Agri-food entrepreneurship. Harvesting, growing and reseeding the orchard through a bibliometric study

PurposeScholarly literature on entrepreneurial activities in the agri-food sector has flourished over the years in several different ways. This study uses the metaphor of an orchard to describe how this stream of literature has evolved from its initial “seeds” to the rich and diversified “fruits” of current debate. It is now time to harvest and catalogue these “fruits”. This study aims to map out and systematise the current stock of knowledge on agri-food entrepreneurship, so as to identify gaps and thus “plant” new seeds for the future of the “orchard”.Design/methodology/approachTo identify thematic clusters, this study used a bibliometric analysis coupled with a systematic literature review performed over a dataset of 108 peer-reviewed articles.FindingsThe results revealed six thematic clusters related to agri-food entrepreneurship: ecosystems, formal and informal institutions; contextual entrepreneurial practices; community and stakeholders’ engagement; barriers and opportunities; entrepreneurial orientation; and sustainable entrepreneurship. After investigating each of them, this study created a framework to highlight future avenues through which the topic could be further developed.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to systematise, analyse and critically interpret the literature concerned with agri-food entrepreneurship.

The Impact of Interplay Between Formal and Informal Institutions on the Development of Innovation Networks: A Comparative Study of CEECs

The aim of this paper is to present the results of comparative case study research concerning the impact of the interplay between formal and informal institutions on the development of innovation networks of the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). The primary contribution this article makes is to link the literature on the interplay between institutions related to innovation networks in a broad range of economies in transition like CEECs. This paper provides an understanding of how interplay between these institutions may influence the development of innovation networks of CEECs. Practical policy recommendations are to introduce a risk guarantee mechanism, which may promote the innovation process at different levels and influence the development of innovation networks later.

Institutional Determinants of Informal Payments for Health Services: An Exploratory Analysis across 117 Countries

Healthcare accessibility and equity remain important issues, as corruption in the form of informal payments is still prevalent in many countries across the world. This study employs a panel data analysis over the 2006–2013 period to explore the role of different institutional factors in explaining the prevalence of informal payments. Covering 117 countries, our findings confirm the significant role of both formal and informal institutions. Good governance, a higher trust among individuals, and a higher commitment to tackling corruption are associated with diminishing informal payments. In addition, higher shares of private finance, such as out-of-pocket and domestic private health expenditure, are also correlated with a lower prevalence of informal payments. In policy terms, this displays how correcting institutional imperfections may be among the most efficient ways to tackle informal payments in healthcare.

Multistakeholder Agency: Stakeholder Benefit Alignment and National Institutional Contexts

The alignment among multiple stakeholder benefits is a valuable performance indicator for the benefits generated by a firm for various stakeholders. Our research seeks to augment stakeholder-agency theory with an institutional perspective to analyze how national institutions affect stakeholder benefit alignment. We suggest that the current development of stakeholder-agency theory has overlooked the alignment of different stakeholders’ benefits and the external institutional contexts as critical determinants in ensuring such alignment. We conceptualize stakeholder benefit alignment as a positive relationship between different stakeholder groups’ benefits, and propose an institutional framework grounded in relative stakeholder salience. Using this framework, we argue that stakeholder benefits are better aligned when national institutions enhance the ease of withdrawal, legal protection, and private enforcement for intrinsically less salient stakeholders, and when a long-term oriented culture characterizes a society. We found supportive evidence by employing a meta-analytic approach based on 530 correlations from 94 primary studies representing 23 economies. Our study adds new insights to the stakeholder-agency literature by conceptualizing and quantitatively examining the degree of alignment across different stakeholder benefit dimensions, focusing on national formal and informal institutions as boundary conditions.

Resilience through Synergy? The Legal Complex in Sri Lanka’s Constitutional Crisis

What types of institutional dynamics and conditions allow constitutional resilience in the face of attempts at undermining gains in a constitutional democracy? Using Sri Lanka as a case-study, I claim that the legal complex acting in synergy with independent public institutions (the Speaker of the Parliament) and civil society can produce constitutional resilience. Synergy between the legal complex and these institutions can transform constitutional vulnerability into constitutional resilience. I argue therefore that the legal complex theory must be extended to consider the ways in which it can work in synergy with other public institutions in being resilient against attempts at rolling back gains for constitutional democracy. I argue further that synergy between the legal complex and formal and informal institutions over the short term can only result in “simple” constitutional resilience. The development of “reflexive” constitutional resilience requires long-term synergy between the legal complex and other public institutions.

