Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird die Möglichkeit diskutiert, genderspezifischen sozialen Wandel in Schwellen- und Entwicklungsländern über Mikrokreditvergabesysteme anzustoßen. Anhand einer in Mittelägypten durchgeführten Studie mit mehrfach diskriminierten Frauen wird gezeigt, wie Mikrokredite die Akkumulation nicht nur von ökonomischem, sondern vor allem auch von kulturellem und sozialem Kapital im Bourdieu'schen Sinne unterstützen können. Wenn in diesem Kontext eine Veränderung des symbolischen Kapitals gelingt, kann dies zu neuen Wahrnehmungs-, Denk- und Handlungsschemata der Beteiligten und zu Strukturveränderungen auf der Makroebene führen. Die theoretische Modellierung von genderspezifischem sozialem Wandel erfolgt in diesem Artikel entlang empirischer Daten, die von den Autorinnen in Mittelägypten erhoben wurden.

The amount of taxes paid by multinational enterprises (MNEs) in host and home countries continues to make headline news. Corporate tax regimes, particularly those in many OECD countries, have never been more complex and the competition to attract and retain foreign direct investment (FDI) has perhaps never been so great. All of these political, legal, economic and competitive realities face countries at a time when they need additional budget revenues. At the June 2012 G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, leaders identified base erosion and profit shifting as key fiscal issue to be addressed. Many are expecting this to translate into a new approach to applying existing international tax standards, an increased pressure to eliminate "corporate tax breaks", enact tougher anti-abuse provisions, and less tolerance of aggressive tax planning. There has been an increased critical focus on transfer pricing, corporate restructuring and double tax treaties. Some have suggested that double tax treaties are eroding the domestic tax bases of developing countries, while others conclude that double tax treaties promote development and FDI and thereby expand the tax base. Dividing up a "revenue pie" has never been easy and the implementation of international tax rules to transparently and predictably allocate revenue to avoid double taxation and double non taxation has never been more adversarial between taxpayers and tax authorities and between tax jurisdictions. It was for these reasons that the Global Tax Policy Center of the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law (Vienna University of Economics and Business) and the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC) decided to undertake this study. The objective of our study was to look at the development impact of double taxation treaties and, more broadly, how tax policy can help generate economic growth and prosperity. Legally domestic tax laws are normally subordinate to international double taxation treaties, but in reality a double tax treaty only serves a country as well as its domestic tax regime. We've concluded that the problems affecting developing countries lie not with double tax treaties but rather in weak domestic tax legislation. Our study reviews empirical data from 20 developing countries, including LDCs, middle-to-high income developing countries, resource-rich countries, and BRIICS[1] countries. We hope that the empirical analysis and the conclusions that can be drawn from it can help guide policymakers to refocus their policy objectives to boost capital formation, expanding exports, and protect their domestic tax bases. We believe that a country with strong domestic tax legislation can advance their pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals by affectively utilizing double tax treaties and the related international tax rules to more transparently share and grow their tax base. (authors' abstract) / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

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Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) such as disseminated by the Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA) are increasingly being recognized by decision makers across the world as an option for service delivery in densely populated low-income areas. However, little practical experience has been gathered methodologically on basic engineering and performance aspects surrounding these systems. This thesis investigates full-scale anaerobic reactors of communal DEWATS implemented in tropical regions in order to consolidate the basis of future design and support monitoring, operation and maintenance procedures. Special focus is laid on the operation of the Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) as the core technology of DEWATS. Field research has been conducted for over four years at numerous communal systems in Indonesia, India and South Africa in order to (i) verify the