Determinants of small and medium sized fast growing enterprises in central and eastern Europe: a panel data analysis

The purpose of this paper is to explore the main determinants of growth in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in central and eastern Europe. The important role played by SMEs in the economic development of central and eastern European (CEE) countries has attracted the recent attention of academics and policymakers but remains relatively unexplored. Empirical research has suggested that firm growth is determined not only by the traditional characteristics of size and age but also by other firm-specific factors such as indebtedness, internal financing, future growth opportunities, process and product innovation, and organisational changes. Although growth in manufacturing and service SMEs in transition economies is well explained by the traditional firm characteristics of size and age, there is no empirical evidence concerning what other specific factors may be associated with SME growth and performance in these countries. Using a panel dataset of 560 fast growing small and medium enterprises from six transition economies we find that firm size when measured by firm total assets can explain to a large extent the growth in SMEs in these countries. When size is proxied by a firm’s number of employees the observed effect is marginal. Firm specific characteristics such as leverage, current liquidity, future growth opportunities, internally generated funds, and factor productivity are found to be important factors in determining a firm’s growth and performance. Age and ownership do not seem to be able to explain firm growth. The results of our empirical study have also some policy implications: we argue that governments in transition economies need to pay an increased attention to small and medium sized enterprises and try to create a business environment that will be beneficial for SME development.transition economy, small and medium enterprise, growth, panel data analysis

Signing and security of Hue software

Developing software for the Hue devices poses plenty of challenges among the engineers at Philips Lighting. These challenges arise at each stage of the Software Development Life-Cycle (SDLC). Improvement of it is of immense importance to the Philips Lighting. This report describes a project which focus was to automate the SDLC, as well as to improve the security in it. The end result solves many challenges. It delivers a complete release management tool dedicated to the engineers at the Home Systems department. First, it visualizes release workflows in a simple user interface. Second, the core activities of the SDLC, such as the software signing, are fully automated. What is more important is that the signing is executed in a highly secure environment. This is very important for Philips Lighting not only because this automation saves a lot of time, but also because it reduces the risk of a human error. The same benefits are gained through an automation of other activities, such as approvals, distribution of the software to the factories, and deploying the software to the device cloud. Third, the system provides a traceability about each step executed in the process. Finally, the system is highly configurable, which makes it easy to be extended and adjusted to support different device types with different release workflows

The "Saint Georgius" church

Photograph of an Orthodox church. A man in an Orthodox priest garb is standing in front of a board fence. In the background silhouettes of a woman with copper can be seen. Hand-written date and inscriptions in Bulgarian and French: "L'église St. Georges à Panaguiourichte. / Département de Tat. Bazardjik."The "Saint Georgius" church built in 1856, was burnt down in 1876 and restored 1878 - 1880. Since 1901, it became a place of state commemoration of the Bulgarian Anti-Ottoman April Uprising of 1876

Studio portrait of a young man in urban clothes

Vignetted medium close-up of a man wearing a suit, a white shirt, and a white bow-tie

Studio portrait of a young woman

Vignetted medium close-up of a woman wearing a light-coloured high-necked blouse with a dark ribbon.Verso: hand-written dedication in Bulgarian: "To Vasa as a keepsake for my younger years / signature / photographed 1902 in Sofia. / Plovdiv / 1908, 26th December.

Celebration in front of Alexander II's house near Pleven, which is now a museum

Outdoor photograph taken in front of a building with a plaque and two coats of arms mounted on a wooden porch above the door. It is a group portrait of men and one woman. Some of them are sitting and some of them are standing. Some are wearing Orthodox priests' vestments, others are wearing military officers' uniforms and hats with cockades or plain city clothes with top or bowler hats. Some of the men are adorned with insignia of honour

Re-enactment of the Battle of Shipka Pass

High angle panorama shot of men wearing military uniforms and hats with cockades. They are carrying their accouterments. Canons are being fired in the background.During the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877 - 1878, Shipka Peak in Stara planina was the site of a series of armed conflicts, collectively referred to as "The Battle of Shipka Pass", between the Russians (aided by Bulgarian volunteers) and the Ottoman Empire. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Russo-Ottoman War a historical re-enactment of the battles took place

Historical re-enactment of the Battle of Shipka Pass - infantry battle.

Low angle panorama shot of a hill, on the top of which are a group of men in military uniforms with accouterments is to be seen. Some of them have assumed a crouching position as they are firing their guns.During the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877 - 1878, Shipka Peak in Stara planina was the site of a series of armed conflicts, collectively referred to as "The Battle of Shipka Pass", between the Russians (aided by Bulgarian volunteers) and the Ottoman Empire. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Russo-Ottoman War a historical re-enactment of the battles took place

Manoeuvre on Shipka

High angle back view panorama shot of infantry and cavalry troops in formation. A photographer on a stepladder can be seen in the background.During the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877 - 1878, Shipka Peak in Stara planina was the site of a series of armed conflicts, collectively referred to as "The Battle of Shipka Pass", between the Russians (aided by Bulgarian volunteers) and the Ottoman Empire. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Russo-Ottoman War a historical re-enactment of the battles took place

Evaluation of basal area projection models for unthinned and thinned central Appalachian hardwood forest stands

Several basal area projection models, originally developed for pine plantations, were proposed for potential use in central hardwoods. The data came from five different studies that were established throughout the central Appalachian region. Analysis of variance was performed to detect significant differences among the different treatments and studies. The results indicated that there is a significant difference in basal area growth between unthinned and thinned plots as well as between the different studies. Each selected model was then fitted to the re-measured hardwood plot data, using a non-linear procedure. An assessment was perform on the analysis of variance outcome, residual distribution, and average bias separately for unthinned and thinned stands, in order to find the best equation for the data. The results indicated that all selected equations for this study can be applied in central hardwood stands for basal area growth modeling. Some model forms contained non-significant coefficient estimates that were excluded. The equations with a thinning modifier did not always exhibit better characteristics when compared to the model forms lacking an explicit thinning modifier. The best basal area projection model contained the smallest root mean square error and the highest coefficient of determination for the two treatments, the smallest bias when fit to the data for thinned plots, and a relatively small bias when fit to the data for unthinned plots. When tested for projection indifference by study, the best basal area projection model showed no major projection flaws and was finally approved