Economic and Financial Challenges for Eastern Europe

In this paper we investigate the dynamics of a nonlinear discrete-time Bertrand duopoly game with differentiated goods. The players have heterogeneous expectations and the game is modeled with a system of two difference equations. Existence and stability of equilibria of this system are studied. We show that the model gives more complex chaotic and unpredictable trajectories as a consequence of change in the parameter of horizontal product differentiation. If this parameter is varied, the stability of Nash equilibrium is lost through period doubling bifurcations. The chaotic features are justified numerically via computing Lyapunov numbers and sensitive dependence on initial conditions.

Companies recognize the central role performance measurement plays in their success and are therefore becoming increasingly enthusiastic about their performance measurement efforts. Performance measurement indicators not only support the daily operation of the organization, but they are valuable in formulating any emerging problems as well. Logistics encompasses a complex set of activities that require an equally complex collection of metrics to adequately measure performance. However, many performance measurement systems have neither kept up with the changing role and scope of logistics nor have they been systematically examined or evaluated. Performance measurement systems should be evaluated at both the individual metric and system-wide levels in order to maintain relevance and effectiveness. This study aims to present the empirical findings and lessons learned from a field research on the development of the performance measurement system (PMS) for the logistics department of an Oil & Gas company. The implementation focuses on the procedure rather than on the structure of PMS offering a conceptual procedural framework with information and insights on how to design, implement, use, and assess a PMS, addressing an important gap identified in the literature. This research focuses on the evaluation of staff of the supply chain. Specifically, we propose a set of recommended criteria that can be applied to evaluate staff of the relevant department and demonstrate the use of these criteria through the evaluation of drivers’ performance. The primary motivation for evaluating performance at that level is that measurement systems guide management decisions. A well-crafted system of metrics will lead toward better decision-making by managers. The entire research effort lasted almost 6 months, involving multiple interactions between a researcher from academia and a practitioner from the company. Ultimately, the main findings are as follows: (1) how we can evaluate a drive; (2) the indicators and their parameters that contribute in revealing our assumptions about “good” and “bad” driver; (3) developing a prototype PMS; and (4) the use and review of the new PMS has led to improvements in people’s behavior, development of organizational capabilities, and improved performance results.

This paper investigates whether European banks smooth income and regulatory capital ratios through loan loss provisions in the Basel period. Using a sample of 1064 bank-year observations from 26 European Union countries, we find that banks use loan loss provisions in order to smooth income after the adoption of IFRS and the Basel regulatory framework. However, our results do not support the regulatory capital management hypothesis. In addition, we find that the risk level and direct market discipline affect bank managers’ accounting discretion. On the other hand, we do not find evidence to support the hypothesis that the legal environment plays a substantial role in banks’ accounting policy decisions.

The principal objective of this paper is to investigate the interrelationships of major constructs related to customer satisfaction regarding bank services. The aim of the paper is to assess the quality of Greek banking services in a period of financial crisis and capital controls. The paper examines the relationship or gap between the perceived and expected levels of service quality as such relate to its dimensions, namely, tangibility, reliability, assurance, responsiveness, empathy, and accessibility. The survey aims to reveal the causes promoting the satisfaction of Greek bank customers as well as those hindering it. The instrument employed to measure customer satisfaction relating to service quality is SEVQUAL. The research findings draw our attention to the significant effects of tangibility, reliability, assurance, responsiveness, empathy, and accessibility on service quality in banks. In addition, it highlights customers’ negative attitudes and obstacles or positive behaviors toward bank services. Moreover, the research findings point out the necessity of understanding the current situation as it relates to the economic crisis and accepts the real need for changes to initiatives in order to find appropriate solutions which will satisfy customer needs and consolidate their commitment to their bank. The study was referring to Greek banks customers’ satisfaction from bank services during capital control. Future research could supply new empirical results in relation to the current situation still in a period of capital controls. The paper contributes to describe a total new situation, capital control for more than a year regarding Greek bank services to their customers.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the economic as well as the social contribution of tertiary education in the region of Greece.Since 1980 in Greece, tertiary education is growing rapidly, and a huge amount of universities and faculties have been established all over the country, especially in the regional areas.In the following article, regional inflow–outflow tables are compiled that illustrate the connection between education and other domains of economy. They also illustrate the contribution of tertiary education in gross production value for the period 1995–2010.Furthermore, it presents an extended research using questionnaires in regard to the economic impact of tertiary education in the regional areas.Therefore, a comparison of the research findings (micro approach) with the results of the inflow–outflow tables (macro approach) is made in order to indicate the positive multiplier effects of tertiary education in regional areas.The innovation–contribution of this study is that there will be an estimation of the benefits of tertiary education in regional areas, using macro approach, through inflow–outflow tables, an approach Greek bibliography lacks in this day and age. Lastly, these tables will be compared with the results of the above research.

