Economic Competitive Advantage Research Articles

Moderating role of enterprise risk management in the relationship between sustainability performance and a firm’s competitive advantage

The emergence of sustainable business practices has garnered interest among stakeholders. However, the question of whether sustainability performance provides companies with a competitive advantage is still being debated in the literature. This paper aims to examine the influence of sustainability performance – namely economic sustainability performance and environmental, social, governance (ESG) – on competitive advantage, with the effectiveness of enterprise risk management (ERM) as the moderating variable. This paper used 202 firm-year observations during 2015–2022 from non-financial sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. To test the hypotheses, panel data regression with a one-year time-lag analysis is conducted. The findings show that economic sustainability performance has no relationship with competitive advantage, while ESG has a positive effect. Furthermore, ERM effectiveness strengthens the effect of economic sustainability and ESG on competitive advantage. Further investigation used a two-year time-lag analysis for a long-term perspective. The analysis shows that economic sustainability performance and ESG have a positive impact on competitive advantage. In contrast, ERM effectiveness has no effect on the relationship between economic sustainability performance and competitive advantage. Moreover, additional analysis incorporates the effect of COVID-19 into the main model and shows that the pandemic did not affect competitive advantage; this is consistent with the main results. The findings encourage companies to improve their risk management and sustainability initiatives. The government may also take it into account when developing rules that promote the implementation of sustainable development. AcknowledgmentThis research was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia through the Center for Higher Education Fund (BPPT) and Indonesia Endowment Funds for Education (LPDP) for providing the Indonesian Education Scholarship (BPI-Beasiswa Pendidikan Indonesia).

Corporate Support as a Strategic Factor for Increasing the Economic Efficiency of Enterprises

"This study explores the impact of corporate support mechanisms—financial assistance, technology transfer, and consultancy services—on the economic efficiency of enterprises, integrating stakeholder analysis, prioritization, and theory into its analysis. Utilizing logistic regression on data from 250 diverse enterprises, the study reveals significant enhancements in economic efficiency through corporate support. Financial assistance increased the likelihood of high economic efficiency by 2.0 times, with technology transfer being even more influential, making enterprises 3.5 times more likely to achieve high efficiency. Consultancy services also played a significant role, improving efficiency likelihood by 1.8 times. The analysis provided a confidence interval of 1.2 to 2.7 for consultancy services, with a p-value of 0.005, highlighting its relevance. Additionally, the study delved into the role of enterprise characteristics and the competitive environment, revealing nuanced insights into their interaction with corporate support effectiveness. While enterprise size and sector did not exhibit a direct significant impact on economic efficiency, the competitive market dynamics were found to slightly decrease the likelihood of achieving high efficiency, with a negative coefficient indicating a complex relationship. The research further examines the complex interplay between corporate support and factors such as enterprise characteristics, market competition, and importantly, stakeholder interests. It suggests that aligning corporate support strategies with the nuanced expectations and priorities of stakeholders—not just focusing on direct economic gains—can significantly bolster an enterprise’s growth and operational efficiency. By advocating for tailored support strategies that consider the diverse needs and conditions of enterprises along with a comprehensive stakeholder approach, the findings highlight the essential role of corporate support in enhancing economic performance and competitive advantage, emphasizing the critical need for policies and practices that are responsive to both enterprise needs and stakeholder considerations."

Understanding Innovation Ecosystems

In today’s changing and globalized world innovation ecosystems have become drivers of economic growth and competitive advantage. These ecosystems facilitate collaboration, knowledge sharing and technological advancements, among businesses. Scholars and practitioners have increasingly focused on understanding the concept of innovation ecosystems as they play a role in the survival and growth of firms in the technology driven economy. Companies rely on product innovation to access markets and opportunities leading them to prioritize searches for innovative ideas. To create value in business landscape, industries are now emphasizing the importance of fostering ecosystems that promote collaboration among companies. This literature review aims to synthesize existing research on the innovation ecosystems with a focus on open innovation and value creation. By examining frameworks, empirical studies, and practical insights this article offers a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms, challenges and opportunities that shape these ecosystems. It also highlights the roles played by networks, regulatory frameworks and organizational capabilities in driving innovation led growth and sustainable development, within dynamic and interconnected innovation ecosystems.
  
