Drivers of entrepreneurial intentions among business students in Macedonia

Studies find that entrepreneurial intentions determine the likelihood of starting a business whereas the Theory of Planned Behaviour suggests that intentions capture the motivational aspect of behaviour and are dependent on behavioural, normative and control beliefs. This research endeavours to identify factors that drive entrepreneurial intentions among Macedonian business students. The Partial least square approach to the Structural equation modelling was applied. Findings highlight the impact of entrepreneurship education, support systems and a favourable business climate on entrepreneurial intentions, which correspond to the majority of the European countries as well as global tendencies

The business case for corporate social responsibility in education

In the dynamic global marketplace, understanding the fundamental connections between business, the environment, and society has become essential. The roles and responsibilities of business, as a global force, are becoming more complex, and concepts related to societal responsibility and sustainability are gaining recognition as essential elements in business management. Increasing complexity requires new approaches. Companies need integrative management tools that help incorporate environmental, social, and governance concerns into their strategic thinking and daily operations. They require talented and ethical leaders to do so. That is why companies need the help of the academia. By being involved in the education of current and future managers, academic institutions most directly act as drivers of business behavior. They help shape the attitudes and behavior of business leaders. Through different means, academic institutions have the potential to generate a wave of positive change, thereby helping to ensure a world where both businesses and societies can flourish. However, there is much more that can be done by the academic institutions. This Paper will try to identify and evaluate the actions, methods, means that may be employed by the academic institutions to support and promote social responsibility. The Paper will discuss the Global Compact Principles of Responsible Management Education, as well as other relevant principles or recommendations, and possibly suggest new directions and aspects of improvement. Due to the fact that businesses by definition are profit driven, considering the academic institutions merely from a business perspective, the Paper will also touch upon the question: Do academic institutions have the business case for being socially responsible

The business case for corporate social responsibility in education

In the dynamic global marketplace, understanding the fundamental connections between business, the environment, and society has become essential. The roles and responsibilities of business, as a global force, are becoming more complex, and concepts related to societal responsibility and sustainability are gaining recognition as essential elements in business management. Increasing complexity requires new approaches. Companies need integrative management tools that help incorporate environmental, social, and governance concerns into their strategic thinking and daily operations. They require talented and ethical leaders to do so. That is why companies need the help of the academia. By being involved in the education of current and future managers, academic institutions most directly act as drivers of business behavior. They help shape the attitudes and behavior of business leaders. Through different means, academic institutions have the potential to generate a wave of positive change, thereby helping to ensure a world where both businesses and societies can flourish. However, there is much more that can be done by the academic institutions. This Paper will try to identify and evaluate the actions, methods, means that may be employed by the academic institutions to support and promote social responsibility. The Paper will discuss the Global Compact Principles of Responsible Management Education, as well as other relevant principles or recommendations, and possibly suggest new directions and aspects of improvement. Due to the fact that businesses by definition are profit driven, considering the academic institutions merely from a business perspective, the Paper will also touch upon the question: Do academic institutions have the business case for being socially responsible

Corporate governance and small & medium businesses

Corporate governance refers to a set of internal policies, rules, and procedures that a company follows on a regular basis to ensure that it operates in a fair, equitable, and appropriate manner for the benefit of the company, its management and its stakeholders. It is almost always thought about in the context of big publically listed companies. However, it is just as important for privately held, small and medium sized businesses to adhere to good corporate governance policies and practices. One of the reasons being their accountability as key economic drivers and job creators in most of the countries (example: in 2009, there were 27.5 million businesses in the United States, according to US Office of Advocacy estimates`1). As businesses grow and stakeholders increase, good corporate governance becomes even more important, as there are many people with vested interests. Yet many small and medium businesses do not necessarily pay attention to the concepts of corporate governance. Most of them do not even have the necessary structure and knowledge organize and implement it. This Paper discusses how corporate governance applies to small businesses. It explains the mechanisms related to sound corporate governance in big companies, such as well developed and implemented policies, procedures and processes, risk management systems, strategic planning, transparency and disclosure, reporting, employee management systems, etc. and recommends which of these mechanisms may be applicable and effective for small and medium businesses. As there is a buzz among the businesses that legislation requiring small and medium businesses to adhere to similar if not exact rules on corporate governance as big publically listed companies, is being considered, this Paper shall discuss whether the government should impose its will to the small and medium business environment, or leave it up to the discretion of the businesses. As a final note, having discussed all of the above, the Paper shall conclude that every company, no matter what size it is, will see the positive effects of implementing the principles of corporate governance. `1 Kobe, Kathryn. 2007. U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau and Intellectual Trade Administration. www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs299.pdf (accessed September 10, 2011

Risk Management Impact Assessment on the Success of Strategic Investment Projects: Benchmarking Among Different Sector Companies

The paper explores the impact of the main elements of the strategic investment projects management process in South East Europe (SEE), on achieving project objectives. The impact of different projects elements on the project’s risk management process was also addressed. The initial hypotheses are based on literature review in the field. The proposed hypotheses were tested by the SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) methodology on a sample of 311 strategic investment projects in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Macedonia. The strategic projects were analyzed in companies across various business sectors thus the obtained results represent a benchmark of risk factors’ significance according to the project team members and managers. The benchmarking of risk factors significance was conducted by using the PROMETHEE – GAIA methodology. The results verify the adequacy of the hypothetical framework

Letter to Editor: RESITA NETWORK - ACADEMIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION NETWORK OF SOUTH EASTERN EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES: AN EXAMPLE OF SUCCESSFUL NETWORKING IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION AT ACADEMIC LEVEL

The foundation, development, activities, and wider social impact of the AcademicEntrepreneurship and Innovation Network of South Eastern European Universities, or shortlyRESITA Network, is presented in this paper as a positive example of successful networking inentrepreneurship and innovation at academic level