Monday, December 30, 2019

The Long-Term Impact of the Black Death on the Medieval...

The Long-term Impact of the Black Death on the Medieval Agriculture As one of the most severe plagues in human history, the Black Death was unprecedented in two ways: on one hand, it was undoubtedly a terrible nightmare, which swept the entire Europe and killed so many people; however, on the other hand, it was also a unique event that accelerated the process of European agricultural history. In years before the Black Death, the European agriculture was already in trouble. Agriculture has long been the foundation of economy and society, especially during the time as early as in the Middle Ages. As the foundation of agriculture, corn production was the most important agricultural activity at the time. However, corn production†¦show more content†¦The first and most direct impact was that it led to a serious shortage of agricultural labor. Human labor was one of the most important elements in agriculture, especially in the Middle Ages, when agricultural technique and devices hadn’t been well developed. The high mortality and the lasti ng depopulation during the Black Death â€Å"led to an acute shortage of labor in the countryside† (4) thus impairing the productivity. The depopulation was accompanied by a reduction of output. In Leicester in England, there was severe shortage of servants and laborers, and â€Å"many crops rotted unharvested in the fields† (5). In the village of Elkington in Northamptonshire, the number of taxpayers seems to have decreased due to depopulation during the period between 1377 and 1412(6); and â€Å"by the first decade of the fifteenth century, grain production levels between the Tyne and Tees appear to have been less than one-third their level of a century earlier.†(7) Other parts in Europe suffered just as much. In Spain, depopulated villages and rising wages suggested that the area cultivated with cereals and vines fell in the aftermath of the Black Death; in the area around Cambrai in France, grain productivity fell up to 50 percent between 1320 to 1370 and witnessed a further drop of 25 percent by the mid fifteen century.(8) The Black Death added to the misery of the human society in Medieval Euro pe, which had already suffered great losses during the GreatShow MoreRelatedEssay on Black Death with Wings of Light1479 Words   |  6 PagesAtishoo!/ We all fall down!† (Historic UK). Would anyone see through this happy melody and say that this song is about one of the deathliest plagues that ever struck mankind, the Black Death? This song describes the main symptom of the Black Death, which is the formation of infected black rings on skin. The Black Death is a disease that first arrived in Europe in 1347 through a ship with rats and fleas contaminated with Yersinia pestis bacteria. This bacteria has the capability of taking one’s lifeRead MoreEssay on The Effects of Plagues3924 Words   |  16 Pagesdiffered from one region to another according to the forms of agriculture practised and local economic conditions. So we should be very careful about making broad generalisations. As one might expect the kill rate was lower in the countryside than it was in the towns, but it was still significant. In a selection of Essex manors hit in 1349 the range was between 25% at Market Roding rising to 54% at High Easter. Medieval Essex was highly manorialised and close to the main tradeRead MoreThe End Of The Medieval Period Essay1947 Words   |  8 Pages There are many factors that led to the end of the medieval period and brought about the emergence of the Renaissance period, otherwise known as, â€Å"the age of rebirth.† Some of these factors would have a devastating impact on Europe, which we can still see to this very day. During the Medieval period, the feudal aristocracy and the Catholic Church emerged as the dominant political forces and were instrumental in imposing social and economic order on the people. Peasants were organized within theRead MoreAp World History Units 1-3 Study Guide Essay4374 Words   |  18 Pagescharacterized by * A rough social equality 3. The earliest metal worked systemically by humans are * Copper 4. The spread of the Bantu-speaking peoples over southern Africa can be best explained by their * Knowledge of agriculture 5. Characteristics of complex civilizations * Specialization of labor * Trade and cultural diffusion * Written languages * Complex political order and power 6. Evidence proves that the Mesopotamians * TradedRead MoreLittle Ice Age2007 Words   |  9 Pagescame to be known as the â€Å"Little Ice Age.