Journal articles on the topic 'Advantages of entrepreneurship in the limited liability company'

This case is based on Coding Autism, a limited liability company founded in April 2017 and located in Westlake Village (California). The case features the decision process followed by the cofounder, Oliver Thornton regarding the opportunity to seek B Corp certification. B Corp is a certification granted by the nonprofit B Lab founded in Philadelphia in 2006 that recognizes for-profit organizations for meeting the “highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability and aspire to use the power of markets to solve social and environmental problems.” The case describes the social issue, the start-up, and the social entrepreneur’s background as well as his rationale and analysis finally to become a certified B Corp. The case introduces the students to the social issue of unemployment among young adults within the Autistic spectrum. It also explains what a B Corp is, the process to become certified, the B Impact Assessment, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of seeking the certification. It also describes the differences between the B Corp certification and the relatively new legal status, the benefit corporation. This case sheds light on a critical question relevant for social entrepreneurship students, scholars, and sustainable business practitioners.

Topicality. Each year, the issue of environmental responsibility of the business is becoming more and more relevant both in Ukraine and abroad, which is connected with globalization, increasing the threat of technogenic and environmental disasters, updating healthy lifestyles, socializing labor relations, etc. In today's economic environment, environmental liability is only a component of social responsibility. However, it should not be forgotten that during the period when the concept of social responsibility emerged, it was the environmental focus that was prioritized. In the holy of this, and ecological marketing of nature, as a kind of human activity aimed at meeting needs through exchange, should be environmentally responsible towards the consumer and producer of human goods. Underestimation of natural resources and environmental damage leads to distortion of indicators of economic development and progress, accompanied by the choice of inefficient socio-economic direction. In general terms, the concept of environmentally responsible business refers to the activity of each individual citizen, business structures that benefits the environment (or reduces the negative impact on the environment). In addition, this activity is not limited to certain laws and mandatory measures. The higher the economic value of natural objects, the greater the likelihood that the economic decisions made in various projects and programs will be ecologically balanced, take into account the priorities of environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources.Aim and tasks. The purpose of the article is to identify the conceptual foundations and methodological principles of environmentally responsible marketing in environmental management. To do this, the concept and essence of the concept of environmental responsibility, the tools for practical implementation of environmental responsibility of business and the methodology for assessing environmental liability should be defined. At the same time, despite the growing widespread adoption of the principles of corporate social responsibility and the recognition of the benefits that they give to both entrepreneurs and society, the limits of social responsibility remain rather blurred. Assessment of the level of implementation of environmental liability in the practice of enterprise management is proposed on the basis of an analysis of the impact of its activities on the environment.Research results. The conceptual bases and methodical principles of conducting ecologically responsible marketing in environmental management are considered. The concept of social responsibility is used in many spheres of activity, but only in the business context, pointing to specific areas of development, it becomes clear wording. This allows researchers and professionals to split CSR into specific types. The economic component is the most controversial and complex. Its sustainability and effectiveness depends on the role that the organization assumes, as well as the methodology for defining and measuring end-points. The ecological aspect of social responsibility exists in the block of economic responsibility of the enterprise, in legal liability, in the block of ethical responsibility, and also the aspect of sustainable development in the philanthropic block was allocated, and all three main components: economic, ecological and social are in close interconnection and interdependence . Social responsibility of entrepreneurship in the field of ecology, that is, environmental responsibility, becomes a vital factor of competition, since it is the level of environmental responsibility of business in the near future will determine the position of a company in the international market and in the eyes of consumers of its products. The advantages of implementing ecological activity within the framework of socially responsible work of the enterprise are considered. The tools of practical implementation of ecological responsibility of business are offered. Environmentally responsible marketing should use the following tools to address sustainable development issues: environmental impact assessment when developing strategies and plans for economic development; environmental audit; environmental insurance; certification for compliance with environmental standards; social and environmental reporting.Conclusions. There is no single approach to assessing the level of environmental responsibility of an enterprise, no normative document contains a single methodology for its definition. In our opinion, the overall level of environmental responsibility of an enterprise should be determined taking into account the impact of various economic, environmental and organizational factors through the integrated indicator of the overall level of economic responsibility of the enterprise, based on three partial integral ratios, namely: the integral coefficient of environmental damage; integral coefficient of influence of economic factors; the integral factor of the impact of environmental and economic factors.

Historically, the form of the limited liability company was first introduced in Hungary by Act V of 1930. This type of company, which is equipped with all the advantages of members in a limited liability, was born out of the relevant necessity in the economy. However, it is quite flexible in its nature, could be established easily and demonstrates a simpler organizational structure than a company limited by shares. Therefore, the limited liability company fits within the general frame of small and medium enterprises, and is the main and most popular form of a company in Hungary. This paper gives an overview of the characteristics, regulations, foundation, organization, minority rights, business share, members and managing directors’ liabilities in Hungarian limited liability companies from a regulatory and practical perspective.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to challenge the notion that low-profit limited liability companies (L3Cs) are an ineffective or flawed choice of entity for social entrepreneurs. Most of the literature surrounding L3Cs has been critical of the form; however, a detailed analysis shows that the form is not only still viable but also, in fact, experiencing growth. Design/methodology/approach This paper utilizes key literature and an analysis of current L3C activity in the USA to provide a unique viewpoint on the utility and viability of L3Cs in the USA. Findings Analysis demonstrates that despite criticisms throughout the legal community, the L3C is experiencing recent growth and continues to be a viable choice of entity for social entrepreneurs. Practical implications This piece fills a significant gap in the literature surrounding L3Cs. Much has been written about L3Cs in the legal academy, but analysis is scarce when reviewing management and entrepreneurship literature. Originality/value This piece furthers the literature by providing the business academy with an in-depth analysis of the legal components of L3Cs and draws research-based conclusions about the state of the form and its viability for social entrepreneurs. It is unique in that it challenges the prevailing legal opinion that the L3C form is useless and unnecessary.

The Société à Responsabilité Limitée or the limited liability company (SARL) and the Société Anonyme or the public limited company (SA) were perceived as relatively rigid or inadequate company types. Besides the reform of these traditional types of company forms, in 1994, a new company type was created as a flexible vehicle for businesses: the Société par Actions Simplifiée – the SAS (simplified joint stock company). Further changes in 1999 and 2008 made businesses even more adaptable. In 2019, more than 65% of newly created legal entities were established as a SAS; SARL around 30%, and SA less than 2%. SAS has a single member variant, the SASU (U for unipersonnel – one person). The French experience showed that the simplified joint stock company responded to a real economic and organisational need. The new company form based on limited liability has become widely accepted and useful. The simplified joint stock company was introduced by Poland as a new company form in 2019. Other states may also consider the French experience based on the comparative advantages of this peculiar business organisation.

