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The relationship between CSR practices and the firm performance across automotive SMEs in Bulgaria the paper suggests that development and implementation of CSR measures is critical for the success of the SMEs across the emerging automotive sector in this EU country. The study aims at broadening knowledge at Corporate Social Responsibility literature in the context of SMEs business domain. The study represents quantitative analysis on CSR measures based on the ESG goals set by the United Nations. The collected data in the paper are secondary and it has been collected from the Bulgarian Statistical Institute, the Union of the Automobile Industry in Bulgaria and individual companies' websites. Additional data have been gathered from the Automotive SMEs' annual reports of the companies as well. The paper empirical data findings for the period 2018-2020 show that Automotive SMEs have been adopting westernized best practices on CSR, which positively affect their performance and prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Information Society / Információs Társadalom (InfTars) is the property of Infonia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

For many years the viticulture and winemaking production in the country mattered of an intensive high-stock and structure-determining industry. The purpose of this paper is to be comparatively analyzed the competitive ability of wine sector and to be pointed ways for its improvement. we use as basic approach the swot-analysis of evaluation of competitive ability of economic sectors – evaluation of factor conditions and strategies of enterprises. Basic approach for enhancement of competitiveness of our wine sector in future is to diversify production. By deriving its competitive advantages and opportunities for sustainable development at the regional level with an emphasis on the development of production and processing facilities. As a result of using the method SWOT-analyse defines strategic goals such as the creation of skills and competencies in the field of strategic planning, cooperation in strategic business planning of small wine companies, diversification of sources of financial risk and maintaining the adaptability of small businesses to market requirements. The achievement of the strategic goals is realized through proposed 6 measures, in the proposed model, aiming at increasing the competitiveness of the enterprises and the sector as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the issue of personnel turnover in enterprises in Bulgaria and Kosovo. It presents the theoretic aspects of the nature and forms of personnel turnover, its determinative factors and effects for business entities as well as focuses on some initial prerequisites for the two countries, which indirectly influence it. The paper also presents the findings from a conducted survey among companies from the two countries which findings confirm the significance of the problem with personnel turnover and are used for an analysis of the practices for its management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2007 global economic crisis and public policies implemented to resolve it have modified the conditions under which enterprises operate, thus having great effects on business tactics and decisions. This paper employs a comparative analysis of the pre- and post-crisis movements of Greek small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to Bulgaria in order to examine the impact of the crisis and the applied public policy on firm-internal relocation factors, such as size, sector and relocation incentive, and the effects of relocation on business performance. Greek SME movements to Bulgaria have recently increased considerably due to the adverse effects of the crisis on the Greek economy. Results demonstrate that, while in the pre-crisis period many Greek businesspeople viewed relocation to Bulgaria as an entrepreneurial opportunity for firm expansion, since 2007 relocation has been perceived as a necessity for the vast majority of Greek entrepreneurs in order to stay in business. However, evidence is provided for a clear division between businesspeople, managing strong, and medium-sized firms and seeking business growth and improved competitiveness, and entrepreneurs who own small, unproductive enterprises and who made efforts to maintain business without seeking quality improvement. Consequently, many of them failed to stay in business since they overlooked internal to firm changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to assess the impact of entrepreneurial determinants on the sustainable development of enterprises in emerging EU economies from 2008 to 2020. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is empirical, and it consists of conceptual background, research methodology, research results, discussions, and conclusions. The survey covers the enterprise sector in Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania, and Hungary (emerging and developing economies in the EU). I used the correlations coefficients and the Ordinary Least Square Method to verify the strength and direction of influence of entrepreneurial determinants on the sustainable development of enterprises. Findings: In the analyzed countries, there is a diversified influence of individual entrepreneurial determinants on the sustainable development of enterprises, both in terms of direction and strength of influence. Research limitations/implications: The paper has serious limitations in selecting and integrating indicators for the research. Further research requires considering a larger group of determinants, not only strictly entrepreneurial factors. Practical implications: The analysis results indicate that entrepreneurial factors influence the sustainable development of the enterprise sector; therefore, the authorities should coordinate activities and initiatives related to sustainable development and entrepreneurship. Creating financial and non-financial incentives is necessary to run a sustainable business. Social implications: Sustainable development is crucial for the conditions and quality of life. Separating entrepreneurial factors and creating