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Nowadays, in times of the corona crisis, controlling is gaining much attention because it represents an effective internal mechanism that can greatly contribute to a timely and rapid response to changes. Controlling activities reflect the quality of company management at the strategic, tactical and operational levels. In doing so, controlling uses appropriate instruments and contributes to business efficiency and effectiveness. The research aims to determine the current state of controlling instrument application (operational/strategic) in companies. Furthermore, we examine the role of controlling in stabilizing business operations and adjusting business strategies that affect business performance indicators in the context of the corona crisis. The survey method was used, and data were collected from 180 companies of different sizes in the Republic of Croatia. The survey was conducted in 2021. Nonparametric techniques, the chi-square test and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used for hypothesis testing. The findings show that (i) there is a significant relationship between the role of controlling in business stabilization and business strategy redirection in times of corona crisis, thus affecting business indicators measured by liquidity, profitability and indebtedness; (ii) there is a statistically significant difference in the application of operational controlling instruments between companies that have established a controlling department and those without a controlling department; and (iii) there is no statistically significant difference in the application of strategic controlling instruments between companies that have established a controlling department and those without a controlling department. The results of the study provide insight into the application of controlling instruments in Croatian companies during the corona crisis and empirical implications for both academics and practitioners.
Implications for Central European audience: Nowadays, market volatility and external factors significantly influence business decisions of Central European companies. For managerial decisions to be timely and effective, controlling uses various instruments with the aim of better advising managers. To be more agile, companies have to use a combination of operational and strategic controlling instruments. In the Republic of Croatia, as a post-transition country, companies are more short-term oriented, which is visible in the significant use of operational controlling instruments, and the lesser use of strategic controlling instruments. In times of pandemic and geopolitical events, the results of the research indicate the need for strategic orientation of companies through the application of strategic controlling instruments in the practice of Croatian companies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations.

This article analyses the distribution of firms by size in six selected countries in 2012 and 2017. Estimates are always made for the whole economy and two subgroups of firms. We compare the Visegrad Four countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) with similar economic activities and two neighbouring economically more developed countries (Germany and Austria). As the main objective of the article, we describe the distribution of firms by verifying the validity of Zipf's law in selected economies and their sectors. The results confirm the positively skewed distribution of company sizes measured by sales revenues, but Zipf's law does not apply to the distribution of all companies by the magnitude of sales in the whole economy (or in an economic subgroup), but only to sections in the right tail of the distribution (companies with higher turnover within the whole economy), which is in line with numerous research studies.
Implications for Central European audience: This article attempts to contribute to the state of the art of firm size distribution in two ways. Firstly, it reviews a wide range of research studies looking into the existence of power laws in firm size distribution. Secondly, it analyses the distribution of firms by size in six selected Central European countries in 2012 and 2017, where four sample countries were burdened with interrupted business activities during a communist regime (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), and two countries are their neighbours not exposed to changes in the political regime (Germany and Austria). 

The struggle toward an environmentally sustainable economy brings forward many difficult decisions and actions. Governments may confront substantial resistance from the general public as they try to promote or enforce policies that will be necessary to secure a stable natural environment and sustainable economic performance for generations to come. Understanding the current stances of the population towards environmental issues is a prerequisite for any successful implementation of environmentally concerned policies. The goal of this paper is to provide (based on primary data) structured information on generational and other socio-demographic differences in individual environmental stances and related lifestyle preferences. Given the Likert-scale based data collected from the questionnaires, we use ordered multinomial logistic regression as our main tool for quantitative analysis. Major differences in stances are identified between genders and among different age and education groups. Women and younger individuals exhibit higher levels of environmental awareness. Lifestyle preferences segmentation provides additional context for our analysis and the basis for incentivising and targeting environmental policies. Overall, our contribution brings forward fundamental and actionable information that can facilitate many of the complicated decisions and policy actions leading toward environmental sustainability.
Implications for Central European audience: Environmental protection and sustainability plans are thoroughly implemented into most of EU policies, programs, and subsidies. However, for Central European economies, the transition towards sustainable and environmentally neutral economies may be more complicated as compared to “old” member states. Weaker GDP per capita, a historically strong coal-based energy sector and prevailing energy-intensive production segments imply a slower and more costly transition. Our analysis can be used to ease some of the impediments and complications lying ahead.