† This cold weather had impact on agriculture, health, economics, emigration, and art and literature . The term â€Å"Little Ice Age† was named by Francois Matthes in 1939 to describe the most destructive climate drop in Europe. This ice age was consisted of mountain glaciers which brought temperatures as low as 2 degrees Fahrenheit. Numerous people got sick and some were even killed and starved to death because of a famine. Farms and villages were lost due to theRead MoreRenaissance And Discovery Of The Renaissance4916 Words   |  20 Pagesconclusions based on observation. Burckhardt saw the emergence of the modern world emerge from that of the pre-modern, or medieval, period. Some criticize Burckhardt for overlooking the continuity between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance . Scholars agree that the Renaissance (1375-1527)was a transition from medieval to m odern times Different from the feudal fragmentation of medieval times, Renaissance Europe was characterized by growing national consciousness and political centralization, an urbanRead MoreEarly Civilizations and the Dawn of the Medieval Age Essay3703 Words   |  15 PagesEarly Civilizations and the Dawn of the Medieval Age History is an account of mans achievements during the last five thousand years. Though man has been on this planet for about 500,000 years, history only covers a part of this period. The reason for this is that history is essentially based on written documents However the art of writing become known to man, only after 3000 B. C. 1.1 History : Meaning and Importance The word history is derived from the Greek noun historia meaning inquiryRead MoreAp European History Outline Chapter 10 Essay example5639 Words   |  23 Pagesobservation * Burckhardt saw the emergence of the modern world emerge from that of the pre-modern, or medieval, period * Some criticize Burckhardt for overlooking the continuity between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance * Scholars agree that the Renaissance (1375-1527)was a transition from medieval to modern times * Different from the feudal fragmentation of medieval times, Renaissance Europe was characterized by growing national consciousness and political centralizationRead MoreWomen and Religion in the Middle East Essay2571 Words   |  11 PagesMuslim countries this is very apparent. The cultural importance of men over women may have stemmed from religion, however it was further recognized when imperialist countries introduced capitalism and class divides. â€Å"Islam must combat the wrenching impact of alien forces whose influence in economic, political, and cultural permutations continues to prevail† (Stowasser 1994, 5). Now, instead of an agrarian state where both men and women had their place, difficulties have formed due to the rise in educationRead MoreThe Birth of Civilization18947 Words   |  76 Pagesdid the first Indus valley civilization have on later Indian religious and social practices? EARLY CHINESE CIVILIZATION page 23 WHY DID large territorial states arise in ancient China? THE RISE OF CIVILIZATION IN THE AMERICAS page 27 HOW DID agriculture influence the development of civilizations in Mesoamerica? 1 he earliest humans lived by hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants. Around 10,000 years ago, they learned to cultivate plants, herd animals, and make airtight pottery for storage

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Capital Punishment Essay - 2667 Words

Getting Rid of the Death Penalty Capital punishment was a corrective measure that was widely used all over the world. It is difficult to pin point the exact date of its origin but it is a fact that it was practiced intensely during medieval times. Crimes have occurred probably since the beginning of time and therefore there was a need for a counter attack to minimize if not eradicate it completely. Laws were created for this purpose, but like everything man creates they have proved imperfect and in some cases entirely unacceptable. In Britain, as James B Christoph[1] points out, the major cause for this trend was the social and economic chaos brought about by the Industrial Revolution. The spread of poverty as well as child†¦show more content†¦Several variations occurred in different countries, for example in Denmark, it was more honorable to be executed by the sword than by the axe. In Sweden, beheading was carried out by axe, and in the case of a woman, after the execution, her body was cremated. The guillotine, is thought to have been created shortly before the French Revolution.2[3] It consisted of two huge uprights between which a hatchet was placed, and erected on a platform reached by taking 24 steps up. The doomed was tied to a plank, kneeling down, exposing his head. A cord attached to the huge hatchet suspended it and when the time came, all the executioner had to do was cut the cord. Due to its impressive nature, the Constituent Assembly in France decreed that everyone condemned to death would be executed by this method. Once again, these forms of punishment prove too severe for any conceivable crime. In present day society, with the introduction of human right for all, such a form of punishment is considered disturbing and so it should. This chapter in human history should not be forgotten though, because many people are still emotionally scarred for life be it friends or family of the unfortunate sufferers of this act. Instead, it should be known by all and past on to future generations so that even in the worst of times, such an act should never manifest itself in anyone who has the power to introduce it back intoShow MoreRelated Capital Punishment1099 Words   |  5 Pages Capital Punishment Murder, a common occurrence in American society, is