European Enterprises Research Articles

European public policies about the digitalization of the financial sector and the analysis of procedural stages

This study seeks to point out the idea that the purpose of the analysis is to consider public policies related to elements that influence the development in a certain way. The future of the finances is digital: consumers and enterprises have begun to call on digital financial services. The market’s creative participants use new technology, and existing business are changing. Digital funding helps citizens and enterprises resist to unprecedented situations due to COVID-19 pandemic, for example, online authentication allows people to open accounts and to use many services from distance. Increasing proportion of in-store payments is presently digital, and electronic trade has increased dramatically. Ensuring a safe and reliable activity of digital infrastructure is also thanks to the increasing number of online financial services users and to financial sector employee which works on their own from distance. If there are any doubts, now is clear that digital funding could bring benefits, and citizens alongside European enterprises are ready to receive it. Europe must take advantage of this on its recovery activity to repair the damage caused by the pandemic. Digital technology will be essential for new releases. This would help Europe to become a global digital player. The European financial sector can create many projects in all Member States and may play a leading role in areas like digital payment technology. This would bring huge benefits to both consumers and enterprising.

Well-Being through workplace health promotion interventions by European enterprises

Well-being and in particular the differences that may exist in the adopted workplace interventions by European enterprises have not yet been addressed in depth by the literature. The objective of this article is to make a comparison between European enterprises in relation to workplace health promotion interventions (WHPI). Five WHPI have been studied: Healthy nutrition interventions, sports activities after working hours, back exercises at work, prevention of addictions and procedures to return to work after a long- term sickness. An exploratory and descriptive study was carried out. The sample was extracted from the ESENER-3 datasets (EU-OSHA, 2019). In total, 45,420 establishments were interviewed. Results show that, differences between countries in terms of the intensity and type of WHPI can be found. Factors that could help explain this heterogeneity could be, on the one hand, the sociocultural context of each country and on the other hand, work environment.

Some lessons from Italian social cooperatives: 1970–2020

The Italian social cooperative is the first form of social enterprise in Europe. The article explores social cooperative entrepreneurship in Italy through a discussion of the formation of social cooperative movement and the promotion of the innovation in the social services sector. Social cooperatives are an original form of social enterprise that meets people's needs through the work inclusion of disadvantaged people and the organization of social and other services of general interest. The article examines also how the social cooperatives looking to the future and to the new challenges of the social and environmental issues and the transformation of the welfare, investing in innovation and the sustainable economy.

The Employment in Innovative Enterprises in Europe

The Employment in Innovative Enterprises in Europe

Синергетичні точки потенційної інтеграції багатофункціональних кластерних систем

The article is devoted to the analysis of synergistic points of potential cluster integration of Ukrainian and European enterprises. The advantages of cluster interaction in the process of production of dual purpose products are presented. The dependence of socio-economic and legal processes on the dual contradiction of society is established. Factors of cluster competitiveness, regional and global effects of synergistic integration and innovative technologies are determined. Support platforms for the synergistic integration of product manufacturers are presented. The important role of synergistic cooperation between cluster participants, educational and scientific institutions and authorities is emphasized. The possibilities of using crowdsourcing in the diagnosis of potential startups at the MVP stage are considered.

Franciscan Minorite Monks in China from the “Great Religious Incident” to the Cultural Revolution

The article is an attempt to systematize the preaching of the Franciscan order in China, starting with the Papal embassies to the Great Khans who conquered the Middle Empire and founded the Yuan dynasty until the end of the 20th century. The author groups the information into several major periods, suggesting a five-stage periodization of the Franciscan presence in the Far East. A change in the preaching paradigm is noted during the 700 centuries of the fickle Minorites’ presence in China. While the first reconnaissance missions, achieving modest success in preaching to non-Chinese subjects of the Mongol emperors, were mainly diplomatic in nature, in modern times the mission, enjoying the support of the Spanish Padroado system, is purposefully concentrated on preaching work, especially among the poor segments of the population. The culmination of all European Catholic missionary enterprise in China, the famous ‘Rites Controversy’, which split the Christian orders in the Celestial Empire, is examined in connection with the role played by the representatives of the Franciscan Order in this dramatic conflict. The author concludes that the Controversy hit, as a result, all Chinese Catholic missions – the Franciscans no less than their main opponents, the Jesuits, eventually leading to persecution, repression and expulsion of missionaries. Attempts of new penetration of Catholic Christianity into the PRC are resumed only after the end of the Cultural Revolution in the second half of the 20th century. The article is a continuation of the piece by the same author, focusing on theoretical foundations of the Franciscan proselytization, published earlier.

