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The paper analyzes the current level of informatization of European countries. The analysis is based on available Eurostat data. Analyzed countries are clustered based on the WSA method which allows extracting coherent groups of countries with nearly the same level of informatization based on the number of indicators analyzed. The paper is concluded with a discussion of the analysis results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, all the stages of consumption have been influenced by digital transformation, this phenomenon having a significant impact on purchasing standards. By considering the evolution of stores and the profound changes they need to face today, this article means to reflect on the future of shops in the era of digitalization, envisaging them not only as purchasing areas, but also as social spaces inviting to interaction, discovery and relaxation. The paper intends to show that, in order to establish a profitable business, contemporary stores need to improve the purchasing experience by taking advantage of the technological innovations and by building with the customers a relationship necessary for sales. The article also aims to study consumer behaviour over time and to draw up a portrait of the consumer of tomorrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rising popularity of digital commerce and rising competition of companies with platforms like Amazon, it is especially important for companies to attract customers' attention. Advertising depicts one possibility to do that, but only if the ad can induce a certain interaction with the customer. As prior research shows that the willingness to interact with an ad depends on how the user perceives the ad, we conduct a literature review on factors shaping those perceptions and interactions. The results of 41 papers are structured along the ad delivery process, including advertisers', here the companies in digital commerce, publishers' and customers' perspectives. The results show, that to use advertising successfully to raise customers' attention and induce purchases, companies in digital commerce need to be aware of all three perspectives and need to collaborate closely with publishers to manage the display of ads to customers. We offer a precise research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the political economy dilemmas of government venture capital on the basis of Estonian Development Fund and its portfolio companies. By using data from the Estonian Business Registry, online network analysis and 14 semi-structured interviews, the analysis shows that the EDF plays an important role in the venture capital ecosystem of Estonia. However, this role is not sufficient for overcoming market failures stemming from information asymmetry and underinvestment in innovative companies. Significant positive externalities of the government scheme are non-existent or unmeasurable. Government's dual aims to achieve a stellar performance of the EDF portfolio and, concurrently, to create positive externalities for local economy are in conflict with each in the government venture capital scheme. The principles of venture capital investing and public accountability of government expenditures are also mutually exclusive. This is so because venture capital is a form of private equity, where most benefits stem from its private nature. The paper reveals some limited evidence that the potential public benefits have been privatized and costs socialized in the government venture capital scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper was motivated by the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent over 99% of the population of enterprises in Slovenia. Consequently, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the key administrative barriers SMEs face in Slovenia. This entails three activities: (1) identifying the main areas in which barriers are found; (2) establishing what they imply performance-wise; and (3) providing policymaker guidelines tailored to different SME groups (size, age, legal form of organization). The results of empirical analysis on a sample of 925 SMEs show differences in the various groups of SMEs mentioned above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on the vision, mission and experience with the WHO Collaborating Centre on eHealth (WHOCCeHealth) and Yunus Social Business Health Hub (YSBHH) based at UNSW Australia, and the Asia electronic Health Information Network (AeHIN). Global eHealth aims to provide equitable access to ICT and health care, particularly to the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged. Social business aims to solve social and economic problem. Its best known product is microcredit financial services for the poor which are small loans that enable them to "produce something, sell something, earn something to develop self-reliance and a life of dignity". Citizen engagement and community participation is integral to both constructs within the context of global partnerships for Integrated People-Centred Health Services (IPCHS) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The eHealth dimension is consumer heath informatics, social media, mHealth and the Internet of Things. The convergence is multidimensional, mutually beneficial and requires good governance and leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contributes to the literature on digital platforms as well as the role of entrepreneurial innovation in both the private and public sector. It emphasizes the importance of private-sector platforms in e-government service delivery as well as the importance of entrepreneurial discovery processes in e-government service delivery. New Estonian retail banks introduced internet banking in 1996 with the aim of making their services more efficient and enhancing customer satisfaction. However, the unintended consequence of this service was the utilization of internet banking platforms