The Management of Strategic Change in the Municipal Public Library

Public libraries, which are undergoing technological and socio-cultural changes, today become centres of socialization of communities, creating social and cultural well-being, therefore, their effective management becomes the object of research. This is also relevant in the implementation of public policy: strategic documents (“Europe 2030”, “Lithuania 2030”), which guide public sector bodies to achieve a sustainable economy, also actualize the ability to anticipate the necessary changes in the organization.In addition to the usual long-term strategic goals (providing high-quality various services, programs, resources to people of all ages; developing existing collections; creating an environment that responds to community needs and promotes creativity), municipal libraries aim to strengthen the institution’s management and develop local communities. Due to COVID-19, the revised strategic plans of public libraries of the Republic of Lithuania have made the accessibility aspect of services even more relevant. Long-term goals testify to the need for strategic change, at the same time raise the problematic questions: what are the essential aspects of science in the management of strategic change in the municipal public library? What is the situation of strategic change management in Lithuanian municipal public libraries? The research aims to practically investigate the situation of strategic change management in Lithuanian municipal public libraries and to discern the aspects to be improved.Based on the scientific literature, we define strategic change as significant fundamental changes in the organization aimed at positive change: to eliminate shortcomings, negative consequences and take on new challenges inherent in the organization’s strategy. They are always linked to the strategic goals of the organization, are changing or touching the entire organization, requiring strategic and change management competencies.The strategic changes implemented in the libraries of the Republic of Lithuania in this decade are more attributable to adaptation or evolution, as there are changes in sustainable growth. According to the hierarchical structural model, strategic administrative (changes in management structures, processes) or strategic functional changes (e.g. changes in personnel, financial management strategy, etc.) are usually initiated in the municipal public libraries themselves. Strategic political and strategic changes in work are mainly driven by politicians. Strategic change requires leadership at all levels of an organization’s governance and is generally seen as a significant factor in increasing employees’ commitment to change.The management of strategic change in libraries as a process has much in common with the management of strategic change in other public sector institutions. Their management in libraries is influenced by external and internal factors, in particular public policy. Among the internal factors for municipal public libraries, the process of managing changes, in general, is important, as it was common practice in Lithuanian municipalities to work in accordance with the municipal cultural policy strategy without developing a separate strategy for the development of their own, separate institution. In the current context of increasing decentralization of governance, it is increasingly the responsibility of libraries to take the initiative and take care of the long-term goals of the organization.The public libraries of two neighbouring municipalities (Akmenė district and Mažeikiai district) were selected for the research, a strategy of mixed methods was applied, combining qualitative research methods (content analysis of documents) and quantitative research methods (total questionnaire survey of both library employees except director and deputy director using apklausa.lt, after receiving participants’ consent via e-mails).Having analysed the strategic plans and activity reports of the years 2011–2021 of public libraries in municipalities of Akmenė district and Mažeikiai district, it was revealed that the most important strategic changes in the recent period correspond to the guidelines of Lithuanian cultural policy (2010) and were mostly technological changes or technological-organizational: related to building reconstructions, renovations; with the digitization of administrative management and services; with the