Do size and age of small and medium-sized enterprises matter in corporate social responsibility?

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) is affected by firm characteristics (firm age and size) or not. The study is conducted on a firm-level data collection through a questionnaire. The paper uses factor analysis to compose the CSR variable and nonparametric methods to examine the above associations in a sample size of 822 small and medium-sized enterprises (454 firms from Czech Republic and 368 firms from Slovakia). The results revealed that the CSR is not perceived similar in both countries leading to country differences. It was found no association between CSR and firm size. Hence, size do not matter in CSR for firms operating in both countries. However, firm age matters in CSR, especially for Slovak firms. Moreover, evidence showed that the older Slovak firms are less prone towards CSR. In the Czech sample, one indicator of CSR reflected positive relationship with firm age. The current study adds to the literature by offering insights on linking firm characteristics to CSR. By studying factors which influence CSR, the paper offers the possibility to better understand entrepreneurship mindset in the context of the Central Europe. © 2020, Centre of Sociological Research. All rights reserved

Intention to start a business and entrepreneurship education programme: a pre- and post-programme research design

Purpose The effect of a study programme in entrepreneurship on intention to start a business has not received adequate attention by researchers using a pre- and post-programme research design. The purpose of this paper is to find evidence of entrepreneurship education programme on entrepreneurial intention in the context of a post-communist transition county. Design/methodology/approach Coarsened exact matching method is performed to achieve two similar groups: control (people who did not attend a study programme in entrepreneurship) and treated (those who attended) groups. Based on a set of covariates as identified in theory, 442 out of 528 members were matched. Hypotheses developed in a pre- and post-programme setting can be tested by using the ANCOVA. Members' scores on intention to start a business before the programme was introduced were used as the covariate in this analysis (pre-programme). Findings The analysis confirms a significant difference between the two groups on entrepreneurial intention after the study programme in entrepreneurship was completed (post-programme). The results suggest that entrepreneurial intention is affected by entrepreneurship education programme. Research limitations/implications This study offers useful insights for universities and individuals running a business. Aiming better results in terms of entrepreneurship, university, industry and government should align their efforts following a triple helix model. Originality/value This work adds value to the entrepreneurship literature in the context of post-communist transition country. Furthermore, it uses a rigour methodology that makes the comparison of control and treated groups possible

The effect of institutional constraints and business network on trust in government: An institutional perspective

Determinants of trust in institutions have been investigated by scholars mostly at individual level by using different theoretical perspectives. However, the ways in which changes in institutional environment affect business trust in government have not received adequate attention from researchers. The current paper sets out to contribute to existing literature by examining closely the role of business enabling policies, institutional constraints, and business networks on institutional trust in the context of a transition country like Albania. The study adopts an institutional perspective and the analysis is administrated on a firm-level data collection. Stratified sample technique was applied in selecting the respondents. To test the proposed linkages an ordinal regression was performed on an original data-set comprising 210 small and medium-sized enterprises. The results revealed that business enabling policies positively influence trust in government, whereas institutional constraints such as courts and corruption, and tax and labor regulations–related constraints negatively affect it. Hence, the higher the institutional constraints, the lower the institutional trust. Moreover, being a member of a business association diminished trust in government. Nevertheless, an interesting finding was that old firms in business association were less skeptic toward government as compared to the other ones. This paper offers useful insights for scholars into the linkage between trust in governmental agencies and entrepreneurship in institutional transformation contexts, and it unquestionably adds to the knowledge on transition countries. © 2019, Bucharest University of Economic Studies Publishing House. All rights reserved

