Virtual Learning Center / Virtuálne vzdelávacie centrum

ABSTRACT

Analyzed the main models and trends of development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine. It was found that in 2010-2018. the number of newly formed social enterprises has increased dramatically since the beginning of the first military conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014. The reason for this was the need for urgent adaptation of socially vulnerable groups of the population in a crisis economy. The majority of Ukraine's social enterprise funding sources come from its own commercial activities, although a significant proportion of these sources are grants. It is shown that an important regulatory method is the division of powers to regulate social entrepreneurship and socially responsible business between government bodies. It is important to implement state regulation of social entrepreneurship and socially responsible business at the level of local state administrations and local governments. It has been established that forms of non-state support for social entrepreneurship are developing more actively in Ukraine, in particular, institutional support, projects to promote social entrepreneurship, and the activities of social entrepreneurship support centers in the regions. It is important to implement state regulation of social entrepreneurship and socially responsible business at the level of local state administrations and local governments. The mass integration of social entrepreneurship into Ukrainian society under martial law and the provision of jobs for internally displaced persons as a result of the relocation of enterprises from the war zone to the western part of Ukraine are shown.

ABSTRACT

Not only have consumers themselves been impacted by the coronavirus epidemic, but also global trade policy as a whole. As the state's manufacturers, which accounted for the majority of its GDP, started to collapse, import and export fell sharply. Since Slovakia produces more automobiles per person than any other nation, it is a global leader in the automotive industry. The vast number of vehicle factories, which has increased once again by another significant worry in 2022, is another indication.

This article aims to demonstrate how the Slovak Republic's export and import patterns changed as a result of the worldwide epidemic as well as how heavily we rely on this sector.

Data from the customs administration, data from the statistical office, and last but not least, data from the Trademap.org website will be utilized to examine the provided time in order to verify the supplied facts. Simple statistical techniques were applied in order to compare the years before and after the outbreak.

The findings show that global catastrophes, which are associated with the export and import of products and services, pose a serious danger to governments' ability to run effectively. The Slovak Republic is similarly focused mostly on the car industry. This emphasis on a single sector caused Slovakia significant harm. The automobile business is consequently particularly vulnerable to changes, therefore it is necessary to consider if it would not be reasonable to begin focusing on other industries as well.

ABSTRACT

The shape of money was continually evolving. Humanity effortlessly transitioned from the rudimentary payment of pebbles to precious metals, which eventually replaced paper money and are now supplanted by cashless payment. People may benefit from a variety of advantages offered by cashless payment, which mankind is increasingly adopting and enhancing.

The article's goal is to demonstrate how the people of the Slovak Republic were able to adapt to using cashless payment methods and the phenomena known as cryptocurrency.

A questionnaire survey is used to gather the required data, which is then statistically and mathematically assessed. The outcomes are then analyzed and contrasted with a few chosen nations.

According to the findings, consumers prefer cashless transactions, which is another effect of the Covid-19 epidemic. The findings showed an increase in information seeking and subsequent cryptocurrency purchases, which have grown in popularity in recent years.

ABSTRACT

The main goal of the contribution is to analyze and compare the influence of a set of selected economic and financial variables on transparency in all regional cities in the Slovak Republic. The research is based on synthesizing the results of regional cities in ten economic and financial areas and monitoring the degree of correlation of their impact on transparency in the period 2012-2018. The result of our analysis is the finding that from the selected set of variables, the highest correlation coefficient (high and very high degree of correlation) with transparency achieved the indicators of basic balance and net assets. The overall average level of dependence of the economic situation and transparency showed only a small/weak degree of positive correlation.

ABSTRACT

The choice of marketing strategy is closely related to the development of the company's sales and revenues. The paper deals with the evaluation of the impact of the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on the choice of marketing strategy of a selected company in the East Slovak region, providing catering services. The evaluation of the development was carried out according to the individual stages of the pandemic, defined by the actual restrictions on the provision of catering services, as well as the author's recommendations regarding the highest possible increase in profit. The described, evaluated and subsequently compared results are described specifically with regard to national restrictions. The results of the paper point to possible further predictions of business development based on adaptation to frequently changing legislation.

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the concept of market power in food supply chains. First of all, it provides a description of this concept and the main theoretical and empirical approaches to its study. At the same time, in this paper, we focus on investigating the impact of ease of doing business on market power in different food supply chains by using meta-analysis. For this purpose, estimates of the market power index based on 63 recently published papers on market power in different food supply chains are used. Our results suggest that low market entry barriers and easier business conditions are associated with a lower average level of market power in the food supply chain.

ABSTRACT

Slovak Republic lags behind the EU average in the innovation performance. By the evaluation of the Slovakia's position in the rankings of the Innovation Index over the past years, the permanently undersized parameters are precisely those that affect innovation performance the most. The Paper aims at the analysis of chosen indicators of the innovation potential of the Slovak Republic.

