Perception of Small-Scale Entrepreneurs Towards Government Support in Uttarakhand

Entrepreneurship is seen as a driving force for economic development and job creation. Hence, the government offers different forms of support to entrepreneurs. Many researchers have examined the effectiveness of government support. However, the question of how small-scale entrepreneurs perceive government assistance remains unanswered. The study seeks to assess the perception of small-scale entrepreneurs towards government support and also tries to explore some underlying factors pertaining to government support towards entrepreneurship development in Uttarakhand. The study is based on primary data collected from 240 small-scale entrepreneurs, using a self-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to interpret the results. It has been found that small-scale entrepreneurs have a positive perception towards single window clearance system, investment promotion facility centre and timelines for business approvals. The study further found that small-scale entrepreneurs have a negative perception towards the interest rate, transparency in loan sanctioning and the behaviour of the employees of financial institutions. The study also extracted three important factors from PCA and named them as an online support system, transparency and financial support.

Making the Invisible Visible: Investment Promotion and Multinational Production in Latin America and the Caribbean

Firms seeking to invest abroad must still confront important information barriers. As a consequence, a given country may provide suitable conditions for investment but remain invisible to multinational firms. Nearly all countries in the world have established investment promotion agencies (IPAs) to address these information barriers and put themselves on investors maps. Although IPAs are ubiquitous, the existing literature on the impacts of their activities is limited and only provides a view from the top, thus leaving governments without crucial inputs for designing and guiding their policy actions. Making the Invisible Visible fills in these knowledge gaps by zooming in on the effects of investment promotion policies and the mechanisms and channels thereof. To do so, it draws on the results of a highly detailed institutional survey of more than 50 IPAs and unique firm-level data on both the worldwide location of multinational firms foreign affiliates and IPA assistance for several LAC countries. Based on the results of impact evaluations using this novel micro data, the report presents robust new evidence on whether and how investment promotion works, what works in investment promotion, and when investment promotion works. In particular, it concludes that: (i) investment promotion has been (cost-)effective in attracting multinational firms and increasing LAC countries participation in multinational production; (ii) how IPAs are organized, what they do, and how they do it all influence these effects; (iii) the impact of IPA assistance has been greater when it consisted of specialized information services and was given to firms headquartered in countries and operating in sectors in which information barriers are more prominent. These findings can help countries in the region make better, more informed policy and operational decisions to take advantage of the opportunities that the current global context could create. They may thereby create a solid basis for long-term growth and sustainable development.

Foreign direct investment in the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic and the example of Visegrad countries

The immediate effects of COVID-19 on the global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) were devastating, resulting in a large drop. Flows to the Visegrad countries were also affected but less than the world average. The fall in FDI was the result of underlying trends that started before the pandemic but accentuated by the latter, creating a “perfect storm”. These secular trends include the digitalisation of production and the birth of Industry 4.0, resulting in more asset-light international production and reorganisations of company networks, the sustainability imperative, making the impact of FDI more relevant than its quantity, and a slowdown in the liberalisation of the policy framework for FDI both in individual countries and at the multilateral level. The recovery of FDI from the shock of 2020 is expected to be long and it will be impossible to return to the pre-pandemic structural and geographical patterns. Building resilience and diversification of production at the expense of the search for the lowest-cost locations will be the top priorities of investors, forcing the host countries to revise their investment promotion strategies focused on cost reduction. In the Visegrad countries, the model based on low labour costs will sooner or later reach its limits.

Canada’s Pro-Ban Stance on Double-Hatting: Playing the Long Game in ISDS Reform?

The practice of arbitrators and counsel in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases simultaneously playing both roles — known as “double-hatting” — has been the subject of much controversy in recent debates on ISDS reform, notably, at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (UNCITRAL) Working Group III where a Draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in International Investment Disputes is under discussion. While Canada has been less than consistent in its approaches to ISDS in recent international investment agreements (IIAs), its position against double-hatting has been rather constant. This article explores whether this stance reveals a commitment on the part of Canada towards increased judicialization of ISDS or reflects a “flavour of the month” reform likely to change with differing IIAs and negotiating partners. Analysis of Canada’s recent IIA practices, including its model Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, released in May 2021, and the positions it has taken at UNCITRAL’s Working Group III, lead the author to conclude that Canada appears committed to increased judicialization of ISDS in the long run.