Innovating for the Poor

This chapter introduces the inclusive innovation system in China by showing the roles of bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) entrepreneurs, institutions for inclusive innovation, infrastructures supporting inclusive innovation, and emerging governance of inclusive innovation. Based on an integrative review of the literature about the innovation that led to inclusive growth in developing economies, this chapter proposes the conceptual framework of the process toward inclusive innovation by integrating the dynamic inclusive growth with the current static view. Then, considering the Chinese context, especially the turning from formal institutions to the interpenetration of both formal and informal institutions, this chapter finally summarizes some challenges for inclusive innovation and its implications on economic and social growth.

Informal Payments by Patients in Central and Eastern Europe during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Institutional Perspective

Confronted with a global pandemic, public healthcare systems are under pressure, making access to healthcare services difficult for patients. This provides fertile ground for using illegal practices such as informal payments to gain access. This paper aims to evaluate the use of informal payments by patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and the institutions that affect the prevalence of this practice. Various measurements of formal and informal institutions are here investigated, namely the acceptability of corruption, the level of trust, transparency, and performance of the healthcare system. To do so, a logistic regression of 10,859 interviews with patients conducted across 11 Central and Eastern Europe countries in October–December 2020 is employed. The finding is that there are large disparities between countries in the prevalence of informal payments, and that the practice is more likely to occur where there are poorer formal and informal institutions, namely higher acceptability of corruption, lower trust in authorities, lower perceived transparency in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, difficult access to, and poor quality of, healthcare services, and higher mortality rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings suggest that policy measures for tackling informal payments need to address the current state of the institutional environment.

THE INFLUENCE OF INSTITUTIONS ON THE DYNAMICS OF POSTSOCIALIST TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES IN UKRAINE

Attention is paid to the important role of an effective system of institutions to ensure the economic development of Ukraine. It is noted that the formation of this system should be given the attention of scientists, as well as government agencies. The content of economic transformation of postsocialist countries, in particular Ukraine, is studied. The study was conducted using the methodology of comparing the capitalist and socialist systems, as well as the historical approach. The content of categories «property» and «transformation» is considered, as well as the influence of property institutions on the dynamics of transformation processes that took place in postsocialist countries. The interrelation and interdependence between the influence of institutions and the dynamics of the process of postsocialist transformation are determined. Results of the study showed a low level of development of formal institutions in Ukraine, while informal institutions act as a natural brake on further economic development. It is emphasized that the influence of institutions on the dynamics of postsocialist transformation processes is essential and crucial in Ukraine. Based on the institution of ownership, the effects of ownership are considered. Western countries are able to generate capital and maximize the benefits of using property due to their full use. Unlike Western countries, in Ukraine property is considered on the basis of the object, and not through a system of rights that can be used by the owner. The nature of legal and illegal property relations, as well as the preconditions for the transformation of property institutions, are considered in detail. The influence of formal and informal institutions on the dynamics of postsocialist transformation processes in Ukraine is determined. The emergence of intangible property by example of intellectual property, as well as the importance of compliance and implementation of property rights by the legislative system are considered. Conclusions are made about the current situation of the socio-economic system of Ukraine in the context of the transformation of formal and informal institutions. Keywords: institute, property, transformation, capital, entrepreneurship. JEL Classification P31 Formulas: 0; fig.: 0; tabl.: 1; bibl.: 15.

Examining the Dynamics Between Formal and Informal Institutions in Progressive City Planning

What explains the institutionalization of progressive city planning practices? Using Medellín as a case study, I analyze how state and nonstate actors target both formal and informal institutions in efforts to maintain the continuity of progressive public space provision practices. I introduce the idea of institutional compounding, defined as the quest by networks of individuals and organizations to create and sustain both formal and informal institutions, where each maintains its particular defining features while together they provide continuity and legitimacy to an existing practice. I draw on in-depth, semi-structured interviews, direct observation, and document analysis to demonstrate that continuity efforts are more likely to have an effect when actors engage in institutional compounding, since the strategy minimizes the shortcomings of formal and informal institutions alone. The findings contribute toward conceptualizing how nascent institutions become effective, highlighting how actors strengthen practices and how they seek to embed them through networked efforts.