Real effective exchange rate and unemployment across post-transition Europe

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine the co-movement between the real effective exchange rate and unemployment across post-transition Europe. Methodology: The research data sample in this paper consists of monthly data from 2000M1 to 2019M6 for ten European post-transition countries. After standard correlation analysis, the research followed a wavelet coherence approach, provided time-series analysis in the time-frequency domain and illustrated evolution of the co-movements in the observed period. Results: Conventional approach research results suggest no significant correlation between variables under consideration in cases of Poland and Lithuania. In cases of Latvia and Slovenia, standard correlation coefficients were positive and not in line with the theory. Correlation coefficients supported the theoretical assumption in six other countries included in the study. Wavelet coherence analysis results provided deeper insights into the relationship over time and the frequency domain. Empirical results gained in this research revealed a decline in the unemployment rate accompanied by depreciation of the real effective exchange rate as a prominent pattern at the beginning of the observation period suggesting pro-cyclical monetary policy. Conclusion: During the crisis of 2008 no link between variables under consideration was confirmed, while after the crisis empirical results were in line with the theoretical assumption, suggesting that depreciation of the real effective exchange rate might be used as an instrument to boost employment.

Generation Z buying behavior change in the COVID-19 pandemic context

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to analyze the changes in Croatian Generation Z buying behavior due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, all governments have imposed different measures that directly and indirectly impact consumer behavior. Recent studies have mostly recorded a dynamic increase in online shopping, stockpiling, and change in priorities from luxury to basic goods. This study will specifically look into the relation between Generation Z buying behavior change and their exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as its impact on their perception of the quality of life. Methodology: A sample of 442 Generation Z respondents from Croatia was analyzed using ANOVA to identify buying behavior changes concerning the level of their exposure to COVID-19. The analysis also included a potential correlation between buyer behavior change and their perception of the quality of life. Results: The statistical analysis has confirmed the increase of online shopping and stockpiling in the group of respondents who were exposed to self-isolation and those who have not been exposed to COVID-19, but there was no correlation with their perception of the quality of life change as a result of forced buying behavior change. Conclusion: Generation Z is identified as an e-generation, born and brought up in a digital environment. Although the pandemic has forced them to switch even more to online shopping, they do not perceive the exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic to impact their quality of life.

Linkage between tourism and sustainable development in urban areas

Purpose: Over the last decades, tourism has experienced continued growth, and its impact on economic activity can be observed through its effects on the balance of payments and the labour market, as well as connections with other economic activities. According to the ITB report (2016), urban tourism recorded the largest increase, noting that tourist arrivals in urban areas increased by 58% in the past five years. This was due to growing urbanization, better road accessibility and air connectivity between cities, shorter stays and an increasing number of trips per year. In recent years, the number of tourist arrivals in urban areas has also increased in Croatia. In 2018, over 12 million arrivals were recorded, which represents 64% of the total tourist arrivals for that year. Methodology: The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between tourism (tourism indicators) and sustainable development (investment in sustainable development) in cities in Croatia. The survey covered all 128 cities. The data analysis was conducted using descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, Mann-Whitney test and regression analysis. Results: The results show that there is a correlation between tourism and sustainable development in the analysed cities. Cities with thriving tourism pay more attention to sustainable development. Conclusion: It is necessary to continuously increase the levels of knowledge and understanding of tourism in accordance with the principles of sustainable development.

Analysis of factors affecting the savings of private profit companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina expressed in relative amount of GDP by applying the ARDL methodology

Purpose: This paper is aimed at analyzing one component of private savings and its factors, namely the savings of private profit companies. Methodology: An analysis was conducted of the savings of the private profit companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which, viewed as the sum of savings and time deposits, recorded a cumulative growth of 78.72% until the outbreak of the global financial crisis. In order to examine what factors favored such positive developments the ARDL methodology was applied. Results: The variables that statistically significantly affect the savings of private profit companies in BiH are GDP growth rate, deposit interest rate, money supply in % of GDP and current account balance in % of GDP (marginally significant at 6% significance level). Conclusion: The methodology applied confirmed the hypothesis of the paper, which proposes that the savings of private profit companies in BiH are significantly influenced by variables of the financial type.

Intercultural differences between Austria and Croatia in the context of business communication

Purpose: The globalization of economy in the context of adaptation and successful communication within the EU emphasizes the importance of perceiving and adapting to intercultural diversity in order to achieve business success. This paper analyzes the notion of interculturalism from the aspect of observing business relations. It emphasizes the perception of intercultural outcomes of business cooperation. In the focus were specific characteristics of Croatia and Austria, countries geographically close, but with many diversities. Methodology: The research tasks were to determine the phenomena of business intercultural interaction, obstacles in intercultural communication and the dimensions of cultural values ​​according to Hofstede. Respondents’ attitudes were examined by a survey containing 18 statements. The respondents had experience in Croatian-Austrian intercultural business relations. Three hypotheses were formulated following the idea that even though the two countries share a part of history and have built rich cooperation, there are significant differences that may be of importance for business communication. Results: The first hypothesis suggested higher business formality in the Austrian culture, whereas results show that the attitude towards formality is equal. The Croatian culture lacks intercultural experience, which makes it less adaptable. Equality in gender relations was confirmed. These limitations mostly apply to a small sample showing small differences as it is a preliminary study. Conclusion: The research provides a foundation for a broader and deeper survey that will provide guidelines for understanding intercultural communication and its rules.