thought of as a horrible, reprehensible atrocity. Why then, is it thought of differently when the state government arranges and executes a human being, the very definition of premeditated murder? Capital punishment has been reviewed and studied for many years, exposing several inequities and weaknesses, showing the need for the death penalty to be abolished. Upon examination, one finds capital punishment to be economically weakRead MoreCapital Punishment1137 Words   |  5 Pagescorresponding punishments. Among all penalties, capital punishment is considered to be the most severe and cruelest one which takes away criminal’s most valuable right in the world, that is, right to live. It is a heated debate for centuries whether capital punishment should be completely abolished world widely. The world seems to have mixed opinion regarding this issue. According to Amnesty International (2010), currently, 97 countries in the world have already abolished capital punishment while onlyRead MoreCapital Punishment1786 Words   |  8 PagesCapital Punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the toughest form of punishment enforced today in the United States. According to the online Webster dictionary, capital punishment is defined as â€Å"the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offence or a capital crime† (1). In those jurisdictions that practice capital punishment, its use is usually restricted to a small number of criminal offences, principallyRead More Capital Punishment1898 Words   |  8 PagesCapital Punishment Imagine your heart suddenly beginning to race as you hear a judge give you a death sentence and then you’re quickly carried away in chains as your family sobs as they realize that they will no longer be able to see you. As you sit in your cell you begin to look back at your life and try to see where you went wrong to end up in jail waiting to carry out a death sentence, and at the same time know that you are an innocent waiting to be heard. This same scenario repeatsRead MoreCapital Punishment1276 Words   |  6 Pagesbroken to get the death penalty, increased murder rates and wrongful accusations. There are many different views of the death penalty. Many different religions have their own views of the death penalty. In Hinduism, if the king does not inflict punishment on those worthy to be punished the stronger would roast the weaker like fish on a spit. In the religion of Jainism, mostly all of their followers are abolitionists of the death penalty which means that they oppose of it. Infact, this religionRead More Capital Punishment Essay: Retain Capital Punishment?696 Words   |  3 PagesCapital Punishment - Retain or Not?      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This essay tangles with the question of whether or not we should retain the death penalty within the American code of penal law.    There is a feeling of frustration and horror that we experience at the senseless and brutal crimes that too frequently disrupt the harmony of society. There is pain which accompanies the heartfelt sympathy that we extend to the victims families who, in their time of suffering, are in need of the support and compassionRead MoreCapital Punishment Is A Legal Punishment1116 Words   |  5 Pageswhat the big deal about Capital Punishment is? According to free dictionary, Capital Punishment is to put to death as a legal punishment (Farlax). Capital Punishment is used worldwide, and is guaranteed to prevent future crime. Capital Punishment is a large controversy in the U.S. but before a personal opinion can be formed, some facts need to be known, such as what it is, where it is used and why it could be good or bad. Well, what is Capital Punishment? Capital Punishment is where a person is executedRead MoreCapital Punishment2506 Words   |  11 PagesCapital Punishment and the Death Penalty Capital punishment exist in today’s society as citizens of the United States should we have the right to take an individual life. As illustrated throughout numerous of studies the death penalty is an unfair process seven out of ten deaths handed down by the state courts from 1973 to 1995 were overturned when appeal and the seven percent were later found to be innocent. Such as the Dobie Williams case which took place July 8, 1984. DobieRead MoreCapital Punishment Is The Ultimate Punishment1704 Words   |  7 Pageswhat would you want from the government if he had killed someone you know? He should receive the capital punishment. The capital punishment is the ultimate punishment given to the precarious crimes. It is the last stage of capital punishment. There are different methods of like hanging, electric chair, lethal injection, firing squad, gas chamber. Murderers and rapist should be given extreme punishment, and they have to pay for their wrongdoing. We can observe crime rates are accelerating day-by-dayRead MoreCapital Punishment And Juvenile Punishment1631 Words   |  7 Pages Capital punishment is the term used when an individual is put to death by the state or government for the commission of a crime. Until recently, juveniles were not exempt from this punishment, however they would generally need to commit a more serious offense c ompared to their adult counterpart. Then there was the decision ruling the execution of mentally handicapped individuals was unconstitutional, using the 8th amendment as their authority, while taking into account the diminished capacity of

