Issue #3 (Volume 15 2017)

Objective pressures to create increasingly complex grouping of supply chain partners have next to their base priority of maintaining competitiveness and possible pitfalls. They are shown by the need to cope with a number of external risks that by participation in the chain inevitably penetrate to the enterprise and at the same time there is a duty to protect the partners from the negative effects of its own risks, as well as the enterprise itself, which threaten the common activities of the supply chain. In a review of the knowledge of the current state of the art we present models and progressive methodological approaches to integrated management and assessment of business performance. The results of our own research are presented, including verification of scientific hypotheses being explored importance of the automotive industry in Slovakia, both for production in the national economy, creation of employment and value added, as well as the effects on import or innovation. It is also defined in terms of international standards. Presented are the results of the empirical effects of the automotive industry in the total production, employment and value added in the national economy. We also deal prospects of development of the automotive industry in Slovakia, both in relation to the competitiveness of the industry itself, as well as in relation to the new industrial policy of Slovakia – Industry 4.0. Supporting part of the paper presents an application of multi-criteria methods for assessing the effectiveness of the research sample based on the DEA modelling, leading to the draft of assessment model of integrated quality management system on the principle of assessing the performance of the enterprise (BSC) and the draft of recommendations for business practice.

Goal of the contribution is to create universal model for evaluation of companies, acting in mining industry in Slovakia. Model is orientated to the companies, acting in mining industry in Slovakia and it consists from several logically relating steps. Also application of suggested process in chosen mining company is made as well as achieved results are mutually compared. Attention is given to the revenue methods with necessity of financial plan, as well as methods that do not demand knowledge of financial plan.

Entrepreneurial activity is important not just from an economic point of view but it also recognizes the power and value of an individual. In a developing country like Pakistan that ranks high when it comes to ease of doing business but very low in entrepreneurship, alternatives must be devised to empower individuals socially and economically. The Pakistani women being empowered than ever before have to be paid special attention to in case of entrepreneurship. The current study is thus aimed at assessing the e-business related entrepreneurial finance and potential of women doing e-business. E-business helps women overcome many traditional barriers to employment and entrepreneurship. Using Theory of Planned behavior and entrepreneurship models, a framework for assessing e-business and seeking entrepreneurial finance alternatives is developed. Unlike the previous theories which suggested eight variables the current study found that for e-business entrepreneurs only perceived propensity, desirability, feasibility, motherhood, management and meso and macro environment are significant. Besides money, market and management which are important for starting any business, IT knowledge is important. The results based on regression analysis suggest that the model fits well as it predicts value of the entrepreneurial intention at 95% with a 5% significance value. Based on the findings of the study a new model for assessment of e-business entrepreneurial intention is developed which includes all significant variables and IT knowledge as a moderating variable. Based on this assumption, there is a clear implication for the policy makers to stress IT literacy to encourage entrepreneurial activity.

The problem of instability of industries, clusters and states influences the countries’ economies. Unavoidable changes became an attribute of the strategic planning at every level. As a result, an effective tool is needed to evaluate stability at different levels in such a way that will make it possible to manage the changes. In this paper the concept of Macroeconomic Stabilization Pentagon (MSP) was analyzed for its applicability for the EU countries of low-an-middle-income economies including Ukraine. The data analysis brought new understanding of the assessment of the public policies’ effectiveness. The model has proven its efficiency not just in the sphere of public administration, but also for the micro level management. The authors proposed the Microeconomic Stabilization Pentagon to be implemented in the research at the level of enterprises

Innovative processes in the agriculture of Ukraine have specific characteristics. Most enterprises require substantial investments to finance innovative development. The article highlights the factors that influence the development of innovative investment activity of agricultural companies and analyzes their innovative and investment potential. It systematizes a set of risks and threats inherent in innovative and investment activity of agricultural enterprises using SWOT-analysis, which helps determine its possibilities. It offers a matrix for selecting strategic alternatives of innovative development of agricultural enterprises, which makes it possible to link three vectors of the innovative and investment activity: the level of innovative activity of enterprises, the scope of their activities, the most appropriate strategies for further development.

To improve the efficiency of organic farming, it is important to improve the management of agricultural enterprises (agrarian management). The research was based on the hypothesis that adequate provision with and the use of fixed assets, as well as the concentration of production, play a decisive role in improving the efficiency of organic farming. This makes it possible to minimize the cost of conducting environmentally safe agro-technical and biocenotic measures, as well as reducing specific production costs.
To identify the reasons that hinder the development of organic farming in Ukraine we conducted a survey of managers of 80 agrarian enterprises from different regions specializing in the growing and export of grain (including organic). 65% of the surveyed managers indicated that the reason for non-implementation of organic production was an expected increase in production costs and a decrease in profitability compared to the traditional production methods. The respondents mentioned the lack of logistics infrastructure as the second obstacle according to the intensity of its impact – 25.9% of responses.
It has been established that in Ukraine, in comparison with other countries, there is a negative tendency for companies to save money on expanded reproduction and improvement of production technologies. The analysis shows that in most countries organic farming is conducted mainly by small farms, while in Ukraine big farms are certified. In the conditions of the shortage of credit resources necessary for updating the material and technical base, monopolization of the market of organic seeds and systematic growth of prices on resources, big farms are the ones to increase the concentration of organic farming and the means to achieve the necessary efficiency of production.