generally used parameter values for DEWATS design and operation, (ii) identify factors limiting the treatment efficiency of existing systems in the field and (iii) investigate the performance of DEWATS and DEWATS treatment steps (especially ABRs) under tropical field conditions in terms of effluent concentration, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal, sludge stabilisation and sludge activity. Field data on average per capita wastewater production in DEWATS implementation areas, long term fluctuations and peak-flow values are presented. General per capita organic load and per capita nutrient load, per capita biogas production in digesters and per capita sludge accumulation in ABRs are estimated. Based on available data and field observations, treatment limiting factors are hypothesised to be rain-water intrusion, general under-loading, organic under-loading and elevated raw-water salinity in coastal areas. Effluent measurements performed at one hundred nine systems in Indonesia indicated guaranteed maximum concentrations of 200 mg CODt l-1 for anaerobic DEWATS treatment effluent if the treated wastewater is non-saline. ABR COD reduction of four case studies was poor in three cases and fair in one case. Sludge accumulation rates indicated good sludge stabilisation and sludge activity in all four systems. Anaerobic Filters (AF) contributed in all three case studies, in which they were part of the plant design, significantly to COD reduction. Nutrient effluent concentrations were comparably high. Large fractions of effluent organics were found to be biodegradable. It is hypothesised that system treatment would improve significantly if maximum hydraulic load was lower, general organic load was higher and therefore both close to design estimation. It is thus proposed to control the amount of storm water intruding the systems, increase feed concentration through partial grey-water exclusion and reduce the nutrient load in system effluent through partial urine diversion. It is further proposed to reduce the HRT of the settler below 10 h in order to increase the organic load to the ABR. It is further hypothesised that systems could be operated at higher hydraulic dry weather load than currently assumed since active anaerobic digestion appears to be capable of establishing itself under extreme hydraulic pressure. This may lead to a considerable reduction of building costs. Anaerobic digestion modelling with the existing ADM-3P model confirmed that observed sludge accumulation rates indicate active hydrolytic systems. The model could however not be used to produce soluble COD effluent concentration benchmarks due to its sensitivity to methanogenic rate constants. The general view held for anaerobic reactors treating wastewater with high solid content is that hydrolysis is the rate-limiting degradation step. It is hypothesised that this does not apply for solid accumulating systems such as the ABR. / Die durch die Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA) verbreiteten Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) werden international von Entscheidungsträgern zunehmend als Möglichkeit angesehen, kommunale Abwasserreinigung in dichtbesiedelten, einkommensschwachen Gegenden zu ermöglichen. Allerdings wurden bislang wenig praktische Erfahrungen methodisch über grundlegende Aspekte der Anlagendimensionierung und Anlagenleistungsfähigkeit aufgenommen. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation wurden anaerobe Reaktoren kommunaler DEWATS unter tropischen Feldbedingungen untersucht, um eine Datengrundlage für zukünftige Dimensionierung, Wartung und Betrieb, als auch Monitoring der Anlagen zu schaffen. Schwerpunkt wurde dabei auf den Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) als Kerntechnologie von DEWATS gelegt. Felduntersuchungen wurden in der Zeit von mehr als vier Jahren an zahlreichen kommunalen DEWATS in Indonesien, Indien und Südafrika durchgeführt, um (i) die gängig gewählten Parameterwerte für Anlagen-Dimensionierung und -Betrieb zu überprüfen, (ii) leistungslimitierende Faktoren im Feldbetrieb zu identifizieren und um (iii) die Leistungsfähigkeit von DEWATS und DEWATS-Reinigungsstufen (insbesondere des ABRs) unter tropischen Feldbedingungen bezüglich Abflusskonzentrationen, Reduzierung des Chemischen Sauerstoffbedarfs (CSB), Schlammstabilisierung und Schlammaktivität zu untersuchen. Basierend auf den Untersuchungsergebnissen, wurden durchschnittliche Einwohnergleichwerte, Langzeitvariationen und Faktoren für Zuflussspitzen für kommunale Abwasserproduktion in DEWATS-Zielbevölkerungsgruppen präsentiert. Ferner werden allgemeine Pro-Kopf-CSB-Frachten, -Ammoniumfrachten und -Phosphorfrachten, die Pro-Kopf-Biogasproduktion in kommunalen Biogasanlagen sowie die Pro-Kopf-Schlammakkumulation in ABRs abgeschätzt. Auf