Andreja Jaklič

Exploiting ICT potential in service firms in transition economies

Service industries are the most intensive users of information-communication technology (ICT) and some developed countries have already displayed noticeable productivity gains due to ICT use in services. The pattern of intensive use of ICT in services tends to be replicated in transition economies, however the evidence of ICT impacts on growth and productivity is lacking at the aggregate and industry level owing to deficient data and methodological problems. To overcome some of the problems in estimating the effects of ICT use we pursue firm-level analysis and apply production function approach to estimate the impact of ICT on the performance of service firms in Slovenia. The results suggest that service firms are more intensive ICT users than manufacturing firms and that ICT use significantly influences the productivity of service firms. The positive impact of ICT use on productivity applies to all service firms irrespective of their size. The links are stronger for service firms with above average ICT use. Due to the absence of data on complementary expenditures for training and organisational change related to ICT adoption the results might overemphasise the effects of ICT investment.

Enhanced transition through outward internationalization : outward FDI by Slovenian firms

Origins of Slovenia and its Outward Internationalization: Introduction Slovenia - a new state of the world The history of outward investing. Outward Foreign Direct Investment in the 1990s: Legal framework and trends Geographical and industrial distribution Investment in the successors to the SFRY The importance of investigating companies. Investing Abroad: From Idea to Results: Motivations for outward investment Investing firms and foreign affiliates Barriers to internationalization Effects of outward investment. Case Studies: Characteristics and lessons of cases Gerenje Prevent Iskraemeco Krka Lek Kolektor Mercator. Lessons from Slovenia: The role of the government Is Slovenian case relevant? Conclusion.

Exploring the effects of international sourcing on manufacturing versus service firms

As the extent of international sourcing rises and the number of functional activities spreading across-national borders increases, there is a call for a better understanding of its impact on structural change. In this work, we explore the effects of international sourcing comparatively and look for differences between manufacturing and service firms. This study is based on a unique Slovenian data set that links the recently conducted Eurostats survey on international sourcing with a detailed financial firm-level data. The results from the matching methodology suggest that service firms involved in international sourcing gain an improvement in the quality and technological learning, resulting in the employment growth and development. This is not the case for manufacturing firms driven primarily by cost cutting. In our view, a better understanding of these effects is vital for both manufacturing as well as service firms that are influenced by this new trend.

Outward FDI from New European Union Member States

One of the main characteristics of transition economies (TEs) was their modest integration with the world economy. The deregulation, privatisation and liberalisation that accompanied transition have sped up the internationalisation process, with the initial wave of inward internationalisation being faster and greater in volume than outward internationalisation. In spite of the rapid development of outward investing at the end of the 1990s the process led to large differences among transition countries and in many of them the potential of internationalisation has not yet been fully exploited. The new transition EU members are, apart from Russia, the main outward investors among TEs.

Relevance of innovation cooperation for firms’ innovation activity: the case of Slovenia

The paper analyses the importance of innovation cooperation on the innovation activity of Slovenian firms, and puts it within the broader context of firm’s innovation activity determinants. Probit estimations based on firm-level data confirm that, next to R&D spending, innovation cooperation is the most important factor in firms’ probability to innovate. This paper is the first to explicitly analyse the effect of variety and different types of innovation cooperation. Within innovation cooperation, a significant and positive effect on innovation activity is confirmed for domestic as well as for international innovation cooperation, for public as well as private cooperation, especially with customers, suppliers and advisors, but not for cooperation with public institutions such as universities and R&D institutes. Innovation cooperation should, thus, be more intensively promoted, especially in countries that lag behind in own R&D spending.

Explanation for public and private service growth in the enlarged EU

This paper complements a large body of literature on structural change and underlying factors for the expansion of services. The main aim is to explore the determinants of the employment growth in the enlarged European Union from the perspective of various service groups, public, private and mixed services, and to identify which factors played the most significant role in the period 1995–2007. The roles played by standard determinants, the state, social and demographic changes, institutional framework of labour markets and membership to old EU15 considerably differ across service groups.

