Equilibrium最新文献

{"title":"Exploring potential drivers of innovation-related activities in Poland: evidence from Polish business clusters","authors":"Joanna Kuczewska, Tomasz Tomaszewski","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.027","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: Innovations are introduced by competitive companies. One of the most common methods, increasingly used by companies, is organizing clusters or cluster initiatives operating within a specialized sector, competing with each other, exploiting the potential of cooperation and its impact on creating new business ideas. However, these efforts could be unviable due to the lack of an effective leader of the group. One should underline a crucial role of the leader in such an organized network, since the leader makes improvements and takes initiatives for all the network and its partners. These concepts prompt us to undertake the research on the role of clusters? characteristics on enhancing willingness to innovate in general. This study aims to point out the main characteristics of clusters and to investigate their impact on companies? innovativeness. The main problem to address is the magnitude of specific effects that might boost introducing new solutions in firms? networks.\u0000Purpose of the article: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of factors describing cluster environment (characteristics like cooperation within clusters and beyond them, incentives of a leader, and localization factors) that might affect the innovativeness of companies.\u0000Methods: The authors collected data using questionnaire. This type of primary source enables the authors to construct a model consisting of latent variables such as incentives of coordinator of cluster or cluster initiative, cooperation of firms with local authorities, cooperation between entrepreneurs, or localization. The results are subject to the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis.\u0000Findings & value added: The conducted analysis leads to several findings. Firstly, incentives provided by the cluster coordinator enable companies to increase the willingness to introduce innovations in general. Secondly, however, the influence of other cluster characteristics on the propensity to innovate for firms functioning within specific Polish business clusters is scant. These findings point to the fact that actions leading to assign the official coordinator of a cluster need to be done, as it should result in better flow of knowledge, more symmetric information among companies within cluster, and more productive and innovative way of functioning firms in general. Regarding innovation clusters (and regional innovation systems), these actions need to be supported by forming policy on regional level, because effective clusters would induce more competitive regional economy in long-term scenario.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47079687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reinvestment and effective corporate income tax rates in V4 countries","authors":"P. Procházka, Iveta Černá","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.020","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: In the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia), the inward foreign direct investment (FDI) shows high shares in the exports and gross domestic product (GDP). Furthermore, reinvested earnings play a significant role in the national balances of payments (BoP). Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the reinvestment rates and effective corporate income tax rates (ETRs) of transnational corporations (TNCs) and financial institutions settled in the V4 countries and compare them with the said rates in other European Union (EU) Member States. It is essential to unveil factors shaping investors? decisions to reinvest profits. Policymakers should reflect on them when cultivating the overall business climate to boost citizens? welfare.\u0000Purpose of the article: We aim to identify the determinants of the FDI profit reinvestment rate in the V4 countries as host economies from 2014 to 2019 and draw a comparison with the EU?27 average. We dedicate special attention to the correlation between the reinvestment and the ETRs and other selected business climate indicators as specified in the World Bank?s Ease of Doing Business (World Bank, 2020).\u0000Methods: To assess the determinants of the reinvestment rates, we employ a three-stage model of multiple linear regression, where we analyse extensive datasets published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Eurostat, World Bank, and public and aggregate country-by-country reports (CbCR) provided by the respective financial institutions and TNCs.\u0000Findings & value added: Our research shows that the corporate income tax (CIT) rate and ETRs significantly correlate with the reinvestment rate. The same applies to three Ease of Doing Business sub-indicators (Starting a business, Getting credit, and Contract enforcement). Contrary to the findings of Lundan (2006), Beugelsdijk et al. (2010), Nguyen and Rugman (2015), and Sutherland et al. (2020), macroeconomic factors, the profitability of corporations, and exchange rate stability turned out to be statistically insignificant. Our research has policy implications, for it can contribute to policy discussions on enhancing business environments in the V4 countries and ways to motivate foreign investors to reinvest their profits. The added value combines macroeconomic data with the unique and relatively new CbCR databases.