effective institutional support for business initiatives is crucial for sustainable development. Originality/value: A novelty in the paper is an attempt to isolate entrepreneurial determinants of the sustainable development of enterprises. The article is intended for a wide audience, theoreticians and practitioners interested in sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper raises awareness of the significance of developing a conflict resolution procedure as a tool for handling conflicts in the organization. Conflict has both negative and positive effects on organizations. To minimize the cost from negative outcomes and to be able to turn conflict into positive results organizations need to adopt a proactive approachto conflict management. The approach involves developing policies and procedures to address conflict in a way that is consistent with organizational goals and culture. Such policies and procedures provide the opportunity to resolve conflicts quickly and fairly, ensure confidence in managers‟ decisions, improve communication and understanding between employees, and promote a positive work environment.The purpose of the paper is to present the results from a study on the existence of conflict resolution procedures in organizations in Bulgaria. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire among 300 managers from different organizations. Respondents were asked to indicate on a dichotomous scale (0 –“no” and 1 -“yes”) whether there is a conflict resolution procedure in the organization in which they work.Respondents were also asked to give a brief description of the procedure.Our evidence suggests that organizations are not aware of the positive effects of establishing a conflict resolution procedure.A minority of surveyed managers (7.3%)confirmed the existence of such a procedure or some kind of conflict resolution mechanism. Managers from large enterprises were significantly more likely to declare that their organization has a conflict procedure than managers from micro, small and medium enterprises. Few of the answers to the open-ended question provided a description that could be related to a conflict resolution procedure.These results suggest that the procedure is not clearly communicated to managers. Based on the results of the study, the predominant profile of the organization with a procedure or some kind of conflict resolution mechanism corresponds to a large enterprise from the service sector that is located in the capital of Bulgaria.The current study provides original findingson the preparedness of organizations to handle conflict through a conflict resolution procedure, contributing to a better understanding of conflict managementin organizations in Bulgaria.The implication for organizations is to develop policies and procedures to provide guidance towards a constructive conflict management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of a survey carried out by the author among practising accountants in Bulgaria regarding the publication of research and development (R&D) disclosures in the financial statements of innovative enterprises. The aim is to study some of the potential reasons for the current accounting practice of underestimating the mandatory and voluntary disclosure of R&D data. The adopted research methods are based on logical, deductive and comparative methods. The study results encourage literature development by presenting a more in-depth analysis of the factors influencing R&D data disclosure by Bulgarian enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for government assistance in the external economy is necessitated by other economic uncertainties, the impact of agricultural activity on the environment, and especially low and irregular cash flows in the agricultural sector. The received state and European aid in the form of various economic losses are necessary for agricultural producers. Based on the financial resources provided, the company's financial condition is stabilized and improved. This embodies a management policy in the agricultural sector in Bulgaria. The aim of the study is to look for possible options for financing agricultural producers in Bulgaria. For the purposes of the study, the analyzed period is divided into several main groups according to Bulgaria's membership in the EU and implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy: Pre-accession, First program period (2007-2013), Second program period (2014). - 2020) and the Third Program Period (2021-2027). Financing in the Agricultural sector is divided into internal and external. Internal financing refers to lending by banks and support through national surcharges, through the granting of state aid. External financing is the financial means provided to farmers by the European CAP programs (ISPA, SAPARD, RDP). Based on the analysis, it is found that the liabilities of the agricultural firms are growing faster than the assets, as farmers use more loans than savings to cover their financial needs, the small producers of the sector (under 20 ha) face the most many difficulties in obtaining financing. Subsidies are mainly received from large and major firms, while small and medium-sized ones that really need these funds remain disadvantaged. The granting of subsidies is associated with economic losses and very complicated programs, the implementation of which is tied to high public costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the growth of the Industry 4.0 transformation the economy has become to changed. Thus, not just the economy regulations are fostered but a new business approach has been arisen: the circular / regenerative economy approach. The EC already reacted as it introduced not just updated Sustainable development indices but a new set of indices: circular economy indices. According to this change of the economic model, the business organizations are fostered to change their business models, especially for the industry. Thus, not just the new regulations have to be introduced to the industrial business model but the total change of the added value of the business as introduction of green technologies or innovations for non-waste production value chains. Aim of the paper: to identify