Business Systems Research : International journal of the Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy

Vol 14 No 2 (2023)

Editor-In-Chief — 2024-04-21

Economic and Environmental Sustainability through Trade Openness and Energy Production

Tomader Elhassan — 2024-04-21

Background: Energy production plays a major role in the Saudi Arabian economy, but energy production can lead to an increase in environmental pollution. Objectives: This study investigated the impact of energy production and trade openness on Saudi Arabia’s economic growth and environmental pollution using annual data from 1970 to 2020. Methods/Approach: The fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) methods were employed to develop two models, including an economic growth model and an environmental Sustainability or pollution model. Results: The results of the two tests ensured that both expanding trade openness and increasing energy production led to faster economic growth. Nevertheless, the expansion of trade openness and energy production also led to environmental pollution; hence, the increase in energy production did not support sustainable development. Conclusions: Thus, policymakers should develop a green economy strategy to reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase renewable energy in energy production to reduce environmental pollution. Moreover, the Saudi Arabian government should highly promote investment in renewable energy production through trade openness.

Adolescent Well-being and Life Satisfaction: Impact of Digital Technology Usage

Iris Mihajlović — 2024-04-21

Background: Digital technologies have significantly changed the way adolescents perceive the world around them. The perception of the social environment is crucial for their well-being and health. Objectives: This paper aims to evaluate the relationship between the perceived life circumstances of adolescents, such as dietary habits, physical activity, obesity, subjective health, the use of digital technology devices, and the level of occupancy with school obligations. Methods/Approach: The survey research was conducted on a sample of adolescents between the ages of 11 and 15. Data was analysed using regression analysis and association rules. Results: The results present a moderate positive correlation between the level of school obligations and life satisfaction or subjective health, while for the independent variable, time spent in front of screens, the strength of the relationship is moderate and negative. Conclusions: The model represents a useful starting point for the recommendations for creating patterns to influence life satisfaction and well-being in adolescence. It provides insight into the potential optimisation of school obligations of adolescents according to the level of life satisfaction, subjective perception of health, and time spent in front of the screen.

Virtue Ethics, Managerial Profession and Personality Traits: The Extension of Mintzberg's Managerial Traits

Irena Bilić — 2024-04-21

Background: In the dynamic realm of business, ethics serves as a critical compass, guiding the delineation between right and wrong actions. Gaining momentum as a focal point within organisational discourse, the concept of ethics has burgeoned into a cornerstone element of corporate identity and operations. Objectives: This study aims to dissect the theoretical underpinnings of moral virtues—specifically wisdom, justice, courage, and restraint—and their intersection with the managerial profession and associated personality traits. We propose the extension of the Mintzberg model of managerial traits from the perspective of virtue ethics. Methods/Approach: Employing a theoretical review methodology, this investigation traverses through each identified moral virtue, engaging with contemporary research and scholarly publications within the domain of virtue ethics. Results: The analysis affirms that virtue ethics, with its emphasis on character and morality, is instrumental in shaping the framework for managerial conduct and decision-making. The exploration identifies a symbiotic relationship between managerial virtues within the Mintzberg model of managerial traits, highlighting how these elements collectively contribute to the effectiveness and ethical grounding of managerial practices. Conclusions: The findings underscore the indispensability of moral virtues and specific personality traits in the cultivation of proficient and ethically oriented managerial professionals. The extended Mintzberg model can be a relevant starting point for a more detailed discussion regarding virtue ethics in a globalised economy.

Generation Z Purchase Intentions: Does Sponsorship Disclosure Matter?

Vesna Sesar — 2024-04-21

Background: Digital advertising and the amount of money spent on influencer marketing increases every year. Nowadays, it has become one of the most profitable ways to promote products and services and increase a company’s profit through an endorsement on social media networks. Objectives: This paper explores the parallel mediating effect of brand awareness and influencer credibility between sponsorship disclosure and purchase intention among the Generation Z. Methods/Approach: We used a convenience sample method and used regression analysis to test the parallel mediator effect. Results: Findings of the research indicate that the direct influence of sponsorship disclosure on purchase intention is non-significant. However, this relation is significant when mediated by brand awareness and influencer credibility. Conclusions: The contribution of the research adds to the new knowledge in the field of influencer marketing and gives practical implications for brand managers who want to influence customers to buy.

