Business Logistics in Modern Management

CROATIAN URBAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS IN 2020: SUSTAINABLE URBAN MOBILITY SURVEY

2021-03-12T14:58:25+01:00

Faced with a variety of challenges generated by growing urbanization, cities
worldwide aim at redesigning their transportation systems and making them more
efficient, better integrated and sustainable. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the
current state of Croatian urban transportation systems in such a context. The survey
of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Project 2.0 by the World Business Council for
Sustainable Development was implemented in capturing the perspective of the local
population (N=2484). Transportation systems’ users are key stakeholders in achieving
urban transportation system sustainability. Their behaviour provides useful input for
city planners, transportation service providers and destination management. The
mobility patterns, behaviour and attitudes of urban residents are therefore used as
indicators of the functioning, accessibility, multimodality and integration of urban
transportation systems. Regardless of the fact that most respondents commute daily,
the majority of respondents do not feel restricted by the available urban mobility
options. Reliance on cars in everyday travel is not surprising, and this option is
followed by a substantial share of respondents using public transportation (PT) and
walking. Other alternative options are only partially utilized (bike sharing, car sharing
and combinations of modes are not considered a viable option for most) and only a
small proportion of respondents display intermodal habits. Practical and social
implications based on research findings also take research limitations (foremost the
convenience sample) into consideration. Further research should build on this research
and emphasize urban transportation options in the context of urban tourism.
Key words: urban transportation systems, urban mobility, mobility patterns, Croatian
urban mobility systems

PRODUCTIVITY ANALYSIS OF RETAIL TRADE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND SERBIA USING THE AHP-TOPSIS METHOD

2021-03-12T14:45:42+01:00

Measuring retail trade has received considerable attention in both theory and
practice. Taking up this important issue, this paper analyses retail trade productivity
by means of the AHP-TOPSIS method. The empirical research has shown varying
retail trade productivity across different countries in Europe. For example, in 2016,
retail trade productivity measured as sales per employee in Luxemburg, Belgium and
the Netherlands exceeded the EU average. It can be seen from the decision matrix
rankings obtained using the TOPSIS method that in 2016 in terms of retail
productivity, the European Union seen as a single market ranked first, followed by
individual countries: Malta ranked second, Luxembourg ranked third, while Germany
was fourth. As for some countries in transition in South-Eastern Europe, Slovenia
came 11th, Croatia came 23ndand Serbia came 18th. The application of new business
models in retail trade varies across countries and, as a result, so does their retail productivity.
Key words: efficiency, factors, trade, Serbia, AHP-TOPSIS method.

PANEL ANALYSIS OF WAREHOUSING ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN 13 NEW EU MEMBER STATES

2021-03-12T14:27:50+01:00

Warehousing and transportation support activities are an important part of the
overall transportation sector. COVID-19 outbreak requires a prediction of future risks
contingent in the overall economic predicament. The purpose of this paper is to
contribute to the analysis of possible adverse effects of this crisis on the Warehousing
activity. We analysed a 10-year panel from 2008 to 2017 of 13 latest European Union
member countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia, and their data
representing the “Warehousing and support activities for transportation” of the overall
“Transportation and storage sector”. We differenced the data to achieve stationarity
and to lose the idiosyncratic effects present in the coefficients. We regressed the
variables representing the overall economy on warehousing and transportation support
activities. The null hypothesis of no-causation may be rejected for most causal
conjectures with three successive test methods: Panel Pairwise Granger Causality test,
Panel Estimated Generalized Least Squares with Fixed Effects, and Panel Generalized
Method of Moments with First Differences. We conclude the changes in the overall
economy have an impact on warehousing and transportation support activities in terms
of its value added.
Key words: warehousing, transportation support activities, panel analysis.

CONTEMPORARY SCIENTIFIC LANDSCAPE OF THE BULLWHIP EFFECT RESEARCH

2021-03-12T14:16:33+01:00

There are several researchers working with the questions of supply chain
management and the bullwhip effect. The goal of this paper is presenting the different
organizations investigating this topic. These institutions relate to each other on several
angles. Research and publications are also made in cooperation between them. These
relations can influence the concept used in the different research groups. This study
aims to define the most significant schools of bullwhip effect and scientific network
behind. The main authors of the topic can be determined as well. It is also important
to see how the main researchers are influencing the cooperation landscape. This article
is investigating these connections considering both the most significant researchers of
the topic and the research groups. Basis of this study is dimension s database and the
VOSviewer program is used to visualize the scientific landscape. Using this method,
the connection and cooperation can be visualized. This research is a literature review
from the perspective of network generated by the publications anal ysing bullwhip
effect and supply chain management. There is potential to further extend the scope of
the study by involving connected areas such as performance measurement. The
investigation can point out whether bullwhip effect researchers are extending t he
scope with the performance measurement systems or the other way around. This will
also answer the question how the key performance indicators in use measure bullwhip
effect based on literature. It will also reflect on the direction of research between
theory and practice.
Key words: literature mapping, bullwhip effect, scientific landscape, performance
measurement

