The interaction between a company and its stakeholder environment explains a key part of corporate behavior. This is because the level of social acceptance that the company achieves affects consumer trust, employee commitment, and access to credit or support from suppliers. This book examines these relationships to discover the best way to align corporate behaviour with the interests, values and preferences of stakeholders. It features contributions on topics such as marketing, emerging technologies, women in entrepreneurship, sports and tourism.

The interaction between a company and its stakeholder environment explains a key part of corporate behavior. This is because the level of social acceptance that the company achieves affects consumer trust, employee commitment, and access to credit or support from suppliers. This book examines these relationships to discover the best way to align corporate behaviour with the interests, values and preferences of stakeholders. It features contributions on topics such as marketing, emerging technologies, women in entrepreneurship, sports and tourism.

This book examines the major economic challenges associated with the sustainability of public pensions, specifically demographic change, labor-market relations, and risk sharing. The issue of public pensions occupies the political and economic agendas of many major governments in the world. International organizations such as the World Bank and the OECD warn that the economic changes driven by an aging society negatively affects the sustainability of pension systems. This book analyzes different global public pension systems to offer policies, methods and tools for sustainable public pensions. Real case studies from France, Sweden, Latin America, Algeria, USA and Mexico are featured.

The aim of this book is to show how wine tourism can be used as a model for sustainable economic development, driving economic growth and social development in some locations. It will explore the interaction between tourism and viticulture in wine tourism destinations, while also explaining some of the repercussions of these activities. This book covers various topics including regional development, environmental management, sustainable viticulture, quality management in wineries and wine tourism routes among others. Wine tourism, which combines two important yet distinct economic activities (i.e., tourism and viticulture), has recently emerged as a new tourism product driven by tourists' search for new experiences and wineries' need to diversify their businesses and seek new revenue streams to boost sales. This new form of tourism, which typically takes place in rural areas and which combines wine production with tourist activities, is becoming important for such regions by providing a complementary income source. It provides a model for sustainable economic development for these regions, which for various reasons may otherwise struggle to develop. Featuring cases and business implications from various locations, this book provides an important source of knowledge-both theoretical and practical-suitable to academics, scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the tourism sector and the wine industry.

This book examines education in entrepreneurship through an action-learning environment that uses educational innovation tools. It explores various education tools, technology tools and pedagogical methods being implemented into university curriculums around the world. Entrepreneurship in society is rapidly gaining popularity as entrepreneurial activities aimed to create social value are fundamental in the development of an innovative, sustainable economy. This notion has been encouraging universities to incorporate entrepreneurship-related competencies into the curriculums of almost all subjects. Thus, developing an action-learning environment with educational innovation tools, technology tools and pedagogical methods is becoming increasingly important to universities. Students must be fully prepared to face the many challenges in the world and to help develop an innovative and sustainable economy. Universities should therefore promote active learning through innovation so that students can become active participants in their learning. Featuring contributions and case studies from academics, researchers and practitioners from around the world, the is book provides international perspective into entrepreneurship education and innovation.

This book examines the different ways companies can develop and design social innovation. Combining technological and social perspectives, the contributors present emerging research on social innovation from different sectors such as entrepreneurship, education and energy. Collectively, the authors demonstrate the ways in which social innovation can drive sustainability and development in regions around the world. All societies are characterized by their political, economic and social institutions, as well as by how they utilize technology. The social innovations with the highest importance are those which modify existing institutions or create new ones, and based on their magnitude, they can be considered as radical or incremental. For example, when Joseph Chamberlain encouraged workers to organize in order to achieve universal male suffrage in Great Britain in 1885, this was a considered a radical innovation for British society, which in turn changed its political framework. Social innovations may be based on intelligence and commitment, on technology or on social entrepreneurship in its most open forms. In addition, social innovations can be classified into those which correspond to an entire country or region, a field (e.g., education) or a sector (e.g., entrepreneurship, technology, social reform). Featuring contributions on topics such as agro-food, smart cities, higher education, gender equality and sports, this book is ideal for academics, students, scholars, professionals and policy makers in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability and regional development.

