The relationship between likelihood and fear of criminal victimisation: evaluating risk sensitivity as a mediating concept

Crime surveys typically ask respondents how ‘likely’ they think it is that they will become a crime victim in the future. The responses are interpreted here as ‘risk’ statements. An investigation of the risk literature shows the concept to be considerably more complex than at first imagined, but shows that individual risk predictions are largely based on interpretations far removed from rational considerations of likelihood based on recorded crime rates. Responses from three waves of a longitudinal crime survey conducted in Trinidad are examined in this light. It is concluded that fear of criminal victimization might best be considered as differential sensitivity to predicted risk.</p

Establishing a conceptual model for the sustainable wine district

This research will provide wide ranging, practical and sustainable benefits to regional wine marketers, policy makers, regional government tourism bodies and the allied wine groups to develop the quality branding and marketing of wine products in the smaller regions

Environmental sustainability orientation and financial resources of small manufacturing firms in the Philippines

Purpose - This study challenges the conventional view that resources determine the extent of environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) of small firms in a developing Southeast Asian country context. First, this study attempts to develop a measurement model of ESO of small firms in the manufacturing sector in the Philippines. Second, the study explores the impact of the financial resources on the ESO of firms.Design/methodology/approach - The study uses survey data from 166 small manufacturing firms in three Philippine cities. Multiple regression modelling is used to estimate the relationships between firm resources and ESO.Findings - The results indicate that ESO is a multi-dimensional construct with three facets: awareness of, actions for, and appreciation of environmental sustainability. The empirical evidence does not support the conventional firm resources &ndash; ESO proposition.Research limitations/implications - A proactive ESO is not necessarily beyond the reach of resource-constrained small firms. The generalisability of the findings however is limited to small manufacturing firms in the Philippines.Practical implications - This study informs owner-managers of small firms that a proactive ESO does not largely depend on financial resources. Government policies and programs to encourage small firms to become sustainable should not only focus on financial forms of assistance.Originality/value -&nbsp; To date, this is the only Philippine-based study and one of the scarce small firm-focused studies that examine the proposition that small firms are unable to pursue a proactive ESO due to resource-constraints

A resource-based view of small export firms\u27 social capital in a Southeast Asian country

This study empirically examines the social capital that facilitates the flow of export knowledge, thereby supporting the entrepreneurial stance of small export firms. By applying the VRIO (value, rarity, inimitability and organisation of firm resources) framework to the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, this study suggests that superior performance is a function of resources that are valuable, rare, inimitable and sufficiently organised to develop and sustain the firm\u27s competitive advantage. This study argues that small, resource-constrained export firms in a developing economy are able to adopt entrepreneurial tactics and reap positive rates of return by exploiting their relational capital to acquire export knowledge. A survey of 175 small export firms in the Philippines was conducted, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results suggest positive relationships between the firm\u27s social capital and export knowledge. Export knowledge is associated with entrepreneurial orientation, which then correlates with export performance.<br /

Institutional environment, innovation capacity and firm performance in Russia

Purpose &ndash; Following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1992, Russia undertook major institutional and market-oriented reforms to enhance the competitive advantage of domestic enterprises. Although Russia has experienced rapid growth over the last two decades, the extent to which institutions in Russia impact on firm innovation and performance remains poorly understood due to a lack of research on the subject. This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the competitiveness of Russian firms by focussing specifically on the extent to which the state of the regulatory quality, rule of law, and corruption affect the innovation capacity and performance of firms in Russia.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; The study uses structural equation modelling and data from a large-scale firm level survey (n=787) of firms in Russia undertaken by the World Bank in 2009. It investigates the direct and indirect perceptions of respondents of the effects the current institutional environment has on the innovation capacity and performance of their respective organisations.Findings &ndash; The results show that regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption have strong direct and negative impacts on both the innovation capacity and performance of firms, and that innovation capacity strongly mediates the effects of institutions on firm performance. The results suggest that the current state of the regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption in Russia inhibit firm innovation and their resulting performance.Research limitations/implications &ndash; The findings should be interpreted with caution to the extent that the study is limited to only three elements of the formal institutional environment and does not take into consideration the role of informal institutions. These two limitations present avenues for future research.Originality/value &ndash; The study is one of the first to provide empirical evidence based on a large-scale survey of the extent to which formal institutions inhibit innovation and firm performance in Russia, and provides valuable guidance to business policy-makers in Russia on possible avenues for enhancing the overall competitiveness of Russian firms.<br /

Policy Analysis for Performance Assessment of Integrated Coastal Zone Management Initiatives for Coastal Sustainability

AbstractIntegrated Coastal Management (ICZM) is a process which ensures a balance between coastal demands related to the socio economic and environmental aspects. Throughout the globe, coastal zones are of strategic importance because of their aesthetic attributes. An ICZM policy is regarded as a way to improve the quality of life of communities dependent on coastal zone resources and maintain the existing biodiversity and ecosystems. It is also a guide of concerted future actions from stakeholders that may be adopted to attain the goals of ICZM. The ICZM process in many countries has known difficulties owing to loopholes at different levels. In this paper, an analysis of ICZM policies for three countries has been carried out. The results also show that ICZM in the three countries are at different levels of progress in terms of performance and reveals a series of factors that either hinders or promotes the process of ICZM