<p><em>Limited Liability Company is the most popular form of business entity in Indonesia because law acknowledges the principle of limited liability of its shareholders, which gives advantages for entrepreneurs running a business. Article 3 Subsection 1 Law No. 40 Year 2007 concerning Limited Liability Company stated that company’s shareholders are not personally liable for agreements made on behalf of the Company and are not liable for the Company’s losses in excess of their prospective shareholding. However, in Article 3 Subsection 2 there are some waivers of the principle, one of the exceptions is if the relevant shareholders are involved in illegal actions committed by the Company. It is interesting because in fact, usually, shareholder do not get involved in company’s management. Through normative research with Statute and Conceptual Approach on Piercing the Corporate Veil, shareholders can be accountable for personal responsibility if shareholders in giving his/her voting rights in General Meeting of Shareholders neglect his/her duty of care, or if besides of being shareholders he/she also become Board of Directors and/or Board of Commissioners who runs the Company’s management, or if the shareholders give order or command to Board of Directors or Board of Commissioners or company’s employee to perform actions that causing the Company committed an unlawful act and harm others (tort). Personal liability can be requested if injured party filing a tort lawsuit and set the relevant shareholders as a defendant besides the Company.</em></p>

The principle of limited liability of a company has been uniformly adopted by developed countries. In order to ensure a fair balance, the courts agree on occasion to ‘pierce’ or ‘lift’ the corporate veil, which involves imposing liability on the mother company for actions of its subsidiary or individual shareholders, directors, and other involved persons for actions of the company. In this regard, there have been several studies arguing the legal issues associated with the limited liability of a company and piercing the corporate veil such as Schall (2016) and Michoud (2019). This paper compares current veil-piercing practices in three jurisdictions: the UK, the US, and Australia in order to outline the advantages and limitations of the approaches taken by the courts in each country as well as to identify best practices in terms of veil piercing. For that purpose, an analytical approach to the examination of the relevant legal rules, principles, and court cases has been adopted in undertaking the present paper. The paper comes up with a number of specific suggestions and recommendations for improving the regulatory role in regard to the subject of piercing of the corporate veil.

Abstract Local self-governments in the Slovak Republic have many possibilities to do business to capitalize their assets and generate their own budget revenues. The purpose of the article was to identify and evaluate business companies through which local selfgovernments conduct business from different perspectives. We focused on businesses with asset ownership of municipalities with city status. When analyzing businesses, we have taken into account their size, spatial layout, legal form, subject of activity, and their economy. Slovak cities have a long-term experience with conducting business through business companies. Most of these are companies with 100% ownership of the cities, in terms of the legal form of a limited liability company. The research results confirm that the significant effect of government-run business is the increase in the value of assets.

This case is based on La Casa de Carlota (Carlota’s House), a limited liability company founded in 2013 and located in Barcelona. The company integrates a design studio and a professional communication agency and employs people with Down’s syndrome or autism. This case features the decision process followed by the two cofounders, José Maria Batalla and Sergi Capell, regarding the opportunity of growing, by either scaling up the activity of the company or replicating the model in other countries. The case describes the concerns that the entrepreneurs had to face in order to make a decision, such as the choice of funding sources in order to finance the growth, or the issues related to the hiring and managing of people with Down’s syndrome or autism. The case also describes the background of the entrepreneurs, the start-up, and the industry. The case introduces the students to the social entrepreneurship field and explains a business model that generates an important social impact. It also introduces a topic of start-ups’ scaling and growth, and different alternatives for financing them. The case sheds light on critical questions that social entrepreneurship students, scholars, investors, and authorities often pose.

Family-run enterprises are business organisations in which the reins of control are concentrated in the hands of a single family or an individual who for the enterprise aims to continue operation through successive generations of the family. In Serbia, family-run companies usually begin as an individual entrepreneurship, a form of closed company (general and limited partnership) or relatively closed company (limited liability company). The legal difficulties that arise following the death of an individual entrepreneur (natural person) differ from those following the death of a member in a company (legal entity). Companies are imbued with rights and responsibilities separate from the personal rights and responsibilities of their members. Members of a company, including the head, are not considered owners of the company’s property in legal terms. Instead, they have shares in the company, and those shares entitle them to membership (management and proprietary) rights. Thus, when a member dies, the company’s property, in whole or in part, is not subject to inheritance (although that deceased member’s share is). This differs from the situation following an individual entrepreneur’s death. The law does not recognise a natural person conducting business as an individual entrepreneur as having two legal personalities (personal and business); everything is treated as personal. Therefore, all the assets and debts of a deceased individual entrepreneur are subject to inheritance, regardless of whether or not they were accrued in the course of business. The succession of a share following a member’s death is regulated separately for each company form, and all issues not governed by the Companies Act or a company’s incorporation document are subject to the rules of Serbia’s Law of Inheritance. Inheritance rules differ greatly for a share in a personal company (general or limited partnership) and a share in a capital company (limited liability or joint-stock company). In principle, whether or not a deceased member’s rights and responsibilities can be passed through inheritance depends on the company’s form, its incorporation document, and the relevance of the heirs’ connection to the deceased and the company. The less complicated these are, the fewer the legal obstacles to inheritance.

At the end of 2012, Lithuania introduced a new type of limited liability company form for small and medium-sized business – the small partnership. Based on a comparative approach, lawmakers modelled the small partnership as a hybrid entity, assimilating both partnership- and corporate-type attributes. This article analyses key features, advantages and disadvantages of the Lithuanian small partnership aiming to evaluate whether the theoretical model of this flexible vehicle for small and medium-sized businesses is functional in practice.

