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This paper explores the factors potentially responsible for the overconsumption of office paper and estimates the adverse environmental and economic impact of overconsumption. Data were collected from the employees of selected higher educational institutions in Oman. Technical factors, workplace environment, printing preferences and lack of awareness were found the main cause of overconsumption. Environmental and economic impact of the paper was estimated from the actual amount of paper consumed using standard formulas from literature. The institutions have used 5,200 reams (13 tons) of 80gm A4 size paper in one year. The economic cost of the paper was 7,800 OMR (20,280 US$). The environmental impact estimated are: cutting of 312 trees, 73,970 Ibs of CO2 gas emission, 144,742 KWh of energy consumption, solid waste produced 29,614 lbs and 247975 gallons of water were wasted. Changing printing preferences, a significant amount of economic and environmental resources to the tune of 44.8% can be saved.

Bibliometrics is the quantitative study of bibliographic information. It classifies the information according to different criteria including authors, journals, institutions and countries. This paper presents a general bibliometric overview of the most influential research in business & economics according to the information found in the Web of Science. It includes research from different subcategories including business, business finance, economics and management. For doing so, four general lists are presented: the 50 most cited papers in business & economics of all time, the 40 most influential journals, the 40 most relevant institutions and the most influential countries. The results permit to obtain a general picture of the most significant research in business & economics. This information is very useful in order to identify the leading trends in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SWOT analysis is the process of exploring the internal and external environments of an organization and extracting convenient strategies based on its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This paper presents a literature review of SWOT analysis, based on a reference bank of about 557 papers established through searching various databases. This paper reviews papers that have been published up to the end of 2009. The origination and historical development of SWOT are explained first, followed by a survey on trends & classifications in SWOT papers including journals, countries, years, people & contents. Then a categorical analysis is conducted about application area and scope of SWOT. Also a methodological development of SWOT is discussed. Finally, concluding remarks and a few suggestions and challenges are presented for future studies. It is hoped that the paper can serve the needs of researchers and practitioners for easy references of SWOT studies and applications, and hence promote SWOT future development. Santrauka Straipsnyje nagrinejama SSGG metodologijos samprata, apibudinama kaip vidines ir išorines aplinkos tyrimas, pagristas silpnybiu, stiprybiu, galimybiu ir gresmiu identifikavimu. Pateiktoji SSGG analizes literaturos apžvalga yra pagrista 557 straipsniu, pateiktu ivairiose duomenu bazese, analize. Visi nagrineti straipsniai buvo publikuoti 2009 m. Pristatoma SSGG istorine raida, aiškinami tyrimai ir kryptys, klasifikacija, žurnalai, kuriuose publikuojami tokio pobudžio straipsniai, šalys, metai, autoriai, kontekstas, pritaikomumas ir ju sritys. Analizuojama SSGG metodologine raida. Straipsnio pabaigoje pateikiamos išvados ir busimu tyrimu gaires. Reikšminiai žodžiai: SSGG, žurnalu apžvalga, praeitis, strateginis planavimas, strategija

Tenors like "bring in the arts and get the creativity for free" have attracted business practitioners and researchers, and this "intersection" of business and arts has developed into a study field. Metaphorical learning from arts involves musical, also theatrical, and terpsichorean improvisation. Not surprisingly, several subfields in business - entrepreneurship, project, process, and service management - as well as other business and non-business fields - have been "jazzed". Another strengthening trend is linking different (sub)fields and fostering mutual learning. The paper seeks for novel possibilities to learn from jazz and to support further mutual learning and linking of disserted business, also non-business fields. Nowadays traditional business models and services are moving towards problem-solving and adaptation to change, implementing creativity and improvisation. Taking a fresh stock of relevant academic literature and discussion revealed the increasing importance of organizational improvisation. Jazz (music and arts) appeared to be a fruitful metaphor and source of learning. As differences appeared across the examined fields, possibilities for learning from jazz, as well as for mutual learning are not yet depleted. This paper provides insights to further learning from the jazz approach, as well as mutual learning and enrichment between the examined subfields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of whether the construction of the highway network is economical and can produce positive economic benefits has been a hot topic of discussion in recent years. Previous scholars have explored the impact from multiple perspectives. Our paper draws the “trade potential” model proposed by Armstrong, based on the universal gravity model and the principle of space interaction, which is different from the traffic accessibility, market potential, and market access used in most of the literature. We argue that it is more appropriate to consider both the size impact and the time distance or trade cost impact of the two cities. The paper constructs a conceptual framework and theoretical model for the impact of highways on regional economic growth, measures the “minimum transit time” of highways between prefecture-level cities in China, and calculates the trade potential of prefecture-level cities. Through corresponding empirical model testing, we have obtained some meaningful conclusions. First published online 17 September 2024

Increasing concerns for ensuring a sustainable future generated an imperative need to shift toward a circular economy and sustainable innovations. In this framework, eco-innovation becomes essential for achieving sustainable development. The main purpose of this paper is to focus on a more in-depth, original revealing of the influence of eco-innovation on countries’ sustainable development. Thus, five eco-innovation dimensions, components of the Eco-Innovation Index, are considered for a complete approach. This paper first explores the interaction of the five dimensions within the Eco-Innovation Index. Further, the paper analyses the cumulative effects of the five Eco-Innovation Index dimensions on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals components defined by the United Nations. Considering a panel data set of 189 values for the EU27 Member States for seven years and applying the Structural Equation Model (SEM), this paper emphasizes that only three out of five dimensions perform significantly in the Eco-Innovation Index. Moreover, it proved that the Eco-Innovation Index dimensions contribute to achieving 11 of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). Also, the results highlight that significant relationships were revealed only between certain Eco-Innovation Index dimensions and some SDG components. This paper’s conclusions contribute to a deeper understanding of gaining sustainable development through eco-innovation.