A Study on Attracting Local And International Investments and Improving an Integrated Logistics System Allows Local Products to Reach Global Markets

This paper studies how local non-oil Omani products could reach global markets by attracting local and international investors and improving the integrated logistics system in Oman. Therefore, the scope of this research is investment agencies in Oman, which are the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion and the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development. This study targets the leading logistics companies in Oman, such as Asyad Group. The study used an online survey and direct interview targeting specialists and experts in investment agencies and logistics companies. The results of the research showed that challenges are facing attracting local and international investors in local industries. Those challenges are the lengthy, complicated and costly procedures to obtain permits and licenses for investors, weak promotion of investment opportunities and local products at the international level, weakness of the local market, cumbersome regulations of the government, and so on. All these challenges constitute an obstacle to attracting investments. Findings also vindicate that weaknesses in logistical performance represented by the complex export and import procedures, complications in customs clearance operations, and the weak performance of land, sea, and air transport, which constitutes a barrier to exporting local products to global markets. The primary limitations that the researchers faced in conducting this research. First, there were many complications in collecting information through interviews. Some companies refused to conduct interviews due to preventive measures for the spread of the Coronavirus, which may affect the results.

UNWTO Investment Guidelines – Strategies to Safeguard Tourism Investments during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit investments in tourism hard. While global FDI dropped by 35% in the first half of 2020, within the tourism sector the fall in announced foreign investment was 73.2%. As a result, the sector lost USD 1.3 trillion in export revenues in 2020, placing between 100 million and 120 million direct tourism jobs at risk and translating into an estimated loss of over USD 2.5 trillion in global GDP. In this context, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) identified investments as one of four key areas to be prioritized as the sector restarts and recovers. For this purpose, UNWTO has joined forces with the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) to strengthen the capacities of its Member States to safeguard, attract and promote tourism investment projects during and after the pandemic for faster economic recovery.

Improving investment promotion agencies performance in attracting foreign direct investment

Purpose This study aims to investigate how investment promotion agencies (IPAs) attract funds effectively from emerging to established countries. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative action research (AR) study with data collected from focus groups and semi-structured interviews, observation and journaling. Comparative case studies are also presented to provide an external perspective to the researchers’ internal action researcher positions. Findings The research identifies four main factors that impact IPAs’ effectiveness in seeking a strategic asset in the UK from a developing country, China. The factors are policy advocacy, targeting industry, regional strategy and cultural adaption, which provide positive and significant influences on IPAs’ effectiveness. Research limitations/implications Little research has been published about the roles of IPAs in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) from a developing to a developed country. The study uses an AR approach and case studies, which have not previously been used to investigate IPAs’ performance. The study extends the sparse extant research and provides insights into what influences the performance of IPAs, thus contributing to knowledge and practice. Practical implications The findings provide insights into the ways in which IPAs influence FDI flows. The research contributes to discipline knowledge and practice by identifying factors influencing funding in a non-traditional manner, that is from a developing to a developed country. Originality/value Little research has been published about the roles of IPAs in attracting FDI from a developing to a developed country. The study uses an AR approach and case study, which have not previously been used to investigate IPAs’ performance. The study extends the sparse extant research and provides insights into what influences the performance of IPAs, thus contributing to knowledge and practice.

Effects of Learning Style and Learning Source Preferences on Organizational Learning Capability

Purpose The purpose of this research is the modeling of the relationship of Learning Style and Learning Source Preferences to Organizational Learning Capability (OLC). Design/methodology/approach A survey questionnaire gave us data from 274 employees in the hotel industry in Cyprus, which was chosen because it is a labor-intensive industry with big economic impact on the National Domestic Product (as per Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency this is more than 20%). SPSS and AMOS were used to analyse the proposed model. Findings The findings provided evidence to support the position that the proposed model demonstrates that OLC is affected by the Individual Learning Preferences (ILP) which are the learning style preference and the learning source preference of individual workers. Research limitations/implications The study did not consider the effect of learning style and learning source preferences on the different departments of a hotel. Further, a longitudinal study with more organizations within the hotel sector, or other economic sectors, was outside the scope of this study. Practical implications The proposed model can be used by organizations to reflect on how learning source and learning style preferences can affect the OLC. Originality/value What relevant research did not explore enough, is the learning preferences of individuals in their work environment and not as often seen, the learning styles or learning (dis)abilities of students in a school environment. Therefore, this research fulfills the need to study learning preferences in the business context and examines their effects on OLC.