Eurasian Business Perspectives

The agribusiness in Russia is one of the key spheres of the economy, and development of cooperation between agro-industrial entities is an important part of public policy. The chapter contains results of the research of the efficiency of agricultural cooperatives and other small forms of agricultural production in Russia using the data of the state statistics, and also the financial reporting of the enterprises. The analysis of the cooperative sector in the agro-industrial complex indicates a low efficiency of existing cooperatives and a downtrend in their number. It was revealed that unincorporated farms have demonstrated better efficiency, and this sector has been developing poorly in the last 5 years. The author analyzes state programs of support and stimulation of agricultural cooperation and farming and its outcome. The author points at the failures, limitations of existing programs, and offers some measures that would increase the attractiveness of cooperation in the agribusiness among small enterprises. State should eliminate or optimize institutional barriers, encourage competition in the agribusiness sectors, support existing farms and their cooperatives. Cooperatives must develop independently on the path and in those forms that are most economically beneficial and suitable for producers.

The chapter discusses the importance of relational capital and its impact on an enterprise crisis. The author believes that the possible occurrence of crisis phenomena in an enterprise may be a consequence of incorrectly built relational capital with various groups of stakeholders. Relational capital can also play an important role in crisis intervention measures. The chapter presents the results of expert opinion survey conducted among ten business practitioners—specialists in the field of formation of relational capital in enterprises and crisis management. The survey indicates that relational capital may be a crisis-generating factor, nevertheless it is not the most important one. The situation is different, however, when a crisis already occurs within an organization. Then, according to the surveyed experts, relational capital seems to be a critical factor that allows a given company to overcome the crisis because relational capital is people and without people there is no organization.

Foreign direct investments have grown over the last decades which are related to the ongoing globalization process. The current literature shows research works dealing with the topic of influence factors on foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions which may occur during the decision-making process. A new causal model has been developed to get in-depth view on macroeconomic perspective. Motives to do FDI are strongly impacted by macroeconomic factors which may influence upcoming decisions. To be able to understand the impact of the macroeconomic environment on FDI decisions the factors have been diversified and conceptualized, divided into three subgroups of independent latent variables in the construct. Two additional intervening variables, fiscal incentive schemes and uncertain and volatile environmental circumstances have been included to the model to gain a holistic picture of macroeconomic influence factors. One hundred and thirty-eight representative persons from the German and Austrian automotive industry served a basement of data for analysis. Expected market development, production factors, and public and governmental factors define the framework requirement of potential impact factors on FDI motives.

Costs have an impact on management decisions such as maintaining a competitive position on the market, changes in the product range offered, or acquiring new sales markets. Creating a well-functioning cost information system in an enterprise therefore plays a very important role, not only from the point of view of financial reporting, but also in the entire management system. The size and detail of the collection of cost data depends on many factors such as: the nature of the business, the industry and the range of services provided, or the size of the enterprise. The aim of the chapter is to present selected results of surveys conducted in 2016 on the importance of cost information in the practice of Polish enterprises operating in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Pomeranian, and Warmian-Masurian Voivodships.

The main aim of this chapter is to examine the applicability of praxeological theory to the evaluation of innovative projects in the healthcare sector. We propose a set of project evaluation criteria and indicators. The empirical data used in the pilot study was taken from projects carried out by a Contract Research Organization. The analyzed projects regard R&D as well as clinical and observational studies. Interviews were conducted with experienced people in the R&D projects management, projects carried out jointly by scientific units, along with commercial projects in the medicine and pharmaceutical industry. The results of the conducted analyses formulate key criteria and indicators (based on effectiveness, economicality, and efficacy) for evaluating the performance of innovative healthcare projects. The conclusions drawn from the research results allow to claim that it is possible to use praxeological theory in the evaluation of healthcare projects. The chapter presents current problems important from the point of view of management sciences and undertaken research development.

The aim of the chapter is to present the results of the research conducted at the level of mapping the changes introduced in the business model that are reflected in the company’s cost calculation. The conclusions from the analysis of business models of over 100 Polish enterprises using the Canvas model were discussed. It was found that changes in business models mainly concern the product offer and market segments. Their character may be related to the life cycle of the organization. It was established which cost accounting models are used by companies. It was shown to what extent a cost account enables companies to assess specific elements of a business model as well as in what areas, changes in the business model have an impact on the modifications of the cost account. The research has shown that companies are aware of the need for changes in the cost accounting in the event of changes in the key components of the business model. However, in most cases companies enter them only into their records of costs required by law. The usefulness of cost models used in practice is assessed highest in the analysis and control of such components of the business model as key activities and resources.