The prospective arrival of transformative artificial intelligence (TAI) will be a filter for the human civilization – a threshold beyond which it will either strongly accelerate its growth, or vanish. Historical evidence on technological progress in AI capabilities and economic incentives to pursue it suggest that TAI will most likely be developed in just one to four decades. In contrast, theoretical problems of AI alignment, needed to be solved in order for TAI to be “friendly” towards humans rather than cause our extinction, appear difficult and impossible to solve by mechanically increasing the amount of compute. This means that transformative AI poses an imminent existential risk to the humankind which ought to be urgently addressed. Starting from this premise, this paper provides new economic perspectives on discussions surrounding the issue: whether addressing existential risks is cost effective and fair towards the contemporary poor, whether it constitutes “Pascal’s mugging”, how to quantify risks that have never materialized in the past, how discounting affects our assessment of existential risk, and how to include the prospects of upcoming singularity in economic forecasts. The paper also suggests possible policy actions, such as ramping up public funding on research on existential risks and AI safety, and improving regulation of the AI sector, preferably within a global policy framework. First published online 10 July 2024

As a new engine to promote global economic and social development, information and communication technology (ICT) plays a key role in the field of modern economy. The aim of this paper is to investigate the nexus between ICT and green total factor productivity (GTFP) on a global scale. An extended data envelopment analysis model (DEA), named WINDOWS-US-SBM, was constructed for calculating the GTFP of 65 countries from 2007 to 2019. This paper empirically analyzes the spatial effect and the transmission mechanism of ICT development on GTFP in countries from different income groups. The results show a prominent imbalance between ICT development and GTFP in various countries. ICT can effectively improve GTFP and play a crucial role in lower middle-income countries. The development of ICT can improve GTFP through technological progress, energy intensity, and trade openness. This paper is helpful to provide policy guidance for the development of ICT and give a new perspective of global green development. First published online 20 May 2024

The Circular Economy (CE) is receiving more attention, especially in Industry 4.0 (I4.0). In the face of several ambiguous and uncertain information, fuzzy techniques based on Fuzzy Set Theory (FST) are essential for developing CE strategies. This paper uses bibliometric methods to analyze the characteristics of the authors, nations/regions, institutions of the literature of FST and CE, and the collaborations relations between them, and then summarize the literature on fuzzy techniques in the CE and identify the specific role that FST can play in each stage of CE, its primary effects on the CE’s pre-preparation stage, design and production stage, and recycling and reuse stage. Meanwhile, the paper explores the advantages of I4.0 technologies for CE and analyzes the research on the role of fuzzy techniques based on FST for CE and I4.0 technologies. Last but not least, this paper is concluded by summarizing the knowledge gained from the bibliometric and content analyses of the literature and suggesting further research directions of investigation. This research will draw attention to FST’s contribution and encourage its advancement in CE and I4.0 technologies.

The issue of pensions has become increasingly topical. This paper presents the ordered weighted averaging real average pension (OWARAP) operator. The OWARAP operator is based on the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator and calculates the future average retirement benefit taking into account price changes. Moreover, this work extends the OWARAP operator by using order-inducing variables, generalized means, and probabilities. This paper ends by analyzing the applicability of the OWARAP operator and its extensions in forecasting the real average Social Security benefits for retired workers in each state of the United States (U.S.). The results demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed approach in retirement decision making. First published online 30 April 2024

The paper explores the impact of digital transformation (DT) on new business creation in the case of European Union member states over the period 2015–2020 by employing several econometric techniques such as Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and quantile regression (QR). The results of OLS regression indicate a positive and significant link between DT and entrepreneurial activity. However, the quantile regression results highlight a parameter heterogeneity in the effect of DT on entrepreneurial activity. Furthermore, the magnitude of the impact is greater at the higher size quantiles of the new business density distribution. Overall, the empirical findings highlight the key role of DT in developing public policies aimed to spur entrepreneurial activity. Thus, this paper brings significant contributions to the extant literature on the macro determinants of firm creation.

Artificial Intelligence is a disruptive technology developed during the 20th century, which has undergone an accelerated evolution, underpinning solutions to complex problems in the business world. Neural Networks, Machine Learning, or Deep Learning are concepts currently associated with terms such as digital marketing, decision making, industry 4.0 and business digital transformation. Interest in this technology will increase as the competitive advantages of the use of Artificial Intelligence by economic entities is realised. The aim of this research is to analyse the state-of-the-art research of Artificial Intelligence in business. To this end, a bibliometric analysis has been implement using the Web of Science and Scopus online databases. By using a fractional counting method, this paper identifies 11 clusters and the most frequent terms used in Artificial Intelligence research. The present study identifies the main trends in research on Artificial Intelligence in business and proposes future lines of inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out a methodological framework for identifying and mitigating unemployment problems in different regions. The study is based on the 2020 and 2023 Latvian Unemployment Surveys. The study includes a comprehensive review of the relevant scientific literature, policy and regulatory frameworks, the development of a multilevel research methodology and tools, an analysis of the research results, in-depth discussions of the identified problems in the context of existing scientific knowledge, and a set of key conclusions and proposed measures to address these problems. By structuring the paper in this way, it offers a holistic and systematic approach to understanding and addressing regional unemployment problems. The study contributes to the ongoing dialogue on regional economic disparities and highlights opportunities for more inclusive, sustainable and equitable labour markets.

Recently, sustainable economic performance (SEP) has been the foremost requirement due to uncertainty of the economy and environment. This issue needs best practices and governance and also needs researchers’ focus. Thereby, the paper aims to assess green supply chain (SC) practices, green SC governance and their role in the achievement of SEP in the manufacturing sector of China. The paper also attempts to explore the moderating effect of organizational support in proposed framework. PLS-SEM model was employed to test model’s reliability and validity. The very same method has applied to test the linkage among outlined constructs. Obtained results confirms the moderating impact of organizational support among traditional governance, relational governance and the achievement of SEP in the manufacturing industry in China. This article provides guidelines to the regulators in developing policies related to the achievement of SEP using green SC practices and governance.

Social sustainability is a global necessity because of environmental and economic uncertainty. This issue needs the foremost solution, and for this purpose, researchers’ and policymakers’ emphasis is required. Thereby, the present paper investigates sustainable energy technologies such as solar and hydroelectric, eco-innovation and EG and their impact on social sustainability in China. The study also used industrialization and inflation as the control variables in the time span of 1981 to 2020. The present study also applied the Dynamic Auto-regressive Distributed Lags (DARDL) model to evaluate the association between the outlined variables. The results indicated that sustainable energy technologies such as solar and hydroelectric, eco-innovation, economic growth, industrialization and inflation are significantly associated with social sustainability in China. The present paper offers standard policies to regulators in making regulations related to maintaining social sustainability by using effective sustainable energy technologies and eco-innovation.