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47385555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The role of formal and informal remittances as the determinants of formal and informal finan-cial services","authors":"Y. Bilan, Khiev Virak","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.025","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: The choice of financial services and remittances are important as they influence the livelihood of remittance recipients, who are mostly poor and financially excluded. In literature, extensive evidence suggests a positive impact of the size of remittances on access to financial inclusion and financial development of remittance-recipient countries. However, a concern of such studies is that they might provide a biased outcome as the available data of remittances tend to be formal, whereas informal remittances are difficult to observe. Hence, their evidence might not be applicable in developing countries where remittance transfer via informal channels is very popular.\u0000Purpose of the article: The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of the remittance channel (formal and informal) on the choice of formal, informal financial services of credit and savings of remittance recipients.\u0000Methods: As our dependent variable is a financial service which is a categorical variable (formal and informal), the paper will employ a multinomial logistic regression model to estimate the impact. The data employed in this analysis is from the Finscope survey conducted in Myanmar in 2013 and 2018. Myanmar is the best context for our study, as it is one of a big migrant-sending countries and a developing country whose financial sector is significantly underdeveloped.\u0000Findings & value added: Our findings show that formal remittances promote the use of formal financial services such as credit and savings. However, there is no evidence regarding women recipients` informal channels and formal financial services. Our evidence also suggests there is a need for the government to encourage migrant workers to transform informal remittances into formal ones by removing the barriers of formal remittance channels to promote the use of formal credit and saving among remittance-recipients who are poor and financially excluded.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46499542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on unemployment in Slovakia: a statistically created counterfactual approach using the time series analysis","authors":"K. Kramarova, Lucia Švábová, Barbora Gabrikova","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.012","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: The current health crisis, which began to take shape in mid-March 2020 due to the massive spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has shaped the face of the Slovak labour market the most. Slovakia, similarly, to other countries in the world, has operated with several non-pharmaceutical anti-pandemic measures taken by the government to reduce the spread of the virus or reverse adverse developments. On the other hand, these measures have frozen production, and business activities of companies annulled not only the number of physical meetings with business collaborators but also business contracts themselves. Consequently, the demand for new labour has decreased, and in many cases, redundancies have occurred.\u0000Purpose of the article: The study aims to develop a comprehensive and detailed analysis of unemployment and its development in Slovakia, during the 1st and 2nd wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, determine the extent to which the anti-pandemic measures have affected the Slovak labour market, and identify the most affected groups of unemployed.\u0000Methods: To analyze the impact of the anti-pandemic measures on the unemployment situation in Slovakia, we applied the approach where the statistically created hypothetical state of the absence of the pandemic was compared with the real state as the consequence of the pandemic. The hypothetical state was modelled by the autoregressive 1st order or one-dimensional time series model with a linear trend and seasonability.\u0000Findings & value added: The results of the analysis identify the groups of the population, mostly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic together with the quantification of the impact on unemployment. The findings of quantification of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the Slovak labour market can be further used in creating targeted measures aimed at supporting unemployed individuals or at the sustainability of already existing jobs and in other governmental economic and social decisions.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43213115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of cooperation flexibility on innovation flexibility in SMEs","authors":"Eva Tomášková, L. Kaňovská","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.019","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: Flexibility has become a possible means for manufacturing companies to better compete in competitive markets. Furthermore, innovations are perceived as an important factor in company strategy, which can differentiate the company from the competition.\u0000Purpose of the article: This present study investigates the problems of cooperation flexibility and innovation flexibility in manufacturing companies among electrical engineering companies in the Czech Republic. The aim of this paper is to identify the impact of cooperation flexibility on innovation flexibility in small and medium-sized manufacturing companies.\u0000Methods: A questionnaire addressed to SMEs in the form of the Likert scale was prepared to gather information about cooperation flexibility and innovation flexibility. All parts of the questionnaire were tested using Cronbach Alpha. Spearman correlation and regression analysis were used for analysis.