Research on impact of employer brand dimensions on competitiveness in hotel industry

Human resources are one of the key resources for gaining and maintaining the competitive advantage of hotels, so increasing the value of human capital becomes a priority for hotel management. One way to increase the value of human capital is to build an employer brand in the hotel industry. The paper aims to examine the relationship between employer brand and competitiveness in the hotel industry. The obtained research results indicate the importance of the following five dimensions of the employer brand: organizational culture, work-life balance, the attractiveness of the hotel, corporate social responsibility, opportunities for training, development and advancement of employees. Results of correlation analysis indicate a positive, significant correlation between employer brand dimensions, while the regression analysis results support the impact of the hotel's employer brand on competitiveness. Corporate social responsibility has a significant impact on competitiveness as one of the dimensions of an employer brand.

Research on internal indicators of financial stability of insurance companies in the Republic of Serbia

Dynamic changes in the insurance sector require a new system of performance measures, which enables monitoring of multiple business segments of insurance companies and meets the information requirements of a large number of different stakeholders. In this regard, in the Republic of Serbia a multidimensional system of performance measures is used - the CARMEL framework, made according to the methodology of the International Monetary Fund. Due to the fact that these indicators indicate the effectiveness of different business segments, the analysis of the performance of insurance companies cannot be based only on one of these groups. Assessment of financial stability and ranking of insurance companies can be performed using different data mining algorithms. The obtained results show that key internal factors for the financial stability of insurance companies change under different economic conditions. During the period of the financial crisis the greatest impact on the financial stability of insurance companies had the quality of management, but also the earning capacity and profitability and liquidity of insurance companies. The classification of insurance companies according to their performance is compared with the official rankings offered by the supervisory body based on the value of the balance sheet assets and the value of premiums paid. It can be concluded that the largest insurance companies are not the most successful in all economic conditions. Inadequate capital management, as well as the inability to generate insurance and investment portfolios, has led to a drastic decrease in the profitability of these insurance companies.

Assessment of the applicability of the Balanced Scorecard concept in small and medium-sized enterprises

The modern management concept Balanced Scorecard (BSC), thanks to the efficient solutions it offers, draws increasing attention from the management across the globe. BSC is a performance measurement system which unites a traditional, financial perspective with the consumer, internal business processes, and learning and growth perspectives; and provides intelligibility of the company's vision and strategic goals, strengthening of the internal communication of employees, and more efficient realization of key business activities. The implementation of the BSC concept in large enterprises is a quite simple and efficient process, while the procedure of incorporating its postulates into the structure of small and medium-sized enterprises is extremely complex and uncertain. For that reason, the aim of this scientific research is the assessment of the applicability of the BSC in small and medium-sized enterprises, with a simultaneous overview of examples of successful and less successful implementation practices, and the most frequent reasons for non-implementation of the concept itself. The research is inspired by the observation that the world literature has, to a certain extent, neglected the analysis of the application of the BSC concept in small and medium-sized enterprises. The descriptive and comparative method, the technique of analysis and synthesis, as well as analysis of the content of relevant literature of reference, national and foreign authors were used for research purposes. The result of the research is the confirmed assumption that the implementation of the BSC concept in small and medium-sized enterprises is possible but at the same time quite complex and demanding due to the influence of different variables. Accordingly, the recommendations such as that the BSC model should be simplified and burdened with a smaller number of metrics in order to become more applicable in small and medium-sized enterprises were derived in the research.

Research of impact of emotional motivators on consumer behavior

Regarding the importance of psychological processes in the consumer behavior, the article examines the influence of emotional motivators on purchase decisions in cosmetics industry. The empirical research was conducted from February to March 2020, on the sample of 125 respondents in Serbia. The participants answered the questions about the positive and negative emotions that occurred during the purchasing process. When defining the questionnaire, we started from the fact that emotions, which influence consumer behavior can be integral or incidental emotions. The aim of the study was to identify the emotions that have the strongest effect on consumers when purchasing cosmetic products. During the statistical data processing, the following techniques and methods were implemented: the descriptive statistical measures (frequencies and percentage, arithmetical midranges), the measures of variability, the correlation method. The survey indicated that the most dominant emotions that affect consumer purchasing decisions related to cosmetics products in the Republic of Serbia are positive emotions. The majority of respondents recognized hope as the most important emotion in their buying behavior.

Financial support as a determinant of small and medium-sized enterprises economic growth

European Union integration and revitalization of economy after the global economic crisis require small and medium-sized enterprises in Republic of Serbia to face more complex and dynamic environment which requires greater competitiveness in terms of improved quality, efficiency and management practices. However, the competitiveness of the regional SMEs is still at a much lower level compared to other European SMEs. Pointing out to the characteristics of small and medium enterprises, a logical conclusion can be drawn that state support for this sector is important. When forming the support modalities, the sector should not be viewed as a uniform whole. This paper analyses the importance of financial and non financial support for SMEs in terms of organizational capability and competiveness. Roy's test, Pearson's coefficient of contingency (ch), and multiple correlation coefficients (R) are applied as univariate statistical procedures. MANOVA and discriminant analysis show a difference and clearly defined boundary between other forms of support and financial forms of support in all the analyzed units. The findings also indicate that the financial forms of SME support influence the SMEs organization capability and competitiveness, given that in most cases the benefits of state institutions are viewed through forms of financial support.

