A CAPABILITIES APPROACH TO INNOVATION: A CASE STUDY OF A TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION HUB IN ZAMBIA

This paper critically examines the linear claim, often made, that innovation leads to development. The orthodox view embedded in this claim, which equates development with industrial development and economic growth, is problematized in this paper partly by counter posing this orthodox concept of economic growth with Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum’s heterodox conceptualisation of human development, which advances a comprehensive view of development that requires evaluation not only of income and wealth, but also of other aspects of well-being and agency that people have reason to value. This research uses interpretive research methods including semi-structured interviews and participant observation to gain insight into technology and innovation hub dynamics. Findings include that those working at tech hubs value belonging to a community of shared interest and contributing to social enterprises. We argue that tech hubs, as collaborative spaces, may contribute to human-centred development processes in ways not directly leading to employment or market-based innovative products

Creating a 21st Century national innovation system for a 21st Century Latvian economy

The Latvian economy made great strides in recovering from the economic shock of the early transition and the adverse aftereffects of the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Nevertheless, Latvia faces serious challenges to its future growth and prosperity despite these impressive achievements and the outward appearance of macroeconomic stability and economic progress. A wide variety of recent studies suggest that the Latvian economy is not particularly competitive and, even more worrisome, they indicate that Latvia is not well positioned to gain ground in the race for global competitiveness, prosperity, and rising standards of living. Most of Latvia's growth to date has come from one-off gains generated by structural reforms, privatization, and reallocating resources, not inexhaustible reservoirs of growth. Latvian enterprises will be able to sustain economic growth and create high wage jobs only by becoming internationally competitive, innovating, accumulating new knowledge and technology, and finding a high value added niche in the European and global division of labor. This paper is designed to help Latvian leaders develop a clear diagnosis of the innovation and competitiveness challenges facing Latvia as it prepares to enter the EU and, more important, design and implement policies and programs to ensure that Latvia reaps the maximum possible benefits from EU structural funds. Section II analyzes the current structure of Latvia's production, imports, and exports. Section III uses data from a number of competitiveness reports to benchmark Latvia's current progress against a number of comparator countries and to pinpoint Latvia's strengths and weaknesses as an innovative economy. Section IV offers a detailed list of potential policies and programs that could improve the competitiveness of Latvian enterprises and the efficiency of the Latvian National Innovation System. The recommendations include specific policies and programs to improve (1) the production of knowledge in Latvia, (2) the commercialization of technology produced by Latvian scientists, small companies, and research institutes, and (3) local firms'capacity to absorb, adapt, and adopt existing knowledge produced outside Latvia for use inside Latvia.ICT Policy and Strategies,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,ICT Policy and Strategies,Banks&Banking Reform

The Internationalisation (Transnationalisation) of the SME Sector as a Factor of Competitiveness

As part of a wider research program we analysed the theoretical frameworks and the developments of the process of internationalisation (transnationalisation) of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the European Union and specifically in Hungary and Spain. We tried to highlight the barriers and trends of internationalisation. We consider internationalisation of the SME sector as a crucial factor in increasing competitiveness and as an important condition for sustainable and dynamic growth and improving employment (Europe 2020). We made policy recommendation mostly for the government in terms of how to promote the process. We carried out analyses of documents and databases, interviews, and online data collection

Worker Cooperatives and their Entrepreneurial Process. Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Evidence from the Worker Cooperatives Established in the Valencian Community, 2008-2014

The context of worker cooperatives is significantly different from that of traditional firms, and so the study of entrepreneurship also differs considerably. The analysis of the creation of worker cooperatives requires differentiated approaches, as the more conventional models of entrepreneurship do not prove adequate to this end. We analyze certain determinants of the entrepreneurial process from a sociocultural perspective, which is applicable specifically to this type of firm. Based on the most important proposals of the network, business incubation, role, and marginalization theories from the sociocultural and institutional standpoints, we establish causal links between the determinants of the start-up process and the outcomes expected by cooperative entrepreneurs, in terms of both the performance of the firm itself and the personal outcomes anticipated by these entrepreneurs. From a sample of 103 firms out of a total of 633 cooperatives set up in the Valencian Community (Spain) over the period 2008-2014, and by way of a quantitative methodology drawing on structural equations – and specifically, SmartPLS – we analyze the influence of the determinants on the outcomes of entrepreneurship; in so doing, we aim to establish both the influence or the direct effects on these outcomes and the indirect or mediation effects of the respective outcome variables, as well the possible moderation effects that may be exercised between the independent factors