Volume 14 (2019): Issue 3 (December 2019)

While an emerging line of research has begun to examine how firm survival correlates with the psychological trait of overconfidence, almost none of this work looks at how this relationship is mediated or modified by the minority status of the individual within the area of entrepreneurship. We employ a proportional hazard survival model and analyze the Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS) of entrepreneurs during the period of 2004-2012. We find that, while overconfidence relates to firm survival, it is more strongly related to survival for female than for male entrepreneurs. Our analysis is unique in examining the trait of overconfidence for small firm survival, and it is the first that we know of to stratify the effects of this overconfidence by gender. The present work has implications for possible methods and strategies to promote the entrepreneurship of individuals from underrepresented groups, with an eye towards owner-overconfidence helping female-led firms to survive the first few years of a firm’s existence.

It is assumed that MSMEs growth is limited due to lack of access to the financial markets, therefore MFIs play a role to refine such market imperfection. This paper aims to examine this assumption. A qualitative approach is used to obtain information from MSMEs and MFIs. Eight enterprises and three MFIs; two of them are cooperatives and one government microfinance agency are studied. There is a high demand for credit whereas not all the demand is satisfied mainly those family businesses involved in the informal sector. The main findings exhibit that even when MFIs credit is at disposal, formal and informal MSMEs prefer to draw a loan from Informal Financial Institutions (IFIs) because the market is more flexible than the MFIs which embrace the same strategies as commercial banks.

The construction industry, and especially residential building construction activity, represents a significant part of a country’s general economy, directly affecting GDP through construction, maintenance and renovation, as well as indirectly with notarial acts and banking transactions. Indeed, in many economies, residential building activity is at the heart of economic growth and, consequently, acts as a regulator in economic development. The main purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the significance of pursuing a suitable government policy on the real estate market. The research objectives are: a) to review the existing literature regarding the importance of the housing sector in the general economy; b) to “capture” the link between residential construction activity and economic development in Balkan Peninsula, pursuing supplementary research for the country of Albania; and c) to present the results of the aforementioned study in order to draw important conclusions.

The formidable surge in the volume of international trade after 1960 stimulated surveys designed to ascertain to what degree the commercial flows among nations reflected the structure of their economies, in other words, how tight was the correlation between international exchanges and the specific attributes of participating nations. In fact, scholars were keen to test the relevance of the conventional Heckscher-Ohlin theory, that is, to what extent did nations’ exports reflect their endowment with factors of production, more specifically, whether their exports used their abundant factors intensively. I try to show that, although most of the tests reached their purpose in that they confirmed the conventional theory’s predictions, in certain cases such as Japan, whose economy is arguably idiosyncratic, factor specificity is more relevant than factor intensity in explaining, not only the country’s international specialization but also the premises of its uncanny 20^th century ascendance to the top of the world economy.

Market Volatility has been investigated at great lengths, but the measure of historical volatility, referred to as the relative volatility, is inconsistent. Using historical return data to calculate the volatility of a stock return provides a measure of the realized volatility. Realized volatility is often measured using some method of calculating a deviation from the mean of the returns for the stock price, the summation of squared returns, or the summation of absolute returns. We look to the stocks that make up the DJIA, using tick-by-tick data from June 2015 - May 2016. This research helps to address the question of what is the better measure of realized volatility? Several measures of volatility are used as proxies and are compared at four estimation time intervals. We review these measures to determine a closer/better fit estimator to the true realized volatility, using MSE, MAD, Diebold-Mariano test, and Pitman Closeness. We find that when using a standard deviation based on transaction level returns, shorter increments of time, while containing some levels of noise, are better estimates of volatility than longer increments.

Generally, social justice has two sides which are intercorrelated and inter-dependend: a) constitutive social justice (for example, the so called commutative social justice); b) regulative social justice (for example, the so called distributive social justice). The paper approaches the regulative social justice, more exactly, an automatic mechanism to get it. To this end, an automatic stabilizer to provide distributive social justice, according to the Rawlsian principle of difference. Such an automatic stabilizer is grounded on the wealth, more precise, on the share of the wealth which is not invested in order to benefit to the more disadvantaged class of the society. Paper does not test empirically the proposal, such a propose remaining for next intervention in this publication.

