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In 2011 the European Commission changed the definition and strategy for corporate social responsibility (CSR) with the creation of shared value as one core element of the new concept. In the same year Porter and Kramer published in the Harvard Business Review their approach of creating shared value (CSV) as core element of long-term business strategies. The starting point of both approaches is the societal legitimation of enterprises to do business. CSR respective CSV are evaluated to be a mean for reaching this legitimation and to further to gain back trust of the society that was lost during the financial crisis. This paper describes the two concepts and analyzes similarities and differences. From the overall aim and intention the EU concept has a wider focus and much higher requirements for enterprises. The European Commission assesses CSR as a measure for business to contribute to inclusive growth, employment and well-being of the society. Hence, companies have to take into account economic, social and environmental targets further include ethical, human rights and consumer concerns when developing their long-term business strategy. CSV of Porter and Kramer also goes beyond the pure business case of CSR because CSV also is defined as a long-term measure which has to be integrated systematically in the strategic core business of companies. The Commission see shareholder as just one common group of a company's stakeholder and gives no preference to them. For Porter and Kramer the simultaneous creation of profit and societal value are decisive.
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Globalization as an ongoing process allows and promotes the development of economy of big countries as well as developing countries that are seeking their place in the global market. Interactive communication has been enabled between people, companies, civil society organizations and other institutions, whose needs can be met over the internet anywhere in the world and at any time. Also, professional and competent human resources are needed and therefore it is necessary to invest in new knowledge, innovation, new technologies and lifelong learning. In this environment, management sets its strategic goals through which it will be able to carry out the plans for the sale of products or services. Nowadays, a manager has to have interdisciplinary skills and lifelong education because only in this way it is possible to respond to the constant and rapid changes in the world. We are witnesses that Europe has reunited in order to compete with the less developed countries with their products and services. Europe has long refused to accept the managerial style of governance, particularly in public administration and is therefore far behind the U.S., but also the Third World countries. Until recently, European public administration was more focused on the implementation of laws and regulations and less on managerial governance of the U.S. type. Global environment requires the continuous research, monitoring competition, innovation and the ability to change rapidly.
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This paper aims to look into intergenerational equity; furthermore to answer the question whether intergenerational equity is a part of the globalization process in developing the consciousness on sustainable development. The term intergenerational equity is poorly spread and used in scientific and research papers in the Republic of Croatia. It would be necessary to explore scientific papers of foreign authors in order to define the term, and then translate them in a way that preserves their original meaning. Intergenerational equity within public debt management is particularly emphasized. This paper consists of two parts. The first part tries to define intergenerational equity and to find similarities and differences between linked terms. Further on it tries to answer the previously mentioned question whether intergenerational equity is a part of the globalization process in developing the consciousness on sustainable development. The second part discusses intergenerational equity within public debt management.
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Foreign direct investment is one of the most important forms of international capital flow. Developed countries play a key role in capital flows, mainly as investors but also as beneficiaries. From the long-term perspective, the cyclic nature of investment flows in the global economy has been confirmed; however, over the past ten years, the participation of developed countries in FDI inflows has been declining, whereas at the same time the participation of developing countries has increased. In view of the above, this paper aims to highlight foreign direct investment importance and trends in the regional and sectoral structure in the developing countries, in particular the countries of Southeast Europe.
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The paper has two objectives. One is to note and discuss the new ideas in the theory of long term economic growth which bring to the centre stage the role of institutions, including political institutions, and of economic policy, the authors of which are Acemoglu and Robinson with respect to global growth over the last few centuries and Balcerowicz with respect mainly to some emerging economies in the post-1945 period. The empirical evidence and arguments in favor of these ideas , provided by their authors, are judged in the paper to be persuasive. The other objective is to discuss the consequences of what is largely missing in the interpretations by these authors: the absence of the differentiation between the countries of the Technology Frontier Area and the countries outside such Area. The author argues that the differences between these groups of countries have been and still are so large and persistent that two significantly different theories of economic growth are needed. It is also noted that Acemoglu and Robinson do not attempt to explain why during the last two centuries the rate of growth of the global GDP per capita has been, as documented by Angus Maddison (2007), some 17–20 times higher than in earlier centuries of the last millennium. The paper makes brief references to such an explanation developed elsewhere by the author
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The entry of any company into the market always brings certain risks and unpredictable events, even if it is a well-known brand with an established reputation. The company must be able to assess entry barriers into its new market and be able to overcome them effectively. At first sight, the Slovak rail passenger transport market could seem a disadvantageous area for new entrants. Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, with the state as 100% shareholder, had a monopoly on this market and on top of that, this company provided unpaid transport for chosen segments of passengers. Another drawback is the poor condition of the track network, which affects the speed of transportation. However, a successful company should be able to use these conditions for its own benefit and bring change and innovation to such an industry. The Czech company RegioJet inc, has decided to enter this sector and try to entice Slovak passengers with its services, which have not yet been offered by anybody else.
