Innovation and Socioeconomic Development

A special issue of Economies (ISSN 2227-7099).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2019) | Viewed by 84702

Special Issue Editors

Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
Interests: information and communication technology; strategic management and planning; financial analysis; innovation; business management; business development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
Interests: antidotes for pesticide and nerve agent poisonings; Alzheimer’s disease treatment; detergents as disinfectants; nanoparticles; decontamination means; toxins; drug design and development; nanotechnology; IT; parallel computing; ANN; project management; scientific management; technology transfer; health economics and pharmacoeconomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Interests: cloud based software engineering; software agents; information retrievals; pattern recognition; genetic algorithms; neural networks; soft computing; knowledge management; key performance indicators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
Interests: organizational behavior; leadership; positive organizational psychology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Innovation can play a critical role in addressing socioeconomic objectives, which are, according to the OECD, affected by the following factors: Economic growth and employment, environmental challenges, and social challenges.

By utilizing innovative approaches, it may be possible to counter demographic changes, senior citizens could lead full lives and retain their mental and physical abilities for longer. New technological and non-technological solutions (such as organization innovation) have the potential to mitigate the effects of global climate change and promote the preservation of biodiversity. As to economic growth and employment, current theories single out furthering knowledge and advancing technological innovation as the key tools to achieving sustainable growth. Latest growth theory models expose the indigeneity of knowledge and human capital in that the source of both are investment decisions made based on economic incentives, which are in turn determined by institutional policies.

To describe this issue and the current situation, this Special Issue is focused on (but not limited to) the following points:

  • New trends in economy and their impacts on globalization (macro perspective),
  • innovative approaches to the management of operational processes,
  • new business models (including platforms),
  • technology transfer and resource implications,
  • commercialization of intellectual property protection,
  • open science, open innovation,
  • technology transfer at universities, technology transfer office—functions and efficiency.

Prof. Dr. Petra Maresova
Prof. Dr. Kamil Kuca
Prof. Dr. Ali Selamat
Prof. Dr. Ondrej Krejcar
Prof. Dr. Laura Koppes Bryan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Economies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Please refer to https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/economies/apc for Article Processing Charge (APC). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Innovation
  • Socioeconomic Development