This literature review aims to assess the evolution of performance monitoring articles in relation to the business strategy based on an overview of articles indexed in the WoS and Scopus databases. The initial dataset of articles was obtained based on carefully developed keywords. In the second phase, we restricted the selection to business and management journal articles and reviews written in English before 2019. The authors simultaneously reviewed the abstracts of all 571 articles in the third phase of the study. These were subsequently re-read and limited; thus, the final dataset for further analysis includes 157 articles published between 1983 and 2019. The most important result is that the field of business strategy and performance is not subject to trends. While in the field of business strategy the literature is still dominated by generic strategies according to Porter and the strategy typology according to Miles and Snow, in the field of performance measurement we identified the market position (sales volume, growth in sales volume, etc.) and profitability (profit margin, return on assets, etc.) as the dominant method.
Implications for Central European audience: Despite a considerable amount of work focusing on bibliographic analysis, there remains a lack of literature on the link between strategy and performance. The paper brings potential value for the Central European audience by drawing attention to the systematisation of knowledge in the field of performance articles and its trends in relation to the field of business strategy. The overview of the theoretical frameworks contributes to a better orientation of the current state of the art and creates opportunities for future research.

This research examines the relation between annual report readability and company performance in a German-speaking country, Austria. The incomplete revelation hypothesis, management obfuscation hypothesis and agency theory assume that firms with lower performance strategically use readability in their disclosures to obfuscate negative results. For investors, reading, analysing, and interpreting data becomes a costly affair; this weakens the negative effect of such data on a firm’s reputation and share price. We use LIX and Flesch formulas to measure the readability of letters to the shareholders and/or interviews with the board in annual reports. The sample consists of 37 companies that are listed on the Prime Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange and their data from the year 2009 to 2020. Company performance is measured by the change in turnover, profit, and share price. The analysed sections mostly show high to very high levels of difficulty. During the observation period, readability levels do not change significantly. We find that the annual reports of firms with lower performance are not harder to read and, therefore, cannot confirm the management obfuscation hypothesis. A significant influence of change in profit/loss on readability is minutely observed. Possible reasons for this observation could be characteristics of the German language, statistical outliers, the long observation period, more professional investor relations offices, and changing communication channels between companies and stakeholders. The last point, changing communication channels, also puts the obfuscation hypothesis and its application to readability up for discussion again.
Implications for Central European audience: Our study shows that also Central European countries are confronted with low levels of readability in annual reports. Nevertheless, we cannot see a clear tendency towards obfuscation in corporate disclosures.

Theroretically, servitization benefits industrial companies to generate more revenue, integrate themselves deeper into the value chains of their customers and improves the competitiveness. The ongoing digital transformation can enable servitization towards more advanced services with a more customer centric view. Macro economically, the industrial sector is very important for most of the developed countries. The digital transformation is posing a triple challenge to the machining and equipment manufacturers and will require a continued development of the existing business models, a change of organizational structures and a strong leadership to remain successful. The companies will need to re-evaluate their market justification and define their value proposition to both existing and potentially new customers. New skills are required as data and analytics, represented by IIoT and AI, will play an ever-larger role in the companies’ interaction with their present and new customers. For the industrial companies, servitization is both linked to higher risk and to a higher earnings potential.
Implications for Central European audience: The implications for Central European industrial companies of the ongoing digitalisation and servitization will be profound. The European car industry is undergoing significant changes and not only due to E-mobility. Also Products-as-Service will have an impact on their whole value chain. The industrial sector in general and the machining industry in particular will need to re-assess its business models and revenue generation. In addition, senior management is already confronted with the need for both new skill-sets and possibly more agile organisational structures, where the industrial mind-set will be challenged by new service models and the thinking of the digital natives.