and to analyze the requirements to the business that foster them to change their linear business model to circular one. Methods: descriptive analysis of the Bulgarian economy according to circular economy indices; comparative analyses for identification of main differences between linear and circular economies; induction and deduction of the elements of business models. Results: analysis of the indices of circularity of the Bulgarian economy; analysis of requirements for transition from linear to circular economy; identifying requirements to the business model of a circular economy; systematizing rules / guidelines for transforming the business model of a linear economy into the business model of a circular economy. Conclusions: The indicators of the circular economy can be considered as a part of the harmonization process in the EU. Avoiding from the responsibilities of the circular economy approach by Bulgarian industry leads to moving away from the EU economies. This requires relevant national policies, measures and instruments to promote the transformation of the business model to circular one. The paper aims to present the need of industrial business model change as to analyze the starting position of the Bulgarian industry. Thus, the structure of the paper is following: 1. Introduction to Circular economy indices. 2. Definition of Circular economy approach. 3. Analysis of the Circular economy indices change for Bulgaria. 4. Introduction to business model change from linear to circular one. Conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of papers related to business topics which include an analysis of the problems in the development of banking sector in Bulgaria, the impact of social security on poverty reduction, and the implementation of human resources management policies in large business organizations.

If serious problems of business ethics plague and continue to plague the way business is conducted within Russia, the internationalization of Russian companies puts forward the problem of what business culture they bring along and what impact it may have on the recipient country. This article focuses on the case of Lukoil investments and operations in Bulgaria. It describes the main factors forming the contemporary Russian business culture and highlights the negative features that could be feared from point of view of the country receiving Russian investments. Later the paper tries to analyze the operations of Lukoil in Bulgaria and investigate if there is reason to suspect a negative business culture spill over. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The process of privatization through foreign direct investment (FDI) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been organized around interactions of three legally entitled parties, i.e., foreign investor, host government, and host company. The triadic nature of those interactions is addressed in studying the relationship initiation and development. The FDI privatization relationships and the attempts of the three parties to satisfy their objectives have become critical for the survival and successful development of the privatized entity post-privatization. This paper adopts the analytical concept of the interface between motives, promises and actions in the process of relationship development focusing on the role of market seeking motives and market-related promises and actions in the FDI privatization process. Seven cases from Bulgaria are used to unveil the relative significance of the analyzed interface. When assessing FDI investments in CEE foreign investors should assess not only the macro- and microenvironmental conditions, but also pay particular attention to what parties want to gain and what they say they would bring to the venture. The complementarity, compatibility and congruity of motives, promises and actions are suggested to be essential in the successful development of FDI privatization relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the effect of decreasing industry concentration on organizational diversity and on the choice of positional strategies in the population of Bulgarian newspaper enterprises between 1987 and 1992, The results of the exit rate analysis of specialist organizations in a period of resource depletion confirm the reversibility of the resource partitioning process. In the case of post-socialist foundings spurred by deregulation, decreasing overall industry concentration is interpreted to conceal increasing concentration at the sub-industry level and points to the emergence of a second market centre. The formation of such polycentrist resource space accounts for the unexpected effect of overall diminishing industry concentration, which deters the entry of generalists and favours the start-up of specialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents empirical study of the relation between perceived work stress and the choice of coping strategies as well as their dependence on a particular sociocultural factor: the status of living in a foreign country. The results obtained through statistical analysis indicated that only three coping strategies were influenced by this factor. Likewise, only part of the coping strategies correlated with perceived stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The innovations take an essential role in the Bulgarian economic environment as well as in the national strategies for economic growth. For many companies, improving and increasing innovation and the ability to develop innovation is the most important factor for growth. The paper explores the innovation activity of the wine industry as a specific sector of the Bulgarian economy. The purpose of the current study is to identify the attitudes of the wine producers towards innovations and to discuss the innovation activity of their enterprises. The methods used include in-person verbal interviews, which were conducted with 15 participants as expert practitioners to test the ideas, build knowledge, and gain insightful context and nuance to the ideas. The results show that although some of the wine producers implement innovations they don't realize it. The focus of their innovations is in the product, process, and technological