Diversity in Central Asia: Culture, transition & entrepreneurship

With the demise of the USSR in 1991, five new countries became independent in Central Asia. This study presents an overview about transition, emergence and nature of entrepreneurship in a world’s region that displays amongst the most important energy resources in gas and oil

A critical investigation of the protestant ethic on a divided island jurisdiction

The island of St. Martin is the world’s smallest shared jurisdiction. For around 350 years, 37 square miles (92km2) have been divided into two legal entities, Dutch Sint Maarten and French Saint Martin, each with its separate sub-national government and its respective business policies. This situation carries the hallmarks of an almost controlled experiment on the impact of ‘The Protestant Ethic’, with each nation’s respective policy being the treatment variable under study. Keeping other variables constant, government policy is the key variable analysed in the framework of two examined theoretical models.peer-reviewe

Barriers to the Development and Progress of Entrepreneurship in Rural Pakistan

Purpose: Focussing on entrepreneurs’ experiences inhibiting them from launching a business – at the micro level – the purpose of this paper is to identify issues that limit rural entrepreneurship in Pakistan and also, to identify the cultural, social, economic and religious traditions and settings that discourage entrepreneurship thus hindering economic development Design/methodology/approach: An ethnographic approach was used to obtain a picture of current problems and perspectives of rural inhabitants. Members of 84 families were interviewed. Findings: Religious, socioeconomic and structural forces play a significant role in suppressing social and cultural capital in rural areas of Pakistan, explaining the low level of entrepreneurship in these areas. Social and cultural capital requires a certain socioeconomic context for entrepreneurship to thrive. Originality/value: This study examines the determinants of very low levels of entrepreneurship in rural settings in the agro-based regions of interior Sindh, Pakistan; this contributes to the gap of understanding the context of rural entrepreneurs in agro-based economies. This study makes recommendations for policy makers to promote entrepreneurship in such areas

The tsunami of independent directors - how to handle the demand

Good governance is recognized as a fundamental indicator of the success of a company. For a small- midsized company, this is particularly so, as such companies must be able to competitively demonstrate their flexibility in the face of market forces. This flexibility is the primary advantage they hold over larger firms (Dalton, Daily, Ellstrand and Johnson, 1998).Such companies, however, can find it difficult to attract good directors (Daum and Neff, 2003) and this makes developing improved strategies of governance a challenge. Taylor, Chait and Holland suggest top directors are not attracted to small/ medium companies because &quot;the stakes remain low, the meetings process-driven, the outcomes ambiguous, and the deliberations insular&quot; (Taylor, Chait and Holland, 2001). We suggest that the attraction of quality directors is a uniquely impacting situation for small and mid-size firms, as it is there where additional management resources should be needed most urgently.Directors on the boards of small-medium sized businesses are often lagging behind directors of large companies in that they are less likely to be independent external directors and are less likely to represent a diversity of attributes (Dalton, Daily, Ellstrand and Johnson, 1998). Arthur Levitt, former United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, describes the culture of medium sized business directorships as a &quot;kind of a fraternity of CEOs who serve on one another\u27s boards&quot; (Stainburn, 2005). In addition, evidence suggests directors of small- medium businesses are often insufficiently trained for the role. Uncertain directors may, for example, be unwilling to ask crucial questions of managers before making major decisions. &quot;Board members sometimes are made to feel that asking a thorny question or advancing an alternative opinion is disloyal to the administration&quot; (Taylor, Chait and Holland, 2001).Small and medium businesses, however, are a growing contributor to the national economies of countries internationally. In New Zealand, small and medium-size firms recording large GDP values, ahead of many large businesses, which makes our investigation into good governance practices of SMEs relevant to suggest areas in which these firms can improve their governance policies and practices.We have reviewed more than 2,000 directors, executives and investors in New Zealand, making this one of the largest non-government surveys in governance. Supported by 16 large corporate organizations, such as KPMG, Business New Zealand, Simpson Grierson, Brook Asset Management, Porter Novelli, Sheffield and \u27Management\u27 Magazine, this work suggests that the current processes through which directors are selected and trained to serve on Boards of small and medium businesses needs to be altered. We are also concerned over the lack of director education and the close involvement of the Chief Executives as members of the Boards. There is a general concern over the lack of director independence and whether directors are effective in their roles.We are recommending an alternative process for SMEs to select directors, which will hopefully expand the available pool of directors in quantity and quality.<br /

