Malči Grivec1 and Srečko Devjak2
In this paper, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the savings of Slovenian households in banks is explored. For this purpose, an econometric model is developed and the macroeconomic variables exerting a statistically significant impact on household deposits in banks are identified. Among all the macroeconomic variables considered in the paper, the research study has shown that there are only two macroeconomic variables with a statistically significant impact. These two macroeconomic variables are the Euro Overnight Index Average (EONIA) reference interest rate used as a proxy variable for the rate of return, and the price of one Bitcoin as a yield on an alternative investment opportunity. The results of this research study are important for both the Central Government in Slovenia and for Slovenia’s banks as household deposits are a source of funding for banks in the time of a crisis as well, and because of the fact that the volume of the loans granted accelerates the GDP growth, which shows the successful implementation of the economic policy.
Edvard Jakopin1 and Aleksandar Gračanac2
After the COVID-19 pandemic-induced global recession of 2020, the Republic of Serbia achieved one of its highest growth rates in 2021 in the past two decades of transition, that rate being 7.5% (only in 2004 was a higher 9% growth rate achieved). At the beginning of 2022, however, Europe was faced with a new global upheaval caused by war in Ukraine with unpredictable economic consequences. Inflationary pressures have been increasing, primarily due to the strong growth of energy and food prices. The effects of global recessions reflect in the slowdown in structural reforms in all transition economies. The paper investigates the structural performance of the growth of the Serbian economy between the global recession and the slowdown in growth. A special accent is placed on the analysis of structural problems, the solution of which was in the shadow of economic growth.
Dias Satria1, Tiara Juniar Soewardi2 and Joshi Maharani Wibowo3
The policy of the electronification of regional payment transactions (ERPT) is one of the innovations implemented by Indonesia due to the COVID-19 pandemic so as to increase the economic activity and revenue. This study is aimed at increasing the understanding of smart governance, the contactless economy, and regional income in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia, and globally the new normal and the post-COVID-19 eras. This research study was carried out using the primary data obtained through questionnaires in 2021 applying the purposive sampling method and processed using the Structural Equation Model-Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) models. Based on the six hypotheses proposed in this study, the results show that performance expectancy, the social influence, and the facilitating condition have a positive and significant impact on the behavioral use of the noncash payment transactions of taxes and levies in North Sumatra Province. On the other hand, the effort expectancy has no significant impact on the cashless transaction of paying taxes and levies in the North Sumatra Province.
Ana Aleksić Mirić, Zorica Aničić and Marina Petrović
In the paper, the connection between networking and the innovativeness of social enterprises is explored. The research is motivated by the idea of understanding the impact of networking on the innovation of this special type of organizations that, due to its hybrid nature, has the potential to respond to today’s economic and social challenges. The research is based on a sample of 837 social enterprises from 11 European countries. The results showed that networking was one of the key features of these organizations, as more than 90% of the surveyed organizations cooperated with other organizations, but also that networking itself did not affect the innovation of social enterprises. A more detailed analysis shows the differences that the networking forms and organizational age have on innovation.
Marwa El Foutoun, Ahmed Kchikeche and Driss Mafamane
This paper explores youth unemployment in Morocco using the Labor Force Survey of the 2019 data to estimate a logit model. The paper provides the evidence for the three categories of possible determinants of youth unemployment in Morocco. The first set of determinants are the geographic and sociodemographic characteristics such the sex, age, the marital status and the area of residence. Secondly, the socioeconomic factors such as the young people’s family background and the number of workers per household play a decisive role in explaining youth unemployment in Morocco. Thirdly and finally, the results obtained in this study show that (regardless of their diplomas) young graduates are more likely to be unemployed than persons without a diploma. However, the influence a diploma type has on the probability of being unemployed varies according to the diploma type. The results obtained shed a light on the important characteristics of youth unemployment in Morocco and should serve as a guide for future research in more specific knowledge gaps.
