Ekonomski vjesnik/Econviews - Review of Contemporary Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Issues

INTERDISCIPLINARY MANAGEMENT RESEARCH CONFERENCE – IMR 2023

2023-12-26T19:47:33+01:00

ARE INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS OPENED TOO LATE? THE CASE OF GERMANY, CROATIA AND SLOVAKIA

2023-12-27T10:26:35+01:00

Purpose: The aim was to analyze insolvency proceedings in Germany, Croatia and Slovakia and answer the research question whether insolvency proceedings are opened too late in the observed countries and how this issue can be explained.
Methodology: Comparative analysis of insolvency systems in Germany, Croatia, and Slovakia was conducted. Furthermore, the financial profile (liquidity) of firms in pre-insolvency and insolvency proceedings in Germany, Slovakia and Croatia was analyzed and respective results were compared with data on government effectiveness and the rule of law in the observed countries. The one-way ANOVA was performed to test the differences in liquidity among companies that initiated pre-insolvency and insolvency proceedings.
Results: The results indicate that German companies respond to signs of crises earlier in comparison to Croatian and Slovakian companies and these differences cannot be explained only by criminal law measures which are not equally effective across jurisdictions, but they depend to a large extent on government effectiveness and the rule of law in a country.
Conclusion: The results show that despite the similarities in the civil law frameworks, insolvency proceedings in Croatia and Slovakia are still initiated on average much later than in Germany. Moreover, according to the results, criminal law sanctions against the late initiation of insolvency proceedings can have preventive effects. However, while they can increase the number of timely insolvency proceedings, their effectiveness is still limited by the efficiency of the judicial system measured by the strength of institutions and their consistent application.

DETERMINANTS OF FREQUENCY OF WINE CONSUMPTION IN CROATIA

2023-05-23T14:34:51+02:00

Purpose: In the last 10 years, wine consumption in Croatia has increased and consumer habits and expectations have changed. Understanding consumer behavior in relation to wine consumption is important for wine-producing countries where wine is an important component of economy. The aim of this study is to identify the factors that influence the frequency of wine consumption in Croatia, where wine production is an important agricultural activity in terms of the number of people employed in the sector and an important factor in the development of tourism.
Methodology: Empirical research was conducted by means of a questionnaire filled out by 169 wine consumers who visited a wine fair in the Croatian Adriatic region. Based on the collected data, we developed and estimated a multinomial logit model.
Results: The results indicate that wine is consumed more frequently by men, married people, people in long-term relationships, and older people. In addition, people with high levels of education tend to drink wine less frequently. The paper explains the reasons for somewhat puzzling results and suggests future avenues of research.
Conclusion: Behavioral differences were confirmed in this study between subsample groups in accordance with four demographic characteristics, i.e., gender, age, marital status, and education criteria. Our analysis showed that males are more likely to consume wine than women, older than younger and less educated than mode educated participants. Our results help wine marketers to segment and target wine consumers.

EMISSION-FREE LOGISTICS IN REMOTE RURAL AREAS

2023-10-20T06:29:24+02:00

Purpose: The EU Green Deal aims at making the continent climate-neutral by 2050. This heavily impacts the logistics sector, which currently predominantly relies on carbon-emitting ground, sea and air transports. While there are economic incentives to implement innovative emission-free alternatives in urban regions, rural areas can barely even hope for economical transportation services and thus are often supplied by traditional, emission-intense, means of transport. In particular, Remote Rural Areas (RRAs) provide a challenge to this goal: A combination of factors hinders the application of modern sustainable transport solutions in this context. The purpose of this paper is to define and analyse emission-free transportation in RRAs, providing an overview of current approaches to the issue and aiming to synthesize an opportunity
to improve current concepts.
Methodology: It provides an overview of existing literature on supplying remote rural regions, with a special focus on emission-free transportation. It relies on quantitative methods, exemplary comparison and analysis of current good practices.
Results: The research results in the proposal for an implementation process for associated transportation concepts in RRAs, based on a detailed discussion of literature and practice. This combined logistical concept supports decision makers in their task of supplying their regions sustainably.
Conclusion: The paper concludes that freedom from emission is claimed more often than it is realised. Nevertheless, often independent RRA systems provide favourable conditions for achieving the Green Deal objective, assuming that funding and interest in the issue are given.