Will the Reduction of CO2 Emissions Lower the Cost of Debt Financing? The Case of EU Countries

The main objective of this article is to test the relationship between the intensity of CO2 emissions and company’s cost of debt capital. This study fills a gap in the financial literature on this compound by examining a sample of 225 large nonfinancial enterprises operating in 15 EU countries in the years 2018–2021. The fractional logit regression controlling for company’s characteristics (assets, profitability, liquidity and leverage) was used. The results show that by reducing the intensity of CO2 emissions, a company can reduce the cost of debt. This relationship was confirmed for three measures of intensity, i.e., CO2 emissions in relation to revenues, assets and number of employees. Markets and financial institutions impose an additional risk premium in relation to companies operating in an industry considered to be comprised of strong CO2 emitters. The use of the latest data for a wide sample of European enterprises provides an up-to-date assessment of the analyzed issues and the results can be used by enterprises and public authorities when analyzing the benefits of implementing a technology that reduces CO2 emissions.

Latent classes of accounting outsourcing firms

PurposeOutsourcing of accounting increasingly attracts research interest, but research concerning the impact of the benefits of outsourcing on firm capabilities and performance across firms remains limited. This paper aims to reveal the unobservable latent classes of firms that outsource their accounting functions by testing a research model concerning the topic.Design/methodology/approachThe authors build on accounting outsourcing research and adapt a research model from the literature on business services outsourcing. The authors analyze the data from 261 small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe using finite mixture structural equation modeling (FMSEM) and additional methods.FindingsThe authors reveal three latent classes with different research models. Thriving outsourcers (N = 103) have a positive attitude toward accounting outsourcing and associate competitive capabilities with mediating the relationship from outsourcing benefits to firm performance. Annoyed outsourcers (N = 143) are dissatisfied with their accounting service provider and only associate outsourcing benefits with competitive capabilities. Convenient outsourcers (N = 15) feel comfortable with their current accounting service provider and associate outsourcing benefits with neither capabilities nor with firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study initiates the discussion about the unobservable heterogeneity among accounting outsourcers. The study introduces the use of the FMSEM method in accounting outsourcing research.Practical implicationsThe study offers novel insights concerning accounting outsourcers and proposes original explanations for their outsourcing decisions that would help both the outsourcers and accounting service providers.Originality/valueThe study might be the first to categorize accounting outsourcers using FMSEM.

The Impact of Financial Innovation Investment Support on SME Competitiveness

This article examines financial support (especially EU Structural Funds as the main tool of cohesion policy) for investments as a lever for the development of SME innovativeness in Poland. The European Commission strongly stresses the importance of their cohesion policy and support for SMEs. European enterprises have suffered significantly from the credit crunch, and the situation could worsen as banks engage in restructuring to eliminate impaired assets from their balance sheets. Supporting SMEs and promoting entrepreneurship is essential for economic development and competitiveness, especially in less developed regions. The main aim of this study is to establish the impact of financial support for investments, especially from EU Structural Funds, on SME competitiveness in Poland. We have analyzed empirically the data drawn from CATI carried out among 805 firms. We have learned how SMEs assess the financial support from different sources along with the resulting impact on the competitiveness of SMEs. The main statistical test for relationships and dependencies was the chi-square independence test and Cramer’s V. The results of our research show that SMEs have not used financial support efficiently. Moreover, micro-enterprises were shown to be the least effective after receiving financial support from EU funds. This support often has a demand-driven effect, but it does not improve firm competitiveness.

Does organic certification make economic sense for dairy farmers in Europe?–A latent class counterfactual analysis

AbstractCertification in agriculture ensures compliance with tangible standards and should generate economic opportunities for farmers. This study quantifies the variable profit and efficiency impacts of organic certification in dairy farming across Europe, using farm‐level FADN data from 25 countries while accounting for heterogeneity through a class splitting model. Four distinct classes with dairy farm enterprises operating under similar production conditions were identified in order to assess gross margin and efficiency differences among certified and non‐certified farms. Depending on the nature of the selection bias, treatment effects were estimated either through an endogenous treatment model or through entropy balancing. The results suggest that organic certification increases gross margins for dairy farm enterprises in Europe, while slightly increasing technical efficiency in two out of four classes. These significant effects of certification on efficiency were estimated at 2% and 7%, respectively. As regards variable profit, effects range from to 66 Euros per cow to 234 euros per cow. In relative terms, this implies gains between 38% and 50% for farms classified into more cool or temperate zones and a gain of up to 182% for the farms assigned to the class that designates warmer climatic conditions.