For decades, the concept of sustainability has been recognized as the basis for survival and further development of humanity. As the result of joint efforts, The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015 by United Nations member states, as a plan and direction for future prosperity. It identified 17 goals, with one of them highlighting the sustainable economic growth, productive employment and decent work. Providing quality jobs and safe working environment, while decreasing in-work poverty, are important preconditions for sustainable economic development. The purpose of this paper is to point out the importance of productive employment from the aspect of sustainable development on the example of Serbia, comparing indicators with surrounding countries and leading EU members. Particular emphasis will be placed on the main difficulties young people in Serbia deal with at the labor market, on certain inequalities and necessary strategies to alleviate the current problems. The issue of youth not in employment, education or training will be analyzed as well, along with unemployment and decent work opportunities in terms of gender and age structure. Furthermore, it aims to address the main causes of these disparities in order to indicate the changes that need to be made and suggest strategies for their implementation.

Cohesion is a common European value. The E.U.’s cohesion policy is and will remain an essential financing instrument for various multiannual development programs, for both member states and regions. This policy contributes to the development of the European Union, by reducing disparities between regions, generating jobs and increasing GDP per capita. The current paper aims to highlight several accomplishments and failings of the current cohesion policy, with a particular focus on post-2007 Romania, as well as taking a look at the future policy, envisioned for 2021 - 2027. The cohesion fund is making investments in areas such as digital infrastructure, innovation, combating climate change, ecological transition, energy, health and others. The main criterion on which this kind of financing is made is GDP per capita; however, other criteria have been added as well: youth unemployment, level of education, climate change and likely, migrant integration, in the near future. The European Commission proposes that, for the next multiannual financial framework, namely 2021 - 2027, local authorities become more involved in managing E.U. funds, particularly cohesion funds. Several new elements have been identified, for this following time frame, which will contribute to the modernization of the cohesion policy; they include investments across all regions, making them more accessible to E.U. citizens, making it more adapted to regional development and linking it to the European semester.

Operational risk has been acknowledged as a major source of material failures in financial firms. Despite the increased concern of financial institutions and their stakeholders on this topic, the literature that deals specifically with the operational risk disclosure in the banking system is scarce. The present research investigates the readability in transparency reports of Romanian banks, and focuses in particular on the operational risk disclosures. The sample consists of 13 commercial banks operating in Romania in 2017. A concise transparency report is characterized by clarity in the expression of concepts, usage of as few words as possible, limited use of technical terms and avoidance of highly generic disclosures. Drawing upon prior research, we expect that banks with lower levels of performance are foggier (i.e. less concise) in order to improve the image resulting from their transparency reports. Additionally, it is expected that the longer an entity has been established, the higher the quality of disclosures, thus the transparency reports of older banks are more concise compared to the recently established banks. Moreover, we posit that larger banks are more likely to provide more readable reports. The research is part of the larger debate related to disclosure and its various impacts on both the recipient and the giver of information. The main contribution is the innovative approach consisting in the textual analysis of transparency risk reports. To the best of our knowledge, we are not aware of any study that examined conciseness in the setting of operational risk disclosure by banks.

In this article we investigated the predominance of six unique dimensions of decisionmaking. We defined those dimensions as rationality, acuity, autonomy, openness, control, and emotion-neutrality. Our data is based on an online survey conducted on a global scale. From this survey, we received a total of 356 responses, of which 204 (57.3%) are females, and 152 (42.70%) are males. Of the respondents, 139 (39.04%) work in the education sector as teachers, academicians, lab instructors, course assistants and the remainder in other occupations. Our results suggest that emotion-neutrality is positively associated with all the dimensions of decision-making except acuity. We found that emotion-neutrality plays a significant role in the decision-making processes. However, female respondents perceive themselves to be less emotion-neutral, a finding that is amplified in the education sector. Thus, female teachers are more likely to make emotional decisions.