This volume explores organizational legitimacy in business, featuring examples from a variety of industries around the world. Synthesizing the most current theoretical insights and best practices, the contributing authors examine the ways in which organizational legitimacy can be understood, its perceived influence on the market, and the relationship between organizational legitimacy and overall organizational success. The authors draw from different methodological perspectives to develop a holistic approach to organizational legitimacy that transcends the traditional concepts of corporate reputation, business ethics or corporate social responsibility. Historically, efforts to understand how organizations acquire, manage and use legitimacy have applied insights from institutional theory, resource dependence theory, organizational ecology and stakeholder theory, but the field has remained fragmented, despite the profound implications of achieving legitimacy for ensuring organizational stability, survival and sustainability through access to capital, resources and business opportunities, as well as problem solving, performance measurement and stakeholder support. Presenting case studies of successful initiatives, the book addresses: * How organizational legitimacy is defined and measured * How organizations achieve legitimacy and how they acquire resources * How different stakeholders (e.g., consumers, investors, employees) make legitimacy judgments and resource allocation decisions * Whether audiences in the same socio-cultural context arrive at shared legitimacy judgments with regard to a focal organization

This volume provides the most current research on smart cities. Specifically, it focuses on the economic development and sustainability of smart cities and examines how to transform older industrial cities into sustainable smart cities. It aims to identify the role of the following elements in the creation and management of smart cities:* Citizen participation and empowerment * Value creation mechanisms * Public administration* Quality of life and sustainability* Democracy* ICT* Private initiatives and entrepreneurship Regardless of their size, all cities are ultimately agglomerations of people and institutions. Agglomeration economies make it possible to attain minimum efficiencies of scale in the organization and delivery of services. However, the economic benefits do not constitute the main advantage of a city. A city's status rests on three dimensions: (1) political impetus, which is the result of citizens' participation and the public administration's agenda; (2) applications derived from technological advances (especially in ICT); and (3) cooperation between public and private initiatives in business development and entrepreneurship. These three dimensions determine which resources are necessary to create smart cities. But a smart city, ideal in the way it channels and resolves technological, social and economic-growth issues, requires many additional elements to function at a high-performance level, such as culture (an environment that empowers and engages citizens) and physical infrastructure designed to foster competition and collaboration, encourage new ideas and actions, and set the stage for new business creation. Featuring contributions with models, tools and cases from around the world, this book will be a valuable resource for researchers, students, academics, professionals and policymakers interested in smart cities.

This book provides a richly illustrated study of sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship. Specifically, it examines the ways in which governmental policies and practices modify the social conditions necessary to promote innovation in businesses and by so doing impact economic development. Exploring topics such as green innovation, green customer capital, smart cities, green entrepreneurship and environmental responsibility, this book presents some of the most current research and best practices in the field. In today's global economy, strategies, policies and practices that address the negative effects of human activity on the environment need to be incorporated into the business framework in order for companies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Around the world, such changes have already resulted in a broad range of products, production methods and technical features that ensure environmental protection. At the same time, the mass media's communication of a deteriorating earth have motivated a growing number of citizens in both developed and developing nations to modify their consumption habits towards more ecological products. Consequently, an increasing number of companies are reacting to these changes in business and legal frameworks and consumer preferences by investing in new forms of green innovation or "eco-innovation" designed to promote both environmental and corporate sustainability. For example, Hewlett-Packard eliminated lead from its welding process; Wal-Mart reduced the emissions of their suppliers; and Cisco, Dell and IBM are investing in smart grids. This volume showcases pioneering efforts among companies, citizens, and government agencies that are moving from theory to practice by placing sustainability at the core of their development strategies.

