Perspectives on Mature Marshallian Industrial Districts

Industrial districts growing in various industrialized countries and regions after the golden age of mass production, in the second half of the twentieth century, have shown a re-emergence of forces of local development. The success stories, in particular those more peculiar and consistent as forms of industrial and social organization, like many Italian cases, have asked and favored the definition of apposite concepts and frames of interpretations. A strong basis of theoretical refinement was extracted from Alfred Marshall’s reflections on the role and working of industrial districts before the golden age of mass production. A well-known refinement is the model of the so-called Marshallian industrial district (MID). Sustained trajectories of success gravitating around the logic of such model have resulted in what may be intended as cases of typical mature industrial districts. They have been confronting since the end of the last century with the effects of a new wave of globalization challenges. It is argued in this paper that MID general structural and dynamic characters encompass a large set of empirical cases, in particular those of typical mature IDs reacting progressively, in terms of innovation and internationalization, to contemporary challenges and de-maturing. They find their way and combine old and new characters, still within the model. However, the MID’s borders may be trespassed as well, as the MID logic coalesces with other logics of industrial and social organization.Marshallian industrial districts; contemporary innovation and internationalization challenges

German and Israeli Innovation: The Best of Two Worlds

This study reviews – through desk research and expert interviews with Mittelstand companies, startups and ecosystem experts – the current status of the Israeli startup ecosystem and the Mittelstand region of North Rhine- Westphalia (NRW), Germany. As a case study, it highlights potential opportunities for collaboration and analyzes different engagement modes that might serve to connect the two regions. The potential synergies between the two economies are based on a high degree of complementarity. A comparison of NRW’s key verticals and Israel’s primary areas of innovation indicates that there is significant overlap in verticals, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), sensors and cybersecurity. Israeli startups can offer speed, agility and new ideas, while German Mittelstand companies can contribute expertise in production and scaling, access to markets, capital and support. The differences between Mittelstand companies and startups are less pronounced than those between startups and big corporations. However, three current barriers to fruitful collaboration have been identified: 1) a lack of access, 2) a lack of transparency regarding relevant players in the market, and 3) a lack of the internal resources needed to select the right partners, often due to time constraints or a lack of internal expertise on this issue. To ensure that positive business opportunities ensue, Mittelstand companies and startups alike have to be proactive in their search for cooperation partners and draw on a range of existing engagement modes (e.g., events, communities, accelerators). The interviews and the research conducted for this study made clear that no single mode of engagement can address all the needs and challenges associated with German-Israeli collaboration

Tourist development impacts on the spatial transformation of the Greek islands. The case study of Kos insular area

The paper context is dealing with the changes in the spatial structure, within small island areas of Greece, caused by the rabbit tourist development of the last thirty years. In the early seventies, tourism was a new direction for the island rural communities and economies, having a complicated and multileveled spatial organization, knowing that it involves effectively: 'international', 'national', 'territorial' and 'local' level, over the island space, which was mostly believed as a 'closed' system ('closed' local society, local economy etc). In these terms tourism has become today the main factor of regional and local growth, affecting to: the evolution and agglomeration of the population, the function of the local labour market and the distribution of labour, land uses and the location of services and central activities, the role of small towns and settlements and their 'connectivity' level with 'autonomous' (how much?) tourist areas. We examine -as a case study- the above matters in a 'fully' tourist developed area of the greek islands space: Kos and Nisyros spatial unity, located in South Aegean (totally about 30,000 resident population and 32,000 hotel beds in 2000). Our research was based in empirical/ qualitative information but also in secondary/ quantitative data, comparatively presented. At the beginning we attempt to build a 'scenario' describing the process of the development. We detect the development phases by checking the spread sequence of the tourist units (and activities) compared with the existing spatial structure of the island/ rural case study area ('how'). At the same time we try to explain and connect this process with the changes within the local economy, the local community and the basic 'rules' of the land market ('why'). This 'scenario' is used as a framework for (the) following specific investigations referring to: -the differentiated evolution of the population in each island town/ settlement, due to a number of reasons related directly to the agglomeration of the tourist activities, -the changes in the location and the categories of labour and its increasing mobility, as a result of the special characteristics of tourism, -the role of the transportations and the spatial forms of the retail sector in a tourist environment, -the functional relations and the networking between a tourist area and a small town/ rural settlement, investigating whether the tourist areas are functionally embodied with the surrounding settlements. Finally the paper comes to some schematic types of spatial relations according to the size of each settlement and the spatial relations it develops in general. These spatial types contain the main conclusions of the above analysis and they describe how the area is transformed and reshaped under the changing developing procedures.

