Industry 4.0 has been a major force framing the societal, economic and technological environment after 2010. Exposed to ongoing digital transformation, companies are able to exploit opportunities offered by Industry 4.0, and are forced to manage immanent risks and barriers. However, studies on opportunities and challenges relevant for the implementation of Industry 4.0 for companies are scarce. In response to this literature gap, the aim of this exploratory research is to provide a deeper analysis of the level of digital transformation of companies in Serbia based on a digital maturity model, and examine their managers’ opinions on the most important driving forces and implementation barriers. The paper uses exploratory research design based on a survey responded to by 122 high-level managers within the Serbian manufacturing sector. Findings show that, contrary to expectations, digitally transforming enterprises do not see human resources as a driving force, but rather as an obstacle to Industry 4.0 implementation, when they lack necessary competences and skills. Resistance to change caused by Industry 4.0 implementation is not seen as an important barrier. On the other hand, efficiency factors represent the main driving force, while the lack of competences and financial resources represent the greatest barriers to Industry 4.0 implementation.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain what determines the influence of reverse logistics onto green supply chain competitiveness and to find out if that influence is always uniform.Design/methodology/approachThe paper contains an empirical research conducted using a survey-based study, which encompassed a sample size of 228 participants and final consumers that have experience in buying/using products derived from the reverse logistics process.FindingsThe results indicate that the influence of reverse logistics onto green supply chain competitiveness is dependent on the product return option and is mainly negative with Serbian consumers, since the perceived quality of each of the three return options is considered to be inferior compared to new products.Practical implicationThe study's empirical results show the there is a generally negative perception among consumers regarding the perceived quality of each of the three product return options, thus directly questioning the general justification of using reverse logistics in Serbian business practice. That is a sign for Serbian managers to enhance their efforts to raise future awareness of the green initiatives importance among business partners, but also final consumers.Originality/valueThe study`s contribution is twofold: first, it helps to additionally test the established and known methodology created by Hazen et al. (2011), thus contributing to the practical dimension of international comparability concerning consumer perceptions. Second, the study adds to research by addressing the gap in practical surveys regarding the reverse logistics practices.

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UVODGlobalna ekonomska kriza koja je započela krajem prve decenije 21. veka dovela je do radikalnih promena u svetskoj ekonomiji. Mnoge od njih se nisu mogle lako predvideti, a neke su bile i potpuno neočekivane. Jedna od glavnih posledica globalne ekonomske krize je postepeno premešta-nje ekonomskog uticaja sa visoko razvijenih zemalja ka tržištima u nastajanju. U 2015. godini na listi 10 najvećih privreda, merenih BDP-om po paritetu kupovnih snaga, našlo se pet visoko razvijenih i pet tržišta u nastajanju. Grafikon 1 prikazuje kretanje BDP-a po paritetu kupovnih snaga u obe grupacije od početka globalne ekonomske krize do 2015. godine. Podaci sa grafikona pokazuju da je grupacija tržišta u nastajanju bila slabije pogođena globalnom ekonomskom krizom i da je period oporavka bio mnogo brži. Ovo potvrđuje podatak da su privrede razvijenih zemalja na početku krize bile 25% veće od grupacije tržišta u nastajanju, da bi 2015. godine bile manje za 16%.Rast ekonomske snage tržišta u nastajanju je dobrim delom i posledica rasta broja i veličine MNK 1 iz ovih zemalja. Poslednjih godina ove MNK ubzano internacionalizuju svoje poslovanje nastojeći da iskoriste poslovne prilike nastale usled globalizacije poslovnog ambijenta. Na listi najvećih svetskih MNK Fortune 500 nalazi se 127 kompanija sa pet gore navedenih tržišta u nastajanju (http://beta.fortune.com/global500/ pristupljeno 30.10.2016.). Poslednjih godina ove kompanije se pojavljuju kao kasni sledbenici u mnogim tehnološki intenzivnim granama ugroža-vajući pozicije nekada neprikosnovenih lidera (Lenovo, Huawei, Haier, Kaspersky, Infosys, ...). Strategije internacionalizacije ovih MNK su predmet opsežnih istraživanja (Henart, 2012, pp. 168-187; Ramamurti, 2012, pp. 41-47), ali je opšti zaključak da ih tradicionalne teorije o MNK ne mogu u potpunosti objasniti.Auto industrija je jedna od poslednjih tehnološki intenzivnih grana u kojima se pojavljuju izazivači sa tržišta u nastajanju. Ovaj rad istražuje kreiranje znanja kasnih sledbenika u auto industriji putem internacionalizacije poslovanja. Rad se sastoji iz dve celine. U prvom delu rada su razmatrane teorije internacionalizacije i strategije kasnih sledbenika, pri čemu je akcenat stavljen na kompanije sa tržišta u nastajanju. Drugi deo rada analizira karakteristike auto industrije i perspektive kasnih sledbe-1 Multinacionalne kompanije Apstrakt: Radikalne promene poslovnog okruženja na početku 21. veka nastale su kao posledica ubrzane globalizacije. Kao posledica globalizacije nacionalne ekonomije su postale snažno povezane mrežom trgovinskih i investicionih odnosa. Novi poslovni ambijent kreirao je obilje poslovnih prilika ali i rizika. Motivisane novim poslovnim prilikama u inostranstvu mnoge kompanije sa tržišta u nastajanju internacionalizuju svoje poslovanje, ugrožavajući nekada neprikosnovene lidere iz razvijenih zemalja. Tradicionalne teorije o multinacionalnim kompanijama ne mogu u potpunosti da objasne motive internacionalizacije ovih kompanija. Poslednja u nizu grana u kojima kasni sledbenici sa tržišta...

Zeleni lanac snabdevanja i povratna logistika, kao njegova ključna dimenzija operacionalizacije, predstavljaju jedno od najaktuelnijih područja analize poslovne filozofije upravljanja lancem snabdevanja, koje je u fokusu naučne i stručne javnosti manje od dve decenije unazad. Osnovni nedostatak vezan za razmatranje ove problematike jeste nedovoljno prisustvo praktičnih istraživanja u oblasti, što je i glavni motiv za realizaciju ovog rada. Predmet istraživanja u radu jeste identifikovanje najrelevantnijih faktora za primenu aktivnosti povratnog logističkog procesa kod preduzeća-učesnika u lancu snabdevanja u Srbiji. Cilj rada jeste da se identifikuju specifični faktori od kojih zavisi primena procesa povratne logistike u Srbiji, kao i da se prodube i obogate naučna i praktična saznanja u ovoj oblasti.

Logistics is becoming one of the most important sectors of the economy and an indispensable element in the process of international trade and industrial development. The aim of this paper is to examine the role and importance of logistics system in improving the performance of companies in different industries and to identify its key dimensions that need to be improved in order to create a favorable business environment within a given economy. The logistics system is observed through two dimensions"hard", which refers to the elements of physical infrastructure, and "soft" which includes segments related to logistics services and customs procedures. The research was conducted on a sample of 298 companies in the Republic of Serbia. The research methodology includes factor analysis based on which, the positive impact of the logistics system on the selected performance of companies has been proven. In addition, the difference in the importance of certain elements of logistics system between manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies has been proven. The results of the research can be of particular use for policy makers, as an instrument for improving the overall business environment through the development of individual logistics subsystems. Also, this evidence allows better insight for individual companies into the effects of different segments of logistics on business development, according to the industry.