Financial capability and technology implications for online shopping

To promote online shoppers’ long-term interest, consumers need to have the knowledge and ability to avoid problems with financial issues. Financial capability helps to put consumers on the path to a sustainable financial future. However, previous studies only focused on financial capability in a financial context. To handle personal finance systematically and successfully in an online setting, this study extends an enhanced understanding of how financial capability on online consumer behaviour. Based on the data of 690 respondents collected by a face-to-face from eight main regions in Albania, this study employed principal components analysis and logistic regression in order to investigate the effect of consumers’ financial capabilities and technology use on the decision to purchase online. The outcome of this study firstly identifies six dimensions of financial capabilities, namely, digital banking usage, financial service risk, financial advice, payment risk, risk tolerance, and financial attitude. Secondly, the finding revealed that individuals who use smartphones and administrate a social media account, are more likely to involve in purchasing through online channels. Moreover, the decision to purchase online is more prone for those individuals who manifest high levels in digital banking usage, financial advice, prior bank experience and technology usage, and low levels in attitude towards payment risk and attitude towards risk tolerance. This paper offers useful insights concerning the determinants of online purchasing by combining individuals’ financial capability, technology and social media usage along with its demographic characteristics. In term of practical contribution, this study provides a useful model by incorporating for measuring and managing consumers’ financial capability to enhance their involvement and to reduce their cognitive dissonance in the online shopping context. This study also contributes to the accumulated knowledge and encourages consumers to use digital banking and consult their financial issues when purchasing online

Exploring the association between trust and contracting in agribusiness sector: Evidence from Albania

This paper seeks to explore the association between trust in the main buyer and contract farming in the agribusiness sector. Despite numerous studies in this field, there is no consensus among scholars, which is the motivation behind undertaking the present study. The research is based on primary data collected through a structured survey in Albania (640 respondents) during December 2019 and January 2020. Several methods were used to examine the relationship between trust and contract farming, including factor analysis, a reliability test, and a non-parametric statistical technique. The results show that trust and contracting have a significant relationship in the context of the agribusiness sector. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that there is a positive correlation, meaning that those with a verbal or written contract exhibit higher trust than those without any prior agreement to sell the product. The scientific contribution of this study is that it presents further arguments and justifications to a controversial discussion and sheds light on a little-studied context such as Albania. © 2021, Centre of Sociological Research. All rights reserved

The impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention. A quasi-experimental research design

There is a dearth of studies focusing on the relationship between entrepreneurship education (EE) and entrepreneurial intention (EI) in post-communist transition countries. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of EE on EI in the context of a Balkan country. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed in a quasi-experimental research design with a pre- and post-program setting. To ensure the comparability between two groups of individuals (those with formal EE and those with no formal EE), a propensity score matching (PSM) along with coarsened exact matching (CEM) methods were applied in an original dataset of 528 adults. The use of this triangulation method was intended to attain more robust results. Our research establishes the impact of EE upon EI, a finding which is consistent with previous studies conducted in developed countries. Thus, individuals with formal EE reflected a higher intention to start a business. These findings offer insights for government officials and leaders of higher education institutions responsible for developing curricula and policies aimed at motivating university graduates toward entrepreneurship upon graduation and or completion of an EE course of study

Examining the impact of COVID-19 on entrepreneurial intention through a stimulus–organism–response perspective

Among scholars, there is an interest in understanding how entrepreneurial behavior is influenced by the consequences of crises. The COVID-19 pandemic may negatively or positively affect individuals' behavior, including entrepreneurial intention. Thus, this paper seeks to study whether or not the economic shock caused by the pandemic reinforces the intention to start a business. The research was administered at the individual level by distributing a structured survey. The hypotheses were developed based on a unique conceptual framework integrating the planned behavior theory and a stimulus-organism-response perspective. The relationships were tested using the structural equation modeling method with an original dataset of more than 800 respondents from three post-communist transition countries. The results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic, seen as an opportunity, positively influences both the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention and individuals' intention to start a business. The message that these findings convey is that, even in crises, there are opportunities from which one can benefit, including the individual's propensity to engage in startup activities. By examining the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on entrepreneurial behavior, educational institutions and policymakers can design effective policies to foster entrepreneurship and reduce unemployment, particularly among the youth

Does entrepreneurship education impact individuals' entrepreneurial propensity? A pre- and post-program setting