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 true identity of brands fades with changes in the market environment. Growing concerns regarding the decline of long-established brands have caught the attention of academicians and practitioners both. There is undivided attention witnessed in literature to develop a research framework to identify antecedents and intervening factors and their impact on Brand Revitalization. The primary aim of the study is to categorise identified variables into different approaches and integrate intervening variables to propose a research framework for empirical validation. Based on the systematic literature review approach, 93 studies from more than three decades (1984 to 2021) were undertaken after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. 62 per cent of qualitative research and 27 per cent of empirical and mixed research papers were obtained. A total of 63 variables from 18 empirical studies were categorised into two approaches ‘Brand re-enchantment’ and ‘Brand modernity’, which significantly influenced brand revitalisation. 9 mediators and 12 moderators were obtained from which ‘Advertising’ was introduced as a mediator for effective brand revitalisation. The research paper provides a scope to empirically validate the proposed research framework in different sectors and industries to carry the domain of brand revitalisation to an advance level.
Implications for Central European audience: According to Eurostat , the Annual inflation rate in the Euro Area increased from 4.1% in 2021 to 8.9% in 2022. Price has been accelerated for food, beverages, industrial goods and services. This has declined the purchasing power of consumers while making goods and services more expensive. As a result, demand-side is slowing down and consumers are shifting to low or no-frills brands making it challenging for brands to capture the likely brand decline. However, mature or declining brands often enjoy strong brand equity and there is residual salience which can be leveraged to retain existing consumers. The study offers guidelines to recognize the acute and latent signs of brand decline and provide possible revitalization strategies to increase market share, aid in internationalization, and strengthen the perceived brand image of Central European brands. Advertising illustrates the brand’s features, benefits, and uses, which may help in conveying the desired image of brands to the audience of central European countries.

The revolutionary advancement of technology in the past decade brought the attention of academics and management practitioners to ways of improving innovative capabilities of organizations. Advice-seeking relationships have an essential role in the knowledge production of modern-day organizations as they enable actors to acquire information, professional support and knowledge elements that they can recombine to form new knowledge. This paper conceptualizes advice-seeking behaviour as part of an inherently complex social world that can best be captured by a multiplex approach to organizational network research. It investigates how different layers of interpersonal relationships in the workplace may contribute to the appearance of advice-seeking interactions. This study examines the cases of three knowledge-intensive organizations and applies binary logistic regression to shed light on the yet invisible relational foundations of workplace collaboration.
Implications for Central European audience: Central European countries attempt to improve their economic competitiveness by attracting knowledge-intensive companies as well as incentivizing innovation and digital transformation. Knowledge-intensive firms, such as business service centres or information and communication technology companies, are significant contributors to the economic output of countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Recommendations derived from the results of this paper provide insights into the leadership of knowledge-intensive companies regarding creation of organizational environments that foster knowledge sharing and innovation. Measures that promote interpersonal trust, visibility of expertise and boundary-spanning behaviour are recommended.

With a growing interest in social media, social networks have been discussed largely in brand management and marketing communications literature. Specifically, Facebook, as the leading brand in social networks, is increasingly popular both for users and companies. However, it is not entirely clear what differences occur among Facebook users regarding their attitudes toward brand profiles. The goal of the research is to identify which demographic factors are related to the functional and hedonistic attitude towards the brand fan page and the overall social value of the page on Facebook. A quantitative survey was conducted on a representative sample of 454 users. The concepts of functional, hedonic and social value were measured using Likert-type questions (four for each of these concepts). Using cluster analysis, homogeneous groups were identified in the data set, resulting in two main segments for the functional and hedonic concept and three for social value. Subsequently, these groups were compared with selected demographic characteristics using Chi-square statistics.
Implications for Central European audience: Results of the analysis showed that there is no evidence that gender or age relates to any attitudinal measures towards brand pages on Facebook. The paper ends with a conclusion about the usability of the results for further research and business practice.

Nowadays, many companies make a great deal of effort to take full advantage of digital transformation and stay ahead of their competitors. The influence of digitalisation on manpower development and human capabilities as well as on the business environment, in general, is especially noticeable in the construction and automotive sectors. That is why the main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of new digital technologies on employee competency development in Czech construction and automotive companies. The quantitative methodology is based on primary data collection conducted from July through October 2020 using the CAWI method. As a result, 27 responses from Czech construction companies and 39 responses from Czech automotive companies have been gathered in Survio software, processed and analysed by using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square test of independence. The qualitative data analysis applied in this paper includes three semi-structured interviews with human resource managers of selected Czech companies in the automotive industry. The advantages and disadvantages of the Covid-19 pandemic situation from the point of view of human resource management and employee training have also been analysed in the presented case study. The findings in this paper confirm that creating a digitally ready workforce and changing the employees’; mindset towards the new style of doing their jobs remain significant challenges to deal with in the Czech construction and automotive industries.
Implications for Central European audience: This paper focuses primarily on the training and professional development of people employed in the construction and automotive sectors, which have been highly affected by the ongoing digitalisation of business and the current Covid-19 pandemic situation. As the results further demonstrate, the widespread use of digital technologies can definitely help to enhance employees’; digital competencies. However, the employees still have to get used to a digitalised workplace. In such conditions, the role of human resource managers is key in the implementation of continuous training as part of the corporate culture.