Felduntersuchungen basierend, wurden Fremdwassereinfluss, generelle Unterbelastung, organische Unterbelastung und erhöhte Frischwassersalinität in Küstengebieten als leistungslimitierende Faktoren im Feldbetrieb identifiziert. An 109 indonesischen Anlagen durchgeführte Abflusskonzentrationsmessungen ließen auf eine garantierte Abflusskonzentration der anaeroben Reaktoren von 200 mg CSB l-1 schließen, wenn der negative Einfluss von erhöhter Frischwassersalinität ausgeschlossen werden kann. Der CSB-Abbau durch ABRs in vier detailliert untersuchten DEWATS war gering in drei Fällen und befriedigend in einem Fall. Anaerobe Filter (AF) trugen in den drei Fällen, in denen sie Teil der Anlagenkonfigurationen waren, signifikant zur CSB-Reduzierung bei. Ammonium- und Phoshorkonzentrationen in allen Reaktorabläufen waren vergleichsweise hoch. Ein großer Anteil des CSBs in Reaktorabläufen war biologisch abbaubar. Es wird die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass sich die Leistungsfähigkeiten der Anlagen signifikant verbessern würden, wären die Anlagenbelastungen den Auslegungswerten ähnlicher, d.h., wären die maximalen hydraulischen Belastungen geringer und die organischen Belastungen höher. Es wird deshalb geraten, den Fremdwasserzufluss zu minimieren, die Anlagenzulaufkonzentration durch partielle Grauwasserversickerung zu erhöhen und die Ammonium- und Phoshorkonzentration im Zulauf durch partiellen Urinabschlag zu verringern. Es wird außerdem vorgeschlagen, die hydraulische Aufenthaltszeit in Absetzbecken (settlers) auf zehn Stunden zu begrenzen, um so die organische Belastung der ABRs zu erhöhen. Ferner wird die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass Anlagen unter höherer Trockenwetterbelastung als bislang angenommen betrieben werden können, da aktiver anaerober Abbau auch unter extremen hydraulischen Belastungen möglich erscheint. Dies könnte zu einer signifikanten Senkung der Baukosten führen. Die Modellierung anaerober Abbauprozesse mit dem existierenden ADM-3P-Modell bestätigten, dass im Feld beobachtete Schlammakkumulationsraten auf eine aktive Hydrolyse schließen lassen. Das Modell konnte jedoch nicht genutzt werden, um Bezugswerte für den gelösten CSB im Ablauf der Anlagen zu erhalten, da es eine vergleichsweise hohe Sensitivität in Bezug auf die Raten für Methanogenese aufwies. Die allgemein anerkannte Sichtweise ist, dass die Hydrolyse den geschwindigkeitsbestimmenden Abbauschritt bei der anaeroben Behandlung feststoffreicher Abwässer darstellt. Es wird die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass dieses nicht für feststoffakkumulierende Systeme, wie den ABR, zutrifft.

Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) such as disseminated by the Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA) are increasingly being recognized by decision makers across the world as an option for service delivery in densely populated low-income areas. However, little practical experience has been gathered methodologically on basic engineering and performance aspects surrounding these systems. This thesis investigates full-scale anaerobic reactors of communal DEWATS implemented in tropical regions in order to consolidate the basis of future design and support monitoring, operation and maintenance procedures. Special focus is laid on the operation of the Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) as the core technology of DEWATS. Field research has been conducted for over four years at numerous communal systems in Indonesia, India and South Africa in order to (i) verify the generally used parameter values for DEWATS design and operation, (ii) identify factors limiting the treatment efficiency of existing systems in the field and (iii) investigate the performance of DEWATS and DEWATS treatment steps (especially ABRs) under tropical field conditions in terms of effluent concentration, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal, sludge stabilisation and sludge activity. Field data on average per capita wastewater production in DEWATS implementation areas, long term fluctuations and peak-flow values are presented. General per capita organic load and per capita nutrient load, per capita biogas production in digesters and per capita sludge accumulation in ABRs are estimated. Based on available data and field observations, treatment limiting factors are hypothesised to be rain-water intrusion, general under-loading, organic under-loading and elevated raw-water salinity in coastal areas. Effluent measurements performed at one hundred nine systems in Indonesia indicated guaranteed maximum concentrations of 200 mg CODt l-1 for anaerobic DEWATS treatment effluent if the treated wastewater is non-saline. ABR COD reduction of four case studies was poor in three cases and fair in one case. Sludge accumulation rates