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Choice of burial. A coffin or an urn?
The aim of the article is to investigate a reason why the traditional burial of dead people to coffins is more common in Poland than cremation bodies to urns. It has an influence for savings, mainly in use of the cemetery land, because space in the Polish cemeteries is decreasing due to a large number of the traditional burials. Therefore, the research analysis was formulated that namely changes in the area have been observed during the last twenty years of the 21st century and the forecasts indicate that it will be changing by moving away from the traditional burial in favour for the urn burial. To prove such formulated the research hypothesis a number of legal-organizational, religious, cultural and etc. conditions must be considered and examined. It has been tried to highlight all the conditions in the article
The importance of the capital market in China
The purpose of the publication was to analyze the significance of the functioning capital market in China over a long period of time. The paper discusses the basic models of financial systems, measures of capital market development, as well as the specifics of the functioning of the capital market in China. Then, an analysis of selected financial indicators of the financial market (including the capital market) of China against the market of the United States was made. Statistical data obtained from the following databases were used to conduct the analysis: Financial Structure Database and Global Financial Development Database. These were annual data from 1992 to 2021
The impact of crowdsourcing and user-driven innovation on R&D departments’ innovation activity: Application of multivariate correspondence analysis
Research background: In enterprise practices, innovation management is taking on more and more open forms. New, creative sources of inspiration are being sought. More and more companies are opening up to cooperation with external people or entities, thus entering a path of open innovation and crowdsourcing. This development is facilitated by increasingly large numbers of online and virtual communities. The idea is to use the potential of the crowd — collective intelligence and creativity. As the strategy is still developing, knowledge in this area is limited. There is a paucity of research on the impact of crowdsourcing on R&D departments and their innovative activities.
Purpose of the article: The study aims to determine whether the use of customer support in the form of crowdsourcing affects the innovative activities of R&D departments that implement user-driven innovation (UDI).
Methods: An original questionnaire was used for the study. Fifty-seven R&D departments in Poland participated in the research. A correspondence analysis, performed on the basis of the Burt matrix, was applied for the analysis. The authors also used Cramer\u27s V correlation coefficients. Examination of the acquired correlation coefficients reveals the existence of four distinct categories of enterprises regarding the usage of crowdsourcing and implementation of product innovations, completed R&D projects, employment in R&D departments, and percentage of revenue allocating in R&D works.
Findings & value added: Research has shown that R&D departments positively evaluate the effects of using UDI in market research analyses of customer purchasing behavior. It helps to create or improve products or services offered on the market, especially in the field of customization, using the information from national research and development units at the same time. Their purpose is mainly to increase the product range. The findings can help academics and practitioners improve the body of knowledge about the determinants of innovation activity, especially concerning relationships with customers and user-driven innovation practices
Governance challenges and strategic opportunities for implementing circular economy in greenhouse horticulture: A case study from the Netherlands
Research background: Circular economy is promoted as a sustainable and efficient economic model in all industries. In the European agricultural sector, and particularly in greenhouse horticulture, its implementation presents both substantial opportunities and significant challenges that must be addressed effectively. The European Union\u27s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has the potential to act as a critical catalyst for the adoption of circular economy through its subsidy and support mechanisms. However, progress remains constrained by a lack of comprehensive information on how governance can effectively advance circular economy in different countries and sectors. This gap persists due to the failure to identify several key aspects, and current CAP mechanisms do not adequately address these issues, thereby limiting their effectiveness in promoting a circular economy.
Purpose of the article: To identify key government actors influencing the implementation of circular economy in Dutch greenhouse horticulture, assess the transformative potential of their initiatives and evaluate factors that hinder or facilitate progress.
Methods: A review of the scientific literature, application of the Governance Assessment Tool (GAT), and validation of the results by key stakeholders involved.
Findings & value added: By applying the GAT, this article offers a detailed assessment of the governance dimensions affecting the implementation of circular economy in greenhouse horticulture in the Netherlands. The research reveals that effective governance is crucial for coordinating and collaborating among various involved stakeholders, such as producers, cooperatives, and auxiliary industries. The challenges highlighted include the lack of consensus among market actors and the need for more coherent policies. Currently, strategic opportunities are identified to improve implementation, such as strengthening public policies and promoting investments in sustainable technologies. Evaluation of these governance dimensions allows for determining where to focus time and resources to advance the implementation of circular economy, transforming current limitations into opportunities to support and enhance the transition process
Factors determining the implementation of corporate social responsibility in the SME segment in the V4 region
Research background: Although experts emphasise the indisputable importance and influence of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the economy, many authors highlight the need for further development of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept within the context of SMEs. Most empirical studies focus on the perception of CSR from the perspective of customers, employees, or other stakeholders, while the perspective of entrepreneurs remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the article: This study aims to identify and quantify the impact of selected factors, such as business ethics (BE), human resource management (HRM), financial management (FM), and environmental aspects (EA), on the willingness of SMEs to implement CSR in the V4 region.
Methods: The attitudes of SME owners and top managers of SMEs were examined using computer-assisted web interviews. Data were collected in June 2022 from a sample of 1,396 SMEs within the V4 region. Quantitative methods, including factor analysis and structural equation modelling, were used to evaluate the hypotheses.
Findings & value added: All examined factors, including BE, FM, HRM, and EA, are significant determinants that positively influence the level of CSR implementation in the SME segment. Among these, the perceptions of owners and top managers regarding EAs exert the most substantial positive impact on CSR implementation, followed by HRM and FM, each with a moderately positive effect. BE has the least positive impact on CSR. These findings contribute valuable insights that can inform the effective implementation of CSR and offer practical implications for academics, institutions supporting SMEs, and policymakers
Artificial intelligence: Financial management under pressure of transformative technology
Can I trust my AI friend? The role of emotions, feelings of friendship and trust for consumers\u27 information-sharing behavior toward AI
Research background: AI devices and robots play an increasingly important role in consumers’ everyday life, by accompanying the consumer all day long. This presence has several utilitarian and social benefits, but at the same time the optimal functioning of AI requires personal information from the consumer.
