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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 yet manifested itself in the volume of purchases. Beyond the reasons, the decision to buy, ignore ethical products or boycott unethical products is largely linked to the natural interest in and availability of information about “ethical shopping” in general and “ethical” products. The results suggest that personal responsibility is the most important reason for ethical shopping. Poor availability in the sales network, disinterest and higher prices were the most significant reasons for not buying "ethical" products. This research extends existing studies by examining the reasons for purchasing or ignoring so-called ethical products in relation to the intensity of their purchase. We believe that the results of the research can be used as baseline data to support targeted ethical purchasing, for example through education.
Implications for Central European audience: To achieve long-term sustainability, current patterns of behaviour and consumption need to change at all levels. Environmental protection and sustainability are now increasingly implemented in most EU policies, programmes and regulations. In the case of Central European economies, the transition towards sustainable and environmentally neutral practices is still delayed. One of the key prerequisites for sustainable development and its further expansion is sustainable consumption at the level of consumers. The results of our analysis can be used to broaden awareness and raise shoppers' understanding as an important tool to increase ethical consumption behaviour.

Over the recent decades, the world has experienced several major disruptive events with far-reaching global impacts on societies, economies and financial systems. This study investigates the financial market reactions to one of the most recent global disruptive events, the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the role of investors' herding behaviour during uncertainty. While previous research has mainly explored this on Asian and American markets, our study addresses this gap in understanding Northern European reactions, particularly in rising and falling markets, and aims to explore the existence of herding during the COVID-19 pandemic and to further investigate its occurrence and intensity during the periods of upward and downward movements. It uses Nasdaq Nordic and Baltic daily stock data and employs the cross-sectional absolute deviation method to estimate the reaction of individual Nordic and Baltic stock markets. The results reveal that herding was observed on three out of four Nasdaq Nordic stock markets (Sweden, Denmark and Finland) and one out of three Nasdaq Baltic stock markets (Lithuania). This behaviour persisted throughout the entire COVID-19 period and during market downturns, with no herding observed during upward market movements. This study contributes novel insights into herding on Northern European stock markets, highlighting distinct investor responses to the same global disruption and emphasizing the likelihood of herding during market downturns due to fear and uncertainty. Additionally, the research indicates more pronounced herding behaviour in developed rather than frontier stock markets, suggesting that during global disruptive events, smaller and less liquid stock markets might react more rationally, although more research is needed.
Implications for Central European audience: Acknowledging herding behaviour during global disruptive events is relevant for both investors and policymakers. Investors in Central and Eastern European countries can benefit from their awareness of herding behaviour, especially during market downturns, by taking advantage of mispriced assets. Moreover, understanding the psychological biases driving herding can promote more rational decision-making, enabling investors to resist panic selling. Meanwhile, policymakers can implement measures to promote market rationality, such as investor education programmes, aimed at building investors’ cognitive resilience and understanding of portfolio management strategies during turbulent times. Investors’ ability to recognize and mitigate the effects of herding behaviour should enhance their rationality and promote more efficient financial markets.

This study aims to predict and assess the antecedents of use social commerce using dual-stage structural equation modelling and artificial neural network analysis. This study sheds light on the role of perceived risks in developing the relationship of each of the social bonds and the social network on the convenience of adopting wearable payment. The interactive role of barriers of using the wearable payment for the relationship convenience of adopting wearable payment and intention to use social commerce was also explored. Finally, this study highlighted the effect of the mediating variable of the convenience of adopting wearable payment. The survey was adopted by surveying 334 people with an online shopping experience. The results confirmed the role of interactive variables, perceived risk, and barriers of using wearable payment in increasing intention to use social commerce. On the other hand, the convenience of wearable payment adoption has fully mediated the relationship between social bonds, social network theories and intention to use social commerce.
Implications for Central European audience: The findings of this study contribute to providing academics and practitioners with a deep insight into the antecedents of social commerce to develop practices and policies that increase intentions to use social commerce.

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 2022 from 128 supervisor-subordinate dyads (N = 53 supervisors; N = 128 subordinates) in an international organization headquartered in Switzerland. Our polynomial regression analysis reveals that leader-member exchange (LMX) is positively influenced by congruence in affiliative, self-enhancing and self-defeating humour. These findings contribute to the discussion on the impact of humour style similarity on workplace relationships and the importance of considering dyadic interactions.
Implications for Central European audience: The results suggest that leaders should take humour seriously and consider including it in their managerial toolkit to improve workplace relationships. It is important to differentiate between humour styles and their effects and apply them with respect to the situation and desired outcomes. Joking together improves LMX, which is why leaders should consider supporting their employees in humorous behaviour to strengthen bonds. Since leaders’ behaviour is perceived as a reference and considering the numerous positive effects of humour in organizations, leaders may practice humour at work more often to lead by example and integrate it into the group culture.