DO LABOUR MARKET INSTITUTIONS VARIABLES IMPACT UNEMPLOYMENT? EVIDENCE FROM THE CEE COUNTRIES

2023-03-17T09:26:52+01:00

Purpose: In this study, the aim is to determine whether labour market institutions (LMI) variables impacted the unemployment rate in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries between 2000 and 2017.

Methodology: Panel data methods that take cross-sectional dependence into account are used for the analysis.

Results: Empirical findings show that real minimum wages, tax wedge, and union density do not impact the unemployment rate in Poland, Latvia, and Estonia, while these variables impact the unemployment rate in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary.

Conclusion: As a result of the research, it is concluded that the LMI variables do not have a substantial effect on the unemployment rate in Poland, Latvia, and Estonia. On the other hand, the LMI variables have a substantial impact on the unemployment rate in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary. Therefore, it is understood that the LMI variables have an influence on the unemployment in only four out of seven CEE countries.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENERGY SECURITY AND MILITARY EXPENDITURES: A BOOTSTRAP PANEL GRANGER CAUSALITY ANALYSIS FOR ENERGY EXPORTER COUNTRIES

2023-06-05T18:54:05+02:00

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the causality relationship between military expenditures and energy security risk levels. In this context, the main purpose of the study is to investigate whether military expenditures have a role in ensuring energy security and to perform a pioneering study examining the relationship between energy security and military expenditures. In addition, the variables of economic growth and energy export revenues are also included in empirical analysis.
Methodology: The Kónya (2006) bootstrap panel Granger causality approach is used in empirical analysis. The analysis covers 16 major energy exporter countries and the years 1990 and 2018.
Results: It was found that there is one-directional causality from military expenditures to energy security risk levels for three countries, and from energy security risk levels to military expenditures for two countries. On the other hand, it was determined that there is one-directional causality from energy security risk levels to economic growth for four countries, from economic growth to energy security risk levels for two countries, from energy security risk level to energy export revenues for four countries, and from energy export revenues to energy security risk levels for one country. Moreover, it was determined that there is bidirectional causality between energy security risk levels and economic growth for four countries, and between energy security risk levels and energy export revenues for two countries.
Conclusion: The results obtained in this study demonstrate that the causality relationship between energy security and other variables (military expenditures, GDP, and energy export income) cannot be generalized across countries. However, it may be argued that energy security is an important policy tool that has important economic consequences for energy-exporting countries through its effects on different variables.

THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL FACTORS ON MONETARY POLICY RESPONSES IN EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES

2023-04-24T17:49:58+02:00

Purpose: This study investigates the monetary policy responses of emerging market infl ation targeters to financial factors both before and after the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC).

Methodology: Taylor rules, augmented with the nominal exchange rate, the exchange market pressure index, and the U.S. federal funds eff ective rate, are analyzed by using the augmented mean group (AMG) panel estimator for 12 emerging market economies (EMEs) that adopted an infl ation targeting regime. The sample is divided into two periods around the GFC: 2002Q1-2007Q4 and 2010Q1-2019Q4.

Results: Inflation significantly and positively impacted interest rate settings during both periods. The panel AMG results indicate that the EMEs’ responses to financial variables only had a signifi cant effect during thepost-crisis period, while the federal funds effective rate had the most impact among the financial variables. The country-specific results indicate that some central banks also reacted to financial variables before the GFC.

Conclusion: Inflation played an important role in policy rate decisions for both periods despite the slightly decreasing weight in interest rate settings after the GFC due to the increasing infl uence of financial variables. Although financial variables were important in setting interest rates during both periods, the EMEs’ post-GFC monetary policies focused more on financial stability. Furthermore, their monetary policies became more compatible with external financial conditions after the GFC.