 Received: 19 February 2024 / Accepted: 15 March 2024 / Published: 23 March 2024

The Role of The Digital Economy in Azerbaijan’s Economic Development

Azerbaijan is taking important steps towards the digital economy in order to support its economic growth and gain competitive advantage. This article examines the critical role played by the digital economy in the economic development of Azerbaijan. The introduction generally evaluates the economic context of Azerbaijan and emphasizes the importance of the digital economy in this context. The research method section describes the paper's basic data collection and analysis strategies. The Digital Economy and Azerbaijan section defines the basic concepts of the digital economy and examines Azerbaijan's progress in this field. Emphasis is placed on digital economy models and technology integration implemented in the country. The Role of the Digital Economy in Azerbaijan's Economic Development section discusses in detail the effects of the digital economy on economic growth. The role of elements such as innovation, e-commerce, digital finance and banking in the Azerbaijani economy is examined in depth. The Result and Discussion section evaluates the general findings of the article and discusses the potential impacts of the digital economy on the Azerbaijani economy. It also includes various perspectives on predicting future digital economy applications. This article aims to make a significant contribution to the country's efforts to achieve sustainable growth and competitive advantage by highlighting the central role of the digital economy in Azerbaijan's economic development.

An Ethical Framework for Economic Intelligence

It can be argued that intelligence activity has ethical value through its important role in detecting, preventing, and countering threats that would cause harm to the political community and its members. What has been relatively overlooked, however, is the potentially (un)ethical role of intelligence in the economic sphere—that is, whether secret intelligence acts of economic espionage and economic covert action can be used against another (potentially aggressive) state’s economy or economic actors as a means of protecting one’s own economic, social, and military security. Economic intelligence works to create a competitive economic or political advantage, but this can cause harm that is more likely to be disproportionate and inflicted on those who have done nothing to warrant it. The harms caused by economic intelligence can be widely spread across society and against those who are unjustified targets. To account for this, additional care needs to be given to questions of proportionality and discrimination.

RESEARCH OF ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY AS THE BASIS OF ENSURING ECONOMIC SECURITY AT THE MICRO LEVEL

RESEARCH OF ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY AS THE BASIS OF ENSURING ECONOMIC SECURITY AT THE MICRO LEVEL

Соціально-економічна безпека як фактор забезпечення конкурентоспроможності організації

Modern economic life’s dynamism, complexity, and riskiness require enterprises and organizations to take measures to ensure economic security and gain competitive advantages. Human capital is one of the decisive factors for solving these tasks from a strategic perspective. Socio-economic security is one of the central economic categories, which, during the duration of the military conflict, acquired an extremely urgent importance for Ukraine. The study of the content and composition of the economic security of organizations made it possible to highlight the social component as a central element in its architecture. The social component ensures the interaction of the object-subject sphere of economic security management. It mediates the interaction of all types of assets and the effectiveness of the organization’s activities. The article examines the role and importance of human capital as the main element in ensuring the socio-economic security of the organization. The architecture of the components of the socio-economic security of the organization in the context of gaining strategic competitive advantages under the conditions of sustainable development is presented. The principles of achieving the socio-economic security of the organization, which contribute to increasing the competitiveness of business entities, are substantiated. It was determined that human capital determines the nature of the perception of strategic values of sustainable development, which should be the basis of achieving the goals of ensuring organizations’ social and economic security and competitiveness. Ukraine’s current state and place in the world competitiveness rankings have been studied. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of the human development index, an assessment of Ukraine’s human capital was carried out. The obtained results showed the relative stability of Ukraine’s positions in the pre-war period. It was determined that the trends in the country due to the military conflict cause significant risks of loss of human capital, provision of social and economic security, and restoration of competitive positions of the national economy. In turn, this requires the development of effective mechanisms for increasing the quantity, quality, and value of human capital as a foundation for ensuring the socio-economic security and competitiveness of organizations based on sustainable development. Keywords: security, competitive advantages, human capital, development, business entities.

