New dimensions on the economics of the entrepreneurial process

This thesis examines the transition of employees into entrepreneurship, with particular emphasis on the role of workplace characteristics in influencing this movement. The first main chapter examines whether the determinants of becoming an intrapreneur differ from those that support transitions into independent entrepreneurship. The results show that intrapreneurs resemble employees rather than entrepreneurs, contrary to what the entrepreneurship theory would suggest. Yet it shows that those intrapreneurs that expect to acquire an ownership stake in the business, unlike the rest of intrapreneurs, possess traditional entrepreneurial traits. Chapter 3 investigates how workers’ degree of specialisation determines their decision to found a firm. It shows that entrepreneurs emerging from small firms, i.e. generalists, transfer knowledge from more diverse aspects of the business and create firms more related to the main activity of their last employer. Workers in large firms, however, benefit from higher returns to human capital that increase their opportunity costs to switch to entrepreneurship. Since becoming an entrepreneur would make part of their specialised skills unutilised, the minimum quality of the idea at which they would be willing to leave will be higher and, therefore, entrepreneurs emerging from large firms will be of highest quality. Chapter 4 analyses whether the reason to terminate an employment contract is associated with the fact that the majority of entrepreneurs appear to set up their business after having worked for a small firm. Moreover, it studies how this pattern varies as the labour market conditions worsen. The effect of layoffs turns out to be a key driver in the entry to entrepreneurship and it is found to exert a greater effect the smaller the firm workers are dismissed from. This has been reflected in an overall larger flow of employees from small firms moving into entrepreneurship over the recession.

Frontline agents of globalisation:the German merchant community in Glasgow, 1840s to 1914

During the second half of the nineteenth century, a German business community of about one hundred merchants and commercial clerks developed in Glasgow. Their trade networks extended not only to Germany but also to other world markets. The main arguments and findings of the microhistorical analysis include: numbers were significantly higher than previously assumed; endogenous recruitment based on ethnic and family ties was prevalent; migrants benefited from their migration-induced social capital (training, languages, intercultural competence) to fill a skills-gap in Britain; labour market competition at the junior career level was less pronounced than contemporaneous assessments suggested; naturalisation was taken out for purely pragmatic reasons; there was a sense of community at intra-ethnic level, but also with the local business elite. The case study is embedded into the larger context of Anglo-German economic relations and globalisation. A purely local perspective does not suffice to do justice to the wider significance of expatriate business communities in an age of economic globalisation.

Latin Americans in London:language, integration and ethnic identity

This thesis studies the links between language, migration and integration in the context of the 'new migrant' group of Latin Americans in London. It reviews the many ways in which language impacts the integration processes of migrants by influencing people's access to jobs, services, social contacts and information. By focusing on migrants' experiences this research also investigates the ways in which language and identity articulate, as well as the affective variables that are at play in the acquisition of the local language. With a large sector trapped in a cycle of poor command of English and labour market disadvantage, many Latin Americans experience exclusion and poverty. In reaction to this, a sector of the community is campaigning for ethnic minority recognition. This work reviews the debates for recognition and the strategy of organising around ethnicity, paying special attention to the role language plays in the process. The study is based on over two and half years of qualitative research, which included interviews, surveys, and long-term participant observation within a community organisation and a recognition campaign. Its interdisciplinary perspective allows the recognition of both the intimate links between language and identity, as well as the social and structural forces that influence migrants' linguistic integration. It unveils the practical and symbolic value that the mother tongue has for Latin American migrants and provides a broader account of their experiences. This research calls attention to the need for a more comprehensive approach to the study of language and migration in order to acknowledge the affective and social factors involved in the linguistic practices of migrants. By studying the community's struggles for recognition, this work evidences both the importance of visibility for minority groups in London and the intrinsic methodological limitations of monitoring through ethnic categorisation.

