B. Gavurová, Jaroslav Schonfeld, Y. Bilan, Tomáš Dudáš
{"title":"Study of the Differences in the Perception of the Use of the Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility in Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the V4 Countries","authors":"B. Gavurová, Jaroslav Schonfeld, Y. Bilan, Tomáš Dudáš","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.02.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.02.02","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of the study was to examine the differences in the perception of the use of selected principles by CSR managers and owners of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in the V4 countries. The results of our research show that CSR strategies are most used by entrepreneurs and managers of MSMEs in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. They are the least used in the Czech Republic. The sectoral comparison within the V4 countries highlighted interesting findings. When considering the moral and ethical implications of decision-making, no significant differences were found between the sectors. Differences were found in the perception of the CSR concept and its use in business. The CSR concept was mostly used in tourism and agriculture, to a lesser extent in construction, retail, manufacturing and services. Managers and entrepreneurs understand the link between CSR and gaining reputation and business opportunities and that CSR helps build a competitive advantage. The size of the company affects whether the company can be classified as CSR-oriented. Compared to medium-sized enterprises, micro-enterprises are 45% less likely and small enterprises are 33.5% less likely to be perceived as CSR-oriented. Compared to companies from Slovakia, companies in the Czech Republic are 41% less likely to be perceived as CSR-oriented. Hungarian companies are 70% more likely to be perceived as CSR-oriented compared to companies from Slovakia. Companies run by women are more inclined to apply CSR principles than men.","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44819883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Competition and Risk Exposure on Profitability of the Romanian Banking System During the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Vasile Dinu, M. Bunea","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.02.01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.02.01","url":null,"abstract":"In the context of the economic uncertainty generated at the national level and caused not only by the COVID-19 pandemic, for a healthy evolution of business relations in the competitive environment, for resilience and survival in this context of the pandemic and efforts to counteract possible financial losses, optimal risk management plays a key role in the banking system to avoid excessive exposure with a negative impact on financial performance. The present research aimed to provide an analysis of the potential relationship between the competition presented on the example of the Romanian banking market (before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and after its start), risk management in terms of risk-weighted assets (credit risk, market risk and operational risk), on one hand, and the profitability of the banking system measured by the ROA (return on assets) indicator, on the other. In order to test the formulated hypotheses, the authors used a predominantly quantitative research methodology based on a statistically deductive analysis with a series of testing objectives and potential cause-effect links. The results of this study indicate, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the existence of a significant intensity correlation between the banks’ exposure to the total risk (RWA) (risk-weighted assets) and the market share (as dependent variables) and the banking performance indicator (ROA) (as an independent variable) and, after the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, banks’ exposure to the credit risk, together with the position on the banking market.","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43152968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Changes in Online Shopping Behavior in the Czech Republic During the COVID-19 Crisis","authors":"Veronika Svatošová","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.01.09","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.01.09","url":null,"abstract":"The development of the online environment resulted in the formation of the behavior of all subjects in the online and offline market. This paper responds to current changes that significantly shape the whole society. Therefore, this paper aims to identify changes in online shopping before and during the COVID-19 crisis. The paper is based on primary research in the form of a questionnaire survey among a selected group of respondents that assess the determinants influencing their online shopping decisions before and during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The research showed that the COVID-19 crisis was reflected in changes in respondents’ online shopping behavior. Less than a third of respondents declared that they did not change their online shopping behavior during the COVID-19 crisis. The research showed that the frequency of online purchases had increased significantly (more than three times), as well as the percentage volume of goods purchased online. It can also be assessed that the COVID-19 crisis has an impact on future online shopping, and more than 40% of respondents do plan to shop online more after the COVID-19 crisis than during the crisis. However, the relationship between generational cohorts and changes in online shopping behavior before and during the COVID-19 crisis has been demonstrated. Online retailers should be prepared for these changes and should take these changes into account when designing and implementing their e-strategy and thus increase their competitiveness in e-commerce.","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43406424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kashif Akram, A. Saeed, Stefano Bresciani, S. Rehman, Alberto Ferraris
