We start this Volume 13 with the usual Editorial Note reviewing the main features of Economics and Business Letters. EBL is an online letter-type journal, free both for authors and readers, covering all areas of economics and business and with theoretical and empirical letters.

Vào năm 2000, Lawrence E. Harrison (*) đề xuất 10 giá trị văn hóa lõi quyết định sự tiến bộ kinh tế của các quốc gia, nhưng chưa đủ. TS. Vương Quân Hoàng trong bài nghiên cứu mới nhất trên Tạp chí Economics and Business Letters đã đề xướng “giá trị văn hóa thứ 11”, đó là môi trường.

Mới đây, trong bài đánh giá tình hình phát triển tổng hợp của Tạp chí Economics and Business Letters, các bài nghiên cứu nhận được nhiều trích dẫn nhất của tạp chí ở cả 3 cơ sở dữ liệu Google Scholar, Web of Science và Scopus đã được vinh danh. Nghiên cứu của TS Vương Quân Hoàng về nguyên lý bán dẫn trong trao đổi giá trị tiền tệ và môi sinh đã đứng đầu ở cả 3 (...) hạng mục. Việc một nghiên cứu lý thuyết được vinh danh bởi tạp chí khoa học được bảo trợ bởi Đại học Oviedo - một trong những trường đại học lâu đời nhất tại châu Âu (450 tuổi), là tín hiệu tích cực về sự lan tỏa và đóng góp của khoa học Việt Nam. (shrink)

Ethical oaths for bankers, economists and managers are increasingly seen as successful instruments to ensure more responsible behaviour. In this article, we reflect on the nature of ethical oaths. Based on John Austin's speech act theory and the work of Emmanuel Levinas, we introduce a performative concept of ethical oaths that is characterised by (1) the existential self-performative of the one I want to be, which is (2) demanded by the public context. Because ethical oaths are (3) structurally threatened by (...) the possibility of infelicity or failure, we stress (4) the behavioural aspect of ethical oaths in economics and business. We conclude that a performative concept of ethical oaths can contribute to more ethical behaviour in economics and business, because the performative involves action and behaviour. At the same time, it becomes clear that a radical new perspective on the nature, function and limitation of oaths is needed. (shrink)

Every organization, as they grow has many stakeholders like shareholders, employees, customers, vendors, community, etc. For survival and growth, they have to rely upon healthy relations with all these stockholders. Hence organizations need to provide good returns for shareholders but also good jobs for employees, reliable products for consumers, responsible relations with the community and a clean environment. -/- Business ethics is the application of general ethical principles to business dilemmas and encompasses a broader range of issues and (...) concerns than laws do, as everything that is legal is not ethical. Ethics involves learning what is right or wrong, and then doing the right thing -- but "the right thing" is not nearly as straightforward. -/- Business Ethics has the following purposes: - To give people the tools for dealing with moral complexity in business - Business decisions have an ethical component - Ethical implications must be weighed before acting -/- Corporate governance is concerned with the ownership, control and accountability of companies, and how the corporate pursuit of economic objectives relates to a number of wider ethical and societal considerations. It is the application of best management practices, compliance of law in true letter and spirit and adherence to ethical standards for effective management and distribution of wealth and discharge of social responsibility for sustainable development of all stakeholders. -/- Good Corporate Governance is key to Growing Profits and Reputation. It represents the relationship among stakeholders that is used to determine and control the strategic direction and performance of organizations. Accountability is a key element as well as requirement for corporate governance, fortifying the latter in such a way that it provides a transparent template for governing critical decisions, procedures, and activities. -/- Corporate Governance deals with the questions: (1) Who benefits from corporate decisions/senior management actions? (2) Who should benefit from corporate decisions/senior management actions? -/- There are a number of reasons why businesses should act ethically .As behavior is based on values priorities, a mutual effort at all levels to deal with corporate ethics begins with a clear understanding of core values, both individually and organizationally. -/- Good corporate governance begins with a company's own internal practices and policies. While corporate governance issues are common across organizations, each company requires governance principles that are unique in their approach. Good governance is, ultimately, the sine qua non for continued growth and prosperity. -/- Corporate governance ensures that long term strategic objectives and plans are established and that the proper management structure is in place. Companies that provide good governance, both in terms of practices and results can expect the backing not only of investors but of customers too. -/- Corporate Governance represents the moral framework, the ethical framework and the value framework under which an enterprise takes decisions. In the long run ethical behavior has a positive impact on the company's performance. -/- This paper discusses the elements of corporate governance, inter-relationship between business ethics and corporate governance with reference to some of the Indian companies over the years and their impact in this era of globalization and liberalization. (shrink)

This research aims at establishing the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on e-commerce development of industrial enterprises by means of economic and mathematical modelling. The goal was achieved using the following methods: theoretical generalization, analysis and synthesis (to critically analyse the scientific approaches of scientists regarding the expediency of using mathematical models in the context of enterprises’ e-commerce development), target, comparison and grouping (to reveal innovative methodological approach to assessing ICT impact on e-commerce development of industrial enterprises), tabular, (...) analytical and integral method (for summarizing the analysis results of enterprises readiness to implement ICT, ICT use in the activities of industrial enterprises of Ukraine and the analysis of e-commerce development), mathematical modelling (to build a regression model determining impact of changes in ICT use on the market share occupied by industrial enterprises), generalization (to determine promising directions of e-commerce developing of industrial enterprises). The implementation of a comprehensive approach to understanding the importance of ICT influence on e-commerce development of industrial enterprises will ensure acceleration of the digitalization of business processes, will contribute to the speed increase of enterprises response to customer requests, and increase the market share occupied by enterprises. A new vision of directions for developing e-commerce of industrial enterprises is suggested, which are determined by the need for enterprise rebranding, the development of e-commerce tools and technologies, the importance of outsourcing service automation and promotion of subscription trade. ICT is considered as integration factor that determines prospects for e-commerce development of industrial enterprises and contributes to increasing efficiency of online business management. Research results demonstrate that the use of economic and mathematical modelling is an important tool for assessing ICT impact, and its absence can negatively affect the accuracy and validity of online business management. (shrink)

