47 research outputs found
Competitive Advantage and its Sources in an Evolving Market
No full textInternational Conference on Computational Methods in Science and Engineering -- SEP 25-30, 2008 -- Hersonissos, GREECEIn a continuously altered and evolving Market, as is the food manufacturing market, the main and long-lasting objective of firm that is the maximization of its wealth and consequently the continuous remaining in profit regions, appears that it is possible to be achieved via the obtainment and maintenance of diachronically long-term competitive advantage, which it will render the firm unique or leader force in a inexorable competition that is continuously extended in a globalized market. Various definitions and different regards are developed in regard to the competitive advantage and the way with which a firm it is possible, acquiring it, to star in the market in which it is activated. As result of sustainable competitive advantage in a firm comes the above the average performance. Abundance of resources and competences that are proposed as sources of competitive advantage in the resource-based view literature exists, while they are added continuously new based on empiric studies. In any case, it appears to suffer hierarchy of sources of competitive advantage, with regard to sustainability of these.European Soc Computat Methods Sci & Engn, Minist Natl Educ & Religious Affair
Evaluation of leasing as a method of funding Investments in greek agribusiness sector
No full textFunding for acquiring assets in Greek agribusiness sector is very common and supports Greek agribusiness SME's production. Purpose of this study is evaluation of leasing as a method of financing in order to acquire assets used directly in the production process of a business of secondary Greek agribusiness sector or even vertically integrated business. Thus, research was held in December of 2012, collecting proper data from Greek banking sector and considering Tax Legislation. Selection decision of practices financing in the event of such an investment should be made after taking into consideration several factors. Proper financial evaluation of future investment is necessary, while it's too necessary to be compared the financing choices that are given in Greece. Considering Tax Legislation, Banking Practices, and Law on Leasing, financing methods were compared in reference period. Avoiding generalizations, typical examples are given, showing that leasing preceded against borrowing, considering conditions prevailing in Greece at the time. But decision making for selection of financing method is affected by factors, which may lead to either correct or incorrect conclusions for firm's interests, if evaluation is not correct or there are personal interests of decision-makers in the administration. Consequently, incentives to use leasing for financing a business can be a lot, but quite important are ownership structure, nature of investment opportunities, business risk and tax status.(original abstract
Female Entrepreneurship in Agricultural Sector. The Case of Municipality of Pogoni in the Period of Economic Crisis
No full textPurpose of this field research is the study of the multifunctional role of rural women both in development and primary sector’s businesses. The survey was conducted in 2014, in Municipality of Pogoni, Greece, by personal interviews and questionnaire with women holding a small business in primary sector. Thus, the results about female entrepreneurship are unique for this specific rural area. It is concluded that within modernization of agricultural sector, the role of rural women has greatly improved in production and organization of agricultural labor. Female entrepreneurship networking, small businesses’ succession, and necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship in primary sector’s businesses are examined and also how these affect female entrepreneurship. Women entrepreneurs’ opinions were catalogued. Factors such as education and vocational training are important in enhancing the role of rural women. Finally, main problems woman entrepreneur faces, mainly economic and managerial, were pointed out, while economic crisis seems to affect negatively the agricultural sector of this region
Entrepreneurship and SME's Organizational Structure. Elements of a Successful Business
No full textAbstractTheories developed about Entrepreneur and SME highlight the important role of certain factors like business size, market share, management and ownership, data relating to the survival and competitiveness of sme, potential fundraising, sales, profitability and liquidity, lack of skilled personnel in the industry, distribution channels data and market information, barriers to entry in certain markets, changes taking place in markets, birth of niche markets, operation in a niche, closed or protected local or regional market, data on acquisition of a business, use of innovation or new technologies, organizational structure, customers, suppliers, creditors and relationship with public institutions and policies, lack of confidence in external consultants, resources control, networking and clustering. Factors affecting business size of sme, such as characteristics of entrepreneur, characteristics of enterprise, management strategies, and external environment's influence, constitute elements of a successful or non-successful business
The Effects in the Structure of an Organization through the Implementation of Policies from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
No full textAbstractThe purpose of this paper is about how the policies, which have been adopted by CSR's factors, affect the structure of an organization, the dedication of the personnel, the sensitivities of the organizations upon social matters, the critical decisions of the management, how they can be a significant advantage for the market and how affect's the competition after the implementation of CSR's strategies, how affect's the sales, the profitability and the liquidity, the impact on the strategic planning and how the stakeholder engagement affect this planning, public relations and communications. We have to find from which point the CSR strategies, which have been adopted from an organization, is not just a Public Relationship matter, but infiltrates in the basic construction and initiates changes that affect the culture and the functionality of the organization
Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs and MNEs. The Different Strategic Decision Making
No full textAbstractThe purpose of this paper is about how the strategic decisions are affected by CSR's factors, how different are the strategies that are being adopted by the SMEs compared to the MNEs. The SMEs represent a major share of economic value creation worldwide, and differ substantially from MNEs in terms of organizational characteristics, behavioral guiding principles, financial and human resources. The literature mainly is focusing on how large multinational corporations (MNEs) can address to environmental and social problems that arise globally. How the largest multinational enterprises (MNEs) engage Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in their (inclusive) business strategies, either as suppliers, distributors, customers, innovators or as a target of their CSR policies are searchable. We notice that SMEs possess several organizational characteristics that are favorable for promoting the implementation of CSR related practices. In the contrast, the MNEs possess several characteristics that are favorable for promoting external communication and reporting about CSR, but at the same time constrain the internal implementation. Topics, such as how different is the dedication of the personnel, the sensitivities of the enterprises upon social matters, the critical decisions of the management between SMEs and MNEs, and how the stakeholder engagement affect this strategic decision making are discussed hereafter
