1,720,980 research outputs found
Construction of home by Polish and Lithuanian migrants in the UK
No full textResearchers across the social sciences and humanities have sought to understand the nature of people's affiliation with a particular place, to understand the emotional and symbolic ties that bind people to a place and make them feel at home. The concept of home becomes especially complex when analysed in the light of migration. In this context Gilles Deleuza and Felix Guattari (1987) invent a pair of concepts: 'homing of diaspora' and 'diasporising of home'. These two phrases express the essence of diasporic existence: on one hand, 'home' and especially nostalgia for home left behind is infused into the very notion of diaspora; on the other hand, diasporas take their 'home' with them when they travel and reconstruct 'home' in the new environment. This article analyses how these processes of home creation take place among the new Polish and Lithuanian migrants in the UK, based on interviews conducted with migrant workers for the research project 'Changing Status, Changing Lives?' carried out by the University of Oxford
Ownership structure and development of Polish life insurance companies - evidence from 1991 to 2004
No full textThe main aim of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between changes in the ownership structure and the development of life insurance companies in Poland. The simple regression model is used to reveal the relation. The findings of this study, that the solvency ratio, overall indebtedness ratio, premiums retention ratio and profitability ratio on technical activity and sales are positively related with the changes in the share of foreign capital and especially that the claims ratio is negatively related, suggest that foreign investments have greatly influenced the development of the life insurance industry in Poland during the transition period
Between vision and reality: promoting innovation through technoparks in Kazakhstan
No full textA common motivation for the technopark movement is the belief that technoparks promote innovation and economic growth at regional and/or national levels. The paper analyses the role of technoparks as instruments of innovation promotion in Kazakhstan using data from a firm survey and interviews. Our results suggest that, unlike what is assumed in the innovation policy literature, technoparks do not house firms dealing with the commercialisation of innovations that are ready for introduction to the market. Technopark firms are no more innovative than other firms. They are oriented largely towards the local market, and operate in traditional sectors; the frequency and intensity of their external links are more developed than are their internal links. The key motivations for relocating to a technopark seem to be lower rents and the possibility of accessing finance. Overall, Kazakh technoparks seem to be successful in terms of facilitating business incubation, but much les so in terms of innovation promotion and diversification of the economy. Currently, Kazakh industry does not make any demands for local R&D, and its sources of competitiveness lie in non-R&D activities. This suggests that innovation policy should focus on assisting companies to upgrade their technological capabilities to the level that they can articulate their R&D demands. Focusing on technoparks as the main mechanism to improve competitiveness and diversify the economy is an ineffective and uncertain a policy option at this stage of the country's economic development. However, there seems to be significant scope for supporting business incubation. These conclusions are of relevance to other emerging economies
Corporate governance and control in Russian banks
Full text linkThe Working Paper employs the paradigm of new institutional economics to examine peculiarities of the Russian model of corporate governance and control in the banking sector. The study relies upon theoretical as well as applied research of corporate governance in Russian commercial banks featuring different forms of ownership. We focus on real interests of all stakeholders, namely bank and stock market regulators, bank owners, investors, top managers and other insiders. The Anglo-American concept of corporate governance, based on agency theory and implying outside investors' control over banks through stock market, is found to bear limited relevance. We suggest some ways of overcoming the gap between formal institutions of governance and the real life
Knowledge based entrepreneurship in the Czech Republic and Hungary: results from 4 case studies
No full textThis paper describes knowledge based entrepreneurship in the Czech Republic and Hungary, in particular the growth and development process of 4 firms are studied: Dekonta, an environmental services firm, Et netera, an IT services firm, both operating in Czech Republic, along with a data recovery firm, Kurt, and a biopharmaceutical firm, Solvo, both operating in Hungary. The objectives of the case studies are to illustrate experiences of knowledge based entrepreneurship within a transition environment in terms of their different growth and development paths.
By carrying out in depth case studies using semi structured interviews with the founders, top management teams, core employees and key stakeholders in industrial associations I am able to explain the growth process of entrepreneurial knowledge based ventures. I assume an ecological view of the firm and examine the role of internal, strategic, network and external factors in this development process. I propose that the relative importance of these factors evolve over time from start up to maturity. Moreover, I anticipate that there will be complementarities between these factors in the spirit of Milgrom and Roberts (1995) and Von Tunzelmann (2003). This approach should help us better understand the complex nature of entrepreneurship.
The key contributions of these case studies are the application of an ecological conceptual framework to the development of knowledge based firms in Central and Eastern Europe, and so the viability of this model is tested within the transition environment. I follow the recommendations by Ireland et al. (2005) and introduce a temporal element in order to analyse the shift in importance of the factors impacting on firm development and growth, thus hoping to deal with some of the criticisms on existing entrepreneurial research
“Economic Migrants” or “Middling Transnationals”? East European Migrants’ Experiences of Work in the UK
No full textWhite, European, and Hardworking: East European Migrants’ Relationships with Other Communities in London
No full textThe Great Divide: Ruralisation of Poverty in Russia
No full textUsing data from the RLMS for the period 2000-2004 we investigate poverty trends in Russia. We find that urban poverty declines at twice the rate of rural poverty so that by 2004 poverty in Russia had become a largely rural phenomenon for the first time since transition began. This finding does not stem from changing population characteristics or shares, is not dependent on the use of a particular poverty line nor is it driven by the rapid expansions that have occurred in Moscow, St. Petersburg or other urban areas. Our findings flesh out those of Ravallion et al (2007) who, in contrast to other regions, "find signs" of a ruralisation of poverty in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. We attribute some of the differential to the labour market
Growth, Integration and Spillovers in the Central and East European Software Industry
No full textThis paper explores growth and competitive advantage in CEE software firms; it looks at the role of strategic partnerships and industry (spillover) effects. The empirical analysis is based on survey data from 224 software firms from six CEE countries (Bulgaria, Czech R, Estonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania). The results of the descriptive analysis are interpreted from the perspective of the role of capabilities in industrial development. The analysis shows that the patterns of growth are a mix of sector, region and sub--region specific determinants and show important national differences. This suggests that the CEE software industry cannot be considered as a homogenous phenomenon. There is no general tendency towards an expansion in exports; based on our sample only Romania is developing an export oriented software industry. Research shows that the CEE software industry is populated by young, dedicated, domestic firms, which are independent, and privately owned and which are mainly oriented towards localisation of software. They are strongly dependent for trade and production on alliances and strategic partnerships with foreign partners and a small share of technology based partnerships. There is an extensive process of industry upgrading underway, involving country and sub-region specific changes. The spillover effects are significant, through links with clients and intensive intra-industry knowledge transfer through high employment turnover and potentially high knowledge transfer from foreign to local projects. Differences between central and eastern Europe are strong in terms of degree of diversification of software supply, industrial upgrading and quality of demand. The pattern of software development in CEE differs from that in other emerging markets in the sense that it is domestic market oriented, but with an emerging export market for services. Its further growth and upgrading will be strongly dependent on the acquisition of organisational capabilities by local firms
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