In our present age, international business is growing very fast since buyers and sellers can easily connect each other without hardly any limit. However, despite the ease and speed of communication, geographical realities are still an important factor in evaluating trade opportunities. Thus, to transport and deliver commodities as cheaply and quickly as possible to their destination is as important as it is to make online deals at the touch of a button. Naturally, the fastest and cheapest logistics operations can be conducted at shorter distances, so trade with neighbours is still of great importance.For the purposes of international trade, Balkan countries are strategically located both in terms of their European neighbourhood and also in the wider global context. Moreover, a shared history and culture is an important factor encouraging a strengthened cooperation amongst these countries themselves as well as the neighbouring countries like Turkey. Turkey’s trade relations with these countries have gained an increased significance in recent years as it has started to enjoy a positive balance in its trade with the region.In this study, import and export values between Turkey and Balkan countries are carefully presented in detail, and the advantages and benefits of trade with these countries for Turkish economy are considered.

The question of the value of company and the value of company’s goodwill is an actual topic not only in Slovakia but also abroad. The often interest of scientific researchers is a difference between the market value of company and the book value of company. Because this difference is often a situation, which is created in real economic conditions. In general, scientific literature states the idea that difference between the market value of company and the book value of company represents relevant valuation for company’s goodwill. It means that company’s goodwill is the source of the market value of company creation. This paper deals with the issue of relevant valuation of company’s goodwill. This paper uses, as basic concept, the idea of residual income for valuation of the value of company and the value of company’s goodwill. According to the theory of residual income, residual income represents the value of income which company creates over the level of its cost of equity. Required income from the side of company’s owners represents basic normal income which the company had to create. Any income which the company creates over the level of its cost of equity represents residual income. Based on these facts, residual income is defined as a difference between net income and the equity charge. The concept of residual income uses, for example, Feltham-Ohlson model, which determines the value of company as the sum of the book value of company’s equity and the present value of its future residual income. Application of information from company’s financial statements represents the advantage of this model. The main aim of this paper is to calculate the value of company’s residual income (calculation consists of earnings after taxes, book value of equity, and the cost of equity). On these outputs, this paper determines other statistically significant variables, which could have impact on the value of company’s residual income. The secondary aim of this paper is to discover the statistically significant variables, which could be considered as the sources of company’s goodwill. This paper works with the data set of Slovak companies. The data set consists of 11,483 financial statements of Slovak companies. For calculation of earnings after taxes and the book value of equity, this paper uses information from financial statements of this data set of companies. For calculation of cost of equity, this paper uses the capital asset pricing model, according to the recommendation of Feltham-Ohlson model. Calculation of secondary variables, which could have impact on the company’s goodwill, is primary based on the information from financial statements of the data set of Slovak companies. This paper uses, as a relevant statistical method for determination of statistically significant variables, the multiple linear regression.