NETWORK ORIENTATION IN LOGISTICS SERVICE INDUSTRY: CONCEPTUALIZATION AND OPERATIONALIZATION OF THE THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS

2021-03-12T14:05:18+01:00

Logistics firms do not have all resources needed to carry out their activities.
Resource scarcity is particularly conspicuous in the case of means of transport, and
increasingly in warehouses or reloading facilities. The logistics services are therefore
delivered by many interdependent firms that co-ordinate their work with subcontractors in a multi-level complex structure. Logistics service providers collaborate
with direct or indirect suppliers, but also customers and in some cases competitors. A
complex picture of multiple relationships emerges, forming a network of co-operating
firms. Managers can use of network relationships to mobilize other organizations’
resources in order to improve performance. Their attitude directed at seizing
opportunities embedded in inter-organizational networks is called network
orientation.
The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model of network
orientation. We synthesize and operationalize theoretical constructs relative to
network orientation, and explain how competitive advantage of logistics enterprises
can be created through networks.
To our best knowledge this study is first to explain the mechanism of competitive
advantage formation in logistics enterprises using network orientation. We propose a
structured composition of the network orientation concept and contribute to further
develop logistics industry research and practice by providing a reflective analysis,
inspiration and guidance.
Key words: network orientation, logistics service industry, competitive advantage

ARE WE READY TO DISTANCE LEARNING? EXPERIENCES OF DISTANCE LEARNING IN OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT-FOCUSED HIGHER EDUCATION

2021-03-12T15:45:39+01:00

The importance of e-learning and blended learning in higher education in
Hungary has significantly increased in recent years. Students use a variety of online
platforms with more or less weight in their studies, in addition to traditional classroom
learning. Yet, the world, all walks of life, including, of course, higher education, have
been shaken by a series of restrictions on the coronavirus sweeping Europe from the
end of winter 2019/2020, including the suspension of traditional contact-based
education. In Hungary, the transition to distance learning became necessary in just
over a week due to the closure of universities. How did this affect the students? How
is the knowledge acquired through distance learning assessed in the operations and
supply chain management education? How strong and how weak was this new
distance learning system developed for extreme reasons? In our research, we sought
answers to the above questions. To this end, we asked our undergraduate and graduate
students at Corvinus University of Budapest about our Operations Management (BSc)
and Supply Chain Management-focused (MSc) courses (approximately 360 students).
In addition to questionnaire research, we compared the student results achieved in
previous years to determine whether there is a significant difference between the
results of the last semester and those converted to distance learning. According to our
hypothesis, distance learning challenged students to independently understand and
master the theoretical curriculum. Still, they were more forced to apply a practical
perspective in case studies and problem-solving.
Key words: distance learning, higher education, operations management, supply
chain management, Covid-19

TRAFFIC DEMAND DEVELOPMENT ON CROATIAN MOTORWAYS

2021-03-12T13:38:37+01:00

The aim of this paper is to research and analyse traffic demand development on
Croatian motorways in the period from 2007 to 2018. The purpose of the paper is to
produce a forecast of traffic demand dev elopment on Croatian motorways until the
year 2030 based on the noticed trends. Research results are based on descriptive
statistics methods and on the average growth rate method. Major findings of this
paper can be of help to traffic managers of all level s.
Key words: traffic, motorways, traffic demand