Internet usage and related behavior patterns of primary school children

Purpose: Children in the Republic of Croatia are, as everywhere else in the world, active users of information and communication i.e. digital technologies, which is reflected in their daily habits and routines in the digital environment. The purpose of this paper is to find out if there are gender-based differences in behavior and established habits in the digital environment between boys and girls. Methodology: Quantitative research was carried out using the CAWI method among 400 parents or guardians in the Republic of Croatia who provided answers on (their own) children of primary school age. This paper focuses on the segment of children and their gender, i.e. the existence (or the lack of existence) of differences in the behavior of boys and girls in a digital environment. The statistically significant differences are demonstrated by testing various variables between the two above-mentioned segments. Results: The research results indicate that, on average, girls and boys start to use the Internet at the same age, approximately at the age of 6. However, there are noticeable differences between the sexes in terms of the habits and in the way they use the Internet. Conclusion: The conclusion shows that boys more frequently have desktop computers, laptops, and gaming consoles, and prefer to play online games and spend time in the online world, while girls more often post and publicly share photos, video records, and music. They equally use the Internet on weekdays, but boys spend more time on Internet activities on weekends.

Attitudes and perceptions of sustainable marketing in higher education ‒ designing a measurement instrument

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the process of designing the measurement instrument that captures attitudes and perceptions of manifest forms of sustainable marketing in higher education in order to gain an insight into the way of how each selected group of higher education stakeholders perceive and understand the concept and the meaning of sustainable marketing. Methodology: In order to gain new knowledge, primary research was conducted on a purposive sampling of experts, where 104 valid and complete answers from selected stakeholders related to higher education were received. Quantitative analysis of the collected data was then applied, using descriptive statistics methods and procedures for determining the instrument’s dimensionality, validity and reliability. Results: After the exploratory factor analysis, the multidimensional structure of the proposed measurement instrument of sustainable marketing in higher education was determined, which meets all the given scale validity criteria. Conclusion: This research has formed a valid measurement instrument of sustainable marketing in higher education of statistical and theoretical significance, which can be used for further research, development and validation.

Modeling stock market volatility in Croatia

Purpose: In this paper, the volatility of the Croatian stock market index CROBEX is investigated using the GARCH(1,1) model. Methodology: The novelty provided by this paper is the estimation of the GARCH(1,1) model by using three conditional error distributions (normal (Gaussian) distribution, Student’s-distribution with fixed degrees of freedom and generalized error distribution (GED) with fixed parameters). Results: The findings obtained in the research are in the line with previous research in this field (Erjavec & Cota, 2007; Sajter & Ćorić, 2009). The volatility of CROBEX returns is positively correlated with the volume of trade on the Zagreb Stock Exchange and movements on the main European and American stock markets. The movement of S&P 500 stock market index returns is transmitted from the previous day, providing signals for the direction of change of CROBEX index returns in the present. Conclusion: Therefore, this paper provides evidence that investors in Croatia strongly rely on the past information received from the American S&P500 stock market index. Furthermore, there seems to exist the co-movement between CROBEX and main European indexes on the same trading day.

Assessment of transparency of audit reports based on presentation of key audit matters

Purpose: One of the ways to enhance transparency and usefulness of audit reports is to include information on key audit matters (KAMs). In this paper, based on the presented KAMs, we investigate transparency of audit reports of listed companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia. Methodology: For the purposes of this research, we collected and systematised data from published audit reports and then analysed them by means of descriptive statistical methods. Results: The research results show that in Croatia only a few audit reports lack a section on KAMs and there is no difference between the audit reports issued by the Big Four and the reports of other audit firms. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, most audit reports do not include a section on KAMs, but, unlike the Big Four, who disclose at least one KAM, other audit firms generally do not present any. Additionally, the research results show differences in the number of communicated KAMs between the audit reports prepared by the Big Four in Croatia and their reports for Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are also differences in the type of KAMs used in the two observed countries. Conclusion: Having analysed the situation in the two developing countries, we obtained different results. The discrepancies mainly stem from the varying degrees of transparency of the audit profession in each country.

Digital economy – a bibliometric addition to understanding an “undefined” domain of the economy

Purpose: The definition of the digital economy changes depending on the time period the definition comes from and the prevailing technology of that period, from the Internet to advanced robotics or artificial intelligence. The purpose of this paper is to identify the core terms, give a definition of the digital economy, identify the most influential journals, authors and documents that deal with the topic and provide an overview of the development of academic literature over the years. Methodology: 293 documents related to the term “digital economy” were retrieved from the Scopus database. By using citation, co-citation, bibliographic coupling analysis and co-occurrence of the keywords, this paper identifies a list of the most influential journals, authors and documents in the field of digital economy. The analysis was conducted by using the VOSviewer tool. An in-depth analysis of the documents was used to prepare an overview of the definitions of the digital economy. Results: The research proves inconsistency of the definition and context of the digital economy as well as a significant impact of a small number of authors and journals in the area under study. Keyword analysis shows that the term digital economy is related not to macroeconomic terms but to more specific industrial terms. Conclusion: Guidelines are provided for future scientific research to fill the gaps in the definition and scope of the digital economy.