CENTRAL EAST AND EAST EUROPE

Author(s): Hans-Joachim Bürkner / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2011

After two decades of studies on the transformation of Central and East European regions and societies, most scientific communities seem to have normalised their theoretical concepts and empirical approaches. Leaving former exceptionalist views on systemic transition, convergence and hybridisation, and heading for “business as usual” as found in any society integrated into the world market or exposed to globalisation, they presently give the impression that transformation studies are coming to an end. This paper undertakes a review of the past phases of transformation studies in order to identify research gaps and necessities of further research on social and regional development as influenced by inherited or hybridised structural and cultural elements. It makes a point in favour of abandoning the convergence debate for more context-sensitive analyses of social change and societal restructuring, in particular with regard to structural fragmentation and cultural hybridisation.

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DOES AN EFFICIENT BUSINESS REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT MATTER AT URBAN LEVEL? SOME EVIDENCE FROM CHINESE CITIES

Author(s): Alessandro Marra,Vittorio Carlei / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2011

It is widely acknowledged that firms require an efficient regulatory environment: if transaction costs generated by business regulations are not onerous, firms grow more and develop more quickly, attract more foreign direct investment, and employ more workers. But what does it induce alterations in the basic institutional framework? In this paper we intend to test North’s thesis by which as trade expands and the size of the market grows, transaction costs increase requiring that more and more resources should be devoted to improving existing regulations and, then, reducing such costs. The paper is structured as follows. Section 1 introduces. Section 2 provides the theoretical background. Section 3, based on World Bank data on 30 Chinese cities, investigates whether there is a correlation at urban and provincial levels between efficient business regulations on one side and economic outcomes (gross domestic product, foreign direct investment, employment, etc.) on the other. Section 4 addresses the pilot question mentioned above and tests whether simpler and less costly ways of meeting legal requirements for starting and running a business are associated with long-run trade. Section 5 discusses results in the light of theoretically assumed causal links and proposes a 2SLS regression model, whereby a geographical instrumental variable is used to investigate the causal relationship between business regulations and exports.

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Gender stereotypes at managerial positions in selected public institution

Author(s): Bohuslava Mihalčová,Peter Gallo,Lenka Štofova / Language(s): English Issue: 30/2018

The paper is focused on gender perception in a selected institution of public administration. The issue is considered a highly actual agenda deserving attention and research by means of which we can determine how perception of gender equality changes over time. The main goal of the article is to analyse managerial positions; find out and compare employees´ ideas of the chosen institution as to the compensation packages of men and women, find out the dependence of the institution´s success based on gender in managerial positions and identify the experiences in terms of employee discrimination based on gender. Detailed in the theoretical part are the definitions of notions and gender stereotypes, laws and contracts ensuring gender equality both in Slovakia and in the European Union. The data have been obtained through structured interviews and were further subjected to mathematical and statistical methods of evaluation described in the methodological part. Both the data and the conclusions have been assessed in final chapter of our article assuming our work.

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Measuring the Convergence between Management and Leadership in the Banking System by Applying a Cluster Analysis

Author(s): Cosmin Matiş,Maria Camelia Ilisan Ismana,Adrian Ciprian Ghinea,Georgeta Beatrice Petrache Lang / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

The purpose of this article is to provide a comparative analysis of the two concepts that are at the basis of the organizational culture of the banking system, management respectively leadership. In order to establish similarities or dissimilarities between the two terms, we have analyzed the coefficients of similitude between the compared elements, respectively: concept, attribute, functions, policies during post-crisis periods, opinions regarding elements of organizational culture, responsibilities within the organization, decisions, means utilized in order to influence the organizational culture, which have later been detailed into 67 sub-elements. Based on this data utilizing a cluster analysis we have grouped the above criteria depending on the similar or particular mode in which the two tested concepts discriminate one another, and we have calculated the convergence coefficient both at the individual and overall level. The general convergence coefficient indicates to us a high degree of similitude between the two concepts at the level of the banking system and the analysis of the proximity matrix has indicated which are the criteria that ensure the highest degree of similitude between management and leadership.