Research on buyers' attitudes towards the use of solar panels in households in the Republic of Serbia

In modern living conditions, the concept of sustainable development is one of the current research topics. In this context, the focus on greater use of renewable energy sources is supported both in the member states of the European Union and in the Republic of Serbia. The research problem of this paper refers to the attitudes of customers towards the use of renewable energy sources. The subject of the research is about the attitudes of customers towards the use of solar panels and panels in households. The first part of the paper sets out the theoretical basis of the research through a review of previous empirical studies that dealt with the same research problem, while the other sections are dedicated to explaining the research methodology, presenting and discussing the results of research on consumer attitudes towards the use of solar panels in households. The significance of this empirical study lies in the fact that it explores customer attitudes with regard to their sociodemographic characteristics.

Quantification of the interdependence of innovation ability and competitiveness of the Southeast European countries

Based on the data of the World Economic Forum, the individual impact of innovation capacity on the competitiveness of eleven countries in Southeast Europe in the period 2017-2019 was quantified by analyzing rank and index values and using the method of correlation analysis. The obtained results showed a significant relationship between the observed countries' ranks of innovation and competitiveness in the observed time interval. The results also showed a direct link between the index of innovation ability and global competitiveness when economic development is predominantly based on the so-called platform of the fourth industrial revolution. This implies the necessity for an efficient innovation policy in the countries of Southeast Europe since the improvement of a country's innovation capacity has a stimulating effect on the growth of their competitiveness.

Market concentration and foreign direct investment in the financial leasing sector of the Republic of Serbia

The financial leasing market in previous years is characterised by a growth that is also expected in the coming period. Besides, developing countries are striving to attract as much foreign direct investment (FDI) as possible to accelerate economic growth and achieve macroeconomic stability. The aim of this paper is to determine whether there is a relationship between FDI and the level of market concentration in the financial leasing sector of the Republic of Serbia and to determine whether this relationship is long-term or short-term. Quarterly data from the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2019 were used. Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach (ARDL) and bounds test were used for data analysis. The results showed that there is a negative relationship between FDI and the level of market concentration in the financial leasing sector of the Republic of Serbia in the long run, while there is no statistically significant relationship between FDI and the level of market concentration in the short run.

Transfer pricing in a function of abusing tax competition instruments

The paper focuses on elucidating transfer pricing as a means of tax competition instruments misuse. Tax competition instruments have a key role in creating national tax attractiveness for foreign direct investment. However, in order to protect the local tax base on the basis of abuse of tax competition instruments, a large number of countries apply the principle of sources of income, i.e. taxation of business profits made by a non-resident legal entity exclusively in the country where the business was conducted and revenue generated. But with the process of globalization and the expansion of multinational companies, i.e. related legal entities, the instruments of tax competition have remained a suitable area of legally permitted transfer of profits through the application of transfer pricing. The data presented in the paper indicate that, although the trend of global corporate tax rate (as the dominant instrument of tax competition) has a downward trajectory, there are still fluctuations in rates between countries around the world, including the existing inconsistencies and ambiguities of national tax regulations. Taking this into account, the aim of the paper was to emphasize that transfer prices, through the instruments of tax competition, have threatened the economic, social, and tax stability of individual countries for more than two decades. The paper shows that developed countries have managed, to a certain extent, to gain control over their application by introducing more aggressive tax audits of transfer pricing. However, special attention is paid to developing countries which remain an active source of tax competition instruments abuse through the inadequate application of transfer pricing, due to the lack of adequate regulatory and control mechanisms, financial and human resources, and efforts to attract foreign investment through various instruments of tax competition.

Understanding work-life conflict and its implications

The present time is characterized by high level of competitiveness on the market, the rise of modern information technology, the demands for constant readiness of employees, and long working hours. One of the substantial demographic transformations involves the aging of the workforce. Numerous authors have demonstrated the link between gender and work-life conflict, but only a few researchers have examined how workers experience and manage conflict between their work and home lives across the lifespan. The current study aimed to bridge this gap and examined work-life conflict for individuals aged 30 to 72, focusing on how work-life conflict changes with age. The results show curvilinearity between age in years and work-life conflict. The negative value of the quadratic value coefficient shows a downward concave curve, which confirms curvilinearity and can be interpreted as: the older one is, the less work-life conflict is present - the drop begins after 51 years of age. The results of this study give better insights into the age effect on work-life conflict among higher education lecturers. The implications are foremost for the policymakers, higher education lecturers themselves, and work-life conflict researchers. Results of this study can be used both for further research and in practice. The broad scientific and professional interest in the constructs relating to work-life conflict is growing as global competition increases rapidly, and management expresses the need for such research; work-life conflict plays a remarkable role in the sustainability of organizations through their employees.