Search

Certain members of society, who are characterized by overconfidence, a relatively low level of knowledge, and a high level of misinformation or incomplete information, tend to selectively choose information from real life or the digital environment, in order to confirm their earlier incorrect beliefs. This phenomenon, known as "confirmation bias", is widely recognized in every society and mainly occurs in political discussions (by self-proclaimed "political analysts"), but also in discussions on the topic of global conspiracy theories. This kind of phenomenon is increasingly present in digital communication among consumers. Such individuals unfoundedly influence their followers (via electronic word of mouth or writing inaccurate reviews) by favoring one product or service over competing ones with baseless, truncated information or misinformation. Spreading misinformation in the digital environment can have very dangerous consequences. There are a large number of practical examples in which the spread of misinformation led to riots in the streets and violent behavior that even caused deaths.

Digital marketing has been intensively developing in domestic business practice for the last 10-15 years and is keeping pace with the development of information technologies. Digitization of business has opened up a completely new business horizon for companies and has created unlimited opportunities for business development. In the sphere of electronic business, digital marketing has become so important that modern business cannot be imagined without it. The possibilities of applying digital marketing do not depend on the size of the company, so even small and medium-sized companies have the obligation to keep up with trends, to acquire digital literacy and to develop effective digital marketing strategies. The subject of research in this paper is the use of digital marketing in small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia. The authors of the paper conducted empirical research in the period September-November 2020 on a sample of 87 SMEs operating in Serbia. For the purposes of the research, a Google questionnaire was used, which was distributed electronically to the respondents. The structure of respondents consists of entrepreneurs (business owners), managers and employees. The first part of the questionnaire contains formal questions, while the second part contains professional questions in the field of Internet marketing. This paper will present the results of the research with a discussion and analysis of the answers received, along with drawing conclusions and recommendations for future research.

Innovations are one of the most important factors in the competitiveness of the enterprises in modern business conditions. Innovation is defined as the process of creating new (and differentiated) value for customers in the market, which can create a sustainable competition advantage. The goal of innovation is to create more successful future of the company, but this success does not happen by itself, but a purposeful implementation of the innovation process is required - which requires, in the first place, the planning of all phases and sub-processes.

Managerial knowledge and skills are some of the most crucial factors of the survival and sustainability of small and medium enterprises. Achieving growth and development of small enterprises requires the implementation of a professional approach to management and to the organization. This paper shows the results of an empirical research carried out in the first half of 2020 by having applied the survey method. An e-questionnaire was designed for the purposes of this research and it was distributed to micro, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurial stores in Serbia. The goal of the research was to examine the occurrence of professionalization of managerial functions in the SME sector in Serbia, with a special emphasis on the financial function. The research results have shown that professionalization of managerial functions in the SME sector of the Republic of Serbia is not sufficiently represented and that with an increase in the level of professionalization of managerial functions becomes a great potential for the promotion of the efficiency and effectiveness of management in small and medium enterprises.

Just over a decade after the outbreak of the global economic crisis in 2008, the world is once again facing a global crisis caused by the Covid-19 virus pandemic. The paper compares the effects of the crisis on the banking sector with special reference to the measures of the National Bank of Serbia that were implemented in order to preserve financial stability in the Republic of Serbia. It was concluded that the Serbian banking sector has consistently submitted to the moratorium introduced by the NBS, most likely as a consequence of high liquidity and capital adequacy in previous periods. On the other hand, due to the corona virus pandemic, many factories have stopped producing gold, the transport of goods is functioning slowly, which has led to a shortage of gold, so it is almost impossible to buy a gold ducat or gold bar in Europe. As a result, the jump in demand consequently affected the increase in the value of gold. Although bankers quickly adapted to work from home and electronic delivery of services to end users, what is a fact is that in the future we will certainly face new financial shocks, so one of the goals of the work is to create foundations and recommendations for further business research in risky situations.