{"title":"Factors Affecting Environmental Performance during the Covid-19 Period in the Leather Industry: A Moderated-Mediation Approach","authors":"Kashif Akram, A. Saeed, Stefano Bresciani, S. Rehman, Alberto Ferraris","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.01.01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.01.01","url":null,"abstract":"Like many different and relevant sectors, the leather industry is currently facing a major environmental issue that may affect the competitiveness of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Drawing the conceptual model on the natural resource-based view (NRBV), this study seeks to examine the mediating role of individual green values (IGV) between green transformational leadership (GFTL) and environmental performance (EP). Furthermore, government regulations are used as a moderator concerning the relationship between GTFL and EP. An online survey was randomly distributed to Pakistan's leather industry employees to test the hypothesis by collecting data from 205 respondents. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) has been used to analyze data. The results demonstrate that green transformational leadership (GTFL) positively affects EP. Moreover, this study also reveals that GTFL significantly contributes to developing the IGV that consequently affects EP. Thus, the current study provides a significant sequential GTFL, IGV and EP path. However, surprisingly, the results show that government regulations do not moderate the relationship between GTFL and IGV. This study significantly contributes to the theory and stakeholders and leaders in a vast variety of manufacturing industries. It suggests that all organizations should adopt GTFL principles that encourage employees to engage in environmentally friendly activities by developing green values at the individual level to enhance EP. With this regard, GTLF, IGV, and government regulations may thus play a vital role for organizations and industry for better EP and competitiveness.","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45307675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deep Ranking Analysis by Power Eigenvectors (DRAPE): Linking Sustainability and National Competitiveness","authors":"D. Máté, Adam Novotny, Sandor J. Kovacs","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.01.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.01.05","url":null,"abstract":"There has been limited research on integrating sustainability factors into indicators of global competitiveness among nations. Extant measures of macroeconomic competitiveness focus inadequate attention on the relative importance and interdependences among economic, social, and environmental factors and often their aggregation method. The primary objectives of this study were to explore the interrelations of economic competitiveness and sustainability while integrating the economic and sustainability performance indicators of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI) to create more accurate rankings of countries in both dimensions. Deep Ranking Analysis by Power Eigenvectors (DRAPE) with Variable Clustering (VARCLUS) was applied to associate multiple and conflicting economic and sustainable competitiveness criteria. Consequently, economic competitiveness and mainly institutional environment and innovation capabilities tend to couple with a higher degree of sustainability. However, improving and refining sustainable competitiveness may be vulnerable to environmental issues and resource scarcity, but further socio-economic dimensions must also be considered. The outcomes demonstrate the leadership of the Scandinavian countries and Switzerland, which are all competitive as well as sustainable. This research may extend and inspire further studies and government interventions that adopt more comprehensive approaches to assessing global competitiveness.","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48088296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dumitru Miron, Ana-Maria Holobiuc, Radu Cezar Cojocariu, A. Budacia
{"title":"Real Convergence in the Euro Area: Mirage or Reality?","authors":"Dumitru Miron, Ana-Maria Holobiuc, Radu Cezar Cojocariu, A. Budacia","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.01.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.01.06","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this paper is to study the convergence patterns in the European Union and the Euro Area between 2000 and 2019 by means of the absolute and conditional β- and σ-convergence, considering cohesion not opposite but complementary to competitiveness. By estimating cross-sectional regressions, we have found evidence favouring the absolute β-convergence for the Eurozone (19) and the European Union, illustrating that the initially poorer members experienced higher GDP per capita growth rates than the developed economies. The average catching-up speed recorded between 2000 and 2019 in the European Union was 2.5%, while in the Eurozone (19), it was 2.3%. Based on panel data and seemingly unrelated regressions, we have illustrated that improvement in the competitiveness of Member States by promoting investment, trade openness, high levels of labour productivity, education and the implication of citizens in society positively influenced the GDP per capita growth rates between 2000 and 2019. Finally, the estimation of σ-convergence based on the standard deviation led us to conclude that income gaps narrowed across the European Union and the Eurozone (19) between 2000 and 2019, having, in contrast, an upward trend among the early adopters of the euro. The original elements of the paper derive from the comparative analysis of convergence in the Euro Area and the European Union and the study of the economic growth process from the perspective of competitiveness-related variables. In this respect, the study emphasizes the role of human capital in generating prosperity gains at the Community level.","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44942044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ligita Gasparėnienė, T. Kliestik, Renata Sivickiene, Rita Remeikienė, Martynas Endrijaitis
{"title":"Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Tax Revenue: The Case of the European Union","authors":"Ligita Gasparėnienė, T. Kliestik, Renata Sivickiene, Rita Remeikienė, Martynas Endrijaitis","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.01.03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.01.03","url":null,"abstract":"Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an extremely important factor that promotes national competitiveness and economic development through technology transfer, new management skills, foreign trade, corporate productivity, etc. This study aims to analyze the significance of FDI and its impact on tax revenue and competitiveness, focusing on the European Union (EU) economy. An empirical analysis is conducted to determine the relationship between inward and outward FDI and tax revenue by employing data on EU countries between 1999 and 2019. The data were extracted from the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) database and the World Development Indicators database (WDI) of the World Bank. To fulfill the objective of this study and to determine the effect of FDI on tax revenue, an econometric model was developed. The research methods include systematic and comparative analysis of scientific literature, panel data analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The regression analysis was