Risikopolitischer Investitionsschutz nimmt zur Förderung von ausländischen Direktinvestitionen (ADI) in Entwicklungsländern eine wichtige Funktion ein. Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert unterschiedliche Investitionsschutzinstrumente im internationalen Kapitalverkehr. Hierbei werden Schwerpunkte auf öffentliche Investitionsgarantien und -versicherungen gelegt, wobei das Instrumentarium der Multilateralen Investitions-Garantie-Agentur (MIGA) als Institution der Weltbankgruppe sowie das der Bundesrepublik Deutschland aufgrund ihrer führenden Stellungen als vorrangige Analysegegenstände dienen. Nach einer fundierten Darstellung der Versicherungssysteme werden diese miteinander verglichen. Ferner werden die MIGA und die Investitionsgarantien des Bundes hinsichtlich ihrer Mehrwerte und Grenzen untersucht. Unter Einbeziehung auch kritischer Aspekte zeigt die Arbeit Handlungsperspektive für die Versicherungssysteme auf, um ADI in Entwicklungsländern verstärkt zu fördern.

This study investigates the role of organizational learning in financial inclusion in India using qualitative research methods. Financial inclusion refers to the appropriate and affordable access to financial products and services and is targeting the part of the population that is unbanked or underbanked. In India, the government has formulated financial sector goals and policies in the last years to alleviate the situation of that part of the population. The study specifically investigates the private banking sector in India as a key protagonist in implementing those policies. The study finds that private banks operate in an overall context that is beneficial towards organizational learning. It identifies the tension between exploration and exploitation as the core of the organizational learning process in financial inclusion. Areas in which organizational learning occurs are related to products and customers, technology, information processing, monitoring and internal/ external training. In those areas, knowledge creation, transfer and retention drive the development of, e.g., new products, internal processes, and guidelines.

Purpose This study aims to explore the heuristics applied by tech entrepreneurs in the Middle East during the opportunity evaluation process. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case-based methodology was applied, which consisted of semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurial experts from different cities in the Middle East. Qualitative data analysis was then performed with inductive thematic coding using the Eisenhardt method. Findings The results suggest that entrepreneurs mostly use six heuristics to evaluate opportunities quickly. Three of them are related to the opportunity as an abstract idea, and three are connected with the person (s) involved in the opportunity. In addition, entrepreneurs in the Middle East were more interested in the personal characteristics of the opportunity presenter than in the opportunity itself. Research limitations/implications Identifying the heuristics applied by experts may neglect the perspective of the community of entrepreneurs as a whole. Hence, future research should target a wider segment of entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the effect of applying such heuristics on the strategic growth of startups remains an open question. Practical implications The identified heuristics are aligned with the hands-on approach of entrepreneurship and can be applied as a decision-making technique for aspiring entrepreneurs who seek to succeed in this region. Originality/value This study explores the under-examined topic of heuristics in opportunity evaluation within the regional context of the Middle East, which has also been scarcely investigated. It sheds light on the importance of cultural factors in identifying the cognitive shortcuts used in a business context.

Stabilization of the economy through fiscal policies has been a broadly discussed subject over many decades. It gained momentum again after the 2008 global recession and is of utmost interest with regard to the COVID-19 crisis. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of fiscal policy on output and inflation. The data used to conduct the meta-analysis consist of empirical and calibrated fiscal impulse values of Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium studies and databases. An increase in fiscal policy shock by one percent leads to a one-period rise in output and inflation by 0.104 and 0.03 percent. Studies that employ the Bayesian method deliver higher effect. The interaction of fiscal impulse and interest jointly affect the output. Fiscal policy intervention in investment has more effect on growth than inflation-friendly government consumption. This study would help policy makers design stabilization strategies, and researchers to further investigate the subject matter and reconcile the contradictory conclusions of previous studies.

The paper points out that Adam Smith’s famous argument about the “iisible hand” (IH) of markets can be ierted. While the IH argument suggests that the baker and butcher do what is in their costumers’ interests not because they care for their costumers, but out of their own self-interest, one can also defend the coerse claim: if one cares for other people and finds a way to satisfy their needs, one can expect that those others will be willing to pay for the satisfaction of their needs. The paper argues that the IH argument has a strong link to the view that the ultimate goal of management should be “profit maximization” and to neo-liberalism’s tenet that in a market economy where companies attempt to maximize profits, a “socially optimal” allocation will be achieved. It is argued, however, that profit maximization is well-defined only within a mathematical model, while real-world decision-making requires one to choose the “relevant set” of options before any assessment of associated profits can be attempted. “Profit maximization” is therefore characterized as a heuristic for managerial decision-making, and it is pointed out that it is by no means essential for management to be successful and sustainable. The ierse IH argument supports natural alternatives, such as Prahalad and Hart’s “bottom-of-the-pyramid” and Yunus’s “social entrepreneurship” approach. Both require the manager to focus on people’s needs first, and regard the “money-making” aspect as secondary.

Heuristics are cognitive shortcuts or rules of thumb that can be used to speed up the process of decision-making. They have been examined across a wide range of fields like economics, psychology, computer science and technology. However, scholars still struggle to find substantial common ground. This study provides a historical overview of heuristics as a research topic emphasizing the evolutionary perspective that takes heuristics as resulting from the development of the brain. Unlike much of the literature, we find it useful to clearly distinguish between conscious heuristics and subconscious heuristics. While we can trace the idea of heuristics through many centuries and fields of application, we focus on the evolution of the “modern” notion of heuristics through three waves of research and theory development starting with Herbert Simon who introduced the inspiring theory of “bounded rationality”, thereby paving the way for all following researchers to dig deeper into heuristics. Then came the breakthrough of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky who established a cognitive basis for human biases that arise from heuristics, and later the work of Gerd Gigerenzer who provided a practical “toolbox” consisting of “fast-and frugal” heuristics that are meant to yield “ecologically rational” decisions. This study aims to provide a comprehensive roadmap of what stages research on the notion of heuristics followed in an attempt to compile and explain the diversity of perspectives within the existing literature.

Purpose – Against the background of still insufficient achievements of particular millennium development goals (MDGs), contributions of private business to the alleviation of poverty have been increasingly called for. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue and explore the CSR strategies of transnational corporations (TNCs) regarding their impact on poverty alleviation within the construction industry in India, in order to gain an insight on how business is engaged in the improvement of the situation of the poor, and to derive recommendations on how pertinent CSR strategies can be further developed._x000D_ Design/methodology/approach – The paper collects primary data for monitoring the CSR activities of the largest TNCs within the construction industry in India to conduct a CSR ranking of the sample TNCs in terms of CSR engagement with particular focus on poverty alleviation with respect to the MDGs._x000D_ Findings – The findings show that the core business-oriented focus of the CSR activities of the construction industry is mainly on MDG 1 and 7. Nevertheless, the construction industry still needs to gear its core business towards business models that enhance the housing conditions of the poor and to improve the general social conditions within this industry. Based on the findings the paper suggests a selected industry-specific governmental CSR guidance to propel the implementation of CSR as business case._x000D_ Practical implications – This work provides policy implications for the government and outlines the areas for business practitioners where CSR strategies should be enhanced to meet social needs and contribute to the alleviation of poverty._x000D_ Originality/value – First of its kind study in scrutinizing the contribution of CSR to the alleviation of poverty, particularly regarding TNCs of the construction industry in India.