The formation of the new economy, which is replacing the industrial economy and has a multi-vector dimension1, causes deep transformations in all spheres of social existence, leads to the emergence of new forms and methods for organizing interactions between institutions that function in the area of socio-economic development. The relevance of the study is caused by the necessity of theoretical and applied substantiation of the new subjective composition and network interaction of these institutions. The scientific and practical significance of the research is to substantiate the formation and development of modern institutions and to establish a new format for their interaction within the framework of the new economy. The results of the study are aimed at identifying the latest trends in the modernization of institutes’ functions in the triad “market – state – business”. The subject of the study is the theoretical and applied principles of the social phenomenon “market – state – business”. The methodological basis for achieving this goal is systematic and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of redistribution of roles among these institutions and the improvement of their interaction in the process of ensuring sustainable development. The purpose of the research is a scientific and theoretical substantiation of the new configuration of the social phenomenon “market – state – business”. The principal position of the authors is their belief that a new interpretation should be given if not to all, but to the majority of categories and concepts that reflect the phenomena and processes occurring in the chain “market – state – business”. There is a need for a new, unorthodox, unconventional understanding of most of the phenomena and processes associated with the functioning of the leading institutions of the economy and society. The article presents the authors’ view on the contemporary role of each of the mentioned institutions, their interaction in the process of ensuring sustainable development. Particular attention is paid to the substantiation of the transformation of functions of the state and business under the current conditions. The authors demonstrate that the contemporary role and place of the leading institutions, which have to ensure sustainable development, need a new understanding.

In this study, the main attention is paid to the problem of “shadowing” the Ukrainian economy in the crisis period. Theoretical approaches to determining the functions of taxes and factors affecting real tax revenues were studied. A scientific study was carried out which would reveal the motives for the behavior of taxpayers, which are explicitly or implicitly laid in the basis of approaches to the formation of the mechanism of taxation and tax policy of the state. Therefore, we tried to determine the reasons why the behavior of each individual taxpayer is completely determined by his individual rational choice, determined by the desire to maximize his own benefit, i.e. does not depend on the choice of the tax behavior of other agents and the effects that individual taxpayers have on each other. Our results show that the reduction of transaction costs in the legal sector of the economy and the creation of conditions that impede the illegal conduct of transactions are not sufficient conditions for the implementation of formal taxation rules.

This study investigates how oil price movements impact the main Eurozone industry supersectors returns. We use a multifactor market model in which we incorporate oil price changes as an additional risk factor. In order to account for possible breaks in the relationship, we use the Bai and Perron (1998, 2003) breakpoints identification methodology. We find evidence of the presence of structural instabilities on the relationship between sector stock returns and oil price changes. Different breakpoints are identified, particularly the 2003 Iraq invasion year, the 2008 subprime crisis and the 2012 Euro debt crisis. Moreover, our results prove that stock return sensitivities to oil prices are time varying and sector dependent. Besides, the subprime financial crisis appears to induce a significantly positive effect on the oil-stock market nexus. However, the Euro debt crisis has a mostly negative effect. The other identified breakpoints do not seem to have any significant effect on the oil stock market nexus.

An exploratory survey was undertaken in order to explore the underlying causes of bankruptcy in junior mining companies operating in the Witbank region of Mpumalanga Province based on data gathered from 120 highly experienced employees of junior mining companies operating at Witbank. Perception on barriers to productivity in junior mines was measured based on a scale introduced by Henisz, Dorobantu and Nartey (2014). Data was gathered on 24 socioeconomic variables. Data was analysed by performing logit analysis. The key finding of study was that 74.17% of respondents believed that their mines were profitable and productive. Productivity of mines was found to be undermined high cost of transport [OR = 4.51; P = 0.003; 95% CI = (2.26, 7.58)], low demand for mine products [OR = 2.65; P = 0.009; 95% CI = (1.86, 6.14)] and inability to improve the public images of junior mining companies [OR = 2.53; P = 0.015; 95% CI = (1.80, 5.76)].

This article compares an existing model to measure competence of managers educated within the business school environment to a similar model at another business school setting. The existing management model initially developed by Thekiso’s is evaluated to determine if the model can be operationalised, hence can be regarded as valid, to apply to another business school’s educated manager sample to measure their managerial competence. Resultantly, Thekiso’s original model was applied to another similar sample at another business school educated manager population in KwaZulu-Natal. These respondents also studied towards a Master of Business Administration degree but their specific cultural, language and business school variables differed. The objective was then to validate the Thekiso model in different application settings. The results showed that the data were suitable to use to determine if the existing model can be used as it is to measure managerial competence. Also, the results indicated that Thekiso’s existing model is not generic and cannot be operationalised as it is school-specific. The anbalysis showed that the measuring criteria developed by Thekiso are relevant but the specific factors identified differ in nature and number, hence altering the core of the measuring model itself. As a result, the article formulates an alternative model for use in KwaZulu-Natal to measure skills for managerial competence in the province. This research is of value to management, academia and researchers because it renders an alternative model to measure managerial competence whilst also warning against operationalization of any of the two models without further validation.