LOGISTICS 4.0 – DIGITALIZATION OF THE SUPPLY CHAINS

2021-03-12T15:37:23+01:00

Constantly changing market needs and the concentration of the entire supply
chain on the level of customer service force both in the business and scientific world
to seek modern solutions to improve logistics processes. This trend is leading to the
transformation of current solutions into intelligent supply chains. The use of modern
technologies is aimed at improving logistic processes at the operational level, by
shortening the time of execution, minimizing bottlenecks and errors resulting from
faulty information flow. With the above aspects in mind, the authors of this article
have analysed in depth the structural differences distinguishing logistics 4.0 from the
latest technological solutions. Concrete examples show toolkits and actions that
optimise logistics processes in an enterprise, supported by intelligent cyber -physical
systems providing relevant information, based on full cooperation of the Internet of
Things (IoT), to achieve a significant degree of automation. Particular attention has
also been paid to the immeasurably important aspect that the human element
invariably remains. The basic business requirement is that the systems should be
autonomous, people should not be forgotten because they have to plan and take action
that cannot or should not be automated. However, in order to meet the requirements
and decentralisation, an automated, intelligent and increasingly autonomous flow of
assets, goods, materials and information between a point in the logistics ecosystem is
crucial.
Keywords: Logistics 4.0, supply chain, digitalization, IoT, real time

GROWTH, PROFITABILITY AND LIQUIDITY OF POLISH ROAD TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES

2021-03-12T12:48:28+01:00

Fast growth of road transportation companies registered in Poland, whose fleet
has become the largest in European Union has yet not received sufficient attention.
Here relationships of profitability and financial liquidity and a company growth of
sales for 2367 road transportation companies registered in Poland in period 2013 -2017 are studied. The static, linear, symptomatic and mezoeconomic econometric
model is proposed and the analysis is based on the moving quartile, Spearman rho and
Kendall tau-b coefficients and multi-segment piecewise-linear approximation with
Theil-Sen trend lines. The relationships between the growth of sales and considered
factors are not uniform and depend on a factor rage. The results of this study postu late
positive relationship between the profitability and the growth of sales in a given range
for studied companies. The optimum financial liquidity to increase the growth of sales
for road transportation companies registered has been identified. Managerial
implications and advantages following from the applied analysis are given.
Key words: growth, profitability, financial liquidity, road transportation

MONITORING OF GOODS-DOCUMENTATION FLOWS IN MODERN LOGISTIC SUPPLY CHAIN, BASED ON BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

2021-03-12T15:25:24+01:00

The current supply chains, in fact we can speak of full modern, digital supply
chains, are changing in an extremely dynamic way, requiring constant supervision and
control of goods flowing through them. This is an extremely important issue for the
protection of the health and life of consumers, which in terms of the idea of corporate
social responsibility puts people at the center of attention and all business activities
must be geared to their needs. Consumer safety is a priority. EU regulations oblige
businesses to trace the origin of products in both food and consumer health and life
industries. Companies are obliged to set up appropriate identification systems and
procedures. They expect that the solutions recommended and implemented for them
will not only allow for the correct tracking of the delivery of goods, but also protect
against possible image failure due to a lack of control of their origin. The essence of
the control of goods-documentation flows is to monitor the movement and origin of
the product at each stage of the change of place in the logistic modern supply chain.
For this reason, it is very important to monitor the quality and authenticity of the origin
of the product in detail, at every stage of its journey, in order to react as quickly as
possible in the event of a threat to the health or life of consumers. The maximum
response time as well as safety can be ensured by using Blockchain technology for
the requirements described above. In this article the authors have focused on the use
of Blockchain technology in the implementation of logistics processes, in particular
in the process of control of trade in goods and documentation.
Key words: blockchain, groceries, supply chain, traceability, GDSN, data sync.,
master data

APPLICATION OF THE MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS FOR THE RAILWAY ROUTE EVALUATION AND SELECTION

2021-03-12T12:23:34+01:00

After a detailed analysis of each railroad route alternative, the problem of route
evaluation in the process of planning and designing is reduced to making a decision
concerning its optimal selection. In this article the authors emphasize the significance
of the reconstruction of the railroad route connection for the development of the North
Adriatic Ports, Rijeka, Koper and Trieste. The most important project related to North
Adriatic Port’s railway transport system is the construction of a new high-efficiency
railroad which will connect the ports of Rijeka, Koper and Trieste. The construction
of a new high-efficiency railway will create a significant shortening of railroad links
of South East Europe with its central and western parts and will improve the
conditions of traffic exploitation of the North Adriatic transport route. The objective
of this paper is to show that the application of the multi-criteria analysis can lead to
conclusions regarding the evaluation and selection of the appropriate railroad
transport route. In order to fulfill the research obje ctive, a model comprising criteria
and sub-criteria for railroad route evaluation is defined. The proposed model was used
for the evaluation of the railway route Rijeka-Koper-Trieste by applying the
PROMETHEE II method for multi-criteria ranking of alternatives.
Key words: railway transport system, North Adriatic Ports, multi-criteria analysis,
railway route evaluation.

