Central European Business Review 2024, 13(5):125-165 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.368
To identify the most recent trends in the literature about the convergence of FinTech and Sustainability, this study combines bibliometric analysis with a thorough literature review using documents from the Scopus database. The current body of literature in a particular topic of research is thoroughly and methodically examined on a systematic literature analysis. One quantitative technique that makes it easier to identify current trends and underlying ideas in a subject is bibliometric analysis. Trends, evolution, bibliometrics, mapping, and qualitative content analyses serve as the foundation for the analysis. By following all inclusion and exclusion...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(5):95-124 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.373
This paper investigates stress management practices in Czech small and medium-sized enterprises (n = 194) within the manufacturing sector, with the primary objective of assessing the extent to which these enterprises integrate stress management principles into their internal management processes. The study places a particular emphasis on how these enterprises implement stress management, encompassing both organizational and individual level interventions, while also scrutinizing perceived work stressors, including challenges arising from workplace digitization. A questionnaire was compiled by making use of theoretical insights and empirical findings...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(5):71-94 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.372
Many individuals enjoy sharing their stories and experiences through social media, which exemplifies social media word-of-mouth (social media WOM). This study examines the role of social media WOM in driving masstige purchase behaviour. This study involves perceptual distance, luxury perception, purchase intention and gender in such an investigation. Masstige refers to providing prestige to the masses, indicating luxury products for a broad audience. A survey of 246 consumers is conducted and structural equation modelling is employed to analyse the data. We find that social media WOM positively influences perceptual distance, luxury perception and...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(5):51-69 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.371
Logistics concepts are becoming less functional nowadays. The successful concept of just-in-time manufacturing seems untenable for 21st-century Europe. New ideas and new practices are emerging. One of the major trends in contemporary logistics is the demand-driven enterprise. Managing supply, fields and other processes in a company based on demand requires accurate demand forecasting at the relevant time. Relevant data are necessary for this forecasting. In the time of big data, the problem is not collecting data but evaluating them correctly. Data analytics is of great interest in business. The aim of the paper is to verify the possibilities of demand...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(5):23-50 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.370
This study investigates the impact of audit committee members’ competence on the ethical aspects of external audits and its influence on the audit quality of public interest entities (PIEs). Using a mixed-method approach, including surveys with respondents at audit firms and PIEs in Europe and semi-structured interviews with participants at PIEs in Europe, the findings highlight the importance of pre-appointment training for audit committee members concerning external audit ethics. This pre-appointment training would enable audit committee members of PIEs to evaluate whether external auditors and audit firms should implement appropriate safeguards...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(5):1-22 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.365
Migration processes have emerged as crucial social, political and economic concerns, affecting societies, industries and organisations. The challenge lies in effectively utilizing immigrants' resources. This research aims to determine how AI tools can support matching migrants' skills with labour markets in host countries. We propose the application of an ensemble learning methodology. To validate this approach, we collect data to assess the career trajectories of 248 tertiary-educated Ukrainian immigrants in Poland, a new immigration destination. Various machine learning models are evaluated using the decision tree algorithm on these feature sets....
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(4):103-121 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.367
The article presents the Hungarian results of research conducted in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The main objective of the study was to examine organizational responses to labour shortages and labour retention strategies based on organization size and ownership background. In the theoretical part, we present the general situation of the Hungarian labour market and then discuss the effects of COVID-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian War, followed by labour shortage and retention. Our research was based on a survey of 383 organizations in Central and Eastern European economies, during which four hypotheses were tested. The SPSS 27.0 software...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(4):83-101 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.359
Global dynamics, including globalization, resource mobility and capital flow, have profoundly transformed countries' long-term development policies and shaped migrants' motivations. Beyond traditional socioeconomic considerations, migrants prioritize a country's global brand and image, extending beyond economics to cultural, social and environmental factors. The paper aims to test the hypothesis positing a statistically significant correlation between the net migration index and the perceptions of a country's brand by external stakeholders. The study applies the ANOVA test to check the research hypothesis. The object of investigation is EU countries...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(4):59-82 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.366
Trends such as advances in digital technologies and diversity in talent management necessitate continuous learning in the workplace and make European employers think about what competencies of their employees, in addition to basic digital competencies, are most in demand both today and in the foreseeable future. Considering this, identifying the main trends in employee training and development in the automotive industry in Central Europe and their impact on current and future competency profiles becomes the main purpose of this article. Both primary and secondary data have been analysed. The qualitative methodology in this article is based on the processing...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(4):39-58 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.364
This study investigates the difficulties that expatriates encounter while relocating to a foreign cultural environment. The examination of the issue is based on the results of primary research conducted among the Japanese community living and working in Hungary. Many circumstances make it difficult for an expat to feel at ease in the host country. Integration and thus the success of the posting are greatly hampered by overcoming cultural differences as well as linguistic challenges in a non-English speaking country. Language fluency issues are stated to trigger a series of practical, task-related barriers as well as broader social and emotional difficulties....