The exploration of the entrepreneurial university indicates a new model for higher education institutions. Despite the overwhelming resistance against this phenomenon in terms of neoliberalism, modern universities adapt to economic forces and the function of the imminent fourth industrial revolution. The changing ethos of universities in a time of super-complexity seems to be a natural phenomenon of our time regardless of the warnings against this revolution. The protection of academic integrity and quality of tuition needs not be a trade-off when the tuition mission of universities is being enlarged in terms of a new type of knowledge management and a fresh drive for applied research and intellectual property management. Universities become less isolated as an open system with the aim of building an enterprising state in which university partners co-innovate in order to solve global economic challenges. Most universities promote intrapreneurship and types of external academic engagement with industry while others have established technology transfer organisations and industry-science links as integral to the university. This paper explores perspectives against and for the phenomenon, with strong arguments and selected case examples in support of entrepreneurial universities.

This paper focuses on exploring the leadership governance in universities. The leadership governance creates an environment which is transparent and it incorporates stakeholders that transform the university. The leadership governance faces visible and invisible challenges which calls for experts in different areas of leadership to be incorporated into the structures of the university in order to bring sustainability in the university. The primary data was collected from six traditional universities and three universities of technology in South Africa from the sample of 39 members of senate. The nature of the study is a quantitative study in which Survey Monkey was used for the distribution of questionnaires. The findings of the study indicate that there is a lack of involvement of stakeholders in the processes of reviewing policies and operational issues. The other findings was the use of university members in leadership to promote unity.

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been widely touted as a fundamental ingredient for enhancing firm growth. Consequently, this aimed at examining the impact of EO and its dimensional variables (innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactiveness) on SME growth (employment, sales, and asset growth). Using information from 285 SMEs, the results obtained indicated that while EO had a significant positive association with SME growth (employment and sales growth), most SMEs show a moderate level of EO. Also, following the EO dimensions, the findings established the emergence of proactive innovation (a combination of proactiveness and innovativeness) which showed a significant positive association on sales growth. Risk-taking was the only factor that showed a significant influence on employment and asset growth. This study also showed that controlling for the effect of firm age on growth significantly reduced the error of predicting sales growth by 2.3%. This study culminates with recommendations on enhancing EO amongst SMEs in South Africa.

The rise of MNCs, the expansion of the EU and several M&As have exposed German boards to a variety of cultures. But does diversity in the boardrooms improve performance? Based on an empirical study on German publicly listed companies, this unique research into cultural diversity answers the question if the level of cultural variety and cultural distance on boards of directors have an influence on firm performance in Germany. The results, which show a negative, linear influence of both cultural variety and cultural distance on operating performance measures, show empirical support for the importance of contextual factors in the relationship between diversity and performance. The authors ask for careful consideration before implementing regulations on board diversity.

To date, the promotion of local development of the territorial communities by means of the financial policy tools is one of the priority directions of scientific research not only in Ukraine, but also throughout the world. The article presents the results of the study of the impact of the participatory financing (attraction of the financial resources of community members, central and local budgets and the international donors) on the social capital of the territorial communities of Sumy region on the basis of the results of two phases of the project “Community-based Approach to Local Development”, which has been implemented in Ukraine by the United Nations Development Program since 2007. The main purpose of the article is to confirm the hypothesis that the participatory financing contributes to the social mobilization of the community residents, which leads to the activation of the “dormant” potential of collective actions and the desire of people to help themselves, as well as to improve some indicators of social capital. The difference-in-differences method and the multivariate regression analysis were used for the study. According to the results of the study, the characteristics of social capital, such as (anti)paternalism, the presence of traditions in community, involvement in social activities, collective action and cooperation are the most affected by the impact of participatory financing.

The factors affecting job satisfaction of academic employees, with specific reference to the National University of Lesotho (NUL) were analysed. Understanding the factors that affect academic performance is pivotal for satisfactory levels of performance by higher education institutions. Satisfactory working conditions at universities like NUL can provide the impetus to attract well qualified academics. Six areas pertaining to working conditions, relationship with colleagues, access to resources, job security, recognition and advancement were focused on analyzing job satisfaction among academic employees at the National University of Lesotho. A concurrent approach of both quantitative and qualitative techniques was used. The target population of 156 respondents completed a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, version 22.0, while thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. The findings of the study highlighted salaries as a factor influencing job satisfaction. Further, insufficient financial resources to support teaching, learning and research at the NUL impacted job satisfaction. Over and above dissatisfaction with benefits, allowances, lack of equipment, as well as poor institutional management, there was collegiality with heads of departments, working as a team. The findings are valuable to university administrators and academics to consider for improving job satisfaction among employees.