The aim of this paper is to offer an applicable evaluation framework relating to the right choice of one’s profession via his/her studies. The first part of the paper consists of the basic principles of multicriteria decision-making. To begin with, the paper initially focuses on the MACBETH method. This helps to provide a perspective for procedural types of decisions in which various qualitative and quantitative aspects are incorporated. In the second part of the paper, the abovementioned multicriteria method is applied to a “real-world” case concerning a specific case of a student, Eva. For this specific study, it is concluded that the factors of greatest importance that lead to choosing the university Eva finally chose were four: the cost of undergraduate studies, the reputation-status of the university, its logistics and infrastructure, and its interconnections with other universities and other academic institutions.

Greek banks have a long history of presence abroad; it dates from the beginning of the twentieth century due mainly to the presence of the National Bank of Greece in London related to Greek merchant navy and the Greek shipowners. The important movement of Greek banks abroad began at the decade of the 1960s; it is related mainly to the Greek immigration. Greek banks followed Greek immigrants to the host countries. From the decade of the 1990s, the presence abroad has changed. Greek banks are settled in the Balkan countries because they followed Greek companies to these countries and because they focused to take a part of the local banking market. Banking systems in these countries were created from the beginning presenting big opportunities for the foreign banks. The current economic and financial crisis in Greece had as consequence the reduction of the banking network abroad. The banking presence abroad has not been homogenous neither by the banks implemented abroad nor by the host countries. The form of presence was influenced by the host country’s legislation, the parent bank’s policy, and bank’s economic potential.

The purpose of this research is the application of quantitative methods in corporate financial modeling under uncertainty conditions. Most firms forecast their capital requirements by constructing pro forma financial statements. Pro forma financial statements are the base for using the additional funds needed (AFN) methodology to estimate capital requirements in a deterministic perspective. The question is if AFN methodology can also be employed in volatile financial data conditions, in order to enhance policy-making. By using Monte Carlo simulation and mathematical programming, it was found that the AFN formula is an appropriate methodology to calculate the capital requirements under uncertainty and thus apply any optimization techniques. The expected financial elements usually depend on various factors, so a quantitative range is more useful in financial planning. The importance of this research is that capital requirements forecasting can be used as an envelope of scenarios that can support financial planning and decision-making. Moreover, financial modeling becomes a useful tool in the restructuring planning processes for estimating base, adverse, and best business scenarios.

A company that provides trade credit must take into account the creditworthiness of its customers. The creditworthiness of customer is largely affected by its ability to repay trade credit properly and on time. The company usually follows the main financial indicators against which it receives a basic overview of the customer’s creditworthiness. The basic indicators include indicators of activity, liquidity, indebtedness, and profitability. Within each group there are a number of indicators that can be monitored. Recommendations by authors who deal with this topic may also differ. There can be hidden relationships between the various. Monitoring two indicators among which exists a strong correlation is useless. The same amount of information can be obtained by monitoring only one of them. The aim of this paper is assessing the existence of hidden relationships between indicators that are most often recommended for the evaluation of the client’s creditworthiness. There are many methods of analysis hidden relationships. Choice of the appropriate method depends on the type and number of variables. In our group the individual objects, i.e., businesses, are described by more than two quantitative variables, so we choose principal component analysis to describe hidden relationships. It is a statistical procedure that uses an orthogonal transformation to convert a set of observations of possibly correlated variables into a set of values of linearly uncorrelated variables called principal components.

This chapter presents empirical research analyses and evaluates according to primary empirical data the viability and effectiveness of the alternative institutional arrangement for municipal services provision in the distinctive environment of Greek local government. The alternative provision appears to lead to cost reduction and quality improvement in most case studies analyzed, assuming, however, the appearance of a series of determinant factors of services performance, relating to the level of the competition and mainly the establishment of relationships of trust, mutual collaboration, engagement, and common culture among the partners and the stakeholders. Factors that transform the alternative provision from a simple cost rationalization tool into a promotion catalyst of a new governance model in Greek local government.