Developing Luxury Jewellery Consumption Scale: Integrating Dual Process Theory and Theory of Consumption

Mirna El Shayeb — 2024-04-21

Objectives: Driven by the Dual Process Theory and the Theory of Consumption, the purpose of this paper is to provide a refined scale for luxury consumption motives in addition to categorising the motives into emotional and rational concepts. Methods/Approach: A non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to collect the data from 350 participants. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to refine a luxury consumption motive scale. Results: The findings showed price, quality, and investment as rational motivators, and conspicuousness, hedonism, self-identify, and uniqueness, as emotional motivators are extracted as dimensions of the luxury consumption scale, specially fitted for jewellery. Conclusions: The present study makes a significant contribution with regards to creating a unanimous refined scale for luxury consumption motives of jewellery and categorising them into emotional and rational.

Exploring the Link Between Education Length and Employment Outcomes among Youth in Europe: A Hierarchical Clustering Approach

Mira Krpan — 2024-04-21

Background: As the world rapidly evolves, digitalisation continues, and artificial intelligence is used, it is crucial to understand how education systems are preparing future generations to succeed in this very dynamic environment where there is a tremendous demand for skilled workers. Objectives: This paper analyses similarities and differences between European Union Member States regarding the educational attainment of young adults and their performance in the labour market. Methods/Approach: Ward's cluster method in hierarchical cluster analysis for output and outcome indicators of young adult education systems is used for two selected years: 2012 and 2021. Results: Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands have the highest average percentage of young adults with tertiary education in 2021. On the other hand, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, and Romania have the highest average employment and income benefits of tertiary education for young adults. Conclusions: The average share of 25-to 34-year-olds with tertiary education increased significantly in the EU-27 between 2012 and 2021, partly due to higher demand for skilled workers in labour markets. Higher levels of education are generally associated with better employment opportunities and higher wages. However, there are large differences across EU economies. The results can help governments and education policymakers design future policies and provide insights into cross-country comparisons.

Enhancing Financial Performance through Absorptive Capacity: Evidence from Croatian Export Companies in Domestic and International Markets

Ivana Martinčević — 2024-04-21

Background: Export activities represent one of the prerequisites for the growth and development of economies. In combination with new digital technologies, they create a sustainable advantage and competitiveness in the market. Objectives: The focus of this research was to determine whether there is a significant difference and connection between the absorptive capacity of accepting new technologies and its influence on financial performance in the domestic and foreign markets. Methods /Approach: The relationship between the absorptive capacity of the application of new technologies and its influence on financial performance was investigated in a sample of Croatian companies. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the relationship between absorptive capacity and financial performance. Results: The results of the research confirm a statistically significant relationship between the absorptive capacity of accepting new technologies and its influence on the financial performance of export companies. Conclusion: The analysis revealed that absorptive capacity significantly impacts the financial performance of Croatian export companies, with a stronger influence observed in foreign markets compared to domestic ones. These findings suggest that investing in the ability to absorb and apply new technologies is crucial for enhancing financial outcomes, particularly in the global marketplace.

Keywords: absorptive capacity, new digital technologies, export, export companies of the Republic of Croatia, sustainable development

Twitter Sentiment Analysis of the Low-Cost Airline Services After COVID-19 Outbreak: The Case of AirAsia

Nor Hasliza Md Saad — 2024-04-21

Background: Public opinion about experience and expectation on services that appear on Twitter platforms provides valuable insights into satisfaction and experience. Objectives: This research investigates consumer perception and opinion toward AirAsia's services after the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods/Approach: A framework is proposed by integrating the customer satisfaction model with the digital service quality dimension: product quality, price, situational factors, personal factors, service quality, and digital service quality. Nvivo is used to extract and analyse Twitter data for sentiment analysis, thematic analysis, and word frequency calculations. Results: Findings demonstrated that AirAsia had received more negative sentiments than positive sentiments, indicating a lower level of satisfaction across all dimensions of customer satisfaction. Conclusions: This research provides the airline industry, especially AirAsia, with an opportunity to better understand the sentiments and preferences of its customers. AirAsia can use the findings of this research to evaluate the quality of their services, especially in terms of service quality, to improve customer satisfaction, gain customer loyalty, and enhance customer experience.

