Economics. Ecology. Socium (E-Journal) / Економіка. Екологія.Соціум
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Innovative Aspect of E-Commerce Development in Ukraine
Full text linkIntroduction. The share of e-trading in the total volume of the Ukrainian retail sales market tends to increase. Since innovative trade approaches open new perspectives and provide the possibility of doing business in conditions of significant challenges, the role of e-commerce in restoring the country's economy becomes more significant. The social role of e-commerce as a source of vital goods for a population is also growing. Therefore, the study of the e-commerce market and analysis of the impact of war on its development have become important tasks.
Aim and tasks. The purpose of this study is to examine the state of the e-commerce market using statistical data, analyze the impact of the war on the development of e-commerce, identify the main market trends, and forecast the main indicators of e-commerce. This determines the following tasks: establishing the peculiarities of the e-commerce market in Ukraine, establishing obstacles to the development of e-commerce, identifying opportunities that e-trading opens up for Ukrainian entrepreneurs, and determining the conditions to be taken into account in the transition of retail trade to e-trading under the challenges of war..
Results. The negative impact of significant market changes in the 2022-2023 was compensated by the growth in active e-commerce users. A change in the growth rate of users by 40% in 2022 was confirmed. This indicates that hostilities changed the range of e-commerce products and that the market share of basic necessities exceeded 50%. The highest annual revenue per user for food products will be 89.4% ahead of the product group closest to this indicator. According to the indicator “Average income from e-commerce per client”, it is predicted to reach 2019 only in 2026. Sales changes for the main product groups in 2024 have been established. According to the “Highest annual revenue per user” indicator, food products will exceed the value for 2023 by 25% and personal care products by 9.4%.
Conclusions. Innovative technologies (e-marketplace, analysis of buyer profiles, omnichannel communication with consumers, m-trading, etc.) that contribute to the development of e-commerce and the interaction of these technologies and market needs are identified. The peculiarities of the Ukrainian e-commerce market during the war were established. Obstacles to the development of e-commerce and the opportunities that e-trading opens for Ukrainian entrepreneurs have been identified. The conditions that must be considered during the transition from retail trade to e-trading due to the challenges of war, which is especially important for small and medium-sized enterprises, are determined
Social Economy and the Transition Towards Circular Economy: a Survey Based Approach
Full text linkIntroduction. European social economy employment is 6.3% of the European Union's (EU) working population. In Romania and other recent EU member states, it is responsible for less than 2% of the total employment. The need for a precise legal and political concept of social economy and social enterprise confused the Romanian population and made their measurement easier. Both concepts have been increasingly employed in Romania since 2005, following the new EU policy approaches for social inclusion. Consequently, the social economy has grown significantly in recent years, with a diverse range of actors pursuing various social goals.
Aim and tasks. The paper aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the social economy in Romania by showing the activity types and their involvement in the circular economy transition and then by examining the social enterprises' social and economic performance.
Results. The creation of social value and social impact of social enterprises, the response of organisations to entrepreneurial change, and the level of risk-taking were substantiated. The way these aspects are correlated with performance was determined. A quantitative analysis of the social economy and transition towards a circular economy in Romania yielded the following main findings: i) more than half of the surveyed enterprises did not understand the concept of a circular economy, and ii) there was a strong statistically significant correlation (R=0.61) between social performance and environmental receptivity. The correlation between social and economic performance is statistically significant, with an average intensity (R=0.32). The correlation between economic performance and responsiveness to the environment was also statistically significant for medium-to-high intensity (R= 0.28).
Conclusions. The social economy puts social and democratic objectives into practice, whereas a circular economy is essential for a sustainable transition. Various actors operate in different industries and geographic areas in the Romanian social economy. Social economy actors aim to contribute to a more inclusive economy and equitable society, inspiring the government and private sector to demonstrate and implement more inclusive and sustainable practices. These practices cover decent labour, more education, and secure lives. Social innovation, defined as long-term solutions to social problems, is a critical way to build a circular society
Analysis of Reliability and Cost of Complex Systems with Metaheuristic Algorithms
Full text linkIntroduction. The assessment of the reliability and cost of complex systems, such as Complex Bridge Systems (CBS) and Life Support Systems in Space Capsules (LSSSC), is fascinating. To achieve the ideal system design through diverse constraints and increase overall system reliability, researchers have extensively explored system reliability and cost optimization problems. Hence, the significant advancement in metaheuristic methods is the primary source of further system reliability and cost optimization process refinement.
Aim and tasks. This research attempts to enhance the reliability and cost of complex systems named CBC and LSSSC has been presented.
