Factors influencing online and in-store purchase of telecommunications services and equipment in Croatia

The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in factors affecting the probability of online and in-store purchase of telecommunications equipment in the Republic of Croatia. Online questionnaire survey conducted in September 2019 gathered responses that identified respondents’: method of telecommunications services and equipment purchase, their information gathering tools, factors affecting respondents’ telecommunications services and equipment purchasing decisions in general, and online and in-store purchasing decisions. 125 gathered responses were analysed using a binomial logistic regression. The results state that general factors incite respondents to purchase telecommunications equipment and services instore. Factors inciting online purchases are enabling factors and cause respondents to purchase telecommunications services and equipment online. Responses were further divided into subsamples depending on gender and education level. Results are consistent in tested subsamples. In the sample of male respondents, the results are consistent, while the female subsample shows does not exhibit statistically significant results. Furthermore, subsamples that allowed education level differences showed the results are supported for the subsample of respondents with higher education, and are not supported for respondents with secondary education.

Personnel and human resource management specifics of basketball clubs

The article aims to explore and present the personnel structures and human resource management specifics of basketball clubs from four post-transitional South-East European countries. First, the author presents the post-transitional context, by conducting analyses of variance ant t-tests highlights the differences between clubs at different quality levels regarding financing and the degree of professionalization, and describes the implications on the personnel structures. The second part analyzes the impact of various stakeholders on human resource management processes, and in that context presents the head coach’s role in observed basketball clubs. The findings show the higher quality clubs have better infrastructure, larger financial budgets and obtain higher percentage of funds from private sources. First-division clubs are more professionalized and have larger administrative organizational parts compared to their second and third division counterparts. The largest share of responsibility for organizational performance is on head coaches, athletes, and clubs' presidents. The sporting directors’ influence on human resource management related decisions and their responsibility for the performance increase, while the influence of the clubs' presidents decreases with the quality of division. Finally, sponsors' representatives and athletes’ agents are also relatively more influential in higher-ranked clubs.

Digital due diligence

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) represent one of the most common ways for firms to achieve non-organic growth, and one of the main stages in the typical M&A transaction is due diligence of the target company. The aim of this paper is to provide a guideline for conducting due diligence process in the digital environment. After a brief introduction on the nature, purpose and elements of the due diligence, the paper elaborates various risks, and psychological and contextual hazards often occurred during due diligence process. Special attention has been paid to the elaboration of the role and importance of the digital due diligence as a new concept in today’s contemporary ‘digital’ economy. The outcome of this paper is to provide a comparison between ‘traditional’ and ‘digital’ due diligence, digital due diligence methodology, and easy understandable check list for conducting the process of digital due diligence.

The impact of corporate respect for human rights on the competitiveness and long-term business stability

Business enterprises operate in a constantly changing business environment. If they are to be successful in the long term they need to be constantly adapting to new situations and seeking new ways of improving their competitiveness. While the classic theories argue that businesses only have economic goals, modern ones emphasize the importance of broader social goals, such as ensuring long-term stability and protecting the interests of all stakeholders. This also involves respecting human rights but enterprises too often neglect this responsibility, seeing it as an unnecessary financial burden. In this paper the author argues that long-term respect for human rights has a positive impact on competitiveness and long-term business stability. The author first defines the basic terms before presenting the theoretical foundations for a positive correlation between corporate respect for human rights and competitiveness and long-term business stability. Finally, the author presents the results of her own empirical study.

Analysis of key challenges of family businesses

Family business represents the most common form of the company ownership and makes around 70% to 90% of all firms around the globe depending on the definition one uses. It is estimated that worldwide, family firms account for about 40% to 70% of employment and GDP. The aim of this paper is to provide overview of main characteristics of family business in general and to analyze key challenges family businesses generally are facing today. Additional aim of the paper is to provide overview of research on family business in Croatia and to analyze characteristic and challenges of family businesses in Croatia. Paper provides brief overview of key trends which can have negative implications on companies, their owners, as well as for a wide network of stakeholders such as family members, customers, suppliers, employees, banks, local government and the national economy in general. Some of the challenges discussed in the paper could be relevant to all types of firms. However, with reference to family business these challenges may be more salient than in nonfamily firms or they may need to be addressed differently.