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.

The digital transformation (DT) process, which has been experienced intensely recently, can radically change all business processes, models and structures of organizations. Change and transformation, which are focused on efficiency and productivity, also trigger stress from time to time. Public institutions are also adopting DT processes. In this study, the relationship between technostress faced by organization employees in the DT process and employee performance is examined. The mixed method is used in the study. As a sample, 351 central career experts working in primary units of public institutions are selected, and the data are analysed using IBM SPSS 25 and MAXQDA 20 software. As a result of the study, it is seen that the perspective on DT affects employee performance and technostress in a positive way, and that employees' technostress levels negatively affect employee performance. Besides, according to the findings of the qualitative research method, the concepts of hardware and software, technological infrastructure, the attitude of senior management, resistance to transformation, education and ability to use technology, workload, complexity and uncertainty, speed, satisfaction, motivation, continuity, quality and work-life imbalance are listed as influential factors.
Implications for Central European audience: The findings reveal that by focusing on DT, technostress can be reduced, and thus employee performance can be increased. Employees can improve their DT skills, which will also positively affect their performance. It has also been stated that in 2021, Turkey would rank 16th in the European Union digital agenda e-government title and has digital government services similar to Central European countries. It shows that the positive and negative aspects of DT can be similar for employees.

There are many methods of forecasting, often based on the specific conditions of the given time series which are frequently the result of research in scientific centres and universities. Nevertheless, there are also models that were created by scientists in a particular company, examples may be Google or Facebook. The latter one has developed one of the latest Prophet forecasting models published in 2017 by Taylor & Letham. This model is completely new and so it is appropriate to subject it to further research, which is the topic of this article. To accomplish this research objective, the aim of this work is to identify seasonal trends in revenue development in a selected e-commerce segment based on the assessment of the applicability of the Facebook Prophet forecasting tool. To accomplish this goal, the Python Prophet is decomposed with a subsequent two-year forecast. Accuracy of this model is measured by RMSA and coverage. The e-commerce subject selected is active primarily in the field of sales of professional outdoor supplies and organizing outdoor educational courses, seminars and competitions. It is clear from the prediction that the e-commerce entity shows a strong sales period with the beginning of the spring season and then, due to the summer, decline, until the pre-Christmas period. The subject has little growth potential and a new impetus is needed to increase sales and thus restore the growth trend. It has been confirmed that Prophet is a suitable tool for debugging seasonal tendencies.

The axiom “unseen – unsold” implies that marketing communication cannot be effective if it does not bypass the filter of attention, which is difficult in today’s information clutter. As internet has emerged as powerful channel for marketing communication, the same axiom applies to the online marketing communication. In this research the analysis and synthesis of scientific literature as well as two eye tracking experiments are applied for the analysis of internet context-related elements influencing consumer visual attention and as a consequence having influence on consumer behavior. As a result, the guidelines for the selection of advertising message-related factors and advertisement’s position in the internet news portals are provided. Moreover, recommendations for the attraction of consumer visual attention in the search engines are presented.

Intensive attention has been devoted to strategic management recently as it is one of the tools which is capable of leading the enterprise to succeed in the long term. In spite of this, it is mostly connected with big organisations. Managers underestimate SMEs often and do not apply the strategic management methods in the way they could. Using strategic management in small enterprises is not sufficiently described in the professional literature. The target of this article is to determine the level of strategic management in SMEs by means of the created LSM (level of strategic management) indicator. Data were found out for 156 enterprises through the questionnaire. Based on the professional literature and similar studies, nine main principles were selected influencing the level of strategic management in the enterprise (the enterprise has the strategy, the strategy is defined in the written form, the strategy is elaborated in detail into plans, the enterprise analyses the external environment, internal environment, the enterprise fixes and checks achieving the enterprise’s goals, the enterprise knows the value of the product for the customer assuring its competitiveness; the enterprise follows and evaluates the result indicators and the enterprise decides based on the forecast of the future market development). As a strategically managed enterprise, such enterprise was evaluated having acquired 12–15 points; this criterion was fulfilled by 74 enterprises (47%). On the contrary, a not strategically managed enterprise is the enterprise that acquired seven or fewer points (in total 38 enterprises).
Implications for Central European audience: Strategic management is a tool that leads a company to long term prosperity. Strategically managed companies have a well-thought-out business plan based on a long term competitive advantage. They create better value for customers, know their surroundings and react more flexibly to changes. Within the practical applications of the paper, emphasis is placed on simplifying and making strategic management accessible to SMEs. Based on the LSM indicator, each company can verify whether it’s strategically managed or not and find out where it has shortcomings. These can then be eliminated, and the company can become strategically managed with all its advantages.