The paper aims to examine individuals’ behavior at work and/or in college, by placing the focus on employability, proactiveness and socioeconomic status as predictors. The paper’s objectives are threefold: (1) to examine if there is a causal relationship between employability and proactive personality of individuals and their citizenship or deviant behavior at work and/or in college; (2) to understand the extent to which socioeconomic status influences individuals’ citizenship or deviant behavior at work and/or in college; and (3) to determine the mediation role of socioeconomic status in the causal relationship between employability and proactiveness and individuals’ behaviors. Linear regression models were employed to test the predictive power of the variables once a causal relationship had been confirmed. Mediation tests were used to quantify the extent to which a variable participated in known causal relationships. The research reports results based on data collected from 534 university business students in Romania. The results confirm that employability and proactiveness predict workplace behavior, and that socioeconomic status mediates this relationship.

This paper provides a conceptual architecture for a cloud based platform design, that implements continuously data storage and analysis services for large maritime ships, with the purpose to provide valuable insights for maritime transportation business. We do this by first identifying the need on the shipping market for such kind of systems and also the significance and impact of different factors related to shipping business processes. The architecture presented throughout this paper will be defined around some of the most currently used ICT technologies, like Amazon Cloud Services, Sql Server Databases, .NET Platform, Matlab 2016 or JavaScript visualization libraries. The proposed system makes possible for a maritime company to gain more knowledge for optimizing the efficiency of its operations, to increase its financial benefits and its competitive advantage. The platform architecture was designed to make possible the storage and manipulation of very large datasets, also allowing the possibility of using different data mining techniques for inferring knowledge or to validate already existent models. Ultimately, the developed methodology and the presented outcomes demonstrate a vast potential of creating better technological management systems for the shipping industry, starting from the challenges but also from the huge opportunities this sector can offer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the 4th Industrial Revolution technology, the digitalization of supply chain is also receiving a lot of attention. With various technological developments, the importance of digital transformation in a firm’s supply chain is increasing. Therefore, for a more comprehensive understanding of digital transformation in supply chain, we have implemented a rigorous systematic literature review by supplementing the shortcomings of existing literature and combining bibliometric analysis and network analysis with keyword network analysis. Using the SCOPUS database, we collected 182 papers addressing digital transformation in the supply chain published in renowned business administration journals, identified research trends. Then, we analyzed the connection of citations as well as the author’s keywords and their changes over time. Based on these results, this study presents the number of publications and changes in papers by period, influential authors and papers, key keywords and topics, etc. on digital transformation in supply chain. First published online 10 January 2024

The current empirical literature shows that logistics plays a vital role in increasing the total volume of international trade. However, there is scarce literature on the impact of logistics performance on global value chain trade. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of logistics performance on global value chain trade, measured by the value-added exports. The empirical specification of this paper is based on the structural gravity model of international trade. The analysis is based on biennial panel data on bilateral trade flows for the EU-15, CEE, and the Western Balkans and covers the period from 2010 to 2018. The model is estimated with a Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood Estimator. The results show that logistics performance appears to have significant positive effects on global value chain trade and that the logistics performance of the partner country plays a more critical role than the logistics performance of the reporting country. Institutional quality matters greatly for global value chain trade. Individual differences in the observed variables were found between selected groups of countries. The need to improve logistics performance and invest in knowledge and technology will help countries improve in value chains, along with adequate institutional support.

Tenors like “bring in the arts and get the creativity for free” have attracted business practitioners and researchers, and this “intersection” of business and arts has developed into a study field. Metaphorical learning from arts involves musical, also theatrical, and terpsichorean improvisation. Not surprisingly, several subfields in business – entrepreneurship, project, process, and service management – as well as other business and non-business fields – have been “jazzed”. Another strengthening trend is linking different (sub)fields and fostering mutual learning. The paper seeks for novel possibilities to learn from jazz and to support further mutual learning and linking of disserted business, also non-business fields. Nowadays traditional business models and services are moving towards problem-solving and adaptation to change, implementing creativity and improvisation. Taking a fresh stock of relevant academic literature and discussion revealed the increasing importance of organizational improvisation. Jazz (music and arts) appeared to be a fruitful metaphor and source of learning. As differences appeared across the examined fields, possibilities for learning from jazz, as well as for mutual learning are not yet depleted. This paper provides insights to further learning from the jazz approach, as well as mutual learning and enrichment between the examined subfields.

High-quality innovation is an inevitable requirement for high-quality economic development, and an accurate grasp of the regional distribution characteristics of the level of high-quality innovation development (HQID) can better understand and simulate high-quality innovation. This paper constructs a dataset of high-value inventions based on the Chinese patent database using textual analysis methods and the criteria for High-Quality Inventions proposed by the State Intellectual Property Office, and explores inter-provincial variability and convergence by using the Theil index, convergence, and convergence. This paper finds that High-Quality Inventions are significantly and positively correlated with various indicators measuring the quality and value of patents. In general, the overall level of HQID is on an upward trend with clear differences among provinces, which shows a regional unbalanced but overall rapid development. From the regional differences of HQID, the regional differences of HQID have been narrowed, mainly within the region. In terms of the convergence of HQID, convergence, absolute convergence, conditional convergence, and club convergence exist nationally and within each region, which indicates that the gap between the national and regional levels of HQID has been narrowing over time. HQID has a positive promotion effect on the relationship between HQID and economic growth, economic growth rate, and total factor productivity. High-quality innovation can improve the quality of input factors, cultivate new dynamic energy for economic development, and then promote high-quality economic development. In the context of the shift of IP work from pursuing quantity to improving quality, the scientific understanding of high-quality innovation, the development status, and the differences of regional innovation high-quality development is of great significance for improving innovation quality and efficiency, and effectively supporting high-quality economic development.