Purpose of the article: Starting from the premise that people share more information with friends, we have tested empirically whether an emotional behavior of AI can evoke the same emotions in the relationship between consumers and their AI devices, leading to a higher self-disclosing behavior.
Methods: To validate the proposed hypotheses, three mediation models were tested using structural equation modelling in Smart-PLS 3.3.3, based on data collected with the help of an online survey.
Findings & value added: We prove empirically that AI’s emotional behavior can increase consumers’ trust, it can evoke feelings of friendship and it can determine a higher perceived control over the shared private information, thus leading to lower perceived threats regarding the consumers’ vulnerability and exposure related to sharing of private data. These results have important implications for designing consumer-AI interactions
SMEs sustainability: The role of human resource management, corporate social responsibility and financial management
Research background: The sustainability of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represents a significant scientific and professional problem in the current turbulent period because these enterprises play an important role in any country’s economic and social systems.
Purpose of the article: This paper aimed to define the significant sustainability factors of small and medium-sized enterprises and to quantify their impact and importance on the sustainability of SMEs. The areas of Human Resource Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and financial management were defined as significant sustainability factors.
Methods: Empirical research, on which the scientific hypotheses were formulated and evaluated, was conducted in June 2022 in V4 countries (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, and Hungary) using a structured questionnaire. The study accumulated a sample of 1398 respondents. Data collection was conducted through an external agency, MN FORCE, operating in Central European countries. The Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) method was used to record respondents’ perceptions. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and linear regression analysis were used to evaluate the hypotheses.
Findings & value added: The research showed that all defined factors in the areas of Human resource management (HRM), Corporate social responsibility (CSR), and financial management of the firm had an impact on defined sustainability attributes. The greatest impact was found on the firm’s financial management, followed by CSR and HRM. The empirical results confirm that the intensity of the independent variables varies across the V4 countries. These results also show that the intensity of the selected HRM, CSR, and financial management factors of a firm is higher in the integrated models than in the models for individual V4 countries. The research results have shown that a range of factors determine the right attitude towards the sustainability of companies. In this context, economic policymakers and entrepreneurs must perceive sustainable growth as complex and apply a systemic approach to its design and implementation
The impact of digital finance and financial inclusion on banking stability: International evidence
Research background: Achieving a jointly stable and inclusive financial system represents an important pillar of the call for action among Sustainable Development Goals. Considerable attention from previous research has been given to traditional financial inclusion (FI) and its implications on financial stability and overall development, but the findings are mixed. Furthermore, there is limited evidence related to the implications of digital financial inclusion on banking system stability. Therefore, the present study tends to address two main research questions, as follows: Can traditional financial inclusion protect banking stability? Can digital finance inclusion become a new driving force to promote banking stability?
Purpose of the article: The paper aims to assess the influence of both traditional and digital financial inclusiveness on banking stability, using quantile regression, across a panel of 81 countries. We also examine the potential transmission channels through which financial inclusiveness influences banking stability.
Methods: We construct three different financial inclusion indices, which capture the degree of access and usage of financial services, based on a three-stage Principal Component Analysis. Next, based on quantile analysis, we test the role of these financial inclusion indices in shaping banking stability.
Findings & value added: We provide international evidence on the non-linear relationship between traditional and digital FI and banking stability, respectively. Our empirical findings suggest that FI indices are negatively related to banking stability until a certain threshold, after which, increases in financial inclusiveness have a positive effect on banking stability. The magnitude of the impact is more sizeable for low-range quantiles, meaning that the effect of digital inclusiveness is more pronounced in countries with excessive risk-taking tendencies. We find support for operational efficiency transmission channels and uncover new evidence on the association between digital FI and banking stability
Integrating sustainability in the economics curriculum: Challenges and impact on future decision-makers
Research background: Scientific evidence has shown the impact of environmental degradation on human well-being, demanding that political and economic decision-makers address the challenge of reversing this process. In this context, the economic education provided to future policymakers and business managers is crucial, because it can accelerate or impede the transition towards sustainability. What is taught in university economic courses, particularly introductory ones, shapes the ideas and the worldview of economic agents, influencing the decisions they will take in their professional activities.
Purpose of the article: The main objective of this paper is to determine how sustainability is addressed in introductory economics courses, where the foundations of the discipline are laid. Specifically, the goal is to uncover what ideas are conveyed about sustainability in these courses, how they are taught, and whether there have been any changes in the last decades.
Methods: Text Mining and Reflexive Thematic Analysis are applied to examine data from university syllabi and the most commonly used economic textbooks through the lens of a deconstruction of the complex concept of sustainability.
Findings & value added: The main contribution of this paper is a proposal for a deconstruction of the complex concept of sustainability that guides the empirical analysis. The results reveal that sustainability is practically absent from introductory economics courses; notably, no progress has been made on ethical issues or in addressing the impact of nature and environmental degradation on human well-being. Moreover, certain conceptions and models that work against the understanding of sustainability are conveyed in the most used textbooks. Although the role of economics discipline in understanding sustainability and in designing and implementing policies for an equitable sustainable transition is key, the teaching of economics offers resistance to change, remaining part of the problem of unsustainability. The integration of sustainability into the university economic courses still represents a major challenge with implications for future decision-makers