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SMEs and EU Regional Development
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SMEs and EU Regional Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2023) | Viewed by 15992

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Ioan BATRANCEA

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Finance, Faculty of Economic and Business Administration, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania
Interests: financial analysis; corporate finance; taxation; banking; financial markets
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Overcoming the current health crisis can be conducted only through economic development in general and regional development in particular. In this context, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in the development of European Union (EU) member states since they account for 99% of all EU businesses.

The main factors that determine economic growth are GDP, SMEs’ access to finance, export stimulation, venture capital investments, R&D transfer, innovations, etc. At the same time, another important factor that influences regional development is the banking system. Therefore, this Special Issue will focus on the connections existing between sustainable development and banking. Keeping in mind that financial markets undoubtedly impact on sustainable growth at the global level, the Special Issue will also consider studies in this direction. During the ongoing health crisis, tourism is among the most affected economic sectors. Hence, studies in this field are important in order to emphasize the link between economic growth and global tourism.

Prof. Dr. Ioan BATRANCEA
Guest Editor

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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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

  • financial analysis
  • regional growth
  • regionalism
  • financing
  • R&D
  • transfer
  • innovations
  • tourism
  • hospitals
  • health crisis
  • banking
  • financial markets

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 259 KiB  
Article
Family Businesses Overcoming the COVID-19 Crisis with Innovation: An Exploratory Analysis of the Jewelry Retail Sector in Spain
by Mariano Soler-Porta and Beatriz Rodríguez Díaz
Sustainability 2024, 16(6), 2259; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su16062259 - 08 Mar 2024
Viewed by 522
Abstract
Innovation is a trending topic in many disciplines but has a particular focus when it is studied in family businesses (FBs) due to their unique behavior in decision-making. Moreover, there is a gap in research on how these family businesses overcome economic crises [...] Read more.
Innovation is a trending topic in many disciplines but has a particular focus when it is studied in family businesses (FBs) due to their unique behavior in decision-making. Moreover, there is a gap in research on how these family businesses overcome economic crises by applying innovation. The main purpose of this paper is to provide empirical insight regarding this gap in an understudied sector, such as the Jewelry retail sector. This research was conducted in five cases, taken as examples of what these companies did, in terms of innovation, to overcome the COVID-19 crisis situation. This was considered sufficient, given the homogeneous structure of the sector and the exploratory nature of the research. The results revealed that different strategies caused them to obtain different results and clearly showed that FBs that used innovation during the crisis had better financial results. This paper contributes to the understanding of how FBs overcome economic crises by applying innovation. The implications for this type of business are also included. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SMEs and EU Regional Development)
18 pages, 729 KiB  
Article
Perspectives on the Impact of E-Learning Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic—The Case of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
by Dler O. Hasan, Aso M. Aladdin, Azad Arif Hama Amin, Tarik A. Rashid, Yossra H. Ali, Mahmood Al-Bahri, Jafar Majidpour, Ioan Batrancea and Ema Speranta Masca
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4400; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15054400 - 01 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2242
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected global patterns, and the period of the declared virus pandemic has had a negative influence on all aspects of life. This research focuses on categorizing and empirically investigating the role of digital platforms in learning and business processes [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected global patterns, and the period of the declared virus pandemic has had a negative influence on all aspects of life. This research focuses on categorizing and empirically investigating the role of digital platforms in learning and business processes during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the use of electronic learning (EL) has been boosted by COVID-19’s spread, and EL’s effectiveness on the sustainable development of electronic commerce due to the demand for a variety of electronic devices. For this purpose, the information has been collected through an online questionnaire applied to 430 participants from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The results indicate that participant usage and skills with electronic devices and online software programs are increasing, as the ratio indicated a level of 68% for both genders. Thus, the significance of EL concerning electronic commercial enterprises has been openly acknowledged and influenced by numerous factors. In addition, several suggestions and steps to be undertaken by the government are highlighted. Finally, this research mentions the current limitations of EL and suggests future works to build sustainable online experiences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SMEs and EU Regional Development)
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17 pages, 527 KiB  
Article
Unemployment and Enterprise Births in European Countries: A Sectoral Approach
by Małgorzata Wosiek
Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1586; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15021586 - 13 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1267
Abstract
Different types of entrepreneurial activities are more or less conducive to socio-economic development. Among others, opportunity entrepreneurs are found to have a greater impact on economic growth, innovation, and employment compared to necessity entrepreneurs (pushed by the risk of being unemployed). In this [...] Read more.
Different types of entrepreneurial activities are more or less conducive to socio-economic development. Among others, opportunity entrepreneurs are found to have a greater impact on economic growth, innovation, and employment compared to necessity entrepreneurs (pushed by the risk of being unemployed). In this context, the main goal of the study is to find the answer to the following research question: Which business sectors in European countries are sensitive to the unemployment push effect and thus more prone to necessity entrepreneurship? The paper provides further insight into the unemployment push hypothesis by investigating this issue in the group of 20 European countries across 11 business sectors (NACE Rev. 2 classification): manufacturing, construction, and services of business economies (nine sectors). The issue is examined by analyzing Eurostat and World Bank data for 2004–2020 using the panel vector autoregression (p-VAR) approach. The results confirm the unemployment push effect only in wholesaling, retailing, and repair services. The effect, however, seems to be triggered by entry behaviors in the Central Eastern European countries, which are more active in creating new businesses and more prone to necessity entrepreneurship. In addition, the interplay between unemployment and new enterprise dynamics in wholesaling, retailing, and repair services seems to be relatively more robust to existing heterogeneity within entrepreneurs, countries, and estimation techniques. The implications of the results could assist policymakers responsible for active labor market instruments promoting entrepreneurial attitudes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SMEs and EU Regional Development)
