Cost strategy management has one of the most important roles in enterprises and industry. Croatian metal processing industry is a branch of processing which is of the biggest influence on the ...economy. According to this paper, the research is conducted with a goal to improve the competitive position and to give recommendations for development and strategic turnover in future years. Therefore, this paper cost strategy analysis has a purpose to improve the position of small, medium and large enterprises. The survey was conducted on 508 enterprises in metal processing industry in three sectors according to NKD 2007 (C24, C25 and C28). Main goal of this paper is to research the connection between cost strategy and its impact on development, success and achieving competitive advantage. For statistical analysis statistical program SPSS is used (version 16.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).
Metal processing industry is an important sector of Croatian economy that contributes significantly to its competitiveness and assures industrial development of the Republic of Croatia. Competitive ...advantage is a key distinctive feature of a company on the market. In current circumstances, competitive advantage is more difficult to achieve and maintain than ever before because of constantly growing market competition. The main research objective is to investigate connection between selected financial predictors and to assess their influence on successfulness and achievement of competitive advantage of metal processing companies. The research is conducted on 578 small, medium and large metal processing companies aiming to determine the influence of financial predictors on their competitiveness. The research results indicate that there is a correlation between financial factors and the number of employees, total revenue and total expenses in small, medium and large companies in the metal processing industry. The research results also confirm that the observed financial predictors have influence on the competitiveness of small, medium and large companies Such influence is the strongest in small, and the weakest in large metal processing companies. This paper provides an insight into the influence of financial predictors on the competitiveness of metal processing companies, which will facilitate entrepreneurs to improve their company's competitive position on the market. Statistical analysis of research data was performed by statistical software MedCalc® Statistical Software version 20.026 and SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23.0.
The paper is designed and contextualized as a meaningful whole which includes the triple helix model: a combination of science, the real sector and local government. The basis of this research is ...teamwork in insurance companies operating in eastern Croatia whose indicators reflect on other insurance companies in Croatia and beyond. The conclusions of the paper suggest that teamwork is omnipresent in insurance companies, and that it affects the efficiency in meeting their objectives. A survey was used to test and prove the hypotheses, indicating that especially during the economic crisis it is crucial to invest in human resources and encourage teamwork via key motivational factors. The conclusions of the paper show that teamwork contributes to the efficiency of the organization, dissemination of new ideas and greater synergy within the insurance company.
Zadržavanje zaposlenika aktualan je izazov u ugostiteljskom* sektoru. Svrha ovog rada bila je ispitati koje aspekte vezane za posao zaposlenici u hrvatskom ugostiteljskom sektoru smatraju važnima te ...postoje li generacijske razlike. Podaci su prikupljeni putem online upitnika provedenim od srpnja do kolovoza 2022. godine i analizirani deskriptivnom analizom. Rezultati pokazuju da generacija X najvažnijim čimbenicima smatra: dobru ravnotežu između poslovnog i privatnog života, plaću i sigurnost radnog mjesta te međuljudske odnose. Za generaciju Y najvažniji su aspekt plaća i sigurnost radnog mjesta, koje prate dobri međuljudski odnosi te dobra ravnoteža između poslovnog i privatnog života. Generacija Z jednako važnima smatra: plaću i sigurnost radnog mjesta, dobre međuljudske odnose i nisku razinu poslovnog stresa. Generacijske razlike su pronađene, ali nisu značajne. Važno je istaknuti zapažanje da sve generacije percipiraju sve čimbenike vrlo važnima. Zaposlenicima je stalo do poštene plaće i korektnih radnih uvjeta, ravnoteže između privatnog i poslovnog života te međuljudskih odnosa, cijene prilike za poslovni razvoj i više autonomije. Rukovoditelji u ugostiteljstvu trebali bi to uzeti u obzir kako bi kreirali visokokvalitetna radna mjesta i poboljšali zadržavanje zaposlenika.
Employee retention is actual challenge in hospitality sector. The purpose of this paper was to examine what job-related aspects are perceived important by employees in Croatian hospitality sector and if there are significant generational differences. Data was collected through and online questionnaire from July to August 2022 and analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results show GEN X perceives good work life balance, salary and job security and interpersonal relations as the most important factors. For Gen Y the most important aspect is salary and job security, followed by good interpersonal relations and good work-life balance. Gen Z equally cares about salary and job security, good interpersonal relations and low stress levels at job. Generational differences have been found but they are not significant. An important finding is that all generations perceive all factors as highly important. Employees care about fair wage and decent working conditions, work-life balance and interpersonal relations, they appreciate career development opportunities and more autonomy. This should be taken into account by hospitality managers to create high-quality jobs and improve employee retention.