The aim of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the impact of logistical outsourcing on the overall quality of the level of the logistical service of enterprises-producers in supply chains. In this study, special attention is paid to the estimation of indicators of logistics service as by their own forces and due to outsourcing and assessing the elasticity of these indicators, for an example, in Sumy Engineering Works Ltd.
As a result of the study, in case of their own delivery, logistics service level is higher than in case of logistics outsourcing. It may be related to the fact that in the first case, at the industrial enterprises, there is higher level of control over the process and the capacity for flexible and rapid response to various demands of consumers, which is very important for competitiveness. It was determined how the value of each individual index varies with the change in the supply control volume.

Sustainable development of an enterprise in the conditions of permanent changes is possible only with the presence of an effective system of external and internal control. The theoretical foundations of a creation of the strategic control’s indicators to simplify the process of strategic management in the context of sustainable development of the Ukrainian companies were investigated. The classification features of the main strategic indicators have been systematized, which can be useful for the creation of strategic control system. Based on theoretical research, there has been developed a comprehensive model of strategic control, which brings together external and internal indicators and makes it possible for the top and middle levels of managers to carry out strategic surveillance of the process of sustainable development in the context of the chosen strategy.

The estimation of transaction costs is a well-known methodological problem, the solution of which determines the possibility, among other things, to estimate the conditions for business operations. The growing complexity of the social and economic interaction emphasizes the special role of transaction costs in regulation of the stability condition. The article analyzes approaches to the determination of the essential characteristics of transaction costs. The scientific evidence of dividing of transaction costs into normal and recertative is provided. Their differentiation is connected to the impact of uncertainty and also the principal unavoidability of transaction costs regardless the efficiency of the economic mechanism and other factors. An important factor here is friction force – flexibility of the economic space. The growth of transaction costs that is observed with the increased uncertainty emphasizes only the revealed features in the friction force of the economic environment. All this led to the conclusion on the availability of a generalizing factor that estimates the conditions of exchange transactions. For this, the notion of transaction capacity was introduced; it expresses the cumulative impact of the external and internal conditions, which, this way or another, are understood by the specialists making the managerial decisions. The existence of some value of transaction costs when transaction is declined presupposes an important assumption that the transaction capacity has the same limits of dynamics. The obtained results allow us to build a function of transaction capacity, which shall be considered as a tool for risk-profile analysis.

This paper aims to propose a new model for the manner in which companies manage innovation. To that end, some of the most important research on the topic is analyzed and summarized through a review of its historical background in the indexed databases in WoS (Web of Science) and an analysis of frequently used terms over the past 15 years (2001–2016). The analysis is developed through bibliometric techniques using VOSviewer software, version 1.6.4, seeking to identify recurring and related concepts, such as corporate entrepreneurship, that can leverage company innovation management from the strategy, inherent factors related to human resources and the environment in which the organization operates. Henceforth, this paper focuses on a new model to manage innovation in companies through a conceptualization of innovation and corporate entrepreneurship, this model can be useful in countries with low levels of cooperation between stakeholders and scarce resources, countries on bias of development like Latin America, Africa and some Asian countries. It can be concluded that the company innovation should start with the definition of its strategy, taking into account factors like the human talent and the environment in which the organization is operating, through customized innovation processes that can be applied following some of the multiple models referred to in the literature, framed within the needs of different stakeholders, as indicators of organizational performance. Therefore, the actors which are part of the model are: employees, clients, state, suppliers, academics, community, shareholders and business.

It is proved that the modern level of economy competitiveness has been achieved due to the scientific and technical innovations in the industrial sphere. Given the global trends, Ukraine is working out its own direction of the innovative development. To achieve the final result of innovation at the industrial enterprises, it is necessary to ensure a transfer of innovative technologies to the commercial production. Shift of the technological developments from the research units to the potential customers is usually brought about with the help of market mechanisms, i.e., launching the technologies into the market and its promotion. The article offers a matrix approach to determine the overall development of intra-firm technology transfer system considering both the internal innovation capacity and favorable external conditions. The general scheme for determining the capacity of intra-firm technology transfer system development at machine-building enterprise on the basis of correlation and regression modeling has been developed. Four main program of developing the intra-firm technology transfer system are offered. They include active development which stipulates the extensive use of endogenous factors in terms of favorable environment; moderate growth which is appropriate given certain internal and external problems of enterprises innovative development in general and technology transfer systems in particular; anti-crisis development which is appropriate either in terms of favorable environment given low internal capacity of technology development and transfer or in a difficult situation at macro-level given high transfer potential; “cryogenic” period when the entity is suffering a crisis and there are a lot of external risks, it is reasonable to resort to the “deliberate damping”, being forced to suspend the innovative activity, creation and development of technology transfer system. Scientific and practical recommendations are provided to develop the intra-firm technology transfer system of the leading machine-building enterprises in Poltava region, such as PJSC “Kremenchug Plant of Road Machines”, PJSC “Kryukov Railway Car Building Works”, PJSC “Kremenchug Wheel Plant”, PJSC “AutoKrAZ”.

