FDI in small states and unattractive markets: the case of São Tomé and Príncipe

ABSTRACT

Studies on Small States, ‘unattractive’ markets, namely those from Africa, are very scarce. São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), a Small State, insular economy, has had considerable momentum in attracting FDI in the last decade albeit its geographical and demographic constraints and relative weak economic growth. The current study uncovers the potential determinants of FDI in unattractive markets using STP as a case study. Based on (robust) logistic estimations on a sample of 56 Portuguese companies that have trade relations with African countries, we show that in the case of Small States economies and unattractive markets, the relevance of institutional factors and resource seeking strategies surpass internalisation and location factors related to market size and dynamics. We further uncovered that foreign companies’ characteristics, namely size and (general) human capital, are critical in explaining companies’ likelihood to invest in an ‘unattractive’ market.     

Predictors of Euroscepticism in six Western Balkan countries

ABSTRACT

Based on a combination of national representative surveys and semi-structured interviews conducted in six Western Balkan countries, the study represents a pioneering attempt at a systematic, comparative analysis of Euroscepticism in the Western Balkans. By employing a theoretical framework that tests the effects of utilitarian, political and cultural factors, the study identifies and interprets the strongest socio-demographical and attitudinal predictors of Euroscepticism. The study demonstrates that all three theoretical models have some explanatory power regarding Eurosceptical attitudes in the Western Balkans, albeit to different degrees. While utilitarian predictors have limited effects, domestic proxies and especially cultural factors such as traditional values, authoritarian orientations and particularly religious affiliation appear as the strongest predictors of Euroscepticism.     

城市居民的循环型消费行为：实证检验与政策借鉴

我们通过问卷调查,对城市居民的循环型消费行为(包括循环型购买行为和循环型使用行为)进行实证检验。我们的研究旨在解决两个问题：一是检验城市居民循环型消费行为的总体状况;二是分析循环型消费行为的主要影响因素。最后,我们对政府制定公共政策,引导居民转向循环型消费行为提出了若干政策借鉴。     

Fiscal and political determinants of local government involvement in public-private partnership (PPP)

ABSTRACT

In this article, we estimate the main determinants of local government’s engagement in public-private partnership (PPP) projects using logistic panel regression. We use data from 2478 municipalities and cities in Poland from 2009 to 2016. The results show that municipalities with higher levels of indebtedness have a higher probability of opening PPP tenders while local units that are more dependent on central grants or receive more European grants are less engaged in PPP. We also found that the mayors of municipalities and cities with stronger electoral competition engage in PPP with a higher probability. These results are important for discussions on the efficient use of PPP. They show that local government decisions made in conditions of fiscal constraint and political struggle can blur the PPP’s value-for-money aim.     

Theoretical criteria for online consumer behaviour: web-based communication exposure and internal psychological behavioural processes approaches

Various theories, theoretical viewpoints and models on consumer behaviour stipulate consumers’ offline and online behaviour when purchasing a product or using a service. This article deviates from the purchasing perspective and instead proposes an information and web-based communication message ‘seeking and consumption¹ perspective. This new perspective is theoretically grounded in two new approaches to online consumer behaviour: the web-based communication exposure and internal psychological behavioural processes approaches; as well as the integration of various theoretical perspectives, approaches, theories and models that address fragments of offline and online consumer behaviour. The research problem is to address the existing limited and fragmented approaches, because existing purchasing perspectives arguably do not provide adequate theoretical criteria to explain online consumer behaviour during interactive information-seeking and consumption activities. Hence, the main aim of this article is to propose new theoretical criteria for online consumer behaviour to address these shortcomings.