En este trabajo, tras unas consideraciones generales sobre la Empresa Familiar, analizamos, en primer lugar, los tipos sociales mercantiles que puede adoptar en España la Sociedad Familiar, haciendo un repaso de las formas sociales típicas reconocidas por el legislador, reflexionando sobre sus ventajas e inconvenientes. En segundo lugar, nos centramos en el estudio del régimen jurídico de las dos Sociedades Capitalistas más representativas, la Sociedad Anónima y la Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, analizando sus rasgos comunes, todo ello con el fin de dilucidar cuál se adapta mejor a las particularidades de la Sociedad Familiar. En tercer lugar, considerando que la Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada es la forma jurídica de creación de Sociedades Familiares más utilizada, se le dedica especial atención, destacando las divergencias fundamentales de regulación entre esta sociedad y la Sociedad Anónima. Asimismo se estudia la Sociedad Limitada Nueva Empresa, como subtipo de la Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada. Como conclusión, se trata de arrojar luz sobre la elección preferente de la Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada como forma jurídica de constitución de la Sociedad Familiar y, al mismo tiempo, de examinar, desde una perspectiva crítica, la normativa que le resulta aplicable.<br /><br />In this work, after a few general considerations on the Family enterprise, we analyze, first, the types of mercantile companies that the Familiar Company can adopt in Spain, doing a revision of the social typical forms recognized by the legislator, thinking about his advantages and disadvantages. Secondly, we centre on the study of the juridical regime of both most representative Capitalist Companies, the public limited liability company and the Private limited company, analyzing his common features, all this in order to explain which one adapts better to the particularities of the Familiar Company. Thirdly, considering that the Private limited company is the juridical form of creation of Familiar Companies most used, one dedicates special attention, emphasizing the fundamental differences of regulation between this company and the public limited liability company. Likewise we study the Limited Company New Company, as subtype of the Private limited company. As conclusion, it is a question of clarifying the preferential choice of the Private limited company as juridical form of constitution of the Familiar Company and, at the same time, to examine, from a critical perspective, the regulation that him is applicable.<br />

Objective – To increase firm performance, the stakeholders have been striving and working hard to achieve company goals. Prior research on entrepreneurship theories and influencing factors have been abundant especially in the sensemaking of the current dynamic environment and disruptive innovations. Social conformity is an act of following the majority in order to be liked, to be accepted or due to the group pressure. The literatures on social conformity mostly are in journals of psychology and very limited number of these journals are in the field of entrepreneurship. Methodology/Technique – This paper aims to examine the effects of social conformity hereinafter refer to purchase conformity and the factors influencing the purchase conformity to boost sales rate, namely social status, social influence, social ties and social comparison using the mixed-method methodology on 86 adult respondents located in Jakarta. Findings – The result shows that the social comparison has the biggest influence compared to social influence and social ties. Conformity in a deeper sense can benefit the company by predicting the future trend of the majority. Novelty – The ability to predict or even create the majority trend before the trend hits will boost the sales rate and give more competitive advantages to the company. Future research should address the individual psychological factors and the strategies of the firm to increase purchase conformity. Type of Paper: Empirical Keywords: Social Conformity; Social Ties; Social Comparison; Social Status; Purchase Conformity Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Princes E.; Manurung, A. H., 2020. Taking Advantage of Social Conformity in Entrepreneurship, J. Mgt. Mkt. Review, 5(1) 64 – 73. https://doi.org/10.35609/jmmr.2020.5.1(6) JEL Classification: M31, M21.

Small Medium Enterprises company is one of the most popular business entities today. The popularity is cannot be separated from the spirit of entrepreneurship with young creative mindset that become mainstream in daily life. In relevancy with that, The Government of Republic Indonesia enacted Government Regulation No 29 Year 2016 to simplify the establishment process of Small Medium Enterprises legal entity. In practice area, the enactment of that regulation cannot be implemented well because there are some miss connections in regulations structure of Indonesia. In order to solve the problem, this research uses the normative research methodology that possible to answer by describing and explaining the facts with the applied regulation. The theory of limited liability company based on Indonesian Law such as Law No 40 Year 2007 was also applied in this research as a tool to analyse and solve the problem related that issue.

This paper aims to investigate the potential use of alternative methods in supporting the definition, formulation, implementation and follow-up of the strategies in an emerging technology-based company. In a liability of newness context, with limited resources and infrastructure, the process of startups scale gain may be hampered by subjects as managerial inexperience, competitive discrepancy and fragility against the market instabilities. Under this scenario, the search for support for the business strategy in its scalability proves to be vital; however, still considered distant due to the costs involved in the acquisition of such support, it proves to be prohibitive for emerging companies. The study has proposed an intervention based on the absorption of knowledge through a Massive Online Open Course, an alternative mechanism to overcome the challenges listed above. In this manner, the research, whose method is structured in action researches, was based on the identification of the results generated by this support alternative model. The theoretical review pervaded by the topics: (i) the role of strategy in technology-based companies, (ii) technological entrepreneurship and the liability of newness and (iii) open education platforms as a training element in strategy. The results, as well as the surveys collected in a focus group in order to identify the main gains, have appeared in a relative medium term and the company has demonstrated relevant managerial results.

This article challenges the idea that the corporation is a globally superior form of business organization and that the Anglo-American common-law is more conducive to economic development than the code-based legal systems characteristic of continental Europe. Although the corporation had important advantages over the main alternative form of organization (partnerships), it also had disadvantages that limited its appeal to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a result, when businesses were provided with an intermediate choice, the private limited liability company (PLLC) that combined the advantages of legal personhood and joint stock with a flexible internal organizational structure, most chose not to organize as corporations. This article tracks the changes that occurred in the menu of business organizational forms in two common-law countries (the United Kingdom and the United States) and two countries governed by legal codes (France and Germany) and presents data showing the rapidity with which firms in each country responded to enabling legislation for PLLCs. We show that the PLLC was introduced first and most easily in a code country (Germany) and last and with the most difficulty in a commonlaw country (the United States). Late introduction was associated with prolonged use of the partnership form, suggesting that the disadvantages of corporations did indeed weigh heavily on SMEs.