This article examines the Romanian digital platform economy. In particular, it discusses how this novel paradigm could help Romania adapt to new technological and structural conditions and participate in the upcoming industrial-digital revolution. It intends to investigate the bottlenecks in the country's platform economy. Moreover, it compares the health of the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem with that of neighbouring countries. So that Romania may achieve sustainable growth, it suggests ways to enhance the platform economy framework. The methodology and data analysed in the study are based on the Digital Platform Economy Index 2020. It combines 61 indicators from different sources in 24 variables, twelve for the digital environment and twelve for the entrepreneurial ecosystem. These variables comprise the twelve pillars. Providing a basis for comparison, they are a crucial component of the model. Lastly, the four sub-indices and the main super-index are calculated. Platform economies such as Romania lack technology transfer, financial facilitation and digital literacy, according to the research. Demand side issues, such as fewer companies operating online and utilizing cloud technologies and low consumer online purchases, inhibit the introduction of new online businesses and technologies. Digitalization of industrial processes is not a trend in Eastern European countries. It is important to note that the study is limited by using macro-level indicators. With no platform-specific examples, it generalizes the concept of the digital economy. As a study topic, the digital platform economy presented in this article is an emerging field of research.
Implications for Central European audience: This article identifies the bottlenecks in the digital platform economy in Central and Eastern European countries. Particularly, it emphasizes the necessity to improve digital literacy, the number of multi-sided platforms networking, as well as technological transfer pillars of the platform economy. It also compares several cross-country dimensions of the digital platform economy. The author theoretically proves the importance of changing business models and embracing digitization in order to move towards a platform economy. In addition to describing what platform economies are and what they are not, the article also discusses how platforms can be combined with traditional firms to maintain a constant economic growth rate.

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 with gender, age, level of education and work status are discussed in the continuation of the paper. The research was conducted on 520 participants in Croatia. The results show a significant impact of the quality of communication on the perception of criticism and its significance in correlation with gender, while hypotheses that correlated evoking negative emotions when expressing criticism within the working environment with age, level of education and work status were rejected. The hypothesis about the correlation between expressing criticism inappropriately and the occurrence of demotivation was rejected.
Implications for Central European audience: The working environment is recently focusing on the digital transformation of all processes and so communication as well. By this transformation, people become alienated and lose basic communication skills. This paper brings together the presentation of long-established communication starting points and the most modern thinking and research on the impact of communication on the motivation, satisfaction and productivity of employees. Based on this, but also with the presented results of the conducted research, it proposes a new communication concept of communicating negative messages that are an integral part of everyday business communication in the organization.

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 purchase intention. Perceptual distance negatively influences purchase intention, while luxury perception positively influences such intention. Purchase intention positively influences purchase behaviour. This study does not find support that gender moderates the relationship between perceptual distance and purchase intention, as well as between luxury perception and purchase intention. The findings suggest that marketers need to identify social media platforms that match the luxury perception of their target audience and present exclusive content to encourage purchase intention and, further, masstige purchases. Masstige purchase behaviour is vital for collectivist countries because it can increase their consumers’ social status and prestige.
Implications for Central European audience: Cultural and social homogeneity among Asian people brings the popularity of masstige brands from Western countries (Paul, 2015), especially Central European brands to capitalise on the capabilities they have created (Alić et al., 2022). The findings of this study are crucial as Indonesia and the Visegrád Group (V4) of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have strong business relationships (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, 2019). 

Leadership in family businesses has unique characteristics due to the special culture that family business carries, such as the special family bonds that the leader has with the team, the strong influence of the leader on the “family” team and the high level of dependence of the whole family on the business success. These traits should be reflected in the leader’s approach towards teamwork. This research paper aims to identify these traits, more specifically, using the Belbin team role methodology, to identify which team roles are the most typical of family business leaders and which are rather rare or insignificantly represented. The Belbin Full Individual Report questionnaire was utilized, which compares self-evaluations with 360-degree feedback from four team members. Nine leaders of family businesses from the Czech Republic were analysed, and the results were subjected to a deeper statistical study with interesting findings. One of the main merits of this paper is the identification of the team roles Shaper, Coordinator and Resource Investigator to be typical for family business leaders, with the team roles Team Worker and Specialist being represented the least, which differs from the typical characteristics of a start-up leader; yet, an even deeper analysis with other results was carried out.
Implications for Central European audience: The implications of this study for Central European family businesses are that leaders typically occupy team roles such as Shaper, Coordinator and Resource Investigator. The low inclination towards Team Worker and Specialist roles suggests a reliance on complementary team members to fill these gaps. These findings can inform leadership development and succession planning, highlighting the need for balanced team compositions. Also, these findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of how leadership roles are distributed and function within family businesses, providing a framework for future research into team dynamics, complementary team roles of other members and leadership effectiveness in this context.