Greece in the last 7 years is experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis. The basis of the discussion is mainly in the fiscal deficit and public debt and consequently the implementation of those policies which will contribute to fiscal consolidation and resolving financial imbalances. However, as already shown by the implementation of the policies of the Stability and Reform Agreement, the Greek problem is much more complex (2013).Today, Greece more than ever is facing the twin deficits problem: the fiscal deficit and the deficit of the current account reflect the deterioration of the competitiveness of Greek economy.The main purpose of the article is to analyze the performance of the Greek economy on competitiveness and make a comparative analysis of its position before and during the crisis.Article’s specific objectives are to explore and analyze the causes of the reduced impact of policies to increase competitiveness of the country.

The insurance sector plays a crucial role in overall economic development. A studies published in the world literature have not finally confirmed the influence of the development of the insurance industry on economic growth; however, we may assume that the influence is positive. Countries in distress with regard to other activities such as fiscal or monetary policy should influence the overall development of the insurance sector. The paper is aimed at presenting the results of an assessment of the development of the insurance sector in chosen European countries such as Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain over the financial crisis, especially from the point of view of product innovation. We have chosen the countries stated owing to the economic situation against a background of the European Union. Those countries have faced budget deficits and were badly hit by the financial crisis of 2007. That is why it is interesting to study the progress of the financial sector, specifically insurance. The insurance market in a specific country is assessed by using taxonomy methods, in particular, two main measures: the distance measure and the similarity measure. The markets are described by a set of features divided into five groups: market structure, technical sphere, finance and investment, effectiveness, and product. The authors have calculated measures at two points in time: 1997 and 2013. The comparison between the level of taxonomic measures in those two years allowed the authors to draw the main conclusion that the financial crisis has stopped the speed of development of markets and has had a significant influence on other spheres as well. In countries such as Greece and Portugal, progress was even slower than that in post-Soviet countries such as Poland. External conditions have not imposed structural changes within chosen insurance markets. However, the general environment was conducive to supporting the expansion of the insurance markets only up to 2007. The influence of the crisis is very visible. The final conclusion is that the sectors were not innovative, mainly with regard to products. Product innovations give the insurer an opportunity to play an important role in contributing to sustainable development on a macroeconomic scale, or even more so—on a global scale. We are convinced that at the age of innovation, the insurance sector cannot remain insensitive to the need for innovation, not only in the area of insurance operation of companies, but also with regard to products. Innovations within the insurance sector become even more important in terms of building competitive strengths of an insurer. An innovative offer can maximize the insurer’s revenue and profits.

Every information system has to be positively accepted by its users in order to be successful in practice. Even though its usage is mandatory, the users have to use it without negative intention. Improving e-government services by using them more effectively is a major focus globally. It requires public administrations (PAs) to be transparent, accountable, and provide qualitative, trustworthy, controllable, and compatible services that improve users’ confidence. The Greek taxation information system (Taxisnet) is now in the second decade of its operation and is characterized as a mature and expandable information system. The factors which affect its use by the tax office employees constitute an interesting field of study. The purpose of this study is to investigate the parameters affecting the positive or negative intentions of the office employees to use Taxisnet taking into consideration some critical parameters: Control, Complexity, Compatibility, Information Quality, System Quality and Trust. Data mining techniques and regression analysis are the main axes for the achievement of this goal. Although the research was conducted in the tax office employees of only four branches of the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (REMTh), the results can be generalized to the employees of other regions as well. This paper could also be a pilot for a general investigation of (1) the factors of acceptance of e-government systems by employees and (2) the factors that affect employees’ intention to accept the e-government services.

Every government wants to achieve the necessary objectives timely and in defined manner.The primary objective, however, remains realization of economic stability. When talking about stability, we take into account the relation with other influential factors with it for both positive and negative sides. The aim of this chapter is a significant manifestation that will be the link between economic stability and development of the country’s urban infrastructure, water supply, sanitation, sewerage, better working conditions, etc., that is, keeping in mind the main objective: fair development among regions by utilizing all capacities and advantages.