Subject area International Business, Entrepreneurship. Study level/applicability This case has been used previously in an international business strategy module on MA courses at Kozminski University, Poland. Case overview The case details Audioteka’s (a Polish audiobook company) history between 2007 and 2013, from the perspective of Marcin, one of the co-founders. The company was founded in 2008 by Marcin Beme and Blazej Kukla and internationalized soon after. Marcin was an experienced entrepreneur, while Blazej was a sound engineer. Both sought to combine their complementary skills and experience to start a business aimed at selling audio recordings. The case is divided into Parts (A) and (B) and is designed to teach international entrepreneurship, lying at the intersection of international business and entrepreneurship. Part (A) is set in 2011 and tracks the company’s evolution from the conception of an idea to establishing a start-up and developing a product. Part (B) is set in 2013 and covers early foreign expansion between 2011 and 2013. The case is focused on the challenges that Marcin faces when developing Audioteka and expanding abroad. It allows students to understand the decision-making logic of an international new venture (INV), choices made and execution while internationalizing. Students will be able to explore how a company adapts its product; how it enters foreign markets; how it overcomes the liabilities of foreignness, smallness, newness and outsidership through establishing partnerships with big companies (telecoms, automakers); and how it appreciates the risks involved in this process. Expected learning outcomes This case is the basis for a class discussion rather than for illustrating either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. From this case, MA students will learn how an entrepreneurial firm makes strategic decisions and becomes international. The first learning outcome is to evaluate the concepts of liability of origin, foreignness, outsidership, smallness and newness, and to explore ways of overcoming them. Second, the expected learning outcome is to assess differences between the Uppsala model of internationalization and born-global/INV phenomenon. Third, students, by examining particular foreign market-entry modes, are expected to evaluate their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, students are expected to understand the concept of “effectuation” and apply it to the decision-making process in early internationalization. Subject code CSS 5: International Business.

The article is devoted to the research of theoretical bases of formation of competitive entrepreneurship strategies. The current stage of development of the economy and society as a whole is based on constant changes, sharpening of global competition in all its manifestations, continuous process of technical and scientific innovations, limited resources and unlimited human needs, state policy in the field of entrepreneurship, financial market factors, etc. as a consequence for each business entity it is necessary to form and implement its strategy of competitive advantages. After all, the purpose of each enterprise is to receive a reward (profit) as a result of its activity. This issue is particularly relevant today. Therefore, we have analysed the interpretation of the concept of competition and competitive strategy by various economists. The interrelation and interdependence between such economic categories as competition and competitive advantage are justified. The basic approaches to the formation of a competitive advantage strategy have been systematized. The basic competitive strategies of M. Porter, F. Kotler, and A. Little are analysed. These strategies relate to different approaches to the development of a company related to the change of one or more elements: product, market, industry, technology. In order to develop and implement an effective competitive strategy, it is necessary to carry out a detailed analysis of opportunities, resources, market, competitors, to determine the right mechanism by which competitive advantage can generate profit in the long run. With global competition intensifying, competitive advantage is achieved through different methods based on different competitive strategies. What kind of strategy to choose and how to combine these strategies is decided by the enterprise itself, but any of these strategies is aimed at achieving a favorable and long-lasting position in the market, obtaining maximum and sustainable profit, resisting continuous competitive forces in the market.

One of the most widespread forms of companies, not only in our, but also in other jurisdictions, are limited liability companies. This form gives clear advantages to its founders, but at the same time endangers the creditor's settlement. In this paper, the author lists and describes the ways of protecting the company's creditors in the German law, namely the creditors of GmbH and the newer UG (Mini-GmbH) with brief reviews of Serbian law and d.o.o. First of all, there is a possible liability of shareholders and directors of German companies in the very stage of establishment. Furthermore, payments to shareholders from the assets that are necessary to cover the share capital are prohibited. In addition to its legal minimum share capital of EUR 25.000, GmbH contains further institutes for adequate creditor protection, which makes it attractive not only to the founders, but also to its creditors. In 2008, with the Law on Modernization of the Rights of Limited Liability Companies and the Fight against Abuses (MoMiG), the German legal system introduced a new legal form of simplified GmbH (UG), which has the same nature with a few special characteristics. This is primarily the possibility of founding a company below the prescribed legal minimum of the share capital, namely 1 Euro. This legal form should be an alternative to the English "Limited", which was "flooding" the German market back then. This advantage brings certain restrictions, first of all in terms of capital maintenance rules. Due to the fact that d.o.o. has significant similarities with the general rules that apply to these legal forms of the German system, primarily due to similarities with UG in the form of a minimum share capital of 100 dinars, the characteristics and solutions of German law for the protection of creditors of this legal form will be analysed. At the end comes a brief review of the institute "piercing a corporate veil" in the German law system.

The relevance of the study is caused by the development of the economic system of Russia and legal relations in the business area, as well as by the particular role of joint-stock companies as constituent entities. The retrospective analysis of Russian legislation is necessary to understand the cause-and-effect relations of legislative consolidation of legal norms, which govern the joint-stock companies' activity. The results of such an analysis can contribute to solving the problems of current lawmaking in this field. This paper presents the historical and administrative prerequisites for the establishment of joint-stock business entities in pre-revolutionary Russia. The paper considered the issue of the reception of a joint-stock form of entrepreneurship and analyzed principal legislative acts regulating the questions of defining a legal status and creating joint-stock companies. From the content of the Manifesto of January 1, 1807, the author identified the essential features of a joint-stock company, which, by their nature, correspond to those enshrined in current Russian legislation. The study considered the historical prerequisites of normative consolidation of the principle of limited liability of corporation participants. The author investigates the issues of joint-stock companies establishment and the structure of a Charter as a constituent document; focuses on the insufficient legal regulation of the joint-stock companies activity, which resulted in the increased regulatory role of Charters. The paper analyzes special aspects of normative regulation of joint-stock companies activity in the territory of the Russian Empire, for example, the established limitations. The author concludes on the absence of a clear split of various legal company types and identifies the collision in terms used in legislation to define joint-stock companies. Within the research, the author concludes the existence of continuity of current corporate legislation.

A result of the growing challenges facing companies today and the sharp changes in the internal and external environment and the rapid developments that have resulted in companies seeking to attract those with outstanding skills and rare that have the core competencies to make them the point starting and an important source to achieve competitive advantages and to entrepreneurship in all its designs The research sought to highlight the impact of intrinsic capabilities as an independent variable in product design decision as an approved variable. The problem of field research is reflected in the limited exploitation and development of workers' skills and core competencies, which is reflected in the design of their products as well as their competitive role in the market. The research also aimed at clarifying the role of the core competencies possessed by the company in improving the design of its products to invest and develop them to provide products in a manner that distinguishes them from competitors by using the correct techniques for product design. The descriptive analytical approach was used and the questionnaire was used as a tool for collecting research data and information,. It was distributed to a sample of 98 managers and officials in the General Company for Hydraulic Industries (AL Hydraulic Plant,AL Plastic Factory) and using the statistical program (Spss.V.24) ) To process data in the applied side of the study: simple regression analysis to measure the effect of intrinsic determinants on product design decision, t-test, Guttman LA correlation coefficient to determine the persistence of the questionnaire, Spearman Relationship between variables. A number of conclusions were reached, the most important of which is the need for the company to consolidate and integrate all its workforce within the company to benefit from the diversity of knowledge and to ensure the exchange of information among them which positively reflect their business and achieve the company's objectives. The most important recommendations of the research are the need to adopt the company management of the strategies to be among the priorities in the protection of the environment in accordance with the standard ISO 14000 in the design of its products, and the need to know and rely on the specifications adopted by international companies and taking into account when adopting strategies to protect the environment .

