BizInfo (Blace) Journal of Economics, Management and Informatics

HR practices and firm performance: the mediating effect of business strategy

Slobodan Luković, Jelena Tepavčević — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The research aims to determine the impact of HR practice (HRP) on organizational performance (FP), with particular emphasis on the mediating impact of business strategy (BS) in this regard. The starting model for this research was the work of Lee et al. (2010) and Karami et al. (2015). The motive for the realization of this research is to determine the existence of effects between HRP and BS on OP, as well as the strength of this effect. The research was conducted during March 2022 on the territory of AP Vojvodina (Republic of Serbia), which collected 270 valid questionnaires. Data analysis was performed in SmartPLS 3.3.7 software. Based on the results of the research, we conclude that HRP affects on BS and FP, as well as that BS has a mediating effect in the relationship between HRP and FP. The paper primarily brings new knowledge that can benefit HR managers in the business environment of Serbia and the Western Balkans, due to the specifics of the business and cultural environment, but also future scientific research.

Avoiding uncertainty, consumer ethnocentrism and xenocentrism, the image of the country of origin, as determinants of acceptance of foreign brands

Stefan Zdravković — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The process of globalization and integration of the world market have led to the liberalized foreign trade of goods and services. The development of information technologies and traffic networks has made it easier for companies to internationalize their business. For successful and profitabile business, it is necessary to research the foreign market in which the company wants to appear and place its brands, because in that way information is collected that is necessary for formulating an adequate marketing strategy. Consumer decision to accept foreign brands is influenced by a number of determinants. The aim of the paper is to determine whether the avoidance of uncertainty as a dimension of national culture, consumer ethnocentrism and xenocentrism, as well as the image of the country of origin have an impact on consumer’s decision to accept foreign brands. Empirical research was conducted using a survey method on the territory of the Republic of Serbia (Belgrade, Kragujevac), and the answers received from the respondents were analyzed through the statistical software of the SPSS. The total number of respondents in the sample is 255. Of the statistical analyzes, reliability analysis was applied to examine the relationship between research variables and the relevance of the research model, as well as multiple regression analysis to confirm research hypotheses. The results showed that avoidance of uncertainty and consumer ethnocentrism have a negative impact, and consumer xenocentrism and the image of the country of origin have a positive impact, on the decision of consumers to accept foreing brands.

Fostering the development of future tourism and hospitality professionals' employability skills through the use of podcasting technology

Ivana Jovanovic Nikolic, Miljana Stojković Trajković — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

As business environments keep changing and evolving so do professionals from various fields find themselves in the need of developing various employability skills. One such skill is communication in foreign languages and one way of developing language competence, in a timely manner, is to apply different technology in tertiary education language study. Podcasts are considered a complex yet simple way of developing students’ language competence and this study aims at investigating the level of podcast effectiveness in improving the English language vocabulary knowledge of students of tourism and hospitality. The results of quantitative research show that listening to podcasts improves students' vocabulary scores. Namely, the mean score for the post-test of the experimental group indicates a positive and significant difference in vocabulary knowledge of EFL students. This way, future tourism and hospitality professionals will have developed an important soft skill even before becoming active participants in the labor market.

Fertility and economic growth of selected transition countries

Danijela Despotović, Vladimir Kostić, Aleksandar Kostić, Vladimir Nedić — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The paper investigates the impact of total fertility rate as one of the basic demographic variables on economic growth per capita concerning six selected transition countries (including the five countries of the Western Balkans: Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and Croatia as a member of the European Union), from 2000 to 2018. The fundamental idea of the research is the view discussed in the recent literature and it concerns the reduction of the total fertility rate as a burning problem of a large number of developed modern economies. Inspired by the question of whether such an attitude is relevant for a group of small European transition countries, an econometric model was constructed , as a framework for the application of statistical analysis of multiple regression. The results of empirical research showed that if the rate of total fertility increased by 0.1% in one of the analyzed countries, the GDP growth rate per capita for this country would fall by 0.53 percentage points in the same year of the period under review.

Efficiency analysis of Serbian banking sector using data envelopment analysis: pre-pandemic era

Aleksandra Marcikić Horvat, Boris Radovanov, Dragana Milić, Nada MIlenković — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

During the last decade, the question of measuring efficiency became inevitable factor of successful management of banks. Therefore, the basic goal of this paper is to apply DEA - Data Envelopment Analysis in comparing unit efficiency of Serbian banking sector for three years period of time (2017, 2018 and 2019). DEA is a technique of mathematical programming which uses analysis and comparation of efficiency of different entities and it is suitable to solve problems of different number and nature of inputs and outputs. The presented paper employs an output-oriented data envelopment analysis with a constant return to scale assumption. The selected input variables are total assets and total capital, while net operating income and net profit were used as output variables. Results showed that the average efficiency of Serbian banking sector is about 50% in the observed years. Opportunity Bank achieved the maximal efficiency score in the entire time period while Mirabank had the lowest efficiency score.

