scholarly journals DOES BOARD USAGE OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AFFECT INTERNATIONALIZATION PERFORMANCE OF SMES? A CASE OF LITHUANIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Monika Bužavaitė ◽  
Renata Korsakienė

Internationalization of SMEs is encouraged by the advantages of new environmental conditions and appealing business opportunities, but remains a challenging process. Top management teams and more specifically board of directors appear to be a critical determinant in addressing internationalization issues. In recent years, investigation of boards in small firms’ context has been an interest of scholars, however few investigated characteristics of human capital. This study aims to investigate whether board usage of knowledge and skills is a mediator linking characteristics of human capital of board and internationalization performance of SMEs in Lithuania. The results revealed that usage of knowledge and skills mediates the relationships between international business skills and internationalization performance. Obtained results contribute to international entrepreneurship and upper-echelons theories by highlighting the role of the board in SMEs and linking it to higher internationalization performance through their usage of knowledge and skills. This study fills the research gap and extends the extant studies in internationalization of SMEs. First, the study responds to the need to investigate how board’s capital affect internationalization. Secondly, the study responds to the need to go beyond input-output models.

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilan Alon ◽  
Leo-Paul Dana ◽  
Anna Jenkins

Why do small firms from small countries internationalize? This study investigates the motives of small-scale entrepreneurs from New Zealand to internationalize via exporting, and particularly evaluate the role of government assistance. Our empirical findings of 139 SMEs situated in the Canterbury region of New Zealand suggest that export is strongly related to government-induced programs. Also important are personal motivations, declining domestic sales, saturated domestic market and excess capacity.


Author(s):  
Sumati Varma ◽  
Mukesh Bagoria

This paper examines the role of the diaspora as a driver of international entrepreneurship in the home country context, from the perspective of the Indian IT industry. It identifies diaspora links as sources of knowledge, learning and reputation, that drives domestic firms on the path of accelerated internationalisation. It uses inductive methodology to develop an eclectic framework using insights from diverse streams of international business, entrepreneurship and the literature on diaspora. It focuses on the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities in the context of the Indian IT sector with lessons that can be replicated elsewhere.


Stanovnistvo ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-85
Author(s):  
Biljana Jovanovic-Gavrilovic ◽  
Biljana Radivojevic

The key to the future of any country in the modern world lies in the knowledge, skills and talent of its population. This gives a special importance to education through which human capital is created as an important component of national wealth. Different methods of measuring human capital are found in literature. There is a well-known division into monetary and non-monetary methods, with the latter being specifically addressed in the article. Education plays an important role in achieving sustainable development. Through education, knowledge about sustainable development is acquired while human resources that are capable and willing to achieve this development are created. Education, just like sustainable development, has a long-time perspective. In both cases, the interests of the future are respected when making decisions in the present. The impact of education on sustainable development is manifested through all three of its dimensions ? economic, social and environmental. The key role of education for achieving sustainable development has been globally recognized and embedded in relevant United Nations documents, including a new global development agenda by 2030, focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals, of which Objective 4 explicitly refers to education. The European Union also pays considerable attention to education for the future in the context of the commitment of its members to achieve sustainable development. Serbia, at least declaratively, follows it, given the orientation of the country to join this regional integration. The future of education is under the strong influence of global mega trends, especially the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which strongly influences the world of work and the necessary knowledge and skills. During the earlier industrial revolutions, it took several decades to build appropriate education and training systems, but there is no time for that now. Changes must be anticipated, and reactions should be quick. The quality of educational systems of countries around the world and their preparedness for the challenges of the new age can be evaluated on the basis of the results of the Program for International Student Assessment ? PISA, the most important research in the field of education, which, under the auspices of the OECD, tests the knowledge and skills of fifteen-year-olds, and relying on the composite indicator introduced by the World Economic Forum ? Global Human Capital Index (GHCI). The results for Serbia are generally discouraging, but in some segments, they point to the country?s hidden potentials that should be activated. Education represents the development opportunity of Serbia at the threshold of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As a small and economically country, Serbia should not remain at the margin of events, in the role of a passive observer. On the contrary, through adapting its education system to the demands of time by adequate financial and institutional support, thus improving human capital of the people, Serbia can find its place in a changing labor market and create preconditions for dynamic and sustainable economic development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Evi Adriani

Human capital is an investment in the field of human resources The process of acquiring knowledge and skills through education is not merely a consumptive activity, but rather a form of investment in Human Resources (HR). This study will explain the existence of the theory of human capital in terms of investment in human capital for education. Explanation starts from the definition and concept of human capital, perspective in discussing human capital investment and methods of measuring human capital investment. This paper closes with the signaling theory which is another direction of thinking about the role of education as human capital.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 399-424
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Wach ◽  
Agnieszka Głodowska

Research background: The theoretical basis of the study derives from the assumptions of international entrepreneurship combining theories of entrepreneurship and theories of international business. The identification of entrepreneurship determinants and attributes was based on the economic, socio ? cultural, as well as psychological approach to entrepreneurship. Purpose of the article: The aim of the article is to verify how demographic and basic traits of an entrepreneur affect the pace of the internationalization of firms from Poland. Methods: The study was based on CATI method. The article uses data collected on the basis of a study conducted on a sample of 355 companies from Poland. The research methods applied are a critical analysis of prior research, which allowed to identify the research gap and develop research hypotheses. In the empirical part, statistical methods were applied, including descriptive statistics and multidimensional regression. Findings & value added: The logistic regression estimation allows to confirm three hypotheses. With the age of the entrepreneur, the pace of internationalization of the firm increases. The pace of internationalization of the firm increases with the level of education of the entrepreneur. The fact that an entrepreneur belongs to a national minority increases the pace of the internationalization of the firm. Results of two-sample t-test confirm that firms whose entrepreneurs have higher entrepreneurial competences internationalize faster and earlier. The added value of the article is the combination of socio-demographic and psycho-cognitive characteristics of the entrepreneur with internationalisation. Applying this approach to a sample of firms from Poland (CEE market) contributes to research on international entrepreneurship in a thematic and geographical sense. The results of the study are of an applied nature. They can be addressed to many recipients: entrepreneurs, policymakers, educators, entities responsible for shaping and promoting entrepreneurship on both the micro and macro levels.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110088
Author(s):  
Tariq H. Malik ◽  
Chunhui Huo