socialization of socially excluded groups, with the increase of digital literacy of communities through education, etc. The documents testify that the public library in Mažeikiai district, during the research, already had its own strategic plan, while the public library in Akmenė district, was developing its first strategy. Different experiences of strategic management have also led to partly different expressions of strategic change management in libraries. The library in Mažeikiai district constantly performs the analysis of external factors, while the library in Akmenė district yet only intends to do so. Among the external factors, the project activities carried out by Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, including public libraries, are important in both cases. By strategizing activities, both libraries conduct the performance analysis using SWOT, highlighting similar weaknesses (limited funding for modernization), strengths (systematically training staff, modernized public library infrastructure, strong collaborative relationships with other public and county libraries).Wider cooperation with business is not yet visible. The library in Akmenė district sees the consideration of the needs of stakeholders and the use of social partners’ resources as an opportunity, whereas the library in Mažeikiai district is already planning more active partnership relations, also with Lithuanian and foreign libraries.After conducting the opinion research of the employees of public libraries in Akmenė district and Mažeikiai district, the following most important aspects of the management of strategic changes in the studied municipal public libraries have been revealed:Situation – libraries undergo strategic changes initiated by external institutions through programs and projects; they have experience in implementing strategic change, communicating the results of change; there is no resistance to innovations in libraries; employees begin to be involved in strategic change management through separate sub-processes, while for the time being, managers take the lead in strategic change management; organizations lack a deeper understanding of strategic change, the competencies to initiate them involving the entire library community. Potential – employees would like to be more involved in the management of strategic change: 1) relatively good internal communication about already implemented (mostly project-based) strategic changes is revealed; 2) over 10 percent of employees are already involved in managing strategic change; 3) half of the surveyed employees feel able to offer ideas for innovations and strategic changes, the other 50 percent of employees feel “not invited” to do so; 4) Most staff feel ready to take on good practice from other (including foreign) institutions.This research has confirmed the insights of scholars and cultural strategists that public libraries today are undergoing tremendous change, making long-term perspective knowledge and strategic planning a necessity in every organization. With the growth of decentralization of management as well as the uncertainty due to global changes, in the public sector this is achieved through greater involvement of the community in governance and inter-institutional cooperation. Leadership alone is not enough.This research shows that municipal public libraries have the potential to initiate and manage strategic change themselves, as they have been involved in the implementation of changes initiated by external institutions for 10 years, there is no anti-change attitude in organizations. On the other hand, there is a lack of experience and competencies to anticipate change, initiate change, motivate employees to get involved themselves. This research also raises the debate questions that require broader research: Knowing that municipal public libraries are accustomed to working according to the programs, projects and plans coming from above, the question arises whether the current 2016-2017 legislation on improving library management approved by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania is effective and meets today’s challenges; why there is no methodological assistance to public libraries on how to improve their management. What governance structure of municipal public libraries would be conducive to increasing staff involvement in strategic change management? What managerial innovations would increase employee motivation to initiate change?