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(4):21-37 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.361
The metaverse is experiencing a resurgence, embodying a digital realm constructed through technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, cryptocurrency and the internet. The metaverse is a trending and widely discussed topic. Companies are still intensely weighing the pros and cons of joining this space, and it is not an easy decision for them to make. Thus, to make this decision easier, there is a clear need for studies that clarify users’ perception and intention of using the metaverse for purchasing products. Therefore, this study focuses on investigating the relationship between attitude and intention to purchase products in the...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(4):1-19 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.363
The focus of the paper and the main objective of the research is to scrutinize the adaptability of an inclusion model tailored for conventional workspaces to the context of startups employing remote freelance teams across different locations, probing whether this model holds relevance in more flexible work arrangements. The paper is based on a qualitative analysis of empirical material collected in a case study. The case study was conducted in a virtual marketing startup registered in Ireland composed of 14 employees, including 12 freelancers and 2 full-time employees working remotely from the UK, Ireland, France, Croatia, Romania, Belgium and Ukraine....
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(3):95-122 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.356
Work flexibility as an element of work flexicurity has had an impact on employment at the national level. In this study, work flexibility is expressed through flexible work arrangements. Organisations may implement various flexible work arrangements, depending on their size or specifically promoted policies in this sense. Thus, organisations indirectly contribute to higher employment at the national level. The aim of the study is to evaluate flexible work arrangements from the perspective of organizations in order to determine to what extent they are available for implementation. To test and validate the results, we develop a questionnaire that includes...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(3):75-93 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.354
The widespread use of blockchain technology (BCT) and the growing awareness of the numerous opportunities it offers its users have been the focus of recent research. Digital natives are surrounded by technology from birth and are naturally inclined to embrace it, but previous research has not addressed their attitudes towards BCT. This paper aims to investigate digital natives' attitudes towards the use of BCT in Croatia. The survey method is applied and data from 518 questionnaires are analysed with PLS-SEM. Results show that privacy threat, social influence, trust in BCT and trust in the community of blockchain users have a statistically significant...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(3):49-73 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.353
In the sharing economy, P2P platforms must identify the target audience for their marketing campaigns to spend their marketing budgets effectively. The challenge is to convince those who are afraid of sharing with strangers. We analyse participant behaviour by testing whether people's willingness to participate differs depending on whether they shared with known or unknown people. Our study focuses not only on sharing with strangers and exploring this phenomenon but also on sharing with people we know to verify that these people are generally willing to share idle assets. We define four groups of sharing economy participants depending on whether they...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(3):31-47 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.351
The overall objective of the present research is to examine the influence of information technology components on the export-to-GDP ratio, especially focused on the changes caused by the events of the 20th century for Southeast European countries (SEC). The motivation for selecting these countries is to evaluate whether they have achieved a sufficient level to adapt digital developments. To overcome these challenges, the study uses a hybrid technique, employing random-effects (RE) and fixed-effects (FE) regression and Arellano-Bond estimations on panel data gathered from 13 countries from 2006 to 2021. The results confirm that fixed broadband subscriptions...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(3):1-29 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.349
In recent years, we have observed a growing interest in generational change. Various journalists, commentators and trend watchers have drawn attention to the differences of the newly emerging generation known as Generation Z (for purposes of this study, young people born in 2000 and later). It seems that the specificity of Generation Z is mainly determined by exposure to technology from an early age. It affects not only the way young people communicate but also their values, career expectations and lifestyles. The aim of the study is, therefore, to find out which factors are important for a successful labour market entry and the most influential for...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(2):117-140 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.347
As one of the essential human needs, autonomy affects internal motivation and drives job satisfaction. The aim of the article is based on long-term quantitative research (n = 631) to examine gender, age, education and job position differences in job autonomy and to evaluate the extent to which job satisfaction and job autonomy are related. The research shows that 72.6% of the respondents have a high degree of work scheduling autonomy, 68.1% have a high degree of decision-making autonomy and 53.9% have a high degree of work methods autonomy. An important finding is that most respondents (84.8%) are satisfied with their job. There are differences between...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(2):89-115 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.344
The success of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) depends upon the active support of all stakeholders. Thus, it is highly relevant and becomes the goal of this paper to perform a pilot case study of the negative determinants of readiness of the new Central European generation of financially sufficiently strong consumers to support CSR, in particular, to answer two research questions: (i) which is the prevailing determinant and (ii) whether it is gender-sensitive. Therefore, 53 male and 53 female Generation Z students from a private university in Prague, ready to pay a CSR bonus, were surveyed in the summer of 2021 regarding the...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(2):69-88 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.348
The growing participation of women in the labour market has been undoubtedly one of the main features of the evolution of the economies of the European Union (EU) during the last few decades. Nevertheless, maintaining this increase remains an important policy goal due to the existing population ageing and gender employment gap. This paper aims to analyse the main determinants of female labour force participation (FLFP) in the EU countries using panel data regression analysis covering the period from 2000 to 2021. By employing the fixed-effects regression analysis, an influence of dependent variables such as GDP per capita, presence of anti-discrimination...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(2):53-68 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.342