innovations, because they try to reach a balance between quality and price. It looks like that the institutions are more like obstacle rather than support for such activity. Thus, we can conclude that to a high extent the wine producers in Bulgaria are implementing and willing to implement innovations. However, they are not well aware of the possible innovations, their potential for increasing competitiveness and therefore are focusing only on directly improving their product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper outlines the system connections of the participation of the personnel with the theory of corporate governance. It creates a base for applying the instruments of this theory in analytical and empirical studies in this area. It generalizes the results of actual international studies and determines the different forms of participation in the EU member countries. The study compares the differences in determining the forms of participation in the old and new EU member countries. It forms the reasons for the failure of the attempts for introducing the elements of the workers' self-management in the administrative system in Bulgaria. The paper identifies the first attempts for establishing forms of participation of the personnel in private Bulgarian enterprises. It determines the directions of development of these forms and makes suggestions for improving the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from a centrally planned to a more market-oriented economy provides a natural experiment on the role of institutions and exchange in economic development, and more specifically on firm growth. This paper uses survey data from Bulgaria to analyse the impact of exchange problems and institutional innovations on farm growth. Late payments have a negative influence on farm growth, while contracting with interlinked programmes has a positive effect on farm growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the theory of the knowledge economy, the paper interprets the role of the industrial property for improving the competitiveness of the firms and the significance of the patent-license firm policy for their innovative development. Based on analysis, the article formulates conclusions on using the intellectual property in the firms in Bulgaria: ·Exclusive rights on the objects of industrial property do not provide real economic benefits to the Bulgarian firms. ·The imitators are a serious threat to the industrial property of the firms, and the increase of the number of violations of the rights of the industrial property is a main problem in all sectors. ·The weak activity of the technological market in Bulgaria is a direct result of the low technological profile of the Bulgarian economy and of the lack of motivation of the firms creating and introducing new technological solutions. In conclusion the paper makes the statement that the industrial property is not considered and used as an economic resource by the firms in Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents some main results obtained from a survey offoreign investors in Bulgaria conducted at the end of year 2009. The goal of the survey was to reveal and outline various aspects and effects of the operation offoreign controlled companies on the improvement of inter-firm relations during the continuing restructuring of Bulgarian economy after the official EC membership since 2007. A comparison with results from a similar survey conducted in 2001 is derived in order to assess the main shifts occurred in respect of these effects during the EU accession period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economics / Ekonomika is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose - The paper aims to study the main managerial factors for evaluating the eco-cluster approach and to promote their implementation within the environmental industry management. Design/methodology/approach - The paper includes the authors' observations about the advantages of eco-clustering, and their practical consideration. The empirical research shows the tendencies for developing an eco-cluster policy in one of the most economically dynamic regions in Bulgaria: Varna-Devnya. The study framework was discussed with managers on the basis of the environmental practices of Solvay Sodi, Devnya Cement, and Agropolihim JSC. The authors outline the possible cycle of waste management and emission exchanges in that industrial zone. Findings - The findings show that the eco-cluster concept in Bulgaria could be provided on micro- and macro-managerial levels, discussing firm relationships and governmental policy. The principal limitation for generating the findings is the lack of concordance between the governmental interest and the business interests of the TNCs. Three negative factors are important in the implementation of the eco-clustering concept: lack of information; financial constraints; lack of trust. Practical implications - Common strategic agreements between TNCs and local authorities provide useful managerial and public implications for eco-clustering. Second, the analysis outlines essential steps for the managerial behavior for creating eco-clusters. Originality/value - The perspectives of the eco-cluster are studied for the first time in Bulgaria. The investigation gives motivation for a further study of the eco-clustering approach with the support of the local authorities. The practical steps for managerial and public implications of the eco-cluster concept as an innovative tool for Bulgarian managers are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is the study of organizational evolution of Bulgarian firms and their strategies for change. We applied a research approach based on a longitudinal study comprising both quantitative and qualitative methods. Our objective is double: on the one hand, we wish to explore and analyze the real practice of Bulgarian firms while dealing with changes in market environment, while on the other hand we attempt to develop a model of organizational evolution, which incorporates the notions of evolutionary economics and chaos theory. With respect to our objectives we developed a conceptual model of organizational evolution which