European Union Entrepreneurship and Innovativeness Support Policy for Businesses

To a great extent, growth in entrepreneurship and innovativeness as significant factors in the economic development of Europe and Poland is dependent on the elimination of administrative barriers for companies and the introduction of the facilitating of information and communication (ICT) as needed for them to function.Wzrost przedsiębiorczości i innowacyjności jako istotnych czynników rozwoju gospodarczego w Europie i w Polsce zależą w dużym stopniu od znoszenia barier administracyjnych dla przedsiębiorstw i wprowadzania ułatwień informacyjnych i komunikacyjnych (ICT) dla ich funkcjonowania

Ethics and taxation : a cross-national comparison of UK and Turkish firms

This paper investigates responses to tax related ethical issues facing busines

Collaborative improvement as an inspiration for supply chain collaboration

The battlefield of competition is today moving from the level of\ud individual firms to the one of the extended enterprises, that is, networks of customers and their suppliers. This paper discusses how learning and continuous improvement today take place in processes based on daily collaboration at intercompany level, i.e. Extended Manufacturing Enterprises (EMEs). The purpose of the paper is to present a preliminary theory on Collaborative Improvement (CoI), i.e. continuous improvement at the EME level. Based on a literature review on Supply Networks, and Continuous Improvement and on evidence from two explorative case studies, the paper proposes a model for Collaborative Improvement in EMEs and discusses a research approach based on Action Research and Action Learning to further develop preliminary theory and actionable knowledge on how to foster and sustain CoI in EMEs

Drivers and Impacts of R&D Adoption on Transport and Logistics Services

Actually, technologies and applications in industries are changing via business restructuring, new business models, new knowledge and supply chains. So R&D is not focused primarily on manufacturing industry as it used to be, but on different kinds of industries as logistics and transport (TLS). Nevertheless, the characteristics of the TLS industry determine the introduction of specific R&D solutions accordingly to sectors operations. The objective of this paper is to describe the R&D opportunities in the TLS industry and how managers use them to make their businesses more innovative and efficient. Using the Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) model the paper identifies the links between R&D adoption and innovation dynamics. Relating the findings, on the driver’s side there are three points that are worth mentioning: increasing market competition, the relationships of firms interacting with each other and the availability and quality of complementary assets such as employee skills and IT know-how. On the impacts’ side, firms advanced in terms of implementing R&D solutions are more likely to implement organizational changes. Finally, a set of recommendations on how to further improve the continuous innovation in the TLS industry is presented

Offshoring to China and India: Case Studies of Italian Small-Medium-sized Firms

This article discusses the prospects and problems facing Italian small and medium sized enterprises that have recently engaged in direct investment through the establishment of production facilities in China and India. Using data gathered from 15 interviews conducted in those countries in 2009, firms are grouped for analytical purposes into clusters according to the strategies that combine firms specific advantages with exploiting differences across national borders. Highlighted are important influences (such as key decisions, costs and constraints) that should be considered when analyzing the management of a small multinational firm in an international context. Motivations behind Italian parent companies’ decisions to create subsidiaries in China or India; relations between newly established production facilities and their local suppliers and markets; and the cultural and administrative difficulties the enterprises have encountered, and any subsequent organizational adaptations, are all taken into account. In the conclusions, the benefits to the participants in the delocalisation process are detailed, and possible future management strategies are discussed.Strategic management of multinational firms;International Business; Adaptation