No abstract

The relationship between gender and managers' innovation capability is not thoroughly investigated, and the innovator's contribution and men and women's impact on innovation management is not clearly stated in the research literature. Although recent studies have shown a positive impact of gender on organizational innovations, women managers are still considered less innovative compared to their male counterparts. The paper examines an under-researched role of innovators and their genders in managing innovations in organizations and aims at identifying women and men managers' innovation capability in the context of newly emerging economy of Central Asia. The quantitative research method (a multivariate closed questionnaire) was utilized among 224 respondents from Kazakhstani private organizations functioning in extraction, construction, production, energy, service, trade, and education industries. Subordinates assessed their supervisors' (first-line, middle-level, and top managers) innovation capability: stance on innovations, support of subordinates for innovative ideas and activity, and adopting innovations. Linear regression analysis was used for the hypotheses testing and further data assaying. The findings define that women and men managers demonstrate an equally positive attitude towards innovations in organizations but the former outperform the latter in adopting innovations and encouraging employees to innovate. The work lays the ground for further research in the region of Central Asia and emerging countries with dynamic but unstable economic development. The involvement of more women managers in innovations will further a long-term impact on subordinates' satisfaction, dedication to organization and performance. The social implication of the present work lies in increasing executives and senior officials' awareness of the positive effect of gender diversity on organization innovative capability.

Purpose: The article aims to examine the impact of women’s decision-making power in families on their gender stereotypes about business executives in the promising but insufficiently explored regions of Central Europe (CE) and Central Asia (CA). Methodology: The study utilized multiple linear regression and Spearman’s correlation coefficients to analyze survey data (No=6,869) from Central European (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) and Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan). Findings: Central Asian women demonstrated stronger gender stereotypes about business executives compared to the Central European sample. Equally shared power in decision-making with a part-ner has a positive impact on weakening women’s gender stereotypes about top managers. Men’s unilateral decision-making correlates with their spouses’ higher gender bias, whereas independent women’s decisions do not reveal a relationship with their gender stereotypes. Research limitations: The study does not control respondents’ marital and mother’s status and excludes one of the Central Asian states, namely Turkmenistan. Research implications: Policymakers can use the present findings to forecast how familialist pol-icies reproduce gender stereotypes and inhibit gender equality. The research complements the specificity of the vicious cycle linking gender roles and stereotypes in the context of CE and CA and expands the “family cage” phenomenon. Originality/value: First massive research on gender stereotypes about business executives embrac-ing the Visegrad Group and four Central Asian states. The study discovers the internal aspect of family impact on women’s views of top managers that has been neglected before.

The protracted COVID-19 pandemic repeatedly demonstrates the necessity of effective communication inside and outside organizations. However, a deficient comprehensive study of factors able to affect managerial communication limit further progress in the improvement of such business interactions. The research fills in the knowledge gap about the comparative influence of various factors on managerial communication and particularly the impact of individual and organizational characteristics of managers on communication. The paper aims to determine the significance of the relationships between managerial communication and age, genders, managerial levels, and industries in private companies from the energy, education, trade, service, extraction, construction, and production sectors. Within the organizational study, 224 subordinates from Kazakhstan firms reflected on their supervisors’ communications through a multivariate closed questionnaire. The obtained data was further processed and examined through correlation coefficients and dispersion analysis. The research results identified the considerable relationship between communication practices and managers’ age (R2=0.9637), managerial level (R2=0.9640), and industry (R2=0.9653). The study reveals the weak relationship between manager’s gender and communication practices (R2=0.1535): women insignificantly outperform men in this linking process. The research postulates that effectiveness of managerial communication considerably varies by managers’ age, managerial level, and industry, and insignificantly by gender. The paper lays the groundwork for gender-unbiased practices of human resource management and contributes to the idea of building diverse management teams.