The Biotechnology industry in Germany and Japan

Biotechnology is considered as one of the key high-technology sectors in the future. It has been increasingly accepted that small, innovative businesses were the major stimulus for the development of this emerging industry. Many studies on new entrepreneurial entrants in biotechnology are mainly addressed to the situation in the United States and neglected developments in other countries. Therefore, the present paper concentrates on two latecomers into the industry of biotechnology, namely Japan and Germany, and addresses the question how different institutional frameworks may have an impact on its emergence. More specifically, we investigate the role of venture capital, governmental initiatives, large companies, and entrepreneurship on the development and current situation of the biotechnology industry. The comparison of the biotechnology industry between two countries against the background of their different institutional settings provides some important insights for management scholars as well as policy makers. --Biotechnologische Industrie,Japan,Deutschland

Models of internationalisation: The New Zealand experience

This paper examines the models of internationalisation adopted by thirty firms from New Zealand. Analysis of the international model is based on five key dimensions: firm sector and size; international market scope; market entry and servicing strategies; and speed of internationalisation. Drivers and constraints to internationalisation are also considered in the analysis. Evaluation of these dimensions over time finds evidence of both traditional ‘stages’ and emergent ‘born (again) global’ models of internationalisation, and reveals that over one third of these firms experience dramatic change to their international activities and resources initiated by divestment or change of ownership. We refer to the alternative internationalisation trajectory adopted by these firms as the ‘transformational’ model of internationalisation. The paper makes a contribution to the extant literature by providing synthesis of the New Zealand internationalisation and by building on our understanding of how patterns of internationalisation from a small open economy are changing in response to global environmental pressures

A theory-grounded framework of Open Source Software adoption in SMEs

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in European Journal of Information Systems. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Macredie, RD and Mijinyawa, K (2011), "A theory-grounded framework of Open Source Software adoption in SMEs", European Journal of Informations Systems, 20(2), 237-250 is available online at: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ejis/journal/v20/n2/abs/ejis201060a.html.The increasing popularity and use of Open Source Software (OSS) has led to significant interest from research communities and enterprise practitioners, notably in the small business sector where this type of software offers particular benefits given the financial and human capital constraints faced. However, there has been little focus on developing valid frameworks that enable critical evaluation and common understanding of factors influencing OSS adoption. This paper seeks to address this shortcoming by presenting a theory-grounded framework for exploring these factors and explaining their influence on OSS adoption, with the context of study being small- to medium-sized Information Technology (IT) businesses in the U.K. The framework has implications for this type of business – and, we will suggest, more widely – as a frame of reference for understanding, and as tool for evaluating benefits and challenges in, OSS adoption. It also offers researchers a structured way of investigating adoption issues and a base from which to develop models of OSS adoption. The study reported in this paper used the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) as a basis for the research propositions, with the aim of: (i) developing a framework of empirical factors that influence OSS adoption; and (ii) appraising it through case study evaluation with 10 U.K. Small- to medium-sized enterprises in the IT sector. The demonstration of the capabilities of the framework suggests that it is able to provide a reliable explanation of the complex and subjective factors that influence attitudes, subjective norms and control over the use of OSS. The paper further argues that the DTPB proved useful in this research area and that it can provide a variety of situation-specific insights related to factors that influence the adoption of OSS