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18 pages, 1929 KiB  
Article
Sources of SMEs Financing and Their Impact on Economic Growth across the European Union: Insights from a Panel Data Study Spanning Sixteen Years
by Larissa M. Batrancea, Mehmet Ali Balcı, Leontina Chermezan, Ömer Akgüller, Ema Speranta Masca and Lucian Gaban
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15318; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142215318 - 18 Nov 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2940
Abstract
Getting access to sufficient funding is the keystone for the development of any business, but especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These economic entities are crucial players in the global economy since they include almost 90% of companies, provide jobs for nearly [...] Read more.
Getting access to sufficient funding is the keystone for the development of any business, but especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These economic entities are crucial players in the global economy since they include almost 90% of companies, provide jobs for nearly 50% of the global workforce, and enhance long-term economic growth. In this context, our study explores important sources concerning the financing of small and medium enterprises and their impact on economic growth during the period 2005–2020 with data from SMEs covering the 28 countries belonging to the European Union. The set of predictors included Strength of legal rights index, Days sales outstanding, Bad debt loss, Interest rate, Bank support, Business angels, Private lenders, and Public support. The set of dependent variables included Cost of loans, Equity fund, GDP growth rate, and Value added growth rate. Our methodological approach was complex, it considered a panel data analysis with a first-difference generalized method of moments estimator and a multiplex time series analysis. The novelty of the study resides in combining the two methods in order to investigate significant drivers of economic growth across the EU. Empirical results showed that economic growth was mainly triggered by predictors such as Interest rate, Business angels, Bank support, and Public support. Moreover, the valuable mathematical insights elicited by the multiplex time series analysis suggested that European economies cooperated intensively through SME activities. Based on our empirical results, national and regional authorities should enact adequate policies to support business endeavors of small and medium enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SMEs and EU Regional Development)
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15 pages, 326 KiB  
Article
Financial Performance and Sustainable Corporate Reputation: Empirical Evidence from the Airline Business
by Larissa M. Batrancea, Anca Nichita and Andreas-Daniel Cocis
Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13567; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142013567 - 20 Oct 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2158
Abstract
A good corporate reputation is essential, and it is becoming increasingly relevant for both companies and stakeholders. In this context, Fortune magazine publishes an annual ranking of corporate reputation, therefore listing the most admired companies in the world. Since corporate reputation is considered [...] Read more.
A good corporate reputation is essential, and it is becoming increasingly relevant for both companies and stakeholders. In this context, Fortune magazine publishes an annual ranking of corporate reputation, therefore listing the most admired companies in the world. Since corporate reputation is considered an intangible asset, it is difficult for competing firms to create similar products or services in the long run. Numerous researchers have concluded that financial performance is strongly connected to corporate reputation. The purpose of this study was to elicit the importance of financial performance in determining an adequate sustainable level of corporate reputation. Using financial indicators and the VIKOR method for a sample of airline companies, we compared the rankings generated by the VIKOR method to the ones published by Fortune. Empirical results showed that when introducing additional financial indicators in the VIKOR method, the VIKOR ranking tends to become similar to the Fortune one. When we introduced 10 financial indicators in the VIKOR method, we obtained similar rankings in 8 of the 10 years of analysis. Our study addresses stakeholders who follow corporate reputation details and may assist them in formulating investment decisions by relying on financial results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SMEs and EU Regional Development)
17 pages, 1610 KiB  
Article
Determinants of Economic Growth across the European Union: A Panel Data Analysis on Small and Medium Enterprises
by Larissa M. Batrancea
Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4797; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14084797 - 16 Apr 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2825
Abstract
Across the European Union, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are major contributors to the increase of the regional gross domestic product. The present study investigates the relationship between economic growth, imports and exports regarding the activity of small and medium enterprises within the [...] Read more.
Across the European Union, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are major contributors to the increase of the regional gross domestic product. The present study investigates the relationship between economic growth, imports and exports regarding the activity of small and medium enterprises within the European Union (EU-28). A panel generalized method of moments (GMM) analysis and a panel two-stage least squares (2SLS) analysis were carried out for the period 2005–2020. Empirical results indicated that online imports and exports together with extra-EU imports and exports had a significant impact on economic growth, proxied by value added, venture capital investments and turnover from e-commerce. In the light of these results, regional and national authorities are called to support business endeavors of small and medium enterprises due to their relevance on the market and contribution to the financing of national budgets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SMEs and EU Regional Development)
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12 pages, 267 KiB  
Article
An Empirical Investigation on the Transition Process toward a Green Economy
by Larissa Batrancea, Marcel Ciprian Pop, Malar Maran Rathnaswamy, Ioan Batrancea and Mircea-Iosif Rus
Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13151; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132313151 - 27 Nov 2021
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 2841
Abstract
The study investigates the transition process and core principles of a green economy. At a global level, green growth represents the essence of a green economy. In this context, the process of restructuring the market economy and transitioning toward a green economy implies [...] Read more.
The study investigates the transition process and core principles of a green economy. At a global level, green growth represents the essence of a green economy. In this context, the process of restructuring the market economy and transitioning toward a green economy implies continuous efforts and interdependence since it cannot be achieved in isolation. The model of restructuring economic activities to the specificity of a green economy addresses the interdependent pillars of sustainable development: environmental concerns; renewable energy; low carbon levels. Nevertheless, the green economy model that is applied to advanced economies cannot be implemented to low-income economies because of development gaps. Moreover, emerging economies also have other goals and priorities that demand changes into the green economy model of advanced economies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SMEs and EU Regional Development)
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