Social entrepreneurship literature continuously emphasizes the need for innovations in business models as businesses gain more importance in achievement of sustainable development. However, there is ...a lack of practical examples of sustainable business models which prevents their faster adoption among entrepreneurs. This paper analyzes and evaluates alternative hospitality model - Albergo diffuso which is by many authors considered to be an example of sustainable business model. Albergo diffuso is used for tourism restart and revitalization of rural areas as it recovers old buildings, creates new jobs, involves local farmers and entrepreneurs in value creation network and preserves local traditions. This paper applied qualitative research approach to analyze the business model of Croatian Albergo diffuso ‘Ražnjevića dvori’ using the semi-structured interviews. Tourism is of huge importance for economies around the world but at the same time it produces a lot of negative environmental and social impacts on local communities. Therefore, sustainable innovation, especially in business models, is needed to achieve sustainable development of tourism. This research showed that Albergo diffuso can be regarded as a sustainable business model because it creates sustainable value, includes stakeholders in the value network and establishes mutual value flows and thirdly internalizes negative environmental and social externalities. Researchers conclude that with small adjustments, Albergo diffuso as sustainable business model could contribute to sustainable tourism development. However, conclusions cannot be generalized due to limitations of the study that include small research sample and application on single case and further research is required.
Nogomet je, kao i ostatak sportske industrije, u suvremenom svijetu iznimno unosan posao.
Svi sportski klubovi imaju dvije osnovne zadaće koje žele ispunjavati iz sezone u sezonu:
ostvarivanje ...sportskih uspjeha i financijskih rezultata. U jednoj od najrazvijenijih
sportskih liga na svijetu, engleskoj Premier ligi, za sportske uspjehe brinu se igrači i treneri,
koji funkcioniraju na operativnoj razini, a za financijske rezultate zaduženi su klupski
menadžeri i direktori. Cilj je ovog rada ispitati koji poslovni aspekti Premier lige doprinose
njezinoj globalnoj uspješnosti i prepoznatljivosti, odnosno kako specifični oblici sportskog
menadžmenta oblikuju ligu i utječu na njezin razvoj. Metoda je istraživanja analiza primarnih
izvora dostupnih na internetu, a obuhvaćena su službena izvješća vezana za Premier
ligu i analize stručnih novinara koji je prate. Analizom su obuhvaćeni sljedeći aspekti: vlasnička
struktura klubova, sponzorski ugovori i prava prijenosa te uloga sportskih direktora
i nogomentnih agenata. Rezultati analize upućuje na zaključak da investicije jamče razvoj i
uspjeh klubova ako se financijska sredstva ulažu racionalno i sukladno viziji stručnog stožera
kluba. Autori također daju preporuke za daljnja istraživanja koja uključuju sportske
novinare te u središte interesa stavljaju socioekonomske implikacije popularnih sportskih
natjecanja.
The natural gas market, after being declared as transitional energy source for achieving climate neutrality, has emerged from a decades-long shadow of oil. Natural gas consumption has a significant ...increase in consumption, because in addition to efficiency in environmental protection, it is increasingly used in many industries. The European natural gas market is still characterized by long-term contracts, which, together with reduced natural gas production in the EU and infrastructure-related supply routes that restrict competition, puts the largest natural gas exporting countries in a dominant position over the fragmented European market. The European Union is making significant efforts to liberalize the natural gas market by encouraging supply and demand of natural gas prices at a growing number of gas market hubs. By applying modern technologies for processing and transporting natural gas in liquid form, the limitation of the availability of natural gas exclusively to areas where is a built pipeline network has been significantly reduced. The construction of LNG terminals intensified trade on the world market, which affected the general decline in natural gas prices. The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine created unexpected disruptions in the world natural gas market, and even the biggest energy experts do not want to predict what awaits us in the coming months and years. Energy transition will not only require high costs of investment in new forms of energy, but also high cost functionality of the fossil fuel market in the period. Due to the geopolitical crisis, the realization of the single European gas market has faced its greatest challenges. The decline in demand for natural gas in 2020 with historically low prices was replaced in less than a year by unexpectedly high demand with high price growth. The governments of all affected countries, including the Government of the Republic of Croatia, are in a hurry to define a package of measures to mitigate the impending impact of natural gas prices, but the full implementation of natural gas market liberalization in Croatia requires entrepreneurs to know market players and market rules in the gas sector, monitor movements on world stock exchanges, in order to prevent the negative effects of disturbances on the world natural gas market and ensure the best possible procurement conditions. This paper presents the basic components of the natural gas market in the European Union and Croatia and the legal and contractual rules that affect the formation of the natural gas price currently paid by entrepreneurs as well as the expected movement of the natural gas price.