The aim of the article is to study, analyze and develop methods of the land cadastral valuation activity in the implementation of the procedure on revaluation of land facilities and operational adjustments, as well as to upgrade land evaluation results as a constantly functioning system for the effective planning of business activities for Cherkasy region in The aim of the article is to study, analyze and develop methods of the land cadastral valuation activity in the implementation of the procedure on revaluation of land facilities and operational adjustments, as well as to upgrade land evaluation results as a constantly functioning system for the effective planning of business activities for Cherkasy region in Ukraine. The cadastral evaluation must consider the market situations and trends the most. Frequency terms of the cadastral valuation for each of land categories and groups should be reviewed and individualized.
The article analyzes the mechanism and features of types of work on updating the state cadastral land valuation in populated localities in Ukraine, in particular of Cherkasy region, for the first time. The authors found that the main drawback of types of work on the economic model of cadastral land valuation in populated localities is the duration of time intervals between rounds of the revaluation that causes a rapid information aging. The reason for this situation is related to the financial support of types of work and their large scale.
The practical importance of research consists in conducting the revaluation (updating) of cadastral of land condition by Uman, as one of the most important objects of trade and consumer services in Cherkasy region in Ukraine. The cost of one square meter of such objects will increase, which will allow to increase the tax component in proportion and increasing profitability of budgets at the cluster level owing to actualization of the specific indicator of the cadastral value.

It is vital to remember that there are numerous kinds of standards compliant with the ISO 9001 standard. ISO 9001 standard is one of many pro-quality solutions adopted in companies worldwide. Starting to apply pro-quality solutions in an organization, in particular the ISO 9001 standard implementation, is up to the decision making body. The analyses also show that the ISO 9001 standard meets the requirements of decision-making body. This trend is positive and continues to increase. Therefore, it is likely to forecast that the implementation dynamics will still be increasing in the near future.

This study aims to analyze the effect of gender diversity in both the Board of Commissioners and Board of Directors, as well as the effect of education background of the President Commissioner on the firm value. Gender diversity is measured from the proportion of women in Board of Commissioners and Board of Directors, while the education background is measured by the education background of the President Commissioner. In this research, the firm value is measured by Tobins Q.
The sample used in this study consist of 70 manufacturing companies listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange in the year 2012. This study employs multiple linear regression to draw the research results.
The analysis results show that gender diversity in both the Board of Commissioners and Board of Directors significantly affects firm value. On the contrary, the education background of the President Commissioner does not affect firm value. This result support the argument that diversity of boards will, through various ways, affect firm financial value in the long and short term.

The carried out research confirms the expediency of economic mathematical modeling (game theory) implementation in practice of economical activity. The paper presents a designed game theory model of optimal innovative strategy for product manufacturing at the enterprise considering the expenses due to the production, storage and transportation of basic goods; extra expenses for the development of innovative products and supplementary costs granted by the company for the innovative products development in order to decrease possible material losses by the defined reasons.
The developed game theory model aims to develop the optimal strategy for innovative products manufacturing was implemented and approved at the enterprise, which produces different means of operative communication. The assigned solution of a task included the calculation of the company’s optimal innovative product release with the aim of receiving a maximum income from the developed products realization. The model enables to define the percentage ratio of the efficient manufacturing of innovative products at the enterprise, considering the state of the market and competitive behavior in overall product assortment, the possibility of this ratio optimal correction in order to maximize the income from innovative products realization.
Performed calculations allow the company’s managers to determine the beneficial and non-beneficial market state for certain types of innovative products and to improve the decision making process concerning the increase or the reduction of innovative products manufacturing.

Yuhan is a small-and-medium-size pharmaceutical manufacturing company in South Korea (Korea). It is well known in the industry as a paragon of credibility and sustainability. Concerning the small-but-powerful firm’s remarkable triumph, over the past two decades, a number of academics and researchers have examined the model of management within the context of business management. Yet the firm’s corporatist management in terms of validity should be considered beyond the area of business administration. Unlike previous academic works, this paper assesses the Yuhan experiments within the context of corporate corporatism.
The chief argument of this new approach is that corporatism and solidarity grounded Yuhan campaign (stark contrast concepts of neoliberal management) may offer meaningful lessons for the neoliberalism embedded Korean commercial society. While infrastructural conditions of both the public and private sectors are feeble to upheld corporatism, Yuhan style corporate corporatism, as a harbinger of social democratic corporatism, could be an alternative model to supplement such weakness. In rivalry with neoliberal campaigns that persistently creates social polarization and disunity; the solidarism-based Yuhan model would work a solution to overcome threadbare safety net for working and lower middle class in Korean society.