The Management of Strategic Change in the Municipal Public Library

Public libraries, which are undergoing technological and socio-cultural changes, today become centres of socialization of communities, creating social and cultural well-being, therefore, their effective management becomes the object of research. This is also relevant in the implementation of public policy: strategic documents (“Europe 2030”, “Lithuania 2030”), which guide public sector bodies to achieve a sustainable economy, also actualize the ability to anticipate the necessary changes in the organization.In addition to the usual long-term strategic goals (providing high-quality various services, programs, resources to people of all ages; developing existing collections; creating an environment that responds to community needs and promotes creativity), municipal libraries aim to strengthen the institution’s management and develop local communities. Due to COVID-19, the revised strategic plans of public libraries of the Republic of Lithuania have made the accessibility aspect of services even more relevant. Long-term goals testify to the need for strategic change, at the same time raise the problematic questions: what are the essential aspects of science in the management of strategic change in the municipal public library? What is the situation of strategic change management in Lithuanian municipal public libraries? The research aims to practically investigate the situation of strategic change management in Lithuanian municipal public libraries and to discern the aspects to be improved.Based on the scientific literature, we define strategic change as significant fundamental changes in the organization aimed at positive change: to eliminate shortcomings, negative consequences and take on new challenges inherent in the organization’s strategy. They are always linked to the strategic goals of the organization, are changing or touching the entire organization, requiring strategic and change management competencies.The strategic changes implemented in the libraries of the Republic of Lithuania in this decade are more attributable to adaptation or evolution, as there are changes in sustainable growth. According to the hierarchical structural model, strategic administrative (changes in management structures, processes) or strategic functional changes (e.g. changes in personnel, financial management strategy, etc.) are usually initiated in the municipal public libraries themselves. Strategic political and strategic changes in work are mainly driven by politicians. Strategic change requires leadership at all levels of an organization’s governance and is generally seen as a significant factor in increasing employees’ commitment to change.The management of strategic change in libraries as a process has much in common with the management of strategic change in other public sector institutions. Their management in libraries is influenced by external and internal factors, in particular public policy. Among the internal factors for municipal public libraries, the process of managing changes, in general, is important, as it was common practice in Lithuanian municipalities to work in accordance with the municipal cultural policy strategy without developing a separate strategy for the development of their own, separate institution. In the current context of increasing decentralization of governance, it is increasingly the responsibility of libraries to take the initiative and take care of the long-term goals of the organization.The public libraries of two neighbouring municipalities (Akmenė district and Mažeikiai district) were selected for the research, a strategy of mixed methods was applied, combining qualitative research methods (content analysis of documents) and quantitative research methods (total questionnaire survey of both library employees except director and deputy director using apklausa.lt, after receiving participants’ consent via e-mails).Having analysed the strategic plans and activity reports of the years 2011–2021 of public libraries in municipalities of Akmenė district and Mažeikiai district, it was revealed that the most important strategic changes in the recent period correspond to the guidelines of Lithuanian cultural policy (2010) and were mostly technological changes or technological-organizational: related to building reconstructions, renovations; with the digitization of administrative management and services; with the socialization of socially excluded groups, with the increase of digital literacy of communities through education, etc. The documents testify that the public library in Mažeikiai district, during the research, already had its own strategic plan, while the public library in Akmenė district, was developing its first strategy. Different experiences of strategic management have also led to partly different expressions of strategic change management in libraries. The library in Mažeikiai district constantly performs the analysis of external factors, while the library in Akmenė district yet only intends to do so. Among the external factors, the project activities carried out by Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, including public libraries, are important in both cases. By strategizing activities, both libraries conduct the performance analysis using SWOT, highlighting similar weaknesses (limited funding for modernization), strengths (systematically training staff, modernized public library infrastructure, strong collaborative relationships with other public and county libraries).Wider cooperation with business is not yet visible. The library in Akmenė district sees the consideration of the needs of stakeholders and the use of social partners’ resources as an opportunity, whereas the library in Mažeikiai district is already planning more active partnership relations, also with Lithuanian and foreign libraries.After conducting the opinion research of the employees of public libraries in Akmenė district and Mažeikiai district, the following most important aspects of the management of strategic changes in the studied municipal public libraries have been revealed:Situation – libraries undergo strategic changes initiated by external institutions through programs and projects; they have experience in implementing strategic change, communicating the results of change; there is no resistance to innovations in libraries; employees begin to be involved in strategic change management through separate sub-processes, while for the time being, managers take the lead in strategic change management; organizations lack a deeper understanding of strategic change, the competencies to initiate them involving the entire library community. Potential – employees would like to be more involved in the management of strategic change: 1) relatively good internal communication about already implemented (mostly project-based) strategic changes is revealed; 2) over 10 percent of employees are already involved in managing strategic change; 3) half of the surveyed employees feel able to offer ideas for innovations and strategic changes, the other 50 percent of employees feel “not invited” to do so; 4) Most staff feel ready to take on good practice from other (including foreign) institutions.This research has confirmed the insights of scholars and cultural strategists that public libraries today are undergoing tremendous change, making long-term perspective knowledge and strategic planning a necessity in every organization. With the growth of decentralization of management as well as the uncertainty due to global changes, in the public sector this is achieved through greater involvement of the community in governance and inter-institutional cooperation. Leadership alone is not enough.This research shows that municipal public libraries have the potential to initiate and manage strategic change themselves, as they have been involved in the implementation of changes initiated by external institutions for 10 years, there is no anti-change attitude in organizations. On the other hand, there is a lack of experience and competencies to anticipate change, initiate change, motivate employees to get involved themselves. This research also raises the debate questions that require broader research: Knowing that municipal public libraries are accustomed to working according to the programs, projects and plans coming from above, the question arises whether the current 2016-2017 legislation on improving library management approved by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania is effective and meets today’s challenges; why there is no methodological assistance to public libraries on how to improve their management. What governance structure of municipal public libraries would be conducive to increasing staff involvement in strategic change management? What managerial innovations would increase employee motivation to initiate change?