indicated good sludge stabilisation and sludge activity in all four systems. Anaerobic Filters (AF) contributed in all three case studies, in which they were part of the plant design, significantly to COD reduction. Nutrient effluent concentrations were comparably high. Large fractions of effluent organics were found to be biodegradable. It is hypothesised that system treatment would improve significantly if maximum hydraulic load was lower, general organic load was higher and therefore both close to design estimation. It is thus proposed to control the amount of storm water intruding the systems, increase feed concentration through partial grey-water exclusion and reduce the nutrient load in system effluent through partial urine diversion. It is further proposed to reduce the HRT of the settler below 10 h in order to increase the organic load to the ABR. It is further hypothesised that systems could be operated at higher hydraulic dry weather load than currently assumed since active anaerobic digestion appears to be capable of establishing itself under extreme hydraulic pressure. This may lead to a considerable reduction of building costs. Anaerobic digestion modelling with the existing ADM-3P model confirmed that observed sludge accumulation rates indicate active hydrolytic systems. The model could however not be used to produce soluble COD effluent concentration benchmarks due to its sensitivity to methanogenic rate constants. The general view held for anaerobic reactors treating wastewater with high solid content is that hydrolysis is the rate-limiting degradation step. It is hypothesised that this does not apply for solid accumulating systems such as the ABR. / Die durch die Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA) verbreiteten Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) werden international von Entscheidungsträgern zunehmend als Möglichkeit angesehen, kommunale Abwasserreinigung in dichtbesiedelten, einkommensschwachen Gegenden zu ermöglichen. Allerdings wurden bislang wenig praktische Erfahrungen methodisch über grundlegende Aspekte der Anlagendimensionierung und Anlagenleistungsfähigkeit aufgenommen. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation wurden anaerobe Reaktoren kommunaler DEWATS unter tropischen Feldbedingungen untersucht, um eine Datengrundlage für zukünftige Dimensionierung, Wartung und Betrieb, als auch Monitoring der Anlagen zu schaffen. Schwerpunkt wurde dabei auf den Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) als Kerntechnologie von DEWATS gelegt. Felduntersuchungen wurden in der Zeit von mehr als vier Jahren an zahlreichen kommunalen DEWATS in Indonesien, Indien und Südafrika durchgeführt, um (i) die gängig gewählten Parameterwerte für Anlagen-Dimensionierung und -Betrieb zu überprüfen, (ii) leistungslimitierende Faktoren im Feldbetrieb zu identifizieren und um (iii) die Leistungsfähigkeit von DEWATS und DEWATS-Reinigungsstufen (insbesondere des ABRs) unter tropischen Feldbedingungen bezüglich Abflusskonzentrationen, Reduzierung des Chemischen Sauerstoffbedarfs (CSB), Schlammstabilisierung und Schlammaktivität zu untersuchen. Basierend auf den Untersuchungsergebnissen, wurden durchschnittliche Einwohnergleichwerte, Langzeitvariationen und Faktoren für Zuflussspitzen für kommunale Abwasserproduktion in DEWATS-Zielbevölkerungsgruppen präsentiert. Ferner werden allgemeine Pro-Kopf-CSB-Frachten, -Ammoniumfrachten und -Phosphorfrachten, die Pro-Kopf-Biogasproduktion in kommunalen Biogasanlagen sowie die Pro-Kopf-Schlammakkumulation in ABRs abgeschätzt. Auf Felduntersuchungen basierend, wurden Fremdwassereinfluss, generelle Unterbelastung, organische Unterbelastung und erhöhte Frischwassersalinität in Küstengebieten als leistungslimitierende Faktoren im Feldbetrieb identifiziert. An 109 indonesischen Anlagen durchgeführte Abflusskonzentrationsmessungen ließen auf eine garantierte Abflusskonzentration der anaeroben Reaktoren von 200 mg CSB l-1 schließen, wenn der negative Einfluss von erhöhter Frischwassersalinität ausgeschlossen werden kann. Der CSB-Abbau durch ABRs in vier detailliert untersuchten DEWATS war gering in drei Fällen und befriedigend in einem Fall. Anaerobe Filter (AF) trugen in den drei Fällen, in denen sie Teil der Anlagenkonfigurationen waren, signifikant zur CSB-Reduzierung bei. Ammonium- und Phoshorkonzentrationen in allen Reaktorabläufen waren vergleichsweise hoch. Ein großer Anteil des CSBs in Reaktorabläufen war biologisch abbaubar. Es wird die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass sich die Leistungsfähigkeiten der Anlagen signifikant verbessern würden, wären die Anlagenbelastungen den Auslegungswerten ähnlicher, d.h., wären die maximalen hydraulischen Belastungen geringer und die organischen Belastungen höher. Es wird deshalb geraten, den Fremdwasserzufluss zu