Recruiters and researchers of TMT (top management teams) tend to emphasize the human capital and social capital of the executive in the interfirm migration, but they ignore the role of the former employer’s prestige. We address this issue to argue that the former employer’s organizational prestige attracts the recruiter’s attention to the TMT, and we propose that the TMT from high-prestige organization attracts high rewards than the TMT from a low-prestige organization. We used data from the biotechnology sector on 1,468 TMTs, their 1,482 hiring events, 783 recruiters, 168 source employers—in the interfirm movement of the TMTs from 1997 to 2005. We used three measures for predictors of the organizational prestige of the former employer, and the regression analysis shows some reflections of those predictors of rewards of the hired executive. The result shows that the organizational age, size, and alliance network of the former employer emit value signals to the recruiter. These components of organizational prestige predict increase in the rewards after controlling for the human capital of the TMT. The study contributes to organizational context as a predictor of value, institutional theory, and general implications for practice and policy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Milcah Wavinya Mulu-Mutuku ◽  
Dolphine Odero-Wanga ◽  
Adijah Ali-Olubandwa

There is renewed interest in female entrepreneurship as policy makers recognize the importance of social inclusiveness in economic development. Women’s involvement in entrepreneurship is applauded as a necessary precursor to economic growth of developing nations despite women under-representation among business owners. Many factors have been blamed for this under-representation among them, socialisation and lack of motivation in choosing entrepreneurship as a career option. In Kenya, women entrepreneurs have low levels of education; are in need of business knowledge and skills yet unable to pay for business development services; and are affected strongly by patriarchal structures especially the role of husbands. Yet, some few women own growing businesses that contribute towards wealth and employment creation. This study sought to determine how women learn to be entrepreneurial and to establish hindrances to female entrepreneurial learning process. A survey was conducted on 106 women micro-entrepreneurs in the Kenyan dairy processing industry. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using descriptive statistics. Findings showed that majority (76.9%) of the micro-entrepreneurs went into business without any prior business skills. Only 5.5% of them had training in business-related fields before starting their businesses. Another 17.6% had learnt some business skills from previous employment. Social contacts and relations were important sources of business knowledge and skills for 68.7% of them. Rarely did the respondents engage in active search of business knowledge and skills. Probably an entrepreneurship development curriculum weaved through the entire school syllabus would help in entrenching an enterprising culture among women.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noor Hadi ◽  
Shahjehan Ahmed

Owing to a “War for Talent” every organization is struggling for the best employer status. Thus, attracting, recruiting and retaining talented human capital is the primary focus of every organization. In this regard the aim of the present study is to answer the most frequent and recently asked question of what value(s) organization focus on the retention of their workforce? In so doing, Social Learning Theory and Reciprocity Theory were used as a theoretical background; to further proceed with the study, data was purposively collected from 204 respondents from educational institutes of Pakistan. Findings of the study revealed that development value has a substantial relationship with employee retention. Since, development of new knowledge and skills results in the improvement of one’s present job. Furthermore, limitations and implications of the study are discussed.


Author(s):  
Jongsung Kim

The heterogeneity of immigrants raises a question as to whether there is a general pattern of earnings progress that applies to all immigrants. As there are many types of immigrants, earnings patterns among immigrant groups are not well known. To fill in this research gap, this paper investigates the role of various determinants in the earnings process of two major immigrant groups: Hispanic and Asian immigrants. If there is a gap between these two immigrant groups, could it be a result of different human capital characteristics or some other factors? According to empirical results based on the 1990 Census of Population 5 percent Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), the decomposition of the earnings difference between immigrant groups indicates that approximately 28 percent of the gap is unexplained by the observable labor market characteristics. Cottons modified version of the Oaxaca-Blinder procedure is used to decompose the earnings gap.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-158
Author(s):  
Magdalena Rosińska‑Bukowska

The main objective of the article is to discuss the direction of changes in the strategies of the most powerful transnational corporations as a result of adjustments to the new challenges created by the growing role of human capital in contemporary international business. Based on the concept of Grounded Theory Methodology, the author will indicate the main pillars of the strategy which can be considered effective for new challenges. The study has been divided into three parts. The first part discusses the most important theoretical issues concerning the place of human capital in the strategies of contemporary enterprises. In the second part, the author characterizes new trends in international transfers of human capital. In the next part, based on the research, the author discusses the impact of changes on the organizational and management system of enterprises – on the example of the most powerful transnational corporations. The studies have shown that all the most powerful transnational corporations notice the growing role of intellectual capital in contemporary business. The basis of corporations’ strategies is the emphasis put on the development of subsystems of intellectual capital, which refers to the activation of international transfers of human capital. In consequence, the strategies of the development of the most powerful transnational corporations are based on three pillars: networking, orchestration, and coopetition, and they are based on the three subsystems of intellectual capital: organizational capital, innovations, and the institutional environment.


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