Searching for externally available knowledge has been characterized as a vital part of the innovation process. The availability of such innovation impulses, however, critically depends on the environment a firm is operating in. Little is known on how institutional infrastructures for innovation...

Special stock market segments for small company shares were established by all major European stock exchanges during the 1980's. After showing a remarkable success during the first years of their existence - both in the primary as well as in the secondary market - these segments today suffer...

From a macroeconomic perspective the term "new economy" describes a phenomenon of persistent strong and low-inflation growth due to the large diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT). This paper looks into Europe's position with respect to the new-economy phenomenon. Section...

This paper attempts to answer the question whether the threat of systemic risk in banking exists only on a national or on a European level. Following De Nicolo and Kwast (2001), mean rolling-window correlations between bank stock returns are used as a measure for interdependencies among European...

Increased international competition poses challenges to companies' organizational practices, including human resource management. For multinational companies operating simultaneously in diverse local conditions this challenge implies a decision between either opting for universal best practices...

This paper analyzes national processes of pension reform in countries with systems of old-age provision largely following the Bismarckian type (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden). Operating on a defined benefit/pay-as-you-go basis and mainly financed out of wage-based social contributions,...

This paper surveys and compares national experience with performance management in European public employment services (PES) in the form of 'management by objectives' (MBO). Part I of this paper reviews the relevant performance management literature and defines key terms. Part II presents the...

We analyze the spatial interaction among regions in North America and in Western Europe. We use a gravity model extended by a spatial correlation structures where data allows to evaluate the level of impact and the length of the spatial tail. This allows us to address to effects external to the...