minimieren, die Anlagenzulaufkonzentration durch partielle Grauwasserversickerung zu erhöhen und die Ammonium- und Phoshorkonzentration im Zulauf durch partiellen Urinabschlag zu verringern. Es wird außerdem vorgeschlagen, die hydraulische Aufenthaltszeit in Absetzbecken (settlers) auf zehn Stunden zu begrenzen, um so die organische Belastung der ABRs zu erhöhen. Ferner wird die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass Anlagen unter höherer Trockenwetterbelastung als bislang angenommen betrieben werden können, da aktiver anaerober Abbau auch unter extremen hydraulischen Belastungen möglich erscheint. Dies könnte zu einer signifikanten Senkung der Baukosten führen. Die Modellierung anaerober Abbauprozesse mit dem existierenden ADM-3P-Modell bestätigten, dass im Feld beobachtete Schlammakkumulationsraten auf eine aktive Hydrolyse schließen lassen. Das Modell konnte jedoch nicht genutzt werden, um Bezugswerte für den gelösten CSB im Ablauf der Anlagen zu erhalten, da es eine vergleichsweise hohe Sensitivität in Bezug auf die Raten für Methanogenese aufwies. Die allgemein anerkannte Sichtweise ist, dass die Hydrolyse den geschwindigkeitsbestimmenden Abbauschritt bei der anaeroben Behandlung feststoffreicher Abwässer darstellt. Es wird die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass dieses nicht für feststoffakkumulierende Systeme, wie den ABR, zutrifft.

Stellung und Aufgaben Internationaler Rohstofforganisationen sind häufig ambivalent. Schwächen hat insbesondere das Scheitern des Internationalen Zinnrates 1987 aufgezeigt. Der Beitrag erläutert deren Ursachen und verknüpft die Vorschriften der Rohstoffabkommen mit dem Welthandels- und dem allgemeinen Völkerrecht.

No description available.

Sustainability and the penetration of new markets beyond developed industries are two topics that are gaining increasing attention both in research and in business practice. As Western industries are becoming saturated, companies are looking for further business alternatives and are focusing on North-South opportunities, among others. Therefore, bottom-of-the-pyramid markets are often mentioned as promising mass markets. However, market access remains a challenge, as bottom-of-the-pyramid contexts are characterized by low incomes, resource constraints, and infrastructural barriers. In addition, sustainable practices are a challenge. Since the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations, which apply to all countries, companies are required to address aspects of sustainability in their business practices. However, they have to cope with conflicting dimensions inherent to sustainability such as improving economic and social aspects, which are usually accompanied by higher resource demands and environmental degradation. Previous literature started to address these issues by focusing on innovative approaches such as frugal innovation, social innovation, or resource-constrained innovation. In the last decade, research on frugal innovations has particularly focused on how to address the challenges of low-income and resource-constrained contexts, often with aspects of sustainability in mind. However, to address these low-income contexts, having a suitable innovation is not enough; businesses must actually reach the target group, such as by overcoming accessibility issues in rural areas. Initial research has examined the value chains of frugal innovations and ways to engage the consumer, which also leads to social improvements. Building on this research, this dissertation combines four themes – frugal innovation, sustainability, inclusive business, and Scrum – to illustrate how innovations can address the needs of target groups in bottom-of-the-pyramid contexts and how these innovations can be implemented by engaging target customers. The first paper illustrates the links between frugal innovation and sustainability based on a new sustainability evaluation framework. All cases considered contribute to sustainability, with social improvements being most notable. New employment and income opportunities are key social improvements. They reflect inclusive business approaches, which are the focus of the second paper. The case examples of the second paper show how frugal innovation can be implemented in accordance with inclusive business, which leads to customer involvement and thus mutually supports frugal innovation. The Inclusive Business Link Model for Frugal Innovation was built to show connections of frugal innovation and inclusive business and to provide application possibilities. A key finding was that for the cases considered a high level of customer integration can be achieved through frugal innovations with modular designs and is supported by knowledge transfer and partnerships. To address knowledge transfer and partnerships in particular, the