One of the basic measures of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is a lockdown policy with reduced contacts and physical distance. This presents a challenge, especially for fast-moving-consumer-goods (FMCG) supply chains, which are characterized by a large number of physical contacts between employees in production, physical distribution, wholesale, and retail. One of the ways to comply with the prescribed measures with the smooth functioning of the supply chain is the complete digitalization and automation of all business activities and operations based on the application of the Internet of Things (IoT). In this regard, this paper aims to analyze the setbacks to the digitalization of business processes and the sustainability of the FMCG supply chain based on the implementation of IoT. The research has been conducted among the participants in the standardization chain in the sectors of production, physical distribution, wholesale, and retail of FMCG in the Western Balkans region during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed significant differences between business sectors in terms of the intensity of setbacks to successful IoT implementation. Based on the obtained results, a set of measures and incentives was proposed that the competent institutions and the management of the FMCG supply chain should apply to encourage the digitalization process. Suggestions for future research are given in the paper.
The issue of service quality is one of the essential areas of marketing theory and practice, as high quality can lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty, i.e. successful business results. It is vital for any company, especially in services sector, to understand and grasp the consumers' expectations and perceptions pertaining to the broad range of factors affecting consumers' evaluation of services, their satisfaction and loyalty. Hospitality is a service sector where the significance of these elements grows exponentially. The aim of this study is to identify the significance of individual quality components in hospitality industry. The questionnaire used for gathering data comprised 19 tangible and 14 intangible attributes of service quality, which the respondents rated on a five-degree scale. The analysis also identified the factorial structure of the tangible and intangible elements of hotel service. The paper aims to contribute to the existing literature by pointing to the significance of tangible and intangible components of service quality. A very small number of studies conducted in hospitality and hotel management identify the sub-factors within these two dimensions of service quality. The paper also provides useful managerial implications. The obtained results help managers in hospitality to establish the service offers that consumers find the most important when choosing a given hotel.
This work aims to define the impact of different indicators on the sustainability of food placement in the retail sector, during periods of crisis and emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. An empirical survey conducted in the Western Balkans (WB) region showed that indicators such as developed infrastructure, consistency, and transparency of the supply chain, skilled workers, costs, food safety, food prices, energy consumption, and changes in consumer needs are statistically significant since they affect the sustainability of food placement in the retail sector. As food placement and the retail sector itself are inseparable from other participants in the food supply chain (FSC), an analysis was conducted at the level of all FSC sectors. The results showed some deviations viewed individually in the sectors of production, physical distribution, wholesale, and retail, and in selected Western Balkan countries. Based on the results obtained, the sustainability model of food placement in the retail sector has been defined. The model will serve as the basis for defining the set of measures and incentives that competent institutions and FSC management need to undertake, to minimize the impact of indicators that endanger sustainability. The originality of the study lies in the fact that it fills the research gap that exists in this subject matter in academic research and studies in the WB region. In addition, some indicators important for food placement have been precisely isolated, with the definition of the intensity of their impact, observed overall at the level of the entire FSC as well as by individual sectors. Guidelines and suggestions for future research are listed in the paper.
The contribution of this paper is in identification, proving and presentation of practice quality of human resource management as an important factor for achieving organizational effectiveness of banks. A group of correlations has been defined in this paper to be measured in order to reflect the impact of HRM practice on the effectiveness of banks in Serbia, which can lead to better functioning of not only banking organizations, but also of all other organizations in our environment and under current circumstances. The results of this study showed that banking organizations that have better HRM practices possess a more competitive workforce and better organizational performances, which further highlight the need for a more systematized and institutionalized use of human resources within commercial banking sector in Serbia.Apstrakt: Doprinos ovog rada je u prepoznavanju, dokazivanju i prezentaciji kvaliteta prakse menadžmenta ljudskih resursa kao važnog faktora za postizanje organizacione uspešnosti banaka. U okviru ovog rada definisana je grupa odnosa koje treba meriti kako bi se refelektovao uticaj prakse menadžmenta ljudskih resursa na uspešnost banaka u Srbiji što može poslužiti boljem funkcionisanju ne samo bankarskim organizacijama, već i svim drugim organizacijama u našim uslovima i u postojećoj situaciji. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da one bankarske organizacije koje imaju kvalitetnije prakse menadžmenta ljudskih resursa imaju konkurentniju radnu snagu i bolje organizacione performanse što dalje ukazuje na potrebu za sistematizovanijem i institucionalizovanijem korišćenjem ljudskih resursa u sektoru poslovnog bankarstva u Srbiji.Ključne reči: ljudski resursi, menadžment ljudskih resursa, zadovoljstvo zaposlenih, organizacione performance
The paper analyses the job satisfaction in the trade sector as an important component of a comprehensive social and socially responsible employment policy in the Western Balkans. The aim of the research is to use the empirically collected data and conducted tests for defining indicators of job satisfaction of employees in the retail sector in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Montenegro with a special emphasis on the relation between EU members and non-EU countries. This paper tests the hypothesis on a statistically significant correlation between indicators of job satisfaction, such as salaries and benefits, working conditions, reward system, career development, job security, collegiality and communication, and the analysed countries of the Western Balkans. The study included 356 retailers from the largest supermarkets in the Western Balkans. The results showed statistically significant correlation between the analysed indicators and countries, and served as the basis for defining the model of employees' job satisfaction in the Western Balkans retail sector. Practical significance of the research is that it can help managers influence motivation, satisfaction and productivity of their employees, and thus better prepare trading companies in the Western Balkan countries for international competition arena and entry to the European Union market. The results indicate the importance of further research on possible discrepancies in the impact of the observed indicators in the established model of job satisfaction.
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