PERCEIVED OBSTACLES TO THE EARLY-STAGE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY OF YOUTH

2023-03-17T09:32:19+01:00

Purpose: The fundamental driving force of entrepreneurship is the individual with their ambitions and entrepreneurial spirit, but also with their obstacles that prevent them from following an entrepreneurial path. These obstacles can be of a personal nature, but also factors of the immediate living environment, the prevailing cultural values, the general attitude of society towards entrepreneurship, etc. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the known barriers to early-stage youth entrepreneurship compared to the total population based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data for the 34 countries studied.

Methodology: The methodology includes frequency distribution, descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis. Data from GEM 2016-2020 on early-stage entrepreneurial activity, perceived skills, and fear of failure were used.

Results: We showed that there are differences in perceived entrepreneurial skills between youth and the total population, namely that youth perceive lower levels of entrepreneurial knowledge, experience, and skills. We confirmed that perceived entrepreneurial skills have a positive, statistically significant impact on total early-stage entrepreneurial activity, which is true for both the total population and youth. The test of the influence of fear of failure on total early-stage entrepreneurial activity for a sample of the total population and youth indicates a negative influence, but it is not statistically significant.

Conclusion: From the study, recommendations emerge for policymakers regarding entrepreneurship education as a key intervention to help youth acquire and develop relevant entrepreneurial skills that are thus beneficial for the youth to better overcome obstacles in the business environment as well as in various life situations.

SMARTPHONE ACTIVITIES IN PREDICTING TENDENCY TOWARDS ONLINE FINANCIAL SERVICES

2023-05-29T21:57:53+02:00

Purpose: Considering the rapid progress of information and communication technology (ICT) and its influence on daily life, it is inevitable that its impact will also be visible in the financial sector, especially through efforts to present digital financial services as widely as possible and bring them closer to potential users. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate university students’ smartphone activities, their use and attitudes towards digital financial services, and to build a neural network model capable of distinguishing students according to their awareness of the benefits related to using online financial services.

Methodology: An online questionnaire was applied to collect data on students’ smartphone activity and their tendency to use online financial services. Depending on the variable type, the Kruskal-Wallis H test and Kendall’s tau-b were used to assess the association between variables, while multilayer perceptron and radial basis function neural networks were used for the creation of the optimal model.

Results: Participants in this study achieved an average score of 6.56 (SD = 1.27) for smartphone activity, and the results showed that the optimal neural network model obtained had an overall accuracy of 70.73%. However, smartphone activity did not have an excessive effect on the efficiency of this model.

Conclusion: The obtained neural network model and its sensitivity analysis managed to reveal some hidden patterns which could be beneficial to educators in terms of improvements of students’ digital and financial literacy as well as to the financial sector in terms of increasing performance and interest of this population in digital financial services.

HOTEL WEB SITE SEO ANALYSIS: SEGMENTATION AND VALORIZATION AS A PRECONDITION FOR DISCOVERING AND UNDERSTANDING INSIGHTS TO IMPROVE ONLINE VISIBILITY

2023-04-08T09:47:56+02:00

Purpose: The purpose of this article, in which the authors present the results of the scientific project “The relationship between the quality of the main SEO ranking factors and the position of a hotel brand’s website in the SERP” ZIP-FMTU003-11-2021, is to (1) identify and segment SEO variables relevant for better online visibility, (2) define a valorization model of the SEO variables, (3) valorize and define the mutual relationships of the observed SEO variables, and (4) identify and interpret the influence of the quality of the observed SEO variables on the quality of the websites of the observed sample of hotels.

Methodology: The research was conducted in two main phases. In the first phase, the available scientific and professional literature was reviewed and examined. In the second phase, the analysis model was designed, the graphical interface of the analysis model was created, the hotel sample was defined, the necessary data of the observed variables were collected, and finally, data analysis and interpretation was performed.