This volume examines the theoretical and empirical landscape of social entrepreneurship in both non-profit and profit sectors. It extends the traditional view of social entrepreneurship to include the environmental and institutional factors that affect the emergence of social entrepreneurship activities, such as formal laws, regulations, procedures and informal institutions. The editors aim to provide evidence and increased understanding of this growing phenomenon. Social Entrepreneurship is gaining recognition as a key element of economic and social development. It embraces a wide set of situations with a broad scope of activities in for-profit and non-profit organizations interested in social performance and/or in economically profitable performance, with an emphasis on achieving social aim. In the strict sense, social entrepreneurship corresponds to entrepreneurs whose main concern is to achieve social objectives rather than to obtain personal financial profits. However, there is still much to be learned about the dynamics and processes of social entrepreneurship. The current literature in the field has tended to focus on psychological experiences and personal characteristics, or on organizational perspectives such as resources, capabilities and leadership. This book intends to provide theoretical frameworks and empirical studies to this very new and broad field. Specifically, this book provides a collection of contemporary research in the following topics: How to create opportunity through social innovation How to detect entrepreneurial opportunity to meet social needs How to develop social entrepreneurship, while still seeking profits How to discover opportunities for different forms of social entrepreneurship Featuring contributions from around the world, this book is a valuable source for students, academics, researchers, policy makers, and professionals in the area of social entrepreneurship.

This book analyses the importance of the entrepreneurial university, specifically in relation to the creation of entrepreneurial ideas and attitudes in students and entrepreneurial initiatives in academic institutions. The aim of the editors and contributing authors is to provide the reader with a set of experiences illustrating the advantages of communicating and encouraging entrepreneurship among students, thereby highlighting the "third mission" of the university: the need to adopt entrepreneurial strategy without disrupting the quality of teaching and research. Featuring initiatives from institutions around the world, the authors argue that the increasing importance of knowledge in the technical and social dimensions of today's world provides greater relevance to the entrepreneurial university. In this context, universities transcend their traditional focus on teaching and basic research to carry out technology transfers, marketing ideas, and patent registrations, and incorporate spin-off companies that contribute to industrial innovations, economic growth, and job creation. In the teaching dimension, the entrepreneurial university represents a focus on programs which train students in the applications and most advanced practices in knowledge-driven fields. The book addresses such questions as: Can marketing ideas deteriorate the quality of research in the long term? What importance does the cultural framework have for an entrepreneurial education? What circumstances and programs facilitate spin-offs in universities What are the key features of entrepreneurial universities? In reference to entrepreneurship education in its broadest sense, then, it corresponds to the framework of ideas and general features on which entrepreneurship is founded: in-depth knowledge of the projects or ventures which they wish to carry out, capacity to perceive the relevant characteristics of the environment, and the leadership and goal setting skills to achieve success.

The book aims to collect the most recent research and best practices in the cooperative and networking small business field identifying new theoretical models and describing the relationship between cooperation and networks in the small business strategy context. It examines different concepts and analytical techniques better understand the links between cooperative strategies and networks in small business. It also studies the existing economic conditions of network and strategic implications to small business from the point of view of their internal and external consistency. Cooperation and networks is a fashionable topic. It is receiving increasing attention in popular management publications, as well as specialized academic journals. Cooperation between firms and industries is a means of leveraging and aggregating knowledge also generating direct benefits in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. Various options and decisions made within the framework of strategic alliances may be identified and differentiated. For example, it has been argued that R&D cooperation between competing firms also facilitates the search for incremental efficiency gains and is thus a competitive advantage. In parallel with a theoretical acceptance of the importance of a sustained competitive advantage to formulate strategy, there is a growing understanding that cooperative and networking behavior among small firms is at the root of many success stories in today's small business management. This condition requires an effort to develop a study of both aspects of cooperation and networks as compatible, complementary facets of a unique reality. In short, the cooperative and networking relationships of a small business can be the source of its competitive advantage. Enhancement of local resources and capabilities for the generation and dissemination of knowledge is still an issue for defining public policies in many countries.Featuring contributions covering such topics as green innovation, social commerce, university cooperation networks, and regional entrepreneurship, this book provides a comprehensive and richly illustrated study of cooperation and networks in small business that will be pertinent to students, academics, professionals, scholars, and policy makers.