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 328 KiB  
Article
Eco-Innovation Activities in the Czech Economy 2008–2014: Impact of the Eco-Innovative Approach to the Profit Stream and Differences in Urban and Rural Enterprises
by Marek Vokoun and Jiřina Jílková
Economies 2020, 8(1), 3; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/economies8010003 - 02 Jan 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3970
Abstract
The environmental benefits from the eco-innovation activities of enterprises have the nature of reduced material or water use per unit of output, less pollution and waste, better CO2 ‘footprint’ in production and subsequent business processes. The socioeconomic impacts are associated with circular [...] Read more.
The environmental benefits from the eco-innovation activities of enterprises have the nature of reduced material or water use per unit of output, less pollution and waste, better CO2 ‘footprint’ in production and subsequent business processes. The socioeconomic impacts are associated with circular economy benefits like reduced energy use, decreased pollution and waste, and well-organized recycling possibilities of the product after use. The goal of this paper is to evaluate this innovative approach in the Czech economy. The hypotheses are aimed at the localization of enterprises, appropriability, and characteristics of enterprises that introduce eco-innovations to markets. The dataset is provided by the Czech Statistical Office and contains observations about the innovation activities of firms. Eco-innovation was surveyed in 2008 and 2014. This paper utilizes the estimation principles of CDM (Crépon, Duguet, and Mairesse) method at the firm level. The results suggest that rural–urban separation has no impact on the financial R&D intensity but urban enterprises have a higher probability to engage in innovation activities. The probability to introduce new-to-the-market innovations and eco-innovations is not dependent on localization. High-tech and knowledge-intensive industries have a lower probability to introduce eco-innovations to the market. The change in localization of enterprises to rural areas contributed to the higher sales form innovated goods and services. Higher appropriability was also observed in product eco-innovators. This paper offers a synthesis of factors that stimulate eco-innovation and shows that eco-innovation is a viable and sustainable innovative approach for rural and urban enterprises and identifies directions for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Socioeconomic Development)
15 pages, 754 KiB  
Article
Conjugation of the Belt and Road Initiative and Eurasian Economic Union: Problems and Development Prospects
by Elnur Mekhdiev, Irina Pashkovskaya, Elena Takmakova, Olga Smirnova, Khadiya Sadykova and Svetlana Poltorykhina
Economies 2019, 7(4), 118; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/economies7040118 - 05 Dec 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6184
Abstract
The study addresses the problems arising in association with the conjugation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Belt and Road initiative. The hypothesis is that the conjugation is economically effective, and this is proven by the statistical analysis of trade and [...] Read more.
The study addresses the problems arising in association with the conjugation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Belt and Road initiative. The hypothesis is that the conjugation is economically effective, and this is proven by the statistical analysis of trade and investment dynamics and buttressed by empirical observations. Based on this, the recommendations for the EAEU are given. The paper dismantles the problems arising in the sphere of security and peacekeeping and proposes a number of steps for ensuring peace and stable development in the region, implementing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) mechanism. The article highlights the main plans of the China–EAEU partnership and puts forward alternative cooperation strategies for the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The authors develop the most attractive plan for the EAEU and propose the best strategy for its implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Socioeconomic Development)
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15 pages, 311 KiB  
Article
Sharing the Economy in Tourism and Sustainable City Development in the Light of Agenda 2030
by Daria Elżbieta Jaremen, Elżbieta Nawrocka and Michał Żemła
Economies 2019, 7(4), 109; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/economies7040109 - 04 Nov 2019
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5695
Abstract
The dynamic development of the sharing economy is clearly seen in particular, in the area of tourism in large cities. There is, therefore, an increasingly urgent need to study its impact on the functioning of cities, especially when they implement a sustainable development [...] Read more.
The dynamic development of the sharing economy is clearly seen in particular, in the area of tourism in large cities. There is, therefore, an increasingly urgent need to study its impact on the functioning of cities, especially when they implement a sustainable development policy. Therefore, the need to study its impact on cities’ performances is more and more urgent, particularly, when they implement a sustainable development policy. This study discussed the influence of a sharing economy in tourism on city sustainability from the perspective of the Agenda 2030 goals. The main objective of the paper was achieved, thanks to in-depth analysis of the content of secondary sources. Results of the analysis were subjected to the synthesis process, using the tabular method. In Agenda 2030, when diagnosing the importance of this issue, one of 17 goals, i.e., goal 11, and 10 tasks within it, were devoted to the sustainable development of cities. The results of this study showed that sharing economy in tourism has an impact on the implementation of seven of them, but the direction of the impact is diversified. The domination of positive sharing economy (SE) effects was observed in the following areas: providing access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all (Target 11.2) and upgrading slums (Target 11.1), while the negative effects were noticed particularly clearly in implementing Targets 11.6 (reducing the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities) and 11.7 (providing universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Socioeconomic Development)
14 pages, 256 KiB  
Article
Effect of Economic Integration on Agricultural Export Performance in Selected West African Countries
by Olatunji Abdul Shobande
Economies 2019, 7(3), 79; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/economies7030079 - 06 Aug 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7352
Abstract
The paper investigates the effect of economic integration on agricultural export performance in West African economies using the gravity model of bilateral trade on the annual time series data straddling the period 1970 to 2016. The empirical evidence is based on the pooled [...] Read more.
The paper investigates the effect of economic integration on agricultural export performance in West African economies using the gravity model of bilateral trade on the annual time series data straddling the period 1970 to 2016. The empirical evidence is based on the pooled OLS and fixed effects estimator. We find that economic integration, as measured by trade openness, is a remarkably strong predictor of export performance in the region. We also examine the effect of geographical distance measured by effective nominal exchange rates and we find it has a negative effect on agricultural export performance. The paper recommends the adoption of a common currency to help mitigate exchange rate negativity that serves as resistance to trade in the region. Likewise, proactive agricultural research, extension and market driven strategies are strongly advocated for driven competition and economic efficiency within the regional agricultural sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Socioeconomic Development)
19 pages, 1221 KiB  
Article
Can Central Banking Policies Make a Difference in Financial Market Performance in Emerging Economies? The Case of India
by Gagan Deep Sharma, Mandeep Mahendru and Mrinalini Srivastava
Economies 2019, 7(2), 49; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/economies7020049 - 20 May 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5382
Abstract
This paper explores the importance of central banking policies in financial market performance, using the case of India. For this purpose, the paper comparatively analyzes the performance of financial markets during the regimes of last three governors of the Reserve Bank of India—Y [...] Read more.
This paper explores the importance of central banking policies in financial market performance, using the case of India. For this purpose, the paper comparatively analyzes the performance of financial markets during the regimes of last three governors of the Reserve Bank of India—Y V Reddy, D Subbarao, and Raghuram Rajan. The paper discusses the central banking policies in these periods with respect to monetary stability, inflation, and growth challenges. The paper presents an analysis of returns and volatility in stock markets and currency markets in their tenures in comparison with those from other selected emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa) and developed markets (USA and UK). The paper also brings out the leverage effect by applying the exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (EGARCH) model in addition to comparatively analyzing the performance of financial markets. Further, the paper assesses the impact of central banking policies on financial markets by using the fixed effect model on the reference countries for the period under reference. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Socioeconomic Development)
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13 pages, 274 KiB  
Article
Do Firms R&D Collaborations with the Science System and Enterprise Group Partners Stimulate Their Product and Process Innovations?
by Samuel Amponsah Odei and Jan Stejskal
Economies 2019, 7(2), 43; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/economies7020043 - 09 May 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5036
Abstract
There is a growing consensus that knowledge drives firms’ process and product innovations. An important source of these innovations is from firms networking with R&D partners, such as those in the science system and other industries in the enterprise group. This paper aimed [...] Read more.
There is a growing consensus that knowledge drives firms’ process and product innovations. An important source of these innovations is from firms networking with R&D partners, such as those in the science system and other industries in the enterprise group. This paper aimed to examine firms’ innovation collaborations with science systems and enterprise group partners and how these influence their product and process innovations. We focused on firms in the manufacturing sectors in the Czech Republic and Hungary. For our empirical analysis, we used the truncated data from the Eurostat Community Innovation Survey (CIS) 2012–2014, and the binary logistic regression model. Our results have demonstrated that firms’ collaborations with these actors have a discernible positive influence on their product innovations. Conversely, the collaborations with these R&D partners for process innovations produced mixed results for both countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Socioeconomic Development)
13 pages, 243 KiB  
Article
Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Economic Growth: Evidence from Developing Countries
by Raéf Bahrini and Alaa A. Qaffas
Economies 2019, 7(1), 21; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/economies7010021 - 15 Mar 2019
Cited by 152 | Viewed by 33361
Abstract
The present study aims to evaluate the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on the economic growth of selected developing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region by using a panel Generalized Method [...] Read more.
The present study aims to evaluate the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on the economic growth of selected developing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region by using a panel Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) growth model over the period 2007–2016. The results extracted from the econometric model show that except fixed telephone, other information and communication technologies such as mobile phone, Internet usage, and broadband adoption are the main drivers of economic growth in MENA and SSA developing countries over the recent period 2007–2016. In addition, our findings confirm the superiority of MENA countries over SSA countries in the areas of Internet usage and broadband adoption. From a policy perspective, the results suggest that authorities in MENA and SSA countries should increase investments in ICT infrastructure. To benefit from the ICT drivers of economic growth, policymakers should enact several important policies that permit the development of financial sectors, provide a more convenient regulatory and institutional environment, increase economy openness, prioritize the allocation of resources to the development of ICT infrastructure, and contain the negative effects of inflation and government consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Socioeconomic Development)