ABSTRACT

According to the Global Gender Gap Index 2021, within the 156 countries included in the index, women hold only 26.1% of the approximately 35,500 seats in parliament and only 22.6% of the more than 3,400 ministers worldwide. In the 81 countries included in the research, as of January 15, 2021, there has never been a woman at the head of the state. Based on the above results, the World Economic Forum estimates that achieving gender parity in politics will take approximately 145.5 years. The dimension of political empowerment is thus the area with the largest gender gap. The aim of this contribution is to provide an overview of the representation of women in politics in the world, taking into account global and regional averages, and to take a closer look at the representation of women in ministerial positions. The time period of the investigation represents the period from 2019 to 2021. We are based on the material of the World Economic Forum (WEF), specifically the Global Gender Gap Index and also the political map of the world "Women in Politics" compiled by the entity United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

ABSTRACT

The transition to a circular model of economy is based not only on proper waste management, waste separation or recycling, but it is mainly conditioned by the necessary minimization of waste production. The principles of the circular economy are based on the elimination of waste, which affects all spheres of production and consumption. The paper focuses on the assessment of the development of municipal waste production and recycling rate, which represent the basic element for the transition to circular economy, in the conditions of Slovakia and the European Union. The results showed that only six countries have managed to reach the 2020 municipal waste recycling rate target (50 %) and that Slovakia is on the path to achieve the target in 2025.

ABSTRACT

The European Union's competition rules are intended to ensure a fair and equal trading environment for businesses, while preserving opportunities for innovation, uniform standards and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Merger control makes an important contribution to the functioning of the internal market by providing a harmonised set of rules for mergers and restructuring of enterprises and ensuring that competition is not distorted and consumers are not harmed as a result of economic concentration in the market. The aim of this paper is to highlight the necessity of applying economic theory to merger control and competition protection in the European Union and to summarise the theoretical foundations and basic principles of European Community competition law.

ABSTRACT

The article discusses the impact of the fashion industry on the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development in the context of the Agenda 2030 and its SDGs (Sustainable development goals). By analysing the content of annual reports of selected fashion retail chains, we assessed their interest in sustainable development topics. As a result of our findings, fashion chains are making efforts in meeting the SDGs and are aware of the need for change in their production and supply processes. The individual goals and keywords that resonated the most with the selected chains were SDG 1 and SDG 17. On the other hand we observed the lowest attention for SDG 9 and SDG 14.

ABSTRACT

The concept of rural development is a complex aspect that takes into account the economic, political, social, cultural, technological and psychological framework of society. Rural development in Slovakia is managed at the national level through the Rural Development Program financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, which sets priority approaches and activities to meet the needs of the specific geographical area it covers. From the point of view of the European Union, the Prešov self-governing region belongs to regions with special geographical characteristics. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to evaluate the development of payments from the Rural Development Program to enterprises in the Prešov self-governing region.

ABSTRACT

The Energy Cluster of Prešov Region (hereinafter “EKPK”) has been developing activities in the introduction of new trends, procedures and technologies in the field of energy efficiency and environmental management for a long time. This paper focuses on the assessment of the potential of the use of drones for air works in the field of energy, construction and environmental management. It describes opportunities for the use of drones for specific tasks in the field of energy and construction, but also restrictions and limits in the performance of air works. By making test measurements by means of a drone with an IR video camera in the terrain and by the analysis of available data about the extent of areas or technological equipment in which it is possible to use drones for more effective, higher quality and safer conducting of inspection activities, it has been shown that the degree of benefits of air works has a great potential, but also its risks and limits.

ABSTRACT

Rational consumer decision-making is an issue that economists have been dealing with for a long time. Theories and approaches have been developed that are still applicable today and form the basis for modern studies dealing with this issue. Consumer behavior changes depending on various factors and the preferences of the consumer himself. However, every consumer is trying to get the most benefit. The main goals of this article are to define the basic terms of the theory of consumer behavior (Cardinal and Ordinal utility theory) and to perform a bibliometric analysis. The results of the study provided an interesting insight into the keywords associated with the issues of cardinal and ordinal utility theory. The results of the study provided an interesting insight into the key words associated with the issue of cardinal and ordinal utility theory. The results show that the keywords and phrases are related, as several of them are repeated in both listed terms, such as utility, preferences, model, choice, or risk. This means that they are connected by many words and phrases, which is a logical result, since these are two different approaches to consumer law.

ABSTRACT

Unemployment is a worldwide problem. In the territory of the Slovak Republic, unemployment has been decreasing since 2013 with minimal fluctuations. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has stopped this trend. Since March, unemployment began to gradually increase, which resulted in the reaction of the government of the Slovak Republic, which issued aid through First Aid, First Aid +, and First Aid ++. The aim of our research is to examine the development of unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic and how the government responded to this development with measures through the First Aid, First Aid +, and First Aid ++ packages. In the article, we used the methods of graphic display, deduction, synthesis, and induction. We found that the most funds were provided by the government during February 2021, while the most supported places were in April 2020. During the second wave of the pandemic, it was at the turn of March and April when unemployment reached 7.98%. The data shows that unemployment in eastern Slovakia is the worst in the entire country.