Results: In this article, (1) an approach to creating an analysis model and its graphical interface is described and explained, (2) a graphical interface and the analysis model are presented, (3) the algorithm for valorization of selected SEO elements is explained, (4) and finally, the results of the conducted analyses are presented.

Conclusion: The results of the conducted research show the importance and complexity of researching the topic of online visibility, which opens numerous possibilities for conducting similar research.

ARE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTANT POSITION? – CASE OF CROATIA

2023-06-26T17:18:19+02:00

Purpose: The requirements for information in the public sector are continuously changing and there is a need for accountants who are capable to respond to these challenges. Universities, i.e. higher education institutions (HEIs), are recognized as institutions that provide fundamental knowledge, and a discussion of education in the field of public sector accounting is required. The purpose of this paper is to present the opinions of public sector accountants and expectations of students regarding education in the field of public sector accounting at HEIs in Croatia.

Methodology: A survey was conducted among accountants employed in public sector entities and among students of faculties of economics at public universities in Croatia. The results of the aforementioned survey are analysed in the SPSS software package using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: Results showed that students as well as public accountants agree that formal education is not enough for the position of public accountant. Furthermore, students are not interested in the position of public accountant. Therefore, public universities should rethink modifying the structure and programs of courses related to public sector accounting.

Conclusion: The results are an invitation to public policy creators to work on the attractiveness of the position of public sector accountant by offering better conditions. The authors of the paper therefore highlight the necessity for better cooperation between accountants and the academic community in order to improve education in the field of public sector accounting and meet the needs for professional and trained accountants who are the future of the profession.

MARKET CAPITALISATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE RATINGS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

2023-07-11T22:42:12+02:00

Purpose: The paper aims to study the relationship between market capitalisation and environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings of the companies in the European Union (EU).

Methodology: The authors analysed a sample of 1,456 companies over fi ve years, from 2016 to 2020. The ESG combined score and market capitalisation of the companies were observed. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between the observed variables. The companies from twenty-one EU Member States have been analysed due to data availability.

Results: The results showed that a negative correlation is statistically signifi cant, which confirms the results obtained in previous research. Since the ESG scores are measured on a scale where a higher value means a lower rating, the results can be interpreted as valid, and they show that higher ESG ratings positively correlate with the company’s market capitalisation.

Conclusion: According to the analysis results, the correlation between ESG ratings and market capitalisation has improved over the years. In the fi rst two years of the analysis, the correlation was weak, while it became stronger in the last three years of analysis. It is crucial for companies to understand this information since it gives them recommendations for future actions. ESG reporting can improve their market position. Since ESG reporting is still voluntary, companies which incorporate ESG reporting into their business strategy can become market leaders.

INTERDEPENDENCE OF MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AND CREDIT RISKS IN CROATIA

2023-09-17T21:30:30+02:00

Purpose: The relationship between the macroeconomic environment and banking risks is one of the basic conditions for the stability of the state financial system. The purpose of this paper is to show the interdependence between the macroeconomic environment and the financial system, i.e., to highlight the importance of various macroeconomic factors and their impact on the banking system in Croatia.

Methodology: Statistical data for the period from 2010 to 2022, obtained from publicly available databases, are analysed. Correlation analysis was performed to determine the intensity and direction of the relationship between macroeconomic and banking variables. Regression analysis was conducted to determine if macroeconomic variables could explain some of the changes in banking variables.

Results: The results of the analysis show a significant correlation between the macroeconomic variable unemployment rate and all banking variables, as well as between the macroeconomic variable inflation rate and the banking variables: non-performing loans (NPL) and bank loans. Gross domestic product (GDP) is not correlated with any of the observed variables, which is a very interesting result. The unemployment rate is the predictor that is significant for all banking variables, while the inflation rate is the predictor that is significant only for non-performing loans.

Conclusion: The conducted analyses show that economic development plays a role in the business policies of banks. These results can be particularly useful for bank management and the government, as they provide all stakeholders with important information about the role of macroeconomic policies of financial institutions in Croatia and, consequently, the Croatian economy.