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Problem of unemployment Free Essays

Unemployment is a serious problem in our country, which leads to poverty. Many people are eager to find Jobs Support themselves as well as their families but there are not enough Jobs for everyone. As a result the problem of unemployment is seen at every level. We will write a custom essay sample on Problem of unemployment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Lack of Job opportunities has brought depression and hopelessness among our youth. It has made them to go astray which creates many other problems like drug addiction, identity crises, etc. Let us first examine the causes of the problem of nemployment before discussing the various ways and means of solving this problem. There are many reasons for the problem of unemployment in our country. One of them is the slow growth of our economy, in relation to increase in the number of educated persons. When an economy is growing, there are plenty of Jobs for everyone. Our economy has grown and there has been development but not enough to generate sufficient number of Jobs. Another factor that has led to unemployment is the growth in population. Ours is a thickly populated country the population ncreasing by leaps and bounds. But Jobs and gainful avenues cannot be generated in the proportion. The Jobs are restricted in number but the people applying for them are many. So, a large section of people is left without Job. The growth in education has resulted is larger number of people looking for white collar Jobs, which are not available. Again, education is often not aimed at providing people with vocational skills. So their scope for employment remains limited. At the same time, the growth of mechanization and more sophisticated machinery is mportant for the development of industry. But this often means few people are required for specific Jobs. As a result there is more unemployment. It is the responsibility of the government to provide Jobs for all those who are able to work. It has started schemes like the Jawahar Rozgar YoJana, SwarnaJayanti, Gram Swarozgar YoJna and other in rural areas. Loans are also given- to encourage self employment and small scale industries. Technical and vocational education should be stressed. When people get technical nd vocational education, they will not hanker after services on completing their education. They will come out well prepared to stand on their own legs. They will choose a profession in accordance with their capability and aptitude. This will help in solving the problem unemployment. J M It is also necessary to check the rapid growth of our pulation. There must be laid on family planning in this regard. After population is controlled, we can easily overcome development of our country can never be possible. Hence, it is necessary to bring awareness among the common mass. How to cite Problem of unemployment, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Market Entry Strategy Of UniCredit Group †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Market Entry Strategy Of UniCredit Group. Answer: Introduction UniCredit is an internationally acclaimed financial institution which has its operations in 22 major European countries. This financial institution has its strategic position in Eastern and Western Europe and thus the company has largest market share. The operations of UniCredit group is found in Ukraine, Turkey, Slovenia, Serbia, Russia, Romania, Poland, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Germany, Estonia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Austria. The origin of this group dates back to the establishment of an institution in the year 1473, called Rolo Banca. Several specialized business divisions are present in UniCredit Group. This includes investment banking and Corporate Banking division, private banking, families and SME banking. The group also has a CEE division that emphasizes on operations in 19 Central and Eastern Europe countries. Presently the chairman of the group is Giuseppe Vita and the CEO is Federico Ghizzoni (Unicredi tGroup.eu 2018). This study is based on the assignment 1 and 2 which emphasizes on the early market entry strategy, merger of HVB Group and the UniCredit Group and the strategies taken up by these groups. Benefits and drawbacks of the first mover market entry strategy in comparison to the follower or late market entry strategy. First mover can be described as a competitive a business receives when it first tries to capture the market and brings a service or product in to the market before any other competitor does. Thus being the first in a market specifically increases the brand recognition and the loyalty of the customers before the other market competitors that are entering the market later. Another important benefit that a certain first mover company receives is the