ABSTRACT

Small starting companies are among the greatest pioneers of entrepreneurial endeavor in the global economy. They bring innovative products and new approaches to customers, grow rapidly to exponentially, and become global enterprises. A large percentage of these businesses cease to exist prematurely, many of them merely survive, failing to record the form of exponential growth or even to become a player in the global market. Starting companies are an unpredictable entrepreneurial phenomenon that can shine, but can just as quickly cease to exist for a number of reasons. The aim of the present paper is to characterize the knowledge base at the theoretical level about small starting companies that originate from the domestic environment and try to reach the international environment in this attractive entrepreneurial form.

ABSTRACT

The concept of maximizing the welfare of owners, on the basis of which financial theory justifies decisions in the field of corporate finance management, involves the use of all available levers of value creation for investors in the company's equity. Developing a consistent and transparent dividend payment policy can be one of these tools. Changes in dividends significantly affect the market value of Russian public companies, and investors are interested in predicting the company's dividend decisions as accurately as possible. In order to improve the quality of the forecast, it is necessary to use not only the directions announced by management in choosing the dividend policy, but also various characteristics of the company, which include financial indicators and the share capital structure. The aim of the study is to determine the impact of the size of the dividend yield on the value of Russian public companies and develop recommendations for improving the efficiency of value management based on the application of a dividend policy that is adequate to modern conditions.

ABSTRACT

Environmental awareness is a broad term that can be simply characterized as knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in relation to the environment. The importance of environmental awareness has grown rapidly in recent decades, as it is linked to the state of the environment, which in turn is related to many economic and social areas on a global scale. The concept of environmental awareness is influenced by many factors, while one of understudied in the conditions of Slovakia is also the influence of personality characteristics. The contribution is aimed at evaluating the influence of personality characteristics on the level of identified factors of environmental awareness in the conditions of Slovakia. Based on the theoretical background, the contribution examines 3 factors of environmental awareness: cognitive, emotional and behavioural factors. Personality characteristics were assessed from the perspective of the Big-Five taxonomy. Primary data were collected through questionnaires. The object of the research are the inhabitants of Slovakia aged 18 and over with Slovak nationality. The research sample consisted of 1108 respondents. In the analysis of the research results, the used factor model proved to be significant and the personality characteristics proved to be a statistically significant predictor of the level of the identified factors of environmental awareness. The study thus expands empirical research focused on factors affecting environmental awareness in Slovakia, and the results achieved could be the basis for environmental awareness management measures in practice.

ABSTRACT

Currently, the issue of sustainable management of electromobility is becoming more and more topical for at least two reasons. The first, economic reason, is the increasing price of conventional fuels. The second reason is the global environmental problem related to climate change. The perception of electromobility and the increasing interest in purchasing electric vehicles are therefore a very important element in the process of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and meeting the targets to which the EU has committed itself by adopting European legislation. The subject of the study is the analysis of the attitudes and interest of inhabitants of a selected area of Slovakia towards electromobility in terms of its environmental impacts, declared benefits and interest in purchasing an electric vehicle. The results of the analysis showed low public interest in purchasing electric vehicles, mainly due to high price, insufficient network of charging stations, low battery life or low awareness.

ABSTRACT

Undoubtedly, tourism has its positives (economic, cultural, etc.), but unfortunately also its negatives (overtourism). Over the years, mass consumption has left certain traces and changes in the tourism industry: culture has become a theatrical performance, visitors prefer universal fast food to the gastronomic experience of local cuisine, etc.. Sustainable travel as a form of sustainable tourism is a trend that has been gaining ground in recent years to the fore and is being talked about more and more. The aim of the study was to find out the willingness of Slovak residents to participate in sustainable travel. The inhabitants of Slovakia were perceived as potential participants in the tourism industry, while their opinion and attitude towards sustainable travel was investigated and evaluated more closely. The obtained data were evaluated cumulatively, with descriptive statistics. Since the data involved violated normality, the Kruskal-Wallison test and the Spearman correlation coefficient were used to evaluate the hypotheses. Not one of the established hypotheses was confirmed. However, the study revealed a polarity in the respondents' opinions.

ABSTRACT

Limited resources and the ever-increasing consumption of goods brings together many problems. In the long term, such a situation is unsustainable. Therefore, more and more experts are currently dealing with the area of the circular economy, which proposes sustainable solutions. Waste produced both by industry and by households is an increasingly pressing issue. The paper examines the state of waste management in the V4 countries. Based on selected indicators, it analyzes how the volume of produced waste and waste management changed in the period 2004-2018. In addition to the analysis of the share of individual sectors of the economy in waste production, it compares, how that share changed over time and whether the changes between the V4 countries were similar or not.

ABSTRACT

In recent years, crowdfunding has become a mainstream source of funding for early-stage firms. For many entrepreneurs is this phenomenon still new. This article tries to define the basic characteristics of this issue. Using the example of the world's most famous crowdfunding platforms, points out the various possibilities, that this method offers. Crowdfunding is suitable for projects in various fields. Different projects also have a different way of financing. This area is also the content of this article. Finally, the system of financing through various forms of support is further approximated. As this is a relatively new way of financing, not only for public benefit projects but also start-ups, it is good to have an overview of this possibility as well.