Some sharing economy firms have adopted a strategy of “regulatory entrepreneurship,” openly violating regulations with the aim of rendering them dead letters. This article argues that in a democracy, regulatory entrepreneurship is a presumptively unethical business strategy. In all but the most corrupt political environments, businesses that seek to change their regulatory environment should do so through the democratic political process, and they should do so without using illegal business practices to build a political constituency. To show (...) this, the article defends a qualified moral obligation for businesspeople to obey the law even in societies that fall short of ideal democracy and that are rife with economic injustice. Owners and managers of successful businesses have strong moral reasons to obey laws concerning resource allocation. Such laws include not only property law, but also tax laws, environmental regulations, and other laws that regulate businesses in competitive markets. The moral reasons to obey such laws apply even to laws that business leaders think unfair or inefficient, provided that the laws in question have reasonable, good faith defenders. (shrink)

This paper addresses the project of philosophical autobiography, using two different perspectives. On the one hand, the societal, economic, and family contexts of William James are addressed, and connected a modern academic context of business ethics research, marketing and purchasing decision making, and the continuing financial crisis. The concepts of “stream of consciousness” and “acting as-if” are connected to recent literature on William James. On the other hand, the significance of family context, and the possible connection between the William (...) James family and the author, is addressed through shared family narratives interspersed throughout the paper. (shrink)

In this context, the study explored the relationship between organizational climate and employee innovative work behaviour among food manufacturing industries in Malaysia. The study is a descriptive correlational survey research design where data is sourced out from a total of randomly sampled 260 employees. Results revealed that a favourable organizational climate on innovation, proactivity, and risk-taking is prevailing among the companies. A very high level of innovative work behaviour is emanating among the employees on idea exploration, generation, championing, and implementation. (...) Test of differences showed that employee gender, position, unit, and years of service spelt significant differences in the perception of the employees on organizational climate and innovative work behaviour. A meaningful relationship surfaced between organizational climate and employee innovative work behaviour, suggesting that for food manufacturing industries to sustain innovative and competitive advantages, there is a need to promote a nurturing and encouraging entrepreneurial organizational climate. Finally, a congruency among the domains of organizational climate and employee innovative work behaviour emerged. It suggests that when higher positive organizational climate surfaces, the more likely the employee's manifest innovation work behaviour. This study addressed the gap by providing organizational climate and employee innovative work behaviour among food manufacturing industries in Malaysia. (shrink)

This short article represents the first attempt to define a new core cultural value that will enable engaging the business sector in humankind’s mission to heal nature. First, I start with defining the problem of the current business culture and the extant thinking on how to solve environmental problems, which I called “the eco-deficit culture.” Then, I present a solution to this problem by formulating the “semiconducting principle” of monetary and environmental values exchange, which I believe can generate (...) “an eco-surplus business culture.” This work adds one new element, the eleventh cultural value, to the ten core values of progressive cultures postulated by Harrison (2000). (shrink)

Despite concerted efforts to nurture SMMEs through a number of methods, including LED initiatives, a high failure rate persists in South Africa. As the quest for a sustainable solution continues, this paper investigates the challenges that SMMEs face in the context of the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality (BLM). The quantitative approach was adopted for data collection. Through the use of a survey questionnaire, data were collected from a sample of fifty owners/managers who were reached through the stratified sampling technique. The study (...) singled out lack of financial assistance, managerial skills, inaccessible global markets as the most dominant challenges to the development of SMMEs apart from the high crime rate and the fear of xenophobia. Lack of technology and insufficient government support received far lesser approval from participants as these were perceived to have less impact on SMMEs growth. This paper draws attention to the ineffectiveness of LED programmes at the grassroots level with specific reference to rural municipalities. (shrink)

I have followed Quan-Hoang Vuong’s career in academics for years – his research and writings. What has intrigued and delighted me over time is the range of topics he covers and the way he seeks to blend disciplines (e.g., what can business learn from physics? How can fables help us understand economics and work?) and his willingness to push the boundaries of disciplines and arguments. He and co-author Minh-Hoang Nguyen do it again in this power-packed book on the (...) environment, economics, and the dangers of using existing frameworks to think about and act in the future. (shrink)

The Indian banking system evolved from an exclusive private enterprise controlled by a few wealthy families and trusts, leaving the majority reliant on high-interest private lenders, perpetuating economic disparity. Nationalization of 21 banks under Indira Gandhi aimed to rectify this, aligning with India's constitutional goal of equitable wealth distribution. However, globalization and privatization reshaped the landscape, emphasizing profit-seeking and catering to the corporate sector and affluent classes. The marginalized rural and small business sectors suffered in this pursuit, evident in (...) neglected rural branch postings. To address this, an ethical foundation merging Marxist economics and Shariah banking principles is proposed, seeking inclusivity and ethical grounding. Shariah principles, rooted in Islamic law, extend beyond religious boundaries, while Marxist values amplify voices of the marginalized. By combining these principles, a more inclusive, morally anchored, and holistic Indian banking system can be envisioned. The priority sector's Non-Performing Assets challenge can be addressed without jeopardizing inclusivity. (shrink)

The authors of the scientific monograph have come to the conclusion that мanagement of socio-economic transformations of business processes requires the use of mechanisms to support of entrepreneurship, sectors of the national economy, the financial system, and critical infrastructure. Basic research focuses on assessment the state of social service provision, analysing economic security, implementing innovation and introducing digital technologies. The research results have been implemented in the different models of costing, credit risk and capital management, tax control, use of (...) artificial intelligence and blockchain. The results of the study can be used in the developing of policies, programmes and strategies for economic security, development of the agricultural sector, transformation of industrial policy, implementation of employment policy in decision-making at the level of ministries and agencies that regulate the management of socio-economic and European integration processes. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in the educational process and conducting scientific research on global challenges and creation scenarios for the development of socio-economic processes. (shrink)