The growing uncertainty in today’s business environment has a significant influence on social business’s behaviour. Those enterprises could rely on public support in the past, but nowadays, they have to find a way to be more responsible about their social activity and be financially independent on public resources. Based on this theoretical background, the paper’s main goal was to find a set of factors that influence crucial financial decisions within a crisis. When social businesses create an optimal financial portfolio to be financially sustainable, primary research was conducted. A sample of 57 social businesses was asked about their financial strategy. The main research goal was to compare a change before and after the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic situation in 2020. This case has shown current financial thinking and preparedness for unusual or crises. A mixed research approach was chosen due to a limited number of respondents. The overall results found that those businesses prefer to use the current strategy (42%) in crisis, and they limit investments to survive in that situation, except marketing investments (16%).
Implications for Central European audience: At the theoretical level, our study shows social enterprise concepts in the Central European context, which differs somewhat from the already established definition of mainly Anglo-Saxon and American authors. At the same time, it combines knowledge about the use of financial planning in this segment. The study results show that financial planning is essential in these companies because it can achieve social goals. A discussion would be opened on how to raise awareness of the preparation of the strategy.  Alternatively, how to strengthen the financial literacy of managers or representatives of these entities.

Netnography, an online qualitative research method that evolved from ethnography, previously typically used in anthropology, is experiencing its boom in contemporary marketing research worldwide. It helps to answer research questions about a variety of topics, and it is used in many different ways. Therefore, each netnographic study is unique, not only content-wise but also in terms of the approach to the use of the method. In the presented paper, the case study research method was applied to aim at the identification of the best practices in contemporary marketing research when using netnography. Based on the analysis of chosen articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals, the paper defines the features of the research problem suitable for the application of netnography, the typical process, and its variances, as well as basic criteria for use. As a result of observed significant differences in applying the method, the paper captures the variability of netnography use in the Model of NET Dimensions of Netnography. The model shows how each netnographic study has to deal with three dimensions of decisions that need to be taken: ‘the Niche’ – the place ‘where’ and the group ‘whom’ it researches, ‘the Engagement’ – the extent to which the researcher is engaged in the studied community, and ‘the Time’ – the timeline – ‘when’ and timespan ‘how long’. The combination of all the possibilities of NET dimensions makes the netnography so variable, flexible, and adaptable, and therefore a very suitable method for many research problems.
Implications for Central European Audience: The paper presents the variety of use of netnography in contemporary marketing research. Although the method originated at the end of the 20th century and is starting to be very popular worldwide, especially with the growth of life online, there is still very little research done using this method in the CEE. Researching the various scholar engines at the time of the article submission, we found very few published studies originating from the CEE. And yet, as the presented paper shows, the method is very well-fitting for a large variety of research problems, and it is very handy, especially now when other qualitative methods are often more difficult to be carried out due to COVID-19 restrictions. The method has the potential to help to answer many of the real businesses’ questions as well as to solve some academic puzzles. Therefore, we see a need to promote it within the academic and business community.

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.

In the first two decades of the 21st century, the previous democratization progress was partly reversed. It is well seen in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe but also in other geographic regions. In search for causes of this warning trend, many authors point out economic factors such as economic stagnation, unemployment, inequality, consequences of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 and side-effects of globalization. Not negating the role of economic factors, it is important, however, to see noneconomic determinants such as immature political institutions and their dysfunctionality, nationalism and cultural prejudices, and side-effects of the ICT revolution, which destroyed traditional media and public debate. The antidemocratic drift is dangerous not only for political and civil freedom but also has a negative impact on economic governance, making economies less open and competitive and easy victims of oligarchic predation (‘crony’ capitalism).

