The accelerated development of information and communication technology (ICT) over the past two decades has encouraged an increasing number of researchers to examine and measure the impact of this technology on economic growth. Our study aims to identify and evaluate the effect of using ICT infrastructure on economic growth in European Union (EU) countries for a period of 18 years (2000–2017). Using panel-data estimation techniques, we investigate empirically how various indicators of ICT infrastructure affect economic growth, proxied in our study by GDP per capita. Within the estimates, we have included some macroeconomic control variables. Our results indicate a positive and strongly effect of using ICT infrastructure on economic growth in the EU member states, but the magnitude of the effect differs depending on the type of technology examined. Regarding the impact of macroeconomic factors, our estimates indicate that inflation rate, unemployment rate, the degree of trade openness, government expenditures, and foreign direct investments would significantly affect GDP per capita at EU level. The findings are broadly similar to the theoretical predictions, but also to the findings of some relevant empirical studies. Our research reveals that ICT infrastructure, along with other macroeconomic factors, is an important driver of economic growth in EU countries.

The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process has heterogeneously developed across the world, although it represents a leading paradigm, supporting organizations to identify, evaluate, and manage risks at the enterprise level. Academics have studied the process, but there is no complete picture of the determinants and implications of such an integrated risk management process. Therefore, we present a systematic empirical literature review on ERM, based on a research protocol. The review highlights that the ERM literature can be divided into four general lines of research: the ERM adoption, the determinants of the ERM implementation, the effects of ERM adoption, and other aspects. In contrast to the richness of studies devoted to ERM engagement in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), studies exploring ERM adoption in banks or insurance are relatively few. The literature review has revealed that the most frequently investigated effect of ERM is on firm performance. Little effort has been dedicated to the analysis of the effectiveness of ERM by its components and to institutional, individual, and organizational factors that affect ERM adoption. The study can serve as a starting point for scholars to explore research gaps related to ERM, while the practitioners can rely on the presented findings to identify the effects of the ERM implementation.

Enterprise risk management (ERM) represents a significant change in the way firms manage risks. In the last years an increasing number of non-financial firms from emerging economies started to implement a holistic framework for risk management. The aim of the paper is to investigate the effects of ERM implementation on the firm value in different economic environments. Using a sample of Romanian listed firms for the pre-crisis period (2001-2007), we found that ERM adoption is associated with higher firm values, indicated by a Tobin’s Q premium of roughly 46.5%. We also found a positive and statistically significant relationship between size, leverage, on one hand, and firm value, on the other hand. Extending our sample over the financial crisis period (2001-2011), we found that ERM does not affect firm value in any significant manner. Our results lend support for the recent pressure on firms to adopt more integrated and comprehensive risk management systems.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.29.2.16426

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between working capital and firm profitability for a sample of 719 Polish listed firms over the period of 2007–2016. The scarcity of empirical evidence for emerging economies and the importance of working capital efficiency motivate the research on the working capital–financial performance relationship. The paper adopts a quantitative approach using different panel data techniques (ordinary least squares, fixed effects, and panel-corrected standard errors models). The empirical results report an inverted U-shape relationship between working capital level and firm profitability, meaning that working capital has a positive effect on the profitability of Polish firms to a break-even point (optimum level). After the break-even point, working capital starts to negatively affect firm profitability. The study brings theoretical and practical contributions. It extends and complements the literature on the field by highlighting new evidence on the non-linear interrelation between working capital management (WCM) and corporate performance in Poland. From the practitioners’ perspective, the results highlight the importance of WCM for firm profitability.

Despite the importance of high-growth firms (HGFs) for job creation, innovation, and economic development in transition economies, current knowledge on the role of financial decisions in explaining their profitability is limited. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital management and firm profitability. Using a panel data set on HGFs from Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe during the time span 2006–2015, we found an inverted U-shape relationship between working capital level and firm profitability. Our findings indicate that HGFs should find and maintain the optimal working capital level that maximizes their profitability. Our results proved to be robust when we employ different methodology (quantile regression), different sub-samples as well as alternative measures of profitability and working capital management. The study highlights the importance of short-term financial decisions in enhancing HGFs’ profitability, with significant implications for academics and practitioners. We contribute to the extant literature by providing empirical evidence on the existence a concave relationship between working capital level and firm profitability for a cross-country sample of firms.