Konstantinos Vassakis

Hellenic Mediterranean University · Department of Management Science and Technology (Agios Nikolaos)

In the era of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), big data has major impact on businesses, since the revolution of networks, platforms, people and digital technology have changed the determinants of firms’ innovation and competitiveness. An ongoing huge hype for big data has been gained from academics and professionals, since big data...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the drivers of both technological and non technological innovation on evidence from a sample of manufacturing Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the region of Crete (Greece) during a period of economic turbulence. Using probit models the drivers of innovation, both technological and non-technological, a...

Social media networks are a resource for valuable knowledge about tourist destinations through the collection of data by Location-Based Social Networks (LBSN). A major problem is the lack of knowledge in respect to the visitors’ views about a destination, as well as the fact that the visitors’ behavior needs and preferences are not visible. Many en...

The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily affected the global travel and tourism industries. Closed borders, reduction of flights, strict travel restrictions, lockdown measures, social distancing, have resulted in a reluctance of tourists to travel, and led to a huge drop in tourist flows. In this context, the aim of this chapter is to investigate the chan...

The existing practical research that social media and location intelligence in tourism is utilising a part of the possibilities that big data analytics can offer. Therefore, innovative big data analytics applications can provide new knowledge about behavioural data and perceptions in tourismdestinations. This research develops an innovative approac...

Nowadays, local authorities and tourism enterprises are using conventional methods like surveys and opinion polls for collecting data and strategic decision making. Despite the benefits of these approaches, they present significant disadvantages such as time-consuming and sample size. This research paper investigates the user-generated data in Loca...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender role phenomenon and the stereotyping of requisite managers’ personal characteristics in the Greek society of today. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected quantitatively based on the informants’ perceptions on successful managers’ personality traits and according to the informan...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the drivers of both technological and non-technological innovation on evidence from a sample of manufacturing SMEs in the region of Crete (Greece) during a period of economic turbulence. Using probit models the drivers of innovation, both technological and non-technological, are examined. The empirical re...

Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, investigation on the effects of internal resources and capabilities (R&D and technology) on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) innovation performance is attempted. Using primary (survey-based) and financial data from 405 Greek manufacturing SMEs, new evidence on the impact of R&D activities, IT...

The global economic crisis has caused many drastic changes in operation of the global banking system. However, Islamic banking considered to be an emerging force presenting stability and growth. Purpose of this study are the measurement of stability and comparison of Islamic and conventional banks in Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) and the Middle...

Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, investigation on the effects of internal resources and capabilities (R&D and technology) on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) innovation performance is attempted. Using primary (survey-based) and financial data from 405 Greek manufacturing SMEs, new evidence on the impact of R&D activities, IT...

In an extremely changing " knowledge-based " environment for enterprises, the process of knowledge in enterprises is a significant mechanism enhancing absorptive capacity for innovation and performance. Enterprises' competitiveness depends on their ability to access information and create valuable knowledge. As knowledge management can be a determi...

This study focuses on the role of business cooperation and firms’ exporting activity as the determinants of Greek manufacturing SMEs’ innovative extend use, contributing to the existing empirical literature. The empirical analysis based on unique both quantitative and qualitative data, derived from a survey covering more than 158 small and medium-s...

Transport industry is a very important factor for country’s development in various fields. One of them is economic, since the development of transport reinforces the trade relationships between countries and companies. This helps countries and firms to utilize the competitive advantage which may have. Therefore, the volume of transport carried out...

The purpose of the study is to analyze and compare the financial performance of manufacturing firms of Central and South European, Scandinavian and Balkan countries. In addition, the impact of firm's productivity on country's export intensity, foreign direct investments, R&D activity and financing costs is examined. This is the first comparative st...

The civil aviation, is an industry evolving at exponential speed despite the significant problems that faces in the last decade (increase of oil price, terrorist attacks etc.) An important feature of aviation firms and generally all companies, is that their size reflects their efficiency and in general their economic growth. In this era of financia...

In the era of Industry 4.0 (4th industrial revolution), data has major impact on businesses, since the revolution of networks, platforms, people and digital technology changed the determinants of firms' innovation and competitiveness (OECD, 2015). In the ―knowledge-based economy‖, enterprises have to be innovative in order to build and sustain a co...

In the "knowledge-based economy", enterprises have to be innovative in order to build and sustain a competitive advantage against rivals. However, innovation is complex due to fast changing technology, globalization (extremely competitive market conditions) and changing customers' needs. As innovation is dependent on the combination of technologies...