Ship emissions reduction via slow steaming without disrupting the logistical supply chain: A case study of the port of Felixstowe

ABSTRACT In this era of global supply chains and just-in-time logistics, the speed with which shipping companies can deliver goods to their customers is an economic competitive advantage. The growth of international trade means more ships and more voyages which will contribute to the increasing global emissions inventory. Nonetheless, developments in ship environmental performance have not matched the increase in shipping activities. Several environmental protection and emissions reduction measures have been identified but are yet to be implemented globally due to technological gaps and their capital-intensiveness. This paper focused on addressing the challenges of applying “slow steaming” as a measure of cutting emissions. It demonstrated that by applying analytical models, the optimal berthing capacity can be defined and that by implementing the model, ships can employ slow steaming to reduce emissions. The paper also proposed a collaboration between port and ship owners/companies where real-time information is exchanged to facilitate access and swift cargo operations at ports so that ships can employ speed reduction techniques during a sail.

Competitive advantage in the international market of laws: the case of copyright law

ABSTRACT This article identifies efficiency, certainty, and agility as essential facilitators of a copyright system’s ability to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to the cultural and creative industries in today’s knowledge economy. The article further provides a set of principles and rules that enable these characteristics in copyright law. Whereas some of these copyright principles and rules are inherently compatible and, hence, can concurrently serve the efficiency, certainty, and agility of copyright law, the co-existence of some of them requires legislative and judicial balancing, as neither of them should defeat the purpose of the other. Furthermore, given the role that legal efficiency, certainty, and agility play in the sustainability of copyright law, legislatures should weigh these characteristics in the copyright law balance when enacting or amending copyright statutes. Courts also should consider these qualities when reconciling competing copyright law interests via statutory interpretation. Both types of balancing are necessary to ensure that the economic competitive advantage of copyright law does not prejudice its fairness foundations. From a business strategy perspective, firms in the cultural and creative industry may want to consider the efficiency, certainty, and agility of a copyright system when choosing their investment destinations.

On the relation between entrepreneurship and quality management

Abstract Healthy business ecosystems are necessary for competitive advantage, the major force of the trade economy, and free markets. Business sustainability requires entrepreneurship skills, knowledge, and competencies, as well as standardization of processes, procedures, etc., which relate to quality management patterns. Entrepreneurship can be measured, and so can quality management. Most international, regional, and local business organizations, individual businesses, as well as several researchers, assert that there is a connection between entrepreneurship and quality management, especially with ISO standards.Therefore, it is necessary to research the relations between entrepreneurship and quality management to provide a clear insight into the issue. This study is based on an analysis of regression between the Index of Entrepreneurship and the Index of ISO Standards, to verify Hypothesis H1 (There is not any relation between E Index and ISO Standards Index) against Hypothesis H0 (There is a strong relation between E Index and ISO Standards Index). The results of the research show that entrepreneurship requires scientific management of factors of production, employing skills, knowledge, and competencies, as well as using principles of qualitymanagement, achieving an economic (competitive) advantage, so, a connection and relations between entrepreneurship and management of quality (standards of quality management, ISO), is indispensable. It can be stated from the conducted research that there is no relation between entrepreneurship and ISO standards yet, even though it is highly needed and that should exist to promote sustainable entrepreneurship with no support at all.