This book examines the sports industry as a broad business and economic sector with an enormous influence on regional economic development. Covering topics such as sports economics, financing sports organizations, sustainability management in sports, sports tourism and doping among athletes, this book provides a timely collection of research and best practices in the areas of sports management and policy. Sports activity is a rapidly growing and evolving industry, offering numerous business opportunities--from the manufacturing of sporting equipment and activity at gyms and sports centers to revenue from sporting events and sport tourism. In order for the varied businesses across the sport industry, whether public or private, to be successful, proper management strategies and policies must be in place. This includes the knowledge of the industry, strategic planning, sector analysis, quality management and sustainable (economic and environmental) use of resources. Featuring case examples from several countries, including Spain, Turkey, Uruguay, Portugal, and Italy, this volume provides international perspectives on a wide spectrum of managerial issues across this dynamic industry.

This book examines the different ways companies can develop and design social innovation. Combining technological and social perspectives, the contributors present emerging research on social innovation from different sectors such as entrepreneurship, education and energy. Collectively, the authors demonstrate the ways in which social innovation can drive sustainability and development in regions around the world. All societies are characterized by their political, economic and social institutions, as well as by how they utilize technology. The social innovations with the highest importance are those which modify existing institutions or create new ones, and based on their magnitude, they can be considered as radical or incremental. For example, when Joseph Chamberlain encouraged workers to organize in order to achieve universal male suffrage in Great Britain in 1885, this was a considered a radical innovation for British society, which in turn changed its political framework. Social innovations may be based on intelligence and commitment, on technology or on social entrepreneurship in its most open forms. In addition, social innovations can be classified into those which correspond to an entire country or region, a field (e.g., education) or a sector (e.g., entrepreneurship, technology, social reform). Featuring contributions on topics such as agro-food, smart cities, higher education, gender equality and sports, this book is ideal for academics, students, scholars, professionals and policy makers in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability and regional development.

This volume explores organizational legitimacy in business, featuring examples from a variety of industries around the world. Synthesizing the most current theoretical insights and best practices, the contributing authors examine the ways in which organizational legitimacy can be understood, its perceived influence on the market, and the relationship between organizational legitimacy and overall organizational success. The authors draw from different methodological perspectives to develop a holistic approach to organizational legitimacy that transcends the traditional concepts of corporate reputation, business ethics or corporate social responsibility. Historically, efforts to understand how organizations acquire, manage and use legitimacy have applied insights from institutional theory, resource dependence theory, organizational ecology and stakeholder theory, but the field has remained fragmented, despite the profound implications of achieving legitimacy for ensuring organizational stability, survival and sustainability through access to capital, resources and business opportunities, as well as problem solving, performance measurement and stakeholder support. Presenting case studies of successful initiatives, the book addresses: * How organizational legitimacy is defined and measured * How organizations achieve legitimacy and how they acquire resources * How different stakeholders (e.g., consumers, investors, employees) make legitimacy judgments and resource allocation decisions * Whether audiences in the same socio-cultural context arrive at shared legitimacy judgments with regard to a focal organization

