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This paper focuses on the particular case of professional ethics in the context of the accounting profession. After briefly discussing recent events that made us reconsider our understanding of corporate governance, accountancy and ethics, we attempt to delimit the state of the art by looking at ethics from the accounting profession's perspective. When aiming to clarify professional ethics, we closely analyze integrity based on the latest developments undertaken by European professional bodies. The findings are used in identifying ways to contribute to the endeavor of aligning the profession's performance with society's reasonable expectations.

With ongoing globalization and the resulting growing competitiveness on most markets, companies are under constant pressure to increase the effectiveness and efficiencies of their operations. The focus of this paper is placed on one of the core business management processes - on planning, namely on Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) and its latest development stage, nowadays often recognized under the term Integrated Business Planning (IBP). The author's experience from leading the global implementation of IBP in a multinational chemical company is reflected in the proposition of how IBP can serve as an effective tool for execution of business strategy. The article further illustrates how different generic strategies and product portfolio models of the companies impact the set-up of an IBP process. As the IBP concept is applicable for almost all businesses and markets, it can be used broadly as an effective tool for facing the challenges of economic and financial crisis.

Communal forms of employment have deep roots in Europe; however, these definitions have not been clarified in Hungary yet. This is partly due to the lack of exposure, and partly due to the lack of a proper, sophisticated regulation framework. The goal of this paper is to organize general terms and aims, introduce the institutional environment, and to highlight problematic areas.

The goal of this paper is to compare the characteristics of Polish and Czech companies which follow the Born Global internationalization model. More concretely, the analysis aims to discover the differences or similarities in terms of the internationalization paths of Polish and Czech SMEs in the characteristics of their managers in terms of the so-called "international vision" and in their innovativeness level. The introductory part of article provides a description of this internationalization model and the International New Ventures traits (INV) and summarizes the recent studies on this topic conducted in Poland and Czech Republic. In the empirical part, the International New Ventures from the two countries are compared. The Polish sample includes 105 companies which were surveyed with use of computer assisted telephone interviews in autumn 2014. For the Czech Republic, the sample consists of 54 small and medium-sized companies, which were surveyed using the computer assisted web interviews from November 2013 till January 2014. The surveyed companies in both countries fulfilled the definition of Born Globals. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation analysis and non-parametric tests are applied to accomplish the goals of the paper.

Due to the rise in consumers' "health-conciousness", the health-related market has become one with the most potential. However, most studies on health-related consumption have been carried out within the Western world, while the evolution of health management in Central and Eastern Europe has been radically different. This paper builds on two separate qualitative studies of consumers' perception and practices in the sphere of health and food in Denmark and the Czech Republic. Each of these studies explored in its own way, how consumers in each of the two cultural settings deal with consumption through different forms of governmentality. It shows how in the Danish setting the notion of agency and the reflexive self unfold as a theme where consumers depend on an inner voice and a "gut feeling", while in the Czech context consumers increasingly seek guidance from expert systems. These findings thus enlighten the meanings and processes behind consumer choices, having significant implications for marketing of companies operating on these growing markets.

This conceptual paper examines the rationale for strategic planning in business schools and outlines an applied strategy development and controlling process that has been in use at a major Swiss business school for several years, contributing to a significant strengthening of the school's strategic position. It explains the strategy hierarchy and the strategy planning cycle, describes how to conduct a consistent strategic situation analysis, and details how to develop and manage a coherent strategy at all levels (normative, strategic, tactical, and operational), including type, nature, and structure of the corresponding documents.

The aim of this paper is to describe the outsourcing of marketing communications as a business trend. The author discusses possible scopes of external entities' involvement and presents positive and negative aspects of marketing communications outsourcing. Efficient use of modern forms of marketing communication is the domain of a highly specialized group of agencies and other providers of marketing services. The use of their creativity, competence and skills in the field of communication has a significant impact on its effectiveness. For many companies, it is currently more profitable to benefit from external specialists instead of hiring them and improving their competence within the organization. This solution also seems more beneficial with respect to the effectiveness of management and optimization of resources. However, given the importance of the brand as a company's most crucial intangible asset of strategic importance, delegating all decision-making power associated with it beyond the company is irrational. The choice of strategies and determination of key assumptions relating to integrated marketing communication should remain the responsibility of the parent company.