This paper analyses the recent evolution of the electricity price of one of the EastEuropean countries’ Balancing Markets (BM) – Romania, aiming to understand the prices trend and predict them in the current economic and geopolitical context. This is especially important as the electricity producers have to allocate their output between wholesale electricity market, ancillary services markets and BM targeting to maximize value and achieve a sustainable economic development. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an AI-powered electricity price forecast using several types of standout Machine Learning (ML) algorithms such as classifiers and regressors to predict the electricity price on BM. This approach, consisting of two steps, identifies the imbalance sign and significantly enhances the performance of the price forecast. The proposed method offers valuable insights into the market participants’ trading opportunities using two prediction solutions. The first prediction solution consists of averaging the results of five ensemble ML algorithms. The second one consists in weighting the results of the five forecasting ML algorithms using either a linear regression or a decision tree algorithm. Thus, we propose to combine supervised and unsupervised ML algorithms and find the fundamentals for creating optimal bidding strategies for electricity market players. First published online 14 November 2023

This paper explores the variation pattern of nickel futures prices using the daily closing levels of the nickel futures price index of the London Futures Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The data coarse-graining method is employed to transform the continuous time series data of price index changes into symbols {P, N, M}, which are slid through continuous windows to form the modalities of price index linkage fluctuations. By treating the modalities as nodes and the transformations between them as edges, a weighted directed complex network is constructed to represent the linked volatility of the LME and SHFE nickel futures indices time series. The complex network is applied to analyse the network characteristics and obtain the inner pattern of the linked fluctuations. The results show that the complex network of time series linked volatility of the LME and SHFE nickel futures indices exhibits a power-law nature, with closely linked subgroups formed within it. And the mode transitions within these subgroups follow certain patterns. This paper also identifies core positioned modes and important intermediate modes that reflect the dynamics of nickel prices in reality. The method presented in this paper may be extended to related fields and has good applicability.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant worldwide decrease in the number of passengers using bus transport in recent years. This phenomenon was caused by travelers’ fears of this disease, and at the same time, people started working from home. The aim of the paper is to analyze the importance of marketing and marketing strategies for bus companies. From our point of view, marketing is a tool for making bus transport more attractive for passengers. For the purposes of this post, we focus on customer perceptions of marketing and marketing strategies. We found that customers prefer Internet advertising the most, and the second most preferred type of advertising is print advertising. Their proposals in the subject area are also based on other findings that we dealt with in the survey. We investigated the motivation of passengers to use public transport, their opinion about the transport company in the Zilina region, and whether they use modern tools such as e-shops, virtual cards, and similar. As part of the papers processing, we used the questionnaire survey method, conducted a statistical evaluation of established hypotheses, and conducted a structured interview with the management of the bus company. From our point of view, it is marketing based on managerial experience and customer preferences that can be beneficial for the overall attractiveness of bus transport and, at the same time, significantly contribute to increasing the competitiveness of these businesses.

Efficiency generally translates to better financial performance and profitability and, thus, is often taken into account when analyzing activity of the banking sector. The sustainability approach adds social and environmental effects to the economic ones. Even though there have been studies on the different facets of the sustainable banking and its dimensions, it is important to discuss the integration of the sustainability concept with banking efficiency and financial performance measures. The objective of this research is to identify the prevailing indicators of sustainable banking in the presence of considerations on bank financial performance and efficiency. Such indicators can be used in multiple frameworks directed towards specific goals. Therefore, this paper also discusses the notions of the sustainable banking alongside the used methods used to handle the sustainability indicators. Thus, this paper presents the comprehensive review of sustainable banking linked to financial performance and efficiency, where indicators, and methods are analyzed in an integrated manner.

This paper uses the case of Spain to investigate whether and how disruptive technology impacts banking stock returns under a high volatility regime and a low volatility regime. For this purpose, a two-factor model with heteroscedastic Markov switching regimes has been applied. The results indicate that disruptive technologies have an impact on Spanish banking stock returns and that the effects are volatility regime dependent, having a relevant positive impact in high volatility regimes and a less relevant negative impact in low volatility regimes. These findings suggest that investors are informed about and acknowledge the advantages of disruptive technologies and will use their adoption as a business strategy to offset adverse market circumstances. During stable market conditions, on the other hand, Spanish banking seems to have less expectations about disruptive technology as a business strategy. To summarise, this paper provides insights into the role of the pricing of banking-related assets and has other relevant implications for investors that include disruptive technology or banking exposed investments in their portfolios.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to formulate a multiple regression model by considering those factors which are positively affecting the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. Methodology: The data used in this study are primary in nature which are collected through questionnaire method. The questionnaire involves the nature and size of business and opinion of the owners and managers of 454 MSMEs in Katihar district, a semi-urban area of Bihar in India, regarding the various favourable factors of digital banking on a Likert scale of 1 to 10. Findings: The findings of the study suggest the various favourable factors of digital banking with significant coefficients i.e. Level of Easiness in accepting payments, Level of Easiness in making payments, Level of Easiness in Managing the expenditure of Business, Level of Time Saving, and Level of Check on Misappropriation or Theft of Cash are contributing towards the growth of MSMEs in India. Research Implications: This research will be helpful to the bank managers and policy makers to encourage the MSMEs of semi-urban areas to use digital banking by stressing on only significant favourable factors and also to take necessary steps so that the MSMEs could reap the full benefits of digital banking. The study could give a new insight regarding the extent of contribution of digital banking towards the growth of MSMEs in rural and semi-urban area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the paper is to create a model of the key elements affecting the use of innovation in marketing management on base of detailed analysis of literature and conducted research. This model should be supported by designed system how to work with innovations and knowledge of the business. The paper contains recommendations for the successful exploitation of innovation in marketing management as well as the proposed system. These recommendations should serve mainly to marketing managers like a valuable tool in the use of innovation in marketing management. The paper also identified areas of potential problems to those the managers have to focus on achieving a seamless work with innovations and knowledge of the business enterprise. The research used the following methods: comparative method, a method of qualitative evaluation, the structured and unstructured interviews, observation methods, analysis of documents (method of content analysis) and the questionnaire method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solving the risk of zombification of enterprises and relieving their business difficulties, as a key element of supply-side structural reform, is the pain point of the conversion of old and new dynamic energy and the difficulty of economic transformation and upgrading. In the Internet era, the impact on business operations is also expanding with the widening of investor attention channels. This paper selects Chinese listed companies from 2011–2020 as a research sample, and the empirical results show that, first, investor attention can effectively reduce the risk of transforming enterprises into zombie enterprises, i.e., the risk of corporate zombification decreases as the level of investor attention increases; second, there is heterogeneity in the role of investor attention in resolving the risk of corporate zombification; third, further mechanism tests find that along with Third, further mechanistic tests reveal that as the level of investor attention increases, the level of environmental uncertainty decreases and the annual market value of individual stocks increases, thereby reducing the risk of corporate zombification. The findings of this paper provide theoretical support and empirical evidence for further improving the risk mitigation of corporate zombification, promoting the “de-emphasis” of enterprises, and leading the high-quality and healthy development of enterprises.