ample amount of time to improve the service and the product (Boldrin and Levine 2013). The advantages of a company being the first mover are as follows: the company gains the benefit of establishing its product as an industry standard; a long lasting impression is created by the company along with the strong brand image that give boost to the brand image; coming first in to a market provide strategic advantage with respect to the hiring skilled employees, contracts with the vital suppliers, location benefits and resource control; other advantages include less cost of attached to the new product launches in comparison to the new entrants (Vecchiato 2015). The other benefits include: Technology leadership- the first movers get an opportunity to make technology used in the product harder to replicate or copy. The first mover company for example can reduce the cost of the product which will be hard for the late movers to follow. This effectively increases the first mover company to establish an advantageous position in terms of product costs. The other way includes securin g the new products with patents by the first movers; Control of resources- the second benefits arises from the strategic control of resources; Buyer-switching costs- this is an exclusive benefit of the first movers, and the late movers pay a hefty price in order to make the reluctant customers choose their products (Markides and Sosa 2013). Drawbacks of being the First Mover- Although there are several advantages for being a first mover, however there are certain drawbacks that do not guarantee advantage: The first movers have to make additional arrangements in order to persuade the customers to try a new product. Whereas, for the late movers it is easy to establish the business on the lines of the previous entrant because the customers are already informed about a specific product (Loschelder et al. 2014). The late movers make cautious decisions and try to avoid the mistakes made by the first mover. The late movers make use of the opportunity of capturing the market where the first mover has failed to capture the customer attention. There is always a chance of making better products through the reverse engineering. This option is truly lacked by the first movers. The late movers can take the advantage of improving on the sections and areas where the first mover entirely overlooked (Loschelder et al. 2014). There are several examples of companies that were not the first movers and still are now considered to be market leaders: Google- before google came there were previous entrants like Infoseek and Yahoo. However, Google improved their search engine and effectively and Google now control 65% of the search in search engines; Southwest Airlines- this airline was a late mover in to the airline sector, still this company expanded fast and now they are the second largest airlines in the world (van Loon 2012). Retail banking and its entry timing in to a foreign market as a first entrant in a foreign country There are factors that play a major role in deciding the timing of a retail banking entry in to a foreign country. The several factors are listed as below: The capabilities of a firm is decided by its competencies, what areas it is good at and what it does better than the other market rivals. Thus, for a banking company to become have all the better qualities than all its rivals takes time to build. Banks begin to earn a large margin of profit only after a certain period of time, and that too the profit is based on the number of customers it serves. Gaining popularity and faith of the customers as a reliable requires a lot of time. Thus, when a company decides to expand its branches into the foreign countries, its own capabilities must be at a peak position. This timing of foreign market entry comes only after it has gain ample confidence and success in its base country (Kotha, Zheng and George 2011). Characteristics of the host country in to the retail banking firm will enter plays an important role. These characteristics include the market economy size, technological sophistication, industrial market structure. The host country must promote the options of foreign direct investment (FDI) so that foreign institutions can easily enter the foreign market without any hurdles. The timing here also plays a crucial role, the environment within the country that promotes a favorable foreign investment will attract the institutions like retail banks to enter in to a foreign country. Timing of such expansion is vital as it leads to an increase in higher profits by the banking entities. The other vital characteristics that are also important include institutional environment, political stability, taxation policies, price of the natural resources, employment and wage laws. All these factors influence business environment to a large extent and thus the decision of a retail banking entity to en ter in to a foreign country will largely include the an assessment of these factors (Nielsen and Nielsen 2011). Competition is a vital aspect of any business entity that wants to survive and competence with all the rivals in the same market environment. Entering