Ethical climate as foundation for internal corporate social responsibility and employee performance in Indonesian context during COVID-19 pandemic

<p>The research objective was to analyze the role of ethical climate as a foundation for internal Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and employee performance. The methodology used is a causal study to test the effect by using a survey of 400 employees Holding of state-owned defense, industry randomly selected nonmanagers. The results showed that ethical climate directs internal CSR activities as a realization of ethical awareness in the environment. Employees have an ethical responsibility to restore the goodness of the company to employees in real terms according to the company's demands in the form of optimal performance. The values, beliefs, and ethical atmosphere felt by employees are the reasons for implementing CSR. Internal CSR raises employees' awareness of the company's care and attention, which in turn increases the moral obligation to work optimally for the common good. Ethical climate is guidance for companies and individuals to be involved in collective efforts that can ensure sustainability. In conclusion, ethical climate has an influence on employee performance through CSR. The practical implication is to develop an ethical climate in the company to strengthen the company's internal CSR orientation. Its value contribution can explain the ethical climate function as a foundation for internal CSR concerning employee’s performance.</p>

Relevance of Social Media for Employability of Graduating Students: Lessons from Literature Review

Social media has influenced almost every area of human life and employability is no exception. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review to investigate how to do employability of graduating students is affected by their engagement on social media. For this research study more than fifty sources of published research work, articles, and chapters have been referred to develop a detailed understanding of the key objective of this research paper. Research papers were obtained from trustworthy sources. A list of diverse areas of employability is developed. These are the areas that are assumed to be affected by social media. Furthermore, the papers were grouped into three broad categories. Research papers were studied to search implications of social media on different aspects of employability. One of the limitations of this research study is that majority of the research papers used in this research were about a specific professional networking social media platform. The key lessons developed in this research paper justify the value contribution.

Value Contribution of Rural E-commerce Development: Model Constructing and Empirical Testing

In the field of rural e-commerce, based on literature review, the paper constructs a four-dimensional value contribution model of rural e-commerce to economic, social, cultural, and ecological development. The value contribution scale for rural e-commerce development is designed to collect experts’ opinions, then the measurement items are modified, and a questionnaire survey is conducted with farmers participating in rural e-commerce activities as the respondents. With AMOS software, a first-order structural equation model and a higher-order structural equation model are used to analyse the confirmatory factors of the rural e-commerce value contribution model, and to test the convergence and discriminative validity of the model and other important attributes. It can be concluded from the test results that the four value dimensions of the model show relatively high reliability and validity, which also suggest that the use of this model is highly rational in identifying the value contribution of the development of rural e-commerce, and has successfully developed the value contribution system of rural e-commerce as a formal theory. At the same time, according to the factor loading and the contribution rate of each principal component measured at the overall level, the weight of the principal components and indices of the overall dimension are achieved. Among the four value contribution dimensions, economic value shares the largest contribution brought by rural e-commerce development and ecological value shares the smallest. Therefore, these results and weights gained from this research will be used to determine the priority of the value contribution of rural e-commerce development, and will be taken into consideration in developing rural e-commerce.

Nutraceutical Content and Daily Value Contribution of Sweet Potato Accessions for the European Market

Sweet potatoes (SPs) are considered by the FAO as a primary crop for “traditional agriculture” in the tropics, but in Europe, its consumption is not widespread. However, consumer demand has grown exponentially over the past five years. This study has evaluated the quality and nutrient contents of storage roots of 29 SPs accessions to characterize their role in improving the human diet. Roots were analyzed for nutraceuticals, sugars, and minerals. Results underlined a considerable variability of nutrient content related to color among SPs accessions. The deep-orange-fleshed SPs showed a higher content of β-carotene compared to the light orange- and cream-fleshed ones; 100 g of edible product of HON86 can supply 32.3% of the daily value contribution of vitamin A, followed by the pale orange-fleshed BRA32 and BRA54. The total phenolic content of the purple ecotypes was about two to five times higher than the other genotypes. The calcium content was generally low, whereas, in many accessions, magnesium and phosphorus content reached 20%, or higher of the contribution to the daily value. Such a high variability suggests different use of the different accessions according to their strengths, but might also be used for breeding to improve quality traits of the commercial varieties.