Systematic reviews with language restrictions and no author contact have lower overall credibility: a methodology study
No full textZhen Wang,1–3 Juan P Brito,4 Apostolos Tsapas,5 Marcio L Griebeler,4 Fares Alahdab,1,3 Mohammad Hassan Murad,1,3,61Robert D and Patricia E Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, 2Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Department of Health Sciences Research, 3Knowledge and Evaluation Research Unit, 4Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, and Nutrition, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; 5Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 6Division of Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USABackground: High-quality systematic reviews (SRs) require rigorous approaches to identify, appraise, select, and synthesize research evidence relevant to a specific question. In this study, we evaluated the association between two steps in the conduct of an SR – restricting the search to English, and author contact for missing data – and the overall credibility of a SR.Methods: All SRs cited by the Endocrine Society's Clinical Practice Guidelines published from October 2006 through January 2012 were included. The main outcome was the overall A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) score, as a surrogate of SR credibility. Nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis tests and multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate the association between language restriction, author contact for missing data, and the overall AMSTAR score.Results: In all, 69 SRs were included in the analysis. Only 31 SRs (45%) reported searching non-English literature, with an average AMSTAR score of 7.90 (standard deviation [SD] =1.64). SRs that reported language restriction received significantly lower AMSTAR scores (mean =5.25, SD =2.32) (P<0.001). Only 30 SRs (43%) reported contacting authors for missing data, and these received, on average, 2.59 more AMSTAR points (SD =1.95) than those who did not (P<0.001). In multivariable analyses, AMSTAR score was significantly correlated with language restriction (beta =-1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.62, -0.01, P=0.05) and author contact for missing data (beta =2.16, 95% CI: 0.91, 3.41, P=0.001). However, after adjusting for compliance with reporting guidelines, language restriction was no longer significantly associated with the AMSTAR score.Conclusion: Fewer than half of the SRs conducted to support the clinical practice guidelines we examined reported contacting study authors or searched non–English literature. SRs that did not conduct these two steps had lower quality scores, suggesting the importance of these two steps for overall SR credibility.Keywords: evidence-based medicine, research design, validity, quality of evidenc
The Determinants of the Market. The Case of the Greek Agribusiness Sector
No full textAbstractGreece is a traditional agricultural country and has an important primary sector, mainly characterized by family farms. The major structural problems of the Greek agricultural sector are the small size of the holding, the land fragmentation, and the low educational level of human resources in rural areas. As a supplier of the Agribusiness sector, the farm is directly linked to the manufacturing industry. Our main purpose was to discover the conditions prevailing in the Greek Agribusiness Sector and its relationship with the Greek primary sector. The research was conducted in the Greek Agribusiness sector, using the SCP paradigm, in 2012. We found that special and atypical conditions prevail in Greek market, such as the significant heterogeneity of products, the bulk products supply, the existence of heterogeneity in the product sectors, and the special geographical conditions in a large part of Greek territory. We argue that imperfect competition prevails in parts of the Greek market, creating local niche markets, and giving to the local smes the opportunity to do business, to promote and sell their product range. Therefore, we note the existence of fragmentation in Greek market, either product or geographic, and the existence of a multidimensional Greek market reality, which have some specific impacts on the Greek Agribusiness market and thus, on th
Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs and MNEs. The Different Strategic Decision Making
No full textThe purpose of this paper is about how the strategic decisions are affected by CSR's factors, how different are the strategies that are being adopted by the SMEs compared to the MNEs. The SMEs represent a major share of economic value creation worldwide, and differ substantially from MNEs in terms of organizational characteristics, behavioral guiding principles, financial and human resources. The literature mainly is focusing on how large multinational corporations (MNEs) can address to environmental and social problems that arise globally. How the largest multinational enterprises (MNEs) engage Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in their (inclusive) business strategies, either as suppliers, distributors, customers, innovators or as a target of their CSR policies are searchable. We notice that SMEs possess several organizational characteristics that are favorable for promoting the implementation of CSR related practices. In the contrast, the MNEs possess several characteristics that are favorable for promoting external communication and reporting about CSR, but at the same time constrain the internal implementation. Topics, such as how different is the dedication of the personnel, the sensitivities of the enterprises upon social matters, the critical decisions of the management between SMEs and MNEs, and how the stakeholder engagement affect this strategic decision making are discussed hereafter
Public or Private Telecoms? The Effects of Ownership on Greek Telecommunications Market the Effects of Ownership on Greek Telecommunications Market
No full textAbstractOver the past decades, an evolving global debate was held, whether the public utilities should be owned and operated by government or private companies. In this paper, we researched if the type of corporate ownership affects the operation of market utilities in Greek telecommunications market. Specifically, we used a panel dataset that includes the pricing policy of services in telephony (fixed and mobile) and Internet, and examined whether this differs between private and government-owned corporations. The data were collected by 44 of the most important telecommunication companies - fixed and mobile telephony, and Internet - during the period 1993-2008. The method of interviews has been used for obtaining data and descriptive statistics used for their evaluation, using SPSS. A little difference between public and private systems of service pricing was found