An important element of business management is systematically conducted financial analysis based both on financial statements and accounting data. The aim of the article is to present the approach of Polish enterprises toward the use of financial analysis in operational and strategic management. The article presents the results of a survey carried out on a group of 248 enterprises. The research carried out concerned the financial statement analysis and the accounting data financial analysis. The originality of the research was influenced by the fact that apart from examining the use of particular analytical areas, their usefulness for managers was additionally checked. The data were analyzed within the following categories: the type of business activity conducted, company size, and range of business operations. The results of this research have shown that the decision-making process in operational and strategic management, based on financial analysis, is more of an art than science.

The aim of the chapter is to analyze the current situation with implementation of the state information system of the housing and utilities sector and the prospects of its development in Russia. The authors analyze the impact of state and state participation in the development of network relations. The advantages of the State Information System of Housing and Communal Services (GIS ZhKH) for the participants of the system are analyzed. Actual problems and disadvantages of institutional environment of GIS ZhKH are described. The relationships between actors of GIS ZhKH are summarized; importance on network relationships for the further development of the industry is substantiated. The authors also discuss the role of the state in the network relationship of participants in the GIS ZhKH.

Globalization, technological, social, and cultural progress as well as their consequent Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) shapes a specific environment for modern enterprises. IR4.0 imposes specific challenges and priorities on their behavior, because it creates the so-called SMART WORLD. This observation has raised the following question: How ready are SMEs to be SMART? The main purpose of this chapter is to identify at which stage of preparation for the SMART World are SMEs. The second purpose of the chapter is to identify if and how the size of the enterprise determines the effectiveness of its operation in the age of IR4.0. The studies are based on a literature review and they describe the requirements for organization functioning in the age of IR4.0, a review of international researches and the results of the author’s own research on the readiness of SMEs for the SMART World of IR4.0. The findings of the conducted research indicate that the tested SMEs operating in Poland, although increasingly aware of the benefits of the application of modern solutions, still have a too low level of knowledge concerning the requirements of the age of Industry4.0, possess average activity in terms of the use of tools specific to this age, and they are mostly halfway to the SMART world. Furthermore, the bigger the size of a company, the higher the level of readiness for operating in the age IR4.0. At various levels of organizational activity, we can see a growing need for technological, methodical, legal, financial, and social support for such activities.

This chapter aims to explore consumer engagement in an online brand community. Consumer engagement includes cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions. This qualitative research focuses on the Finnish online forum called Brick Builders. This community is fully fan-based without any company involvement and it includes different age groups and both genders. The data collection is mainly based on netnography with more than 1000 postings and with nearly 200 different poster pseudonymes. However, pure netnographic approach was supplemented by 11 personal interviews and several interactive emails. This research proposes four main empirical findings. First, to create and sustain tight bonds among the members of an online brand community is vital in social networking. Second, to evangelize and justify are relevant thematic sub-practices in impression management. Third, to reinforce involvement in the brand community can be facilitated by community engagement. Fourth, to increase and enhance the consumption of the parent brand is typical in brand use.

The aim of the article is to present multidimensional nature of the country of origin (COO) effect in higher education services and to analyze perception of the power exerted by a particular country in such services, depending on the countries of origin of respondents and services. The data have been collected from 264 students from Poland, Lithuania, and Germany. To analyze the data, a method of the repeated measures analysis of variance has been applied. The results of the research confirm the multidimensional character of the COO effect. Nine European countries which are analyzed in the article are characterized by a high differentiation of the power exerted by the particular countries, which is namely, perception of the COO of the country weighted by the significance of the particular COO dimensions in education services. The results of the research may be applied to plan marketing operations, including development of a product, promotion actions, development of an image, and the positioning of an offer of higher education services for the foreign markets. The value contributed by the following article is: (1) indication of the multidimensional character of an image of the origin country in education services, which has not been confirmed so far; (2) introduction of an original rate, namely: a COO power rate, which includes the significance of a particular COO dimension for consumers as well as the perception of such a COO dimension in the particular origin country of services; (3) the research conducted among the respondents in Europe where the COO effect in education services has not been analyzed so far.

