INFLUENCE OF PERSONAL VALUES ON CONSUMER CHOICE AND INTENTION TO BUY: A CASE OF CROATIAN AUTOMOBILE MARKET

This paper aimed to identify the factors and segments of car buyers based on their personal values and analyzing their relation to car buyers’ choice and intention to buy. A survey involving 561 participants was conducted using the PVQ scale and additional questions about car-buying behavior. Upon collecting the data, statistical analysis was conducted that allowed for nine value types to be successfully distinguished among car buyers: benevolence, universalism, self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, and power, security, conformity, and tradition. Additionally, based on the abovementioned value types, different consumer segments were distinguished: "opened to change", "self-transcendent", "self-enhanced" and "conservative". Furthermore, the results show that segments of car buyers differ in their preferences of car models, i.e. they choose or intend to buy different car models. The conclusion presents the contribution of the paper, limitations, and guidelines for future research.

SAFE HAVEN, HEDGE AND DIVERSIFICATION FOR STOCK MARKETS: GOLD VERSUS SILVER

This paper aims to analyse if whether Gold (Gold Bullion: Zurich) and Silver (Silver Paris Spot E/KG) will be a safe haven for portfolio diversification in the financial markets of Germany (DAX 30), USA (DOW JONES), France (CAC 4 0), Italy (FTSE MID), United Kingdom (FTSE 100), Hong Kong (Hang Seng), China (SHANGHAI SE ASHARE), Japan (NIKKEI 225), in the period between 1 January 2019 to 2 September 2020. In order to perform this analysis where undertaken different approaches to analyse if: (i) the gold and silver market will be a safe haven when financial markets break down? (ii) If so, can market shocks question portfolio diversification? The results suggest 53 pairs of integrated markets (out of 90 possible). Gold and Silver have integrations with each other and with the USA, but the other financial markets integrate with Gold and Silver, namely the US, France, UK, Italy and Hong Kong markets (the latter only with Silver). The China market has a single integration but is integrated by the USA, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany, which partially rejects the first investigation question. In corroboration, causality tests show 67 causal relationships (out of 90 possible). The Markets of Italy (FTSE MID), the USA (DOW JONES) cause, in the Grangerian sense, all its peers (9 out of 9 possible), while France (CAC 40), the United Kingdom (FTSE 100), Japan (NIKKEI 225), and Germany (DAX 30) cause 8 out of 9. Silver and Gold cause the financial markets 7, and 6 times (out of 9 possible), respectively, while the Hong Kong (Hang Seng) and China (SHANGHAI) markets cause 3 and once, respectively, which validates the second investigation question. Given the high level of integration and shocks between markets, portfolio diversification may be brought into question. These findings also make room for market regulators to take steps to ensure better information among international financial markets.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURAL Σ-CONVERGENCE OF EXPORTS

The paper analyses the structural σ-convergence of exports of six CEE countries to the Euro area. The countries are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, which are members of the Euro area, as well as Bulgaria, which was included in the ERM II currency mechanism on 10.07.2020. The main goals are to measure and compare the structural σ-convergence of exports of the six CEE countries and to prove whether the introduction of the common currency (the euro) has an impact on the convergence. The research consists of the theoretical and empirical parts. The theoretical part systematizes basic concepts of economic, trade, club, and structural convergence. One index method used by his authors to study economic convergence has been adapted to the structural σ-convergence of exports. This is the dissimilarity index of Von Hagen and Traistaru. In the empirical part, the values of the index, by commodity groups, according to SITС, Rev. 4, for the six countries during the period 2002-2018 are determined. The index is calculated also as aggregated, referring to the total exports of the selected countries and for the whole period. The results are presented in graphical form. Based on them, the structural and dynamic characteristics of the convergence and divergence of exports of the six countries compared to the exports of the Euro area are derived. Conclusions are made about achieved the different degree of similarity, that is uncertain and unstable and so the convergence can be only partially attributed to the adoption of the euro. Methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, methods of the empirical index, and comparative analysis are applied.

INITIAL THOUGHTS OF COVID-19 UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES FOR TOURISM

This paper addresses some initial scientific points of view about the new topic regarding the Coronavirus influence known until now and the objective is to reveal some unexpected consequences of the virus for tourism. The research aims to present the impact that the virus had on travel blogs from Romania. Because the tourism sector has been and still is affected due to this virus we decided to analyse travel blogs from a comparative perspective, more precisely, the articles posted in 2019, in March-May, and those of this year. The novelty element that the paper brings is represented by the impact of the virus determined on the content generated by travel bloggers, and in Romanian research, there is a small number of such studies, focused on travel blogs.

