No abstract

The barriers to higher education–industry cooperation (HIC) have been studied extensively. However, it is not yet clear which barriers affect which partner firms, which barriers may prevent cooperation altogether or which drivers help to overcome which specific barriers. To answer these questions, the authors conducted an original survey (a novel sample that included micro firms and small and medium-sized enterprises) and looked at HIC barriers in relation to firm characteristics and cooperation drivers. More than half of the survey sample had engaged in HIC. The results suggest that small export-oriented firms may not find suitable competences in higher education institutions and are therefore less likely to engage in HIC. Larger companies do engage in cooperation, but find strategic differences (goals, stances, time allocated) to be significant issues in cooperation. From the viewpoint of firms, possible solutions (drivers) include easy access to more information on HIC opportunities as well as support and training for student mobility.

Various studies show that higher education institutions contribute to regional economic development by R&D, creation of human capital, knowledge and technology transfer, and by creation of a favourable milieu. It is brought out that the basic procedure is to sum expenditures of the college community (students, faculty, staff and visitors) created by the presence of the institution and apply multipliers to account for the interdependency of economic activity in a local economy, resulting in an estimated 'local economic impact'. The aim of the paper is to investigate the relationship between students in tertiary education and economic growth in NUTS 2 level in Europe from 1998 to 2008 by looking whether the share of tertiary students (measuring human capital) is correlated with the share of knowledge-intensive employment (KIE) in different regions. The increase in KIE is related to increasing levels of GDP per capita and R&D expenditures. Taking into account regional-level fixed effects, the share of tertiary students is not statistically significant. We found out that the increase in KIE is related to increasing levels of GDP per capita and R&D expenditures. The share of students five periods ago has a positive relation with the KIE: as we assumed, it takes time for the human capital to contribute to the economic development.

PurposeThis paper elaborates on connections between organisational culture (OC) and financial performance in production and service companies in Estonia.Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional study analyses the organisational culture of 19 SMEs and large service and production companies with 2,256 respondents. The questionnaire based on the Competing Values Framework (CVF) was used to map organisational culture. Six different performance indicators from annual reports in the Estonian Business Register database were used over a four-year period. A confirmatory factor analysis and non-parametric Spearman rank correlation were applied in the study.FindingsThe authors found that OC types are connected to each other and theoretical opposites in the CVF are not mutually exclusive. Strong correlations exit between Clan and Adhocracy cultures, also confirmed by previous studies. Surprisingly, Market and Hierarchy types correlated more strongly in our sample compared to previous studies. As expected, Clan–Adhocracy and Market types exhibited a strong positive correlation with financial indicators, but contrary to the authors’ hypothesis, the Hierarchy type also had positive connections to performance indicators. The Market culture was only significantly related to performance in years when the Hierarchy type was also positively correlated with performance. Correlations that were positive in some years under investigation became insignificant in other years.Originality/valueFirst, The authors use multiple objective financial performance indicators to reveal relationships between OC and performance. Second, this study did not only rely on the managers' opinion of OC, but the sample also consists of respondents from all levels of the organisational hierarchy. Third, the authors expand on existing research into the link between OC and performance by exploring a country from the former Soviet Union (FSU), where the number of similar studies is low, but where the specific context has an impact on connections between OC and financial performance of the firms.

No abstract