Purpose – The paper focuses on the identification of disparities in the development of the macroeconomic environment across the member states of the European Union and problematic factors impacting the business environment’s level. Research methodology – To find the disparities in the development of the EU countries, the TOPSIS method was used. Based on this analysis, the crucial factors influencing the development of the macroeconomic environment were determined. The discriminant analysis was then used to form a model, which could help assess and examine the relationship between the business environment and significant determinants of development. Findings – Based on the methods applied, the determinants influencing the development of the macroeconomic environment and key factors and aspects affecting the rate of development of the economic and business environment were identified and the analysis of the economic and business environment was performed through selected statistical techniques. Practical implications – The analysis confirmed that some countries have certain gaps in its assessment of the dynamics of economic development in EU countries in terms of the sustainability and competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses, and that the business climate is not entirely conducive to these businesses. Originality/Value – The additional value of the paper is the formation of the model, which helps identify the countries with appropriate business environment and those where the economic development is not sufficiently developed which may be useful for enterprises, investors, and creditors.

Purpose – the main goal of the paper is to examine the role of macroeconomic factors in promoting the technological development of upper-middle-income countries. Research methodology – to carry on with the investigation the paper selected the expenditure in research and development as a proxy for technological advancement while GDP per capita, Final consumption expenditure, Domestic credit to the private sector, national income, and government transparency are selected as proxies for the macroeconomic indicators. Moreover, a VECM approach is performed in order to capture the long-run and short-run relationship among the variables. Additionally, a Granger causality test was used to observe the causality direction among the variables. Findings – the obtained results revealed that in the short run, all the selected variables have no prominent impact on R&D expenditure. However, the long run result, presented that the transparency situation of upper-middle-income countries, simultaneously the governments’ final consumption, the amount of credit provided to the private sector, and national income are unfavorably affecting technological development while the GDP is positively affecting the expenditure in R&D. Research limitations – the exclusive focus on macroeconomic factors and upper-middle-income countries as well as the fact of excluding the role of micro factors and low-income countries are the major limitation of the study. Practical implications – policymakers and nations looking to accomplish technological transformation in the age of digitization can benefit from the study’s findings. Originality/Value – since prior studies highlighted the link of macroeconomic factors with specific sectors such as healthcare, education, and agriculture. Thus, giving little attention to or neglecting the information technology sector that compromises a more specific branch such as research and development. For that reason, this paper will bring light to this phenomenon.

Purpose – The following article focuses on assessment of the evolution of digital transformation in SMEs in the manufacturing industry since the beginning of the pandemic. The digital transformation is assessed in the different blocks of the BM Canvas. The main objective of the paper is to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the development of digital transformation, and to assess whether it is still influencing it now, or vice versa, or no longer has such an impact. Research methodology – The digital transformation is examined in each block of the Business Model Canvas (BM Canvas) from the beginning of the pandemic to the current state. The individual data is obtained from a survey conducted among 18 SMEs. Small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing industry are examined. The survey is based on semi-structured interviews with SME´s management representatives. The collected data is then processed by examining the average rate of digital transformation in each block, the modus, and the median. The focus was again on developments and changes in the digital transformation of enterprises. The data was collected for three periods – before the pandemic (2019), during the pandemic (2021) and now (July 2022). Findings – The paper shows the evolution of digital transformation in the different building blocks of the BM Canvas for SMEs in the manufacturing industry since the beginning of the pandemic. The evolution of digital transformation varies across the BM Canvas blocks. For the Channels block, as of July 2022, there has been a decrease in the average digital transformation rate. The other blocks have seen an increase and continue to develop. However, the increases are no longer as high as in 2021. Whether digital transformation will continue to develop for individual blocks in future periods is a suitable research question for further research. The findings show that the changes and developments vary from building block to building block. It was found that the importance of each building block changed during the pandemic for each firm representative. The results provide the basis for the analysis of the development and change of BM Canvas for individual companies. Research limitations – At the moment, the current situation in Ukraine, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, is playing a major role in SMEs activities as it affects companies. This conflict was not considered in the research, and the development since the beginning of the pandemic was followed. Practical implications – This research highlights how the digital transformation of individual SMEs in the manufacturing industry is evolving. It highlights the impact of the pandemic, which has undoubtedly increased the growth of digital transformation rates. For future research, these results can be very useful, as other influences on the rates of digital transformation can be investigated. Originality/Value – The research was carried out on the basis of primary data collected by the authors themselves. The data were processed and evaluated. The results of the research show how the level of digital transformation in different blocks of the BM Canvas has evolved from the beginning for each SME in the manufacturing industry.

The paper devoted to the research of the corruption offenses in the activity of business entities which are quite a common phenomenon that causes serious moral, economic and political problems, hinders development and distorts fair competition. The purpose of the study is to reveal the distinguishing peculiarities of corruption in business to business relations and special features of the behavior of the corrupt company employee in the context of corruption influence on the level of the shadow economy of Ukraine. The differences between employment in the public and private sectors are highlighted. Analyzing relevant literature, the paper offers a model of corruption-related decision-making of an enterprise employee that takes into account all the factors that may influence a choice of involvement in the corruption offenses. The main causes of corruption in business are viewed as the competitive advantages the company can gain and the level of corruption around it. The research proves that the company can start participating in corrupt practices because many representatives of the business environment are involved in it, claiming that it is the only way to survive. The paper proves the impact of corruption on the level of shadow economy on the example of Ukraine. The essence and constituent elements of the shadow economy are revealed, as well as the negative consequences of the shadow economy, the spread of which is facilitated by corruption in the authorities and government. We proved that the higher level of corruption in the public sphere will result in a higher level of corruption inside the business environment. We proved that special attention should be given to the corruption in business relations as a sub-set of a general corruption phenomenon. The suggested by authors model of corruption-related decision making in business to business relations facilitates better understanding of the true nature of the business corruption phenomenon and development of well thought anti-corruption measures both on company and government levels.