Digital Content Marketing and EWOM: A Mediational Serial Approach

Vjollca Visoka Hasani — 2024-04-21

Background: In this study, the parameters that directly impact purchase intentions were analysed, such as electronic word of mouth, customer engagement, brand awareness, and customer retention. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the impact of digital content marketing on customer purchase intentions. Methods/Approach: The study used Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to explore the hypothesised relationships between variables and the extent to which digital content marketing strategies influence purchase intention. Results: The study's findings highlighted that content marketing positively impacts electronic word of mouth, brand awareness, customer retention, and customer engagement. In contrast, the results revealed that content marketing does not directly impact purchase intentions. Conclusions: The study's results indicate that digital content marketing affects purchase intentions indirectly, primarily through customer engagement, brand awareness, customer retention, and electronic word of mouth. In essence, the complete impact of digital content marketing on purchase intention is realised through these indirect factors. The findings enrich the literature on digital content marketing and provide some practical implications for companies to invest more in this direction to improve their performance.

Shaping Startup Culture in Croatia: The Role of Internal Marketing in Fostering Growth

Mirko Palić — 2024-04-21

Background: The startup scene in Croatia has been accelerating in development in the last decade, partly due to the available European Union funds. Organisational culture is one of the main prerequisites for the growth and development of successful startups. Internal marketing is often crucial to reshaping positive organisational culture and fostering innovative employee behaviour. Objectives: The purpose of this article was to investigate a main characteristic of the startup culture in the Republic of Croatia in order to recommend actions and activities of internal marketing that can help companies achieve their goals faster by engaging and motivating their employees and fostering a positive culture change. Methods/Approach: Survey research was conducted on a sample of employees of Croatian startups. The main informant approach was used to collect the answers. Results: The analysis reveals that as startups grow, they enhance gender diversity and opportunities for idea sharing yet face challenges in maintaining autonomy and constructive feedback. Additionally, mentoring, as one of the venues of internal marketing within startups, significantly bolsters adherence to company principles and fosters a culture of constructive problem-solving, highlighting the critical role of mentorship in shaping a positive organisational environment. Conclusions: Results show that startups in the Republic of Croatia still have an opportunity to develop further and improve employee-focused culture and to apply several internal marketing activities in order to engage and retain their employees, such as internal communication, professional development, employee benefits, employee recognition and employee engagement.

Key competencies of project team members for successful completion of information technology projects

Barbara Besek — 2024-04-21

Background: Failures in information technology (IT) projects continue to concern executives and organisations. Individuals are realising that to remain competitive in the workplace, they must develop skills to become successful project team members and project managers. Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between IT project team members' competencies and their impact on IT project success, considering the iron triangle. Methods/Approach: Our study is based on IT projects that have been implemented for a public or private organisation in Slovenia and where contractors are employed in IT development enterprises on a sample of 141 IT companies. Step-wise regression was used to determine which competencies of various project roles are relevant for project success. Results: The most intriguing result is the negative association of achievement orientation with project success for analysts or consultants, suggesting that an excessive focus on personal accomplishments could potentially conflict with team objectives. Additionally, the variation in the significance of self-confidence across roles, particularly its less critical impact on project managers, challenges conventional wisdom regarding the universal importance of confidence in leadership positions. Conclusions: These insights reveal the nuanced and role-specific contributions of individual characteristics to project success, highlighting the importance of aligning personal traits and professional actions with the project team's collective goals.

How a Perceived Utilisation of IT-enabled Information shapes Customer Satisfaction in B2B Markets

Andreja Habjan — 2024-04-21

Background: Despite the recognised benefits of IT, we still know very little about how the perceived utilisation of IT-enabled information by suppliers is linked to customer satisfaction in B2B markets. Objectives: To address this gap, this study develops a research model, which is then tested through a web-based survey of transport firms’ customers. Methods/Approach: A web-based survey was conducted in Slovenia. The target population for this study was all export firms that utilise transport services. Results: The study makes two key contributions to B2B marketing literature. First, results show that the more a supplier is perceived to utilise IT-enabled information in the service process, the less emphasis its customers place on prices when it comes to determining their satisfaction. Second, the results suggest that customers view the utilisation of IT-enabled information by suppliers of B2B services as a value-adding capability that boosts service quality perceptions. Conclusions: Interestingly, although we expected that perceived utilisation of IT-enabled information would also increase the importance of service quality in forming customer satisfaction, the results suggested that this was not the case. Drawing on service quality literature, the study offers possible explanations.