CORPORATE CULTURE IN RELATION TO A SUSTAINABLE LOGISTICS ORGANIZATION

2021-03-12T15:07:23+01:00

The rapidly changing global environment in which logistics organizations
operate requires an appropriate and rapid organizational response and, consequently,
an appropriate corporate culture. Due to the increasing awareness of environmental
issues, organizations are being forced to take measures aimed at reducing
environmental impacts and optimizing the use of resources. There is also an urgent
need for greater social equality, which requires organizations to adapt their businesses,
apply modern approaches to management, and change their organizational culture
from what was considered successful not long ago. Organizational culture is a
common philosophy of employees in every organization, and it includes stakeholders
and the environment of the organization. The purpose of this research was to examine
what an organizational culture that supports the concept of sustainability should look
like. A qualitative approach, based on documentary analysis of previously studied
theories of corporate culture and concepts of a sustainable organization, was used.
The results show that the right choice of organizational culture typology is of great
importance in integrating sustainability into the organization. A sustainably oriented
organization must also have a strong organizational culture in place, but it must be
continuously nurtured, upgraded, and explored.
Key words: corporate culture, organizational culture, sustainable organization,
management

CONFIGURATION OF PRODUCTION ENTERPRISES SUPPLY CHAINS BY THE CUSTOMER

2021-03-12T14:51:20+01:00

Companies that are in the supply chain of a product are usually quite
conservative in their changes, and supply chains are stable and unchangeable because
all participants in the chain are partners. On the one hand, this is a positive
characteristic of chains, on the other hand, it prevents formation of such a property of
chains as flexibility in relation to products` customers. Customers determine demand
characteristics, but they depend on both external and internal factors. This
circumstance forces supply chains to look for the ways of implementing the flexibility
characteristics in relation to customers.
In this paper, a concept for developing supply chain flexibility i s considered. A
mechanism for its implementation was tested when configuring supply chains with
the customers` participation. It is estimated that this will allow us to solve the issues
of manufacturing orders within the framework of the main requirements of customers
in terms of price, speed and quality in an order follow -up due to the fact that a
customer directly affects formation of the supply chain in the process of order.
Key words: supply chains, flexibility, order, customer, individualized products,
demand, production enterprise.

ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL OF INFORMATION INTEGRATION IN CRM SYSTEMS FOR SMES FOR THE NEEDS OF OMNICHANNEL RETAILING

2021-03-12T14:32:48+01:00

The basic theoretical omnichannel paradigm is full information integration of all
retail channels. The authors try to answer the following research question: to what
extent are modern CRM systems adapted to support omnichannel retailing in the range
of information flow? The article aims to identify and evaluate conduct practices
related to the acquisition, storage and sharing of information in CRM system retail
channels from the perspective of possibilities offered by this class of software.
The research was conducted using a survey method. The subject of the study are
customer relationship management (CRM) systems for small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs). The research entity are logistic companies that use CRM class
software for multi-channel distribution. The result of the research is the assessment of
the usability of CRM systems in terms of business needs posed by global competition
in the field of multi-channel distribution. The authors point to the need to develop
CRM systems in terms of their systemic and functional integration with business
partners in the supply chain.
Due to the large number of CRM systems available on the software market, the
article focuses only on systems dedicated to SMEs. The results of the study include
conclusions for designers and distributors of CRM systems regarding omnichannel
information features of their IT applications. The authors' next research intention is to
carry out similar research on CRM systems for large enterprises (analysis of
similarities and differences).
Key words: omnichannel, information integration, customer relationship
management (CRM) system, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), surveys

IMPROVING SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE THROUGH METHODS OF FAST ADAPTATION TO SUDDEN DEMAND SHIFTS IN THE TIME OF CRISIS

2021-03-12T14:22:22+01:00

Supply chain resilience is a topic long discussed, however, spread of the newly
emerged COVID-19 virus pandemic in 2020 and subsequent application of measures
to deal with it had strong impact on supply chains. One of the challenges of 2020,
which companies had to face, was a sudden change in demand. While commonly
known forecasting methods are able to estimate demand that behaves according to the
historical experience, need for different approach to sudden shifts in demand both up
and down, arose. Research into comparison of such methods was carried out and they
were tested on data from the outbreak of COVID-19 virus pandemic crisis in the
Czech Republic, when applied measures and concerns of people caused a significant
change that had impact on the demand for various goods.
Key words: supply chain, supply chain resilience, demand forecasting, Covid-19,
mean absolute percentage error (MAPE)