has been further tested. Firstly, a desk research covering a time span of ten years (1993–2003) has been accomplished. The main research goal was to identify and to evaluate the key external drivers of organizational evolution in Bulgaria. Then a detailed representative study among the managers/CEOs of Bulgarian firms has been conducted in years 1999 and 2001. Based on the research results several conclusions about the applicability of the proposed conceptual model have been drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a representative sample of medium and large firms, this paper explores the process of employment and wage bill determination in the Bulgarian manufacturing sector. The results suggest that, during 1997–2001, the labour market behaviour of these firms was consistent with weakly efficient contracting and employment elasticity with respect to both sales and wages similar to that of the fastest-reforming Central and Eastern Europe economies. Although a case study using data on sell-off deals by the Privatization Agency suggests that the largest firms selected for cash privatization may have exhibited higher preference for wage enhancement than employment protection, the results do not bring into question the efficient performance of the post-crisis labour market in Bulgaria. Importantly, the study rejects the hypothesis that either persistent government stakes or mass privatization may have led to efficiency deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is a key factor in achieving competitive advantage for industrial enterprises. It is widely accepted that invention should be viewed as a process, emphasising on its perception as a set of separate interrelated phases. This is aimed at conscious optimisation of management and organization of the innovation process in order to create products that will be successful on the market. The issue of developing new products has long captured the attention of scientists. Considerable efforts are put into investigating the practices of developing new products and identifying the best among them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last years, the Bulgarian business organizations and government bodies were facing with the increased needs to implement new standards which could bring a higher benefit for companies and also not to affect the environment. The ISO 14 000 Family is based on standards for environmental management and gives the possibility to be applied in any type of organization, public or private sectors, administrations, etc . The main aim of the publication is to trace the implementation of ISO 14001 in Bulgaria by sectors and type of activities. As well this research offers the main reasons to the Bulgarian firms to implement ISO 14001. For reaching the aim, the study made a review of a) Evolution of ISO 14001 and its flexibility, in compliance with changes in the environment and business; b) Research of the firms which implemented ISO 14001 in Bulgaria, c) Content of the activities in the certification cycle. The used methods are according to the research system of the Bulgarian firms which implemented ISO 14001. Finally, some conclusions were drawn about the development of the ISO 14 001 in Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, modern society has faced a number of challenges related to the achievement of global goals for sustainable development. Industrial enterprises are challenged to generate, stimulate, and demand changes in networks and supply chains, but these challenges require flexibility and innovation activity in different directions. The data for Bulgaria show that the country is last among the countries of the European Union in terms of the creation and implementation of eco-innovations. Despite this result, the pace at which the country is developing shows that in the next few years, Bulgaria has the potential to move from a modest to a moderate eco-innovator, provided that it succeeds in filling the structural gaps in the system of ecological innovation. These gaps are related not only to the need for changes in the investment of resources but also to the need for changes in individual and related systems such as science and innovation, support for SMEs, the energy system, etc. Most of the research on sustainable innovation and eco-innovation has, however, focused on firm innovation models dominated by short-term profit-maximizing approaches. Therefore, there is a need to conduct research and propose adequate strategies for modern business environments and design models that facilitate the implementation of eco-innovations in industrial enterprises. The purpose of this report is to investigate the factors influencing the development of eco-innovation activities of Bulgarian industrial enterprises, examining how they can help to achieve success through eco-innovation and improve business results. A factorial model is proposed, through which the relationships between technological, financial, organizational, informational resources, research and development activities (R&D), and company cooperation are analyzed. The PLS structural equation modeling technique was used to validate the proposed theoretical model. The survey was conducted among 380 industrial enterprises from all over the sectors of the economy in Bulgaria with the help of a specially developed questionnaire within the period of April 2019 to December 2021. The obtained results show that human resources, financial resources, and cooperation positively influence research and development activities. In addition, the achievement of a positive effect on the management of eco-innovations affects the innovation activities of industrial enterprises, their ability to carry out research and development activities, as well as their ability to manage the technical and technological resources at their disposal effectively. Finally, the innovation activity aimed at carrying out scientific research and development activity, products and processes obtained as a result of the eco-innovation activity, and adequate information management directly affect the efficiency of business processes and financial results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing prices of the