The trends of export activities development of small and medium enterprises: world experience and russian practice

The article analyzes the peculiarities of export activities of small and medium-sized businesses, shows the high involvement of companies belonging to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the high-tech sector. The contribution of SMEs to the creation of the value of a product/service through the introduction of innovations and their adaptation to different contexts by providing new or niche products that meet the diverse needs of customers is noted. Based on the analysis of the world practice of export activities of SMEs, the author concludes that SMEs can contribute to economic diversification and economic sustainability. This is especially true for resource-rich countries that are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in raw material prices. The emphasis is placed on the analysis of the export activity of Russian SMEs, an insignificant share of SMEs in the total volume of exports in comparison with other countries is highlighted. It is concluded that Russian small and medium-sized businesses are in the process of formation, which makes them vulnerable to the influence of both external and internal threats. It is shown what impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on SMEs. It was emphasized that the main problems for such companies were non-fulfillment of contractual obligations and a sharp decline in demand.

From Circular to Linear? Assessing the Life Cycle Environmental and Economic Sustainability of Steel and Plastic Beer Kegs

In the craft brewing industry, kegging solutions have changed dramatically in recent years. While steel kegs once dominated the draught beer market, single-use plastic kegs have increased in popularity due to their convenience, especially in the craft brewing sector. With the increasing importance of the circular economy and the introduction of policies in Europe to move away from single-use plastic systems, this study aims to assess and compare the sustainability of conventional steel and single-use plastic kegs. The environmental and economic performance are assessed through life cycle assessment and life cycle costing approaches. The results suggest that steel kegs have better environmental performance and life cycle costs. However, these are limited to the local markets, and with larger distances, plastic kegs may become the better option due to their lower weight, suggesting that both kegs are useful in certain situations. This is especially important in countries that have long distances between breweries and their markets. The importance of extending the lifetime of the keg fleet is also highlighted to improve the environmental performance as the results are influenced by the assumption on the lifetime of the steel kegs. To improve the environmental performance of plastic kegs, efficient closed-loop recycling systems should be developed. Careful decision-making is needed to ensure that more sustainable packaging options are chosen for draught beer and that sustainability aspects be taken into account beyond convenience.

Assessing the Sustainability Index of Part-Time and Full-time Hazelnut Farms in Giresun and Ordu Province, Turkey

The study's primary purposes were to assess the sustainability index of hazelnut farms and explore the effects of part-time and full-time farming types on sustainability index in hazelnut production in the Giresun and Ordu Province of Turkey. One hundred fifty-two hazelnut farms were selected using the stratified sampling method, and data were collected. Several steps were taken, including using factor analysis after standardizing the variables to determine their weights to calculate the composite hazelnut farms sustainability index. The research findings showed that overall hazelnut sustainability scores of farms varied from 0.28 to 0.59, and the average score was 0.44 at sampled farms. The composite hazelnut sustainability index was at an unsatisfactory level. The social and economic sustainability index value of farms was equal, and they were higher than the environmental index value. The values were 0.50 and 0.30, respectively. While the economic sustainability index score of full-time farms was higher than that of part-time farms, and part-time farms had higher environmental sustainability index scores than that of full-time farms. Social sustainability scores were not different in terms of farm type. It was recommended that when designing and regulation support policies, policy-makers should differentiate part-time and full-time hazelnut farming. Training and extension programs must be planned to increase the level of knowledge of every willing farmer. In addition, training and certification programs must be implemented to enhance the quality of the foreign labor force.

Analysis of the Economic Sustainability of the Supply Chain Sector by Applying the Altman Z-Score Predictor

This paper fills the gap in the financial perspective of supply chain performance measurement, related to the lack of a bankruptcy probability indicator, and proposes a predictor which is the eighth-model of the Altman Z-Score Logistic Regression. Furthermore, a bankruptcy probability ranking is established for the companies’ supply chains, according to the industry to which they belong. Moreover, the values are set to establish three categories of companies according to predictor. The probability of bankruptcy is analysed and studied for the supply chain of different industries. The building industry is revealed to have the highest probability of bankruptcy.

The Impact of Size on the Performance of Transnational Corporations Operating in the Textile Industry in Portugal during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this work is to understand the impact of size on the performance of transnational corporations (TNCs) operating in the textile and clothing industry in Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, we used ORBIS data for the period 2019–2020 and narrative, financial and correlation analyses to assess the performance of five companies. Thus far, the impact of company size on the competitiveness of Portuguese textile affiliates during the pandemic has remained unexplored. The results show that smaller firms performed better than larger ones, likely due to the higher fixed costs of the latter at times when orders declined worldwide. Our analysis suggests that there are some characteristics of TNCs that matter in explaining company-level performance during crises, such as management experience and flexibility. Furthermore, as Portugal is a major European textile exporter, it is useful for the host country to assess the economic sustainability of its foreign investors. The results provide some policy recommendations regarding the promotion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Portugal.