Good and bad institutions:is the debate over? Cross-country firm-level evidence from the textile industry

Using firm-level data from nine developing countries, we demonstrate that certain institutions, like restrictive labour market regulations, that are considered bad for economic growth might be beneficial for production efficiency, whereas good business environment, which is considered beneficial for economic growth, might have an adverse impact on production efficiency. We argue that our results suggest that there might be significant difference in the macro- and micro-impacts of institutional quality, such that the classification of institutions into 'good' and 'bad might be premature. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Societal transformation and programmatic change in the CDU

This article places the changing policy profile of the CDU into the context of the gradual transformation of German society since the 1970s and especially since unification in 1990. It argues that in order to understand key areas where the CDU has reformed its programme, we must first understand the broader, meta-level trends in society. In its main section, the article sketches out the long-term changes that have occurred in three principal areas (demographics, labour market outcomes and the economic status and the role of women), and relates these to debates that have taken place in the CDU's programmatic profile. The article therefore concludes that consideration of the societal context complements agency-based explanations for programmatic change. © 2013 Association for the Study of German Politics.

The sound of silence. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender discrimination in 'inclusive organizations'

Most studies on diversity and discrimination in the workplace have focused on 'visible' minorities such as gender or race, often neglecting the experiences of invisible minorities such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers. In this paper we explore the practices of inclusion/exclusion of LGBTs in the workplace in Italian social cooperatives, which are specifically founded to create employment for people who are disadvantaged in the labour market. The study examines how organizations, which have an ethos focused on inclusion and mainly employ workers from specific social minority groups, manage the inclusion of LGBT workers. We also explore the experience of LGBT workers within these organizations. The paper reports that the culture of silence existing in the five organizations studied prevents LGBT employees from constructing a work identity which encompasses their sexual identity and prevents the organizations from achieving their aim of being fully inclusive workplaces. © 2013 British Academy of Management.

Phoenix industries and open innovation? The Midlands advanced automotive manufacturing and engineering industry

This paper explores the links between open innovation and the emergence of a ‘phoenix industry’ centred on the UK’s traditional automotive heartland, the West Midlands, which has developed a significant presence in automotive design and engineering, particularly among small and niche firms. Drawing on case study research, the paper investigates whether this can be considered as a phoenix industry, and to what extent open innovation has been important in the industry’s development. The paper considers relationships between firms and impacts in terms of changing economic and labour market conditions. The paper concludes by examining the role that public policy has played to date and might play in the future in supporting an emerging phoenix industry with open innovation features.

Plant closures and taskforce responses:an analysis of the impact of and policy response to MG Rover in Birmingham

This paper explores the socio-economic impacts and associated policy responses to the collapse of MG Rover at Longbridge in Birmingham. Critically, it attempts to move beyond a ‘standard’ taskforce narrative that emphasizes the role of the regional response. While recognizing that significant policy ‘successes’ were indeed evident at the regional level in anticipating and responding to the crisis, a wider perspective is required that situates this taskforce response in (1) a fuller understanding of labour market precariousness (that in turn mitigates some of its policy ‘successes’), and (2) more local perspectives that highlight the local impacts of closure, the role of the neighbourhood level officials and the third sector in mediating these. Taking this broader perspective suggests that longer-term, workers face a precarious situation and the need for policies to create and sustain ‘good quality’ jobs remains paramount. Adding in more local perspectives, a key lesson from the Longbridge experience for dealing with closures more generally is that the public policy responses must be: multidimensional in that they transcend narrow sector-based concerns and addresses broader spatial impacts; inclusive in that they build on a broad coalition of economic and social stakeholders; and long-term in that they acknowledge that adaptation takes many years. If anything, the Birmingham Longbridge experience demonstrates the difficulty of achieving such responses in the context of crisis where action is imperative and deliberation a luxury.

Variation in the length of an undergraduate degree:participation and outcomes

Recent policy in England has advocated the introduction of fast-track degrees to provide an alternative, shorter route to a bachelor's degree. It has been argued that this will widen participation in higher education and increase labour market flexibility by providing an option in which undergraduates spend one fewer years out of the labour market. Critics have suggested that the outcomes from this new undergraduate option will be worse than those for students following the standard length of undergraduate degree (which is three years for most subjects studied at universities in England). This criticism is based on a belief that students on the shorter degrees will be encouraged to 'cram', having less opportunity for reflection that will foster a deep understanding. These arguments are evaluated using data which compare students following two and three year degrees in the same subjects at the same university. © 2012 Copyright Society for Research into Higher Education.