Covid-19 crisis

The coronavirus situation is causing widespread concern and economic hardship for society, consumers and businesses worldwide. As for entire world, COVD-19 is the most serious challenge to financial institutions in long time. Banks are called upon to manage this new phase with urgency and aptness, to help deflect a worldwide recession. Until recently, majority of banks were focused on empowering both the psychical and digital distribution models. The “new normal” calls for reassessing of priorities and pushes new distribution model where psychical and digital are combined and act as one, with interconnected capabilities. This paper highlights importance of long-term positioning in post covid world, as market forces and customer behavior potentially change coming out of this crisis. In order to manage revenue and customer expectations, new customer-centric and digital based ecosystem should be established, leveraging on the latest technologies, aiming at increasing remote sales and market penetration. Having that in mind, article aims to shed light on key factors important for retail banking success in this “new future”.

Financial markets in the period of uncertainty – focus on the Slovak financial market

Economic environment has changed significantly in recent days due to the COVID19 and measures the governments apply to combat it will inevitably cause the substantial shrinkage of economies due to reduced economic activities on the national as well as global levels. As a result, financial markets have been under great stress because there is no prediction on the size, scope, and duration of this situation. Simultaneously this causes a great uncertainty. It is obvious that financial markets play crucial role in the general good standing of economies because they are serving as a channel through which funds are transferred to and between entities on the market. Financial and monetary systems are a part of the economic system whereby for the latter it is important the former to be as stable as possible. In order this to be achieved or at least risks caused by uncertainty to be reduced both in short-term as well as long-term perspectives a wide scope of traditional as well as modern the financial market regulations have been applied and here we are going to present at least some of them.

Digital strategy

The digital strategy presents a framework for digital business transformation and an inevitable requirement for achieving success in a digital world. The pace of change and innovation in digital businesses is not slowing down and today almost no business can ignore its digital aspect but what drives digital transformation is a strategy, not technology. Therefore, the ability to digitally reimagine the business is determined by a clear digital strategy, and the leaders able to implement it in the organization. Inertia is not the solution to uncertainty. Having a clear vision, goals and objectives help organizations to reduce this ambiguity and adapt to an everchanging digital environment. Agile outperforms the traditional approach and new, innovative organizations replace incumbents that do not adapt fast enough in a process known as creative destruction.

The performance factors of non-profit basketball clubs

Using the data from 73 non-profit basketball clubs from four post-transitional Southeast European countries the article examines the potential causal relationship between 165 variables divided into four groups (organizational environment, strategies, human resource management (HRM), and behavior and feelings of organizational members) and two different aspects of organizational performance, namely competitive-financial and recreational-non-financial. The multiple regression analyses results disclose direct impact of the strategic focus on the organizational performance. The study provides explanation how the importance of different objectives from an aspect of club leadership affect the chances of enhancing the sport clubs performance from both perspectives. Higher performance is achieved by specialized clubs that pursue only one aspect of performance and strive for those goals that positively affect the same performance perspective. On the other hand, the HRM – performance analysis shows that many HRM factors correlate with organizational performance. However, regression analysis did not confirm any significant direct impact, which indicates that this causal relationship is indirect.

Analysis of tobacco industry attractiveness

Tobacco industry is one of the most profitable global industries with the steady increase in global demand for tobacco and tobacco related products. Tobacco industry in Croatia has a centuries-old tradition and tobacco is one of the most important non-food agricultural crops produced in Croatia. Moreover, tobacco industry in Croatia is one of the major revenue sources of the government’s budget. The aim of this paper is to determine whether tobacco industry in Croatia is attractive enough for a new player willing to enter the market. Paper provides brief overview of the tobacco industry and the impact it has on Croatian economy. Furthermore, paper explains how excise duties and product prices changed over time, shows market consolidation and concentration before and after the EU accession, and in detail depicts forces which determine industry’s profitability, i.e. its attractiveness.