Conflict management in healthcare institutions: the case of healthcare center Zvečan

Sanja Dobričanin, Ivana Vučinić, Anđelka Tripković, Ivana Radovanović — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Good interpersonal cooperation is necessary for the efficient and effective work of any organization, institution, program, project or team. Conflicts are an inevitable companion of good interpersonal relations and cooperation. Effective resolution of conflicts within any organization, including healthcare organizations, should be a priority due to their direct impact on the quality of healthcare provided. The paper aims to examine the influence of interpersonal health workers on the effectiveness of the health institutions where they are employed. The paper examines whether employees in a healthcare facility are exposed to conflict situations, as well as whether there is a connection between conflicts such as negative interpersonal relationships and business efficiency, i.e., the provision of healthcare services. Furthermore, the paper examines the differences between the conflict and the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. The research was conducted in the Healthcare center in Zvečan (Kosovska Mitrovica) through a survey. The research sample (N=103) consisted of employees in the aforementioned health institution.

The influence of social networks on the recruitment process in tourism and catering enterprises

Branislav Sančanin, Biljana Ratković Njegovan, Ivana Brdar — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The continuous striving to secure a competitive advantage in a dynamic and changing global space is increasingly shifting towards the labor market. To attract potential and retain qualified staff, tourism and hospitality organizations allocate significantly more funds and time to the task than previously. In this context, the use of social networks is viewed from two diametrically opposed platforms: ever more employers visit social networks to obtain additional information on candidates; while viewed from the perspective of potential candidates, their intention to get to know the employer, its image and reputation corresponds with their decision on whether or not they will be applying for a vacancy. The aim of the research is to determine the connection between the methods of the human resources recruitment process for managerial positions, technical/professional jobs and for interns, and the social networks where they advertise those vacancies. Five social networks were taken into account: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram. The research was conducted within the Republic of Serbia from May 1 to June 30, 2021, and the sample included 133 respondents.

COVID-19 and profitability of hotel companies in the Republic of Serbia

Snežana Knežević, Marko Milašinović, Goran Džafić, Tijana Obradović — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Besides obvious negative consequences for people's health, the COVID-19 pandemic placed significant negative consequences on the economy as well. Since pandemic made tourism and travel almost impossible, these industries of tourism and hospitality suffered the most. The aim of this paper is to assess whether the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a change in the level of profitability of companies from hotel industry in the Republic of Serbia. The research sample consisted of 100 companies from hotel industry in the Republic of Serbia, where their operations in 2019 and 2020 were observed. The Operating Profit Margin, Net Profit Margin, Return on Assets and Return on Equity were used for the purposes of measuring profitability. The research determined that in the largest number of observed hotel companies in 2020, there was a decrease in profitability considering all four used indicators. By applying the Wilcoxon rank test and the t-test of paired samples, it was determined that the mentioned reductions in the used profitability indicators are statistically significant.

The impact of quality improvement on the innovative operation of SMEs

Milena Cvjetković, Milovan Cvjetković, Milica Joksimović — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The SME sector plays an important role in a country's economic growth and development. In order for these companies to develop successfully, the support of the state is necessary, but certainly their own efforts invested in improving knowledge and innovative solutions. The presented research aimed at determining the impact of quality improvement on the innovative performance of small and medium enterprises. The research included a sample of 295 small and medium enterprises that have implemented the ISO 9000 standard in their operations. Correlation analysis determined that there are statistically significant relationships between the variables of quality improvement and the variables of innovative action. The regression model showed that the greatest individual contribution to the achievement of innovative action was made by the variables management of mutual relations, decision-making based on facts and continuous improvement. Improving quality and developing innovation should enable the SME sector to build its competitive advantage in the market.

The impact of green internal communication on employees’ satisfaction

Vesna Milanović, Andrea Bučalina Matic, Ana Jurčić — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The more satisfied employees lead to more satisfied consumers and better organizational performance. Therefore, successful organizations are constantly looking for new ways to improve satisfaction of employees. One of them is green internal communication observed from perspective of internal green marketing. As there is a lack of empirical research in this field, this paper examines the impact of green internal communication on employee satisfaction. For the needs of the paper, data were collected from 177 employees in different organizations operating in the Republic of Serbia. For testing the assumption, correlation-regression analysis was applied. The results showed the positive, direct and significant impact of green internal communication on employees' satisfaction. This paper contributes to better understanding of the role of green internal communication in the internal green marketing concept and its impact on employees' satisfaction. The results can be useful to managers in the development of green internal communications in order to spread the green value of the organization and improve employees’ satisfaction

Effects of marketing indicators application on brand evaluation

Ljubica Janjić, Ljiljana Arsić, Žaklina Anđelković — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The brand, as a relational capital segment,, represents the intangible assets. Not only influencing the company performance, the value of the brand determines the future growth and development. This paper presents a comparative literature review, which provides a basis for creating a framework of the most valuable marketing measures for brand evaluation. Marketing metrics are selected on certain criteria, which are determined by the marketing managers. The results presented in this paper should indicate the effects on the company performance from the correct selection of marketing indicators for brand evaluation. After reviewing the theoretical achievements in the field of brand metrics, the paper presents the most important set of measures, with the greatest impact on company performance. Also, the brand balanced scorecard is explained, together with examples of balanced scorecards of certain companies. Finally, the implications of brand metrics on the company's performance are presented.