The purpose of the paper is to present a methodology for measuring contemporary protectionism – based on data from Poland. In light of the difficulties in assessing all trade barriers, an approximation was proposed: the regional barometer of protectionism (RBP). Recognizing that 21st century protectionism is observable only to a certain extent, the research is based on data that reflect the level of this phenomenon – i.e., media releases as well as Global Trade Alert data. In constructing this barometer, the TOPSIS method (a Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) was used. The RBP constructed (for 2009–2020) is the first regional barometer of protectionism. The results of the research reveal the level and dynamics of protectionism in the case of Poland. This RBP improves the methodology of foreign trade analysis by providing a thorough basis for further research into both the effects and causes of protectionism; this paper presents initial explanations for the latter. Furthermore, after the barometer of protectionism is constructed, trade barriers may eventually be included in further research for models designed to explain Polish trade.

This paper proposes a knowledge-based customer-centric strategic model to respond to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in the supply chain management (SCM) context. The proposed model strives to leverage knowledge-based distinctive core competencies (DCCs) to improve customer satisfaction and achieve SCA. An exploratory research design has been adopted. The study undertook a systematic literature review approach with 36 articles or books published between 1970 and 2020 to construct the strategic planning model. The paper presents an integrated multi-dimensional model for SCM, including value chain activities, competitiveness strategies, business process re-engineering (BPR), and SCA. The practical result of the article is to develop a theoretical strategic planning model for SCM as a holistic framework for using the company’s DCCs and creating an SCA in a highly competitive and dynamic business environment. The proposed model comprehensively covers the supply chain (SC)’s competitive advantage strategy. For businesses that tend to adapt and triumph, the proposed model helps reduce order cycle times, reduce inventory levels, increase accuracy and efficiency, reduce costs, and improve customer service and satisfaction.

Motivated by the recent study of De Vito and Gómez (2020), this paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic could influence the liquidity of Greek listed firms. It also explores the main factors that drive the level of operating cash flow (OCF). By simulating a decrease of 50% and 75% in sales, we perform stress-tests on three liquidity ratios for 154 listed firms on Athens Stock Exchange considering their degree of flexibility. For these firms, we also investigate if industry sector matters. Finally, OLS and quantile regression analysis is performed to gain a more detailed and complete picture of the determinants of the OCF. The findings show that on average a firm with limited flexibility, in the worst scenario, would consume its cash reserves in about two months. Furthermore, approximately 9% of all firms would become illiquid in about one year, whereas about 12% would become illiquid within two years. It is also observed that liquidity does not significantly variate across sectors. On average, as revealed by OLS method, the findings support that Total Governance, ROA and Female board significantly affect the OCF. The paper enables policymakers to perceive the magnitude of liquidity risk and improve their decision making.

Scanner data mean electronic transaction data that specify product prices and their expenditures obtained from supermarkets’ IT systems by scanning bar codes (i.e. GTIN or SKU). Scanner data are a relatively new and cheap data source for the calculation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the biggest advantage of scanner data is the full product information they provide already at the lowest level of aggregation. Thus, the digitization of the public sector becomes not only something that is needed but an actual necessity resulting from organisational and economic premises (e.g.: reduction of costs or time related to obtaining data). One of main challenges while using scanner data is the choice of the right price index. The list of potential price indices, which could be used in the scanner data case, is quite wide, i.e. bilateral and multilateral indices are used in practice. One of the most important criterion in selecting index formula for scanner data case is the potential reduction of the chain drift bias. The chain drift occurs if the index differs from unity when prices and quantities revert back to their base level. In the paper we present situations on the market leading to the serious chain drift bias. Our main hypothesis is that lagging consumers’ reaction to price changes is the cause of the chain drift effect. Moreover, the article is an attempt to answer the question whether the correlation of prices and quantities may have an influence on the scale and sign of the bias of the measurement of price dynamics. The study focuses also on the scale of over- and underestimation the target full-window multilateral indices by their corresponding splicing extensions. Finally, the paper verifies a hypothesis that the identity test is a key property in reducing chain drift bias. In order to verify the above research problems, both empirical and simulation studies were carried out. Our main result is the confirmation of earlier suspicions that delayed consumer response and price-quantity correlation are determinants of chain drift bias. First published online 06 February 2023

Open innovation (OI) has received significant attention from practices and theories over the past decades. This paper investigates the role of OI and personalized patterns in firms at home and abroad, and then measures the risks involved. Firstly, this paper reviews the definition of OI, the business model innovation characteristics, and the facing problems in practice. Based on the existing literature, we illustrate the openness and challenges of business OI. By introducing bibliometrics, this paper presents a whole research framework. Based on keywords cooccurrence analysis and clustering analysis, we locate the current research hotspots and potential research opportunities from a comprehensive perspective. According to the analysis results, five clusters are obtained, including resource management and value creation; collective innovation and form sustainability; innovation management, intellectual property management, and crossborder cooperation; knowledge management and knowledge sharing; innovation ecosystem, big data, and policy-level innovation. Taking Huawei as an example, its typical business OI model is studied from the perspectives of organizational, project-related, marketing and consumer-based, and summaries the facing challenges and risks. We illustrate its financial performance, innovation performance, and development prospects. We found that, during the implementation of OI practical activities and theoretical exploration, the risks and opportunities facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are multiple dimensional.

Purpose – to analyse the digitalization trends in the Central Caucasian (Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia) and Baltic States with the aim of reducing a financial gap for the Small and Medium size Enterprises in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Research methodology – comparative analysis between Baltic and Caucasian countries are made to analyse the basic positions and farther development opportunities for Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Findings of the given paper – while SME sector crucially important contributor to employment, diversification and productivity in any country of the world and especially in developing ones, they still face significant credit constraints through traditional credit providing institutions. However, the trend is changing and modern digital technologies from the fintech area are providing new alternatives, which already had been widely used in Baltic, but still are waiting their chance in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, with different level of progress and readiness. Research limitations – some statistical data does not exist for all six countries or were possible to obtain for different periods of time. Lack of academic literature on fintech in Caucasian countries. Practical implications – It can provide a useful perspective for researchers, academics, investors, investment managers, decision-makers, and scientists. Originality/Value – The paper analyses three advanced European Union member state’s (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) fintech positions and perspectives as a model of development for three developing Caucasian states (Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia).

