Alan Southern

Liverpool city-region is a place that has undergone major transformation. In recent years a number of prestige initiatives have been attracted to the city, and alongside physical regeneration this has led to a significant increase in tourism and consumer spending. The city-region has been an economically distressed place in which its population has suffered from social and economic decline and tagged as militant and even work-shy. Yet even in a rejuvenated Liverpool there are many different entrepreneurial narratives. One is the pursuit of (often desperate) survival strategies by inner urban communities and their engagement in economic activities that may be read simultaneously as resistance or enterprising. Here is an epitome of the relationship between entrepreneur and worker or entrepreneur as worker, in a dynamic form that provides an understanding wider than the traditional notion of enterprise as heroic or utopian. The proposition here will challenge existing theories of entrepreneurship by arguing that the syndicalist character of the Liverpool city-region is an important contributory factor that while shaped in the past, has provided a rationale for engagement in enterprising activities today. This is leading to a different rationale to engage in enterprising activity not simply founded on profit maximization but in the way resistance is created to structures that often overwhelm both places and the entrepreneurs in them. This paper considers the interrelationships between entrepreneurship and the Liverpool city-region economy and how the future of its enterprise may be cast.

Qingli Meng

Paul C Friday

This research shows, through an analysis of official corruption cases and supplemental official pronouncements, that corruption in China has been dynamic and has changed significantly after the reform of 1978 and after the country implemented a dual economic structure within a culture that, at that time, viewed corruption as facilitating development. As China evolved through its various economic stages the focus shifted to different types of corruption. The historical trends are documented. With the transition from a plan-oriented economy to a market-oriented economy the power structure changed and the types of corruption officially addressed changed. With increased privatization, the number of corruption cases involving the heads of private sectors, especially among the state-owned enterprises, increased. Three stages of corruption are identified: 1) Corruption Emerging Stage 1979-1987; 2) Corruption Spreading Stage 1988-1997; and 3) Corruption Explosion Stage 1998-2012. Corruption form and response priorities changed relative to changes in Chinese government economic and fiscal policies.

Badreya Al-Jenaibi

The positions of leaders in various organizations are prone to challenges that range from effective decision-making to dealing with time pressures, uncertainty, and the high stakes associated with crises. In addition, global organizations must cope with several cultural disparities that can threaten leadership positions. Since leaders are key players to organizational success, the literature should address and evaluate these issues more frequently. This study analyzes the behavioral and cultural issues that leaders face while working for multinational companies, the purpose of which is to examine the extent to which varying leadership styles influence employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study uses a qualitative method in which a case-analysis technique was used to analyze the UAE’s construction sector. Questionnaires were distributed among 300 leaders from multiple venues, which were then analyzed in light of previous research. Findings suggest consultative and consensus leadership styles are prevalent in the UAE’s construction sector, and further, that leadership influenced employee job satisfaction strongly. Since effective leaders possess self-discipline, integrity, courage, decisiveness, sensitivity towards others, humility, and selflessness, they understand the needs and feelings of their followers, and thus have a unique position from which to motivate the people they lead.

UI Research Center

CALL FOR PAPERS/PROPOSALS
The 3rd Untested Ideas International Research E-Conference
Identifying Untested Practices
June 26 – 28, 2015

UI Research Center

CALL FOR BOOK EDITORS
The 3rd Untested Ideas International Research E-Conference
Identifying Untested Practices
June 26 – 28, 2015