This paper presents the results of the study on the effect of credit collection policy on portfolio at risk of microfinance institutions in Tanzania. The study used cross-sectional survey data of microfinance institutions in three regions of Dar es salaam, Morogoro and Dodoma. Random sampling was employed to obtain a sample of 219 respondents in all three regions. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the effect of credit collection policy on portfolio at risk of microfinance institutions. Results show that, there is a positive relationship between interest rates charged and portfolio at risk of microfinance institutions. On the other hand, the variable for grace period on loans and loan sizes to borrowers had a negative relationship with portfolio at risk of microfinance institutions. The study recommends that, microfinance institutions in Tanzania need to reconsider the interest rates charged to their clients to enhance sustainability of their loan portfolios. Moreover, microfinance institutions need to enhance provision of grace period to their customers. Also, establish efficient loan product sizes which suffice diverse client’s needs. That would encourage and broaden client repayments, contribute to financial performance and reduced risk of portfolio of microfinance institutions.

Complexity is rapidly and inexorably leading the global economy towards new configurations and new dynamics; within this (ever fluid and unstable) framework, the strategic dualities that govern organizations and shape their strategic choices are not only multiplying but also interacting and generating unprecedented challenges: new pairs of (apparent) paradoxes occur, sophisticated interdependencies take place amongst them, and therefore new approaches in search for strategic solutions are imperatively asked. Against this background, the main goal of the paper is to suggest a paradigm of organizational ambidexterity – which gradually integrates various angles and valences into partial solutions and eventually comes up with a complex construct incorporating different levels of organizational ambidexterity and multiple patterns of ambidextrous behavior – able to (dynamically) position organizations on the coordinates of the complex global economy, while providing them with the essential tools needed to achieve strategic competitiveness. Thus, by addressing a major organizational challenge (strategic competitiveness) through the lens of complexity (seen both as defining feature of nowadays and science that provides the instruments to deal with it) and advocating for the solution of ambidexterity, the paper will enrich the theory of strategic management and will offer businesses an alternative to their strategic approaches.

Since 2012, there has been growing interest in bitcoin scientific research from different fields, including computer science and engineering, economics, business and finance, law and regulatory. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate bitcoin literature based on the structures and networks of science, as a first step in the research of this new phenomenon. Analysing the growing scientific literature on bitcoin published between 2012 and 2019, we provided useful insights on academic research in this field regarding publication year, type and category, authors, journals and citations. The source of the 887 documents which support the study was Web of Science Core Collection. Using VOSviewer software we have designed bibliometric maps based on text and bibliographic data. Our study provides a knowledge area map that identifies and evaluates the links between authors and countries distribution, the conceptual structure of the field, the structure and connections of most cited papers and journals. Resuming our findings, we note a concentration of the interest on some keywords (bitcoin, cryptocurrency, blockchain) and on some influential authors (with more than 100 citations per article). As a pure expression of digital economy, the research on bitcoin as an economic concept counts only 33.5% from the total contributions in the field.

The Internet has reach half of the population of the planet and in the latest three years more than 700 millions users came on line from the emerging world. Most of them are coming now from the poorer population. This it may be a turning point for their economic development. This paper attempts to outline some possible future developments of the contemporary economy within the new digital transformation and development of internet firms in emerging markets, some of the pluses and minuses, some of the opportunities and threats brought by the expansion of the Internet and information and communication technologies at different levels. We will present some significant aspects about this impact for individuals and for companies especially in Eastern Europe but also around the world. The study intends to deliver also analysis at the level of governmental reactions. Governments have gone through different sentiments that have led to different responses to these technologies. A new revolution that is about to begin it will be grounded on blockchain the technologies that cryptocurrencies are based on. What was initially translated as a threat to governments and central banks can become a solution if it’s deal cautiously.

