Purpose: - Despite the dearth of research on innovation performance, the key determinants of innovation performance are still blurred. Besides, comparative research on the determinants of innovation performance among countries at different income levels: high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income, and low-income, is not common. This study is, therefore, aimed to bridge this research gap by considering the innovation performance of 63 countries. Methodology: - Participating countries were purposefully selected from the Global Innovation Index (GII) dataset. Multistage analyses were conducted: first, a linear regression was run to identify the most decisive pillars; then, stepwise regression was applied to identify the best predicting model of innovation performance; thirdly, to examine the variation in innovation performance and figure out key determinants in each country groups, the ANOVA analysis was done.Results: - Human capital and research, infrastructure, and business sophistication are the key pillars determining innovation performance in general. The best predicting variables are innovation linkage & knowledge absorption (both pertaining to business sophistication), R&D and infrastructure (inculcating both physical and digital). The human capital that promotes R&D activities is the biggest bottleneck hampering promotion of innovation in the countries and firms at lower-middle income category, whereas innovation linkage in a high-income category and both human capital that promotes R&D activities and innovation linkage in an upper-middle income category. Hence, countries and firms in these income categories should give priorities accordingly to these decisive bottlenecks hindering the innovation performance.Implication: - The result implies that country's economic growth can be defined by the level of innovation performance and the challenges of innovation vary as per the countries’ development stage. Accordingly, bottleneck factors need to be identified & addressed properly in a policy direction first at firm level and then at country level.Originality/Value: - The study claims to have extended the horizon of understanding on determinants of innovation across countries and revealed the most crucial factors in each category of countries. Further empirical comparative research can be done by stratifying firms as SMEs and Large firms in each category of countries.

The study aimed at investigating the factors that lead to successful crowdfunding campaigns in Kenya. The success factors of reward-based crowdfunded campaigns vary in different countries due to differences in cultures, legal requirements, social interactions, political and business environments. With very minimal research on crowdfunding funding in Kenya, the study therefore, aimed at analyzing reward-based crowdfunding in Kenya using Kickstarter data, and identifying the crucial factors necessary to run a successful campaign. To achieve this objective, the study used a multiple regression and Pearson correlations. The study found a statistically significant regression equation hence the regression model was considered a good fit. The study using the Pearson correlations analysis found a very strong and positive statistical correlation between updates, amount pledged, backers, and successful projects, moderate but positive statistical correlation between comments, new backers, returning backers, and successful projects. However, there was a negative but insignificant correlation between the goal, funding period, and successful projects. The novelty will be of great benefit to project funders who want to run successful projects in Kenya. This is because the concept of crowdfunding is still new in Kenya and has not been widely publicized, accepted, or researched. The results of this study will guide potential founders on the do’s and don’ts of running a successful campaign. Finally, the study recommends further research on the success factors of other crowdfunding models in Kenya as the study solely focused on the reward-based model.

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Austria. The study used the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) method and the Penalty for Bottleneck (PFB) to achieve this objective. The findings revealed a moderated entrepreneurial ecosystem with a GEI score of 65.2%. Again, the study found a strong correlation between Austria's GDP per capita and the GEI scores and a moderate score for all the three sub-indices entrepreneurial attitudes (65.5), entrepreneurial abilities (67.6), and entrepreneurial aspirations (62.4). Using the Penalty for Bottleneck (PFB) method, the study identified high growth and human capital as the bottleneck pillars. To shun the bottlenecks related to high growth, accessibility of finance, and formulation of sophisticated strategy at the institutional level are paramount, especially during this highly competitive technological era. Also, to alleviate the human capital bottleneck,  the government should draw up policies that will help boost education at the tertiary level, especially at an individual level. Further empirical research can be conducted to compare the entrepreneurial ecosystem of EU countries. This study adds to the existing literature on entrepreneurship which is scanty. Additionally, this paper highlights the bottlenecks in Austria's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and provides possible alternative policies that can enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem if implemented.

Despite the dearth of research on innovation, the key determinants of innovation performance still need to be clarified. Besides, a comparative analysis of the determinants of innovation performance across countries at different income levels has yet to be found. This study, therefore, aims to bridge this research gap by considering the innovation performance of 63 countries. Participating countries were purposefully selected from the Global Innovation Index (GII) dataset. Multistage and multimodal analyses were conducted, including multiple linear regressions, hierarchical regression, and ANOVA, to examine the variation in innovation performance and pinpoint critical determinants in each category of countries. The result reveals that human capital, research, infrastructure, and business sophistication are the key pillars determining countries’ innovation performance. In a variable-level analysis, innovation linkage and knowledge absorption (both of business sophistication), research and development (R&D), and infrastructure (inculcating both physical and digital) are the best predicting variables. The shortage of human capital to promote R&D is the biggest bottleneck hampering innovation in the lower-middle-income category. Also, both human capital for R&D activities and innovation linkage equally affect the upper-middle-income, and the latter one, innovation linkage, remains the main challenge even for the high-income category. The study implies that innovation performance predicts a country’s economic growth. The level of innovation performance and the determinants of innovation vary per the countries’ income levels. Accordingly, countries and firms in various income categories should prioritize tackling their respective bottlenecks hindering innovation performance in their policy directions. The study claims to have extended the horizon of understanding determinants of innovation across countries and revealed the most crucial factors in each category of countries. Further empirical comparative research can be done by incorporating an informal institution, national culture, as an additional determinant and specifying sectors across income categories.