The goal of this article is to present work-related attitudes of a sample of Czech Generation Z and their comparison to the results of an international research study. Currently, there are three important trends influencing the labor market: (1) the origin and development of a ubiquitous working environment, (2) the thriving of coworking centers, and (3) Generation Z's entering the labor market. Instead of traditional jobs, the bearers of human capital tend to choose independent work in an online environment, and often work in coworking centers. Using self-determination theory, we substantiate why they thrive better this way. Based on the results of an international research project focused on work attitudes among Generation Z and the results of a replication study we carried out in the Czech Republic, we attest that members of Generation Z may prefer independent virtual work in coworking centers, too. The total amount of available human capital, the lack of which is pointed out by companies, may grow thanks to new ways of working. Companies, which can use human capital of independent workers, gain a competitive advantage.

Conceptual evolution of the Internet and Web, substantiated through Web 2.0 and the emergence of online social networks, reinvented the way that enterprises interact with their customers. Museums, as cultural institutions with an important mission, are not unaffected by that change, however. In order to fulfil their duties and societal purpose successfully, they have to attract visitors' attention and engage the public effectively in a highly competitive and saturated environment. The goal of this paper is to analyze and compare the social media presence of museums in two European capitals. It focuses on museums in Prague and Berlin, and considers their general Web presence and the dynamics of activities on Facebook. In order to understand the integrative social media approach of museums in both regions, we investigated additionally Twitter and Youtube presence among museums with a Facebook account. The study reveals a lower presence of Prague museums both on the Web and in the identified social media networks, in comparison to Berlin museums. Moreover, we conclude that the presence of both regional museums on social media networks is low, while the integration and simultaneous application of more networks at the same time are negligible, both for Prague and Berlin museums.

This article elaborates the export promotion framework in the Czech Republic. It reviews the current literature and introduces the basic approaches and objectives that should be followed by a properly established export promotion system and describes the historical as well as contemporary development of the export support scheme in the Czech Republic. Subsequent research was then conducted in order to obtain a basic idea how the awareness about export support is spread among Czech companies. Outcomes of the survey are then used as inputs to suggest how to increase the effectiveness of export support.

The article analyzes Shared Value (CSV) implemented projects by regions, social issues, and industries that are involved in pursuing the CSV concept. Project preferences by region show South America, Central America and Caribbean, Global scope and Africa as key targets of CSV projects, followed by North America and Asia. Europe, both Western and Eastern, is at the edge of interest with only several projects implemented. Project preferences by industry clearly show that companies capitalize on their strengths and professional focus. Analyzed Shared Value projects proved simultaneous value to a wide range of corporate stakeholders by creating new products or services, redefining productivity in the value chain or enabling local cluster development. Given the strategic nature of CSV projects, top management initiative is necessary. Numerous worldwide proven Shared Value business cases could serve as inspiration for Central European leaders in creation of their future strategies. Successful CSV projects implemented in the Czech Republic are mentioned.

The methods currently used in innovation marketing research are focused on the late phases of the innovation process and are usually methodologically complex. This limits their practical impact. The presented work aims to create a simple self-report scale applicable in the initial and late phases of the innovation process, highly modular and suitable for a wide range of research. The main battery of questions was inspired by the adopter categorization by Rogers. The questions determine both (1) general characteristics of innovation adopters and (2) their relationship to a specific innovation. The scale was tested during robust longitudinal online research, thematically focused on users of modern technologies. A representative sample of 4,000 Internet users in the Czech Republic took part in the survey from 2013 to 2015. The result is a new self-report scale measuring consumer innovativeness applicable for prototyping, strategic decisions and effective communication of innovations to consumers.