The issue of advertising is widely analysed in relevant literature; however, the emphasis is mainly on its commercial part. Advertising-related aspects in regard to domestic tourist behaviour still lack scholars’ attention. Therefore, outdoor advertising and its possibilities of attracting domestic tourists are under-assessed. The purpose of the study is to determine the effective advertising layouts to be used in static outdoor domestic tourism advertisements. Accordingly, this study contributes to the literature by analysing the peculiarities of static outdoor advertising layouts and determining the most effective compositions of its creative elements. The most appealing advertising layouts are determined. Applying the principles of conjoint analysis, the main elements (i.e., attributes) of the advertising layout are established and composed into profiles, encompassing different element levels. The attributes used in the analysis are “headline position” (4 levels), “picture” (4 levels), “text” (3 levels) and “colour scheme” (4 levels). The results (based on profile rankings) allow determining relative attribute importance and attribute level performance. To verify the results, eye-tracking is performed. The study allows modelling recommended advertising layouts to be used in outdoor advertisements in domestic tourism. 
Implications for Central European audience: Visual elements of tourism advertising are the most important for attracting consumer attention compared to textual ones. The visual elements should contain pictures of people or nature and should use a warm/mixed colour scheme. The headline should be placed in the upper position. The absence of text is the most attractive for consumers. For further research, the effect of different elements of advertising can be analysed, more levels of the same attributes might be included, and different compositions, colour mixing schemes and mediums might be chosen. Replication of the research in other countries or other types of tourism might broaden the researchers’ understanding of the scope.

Changes in legal regulations are a permanent element of political systems. The degree of complexity of tax systems is a characteristic feature of developing countries. The study aims to check whether changes in legal regulations cause manipulations in companies' financial data. Manipulations may result from the ambiguity of the introduced regulations (unintentional) or the deliberate actions of taxpayers (intentional). The study analyses the impact of changes in reporting information on tax income from capital sources on anomalies in financial data. In the survey, anomalies in economic data are identified using Benford's Law, using MAD (mean absolute deviation). The research sample included Polish companies reporting income information. Based on the study results, it can be concluded that the introduction of the obligation to separately report tax from capital sources caused anomalies in the distributions of digits (2-digit test) in the group of companies affected by this change. In the case of companies not generating income from capital gains in 2018–2019, the matching of the distributions was consistent. In 2020, it was at an acceptable level with the Benford distribution. The research indicates the possibility of using Benford's Law to reveal difficulties in determining tax revenues, mainly due to changes in legal regulations.
Implications for Central European audience: The article deals with the issue of detecting difficulties related to changes in legal regulations in a CEE country - Poland. The introduction of new legal regulations, including those related to income tax, is closely related to the policy of a given country. In CEE countries, introducing new tax restrictions is essential to state policy. Changing the regulations alone is not sufficient. Only effective enforcement of the Law allows the achievement of the intended goals of state policy. The proposed tool for examining the effects of changes in legal regulations will allow for assessing the effectiveness of the introduced new solutions. Additionally, the study's results can be used to detect anomalies in financial data in the Czech Republic. Based on the TCI (Tax Complexity Index) analysis, Poland and the Czech Republic have the most complicated tax system in the Visegrad Group countries. In the 2022 ranking, out of 100 countries included in the TCI index, Poland ranks 63rd and the Czech Republic 55th in Tax Code Complexity.

Companies with product quality labels, often micro-companies or solo entrepreneurs, do not have the marketing know-how of retail chains and are being outpaced in communication in the fast current online environment, especially on social media platforms. Current literature does not provide this specific knowledge, such as what are the important product quality characteristics which should be talked about in marketing campaigns and how these should campaigns be targeted. Thus, the aim of this article is to examine the product quality characteristics important for Czech consumers purchasing food products with a quality label and find suitable consumer characteristics for better targeting of marketing campaigns. The data were gathered using a questionnaire survey by the professional marketing agency Ipsos. The sample of 1,050 Czech consumers was filtered for consumers purchasing regional products or other products with a product quality label. The main statistical method used is the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's test with Bonferroni correction as a post-hoc test. The product quality characteristics are divided into 7 categories and sorted by their importance. The significance of third-party information being the most positively evaluated product quality characteristic suggests a shift in consumer trust. The study identifies demographic variations in quality perception, with older consumers (ages 54–65 and 36–44) valuing brand, composition and price, while younger consumers (ages 18–26) prioritise electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and online availability. Higher education levels correlate with a greater focus on price and communication as quality indicators, while gender differences reveal distinct preferences, such as women favouring traditional packaging and environmental friendliness and men prioritising eWOM and quality processing. Also, the archaic nature of quality labels in the Czech Republic is highlighted.
Implications for Central European audience: The results of this study reveal the most important food product quality characteristics for Czech consumers and might be applicable to neighbouring countries with high preferences for quality labels, such as Poland and Slovakia. This study also provides consumer characteristics usable in targeting of marketing campaigns, usable as a premise for further research in Central European countries.