Results. The structure is based on few recent metaheuristic techniques, such as Moth Flame Optimization (MFO), Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), Gazelle Optimization Algorithm (GOA), Dragonfly Algorithm (DA), and Coati Optimization Algorithm (COA). Comparing the acquired findings to those found in other proposed techniques demonstrates the usefulness of a methodology based on COA. The proposed COA algorithm exhibits enhanced efficiency by offering superior solutions to reliability and cost-optimization problems. In addition, a non-parametric Friedman ranking was performed for validation. The results of this research are based on improving the reliability of the parameters and decreasing complex systems’ costs used by the five metaheuristic methods. Observing the convergence graph, Friedman ranking, statistical results test, and tables determined that COA is the most effective algorithm for a complex system’s cost and reliability parameters compared to other existing approaches, and also provided a faster solution.
Conclusions. This study proposes unique ways to reduce costs while increasing parameter reliability in complex systems. After analysing the comparative solution, the authors found that when comparing these approaches (GOA, DA, MFO, WOA, and COA), the COA provided the best minimum solution for the cost and reliability of complex systems. Hence, the suggested COA procedure was more successful than that described in this study
Assessment of Consistency in the Functioning of Seaports of Ukraine
Full text linkIntroduction. Seaports in a state’s economies are the main levers of economic development, investment generators, and innovation demand. Modern trade ports are open systems that are influenced by many factors. During the last decades of globalization and innovative technologies, an essential factor in the competitiveness of seaports, such as the stability of the functioning of Ukraine, is gaining relevance. The improvement of port management is driven by the urgent need to apply innovative strategies and methods to ensure the development and efficiency of the port industry due to the impact of many factors affecting the stability and growth of the port system.
Aim and tasks. The aim of the study is to assess the influence of various factors on the consistency of the management system of the port industry.
Result. An algorithm for forming generalized stability indicators for the functioning system of the port industry is proposed. Using an entropy approach to the management indicators of the development of the port industry functioning system showed an increase in the indicators of the ship operations group by 1.07% and cargo operations by 1.01%, a decrease in the financial group by 1.65%, and a port environment by 1.30%. The application of the established approach and the defined sequence of relevant calculations will allow ports to respond sensitively to violations of the stability of their system both at the industry and individual port levels and to find answers for each group of selected influential indicators for the finance group, the ship and cargo operations group, and the port environment. The main difference between the proposed approach and the existing ones is the calculation of the overall level of functioning of the port management system, which is based on the accumulation of the values of the relevant integral indicators for groups of indicators such as finance, ship-cargo operations, and port environment.
Conclusions. The operation system of the port economy can be considered from the perspective of researching its various states, which are a consequence of the dynamics of the external environment. This allows us to use such a quality of entropy by considering the final nature of the management processes of the industry. This will help determine the nature of trends that can be considered in the future when forecasting the port industry’s development directions and when making relevant comparisons in the industry at the national and global levels
A Review of Green Business Negotiations and the Development of Sustainable Business Transitions
Full text linkIntroduction. Seeking consistency with the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals, business entities are transforming from “doing business as usual” to sustainable business practices. Businesses are encouraged to undergo a green transition process. Green business transitions form a specific context for business negotiations. The engagement of business entities in negotiations largely depends on the willingness of parties to find a solution for the contradictory interests of parties and to come up with a solution for the negotiation problem in the form of a joint decision.
Aim and tasks. The study aims to raise awareness of green thinking for a successful green business transition by using negotiations as a sustainable business practice. For businesses, the process of change that results in becoming successfully green is intertwined with negotiations, where parties strive to achieve outcomes complying with the green business transformation perspective and are constituted as sustainable business deals.
Results. This study justifies the need for a clear definition of green business negotiations and a framework that distinguishes them from conventional ones. Network maps of keyword searches do not reveal a clear link between negotiation and green business transition research. Although literature presents distinct theoretical models of negotiation and negotiation algorithms, they fail to establish cohesive research streams that could be categorized into clusters. This observation indicates that negotiation frameworks and green concepts exist independently in literature. VOSviewer tool was used to represent bibliometric relationships and co-occurrence in the literature visually. Exploration of the potential intersection between these areas is essential to clearly understand their interrelationships and implications for effective green business practices. Additionally, Barber’s Negotiation Phase Model demonstrates that the specific tasks and elements of green business negotiations are integral to all phases of the negotiation process. Understanding these elements can enhance the effectiveness of negotiations related to business sustainability.