Volunteering in Lithuania – the perspective of social capital

The level of social capital in society is one of the most important elements for the success of state development, which is increasingly emphasized on political agendas. In research, social capital covers a wide range of areas due to the interdisciplinarity of social capital. Still, the dominant components stand out: trust in society, trust in public authorities, involvement in civic activities. While trust in public authorities and trust in other members of society are more often used in research and heard in the media, civic activities often lack such interest. However, it is one of the most effective ways for government decisions to invest most effectively in improving social capital in society. The primary tool for the state to increase public involvement in civic activities is the promotion of voluntary activities, which contributes to the state’s sustainable development, and the creation of the welfare state is enshrined in international documents. With this article, the authors seek to examine the peculiarities of Lithuanian volunteering in the context of social capital formation. The aim is to: 1) examine the theoretical assumptions of the impact of volunteering on the formation of social capital; 2) study the expression of social capital and voluntary activity in the context of state performance evaluation indicators; 3) carry out empirical research (expert interview) examining the peculiarities of volunteering in Lithuania. It should be noted that some of the results of the empirical research were used in the report of the applied research “Development of Youth Volunteering in Lithuania” (prepared by the Lithuanian Council of Youth Organizations (LiJOT) project “Strengthening the Participation of the Lithuanian Council of Youth Organizations in Public Management Decision Making”). The development of volunteering and the improvement of social capital indicators are named Lithuania’s long-term strategic goals, but the indicators in international indices are low compared to other countries.The analysis of the results of the empirical research allows us to state that: 1) In Lithuania, volunteering is often treated in various ways, e.g., in connection with unpaid work or other activities which are not, in principle, activities carried out of the person’s own free will; outstanding long-term and short-term volunteering (up to 6 months); 2) organizers of voluntary activities (usually non-governmental non-profit organizations (NGOs)) lack managerial skills; 3) In recent years, Lithuania has started to develop long-term volunteering programs, which are associated with better social capital formation, and it is expected that this measure will help to improve the quality and indicators of volunteering, especially among young people.

Availability of social services for families with disabled children in the context of the welfare state

The phenomenon of the welfare state is characterized by complexity of indicators. To determine in which areas the country is closer to the welfare state, various areas of social policy are analysed. In this article, we set out to investigate one of them, i.e., the accessibility of social services for children with disabilities. The European Union ensures the basic preconditions for the well-being of children with disabilities and emphasizes the compatibility of health, social and educational services (European Commission, 2021). In addition, Member States are free to introduce specific measures for social inclusion (COM, 2021). The well-being of children with disabilities is inseparable from that of adults, usually the family in which the children live. Depending on the child’s disability, the family has to devote time to the child’s special needs, so opportunities to function in society, such as working and earning an income, become dependent on the social assistance received for the disabled child. Research shows that participation in labour market processes reduces the social exclusion of families with children with disabilities and improves quality of life indicators in general (Stefanidis & Strogilos 2020). However, analysis of good practice is more common, while information about the lack of services that parents face difficulties remains overboard. Thus, our research contributes to a better understanding of how families raising children with disabilities use state-provided social services and what solutions and measures are needed to improve the quality of life of children with disabilities and their relatives. The practical implications of our article are revealed through the possibility of more confidently shaping the decisions and measures of the welfare state.The article presents results of a survey of 68 families with disabled children. Our research was conducted in Druskininkai municipality which has typical infrastructure of social services for the disabled and their families in Lithuania.Our study has shown that social services in Lithuania poorly meet needs of families with disabled children. Though social inclusion is one of the most important features of the welfare state, the provision of social services to disabled and their families goes beyond the concept in Druskininkai municipality at least. Families have little information about social guarantees and support provided by the state and municipality. The families are limited to services reported by health care and education institutions. Moreover, the most significant problem hindering social integration of disabled and their families is a small portion of disabled children using services of day care centre. As a result, children suffer at risk of social exclusion while disabled children’s parents lack of opportunities to fully participate in the labour market.Based on the results of the study we state that increasing the availability of social services that meet the needs of families with disabled children is a necessary social policy solution, without which the development of a welfare state in Lithuania is hardly possible.

Relationship between perfectionism, self-objectification and risk of eating disorders in young women in Lithuania