Over the past decade, modern collaborative tools and technologies have changed the way we think about e-work. Suddenly, this kind of work was not just a perk but a necessity for almost everybody. The pandemic has accelerated the interaction between social life and e-work. E-work has become extremely popular. The purpose of this study is to find out whether "pseudo-commuting" can pave the way to a work-from-home balance and increase productivity. Special attention is paid to the e-workforce, workers who are experienced in choosing their route to work and the place for work and have implemented various post-pandemic routines. Interviews were conducted with eight workers from different European Union countries to collect primary data for this study. On the basis of these data, a pseudo-commute (an imaginary commute) can help re-establish the work-home boundaries. Overall, this means setting boundaries between those two elements by going through, in one’s mind, the thoughts, events and experiences associated with a commute. All respondents noticed a general sense of increased well-being. In short, this modern commuting mode is an opportunity to remix the old commute with new rituals. It creates a feeling of taking back what has been removed by the pandemic. Pseudo-commuting is probably here to stay.
Implications for a Central European audience: Pre-pandemic morning routines have a massive impact on physical and mental well-being. Before the pandemic, an average commute was less than 30 minutes. When the workforce is not able to detach from work, there is a risk of exhaustion and burnout. Pseudo-commuting, however, can pave the way to a work-from-home balance and increase productivity. This qualitative study may serve as a tool for remixing the old commute with new rituals in the modern working environment.

Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has been considered an important source of economic growth and technological development in transition economies. The previous empirical literature has shown that FDI promote economic growth via complementary effects on domestic investments, increases in productivity and overall economic efficiency, giving rise to an increasing interest in understanding the key determinants of FDI. Apart from traditional FDI determinants, favourable tax policy has been considered an important factor influencing MNCs’ location decisions. The goal of this paper is to investigate the impact of corporate income tax on FDI in the context of less advanced transition economies and to analyse whether the tax effect is conditional on the level of economic development. A small number of studies exist analysing the importance of tax policy regime in attracting FDI covering South-East European countries. In this study, we rely on panel gravity econometric framework and examine the impact of tax policy on FDI using bilateral FDI flows between 8 home and 8 South East Europe host countries in the period 2000–2018. We estimate the regression using Prais-Winsten correlated panels corrected standard errors PSCE method to obtain robust estimates of individual effects in the presence of heteroscedasticity and serial correlation. The seven SEE host countries included in the sample are considered of similar economic structures and institutional transformation, which seems important in analysing tax policy effectiveness and minimising biases associated with econometric modelling of FDI determinants. Finally, we study this relationship in an integrated framework considering traditional gravity forces as well as a number of additional FDI determinants, including institutional factors. We show that, although tax policy seems an important determinant of FDI, its effects seem to be conditional on the level of technological development. Given these findings, reducing corporate income tax may be considered an effective tool in promoting FDI, which seems to be of particular importance for less developed transition economies. The results are robust to different model specifications and consideration of endogeneity.
Implications for Central European audience: The direct implications of this research for business policymakers in CEE include the need to revise and optimise the levels of corporate income tax and incorporate this specific policy instrument in FDI strategies. In particular, the results of this research indicate that tax cuts have been more effective in attracting FDI in countries that are at a lower level of technological sophistication. The managers could seek to size the investment opportunity related to possible further corporate income tax cuts in the group of least developed CEE amid the economic rationale for tax policy competition among these countries.

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 health intervention on self-compassion and stigmatisation attitudes among leaders and their followers. The present study is a part of a large European research project. A pre-post research design was implemented in two Czech SMEs to investigate the effect of mental health awareness training on leaders and their followers. The research focuses on two dependent variables – self-compassion as a personal resource and stigmatisation as the attitude towards mental health. The moderating role of learning transfer and the opportunity to use the training was taken into account. For the leaders, the results indicate a statistically significant increase in self-compassion and a decrease in stigmatising attitudes toward mental health issues. There is no statistically significant moderating role of training transfer variables. For the followers, a statistically significant change was evident in decreased stigmatising attitudes. The results need to be interpreted in the context of organisational changes that both companies went through during the research project resulting in more stress, workload, and drop-outs.
Implications for the Central European audience: There is a need for knowledge on how to prevent well-being-related problems in a changing world with more remote work and more mental health issues. The present study adds to this need by exploring the effect of mental health awareness training on two organisational levels – leaders and their followers. The practical contribution of this research is to provide specific recommendations on how to stimulate mental health awareness for leaders through training interventions and thus promote employee well-being.