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Restructuring Stakeholder Collaboration and how Controlling can Add Value by Managing Educational CSR Initiatives - An Analysis Based on Multi Stakeholder Projects

Author(s): Valerian Laval / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2015

This paper illustrates how CSR initiatives can deliver significant added value to the stakeholders involved. Especially multinational companies can initiate the creation of shared value among stakeholders by collaborating with universities in educational CSR initiatives and by aligning such initiatives with their business strategy and manage them with controlling methodology. Our analysis will be based on successful educational CSR projects of multinational companies implemented within the West University of Timisoara. The practical implications for multinational companies are huge. Instead of engaging in CSR initiatives not related to their business strategy, our study illustrates how the value added can be increased by aligning CSR projects with the core business strategy. Furthermore, social implications of such initiatives are described by illustrating how other stakeholders could reach their complementary goals in this initiative. The main contribution of this paper is to describe the success factors for educational CSR projects from a multi stakeholder perspective and illustrating the usage of controlling methodology on two successfully implemented case studies.

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The Analysis of Efficiency of Managing Inventories in Trade in Serbia

Author(s): Radojko Lukić / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2015

The efficient management of inventory performance in trade is very important. Ultimately, it is reflected on overall performance of trade. In order to measure efficiency of inventory management the gross margin return on inventory investment is used to a great extent. With the application of the DuPont system of analysis and statistical analysis, this paper researches the dynamics of gross margin return on inventory investment rate in trade in Serbia (on the example of five major trading companies) for the 2008-2012 period. With a view to thoroughly analyse the given issue, the dynamics of net income (net profit) return on inventory investments rate in trade in Serbia for the 2002-2012 period is also analysed. The obtained results of research show that the performance of inventories in trade in Serbia are at the lower level compared to other countries, especially developed market economies. So as to improve the performance of inventories in trade in Serbia it is, above all, necessary to increase the gross margin return on sales rate, net income return on sales rate, respectively. It can be done with the application of new concepts of cost management, Toyota business principles and modern technology.

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Corporate Governance Codes in Romania and European Union Countries

Author(s): Mihail Buşu / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2015

In recent years, European conglomerate-type companies have used to define their operating strategies according to the principles established by means of corporate governance programs. In Romania, the corporate governance programs are best illustrated by listed companies which are coordinated by such rules. Mostly, these rules involve company’s objectives, the relationship with shareholders and investors, the reports made by them, the structure of the board, the role of companies’ presidents and even managers’ remunerations. The specific rules of corporate governance programs follow the OECD general principles stated in 1999 as well as the package of European Union Directives. This article provides an assessment of the corporate governance policy framework and enforcement and compliance practices in Romania and comparisons between Romania and other UE member states.

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The Social Enterprise - Viable Mechanism of Social Integration for Romanian Vulnerable Groups

Author(s): Ştefan Gabriel Burcea / Language(s): English Issue: 5/2014

The social economy organizations and especially the work insertion social enterprises prove to be viable instruments for revitalizing the local economies undergoing difficulties. Due to the limited capacity of the communities in the underprivileged areas to generate income and the inability to activate endogenous development processes and create jobs, social economy is regarded as a component of the community development process. The article handles the issue of social economy organizations, focusing on the social insertion enterprises as the main mechanisms for increasing the employment within vulnerable persons. Starting from the analysis of the social economy contribution to the implementation of the European social policy, the author reviews the social insertion means, forms and models of vulnerable persons currently existing on national and international level. The research entailed the use of an indirect observation by analyzing the specialized Romanian and foreign literature and by analyzing various official documents available at variosus non-governmental organizations and European research institutes and networks, interested and involved in the wide and various range of problems related to the management of social enterprises.