FINANCIAL LEASING IN THE FUNCTION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (STATISTICAL APPROACH)

The leasing institution is typical for countries with developed market economies, although it keeps gaining more and more importance in transition countries. Therefore, the research in this paper is focused on the financial leasing market in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as one of the countries undergoing transition process. Its basic features have been assessed, together with determining turnover over the observed ten-year period, both in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole and in its respective entities. The research aims to establish to what extent has financial leasing contributed to the development of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector and the economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Modern statistical methods have been applied to analyze the connection and interdependence of leasing and certain macroeconomic indicators in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the purpose and in the context of this research, the following indicators, such as the values of leasing, gross domestic product, export, import, and foreign direct investments related to the period from 2009 to 2018 are presented in the respective tables and charts. The analysis is based on the application of descriptive and econometric statistical methods of correlation and regression, as well as on the following statistical packages: IBM SPSS ver. 21, Microsoft XLSTAT. A particular, dedicated segment of the analysis refers to determining the impact of financial leasing on the level of SME investment to classic bank loans. That is, to what extent is financial leasing in the function of investment decision-making of small and medium enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

THE CASE FOR A COUPLED USER-ORIENTED PROCESS (RE)DESIGN AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

The paper synthesises studies of two specific conceptual models from a rather wide area of user-oriented process (re)design and the development of related, modern information systems based on smart technologies. Further, it proposes a new approach for coupling (1) a methodology for convergent customer experience management and business process management, with (2) a framework for user-oriented data-driven information systems development. It also analyses the implications and conditions for its implementation in private and public organisations.

JUGGLING WORK AND PRIVATE LIFE IN TELEWORKING DURING THE EPIDEMIC COVID-19

In 2020, the world was hit by the Covid-19 epidemic and the countries made different decisions on when and how to adopt adequate measures. One of them was teleworking; many people stayed at home where they worked and at the same time took care of their family members and assisted their school-age children. After one month of working from home, the respondents assessed that their family members had a better understanding of the concept of working from home. Besides, the respondents were more organised for this type of work and took care of their school-age children. The fear of losing their job has also reduced, but they were more concerned about salary cuts. The selection of findings and measures could become a guide for employees in order to help them balance private life and work and thus manage stress when working from home.

EXPLORING SMART CITY RESEARCH FROM INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES

Research in the smart city domain is characterised by distinct multidisciplinarity. The reason for this is the broadness of the domain, classified into six key categories: smart governance, smart people, smart living, smart mobility, smart economy, and smart environment, all focal points of research in separate scientific fields. Also, many researchers argue about the best approach and steps in the development of smart cities highlighting different technological, economic, or sociological aspects of research. This paper aims to explore and clarify the differences in smart city research from two different perspectives - information systems and management. Abstracts from almost 5.000 papers from the WoS database and more than 7.000 papers from the Scopus database were downloaded and analysed. Publications categorised into two perspectives were then analysed descriptively, including data about the number of papers, year of publication, and country of publishing. Furthermore, automated text mining procedure was performed for additional interpretation of attributes and occurrences from the two observed perspectives. The use of six smart city categories as keywords within each set was also analysed and visualised. The results indicate clear differences in both research approaches and research subjects between the two perspectives.

THE INFLUENCE OF SELECTED FACTORS ON THE AT-RISK-OF-POVERTY RATE OF SLOVAK HOUSEHOLDS

Since the goal of any advanced society is to reduce poverty and improve the social status of the population, it is important to know the causes of its emergence. In connection with Slovakia's membership in the European Union, we have taken over European legislation in this area. The Europe 2020 strategy is currently in force in the countries of the European Union, while one of its five main objectives is "Fight against poverty and social exclusion". Poverty research is undoubtedly a topical, multidimensional problem. One of the issues it focuses on is the so-called income poverty. The poverty line is considered to be 60% of the median national equivalent disposable household income. In order for assistance to those at risk to be truly targeted at those who need it most, it is necessary to map the situation in detail and identify the factors that have the greatest impact on the incidence of poverty. In our paper, the subject of analysis will be the quantification of the influence of selected factors from The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) database on the at-risk-of-poverty rate in Slovak households. The at-risk-of-poverty rate represents the proportion of people (in percent) in the whole population, whose equivalent disposable income is below the at-risk-of-poverty line. We will verify the impact of selected factors on the at-risk-of-poverty rate using a logistic regression model in the SAS Enterprise Guide statistical tool.

CREATING PERSONALIZED GUEST EXPERIENCE JOURNEY IN LEISURE HOTEL

With advancements in technology, the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the hospitality industry has become common. New technologies have changed the guests expectations and their journey. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive conceptualization of the personalized guest experience journey in leisure hotel i.e. the way front-line employees creates personalized and pro-active guest experience that the intelligent use of data and technology support. The paper provides systematic literature review of VR and AI as support tool for front-line employees while creating personalized guest experience during each of the five stages of the guest cycle: pre-arrival, arrival, stay, departure, post-stay. This paper is theoretical, so empirical studies are necessary to validate or reject the proposed concept.