This book discusses the main issues, challenges, opportunities, and trends involving the interactions between academia, industry, government and society. Specifically, it aims to explore how these interactions enhance the ways in which companies deliver products and services in order to achieve sustainable competitiveness in the marketplace. Sustainable competitiveness has been widely discussed by academics and practitioners, considering the importance of protecting the environment while sustaining the economic goals of organizations. The Quintuple Helix innovation model is a framework for facilitating knowledge, innovation and sustainable competitive advantage. It embeds the Triple and the Quadruple Helix models by adding a fifth helix, the "natural environment." The Triple Helix model focuses on the university-industry-government triad, while the Quadruple adds civil society (the media- and culture-driven public) as a fourth helix. The Quintuple Helix model facilitates research, public policy, and practical application of sustainable competitiveness principles. Applying the most recent developments and theoretical insights of this model, the contributors to this volume address such questions as: how do government, academia, industry and civil society actors interact for promoting sustainable competitiveness at the country (regional) level? How do these actors influence sustainable operations management at the company (business) level? In so doing, they shed new light on the dynamics of economic growth, sustainability and competitiveness.

This book examines the sports industry as a broad business and economic sector with an enormous influence on regional economic development. Covering topics such as sports economics, financing sports organizations, sustainability management in sports, sports tourism and doping among athletes, this book provides a timely collection of research and best practices in the areas of sports management and policy. Sports activity is a rapidly growing and evolving industry, offering numerous business opportunities--from the manufacturing of sporting equipment and activity at gyms and sports centers to revenue from sporting events and sport tourism. In order for the varied businesses across the sport industry, whether public or private, to be successful, proper management strategies and policies must be in place. This includes the knowledge of the industry, strategic planning, sector analysis, quality management and sustainable (economic and environmental) use of resources. Featuring case examples from several countries, including Spain, Turkey, Uruguay, Portugal, and Italy, this volume provides international perspectives on a wide spectrum of managerial issues across this dynamic industry.

This book provides a richly illustrated study of sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship. Specifically, it examines the ways in which governmental policies and practices modify the social conditions necessary to promote innovation in businesses and by so doing impact economic development. Exploring topics such as green innovation, green customer capital, smart cities, green entrepreneurship and environmental responsibility, this book presents some of the most current research and best practices in the field. In today's global economy, strategies, policies and practices that address the negative effects of human activity on the environment need to be incorporated into the business framework in order for companies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Around the world, such changes have already resulted in a broad range of products, production methods and technical features that ensure environmental protection. At the same time, the mass media's communication of a deteriorating earth have motivated a growing number of citizens in both developed and developing nations to modify their consumption habits towards more ecological products. Consequently, an increasing number of companies are reacting to these changes in business and legal frameworks and consumer preferences by investing in new forms of green innovation or "eco-innovation" designed to promote both environmental and corporate sustainability. For example, Hewlett-Packard eliminated lead from its welding process; Wal-Mart reduced the emissions of their suppliers; and Cisco, Dell and IBM are investing in smart grids. This volume showcases pioneering efforts among companies, citizens, and government agencies that are moving from theory to practice by placing sustainability at the core of their development strategies.

This volume examines the theoretical and empirical landscape of social entrepreneurship in both non-profit and profit sectors. It extends the traditional view of social entrepreneurship to include the environmental and institutional factors that affect the emergence of social entrepreneurship activities, such as formal laws, regulations, procedures and informal institutions. The editors aim to provide evidence and increased understanding of this growing phenomenon. Social Entrepreneurship is gaining recognition as a key element of economic and social development. It embraces a wide set of situations with a broad scope of activities in for-profit and non-profit organizations interested in social performance and/or in economically profitable performance, with an emphasis on achieving social aim. In the strict sense, social entrepreneurship corresponds to entrepreneurs whose main concern is to achieve social objectives rather than to obtain personal financial profits. However, there is still much to be learned about the dynamics and processes of social entrepreneurship. The current literature in the field has tended to focus on psychological experiences and personal characteristics, or on organizational perspectives such as resources, capabilities and leadership. This book intends to provide theoretical frameworks and empirical studies to this very new and broad field. Specifically, this book provides a collection of contemporary research in the following topics: How to create opportunity through social innovation How to detect entrepreneurial opportunity to meet social needs How to develop social entrepreneurship, while still seeking profits How to discover opportunities for different forms of social entrepreneurship Featuring contributions from around the world, this book is a valuable source for students, academics, researchers, policy makers, and professionals in the area of social entrepreneurship.