In the knowledge-based and globalized economy, information provides value to firms and Information Technology (IT) is the mechanism through can be achieved. Companies that exploit endless possibilities of Information Technology obtain the capacity to overcome future challenges. This study is focused on the case of Greek SMEs that face an extremely...

The agri-food sector is an important sector for Greece and can contribute to the startup of the Greek economy. Therefore, the study covering the period 2004-2011, before and after the 2008 financial crisis in Greece, attempts to investigate the drivers of competitiveness in agricultural firms of Greece in the pre and post financial crisis era and d...

The purpose of this study is to measure the efficiency of the banking industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and to investigate its effect on capitalisation and risk during the period: 2003–2012. The study, based on banks’ financial data, attempts to present new evidence on the relationship between efficiency, capital and risk...

The globalization and the increasing competition especially during the latest years of crisis provide a new environment for SMEs. In the " knowledge-based economy " , firms' competitiveness is strongly related to technical know-how and skills. The important keys for the survival, growth and development of SMEs are related to technological and scien...

The globalization and the increasing competition especially during the latest years of crisis provide a new environment for SMEs. In the “knowledge-based economy”, firms’ competitiveness is strongly related to technical know-how and skills. The important keys for the survival, growth and development of SMEs are related to technological and scientif...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to investigate human resource management factors affecting the profitability of small and medium manufacturing enterprises in Greece, and to identify key characteristics that enable those firms to increase their efficiency and profit performance. Since Greek economy is under a severe economic crisis, the study c...

In view of the fierce competition between SME manufacturing firms to secure or increase their shares in the export market, this study aims at analyzing the financial performance of SME manufacturing firms in EU and Balkan countries, vis-à-vis their access to finance and existing governmental policies facilitating access to finance, in comparison to...

PURPOSE Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the Greek economy given that almost 99% of Greek firms are SMEs. During the crisis period, considerable attention has been placed on issues related to firms' exportability. Since this is the only way for the firms and the economy to survive and grow, the purpose of this st...

Considering the fundamental role played by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and especially from agricultural sector in the Greek economy and the considerable attention placed on factors associated with firms' effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance level of Greek agricultural firms during a period of economic t...

Today Greece is struggling to overcome economic crisis and return in viable economic conditions. Meanwhile, economic growth is inevitably linked to innovation and cooperation. Therefore, since Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) represent the majority of firms as well as manufacturing firms are considered the main innovators in an economy, we exami...

Transport industry is a very important factor for country's development in various fields. One of them is economic, since the development of transport reinforces the trade relationships between countries and companies. This helps countries and firms to utilize the competitive advantage which may have. Therefore, the volume of transport carried out...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered as the backbone of economic development worldwide. The market globalization as well as the introduction and improvement of technology led enterprises to facing many constraints due to lack of resources and innovative competencies. In that context, internal resources and capabilities seem to be vita...

In the knowledge-based and globalized economy, information provides value to firms and Information Technology (IT) is the mechanism through which this can be achieved. Firms that exploit endless possibilities of IT obtain the capacity to overcome future challenges. This study focuses on Greek manufacturing SMEs that face an extremely competitive an...

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the drivers of competitiveness in agricultural manufacturing firms in Greece both in the pre and post financial crisis era, based on firm and macro level financial and qualitative data. Furthermore, the study attempts to present new evidence about the characteristics of exporting and non-exporti...

The purpose of this study is to measure efficiency of Islamic banks vs. conventional banks of Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) and Middle East and North Africa's (MENA) countries' banking industry and highlight the factors that affect efficiency, profitability and risk for the time period 2004-2012. In addition, this study focuses in presenting new...

Abstract – The purpose of this study is to measure the efficiency of the banking industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and investigate its effect on capitalization and risk during the period: 2003-2012. The study, based on banks financial data, attempts to present new evidence on the relationship between efficiency, capital and...

The purpose of this study is to extend the research on determinants of profitability among exporting and non-exporting agricultural manufacturing firms in Greece before and during the financial crisis, based on firms’ macro level financial data. Although many empirical studies do exist for firms’ exporting and non-exporting activity and its relatio...

Innovation is considered as the major key for growth and competitiveness for firms worldwide. Nowadays, because of the eruption of the financial crisis firms turn their interest to export activities, since domestic demand is been decreasing. In that context, this paper explores the relationship between innovation and export performance on a firm or...