The development of digital technologies and the emergence of new digital tools has enabled many companies to operate, communicate and build the image of their brands more efficiently in the minds of their consumers. However, in a market characterized by high competition, companies are faced with a need to constantly improve their digital marketing strategies in order to survive at all. There are many practical examplesin which organizations have used chess strategies, which have been developed for hundreds of years, to outsmart their competitors in the market. It is possible to draw a parallel between the strategies of this ancient social game and the business environment, and the knowledge and experience of professional chess players can also help marketing professionals gain a competitive advantage in the market and achieve their business goals in the digital environment. This paper seeks to explore and analyze the possibilities of implementing strategies used in the game of chess in the field of digital marketing and to present the possible benefits that marketers and companies can have from the implementation of these strategies in the modern business environment. The aim of this paper is to collect and analyze information from the existing academic literature on the possibilities of connecting chess and digital marketing strategies and to offer new solutions to marketing experts and companies, which can help them improve their communication with consumers, achieve emotional interaction and create a better image of their brands.

Under the influence of globalization, there are changes in regulation and liberalization of the movement of people and capital, the trend of modification and modernization of the way banks operate. In this paper we analyzed the liquidity of ten largest banks in the Republic of Serbia according to the balance sheet assets for the period from 2010 to 2017, with the aim to see why oscillations in liquidity indicators occur. The subject of research in this paper is a comparative analysis of the ratio of liquidity indicators, with a review of the movement of the reference interest rate and the movement of non-performing loans, and by means of publicly published regular annual reports of ten banks operating in the Republic of Serbia and quarterly reports of the National Bank of Serbia, in order to define the relationship between the movements of the listed components. As the participation of the 10 largest banks according to the criterion of the amount of the balance sheet assets is 44% to 77%, the average values of their performances largely approximate the performances of the entire banking system of the Republic of Serbia.

In modern economic conditions, innovations that are based on the knowledge are the key resources of companies in their fight for gaining competitive advantage. While striving to develop the corporate culture in which the emphasis is on the knowledge and skills of employees, some companies have introduced their own corporate universities. The concept of corporate universities differs from classical training courses in a number of aspects. The companies that understand the power of knowledge in modern economy and have a proactive approach to learning and educating are establishing their own corporate universities. The universities are not considered to be an expense, but rather an investment in human potential that will eventually improve the performances and competitiveness of the organizations. These universities are the means for achieving the strategic objectives of companies. The research analyses the concept of corporate universities in terms of the develop­ment of the corporate culture and employees skills that lead to the creation of organization's competitive advantage in a highly competitive global environment. It also concentrates on the basic theoretical hypotheses of learning, educating, and employees' contribution towards an organization through the process of development and progress. The conclusion of this research is that corporate universities do have strategic significance and that they can bring numerous benefits to the companies that have established them, but only when there is an actual need for that type of the education.

The development of small and medium-sized enterprises plays a key role in the recovery of Serbian economy. SMEs are the engine of economic development and the key factor to achieve economic stabilization and economic growth. For years the SME sector in Serbia is in a poor state, faced with numerous problems. One of the biggest problems of local entrepreneurs is to find and provide the financial resources necessary to start a business, purchase necessary resources, ongoing maintenance of liquidity and investment operations, in order to achieve growth and business development. Bank loans are mostly expensive and difficult to access for entrepreneurs, which is why this problem is even more important. As an alternative to bank loans, there are programs of financial support to SMEs in Serbia, introduced by different institutions. This paper presents the analysis of such sources of funding for SMEs in Serbia.

Small and medium-sized enterprises present the key factor of economic development of the state, because they employ the largest part of the working population and so significantly influence the generation of gross domestic product. Furthermore, they solve the problem of unemployment, raise living standards and strengthen the international competitive position of the country through export. However, SMEs in Serbia are currently at an unfavorable economic, technical and innovative level. One of the main pillars on wich recovery of the SME sector in Serbia should be based is the development of innovation. Innovative SMEs are the most effective and most flexible part of modern economy, as well as the key factor for strengthening competitiveness and overall economic development.