Barbara Bradač Hojnik

Building an Entrepreneurial Society : 25 years of entrepreneurship at FEB UM

The present scientific monograph was formed on the occasion of the anniversary celebrated in the academic year 2017/2018 by current and former members of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Business Economics, and the members of the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management at the University of Maribor. Twenty-five years – a quarter of a century – is a period after which it is worth looking back on the past and summing up the memories of the achievements and milestones that have marked it. The monograph is also an acknowledgment and tribute to the initiator and founder of the first study track for entrepreneurship education, and the head of the Department and Institute, Professor Doctor Miroslav Rebernik. The collection of selected scientific contributions is thus put together in such a way that he is the co-author of all of them, with individual members of the Department. A collection was created that chronologically presents some of the most visible contributions of the 25-year period. We would like to thank all publishing houses that approved the reprint of the contributions.

Slovenska podjetja in krožno gospodarstvo : slovenski podjetniški observatorij 2017

V monografiji smo analizirali vse gospodarske družbe in samostojne podjetnike v Sloveniji za leto 2016 ter primerjali kljucne podatke za leto 2015 oziroma 2014 med Slovenijo in EU-28 oziroma posameznimi clanicami v nefinancnem sektorju gospodarstva (to so dejavnosti industrije, trgovine in storitev). V Sloveniji je bilo leta 2016 v celotnem gospodarstvu 124.058 podjetij, ki so zaposlovala 543.371 ljudi. Najvec podjetij (skoraj petina) je v Sloveniji leta 2016 delovalo v dejavnosti trgovine; vzdrževanja in popravil motornih vozil. Tudi v EU-28 je leta 2015 vec kot cetrtina podjetij (26,4 % ali 6,2 milijona) poslovala v dejavnosti trgovine; vzdrževanja in popravil motornih vozil. Ta dejavnost je zaposlovala najvec ljudi, skoraj cetrtino (33,1 milijona). V EU-28 in Sloveniji so najvec dodane vrednosti ustvarila podjetja predelovalnih dejavnosti. Povprecna dodana vrednost na zaposleno osebo za agregirane dejavnosti v EU-28 v letu 2015 je znasala 51.086 evrov, v Sloveniji pa 32.694 evrov (skoraj 40 % manj). V drugem delu proucujemo kontekst krožnega gospodarstva z vidika izzivov in priložnosti za slovenska MSP. Opredeljujemo koncept krožnega gospodarstva, strateska izhodisca za prehod v krožno gospodarstvo na nacionalni ravni, problematiko merjenja krožnega gospodarstva in prikaz stanja in možnosti uporabe ekodizajna v slovenskih MSP na podrocju gradbenistva in z njim povezanih dejavnosti.

Dynamics of Entrepreneurial Potential: GEM Slovenia 2016, Executive summary

The book presents the results of the largest longitudinal study of entrepreneurship in the world, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. It is based on data collected in 2016 and before, and deals with the interconnectedness of entrepreneurship and economic development. This monograph brings the results of the study of entrepreneurship in Slovenia and compares them with the results of other countries. It is based on a joint methodology and performed within a closely linked and interconnected global network of researchers, allowing detailed international comparisons. The book enables a better understanding of societal values about entrepreneurship and the specific individual characteristics of persons, such as their perception of their own entrepreneurial capabilities, their ability to perceive business opportunities, their entrepreneurial intentions and their fear of failure. Because the survey monitored entrepreneurial activity in all phases of the life cycle (nascent, new and established businesses, business discontinuation), and according to the impact and type of activity, it delivers a comprehensive picture of entrepreneurship processes and their ecosystem. A substantial amount of attention is also devoted to entrepreneurial aspirations and the quality of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, since the latter may significantly foster (or constrain) entrepreneurial processes in a society.

Slovenian Entrepreneurship Observatory 2000

Slovenian Entrepreneurship Observatory 2005 shows some aspects of Slovenian entrepreneurship in the previous year. We provide the basic features of Slovenian companies, as can be seen from the economic and statistical data. The analysis included all those companies, which in 2004 submitted the annual reports at AJPES. We have analysed four topics: 1) evaluated the ambitions of established entrepreneurs in Slovenia with regard to their future growth in comparison with the growth ambitions of emerging and new entrepreneurs; 2) analysed the cooperation and partnerships between enterprises, reasons, forms and areas of cooperation and impacts of the effectiveness of cooperation on the competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses compared with large enterprises in Slovenia; 3) analysed the differences in age, size, export orientation, performance and aspirations for growth between family and non-family small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovenia; 4) studied the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises, and added a survey of major works by Slovenian authors who have written about entrepreneurship in 2005.

Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and Policy Development in Slovenia

The chapter investigates entrepreneurship trends in Slovenia in the context of the entrepreneurship activity, evolution of entrepreneurship policy and the development of entrepreneurship ecosystem. The performance of companies and the entrepreneurship activity in Slovenia are lagging behind the EU average, particularly in areas such as early stage entrepreneurship and established entrepreneurship rates. Additionally, the entrepreneurship policy lags behind in terms of access to finance, administrative complexity and burdens and entrepreneurship education. However, specifically the start-up ecosystem, as a part of entrepreneurship ecosystem, and start-up community in Slovenia are rapidly developing. Based on an insight into the entrepreneurship activity and the progress of entrepreneurship policy and ecosystem up to this point, we suggest some entrepreneurship policy measures that could improve the function of the entrepreneurship ecosystem and increase the quality of entrepreneurship in Slovenia.

Managing Tacit Knowledge in Strategic Outsourcing

The globalization of modern economies and transition to integral knowledge society brings along complex issues of mastering outsourced activities, especially in managing tacit dimensions of knowledge transfer that takes place in outsourcing relationships. Relationships can be divided into several groups, among which the traditional and strategic ones are the most distinguished (Reuvid & Hinks, 2001; Espino-Rodriguez & PadronRobaina, 2004; Linder, 2004). Traditional outsourcing is interpreted as a relationship in which the outsourcing provider can perform only well-controlled activities. This mindset has changed over the time due to fact that outsourcing providers usually have significant capabilities and a higher level of knowledge than outsourcers. Consequently, traditional outsourcing has evolved and transformed into problem solving (strategic) outsourcing (Linder et al., 2002), which seeks to achieve major changes in the company’s performance (e.g., changes in business processes, access to new technology, innovation, productivity improvements) and is mostly based on long-term cooperation between companies that often develops into a business partnerships. Such outsourcing also enables companies to fully exploit investments of external providers, their innovations, and specialized skills and knowledge that would otherwise be very costly and almost impossible to replicate within company. In strategic outsourcing objectives and relationships between participants become very important; consequently, tacit knowledge dimensions (Polanyi, 1958, 1966; Howels, 1996; Rebernik & Sirec, 2007) should be appropriately managed. This chapter discusses some fundamental issues related to the importance of knowledge management in the outsourcing relationship. Managing the outsourcing relationship is incorporated primarily in the outsourcing process itself, and no special attention is paid to it, although it is crucial for the effectiveness of the outsourcing relationship. Such an approach neglects the importance of governing, supervising, and developing the relationship with the outsourcing provider, particularly because the outsourcing literature relates mainly to large companies (Rebernik & Bradac, 2009). A considerable number of organizations have had negative experiences with outsourcing because no relationship management had been established; this is an area in which a great deal of effort should be applied during the outsourcing process (Embelton & Wright, 1998). Rather, organizations have tended to establish teams of employees who govern the outsourcing process. In this process, participants involved in outsourcing activities share various information and exchange different types of knowledge and skills. Not only do they learn from each other,