Considering that the European Directive has imposed that at least 20% of the total energy should come from renewable energy sources (RES) by 2020 already and the specific targets for each European Union Member State, this paper attempts to assess the importance of GDP per capita in realizing these targets and also the effects of the RES share in electricity. Contrary to previous research, this paper does not consider the connection between economic growth and RES, but rather the potential connection between the share of RES in electricity and the real GDP per capita. The panel data models indicated to a positive, but very low impact of GDP per capita on the share of RES in electricity in the period of 2007–2017 in the case of the EU countries, except Luxembourg that has outlier values of GDP per capita. However, causality between the two variables was not identified. Some groups of countries were described according to these variables using cluster analysis. Future research should focus on the extension of this model by including other important variables such as RES potential available in the countries with specific geographical conditions.

Research background: Fluctuations in economic activity forced companies to change the traditional methods of organization and management and to search for new tools, knowledge, resources and competences in order to strengthen their positions. This has particularly intensified debates on corporate social responsibility (CSR) not only between business people, but also between pieces of research,  industry leaders and government representatives. The ongoing global ecologic crisis quickened discussions about how the alternation of macroeconomic business environment influences the development of CSR. Purpose of the article: The aim of this paper is to investigate how the changes in macroeconomic business environment influence the development of socially responsible activities in Baltic Countries and Slovakia. Methods: A statistical analysis of secondary data was used in order to reanalyse the data for the purpose of gaining new insights. The objectives of statistical analysis in this paper were twofold: firstly, to identify the challenges in macroeconomic business environment; secondly, to explore the development of socially responsible activities in different countries. The research period covered the years 2006–2016. The choice of this period is determined by data availability. Findings & Value added: The authors found that economic conditions may diversely affect the development of different dimensions of CSR. Even in unfavourable macroeconomic conditions companies continue to be involved in socially responsible actions because of long-run CSR benefits. The analysis is useful at an international level because it justified the development of socially responsible businesses in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia, and has provided an opportunity to assess the tendencies of CSR development during the different period of economic cycle.

The aim of this article has been to investigate the impact of supply chains on sustainable forest development. The results of the research carried out by the authors show that the supply chain ensures more sustainable use of forests and saves lumber from energy production. The article outlines the synergy between supply chain performance and the sustainable use of forest resources. With balanced supply chain processes, it is possible to achieve the sole usage of wood waste and non-productive wood for the production of energy. The authors of the article have compared the data on Lithuanian and Polish border regions and have developed a model for the supply chain effect on orests' preservation. The model demonstrates that supply chain reduces the amount of energy used in energy production and increases the use of wood waste to meet the energy needs of society.

As more and more small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's) are now struggling to survive due to immense pressure created by both globalization of world economy and competition from giant multinational firms, it is important to discern the competitive edge of small entities in alternative ways. So, since there is a lot of avenue for future investigation of competitive advantage in the environment of small and medium enterprises, this study paper aims to put emphasis on small and medium business sector and its elements that could be incorporated in order to attain the competitive advantage. The object of this particular study is the competitive advantage of small and medium enterprise sector. The main objective of the research is to analyze the paradigm shift of small and medium-sized enterprises competitive advantage via contemporary conceptual models. Additionally, the methods, that have been incorporated in this study, are logical and comparative analysis of literature, synthesis and deduction and graphical methods. The existing literature has shed the light on scarce elaboration of the competitive advantage concept and its augmentation in the context of small and medium enterprises, therefore, a furtherexamination is needed. Monitoring of contemporary methods such as management of customer satisfaction and applying it in the activities in SME's in order to reach competitive advantage is particularly new. Therefore, it could be assumed that this study paper is dedicated to opening the ways in the future practical and academic investigations.

ABSTRACT. This study focuses on the issue of ageing population and the position of older employees at the labour market. We look into theoretical approaches towards the so called "positive ageing of population" and employability of older generations. In addition, we have conducted an empirical research, which allowed us map the employability of workers aged 50 and older in Slovakia. Consequently, we tried to determine the reasons why employers lack interest in employing older employees and how older employees themselves evaluate their position at the labour market today. Our findings suggest there is a discrimination against older workers, as well as inadequacy of state employment policy in the face of demographic changes and missing out on the work potential offered by older generations.The government could contribute to the solution of this problem through affirmative action, for example, by reducing the levy burden, which would deter employers from laying off older workers, who could thus continue sharing their knowledge stemming from profound work experience.

The scope of the data presented in this study offers a comprehensive view of the issue of the HEI graduates employability in the Czech Republic and also in the Slovak Republic – related to determinants of economic development and their impact on them. This paper examines the impact of gross domestic product, gross domestic expenditure on research and experimental development by only higher education sector and foreign direct investment on HEI graduates employability. The results indicate that correlation between unemployment of tertiary educated Slovaks and GDP, GERD and FDI values was very big. Correlation relationship of similar determinants, except determinant GERD in conditions of the Czech Republic was characterized as weak. On the other hand, significantly stronger (very big to perfect) correlation affecting employment of tertiary educated Czechs regarding to indicators of gross domestic product, gross domestic expenditure on research and experimental development by sector of higher education and foreign direct investments as well. In conditions of the Slovak Republic, correlation relationship between employment of tertiary educated Slovaks and GDP was almost perfect.

-This study deals with one of the current and relatively often discussed phenomenon,

As the conjuncture of the energetic system in countries or different regions changes, renewable energy sources play a significant role. Thanks to them, it is possible to move from pollute fossil fuels to sustainable use of clean resources. It is widely acknowledged that the use of biomass waste promotes better environmental state and sustainable development because the waste that cannot be recycled is used for energy production. This article describes the usage of blockchain technology-based biomass systems that not only allows tracing the emergence of biomass, but also contributes to the development of sustainable energy. The research shows that a biomass blockchain enables simplification of biomass production process, thus saving resources and contributing to the expansion of forests and the development of common energy system.