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. To ensure credible results, a 10-fold cross-validation procedure is employed for each training process of every submodel. This research introduces an original ensemble machine learning classifier that combines pre-selected models with the highest performance, thereby reducing the number of parameters to be investigated. Its application in determining the career paths of highly skilled migrants, specifically Ukrainians, is novel. The study offers significant implications for Central Europe, notably Poland, where migration patterns and the integration of highly skilled migrants, mainly from Ukraine, are increasingly important.
Implications for Central European audience: The ensemble machine learning classifier developed in this study could aid in optimising the career paths of these migrants, combating brain waste and facilitating their successful integration into the labour market. Integrating tools like these into decision-making processes may enhance career management and contribute to Central Europe's social and economic growth.

In the post-covid world, governments explore options to enhance their policies so that corporations can act as successful motors of recovery and sustainable growth. Countries select various objectives related to global value chains (GVC), such as participation, value capture, inclusiveness and resilience, yet might be unaware of the position of corporations they are supposed to motivate. In this paper, we aim to (re-)investigate the position of Visegrad Four (V4) suppliers within the regional automotive value chains and to compare results with suppliers in other EU member states using the trade in value added (TiVA) statistics. We set two research questions: How does the position of V4 in automotive GVCs differ from the positions of other EU member states and significant other automotive-producing countries? What is the link between the domestic value added in gross exports of final automotive products and the selected policy variables? A multiple linear regression model is run with TiVA in the automotive industry as the dependent variable and independent variables embodying proxies of GVC-oriented policy consequences. The analysis identifies significant differences in value-added levels between V4 countries and other EU countries, and other large automotive-producing economies. Labour costs, productivity, investment in R&D and innovation support are among the factors where V4 countries fall behind.
Implications for Central European audience: The results of our research might be helpful for respective authorities and governments in V4 and other Central and Eastern European countries. They can be of use when setting goals and implementing policies targeted at promoting innovation, upgrading within existing GVCs and in cooperation between universities and research centres on the one hand and the automotive industry on the other.

This study identified the effects of Work-Related Stressors (WRSs) and Work Engagement (WE) on managers’ Work Stress (WS). Data were collected from 109 healthcare managers (HMs) from public and private hospitals in İzmir, Turkey, using a structured questionnaire. Exploratory factor analyses were carried out to determine the construct validity of the WRS, WE, and WS scales. Two WRS factors were identified, Support and Control (SC), and Responsibility and Relationship (RR), and one factor each for the WE and WS scales. Correlation analyses indicated a significant positive relationship between the WRS factors and a negative relationship between WE and the other variables. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the effects on WS of HM demographic variables, WRS dimensions, and WE. The first step showed that age and managerial experience affects WS. The second step showed that RR had a significant positive effect on WS, whereas SC had no effect. Additionally, WE significantly decreased WS.
Implications for Central European audience: The findings suggest that HMs can reduce WS by focusing on RR. In addition, HM willingness, enthusiasm, physical and mental fitness, and effort to achieve goals all affect their WS. Thus, HMs’ perceptions of WE may reduce their perceptions of WS. Managers, therefore, need to consider job satisfaction, which is particularly associated with work stress, to increase WE. Managers should consider their needs and expectations both formally and informally by holding regular evaluations to listen to their employees’ voices.

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. Japanese multinational corporations use English for internal corporate communication. The typical posting period for Japanese expats in Hungary is 4-6 years. They are typically senior executives who arrive together with their families. Over the years, the preparedness, language skills and cross-cultural competencies of the expatriates have improved significantly, while the infrastructure of the host country is also much better prepared to receive foreigners and their families.
Implications for Central European audience: The first Japanese MNCs arrived in Hungary more than 30 years ago, when the transition from a planned economy to a market-based economy was just beginning (Pierce, 1991; Andor, 2019; Jaklič et al., 2020). Japanese expats arrived in a country where, compared to their home country (Hideo, 1990), human resources management was not a recognized corporate function (Pierce, 1991). A typical posting period at that time was one to two years. Expatriates usually did not experience that as an honour or professional development (Matus, 2006).