In 2014, the Czech automotive industry had a record-breaking year with 1 278 000 motor vehicles manufactured. This was a result of the investment of three major carmakers, who entered into the Czech Republic, because they believed in the industrial capacity of the country and its strategic location in Central Europe. The goal of this article is to analyze the different entry strategies into the Czech market and to compare the results of different strategic approaches for both foreign private investors and the recipient country. The main research method used in this article is a case study. In our case studies, we will analyze the cases of the Volkswagen group and its acquisition of the manufacturer Škoda, the greenfield investment of Hyundai, and the strategic alliance of the French car producer PSA with Japanese Toyota who had founded the TPCA joint venture in the Czech Republic. All three case studies show examples of good practices and prove that foreign direct investment (FDI) has the potential to generate employment, raise productivity, transfer skills and technology, enhance exports and contribute to the long-term economic development of the country.

This paper researches the so-called "dark triad" personality traits of management student populations, because of their potential to generate dysfunctional organizational behavior and processes. Namely, the dark triad with characteristics such as lack of empathy, willingness to manipulate others (for self-betterment), antagonism, and belief in one's own superiority can represent a real organizational threat. The goal of this paper is to stimulate thinking and discussion around this issue. The paper is based on questionnaire measurement that adopts the standardized short dark triad measurement instrument of Jones and Paulhus (2012) who measure the scales of Machiavellianism (9 items), narcissism (9 items) and psychopathy (9 items). The sample included 150 students of professional management studies at the Faculty of Economics, University of Split in Croatia. Results of the Croatian students are compared with the results of 387 students in Canada. The results suggest significant statistical differences in the "dark triad" variables between the Canadian and Croatian samples. The practical implications of this paper are in raising awareness and stimulating the thinking of managers around the potential of the "dark triad" traits of engaged human resources to create organizational crisis, and to make preventive and responsive actions to manage the "toxic triad" threat.

At the end of 2014, the number of firms with an Italian presence in Romania was 39,556, representing 19.33% out of total registered firms and this number is still growing. This article focuses on answering the following question: what kind of Italian firms are investing in Romania and why? Starting from the empirical observation that the number of Italian firms in Romania grew by 6.82% last year, we have used a PESTEL analysis to find the key points characterizing the country, paying attention also to the concept of country brand. From the point of view of Italian firms, we have also analyzed the shifting paradigm of internationalization from a Vertical Foreign Direct Investment model to a Horizontal Foreign Direct Investment model. This paper can be useful for managers and entrepreneurs who are oriented towards investing in Romania following the path of Italian firms.

The article presents the idea of gaining a position of competitive advantage by companies operating in the knowledge-based economy and in the age of modern technology. The rate of change in companies' environments forces organizations to react quickly to clients' needs. In recent years, there has been an observed systematic increase in the importance of communicating customer value in Poland. This paper shows changes (trends) in the system of market communication in the age of modern technology and changes in the economy. The author presents the mechanisms and effects of communication in age new technology in Poland. Modern technologies enable the collection, storage and transmission of information. Reflections contained in the paper do not have definite characteristics and should be treated as an opinion in the discussion.

This paper examines the roles played by market interdependence and contagion in the propagation of the 2007-2009 global financial crisis. For this purpose, five aggregate indices were employed, representing all the major financial markets from each geographical region. The data series are daily and they cover the period between 2002 and 2014. The presence of contagion and market interdependence was assessed by means of the values and value changes of the correlation coefficients between the ante crisis (2002-2007), the crisis (2007-2009) and the post crisis (2009-2014) intervals, as well as with the aid of a spillover index. The results indicate a high degree of interdependence between the global financial markets even before the occurrence of the crisis. On the other hand, there is evidence that the crisis spread through contagion mainly from the developed financial markets of Europe and North America to the emerging centers in Africa and Latin America while the markets from the Asia/Pacific region displayed lower correlations which may have given opportunities for the mitigation of losses. Moreover, since the majority of the correlation coefficients have not decreased significantly after the 2007-2009 period, it seems that the crisis intensified the degree of global financial integration.