The aim of the chapter is to present multidimensional nature of the country of origin (COO) effect and to verify whether the evaluation of the dimensions of products and services differs depending on their country of origin and on the country of origin of consumers. The data have been collected from 264 students from Poland, Lithuania, and Germany, with the use of an auditorium survey technique. To analyze the data, a method of the repeated measures analysis of variance has been applied. The results of the research indicate that the COO effect of products and services is of multidimensional nature. The evaluation of these dimensions differs depending on the country of origin of products and services, and the country of origin of respondents. A relatively small sample of the respondents who come only from one university in each of the three analyzed countries does not allow the authors of the chapter to provide any generalization of the obtained results. The results of the research may be applied to plan marketing operations undertaken in foreign markets. The value of the chapter consists of the demonstration of the multidimensional character of the phenomenon.

Along with the development of social media, the importance of virtual brand communities located on such websites has significantly grown. Nowadays, fanpages serve as a source of information about the brand as well as a mean of building one’s personal image by underlining the views and ideas shared with the brand. Participation in the life of brand communities may also increase consumer’s loyalty toward the brands. The aim of this article is to investigate the purchase decision of the members of virtual brand communities in order to evaluate their loyalty toward the brands which communities the social media users belong to. The authors conducted an empirical quantitative research, by indirect data collection with the use of survey technique, carried out among 650 Polish Internet users. The results confirm the increase of the loyalty toward the brand caused by participation in its brand community; however differences exist, especially between age groups, and are dependent on the member’s level of activity on the fanpage. The research has also shown that the price is often the factor more important for the consumers than their relation with the brand. The results indicate the importance of communicating with consumers via fanpages and promoting their active participation in the life of the community.

The objective of this research is to compare young adults in the UK and Indonesia regarding the most important factors that guided them to choose a lodging, brand awareness, and their opinions about Airbnb marketing communication to find out the reason behind the website traffic differences. The method was a mixed method, with an online questionnaire using snowball sampling to recruit young adult respondents from both countries and an in-depth interview with ten Airbnb users: five people from the UK and five others from Indonesia. The analyzed data used SPSS for the quantitative data and a thematic coding with NVivo for the qualitative data. Findings identified that reputation, review, website quality, security, staff behaviur, cleanliness, exterior appearance, location, and access to public transportation are the most important factors in choosing a holiday accommodation in both countries. People in the UK tend to care about the price, while in Indonesia the facility is more important. In the UK, they had discovered Airbnb mostly from Facebook and Snapchat, while in Indonesia they had heard it from Instagram before they decided to use and access the Airbnb website.

The image of the destination and its perception play an important role in distinguishing objectively comparable alternatives. The aim of the research was to find out the associative perceptions of Latvia as a tourism destination in Latvia’s target markets in Europe, as well as to investigate whether the current and potential Latvian tourism brands correspond with the associations of the people of these markets about holiday travel. The study involved data of three face-to-face surveys conducted in several places in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in the summer of 2015, 2016, and 2017. The questionnaire was made to determine the recognition and the image of Latvia as tourism destination as well as to determine the associations relating to Latvia expressed with keywords and colors. For data analyses following methods were used: descriptive statistics, cross tabulation, data correlation, network analyses, and visualizations. Main results and findings of the study are addressed to organizations that are responsible for tourism image development in Latvia, to evaluate destination branding and improve marketing communication. Research result analyses confirmed that the German, Swiss, and Austrian residents’ associations with Latvia and associations with holiday travel expressed in colors correspond with each other and with color concept of former Latvian tourism logo ‘Latvia. Best enjoyed slowly’.

Financial information reported by companies is an element that completes the set of data necessary to optimize the investment decisions. The extent to which they contribute to the formation of the share price (value relevance) reflects both the qualitative level of the accounting figures and the degree of efficiency and maturity of the capital markets. The existence of connections to offshore jurisdictions may influence investors’ perception of the quality of reported information. This chapter aims to analyze the value relevance of the information reported by the listed companies on the main section of the BSE, focusing on the results obtained by the entities with connections to tax havens. To achieve the research objectives, we used financial information for a period of six fiscal years (2011–2016). The value relevance estimation was achieved through the two econometric models established in the literature, the Easton and Harris model and the Ohlson model. The findings of our research show a low value relevance for companies with connections to tax havens compared to those without such links. The relationship is also sustained by robustness tests carried out by introducing control variables to highlight the characteristics of companies with offshore connections: performance, indebtedness, asset structure, productivity, and taxation.