Successful service recovery is one of the major tasks for every service provider. This paper transfers the theory of service recovery from traditional industries to the spectator sport context, more precisely to football. A satisfied and committed consumer is one of the main goals for every business entity, as well as for football clubs. The main purpose of this paper is to examine factors that predict satisfaction with service recovery and its outcomes in the context of the spectator sport industry. The research methodology used previously established scales related to service recovery satisfaction in terms of other industries, which are modified in order to meet the requirements of this research. The research was conducted on 408 active consumers of services provided by Croatian football clubs. The research results show that perceived service recovery equity affects recovery satisfaction in terms of football as the most popular spectator sport in the world. Furthermore, it has been established that recovery satisfaction predicts satisfaction with club services and trust in football clubs. Relationships between predictors such as recovery satisfaction, satisfaction with club services, trust and its proposed outcome, such as commitment towards the club could not be supported. This could be due to the fact that spectator sport consumers possess enormous emotional and psychological loyalty towards the club, which surpasses traditional consumer theory understanding. Furthermore, a significant relationship between consumer commitment and positive word of mouth has been established.
Implications for Central European audience: Obtained results can also be of interest for audience from other Central European countries where football is also an extremely important part of their leisure activities and overall culture. 

The appearance of coronavirus in the spring of 2020 has significantly revalued risk exposures in the business environment, which required new approaches in the measurement of financial risks. This paper defines and explains a new approach to the measurement of liquidity risk in companies in a time of an economic crisis. This approach is more responsive to stressful circumstances in the business environment and measures the time in an economic crisis when a company can still pay maturing liabilities out of its own inventory of liquid assets, where sales of a company on the market are limited or completely prohibited, as this was the case for some industries during the first wave of Covid -19 in spring 2020. The objective of this paper was to define a new metric for the measurement of corporate liquidity, which is sensitive to this environment and shows the propensity of a company to the risk of illiquidity if an economic crisis appears. This paper, in the next step, leverages the newly defined metric of corporate liquidity and calculates the average liquidity of all companies, as well as the average liquidity by business sectors in the Serbian economy, to discuss corporate liquidity in a crisis. The results show that the average liquidity of the Serbian economy in crisis at the end of 3Q 2020 was 78,02 days, i.e., the average company in the Serbian economy was able to survive 78,02 days in stress by the end of 3Q 2020 if its sales on the market were prohibited.
Implications for Central European audience: The model in this paper is in the interest of every company and bank to measure the liquidity risk of business partners in times of an economic crisis and to predict which business partners may have liquidity problems in crisis and may therefore not be able to pay their open liabilities. The contribution of this paper to liquidity risk measurement in companies in times of stress is high as the currently available literature does not offer an alternative approach.

According to the duration of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus, this study examines Serbian tourists’ perception of risk (travel risk, destination risk, health and psychological risk, and financial risk) in two different periods of the crisis. The collection of primary data was performed using the questionnaire technique, and the research was conducted during May 2020 (363 respondents) and January 2021 (360 respondents). The research findings revealed that the perception of risk is higher in the first period of the health crisis compared to the second observed period, except for health and psychological risk (higher in the second period of the crisis). After observing both periods of health crisis and the examined control variables (gender, age, monthly income, level of education, travel intention, crisis period), the findings of linear hierarchical regressions indicate that the perception of travel risk and health and psychological risk is significantly influenced by education and travel intention, while the perception of destination risk and financial risk is influenced by travel intention. The results of the cluster analysis identified three characteristic clusters ("carefree", "relaxed", and "concerned") and a change in cluster composition during two periods of the COVID-19 crisis. The results of the study are discussed, the implications are stated, and the directions of further research are suggested.
Implications for Central European audience: The study's findings contribute toward understanding the risk perception of travel in the period of health crisis caused by COVID-19 infection, which can help destination and marketing managers form strategies to reduce risk perception, which is crucial for the recovery of the national and global tourism industry. Also, the findings of the cluster analysis have significant marketing implications for travel organizers and tourist destinations since the recovery of tourism will depend on their ability to develop strategies to attract different segments of Serbian tourists in the crisis and post-crisis period.

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 between work-life and private life, supportive relationships and adequate use of technology. Contributing to existing research into employee well-being, this review discusses the effects of remote work on employee well-being, differentiates between research conducted before and during the pandemic and identifies implications for leaders to manage employee challenges in virtual environments to design post-COVID-19 work environments using remote work as a resource, not a demand. Based on the results, the review provides suggestions for further research into (1) comparative studies of employee well-being in remote and traditional work forms, (2) manager-employee relationships in remote settings and (3) virtual onboarding scenarios.
Implications for Central European audience: The review informs leaders about well-being-promoting behaviour in remote work settings.