Conclusions. The framework that integrates green business negotiation specifics into the Negotiation Phase model provides a nuanced understanding of green business negotiations, highlighting the importance of integrating environmental considerations at each stage of the negotiation process. Practitioners can enhance their strategies and outcomes by recognizing the distinct characteristics and requirements of green business negotiations, ultimately fostering more sustainable business practices. The findings emphasize that integrating green business negotiations within established negotiation frameworks is crucial for enhancing organizational strategies, promoting sustainability, and achieving effective outcomes in green business practice
Assessing Emotional Intelligence in Engineering Managers in Bulgaria and its Impact on Team Effectiveness
Full text linkIntroduction. Under the dynamic conditions of globalisation and increasing competition, modern organisations constantly seek to update their approaches to achieve efficiency and productivity in all activities. One of these approaches would be to build the emotional intelligence of the manager, which has an undeniable role in the work of a working team that achieves the set goals. Since the management of modern organisations aims to achieve efficiency in all aspects of their activities, the manager's emotional intelligence would directly affect the team's effectiveness in the organisation. It leads to a team construct, professional development of team members, and team leadership.
Aim and tasks. The study aims to assess the emotional intelligence of managers from the engineering industry in Bulgaria and prove its correlation with team effectiveness. The criteria and methods of team management and the evaluation of their effectiveness in industrial enterprises were studied. The tasks were to clarify the theoretical issues of the considered problem, to examine the emotional intelligence of managers practically, and to draw conclusions about the relationship between the emotional intelligence of managers and team effectiveness in the organisation.
Results. An overview analysis of the existing literature was conducted, and on this basis, the key criteria supporting the effective work of the team were derived. The emotional intelligence of middle-level management was investigated, and on this basis, the direct relationship between it and team effectiveness in the organisation was proven. The need for intervention in individual indicators to improve the team functioning of the organisation was determined based on a study of the emotional intelligence of managers. The development examined the criteria of Self-awareness, Self-management, Social awareness, and management of relationships in the team, relating to measuring the emotional intelligence of managers. The conclusions drawn are that in the surveyed enterprises, the main attention should be paid to the Social awareness criterion since the final results need to meet the modern requirements for businesses to address human resources from a social perspective.
Conclusions. Evaluating the team's performance helps eliminate weaknesses and strengthen its strengths. The team is motivated and committed to achieving the set goals when this assessment is adequate and timely. The identification of criteria, factors, methods, and team performance evaluation plays a key role in managerial decision-making, providing the key to the success of team functioning in the organisation
Assessing the Effectiveness of the Fiscal Policy Tools in Facilitating Inclusive Economic Growth
Full text linkIntroduction. Fiscal policy aims to promote economic growth and ensure inclusive growth in reaching low-income populations and benefit from economic activity. Therefore, fiscal policy instruments should be appropriately chosen to achieve inclusive growth. Maintaining the financial system's stability determines the critical role of fiscal policy, especially given its impact on economic growth and the reduction of income inequality. Therefore, it is crucial to identify targeted fiscal measures to promote economic development and reduce income inequality simultaneously.
Aim and tasks. This study investigates the effects of fiscal policy instruments on inclusive growth in several selected countries, including EU members and EU candidate countries. The analysis covers the period from 1996 to 2022, using a Bayesian VAR model to examine data on direct and indirect taxation and current and capital spending, with GDP per capita (or GDP growth) and the GINI index serving as the impact variables.
Results. The results indicate that capital spending positively affects GDP growth while reducing the GINI index, which causes inclusive growth but does not have an immediate impact. Current spending is a fiscal policy instrument that does not positively affect inclusive growth, as it does not promote economic growth but only increases income equality. Direct taxes increase GDP but do not always reduce the GINI index. As for indirect taxes, this policy instrument is frequently used for inclusive growth. It promotes economic growth, reduces the GINI index, and creates more equally distributed income among the population. Therefore, achieving inclusive economic growth is more feasible for the selected EU members and candidate countries through increased capital spending or indirect taxes.
Conclusions. The study found that indirect taxes can reduce income inequality with inclusive growth. Capital expenditures play a crucial role in the medium and long term in helping to achieve inclusive economic growth in a country. For developing countries, direct taxes and capital expenditures can effectively achieve inclusive growth. In contrast, developed countries can achieve similar results using a combination of tax measures and expenditures
Multi-Criteria Analysis Techniques to Assess the Efficiency of Using Blockchain in Logistics
Full text linkIntroduction. In complex areas of supply chain management and logistics, there is a need to use innovative solutions to improve economic efficiency, which is particularly important in the context of evolving digital technologies. The solution to the supply chain management problem is based on the use of multicriteria analysis methods to assess the efficiency of implementing modern information technologies in purchase procedures, such as blockchain technology, on the flexibility of the supply chain.
Aim and tasks. The study aims to examine the effects of blockchain to the adaptability of supply chains, its transparency, and the trust levels among its participants.