There has been an impressive growth in international strategic alliances (ISAs) numbers over the last decades since the formation of ISAs is considered one of the most important entry modes for firms to succeed in their internationalization efforts and to achieve optimal growth and competitiveness on a global basis. The role of trust on alliances’ successful operation and performance has been highlighted in existing international business literature. In this paper, three propositions are developed in order to investigate the impact of (a) communication quality, (b) partner complementarity and (c) foreign partner’s cultural sensitivity on the level of trust the foreign partner has towards the local ISA partner. The objective of this research is the attainment of an in-depth comprehension of the above factors. Furthermore, it provides the ground for future research to examine the importance of trust on ISAs in the South-East (SE) Europe region.

The study explores the adoption of Information and Communication Technology and emerging digital marketing practices by microenterprises in Greece and, specifically, the perception of the self-employed and solo self-employed entrepreneurs for the social media as means/tools enhancing business resilience and performance in the current period of economic downturn. A sample of 418 usable questionnaires enabled exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in order to validate the proposed constructs. The fit and predictive accuracy of the proposed model was estimated using AMOS software. Results on how Greek micro-entrepreneurs use digital marketing tools and, specifically, on whether they integrate social media into business practices illuminate important aspects of entrepreneurial motivation and perceptions and provide valuable information for both practitioners and policy makers. Interestingly, there is also a significant relation between social media usage, or lack thereof, and the industry/economic sector in which the self-employed engage.

This study correlates the provisions of CRD IV with the application of IFRS in banks operating in Greece. The accounting losses allow the creation of additional DTA which are transferred in claims against the state (tax credit). Thus, in 2017 conversion rights (warrants) may be issued which represent common shares of total market value equal to 100% of these tax credits. Then, equivalent special reserve is formed, and the equity capital of banks is increased, since the DTA are not deducted from the common equity tier 1 (CET 1) ratio.

The main aim of the present paper is to endorse the effects of Transformational School Leadership on teachers and their teaching practices. Transformational School Leadership model, which comprises an essential element of quality assurance, is based on the constructs of Setting Directions, Developing People, Redesigning the Organizations, Reliability of Administrative Leadership. Measures of Teachers Capacities, Measures of Teachers’ Motivation, Measures of Teachers’ Work Setting, and Measures of Teachers’ Classroom Practices. A survey has been conducted among secondary school teachers in Greece. In order to validate the measurement model and to test the hypothesized relationships, structural equation modeling was performed. The study provides useful insights on the era of quality assurance in education that lead to the improvement of teaching practices. The research findings reveal that Education Redesigning the Organization, Measures of Teachers’ Classroom Practices, and Developing People are the most important factors among the seven dimensions on Transformational School Leadership. It was also found that Measures of Teachers’ Motivation plays more important role than Measures of Teacher Capacities, Setting Directions, and Measures of Teachers’ Work Settings.Future research could apply this scale of transformational leadership on the secondary education system (in Greece) in order to compare the empirical results of this survey with the new results from secondary teachers across Greece.

Greece’s image has suffered from inconsistent advertising campaigns which positioned Greece as the ideal destination for summer holidays and heritage tourism. This fragmented image was further distorted as the result of the economic crisis. However, less is known about the current perceptions of foreign tourists regarding the image of Greece. The aim of the present study is twofold: firstly, to assess tourists’ perceptions of the cognitive image of Greece and, secondly, to test the effects of the different cognitive image dimensions on tourists’ revisit and recommendation intentions. Toward that end, a survey was conducted in the city of Athens using a self-administered questionnaire which was delivered to foreign visitors. Results indicate that Greece is perceived as a destination for heritage and leisure tourism. Moreover, the cognitive component of destination image is comprised of four factors, namely, natural/cultural resources, leisure/recreation, tourist infrastructure, and experience/value. Not all cognitive image factors exert influence on tourists’ revisit intentions. More specifically, intentions to revisit Greece are primarily affected by the leisure/entertainment factor followed by experience/value and cultural/natural factors, while intentions to recommend are influenced mainly by the factors of experience/value and cultural/natural resources and to a lesser extent by the leisure/recreation factor. A number of managerial implications are discussed that would enable destination managers to better promote Greece and to entice tourists’ loyalty.