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The aim of the study is a statistical analysis of the impact of minimum wages on employment and income inequalities in OECD countries. To analyze the relationship between the minimum wages and labor market outcomes equations explaining the employment rate and wage differentials are estimated. Additionally, other key macroeconomic variables are taken into account. The parameters of mentioned equations are estimated using GLS assuming heteroscedastic and autocorrelated error term. The main conclusion of the analysis is a statistically significant impact of minimum wages on the overall employment rate. The impact of minimum wages on the youth employment rate is not confirmed. The hypothesis that the minimum wage harms those with the lowest levels of education cannot be not rejected. However, minimum wage negatively affects the relationship between wages in the ninth and the first and the fifth and the first decile group. The minimum wage impact on the relationships of wages in the upper part of wage distribution is limited.
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The coherence of the global economic system, created by its upswing in the first postwar decades, started to crumble in the ’70s. The destabilizing shocks affected the entire world, but in an uneven manner, in different geographical areas and at different times, being felt most acutely, with devastating economic and social effects, in Third World countries. Although the developed countries were affected as well, they always had means to combat or to diminish the adverse effects of the crises, leading to "gentler" consequences. This paper focuses on four main aspects in postwar global economic expansion, namely: the ’70s – the international monetary crisis and the oil shocks; the foreign debt crisis; the Latin American debt crisis, the Asian financial crises and the current global crisis.
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The dynamics of the financial markets and the significant interrelationships with broader concepts as globalization or sustainable development, have led in recent years to the development of a multidimensional approach of CSR. The credibility of the financial system is based on the financial institutions image given by representative stakeholders. They filter in an objective way the ethical responsibilities of the banks and the legal ones and give them the legitimacy to operate on the market. In order to obtain a realistic framework of CSR in Romanian banks, the article will focus on the transparency of CSR information. The confidence crisis manifested in the banking institutions can best be overcome through an authentic reporting system, which is able to fulfill a set of requirements, from credibility to completeness. This paper highlights the main characteristics of the CSR reports provided by the Romanian banking institutions, based on the stakeholder theory and using international reporting frameworks as Global Reporting Initiative.
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This article examines the impact of economic integration on national economies of the Customs Union. Scientific works of both domestic and foreign authors were reviewed and analyzed for this purpose. The study showed that in a globalized economy, the regional economic integration is an important factor in strengthening the interaction and interdependence of countries in the regions, which resulted in the national economy moving to a new level of development. The positive and negative effects of integration are revealed. The rationale for the development of innovative ways of integrating the economies of the Customs Union member states and forming a single economic space is provided. The experience of successful integration associations of the world and the prospects of development of relations between the member states in the format of the Eurasian Economic Union allow to consider the integration potential as a significant positive factor in economic development in the long term. The authors conclude that integration contributes to the formation of an effective model of adaptation to geo-economic changes occurring in the global economy and helps coordinate the participation of countries in solving global economic problems. Favorable prospects for increasing the global competitiveness of the Eurasian Economic Union in the field of innovation and investment policy are due to the presence of a potentially large market of the Union, existing technical structure, common tasks of reform to modernize the economy and strategy of development of industrial enterprises and production. Based on the analysis, the priorities of further deepening of the integration process of the three countries under the conditions of building the Customs Union were identified.
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Cities are one of the most important key in regional development. Creative and innovative cities are considered a competitive pole, by stimulating economic activities and inclusive growth. Those cities which understood the implications for sustainable development are prosperous and competitive at a global level, for example Silicon Valley which is well known as the city were Apple Industry started. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the best practice of creative and innovative cities at global level and extract the most important aspects, which could be applied on Romanian cities. In Romania, there are few cities which may be included in this category, as smart cities. In order to improve the existing literature, this paper aims to explain the benefits of stimulating the cities development and elaborate a list of recommendations for Romanian authorities.