based on the least-squares method, and the estimates of the econometric models were calculated by identifying robust heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors. The study results reveal that the outward FDI has a significant stimulating impact on total tax revenue. In contrast, inward FDI has a dampening effect on tax revenue. The analysis of the lagging effect of FDI on tax revenue in the EU member states revealed a statistically significant lagging impact of the outward FDI made two years before. The estimations indicate that the lagging effect is an incentive. No statistically significant lagging effect of the inward FDI flows on tax revenue was found.","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46755433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Changes in the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 Methodology: The Improved Approach of Competitiveness Benchmarking","authors":"M. Olczyk, M. Kuc-Czarnecka, Andrea Saltelli","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.01.07","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.01.07","url":null,"abstract":"The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) is used as a standard for measuring a country’s competitiveness. However, in literature, the GCI has been accused of numerous methodological flaws. Consequently, in 2018, the WEF introduced significant methodological changes. This study aims to examine whether the methodological modifications in the GCI’s structure increase its ability to capture the real competitiveness of economies. In addition, the study considers whether the selection of weights of individual elements included in the GCI is optimal or could be improved. By employing a sensitivity-based analysis, we find that the change in methodology resulted in fewer pillars of marginal importance. In the case of the GCI 2017, there were four pillars, whereas in that of the GCI 4.0, there were only two pillars: product market and labor market. Furthermore, we reveal that the WEF weights do not reflect the measured importance of the variables. In the optimization process, numerous variables (primarily opinion-based indicators) were insignificant in explaining the GCI variance and could be eliminated from the set of diagnostic variables without affecting the index’s value. For instance, in the case of the GCI 4.0, 35 out of 103 variables could be eliminated. The new rankings obtained by weight optimization and reduction of the diagnostic variables demonstrated a strong positive correlation with the original rankings. This research contributes to the literature from both a theoretical perspective (indicating the most vital indicators in the GCI) and a practical standpoint (reducing the costs and time of obtaining redundant data).","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43184842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Ali, F. Lai, Ameenullah Aman, Mohammad Saleem, Salaheldin Hamad
{"title":"Do Information Security Breach and Its Factors Have a Long-Run Competitive Effect on Breached Firms’ Equity Risk?","authors":"S. Ali, F. Lai, Ameenullah Aman, Mohammad Saleem, Salaheldin Hamad","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.01.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.01.02","url":null,"abstract":"A breach in information security (infosec) can materially impact a firm’s long-term competitiveness. For publicly listed firms, an infosec breach can have a long-lasting effect on their competitive stock performance, including their equity risk. Despite its significance, past research has focused primarily on examining the short-term effect of infosec breaches while ignoring its long-term effect on the firm’s equity risk. Therefore, in this research, we examined the long-run effect of 276 infosec breaches at publicly traded firms on equity risk from 2009 to 2018. We analyzed each firm’s equity risk compared to its competitive control firms of similar sizes and performances for three years, from one year before to two years after the breach, using a one-to-one matching methodology. The univariate analysis of infosec breaches on equity risk indicated that breach firms have a 7% higher equity risk than competitive control firms. Additionally, the quantile regression analysis of the effect of infosec breach factors on long-run equity risk showed that the rise in equity risk is higher if the breach involves the compromise of confidential information and is a repeat breach for the same firm. The findings provide a valuable resource for investors, managers, and researchers interested in understanding the long-term relationship between infosec breaches and a firm’s stock competitiveness.","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":"20 2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71330006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparative Advantage and Competitiveness of COVID-19-Related Medical Products Exporters","authors":"Zera Zuryana Idris, N. Ismail, S. Ibrahim","doi":"10.7441/joc.2022.01.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2022.01.04","url":null,"abstract":"The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic generated an upsurge in demand for medical products. Trade policy changes, including export restrictions and import reforms, have led to a shortage of medical products. The World Health Organization has recommended countries to encourage local production and identify various import sources for medical products to ensure sustainable healthcare capacity to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and any similar events in the future. This study aims to examine the comparative advantages and competitiveness in producing medical products among top exporters. The contribution of this study is the ability to identify various import sources specific to developing countries. From the exporter’s perspective, this study allows countries to recognize their existing competitive strengths in the medical products trade, allowing them to strategize and compete in the international markets of medical products. Using Balassa’s revealed comparative advantage index, this study analyzes 25 primary medical product exporters, identifying several countries with a comparative advantage in producing medical products. Medicines are primarily dominated by high-income countries, including Switzerland and Germany, whereas middle-income countries, such as China and Malaysia, are more specialized in medical supplies, medical equipment, and personal protective products. This finding provides a basis for policy formulation that can facilitate the process of building a sustainable healthcare capacity.","PeriodicalId":46971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Competitiveness","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42124832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}