The current economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has created new changes and challenges for society, which has led to a deeper identification of pressing problems and to develop strategies and models for overcoming crises in various countries, industries and businesses. The formation and improvement of modern strategies and models of crisis management is impossible without optimizing the resources of economic entities, providing assistance at various levels of government to support priority sectors of the economy, finding additional sources of (...) funding to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure the effective develop and implementation of modern strategies and models of crisis management it is necessary to have information about the state of economic entities, relevant commodity, raw materials, financial markets, explore the internal and external environment, determine the impact of risks on current activities business entities or industries. The effectiveness of crisis management strategies and models is determined by the ability of the management system to ensure the support of business activity of economic entities in the relevant market and to stimulate effective consumer demand. The purpose of writing this scientific monograph is to substantiate the theoretical and methodological foundations and to form and improve strategies and models of crisis management taking into account new changes and challenges for society related to the COVID-19 pandemic and declining business activity of economic entities. The object of the author’s research was the process of formation and improvement of crisis management strategies and models in the conditions of market imbalance and change of the external environment, reduction of activity volumes of economic entities, growth of budget expenditures to combat the COVID-19, formation of new forms of activities and penetration of information technology into various spheres of life to optimize the negative consequences of a pandemic. The subject of the study were socio-economic, organizational and institutional processes of formation and effective implementation of strategies and models of crisis management in various areas of economic activity; substantiation of mechanisms for ensuring the competitiveness of economic entities and the formation new forms of entrepreneurship; development of modern information technologies; consideration of best practices in business process management and digitalization using world experience in various sectors of the economy caused by the COVID-19. (shrink)

As global business operations expand, managers need more knowledge of foreign cultures, in particular, information on the ethics of doing business across borders. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to share the Islamic perspective on business ethics, little known in the west, which may stimulate further thinking and debate on the relationships between ethics and business, and to provide some knowledge of Islamic philosophy in order to help managers do business in Muslim cultures. The (...) case of Egypt illustrates some divergence between Islamic philosophy and practice in economic life. The paper concludes with managerial implications and suggestions for further research. (shrink)

In the developed countries, the importance and development of sharing economy as a new economic model have been increasingly discussed in recent decades. In Serbia, sharing economy has not yet been sufficiently explored in official reports and academic literature. On the other hand, in practice, there are several collaborative platforms used by consumers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to point out the specifics of the sharing economy in Serbia. At the outset, after a brief introduction, the concept of (...) a sharing economy is defined. Consumers’ attitudes about knowledge of the sharing economy, the expectations, and motives that drive them to market engagement are examined and presented. Examples of good practices in the field of sharing economy in Serbia are given. The factors that stimulate or restrict the development of the sharing economy are highlighted, and the legislative framework that directly and indirectly regulates this area is presented. The conclusion about the level of the development of sharing economy in Serbia is derived, and recommendation for future research is given. (shrink)

When it comes to fulfilling our basic duties to distant others, we in the affluent world face a motivation gap; we consistently fall short of bearing even moderate costs for the sake of helping others secure basic minimums to which they are entitled. One response to the motivation gap is to cultivate in affluent populations a greater concern for distant others; cultivating such concern is the goal of ‘sentimental cosmopolitanism’. Two approaches to sentimental cosmopolitanism currently dominate the literature, a compassion-based (...) and a complicity-based approach, respectively. In this paper, I argue for the promise of reciprocity as an alternative motivator of cosmopolitan concern. I further argue that a sense of obligation to distant others, grounded in our participation in an ongoing system of reciprocal exchange, can be cultivated within a thus-far overlooked sphere of cosmopolitan sensitization, namely the market. I make the case for the market as an appropriate site for cosmopolitan sensitization, and further argue that multinational corporations are, for several reasons, well-positioned to bear the political responsibility of sensitizing affluent populations to the significance of their participation in a cooperative economic scheme shared with distant others. This paper, then, makes a novel contribution to debates on cosmopolitan sentiment, as well as to the emerging literature on corporations’ political responsibilities. Keywords: multinational corporations; political responsibility; reciprocity; sentimental cosmopolitanism; trade. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic health protocols have adversely impacted the economic profit and business operations of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This study aimed to evaluate the business strategies employed by MSMEs as they are facing the public health crisis in Bato, Leyte, Philippines. A random sample of 200 MSMEs were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. Some descriptive statistics and Chi-square test for independence were used to summarize and determine the relationship among variables, respectively. Results showed that dominantly (...) more of the MSMEs are operated by owner-managers during the pandemic. On average, most (97.5%) of the enterprise operating are micro and operates for about 3 years. About 63.5% of the MSMEs during the pandemic has adopted a new strategies to cope with COVID-19’s negative impact and most of them are micro in nature. The major business strategies adopted to survive the adverse impact of the pandemic are as follows: following health protocols (50%), finding suppliers in nearby towns (33.8%), seeking alternative sources (26%), increasing prices of items sold (24.5%), and local outsourcing (22.5%), among others. It is concluded that age is a significant factor in implementing business strategies (p-value<0.019). This implies that owner-managers with higher age (average is 40 years old) are more likely to adopt business strategies. Moreover, as they are experiencing vulnerability to the pandemic such as economic profits being significantly reduced, then they are more likely to implement strategies (p-value<0.001). Short and long term plans are considered in order to survive and sustain its business operations. Hence, the study recommends that the government should help and enhance the capability of enterprises in managing risk as well as ensuring MSME’s continuity amidst the pandemic. (shrink)

The article examines the peculiarities of the formation of the ecological and economic security system and the specifics of its principles. The relevance of the transformation of approaches to understanding the essence and principles of ecological and economic security in the context of the need to ensure sustainable development is substantiated. The levels of ecological and economic security and the peculiarities of changes in profits and costs during the transition of the economic system and business entities between these levels (...) are determined. The principles of implementation and formation of economic tools for ensuring environmental safety are proposed. (shrink)

We first survey the Catholic social justice tradition, the foundation on which Caritas in Veritate builds. Then we discuss Benedict’s addition of love to the philosophical virtues (as applied to economics), and how radical a change that makes to an ethical perspective on economics. We emphasise the reality of the interpersonal aspects of present-day economic exchanges, using insights from two disciplines that have recognized that reality, human resources and marketing. Personal encounter really is a major factor in economic (...) exchanges in professional services, such as law and medicine. Finally, we examine the prospects for an economics of gratuitousness at a level higher than the individual, that is, for businesses devoted to social ends more than profit. -/- . (shrink)