Consumption styles in most modern societies are characterised by internal diversity. This situation reflects the paradox of the postmodern world in which two different trends - consumerism and greening consumption, compete for the hearts, minds and portfolios of buyers. The popularity of one of the above trends depends on society’s standards and the level of awareness of its citizens. The article aims to present Slovak consumers’ behaviour in terms of sustainable consumption in the field of organic products.  Concerning the multifaceted nature of organic food consumption, empirical research has taken into account various aspects of the potential of individual respondents and the general characteristics of their households. The survey conducted from January to May 2019 involved 1,373 individuals who live in Slovakia. The respondents’ selection criteria did not consider whether or not they had food allergies or intolerances, whether they were vegetarian or vegan, or whether they liked most foods. The paper used the clustering of objects method, especially the Two-Step method. The research questionnaire concerns consumers who have a positive attitude about organic foods considering the importance of their health.
Implications for the Central European audience: The development of organic food markets is stimulated by accepting the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. The purpose of this article is to propose elements of reflection for economic entities facing the challenges of sustainable consumption. The increased interest of Slovak consumers in organic food is linked with their interest in living a healthier life. The theoretical framework of the article focuses on the significance of consumer behaviour and the consumption of bioproducts. The practical support of consumption in-home organic food is one of the main tasks of the Programme for the Development of the Country until the year 2020 and the Action Plan of the Development of Agriculture for the years 2014–2020.

Within V4 automotive Global Value Chains (GVCs), technologies absorbed by the corporate sector represent a significant impact on the level of value-added created within the economy. Sectoral and geographic targeting of our research is determined by the export of motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers produced in the V4 countries. The article’s main objective was to investigate the role of services provided by V4 countries within GVCs with an emphasis on transport and storage. The authors used the method of linear regression analysis to answer two central research questions. Is there a synergic or spillover effect within the automotive clusters of the V4 countries in creating value-added originating in the logistic services? What role absorption of technology at the firm level in EU27 countries (the most important trading partners of the V4 countries) plays in creating value-added in the V4 automotive sector? Authors found differentiated results within V4 countries, confirming the hypothesis related to technology absorption.
Implications for Central European audience: Despite high V4 export performance, the research suggests how to increase the value-added through higher involvement within GVCs (particularly the automotive industry). The paper demonstrates a positive impact of importing transport services from the EU countries to some V4 countries (Slovakia, Czechia, and Poland) and its value-added content in gross exports. For any V4 country, an increase in the quality of the business environment of EU trade partners (measured as the corporate level of technology absorption) results in a lower value-added creation, quite significantly, with lower effect in the case of Czechia, but more than 15% decrease in case of Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia.

Technologies transform the total marketing mix of hotel products in the dynamic tourism market, where the distribution is detected as a key factor of market placement and profitability. The main goal of this paper is to explore the distribution channels in the hospitality industry and to identify the most successful elements of online distribution for the purposes of realising future excellence in post-COVID-19 tourism. The online distribution elements that could enhance competitiveness and incentives for reservation were identified and ranked. This was realised by choosing the most representative sample and by researching it using a structured questionnaire, where the mix of competitiveness and marketing elements were evaluated. The research findings present the importance of online travel agents (OTA), tour operators, social networks and conferences (MICE segment). The potential of Global Distribution Systems (GDS) systems is detected and, although not fully valorised in practice, implicate future franchising and contracting with global hotel brands and consortia. The answer to the question: “Which tools and techniques of innovative online distribution should be used and what product elements enhance sales in the hotel industry of the future?” is explored by the scientific methodology, which supports the purpose and presents the main contribution of the paper.
Implications for Central European audience: The paper represents a considerable contribution in the perception of the distribution channels, affirmed for exchange in the Central European tourism market as an emissive market for the receptive offer of Croatian tourism. Considered in the context of the accessibility of Croatia as a car destination that realises both long-term and short-term “impulsive” bookings, promptness, propulsion and dynamism of online distribution channels used by the hotel offer have exceptional importance for income management and profitability. Correspondingly, a positive perception is being developed of the Central European market demand, as well as tourism awareness about closeness and market potentials, which represents a platform for the development of applicative strategies in communication and business. Recognising the effect on intensification of tourist exchange through the affirmation of innovations and technology contributes to the development of science and practice of the hospitality industry.