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The objective of this paper is to set a framework for examining the conditions under which the big data can create long-term profitability through developing dynamic operations and digital supply networks in supply chain. We investigate the extent to which big data analytics has the power to change the competitive landscape of industries that could offer operational, strategic and competitive advantages. This paper is based upon a qualitative study of the convergence of predictive analytics and big data in the field of supply chain management. Our findings indicate a need for manufacturers to introduce analytics tools, real-time data, and more flexible production techniques to improve their productivity in line with the new business model. By gathering and analysing vast volumes of data, analytics tools help companies to resource allocation and capital spends more effectively based on risk assessment. Finally, implications and directions for future research are discussed.
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The objective of the paper is to analyse the effect of selected quantitative and qualitative variables on corporate bond rating. The primary focus is paid to the application of ordinal logistic regression and estimation of three models that are derived on the basis of macroeconomic, industry and financial variables. The overall results suggest that there are sectors with a higher probability of better rating assessment. Based on the analysis, we can conclude that although there is a significant association between industry sector and bond rating, the most significant predictors of rating are financial indicators of size and profitability of firms. The results of the analysis should be taken into account when the primary interest is to assess unrated companies or to evaluate the impact of financial performance on current rating.
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Lithuanian economy by mid-year 2009 has been developing very fast pace because the economy grows, businesses rushed to use the credit on very favorable business development opportunities, increasing corporate debt levels. However, the global financial crisis put further economic development and the evolution of firms have adjusted the opportunities for development. Heads of enterprises is important to the early detection of corporate performance deterioration, factors indicating dysfunction. Consistently measure a company's financial position is very important to choose the most appropriate diagnostic models for bankruptcy to help find effective strategic decision to remove the threat of bankruptcy. To ensure the success of companies, bankruptcy diagnosis is one of the alternatives, taking into account the company's financial condition. Scientists from different countries using statistical financial data for companies invent newer models for the diagnosis of bankruptcy, seeking to evaluate business risks and to provide for bankruptcy under current market conditions. The paper proposes a new classification model for the diagnosis of bankruptcy and bankruptcy of modern diagnostic models. The analysis of the new bankruptcy diagnostic models to determine their suitability, taking into account the likelihood of bankruptcy of Lithuanian companies. Relevant of research. The first serious attempts to create an effective model for the diagnosis of bankruptcy noticeable 60-following the twentieth century year. Scientists, explored the bankruptcy, the reasons which led it to: W. Beawer E. I. Altman, A. Blanc, R. Taffler and H. Tisshaw, R. Liss, Ca-Score, G. Springate, J. Fulmer and others offered to calculate the various indicators to diagnose the company to bankruptcy. The current conditions are not sufficient for the diagnosis of old models and methods, bankruptcy would require newer and more accurate models for use. Therefore, the study has the novelty of the research works of various authors mainly distributed in the classic diagnosis of bankruptcy models: W Beawer E. I. Altman, A. Blanc, R. Liss, Ca-Score, G. Springate, J. Fulmer, R. Taffler and H. Tisshaw, C.V. Zavgren D. L. Chesser, M. Zmijewski, J. Ohlson and others models. The article discussed the modern bankruptcy diagnostic models that are used in scientific work of passing or not at all used. Object of research - bankruptcy of modern diagnostic models. Aim of research - review, organize, group and classify modern bankruptcy diagnostic models and to assess their suitability for the enterprise. Tasks of research: • Provide systematic, generalized, categorized and classified in diagnostic models of modern bankruptcy; • To evaluate bankrupt diagnostic models for a particular company. It was found that the scientific literature by such recent bankruptcy of modern diagnostic models: Seifulin and Kadykov (1992), Begley, Ming, Watson (1996), Shumway (1999, 2001), the statistic of Romania (1999-2002), Grigaravičius (2003) evaluation of regression, Neumaier (2005), Boritz et al. (2007), Sandin and Porpato (2007), Stoškus, Beržinskienė, Virbickaitė (2007) and Bonity index (2009).