Iran is facing a severe macroeconomics crisis after the US (re)imposed sanctions on its oil and gas exports in May 2018, followed by additional sanctions on metal exports in 2019. Its exports have collapsed triggering a contraction of the economy along with accelerating inflation and depreciating currency. Using the sectoral financial balances (SFB) model, we study the interrelationship between several macroeconomic parameters maintaining stock-flow consistency across time and sectors of the economy. Fiscal and monetary policy cannot reverse the consequences of the sanctions although fiscal deficits as a percentage of GDP will see a rise to accommodate the domestic private sector’s desire to accumulate financial asset accumulation. The lack of a strong monetary policy mechanism in Iran may, however, be unable to quell the impact of expansionary fiscal policy on inflation and depreciating rial. Given the limited macroeconomic policy options open to Iran in dealing with the crisis Iran, the only option may be political – a return to the negotiating table with the US.

The purpose of this study is to undertake technical analysis of selected companies included in the S&P CNX Nifty 50, a leading stock market index in India. We have used the stock price data of twenty leading listed firms in India for a period from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2017. We have applied Guppy Multiple Moving Average (GMMA), Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), Stochastic Relative Strength Index (Stoch RSI) and Average Directional Index (ADX) to Heikin Ashi charts to back test and provide entry and exit points for the players in the stock market. Analysis of the price information has revealed that the GMMA and ADX are effective indicators for most of the stocks under the study but they give late signals as compared to RSI and MACD. Further, the study has shown that though RSI and MACD give early signals, yet they are risky as the number of false signals generated by them is also found out to be quite high. The study is important as the findings can be used by investors, option traders and portfolio managers to get generate profitable trading signals and obtain good risk to reward ratios.

Over the past three decades, after Hofstede presented his proposal about cultural differences, many authors have presented their dimensions of national culture. The aim of this article is to give a synthesis of the proposal from significant authors and show a set of models of cultural dimensions based on theoretical and pragmatic analysis such as models of Hofstede, Trompenaars, GLOBE, Inglehart, Schartz. Also, examples used in this paper help more to understand the importance of research national culture.

In the constantly changing nowadays economy, all organizations have to be prepared to embrace all technological innovation and become good competitors in the market place all over the world. This need puts a special emphasize on the ability of a company to evolve through employee ability to grow professional. The retention of good, qualified employee is a complex process, because of the importance of the knowledge for the financial efficiency of a company. This article aims is to examine knowledge retention as an advantage of companies in this era of information, an era in which organizations view their employees as the main sources of competitive edge, acknowledging, at the same time, the challenge of reaching the knowledge and sharing it with all the stakeholders.

This study aims to determine the firm and sector efficiency using data envelopment analysis for 121 listed firms, 3 from 2004 to 2016. Based on the efficiency score of 1 and 0, DEA analysis results indicate that 10% firm was highly efficient in the whole sample, 80% are semi-efficient in selected sectors and 10% slightly inefficient. Thus, we can conclude that all firms are not equally efficient. Also, the study used a Logit/ Probit Regression model, and results indicate that the brand value and type of sector has a positive impact on firm efficiency. The study concludes that Brand value increases firm efficiency, so managers should put more focus on building firm brand value.

The aim of the paper is to provide information based on data collected from the review of different reports about tourism, a fast moving and competitive industry, an ongoing challenge for the future when travelling is easier and the tourist has more choices and is more aspirational. We value the tourism of experience and that of niche, as the consumers are more cultivated and selective, traveling for self-discovery. New groups of consumers are willing to spend their hard- earned money for authentic travel adventure. Each experience is different and has psychological impacts, the authentic experience being obtained through identifying some new interactions of the tourist with the respective destination. Within this segment regarding the emotional impact we value the satisfaction of the tourists that is being influenced by some factors depending on the locations they had chosen. Luxury, culture, authenticity, experiences will shape the future in tourism. The digital technologies have become imperative in this competitive world and are shaping the traveler’s experiences as they provide valuable information. Our longing for journeys will always make us spend more money due to the higher level of living and this will go on as the number of tourists is increasing as well as the countries that invest in tourism.