Nominal exchange rates EUR/GRD and EUR/ITL in the context of leaving the euro zone by Greece and Italy

Aim/purpose – The aim of this paper is to present two cases of crises in Greece and Italy and to evaluate the shadow exchange rates of hypothetical new currencies (re)introduced after Grexit and Italexit. Design/methodology/approach – Both shadow exchange rates are estimated using speculative pressure index concept that emphasizes the importance of changes in foreign exchange reserves and interest rate differentials in the absence of an independent nomi- nal exchange rate. The research sample covers Greece in 1989-2020 and Italy in 1989- 2020. Findings – The research presented the estimation of shadow exchange rates EUR/GRD and EUR/ITL during the euro zone membership period. Leaving the euro area one can expect the following market rates: EUR/GRD 600 and EUR/ITL 1850. That would mean 75% depreciation and 5% appreciation to the current euro parities EUR/GRD 340.75, and EUR/ITL 1936.27, respectively. Research implications/limitations – After potential Grexit Greek authorities could expect significant nominal depreciation of a new currency (or should introduce it with a substantial discount). In the case of Italexit, the new currency would preserve its nomi- nal value. The limitations of the research methodology are: a long period of the analysis covers structural changes of financial markets, crisis events, political factors (e.g., QE programs). Originality/value/contribution – The originality of this approach lies in the combina- tion of two important economic concepts – the idea of shadow exchange rate and the index of speculative pressure. Combined together they help to prepare the methodology of shadow exchange rates evaluation for currencies that are currently in the common currency system (e.g., currency union). These results can help in economic and political discussions on effects of leaving the currency union. Keywords: nominal exchange rates, euro area, financial crises. JEL Classification: F21, F31, F37, F38, G15

Simulation experiments of supply chain in a period of small and big disasters

Aim/purpose – The aim of this paper is to present a strategy that allows companies to recover from disasters, when creating a supply chain. Furthermore, it also shows the impact on the company’s resources that are used in the implementation of the strategy in case of small and big disasters. Thanks to the proposed solution, it is possible to analyze each company individually, as well as in groups, at any given time. Design/methodology/approach – The results were obtained based on a numerical anal- ysis which was performed with the use of MATLAB software. The tests were carried out separately for five companies, as each of them may expect a disaster on any different day. However, the selection of the day when crises occur is carried out in accordance with the probability determined by scientific research. Findings – The research showed that companies using their resources can continue to fulfill their functions as a link in the Supply Chain despite the fact that they react differ- ently to small disasters compared to big ones. This difference occurs since small disas- ters in contrast to big ones appear in every company much more often. Consequently, it is more difficult for companies to build their wealth in the case of small disasters. The advantage of the proposed approach is that one can freely test which strategy can cause the least losses for the company as well as for the entire supply chain. Research implications/limitations – The analysis carried out shows that companies wishing to develop in conditions of unexpected disasters, that cannot be predicted, should regularly increase their assets because they are needed to implement a strategy that allows them to maintain an appropriate operational level. This approach provides tools that enable the selection of strategies with variable parameters, freely determined during the scientific research. Originality/value/contribution – The paper presents a graphical analysis of the change in the value of resources of a supply chain company over one year period. Such an anal- ysis may be useful for any company that creates a supply chain during the COVID-19 crisis period, which is an unpredictable disaster. The adoption of a Gaussian Pseudo Random Number Generator turned out to be useful as it creates crises days while simula- tion studies allow us to generate experiments for different data configurations. This pa- per provides an analysis of small and large disasters separately, which is an approach not presented in the literature. Keywords: supply chain, disaster, strategy, threats, simulations. JEL Classification: M21, D81, D84, C44

Servitization in the food behaviors of Polish consumers

Aim/purpose – The main purpose of this research is to identify and characterize the phenomenon of servitization in the food behaviors of Polish consumers and the factors shaping it. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical research was conducted on a sample of 660 respondents in the entire territory of Poland in 2018. The measurement tool in the primary research was a questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using the multi- ple regression model, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test. Findings – The results of the research confirm that the phenomenon of servitization is poorly visible in Polish consumers’ food behaviors; however, it can be concluded that this trend is becoming increasingly more visible from year to year. It has been shown that servitization of food behaviors is particularly visible among young and well- -educated men who assess their income situation as good or very good and live in urban- ized areas. Research implications/limitations – The research shows that the demand for catering services is growing and reveals who uses restaurants most often, which can be used by companies in this industry. The research is limited by the non-exhaustive character of the study, the questionnaire method, and household budget surveys as research tools, which are not without flaws, as well as time limitations. Originality/value/contribution – The results suggest a number of points. First, the gradual convergence of Polish people’ eating patterns with those of Western Europe in the use of catering services is shown. Second, the findings provide evidence of signifi- cant economic and socio-demographic differences regarding the use of food services among individuals. Third, they show the most important factors that shape the manifesta- tion of servitization in consumers’ food behaviors, which are income, gender, education, age, and location. Keywords: servitization; food behavior; food-away-from home; out-of-home eating; home-delivered meals; catering companies. JEL Classification: D12, D10, L83, M00.