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The Effects of Transformational Leadership and Emotional Intelligence of Managers on Organizational Citizenship Behaviors of Employees

Author(s): Ferit Ölçer,Margareta Stela Florescu,Marian Năstase / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2014

In today’s turbulent environment, organizations needed leaders who were not only emotionally intelligent but those who had ability to imbibe such values in their followers that were helpful both for service climate and followers themselves. Existing literature suggested that Transformational Leadership (TL) and leader’s Emotional Intelligence (EI) were likely to enhance Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) in followers and significant predictors of OCBs. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of TL and EI of managers on the dimensions of OCB employees display in manufacturing industry. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 60 dyads of employees and their supervisors (i.e., 120 respondents) in one large manufacturing company. SPSS was used for analyzing the data. In this study, separate regression analyses were conducted to examine the effects of TL and EI of managers on the dimensions of OCB. The results indicated that EI of managers had significant positive effects on OCB dimensions of altruism, courtesy, conscientiousness, and civic virtue, but TL had no effects on the dimensions of OCB.

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Classes in Maximizing Shareholders’ Wealth: Irving Fisher’s Theory of the Economic Organization in Corporate Financial Economics Textbooks

Author(s): Tiago Cardao-Pito / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2017

Corporate financial economic programs are almost universally featured in economics and management degrees and, therefore, are an essential component of the culture-building process for current and future economists and managers. Nevertheless, these programs are not restricted to financial affairs. A survey of contemporary academic textbooks in corporate financial economics shows that these books are based on promoting Irving Fisher’s (1906) specific theory of the organization, which advocates that organizations exist to create wealth for their owners/shareholders. This theory has three key premises. 1) The “correct” equity/stock prices are equal to future cash flows that are payable to the organizations’ owners/shareholders. 2) The purpose of the firm and its managers is to maximize the value of the equity/share prices. c) Hence, their purpose is to maximize the cash flows (wealth) payable to owners/shareholders. None of these premises has been clearly demonstrated empirically. Yet, economic and business schools deliver lectures based on this rhetoric every year to thousands of students who will later hold influential roles in society.

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Effects of Contract and Trust on Franchisor Performance

Author(s): Esther Calderon-Monge,Ivan Pastor-Sanz / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2017

The franchisor-franchisee relationship is governed by contracts and trust. This paper analyzes how formal (contracts) and relational (trust) governance mechanisms affected franchisor performance in a service sector franchise for the period 2008¬2015. Using the SOM method in the empirical analysis, the results revealed that trust-based governance was more prominent than contract based governance in the multi-unit franchise network and the cross-franchising network, negatively affecting franchisor performance in the multi-unit franchise network and positively affecting franchisor performance in the cross-franchising network. In contrast, contracts were more prominent than trust in single-unit franchising, negatively affecting franchisor performance. The primary practical implication is that the franchisor should prevent franchisees in the MUF network from opening new outlets in the same city and competing for the existing outlet’s customers.

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Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of X-efficiency in the Croatian Market

Author(s): Ozren Rafajac,Marinko Skare / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2017

This article aims to explain the idea of X-efficiency, which indicates the difference between potential and actual output. If any business subject produces below its own potentials, it can be considered X-inefficient. To determine whether X-inefficiency in Croatian companies exists, how large it is in its volume and why it appears, in 2014, empirical research was conducted. Since only 22% of interviewed companies use all their available resources and given that the mean capacity utilization rate is only 70% and the mean resource utilization rate is 68%, our study results suggest that among business subjects in the Republic of Croatia, X-inefficiency exists to a large extent. Qualitative analysis shows that X-inefficiency appears mostly because of the competitive pressure. Other reasons include legal and administrative problems, the existence of inertness and a lack of motivation, the decision to work “less for more”, inadequate demand, economic crisis, the decision to save resources for future use, seasonal demand, incompetence of the government, corruption, and the risk of debt collection as well as local organizational problems.