The automotive industry is regarded as one of the most robotized sectors of the manufacturing industry. The topic of robotization is currently intensely debated as part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0. In this study, we focus on automobile manufacturers operating in selected countries of the European Union and analyse the level of labour productivity and employment in the period 2002-2021. Specifically, we investigate whether the annual installation of robots and the total number of robots in the automotive industry have a negative impact on labour demand. The collected data are evaluated using empirical analysis. Our estimations...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(2):27-52 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.346
Consumers express their ethics through their consumption decisions. The article examines the preferences of Czech respondents in the area of ethical consumption. The aim of the study is to find out the respondents' attitudes towards ethical shopping. We apply a series of ordinal regression analyses to analyse data from a survey (N=1670; aged 15–93 years, M ± SD: 35.51 ± 16.82; 62.00% women; 32.10% with higher education) conducted in 2021. In some cases, the survey results are compared with surveys on the same topic conducted in 2016 and 2018. The research found that customer interest in purchasing is growing, but this trend has not...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(2):1-25 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.343
In the days when the notion of “keeping up with Joneses” is stepping back to “keeping up with the network”, it is of great importance to seek an understanding of how classical theories and thoughts (such as Veblen’s conspicuous consumption theory from 1899) are potentially affected as a result of the development of social media (SM). Nowadays, social media catalyses conspicuous consumption while expanding what is considered a social group and social classes and fuelling the aspirant group influence and social comparison. This paper provides a theoretical framework of the conspicuous consumption school of thought and characteristics...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(1):105-121 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.360
Criticism as a result of an evaluation process is a common topic of everyday communication within the working environment. The research starts from the assumption that criticism significantly affects the self-perception of employees and it evokes negative emotions that in the end influence job satisfaction and motivation to perform work tasks. The paper presents the frame of a new concept of impact that the criticism has on employee motivation and the first results of the study prove that concept in particular. The main aim was to define whether criticism expressed inappropriately evokes more negative emotions. Hypotheses that focus on its correlation...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(1):85-104 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.362
Frequent alterations, unpredictable workloads, and blurred lines between professional and personal life all contribute to adverse effects on mental health. As a result, there is a growing need for managers to be attuned to their employees' emotional well-being and to cultivate the ability to openly, safely, and confidentially address mental health matters. Training in mental health awareness can equip managers with the skills to recognize early signs of common mental health conditions, engage in conversations about mental health, and actively promote well-being to prevent mental health challenges. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mental...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(1):67-83 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.358
A total of 2,532 records were extracted from three databases, leading to the identification of fifteen studies for closer analysis. The overview comprehensively evaluated participants, types of intervention, activities, relevant measures and outcomes. Based on the findings, meaning-centred interventions are utilized in various workplaces, including healthcare, white-collar companies and universities. Despite insufficient quality and randomization in the studies, preventing definitive conclusions, meaning-centred interventions exhibit promising results in addressing well-being, perceived meaningfulness and other facets of living. In the future, special...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(1):43-66 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.350
With rising levels of work-related stress and its dramatic consequences, organizations are increasingly investing in finding solutions to promote employee well-being. As an effective approach to stress management, humour has begun to attract the attention of practitioners and researchers. This study proposes to look at humour as a further managerial tool to improve workplace relationships and associated positive outcomes. It examines how the humour style of supervisors and subordinates affects the leader-follower relationship. Specifically, the effects of humour style (dis)similarity on leader-employee exchanges are examined. Data were collected in...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(1):27-42 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.352
Recent industry developments emphasize the need for research into promoting employee well-being via virtual leadership. While the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated remote work, global trends such as low unemployment rates sparked an urgency to prioritize employee well-being. This SLR analyses findings to understand the role of leadership behaviour within this context for application in the business environment. Applying the PRISMA method, 15 relevant studies before and during the pandemic were selected. The analysis found critical aspects of remote work which affect employee well-being while emphasizing implications for leadership. Key themes are boundaries...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(1):5-26 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.355
The rapidly changing dynamics in the challenging work life have rendered the concept of well-being crucial and necessary for both organizations and employees. In recent years, there has been a consistent increase in studies focusing on employee well-being, driven by the understanding that happier employees tend to be more productive. However, the literature lacks a substantial number of critical examinations of well-being practices. While this gap in the literature has guided the scope of our work, it has also piqued our curiosity about criticisms of these practices, as well as positive attitudes and approaches towards them. With this study, our aim...
Central European Business Review 2024, 13(1):1-3 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.369
The discourse on employee well-being within organizations has evolved significantly over the last decades, reflecting a deeper and more diverse understanding through various perspectives and methodologies. This thematic issue aims to bridge the existing gap between the recognition of diverse well-being practices and the critical examination of their applications in the workplace. By doing so, we hope to foster a nuanced appreciation of these efforts, acknowledging the inherent complexities and challenges, and inspiring more effective and meaningful well-being initiatives.