main production resources have led to a common European policy in support of economic subjects. The established mechanisms also concern the electricity consumed by non-domestic end users. The industrial sector in Bulgaria is energy-intensive and the accounting for the electricity costs and the compensations for their high prices has become increasingly relevant because of the direct influence on the cost price and sale price of the provided services and the produced goods. The development of an alternative accounting approach for the compensations to industrial enterprises facilitates making operative, strategic, and tactical decisions concerning their activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are witnessing the increasing interest from theory specialists in marketing and tourism, as well as from many organizations/national and international bodies, agents, administrations and local communities for both developing the concepts of ecomarketing and ecotourism and implementing these concepts in the business activity. This paper aims to clarify some aspects regarding the concept of ecomarketing as a way of thinking and organizing business in order to meet the desires of the ecotourism segment, as well as regarding the concept of ecotourism as a form of action to achieve this objective. The considerable ecotourism potential of Dobruja is a result of several elements, such as: geographical location, climate conditions, landforms, flora and fauna diversit,; the numerous historical and art monuments, the archaeological remains, the variety of nationalities and popular culture, the ethnographic and folkloric heritage of high authenticity and originality. Two ecotourism products have been chosen for analysis in order to capture de current state of implementation of ecotourism and ecomarketing practices, and to emphasize the necessity of involvement of local administrations and communities, economic agents and the academic environment for creating partnerships that support tourism development of Dobruja. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the role of FDI and the financial support from European Structural Funds (ESF) for increasing the innovation potential of the Bulgarian economy. The first part studies the degree to which the FDI inflow in Bulgaria contributes to the development of the innovative branches and services. The second part analyzes the financial support of ESF for creating the infrastructure of socially and economically significant projects, which would increase the innovation ability of the Bulgarian economy. It is assumed that the renovation of the economic and social environment could attract new quality FDI. As sources of external financing, FDI and ESF support the development of economic and social activities, which allow increase of the innovation potential of the Bulgarian companies. The evolution of some new productions and services allows suggesting that the FDI increase encourages their development. The study outlines that in order to attract quality FDI and to increase the use of ESF financial support, Bulgaria should identify reasonable economic goals, improve management and effectiveness of the production and services. Investments in smart comparative advantages allow creating a solid fundament of the knowledge economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global economic crisis sets the idea of competitiveness and the ways of its achieving in the center of the economic debate. According to the comparative analyses and studies, Bulgaria is among the countries with lowest competitiveness in EU. At the same time the country is required to increase its innovation potential in accordance with the goals, priorities, policies and strategies of EU. The goal of this paper is to present the significance of the innovations among the other factors for increasing the competitiveness of the Bulgarian enterprises. This goal is achieved through systematization of the results for Bulgaria from the existing analyses and studies of the business environment, as well as through carrying out of additional separate study of the operations and strategies of the Bulgarian firms. The factors, components, indexes and indicators, characterizing the innovations, are compared by degree of problems with the other elements of the environment and the firm operations and strategies. The approach of determining the degree of priority of the innovations among the other factors of the firm competitiveness is based on the assumption that the lower the evaluation is, compared with the other elements of the environment (respectively the activities of the enterprises), the more problematic the particular element is, and respectively it should be prioritized to a greater extent among the other elements in the national policy for improving the competitiveness of the Bulgarian enterprises. Among the main results of the study outlines the confirmation of the leading theoretical statements in the field of competitiveness, namely: at the stage of development of Bulgaria, and having in mind the phase of the economic cycle of the global and national economy, the innovations are significant but not main priority for improving the competitiveness of the Bulgarian firms in middle-term period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the contribution, role and innovation activity of SME for the economy of the country in a particular business sector - wood processing and furniture industry, with focus on the furniture sector. The authors use official statistical information of NSI concerning the innovative furniture enterprises, the tendencies drawn out from studies of a quota excerpt from furniture enterprises, as well as those from the activity of 16 enterprises labeled "tested Bulgarian furniture". