scholarly journals Barriers for Eco-Innovations: A Case Study of a Small Firm in Poland

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej H. Jasiński ◽  
Filip Tużnik

Abstract This paper is mainly based on a case study of Tuzal Ltd. - a small firm acting in the eco-innovation market in Poland. The main aim of the paper is to analyze main barriers which are being met by enterprises, especially small firms, acting in the eco-innovation market. The following barriers are analysed: problems in convincing customers to innovative solutions; a specific nature of cooperation with local administration units; continuous changes in legal regulations; an increasing market competition; a lack of funds for marketing; a generation gap and a retirement age of the company’s owner.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
RUBEN PEETERS

This article explores the link between the history of small-firm associations and the development of Dutch financial infrastructure geared toward small firms. In particular, it tests Verdier’s thesis about the origins of state banking using an in-depth case study of the Dutch small-firm movement. This article shows that Dutch small-firm associations did not simply became politically relevant and use their power to lobby for state banking, but rather used the topic of insufficient access to credit to rally support, mobilize members, and obtain subsidies from the government. During this associational process, they had to navigate local contexts and power structures that, in turn, also shaped the financial system. State banking was initially not demanded by small firms, but arose as the result of failed experiments with subsidized banking infrastructure and a changing position of the government on how to intervene in the economy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1445-1463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Tunberg ◽  
Alistair R. Anderson

Abstract Contrary to a simple model of small firm growth where increased inputs produce greater outputs, we consider growth is a complex and difficult process. Accordingly, the paper is concerned with how small firms grow, especially how they make sense of the growth process. We collected narratives of the experiences of small firm growth in an extended case study to draw out how growth is understood and managed. We saw how owners became entangled in the process of growing, especially where a change in one aspect led to problems in other dimensions of growth. Their narratives were about trying to make sense, and give some sense to the complexity of growth and some direction to what they should manage. We identified a repertoire of narrative forms: Growth is understood through output indicators, growth is treated as the internal development of the firm and finally, growth is taken to be inevitable - a necessity to which the firm has to conform. These illustrate how growth can be understood as processes of growing, bound up in the context, created in space and time, and contingent on how growth is understood and experienced. Far from a smooth trajectory, enacting growth reflects the experience of the moment, it is shaped by reactions rather than strategy and it is messy rather than ordered. This study contributes to the literature by complementing the functionalist and output oriented view by understanding firm growth as a social phenomenon constructed and reconstructed in the interactions between people and experiences of context.


2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Matlay ◽  
Paul Westhead ◽  
Mike Wright

This case study examines the motivations and barriers to small firm internationalization. The entrepreneur's human and reputational capital, experience and knowledge are leveraged to address barriers. An e-business platform strategy is illustrated. At a secondary level, the case also demonstrates the challenges inherent in revitalizing family businesses over generations of ownership.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Barbana ◽  
Xavier Dumay ◽  
Vincent Dupriez

This article aims to understand how new accountability instruments in the context of the French-speaking Belgian educational system are appropriated by schools. After having characterised the specific nature of those instruments in the context of a traditionally highly decentralised system involved in a significant process of centralisation, we identify their effects through the case study of three schools. Using a new institutionalist lens, the analyses show that these instruments refer, in the French-speaking Belgian context, to a specific demand from the political environment of schools: developing and framing a common educational landscape, rather than to a logic of teacher evaluation. The data also indicate a reaffirmation, against this specific political demand, of three traditional ways of functioning tied up to the requests made by local educational communities. Thus, the analyses show a conflict between inherited institutions highly embedded in local contexts and the political signal associated with the new accountability instruments aiming to institutionalise common norms at the system level.


2021 ◽  
pp. 198-211
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Demiańczuk-Popiało

Universities operate in a legal environment constituted by the external legal regulations, which – due to their universality – are not sufficient as they do not take into account the specific nature of schools. In order to make their activity coherent and well organised, universities create their own rules. The material used by the author to analyze the language of the university internal law acts are the statutes and regulations posted on the websites of the universities supervised by the minister responsible for higher education in Poland. Due to special nature of the analyzed material, its vocabulary is not very varied. A lot of space is occupied by elements typical for legal texts, such as function names or abbreviations used in the description of a legal act. The study included phenomena related to both word-formation and inflection, as well as orthography, i.e. the grammatical type and number of nouns, the tense of verbs, and the notation of certain forms characteristic of the university texts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2649 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Huerta ◽  
Patricia Galilea

Regulatory schemes have remained an open question about the implementation of an urban bus system. Because of the introduction of a higher private initiative within these systems, the expectation of increased patronage has not been met. Hence, studying the effect of regulation on innovation becomes the first objective of this research because innovative solutions may help to attract users. To fulfill that objective, an analysis of innovative capabilities was carried out. The aim was to understand the gap between potential and practical innovation on the authorities and operators. The second objective was to use theoretical modeling to find the effect of payment schemes on frequency and bus size. Both analyses used as a case study the experience of Transantiago in Santiago, Chile. Innovation proved to be dependent on the regulatory scheme in which an operation was framed. Both authorities and operators showed the existence of innovative capabilities dependent on the perceived incentives. Trusting cooperation was an aspect that might have encouraged some types of innovation, such as route design. Analytical solutions showed that as in the experience of Transantiago, supply-based payments provided higher frequency and smaller bus size than fixed payments. Finally, an optimal tariff gave incentives to the operators to provide socially optimal levels of frequency and bus size for a certain demand level.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatima Alali ◽  
Randal Elder ◽  
Jian Zhou

We investigate Big 4 pricing over the period of 2000 to 2010. We classify the data into five periods: 2000-2001 as the pre-Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) period, 2002-2003 as the SOX period, 2004-2006 as the Auditing Standard 2 (AS2) period, 2007 as the AS5 period, and 2008-2010 as the Great Recession period. The shocks to the audit market associated with these changes in auditing regulations and the economic environment have differential impacts on large clients and small clients. The percentage of small clients using Big 4 auditors dropped significantly over these shocks, whereas the percentage of large clients using Big 4 auditors experienced a large drop only from the SOX period to the AS2 period. We find that Big 4 pricing increased significantly from the pre-SOX period to the SOX period and continued to increase significantly in the AS2 period. Big 4 pricing experienced a significant decline in the AS5 period and declined insignificantly in the Great Recession period. Big 4 small firm pricing decreased significantly in the AS2 period compared with the SOX period and in the Great Recession period compared with the AS5 period. We find that the Big 4 pricing for small clients is contingent on the nature of competition. The Big 4 charged small firms higher prices in the SOX period, AS5 period, and Great Recession period when competition was lower. Our paper provides a unique contribution as a comprehensive analysis of Big 4 pricing and Big 4 small firm pricing.


IMP Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 444-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip McGowan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the effect of effectuation logic on the buying intentions of small firm owner-managers. Design/methodology/approach Literature relating to organisational buying, marketing and personal selling and entrepreneurial decision making was synthesised. Findings This paper presents a conceptual model based on propositions relating to how effectuation logic may explain the predilection of small firm owner-managers to select trusted suppliers from within personal and business networks, and to engage on flexible terms. It suggests that supplier relationship decisions made using effectuation logic may enable wider choice of suppliers than the formal processes of large firms. Research limitations/implications The findings were developed from a narrative review of literature and are yet to be empirically tested. Originality/value By synthesising research findings on small firm buyer behaviour, the IMP interaction approach and effectuation, it has been possible to develop a predictive model representing buyer–seller relationships in the context of small firms which suggests that owner-managers select suppliers in line with the principles of effectuation means and effectuation affordable loss.


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