Plant closures, precariousness and policy responses:revisiting MG Rover 10 years on

With automotive plants being closed in Australia and western Europe, this article reflects on the employment status of ex-MG Rover (MGR) workers following the closure of the Longbridge plant in 2005. In particular, it draws on Standing's typology of labour market insecurity and uses a mixed-methods approach including an analysis of a longitudinal survey of some 200 ex-MGR workers, and in-depth interviews with ex-workers and policy-makers. While the policy response to the closure saw significant successes in terms of the great majority of workers successfully adjusting into re-employment, and with positive findings in terms of re-training and education, the paper finds significant challenges in terms of security of employment, income, job quality and representation at work years after closure. In particular, the paper posits that the general lack of attention to employment security at the macrolevel effectively undermined elements of a positive policy response over the longer run. This in turn suggests longer-term policy measures are required to address aspects of precariousness at work.

The importance of institutions in expansionary fiscal consolidations. A critical assessment of non-Keynesian effects

The short-term effects of fiscal consolidation have attracted an increasing attention from both the academia and policy makers in the recent years. Authors in the literature on non- Keynesian effects usually put the emphasis on the need for the devaluation of the national currency, the accommodating reaction of the monetary authority and the favourable international economic conditions as the necessary accompanying tools of fiscal consolidation, in order to realise short-term expansionary effects. Some also add the necessity of large-scale adjustment; while others support the view that a high and increasing debt ratio or increasing government spending, by triggering an unavoidable adjustment, is the key to experiencing short-term expansionary effects. The composition of adjustment also became a crucial explanation for non-Keynesian effects. However, as the following critical assessment of the literature on expansionary fiscal consolidations will reveal, institutional conditions, such as the importance of the depth of financial intermediation and the influencing role of labour market structure, can prove to be crucial in the occurrence of the desired expansionary short-term effects.

A kapitalizmus néhány rendszerspecifikus vonása (Some system-specific features of capitalism)

A szerző korábban a szocialista rendszer és a posztszocialista átmenet elemzésére használta azt a szemléletet és módszertant, amelyet rendszerparadigmának nevezett el. A jelen tanulmány a kapitalizmus néhány általános vonásának vizsgálatára alkalmazza ezt a megközelítést. A cikk - fogalmi tisztázás után - példákat sorol fel a kapitalizmus néhány rendszerspecifikus vonására, majd kettővel részletesebben foglalkozik. Az egyik: a rendszer dinamizmusa. Az elmúlt évszázad nagy újításai, amelyek mélyrehatóan átalakították nemcsak a termelés technológiáját, hanem az emberek mindennapi életét is, a kapitalista rendszer és annak főszereplője, a vállalkozó vezette be és terjesztette el. Csak a kapitalizmusban tud kialakulni a vállalkozás és újítás mechanizmusa, az ehhez szükséges erőteljes ösztönzés és rugalmas tőkepiac. A másik példa: a kapitalista rendszer immanens tulajdonsága a munkaerőpiacon jelentkező tartós többlet, szemben a szocialista rendszerrel, amelynek kifejlett formájában tartós munkaerőhiány mutatkozik. Elméletileg és tapasztalatilag is igazolható, hogy minél dinamikusabb a kapitalista gazdaság állandó átalakulása, annál inkább keletkezik strukturális munkanélküliség. A hatékony bér elmélete megmagyarázza, miért érdeke a munkaadónak, hogy a piactisztító bérnél magasabb bért fizessen, és ezzel munkanélküliséget idézzen elő. A kapitalizmus reformálható rendszer. Ám ügyelni kell arra, hogy a részreformok között milyen a kapcsolat. Szerencsés esetben kiegészítik egymást. Ám ennél sokkal gyakoribb, hogy miközben szembeszállunk a rendszer egyik kedvezőtlen hajlamával, utat engedünk egy másik kedvezőtlen hajlam megerősödésének. ___________________ The author previously applied the outlook and methodology he named the system paradigm to analysing the socialist system and post-socialist transition. This study takes the same approach to some general attributes of capitalism. After clarifying some concepts, the author presents examples of some system-specific features of capitalism, before ad-dressing two of them in detail. One is the dynamism of the system. The great innovations of the last century that radically altered both the technology of production and people s daily lives were all introduced and disseminated by the capitalist system and its protago-nist, the entrepreneur. Only under capitalism can the mechanism of entrepreneurship and innovation emerge, with the strong incentives and flexible capital market they require. The other immanent feature is a chronic surplus on the labour market that contrasts sharply with the chronic labour shortage prevalent under the mature socialist system. Theory and experience confirm that the faster the ongoing transformation of a capitalist economy proceeds, the greater the propensity for structural unemployment to appear. It is explained by the efficiency pay hypothesis how an employer has an incentive to pay more than a market-clearing wage, thereby introducing unemployment. Capitalism is a system that can be reformed, but attention needs paying to relations between reforms of different parts of the system. In fortunate cases they complement each other, but it is commoner to find that tackling one unfavourable tendency only allows another such tendency to increase.

