•The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the peer-to-peer accommodation sector.•We examine host perceptions of and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.•We identify five host types according to their ...response to the pandemic.•We offer a continuum of different categories of host pandemic responses.•The continuum may be of theoretical and practical value to stakeholders.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought international tourism at a standstill. Peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation, in particular, has been greatly affected with platforms being heavily criticised for lacking a strategic response to users’ needs. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with P2P accommodation hosts, this study aims to explore: a) their perceptions of the short-term impacts of the pandemic on their hosting practice, b) their responses to the pandemic and c) their perceptions of the long-term impacts of the pandemic on the P2P accommodation sector. The study offers a continuum of host pandemic responses which illustrates different types of hosts in relation to their market perspective and intention to continue hosting on P2P platforms. The continuum carries theoretical implications as it offers insights to academics exploring crisis impacts on P2P accommodation. It is also of practical value to platforms and practitioners as it may lead to improved crisis management strategies.
This paper increases understanding of the concept of smart factories system and its implementation in the automotive industry in terms of addressing necessary changes in human aspect of system, ...namely, employees' competencies, as well as to new job profiles. A qualitative research approach was used by utilizing a case study of the automotive industry in Slovenia. For the purpose of data collection, we used a semistructured interview on a sample of experts from governmental, educational, and private automotive sectors. In order to analyse gathered data, we used the method of content analysis. Research results indicate that significant changes are essential in the transformation from traditional to a smart factory system, especially regarding organizational mindset, the architecture of system and its processes, and the inclusion of Industry 4.0 technologies at all levels. Also, results indicate changes are essential regarding future job profiles and competencies. Although there are different perceptions about future jobs and competencies needed for Industry 4.0‐induced changes, depending on the sector in which the expert is employed, there is an overall agreement that job profiles related to programming, mechatronics, robotics, data analysis, Internet of Things, design, and maintenance of smart systems, process analysis, and bionics are the new job profiles needed in smart factory systems. In addition to the high emphasis on technical skill and knowledge, soft competencies are considered important, as well as competencies of continues learning, flexibility, creativity, problem solving, critical, and analytical thinking. Our findings possess important implications for conceptualizing job profiles and competencies in smart factories systems and practical implications for managers concerned with human resource management activities. We provide an outlook to the future job profiles that are underresearched, especially in the field of smart manufacturing. As well, our paper provides insight into the importance of different competencies recognized as crucial for complete functioning and optimal performance of smart factories system. This study provides a starting point for further research regarding human resource management issues in smart factories in the automotive sector, especially related to future job profiles and employee competencies, and their role in system performance.
The positive impact of probiotic strains on human health has become more evident than ever before. Often delivered through food, dietary products, supplements, and drugs, different legislations for ...safety and efficacy issues have been prepared. Furthermore, regulatory agencies have addressed various approaches toward these products, whether they authorize claims mentioning a disease's diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. Due to the diversity of bacteria and yeast strains, strict approaches have been designed to assess for side effects and post-market surveillance. One of the most essential delivery systems of probiotics is within food, due to the great beneficial health effects of this system compared to pharmaceutical products and also due to the increasing importance of food and nutrition. Modern lifestyle or various diseases lead to an imbalance of the intestinal flora. Nonetheless, as the amount of probiotic use needs accurate calculations, different factors should also be taken into consideration. One of the novelties of this review is the presentation of the beneficial effects of the administration of probiotics as a potential adjuvant therapy in COVID-19. Thus, this paper provides an integrative overview of different aspects of probiotics, from human health care applications to safety, quality, and control.
Piperine is the main compound present in black pepper, and is the carrier of its specific pungent taste, which is responsible for centuries of human dietary utilization and worldwide popularity as a ...food ingredient. Along with the application as a food ingredient and food preservative, it is used in traditional medicine for many purposes, which has in most cases been justified by modern scientific studies on its biological effects. It has been confirmed that piperine has many bioactive effects, such as antimicrobial action, as well as many physiological effects that can contribute to general human health, including immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antimetastatic, antitumor, and many other activities. Clinical studies demonstrated remarkable antioxidant, antitumor, and drug availability-enhancing characteristics of this compound, together with immunomodulatory potential. All these facts point to the therapeutic potential of piperine and the need to incorporate this compound into general health-enhancing medical formulations, as well as into those that would be used as adjunctive therapy in order to enhance the bioavailability of various (chemo)therapeutic drugs.
Research in business ethics shows that individual differences can influence one’s ethical behaviour. In addition, variability in attitudes towards ethical issues among different generations is ...emphasized. Still, results are inconclusive and call for an additional examination of possible generational differences with regard to ethics and ethical values.