Currently, multinational fast-food restaurant like the American fast food restaurant business is in great demand in Asian countries, especially in Indonesia. Maybe it can be categorised as a trend that is currently in effect. The uniqueness of the presentation or product appearance, the various types of menus and tastes, the restaurant environment, the prices offered, and several other factors contribute to creating the purchase intention of Indonesian customers. However, it is still rare to use this concept of thinking as the basic basis for measuring customer satisfaction, especially in American fast food restaurant branches in Asia, especially in Indonesia. Based on this explanation, the purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between product quality, service quality, physical environment quality, perceived price, satisfaction, loyalty, happiness, and trust in the customers of the fast-food restaurant. We distributed online questionnaires via google with a purposeful sampling method to 130 respondents conducted in July 2021. This study uses the SEM analysis method. The results show that there is a relationship between perceived price, product quality, service quality, physical environment quality, and customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has a positive effect on loyalty and happiness. Trust can moderate the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty. The results can be applied by fast-food restaurants that are interested in learning about similar factors that can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, especially in developing countries that have almost the same respondent criteria as Indonesia.
Implications for Central European audience: The knowledge used in various marketing studies that support customer satisfaction and customer loyalty can be built on the quality they receive and their perception of the price of the product. Also noteworthy is the finding that the effect of product quality and service quality does not always affect each product category. These results can be utilised by fast-food restaurant businessmen and other culinary businesses who use foreign themes to increase competitiveness in the country. But it can also be used for European producers who want to open their culinary business in Asian countries.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between the institutional environment of the studied countries and the Coface Country Risk Assessment. To meet this object, we used quantitative methods in the form of descriptive and regression analysis. The result was an evaluation of the actual Coface Country Risk Assessment and its value prediction for chosen countries. The authors quantified the impact of the institutional environment using The Heritage Index of Economic Freedom subindexes on the risk assessment indicator of the major private insurance company Coface, which is not so often used in the scientific sphere and is regularly updated. The results suggest a positive correlation between the Coface Country Risk Assessment and Government Integrity, Fiscal Health, Financial Freedom and Property Rights. Although Tax Burden is a statistically significant factor, its parameter was detected with an unexpected sign. For this reason, authors abstracted from it. Subindexes Government Spending, Business Freedom, Monetary Freedom, Trade Freedom, and Investment Freedom were statistically insignificant. Control variable Public Debt as a share of gross domestic product was insignificant as well.
Implications for Central European audience: The article applies the Coface Country Risk Assessment, which has so far been rarely used in the scientific literature. We present the current and predicted values of the Central European Countries, but also the countries interesting from their point of view due to trade and investment opportunities. Many countries, including those in Central Europe, show differences between actual and predicted values.

The business environment, its quality, and its development are important indicators of the global competitiveness of individual economies. The situation is enhanced in the European area, where the open community brings specific opportunities to expand and grow in new markets. However, it is not that easy to find the proper place to start a business, considering the financial performance and cost-effectiveness. Thus, the paper focuses on the comparative analysis of selected European countries (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, and France) in the context of their macroeconomic and inner-markets factors in the 8-year horizon (2013-2020). The quality of the business environment is evaluated using a multi-criteria decision-making method TOPSIS and global multi-level indices such as the Global Competitiveness Index, Corruption Perception Index, and Doing Business Index. Their mutual dependence is tested by correlation coefficients. To find the statistically significant differences among the countries, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffé´s post hoc tests were used. The results reveal the subsets of countries with similar business environments, which may be beneficial in increasing the global competitiveness of enterprises.
Implications for Central European audience: The comparative analysis is focused on the selected (mostly) Central European countries. This selection enables comparing the business environments with similar features and grouping them into subsets based on their economic, political, and social peculiarities. The analysis of variance proved that the business environments in Slovakia, Hungary, and Croatia are very similar, which may simplify the way of doing business in these countries. Thus, the implications of this study are crucial for better evaluation of the factors influencing the business environment, grouping attractiveness from the perspective of national enterprises, and understanding the indicators that increase the international competitiveness of enterprises.