Trade-offs between economic, environmental and social sustainability on farms using a latent class frontier efficiency model: Evidence for Spanish crop farms

This article studies trade-offs of farms in terms of economic sustainability (proxied here by technical efficiency), environmental sustainability (proxied here by farmers’ commitment towards the environment) and social sustainability (proxied here by farmers’ contribution to on farm well-being and communities’ well-being). We use the latent class stochastic frontier model and create classes based on three separating variables, representing farms’ environmental sustainability and social sustainability. The application to a sample of Spanish crop farms shows that more environmentally sustainable farms are likely to have lower levels of technical efficiency. However, improvements in social concerns, both towards own farm and the larger community, may lead to improved technical efficiency levels. In general, our study provides evidence of trade-offs for farms between economic sustainability and environmental sustainability, but also between environmental sustainability and social sustainability.

Are Sustainable Aviation Fuels a Viable Option for Decarbonizing Air Transport in Europe? An Environmental and Economic Sustainability Assessment

The use of drop-in capable alternative fuels in aircraft can support the European aviation sector to achieve its goals for sustainable development. They can be a transitional solution in the short and medium term, as their use does not require any structural changes to the aircraft powertrain. However, the production of alternative fuels is often energy-intensive, and some feedstocks are associated with harmful effects on the environment. In addition, alternative fuels are often more expensive to produce than fossil kerosene, which can make their use unattractive. Therefore, this paper analyzes the environmental and economic impacts of four types of alternative fuels compared to fossil kerosene in a well-to-wake perspective. The fuels investigated are sustainable aviation fuels produced by power-to-liquid and biomass-to-liquid pathways. Life cycle assessment and life cycle costing are used as environmental and economic assessment methods. The results of this well-to-wake analysis reveal that the use of sustainable aviation fuels can reduce the environmental impacts of aircraft operations. However, an electricity mix based on renewable energies is needed to achieve significant reductions. In addition, from an economic perspective, the use of fossil kerosene ranks best among the alternatives. A scenario analysis confirms this result and shows that the production of sustainable aviation fuels using an electricity mix based solely on renewable energy can lead to significant reductions in environmental impact, but economic competitiveness remains problematic.

Implications of the Inclusive Pro-Poor Tourism Planning in Uganda for Strategic Planning for Community-Based Tourism Development in Nigeria

Many Nigerians are unemployed and live in extreme poverty. The Nigerian government has therefore identified tourism as one of the promising sectors in its efforts to diversify the economy from the oil sector. CBT which is a kind of tourism that encourages environmental, social, cultural, and economic sustainability in communities could be a good model for addressing the socio-economic challenges confronting Nigeria. Based on literature derived from JSTOR, Google Scholar, and Emerald, this chapter draws implications from the inclusive pro-poor tourism planning in Uganda for CBT development in Nigeria.

RISK AND ENSURING THE ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF ENTREPRENEURIAL STRUCTURES

The article reveals the features of risk and the specifics of ensuring the economic sustainability of entrepreneurial structures. It has been determined that the components of the economic sustainability of entrepreneurial structures are financial sustainability, production sustainability, personnel sustainability, investment sustainability, marketing sustainability, managerial sustainability, organizational sustainability, communicative sustainability, socio-psychological sustainability, innovative sustainability, environmental sustainability, technical and technological sustainability, market sustainability, sustainability of external relationships, sustainability of the institutional environment, sustainability of information support. It has been established that the procedure for managing the economic sustainability of entrepreneurial structures includes a risk factor, since the adoption of managerial decisions on issues of economic sustainability is probable. It has been established that the key factor influencing the economic sustainability of entrepreneurial structures is economic risk, which is based on internal and external sources of negative impact on the development potential of entrepreneurial structures towards its effective implementation and sustainable development in uncertain conditions. It is proved that the risk resistance of entrepreneurial structures is the main element of the overall zustainability of entrepreneurial structures and an integral characteristic of entrepreneurial structures as open socio-economic systems, which characterize the general possibilities of achieving effective and risk-free functioning. It has been established that one of the tools for creating favorable conditions for the functioning of entrepreneurial structures is risk management, the main tasks of which are to determine the object of management for a specific entrepreneurial structure, to establish the level of danger of realizing a certain risk, to determine the possible consequences and amount of damage, to assess the propensity of entrepreneurial structures to the risk of doing business activities, defining a system of priority directions for responding to a risk, developing risk management mechanisms for entrepreneurial structures. In the future, it is recommended to study the causes, consequences and components of the process of managing entrepreneurial risks.