Organizational creativity is indispensable in a highly competitive and dynamic academic environment; and the role of individuals is mostly unquantifiable. Hence the study argued that the ideas, novel research output, patents, grants of the academic staff depend on the flexible wellbeing of the workforce which is at a low level in Nigeria. Thus, the paper investigated the role of personality traits on the relationship between flexible wellbeing and organizational creativity. The paper implemented a cross-sectional survey research design and collated data from six hundred and twenty-one academic staff ranked from Senior Lecturer to Professor from eight selected private universities in South-West, Nigeria through applying multi-stage random sampling technique. Reliable and validated tests were conducted on the adapted questionnaire before it was used for the study. The result from hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS add-on called process analysis revealed that personality traits have a moderating effect on the interactions between flexible wellbeing and organizational creativity (ΔR2 = 0.014, ΔF(1, 528) = 13.579, p < 0.05). Management to tailor wellbeing policies and practices to workers’ creative drive as there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to designing an effective flexible wellbeing strategy.

Purpose – The world is facing unprecedented opportunities to improve welfare and reduce poverty, so every day more and more public spending is becoming important in every country. The purpose of the research was prompted by the questions of whether there were development reforms and what is the complexity that has evolved in each variable (WS, GS, EU, ST, CE, and TE) for the time interval 2007–2020. How and are governing bodies able to continuously drive growth for decades by being more efficient users of government spending planning in complex financial and economic systems? Therefore, this paper aims to understand and advance by bringing a new approach to unstoppable and navigating reforms to government spending in complex financial and economic systems. Research methodology – The research was conducted through secondary data from annual financial reports and statements for both central and local levels. The time interval for 14 years was analyzed through two analyses and one matrix such as descriptive analysis (9 tests), correlation analysis (3 tests), and Proximity Matrix (Euclidean Distance between years and variables, Z stress test) as in the Tables (1–12), in the Figures (1–11) using SPSS version 23.0 for Windows. Findings – The findings showed that: a) the data had a normal distribution, b) there was an increase in expenditures for each year, especially in times of pandemic COVID-19, c) the data were obtained from financial reports and statements as well as different institutions over different years, d) there is a strong and positive relationship between the variables for government spending in complex systems, e) Public expenses have increased due to COVID-19 and the damage caused is continuing, affecting the decline in the well-being of the residents. Research limitations – The limitations of this paper are that only a considerable number of variables are studied and only in the state of Kosovo for 14 years (2007–2020). In this case, for other analyses by other researchers’ other variables can be analyzed, more extended periods or comparability with other states. Practical implications – based on the above questions, it was confirmed that there were reforms in the complex financial and economic systems for government expenditures each year. Originality/Value – Such research has not been analyzed before and the findings of this research can help budget experts to accurately plan expenses based on the three periods studied (past, present or the period of the Covid-19 pandemic and the future or the post-COVID-19 pandemic period). It is strongly recommended that governing bodies develop and improve the category of public investment expenditures.

Governance in family firms can profoundly influence corporate behavior and performance. Recently, family firm governance (FFG) has attracted extensive attention as increasing empirical research has been published. However, few studies have attempted to map the global research on this growing field. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review and bibliometric analysis are conducted to provide an overview of the FFG. A total of 626 relevant studies from the Web of Sciences Core Collection database between 1998 and 2020 are analyzed. First, based on a literature review by identifying the classification of FFG and topics related to family governance, an overall conceptual structure is proposed. Second, the performance and influence of journals, authors and papers are analyzed by descriptive bibliometric analysis. Finally, with assistance from the CiteSpace and VoS viewer tools, the co-authorship, co-occurrence and co-citation network are presented to display the social and intellectual structure and find the hotspots. The findings of this study help to objectively understand the evolution of FFG and to capture potential research directions.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to focus on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by local authorities (LAs) in order to understand to which extent, they impact the value chain of local public services. The value creation in this article concerns not only economic effectiveness and efficiency but also the articulation and development of ICTs in the strategy of the LA, as well as the impact on citizen satisfaction. Research methodology – The methodology applied is quantitative, based on a questionnaire addressed to managers and officials in different Moroccan LAs (regions, provinces and prefectures, municipalities). SPSS 25 was used as a materiel to analyze the result of the linear regression. Findings – The results obtained confirm the importance of ICT in terms of optimization of expenses, the improvement of the quality of work by facilitating communications between services. In addition, the ICT are no longer centered on the managerial side, but contribute to the consecration of good governance principles, namely transparency and citizen participation. Research limitations – The present research excludes political leaders throughout data collection. Methodologically speaking, this means that the study can also take on the meaning of an exploratory study with qualitative method (interviews, case studies) in order to understand how these ICT, contribute to local public value creation. Practical implications – The research provides clues to LA managers about the importance of ICT and their contribution to value creation. The results obtained encourage decision makers to accept this change and to adopt the ICT approach in order to provide a higher quality of services. Originality/Value – The originality of this paper lies in the variables and the context in which they are studied. The existing literature interested in introducing ICTs in the public sector focus on the use of these tools to achieve economic performance. Furthermore, only a few research papers have been conducted on value creation in LA including the impact of ICT which justifies the originality and novelty of this paper.

The main purpose of the paper is to identify the factors that determine the course of green transformation and to assess the current stage and possible directions of change in subsequent years in EU countries. The literature lacks comprehensive studies that show the impact of diverse types of factors on the course of green transformation. For this purpose, two perspectives of the research – economic and environmental – are usually taken into account. This paper also proposes to take social factors into account. The empirical verification was conducted using green growth indicators that are published by the OECD that were compared with factors identified from the literature review. Taxonomic (synthetic) measure of development applying the Weber median and correlation coefficient were used for searching for relationships between the identified groups of indicators described both the changes in the dimension of green growth (internal factors of green transformation) and changes in the dimension of contextual indicators (so-called external factors). The proposed way of combining the results obtained from these two methods of data analysis is also new to research in this field. Its aim is an in-depth exploration of the issue, which enables a 2-step verification of the results obtained. First published online 24 November 2022

Ecological efficiency (EE) provides much reference for formulating appropriate regional economic, social and environmental policies to promote sustainable development. Interactive subsystems of economy, society and environment within EE system have been considered in this paper. By innovatively integrating the merits of two advanced economic research methods (global super efficiency network data envelopment analysis (GSE-NDEA) and panel vector autoregression (PVAR) and updating the EE evaluation indicator system by following the new features of sustainable development in the recent China, this paper comprehensively evaluates EE by drawing evidence from 3 regions in China during the period of 2011–2020, and further reveals how the three subsystems within EE system interact to achieve EE enhancement. The findings show EE and its three subsystems’ trend, the major constrains of EE development, the regional discrepancies in EE progress, and the interactions among the subsystems of economy-society-environment within the EE system in different regions of China. The policy implications are proposed accordingly. First published online 15 November 2022