Libyan Jewish Women's Lore: From Homeschooling to Formal Education

The source of Libyan Jewish women's lore was the environment in which they lived, which was shaped—intellectually, socially, and economically—by the gender norms of Libyan Jews. These norms were based on Jewish traditions and the surrounding Muslim society, which since the mid-sixteenth century was under Ottoman rule until the Italian occupation of 1911. Formal education for Jewish girls became available in Libya from the 1870s, first through European enterprises and from the 1930s also by the community. This paper examines Libyan Jewish women's lore and what was the impact of the developing educational, social, and economic opportunities for growing numbers of Libyan Jewish women, mainly in the urban society, on their cultural capital from the late nineteenth century until the mass Jewish emigration from Libya starting in the late 1940s.

“There would be no unilateral détente!”: financial sector of theCOMECON countries in the late 1970s – early 1980s as a source of Western political influence

The object of this research is the processes that took place in the COMECON member-states due instability of the financial sector. The subject of this research is the impact of the economic factor upon the evolution of bipolar system of international relations and sociopolitical sustainability of the Soviet Union during the 1979 – 1983. The article provides a scientific assessment of extent of awareness of the US intelligence on the financial solvency of the COMECON member-states, their ability to meet repayment schedules for both interest and debts, and the consequences of possible default of any of the countries during the financial crisis. The authors set the task to analyze the target points of foreign analytics regarding the “dependency” of Western European enterprises on their Eastern business partners, as well as clarify the extent to which a significant decline in trade between the East and the West affected the Soviet and Western European economy. The use of unpublished foreign and domestic archival documents, as well as foreign periodicals define the novelty of this research. This article is first to disclose the information on how the United States turned the severe financial problems of Eastern European countries for the purpose of political pressure on such issues as Afghanistan, crisis in Poland, and construction of the Soviet gas pipeline. Leaning on the introduced into the scientific discourse CIA documents, assessment is given to the effectiveness of trade and economic policy of the United States and its Western European allies in relation to Eastern Europe. The article also analyses the support of centrifugal tendencies in the economy of the Eastern European countries of the Soviet bloc.

Employers’ perceived importance and the use (or non-use) of workplace risk assessment in micro-sized and small enterprises in Europe with focus on Cyprus

Occupational Safety and Health is often poorly managed in micro-sized enterprises (MiSEs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Previous studies have shown that employers in such enterprises do not conduct and/or regularly review workplace risk assessments, even though this is required by legislation. In other cases, they may conduct a superficial workplace risk assessment just to comply with legislation and satisfy the authorities. This study attempts to shed some light into the actual use or non-use of workplace risk assessment by MiSEs and SMEs, the level of its utilization, and investigate if it is used as a tool of occupational safety and health promotion and the reduction of workplace accidents and occupational diseases. It also introduces the concept of employers’ perception of the actual value of the risk assessment process. Data from ESENER-2 survey were analysed as well as data gathered by a survey conducted in Cyprus that included 201 MiSEs employing less than five employees, an area not covered by previous ESENER surveys. Analysis revealed that a significant percentage of employers in MiSEs do not perceive risk assessment as a valuable tool for improving occupational safety and health, indicating a problematic perception of and attitude towards health and safety issues. Moreover, considerable differences were identified not only in occupational safety and health management, but also in the perceived value of workplace risk assessment between northern and southern European countries, as well as for enterprises employing less than five employees.

Spatial Conditions Supporting Sustainable Development of Enterprises on Local Level

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) represent more than 99% of enterprises in Europe. Therefore, knowledge about this sector, also in the spatial context is important to understand the patterns of economic and social development. The main goal of this article is an analysis of spatial conditions and the situation of MSMEs on a local level using combined sources of information. This includes data collected in the Social Insurance Institution and Tax registers in Poland, which provides information on the employment, wages, revenues and taxes paid by the MSMEs on a local level as well as contextual statistical information. The data is used for a diagnosis of spatial circumstances and discussion of conditions influencing the status of the MSMEs sector in a selected region (voivodeship) in Poland. Taxonomy methods including factor analysis and clustering methods based on k-means and SOM Kohonen were used for selecting significant information and grouping of the local units according to the situation of the MSMEs. There are eight factors revealed in principal component analysis and five clusters of local units distinguished using these factors. These include two clusters with a high share of rural local units and two clusters with a high share of rural-urban and urban local units. Additionally, there was an outstanding cluster with only two dominant urban local units. Factors show differences between clusters in the situation of MSMEs sector and infrastructure. Different spatial conditions in different regions influence the situation of MSMEs.