Contemporary mainstream economics cannot be seen as disconnected from philosophical concerns. On the contrary, it should be understood as a defence for a specific philosophy, namely, crude quantitative hedonism where money would measure pleasure and pain. Disguised among a great mathematical apparatus involving utility functions, supply, and demand, lies a specific hedonist philosophy that every year is lectured to thousands of economic and business students around the world. This hedonist philosophy is much less sophisticated than that in ancient (...) hedonist philosophers as Epicurus or Lucretius. Furthermore, it does not solve any of the systematic difficulties regularly faced by hedonist philosophy. However, the argument that economics is detached from philosophy works as a rhetorical artifice to protect its dominant underlying philosophy: Philosophical disputes would have to be addressed within the biased mathematical apparatus of quantitative hedonism. Economists and business students must learn to identify the underlying philosophy in mainstream economics and alternative philosophical systems. (shrink)

The effective functioning of a modern enterprise necessitates the awareness of the owners and managers of its strategic orientations, the state of the internal and external environment, its competitive advantages, entrepreneurial potential and development prospects. A well-built business model of the enterprise helps to face these urgent and permanent challenges. However, the formation of a real business model of the enterprise necessitates mastering of theoretical and methodological bases and implementation of long-term practical measures in the field of assessment, (...) shaping, organization and control. This study offers a comprehensive business model of the enterprise that systematically identifies key factors which influence business activity of the enterprise and provide value logic for doing business in the global economic environment. (shrink)

Nowadays, the economic and social nature of contemporary business organizations chiefly banks binds them to face with the sheer volume of data and information and the key to commercial success in this area is the proper use of data for making better, faster and flawless decisions. To achieve this goal organizations requires strong and effective tools to enable them in automating task analysis, decision-making, strategy formulation and risk prediction to prevent bankruptcy and fraud .Business Intelligence is a set (...) of skills, technologies and application systems used to collect, store, analyze and create effective access to the task to help organizations better understand the business context and make accurate decision timely and respond quickly toward inflation, rate fluctuations and the market price. In this paper we review recent literature in the search for trends in business intelligence applications for the banking industry and its challenges and finally some articles that comprise this special issue are introduced and characterized in terms of business intelligence research framework. (shrink)

Business Process Reengineering and Organizational Structure – A Case Study of Indian Commercial Banks -/- Author / Authors : Dr. Naveeda Seher Page no. 126 -138 Discipline : Applied Economics/ Management/ Commerce Script/language : Roman/English Category : Research paper Keywords: Business Process Reengineering, organizational Structure, Effectiveness, competitive.

The theme of this issue of the St. Gallen Business Review is "Harmony". For this reason, we would like to discuss whether two aspects of our life- world are in harmony, namely economic optimization and morality. What is the relation between them? According to a widely shared view, which is one aspect of the doctrine of "mainstream economics", the functioning of an economic system does not require moral behaviour on the part of the individual economic agent. In what (...) follows, we will try to convince you that this is false. If all economic agents – managers, employees, bankers, consumers and so on – were purely self-interested, as mainstream economics assumes, our economic practice would fail. There are various reasons for this. Here we will focus on one of them, namely the pivotal role of interpersonal communication. (shrink)

The article provides the analysis of the entrance into the innovative activity and organized regulation of interaction which is based on the scientific and technological changes, concentration of production and the feasibility study of administrative decisions, which are dominated by a conglomerate of technical, technological and engineering management decisions. The research formulates the provisions for the productive use of business as the form of economic relations which is based on the entrepreneur function. These provisions are formulated basing on the (...) conditions of efficient division of labour and cooperation. The research singles out a number of systemic positions which allow perceiving logically and distinguishing the production, service and business, to distribute human activities between the groups of occupations and types of service activities. Among these systemic provisions the most efficient is a modelling approach which, when the society enters more complex social and economic stage, transfers the science from the environment of operations with the bulk characteristics into the environment of the analysis of specific sets of coefficients. The logistics of Ukraine’s joining the process of business is associated with the position of the recognition of the primacy of the physical abilities of the person, which should be developed in part in the system of public security and partly in the business environment, commercialization and private capital. Person enters the business environment and habitat as an initiative individual. These indicators are the following: «connections» between the old and the new, between the objects which exist and those which only start to appear and will exist in future; «sources» of development, movement, changes; «mechanism» of development, ways of changing from old to new quality; «direction» of development; «style» of thinking, understanding reality; «essence» of true knowledge; «essence itself» of cognition; «alternativeness» of metaphysics and dialectics. (shrink)

In this monograph, the authors summarized and supplemented the results of many scientific justifications and developments. Considerable attention is paid to the study of accounting and taxation issues in the context of modern management concepts and risks of martial law in Ukraine.

The orientation of this paper is that there is no special science of "business ethics" any more than there is one of "medical ethics" or "legal ethics". While there may be issues that arise in medicine or law that require special treatment, the ways of relating to such issues are derived from a basic ethical stance. Once one has evolved such an ethical stance and thus has incorporated a fundamental mode of relating to her or his fellow human beings, (...) the "how" to deal with various ethical "issues" will follow as a natural consequence of one's ethical stance or modality. It is not necessary, in the formation of one's fundamental ethical stance to know if one is a utilitarian or a deontologist. It is doubtful whether Buddha knew what kind of ethics he was practising. If one conceives of ethics as something extrinsic to various disciplines and attempts to first practise a discipline and then to apply ethics to modify the results of that discipline it is entirely possible that conflicts will result between what is perceived of as the proper pursuit of that discipline and the ethical considerations. The argument of this paper is that it is more efficacious (in addition to being more true) to take ethical considerations into account in the construction of the definition of the discipline. This paper is devoted to showing that business and ethics are not two different and competing fields of interest (thus requiring a discipline of business ethics to be grafted onto the study of business enterprise), but that ethical concerns are part and parcel of the very concept of a business enterprise and the internal operation of a business organization. (shrink)