Subject area Entrepreneurship, innovation, marketing and strategy. Study level/applicability Master's, postgraduate and executive level programs. Case overview Deepak Ravindran, an engineering student at LBS College, Kerala, India, was attempting to launch Innoz. The company flagship product SMSGyan will allow users to access information on low-end mobile devices with no Internet connectivity. With the improvement in the Internet standards and rapidly growing smartphone users, selling SMSGyan never came easy to Innoz. The case explores challenges faced during the transformation of a start-up into a profit-generating business. The case describes the dilemma faced by Deepak Ravindran and key role players of Innoz to sustain in business in the scenario of dynamic technologies. Should they re-innovate the technology that was limited for low-end mobile users? Innoz being at the bottom of the pyramid innovation is the key competitive advantage. Low-cost or niche market or differentiation connects this case to the basic business strategy concepts. Through this case, students learn about many practical issues related to technology development in the global competitive environment. They are also exposed to broader trends and facets of start-ups and globalization. The Innoz case is designed to stimulate discussion of broad array of issues encountered by the early start-ups. In particular, it deals with introducing innovation and entrepreneurship skills leading to social change. Expected learning outcomes To identify new business opportunities for non-Internet mobile users. To explore various possibilities of application services for low-end mobile users. Evaluate the advantages and liabilities of expanding globally at a very early start-up stage. The case focuses on Innoz's early development with only concept in hand and transforming it into a profit-generating business. To develop and give exposure to entrepreneurship skill set in students. To understand learning and strategies behind setting up of start-ups and the motivating self-driven skills. Discussion on innovative use of technology as a stream of business. Silicon valley culture adaptation into Indian context. To highlight use of mobile technology for teaching and learning. To showcase how entrepreneur skill in business can lead to social transformation. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

AbstractThe cross-cultural differences and the intercultural aspects of the collaboration have become increasingly prevalent over recent years. Undoubtedly, this diversity may generate different patterns of behavior in project teams. The research goal of the exploratory study is to identify advantages and obstacles to collaboration in multicultural teams at designing business solutions among Polish students – participants in intensive entrepreneurship programme (IP) within the framework of the international ECMT+ project1. In addition, the cognitive goal is to diagnose entrepreneurial attitudes and determinants of setting up one’s own company. During the two-week workshops in multicultural project teams in March 2017 at Karelia University in Finland, a participant observation method was applied. The main research method was, however, a semi-structured direct interview based on a questionnaire. Respondents were chosen purposeful and included six Polish students from Poznan University of Technology who carried out business projects in six multicultural teams – in total 48 participants were from 14 countries worldwide. The obtained results of the study point to measurable benefits of intercultural collaboration in project teams. Great commitment of the teams to achieve the goal and their healthy competition all remain noteworthy. Undoubtedly, however, a great diversity of attitudes and views in multicultural teams, national experiences and entrepreneurial knowledge make it necessary to overcome additional barriers, especially those with cultural backgrounds. The main limitation to the study is the non-representativeness of the sample and being limited to Polish participants. The findings presented in the article are very preliminary and further investigation in this field is necessary, i.e. comparative studies covering the remaining workshop participants.

The purpose of the article is to define the conceptual bases of the Strategy for the advancing of technology-oriented startups (TOS) in the interests of innovative development of Ukrainian economy, based on modern challenges and threats, as well as global tendencies in the development of technologies. In view of the findings of an analysis and on generalization of scientific achievements of Ukrainian scholars and practitioners, as well as taking into consideration the preliminary results and conclusions of the authors’ own researches, the article provides both the endogenous and the exogenous barriers that prevent the development of TOS in Ukraine. It is substantiated for the first time that a startup is not only a human institution that creates new products or services in the face of extreme uncertainty, but a multi-device mechanism that provides technology transfer from the academic, educational and scientific spheres to the business environment through the establishment of an economic entity; accelerates the commercialization of technology and the introduction of the new product, process, service to the market; ensures the international technology transfer through the involvement of foreign pioneering entrepreneurs to commence and develop a startup in another country, as well as through the acquisition of a current startup by a foreign company (mergers and acquisitions, foreign investments); provides access to foreign technologies, infrastructure, databases. It is shown how technology-oriented startups are able to turn the limited opportunities of a novice company into advantages in a competitive struggle with leaders and lead to structural changes in the economy. The goals, priorities, key tasks of TOS development in Ukraine, as well as ways of their implementation are defined, aimed at: formation of personnel and scientific-technological resources; encouraging the commencement of TOS; launching corporate incubators and accelerators; ensuring stable sources of funding for the establishment and development of TOS; promoting technological innovations and facilitating the TOS’s access to the public procurement market and foreign markets; protection of TOS from «unfriendly» investors; introduction of monitoring of TOS activities and popularization of innovative entrepreneurship.