The existing body of literature on entrepreneurship claims that becoming an entrepreneur can be learned. However, the study regarding the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial propensity in the context of transition countries has not received adequate attention from scholars. This paper aims to explore this relationship in little-studied case of Albania. The research is based on human capital theory, and its analysis is administered on an individual-level data collection through a face-to-face survey. A quasi-experimental research design is employed based on the comparison of individuals who attended an entrepreneurship programme (treated group) and those who did not (control groups). Individuals scored on entrepreneurial propensity before and after they were introduced to entrepreneurship education leading to the use of a pre- and post-program setting. Data were collected from across eight key Albanian regions (a total of 528 individuals with treated and control groups composed of 200 and 328 individuals respectively). Propensity score matching was applied to achieve the comparison of both treated and control groups, with the sample size being reduced to 392 individuals (196 individuals per each group). Paired-samples t-test was performed to explore the impact of entrepreneurship education programme on an individual's entrepreneurial propensity. The current research found that entrepreneurship education programme impacts an individual's intention to become an entrepreneur, a finding which is consistent with previous studies administered in advanced economies. Therefore, attending a study programme in entrepreneurship leads to far better chances for an individual to engage in start-up activities in the future. The current study is confined to just one transition country. Although Albania may share similar economic and institutional conditions as other transition economies, the generalization of findings can be rather limited in the context of other countries. This paper contributes by applying propensity score matching in a pre- and post-program setting which makes the comparison of control and treated groups possible. It also advances the theoretical and practical understanding of the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial propensity in the context of a transition country. Firstly, this article follows a rigorous methodological approach which ensures that comparison of two groups. Secondly, it brings evidence from post-communist transition Albania. It is of particular interest to see whether the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial propensity is conformed even for transition countries or not. © Proceedings of the 14th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, ECIE 2019. All rights reserved

Is business' perception on selected formal and informal institutions affected by the business climate?

Business climate is subject to the influence of both the informal (e.g. corruption and political connections) and formal institutions (e.g. business enabling policies and tax treatment). This paper seeks to explore the relationship between business climate and business' perception on corruption, political connections, tax treatment and business enabling policies in the context of a developing country. To test the proposed hypotheses, the following tests: Kruskal-Wallis, Jonckheere-Terpstra, and Mann-Whitney tests are applied on an original dataset containing 404 businesses from post-socialist Albania. Results show that business' perception on both formal and informal institutions differs across the business climate levels. As the business climate "moves" towards favorable level, it is observed that there is a decreasing trend in business' perception on business enabling policies and corruption, and an increasing trend in tax treatment and political connections. The post-hoc test reveals that businesses score higher on tax treatment and political connection when business climate is not favorable as compared to normal. Also, when comparing not favorable versus favorable levels, whereas in case of corruption the opposite results are met. Regarding business enabling policies, businesses score higher when the business climate is favorable compared to not favorable and normal levels. In conclusion, the business climate in Albania does not have a similar effect among informal institutions, nor among formal ones.Internal Grant Agency of Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata University [IGA/FaME/2017/010

The effect of business enabling policies, tax treatment, corruption and political connections on business climate

The impact of the institutional environment on the business activity was a subject of several previous studies. However, the ways in which changes in institutions affect business climate have not received proper attention from scholars as of yet. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between selected formal institutions (business enabling policies and tax treatment) and informal institutions (corruption and political connections) and business climate in the context of the developing country. To test the proposed hypotheses an ordinal regression with two link functions was applied on an original dataset of 404 firms operating in Albania. Results show that neither formal institutions, nor informal ones act as a block concerning the impact on the business climate. Tax treatment and political connections affected business climate negatively, whereas corruption seemed to have a positive impact. A positive but insignificant effect was found between business enabling policies and the business climate. Our research triggers interest of policymakers who intend to design policies to improve the business environment.Internal Grant Agency project of Faculty of Management Economics, Tomas Bata University, "The role of institutional environment in fostering entrepreneurship