This book analyses the importance of the entrepreneurial university, specifically in relation to the creation of entrepreneurial ideas and attitudes in students and entrepreneurial initiatives in academic institutions. The aim of the editors and contributing authors is to provide the reader with a set of experiences illustrating the advantages of communicating and encouraging entrepreneurship among students, thereby highlighting the "third mission" of the university: the need to adopt entrepreneurial strategy without disrupting the quality of teaching and research. Featuring initiatives from institutions around the world, the authors argue that the increasing importance of knowledge in the technical and social dimensions of today's world provides greater relevance to the entrepreneurial university. In this context, universities transcend their traditional focus on teaching and basic research to carry out technology transfers, marketing ideas, and patent registrations, and incorporate spin-off companies that contribute to industrial innovations, economic growth, and job creation. In the teaching dimension, the entrepreneurial university represents a focus on programs which train students in the applications and most advanced practices in knowledge-driven fields. The book addresses such questions as: Can marketing ideas deteriorate the quality of research in the long term? What importance does the cultural framework have for an entrepreneurial education? What circumstances and programs facilitate spin-offs in universities What are the key features of entrepreneurial universities? In reference to entrepreneurship education in its broadest sense, then, it corresponds to the framework of ideas and general features on which entrepreneurship is founded: in-depth knowledge of the projects or ventures which they wish to carry out, capacity to perceive the relevant characteristics of the environment, and the leadership and goal setting skills to achieve success.

This book examines the ways in which quality management methods, tools, and practices help improve an organization’s performance and achieve sustainable competitive advantages. This volume includes quality techniques and tools such as the EFQM Model, SERVPERF model, E-S-Qual scale and the ISO 9001 certification and provide a wide variety of empirical studies in different economic sectors. In the current economic environment, characterized by economic turmoil and fierce competition, quality management has become a key strategy for organizations to overcome today’s challenges. Organizations benefits from implementing quality management systems by following two approaches. First, they implement quality practices aimed at ensuring customer satisfaction by considering consumer expectations and establishing strategies accordingly. Second, organizations improve processes by establishing efficient and effective process management systems that improve productivity, lower costs, reduce unnecessary expenses, eliminate all non-value added activities, and ultimately maximize excellence and customer satisfaction. Quality management thereby provides tools, techniques, and methods for continuous process improvement in both the professional and academic worlds, which, when implemented by organizations in times of crisis, enable more effective administration of activities undertaken by managers. Containing contributions from various academics and scholars, this new book provides cutting edge research, methods and techniques providing a reference manual for academics, scholars, practitioners and policy-makers.

This book aims to contribute to the literature and aid in developing a theoretical and practical framework in the area of health and wellness tourism. With contributions and research from different countries using a practical approach, this book is an essential source for students, researchers and managers in the health and wellness tourism industry. Recently, there has been an increased interest in health and wellness due to greater life expectancy, aging populations, increasing levels of stress among others. In this context, the concepts of health, wellness, beauty, relaxation, and tourism can be combined to satisfy the needs of people seeking better quality-of-life. This has given rise to health and wellness tourism, a new market segment that contributes to employment and economic growth in the new economy. Health and wellness tourism involves two aspects: therapeutics, which seeks to cure certain diseases; and relaxation and leisure. As an alternative to traditional tourism, health and wellness tourism provides a new means of achieving regional and local development from a demographic, social, environmental and economic point-of-view. It contributes to tourist destinations' economic growth, acting as a pillar to support other complementary activities. In short, health and wellness tourism contributes to employment growth and regional wealth, contributes to tourism seasonality, promotes quality in tourism destinations, helps create new tourist services with high value, promotes establishment of international cooperation networks, and yields a number of additional benefits. Featuring a variety of programs and initiatives from different regions, with an emphasis on thermal and thalassotherapy establishments, this volume sheds light on this emerging market segment and its implications for economic and policy development.