The goal of this study was to examine risk of eating disorders, perfectionism and self-objectification, as well as the interrelationship between perfectionism and self-objectification in young females. This study was based on the theory of the Cult of Thinness and the dominant culture that supports it. Such research was never conducted in Lithuania before. It was hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between risk of eating disorders, perfectionism and self-objectification. Also, it was predicted that this relationship would be different in women without risk of eating disorders, and that there would be a positive relationship between perfectionism and self-objectification. A total of 217 females aged 18–24 participated in this study. Their average age was 20 years. The research was conducted in Lithuanian Facebook groups for university students and those interested in healthy eating and dieting. Several instruments were used in the research: Eating Attitudes Test – 26 (EAT–26) (Garner ir kt., 1982), Almost Perfect Scale – Revised (APS-R) (Slaney, Mobley, Trippi, Ashby ir Johnson, 2001) and Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBC) (McKinley ir Hyde, 1996). The participants were also asked about their gender, age and place of residence. The results revealed that women at risk for eating disorders are associated with higher levels of body shame. Women who do not have a risk of developing eating disorders, are more inclined to set high standards for themselves than those who have a risk of developing it. Women at risk for eating disorders are also more likely to see themselves as failing to meet their personal standards for performance than those with no risk of eating disorders. Also, the study showed that the higher the degree of women’s discrepancy between expectations and performance, the higher is the extent of their body shame. These results could be helpful in the treatment of young women with eating disorders and disordered eating.

Management of the Influence of Organized Interests on Public Policy

The article analyzes the management of the influence of organized interests on public policy. The article reveals the concept of organized interests, the essential differences in comparing the concepts of organized interests and interest groups. The article takes the view that organized interests are a more neutral concept that better explains the nature of all actors seeking to influence public policy-making. The author of the article is of the opinion that the concept of interest groups – due to the disagreement of scientists in defining it – causes a lot of confusion when comparing the results of different researches and using the theoretical insights of other scientists. Organized interests interact with other public policy makers to influence policy outcomes. This article analyzes the ways in which organized interests can influence public policy. According to the author of the article, by identifying the ways of influencing public policy, it is possible to envisage ways to manage that influence. The article applies methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization and comparative analysis of scientific literature.

Possibilities of Performance Audit to Increase the Transparency of Activities in the Municipality

The article analyzes the implementation of the transparency principle in implementing the performance audit in the municipality. The performance audit is qualified as a specific control function in order to objectively assess the functionality of public sector entities in terms of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, initiating operational and governance advancement. It is important to investigate this object in municipalities due to the following factors: 1) according to the assessment of the transparency of Lithuanian municipalities published in 2019 by “Transparency International” of the Lithuanian branch, municipalities have become more transparent as well as the recommendations were provided to municipalities; 2) Recent research conducted in foreign countries shows broader audit opportunities for initiating positive change in organizations. The aim of the research: having established the principle of transparency as one of the most important indications of good governance, to provide for the possibilities of increasing the transparency of municipal activities during the performance audits. Research methods: analysis of scientific literature, the content of documents, qualitative analysis of the expert interview and the content of the material collected during it, and categorization.The analyzed sources show how during these two decades of developing the theoretical concept of good governance the importance of the principle of transparency has grown, it has become one of the most important features of good governance; the concept of implementing transparency in public sector organizations has developed as well. Today, the principle of operational transparency is implemented both through strictly formalized government activities and by involving citizens in public governance that requires much honesty, competencies and non-traditional solutions of civil servants. How can a performance audit contribute to this? In order to gain new insights, experts were interviewed: researchers and practicians. Recommendations from external evaluators on transparency in municipalities were used to develop the guidelines for the expert interviews. The research revealed that in municipalities it is important to create greater opportunities for the citizens to participate in monitoring and involvement in decision-making. The directions for increasing the transparency of municipal activities through performance audits that have been highlighted by experts are as follows: 1) periodic performance transparency audits by including constantly updated performance transparency criteria in the audit; 2) creation of a non-corruption organization; 3) increasing the transparency of budgeting and implementation; 4) submission of budget reports with audit conclusions; 5) attention to the clarity of the content of audit reports, diversity of accessibility; 6) periodic monitoring of the effectiveness of audit findings; 7) integration of audits of social responsibility activities into other forms of performance evaluation, thus not increasing the number of audits but seeking greater integration of the principle of transparency. The experts proposed transparency evaluation criteria that can be easily integrated into the evaluation process.