by government agencies to deliver public services. As internet banking became widely used, government agencies started to experiment by offering online services on the basis of internet banking platforms. Internet banking allowed government to authenticate users, which was fundamental for delivery of public-sector services such as submitting tax declarations online. Alternative options, such as using credit cards, were not available, as credit cards were then not in widespread use in Estonia. The use of internet banking platforms unleashed a path-dependent process which allowed the development and delivery of even more sophisticated online services. It served also as a stepping-stone to forming publicprivate partnerships in order to launch new identification methods such as the ID card and Mobile ID. Hence, internet banking played a fundamental role in the emergence of egovernment services in Estonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swiss public service is known for its high quality and substantial subsidies. In 2015, public passenger transportation (PT) consumed nearly CHF 8 billion of taxpayers' money 1 [1]. While stringent public concessions ensure guaranteed supply and fiscal discipline, they can also lead to lower levels of innovation. However, the future of PT (especially road-based transportation), with its many new competitors and their innovative business models, depends on broad and aggressive innovation (in order to be able to grow its market share). But what role should the Swiss State, which subsidizes roughly half of PT, play in the upcoming transformation of its PT?2 This paper argues that the State should focus on transparency and competition among private operators that are winning concessions based on quality, cost, and innovation. There should also be a government-imposed free revealing of better solutions among participating operators of concession services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The main purpose of this paper is to propose the conceptual model, investigating complex relationships between design and market orientation. Therefore, existing models of market orientation (MO), design orientation (DO), and design management (DM) have been investigated. Methodology. The research has been executed in several stages, from qualitative to quantitative, and is now in the final stage. In the first, qualitative stage of the research, a series of qualitative, face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted. In the second stage, the quantitative research using an Internet survey was conducted among managers and CEOs from Croatian companies in different industries with at least 3 employees. In data analysis phase, the exploratory factor analysis was made on a sample of 95 usable questionnaires, to check the validity and reliability of scales. Findings. The results of qualitative research show that there was not much difference in the meaning of design orientation between the two groups of examinees, managers and designers, but there was some difference in their perception of the role of design. For managers, design creates a competitive advantage and added value for customers, allows an opportunity to sell at a higher price, it innovates services accompanying products and differentiates a product or service from the competition in the market. Designers, on the other hand, highlight the role of design in improving internal and external communication and on a strategic level of the company. Both groups of examinees estimated lack of design national policy. EFA results confirmed the reliability of the questionnaire. Also, correlation between DO and MO show that there is a positive relationship between researched concepts. Originality and implications. The new design orientation-market orientation model can contribute to both marketing and design scholars, as well as marketers, designers, and managers in practice. The results of this study may provide a basis for future research on the topic. Also, the research about design orientation for the croatian market is a novelty. Research limitations. Concepts of market orientation, design orientation and design management, as well as their relationships, are very complex and multidimensional, so it is not possible to investigate all the aspects of the counstructs in this research. Also, it was hard to reach a large number of managers and motivate them to fill-in the online questionnaire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For companies, talent management is of increasing importance. Talent management is a company's commitment to recruit, retain, and develop talented employees. Talented employees occupy the central role in the process of accomplishment of company's goals and performance. In this context, companies should make more investment into talent development initiatives, which currently is a challenge in Slovenian companies. After a systematic review of literature, we formed a model of talent management. A talent management is vieved as a multiconstruct process in the company, consisting of several components: appropriate employee selection, appropriate employee work competencies, the role of mentor etc. The main objective of the paper is to present the multidimensionality of the talent management process and its' importance in the Slovenian companies. In the empirical part of the research, a sample of 72 Slovenian companies was obtained. The senior managers of companies were surveyed, using the questionnaire, that was developed based on the existing measurement scales and adapted for the purposes of the present research. The results will help to better understand the talent management in the Slovenian organizations and its' importance as a business strategy that must be fully integrated within all of the employees' related processes of the organization. An effective talent management is closely related with and may have a powerful effect on the employees' engagement, thus representing an important advantage for companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent the backbone of the Slovenian economy, providing a solid source of job creation and economic growth. The business environment is determined by various barriers, which SMEs encounter when doing business. Most SMEs consider tax-related matters as the most burdensome field that affects them. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to determine the impact of taxation and administrative barriers that arise from tax rules on SMEs performance. The results of the empirical analysis on a sample of 120 SMEs show that taxation and tax related administrative barriers have a negative impact on SMEs performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the economy continuing to develop, the communication and information technology was increased gradually and electronic commerce (e-commerce) has been booming worldwide. E-commerce not only improved the producing and managing of the company but also improved the efficiency and decreased the cost. All these have brought great impact to the traditional trade. Basing on the profound impact of e-commerce on the international trade, this paper analyzed the problem of e-commerce in China's international trade and proposed corresponding solutions to the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Entrepreneurship is considered a key growth engine in developed countries. It is widely accepted in entrepreneurial scholarly literature that entrepreneurial intentions are the best predictor of the entrepreneurial behaviour. Study and research on entrepreneurial intentions of ethnic and/or immigrant communities has a long history and it is a well-developed strand of entrepreneurship research. Yet there is scant research concerning Arab ethnic minority entrepreneurs in Israel. More specifically, there is paucity in research that examines and establishes the entrepreneurial intentions of the Arab entrepreneur at the agent level. Further, there is lack of research both globally and locally to the extent to which global factors affect entrepreneurial intentions. This review focuses primarily on literature on entrepreneurial intentions of the Arab minority entrepreneurs. It reviews scholarly works related to development of the ethnic Arab minority economy in Israel and the transformation of entrepreneurial intentions of the Arab minority entrepreneurs considering the globalization trends of the past few decades. A comparison is also conducted with writings on other ethnic minority entrepreneurs in UK and US. Our review highlights that contrary to classic entrepreneurs, new generation Arab ethnic minority entrepreneurs in Israel, while limited in number, are going through disruptive transition and transformation due to globalization effects. In view of scant research on this theme so far, more research on antecedents and consequences of Arab ethnic minority entrepreneurship in Israel is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A marketing model may be an instrument that sponsors and businesses utilize to get the quality and gaining potential of their commerce. Marketing models audit the by and large procedures and parameters included with publicizing a company and its product. The reason for showcasing technique, choose which portion of the showcase getting to target, anticipate the effect certain activities have on buyers, and produce income projections. This research seeks to explore and study the development of several methods of marketing models that include SWOT analysis, 7Ps marketing mix, Porter's Five Forces, STP Process, Product Life Cycle, Brand Positioning Map, Kotler's Five Product Levels, Customer Lifetime Value, Ansoff Matrix, ToFu, MoFu et cetera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mode of economic growth is first put forward by Soviet economists in the early 1960s, because of the impact of the new technology revolution and development adjusting strategy of other countries, the Soviet Union put forward the intensive production policy, and this policy required the social production mode to change from extensive type to intensive type, and to make great achievements with less cost. As the understanding of growth mode deepened, China is abandoning the extensive economy growth mode, which only pursues quantity and speed, and now, China is exploring way to intensive economy growth mode. This paper showed the characteristics of e-commerce in China, analyzed the impact mechanism of e-commerce to the changing of economic growth mode, proposed suggestions for the influence of e-commerce. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The evident proliferation of Korean television programs in the Philippines manifests a modern form of trade between the two countries. Though there are latent negativities, this trade brings forth a lot of positive effects between the nations involved, specifically in the modern television industry of the latter. Through the three-step copycat-piggyback-leapfrog innovation, export-quality Koreanovelas facilitate product creativity that can increase not only the quantity, but more importantly the quality, of locally-produced television goods. The presence and proliferation of Koreanovelas also challenges the local industry as it promotes competition for patronization in limited television timeslots. This competition works side-by-side with creativity. Scarce resources with desirable incentives push television stations to offer only programs that are good enough to be consumed in another country, products that are most likely of superior quality. Finally, Koreanovelas improve employment especially in the Philippine-end of the barter. The drive to produce better programs brought about by heightened creativity and competition will increase production. This, in turn, will cause television stations to employ more and better workers, improving workers and the television industry as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]