last paper applies Scrum as an agile approach at the execution level for inclusive business. In developing the conceptual model Inclusive Business Scrum Approach, inclusive business is considered as the 'what' and Scrum as the 'how' in engaging low-income consumers. With regard to all three papers and the four included topics, this dissertation achieves several outcomes and contributes to a broader view of how low-income consumers can be addressed. First, each paper illustrates benefits of combining the concepts that could be valuable when addressing the bottom-of-the-pyramid context. Thereby, the papers build on each other and include previous results. Second, aspects of social sustainability are addressed mainly by combining frugal innovation and inclusive business. Third, each paper develops a model or framework intending to support practical applicability. Finally, an outline is provided for how combining frugal innovation, inclusive business, and Scrum positively could impact partnerships, knowledge transfer, and the empowerment of the target group, which could culminate in an approach that addresses challenges experienced when entering the Bottom of the Pyramid that also considers sustainability. The new management options developed begin at a general level and end at an execution level and thus contribute to holistic perspectives on innovations, approaches, and implementation options for organizations intending to address the Bottom of the Pyramid.:Abstract 1 Table of Contents 3 List of Abbreviations 6 List of Tables 7 List of Figures 8 1 Introduction 9 2 Theoretical background 15 2.1 Defining sustainability 15 2.2 The BoP as target group 18 2.3 Frugal innovation 20 2.4 Inclusive business 22 2.5 The agile approach Scrum 25 2.6 Contribution of the investigations and the current relevance of topics 28 3 Methodology 30 4 Papers 32 4.1 Publication 1: Introducing a Sustainability Evaluation Framework based on the Sustainable Development Goals applied to Four Cases of South African Frugal Innovation 32 4.1.1 Introduction 33 4.1.2 Theoretical background and research context 34 4.1.3 Methodology 38 4.1.4 Developing an evaluation framework 40 4.1.5 Limitations 44 4.1.6 Introducing the frugal cases 44 4.1.7 Findings 45 4.1.8 Discussion 48 4.1.9 Conclusion 49 4.2 Publication 2: How Frugal Innovation and Inclusive Business Are Linked to Tackle Low-income Markets 51 4.2.1 Introduction 51 4.2.2 Literature review 55 4.2.3 Methods 62 4.2.4 Results 66 4.2.5 Cross case analysis 75 4.2.6 Inclusive business integration stair model 77 4.2.7 Development of propositions 82 4.2.8 Discussion 84 4.2.9 Research implications 86 4.2.10 Managerial implications 87 4.2.11 Concluding remarks and future research 88 4.3 Publication 3: Boosting Inclusive Businesses’ Opportunities Through the Adoption of Scrum: an Execution Strategy to Enter Low-end Markets 91 4.3.1 Introduction 92 4.3.2 Theoretical background 94 4.3.3 Conceptual model: Inclusive Business Scrum Approach 99 4.3.4 Challenges 106 4.3.5 Summary of key facts and propositions 108 4.3.6 Conclusion 111 4.3.7 Research implications 112 4.3.8 Managerial implications 113 4.3.9 Limitations and future research ideas 114 5 Discussion 116 5.1 Social sustainability 117 5.2 Partnerships 118 5.3 Knowledge transfer 118 5.4 Empowering the target group 119 5.5 Context challenges 119 6 Critical considerations and additional thoughts 121 6.1 Definition and contributions of frugal innovation 121 6.2 Sustainability of initiatives at the BoP and inclusive business 122 6.3 Aspects of leadership theories in Scrum 124 7 Methodological limitations 126 8 Research implications and future research ideas 128 9 Managerial implications 131 10 Conclusion 133 11 References 135 11.1 List of interviews 171 11.2 Further references used in Publication 2, anonymized form 171

International experience is important to prepare university students for the modern labor market in the globalized knowledge economy. While financial, societal, and political obstacles may limit students’ mobility in developing countries, using Web 2.0 and Social Media applications can enable them to engage in a virtual social learning environment to interact with peers and instructors abroad in an enjoyable, inclusive international Virtual Collaborative Learning experience. This study investigates the factors influencing Palestinian students’ perception of this experience, and explores the enhancement potential to fit the needs of developing countries. Thirty-four contextual, design, and individual factors were linked by course participants from Palestine to their reported motivation, enjoyment, and satisfaction in this new learning scenario. Recommended improvements in the design and implementation of similar arrangements are concluded from the qualitative evaluation of this empirical case study.