Indigenous land claims and economic development : the Canadian experience

This paper examines the role that Indigenous people’s rights to land and resources pay in business and economic development in Canada and elsewhere. It does this in four parts. The first provides background information about the socioeconomic circumstances of Aboriginal1 people in Canada, and about their response and the response of the Canadian government to these circumstances. The second is a brief discussion of development theory. The third looks at the impact of a particular Aboriginal land claims settlement on the economic development activities of the Aboriginal people involved. The final section presents some concluding comments about the experience of Indigenous people in Canada and the relevance of this experience elsewhere in the world

Sustainability of global and international business operations during the adversity and hardship

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way business is conducted. The widespread closure of commercial organizations presents opportunities to reset the way business activities are conducted. Regardless of the organization’s size or its status as a domestic or international firm, due diligence is required to find solutions that will allow firms to sustain their business activities in uncertain times. This study addresses this issue and attempts to identify issues that require urgent attention so that organizations can be effective and efficient in their global operations. In this context, the study proposes three imperatives for global/international businesses to sustain their operations in the long term. These imperatives include having a strong reserve fund, access to a local mutual fund, and networking to form alliances in host countries. Other implications are discussed, and we identify areas for future research

A growth model for understanding female-owned enterprises

Numerous policy initiatives designed to support the growth of female-owned enterprises in the developing economies have repeatedly failed to achieve their objectives. Research recognizes the lack of contextualized growth models for defining female-owned enterprises in such contexts as the main issue. Thus, and drawing from our qualitative data, we propose a growth model to account for the business development activities of female-owned enterprises from a developing economy perspective. Through analyzing our qualitative data, it emerged that money (access and utilization), management (nonformal education and experience), and market (customer intelligence) were direct determinants of the growth trajectories of female-owned enterprises. Motherhood (household and family), meso- (membership of professional networks and social learning), and macro-environment (sociocultural and economic issues) indirectly influenced their growth by mediating women’s access and utilization of the aforementioned direct determinants. From that, we offer recommendations for practitioners including public authorities and key actors within the entrepreneurial ecosystem that provide the support infrastructure for female-owned enterprises in a developing economy

The entrepreneurial process and online social networks : forecasting survival rate

To launch a new business, entrepreneurs search for information and resources through their networks. We are concerned with collaboration among entrepreneurs with a network, and with the impact this has on new venture survival. Using entrepreneurs’ network data extracted from their respective online social networks, our paper develops a simulation model of the entrepreneurial process and its outcomes in terms of growth and survival. Findings from 273 entrepreneurs reveal that initial wealth at start-up, network density, and time to first collaboration have an impact on the probability of survival. We show that using numerical simulation, and based on one’s social network, the survival time of a start-up can be forecasted

Financial Institutions and the Taxi-Cab Industry: An Exploratory Study in Canada

A current challenge taxicab owner/operators face in Canada is the lack of financing for taxicabs. This article examines business opportunities and lending risk; it also provides risk management strategies for financial institutions to manage the risk of lending to the taxi-cab industry. Members of the boards of directors and shareholders from the Canadian taxicab industry, and lenders from financial institutions that do not provide financing to taxicab owner/operators, were interviewed. Board members and shareholders were asked about their perceptions regarding business opportunity, risk, and their willingness to provide collateral for taxicab loans. Lenders of financial institutions were asked about their reasons for not providing taxicab loans. The findings of this study show that there is a reasonably attractive opportunity for financial institutions to offer financing for taxicab owner/operators. However, the findings also show that there are both systematic and unsystematic risks in lending to the taxicab industry. This offers recommendations on risk management strategies for Canadian lenders to mitigate the risk in lending to the Canadian taxicab industry. Our findings may be useful for new and existing financial/lending institutions, lenders, investors, and taxicab owner/operators

Pathways of SME internationalization: a bibliometric and systematic review

Business is dynamic and rapidly changing. Global markets were previously the playing field of multinational corporations (MNCs), while small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were local; however, the removal of imposed barriers, and recent technological advances in manufacturing, transportation and communications have indorsed SMEs and international entrepreneurs (IE) global access. SMEs and IEs are increasingly fueling economic growth and innovation and these trends are presenting both opportunities and challenges to both MNCs and SMEs in the global arena. This review systematically examines comparative SME and IE research, analyzing (after fine tuning) 762 articles published in leading journals from 1992 to September 2018. Our bibliometric and systematic review classifies SME and IE research findings into three echelons: (i) subjects; (ii) theories; and (iii) methods