Going green in logistics: The case of small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland

Aim/purpose–The aim of the paper is to identify the features of ‘green’ small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Poland.Design/methodology/approach –The paper is based on a quantitative approach and a group of 200 small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Poland were examined. The classification tree method was used to analyze the data gathered.Findings–The ‘green’ small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Poland were characterized and their important features were identified, e.g., belonging to the TFL (Transport Forwarding Logistics) sector and a direct relationship with the supply chain leader. In the case of enterprises from the TFL sector, their area of activity is a natural environment for the development of ‘green logistics’ practices.In turn, the supply chain leader usually pushes for specific solutions aimed at achieving the assumed goals, in-cluding environmental goals.Research implications/limitations–The research results enable the identification pro-cess of small and medium-sized enterprises interested in implementing the ‘green logis-tics’ concept and, consequently, their support. Nevertheless, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Poland were the only examined, thus the research findings can-not be generalized for other countries. However, the paper could be a starting point for comparative analyses on an international scale.Originality/value/contribution–The development of ‘green logistics’ among small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland is still not recognized by researchers. The paper is a valuable addition to this research gap Keywords:green logistics, SME, classification tree. JEL Classification:L21, M20, Q50

Competence measurement of production enterprises in product innovations for technological and marketing strategies

Aim/purpose – This paper attempts to arrange and present the methods of measuring the competences of production enterprises in the field of product innovations.Design/methodology/approach– The method used in this paper is a literature review, in the area of new product development management. The author assumes that the re-view and conceptual nature of this research is dominant.Findings– The obtained results indicate the importance of measurement in product innovation competencies and provide various metrics in this field. The author proposes new indicators to measure competencies in this area, i.e., the intensity of competition on new products market. Research implications/limitations– The results provide a basis for improving efforts of production enterprises in the field of product innovations. The limitations of the study include a complex character of considered theoretical constructs. Sets of measures must be adapted to the information needs of a specific enterprise.Originality/value/contribution– The values of these indicators reflect the directions of industrial enterprises’ conduct in the process of developing new products and technolo-gies. Moreover, these indicators show the strength of linking technology with the effec-tiveness of new product development, and consequently with the enterprise marketing, economic and financial efficiency. The contribution of research to the development of management sciences primarily includes the formulation of a set of indicators whose level determines product innovation competencies in industrial companies. Keywords: competence measurement, product innovation, production enterprise, new product, technical and marketing strategy.JEL Classification: O31, O32, M21

Strategic analysis for Poland as a European hub for Belt and Road Initiative

Aim/purpose–This paper aims at determining the role of Poland in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and identifying an alternative course of the trail. However, there arestill many variables that can significantly affect the extent of Poland’s participation in BRI.Design/methodology/approach–The paper was based on a literature query and inter-views with six experts of the Polish logistics environment closely connected to the con-cept of the New Silk Road. The interviews and the literature analysis allowed of the authors to define potential scenarios for the course of the New Silk Road. In addition, the SWOT analysis was used to identify the Poland’s role in BRI.Findings–The most important factors that can significantly contribute to Poland’s par-ticipation in BRI are a very convenient geographical location and a strong logistics sec-tor, whereas the main negative factors are the ambivalent attitude of the Polish authori-ties towards the Chinese party and the underdeveloped modern railway infrastructure. The study identified some potential scenarios for the route of the New Silk Road, i.e., Poland as a European hub, transit only, southern road and northern road (ro-ro neigh-bors). The first scenario is the most favorable for Poland –Poland as a European hub. This is due to the current course of the New Silk Road and the location of Poland on the most economically effective transport corridor. Research implications/limitations–The research findings allow for a relatively precise definition of possible scenarios of the BRI Northern Corridor through areas directly related to Poland. The results may contribute to raising knowledge and awareness about BRI, which may provide insights into an academic and social debate on this topic. The upshot is that the results may entail actual activities contributing to increasing the chances of Poland for being a European hub gate for BRI. Originality/value/contribution–Previous publications explored various route alterna-tives of the entire New Silk Road, whereas there was no analysis of the last stage of the transport corridor on which Poland lies. The paper is a response to this research gap.Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative, New Silk Road, Northern Corridor, logistics, inter-national trade.JEL Classification: E27, E61, F15