The aim of the research is to study the impact of digitalization and strategic flexibility on the development of innovative business development strategies of modern companies. Digitalization is closely intertwined with strategic flexibility, forming opportunities for the introduction of new technologies and serving as the basis for business development. This ensures faster identification of problems and modification of resource requirements due to timely response to changes in the external business environment and breaks the relevance of further research (...) towards the implementation of the research goal. Analysis of the content of scientific works of scientists revealed insufficient attention to the study of the relationship between digitalization and strategic flexibility as the basis for solving strategic tasks of business development. The feasibility of digital transformations in the field of strategic management is determined in the work. The conceptual relationships of digitalization, strategic flexibility and business development are disclosed. The purpose of Business Model Canvas for business development is summarized. The matrix of choosing innovative strategies for business development has been proposed, taking into account the digitalization trajectory and the level of business flexibility, which will ensure its sustainable development in the future. (shrink)

Globalization is resulting in complex decisions by businesses as to where and what to produce, while free trade is resulting in a greater menu of choices for consumers, often with the blending of products and goods from various cultures, called ‘glocalization.’ This paper reviews the theories and practices behind these current happenings, which are each economic, politicaleconomic, institutional, and sociological, first by looking at the supply side of why certain countries produce the goods that they do, and then at the (...) demand side, why consumers have particular, cultural tastes and preferences for goods. It also proffers theories to explain firm location and that of intra-industry trade. This occus when countries trade similar products rather than differentiating, as economic theory would suggest. After reviewing the literature, through numerous examples of political-economy and culture, it argues somewhat normatively that differences in culture and goods are a strength to the world community, and that globalization in the end will not likely result in a singular global culture with a uniformity of exactly identical economic goods anytime in the near future. (shrink)

This article addresses the emergence of African– European business relationships. Its focus is on the role of bargaining power and information tech- nology and its impact on the different stakeholders in (electronic) markets (sellers, market maker, buy- ers). Information technology is seen as an enabling technology that facilitates reaching a wider cus- tomer base (called reach) and providing a channel for increased customer services (called richness). The central question is how African suppliers can create bargaining power by means of (...) information technology and therefore enter and improve their position in European markets. Research is carried out in the flower industry. In this industry African flower growers create competitive advantage and develop business relationships with European buy- ers (wholesalers, retailers). In this article we inves- tigate three flower markets (Tele Flower Auction, FloraHolland Auction, and Aalsmeer Auction), the role of African flower growers, and the use and impact of information technology in these markets. The results of our research show that there are pot- entials for African flower growers to enter the Euro- pean flower markets and to increase their position of bargaining power. A first potential is using and implementing information technology for the access to new and large European markets. African flower growers use information technology to streamline transaction processes and lower transac- tion costs. A second potential is related to the qual- ity and specificity of the produced flower products. Information technology can remove the quality uncertainty of products and can provide rich infor- mation services to buyers. The results in the flower industry suggest that information technology pro- vides opportunities for the African producers to expand the reach and richness of their product and service offerings, thus creating economic value. Ó 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (shrink)

Introduction. Taking into account the priorities of the state policy in the field of economic and innovative development of the Perm region, assessment of the regional potential of the digital economy, the strategic importance of economic activities implemented by SMEs for the economy of the region and the country as a whole, the actual impact of the norms on the instruments of development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Perm region is assessed. The purpose of this study is to (...) improve the regional regulatory platform of tools for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Perm region in order to gain the status of an investment-attractive region in the digital economy of the Russian Federation, taking into account the Strategy of the information society in the Russian Federation, which will ultimately contribute to the development of e-business in the Perm region, rehabilitation and competitiveness of the economy of the Perm region in the global market. Methodology. The General methodological basis of the study was the dialectical- materialistic method of cognition of legal reality, which allowed to study the tools of development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Perm region in their development, to consider the problems of tools for the integrated development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Perm region, taking into account the changed socio-economic conditions in inseparable unity with other related tools relevant to the needs of digitalization of society. Such universal scientific methods as analysis and synthesis of doctrinal and normative materials were used in the work. In addition, special legal methods were used: the method of legal modeling, which allows to design possible legal situations using digital tools for the development of small and medium- sized businesses in the Perm region; the method of systematic interpretation used in assessing the actual impact of regional norms on the tools of development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Perm region. Results. The article proposes a new tool for the development of SMEs as a regional electronic platform for the promotion of goods, works and services of SMEs in the Perm region. Attention is paid to the level of digital literacy of SMEs and consumers of their goods, works and services: the conclusion about the lack of digital competence. Conclusion. It is necessary to improve the regional regulatory platform taking into account economic trends: it is important to introduce digital competencies everywhere, including at the professional level in relation to SMEs in the Perm region, in order to increase the business activity of young people and other representatives of the working population. As for the actual introduction of new tools for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Perm region, we propose that the regional legislator develop a new electronic information platform at the expense of the regional budget to promote goods, works and services sold by SMEs in the Perm region. We believe that the measures proposed by us to enhance the economic activity of SMEs can be perceived by other regions. (shrink)

The coronavirus has affected almost all sectors of the economy. Some areas have suffered and declined, while others have developed and benefited from the pandemic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, economies around the world have experienced a downturn. The effects of the pandemic will undoubtedly reverberate around the world for decades to come. The global threat of the COVID-19 epidemic has greatly affected people, families, communities and businesses. Countries have begun implementing a wide range of measures both within and between (...) countries to combat the humanitarian and commercial impact of COVID-19. The effects of the worldwide epidemic and the emergency situations to be taken in this context were felt more and more in business life. Considering that the epidemic progressed very quickly, it was observed that it caused constant negative pressure on business and stock markets. This situation is interpreted as a harbinger of a global crisis. On the other hand, issues such as disruptions in supply and distribution channels, closure of workplaces and ports, disruption of customs processes, lack of manpower and decrease in consumption, operations in the stock market continued in a negative direction day by day. The consistent exposure of COVID-19 around the world, especially in developing economies, suggests that developing economies are seen as a major driver of macroeconomic instability compared to developed countries. After the initiation of economic reforms, with the increase of national income, aggregate production and employment, the trend of increasing economic volatility in developing economies has also been observed. Considering all this, it can be noted that the topic of the article is quite relevant. In the article, the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy of the world, as well as Azerbaijan, is examined in a broad aspect, and the methods of eliminating the damage caused by it are determined. (shrink)

