Digital transformation as a factor of ensuring country competitiveness: Moldova case analysis

The digital transformation is now a reality in Moldova, as Moldova has begun to transfer social, legal, and civil service delivery online. Sped-up digitalization can be expected to create new business models and opportunities for digital jumping in traditional industries. The Coronavirus crisis has highlighted the need for support and investments in digital transformation and effective digital governance, especially to guarantee the continuity and delivery of core government functions. The digital transformation is changing not just business models but the methods of production and distribution and the industry's competitiveness. Further analysis has been made to generate specific steps/recommendations regarding the digitization of the Moldova industry. The interview with experts who work closely in digitalization or competitiveness was done, and the SWOT analysis was done. Based on the research made, the recommendations for Moldova were prepared and presented in this article.

PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT AS A CONDITION OF INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF AGRO-PROCESSING ENTERPRISES

The authors systematized approaches to the essence of the categories “product competitiveness”, “enterprise competitiveness”, “field competitiveness”, “regional competitiveness” and “country competitiveness”. The authors formulated the definition of competitiveness. The approaches to the classification of competitiveness factors are systematized. The authors’ classification of factors was developed. The authors have proved that the main factor in the competitiveness of enterprises is raw materials. Obtaining raw materials by the enterprise is carried out through procurement. Thus, the management of procurement of goods, having the largest share in the cost of the final product, is the main factor affecting the competitiveness of the enterprise. The authors have systematized approaches to characterizing the essence, goals and objectives of procurement management and to the classification of purchases. The authors’ definition of procurement management and the composition of its principles are proposed. The mechanisms of influence on the management of procurement and processing enterprises of the agro-industrial complex are investigated on the example of the open joint-stock company “Pukhovichi Plant of Grain Products” (Belarus). Possible ways to improve the procurement management of the studied organization are proposed. The recommendations proposed by the authors can be used by other organizations of the processing industry of the agro-industrial complex.

Entropic measure unveils country competitiveness and product specialization in the World trade web

We show how the Shannon entropy function can be used as a basis to set up complexity measures weighting the economic efficiency of countries and the specialization of products beyond bare diversification. This entropy function guarantees the existence of a fixed point which is rapidly reached by an iterative scheme converging to our self-consistent measures. Our approach naturally allows to decompose into inter-sectorial and intra-sectorial contributions the country competitivity measure if products are partitioned into larger categories. Besides outlining the technical features and advantages of the method, we describe a wide range of results arising from the analysis of the obtained rankings and we benchmark these observations against those established with other economical parameters. These comparisons allow to partition countries and products into various main typologies, with well-revealed characterizing features. Our methods have wide applicability to general problems of ranking in bipartite networks.

Analytical Capabilities of the Concept of "Competitiveness" in the Study of Public Administration Efficiency

The article analyzes various approaches to understanding the effectiveness of public administration, which are in foreign and Ukrainian scientific thought. The purpose of the article is to show that administrative efficiency is a component of the general social efficiency of public administration, so it can be studied with the help of analytical tools of competitiveness. The study found that administrative efficiency is often understood as the effectiveness of the organization and functioning of public administration. Administrative efficiency is also understood as the efficiency of management bodies and officials. The authors emphasize that the principles, criteria and factors of the study of effectiveness are very vague. This affects the objectivity of the reflection of the qualitative result of the activities of the public administration body. The scientific novelty of the study is that the authors offer new tools for the study of administrative efficiency. It competitiveness of the state. “Competitiveness” in the context of studying the effectiveness and efficiency of public administration, the subjects of public administration is not considered deeply in the Ukrainian science of public administration. Moreover, in Ukraine, the effectiveness of public administration is increasingly associated with the competencies of civil servants. The authors do not agree with this position and suggest a deeper analysis, firstly, the relationship between public administration efficiency and the country’s competitiveness and, secondly, a deeper study of the analytical capabilities of the theoretical and methodological construct “competitiveness”. Conclusions. As a result, the authors argue that the task of administrative efficiency as an indicator is to reflect an understanding of the activities of institutions, which depends on the efficiency and behavior of both public and private actors, a legal and administrative basis within which individuals, firms and governments interact. and it determines the quality of public institutions. Keywords: country competitiveness, efficiency, public administration, administration, state policy, concept.

Country competitiveness in the era of globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

An extremely complex nature of competition processes often makes the identification of the category of country competitiveness inaccurate and complicated to understand. This is particularly manifested in the era of globalization and the affirmation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as two phenomena that shape contemporary developments in the world to a large extent. Globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution have ensured economic prosperity to some countries, but at the same time, they have also caused increasingly prominent developmental inequalities at worldwide level. The same conclusion refers to the matter of the competitiveness level achieved by the countries. This is convincingly proved by the 2019 World Economic Forum data about country competitiveness, based on which the greatest number of the countries in the world are still far from the targeted "limit" of competitiveness.

Serbian economy recovery in the post COVID-19 era: Cluster approach

The COVID-19 crisis differs from previous ones. It disrupts global value chains, redirects business toward regional cooperation in a highly globalized world, and forces new business model development toward digitalization. This crisis affected both supplyand demand-side and all countries worldwide, regardless of their economic strength. To support economic recovery, while at the same time fighting for health system endurance through lockdowns and prevention measures, economic decision-makers all around the globe have been using expansive macroeconomic policies. One of the first measures was loosening monetary policy. Such measure was taken in 80% of the countries globally and in all emerging markets. Fiscal policy was significant in supporting demand in the short-term, simultaneously resulting in higher public debt, which is becoming one of the constraints for future development. While economists of today are discussing which letter visualizes the best the character of this crisis - V, U, L, W, we got the letter K, which indicates that recovery among countries will differ in growth rates and duration. Accordingly, we are going to live in a world where change is the only constant. To survive within these conditions, digitalization and key clusters' development are crucial for long-term competitiveness. In this paper, we analyzed the competitiveness of the Serbian economy by using the Country Competitiveness Index, emphasizing the importance of microeconomic indicators that represent a powerful tool in analyzing crucial segments for the economy's recovery. We also focused on three clusters' potential: tech, agribusiness and organic food, and tourism.

CROSS-REGIONAL INTERACTIONS AS A SOURCE FOR INNOVATIVE REFORMATION (THE CASE OF RUSSIA)

The processes of Soviet Union disintegration back in the 1990s have negatively influenced the Russian Federation’s economic environment. According to some experts, the total volume of cross-regional economic relations became 4 times lower. There was practically a split of the economy into the export sector and the sector working for the domestic market solely. Under such developmental conditions, achievement of sustainable economic growth, the rise of the country’ competitiveness and its transfer to the innovative model of development directly depends on successful overcoming of the current autarkic tendencies. This requires the reform of cross-regional relations’ system aimed at efficient use of territories’ competitive advantages, in the interests of both standalone regions and the state as a whole. Solution of all the related problems belongs to the competence of federal and regional authorities interested in transition of Russian industries into the truly innovative ones.