An inexact fractional multi-stage programming (IFMSP) method for planning renewable electric power system

The growing levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have made renewable energy sources a crucial aspect of power generation, especially in developing countries. However, with more investment in additional renewable energy components and the mandatory decommissioning requirement of the thermal stations, the uncertainty of renewable energy availability and the changeable policy environment have brought great complexity to the electric power systems. Hence, an innovative approach, the inexact fractional multistage programming (IFMSP), has been proposed to address the challenges of electric power system planning in transitioning to clean energy, specifically in South Africa from 2021 to 2050. The IFMSP approach balances economic benefits and GHG emission mitigation, providing a more constrained optimum interval solution than binary integer programming. The results illustrated a decline in the expansion of conventional energy sources, with natural gas, wind energy and solar energy taking the place of thermal power generation. In terms of performance, solar power ranks second to wind. By assessing various expansion scenarios, it is demonstrated that zero nuclear energy growth would yield more competitive economic advantages and fewer GHG emissions than no geothermal expansion, whereas a 20% increase in gas expansion capacity would achieve the most optimal ratio at [304.2, 317.3] (Rand/t CO2 eq). By utilizing the proposed approach, decision-makers in developing countries can generate multiple expansion scenarios for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investments. This enables them to identify generation modes, capacity expansion schemes, financial planning, and carbon tax regulations, even under complex uncertainties.

A study on the effects of Globalisation, Changing Economy on HRM and its effects on the Economic Sustainability of Organisations

The free movement of capital and labour, the proliferation of technologies, and the rise of the mass media all contribute to globalization, creating a dynamic and competitive economic environment. Human resource management (HRM) has become more critical to the success of contemporary businesses, with many companies seeing it as a crucial component of economic sustainability and competitive advantage. The research aims to analyze the effect of globalization and changing economy on HRM and its effects on the economic sustainability of organizations. The research shows that HRM functions correlate positively with economic sustainability. Based on the findings, HRM is a vital resource for ensuring the economic sustainability of organizations.

The Importance of Higher Education on Economic Growth

"It is very important for countries to stimulate their economic prosperity and reduce poverty. While it is commonly accepted that education of all forms enhances economic performance of a country, yet the question of which level of education, secondary or tertiary, is more important to fuel the economy is not conclusively answered. The finding in Avraham Cohen’s PhD thesis is that education, as measured by published research, is strongly associated with Artificial Intelligence index of countries. Also, he found that AI is strongly associated with GDP. His findings encourage the idea that higher education, which is needed for Artificial Intelligence (AI), will be a dominant factor for economic growth in general; hereby, policy makers should invest in higher education to ensure economic affluence. Enrollment rates for higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa are by far the lowest in the world and the academic research output in the region is among the world’s lowest. Because of a belief that primary and secondary schooling are more important than tertiary education for poverty reduction, the international development community has encouraged African governments’ relative neglect of higher education. Using methodology of fuzzy logic-based soft regression, this study challenges these beliefs and demonstrates that economic growth is almost exclusively determined by higher education. Also, the importance of higher education relative to secondary education is more so in recent years relative to a decade or two ago. Motivated by this finding, I propose to find the right branch of higher education for every country based on its economic competitive advantage that will impact its economic growth best. Keywords: Education, Economic Growth, Artificial Intelligence, fuzzy logic, soft regression"

Startup Valuation In A Logistics Aggregator (Case Study At Pt Linknau)

The large number of startups in Indonesia is supported by an increase in internet user penetration which reaches 64.8% of the Indonesian population or 171.17 million users (APJII 2019). The potential of Indonesia's creative economy and startups is very large which is supported by abundant natural resources, local cultural diversity spread throughout the archipelago, and diversity of human resources. The objectives of this study are as follow Describe the financial performance of start-ups in logistics aggregators at PT Linknau. Analyzing company size, profitability, economic growth rate, market traction and competitive advantage against start-up valuation in logistics aggregators (Case Study at PT Linknau). The data used in this study are primary data and secondary data. Primary data is in the form of interviews conducted in depth interviews with the CEO of PT Linknau and secondary data in the form of financial statements of start-up Companies PT Linknau from 2019-2022. The results show that the valuation of The First Chicago Method to be the most suitable company valuation method for assessing PT Linknau's company valuation. The main reason why this method is the most suitable method is because currently the company is already in a condition of generating operating income, according to Damiano et. al. (2020).