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Global changes in today’s markets are becoming increasingly important factor for business opportunities and prospects. Businesses with the intention to remain competitive in the global marketplace must be able to withstand the increasing competitive pressure resulting from the goods and services, liberalization of markets. Businesses must be able to meet increasingly stringent operating conditions and to use the conditions for business creating by social factors. In today’s global marketplace for ensuring a successful competition, businesses must be flexible and dynamic and be able to respond quickly to market changes. Given the desired position in the market, a business company has to take a clear competitive strategy to gain a long-term competitive advantage. In today’s global marketplace for ensuring a successful competition, businesses must be flexible and dynamic and be able to respond quickly to market changes. Given the desired position in the market, a business company has to take a clear competitive strategy to gain a long-term competitive advantage. Technological, market and societal changes force companies strategically adapt for successful competition the future. The more flexible business entity, the more it may be easier to regulate their activities. Businesses with the ability to respond to social changes in the environment are beginning to look for ways or areas, which could divert their resources and compete Problem is: On the one hand, changes in the market offer many new features: a very serious global competition, innovative companies, change management, new business development, risk-based strategies, a promotion of social initiative. On the other hand, the changes pose challenges: how to choose a strategy for the organization to remain competitive, how to use social factors for the attainment of competitive advantage under modern business conditions. The subject of investigation is social complexes. Research purpose is to explore the social complexes as increasing business competitiveness’ factor Tasks of the research are: 1. To analyze the general competitive strategies; 2. To investigate the acquisition of the competitive advantage through the social complexes; 3. To envisage the perspectives of social complexes development in Lithuania. The novelty and main results of research are: By analyzing the general competitive strategies wherefore the business entity acquires a long-term competitive advantage: cost leadership, differentiation and concentration, the authors found that for the creation of unique value to the consumer it is very important to find out customers needs and to make out the market segment that a business can serve better than competitors. The selection of strategy should be conditioned by analysis of business and consumer relationships complex. The company concentrated its efforts on any aspect of the narrow field of competition, for example by choosing the social dimension segment of the market, can create a unique value to the consumer and at the same time to gain a long-term competitive advantage. Modern business must take into account the wider social interest because it is the foundation of business success, without which the business is not be able not continue the development. Considering unmet social needs and social problems business can seek a competitive advantage by focusing on the social dimension segments of market. Businesses that can to attract stakeholders for social problems’ solution by establishing longterm relationships create social complexes, depending on time and based on reputation and trust resources. Responsibility in relationships with stakeholders highlights the excellent management skills, which determine the direct cost reductions. In this way, social complexes development is to be treated as a business competitiveness-enhancing factor. The authors of the article the analysis of social complexes as a increasing business competitiveness factor refers to as the novelty of study and feels that this is leading to new approaches to social problems’ solving through social complexes by emphasizing on their impact on business competitiveness. Businesses competitive factors affect the competitiveness of the country, therefore and the development of social complexes is encouraged throughout the country. Authors of the article points out that in Lithuania the development of social complexes is the most associated with socially responsible businesses. By expansion of socially responsible business practices it is likely to intensify the development of social complexes that are useful not only to stakeholders for social problems solution, but also as a business competitiveness increasing factor.
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A strong brand is each and every organization's success rate. Thus, brand management affects the organization's success, and hence profits. The article summarizes the concept of branding and theoretical aspects of brand role; and explores the best and most succeful global brands. The brand enriches and enhances the user's connection with goods and services, through association of goods and servines to their distinctive features. The brand not only identifies the origin of the goods but also it establishes the relationship with the customer based on trust and guarantee of quality, at the risk of the company's reputation. The best in the world rated brands are characterised by the availability of relevant financial data: the brand earns one-third of the income outside its country, the brand added economic value is positive, the brand is known not only for business but also to the general public. Virgin brand's characteristics are phenomenal. Virgin brand's success lies in the vision of business leaders. The article also analyses steps in brand management: brand vision creation, brand image perception, and brand strategy development. The conducted survey results show that the majority of respondents confirmed the model well-established in literature that brand management involves the following stages: building brand vision, brand image perception, brand strategy development, and investment in brand viability. The brand also enhances the value of the company‘s assets, provide legal protection and lengthen the product life cycle. According to th respondents the brand help to find the distributors, facilitate monitoring, attract and retain the best employees. The majority of respondents stated that the development of the brand is important, the brand should be an inherent distinction, easily remembered and pronounced, it should fit the company image and products. According to the respondents the most famous and valuable global brands are important, high quality, relatively expensive and ensure that their reputation does not drop. These companies are sufficiently advertised.
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