Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics

17-41

Authors: Charis Vlados, Dimos Chatzinikolaou

This paper explores how innovation is perceived, on the one hand, by the scientific literature and, on the other, by the everyday practice of small and micro enterprises operating in the less developed socioeconomic system of the Greek region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Our aim is to find out whether there are different perceptions of innovation from two different “worlds”, the theoretical and the practical. For this, we conducted an introductory and qualitative field research on a sample of small and micro enterprises in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. We found there is a notable distance in the perception of innovation between the scientific theory and the everyday practice of micro and small enterprises in this less developed region in Greece.

64-91

Authors: Balbir Bhasin, Lee Keng Ng

Though cultural explanations as determinants of economic outcomes have mainly been ignored by researchers, national culture has been proven to have a direct and identifiable impact on the level of entrepreneurial behavior. Politically, Laos remains one the few communist countries in the world, but it too is transitioning to a market economy. In spite of being rich in natural resources, this small, landlocked nation remains a less developed country (LDC) and the poorest member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Lao culture embraces collectivism and the traditional values of Theravada Buddhism, a belief system which inherently functions against the fostering of entrepreneurial spirit. Removing impediments to entrepreneurship is a key challenge for the government. Using Laos as a case in point, this paper assesses the influence culture has on entrepreneurship and explores initiatives and measures that can be used to strengthen inherent cultural values that stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit, encourage risk-taking, and in turn promote economic development.

106-132

Authors: Ali Kahramanoğlu, Ahmet Mesut Büyüksarıkulak

In line with economic prosperity and its spread to the society, it is essential that the economy complement each other with law and democracy. In this study, the development levels of countries and the relationship between law and/or democracy will be examined. After the Eviews analysis, it was observed that the democracy and geography indexes were not enough alone, and a more comprehensive model was formed by adding some geographic, religious, cultural and dummy variables reflecting the history of countries. At the end of modelling, it is seen that geographic features and natural resources are extremely important for prosperity. Moreover, the fact that countries have historical/corporate identity does not yield any meaningful results in terms of human development

153-173

Authors: Dinh Tran Ngoc Huy

Insurance industry in Viet Nam has been growing much, achieving more market share and contributing quite a lot for the economic growth in recent years. This paper measures the volatility of market risk in Viet Nam insurance industry after this period (2015-2017). The main reason is the necessary role of the insurance company system in Vietnam in the economic development and growth in recent years always go with risk potential and risk control policies. This research paper aims to figure out how much increase or decrease in the market risk of Vietnam insurance firms during the post-low inflation environment 2015-2017. First, by using quantitative combined with comparative data analysis method, we find out the risk level measured by equity beta mean in the insurance industry is acceptable, as it is little lower than (<) 1. Then, one of its major findings is the comparison between risk level of insurance industry during the financial crisis 2007-2009 compared to those in the post-low inflation time 2015-2017. In fact, the research findings show us market risk level during the post-low inflation time has increased much. Last but not least, comparing the market risk level in three (3) financial industries: insurance, stock and banking groups, we figure out that the risk level, measured by equity beta mean, in the insurance industry is still lower than that of banking industry, whereas the risk dispersion, measured by equity beta var, int he insurance industry is the highest among three groups. Finally, this paper provides some ideas that could provide companies and government more evidence in establishing their policies in governance. This is the complex task but the research results shows us warning that the market risk might be higher during the post-low inflation period 2015-2017. And our conclusion part will recommends some policies and plans to deal with it.