Knowledge representation and evaluation an ontology-based knowledge management approach

Competition between Higher Education Institutions is increasing at an alarming rate, while changes of the surrounding environment and demands of labour market are frequent and substantial. Universities must meet the requirements of both the national and European legislation environment. The Bologna Declaration aims at providing guidelines and solutions for these problems and challenges of European Higher Education. One of its main goals is the introduction of a common framework of transparent and comparable degrees that ensures the recognition of knowledge and qualifications of citizens all across the European Union. This paper will discuss a knowledge management approach that highlights the importance of such knowledge representation tools as ontologies. The discussed ontology-based model supports the creation of transparent curricula content (Educational Ontology) and the promotion of reliable knowledge testing (Adaptive Knowledge Testing System).

Munkavásárlás vagy dolgozóbérlés? Elmélkedés a munkaviszony közgazdasági értelmezéséről. = Purchase of work or renting of workers?

Munkaszolgáltatások adásvételeként értelmezendő-e a munkaviszony vagy dolgozók bérléseként? A közgazdaság-tudomány álláspontja következetlen: jellemzően dolgozóbérlésnek deklarálja, ugyanakkor ideálisan munkaszolgáltatások adásvételeként gondolja el. Az írás érvelése szerint e következetlenség vélhető oka az abból fakadó szaktudományi dilemma, hogy a tömeges dolgozóbérlés színtereként értelmezett munkaerőpiac versenyzői egyensúlya elvi lehetetlenség. _______ Should the employment relationship be interpreted as a form of purchase of labour services or as one of renting workers? Economics typically portrays it as the latter, but idealizes it as the former. This apparent inconsistency can presumably be attributed to the dilemma arising from the theoretical incompatibility of the core economic concept of competitive equilibrium and the reality of mass renting of people in the labour market.

Gender, Work and Employment in Ten Candidate Countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Final Report. Country: Hungary

The Hungarian media shows very contradictory pictures of women today: Successful career women enjoying material well-being is one picture, while the careful mother not working outside the home, keeping together the family is another one. Between these two contradictory poles there are almost no other female actors in the media. Life produces something different. In spite of the fact that there was a big loss of jobs in 1990s, and women’s activity rate decreased while the unemployment rate increased compared to before the 1990s, woman with duel roles are still accepted and common. The first female task is looking after the family and the second one is working outside the home and earning money. In many cases there is a third role: studying in distant or evening courses. In the next chapters we go deeper into this topic. We analyse the different aspects of female labour market positions, and show some relevant characteristics of governmental parental benefits and childcare support, and examine how the new pension system effects women. We also have a quick look at trade unions and show their lack of activity around gender issues. In the labour market analysis of the position of women we use labour force surveys, institution-based labour statistics, and unemployment registers. The Appendix 1 contains short descriptions of these data sources.