The book aims to collect the most recent research and best practices in the cooperative and networking small business field identifying new theoretical models and describing the relationship between cooperation and networks in the small business strategy context. It examines different concepts and analytical techniques better understand the links between cooperative strategies and networks in small business. It also studies the existing economic conditions of network and strategic implications to small business from the point of view of their internal and external consistency. Cooperation and networks is a fashionable topic. It is receiving increasing attention in popular management publications, as well as specialized academic journals. Cooperation between firms and industries is a means of leveraging and aggregating knowledge also generating direct benefits in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. Various options and decisions made within the framework of strategic alliances may be identified and differentiated. For example, it has been argued that R&D cooperation between competing firms also facilitates the search for incremental efficiency gains and is thus a competitive advantage. In parallel with a theoretical acceptance of the importance of a sustained competitive advantage to formulate strategy, there is a growing understanding that cooperative and networking behavior among small firms is at the root of many success stories in today's small business management. This condition requires an effort to develop a study of both aspects of cooperation and networks as compatible, complementary facets of a unique reality. In short, the cooperative and networking relationships of a small business can be the source of its competitive advantage. Enhancement of local resources and capabilities for the generation and dissemination of knowledge is still an issue for defining public policies in many countries.Featuring contributions covering such topics as green innovation, social commerce, university cooperation networks, and regional entrepreneurship, this book provides a comprehensive and richly illustrated study of cooperation and networks in small business that will be pertinent to students, academics, professionals, scholars, and policy makers.

This volume provides the most current research on smart cities. Specifically, it focuses on the economic development and sustainability of smart cities and examines how to transform older industrial cities into sustainable smart cities. It aims to identify the role of the following elements in the creation and management of smart cities:* Citizen participation and empowerment * Value creation mechanisms * Public administration* Quality of life and sustainability* Democracy* ICT* Private initiatives and entrepreneurship Regardless of their size, all cities are ultimately agglomerations of people and institutions. Agglomeration economies make it possible to attain minimum efficiencies of scale in the organization and delivery of services. However, the economic benefits do not constitute the main advantage of a city. A city's status rests on three dimensions: (1) political impetus, which is the result of citizens' participation and the public administration's agenda; (2) applications derived from technological advances (especially in ICT); and (3) cooperation between public and private initiatives in business development and entrepreneurship. These three dimensions determine which resources are necessary to create smart cities. But a smart city, ideal in the way it channels and resolves technological, social and economic-growth issues, requires many additional elements to function at a high-performance level, such as culture (an environment that empowers and engages citizens) and physical infrastructure designed to foster competition and collaboration, encourage new ideas and actions, and set the stage for new business creation. Featuring contributions with models, tools and cases from around the world, this book will be a valuable resource for researchers, students, academics, professionals and policymakers interested in smart cities.

Since the 2008 economic crisis, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have faced serious financial problems and have been looking to financial institutions and governments for solutions and new proposals to address these issues. This book examines the new challenge in which firms receive sustainable funding that is in alignment with the company’s spending capacity. The purpose of this book is to examine the main theoretical issues and practices regarding entrepreneurship and finance and their impact on performance, innovation and economic growth. It analyzes the fundamental aspects of entrepreneurship and studies ways in which financial institutions can better fulfill their primary function of feeding capital to businesses and the economy as a whole. Entrepreneurship and finance are fundamental to achieving success in economic and social activities. SMEs’ existence and development depend on the initiatives of entrepreneurship and access to resources, especially those of a financial nature. During the recent economic crisis, several new financing instruments have appeared, especially with structures designed for helping SMEs make their way out of the recession. This book explores some of these tools in various global economies, such as France and Spain, providing an international, multidimensional perspective.