Economic indicators of profitability in the production of organic and conventional food and psychological ways of overcoming the crisis in managers due to the possible decline of business during the COVI-19 pandemic

Vladimir Mitić, Milica Čolović — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 virus pandemic has led to huge changes in the business of many companies. Managers and owners of companies were most affected, so in one segment of this paper, certain psychological ways that are available to people when it comes to overcoming various crises. Considering that profitable business is a condition for the survival of companies, in this paper, a comparison of profitability in the production of organic and conventional food was performed. ROA and ROE were calculated on a sample of 150 food producers in our country for the period from 2016 to 2020. The results showed that ROA is higher in conventional food producers, while ROE is higher in organic food producers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the profitability of food producers is higher than in the period before its outbreak. Also, there is a tendency to increase profitability in both types of production.

Public oversight over audit as a determinant of its quality

Milica Đorđević, Tadija Đukić — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Ensuring a high level of audit quality is a basic prerequisite for fulfilling its purpose - increasing the credibility of information contained in financial reports and functioning in the public interest. Since the self-regulation of the audit profession has not proven to be a sufficient mechanism for ensuring the quality of audits in the last two decades the need and importance of establishing and effectively functioning public oversight over audits is especially highlighted. The aim of the authors of this paper is to assess the compliance of the institutionalization of public audit oversight in the Republic of Serbia with the relevant European Union regulations and the manner of its functioning. In order to examine the direction of further development of public oversight and, in particular, its impact on audit quality, an analysis of the practice of public oversight in the Republic of Serbia for the last four years was carried out.

Guest satisfaction and dissatisfaction with hotels in Vrnjačka Banja: The situation analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic

Irena Čelić, Marijana Seočanac, Marko Milašinović, Stefan Milojević — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The development of domestic tourism is marked as one of the positive changes caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The always popular spa destinations in Serbia are becoming more and more visited. Accordingly, it is necessary to determine which factors lead to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of domestic guests in hotels. This paper will examine the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of hotel guests who shared their experiences through reviews on the Booking.com platform. The sample consisted of hotel guests in Vrnjačka Banja, because this destination stands out as the most visited during the coronary virus pandemic in Serbia. During August 2021, a total of 533 reviews of domestic tourists were collected, and the analysis of the obtained data was performed with the help of the SPSS 20 social science package and the RapidMiner data mining software. The analysis of the results revealed that a total of 8 factors affected the satisfaction of hotel guests during the corona virus pandemic, while a total of 5 factors influenced the dissatisfaction. The obtained results will help hotel managers in creating adequate strategies to improve those factors that are a source of dissatisfaction of guests such as the service provided, room equipment or additional facilities.

Corporate disinvestment as a factor of operational performances and market value of companies

Ahmedin Lekpek, Zenaida Šabotić, Semir Vehapi — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The subject of this research is the process of disinvestment and its impact on business performance and market value of the company. The research is based on a review of relevant foreign and domestic literature that has dealt with the issue of disinvestment and its impact on business success and market position of the company. The aim of the research is to see the direction of the impact of the divestment process on the business performance and market value of the company, based on a review of the relevant literature. The results of the reviewed research show that disinvestment has a positive impact on business performance and market value of the company if it is initiated by investors and shareholders and conducted voluntarily and strategically, in an efficient financial market and stable business environment. able to effectively implement the process and successfully manage the remaining business.

Gender gap as an obstacle to the development of women's entrepreneurship in Montenegro

Sonja Vujović, Tanja Vujović — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Gender inequalities, as a product of a wide range of deep-rooted and inherited gender stereotypes and prejudices, can be described as a key generator of unfavorable preconditions for the development of women's entrepreneurship in Montenegro. The aim of this study is to provide an analytical descriptive presentation based on official data, ethnographic records and research of the European Institute for Gender Equality and to illustrate the position of women in Montenegrin society, shaped by the patrilineal system of kinship and the "rules" of a steadily patriarchal matrix of gender relations in the private and public spheres of life. The study reached certain conclusions based on a secondary survey based on an assessment of the national normative and institutional framework for the development of women's entrepreneurship in Montenegro, existing strategic documents, as well as an analysis of available support and assistance to women entrepreneurs in terms of facilitated access to know-how and sources of funding. The author emphasizes the need to change the traditional perception and create awareness at the national level about the economic value of women's entrepreneurship as an important and underutilized potential for building a prosperous society and more intensive economic development of the country. The limitations of the research were presented and recommendations for creating conditions in society and the labor market for the evolution of women's entrepreneurship in Montenegro from social to economic category were presented.