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Financial Performance Measurement of Hungarian Retail Food Companies

Author(s): Veronika Fenyves,Zoltán Bács,Laura Karna,Adrián Szilárd Nagy,Tibor Tarnóczi / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2018

The comparison of company performances, i.e., bench-marking, is becoming more and more critical. Presently, companies mostly use traditional financial ratios to evaluate their financial performance. We also use financial ratios to measure and compare company performances, from which we create complex efficiency coefficients using Data Envelopment Analysis. Using Data Envelopment Analysis, we analyzed the efficiency of retail food companies in Hungary’s Northern Great Plain region from 2009 to 2014 using their financial reports. To improve the result of the performance measurement, we used the bootstrap method, the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo simulation, and Bayesian statistics. We transformed the primarily deterministic DEA method into a stochastic DEA model. The primary target of this extension is to enhance statistical inference in DEA and to integrate it with a stochastic mechanism of Bayesian techniques. To develop the stochastic DEA model, we use Stan Stochastic Modelling Language within the framework of the R Statistics. Analyzing the results, we can state that the DEA method can be used for analyzing efficiency, and the additions shown can make the evaluation much more accurate. We can conclude that the best results were produced by the combined method, during a simultaneous application of the input orientation.

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Corporate Internet Reporting and Firm Performance: Evidence from Malaysia

Author(s): Chai J Sia,Rayenda Brahmana,Gesti Memarista / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

Anecdotal evidence showed that the portion of internet users to the population in Malaysia is relatively higher among developing economies. However, there are not many Malaysian listed companies that use the internet as a platform for financial information disclosure. Perhaps, the managers do not believe that there is positive association between internet reporting and firm performance. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impact of corporate internet reporting (CIR) on firm performance for a sample of 583 non-financial listed companies in Malaysia over the year of 2013. We use content analysis to retrieve the internet reporting items and test its validity and reliability before running the regression model. The findings showed that CIR has a significant effect on firm value. This means that more related information that is regularly disclosed on the company’s websites can contribute more value to the firms. Meanwhile, company size does not significantly influence firm value. The firm’s leverage is negative and statistically significant, and the growth brings a positive significant effect to the firm’s value. In addition, in this study, the results support the resource-based view theory and the signaling theory between corporate internet reporting and firm value. The findings of the research suggest that companies should disclose more information through the internet in order to ensure the accessibility of financial information for stakeholders, and this will present a better image and reputation of the company’s best practices in financial performance. CIR will help them to have meaningful investment decisions and persuade them to invest in the company.

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Scientific Research and Universities as Knowledge Based Organizations

Author(s): Marian Năstase,Margareta Florescu,Ileana Mircioi (Vălimăranu) / Language(s): English Issue: 5/2018

Innovation is representing a key word in this dynamic world and the organizations strives for attracting and using the best resources for providing highest value to their stakeholders. Knowledge based organizations are very sensitive and sensitive to society and economy developments. Sensitivity increases due to the increased awareness of complex relationships between the organization and the environment. The universities are among the elites of these types of and the research carried out by them support them to fulfill their critical role for local and regional development. The role of the organization itself and the impact that individual and group performance have on the overall results are amplified as they prove to be great in innovation field. It is a major shift to see the role of universities as a trigger, but also as a fortifier of major trends that are critical for society, bringing the best from scientific research, but also from educational field and providing maximum value to their stakeholders.

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Istota i znaczenie szarej strefy w krajach członkowskich Unii Europejskiej

Author(s): Piotr Misztal / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2018

The shadow economy is a diverse concept and encompasses a series of phenomena whose common feature is the fact that it is beyond the control of the state. The complexity of the definition of the shadow economy also has its consequences, among others in its proper measurement and creating precise mechanisms aimed at combating it. The underground economy is constantly changing and adapting to current market conditions. In particular, the latest changes in the ways of working and business models, the development of the digital economy, wider social changes and globalization make new activities appear in the shadow economy and some existing ones expand their intensity and scope. They can create new social problems and may potentially undermine tax compliance in a wider scope. Therefore, the aim of this publication is to diagnose the main areas of activity in the shadow economy, with simultaneous indication of the causes and economic effects of its functioning and to determine the importance of the shadow economy in the EU member states.

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