Unknown Multinational Enterprises: Top MNEs from Slovenia

Even a decade ago, discussing Slovene multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Slovenia would have been akin to swearing. MNEs were perceived as the “bad guys,” transferring profits abroad, hiding, and creating unbalanced development. MNEs were considered responsible for many of the country’s economic problems and for leading to a culture of political dependency. MNEs were synonymous with large firms from Western industrialized countries, exploiting other (frequently less-developed) countries. Until very recently, Slovenia’s own MNEs—that is, those originating in Slovenia and operating abroad—did not feature in public debates. Neoclassical thinking was also prevalent in academia during the 1990s: investing abroad was considered unpatriotic because capital was needed at home (Svetlicic 1996, 4). As recently as 2008 (following the “Top 25 Slovene MNEs” press release by Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (2008)), several major Slovene newspapers sought to interview the authors on whether Slovene firms were, in fact, MNEs, as the general belief has been that Slovenia does not have MNEs.

Javnost in Tuje Neposredne Investicije

Povzetek Povezanost tujih neposrednih investicij (TNI) in (ne)naklonjenosti državljanov je v teoriji in empiričnem preverjanju razmeroma skromno analizirana, čeprav pod-jetja v investicijskem odločanju odziv javnosti označujejo kot dejavnik tveganja, katerega mednarodna razsežnost je že dolgo prepoznana. Teorija nakazuje, da si ljudje us-tvarjajo mnenje o TNI bodisi zaradi zgodovinsko-političnih razlogov, še verjetneje pa zaradi neposrednega vpliva vhodnih TNI na trg dela in njihove plače. Osnovni empirični rezultati za evropske države v zadnjih dveh desetletjih kažejo, da državljani, naklonjeni liberalizaciji, tokove TNI privabljajo, nenaklonjenost liberalizaciji pa jih odvrača. Ob sočasnem preverjanju vpliva liberalizaciji naklonjenih in nenaklonjenih državljanov ugotovimo, da naklonjenost državljanov liberalizaciji na prilive TNI ne vpliva, medtem ko ima nenaklonjenost statistično značilen negativen vpliv. Rezultati kažejo, da se (ne)naklonjenost državljanov v prili-vih TNI pokaže šele po petih letih, kajti podjetja potrebu-jejo ustrezen čas, da se na mnenjske spremembe odzovejo. Kot izjemno pomembne se izkažejo formalne pravne, politične in ekonomske institucije, ki se odzivajo na javno mnenje. Vključitev teh pojasnjevalnih spremenljivk močno zmanjša absolutni učinek liberalizaciji nenaklonjenih državljanov na prilive TNI in pokaže, da ta deluje popolno-ma na podlagi formalnih institucij. Rezultati posredno tudi opozarjajo, da je pri oblikovanju spodbud za privabljanje TNI smiselno upoštevati javno mnenje.

Transition, regulation and trade in services

Market-oriented reforms launched at the beginning of the 1990s have had a profound impact on the restructuring of the service sector in transition economies. Reforms have introduced complex regulatory changes that substantially diminished the barriers to competition in services, thereby improving the supply of services. The article explores the patterns and effects of regulatory changes in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) on services exports in the period 1993–2004. The econometric analysis finds a statistically significant impact of the regulatory reforms on service exports. The effects are more significant for the period 1999–2004 and seem to suggest that efficient implementation of reforms during the accession process had beneficial consequences also for service exports. However, there is enough room for the CEECs to dismantle further the obstacles to services provision and to improve the governance of the service markets within the internal market for services.

The outward direct Investment from CEECs: Can their firms compete in the global market

Der Artikel analysiert das jungste Auftauchen von multinationalen Unternehmen (MNCs) aus mittel- und ostmitteleuropaischen Landern(CEECs), insbesondere der Tschechischen Republik, Estland, Ungarn, Polen und Slowenien. Die Mehrheit der MNCs aus den CEECs sind vorwiegend regional aktiv, sie sind aber auch global existent. Die geographische Zuordnung von FDI beweisen, das die physische Entfernung, kulturelle Nahe und historische Verbindungen relevant fur die Entscheidung der Investition sind. Fruhere Erfahrungen sind wichtig, mindestens genauso wichtig sind ehrgeizige Plane und das konstante Verbesssern von Vorteilen. MNCs von CEECs erfuhren einen positiven Nettoeffekt von FDI wie verbesserte Marktpositionen, Exportwachstum, hohere Effizien, die auch ihre Wettbewerbsvorteile erhoht.