The impact of cultural activities on community building

This paper presents an analysis of the impact that cultural activities have on community building. Recently, more and more people begin to understand the importance of community: they bring about local communities, and they begin to get involved in its activities. Cultural activities, in this case, offer a significant assistance. They are regarded as part of a typical community building stage. In this paper, the local community is perceived as a localized, cohesive social group with its own traditions, established norms, values, share the same interests, place of residence or attendance, and the most important – emotional connection. Community building begins with a motivated human leader, then leader create a group of people, that is next step on community building, and then community influenced by cultural activities and other motives is building. Cultural activities, joint celebrations have a huge impact on community building; therefore, there is a legitimate reason for further considerations. Different art projects worldwide are flexible and bring results, furthermore, they are economically effective ways to solve community building problems. The experts substantiate the cultural activity benefits for the community and confirm the importance of a leader at the primary stage of community building.The object of this thesis is a the impact of cultural activities on community building.The goal of this thesis is after a theoretical analysis of the relationship between cultural activities and the community, to carry out a study to assess the formation of the community through cultural activities.Cultural regions of Lithuania are experiencing the decline in population which results in the decline of supply of cultural activities and activities related to arts. In the context of dwindling communities and eroding communality a research question of this thesis arises: how to build a community based on cultural activities?Research methods of this thesis include different types of methods. In the first chapter a comparative theoretical analysis and synthesis of sources of literature method is used. In this part of thesis, the concepts of culture and community, the impact of cultural activities on society and community building are examined.In the second chapter of this thesis, having the intention to receive practical advice, and to acquire know-how on event planning for communities, a qualitative method has been chosen in a form of semi-structured interview with representatives of communities in Šilainiai (Kaunas microdistrict), Balsiai (in Šilalė distr.) and Akademija (in Kaunas distr.). After finishing the process of analysis of and structuring all the results of quantitative research indicate: has revealed such results: communities form for different reasons, and they face similar challenges (lack of human and financial resources), communality is expressed differently in each community, and the events are being held in accordance with the needs of the respective community.The following conclusions are published after analyzing the impact of cultural activities on the community building theoretically and qualitative studies with community presidents-experts:• The community is a group of people connected by common interests, places, communications, but the most important thing is the feeling. When we talk about the local community, we need to perceive it as a localised group of people.• In community building activities, the classic path takes place through cultural activities. Artistic cultural phenomena create more cohesive and sustainable communities, making it easier to involve people in the community. There are many art projects around the world that seek to bring divisive societies into communities through cultural activities. Such projects are flexible, proven and cost-effective ways to address community development problems.After reviewing the collected interview material, the following recommendations can be made for those who want to build a community in their place:• At the beginning of the community building, it is important person-leader with enthusiasm, energy and charisma. The leader can‘t be to strong – have just his ideas, his vision. The good leader for community is person, who can accept other ideas, who can listen community wishes, needs and say thank you to community members. It is small thing that humans needs.• It is important for people that their wishes, needs, ideas are heard and to be allowed to implement them;• It is worth involving members of the community in the process of organizing events – it is important for them to feel necessary and useful, but after involving the community, the process of organizing takes longer. And here comes challenge for leader to be able to properly moderate and distribute the work for community;• It is very important to co-create the process with community, to communicate, let them to feel like the creators of the celebration;• The number of cultural activities to be organised varies according to the needs of the community, but it is important to maintain a cyclicality, quantity and quality ratio. It is worth having a few bigger celebrations for the whole community with a variety of activities, while other events are organized for smaller and target audiences. Activities must be non-binding, but innovative, modern and;• The community is made up of people of all ages and none of them should be forgotten – everyone has to find the right activities for themselves, but young mothers and seniors usually join communities, so at the beginning of the community it is the target audience to which cultural activities must be adapted;• News about community events works best in a word-of-mouth format, but all possible channels need to be used to invite people to events: networks, local newspapers, libraries or even churches.Every community is unique and you need to know or make research to getting know what is community wishes, needs, what ideas have community members. The leader must be person that community trust.

Development of Tribal Marketing and Application Possibilities in Postmodern Society