Subject area Start-ups in emerging markets, entrepreneurship, business models and strategy. Study level/applicability The case is suitable for MBA and EMBA graduate and undergraduate students in strategic management, finance and the relevant areas. Case overview This case provides a real-life entrepreneurial situation in agricultural industry in China. The protagonist of the case is the founder and CEO of the start-up Harvest Agricultural Technology and Development Company Limited (Harvest). From his perspective, the case depicts the current business environment for private companies in China, and presents the opportunities and challenges a new start-up faces in this environment. Agricultural industry plays an important role in the Chinese economy. Especially because in China land is owned by the state or collective, agricultural industrialization has more significance and experiences greater difficulties. The company in the case explores the situation of integrating the different stakeholders of agricultural production and delivery given the current political and economic environment. The case describes the characteristics and quality that a typical Chinese entrepreneur has and questions why such factors matter so much in China. The case emphasizes the strategic planning process of Harvest and its unprecedented business model design. The case also touches upon the growth pattern of entrepreneurial companies in China. All the above issues deserve discussion and in-depth analysis. Expected learning outcomes After studying this case, students should be able to: describe the business environment in China and identify the stakeholders of the agricultural industry in China; describe the process and value chain of agriculture production and delivery by adopting management models if necessary; discuss the personality and quality of the founder and CEO and compare his characteristics with that of western entrepreneurs and analyse why these characteristics are helpful (or detrimental) to the start-up company; analyse the development of business model designs, and identify the merits, drawbacks and risks of each version of business model; analyse the competitive advantages of Harvest, and identify the key resources and capacities with management models if necessary; discuss different possibilities of Harvest's future with evidence and process analysis; discuss whether the business model and the development strategy of Harvest are applicable to other companies or industries; discuss how setting the goal of going public on the first day Harvest was founded will affect the development of the company; and compare the business models of Harvest with other companies serving as a platform in a different industry (i.e. Taobao marketplace). Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Problem setting . The modern intensive development of the national innovation system determines the expansion offorms of interaction both between the subjects of the national innovation system and with other participants in a widerange of legal relationships. In this respect, the importance of positive interaction at the regional level of local selfgovernmentbodies and actors of the innovation system. Analysis of recent researches and publications . The issues of essence, formation, structure and legal regulation ofthe national innovation system and innovative structures were explored in their works as scientist-economists, such asN.M Bunyak, V.B Butorina, O.O Lyakhovets, E.V Kosovan, and legal scholars: Yu. E. Atamanova, S. V Hlibko,E. A Novikov, L. V Tsindenova, A. V. Strizhkov. Scientific researches on development of innovative activity, forms ofinteraction of local authorities and subjects of national innovation system were carried out by S.V Glibko,I. Yu. Matyushenko, M.S Pasmore and other. Target of research . The purpose of the study is to analyze theoretical and regulatory approaches to understandingthe term «national innovation system» and its content in Ukraine and the EU, to study the legal problems of the functioningof certain types of innovation structures in Ukraine, as well as to identify the most common and effective forms of suchinteraction at the regional level of local authorities self-government and subjects of the national innovation system. Article’s main body . Innovative infrastructures primarily operate in the form of a limited liability company. This isdue to the presence of a number of advantages in the creation and activities of such legal entities. Regarding regional support for innovation, the following should be noted. To date, there has been a distribution offunding for the design and implementation of activities aimed at discussing the innovative development of the territorialcommunity, and the creation and implementation of new innovative inventions and projects. Conclusions and prospects for the development. Implementation of the legislation of Ukraine on development ofinnovations, as well as interaction between local self-government bodies and subjects of the national innovation systemare carried out mainly at the level of financing of individual projects, through tenders and grants. The analysis of KharkivCity Council acts shows that the prospect of innovation development in Kharkiv is high.