in a foreign market also included a crucial assessment of the presence of the market competition in that country. The presence of the level of competition in foreign country will deter most of the companies to expand their branches. However, if that same country lack the market competition, then it will be easy for a new entrant to open a new branch and introduce new products that will attract the more customers. Economic factors are the sole promoters that push a foreign business entity or a retail banking firm to invest in to a foreign country. If a country provides ample opportunities through its economic services, then the likeliness of investment by the retail banking firms will increase. This again depends on the timing of the economic condition of a country, if a country is willing to open its domestic market for the foreign direct investment. Then, such opportunities can be directly linked with the timing of market entry (Goldfarb and Xiao 2011). Geographic proximity and whether it contributes to the success of market entry Geographical proximity play a positive role in contributing to the success of market entry because close proximity helps in easy conduct and management of the whole business process. The increased availability of the geographic information related to the consumers provides an added advantage and scope for the companies to use such information for the purpose of marketing. It is known fact that the social influences are greater when there is a close geographical proximity. The lack of the social network data implies that the influence of the consumers that are in geographically in close proximity can be effectively distinguished from the social proximity. The geographical and the social proximity are much related concepts and thus for this reason the geographic proximity data can be used effectively when the social proximity is absent. Thus expansion of the business and companies to the regions that are in close proximity can lead to increased compatibility between the people (Meyners et al. 2017). It is seen that due to societal, cultural and legal differences the foreign market which is located geographically close often seem to psychologically distant. The two major issues related to the psychological difference are: it is easier for the firms to enter foreign markets when there exists a close psychological proximity; the perception of psychological differences is sometimes based on the false perceptions rather than realistic belief. Expanding in to countries that are in geographically close proximity helps in reducing the complexities that arise due to the societal and the cultural differences. This makes the management of the operation similar to the management operation in the home country. Considering the case of the UniCredit Group, the company expanded in to the neighboring European countries which was under the same economic group and had similar less cultural and societal differences (Thornton, Ribeiro-Soriano and Urbano 2011). Expanding in to the neighboring country which is geographically in close proximity can be effective to a large extent. The effectiveness can be related to the understanding at the governmental level. Countries that are in close proximity often undergo in to promoting business environment that influences each others market. Due to the increased effect of the globalization, the market economies are open and thus countries often prefer to have foreign direct investment from the foreign institutions. Countries often open their market to increase their annual gross domestic product (GDP) from the foreign institutions that operate in a country. Countries often make special economic zones for the foreign entities and exempt them from the paying extra taxes and labor laws also are also made flexible for these foreign entities. When the neighboring governments are stable, it has a positive impact on all the governments that are geographically in close proximity. Stable governments promote a h ealthy growth environment for the domestic as well as the international players. Thus stable governments create opportunities for business and firm expansion which are otherwise detrimental (Autio and Fu 2015). Firms increasingly depend on the knowledge sourced from the other funds in order to enrich their own capabilities and knowledge base. Thus, engaging into merging and collaborations increases the potentiality of accruing knowledge, which otherwise would not have been possible. More demanding customers, shorter life cycle of the products and the ever-increasing global competitions have made the firms realize that working or collaborating with the others can effectively solve their problem. These mergers and the collaborations effectively make the business entities and firms resilient to the rapid changes occurring in the domestic and the global market. Firms and the institutions frequently undergo collaborations for the purpose of having advantages from the other market rivals and competitors. Collaborations that occur are based on the reducing the time for the development of the innovations, gaining knowledge from the partners, resource and risk