Study on debt maturity of portuguese smes 2009-2011

Classificação: G30, G32The purpose of this empirical work is to understand the reasoning behind debt maturity choices from Portuguese SMEs and to see if those choices are made based on the existent debt maturity theories proposed by the finance literature. We consider an important period for the Portuguese economy where the country was starting to feel the effects of the 2008 financial crisis and where companies, especially small ones, had to make smart long time decisions about their debt levels and maturities in order to survive future tough austerity policies. With a sample of 2,000 Portuguese SMEs for the time period between 2009 and 2011, using panel data methodology, we run two sample mean comparison t-tests as well as fixed effects model regression in order to study the debt maturity determinants within SMEs. An increasing trend was found on average debt maturity during the three years on analysis. Our study showed partially consistent results with Diamond´s (1991) theory where intermediate quality firms choose to issue more long term debt while high quality firms tend to issue more short term debt. Smaller firms (those more affected by asymmetric information) tend to use debt of shorter maturities. Furthermore, we find evidence supporting the clientele argument where firms affected by higher tax rates have longer debt maturities. Finally, firms with more growth opportunities are using more short term debt.O propósito deste estudo empírico é procurar entender as razões das escolhas das PME Portuguesas relativamente às maturidades das respetivas dívidas e verificar se elas encontram eco nas teorias sobre maturidade da dívida propostas pela literatura financeira. Estudámos um período da economia Portuguesa - período do início das repercussões da crise financeira de 2008 – em que as empresas, especialmente PME, foram forçadas a tomar penosas decisões de longo prazo sobre o nível e maturidade das respetivas dívidas, para conseguirem sobreviver à política de austeridade que se adivinhava. Com uma amostra de 2,000 PME – anos de 2009 a 2011, utilizámos a metodologia em dados de painel com comparações de médias baseadas em testes t e o modelo de efeitos fixos para as regressões, para verificar quais os fatores determinantes explicativos das diferentes maturidades da dívida dessas PME. Encontrámos uma tendência de crescimento na maturidade da dívida média nos anos em análise. Os resultados são parcialmente consistentes com a teoria de Diamond (1991), segundo a qual empresas de qualidade média tendem a contrair mais dívida de longo prazo, enquanto empresas de baixa e alta qualidade, tendem a contrair mais dívida de curto prazo. Empresas de menor dimensão (normalmente mais afetadas por informação assimétrica) tendem a utilizar mais dívida a curto prazo. Além disso, detetámos provas consistentes com o “clientele argument”, segundo o qual empresas afetadas por taxas de imposto mais altas, contraem dívida com prazos mais longos. Finalmente, empresas com mais oportunidades de crescimento tendem a utilizar mais dívida a curto prazo

Determinante menadžment konzaltinga u Hrvatskoj i Mađarskoj – sličnosti i razlike u svijetlu tržišne i organizacijske kulture

Due to effects of a continuous globalization processes, fierce competition, and rapid evolution of technological innovations, the business world is facing multiple challenges going through ever increasing changes in terms of technological, political, social and economic determinants. The nature, speed and quantity of those changes require an effective and timely management of organizations in order to achieve their strategic business objectives and attain superior organizational performance. Therefore it is important to recognize problems and challenges and shape a strategy to keep and maintain organizational success. Such a development has contributed to the significance and wide use of Management Consulting in the economy. The engagement of consultants in as early stage as possible can help companies to successfully cope with the problems encountered and thus protect their investments. The primary focus of this study is to explore how Croatian and Hungarian Management Consulting industries have changed in last decade identifying possible similarities and differences in terms of market and organisational culture in each country. Based on secondary research sources, evolution of administering survey to consultants and micro, small and medium sized enterprises in Croatia and Hungary, this study outlines position and development trends in management consulting exploring following questions: (a) what are differences between two management consultancy’s markets?; (b) what are similarities in both markets?; (c) why do companies use management consultancies?; (d) what are major demand factors for business advisory services? In that sense, a comprehensive assessment of the maturity of the consulting market in Hungary and Croatia has been carried out, addressing the changes in consulting services and organisational culture in both countries.Zbog učinaka kontinuiranog procesa globalizacije, žestoke konkurencije i brzog razvoja tehnoloških inovacija, poslovni se svijet suočava s višestrukim izazovima prolazeći kroz sve veće promjene u smislu tehnoloških, političkih, društvenih i ekonomskih determinanata. Priroda, brzina i količina tih promjena zahtijevaju učinkovito i pravodobno upravljanje organizacijama kako bi ostvarivale svoje strateške poslovne ciljeve i postizale vrhunske organizacijske performanse. Stoga je važno prepoznati probleme i izazove te oblikovati strategiju za očuvanje i održavanje organizacijskog uspjeha. Takav razvoj je pridonio značenju i širokoj upotrebi menadžment konzaltinga u gospodarstvu. Angažman konzultanata u što ranijoj fazi može pomoći tvrtkama da se uspješno nose s problemima s kojima se sreću i time zaštite svoja ulaganja. Primarni fokus ove studije jest istražiti kako se u posljednjem desetljeću promijenila hrvatska i mađarska poslovna savjetodavna industrija identificirajući moguće sličnosti i razlike u smislu tržišne i organizacijske kulture u svakoj zemlji. Na temelju sekundarnih izvora istraživanja, evaluacije provedbe ankete među konzultantima i mikro, malim i srednjim poduzećima u Hrvatskoj i Mađarskoj, ova studija ukazuje na poziciju i razvojne trendove u menadžment savjetovanju istražujući sljedeća pitanja: (a) koje su razlike između dvaju konzultantskih tržišta; (b) koje su sličnosti na dvama tržištima; (c) zašto tvrtke koriste menadžment konzalting usluge; (d) koji su glavni faktori potražnje za poslovne savjetodavne usluge? U tom je smislu provedena sveobuhvatna procjena zrelosti tržišta konzalting usluga u Hrvatskoj i Mađarskoj, apostrofirajući promjene u konzultantskim uslugama i organizacijskoj kulturi u obje zemlje