Observance of Human Rights as an Element of Shaping the Position of the European Enterprise in the Knowledge-Based Economy

The goal of the article is to determine the role played by observance of human rights in shaping the position of the European enterprise in the knowledge-based economy. It has been assumed that the condition most expected by an entrepreneur is to achieve a competitive advantage. The concept of observance of human rights in conducting business activities is connected with business ethics and the idea of corporate social responsibility, while economic well-being can be achieved in the conditions of a knowledge-based economy. One of the conditions for the survival and development of the employer conducting business activities in the knowledge-based economy is to effectively motivate employees to reveal their knowledge and use it in practice. Non-financial motivation may involve the feeling of identification with the employer.

ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЯ ЕЛЕМЕНТІВ КОРПОРАТИВНОЇ КУЛЬТУРИ В ЕПОХУ ПАНДЕМІЇ COVID-19: ДОСВІД СВІТОВИХ КОРПОРАЦІЙ

The article is devoted to modern tendencies of change of strategies in formation of corporate culture in the crisis caused by the coronavirus. In modern business, corporate culture is an important condition for the successful work of a company, the foundation of its dynamic growth, striving to improve efficiency. Regardless of how the culture of an organization is formed, whether it is created deliberately or develops over time, it is always unique for each production (gender, age, professional and qualification structure of personnel, industry, specifics, etc.). CEOs are much more likely to think through the type of corporate culture of their company as it grows than in a possible crisis situation. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ways of transformation of key elements of corporate culture on the basis of sociological research in the form of surveys of employees of top corporations in the world. The coronavirus pandemic has shaken the entire global economy. First its paralyzed part of production in China, then stopped hundreds of enterprises in Europe, Asia and the United States. The authorities of different countries go to great lengths to help the business: salaries for the state account, parental benefits, cheap loans and tax deferral. However, in the context of the work of each enterprise, significant responsibilities lie with the management and the team. The negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are affecting and will exacerbate the work of both large state-owned enterprises and small businesses for a long time to come. According to the forecast of the International Labor Organization, due to the coronavirus pandemic, about 20 million people may lose their jobs. Operating under these stressful circumstances negatively impacts interpersonal relationships and business. In the article forms of manifestation of corporate culture in the context of a pandemic are considered. The data of surveys of employees and heads of organizations of such countries as the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Ukraine are analyzed. The significance and priority of supporting the team along with the elimination of financial risks and economic recovery was assessed.

ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC INTERNET OF THINGS MARKET AND THE INTRODUCTION OF TECHNOLOGY IN ENTERPRISES

The article analyzes the degree of implementation of information and communication technologies, in particular the Internet of Things in Europe at all levels, from individuals and households to large enterprises. An assessment of the regional distribution of internet use across European countries was performed to identify dependence between the pace of development and level of utilization of Internet of Things technology. The purpose of this study is to analyze the level of mastering of information and communication technologies by European citizens and enterprises, in particular the state of development and the level of application of the Internet of Things. In the course of the research, the methods of systematic and comparative analysis, statistical research and logical generalization were used. Based on the processing of European statistical reports, discrepancies were found between the degree of development of Internet of Things technologies, since the northern and western regions have a more developed technological base than the southern or eastern regions. Among private users of IoT technologies, technological solutions for managing the power consumption of a smart home are most popular, and among smart devices for connecting to the network, they most often choose to use the internet on a TV. The analysis of internet userbase indicates the existence of a divide in digital area, and its likely increase in the next few years, due to the gradual introduction of 5G Internet services. Based on the results of the analysis of the IT infrastructure of European enterprises, the most popular tools for applying Internet of things technology were identified. The analysis showed that European enterprises most frequently choose smart meters, smart lamps, and smart thermostats to optimize energy consumption in the premises of the enterprise among other devices and systems that can be monitored or remotely controlled via the Internet. It was found that large enterprises mostly used devices or systems to optimize energy consumption in the premises of the enterprise, and among medium and small enterprises, tools for optimizing logistics were most often used.