\u0000Findings & value added: The results of the research show that external cooperation flexibility and internal cooperation flexibility is related to innovation flexibility in SMEs. Results of the research show that there is a positive relationship 1) between external cooperation flexibility and innovation flexibility and 2) between innovation flexibility and business performance at SMEs. The findings of the research contribute to an understanding of the relationship between cooperation flexibility, innovation flexibility and also innovation performance. The novelty value of this paper lies in its perception of flexibility as having two parts, namely external (with suppliers and customers) and internal cooperation flexibility. In addition, innovation flexibility was investigated in two fields, product, and accompanying services to products. The view mentioned provides a complex view of flexibility.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47460709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Persistence of pre-IPO earnings of new companies from CEE stock markets","authors":"Tomasz Sosnowski","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.014","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: A company?s earnings are one of the main determinants of investment decisions on the stock market. Thus, the reliability of disclosed financial information is crucial for the efficient allocation of capital. Unfortunately, reported earnings are an economic category susceptible to manipulation. This problem grows especially in the case of an initial public offering (IPO), as there is significant information asymmetry.\u0000Purpose of the article: The main aim of the paper is to assess the persistence of earnings reported by companies in the IPO process and to empirically identify financial characteristics associated with persistence of earnings. The usefulness of financial information is directly related to the issue of earnings quality. Therefore, this paper contributes to the stream of study on the quality of financial reporting of new stock companies.\u0000Methods: I employ a simple single-factor regression model to recognize the earnings persistence in new stock companies. Pre-IPO earnings are the explanatory variable. Then, I use multiple regression analysis to identify factors that influence this metric of reported earnings quality.\u0000Findings & value added: Using a sample of companies from stock exchange markets in Central and Eastern Europe (i.e., the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the Belgrade Stock Exchange, the Prague Stock Exchange) that went public between 2010 and 2018, I find that, generally, pre-IPO earnings hold higher persistence compared to earnings reported in the year of the IPO. Profitability seems to be a factor that significantly influences this feature. Thus, the results contribute to corporate theory and practice facing insufficient empirical evidence on the issue of sustaining pre-IPO profitability in the long term, additionally putting these concerns in the context of the economic environment of European emerging stock markets.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49538967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Do owner-manager demographics in SMEs matter for corporate social responsibility?","authors":"Gentjan Çera, Khurram Ajaz Khan, Andrea Bláhová, Jaroslav Belás, Jr.","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.018","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: According to the EU agenda, CSR should be considered an integral element of the current organizational strategy, including SMEs. While the debate continues about the optimal approach for successful CSR adaptation in SME, yet there is a need to shed light on the impact of owner-manager?s demographics on CSR practices.\u0000Purpose of the article: The paper aims to examine whether owner-manager?s demographics (age, gender, education) matter for the implementation of CSR or not.\u0000Methods: The study is based on a questionnaire filled in by owner-managers of SMEs operating in Czechia (454) and Slovakia (368). Factor analysis and nonparametric methods are used to test the hypotheses.\u0000Findings & value added: This study shows that the relationships between CSR and owner-manager?s demographics are not alike between Slovakia and Czechia. Compared to owners, the evidence shows that the Czech managers are more oriented toward the CSR practices, while in Slovakia there is no difference. Such finding can be explained by Hofstede culture difference. In addition, analysis demonstrates that female Slovaks are more oriented to CSR than men, while it is not true in Czechia. Moreover, Czech individuals who graduated in the same field as their business are more oriented to the CSR, whereas in Slovakia this is not. In addition, young and old Slovak entrepreneurs are more oriented to the CSR than those 35-55 years old, manifesting a U-shape type of relationship. The originality of this work is manifested by the fact that it enriches the literature since it is among the first studies to analyze the relationships between owner-manager?s demographics and CSR in the SME segment for Czechia and Slovakia.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47222750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determinants of youth unemployment rate: case of Slovakia","authors":"Mário Papík, Paulína Mihaľová, Lenka Papíková","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.013","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: The employment rate of young individuals in the labour market has considerably decreased in developed countries recently. Due to lower labour capital, skills, and generic and job-specific work experience, youth consider finding suitable job challenging. If they fail to succeed in the labour market soon after graduation, it leads to long-term unemployment, unstable and low-quality jobs, and even social exclusion.