Theodore Metaxas

Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe: Denmark, Hungary and Greece

This paper aims to define the meaning of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of the European framework and examine three different European countries. The main elements which encompass the meaning of CSR focus on activities with social and environmental sensitiveness, on a voluntary basis. The paper analyses the dimensions of CSR and presents its benefits. Furthermore, the paper provides a brief description of the recent CSR activities in the European Union, and attempts a comparative analysis of CSR activities and their respective impacts on three European countries: Greece; Denmark; and Hungary. Finally, the paper concludes that the effective implementation of CSR strategy cannot follow strict rules and should be adjusted to the culture, needs and particularities of each country.

Path dependence, change and the emergence of the first joint-stock companies

This paper presents a model of path dependence and change and focuses on the gaining of new institutional knowledge. The main thesis is that in ‘extraordinary’ historical situations the possibility of change increases as a result of external pressure and successful adaptation to it. The model is tested applying it to the case study of seventeenth-century United Provinces (Dutch Republic). Such a situation existed in the sixteenth–seventeenth-century United Provinces, due to their uprising against Spanish rule. Because there existed no strong central authority, the decision-makers had to develop new institutions in order to successfully capture the lucrative spice trade from their enemies. The solution was the joint-stock company, which, through the phases of a continuous decision-making procedure, developed into the ‘permanent’ Dutch East India Company (VOC) in parallel also to the development of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

Developing place marketing pilot plans: the cases of Rostock and Kainuu

The purpose of this paper is to pinpoint the role of place marketing in the fields of tourism, culture, and business, through the development of place marketing pilot plans (PMPPs) for two places in northern Europe: the city of Rostock in Germany and the region of Kainuu in Finland. Specifically, the analysis is based on the combination of two basic marketing models, the Ashworth & Voogd (1990) model and the Kotler et al. (1999) model, aiming to present a methodological tool that could be effective for the successful promotion of a places image throughout its external environment. The data are provided from the INTERREG IIIc Project CultMark. The paper contributes to research in two ways: (a) by displaying an integrated methodological approach with specific phases of planning and supporting the image of a place, and (b) by amplifying current views according to which place marketing implementation is not simply an occasional procedure. The case studies used support the above arguments.

Culinary Tourism In Greece: Can The Past Define The Future? Dimensions Of Innovation, Entrepreneurship And Regional Development

This paper examines the possibility that gastronomy, based on ancient Greek values, could be part of the answer for economic prosperity through the development of food tourism in a country with a harsh economic environment such as Greece. We examine if local food, culture and tourism could become fields of new entrepreneurial and regional development when paired with knowledge, innovation and quality. The paper uses Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) from real examples of innovative entrepreneurship related to gastronomy that are presented as case studies.

Green CSR practices: a European approach

In their business strategy, companies incorporate their concerns on global environmental problems by setting their principles on sustainability with CSR. An in depth analysis will provide a general view of how European companies express their environmental concerns through green management. A comparative content analysis of European companies is conducted in order to find the similarities or differences between the different European enterprises. Issues like recycling, environmental awareness, restoration of abandoned places like quarrying, energy conservation, environmental education, green buildings, appliance of environmental indexes are some of the CSR activities that companies adopt in order to disclose the company’s environmental policy. The result of this research will reveal the key elements needed for a successful green CSR practice.

War for profit: English corsairs, institutions and decentralised strategy

In this study, we propose that in states with relatively weak central authorities, decision-makers had to develop market-oriented organisation solutions to successfully face a grave external threat, and these solutions proved to be efficient. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines institutional theory, history and strategy, we analyse a case study, the use of corsairs (privateers) by England in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. We have found that the development of partnership companies went hand in hand for commercial and military purposes. English privateers proved to be economically efficient and superior to the centrally planned war operations of the Spanish empire.

Public-private partnerships in Southeastern Europe: Croatia

This paper aims to define public-private partnerships (PPPs) that are considered as a major approach in delivering public infrastructure projects in recent years. The paper analyses PPPs in Southeastern Europe, particularly in Croatia, describing the projects that have been achieved and the efforts of governments to promote the PPPs as alternative means of funding and bearing into consideration the formulation of the theoretical framework of PPP. The paper concludes that although the need for infrastructural projects in Croatia is huge, however the number of projects proposed are confined, according the Agency for PPPs for the approved PPP projects.

Using Critical Path Analysis (Cpa) in Place Marketing Process: a Methodological Approach in the Case of Rostock, Germany

The article awards the use of CPA as a methodological tool in Place Marketing implementation. Taking into account that Place Marketing is a strategic process based on ‘project’ meaning with particular actions in specific time horizon, the article proposed that CPΑ has the capacity to satisfy this hypothesis. For this reason, the article creates a hypothetical scenario of CPA in four phases, planning, programming, implementation and feedback, taking as a case study the city of Rostock in Germany. The analysis shows that CPA is an important tool for Place Marketing since Place Marketing implementation receives the character of ‘project’ in particular time horizon.

Marketing the National Marine Park image in Greece.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to uncover the importance of the combination of the global promotion of the image of the Alonnisos National Marine Park through place marketing procedures. The main source used is a research program carried out by the Laboratory of Tourism Planning, Research and Policy from the Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly. The goals of the program are the incorporation of the park into an international network of tourism promotion aimed at the strengthening and specialization of tourist attractions, as well as the development of the politics of dialogue between the relevant organisations and the local population.

Innovation in Wine Tourism Businesses: ‘Turning Ashes to Gold’

This chapter examines innovation as an essential factor for economic competitiveness and success for wine tourism-related enterprises. Wine tourism is a fast-growing niche market worldwide, so there is a great need to better understand how innovation could assist such tourism enterprises. The chapter examines the case of the pioneering Britzikis winery, which adapts innovation in many aspects of its operation, and managed to turn a catastrophic event, such as the 2007 great fires in Peloponnese, into a unique business opportunity with the creation of new innovative products, such as the collectable wine “Dia Pyros”, recently auctioned in New York for