The purpose of this symposium is to shed light on the genealogy of the idea of a business corporation, an economic institution which has long been regarded with a mixture of awe and apprehension. Each of the four original contributions addresses the history of some of its key features. In the process, each contributor reveals some of the insights that history has to teach us regarding the central concepts that inform contemporary debates about the nature of the corporation, the (...) contours of the corporation's purpose, the sources of corporate power, the functions of corporate law, the duties of directors, the status of shareholders, and the legitimacy of corporate rights. (shrink)

This essay has two parts. The first part gives a brief overview of the foundations of economics. The second part contains a broader outline of the way in which philosopher Gilles Deleuze thinks of ethics. In the second part, I also explore the potential connections between Deleuze's thoughts and economics. Especially, I focus on the concepts of "human capital," "empowerment," and more fruitful, the concept of "power-with" as proposed by organizational theorist, Mary Parker Follett. By doing so, I (...) try to minimize the gap between economics and ethics as presented here. Finally, I determine whether it is possible to do business with Deleuze. (shrink)

During the current financial crisis, the need for an alternative to a laissez-faire ethics of capitalism (the Milton Friedman view) becomes clear. I argue that we need an order ethics which employs economics as a key theoretical resource and which focuses on institutions for implementing moral norms. -/- I will point to some aspects of order ethics which highlight the importance of rules, e.g. global rules for the financial markets. In this regard, order ethics (“Ordnungsethik”) is the complement of (...) the German conception of “Ordnungspolitik” which also stresses the importance of a regulatory framework. This framework is needed not to tame the market, but to make it more profitable in the long run. -/- The conception of order ethics relies heavily on contractarianism, especially on James Buchanan’s work. Unlike many other conceptions of ethics, it does not start with an aim to achieve, but rather with an account of what the social world – in which ethical norms have to be implemented – is like. Our social world is different from the pre-modern one. Pre-modern societies played zero-sum games in which people could only gain significantly at the expense of others. And the types of ethics that we are still used to today have been developed within these pre-modern societies. -/- Modern societies, by contrast, can be characterised – by economists and other social theorists alike – as societies with continuous growth. This growth has only been made possible by the modern competitive market economy which enables everyone to pursue his own interests within a carefully devised institutional system. In this system, positive sum games are played, which makes it in principle possible to improve the position of every individual at the same time. Most kinds of ethics, however, resulting from the conditions of pre-modern societies, ignore the possibility of win-win-situations and instead require us to be moderate, to share, to sacrifice, as this would have been functional in zero-sum games. These conceptions distinguish – in more or less strict ways – between self-interest and altruistic motivation. Self-interest, more often than not, is ultimately seen as something evil. -/- Such an ethics cannot be functional in modern societies. Ethical concepts lag behind. Within zero-sum games, it was necessary to call for temperance, for moderate profits, or for a condemnation of lending money at interest. Within positive-sum games, however, the morally desired result of a social process cannot be brought about by changes in motivation, by switching from ‘egoistic’ to ‘altruistic’ motivation. The second theoretical element introduced by order ethics is the distinction between actions and rules, which was already mentioned. Traditional ethics concerns actions: It calls directly for changes in behaviour. This is a consequence of pre-modern conditions as reconstructed before: People in the pre-modern world were only able to control their actions, not so much however the conditions of their actions. In particular, rules like laws, constitutions, social structures, the market order, and also ethical norms have remained stable for centuries. In modern societies, this situation has changed entirely. The rules governing our actions have increasingly come under our control. -/- In this situation, ethics has to focus on rules. Morality must be incorporated in incentive-compatible rules. Direct calls for changes in behaviour without changes in the rules lead only to an erosion of compliance with moral norms. Individuals that continue to behave ‘morally’ will be singled out, because the incentives have not been changed. Moral norms which are to be justified cannot require people to abstain from pursuing their own advantage. People abstain from taking ‘immoral’ advantages only if adherence to ethical norms yields greater benefits over the planned sequence of actions than defection in the single case. Thus ‘abstaining’ is not abstaining in the long run, it is rather an investment in expectations of long-term benefits. By adhering to ethical norms, I become a reliable partner for interactions. The norms do indeed constrain my actions, but they simultaneously expand my options in interactions. And people consent to rules only if these rules hold greater advantages for them, at least in the long run. -/- In general, ethics cannot require people to abandon their individual calculation of advantages. However, it may suggest improving one’s calculation, by calculating in the long run rather than in the short run, and by taking into account the interests of our fellows, as we depend on their acceptance for reaching an optimal level of well-being, especially in a globalized world full of interdependence. -/- The problem of implementation can now be placed at the beginning of a conception of order ethics, justified with reference to the conditions of modern societies I have sketched. Under the conditions of pre-modern societies, an ethics of temperance had evolved that posed simultaneously the problems of implementation and justification. The implementation of well-justified norms or standards could then be regarded as unproblematic, because the social structures allowed for a direct face-to-face enforcement of norms. Pre-modern societies not only favored an ethics of temperance, they also had the instrument of face-to-face-sanctions within their smaller and non-anonymous communities. This instrument is no longer functional in modern anonymous societies, and so we have to face up to the problem of implementation right at the start of our ethical conception. Simultaneously, an order ethics relies on the implementation of sanctions for enforcing incentive-compatible rules. In modern societies, rules and institutions, to a large extent, must fulfil the tasks that were, in pre-modern times, fulfilled by moral norms, which in turn were sanctioned by face-to-face sanctions. Norm implementation in modern societies thus works by setting adequate incentives in order to prevent the erosion of moral norms, which would happen if ‘moral’ actors were systematically threatened with exploitation by other, less ‘moral’ actors. -/- This conception of order ethics is then elaborated further in the area of business ethics. -/- . (shrink)

This study focuses on the differences in the perception of business ethics across two groups of management students from France and Romania (n = 220). Data was collected via the ATBEQ to measure preferences for three business philosophies: Machiavellianism, Social Darwinism, and Moral Objectivism. The results show that Romanian students present more favorable attitudes toward Machiavellianism than French students; whereas, French students valued Social Darwinism and Moral Objectivism more highly. For Machiavellianism and Moral Objectivism the results are consistent (...) with the literature and our hypotheses. However, contrary to our expectations, we find that Social Darwinism is more important in France than Romania. The results indicate that religious practice does not influence preferences for the three business philosophies. In terms of gender differences, women have less favorable attitudes toward Machiavellianism and more favorable attitudes toward Moral Objectivism than men. (shrink)