The challenge to obtain early-stage funding for small ventures is especially pronounced in Africa, where traditional funding sources are available only to a small extent. This lack, combined with the diffusion of mobile phones and internet access, enabled the unprecedented rise of mobile payments on a personal level in Africa in recent years. On a commercial level, ICT-enabled crowdfunding is given the potential to mitigate the early-stage funding gap for African entrepreneurs. Using exploratory research, the dissertation provides initial empirical evidence on crowdfunding in Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, it is shown that African entrepreneurs across the continent can raise substantial amounts of money by tapping into the global funding community. Moreover, empirical evidence is provided, that the basic economic constructs, institutions and infrastructure appear to play a decisive role for African crowdfunding and that their effect size depends on the respective institutional setting.:1. Introduction 2. Prevailing Forms of Funding for African Entrepreneurs 2.1 Informal Funding 2.2 Government Funding 2.3 Business Angels 2.4 Venture Capital 2.5 Factoring and Leasing 2.6 Banking Loans 2.7 Mobile Money 2.8 Microfinance 2.9 Summary 3. Crowdfunding 3.1 Definition of Crowdfunding 3.2 Taxonomy of Crowdfunding 3.3 Donation-based Crowdfunding 3.3.1 Characteristics 3.3.2 Platforms 3.3.3 Empirical Research 3.4 Reward-based Crowdfunding 3.4.1 Characteristics 3.4.2 Platforms 3.4.3 Empirical Research 3.5 Debt-based Crowdfunding 3.5.1 Characteristics 3.5.2 Platforms 3.5.3 Empirical Research 3.6 Equity-based Crowdfunding 3.6.1 Characteristics 3.6.2 Platforms 3.6.3 Empirical Research 3.7 The Emergence of Crowdfunding 3.8 The Worldwide Crowdfunding Market 3.9 The African Crowdfunding Market 4. Evidence on the Use of Reward-based Crowdfunding in Africa 4.1 Research Objective 4.2 Research Design and Methodology 4.3 Data Sample 4.3.1 Data Set Construction 4.3.2 Variables 4.4 Results 4.4.1 Project and Platform Results 4.4.2 Category Results 4.4.3 Country Results 4.5 Summary and Critical Reflection 5. National Competitiveness 5.1 What is National Competitiveness? 5.2 The Global Competitiveness Report 5.3 The Global Competitiveness Index 6. Evidence on Enabling Economic Factors for the Usage of Reward-based Crowdfunding in Africa 6.1 Research Objective 6.2 Research Design and Methodology 6.3 Data Sample 6.3.1 Data Set Construction 6.3.2 Variables 6.4 Results 6.4.1 Total Sample 6.4.2 Low-Income Countries 6.4.3 Middle-Income Countries 6.4.4 Below-Median Crowdfunding Activity Countries 6.4.5 Above-Median Crowdfunding Activity Countries 6.5 The Role of Productivity and Basic Requirements 6.6 Discussion and Connection of the Results 6.7 Summary and Critical Reflection 7. Summary and Implications 7.1 Executive Summary 7.2 Theoretical Implications 7.3 Implications for Policymakers 7.4 Implications for African Entrepreneurs 7.5 Implications for Other Stakeholders 7.6 Limitations and Avenues for Future Research 7.7 Concluding Remarks References Appendices