International Journal of Innovation - IJI completes 7 yearsInternational Journal of Innovation - IJI has now 7 years old! In this editorial comment, we not only want to talk about our evolution but get even closer to the IJI community. It is our first editorial comment, a new IJI's communication channel. Some of the changes are already described on our website.IJI is an innovation-focused journal that was created to support scientific research and thereby contribute to practice. Also, IJI was born internationally, receiving and supporting research from around the world. We welcome articles in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.We have published eight volumes in IJI since 2013, totaling 131 articles. Our journal is indexed in: Dialnet and Red Iberoamericana de Innovación y Conocimiento Científico; Ebsco Host; Erih Plus; Gale - Cengage Learning; Latindex; Proquest; Redalyc; Web of Science Core Collection (Emerging Sources Citation Index), among others. We provide free access “open access” to all its content. Articles can be read, downloaded, copied, distributed, printed and / or searched.We want to emphasize that none of this would be possible without the authors that recognized in IJI a relevant journal to publicize their work. Nor can we fail to mention the tireless and voluntary action of the reviewers, always contributing to the articles' improvement and skilling up our journal, more and more.All editors who passed through IJI have a fundamental role in this trajectory. And, none of this would be possible without the editorial team of Uninove. Everyone who passed and the current team. We want to express that our work as current editors of IJI would not be possible without you. Changes in the Intenational Journal of Innovation – IJIAs we mentioned earlier, IJI was born in 2013. And, over time, we are improving its structure always to improve it. In this section, we want to show some changes we made. We intend that editorial comments become a communication channel and that they can help our readers, authors, and reviewers to keep up with these changes.Although IJI is a comprehensive Innovation journal, one of the changes we want to inform you is that now, at the time of submission, the author will choose one of the available topics that best suit your article. The themes are: Innovative Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Learning; Innovation and Sustainability; Internationalization of Innovation; Innovation Systems; Emerging Innovation Themes and; Digital Transformation. Below, we present each theme so that everyone can get to know them:Innovative Entrepreneurship: emerging markets provided dynamic advantages for small businesses and their entrepreneurs to exploit the supply flows of resources, capacities, and knowledge-based on strategies oriented to the management of innovation. Topics covered in this theme include, for example: resources and capabilities that support innovative entrepreneurship; innovation habitats (Universities, Science and Technology Parks, Incubators and Accelerators) and their influences on the development of knowledge-intensive spin-offs and start-ups; open innovation, triple/quadruple helix, knowledge transfer, effectuation, bricolage and co-creation of value in knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship ecosystems; and adequate public policies to support innovative entrepreneurship.Innovation and Learning: discussions on this topic focus on the relationship between learning and innovation as topics with the potential to improve teaching and learning. They also focus on ways in which we acquire knowledge through innovation and how knowledge encourages new forms of innovation. Topics covered in this theme include, for example: innovative projects for learning; innovation-oriented learning; absorptive capacity; innovation in organizational learning and knowledge creation; unlearning and learning for technological innovation; new learning models; dynamics of innovation and learning; skills and innovation.Innovation and Sustainability: discussions on this topic seek to promote the development of innovation with a focus on sustainability, encouraging new ways of thinking about sustainable development issues. Topics covered in this theme include, for example: development of new sustainable products; circular economy; reverse logistic; smart cities; technological changes for sustainable development; innovation and health in the scope of sustainability; sustainable innovation and policies; innovation and education in sustainability and social innovation.Internationalization of Innovation: the rise of developing countries as an innovation center and their new nomenclature for emerging markets have occupied an important place in the international research agenda on global innovation and Research and Development (RD) strategies. Topics covered in this theme include, for example: resources and capabilities that support the internationalization of innovation and RD; global and local innovation and RD strategies; reverse innovation; internationalization of start-ups and digital companies; development of low-cost products, processes and services with a high-value offer internationalized to foreign markets; innovations at the base of the pyramid, disruptive and/or frugal developed and adopted in emerging markets and replicated in international markets; institutional factors that affect firms' innovation efforts in emerging markets.Innovation Systems: regulation and public policies define the institutional environment to drive innovation. Topics include industrial policy, technological trends and macroeconomic performance; investment ecosystem for the development and commercialization of new products, based on government and private investments; investment strategies related to new companies based on science or technology; Technology transfer to, from and between developing countries; technological innovation in all forms of business, political and economic systems. Topics such as triple helix, incubators, and other structures for cooperation, fostering and mobilizing innovation are expected in this section.Emerging Themes: from the applied themes, many emerging problems have a significant impact on management, such as industry 4.0, the internet of things, artificial intelligence or social innovations, or non-economic benefits. Intellectual property is treated as a cognitive database and can be understood as a technological library with the registration of the product of human creativity and invention. Social network analysis reveals the relationships between transforming agents and other elements; therefore, encouraged to be used in research and submitted in this section. The theoretical field not fully developed is not a barrier to explore any theme or question in this section.Digital Transformation: this interdisciplinary theme covers all the antecedents, intervening, and consequent effects of digital transformation in the field of technology-based companies and technology-based business ventures. The technological innovator (human side of innovation) as an entrepreneur, team member, manager, or employee is considered an object of study either as an agent of innovation or an element of the innovation process. Digital change or transformation is considered as a process that moves from the initial status to the new digital status, anchored in the theories of innovation, such as adoption, diffusion, push / pull of technology, innovation management, service innovation, disruptive innovation, innovation frugal innovation economy, organizational behavior, context of innovation, capabilities and transaction costs. Authors who submit to IJI will realize that they now need to make a structured summary at the time of submission. The summary must include the following information:(maximum of 250 words + title + keywords = Portuguese, English and Spanish).Title.Objective of the study (mandatory): Indicate the objective of the work, that is, what you want to demonstrate or describe.Methodology / approach (mandatory): Indicate the scientific method used in carrying out the study. In the case of theoretical essays, it is recommended that the authors indicate the theoretical approach adopted.Originality / Relevance (mandatory): Indicate the theoretical gap in which the study is inserted, also presenting the academic relevance of the discipline.Main results (mandatory): briefly indicate the main results achieved.Theoretical-methodological contributions (mandatory): Indicate the main theoretical and / or methodological implications that have been achieved with the results of the study.Social / managerial contributions (mandatory): Indicate the main managerial and / or social implications obtained through the results of the study.Keywords: between three and five keywords that characterize the work. Another change regarding the organization of the IJI concerns the types of work. In addition to the Editorial Comment and Articles, the journal will include Technological Articles, Perspectives, and Reviews. Thus, when submitting a study, authors will be able to choose from the available options for types of work. Throughout the next issues of the IJI, in the editorial comments, we will pass on pertinent information about every kind of work, to assist the authors in their submissions.Currently, the IJI is available to readers with new works three times a year (January-April; May-August; September-December) with publications in English, Portuguese and Spanish. From what comes next, we will have some changes in the periodicity. Next stepsAs editors, we want the IJI to continue with a national and international impact and increase its relevance in the indexing bases. For this, we will work together with the entire editorial team, reviewers, and authors to improve the work. We will do our best to give full support to the evaluators who are so dedicated to making constructive evaluations to the authors. We will also support authors with all the necessary information.With editorial comments, we intend to pass on knowledge to readers, authors, and reviewers to improve the articles gradually. We also aim to support classroom activities and content.Even with the changes reported here, we continue to accept all types of work, as long as they have an appropriate methodology. We also maintain our scope and continue to publish all topics involving innovation. We want to support academic events on fast tracks increasingly. About the articles in this edition of IJIThis issue is the first we consider the new organization of the International Journal of Innovation - IJI. We started with this editorial comment talking about the changes and improvements that we are making at IJI—as an example, showing the reader, reviewer, and author that the scope remains the same. However, at the time of submission, the author has to choose one of the proposed themes and have a mandatory abstract structured in three languages (English, Portuguese, and Spanish).In this issue, we have a section of perspectives that addresses the “Fake Agile” phenomenon. This phenomenon is related to the difficulties that companies face throughout the agile transformation, causing companies not to reach full agility and not return to their previous management model.Next, we publish the traditional section with scientific articles. The article “Critical success factors of the incubation network of enterprises of the IFES” brings critical success factors as the determining variables to keep business incubators competitive, improving their organizational processes, and ensuring their survival. Another published article, “The sharing economy dilemma: the response of incumbent firms to the rise of the sharing economy”, addresses the sharing economy in terms of innovation. The results of the study suggest that the current response to the sharing economy so far is moderate and limited. The article “Analysis of the provision for implementation of reverse logistics in the supermarket retail” made it possible to observe that through the variables that define retail characteristics, it is not possible to say whether a supermarket will implement the reverse logistics process. And the article “Capability building in fuzzy front end management in a high technology services company”, whose main objective was to assess the adherence among Fuzzy Front End (FFE) facilitators, was reported in the literature its application in the innovation process of a company, an innovative multinational high-tech services company.We also published the article “The evolution of triple helix movement: an analysis of scientific communications through bibliometric technique”. The study is a bibliometric review that brings essential contributions to the area. This issue also includes a literature review entitled “Service innovation tools: a literature review” that aimed to systematically review the frameworks proposed and applied by the literature on service innovation.The technological article “A model to adopt Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Intelligence (BI) among Saudi SMEs”, in a new IJI publication section, addresses the main issues related to the intention to use ERPBI in the Saudi private sector.As we mentioned earlier in this editorial, IJI has a slightly different organization. With the new format, we intend to contribute to the promotion of knowledge in innovation. Also, we aim to increasingly present researchers and students with possibilities of themes and gaps for their research and bring insights to professionals in the field.Again, we thank the reviewers who dedicate their time and knowledge in the evaluations, always helping the authors. We wish you, readers, to enjoy the articles in this issue and feel encouraged to send your studies in innovation to the International Journal of Innovation - IJI.

The article deals with the rind aspects of European Company (also known by its Latin name Societas Europaea or SE), a “type of public limited-liability company regulated under European Union law”. Although this form of company was proposed more than 40 years ago, it was only in 2001 when the Council issued Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001 on the Statute for a European company defining the European company (SE) as “a legal structure that permits a company to operate in different European Union (EU) countries under a single statute”, as determined by the law of the Union and common to all EU countries. Being a new legal form, the SE coexists with the corporate forms that already were in each Member Statebeing governed by both European Regulation and national law. As it follows we address the rules, classification, conditions for settling an SE, organization structures, tax harmonization, employee involvement in the SE, advantages and disadvantages of SEs, as well as the opportunity of SPEs.