Talent shortage due to failure by organizations to retain staff with the necessary expertise is becoming a reality and it is important that this challenge is addressed expeditiously. This article focuses on the relationship between employee retention and talent management at a sugar mill with a view to ascertaining whether or not the organization is possibly the reason for employees to leave. The study involved investigating and highlighting the need and importance of talent management, including the attraction and retention of staff with necessary skills. The study touched on the importance of competitive incentives and rewards in the attraction and retention of employees. A survey was conducted among 137 employees. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive and inferential (correlations and regressions) statistics. The interpreted results indicated that staff satisfaction leads to high productivity and plays a significant role in the retention of staff. The results further indicated that management strategies are not being used to the extent that they should be in the retention of talent, whilst most respondents felt that fringe benefits that used to be offered by the organization had a positive influence on staff satisfaction and on the retention of talented employees. The study revealed a commonly held perception by the non-designated group that people from designated groups use the provisions of the Employment Equity Act to find better opportunities with other organizations.

The challenges of economic globalization, recession, and the essential changes in market conditions, as well as the financial institutionalization, determine the expediency of the new studies to explore the impact of fiscal instruments on the dynamics of economic growth and social stability. This paper examines the role of fiscal policy in the economic growth ensuring in advanced and emerging market economies over the period from 2001 to 2015. The research indicates the growing role of the state (in general) and the budget (in particular) in regulation of social and economic processes. Based on the methods of economic regression, the interrelations between government spending and GDP growth in different groups of countries were evaluated. The study emphasized the directions to increase the positive influence of budget policy on economic development for countries with emerging market economies. This can be achieved by harmonization of the tax burden and structure, improving the use of budget funds, conducting structural optimization of budget expenditures, further development of financial and budget institutions, implementation of the fiscal constraints and rules while forming the basic indicators of fiscal policy.

This study identifies global factors conditioning the global problematics of the direction of social development. Global threats were evaluated and defined as dangerous processes, phenomena, and situations that cause harm to health, safety, well-being, and the lives of all humanity, and require removal. The essence of global risks was defined. These risks were defined as events or conditions that may cause a significant negative effect for several countries or spheres within a strategic period if they occur. Global problems were conceptualized. These problems were defined as phenomena, matters, and situations that are not completely understandable, interesting, actual, require solving and regulation, and in addition do not have unified solutions. Current global challenges were analyzed, defined as strategic guidelines that cause transformational changes and are receiving attention from humanity. Global trends were defined as courses of social development. The composition and role of global actors were described, and defined as international organizations, leading states, regional organizations, powerful corporations, institutional investors, large cities, and well-known personalities. The directions of positive courses of social development were developed by means of using the authors’ mechanism of solving the global problematics.

This article examines the socio-economic impacts and effects of unlawful electricity tariff increase in South Africa. Access to electricity is a vital socio-economic right in South Africa because of its intrinsic role in the fulfilment of other social economic rights. The availability and accessibility of electricity guarantees the success of many businesses and the survival of many households, particularly the rural poor. Eskom, a governmental parastatal, generates, transmits and distributes electricity for the people, and charges for these services are rendered based on the tariff approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). Recently, NERSA decided to approve tariff increase requested by Eskom which was against the Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006 and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996. This increase was contested and nullified in court. If this tariff increase had not been challenged in the court, it would have had a devastating impact on the well-being of the people, particularly the poor. Using literature relevant to socio-economic rights to modern energy, particularly electricity, this article accentuates that electricity is a basic socio-economic right in South Africa that must be accessible and affordable to all. It explains the importance of judicial intervention in ensuring that socio-economic rights are made available and accessible to the people. It points out that the court will not hesitate in using its judicial power to extend any opportunity which allows poor people to access and enjoy right to modern energy and electricity and other socio-economic rights in South Africa.

This research investigated on the perceived benefits and barriers to the application of mobile and social networking technologies in South African Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs). A quantitative orientation was used in carrying out the study through self-administered questionnaires and a descriptive quantitative method of analysis was applied. The research population consisted of some students and lecturers from University of Venda (Univen) and University of Limpopo (UL). The research results showed that indeed HLIs in South Africa enjoy some benefits using mobile and social networking technologies which makes students and lecturers participate in virtual learning. The results also confirmed that HLIs in South Africa are faced with various barriers affecting mobile and social networking technology adaptations. Five noteworthy barriers identified were connectivity, security problems, small screens, lack of equipment and technology and lack of training among users. Benefits which were identified included, improved participation, improved communication between students and lecturers and enhancement of teaching and learning processes in HLIs. The research recommended HLIs to be aware of the major Learning Management Systems (LMS) which they should use together with social networking platforms to successfully gain full benefits of using mobile and social networking technologies in the education sector.