The Effect Of Company Size, Profitability, Economic Growth Rate, Market Traction And Competitive Advantage On Startup Valuation In Logistics Aggregators

The large number of startups in Indonesia is supported by an increase in internet user penetration which reaches 64.8% of the Indonesian population or 171.17 million users (APJII 2019). The potential of Indonesia's creative economy and startups is very large which is supported by abundant natural resources, local cultural diversity spread throughout the archipelago, and diversity of human resources. The objectives of this study are as follow Describe the financial performance of start-ups in logistics aggregators at PT Linknau. Analyzing company size, profitability, economic growth rate, market traction and competitive advantage against start-up valuation in logistics aggregators (Case Study at PT Linknau). The data used in this study are primary data and secondary data. Primary data is in the form of interviews conducted in depth interviews with the CEO of PT Linknau and secondary data in the form of financial statements of start-up companies PT Linknau from 2019-2022. The results show that the valuation of the Real Option Method (ROM) from 2019 to 2023 is seen increasing. It can be seen that the highest value of ROM valuation in 2023 is right in executing investments and finding the optimal value of PT Linknau itself.

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL TREATMENT INSTITUTIONS

Topicality. Reforming the modern health care system requires comprehensive strategic measures that will contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the management of the strategic development of medical institutions. The market of medical institutions is an important component in the structure of the market of medical services, evidence of this is the intensive development and expansion of not only medical, but also cosmetic services, improving their quality and level of service. Therefore, there is an urgent need to determine the essence of managing the strategic development of medical institutions.
 Aim and tasks. To determine the fundamental theoretical approaches to understanding the essence of managing the strategic development of medical institutions.
 Materials and methods. The material for the research was the results of fundamental scientific works in the medical field, as well as materials for their planning in medical institutions. The main achievements of foreign and domestic science in the medical field, strategic planning of its development and the application of the principles of strategic management of medical institutions became the theoretical and methodological basis of the research. The work uses the methods of structural and logical analysis of the research, which will allow to highlight, logically structure and establish connections between the implementation of a unified medical information system and the result of the work. Statistical methods, including retrospective and prospective analysis, were used to study the competitive advantages of drug treatment. A problem-oriented method was used for the scientific substantiation of strategic directions for solving management issues.
 Research results. The level and quality of the provision of medical services characterizes the sustainable development of the country, because other areas cannot develop fully if the health care system is at a low level. The formation and development of strategic management is a significant part of corporate management not only of a manufacturing enterprise, but also of health care institutions, and it acquires an especially important role in the conditions of reforming medicine, with the aim of further obtaining social, therapeutic, financial and economic competitive advantages in the medical market services Without effective medical care, citizens are not interested in solving secondary problems, because the issue of preserving and maintaining health always comes first. With the spread of market development priorities, the management of medical facilities is gaining importance.
 Conclusion. Management of the strategic development of medical institutions is aimed at introducing new medical technologies, increasing the level of professional training of medical personnel of medical institutions, and improving the quality of medical care using the latest technologies.

Seed treatments with salicylic acid and Azospirillum brasilense enhance growth and yield of maize plants (Zea mays L.) under field conditions