Determinante menadžment konzaltinga u Hrvatskoj i Mađarskoj – sličnosti i razlike u svijetlu tržišne i organizacijske kulture

Due to effects of a continuous globalization processes, fierce competition, and rapid evolution of technological innovations, the business world is facing multiple challenges going through ever increasing changes in terms of technological, political, social and economic determinants. The nature, speed and quantity of those changes require an effective and timely management of organizations in order to achieve their strategic business objectives and attain superior organizational performance. Therefore it is important to recognize problems and challenges and shape a strategy to keep and maintain organizational success. Such a development has contributed to the significance and wide use of Management Consulting in the economy. The engagement of consultants in as early stage as possible can help companies to successfully cope with the problems encountered and thus protect their investments. The primary focus of this study is to explore how Croatian and Hungarian Management Consulting industries have changed in last decade identifying possible similarities and differences in terms of market and organisational culture in each country. Based on secondary research sources, evolution of administering survey to consultants and micro, small and medium sized enterprises in Croatia and Hungary, this study outlines position and development trends in management consulting exploring following questions: (a) what are differences between two management consultancy’s markets?; (b) what are similarities in both markets?; (c) why do companies use management consultancies?; (d) what are major demand factors for business advisory services? In that sense, a comprehensive assessment of the maturity of the consulting market in Hungary and Croatia has been carried out, addressing the changes in consulting services and organisational culture in both countries.Zbog učinaka kontinuiranog procesa globalizacije, žestoke konkurencije i brzog razvoja tehnoloških inovacija, poslovni se svijet suočava s višestrukim izazovima prolazeći kroz sve veće promjene u smislu tehnoloških, političkih, društvenih i ekonomskih determinanata. Priroda, brzina i količina tih promjena zahtijevaju učinkovito i pravodobno upravljanje organizacijama kako bi ostvarivale svoje strateške poslovne ciljeve i postizale vrhunske organizacijske performanse. Stoga je važno prepoznati probleme i izazove te oblikovati strategiju za očuvanje i održavanje organizacijskog uspjeha. Takav razvoj je pridonio značenju i širokoj upotrebi menadžment konzaltinga u gospodarstvu. Angažman konzultanata u što ranijoj fazi može pomoći tvrtkama da se uspješno nose s problemima s kojima se sreću i time zaštite svoja ulaganja. Primarni fokus ove studije jest istražiti kako se u posljednjem desetljeću promijenila hrvatska i mađarska poslovna savjetodavna industrija identificirajući moguće sličnosti i razlike u smislu tržišne i organizacijske kulture u svakoj zemlji. Na temelju sekundarnih izvora istraživanja, evaluacije provedbe ankete među konzultantima i mikro, malim i srednjim poduzećima u Hrvatskoj i Mađarskoj, ova studija ukazuje na poziciju i razvojne trendove u menadžment savjetovanju istražujući sljedeća pitanja: (a) koje su razlike između dvaju konzultantskih tržišta; (b) koje su sličnosti na dvama tržištima; (c) zašto tvrtke koriste menadžment konzalting usluge; (d) koji su glavni faktori potražnje za poslovne savjetodavne usluge? U tom je smislu provedena sveobuhvatna procjena zrelosti tržišta konzalting usluga u Hrvatskoj i Mađarskoj, apostrofirajući promjene u konzultantskim uslugama i organizacijskoj kulturi u obje zemlje