The processes of international migration in recent years concern a large number of people due to many military conflicts intensification, borders liberalization, internationalization of education, etc. Migration motives are believed to consist of economic, socio-demographic, political and security, language-cultural and ecological and natural determinants. Reviewing migration motives and migration flows dependence on the respective determinants for Ukraine provided an opportunity to form a set of parameters to study empirically migration motivation for leaving abroad.
The article researches and generalizes the questionnaire results on migration motivation of individuals. The general results of respondents’ views on their potential migration format are highlighted. The respondents’ individual assessment of the reasoned determinants in relation to their influence on the motivating people to migrate abroad is analyzed. To confirm the results, the indicators of the individual determinants importance are presented. It is determined that the prevailing determinants of migration belong to the group of economic and political-security ones, in particular, low wages, high level of corruption in the country, high unemployment, corrupt and ineffective judicial protection system, state participation in armed conflicts and post-conflict state of the country, high level of inflation, high level of labor income taxation, the complexity of opening and closing a business.

The article deals with research of global regularities in the global system of higher education. The interrelation of information, Internet and educational environments, branding and marketing are investigated as a qualitative basis for sustainable development of universities. The government strategies stimulating development of international experience for students are explored and analyzed. This experience resulted in mass opening of international branch campuses and popularity of educational centers (“education hubs”). World tendencies in the field of human capital development in the sphere of higher education are revealed. Special attention is given to development of international institutional and industrial partnership. At present, the challenges facing the modern system of higher education in Russia are related to the need to ensure its competitiveness in the international arena and create centers for the innovative development within the Russian Federation. In the sphere of higher education of Russia, a number of priority projects of the higher education system can be identified, which were approved at the end of 2016: “Universities as Centers of Innovation Development”; the project of “Modern Digital Educational Environment” and the model of the export potential development of the “Russian education system”, which increases the attractiveness and competitiveness of the international educational services market in order to increase the volume of revenues from the export of educational services.

The purpose of the article is to reveal the influence of the state policy of economic restructuring and renewal on the allocation of labor resources in regions and cities of the country. The state policy has an impact on the allocation of labor resources, but causes, at times, conflicting effects. This is especially true during the economic restructuring and renewal period. As a scientific and methodological basis, the analysis of the economic structure and the four-factor shift-share analysis, adapted by the authors in earlier works, were used. The use of statistical data of 98 cities in five federal districts of Russia in 2009–2015 allowed the authors to reveal the ambiguous influence of the state policy of economic restructuring and renewal on the allocation of labor resources by regions and cities of the country. It has been confirmed that the restructuring and renewal policy of the Russian economy, as well as in other countries, is accompanied by changes in the allocation of labor resources. As a positive effect, it can be noted that economic restructuring and renewal contribute to a balance in the spatial allocation of labor resources. As negative effects of economic restructuring and renewal, the authors of the article note the inertial nature of the economic structure (the extractive sector retains a leading position in terms of employment indicators) and a reduction in the labor potential of peripheral cities, which does not correspond to the stated goals of the economic restructuring and renewal policy. It is shown that the city authorities are able to exert a greater influence on changes in the economic structure than it is generally assumed. The authors believe that the states implementing the restructuring and renewal policy should take into account changes in the allocation of labor resources by regions and cities in order to observe the balance in regions’ development and not to fall into a trap in which economic growth of regions attracting labor resources will be achieved at the expense of other regions.

With increasing demand for integrating learning management systems (LMS) into teaching and learning, a well-designed LMS is crucial. User interface evaluation has become a critical quality of interactive LMS intended to meet the requirements of users. This article investigates the effect of the interaction on the user and assesses the extent of system functionality. It further seeks to evaluate the interface’s success within the framework of fundamental human computer interface principles under a constructivist learning approach. Using an LMS assumes that when learners are engaged in a social learning context they actively construct knowledge; therefore, the resource is considered a tool to support learning and not an end in itself. The research investigates use of the LMS by two sets of users: staff members (module creators) and learners (module consumers), using semi-structured questionnaires and interviews. The research indicates that use of an LMS supports collaborative and authentic activities in learning, serving as an intrinsic motivation to most users. Some problems/concerns that were highlighted included; attention should be given to the tools and elements that should be added to the system, for example the image management tools; some users expressed the desire for more autonomy in terms of the peer review window. It is also recommended that the use of graphics should have a purpose that is either purely functional or contributes more subtly to the page content. Finally, there were requests for more customization of the themes, colors and icons in the design of LMS.

This paper explores the relationship between an external socio-disruptive factor and consumer product and brand decision-making behavior. The social disruption was physical relocation, which resulted in a radical change in the toilet system, which had implications for toilet cleaning product and brands used. By using a sample calculator, a probability sample of 384 households from Cosmo City, South Africa were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The data from 332 respondents (86% response rate) were analyzed using various inferential statistical analysis techniques to test three hypotheses. Multiple regression path coefficients demonstrated positive and significant changes β=1.709,  p<.0005 in the desired brand benefits following the social disruption, and that there were no significant differences β=-0.601,  p<.027 between households that switched brands and those that did not. The findings underscore the importance of recognizing that consumers re-evaluate their brand choices, leading to significant brand switching in cases where the social change has a radical effect on brand usage. The results also indicate that ‘out-of-market’ changes such as a radical social change have the same impact on consumer brand behavior and brand choice, as “in-market” disruptions such as the introduction of an innovative brand. The findings have strategy implications for marketers of toilet cleaning products in particular and consumer goods in general.