The article considers the features of ensuring the economic security of enterprises in the conditions of intensive introduction of information technologies in their activities in the process of forming the digital economy. It is determined that digitalization creates important advantages for enterprises in terms of implementing a long-term strategy for their development, strengthening economic security, and achieving significant competitive advantages in doing business. It is studied that the system of economic security of the enterprise is an organized set of (...) elements of the management infrastructure of the enterprise, which are focused on ensuring stable and effective development of the business entity, neutralization, and elimination of internal and external threats. (shrink)

This paper tackles the asymmetry of economic interests and geopolitics between developed and developing countries. Currently, the geopolitics presupposes that the majority of novel technologies are devised and designed in developed countries with their subsequent transfer to the developing countries. Moreover, in the context of the global crisis, the issue of de-dollarization is relevant from the political and economic points of view. Our specific focus is on the small oil countries and the issue how to get off the oil needle (...) in the painless way. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the rise of cryptocurrency that is envisaged as the substitute of the U.S. dollar which has been the world most dominating currency for the last several decades. This paper considers the global asymmetry which has the greatest impact on countries with economies dependent on energy exports. In the light of the diminishing returns from the sale of oil, we examine the ways for escaping this asymmetry. The authors consider the geopolitical asymmetry stemming from the dominance of the U.S. dollar, analyze the political situation and offer the pathways for the development of those economies where oil become an obstacle for economic development. The paper examines the ways of solving the above-mentioned problem by other states in detail and conduct the comparative analysis of the above issues in relation to the economy of Azerbaijan. From this case study we conduct a comparative analysis of the developed and developing countries taking into account the economic asymmetry and global economic and financial security. (shrink)

An examination of two recent documents of Catholic Social Doctrine, Caritas in Veritate and Vocation of the Business Leader, is undertaken to uncover their assessment of our current cultural and moral crisis, of which our present economic distress is but one aspect, and their proposal for cultural renewal including a return to sound economic decision making. The intellectual commitments of molders of the modern mind such as Bacon, Descartes, and Hobbes severed morality at its metaphysical roots. Destroying the anthropological (...) underpinnings of ethics catapults the contemporary world into a state of nihilism. In such a condition economic disorder is inevitable. The human person is crushed in a regime that searches for more relentlessly. The demand for metaphysical and moral reconstruction is met by Pope Benedict XVI with his insistence on receptivity to what is. Contemplation of an ultimate reality given to us takes us to the Person of Jesus Christ. The Christian faith is the context of authentic integral human development. Being made in the image of God gives every human person an inviolable dignity and makes every person subject to transcendent moral norms. A truth-filled love informs the conduct of enterprise. Goods that are truly goods and services that truly serve are produced or supplied. Promotional efforts are conducive to the pursuit of wisdom. People are given meaningful work that utilizes and develops their higher faculties and are let in on the financial success of the venture. The environment is respected as a home place ought to be. The Christian business leader can have a transformative effect on the business world through the power of grace. (shrink)

Modern business conditions require from economic entities to use appropriate methodological tools for assessing their activities. In economics science a fairly significant set of approaches, methods and techniques are now known that positively contribute to solving problems regarding ensure of competitiveness the economic entities. However, active influence of the internal and external environment on their activities, as well as the specificity of economic management the economic entities, requires the use of more effective methodological tools that can identify threats (...) of the external environment and explore the strengths of activity the economic entities. (shrink)

This article discloses topical issues of the need for constant monitoring of changes in the business activity in enterprise structures. The main purpose of the study is to monitor the business activity of industrial enterprise structures of Ukraine to predict their development under martial law. A critical analysis of the content of scientific publications to solve the problem of improving the management of business activity of business structures revealed the lack of attention of scientists to the (...) problems under study. The relevance of its solution is due to the scale of the impact of military conflicts on the business activity in enterprise structures, which requires its monitoring to further establish the state and ensure compliance of the business with the norms that are considered necessary to maintain a certain level of stability of development or to survive, to determine areas where the business can improve its activities and become more profitable. The methodological basis is the system of methods used to obtain the final results of the study: theoretical generalization – to deepen the essence of the concept of «monitoring business activity»; analysis, synthesis and logical generalization – to obtain conclusions during monitoring of business confidence and business climate in industry; prognostic – to predict the development of industrial business structures of Ukraine under martial law. The object of research in the work is the business activity of business structures. The article presents the results of monitoring business confidence and business climate in the industry of Ukraine under martial law. Analysis, synthesis and logical generalization of monitoring results became the basis for further forecasting the development of business structures. The results of the study can be useful for business structures that seek to maintain a certain level of stability of development and identify areas of improvement. (shrink)

This chapter introduces a research-based conceptual framework for the study of the inner psychosocial reality of business enterprises. It is called the Inner Organizational Ecosystem Approach (IOEA). This model is systemic in nature, and it defines the basic features of small and medium-size enterprises, such as elements, structures, borders, social actors, organizational climate, processes and resources. Further, it also covers the dynamics of psychosocial reality, processes, emergent qualities and the higher-order subsystems of the overall organizational ecosystem, including the global (...) business environment, which is understood as a macro-system where all the individual organizational ecosystems co-exist. In the applied part of the chapter, cognitive changes emerging within systemic leadership training are defined. Participation in systemic training causes changes in the cognitive processing of reality, more specifically improvements in layer-based framing, relativistic contextual orientation, temporality drift and meaning generation. All of these changes are components of the systemic mind, which is a concept newly proposed and defined by the present study. The systemic mind is a living matrix that is extremely open to acquiring new skills and new patterns of thinking, analyzing and meaning generation. It is processual and it can be considered as an ongoing process of continuous absorption of new cognitive patterns. Both the Inner Organizational Ecosystem Approach and the concept of the systemic mind provide a new theoretical background for empirical investigation in the fields of systemic and systems psychology, complexity psychology, organizational psychology, economic anthropology and the social anthropology of work. (shrink)