Attending employee trainings and seminars in companies is becoming an indispensable way of learning and acquiring knowledge in companies. The aim of this paper is to find out whether employees in ...private and state-owned companies in the Republic of Croatia want to attend seminars and trainings, whether they would go to remote locations and whether the employer employs and encourages employees to attend seminars and trainings. Employees face the challenge of learning all their lives, and acquiring new knowledge and skills, in order to be as competitive as possible in the labour market and so that their work contribute to achieving the business goals of the company in which they are employed. By attending trainings, seminars and courses, employees acquire new knowledge, improve existing ones and are more ready to do all the set tasks on a daily basis. Formal education is very important, but in addition to each employee, personal effort and engagement during each working day, upgrading existing knowledge and acquiring new knowledge and skills are important. The results of the research show that a high percentage of employees are willing to attend trainings and seminars, regardless of their location, but employers should to a greater extent organize trainings and seminars for their employees. Investing in knowledge and personal and professional development of each employee is complex and long-term, life is upgraded and enriched and serves to achieve both personal goals of each employee and acquired knowledge so to help achieve business goals of the company in which they are employed. With a higher level of knowledge, employees can better respond to customer inquiries and with their knowledge contribute to meeting the diverse wishes and needs of the company's customers. The knowledge and skills of employees and managers are an intangible asset that every company needs to gain an advantage over competitors and a positive business result and education and seminars are one of the ways to acquire much-needed knowledge in companies.
The aim of this paper is to find out whether employees in private and state-owned companies in the Republic of Croatia are ready to study all their lives, enrol in additional school or college and ...whether they like to attend seminars and trainings. Education is the starting point of the company's progress and with the individual efforts of each employee the basis for gaining a competitive advantage and creating knowledge of society as a whole, knowledge in companies and individual development of each employee. Lifelong learning of every employee is one of the ways to achieve the company's business goals. The sum of the individual levels of knowledge and daily learning of all employees makes up the overall level of knowledge in a company. Human resources in companies are the bearers of all business activities and all employees and managers should be aware of the importance of lifelong learning for individual employee development as well as for company development. The survey on employees' attitudes towards lifelong learning was conducted on a sample of 273 respondents in private and state-owned companies in the Republic of Croatia. According to the results of the research, a high percentage of employees are ready to study all their lives, enrol in additional school or college and like to attend seminars and trainings.
Financijsko obrazovanje predstavlja skup znanja iz područja financija koja su neophodna pri donošenju
kratkoročnih i dugoročnih financijskih odluka stanovništva. Adekvatna financijska uključenost
...stanovništva u financijski sustav kao osnovno polazište društvene participacije sve više dobiva
na značaju. S druge strane, financijsku isključenost moguće je definirati kao jaz između potreba i potražnje
određenih društvenih skupina za ponudom osnovnih financijskih usluga kreditnih institucija.
Razloge potpune ili povećane financijske isključenosti stanovništva moguće je tražiti u njihovoj
marginalnoj participaciji u financijskom sustavu zbog nedostatnih osobnih prihoda, nedovoljnog
poznavanja financijskih zakonitosti, slabe edukacija u segmentu osobnih financija te stavova pojedinaca
o osobnim financijama. Cilj ovoga rada je istražiti, prikupiti i analizirati relevantne informacije
o financijskom potencijalu stanovništva na području Brodsko-posavske i Osječko-baranjske županije,
o spoznaji njihovog statusa u financijskom sustavu, te o odnosu prema osobnim financijama
koji u bitnoj mjeri odražava i razinu njihove financijske edukacije. Sukladno tomu, autori u radu
predstavljaju rezultate istraživanja vezane za financijsku edukaciju stanovništva i njen utjecaj na
upravljanje osobnim financijama. Očekivani rezultati istraživanja očitovat će se u segmentu utvrđivanja
korelacije između financijske edukacije i upravljanja osobnim financijama stanovništva na
području obje županije za pojedine varijable iz anketnog upitnika.