Socio-economic transition in the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) region in recent decades forms the operating context for young entrepreneurial ecosystems. This study has the aim of analysing institutional and cognitive features of CEE ecosystem development by considering Budapest as a prime example of an urban entrepreneurial ecosystem. Alongside the analysis of event registration data, a qualitative research approach is deployed featuring semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs and other institutional actors attending a networking event in Budapest. The methodological foundation for this approach is adapted from Triple Helix ecosystem theory. A conceptual model is produced from the research process, and ecosystem theory is developed by accounting for dynamic human capital flows and social capital ties do not present in the original Triple Helix theory. Results primarily indicate moderate levels of asset values and that attendance by entrepreneurs is largely motivated by locating start-up funding. Prime outcomes of interviews are a lack of innovation-focused specific human capital and increasingly market-based means of social capital development. Furthermore, the findings presented as propositions assume a partial virtual nature for human capital flows and social capital ties between ecosystem actors. On this basis, the resulting conceptual model accounts for the presence of digitalisation. Thus, ongoing entrepreneurial ecosystem development entails continual institutional adaption to information technology-driven socio-economic conditions. The Budapest ecosystem would, however, need to acquire a stronger virtual aspect in order to realise greater growth potential.
Implications for Central European audience: While research on entrepreneurial ecosystems has gained strength, it has barely been applied to the CEE region. This study represents a formative attempt in this regard whereby the resulting conceptual model may be used to empirically evaluate entrepreneurial ecosystems within the region by comparing specific internal and external human and social capital movements. The model primarily implies that digitally derived human and social capital would require deeper integration between start-up firms and institutional actors. Crucially, there is also an implicit need for institutions to develop digitalised infrastructure more intensively in order to nurture innovative start-up activity in the CEE region.

This research aims, through a multi-perspective and multi-disciplinary approach, to identify the key dimensions as well as the scale of measurement of enterprise supply chain resilience for an in-depth understanding of the concept. This is among the first empirical studies examining the key dimensions and appropriate measurement scale of enterprise supply chain resilience to address disruptions induced by unavoidable risk events. A detailed literature review is conducted to identify the dimensions of the construct under study. Then, a measurement instrument is developed from a set of items. The questionnaire is purified through a pretest, a pilot test, and reliability and validity tests. Data are collected from a final sample of 150 senior and middle managers, whose responses are considered for confirmatory factor analysis using SPSS Amos 22. The research results show that the enterprise supply chain resilience construct is composed of seven distinct dimensions, including collaboration, alertness, preparedness, visibility, robustness, flexibility and velocity. Then, a measurement instrument containing measurement items for each of said dimensions is empirically validated. This research develops and validates a structured and comprehensive measurement scale for the concept under study while identifying measurement items that can guide further theoretical testing of this concept and thereby dilute the dimensional and measurement confusions surrounding this theoretical concept.
Implications for Central European audience: This research develops and validates a structured and comprehensive measurement scale for the concept of firm supply chain resilience while identifying measurement items that can guide subsequent theoretical testing and thus dilute the dimensional and measurement confusions surrounding this theoretical concept.

Compliance costs are significant, and data related regulations are more frequent. The study argues if compliance spending can also generate additional value, as just a minimal regulation requirements fulfilment is not by any means achieving a competitive advantage. To test the hypotheses, a quantitative method with Structural Equation Modelling and Partial Least Squares (PLS) in the SmartPLS tool is used. The empirical data is collected from 98 data management professionals involved in recent European Union and General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) projects associated with party data in larger organizations across Europe. The study suggests that Data Governance Span (DGS) leads to the increase of both data compliance related variables - Data Compliance Innovation (DCI) and Privacy Project Efficiency (PPE) - at the same time. However, its effect on the increase of Data Compliance Innovation (DCI) is weaker than the effect on the increase of Privacy Project Efficiency (PPE). Customer-Centric Orientation (CCO) is discovered to be an underlying mechanism of the relationship between Data Governance Span (DGS) and Data Compliance Innovation (DCI).
Implications for Central European audience: Firms in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) did not use innovation enough in data compliance. DCI is the lowest in the CEE region DGS1 is the second lowest in CEE compared to all-regions-average. DGS1 refers to the business stakeholder involvement in the formal engagement, which assumes their responsibility.

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. We found that the degree of organizational inclusion is determined by employee empowerment orientation. The study shows the positive effect of inclusion practices and processes on perceived inclusion, talent retention and inclusive climate as well as organizational and individual performance. The paper contributes to the ongoing scientific debate by presenting how an inclusive workplace might be achieved in a geographically distributed, virtual startup organization. Furthermore, as Central European startups aim to expand globally, our insights into inclusion in geographically dispersed teams can be especially relevant. It provides guidance on how to maintain an inclusive culture when working with remote teams across different countries.
Implications for Central European audience: In the Central European business landscape, especially in geographically dispersed startups, adapting inclusion models to virtual settings is essential. Given the region's diverse cultures and historical contexts, understanding communication dynamics and fostering authenticity and psychological safety are crucial. Prioritizing these aspects aligns with Central European values of collaboration and innovation, enhancing employee well-being and positioning businesses for sustainable growth and competitive advantage.