Salicylic acid and Azospirillum brasilense stimulate plant growth and productivity. In some environments, plant physiology similarly responds to both bioactive products. Considering this, a field experiment was conducted to study the physiological effect of Salicilic acid and A. brasilense on growth and grain yield of maize plants. The experiment involved three treatments consisting of imbibed seeds in an aqueous solution of SA (0.01 mM), inoculated seeds with A. brasilense and a control treatment. Seed imbibition in SA and inoculation with A. brasilense improved vegetative growth in the early stages of crop ontogeny, increasing leaf growth, plant height, stem diameter and biomass accumulation. Spikelet length and weight were greater in plants first inoculated with A. brasilense and then treated with SA. Results indicated that SA stimulated biomass partitioning towards leaves, root and stem, while A. brasilense mainly affected leaf growth, plant height, ear dimensions and grain yield. Such results turn crucial for biological fertilization strategies aimed at reducing pollutant loads that accompany chemical fertilizers. Both products can be part of maize management practices given competitive economic advantages and sustainability. Highlights: Seed imbibition in SA and inoculation with brasilense improved vegetative growth in the early stages of crop ontogeny, increasing leaf growth, plant height, stem diameter and biomass accumulation. Salicylic Acid stimulated biomass partitioning towards leaves, root and stem in maize plants. Azospirillum brasilense stimulates leaf growth, plant height, as well as ear dimensions and grain yield in corn plants.  

Industrial symbiosis and agri-food system: Themes, links, and relationships

Industrial symbiosis is an eco-innovative system concept that is based on a circular economy and industrial ecology ideas. This process comprises the movement of materials, energy, and skills across enterprises located within eco-industrial parks, and strives to provide economic, environmental, and social competitive advantages for all the involved parties. Considering that the agri-food system creates a vast quantity of by-products along the supply chain, it is a sector that has huge potential within material and energy recovery systems and fits well into eco-industrial parks. The current study is a literature review that aims to evaluate the interest exhibited so far by scientific research in the topic of industrial symbiosis in the agri-food sector and to highlight the primary analytical techniques that have been used for this topic. Using the paradigm of multiple correspondence analysis, a content analysis was conducted from which the major themes of the researched phenomena emerged. The results indicate that the topic areas are unrelated and somewhat distant from each other. The analyzed case studies have revealed that the authors had neglected the communicative and collaborative elements among stakeholders, and instead focused on the potential use of some tools and approaches. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that the hiding of information within a supply chain prevents industrial symbiosis procedures from being implemented. This research suggests the necessity of creating communication and cooperation platforms among stakeholders, which would promote the introduction of new techniques and tools for the development of circular production systems.

The Suez Crisis in the US Foreign Policy Strategy in the Middle East: Risks and Prospects.

The article is devoted to the US foreign policy during one of the most acute crises of the Cold War period. The issue of the Eisenhower administration's choice of a strategy of deterrence and non-interference in the military action of NATO allies is debatable and relevant as a historical experience in the development of geostrategic guidelines in the US foreign policy strategy. The purpose of the article is to identify the main risks and opening prospects for the United States in the choice of foreign policy strategy in the Middle East in the context of the development of the Suez crisis. The methodological basis of the study is the historical-genetic, historical-comparative, historical-typological methods. It has been established that the reasons that prompted the United States to form an appropriate strategy included geopolitical and economic motives: the desire to take a leading position in the Middle East, demonstrating an alternative to Great Britain and France; the desire to win the trust of Egypt, which has the potential of a leader in the region and military-strategic contacts with the USSR; readiness to join economic sanctions against Egypt with the potential to receive economic and political dividends and competitive advantages; preference to keep the possibility of balancing between the sides in the Arab-Israeli confrontation. The author comes to the conclusion that during the Suez crisis of 1956, the United States acted rationally, but in the conditions of the current moment.

Management of public procurement for innovation and development: Experiences of developed countries

Public procurement management is a process in which national governments, local authorities, and their agencies order and pay for products or services needed to carry out their operations. The amount of public procurement in today's countries includes a portion of government spending and constitutes a significant share of GDP. The type of public procurement also includes the emergence of goods that did not exist before. This type of public procurement is most interesting for analysis and research because it focuses on the potential of the public procurement system to stimulate innovative activities and the emergence of innovative products and services, leading to economic development and competitive advantages in the global market. In this paper, we will focus on examples learned from developed countries that utilize the public procurement system to encourage innovation and development.