Kazakhstan is characterized by women’s significant representation in the financial industry, including the audit sector, which distinguishes the country from other states and can lay the basis for a competitive advantage of the economy. The literature review on audit firms in Kazakhstan showcases a scarcity of studies about gender’s influence on audit firms’ financial performance. The paper aims to identify the correlation between business owners’ gender and the net income of Kazakhstani private audit firms. The publicly available data on audit companies and the size of their paid taxes were processed and analyzed with the quantitative research method. The data of 117 audit firms for 2021 were scrutinized through the parametric Student t-test for independent samples with the utilization of the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). To analyze and adjust the normal distribution of the studied data, frequency histograms, taking logarithms, and formalized tests by Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk criteria were applied. The findings demonstrate the significant correlation between women owners and the size of paid taxes by their audit firms: women positively contribute to audit firms and generate higher net earnings compared with their men counterparts. The paper postulates the necessity of women’s more intensive involvement in higher levels of decision-making to increase the performance indicators of the financial industry in Kazakhstan. The study supports the idea that less gender bias in the expert field can be a good indicator of women's real contribution to Kazakhstan's economy. The auditing field should serve as a solid role model for lowering the barriers to female leadership in other industries.

The study investigates how gender stereotypes and economic differences influence gender inequality in emerging economies. The research aims to examine gender imbalances in Central Asia (CA) and Central Europe (CE) which share a long socialist history. The objectives of the paper are to collect data on both CA and CE regions and examine relationships between Human Development Index, Global Innovation Index, Gender Inequality Index, and Global Gender Gap. The relevance of actions and initiatives to promote gender equality in regions is emphasized. To consider the problem from the point of view of theory, we did a literature review of sociological, economic, and educational studies on gender and the formation of gender stereotypes using the Web of Science and Scopus databases and the Mendeley and Research Gate social networks. A comparative analysis of quantitative data of secondary information was carried out based on information from the countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and Central Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia). The study uses a quantitative correlation method. Countries with a high gender gap are expected to have lower human development and innovation levels. Central Asian countries have more significant gender gaps and gender inequalities than Central Europe. The value of the study lies in the attempt to recreate the big picture regarding the existing gender gaps in the countries with emerging economies, covering countries of Central Asia and Central Europe. Agencies of countries with emerging economies can use the study results to analyze scenarios and forecasts to develop labor markets and elaborate policies and programs to combat gender inequality.

The purpose of the article is to develop proposals to increase the degree of satisfaction of hotel services consumers during COVID among residents of Kazakhstan and Russia. The article examines the issues of service, service, cost and quality of services of hotel enterprises, including measures to counteract coronavirus infection. Marketing research was conducted in the third quarter of 2021, the methodology for determining the degree of satisfaction consisted of six stages. The research results have shown that, despite the existing mobility restrictions in the studied countries, the economically active population feels the need for attractive emotions, rest, and a change of scenery. The survey data showed that the epidemiological situation in the examined countries impacted tourist trips over the past year and a half. The respondents noted the need to comply with health safety measures. The choice of recreation and accommodation facilities was influenced by the cost of PCR analysis, especially for families traveling with children, and the availability of a vaccination passport. Also, in the conditions of COVID, the choice of consumers was made in favor of personal vehicles. This period has increased the demand for domestic tourism facilities. However, most previous consumers’ requirements for services have remained the same – for quality of service, cost, and friendly attitude. The respondents attributed to the key factors: hotel location, clean rooms, and quality of food. 85% of respondents are satisfied with the hotel services and measures of safe stay. Conclusions and recommendations based on the study findings can be applied by the enterprises providing hotel and catering services.

Despite the fight against gender inequality, this problem is still relevant in countries with economies in transition and requires further efforts. Conventional traditional gender stereotypes in the minds of people hinder the gender equality in almost all areas. At the same time, the consequences of gender bias on the economy and society remain insufficiently studied. The purpose of the study is to compare gender stereotypes in relation to the traditional distribution of responsibilities between men and women in the countries of Central Europe (CE) and Central Asia (CA). Two hypotheses were put forward, which were confirmed by the results of a regression-correlation analysis of secondary information on the Life in Transition Survey project, carried out by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in cooperation with the World Bank. The study's results will contribute to the pool of research on gender inequality and develop recommendations for adjusting social policies in states with transformational economies. The research methodology includes general scientific methods (positive and normative approaches) and applied methods (quantitative analysis). Based on the responses of three thousand four hundred five (3405) respondents from Central Asia and three thousand four hundred and sixty four (3464) respondents from Central Europe, a regression analysis was performed. The study results showed female respondents from Central Europe have weaker gender stereotypes than participants from Central Asia. The study's results will contribute to the challenge of generating employment growth, reducing vulnerable employment, and improving decent work opportunities in Central Asia.