\u0000Purpose of the article: This paper aims to analyse the unemployment rate of high school-graduated students and the factors impacting this unemployment rate, such as GDP per capita, total unemployment rate, apartment price per square meter and results from state exams. Identifying the determinants affecting youth unemployment is crucial for theoretical knowledge and for policymakers to ensure youth inclusion in the economic mainstream. As a result, society can reduce social and economic costs and avoid structural problems in the future.\u0000Methods: Data about 464 Slovak high schools from National Institute for Certified Educational. Data include the graduate unemployment rate for each high school in Slovakia. Furthermore, two logistic regression models have been developed to investigate the impact of selected factors on high school graduates? unemployment rate immediately after graduation and nine months after graduation.\u0000Findings & value added: This paper indicates the existence of statistical dependency between unemployment of high school graduates and overall unemployment rate in the region, GDP per capita in the region, quality of high school education and cost of living in the region immediately after graduation. Analysis of the period nine months after graduation has shown the important decline of education quality provided by high schools. To reduce youth unemployment, the state should focus primarily on improving overall unemployment itself by implementing a dual-learning system, simplifying business opportunities, making part-time work available, or introducing lifelong learning to help transform the economy into a knowledge base.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45676763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The atlas of inequality aversion: theory and empirical evidence on 55 countries from the Luxembourg Income Study database","authors":"S. Kot, Piotr R. Paradowski","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.010","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: In the distributive analysis, the constant relative inequality aversion utility function is a standard tool for ethical judgements of income distributions. The sole parameter ? of this function expresses a society?s aversion to inequality. However, the profession has not committed to the range of ?. When assessing inequality and other welfare characteristics, analysts assume an arbitrary level of ?, common to all countries and years. This assumption seems unjustified.\u0000Purpose of the article: This paper aims to estimate the parameter ? for each country and year individually using datasets from the Luxembourg Income Study Database in all available years, which dates back to the 1970s.\u0000Methods: We utilise the method of estimating ?, which assumes the generalised beta of the second kind distribution of incomes. The estimator of ? is derived from the mathematical condition of the existence of the social welfare function. \u0000Findings & value added: We have elaborated an ?atlas? of  388 estimates of ? for 55 countries across time. Inequality aversion is country-year specific, with a minimum of 0.97 and a maximum of 3.8. Ninety per cent of all estimates are less than 2.5. Inequality aversion is negatively correlated with income inequality, but it is independent of economic development. Thus, inequality aversion appears as an additional dimension of the classical inequality-development relationship. This article contributes to solving a fundamental problem of Welfare Economics: directly measuring the social utility of income (welfare) function. The estimates of ? for 55 countries imply a complete knowledge of these countries' constant relative inequality aversion utility functions.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46417562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Executive compensation and the financial performance of Polish listed companies from the corporate governance perspective","authors":"Artur Robert Sajnóg, Anna Rogozińska-Pawełczyk","doi":"10.24136/eq.2022.016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.016","url":null,"abstract":"Research background: The level of compensation earned by CEOs and the relationship between executive pay and companies? performance is one of the most widely studied issues in the corporate governance literature. Studies conducted in the last several decades have provided evidence that CEO pay should be aligned with accounting financial measures.\u0000Purpose of the article: The main purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between executive compensation and organizational financial performance. In particular, the effect of net income and comprehensive income as the accounting measures of financial performance on executive compensation is compared.\u0000Methods: The research comprised listed companies on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). The role and effect of accounting financial measures on executive compensation are analyzed based on three regression models. The period of analysis spanned ten years, from 2009 to 2018.\u0000Findings & value added: There are three conclusions that can be drawn from the study. Firstly, executive compensation in the analyzed companies largely depends on the accounting measures of financial performance, based on net income and comprehensive income (excluding ROE). Secondly, its level is significantly and positively influenced by the company?s size, Tobin?s Q ratio, debt ratio, and dividend rate. Thirdly, comprehensive income has a stronger effect on executive compensation than net income. Our findings add some potentially noteworthy dimensions to the economic literature on corporate governance, which is especially important to apply in the CEE region and other emerging economies. The Anglo-American assumption of corporate governance and executive compensation policy might not be suitable for the realities in much of the world.","PeriodicalId":84667,"journal":{"name":"Equilibrium","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44034195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}