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the accession of Bulgaria in EU, the Bulgarian market becomes part of the common European market. The internationalization of the enterprises, the development of competitive productions, the strategic orientation towards international markets, have decisive role for the future development of the economy. Very soon (historically it can be called immediately) after the Bulgarian accession in EU, a financial and economic crisis occurs, strongly reflecting on the Bulgarian economy and the conditions for developing the Bulgarian enterprises. Besides the problems of catching up development, the Bulgarian economy faces also the need of the industries and enterprises to continue their development, to maintain their market specifics, and sometimes even to manage to survive under the new conditions. The objective of the current study is to reveal the strength and direction of impact of the crisis and its influence in microeconomic plan on the firm strategy and competitiveness. The destabilization of the economy's microeconomic structure is a dangerous threat to the state of the whole economy. Destabilization of the microeconomic system of the Bulgarian economy is recognized in the strong worsening of the state of the organizations, changes in the normal development of the live cycle of the industries, their structural and economic specifics. The drops and failures lead to disturbing the evolution and normal development of the sub-industries, production areas, particularly in the conditions of strong competitive supply on the European markets. Often restoring is impossible. The normal market presence and development of the whole production area is broken or delayed. Maintaining a balanced branch structure and economically bearable inter-branch indicators is a significant factor for reducing the unfavorable impacts on the economic units and managing the crisis. For the purposes of the analysis the paper uses three empirical studies, carried out by National Center for Studying Public Opinion, consisting of nationally significant primary information with comparable data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians and anthropologists researching socialist consumption would most commonly analyze the peculiar CORECOM establishment as a Western model of consumerism that was either a locus of resistance to the socialist regime or symbolized the privilege of the political elite in the country (nomenklatura). This paper takes a different approach that differs from the prevailing research, as it focuses on the study of the practices of selling and purchasing of Western objects at Bulgarian CORECOMs. The author argues that purchasing Western objects at CORECOM was a unique shopping experience for the Bulgarian consumer, which was differed significantly from Western consumer styles and was relative and context dependent. The Bulgarian consumer (the CORECOM customer, the store clerk , the political elite) were active agents in the creation of new meanings for Western objects through the practices of selling and purchasing ( stealing, hiding, lobbying and issuing fake invoices). At the intersection of the socialist authoritative discourse and Western consumerism, Western objects lost their original meanings and acquired new ones.

The paper aims at revealing the corporate governance tendencies in Bulgaria as of 2007 and its findings are based on a country survey on Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Forty Largest Listed Companies in Bulgaria, conducted by the Economic Policy Institute (Sofia) during the same year. The research steps on internationally applied methodology by focusing on the annual reports and websites of the forty largest companies by market capitalization listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) - Sofia. It sought to document the existing disclosure practices in the following specific areas - Corporate Governance, Environmental and Social Policy and last but not least to identify best practices in reporting by Bulgarian listed companies. JEL: M14. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The culture of socially responsible innovation presupposes both the implementation of innovations by business organizations and the perception and actions in the Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. A prerequisite for the above perception is the conscious management of corporate culture. This report's conclusions are based on an empirical, representative study of 300 companies operating in Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An information infrastructure is part of the overall infrastructure of enterprises. It refers to hardware, software, data management technologies, network and telecommunication technologies and services as well as the staff involved in the management of provided services. The aim of this article is to elucidate the characteristics of information infrastructure and related issues in the era of digital transformation. In terms of theoretical tasks, this implies defining the concept of "information infrastructure" and identifying opportunities for its development. Practical tasks relate to analyzing some of the problems that a large Bulgarian enterprise is facing in terms of its information infrastructure and proposing methods for assessing the costs of the information infrastructure in the enterprise. Our research focuses on 'Sparky Eltos' AD in Lovech and suggests some practical guidelines for analyzing problems and offering adequate solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the various ways in which ethnographic images are deployed in branding strategies by Bulgarian and Japanese companies to frame industrial food as cultural heritage. Examining the history and marketing strategies of yogurt in Japan, I demonstrate how international marketing and cooperation has influenced the definitions, meanings and values of yogurt. In Japan, companies turn to ethnographic images of Bulgaria to sell their products, emphasizing visions of rural life over Bulgarian yogurt-making technology. At the same time, the fact that Bulgarian yogurt has turned into a symbol of health and wellbeing in one of the world's economic powers is a source of national pride for consumers in post-socialist Bulgaria. The branding strategies of yogurt show how companies transform foods into culturally meaningful products, thereby doing much more than making profitable commodities of them. In educating and offering consumers new lifestyles, they change established systems of consumption and influence people's imaginations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]