Suchergebnisse

With hyperinflation, the disintegration of a paternalistic economy, and shortages everywhere in Russia, Western firms are struggling with how to pay their Russian employees.

This study examined the relevance of task complexity as a moderator of the stress and coping process for a sample of 173 museum store managers. Four categories of coping responses were developed: active cognitive, active behavioral, cognitive avoidant, and behavioral avoidant. Results showed that task complexity moderated the relationship that coping had with some individual and environmental antecedents as well as work outcomes. Relationships were generally stronger for simple than complex tasks.

The global sand crisis has gained considerable attention among environmentalists over the last few years, and the United Nations has proposed some initiatives to reduce the use of river sand. Despite the existence of a number of promising sustainable alternatives to alluvial sand, there has been little effort to implement those initiatives in the construction industry. This paper attempts to develop a better understanding of barriers and challenges related to the adoption of sustainable substitutes for sand in the construction industry. An online survey designed by the authors was distributed among construction industry professionals located in 35 US states and 7 Canadian provinces. The findings from 344 respondents show that different stakeholders in construction have different priorities and concerns when it comes to sustainable sand substitutes, with some focusing more on the technical and practical aspects, while others focus more on the long-term and environmental aspects.
Keywords: : Construction industry, sand crisis, barriers, awareness, sand substitutes

This deeply personal book tells the untold story of the significant contributions of technical professionals from the former Soviet Union to the US innovation economy, particularly in the sectors of software, social media, biotechnology, and medicine. Drawing upon in-depth interviews, it channels the voices and stories of more than 150 professionals who emigrated from 11 of the 15 former Soviet republics between the 1970s and 2015, and who currently work in the innovation hubs of Silicon Valley and Boston/Cambridge. Using the social science theories of institutions, imprinting, and identity, the authors analyze the political, social, economic, and educational forces that have characterized Soviet immigration over the past 40 years, showing how the particularities of the Soviet context may have benefited or challenged interviewees' work and social lives. The resulting mosaic of perspectives provides valuable insight into the impact of immigration on US economic development, specifically in high technology and innovation

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the dramatically changed role of Russia in the global economy since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, as the Soviet institutions collapsed and were either reformed or replaced in a new Russian institutional landscape. The paper presents a fact-based and balanced view of Russia's evolving role in the global economy, as distinguished from the sometimes one-sided view presented by some Western commentators. The authors establish that the two countervailing views are fundamentally based on different cultural perspectives about institutions, primarily the roles of business and government.


Design/methodology/approach
This paper is developed as a perspectives article drawing upon the decades of academic and business experience of all three authors with Russian business, management and the economy. The paper focuses on the structure of Russian institutional change and places it within the historical context of the challenges of various periods of time from the late 1980s to the present. The authors posit that cultural foundations complicate that institutional evolution.


Findings
Russia will remain a major player in world markets for energy, raw materials and armaments for the near future at least. Principal institutional questions facing Russia have to do with how to reduce the country's overall dependence on raw material exports, with its vulnerability to world market fluctuations, and how to modernize Russian economic and political institutions. The degree of success in addressing these questions will depend largely upon the ability of the new and reformed economic institutions to show the flexibility to respond to changes in the global order, on whether political considerations will continue to supersede economic issues, and how markedly cultural traditions will continue to impede positive changes.


Research limitations/implications
The entire system of international trade is under question, disrupted by the growing nationalism that is threatening the globalization that became institutionalized over decades in the wake of the Second World War. Russia's future role is partially dependent upon how new patterns of international trade develop in response to the current disruption of established trade regimes, and by how political conflicts are expressed economically. The authors observe that Russia's historical and cultural traditions, especially acquiescence to a highly centralized government with a strong autocratic leader, limit the country's options. The authors explore how Russia's reactions to Western sanctions have led to a new strategic approach, moving away from full engagement in the global economy to selective economic, and sometimes political, alliances with primarily non-Western countries, most notably China. The authors contrast Russia's situation with that of China, which has been able to make substantial economic progress while still embracing a strong, centralized political institutional structure.


Originality/value
Many Western analysts have viewed Russian institutional evolution very critically through the lens of Western politics and sanctions, while Russia has continued along its own path of economic and institutional development. Each view, the authors argue, is based upon differing cultural perspectives of the roles of business and government. As a result, a distinct difference exists between the Western and Russian perspectives on Russia's role in the world. This paper presents both points of view and explores the future of Russia's position in the world economy based upon its evolving strategy for national economic policy. The authors contrast the situations of Russia and China, highlighting how Western-centric cultural views have affected perceptions of each country, sometimes similarly and at times with decided differences.

Given the past decade of abuse of shareholder rights, corporate governance is essential for Russia's future. In this comprehensive volume, an international group of contributors - academics, corporate executives, government officials, policymakers, specialists from nongovernmental organizations, and legal experts - examine the crucial role of corporate governance as well as the external institutions and forces that affect it. Offering coverage from numerous perspectives, the contributors explore external and institutional influences on corporate governance, its workings within corporations, and the relationships between boards of directors, managers, shareholders, and the government. Case studies of three major companies illustrate the challenges and opportunities involved in creating sound practices. The concluding section provides a summary of the current situation and discusses implications for the future of Russia's corporate governance. A valuable source of information, Corporate Governance in Russia is a must-read for business people, government officials, academic researchers, students, and all those interested in Russia and what the future holds