УДОСКОНАЛЕННЯ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ МЕТОДУ ЦІЛЬОВИХ ВИТРАТ ПІД ЧАС РОЗРОБЛЕННЯ ТА ВИРОБНИЦТВА НОВОЇ ПРОДУКЦІЇ

The article proposes a methodological approach that, within the framework of the controlling system, uses the methodology of the target costing method. It can be considered as a special form of functional-cost analysis, which allows not only making optimizing adjustments to the structure of new products, but also creating them according to given cost recommendations, which are based on the acceptable level of costs and information about the usefulness of product properties for the consumer. One of the most important components of controlling is the philosophy of profitability, which provides for a long-term orientation. Cost management in the short and long term is the most important factor in increasing the competitiveness of enterprises. The globalization of markets, the development of information technologies and telecommunications, the increasing dynamism of the external and internal environment of the enterprise, and the increasing demands of consumers put the enterprise in very tough conditions in terms of product profitability. Cost management today is one of the main means of achieving high economic results. Cost management in an enterprise should be understood not only as a reduction, but also as an analysis and optimization, a desire to achieve a certain level of costs, which will allow for an increase in the economic efficiency of activities, and an increase in the competitiveness of products. The use of the target cost method is advisable, first of all, when implementing innovative projects. Depending on the prevailing conditions, enterprises can develop various modifications of the method. When creating a new product, the data obtained on the basis of its use can serve as the basis for the analysis and planning of costs for the products being created, as well as the basis for the control and analysis of deviations. Since the expected price is taken as the basis for using the target costing method to control the value of product costs, the method can be considered not only as a cost optimization method, but also as a way of setting prices. Pricing is also an extremely important aspect of an industrial enterprise. In addition, it should be noted that various modifications of this approach are successfully used in European enterprises. For example, BMW Company uses one of them. Although the method of Target costing in practice has to deal with a number of difficulties, but the method is evolving, attempts are being made to find opportunities to overcome the inconveniences associated with its use. For machine-building and instrument-making enterprises, it is especially effective to incorporate a unit for the analysis of target costs into an automated design system, which will help speed up the receipt of cost recommendations and make the most of them. The application of the method of target costing will allow using the foundations of the components of controlling, which relate to innovation, which is extremely important for the holistic orientation of the enterprise to effective development in the long run.

The Effects of Absorptive Capacity on Innovation Performance: A Cross‐country Perspective*

AbstractThis article has two objectives: the construction of enterprise‐level estimates of absorptive capacity to allow comparison of absorptive capacity levels across Europe and the analysis of whether the effects of absorptive capacity on R&D and innovation vary across countries. The dataset is the Community Innovation Survey, which provides information on the innovation activities of enterprises in Europe. The estimates of absorptive capacity are generated using a structural equation model that considers absorptive capacity to be a latent variable that predicts the use of information sources and cooperation partners for innovation activities. The effects of absorptive capacity are estimated econometrically using probit models. The results show that absorptive capacity levels vary substantially across European countries, with western European enterprises (particularly those in Germany) generally having higher absorptive capacity than eastern European enterprises (especially Romanian enterprises). The effects of absorptive capacity on R&D and innovation are uniformly positive but also demonstrate substantial heterogeneity across countries. This has important implications for policy as it suggests that not only should government aim to enhance absorptive capacity levels but it should also attempt to enhance the value of external knowledge available for enterprises to exploit.

Evaluating ICT Usage in Enterprises in Europe: Topsis Approach

Abstract The main objective of the paper is to evaluate ICT usage in enterprises in 31 European countries. For that purpose, ICT usage in enterprises index (ICTEI) was developed using the TOPSIS approach based on the entropy method. Subsequently, having used the cluster analysis, countries were classified into clusters according to the observed indicators of ICT usage. Results show that Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Ireland are the top 5 countries when the advanced ICTs are prioritized. Based on the k-means clustering, Finland is a leader in a cluster of a very high ICT usage in enterprises and it is followed by Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The cluster of high ICT usage in enterprises includes Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, and United Kingdom. Finally, the countries characterized by moderate and modest ICT usage are positioned in the remaining two clusters. The results of this research will facilitate the perception of a country’s position in relation to others, but will also signal the need to take measures to strengthen the ICT capacity of the business sector in the countries with a low value of ICTEI.