sharing, increase the diversified knowl edge base. Inter firm mergers and collaboration are found to occur frequently between the companies that are geographically located in close proximity. The proximity can be broken down to two major types: non-spatial proximity and geographical proximity. The non-spatial proximity includes the organizational proximity, cognitive, technological, social, cultural and institutional proximity. The merger or collaboration generally occur between organizations are entirely based on the technology acquisition, knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing. These are often the primary goals of any merger of collaboration. According to some authors, the degree of geographical proximity is described as the geographical distance between two entities (Berchicci, King and Tucci 2011). Thus, it is seen that geographical proximity is playing a major role in defining the success in relation to the market entry. Knowledge sharing and knowledge acquisition are the sole criteria that pushes firms to enter in to foreign markets that are geographically located in close proximity. It is often seen that when companies want to expand in to the neighboring countries, they often choose to move in to a joint venture or from a collaboration. These collaborations or joint ventures arise between business entities that belong from the same industry (Chetty and Michailova 2011). For example, if a bank wants to expand its branches in to the neighboring country, it will look to form a collaboration with a company which is also a financial institution or a bank. The same is true for the automobile firms. If a foreign company wants to launch it automobiles in to different country which previously do not have any manufacturing base, then it forms joint ventures with the domestic company of that country. Such collaboration are solely based on the technology transfer and also introduction of the product which would otherwise have costed more capital to set up its own manufacturing plant (Killing 2012). Conclusion Thus, from the above discussion it can be concluded that, UniCredit and HVB Group were leading banking institutions before the merger took place. After the merger in the year 2005 the company even soared to new heights made the UniCredit Group one of the best financial institutions in Europe. The study also focusses on the benefits arising from being first mover in to any market. Although there are certain benefits associated with first moving, there are certain drawbacks that tend to help the later movers tremendously. References Autio, E. and Fu, K., 2015. Economic and political institutions and entry into formal and informal entrepreneurship. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 32(1), pp.67-94. Berchicci, L., King, A. and Tucci, C.L., 2011. Does the apple always fall close to the tree? The geographical proximity choice of spin?outs. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 5(2), pp.120-136. Boldrin, M. and Levine, D.K., 2013. The case against patents. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27(1), pp.3-22. Chetty, S. and Michailova, S., 2011. Geographical proximity and inter-firm collaboration: The role of knowledge access and knowledge acquisition. Journal of General Management, 36(4), pp.71-87. Goldfarb, A. and Xiao, M., 2011. Who thinks about the competition? Managerial ability and strategic entry in US local telephone markets. American Economic Review, 101(7), pp.3130-61. Killing, P., 2012. Strategies for joint venture success (RLE international business) (Vol. 22). Routledge. Kotha, R., Zheng, Y. and George, G., 2011. Entry into new niches: the effects of firm age and the expansion of technological capabilities on innovative output and impact. Strategic Management Journal, 32(9), pp.1011-1024. Loschelder, D.D., Swaab, R.I., Trtschel, R. and Galinsky, A.D., 2014. The First-Mover Dis advantage: The Folly of Revealing Compatible Preferences. Psychological science, 25(4), pp.954-962. Markides, C. and Sosa, L., 2013. Pioneering and first mover advantages: the importance of business models. Long Range Planning, 46(4-5), pp.325-334. Meyners, J., Barrot, C., Becker, J.U. and Goldenberg, J., 2017. The Role of Mere Closeness: How Geographic Proximity Affects Social Influence. Journal of Marketing, 81(5), pp.49-66. Nielsen, B.B. and Nielsen, S., 2011. The role of top management team international orientation in international strategic decision-making: The choice of foreign entry mode. Journal of World Business, 46(2), pp.185-193. Thornton, P.H., Ribeiro-Soriano, D. and Urbano, D., 2011. Socio-cultural factors and entrepreneurial activity: An overview. International small business journal, 29(2), pp.105-118. UnicreditGroup.eu, 2018. EN. [online] UnicreditGroup.eu. Available at: https://www.unicreditgroup.eu/en.html [Accessed 18 Feb. 2018]. van Loon, S., 2012. The Power of Google: First Mover Advantage or Abuse of a Dominant Position?. In Google and the Law (pp. 9-36). TMC Asser Press. Vecchiato, R., 2015. Creating value through foresight: First mover advantages and strategic agility. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 101, pp.25-36.