Results. The developed multi-criteria analysis tool provides the ability to specify weighting coefficients individually for each of the evaluated criteria, making it possible to consider a particular company's priorities within the framework of the optimised process. A survey of experts who knew the subject area under study was conducted to obtain the data necessary for analysis. This can provide expert opinions to assess the feasibility of certain alternatives when making decisions. The assessment conducted by experts revealed three main effects of blockchain and smart contracts on business: increasing the reliability of stored information, increasing the integrity of stored information, and integrating various information flows into a single information system.
Conclusions. The developed multi-criteria analysis tool allows for the specification of weighting factors, or “preferences”, for each of the examined criteria. This feature allows for considering a company’s priorities within the context of the process being improved. Blockchain and smart contracts offer key benefits in streamlining logistics procedures, primarily by bolstering the trust and dependability of the data storage system by creating local copies of data for each participant in the chain and improving data quality by integrating data from various sources into a single blockchain platform. In addition, it increases data security and minimises the risk of falsification because of the impossibility of making unauthorised changes to the database (at the current stage of system development) and the high degree of information integrity ensured by its distributed storage
Investigating the Key Drivers in the Transition to Sustainable Hydrogen Transportation Fuel
Full text linkIntroduction. Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier that can achieve net-zero carbon emissions and decrease fossil fuel dependency. However, the importance of the driving forces in hydrogen adaptation and acceptance during the transition to this technology should be emphasised. When assessing hydrogen as a sustainable transportation fuel, defining the success criteria is vital to comprehend the benefits of hydrogen in the transition process. The transport sector is a priority area for the transition to zero emissions, which requires an understanding of the links between the key drivers of hydrogen adoption in transportation.
Aim and tasks. This study aims to identify the key drivers of the hydrogen transition and explore the relationship between the transition drivers to hydrogen as a sustainable transport fuel based on a comprehensive literature review and an interpretative structural modelling approach to determine the relationship between the above-mentioned key drivers.
Results. This study identified key drivers for the transition to hydrogen as a sustainable transport fuel using the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach. This study examines the potential of hydrogen transition, analyses the driving forces, and examines their interrelationships in terms of driving force and dependent force. The role of technological development and transition awareness in achieving the SDGs is revealed. Robust regulatory agendas and supportive strategies, Workforce development and training based on hydrogen deployment, and Industry partnerships and collaboration are the most fundamental drivers for achieving the transition to hydrogen as a sustainable transport fuel. In addition, the advancement of hydrogen technologies in production, storage, and transportation, as well as hydrogen production and use, aligns with environmental aims, which are key factors that depend mainly on the actions of other driving forces. However, the limitations of this study include subjectivity and potential differences in the driving forces across countries and sectors.
Conclusions. The deployment of green hydrogen transition for a clean energy source is critical in carbon-intensive sectors of the economy, which are characterised by key drivers and their interlinkages, such as regulatory strategies, workforce development, and industry partnerships. This has increased the flexibility of energy systems with the collaboration of the stakeholders for developing hydrogen technologies and infrastructure, considering the environmental safety, economic efficiency, and social acceptability of hydrogen
Digitalization Management in the Corporate Banking Sector of Ukraine
Full text linkIntroduction. Digitalization in trendy banking services requires changing their relationships with corporate clients within the framework of an individual approach to each client in the context of the development of the latest information and communication technologies and Internet marketing. Therefore, improving the business customer service system based on innovative technologies in banks to increase their competitiveness and profitability remains relevant.
Aim and tasks. This study aims to examine the trends in banks’ service of corporate clients in the context of the latest financial technology development and to determine the directions for forming a digitalization strategy in corporate banking in Ukraine.
Results. The growth of corporate clients in the banking system of Ukraine in 2022-2024 became possible due to the digitalization of management and the implementation of electronic payment systems, which contributed to the growth in the number of open accounts, which increased by 27%, while the growth of remote servicing increased from 78% to 89% of business clients. The top 10 banks in Ukraine account for 75% of the funds in corporate clients’ accounts. Along with high reliability, the clients of these banks have come to value the digital services that banks provide that meet global standards. As a result of the growth in the volume of banking services provided to corporate clients in 2023 using digital technologies, the volume of fee and commission income of the Ukrainian banking system increased by 13% compared to 2022.
Conclusions. The banking system of Ukraine is in the process of digital transformation that promotes the transformation of financial institutions into high-tech platforms capable of creating new algorithms for generating profit from digital technologies. Implementing digital transformation in the banking sector increases the number of banks` corporate clients and their satisfaction with banking products and services. This leads to an increase in the efficiency of banking activities and banks’ profitability through increased commission income. The forecasting of commission income of Ukraine’s banking system conducted in this study showed that further introduction of digitalization into corporate banking could contribute to their growth by at least 8% annually