TIMELINE-BASED NETWORK ANALYSIS OF A PUBLICATION SAMPLE RELATED TO PACKAGING VIBRATION TESTING

2021-03-12T14:11:13+01:00

Records of search queries can often be exported from scientific databases, most
of them contain the record of citations, as well. However, it is ineffective to register
the citation relationships among publications manually, so the reader might lean on
the number of citations when looking for leading publications. One can be interested
in trend-setting publications or the primary columns of the discipline in terms of
publications. Beneath the conventional literature reviews, helpful solutions are
available to assist the reader in similar questions. Network visualizations in
bibliographic analyses have long-established practices, offering appealing tools to
visualize complex connection systems constituted by different bibliometric couplings.
The current paper investigates the direct citation network of a sample drawn from the
Web of Science scientific database in the relation of a particular research field
concerning road induced vibrations from a packaging testing perspective. The sample
consists of 46 publications embracing 28 years as of date. Core publications are
identified first, supplemented by qualitative contextual reviews, followed by main
path analysis. The assays attempt to estimate the main research topics of the
investigated discipline by the given sample.
Key words: Direct citation network, Timeline-based network, Main path analysis,
Road vehicle vibration, Packaging vibration testing

THE AGE AND THE PERFORMANCE OF POLISH ROAD TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES

2021-03-12T13:49:31+01:00

In this paper we study the relationships between the age of the road
transportation companies registered in Poland in a period between 2013 and 2017 and
their performance. The sample for this study is obtained from Emerging Markets
Information Service and comprise 8,723 observations relating to 2,367 road
transportation companies. We chose the growth of sales and the profitability ratios,
namely return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) as proxies for the
performance of studied companies. We employ in our research Kendall tau-b and
Spearman rho coefficients. The obtained empirical results indicate a negative and
statistically significant relationships between the age of studied companies and their
growth of sales and the profitability. For business practitioners it means that younger
road transportation companies outperform their older peers, in terms of both: the
growth of sales and the profitability. Very low p-values confirm our results are robust.
The paper ends with managerial implication and advantages following from the
applied analysis, limitations of the study and indications for further research.
Key words: age, performance, growth, profitability, road transportation

INFLUENCE OF API INTERFACES ON DATA EXCHANGE AND INFORMATION SHARING IN THE TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS SECTOR

2021-03-12T15:42:41+01:00

The article is based on the research on API interfaces used by logistics service
providers and logistics integration platforms. The article shows what API interfaces
are in use, compares API vs EDI, what business transactions are supported by API
interfaces and what are the reasons of why API is used. The article considers a very
important topic of standardization for API and shows th e way how these standards for
API can be achieved with a detailed roadmap.
Key words: API, EDI, transport, logistics, standardization, semantic data model

ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM OF TRANSPORT SPACE INDICATORS AS A BASIS FOR MANAGING THE MACROTERRITORIES SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT

2021-03-12T13:31:45+01:00

The article covers the aspects of transport networks from the point of view of the
spatial paradigm and defines the main priority directions of their development, taking
into account the modern requirements of society. The article is devoted to t he main
aspects and the role of forming a system of indicators of transport space in the context
of society's transition to the sustainable development principles. The article analyzes
foreign methods for assessing the effectiveness of territories developm ent.
Conceptual model of the system of indicators of transport development of territories
is proposed. Ontologies are used as the basis for an explanation of key concepts to
obtain the objective assessments of the current state of the transport space, the
prospects for its development and the impact on the competitiveness of the entire
territory. The article offers a comprehensive approach to the description of transport
in large territories based on the systematization of transport indicators assessment.
Key words: transport accessibility, transport availability, sustainable development,
macro-territory, indicators of transport space

INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) SOLUTIONS IN SMART TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

2021-03-12T15:31:46+01:00

To overcome very common problems of the supply chain and transportation
management such as uncertainty, cost and complexity, smart transportation
management paired with the Internet of Things (IoT) gives one of the plausible
solutions for processing lots of data, monitoring products and vehicles.
This paper is based on the analysis of a usage of IoT in transportation
management, in terms of increasing delivery productivity and improving supply chain
performance. The advantages and disadvantages of using embedded Internet
technology in transportation management to become smart transportation, as well as
capabilities for IoT network security and energy efficiency, are presented. The
technical characteristics will be described and compared with technologies used in
transportation management. Developing smart transpor tation management enables
companies to collect and analyse lots of data, hence big data management will be
discussed in combination with IoT and artificial intelligence (AI), where AI is in
charge of data preparation in supply chain management and its usag e in smart
transportation management.
Key words: Internet of things, smart transportation management, network security
and privacy, big data

MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION – ECONOMIC AND LEGAL VIEWPOINT FROM CROATIA AND TURKEY

2021-03-12T12:37:51+01:00

In today's global economy, multimodal transport systems have become the pillar
of international trade. Multimodal transportation is a strategic type of transportation
that includes companies' costs and many other advantages, as well as the vital
importance of countries' ecological and port traffic development. Th eir main objective
is the reduction of overall transport and handling costs within the supp ly chain while
at the same time trying to respond to the demand for just-in-time, door-to-door cargo
services.
Multimodal transportation to the EU transport policy wants to establish mobility
that will be sustainable, environment-friendly, and energy-efficient. These objectives
can be accomplished by multimodal transport of the people and goods that optimally
blends the different methods of transport by maximizing each one's strength and
diminishing the weaknesses. Various national and international bodies try to create
multimodality policies and regulations for securing better incorporation of the
different transport modes and creating better interoperability at all transport system
levels.
The paper aims to examine legal and economic viewpoints on multimodal
transportation and to identify their impact and barriers for further development in
Croatia and Turkey. The first part of the paper gives a literature review about
multimodal transport from the economic and legal viewpoint. The second part of the
paper examines the current situation in Croatia and Turkey. Finally, in the last section,
conclusions and the proposals for further research are given.
Key words: multimodal transportation, economic viewpoint, legal regulation,
policies, Croatia, Turkey

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ICT DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

2021-03-12T15:17:47+01:00

Industry 4.0, industrial digitalization, robotics, sustainability, circular economy,
eco-efficiency – these are all hot topics for researchers and professionals, as well.
Since we are in the era of fourth industrial revolution, companies invest more and
more money in tools and solutions that make it possible to connect all their processes,
machines, workers and even products into a single network, and to gather data about
them and through analyses, achieve high performance and improvement. Keeping up
with technological innovation especially in ICT is vital for companies all around the
world. Another important issue is sustainability and the concept of circular economy.
The greatest challenge of our society is to change our operations in order to live within
the limits of our planet. This expectation for change usually emerges from
stakeholders of companies, but in order to gain competitive advantage it is important
to improve environmental performance and their capability to create and prosper
within the circular economy concept.
In this paper we would like to explore if there is a connection between ICT
development and environmental performance. Could these concepts work together,
do companies develop both aspects and use the advances? We investigate how the
application of advanced ICT tools effect companies’ environmental performan ce,
which will be tested on a database of 300 companies by statistical analyses. The
database was collected by the Hungarian Competitiveness Research Centre in 2013.
Preliminary results say that the companies in the sample, which are advanced in
use of ICT tools both in meaning of extension of usage and variety of tools, lay
significantly higher emphasis on auditing environmental activity, introducing an
accounting system which is capable to assess environmental expenses, and
formulating environmental criteria for suppliers than those who are less advanced in
ICT.
Key words: ICT, Industry 4.0, environmental performance

AIR-RAIL COMBINED TRANSPORT OF GOODS WITHIN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

2021-03-12T10:51:40+01:00

The main objective of this article is to evaluate and assess the possibilities
of combined transport of goods with a special focus on non-traditional interconnection
of air-rail transport modalities. The framework for this research is determined with
two aspects - the aspect of environmentally friendly and sustainable transport and
logistic solutions and the geographical aspect which focuses on the region of EU 27
(except of Malta) and the United Kingdom. Using the regression model, we attempt
to confirm the dependence between the air transport performance in tonne-kilometres
(Tkm) and the quality or availability of railway infrastructure (length of railways in
km), the GDP per capita and the volumes of Intratrade import and export within the
above geographical area. The existence of direct relationship between the length of
the railways in km and the air transport performance in Tkm cou ld confirm the
complementary effect of these two transport modalities and it could be an evidence of
the possibility of combined air-rail transport solutions. Thanks to the complementarity
of the air transport with the rail transport modality, the aspect of environmentally
friendly combined transport can also be emphasized since the rail transport is
considered ecological. The very existence of this regression model also says that there
is a kind of interconnection between these two modes of transport and it also could
imply the feasibility of combined air-rail transport solutions. Further research will
deal with the dynamics of changes in the interrelationship between air and rail
transport over the period of several past years with implications for the future and with
the purpose of trying to contribute to the possible development of air-rail combined
transport within the EU countries.
Key words: Air Transport, Railways, Combined Transport of Goods, Aspect of
Ecology