Stock price analysis is one of the most important issues concerning investments and financial decision-making. Thus, stock price analysis and estimation models can be very useful in the estimation of a firm’s financial development. The aim of this paper is to propose a model of differential equations that will be able to be applied in the case of stock price analysis and estimation. The differential equations model will be based on Lanchester’s combat model, a mathematical theory of war. In the field of business, such operations research models have been used in cases such as competition analysis and resources allocation optimization. The case to be examined in this paper refers to the healthcare services index stocks of the Athens Stock Exchange. A 7 × 7 differential equations model was developed to analyze the examined firms’ stocks.

It is commonly accepted that economic crisis has a negative effect on firms’ liquidity. Therefore, liquidity management has become critical for firms, in order to be able to pay their short-term debts. Cash conversion cycle is used in order to measure the average collection period and days of sales in inventories less days of payables outstanding (Keown et al., Foundations of finance: The logic and practice of Financial management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003). The main purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between cash conversion cycle and firms’ financial performance in the era of financial crisis. For this purpose, we selected a sample of listed firms in the Athens Stock Exchange for the years 2012–2014, and using OLS regression, we investigated the impact of CCC on firms’ size. Our findings differ from those of relevant studies which explored firms in the periods before the financial crisis or firms of countries which have not been significantly affected by the financial crisis.

The creative idea’s source lies in the Ancient Greece where Aristotle considered creativity as something that resulted “when one is bereft of his senses.” Creativity entails generating and recognizing ideas; solving problems; viewing things from different perspectives and in different ways; changing or transforming an existing domain into a new one, in an innovative and unique way; and associating different fields of knowledge. Creativity development is an important consideration for many disciplines such as education, technology, engineering, cognitive science, business studies, and economics. The main goal of creativity is developing through exploration, decision-making, and expression. In an era defined by technological innovations and marked by financial crisis, developing the creative and innovative potential of students reflects the need of new educational methods. This necessity was recently reported to the European Commission’s project entitled “Modernization on Education.” The current research explores the different sources of funding (governmental or households), reports the spending per country on education, and, finally, emphasizes the importance OECD countries assign to education. This research aims at depicting the linkage between state budget spending on education and creativity development. It is purported that increases in expenditures on education may help foster economic growth, enhance productivity, contribute to people’s personal and social development, and help reduce social inequalities. Educational expenditures include spending on universities, schools, and other private and public institutions.

This work aims to trace and detect variations of both the number of professors (permanent staff) and graduates in Greek universities from 2011 until 2016. More specifically, a correlation between the number of professors and the number of graduates is assumed. Following this assumption, this work elaborates on statistical data concerning graduates taken from the Hellenic Statistical Authority and on data taken from the “Apella” system (website for formal registration election of faculty members). The study focuses on graduates’ number; on professors’ position, department, and gender; and on years of studies at universities. The inspiration behind this focus is that the number of professors has decreased dramatically in some departments, while the corresponding number of graduates has increased.

The purpose of this paper, which is part of a more general research, is to investigate the determinant factors that often influence or control the changes in the organization of society.The “paradigms” of social structure are three: nomadic life, city-state and state-empire. All of them co-existed and were dominant in the greatest part of world history. The development of social systems moves reciprocally between these three paradigms. In this framework, it is possible for the political regime, in each paradigm, to vary. However, the trend towards the “whole” (globalized society) seems to be something “natural”.The method employed is based on the analysis of historical development, while it attempts to estimate the trends.