Extensive empirical evidence shows that women perform worse in financial literacy tests, which implies that their financial behaviour may also be worse compared to men. However, the literature on the gender gap in financial behaviour is scanty and highly inconclusive. Using data from a survey of married and cohabiting couples living in Poland (N=1,000) and a multi-dimensional scale validated in terms of its psychometric properties, this article compares the financial behaviour of women and men. The applied tests did not show any significant gender differences in the overall financial behaviour index or in any of the subdomains of the behaviour distinguished in the applied scale. Using the social identity theory as a framework, we discuss possible explanations of these puzzling findings, which may imply that women are unnecessarily considered a disadvantaged group in terms of preparedness to participate in financial life, including the business sphere.
Implications for Central European audience: Assuming that the gender differences in financial literacy and behaviour can be explained on the grounds of the social identity theory, Central and Eastern Europe may differ from Western Europe in terms of the gender gap. Socially-imposed gender roles were presumably shaped differently behind the Iron Curtain, which resulted in that the distinction between masculine and feminine roles got blurred under the Soviet regime. As a result, the absence of gender differences in financial behaviour is more likely to occur in Central and Eastern European countries. Financial education initiatives should take this circumstance into account.

The essay is about the economic and political development of Hungary in the last 30 years. It can be neatly divided into three periods which coincide with the calendar decades almost perfectly. After the collapse of the communist system, the first period constituted a glorious decade in development: the first two governments implemented almost all indispensable structural reforms required for a successful transition. After the financial stabilization in 1995, a consistent macroeconomic policy was applied, leading to export and investment-driven, hence sustainable economic growth. The next decade brought deterioration: reforms were stalled, and a sharp turn to consumption-led and debt-fuelled growth resulted in twin deficits which, by the time of the Great Recession, almost triggered a sovereign debt default. After a short period of successful financial stabilization, a populist-nationalist government came to power in 2010. A decade of decay set in: reversal of structural reforms, nationalization, monopolization, protectionism, market-distorting taxation and subsidization, state capture by a corrupt oligarchy, together with inconsistent macroeconomic policy. In addition, the self-styled „illiberal regime” of Viktor Orbán demolished the rule of law and all institutions representing checks and balances in a democracy. Corruption was elevated to the level of official government policy. With the help of the huge amount of subsidies coming from the EU, the regime maintained financial equilibrium and achieved significant growth during the time of global boom between 2014-2019. However, given the fact that private investments and productivity stay rather low in the non-tradable sector of the domestic economy, real convergence to Western efficiency and living standards remain elusive. Today Hungary constitutes a primary example of an economy pushed into a typical middle-income trap by its oligarchic and authoritarian regime. It also proves that transition reforms are all reversible; institutions are fragile. Restoration of the rule of law and democracy seems to be an indispensable prerequisite for convergence and development.

This paper aims to define the consumer journey of children through their childhood stages and provide specific touchpoints relevant for a given age, which could be integrated into the marketing communication of car brands to start building this young audience as future buyers. A qualitative study of children in different age brackets was used to identify their current and potential touchpoints with the car industry. The results of the study present specific stands on the prepurchase stage of the children’s consumer journey where the brand might interact with children and build the long-term positive attitudes of this group of potential customers. Specific implications for the industry in terms of understanding the language of the mobile game applications, computer games, YouTubers and integrating those specific activities into the brand’s marketing communication are highlighted for the car industry marketers.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are an important part of the economy of every country. These enterprises operate in a highly competitive environment and are especially exposed to rapid changes in the business environment. Therefore, one of the most important issues which they face is effective business planning (BP), especially in relation to the projects which they carry out. This is because business planning provides an opportunity to take the risks inherent in the activities of an enterprise into account and providing coordination of the production and economic processes. Given these facts, our study analyses the process of business planning administration in small enterprises. Its main aim is to develop methodological recommendations for the administration of business planning processes through the utilization of innovative tools. It should simplify the business planning of projects and make it more relevant and effective. The administration of business planning is presented as a complex process which is modelled with the utilization of a roadmapping approach. We suggest using the business canvas as one of the milestones of the model, which is especially suitable for the visualization of future business plans. A single case study analysis based on the private company Gal-Exim PC and its innovation project planning was chosen as the research method. The company's core business and main innovation projects are in sphere of commercial real estate operations. Our analysis confirmed that the proposed model may be regarded as an effective instrument of BP in small enterprises. It has a universal nature and therefore may be utilized in other companies as well.
Implications for Central European audience: Our study is based on the most modern world trends and practical research in sphere of business planning. The proposed model has a universal nature and may be easily implemented in any European small or medium-sized companies. The proposed roadmap of business planning administration includes instruments which are accessible and may be used by companies regardless of the region. We deliberately based our analysis on the company which provides a variety of innovative projects with utilization of European and world trends in sphere of commercial real estate operations, thus we assume that the suggested study may make a positive contribution to the Central European business environment generally.