This paper sought to answer the question of how best human resource practices can support organisations in the current phase of internationalisation while still maintaining the local standards of the hosting country? In attempting to answer this question, the paper studied the HRM practices of Foreign-Owned Companies and Hungary's Socioeconomic environment. The study revealed that the Hungarian cultural society was more independent, and power hierarchy was not entrenched in the organisational cultures, highly individualistic, masculine, intolerant towards taking risks, realistic, and culturally restrained. The paper concluded that the increased FDIs and multinational companies in Hungary posed a great challenge to employees' effective and efficient management while still maintaining the host country's local standards.

This paper aims to investigate how digital currencies have caused a drastic evolution, especially in the payment sector. It aims to further studies on how bitcoin is the most conspicuous digital currency and is perceived as disruptive innovation with the potential of replacing fiat currency. The study was employed through a case study to examine whether bitcoins are disruptive innovation or a threat to the Central Banks and Fiat money. The study adopted a mixed approach research design by using qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The literature reviewed journals were published in credible journals in various databases. The Time series analysis approach was used to forecast the future prices of bitcoins. The study used an in-sample and out-of-sample time series forecasting using the Gretl software. The ARIMA (1,2,1) Model was found to be a good fit with 85% accuracy (the Mean Absolute Percentage Error -MAPE was 15%) to forecast the future of bitcoin prices. The outcome of the forecast suggested that bitcoin price will have a gradual but insignificant increase. The results of this study also suggest that bitcoins fail to fulfill the functions of money as a store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account. This is attributed to high price volatility, lack of centralization, and exposure to hackers and fraudsters. The study further suggests that bitcoins are not disruptive innovations and do not pose any threat to the Central banks and the Fiat currency in the future. The results support that bitcoin can benefit the community as well as attracting investors as a speculative investment mainly because the bitcoins are limited in transactions. The study recommends more research on the potential impact of the Central bank's digital currencies on National and Global currencies particularly because China launched its digital Yuan recently. JEL: G21; E58; E51; 031; C10 <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0790/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

A jelen tanulmány azt vizsgálja, hogy az összegyűjtött források nagyságát, valamint a Crowdcubeplatformon keresztül történő tulajdonositőke-alapú közösségi finanszírozás sikerét vagy sikertelenségét milyen tényezők befolyásolják. Vizsgálatunkhoz Pearson-féle korrelációt és többszörös regreszsziót használtunk. A statisztikai szignifikancia miatt a regressziós modell jó illeszkedésnek bizonyult. A tanulmány megállapította, hogy a tőkealapú közösségi finanszírozási kampányok kimenetelét a befektetők száma, a célösszeg, valamint a cég befektetés előtti értéke erősen és pozitívan befolyásolja. További befolyásoló tényezőként a tulajdonrész (tőke), a részvényár-információk megjelenítése és a közösségi média jelenléte említhető. A közösségi finanszírozással kapcsolatos előzmény (korábbi részvétel) ugyanakkor a kampányok sikeréhez negatívan kapcsolódott. A tanulmány egyedisége azon vállalkozók (alapítók) és befektetők számára fog segítséget jelenteni, akik sikeres tőkealapú közösségi finanszírozási kampányokat kívánnak folytatni, illetve támogatni az Egyesült Királyságban és a világ más részein. A tanulmány ugyanakkor ajánlást fogalmaz meg más országok és földrészek tőkealapú közösségi finanszírozási platformjainak további vizsgálatára is.

The study is aimed at exploring what influences the amount of money raised which can either lead to the success or failure of equity-based crowdfunding using Crowdcube. The study used Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis. The regression model was considered a good fit as it was statistically significant. The findings of the paper revealed that the number of investors, target amount, and pre-money valuation strongly and positively influence the success of equity-based crowdfunding campaigns. Additionally, equity, display of share price information, and online social media presence are other factors that influence the success of equity-based crowdfunding campaigns. However, previous crowdfunding history was negatively associated with the success of campaigns. The uniqueness of the study will benefit investors and founders who aim at running or investing in successful equity-based crowdfunding campaigns in the UK and globally. The study recommends further research using other equity-based crowdfunding platforms in different countries and continents.