The increasing scarcity of talent and the graying of the labor market in western societies pose a number of challenges for the human resource departments of public sector organizations. Traditionally, the public sector fails to attract high-caliber professionals, since it lacks the resources of private organizations, unable to match their salaries and benefits. The situation is getting even more difficult for managers in the public sector, with the drives of downsizing and leanness, forced on them by the governments. Public organizations thus need to focus on finding high-quality talent, driven more by public service motivation (PSM) and less by extrinsic rewards. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between PSM and student choice of employer. Three samples were used in our analysis, one from a Graduate School of Economics in Belgium, another one from a Graduate School of Public Administration in Greece, and a third one also from a Graduate School of Business in Greece. We used SPSS and conducted a factor analysis, to ensure that the questions correspond to the expected dimensions of PSM. We then examined the relationship between the dimensions of PSM and the employer choices using correlation analysis. The hypotheses concerning the employer choices and the PSM dimensions were tested with ANOVA. The results partially supported the hypotheses proposed in this paper, demonstrating that PSM is a good indicator of an individual’s propensity to give preference to working for a public organization, in spite of the less attractive rewards expected by doing so. The implications of the findings in this study are particularly significant for public organizations, since they highlight the value of PSM, as a predictor of how devoted to public service a future employee will be before recruitment. Public organizations can avoid turnover and achieve high levels of job satisfaction and employee motivation, if they use PSM when they recruit their staff.

Business plan development is the basic method to describe decisions made before starting up a certain business. The estimating of the planned business is realized, and the decision about investment or crediting of a certain business is made based on a business plan. Business plan is also applied to perform the planned development of an already existing enterprise.There are many different methods and standards of business plan creation. However, they are directed mainly to the specialists in the field of economics and business with a certain experience, specific knowledge, and improved abilities to work with information. Small business representatives usually do not have these knowledge and abilities. Consequently, we have the majority of small enterprise functioning without a business plan.The result of it is that the small business acts “up to the situation” and does not apply the existing economical science achievements in the field of decision-making. It often happens that small and micro-business owners consider scientific methods too complicated and difficult to understand and apply to develop their business.The researches in this field use the principles of a rational approach and do not take into account the peculiarities of making decisions by those who would work with such business plans.The purpose of our research is to create a methodic of the business planning, which would, from the one hand, be efficient and based on the latest scientific achievements, and, from the other hand, would have to be so easy and clear that it might be used by an ordinary small business representative; at the same time it might be applicable for the current estimation and planning, and it must also have the algorithm of business plan making based on all of the current international standards.We can confidently affirm that both creating and applying of a business plan have a general feature—they are developed and used by people. Whereby it is the small business that is characterized by a low acquirement level of people and the impact of their acquirement level onto the business planning result.Having used the achievements of the modern science such as economics (The Bounded Rationality Theory by H. Simon) and psychology (The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two by G. Miller) and also the term of cognitive load (J. Julien), we can answer the questions of differences and formulate the criteria following to which would allow to develop a general approach to the creation and implementation of business plans making it possible for the small business to work with this instrument efficiently.The Bounded Rationality Theory tells us that though a person makes rational decisions, he does it within certain limits of intellect, attention, willpower, and self-interest. At that, the supposition that the smaller the organized business is, the more limits a person has seems to be quite fair.H. Simon describes the limits, but tells nothing about how they work. G. Miller though defines the quantitative parameters and the functioning principles of human attention. J. Julien, in his turn, represents us the qualitative estimation difficulties of the human comprehension.The next work algorithm is proposed:1. Presentation of the business “nucleus”—the obligatory elements with the mnemonic abbreviation ASPiRiN2. Express estimation of each element working-out level: (1) is not reasoned out, (2) is reasoned out, (3) is written down, and (4) is described according to the methodic.3. Based on the express estimation, the further plan is created, depending on the entrepreneur’s purposes: (a) level 2 is sufficient for the micro-business; level 3 is sufficient for the small business; and level 4 is sufficient to apply the documents to the investor or crediting organization.In our research the basic existing methods are chosen, which composes the notional base for small and micro-business development at the level of the increase of the made decisions efficiency. The algorithm presented hereby might be applied both for individual work of the small business representatives and for the work of business consultants who use the scientific approach.