CAREER SWITCH: CONSULTANCY SUPPORT FOR NEW ENTREPRENEURS

2023-09-05T11:48:18+02:00

Purpose: This paper examines the consultancy process in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), focusing on consulting entrepreneurs at the beginning of their entrepreneurial career chosen out of necessity due to a terminated long-term employment contract in a public company.

Methodology: A qualitative study design was adopted to look into the consultancy process with five new entrepreneurs who participated in a program that combined trainings and consultancy sessions. Text analysis of written feedback from consultants was conducted to understand the challenges entrepreneurs faced and progress they made. Evaluation sheets with closed and open questions were analyzed to explore the effects of the program and the entrepreneur satisfaction with the program. Five years after completing the program, semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the current status of the entrepreneurial ventures.

Results: In this study, the success of the consultancy process was threatened by time constraints and a lack of comprehensive reasoning behind client motivation to become entrepreneurs. These were the most detrimental factors for the client-consultant relationship, which ended up lacking transparency and thoroughness.

Conclusion: Research results indicate the importance of consultant’s efforts to contextualize the client’s decision to become an entrepreneur. Investing time in building a client-consultant relationship as well as providing long-term follow-up support proved to be crucial to ensuring a positive impact of consultancy support for entrepreneurs starting a new business.

REVERSE BULLWHIP EFFECT IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY: CASE STUDY FROM ROMANIA

2023-11-03T10:06:39+01:00

Purpose: The goal of the paper was to analyze data from a short loop supply chain (supplier – manufacturer – customer), seek the reasons for the presence of the bullwhip effect (or a reverse bullwhip effect) and quantify its intensity within a practical case study from an automotive industry company based in Western Romania.

Methodology: Data for this research were gathered over 27 weeks for the case of the most important 50 supplier-customer pairings of the manufacturing plant. The collected data were then analyzed using Holt-Winters exponential smoothing (level, trend and seasonality) and the methods of descriptive statistics: dispersion (range, variance, and standard deviation) and frequency distribution (count, percent, and frequency).

Results: Our results confirm the existence of both the bullwhip effect (BE) and the reverse bullwhip effect (RBE) within the supply chain of the production site, as there are 54% of cases where order variation between the group of analyzed suppliers and customers is surprisingly greater for the latter, with only 12% of cases being the source of the classic bullwhip effect.

Conclusion: According to our research, both effects are present, with a higher prevalence of the RBE, but the intensity of both effects can be significantly reduced by improving planning schedules, internal performance and logistics metrics, whilst also increasing the integration of suppliers and manufacturers in the upstream and downstream supply chain material and information flows.

IMPACT OF ICT ON REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAINS IN CEECs

2023-11-03T11:51:32+01:00

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the impact of information and communication technologies and their availability in the Central and Eastern European countries that are members of the EU on regional value chains and regional supply chain management and logistics in CEECs in the context of the growing e-commerce industry.

Methodology: We used a balanced data panel of 11 countries over 9 years (2011-2019) to examine the impact of ICT indicators on regional supply chains. The analysis included the ordinal Spearman rank correlation coefficient and the panel GMM method, which accounts for endogeneity. We implemented the Arellano-Bond estimator within the GMM framework, considering the ordinal nature of the dependent variable. This approach allowed for an effective analysis of the complex relationships in the data, considering the panel structure and the individual country observations.

Results: The findings indicate that the hypothesis claiming that the integration of digital technologies in supply chains in CEEs leads to statistically significant improvements in efficiency, controllability, and costeffectiveness, cannot be rejected. Enhanced communication, collaboration, and overall logistics performance have led to increased customer satisfaction. Additionally, the study shows a positive correlation between ICT infrastructure and logistics performance, emphasizing the crucial role of digital innovations in shaping supply chain dynamics.

Conclusion: The study supports the hypothesis that integrating digital technologies into supply chain management in Central and Eastern Europe is associated with enhanced efficiency, resilience, and economic integration through value-added export. These insights offer pathways to foster economic integration in the region.