System dynamics advances strategic economic transition planning in a developing nation

The increasingly complex environment of today's world, characterized by technological innovation and global communication, generates myriads of possible and actual interactions while limited physical and intellectual resources severely impinge on decision makers, be it in the public or private domains. At the core of the decision-making process is the need for quality information that allows the decision maker to better assess the impact of decisions in terms of outcomes, nonlinear feedback processes and time delays on the performance of the complex system invoked. This volume is a timely review on the principles underlying complex decision making, the handling of uncertainties in dynamic envrionments and of the various modeling approaches used. The book consists of five parts, each composed of several chapters: I: Complex Decision Making: Concepts, Theories and Empirical Evidence II: Tools and Techniques for Decision Making in Complex Environments and Systems III: System Dynamics and Agent-Based Modeling IV: Methodological Issues V: Future Direction

'Gatekeepers' of Islamic financial circuits : analysing urban geographies of the global Shari'a elite

This paper analyses the importance of 'Shari'a scholars' in the Islamic Financial Services (IFS) sector, which has been a growing global practice since the 1970s. Based on Shari'a Law, IFS firms provide banking, finance and insurance respecting faith-based prohibitions on interest, speculation and risk taking. Although IFS firms operate across a variety of scales and involve a range of actors, this paper focuses on the transnational capacities of Shari'a experts employed by IFS firms. These scholars use their extensive knowledge of Shari'a Law to assess the 'Islamic' character of a firm's operations, and assist the development of Shari'a-compliant products. As they embody necessary entry-points into Islamic circuits of knowledge and authority, members of what we dub the 'global Shari'a elite' can be regarded as 'gatekeepers' of Islamic financial circuits. Drawing on a comprehensive data source we present a geographical analysis of Shari'a board membership, nationality and educational background of 253 Shari'a scholars. The results show that the global Shari'a elite connects a limited number of IFS hubs (e. g. Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Manama, and London) to knowledge and authority networks falling outside 'mainstream' business and service spheres

The offshoring of financial services : a reassessment

Operating in increasingly competitive market environment, financial services companies are engaged in international re-engineering of business processes mirroring developments in manufacturing over the past four decades. Drawing upon interviews conducted with senior managers and partners from two leading international banks, a multinational 'consumables' provider and a leading finance consultancy, as well as extensive published surveys, we examine the distinctive 'anatomy' of offshoring in financial services, and industry which also manifests a high degree of geographical concentration for 'higher order' functions. We conclude that the reality of process re-engineering in the sector has frequently failed to meet business objectives, and has run the risk of creating 'backlash' from employees in both home and host environments

Skills Assessment for Business Services: Final Report

No abstract available

Between vision and reality: promoting innovation through technoparks in Kazakhstan

A common motivation for the technopark movement is the belief that technoparks promote innovation and economic growth at regional and/or national levels. The paper analyses the role of technoparks as instruments of innovation promotion in Kazakhstan using data from a firm survey and interviews. Our results suggest that, unlike what is assumed in the innovation policy literature, technoparks do not house firms dealing with the commercialisation of innovations that are ready for introduction to the market. Technopark firms are no more innovative than other firms. They are oriented largely towards the local market, and operate in traditional sectors; the frequency and intensity of their external links are more developed than are their internal links. The key motivations for relocating to a technopark seem to be lower rents and the possibility of accessing finance. Overall, Kazakh technoparks seem to be successful in terms of facilitating business incubation, but much les so in terms of innovation promotion and diversification of the economy. Currently, Kazakh industry does not make any demands for local R&D, and its sources of competitiveness lie in non-R&D activities. This suggests that innovation policy should focus on assisting companies to upgrade their technological capabilities to the level that they can articulate their R&D demands. Focusing on technoparks as the main mechanism to improve competitiveness and diversify the economy is an ineffective and uncertain a policy option at this stage of the country's economic development. However, there seems to be significant scope for supporting business incubation. These conclusions are of relevance to other emerging economies

Business Environment Institutions in the Light of the Operational Programme Innovative Economy (OP IE)

Realizacja jednego z siedmiu projektów przewodnich wskazanych w „Strategii Europa 2020 – Polityka przemysłowa w erze globalizacji” nakłada na instytucje otoczenia biznesu obowiązek świadczenia usług na rzecz MŚP na najwyższym poziomie. Z uwagi na to, że udoskonalenie oferty dla MŚP wymaga zaangażowania odpowiednich środków finansowych, które zwykle przewyższają możliwości budżetowe tych instytucji, konieczne jest skorzystanie z zewnętrznych źródeł finansowania przeznczonych na ten cel. Dla instytucji otoczenia biznesu w Polsce takie źródło stanowi m.in. PO IG. Zatem dokonanie wstępnej oceny aktywności aplikacyjnej instytucji otoczenia biznesu w ramach wybranych działań i poddziałań PO IG może stanowić jeden z parametrów weryfikujących ich zaangażowanie w udoskonalanie oferty dla MŚP. Ponieważ MŚP korzystają zwykle z usług podmiotów funkcjonujących w regionie ich lokalizacji, zasadne jest przeprowadzenie zbiorczej oceny dla instytucji otoczenia biznesu z poszczególnych województwach. Odpowiednim narzędziem do przeprowadzenia takiej oceny jest benchmarking wyników, który umożliwia wskazanie zarówno: 1) województw liderów – benchmark-ów – pod względem łącznej aktywności aplikacyjnej instytucji otoczenia biznesu zlokalizowanych na ich obszarze, jak i 2) dystansu dzielącego pozostałe województwa objęte benchmarking-iem. Przeprowadzony benchmarking wyników dla wybranych działań i poddziałań PO IG wyróżnił cztery województwa wiodące: mazowieckie, małopolskie, dolnośląskie i śląskie. Znaczący był również dystans między wskazanymi województwami a pozostałymi objętymi benchmarking-iem, zwłaszcza dwoma: lubuskim i opolskim, z których instytucje otoczenia biznesu nie znalazły się na żadnej z analizowanych list podpisanych umów o dofinansowanie. Co więcej, do podmiotów z województw uznanych za benchmark-i trafiła większa część wsparcia przyznanego dotychczas w ramach każdego z analizowanych działań i poddziałań. Projekty instytucji z tych województw były również źródłem dobrych praktyk