This paper examines the differences in the impact of ownership types and economic sectors on the business efficiency of 4,733 enterprises in Vietnam by the year of 2015. By the method of analysis of variance (ANOVA), it is shown that while types of ownership, foreign, state and private ownership, have a significant and different impact on the performance of businesses, the difference in economic sectors does not affect the enterprise efficiency. In addition, when testing simultaneous effect of these factors, (...) some findings are as follows: private-owned enterprises’ efficiency in the manufacturing and service sectors is better than those in agriculture, forestry and fishing sector; conversely, foreign invested enterprises operating in agriculture, forestry and fishing sector own better performance than theirs in manufacturing and service sectors; state-owned enterprises in manufacturing and service sectors is very less efficient than theirs in agriculture, forestry and fishing sector. (shrink)

Goodwill is an intangible asset that we can find in a company's accounting cycle. Goodwill is basically subject to depreciation and the measurement related to the amount of depreciation of goodwill does not yet have a strong enough basis so that the assessment of goodwill tends to be subjective and based on management's interests, the impact of this subjective assessment is a failure to present good financial statements and can trigger decision-making errors for third parties. internal or external. The asymmetry (...) of the philosophy of economic materialism is an approach that can be used to repress or negate goodwill by providing an alternative to eliminating goodwill. However, this Philosophical Asymmetry of Economic Materialism is not a final approach because it still depends on several factors that will influence it. Ethical utilitarianism is one of the factors that can influence the effectiveness and implementation of the Philosophical Asymmetry of Economic Materialism as a form of increasing profits and optimizing costs to be incurred by companies in the future. Philosophical asymmetry of Economic Materialism seeks to suppress or negate the existence of goodwill as a form of ethical utilitarianism in the business environment. (shrink)

Paper was presented at the 29th Annual Symposium on Economic Crime in Cambridge, England. -/- Regardless of our concern for privacy, real-time criminal activity information is being disseminated throughout cyberspace by the private sector. This information is growing very quickly while being archived for search and retrieval on a long term basis. This is inevitable and could not, nor should not, be stopped. -/- Law enforcement and government policy makers should consider the risk of sharing with the risk of not (...) sharing and allow the private sector to participate in the management of this risk in an informed way. The private sector has the right to be as well informed as law enforcement – they often have as much, if not more, to lose. -/- Law enforcement should also not be afraid of true partnership with the private sector - meet with privacy experts within government and reconsider the level of secrecy attached to the criminal records and crime reports that have been carefully guarded for all of these years. Whenever and wherever possible, secrecy levels should be abandoned, particularly when one can make a reasonable argument for a 'duty to warn'. There is an opportunity to use valid substantiated information to clarify, correct and override some of the misinformation that is available openly on the Internet. -/- Fully transparent reported crime along with fully transparent end-results (i.e. criminal records) could be a wondrous thing for the safety of our citizens. It is time that the private sector received more on their side of the private sector law enforcement partnerships. This would undoubtedly go a long ways in preventing much crime before it happens as more and more business people and safety-minded members of each community become better informed about who they are dealing with. The risks associated with being uninformed are very high. (shrink)

Transnational, global trades, investments, and travels, amongst other drivers of globalization, helps to reverberate the deadly coronavirus pandemic from Wuhan, China, across the world like whirl fire. In order to contain the infectious spread of the pandemic, and mitigate its negative effects on macro-economic variables, the World Health Organization, (WHO) designed Covid-19 protocols that are being enforced by governments and people of the world. Based on the above account, the study examined the Second wave effect of Covid’19 pandemic on transportation (...) business: Keke-napep and Motorcycle transport systems in Asaba metropolis, Nigeria. The main objective is to empirically determine the real impact of the pandemic on rural land transport business. The study employed structured questionnaire and interview methods to generate data from the 250 respondents selected using the census sampling technique. Out of the 250 sets of questionnaires administered, 235 (94%) were retrieved while 15 (6%) were rejected. The statistical tools used for analyzing data were correlation and multiple regression techniques. Findings were that covid’19 pandemic negatively affected rural land transport business. The study concludes that, the coronavirus pandemic caused a contraction in transport business. It is therefore recommended that, there is a need for government to relax the stringent covid’19 protocols to allow economic activities to resume again. Campaigns on safety and hygiene should be intensified so that the populace will imbibe the culture of general cleanliness and personal hygiene, amongst others. (shrink)

This study is set to investigate increased preference for Hit FM radio station Calabar as a medium for promoting businesses by small scale business owners’. There are other radio stations that had existed within the city before the advent of Hit FM in January 2016. The study assumes that Hit FM may have adopted a unique and attractive broadcasting style. The objective of this paper is to discover the factors that are responsible for the increased preference. The paper is (...) an empirical study and adopts the qualitative method using structured interviews for eliciting information from randomly selected members of the small scale business owners’ community who promote their businesses on Hit FM Calabar. Findings indicate that the Hit FM is more preferred by small scale business owners because it is newly established with very attractive programmes that appeal more to the educational, informative and entertainment needs of their audiences. Also, the station has geometrically grown a large fan base with a very wide reach, which has endeared business owners to increasingly promote their products on Hit FM Calabar. Administratively, the station has employed very young and experienced On Air Personalities. The study concludes that advertising on Hit FM has made a very positive and significant impact on small scale businesses. The study recommends a high maintenance culture and periodic retraining of Hit FM staff for delivery of more quality programmes and the need for other radio stations in Calabar to rebrand. (shrink)

The results of the authors’ research in a scientific monograph are devoted to solving the problems of forming and improving new concepts and strategies for managing economic systems, and mechanisms for their implementation in the context of modern world challenges to society on the basis of models of managing economic entities. An important component of the scientific monograph is the formation of modern strategies for increasing the competitiveness of economic systems, improving corporate structures, innovative restructuring of enterprises, ensuring environmental safety, (...) approaches to implementing a supply chain logistics management system, making effective decisions in the forecasting system, developing e-commerce, implementation of information technologies in project financing, controlling, education system, etc. The research results presented in the scientific monograph reflect the theoretical and practical aspects of the implementation of organizational-economic mechanisms for managing economic systems in the context of modern world challenges, conditions of constantly changing market conditions and instability of markets for goods and services, preservation and optimization of the resource potential of economic entities, the introduction of modern innovative technologies and digitalization of economic activities. (shrink)