The European Journal of Applied Economics

THE IMPACT OF MEDIA DIGITALIZATION ON POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN SERBIA

2024-04-19T09:59:27+02:00

Politics-related communication is exceptionally significant as the messages sent to the electorate have a decisive influence on the formation of their stances on political matters and figures, electoral participation, and, thus, elections outcome. The present study aims to provide insight into contemporary digital political communication in Serbia by exploring voter preferences regarding obtaining political information through television and print media as well as official websites and social networks owned by broadcasters. The majority of existing academic papers belonging to the field of digital political communication emphasise the importance of digital technologies for shaping voters' attitudes and structuring political campaigns, assuming, as a fact, the willingness of citizens to obtain information primarily through the digital sphere. We have recognised the importance of investigating the significantly under-researched process of shifting citizens' attention from traditional to digital media. Thus, we set up a research hypothesis stating that contemporary political communication should be executed mainly digitally. Our hypothesis was evaluated by means of an exploratory study based on a series of questions related to respondents' habits regarding political information acquisition through all relevant traditional or digital media operating in Serbia. The raw data were coded to be imported to SPSS and quantitatively analysed using descriptive statistic measures, i.e., minimum, maximum, mean, standard error and standard deviation. The subsequent qualitative analysis convinced the authors that the hypothesis should be accepted since the respondents undoubtedly prefer to obtain political knowledge via the Internet, although still inclined to be informed through traditional media as well.

ON THE PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY IN GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL STATES: READINESS FOR ENERGY TRANSITION

2024-04-19T13:28:19+02:00

Whilst stakeholders and policy makers in industry and academia increasingly use circular and sustainable, the terms are not clearly understood. Furthermore, the need for a switch from a current economic model (linear) to the circular one has been recognized globally by the major decision makers. The shift from one mechanism to another experiences challenges in grasping the Circular Economy (CE) and Sustainability (S) principles: defining them, understanding the similarities and differences, and successfully applying them using Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach. Employing systematic literature review, the paper aims to clarify the ambiguities and add to clarity by exploring the concepts and the relationship of CE and S by applying TBL framework – social, environmental and economic variables. The gaps regarding relations to people and profit contribution are identified in the literature, and future research priorities and new framework recommended. Finally, the objective is to ascertain whether a strategic approach on sustainability and measures are in place in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), such as increased investment in renewable energy infrastructure that could positively affect energy transition readiness, evidenced by energy efficiency indicators (reduced carbon emissions). Hence, three GCC countries were selected, and their goals, and challenges explored, and further research recommended.

CLUSTERING BASED ON THE ARCHETYPAL ANALYSIS

2024-04-19T13:29:14+02:00

Archetypal analysis is a dimensionality reduction technique, which is based on finding a small number of representative elements, called archetypes. The observations are then approximated by convex combinations of the archetypes. The coefficients of the convex combinations can be therefore interpreted as probabilities of discrete random variables. The values of the variables identify the classes, represented by the archetypes, to which the observation belongs. Based on this interpretation, we propose to use the Hellinger distance between probability distributions to measure the distance between the observations in the dataset and to use it as an input to clustering. We apply this procedure to monthly data of zero-coupon yield curves in 2003-2022. We identify the archetypal yield curves and cluster the observed curves into six clusters. Since the observations are measured in time, the resulting clustering also gives a segmentation of the time period under consideration

CHALLENGES OF FINANCING THE CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

2024-04-23T12:51:38+02:00

One of the central issues related to the presence of a current account deficit is related to finding sources for its financing. Developing countries, including the Republic of Serbia, due to the lack of capital and the disparity between domestic accumulation and investment spending find a solution for financing the current account deficit in the import of foreign capital, which results in financial balance surpluses. In conditions of insufficient inflow of foreign capital, an additional source of financing the balance of payments imbalance is borrowing abroad. The aim of the research is to identify the key sources of financing the current account deficit of the Republic of Serbia in the 2007-2022 period. The research results suggest that, although during the last few years the coverage of the current account deficit is largely provided by the net inflow of foreign direct investments, these funds are still not sufficient to ensure the financing of the deficit components of the current account of the Republic of Serbia. This is greatly contributed by the fact that one of the main deficit components is precisely the ever-increasing outflow of income that is realized on the basis of these investments. Due to all of the above, borrowing abroad is still used as an option for financing the deficit.

PUBLIC EDUCATION RECURRENT EXPENDITURE AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR IN NIGERIA

2024-04-19T13:45:39+02:00

The debate on whether governments should increase their human capital investment is a popular topic within the realm of economics. This research seeks to solve this issue by looking into the importance of productivity in the manufacturing output as well as the function of productive expenditure.The study examines how the recurrent expenditure of public education in Nigeria between 1981 and 2019 affected manufacturing productivity. The study employed the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root test and Auto Regressive Distributive Lags (ARDL) approach to analyze the relationship between public education recurrent expenditure, public health spending, trade openness, inflation rate, and the output of the manufacturing sector. The study reveals that public education recurrent expenditure is not significantly associated with manufacturing productivity. According to the study, the government should also concentrate on implementing policy frameworks aimed at improving manufacturing sector productivity by targeting public recurrent education spending.

INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF IFRS 16 ADOPTION IN SERBIAN HOTEL INDUSTRY

2024-04-19T09:59:28+02:00

The effects of the implementation of IFRS 16 in the hotel industry, as one of the industries with the highest amounts of leased assets, is the primary focus of this paper. The International Accounting Standards Board addopted International Financial Reporting Standard 16 - Leases in January 2016, replacing International Accounting Standard 17 – Leases, for reporting periods starting on or after 1^stJanuary 2019. The updated regulations introduce different accounting models for lessees and lessors. The influence of IFRS 16 on a reporting entity is contingent on the quantity of existing operating lease agreements and differs across various industries. The research sample includes financial reports of 64 hotels per reporting period (2020-21), totaling 128 observation units. Data analysis included the application of statistical tests such as Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Shapiro-Wilk test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The research results indicate that aside other events, adoption of IFRS 16 had an impact on the financial performance of observed hotels and their key financial statements items.

THE IMPACT OF THE QUIET QUITTING PHENOMENON ON EMPLOYEES IN SERBIA

2024-04-19T09:59:28+02:00

Employees play a pivotal role in organizational functionality, underscoring the crucial importance of effective human resources management. In recent years, the global dissemination of a workplace behavior concept termed 'quiet quitting' has gained momentum through online platforms. This behavioral model involves employees performing the minimum required, showing reluctance to exceed expectations. This study explores the prevalence of 'quiet quitting' in organizations within Serbia, utilizing survey methodology. Our findings suggest that, rather than a novel concept, 'quiet quitting' represents a contemporary label for an enduring behavior, characterizing individuals with limited workplace engagement often rooted in job dissatisfaction. While 'quiet quitting' is not widely recognized in Serbia at present, Generation Z members exhibit heightened susceptibility. This research, first of its kind in Serbia, aligns with the identified global phenomenon, establishing a foundation for extensive exploration within both business and academic realms. Our extensive conclusions underscore the need for continued investigation into quiet quitting, contributing valuable insights for organizations seeking to comprehend, address, and elevate the discourse on employee engagement within the Serbian professional landscape.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ONBOARDING PROCESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY IN NORTH MACEDONIA

2024-04-19T13:46:17+02:00

Using the Vox instrument, this paper examines the relationship between the onboarding process and organizational culture in the pharmaceutical industry in North Macedonia, with special reference to drug manufacturing companies. The four-dimensional Vox model has been extensively utilized, which limited the dimensions to Decision Making Style and Entrepreneurial Orientation, resulting in Four Culture Types and Four Leadership Types. However, the focus in this paper is on the Four Culture Types. Using online questionnaires distributed to employees that work in drug manufacturing companies, where a total of 228 responses were collected and analyzed using SPSS software. The results indicate that Entrepreneurial Democracy is the most preferred organizational culture during their onboarding process. The analysis investigates the impact of generational differences, work experience and job categories on perceptions of organizational culture in greater detail. Diverse aspects exhibited significant differences, highlighting the need for organizations to address specific dimensions during the onboarding process in order to foster a positive work environment. Overall, this study contributes valuable insights into the relationship between the onboarding process and organizational culture in the pharmaceutical industry, laying the groundwork for future research and providing organizations with practical implications.

MEASURING OF BANKING SYSTEM RESILIENCE BY USING THE TEXAS RATIO

2024-04-19T09:59:29+02:00

The issue of banking sector resilience is one of the most exploited after global financial crisis. Competent authorities and central banks worldwide conducted series of actions to strengthen their systems and made it more resilient on extraordinary events. For that purpose, there were conducted stress tests leading to results for improvement of central bank’s supervisory activities and practices. Also, the analysis of banking sector resilience should be complemented with other measures, which are also treated as early warning indicators. Texas ratio is one of the early warning indicators that could indicate the banking system stability through the analysis of non-performing loans as portion of “toxic” assets in banks. High level of non-performing loans represents a huge threat for survival of banking systems, so their monitoring and efficient resolution is imperative. In paper, authors emphasize the significance of Texas ratio usage in the process of banking sector resilience evaluation.

POST-SOCIALIST URBAN FINANCIALIZATION IN SERBIA: AN EMPIRICAL INSIGHT

2024-04-19T09:59:29+02:00

Financialization as a global process usually promotes finance as a dominant narrative (Aalbers, 2019) and plays a strong role in the economic development and urban changes in all contextual frameworks. Nevertheless, research on financialization is relatively scarce in post-socialist European countries, with a complete absence of research on this issue in Serbia. Focusing on post-socialist Serbia in the post-crisis period (after 2008), the paper situates the narrative of urban financialization into the broader context by: illuminating the financialization dimensions; identifying the indicators for selected financialization dimensions; analyzing concrete data for selected financialization dimensions by specific indicators, and comparing available indicators of financialization with those in some post-socialist countries of CEE and SEE. The empirical analysis provides insight into the complex nature of urban financialization which is measured by specific indicators at the national level.