The paper refers to the phenomenon of adoption of bank products and services by young people (up to 26 years old) in Poland with taking into account children, youths, and young adults as clients of banks. The purpose of the paper is to identify and characterize the motives, terms, and preferences of using banking products and services by the mentioned groups. The research was conducted by studying literature, analyzing bank offers, as well as investigating the group of 209 young people (up to the age of 26) with CAWI technique in the period of January–February 2017. The study confirmed that adoption of banking products and services is primarily dependent on level of education and place of residence. Young people start adopting banking products and services before they become adults and they use them in an active and frequent manner in contrary to other financial services. People under 26 usually use many but simple products. The choice of banking offers is primarily determined by shopping and payments, and the use of credit is very limited.

The market for equity crowdfunding has grown significantly in Germany. However, several prominent bankruptcies have raised suspicions regarding the quality of companies seeking funding. Inexperienced investors, small funding sizes and a lack of third-party certification can lead to adverse selection processes whereby companies that fail to secure traditional early stage funding turn to equity crowdfunding. A lower quality supply of companies in equity crowdfunding markets would imply higher risk, which in equilibrium should be compensated by higher investment returns. We investigate the adverse selection hypothesis by measuring the bankruptcy risk inherent in German equity crowdfunding transactions and comparing it to concurrent venture capital transactions. While the bankruptcy probability for equity crowdfunded companies is more than six times as high as for venture capital funded companies in the sample, there is no significant difference once we control for further characteristics of the offering. Any regulatory reaction attempting tighter investor protection should consider the cost of shutting out start-ups from seed or early stage capital, which are especially high in Germany as alternative sources of funding are not as well developed as for example in the USA or UK.

When projects co-financed from the EU funds are implemented by their beneficiaries, the task of the bodies involved in management and supervision over the funds is to ensure an adequate project implementation—that is compliance with UE and domestic laws, relevant guidelines, programme documents, and applicable project financing agreement (or decision on project financing, or any other applicable document). In this context, public procurement procedures need to be considered. Since an adequate project implementation by beneficiaries generally involves a stricter financial regime applicable to spending funds, the supervision over contract awarding procedures becomes critical in importance. This task has been assigned to various bodies involved in the management and supervision over the EU funds and playing various roles within this system. One of them may be an intermediate body of an operational programme. The purpose of the present chapter is to examine the legal status of an intermediate body as an entity supervising public procurement market in the context of EU funds—taking into account the specific nature of the system of EU projects implementation. The following aspects will be discussed: general overview of the intermediate body, nature of intermediate body from the perspective of applicable provisions of EU and domestic legal regulations, supervisory tasks of intermediate body in the public procurement sector, and supervision over performance of the tasks assigned to intermediate bodies.

Construction industry includes companies of different sizes—large, medium, small, and microenterprises. The diversity of companies and their interaction make it possible to ensure the proper scale of the construction industry in combination with the flexibility, variety and quick response to new trends, demands, and challenges. The size of the company determines its ability to attract financial resources, available forms, and methods of forming its equity and debt, thereby determining the capital structure of the company. The objective of the current research is to identify opportunities and threats to different size construction companies’ development. The object under consideration is the capital structure of Russian construction companies—their sources of financing and corresponding financial and economic indicators. The study uses financial and economic analysis and statistical methods. The conclusions made on the results of research may be useful to the heads of particular companies, to financial and credit organizations and to the governing bodies of the construction industry.

The aim of the chapter is to examine to what extent investment funds implementing the strategy of socially responsible investing engage their funds in the assets of the Islamic financial market. Particular interest was focused on the sukuk—the most known Islamic capital market instruments. Research was conducted by way of applying critical analysis to the literature of the subject. The study yielded results indicating a total lack of sukuk in the portfolios of leading mutual SRI funds. The reason of this phenomenon may be the perception of sukuk as instruments not conforming to the idea of responsible finance, but narrowly related to Islamic ethics.