This paper describes new trends related to the concepts contained in HR organizational structures within Czech organizations. In addition, it describes the specifics of the roles played by HR in those organizations which have transformed their HR departments in terms of the principles of the HR Business Partner Model, both in theory based on available resources, and at the practical level based on the results of primary examination. The goal of this paper is to present the key perceptions of the changes made in the HR structure within the organizations, as well as the impact of these changes on the effectiveness of the HR departments concerned. Another goal of the paper is to summarize the responsibilities of the newly created position known as the HR Business Partner in these organizations as well as the demands placed upon the personnel employed in the HR Business Partner role. The paper offers conclusions based on the results of both quantitative and qualitative surveys. It also contains a case study of one organization which has one of the best transformed HR departments, and whose services are classified, by internal clients, as being of high quality.

This paper provides an overview of key stakeholders involved in food marketing to children in Europe and in the Czech Republic. It analyzes the role of the legislation as well as voluntary codes of conduct in the food industry. The industry part of the issue is also covered by an explanation of their role and position in the obesity issue. The form of food industry cooperation in the Food Chamber through a working group of involved companies is analyzed and an example of a corporate responsibility program is shown. The paper serves as a review of the issue for further exploration needs.

This paper aims at describing the issue of undeclared work in the Czech Republic and to explain the burdens it represents for the national economy. It also describes what measures can be undertaken in order to tackle undeclared work and uses some real-life examples to illustrate their outcomes. Undeclared work and the so-called "švarc systém" (the employer-employee relations with a person exercising the employer's normal activities not being an employee in legal terms but acting as an independent entrepreneur) are among the biggest issues on the Czech labor market nowadays. According to some estimations, the Czech state loses about five billion CZK annually in the form of uncollected taxes, unpaid revenues and health and social insurance payments. New changes to the Czech labor legislation that came into force in 2012 were envisaged to tackle undeclared work, reduce tax evasions, fight shadow practices on the labor market, and to prevent social deprivation and other threats for the society by shifting the competences to conduct random checks, and controls of firms and businesses were transferred to the State Labor Inspection Offices (SLIO). The changes in the legislation facilitated the identification of the undeclared work and penalizing of its bearers, which minimized the losses from the illegal employment.

This paper explores the approach of the food industry towards the issue of rising children obesity in the context of the external regulatory environment and industry self-regulation. It presents the roles and positions of the industry associations, self-regulation and industry representatives through a case study of best practices in applying self-regulation rules. It proves that companies, acting in accordance with the long-term strategy of social responsibility, approach the self-regulation respectfully, because its absence would be a cause for development and implementation of stricter legislation over the long run.

This article analyzes the emergence of a new trend in marketing communication and PR in the Czech Republic. After the decline of public trust after the economic crisis in 2008, many state officials and politicians were blamed for corruption and fraud worldwide (Edelman, 2013). Anti-corruption attitudes have emerged in government communication, media, NGOs and also within the business sector. The term "anti-corruption" has become an often-used marketing claim. Anti-corruption claims and values have been used by a wide range of companies and institutions in their corporate communication or PR. Often, the main business leader serve as personalities and opinion leaders in anti-corruption activities; these include individuals such as Karel Janeček, Stanislav Bernard or Radim Jančura. This article analyzes and discusses embedding anti-corruption attitudes within the marketing communication and PR strategy and possible impacts on the reputation of the company's management.

A lot has been said and written about online communication in the past several years, and just as any new phenomenon, online communication is a disputable topic in many companies. The objective of this article is to analyse the behaviour of Czech consumers online and their preferences for the different online communication channels in the consumer goods category. We have examined what digital media are and how companies can use them, including a close examination of the Czech Internet population. As many of the research studies and data lead to different conclusions, especially concerning communication on social media, we have decided to apply the theoretical knowledge on a case of the Tassimo brand, a capsule coffee machine maker. This study lead us to the conclusion that consumer relevant online communication is about ensuring easily accessible clear information, especially via websites, reviews and recommendations, while social media play a minor role at the moment.