Study level/applicability This case can be used in the core course on entrepreneurship for Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Master of Business Administration/Post Graduate Diploma in Management (MBA/PGDM) students. It will help them to understand the motivations and challenges of women entrepreneurs, strategies to manage challenges, interactive style of leadership and their contribution to the economic growth of the country. Subject area Entrepreneurship. Case overview Roopa Rani, co-founded a digital design company, DesignTheme Innoventics (DTI), with her husband Yoganand, in November 2007, on the first floor of their residence. Yoganand’s creativity and Roopa’s determination made them bootstrap, scale slow and steady. As a novice to the industry, the initial days posed many challenges. Roopa hired artists to be appointed as designers, which gave them a unique selling preposition. They progressed slowly from a team of 2 to 20, with a revenue of INR 0.3M per annum to INR 12M per annum. As the company grew, Roopa wanted Yoganand’s support in handling the responsibilities, and hence, converted DTI into a limited liability partnership in 2013 and the couple were directors. As the client base improved, the need for shifting to a bigger space became more evident. A calculative risk-taker, Roopa, was forced to move DTI to a bigger office space end 2017, with a rent of INR60,000 per month. Meanwhile, they became a team of 20, with revenue of INR12m. The shift from no rent to a rented space made DTI slip to break-even. However, after two years, they moved into a smaller space and it coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak. Although the backlog orders were processed during the first quarter of 2020–2021, the business for the next quarter was affected. Social distancing norms created a shift in the way of doing business, which was a boon for a designing company like DTI. Now, the task before this self-made woman entrepreneur was to formulate strategies to scale up the business. Expected learning outcomes After analysing the case, the students will be able to: i. Value the contribution of women entrepreneurs towards the economy. ii. Examine the motivational factors and challenges of women entrepreneurs. iii. Understand the importance of networking. iv. Appraise the socio-cultural factors in a patriarchal society and their impact on the work-life balance of a woman entrepreneur. v. Appreciate the interactive leadership style of women entrepreneurs. vi. Formulate strategies to scale up the business. Supplementary materials • Agarwal, S., & Lenka, U. (2015). Study on work-life balance of women entrepreneurs – review and research agenda. Industrial and Commercial Training, 47(7), 356–362. doi:10.1108/ict-01–2015-0006 • Amit, R., & Muller, E. (1995). “Push” And “Pull” Entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 12(4), 64–80. doi:10.1080/08276331.1995.10600505 • Buttner, E. H. (2001). Examining Female Entrepreneurs' Management Style: An Application of a Relational Frame. Journal of Business Ethics, 29(3), 253–269. doi:10.1023/a:1026460615436 • Carter, S.C. (1997). E. Holly Buttner and Dorothy P. Moore (1997), ‘Women’s Organisational Exodus to Entrepreneurship: Self-reported Motivations and Correlates with Success', Journal of Small Business Management, January, pp34-47. • Cohoon, J. McGrath and Wadhwa, Vivek and Mitchell, Lesa, Are Successful Women Entrepreneurs Different from Men? (May 11, 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract = 1604653 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1604653 •Fletcher, J. (1998), Relational Practice: A Feminist Reconstruction of Work, Journal of Management Inquiry, 7(2), 163-186. • Kirkwood, J. (2009). Motivational factors in a push‐pull theory of entrepreneurship. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 24(5), 346–364. doi:10.1108/17542410910968805. • Malyadri, G., Dr. (2012). Role of women Entrepreneurs in the Economic Development of India. Paripex – Indian Journal of Research, 3(3), 104–105. doi: 10.15373/22501991/mar2014/36. Pal, N. (2016). Women Entrepreneurship in India: Important for Economic Growth. International Journal of Pure and Applied Researches, 4(1), 55–64. Pugazhendhi, D. P. (2019). Problems, Challenges and Development of Women Entrepreneurs. Emperor Journal of Economics and Social Science Research, 1(4), 48–53. doi:10.35338/ejessr.2019.1407. Shastri, S., Shastri, S., & Pareek, A. (2019). Motivations and challenges of women entrepreneurs. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 39(5/6), 338–355. doi:10.1108/ijssp-09–2018-0146. Tende, S.B. (2016). The Impact of Women Entrepreneurs towards National Development: Selected Study on Taraba State. Information and Knowledge Management, 6, 30–43. Xheneti, M., Karki, S. T., & Madden, A. (2018). Negotiating business and family demands within a patriarchal society – the case of women entrepreneurs in the Nepalese context. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 31(3–4), 259–278. doi:10.1080/08985626.2018.1551792 Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Purpose This paper aims to expose the nature, pattern and mechanism of Roman private enterprise as the rudimentary form of capitalistic business. In the second part, it is shown why and how the directorship of slaves in private enterprise appeared and what shape it took. Design/methodology/approach By means of historical analysis and theoretical reconstruction, the author reveals the pattern and mechanism of business through slaves as the primordial form of private enterprise. Findings A comprehensive view of public and private entrepreneurship at the end of Republic and the beginning of Empire is presented. The origin and advantages of Roman public enterprise acknowledged by the state are brought to light. The way the benefits the corporate status affords were adjusted to a business framework allowed by law is demonstrated. It is just business through slaves that, combining peculium with free administration, secured limited liability for owners and turned the slaves to whom a business was entrusted into a kind of director. This construction enabled masters to become the proprietor of many formally separate enterprises at once, thereby expanding their business into something like a holding. Research limitations/implications The results obtained allow historians to retrace the origins of modern private enterprise to classical antiquity, and economists and managers to better understand the nature of private enterprise and organizational status of those owning and managing it. Practical implications Leaders and executives can draw from the paper an object lesson of how to make, within the existing political system, legal regulation and economic traditions, a radical innovation whose true meaning and social potential are so immense and far-reaching that show up in full measure evident many centuries later. The findings and conclusions the author comes to may be used in educational courses on economics, entrepreneurship, management, business history and so on. Social implications The paper provides an instructive model of conciliation of interests (social “compromise”). “Directors” – those organizing and managing a business but not owning it – were held subject to proprietors but within legally regulated relations with them. The state created incentives for initiative and competent businessmen in subjection to well-offs, to work hard, on one hand, and made their masters to use these incentives to public and their own profits. The benefits of all parties were taken into account, though, of course, not to the same degree. Originality/value The structure and “engine” of Roman private enterprise as well as the functions and organizational status of its “director” are demonstrated in relief for the first time.