Relevance and problem of the topic. Global product and service innovations are driving changes in consumer behavior. Business organizations try to apply a variety of marketing strategies to take into account changing consumer values and behaviors, to form new relationships and emotional experiences for their clientele (Cova, Dalli, 2009, p. 315; Sanz-Marcos, 2020, p. 473). Retrospectively, modernized society was dominated by developed and stable social structures and hierarchies, while postmodern society was dominated by social networks of micro-groups, in which individuals establish strong emotional connections and attitudes toward life. In order to ensure effective attraction of new customers and loyalty of existing customers in a postmodern society, business organizations should take into account and acess cultural change, societal fragmentation, and declining social connections. Renewing these social connections in the form of a consumer tribe in connection with the consumption of a product or service is a marketing opportunity and necessity. The concept of tribal marketing in the context of marketing application is related to the recurring quasi-archaic values of consumers: group identity, religiosity, syncretism, group narcissism (Necualaesei, 2017, pp. 122–125; Pinto de Lima, Brito, 2012, p. 293; Cova, Cova, 2002, p. 4). The reintegration of these values in the new conditions is extremely important, especially emphasizing the long-term tendencies of social rationalization of society in many spheres of life, the importance of qualitative indicators in the modernist period. In postmodern society, there is a growing impulse to distance oneself from rational forms of life and return to a natural or primitive state, and this need can be exploited through tribal marketing, when analyzing tribal communities in surfing, where marketing ideals become freedom, simplicity, escape from everyday life and strong impressions. (Canniford, Shankar, 2011, p. 35–46). Other significant tribes such as the Goths, (Cova, Dalli, 2009, p. 323), Harley-Davidson motorcyclists, pipe collectors, and smokers can also be mentioned (Pace et al., 2011, pp. 314-320). V. Badrinarayanan, et. al., is of the opinion that communities of various online games can also be assigned to tribes (Barnes and Mattsson, 2016, p. 98).The problem analyzed in this article can be defined by the following questions: What promotes the formation of tribal marketing and what are the specifics of its application? What are the differences between tribal marketing and traditional marketing? How virtual tribe could formed?The object of the article is the development of tribal marketing and application possibilitiesThe aim of the article is to find out the development and application possibilities of tribal marketing in the postmodern society.Tasks: 1) to theoretically define the concept and essential principles of tribal marketing; 2) to reveal the cultural origins of tribal marketing and the reasons for its formation; 3) to identify the essential differences of tribal marketing in comparison with traditional marketing tools; 4) to reveal the changes related to the transition to the formation of virtual tribes.Methods: methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization and comparative analysis of scientific literature. An analysis of the scientific literature has revealed that tribal marketing is a theory that focuses on specific subcultures, and specific products or services become cult objects and emblems that represent belonging to these subcultures, encouraging individual consumption behavior. Tribal subcultures are characterized by strong emotional ties and experiences, common interests, and specific activities. These individuals exist in a peculiar subculture characterized by peculiar myths, values, rituals, language, and hierarchy. It is important to understand that individuals can belong to several tribes at the same time, and tribes are not limited by physical boundaries. The cultural origins of tribal marketing are related to the fragmented and individualized state of postmodern society and the need to reconstruct social ties. In postmodern society, the reintegration of archaic relations takes place under new conditions. The structure of tribal marketing integrates cultural aspects, linking them with the sentiments of primitive society, nostalgia for naturalness, the need for a closer social relationship with the group.However, with the changing technological environment and socio - cultural changes, the formation of tribes is moving into a virtual space. Technological changes have led to the formation of virtual tribes. In a virtual space, individuals and their groups can share the same emotions, opinions, information about a brand, product, or service. Technological change has made it possible for individuals from all over the world to find a group or groups united by common cultural elements. The essential criteria of a virtual tribe are that the tribe has a collective consciousness, rituals and traditions, duties, a sense of commitment to both the whole tribal community and its members. When analyzing virtual tribes, it is useful to rely on the 8E model, as it covers a systematic perspective in assessing the structure and functioning of virtual tribes. The processes of creating new social connections and forms are intensified by modern technologies. Users can interact with each other, regardless of territorial barriers, share information, form virtual tribes (Pinto de Lima, Brito, 2012, pp. 291– 292). It is becoming more important for business organizations not only to take advantage of traditional tribal marketing opportunities, but also to adapt to the opportunities provided by virtual space. However, the topic of tribal marketing is poorly researched in Lithuania.

The Institute of the Data Protection Officer as Part of the Regulatory Framework of the General Data Protection Regulation

Following the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (hereafter referred to as the GDPR), organizations that process personal data must ensure and demonstrate compliance with all of its principles. A new post, known as the Data Protection Officer (hereafter referred to as the DPO), has been created. The appointment of this official may be one of the measures necessary to implement the principle of accountability. The purpose of the article is to analyze the institute of the DPO as part of the regulatory framework laid down in the Regulation, and to provide generalized recommendations to organizations.