A comparative analysis of executive information systems in organisations in South Africa and Spain

Executive Information Systems (EIS) grew out of the information needs of executives and are designed to serve the needs of users in strategic planning and decision-making. EIS are high risk information technology (IT) implementation projects. With the emergence of global information technologies, existing paradigms are being altered which are spawning new considerations for IT implementation. Web-based technologies are causing a revisit to existing IT implementation models, including those for EIS. The authors compare two recent survey studies of EIS implementation in well-established organisations in South Africa and Spain. From a comparative analysis, the authors report six identified similarities and three differences in EIS in these countries

Banking system soundness is the key to more SME financing. Bruegel Policy Contribution 2013/10, July 2013

The SME access-to-finance problem is not universal in the European Union and there are reasons for the fall in credit aggregates and higher SME lending rates in southern Europe. Possible market failures, high unemployment and externalities justify making greater and easier access to finance for SMEs a top priority. Previous European initiatives were able to support only a tiny fraction of Europe’s SMEs; merely stepping-up these programmes is unlikely to result in a breakthrough. Without repairing bank balance sheets and resuming economic growth, initiatives to help SMEs get access to finance will have limited success. The European Central Bank can foster bank recapitalisation by performing in the toughest possible way the asset quality review before it takes over the single supervisory role. Of the possible initiatives for fostering SME access to finance, a properly designed scheme for targeted central bank lending seems to be the best complement to the banking clean-up, but other options, such as increased European Investment Bank lending and the promotion of securitisation of SME loans, should also be explored

Knowledge intesive business services and it's role in the economy: the case of Spain

Treball Final de Grau en Administració d'Empreses. Codi: AE1049. Curs 2020/202

Supporting Access to Finance by SMEs: Mapping the initiatives in five EU countries. ECMI Research Report No. 9, April 2014

This paper maps the initiatives to support access to finance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that were available at national level in 2012 in the five biggest European economies (Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain). This mapping distinguishes initiatives promoted and financed primarily through public resources from those developed independently by the market. A second breakdown is proposed for those sources of finance with different targets, i.e. whether the target is debt financing (typically bank loans at favourable conditions, public guarantees on loans, etc.) or equity financing (typically venture capital funds, tax incentives on equity investments, etc.). A broad set of initiatives has been implemented to close the funding gap of SMEs in these five countries. The total amount of public spending for SMEs, however, has remained well below 1% of GDP. Public subsidisation of bank loans has been by far the most diffused type of intervention. Despite the fact that this strategy might prove to be effective in the short term, it fails to address long-term sustainability issues via a more diversified set of financing tools

The use of business intelligence systems in Australia

Business Intelligence (BI) systems are information systems that combine operational data, models, analytical tools and user interfaces to generate information to support business decision-making. BI is an important part of IT practice and is currently the highest technical priority for chief information officers. As there is to date no published academic research on the nature of BI practice we commenced an exploratory study of the area. A survey of business and IT professionals was used to test fourteen propositions about the nature of BI system adoption, development, use, and governance in Australia. This paper reports on the slice of results related to BI system use, including findings related to six propositions about the nature of BI system use. The survey highlights the critical role of BI in organizations, which justifies research effort into the area, as well as organizational spending on BI implementations

Hydraulic Bureaucracies and the Hydraulic Mission: Flows of Water, Flows of Power

Anchored in 19th century scientism and an ideology of the domination of nature, inspired by colonial hydraulic feats, and fuelled by technological improvements in high dam constructions and power generation and transmission, large-scale water resources development has been a defining feature of the 20th century. Whether out of a need to increase food production, raise rural incomes, or strengthen state building and the legitimacy of the state, governments – North and South, East and West – embraced the 'hydraulic mission' and entrusted it to powerful state water bureaucracies (hydrocracies). Engaged in the pursuit of iconic and symbolic projects, the massive damming of river systems, and the expansion of large-scale public irrigation these hydrocracies have long remained out of reach. While they have enormously contributed to actual welfare, including energy and food generation, flood protection and water supply to urban areas, infrastructural development has often become an end in itself, rather than a means to an end, fuelling rent-seeking and symbolising state power. In many places projects have been challenged on the basis of their economic, social or environmental impacts. Water bureaucracies have been challenged internally (within the state bureaucracies or through political changes) and externally (by critiques from civil society and academia, or by reduced funding). They have endeavoured to respond to these challenges by reinventing themselves or deflecting reforms. This paper analyses these transformations, from the emergence of the hydraulic mission and associated water bureaucracies to their adjustment and responses to changing conditions

Present and future of crowdfunding as source of entrepreneurial financing

Treball Final de Grau en Finances i Comptabilitat. Codi: FC1049. Curs acadèmic: 2016/2017New financing techniques have emerged due to the recently experienced deep crisis. In a changing technological environment any individual with an innovative business idea and an achievable entrepreneurial project can easily undertake it without resorting to traditional banking. As a result of the new Fintech technology, a word stemming from a contraction of the words “finance” and “technology”, it may be possible for anyone to use a wide range of financial services in a faster, more comfortable and transparent way. This technological revolution has entered with force in our country. However, even though the high turnover figures that move financial startups of other countries have yet to be reached here, investment and growth in this sector is rapidly increasing. Therefore, the crowdfunding industry marks the present and the future as a source of financing for business projects in our country

Using the economic crisis as an opportunity for engaging universities in regional development. Background report. First EU-DRIVERS Annual Conference, Barcelona, 17 november 2010

This annual report is the first of a series of three thematic reports produced by the EU-DRIVERS project on the role of universities in regional innovation and how strong partnerships between universities, government/public authorities and the business sector can contribute to dynamic successful innovation systems. The report contains a presentation of the European innovation policies and national trends which is accompanied by a brief theoretical discussion on triple helix partnerships. The report also includes the analysis of the various triple helix partnerships examples leading to a series of fi ndings and opportunities for successful partnerships at a time of economic crisis.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Exploring the equity crowdfunding phenomenon: An analysis of regulations, tax incentives, and the fight against corruption

Equity crowdfunding is becoming more and more an important source of funds to early-stage entrepreneurial firms, in both developed and developing countries. Its rapid growth was likely due to a combination of favourable – and unfavourable - circumstances which have made it a multi-billion-dollar industry worldwide. On the one hand, the 2008 financial crisis has tightened credit availability; on the other hand, financial innovations driven by FinTech companies (including equity crowdfunding platforms) have provided consumers with an excellent opportunity to become investors and take advantage of their knowledge in financial matters. Moreover, financial innovations and the new instruments available have facilitated credit access for entrepreneurs, enabling them to seek funding from anyone. Equity crowdfunding seems thus to have the potential to fundamentally change the investment and financing process, as well as to provide greater transparency especially in countries where high levels of corruption discourage any form of public or private investment. The academic literature on this topic has analysed the crowdfunding market with growing interest. However, the research and knowledge of this new phenomenon are still limited, and some questions do still arise. This doctoral thesis aims to address the topic of equity crowdfunding in Europe and Latin America (the higher performing developing country in terms of utilizing crowdfunding, excluding Mainland China). In particular, the three papers that constitute it explores specific strategies to drive equity crowdfunding growth and promote its use in financing entrepreneurship. This dissertation draws inspiration from the following research questions: (i) Why do we need a harmonised regulation of crowdfunding in Europe? What are the challenges and risks to deal with? (ii) Do tax incentives promote crowdfunding investment in Europe? (iii) Does the fight against corruption increase the investors’ confidence in equity crowdfunding? Answers to these questions provide an important step towards a better understanding of the functioning of crowdfunding markets