Milan Kocić, Srđan Šapić and Katarina Sofronijević
Using websites for commercial purposes has been noticeable in numerous areas in recent years, including the organic food market, among others. The era of digitalization has implied that an increasing number of consumers form their views on organic food based on information that is marketed via websites, instead of going to traditional stores. In accordance with that, the aim of the paper is to examine whether the quality of a website, measured by its usability, design and the quality of information, affects consumers’ cognitive and affective attitudes towards organic products. In this paper, exploratory factor analysis is carried out along with multiple regression analysis. The research results indicate that, in the organic food sector, it is very important to have a website which is both usable and visually appealing, simultaneously containing quality and updated information, which all can greatly influence the formation of users’ attitudes towards organic food, their attitudes being made of the rational emotional dimensions as well. The contribution of this research study is particularly significant bearing in mind the fact that attitudes towards organic food are mostly examined in a traditional environment, not so much in an online environment.
Suzana Stevanovic1, Ivan Milenkovic2 and Sladjana Paunovic3
This research study is focused on the examination of the influence of the introduction and implementation of the monetary Inflation Targeting (IT) regime: the level of the inflation rate and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, as well as inflation and the GDP volatility. Conditional variance is calculated by fitting an empirical Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model to an annualized quarterly date for the period from 1993Q1 to 2020Q3, all in order to assess volatility. The results of the regression model showed that there was a positive statistical significance between the instability of inflation and the instability of the growth rate of the GDP in the three analyzed countries (namely in Albania, Turkey and the Republic of Serbia). The result of introducing the IT regime when the GDP growth rate volatility is concerned is statistically significant in Serbia and Turkey and led to reduction in the GDP volatility and stabilization. However, the applied regression model indicated that, in the case of Albania and Romania, the introduction of the IT regime did not have a statistically significant impact on the GDP growth rate volatility.
Vladimir Dzenopoljac1a,1b, Oualid Abidi2, Abdul Rauf1b and Ahmed Bani-Mustafa3
This conceptual paper explores the potential relationship between a manager’s contribution in sealing cross-border Merger and Acquisition (M&A) deals, on the one hand, and tacit knowledge transfer, on the other. The paper’s basic premise posits that those managers are likely to be exposed to significant tacit knowledge flows as they participate in negotiating, making, and monitoring M&A transactions. The two M&A dimensions taken into account in the conceptual model given in this paper pertain to the number and value of M&A transactions coordinated or accomplished by the manager. Furthermore, there are several moderating factors said to influence the central assumption between the number/value of M&As and the extent of tacit knowledge transfer, i.e. the frequency of face-to-face meetings, the manager’s cultural intelligence, the manager’s international experience and the number of the languages spoken by the manager. The examination of the research propositions underlying the suggested research model is believed to have a particular importance for the banking sector in the Gulf countries wherein the M&A activity is ubiquitous.
Huai-Chun Lo1, Ming Jing Yang2, Cheng-Tsu Huang3 and Ching-Yuan Chien4
This study explores the impact of income on customer loyalty so as to verify whether consumer decision-making is bounded by rationality or not. The empirical findings show that income positively affects customer loyalty in choosing leisure parks. Specifically, high-income customers prefer to reduce the time cost of information collection. Therefore, they are more inclined to choose a specific resort or a leisure activity park of a particular brand rather than spend their time searching and planning for the most appropriate location of a leisure activity park. This result supports the notion that customers’ consumption decisions are bounded by rationality, not for the purpose of making the optimal decision, but in order to pursue satisfying their own needs instead.
Oghenenyerhovwo Rita Inoni1 and Chiyem Okorie2
The largest number of studies on the determinants of the consumer’s decision to purchase washing machines have explored the influence of the price, the product quality, the perceived value and related constructs without the effects made by consumption emotions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the impact of brand quality, consumption emotions and socioeconomic factors on the consumer’s decision to purchase washing machines in Nigeria’s Delta State. The data used in the study were obtained from a cross-section of 385 consumers drawn from Asaba, Sapele and Warri, the three most populous towns in Delta State. The results show that brand quality, consumption emotions and socioeconomic variables, such as the household size, the education level and income are the significant determinants of a decision to purchase washing machines in the study area. The significance of emotions as predictors of a purchase decision underscores the need for manufacturers of electrical home appliances to ensure that the design and functionality of their products elicit the positive emotions that will foster customers’ attachment and loyalty to a brand in order for the manufacturers to maximize their revenue and sustain a profit.