Purpose – Due to country-wise lockdown and state-wise curfews in COVID-19, people were not able to make offline payments (i.e. cash payments) during purchases in India. So, people are switching their payment behavior from offline to online mode. But, as per the central bank report, the rate of adoption through mobile payments is still slow. The paper focuses on identifying critical barriers to mobile payment systems (MPSs) adoption in India. Innovation resistance theory (IRT) has been used as a base model for barriers, despite the wide range of choices of barriers available in the MPSs context. Additionally, three external variables which are out of the wider coverage of IRT constructs were incorporated in this paper. The study, on the other hand, adds to innovation resistance theory in the frame of reference of MPSs from a theoretical perspective. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM), together with MICMAC analysis is brought into play to analyse the direct and indirect relationship amongst the barriers. Research methodology – ISM approach has been used to establish the relationship among the eight (08) identified barriers, through literature and expert opinions. The key barriers to high driving power are then identified with the help of MICMAC analysis. Findings – The results reveal that value barrier (b2), image barrier (b5) and visibility barrier (b7) are the most significant variables. Interestingly, IRTs’ risk barrier (b3) and privacy barrier (b6) from the literature fall in the lowest level of the ISM model. The majority of the barriers fall under quadrant III of MICMAC analysis, indicating the high driving and dependence power. Research limitations – The developed ISM model is based on the sentiments of five (05) experts, which could be biased and influence the structural model’s final output. Due to COVID-19, data has been collected through online video conferencing mode, this may vary if data will be collected through an offline or face-to-face interview. The proposed model’s key findings aim to assist in explaining the barriers that exist during MPS adoption. Originality/Value – This study is the first attempt to use the ISM approach in conjunction with IRT to detect barriers within MPSs. The result of this paper will guide and motivate the researcher to analyse more critical barriers with IRT to contribute to the theoretical development.

This paper addresses the existing methodological gap in assessing service modularity level. The study uses a qualitative approach and develops a technique to quickly and cost-effectively determine service modularity level. The theoretical framework builds on the principles of measurement theory, evaluation theory, and multicriteria analysis (MCA). To test the developed technique, an exploratory case study was conducted focusing on three service companies in Lithuania. Data were collected by interviewing key informants using the proposed instrument. The collected data were analysed and linked to the developed multidimensional scale for measuring the service modularity level. The obtained results support the view that qualitative evaluation can be an alternative for calculating modularity indices in the field of service modularity. The paper provides a practical tool for service modularity assessment for service industry practitioners to accelerate decision-making. The study contributes to the field of service modularity by delivering insights into assessing service modularity level. These insights are particularly important because the literature on measuring modularity level in services has been quite scarce.

Purpose – in light of the Taiwan New Southbound Policy (NSP), this paper aims to evaluate the performance of bilateral cooperation between Taiwan and its economic partner countries in order to have a better understanding of the coherence of reciprocal relations in the past, present and future. Research methodology – firstly, both individual forecasting models and combining forecasts were employed to predict the future values based on a period of thirty years (1990–2019). Secondly, the paper proposes non-convex DEA to detect non-convex characteristics of datasets where the volume of inputs and outputs were unevenly allocated in past years. Finally, a DEA window was applied to provide efficiency scores for decision-making units (DMUs) across a period of twelve years (2014–2025). Findings – the results found that the efficiency of seven out of eight DMUs will improve in the coming years. With a stable performance in both scale and efficiency, Singapore is Taiwan’s most successful economic partner, followed by Malaysia. The NSP remained as a vital foreign policy in supporting Taiwan’s bilateral trade and outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). Research limitations – more inputs and outputs are required in order to reflect the overall performance of the bilateral cooperation between two economies. Furthermore, more extended models are worth further investigation. Practical implications – the forecasting values of exports and imports can be used in analysing Taiwan economy’s trade deficits. This study provides useful inputs for managers in allocating resources of inbound and outbound values, and reacting rightfully to the uncertain future. Originality/Value – the paper not only contribute much more than previous ones by evaluating into the relationship between size of scale and efficiency of bilateral economies but also provide advices for policymakers in creating mechanisms that can facilitate the NSP’s sustainable development.

This paper is produced as an exploratory study with the aim of carrying out a taxonomy of construction companies operating in the Czech Republic, taking into account the type and number of concluded public procurement contracts. In processing the multidimensional matrix describing the companies, a cluster analysis was used to identify the dependence between the set of variables. Results of the analysis suggest that the prevailing types of public procurement procedures include negotiated procedure without prior publications, open procedure and simplified below-threshold procedure, while from the point of view of the contracted value, the open procedure is of the highest importance. As for the cluster analysis conducted for the types of public procurement analysis, one can conclude that there is a relation between the number of public contracts concluded and the scope of the types. On the other hand, the extension of the conducted cluster analysis did not provide any conclusive evidence regarding the relationship between the types of public procurement contracts and the types of holding structures. Such a study has not been realised in the Czech Republic yet. Thus, the results of this study provide a background for research in the area of public procurement in the Czech Republic. Some potential research questions have been stated in the discussion part of the paper.

The perpetual need for developing a sustainable economic environment places the education policies at the foundation of social adaptability. Creating and maintaining curriculum content that meets the demands of a continuously changing society, and the challenges that such a rapid evolution put on the labour market, is one of the top priorities for any education system and institution involved in education at any level. This paper proposes a cognitive computing solution for assessing, in a programmatic manner, large corpora of curriculum content created by teachers from lower secondary education environment for Informatics instruction in Romanian schools. The result of this initiative at the national level is corpora of curricular content that must be evaluated to verify the degree to which the material meets the requirements of the national curriculum. We addressed this crucial yet tedious process by designing and implementing a solution for automating curriculum assessment through cognitive computing. The paper outlines a sustainable framework to evaluate curriculum content in an automated fashion, and for providing critical feedback timely to both content creators, and to policy makers responsible for creating economically viable and future adaptable education strategies. First published online 05 July 2021