Firm local embeddedness in an insular region: The Åland Islands compared to Finland

The present study analyzes the difference between the Åland Islands — an insular and peripheral part of Finland — and Finland as a whole in terms of firm local embeddedness. The analysis utilizes matched employee-employer longitudinal data for all businesses in Finland, including the Åland Islands, from 2006 to 2014. Local embeddedness is modelled both as tenure (the number of years a key stakeholder in a firm has lived in the same municipality as the firm) and by calculating the geographical distance the key stakeholder lives from the focal firm. Contrary to our expectations, we find that for our tenure measure of local embeddedness, firms are actually less locally embedded in the peripheral region than in the larger country. However, our distance measure of local embeddedness performs as expected with firms in the peripheral region. We hypothesize that that there may be an optimal level of local embeddedness, above which a local firm does not necessarily gain by further increasing its local embeddedness.

The EXTERNALITY OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES IN BONDED ZONE TO LOCAL COMPANY PRODUCTIVITY

Multinational Companies (MNC) in the Bonded Zone (BZ) obtain tax incentives and are required to export their product. Those differences allegedly led to the difference in externalities. This paper discussed the indirect impact of MNC on the productivity of local firms with a measure of productivity using Total Factor Productivity (TFP). Furthermore, this thesis seeks to measure the difference impact between MNC which operated on BZ and FDI which operated outside the BZ. Using the tax report data period 2011-2015, estimation result shows that the presence of MNC brings positive externalities to local firm productivity, and MNC which operated on MNC have bigger externalities than MNC which operated outside BZ.

Industrial Hubs and Technology Transfer in Africa’s Apparel Export Sector

In addition to static benefits, the dynamic benefits of special economic zones (SEZs), in terms of linkages with the national economy outside the zones and technology transfer from foreign to local firms, are crucial for structural transformation. This chapter assesses the extent to which the SEZ or SEZ-like policies and related FDI attraction have led to technology transfer in the leading sub-Saharan African apparel exporters, namely Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Ethiopia. In doing so, it focuses on local firm-level learning, which underpins technology transfer, and the conditions under which it occurs. It concludes that targeted infrastructure provision of physical zones is important, but that global economy dynamics such as global buyer and foreign investor strategies as well as the complexities related to local firm technological capability building are crucial to understanding technology transfer, arguing for more strategic industrial policies around SEZs.

Data Visualization in Local Accounting Firms: Is Slow Technology Adoption Rational?

We survey highly-experienced professionals from local accounting firms regarding the adoption of and perceived benefits from data visualization in audit practice. Although the majority of respondents have minimal experience with data visualization, local-firm partners have positive perceptions regarding the value that visualization can have on audit quality and client-related benefits. These perceptions are affected by visualization technology usage: perceived audit quality benefits increase with usage but client benefit perceptions decrease with usage. These results are consistent with competing models of technology adoption. In total, whether one labels a firm a ‘laggard’ or a ‘rational non-adopter’ of visualization technology appears to be driven by whether the firm seeks to adopt technology in order to improve audit quality or to add value for their clients.