Review

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14 pages, 858 KiB  
Review
Industry 4.0 for the Construction Industry: Review of Management Perspective
by Raihan Maskuriy, Ali Selamat, Petra Maresova, Ondrej Krejcar and Oladipo Olalekan David
Economies 2019, 7(3), 68; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/economies7030068 - 04 Jul 2019
Cited by 106 | Viewed by 16578
Abstract
Technology and innovations have fueled the evolution of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). Industry 4.0 spurs growth and development through its efficiency capacity, as documented in the literature. The growth of the construction industry is a subset of the universal set of [...] Read more.
Technology and innovations have fueled the evolution of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). Industry 4.0 spurs growth and development through its efficiency capacity, as documented in the literature. The growth of the construction industry is a subset of the universal set of the value of gross domestic product, and thus, industry 4.0 has a spillover effect on the engineering and construction industry. The aim of this paper is to map the state of Industry 4.0 in the construction industry from the point of view of manarial activities, such as investment management, project preparation, and an overall approach to the management of related activities. This study employed scoping review techniques to dissect the status quo for Industry 4.0 and the construction industry. The empirical results from the systematic and scoping review methods for the ten sampled publications revealed that information and communication technology (ICT)—Industry 4.0—has a significant positive impact on the growth of the construction industry. Therefore, construction practitioners should partner more with researchers in the ICT industry to enhance the automation of work processes and managerial activities in the engineering and construction industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Socioeconomic Development)
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