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 forecasting using traditional statistical methods (exponential smoothing, ARIMA), more advanced statistical methods (TBATS, etc.), methods based on artificial neural networks and a hybrid method. This is in conjunction with thorough data preparation, especially data normality testing. My research question is to provide, on data that contain a number of outliers, the results and the accuracy of the models when the data are or are not normalized. Demand forecasting for poetry books was chosen for the case study. The data were obtained from Google Trends data, i.e., searches for the topic of poetry for the period from 1 September 2013 to 31 September 2023. The results showed that the selected data contain a number of outliers that recur at regular intervals and are the result of a logical order of demand. The expected result was that data normalization increases the accuracy of the model. A method based on artificial neural networks provided significantly more accurate results. However, the resulting estimated underlying trend remained very similar. The article thus opens a discussion about the necessity of excluding outlying observations in time series where outliers exist at regular intervals.
Implications for Central European audience: The article poses fundamental scientific questions for Central Europe. Logistics concepts are developing rapidly in this area and Europe is the creator of significant innovations. Europe is currently facing great competition from foreign companies and new logistics concepts are becoming a necessity. Therefore, many European companies now feel the need to change their logistics processes. One of them may be to switch to an adaptive enterprise based on demand. The practical implications are also based on data from Europe.

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 metaverse and users' level of "fear of missing out" (FoMO) as a phenomenon that is currently significantly influencing consumers. A questionnaire was used for collecting the primary data. The research sample consisted of 425 respondents overall. The findings indicate that individuals in the cluster exhibiting heightened levels of FoMO tend to perceive metaverse product purchases as less sensible. Intriguingly, despite this lower perceived sensibility, over half of the individuals in this cluster express an intention to engage in metaverse-based purchases. Additionally, this particular cluster emerges as having the most pronounced inclination to purchase in the metaverse as soon as possible.
Implications for Central European audience: The outputs offer valuable insights into the intricate dynamics of users' perceptions and intentions concerning metaverse-based product purchases. These insights can serve as a foundation for refining marketing strategies, tailoring product offerings and developing targeted initiatives that resonate with the specific concerns and motivations of the Central European audience. Ultimately, the study outputs contribute to fostering a more informed and strategically aligned approach to navigating the evolving landscape of metaverse-related consumer activities.

The EU has stepped up its efforts to reinforce its presence in Asia, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, due to its increasing geo-strategic importance for the EU, high mutual interconnectedness, as well as trade and investment engagement. In September 2021, the EU adopted its first Indo-Pacific Strategy. The aim of the paper is to point out the development of the partnership between the EU and the Asian (Indo-Pacific) region based on an evaluation of an analysis of trade and investment cooperation between the EU and India with a focus on mutual trade and investment relations between the Visegrad Group countries and India (and point out the comparative advantages that the V4 countries might use to extend mutual trade cooperation). The paper is based on trade analysis and uses the empirical methods of RCA and Grubel-Lloyd indices. There is room for expanding cooperation between the V4 countries and India in deepening intra-industry trade in commodities where the countries have a similar RCA profile. Moreover, the cooperation could complement bilateral relations between both regions.
Implications for Central European audience: The paper evaluates V4’s competitiveness and assesses V4’s export potential (RCA index) with India and potential trade prospects with India (RCA1) to confirm that there is room for expanding trade cooperation between the regions. We consider the V4 countries to be one of the regions that could deepen its mutual relations with India and intensify political dialogue and, therefore, take mutual cooperation and relations to the next level as well as deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. 

The paper aims to investigate the relationship between performing changes and business performance represented by the return on equity (ROE) indicator, and to point out the importance of changes and their management in Slovak enterprises. Relevant data from enterprises in the Slovak Republic were obtained through an online research questionnaire. The evaluation of the questionnaire was carried out using the software program STATISTICA 12 CZ – Stat Soft. Inc. (2013). Mathematical-statistical methods were used to examine and evaluate the interrelationships and the effects of individual factors in the implementation of changes on business performance. Statistical analysis was performed through pivot tables. Pearson's chi-square test of independence was used to test the significance of the contingency coefficients, and Cramer's contingency coefficient was used for the intensity of dependence between the signs. The research results show that the business performance of Slovak enterprises is directly affected by surveyed aspects of implementing changes.
Implications for Central European audience: The results of our research into the current state of the performance of Slovak enterprises in various industry fields and the determination of its dependence on the areas of change, type of change, impulses for change and indicators assessing the effects of change are the main contribution to the development of scientific knowledge in the field of change management. The synergy of theoretical knowledge and detailed research results provides practical implications on how to achieve higher profitability through successful implementation of changes and monitoring their effects.