The irrigation sector in Greece has been recognized as the major consumer of water and, at the same time, a precondition of agricultural production. Impacts of agricultural practices on water quality and quantity are many and varied. This paper proposes a typology approach of irrigation water management problems in Nestos river basin, North Greece. A novel quantitative SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is recommended for identifying the internal and external factors that influence the irrigation sector. Specifically, a double-round Delphi-type interactive survey method has been employed to rank and quantify environmental impacts of water use in agriculture sector, according to the literature, as well as a previous qualitative research conducted in the region. An independent group comprised of 20 experts engaged in irrigation water issues (academics, policy directors, business executives, and selected farmers) was invited to asses and rank all factors, identified by the SWOT. After experts’ ranking, they were invited, in a second round, to propose potential policy implications for the major weaknesses and threats which emerged from the SWOT analysis. The results from this approach could be a tool for assisting the formulation of strategy in water management sector.

During the period 2012–2014 a West Nile virus outbreak occurred in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Greece. This study is aimed at exploring the attitudes of tourism enterprises in this area toward the mosquito problem and at identifying the factors that have had an impact on those enterprises’ losses due to mosquitoes. In particular, this paper is aimed at classifying tourism enterprises into groups according to their attitudes toward the mosquito problem; profiling each group identified group according to the type of enterprise, the regional district they operate, and their level of financial losses; identifying the opinion of each group of enterprises regarding the importance they give to vector control programs operating in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace; identifying the factors that affect those enterprises’ losses due to mosquitoes. Multivariate statistical techniques, including principal component analysis, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, logistic regression analysis, and nonparametric tests such as Chi-squared and Friedman tests, are used in this study.

The aim of this paper is to empirically explore Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis within EU28 countries by utilizing dynamic panel data approach. The results show that economic growth positively affects environmental pollutants. Therefore, Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis does not exist within EU28 countries. The results also reveal that the use of energy efficiency measures negatively affects pollution, while energy intensity contributes to more air pollution.

The present study aimed to explore the teaching quality of Greek accounting studies by examining the students’ experience from their accounting studies at higher education institutions (HEIs) in relation to demographic characteristics. An exploratory factor analysis, from a sample of 268 students’ questionnaires, identified four constructs, reflecting good teaching, generic skills, appropriate assessment and clear goals, and standards. The students’ scores on all scales showed satisfactory levels of internal consistency. A reduced version of the CEQ in Greek is proposed as a measure of students’ perceptions of the academic quality of programs in Greek higher education accounting studies, and its four dimensions are suggested as significant predictors of students’ satisfaction.

The purpose of this paper is to present the structure governing corporate social responsibility in the mobile telecommunications sector in Greece. Because the sector is clearly oligopolistic and the competition in this type of the market is special, the corporate social responsibility plays a catalytic role in shaping the consumer perception of each company individually. Through this work the researchers hope to make clear the context of corporate social responsibility governing mobile companies in Greece.Because these networks offer exclusively services and not products on the end consumers, the analysis will have a different manner than that is widespread in an ordinary industry. The comparative analysis of the three main players of this oligopolistic sector will hopefully yield useful findings, both at research level and at the level of quality improvement policies of certain services provided to all interested members of the mobile telecommunication sector in Greece. The comparative analysis is performed by the corporate social responsibility reports of the three companies for the years 2012, 2013, and 2014.

In an organization, the workload of the employees is very important in terms of efficiency and motivation toward work. Workloads must be at the same level as employees can achieve.In the study, a large faculty of one of Turkey’s leading universities was selected as a pilot. There are 25 different business units and 92 employees in the faculty. AHP and LP are preferred as models. With AHP, utility values ​​of employees in each job type are calculated separately for 25 job types. The obtained utility values ​​are assigned as the objective function coefficients of the decision variables of the LP model. Three different LP models were obtained and solved to obtain optimal workload values. According to the results of three different models, the manager will be able to complete the missing workloads of the employees from different units.

The impacts of the 2004 CAP reform on crop allocation, agricultural production, and the rural economy have been scarcely studied within a regional perspective. In this work, the impact of the CAP reform—and in particular the implementation of cross-compliance—on the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (Greece) is studied with the use of factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Detailed qualitative and quantitative data were obtained through structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews of agronomists working in the local agricultural inputs sector. Results demonstrate that the CAP reform had primarily an adverse impact on both crop allocation and production, as well as on the local economy.