Globalization has influenced the identity of universities worldwide to such an extent that they have become servants for economic growth by producing scientific knowledge and highly educated graduates. In a South African (SA) dispensation, the transformation of higher education (HE) focused on restructuring the system to meet the needs of a technology-orientated economy. The latter resulted in more specialized and complex university work that was reliant on technological devices for its completion. It is on this premise that the author investigated the extent to which technological devices as a ‘job resource’ kept SA University staff constantly connected to their work life.
This study was subject to a mixed methods research design whereby three data collection instruments were used to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data, which were combined via triangulation of factor analysis and theme identification. Purposive sampling included both academic and non-academic staff from a selected SA university. Stemming from the results, it became apparent that problematic merger issues led to inadequate workspaces, job resources and IT network. Consequently, staff were experiencing occupational stressors related to work overload and inadequate job resources, which perpetuated staffs’ work-life transcending into their personal life, as they were constantly plugged into their technological devices to complete job tasks.

Developed and advanced way of calculation concession fee than provided by the Government Methodology from 04.02.2016. It based on the critical review of existing legal regulation in Ukraine, considering the inflation factor according to international requirements (UNIDO). This approach provides a reduced risk of members of concession agreement, protection of the project member’s interests and the financial viability of the project. Ukraine should follow international practice and rely on concession fee as an instrument of regulation, not only as a fiscal instrument. During the concession contest, where the criteria for selection of the winner is a concession fee, the Government should provide the object to concession if the amount of the payment will be higher than the maximum profit that can get a monopoly. Fee may take the form of a single or an annual payment. In the latter case, reasonable discount rate must be set to calculate the present value of the stream of payments. Confirmed: the need pre-planning examination of normative documents, the use of sentences of the international experience of evaluation of projects, the revised rate of interest a concession payment, the desirability of calculating asset values using their average annual cost, taking into account the special conditions of the project.

A socially responsible business is of considerable interest to a wide range of subjects, since it provides significant benefits to all members of society. Such business solves the social problems of residents with their direct participation, that is, with maximum consideration of their interests and, therefore, it becomes widespread in the contemporary global practices. Therefore, the recommendations regarding further development of social responsibility of businesses in Ukraine and Russia, in particular, in the field of trade, are highly relevant, which has determined the chosen topic.
The purpose of this study is to assess the level of social responsibility of business enterprises in Ukraine and Russia and to formulate recommendations for its further development.
The research revealed insufficient level of development of social responsibility of business in the field of trade in two countries. The study of the programs of social responsibility in the most active companies in two countries on this issue showed that consumer support programs are the most widespread. However, according to the official research results, the populations of Ukraine and Russia expect more active support from the staff of these companies.
The work substantiated the expediency of creating a single state information resource of general use, which should accumulate the most important social projects in each country. It also proved the necessity to increase the participation of civic organizations in the implementation of joint social and trade activities, which requires the creation of the appropriate legal conditions.
Ultimately, trading companies are encouraged to increase the volumes of funding for the prioritized areas of socially responsible investments, that is, to intensify the development of social responsibility to support labor practices.

Nowadays budgetary funds still prevail among sources of financing of the projects in the area of increasing the energy efficiency of the regional economy in the Russian Federation. For example, in the Tver region in 2016, 82% of the projects for the modernization of the heat supply infrastructure and 100% for the modernization of the electricity supply infrastructure were implemented at the expense of the budget. At the same time, there is a decrease in the total amount of state financing of energy efficiency projects due to a high proportion of the budget deficit of the subjects of the Russian Federation. According to the agency ACRA (information dated April, 12, 2017 at www.acra-ratings.ru), 58 out of 85 regional budgets for 2017 were accepted with a total deficit of 193 billion rubles. At the same time, the urgency of applying organizational and financial mechanisms for the implementation of energy efficient projects involving alternative financing is growing. The article systematizes the views on the perspective mechanisms for implementing projects in the field of increasing the energy efficiency of the regional economy, including taking into account the analysis of problems of their application in the example of the Tver region. The authors studied existing organizational and financial mechanisms for energy-efficient projects, including public private and municipal private partnerships, and the Local Initiatives Support Program.

Production systems in the structure of economic systems occupy the most fundamental place and act as both initial and basic subsystem of any economic development. There is a tendency to change the forms of production and the study of these process systems poses a wider aspect of their dynamics analysis. The article tries to prove both theoretically and practically that global production networks are one of the most important factors in the innovative transformation of countries and regions. It is concluded due to global production networks, being the channel for the transfer of global knowledge and technical know-how to regional structures, regions of the former periphery have quickly become developed, innovative regions with a specialization in the sector of highly qualified services, production of high-tech products, and generation of scientific knowledge. For transnational companies global production networks reduce their costs and financial risks by sharing with other companies, as well as global division of labor, an important part of global production.