Our objective is to test if the perception of the importance of business ethics, attitudes towards ethical issues and aspects influencing ethical behaviour, differ among the four generations currently present in the workforce.
Theoretical implications are empirically tested on a sample of 107 individuals, members of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z.
In general, the results indicate that there are little or no generational differences related to the analysed aspects of business ethics. The significant difference is present only in the importance given to factors that influence ethical decision-making: (i) formal rules and procedures, (ii) performance management system and (iii) job pressures, between the members of Generation Z and older generations.
In spite of employee diversity, ethics continues to present an important aspect of the business environment. Thus, organizations need to be oriented towards creating ethical leaders and a positive ethical climate that ensures that ethical values and behaviours are present throughout the organization.
In global, multinational or multicultural organizations, cross-cultural communication barriers can have a significant effect on the efficiency of organizational communication. Communication barriers ...can consequently lead to conflicts within organization, the creation of various power groups, misunderstandings with stakeholders and profit loss. The aim of this paper is to present how language differences, nonverbal misinterpretations, assumption of similarity, preconceptions and stereotypes, tendency to evaluate and high anxiety affect managers and employees in cross-cultural context. Developing intercultural competences is regarded as the solution to overcoming the abovementioned barriers, and the role of education, emotional intelligence and the development of reliable digital tools is emphasized.
U globalnim, multinacionalnim ili multikulturalnim organizacijama, međukulturalne komunikacijskebarijere mogu imati značajan učinak na učinkovitost organizacijske komunikacije. Komunikacijskebarijere posljedično mogu dovesti do sukoba unutar organizacije, stvaranja različitih grupa moći,nesporazuma s dionicima i gubitka dobiti. Cilj ovog rada je prikazati kako razlike u jeziku odnosnoverbalnoj komunikaciji, pogrešne interpretacije neverbalne komunikacije, pretpostavke sličnosti,predrasude i stereotipi, sklonost procjeni i visoka anksioznost utječu na menadžere i zaposlenike umeđukulturalnom kontekstu. Razvijanje interkulturalnih kompetencija smatra se rješenjem zaprevladavanje navedenih prepreka, a ističe se uloga obrazovanja, emocionalne inteligencije i razvojapouzdanih digitalnih alata.
This paper analyzes the connection between supply chain management maturity (SCMM) and business performance in light of the balanced scorecard (BSC) framework. The goal is to explore the relationship ...between SCMM and business performance from the financial and customer, innovation and learning, and internal processes perspectives. Industry characteristics (technological dynamism and the level of state support) are examined to determine their moderating effects. The survey was carried out on a sample of organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina to test if the BSC approach can be a relevant framework for assessing the effects of SCMM on performance, and whether, as in many countries’ political legacies, the role of the government is significant in this relation. PLS-SEM was used to test the proposed hypotheses. The obtained research results confirm a positive relationship between SCMM and business performance from the BSC perspective. This relation is strengthened when an organization operates in an industry with higher technological dynamism. Interestingly, the results confirm that the level of state support does not influence the contribution of SCMM to business performance. This paper provides a more comprehensive view of the role of SCMM and an additional understanding of its contribution to multiple perspectives of business performance. Furthermore, the relevance of industry characteristics for SCMM and business performance has been illustrated by testing the moderation effect of technological dynamism and the level of state support.
Innovation and creativity in organizations are becoming imperative to their advancement. These two categories are shaping the new culture of innovation, which managers should take into account when ...trying to maintain the sustainable development of their organizations. This paper examines the contribution of management practice, organizational motivation and resources as the important factors for fostering creativity and innovation in organizations and their effects on productivity. Empirical research using the KEYS methodology was conducted on a sample of employees from innovation-driven organizations. The research results show a positive and significant effect of creativity on organizational productivity. At the same time, the research reveals that challenging tasks, as an element of management practice, and realistic workload pressure, as a resource, strongly contribute to organizational productivity. The paper extends current knowledge on the contribution of management practice, organizational motivation, and resources as factors important for fostering creativity in organizations. Furthermore, the paper contributes by providing a deeper theoretical insight into the concept of the culture of innovation and creativity in an organizational environment.
Uncivil behavior at work can have numerous consequences for individuals and the organization. This paper examines the interplay of personality traits and organizational culture as antecedents of ...workplace incivility. Empirical research on a sample of 251 employees has shown that the perceptions and occurrence of workplace incivility can be significantly related to personality traits and features of organizational culture. When looking at the combined effect of personality and organizational culture, culture determines one’s perception and experience of incivility stronger than personality traits alone. The research showed that personality trait agreeableness and emphasizing values related to clan, market or adhocracy culture could reduce the odds of workplace incivility.
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