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This research paper proposes a non-invasive hybrid brain-computer interface (hBCI) applicable in rehabilitation. In the first section of this research paper, the theoretical information about BCI and hybrid BCI are explained. A non-invasive hybrid BCI is a combination and parallel usage of electroencephalography (EEG - electrical activity of the brain) and additional technology. In this research paper, the additional technology is surface electromyography (sEMG - electrical activity of muscles). In this proposal, we suggest using EEG device from Emotiv, which is called Emotiv Epoc+ and sEMG will be measured by Arduino UNO with SpikerShield board. These low-cost types of equipment fulfill the requirements and are among the most popular devices in this category. The last part of this paper is dedicated to the possibility of applying these methods in rehabilitation. This hybrid BCI proposal can be more functional than regular BCI because it can produce more accurate rehabilitation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a very dynamic development of project management in recent years. One reason is continued globalization and market interconnection, another reason is the technological development and the development of new technologies. There are many challenges that project managers must encounter. Managing and leading the projects is a challenge for the project managers and it becomes difficult to meet the goals of the project, once the project changes from local to global. As companies worldwide are moving more and more forward a virtual business model, this paper offers insight for project managers and their teams who collaborate on projects from geographically diverse locations. Another interesting challenge nowadays is to manage start up projects that are very common. The is explanation of managing intercultural teams, virtual teams and advice on how to coach and develop team members with success from far - off locations are given in this paper. The benefit of this paper is tips for project managers that are based on experience with these specific environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern experienced society calls for new ideas and projects that are implemented to ordinary life and its activities. There is no difference in tourism. Through developing new products, regional visits can be supported and bring new tourists to it. Paper brings theoretical overview of regional development based on innovation implementation. The main purpose of the paper is to point to the necessity of innovation implication while developing the region. It points out the theory of regional development with combination of innovation management. The paper shows real examples of chosen regions and their successful strategies and projects. The paper analysis was made by using the desk and field research method. By visiting different new models, it brought wider view of their operating and bases. The obtained data were complemented by using documentary method. Theoretical part of the paper brings theory of regional development through scientific literature abstraction. The paper brings empirical insight about how the innovation can be implemented to the region. It shows how new different strategies can support the visitors to participate to tourism in the area. It mentions that the innovations and marketing are more than needed in modern and fast developing society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although recognizing its importance for the global economy, and despite the positive examples within the textile and clothing industry, fashion's environmental and social impact is indeed highly negative. Even so, technological innovations in materials, processes, design, production, and distribution of fashion products, combined with changing in consumption habits are slowly transforming the sector, with designers and brands adopting more sustainable, environmental and ethical practices, and opposing the planned obsolescence principle, formerly associated with it. However, these changes concentrate in highly developed regions, where influential fashion companies have the resources and knowledge to investigate and implement sustainable innovations. Furthermore, these changes take too long to be disseminated worldwide, especially in those regions where the fashion sector contributes to economic development and represents a way to participate in the global economy. This paper analyzes sustainable initiatives in fashion design sector that are already in place and presents the relation between fashion and sustainability in fashion design higher education programs and courses, delivered online by fashion design higher education in Europe. The results demonstrated that sustainability is nearly absent in the accredited online offer, but indicated it was present in non-traditional, open models of education. This paper considers that, without geographical limitations, online learning presents a huge opportunity to educate about current and future issues on fashion and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the peculiarities of using the storytelling technology in the FMCG products branding as one of the techniques for value-oriented emotioning, i.e. purposeful formation of consumer’s emotional response [1]. The study of this aspect in branding is especially relevant today because in a highly competitive environment and with a lot of messages with similar rational arguments, it is difficult to achieve an impassioned and emotional response to the branded goods and to form a differentiated offer. The importance of a story which forms impassioned associations in branding is noted by market practitioners and, from our point of view, its study is expedient. In this paper, the analysis of the information on branding practice received from open sources is given, and the information from branding agencies engaged in the complex development of a brand, and agencies which activity profile is the development of visual communication of a brand is used. According to the results of the research, it was concluded that story telling is one of the promising technologies used in modern branding. The reason for this is that an emotional story has a direct impact on the emotional state of consumers and is a trigger of interaction with a brand. The branding process itself can be considered as omnichannel storytelling, i.e. a technology that allows telling a single associative story formed with the help of a coordinated method of communications between attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The great opportunity to classify risks of the introduction of digital solutions to the organizations, which provide educational services, lies behind the opportunity to measure the degree of implementation of digital solutions in the organization and the degree of collaborations about digital solutions, both inside and outside of the organization. The paper classifies the risks of introducing digital solutions, depending on the stage of the life cycle. Authors analyzed risks of introduction, growth and maturity according to the developed system of indicators. The paper gives an assessment of the risks of introducing digital solutions based on the barriers considered, chosen strategies and collaborative innovations and includes a list of risks of introducing digital solutions, describing innovative activities on the educational services market. This list includes social risk, risk of decline in professional skills, technological risk and risk of education system. Authors completed this risk list with traditional risks: the risk of fraud; risk of resistance to the introduction of digital solutions; risk of corruption. The paper gives the risk assessment of the implementation of digital solutions in providing educational services organizations. Organizations providing educational services must develop a system of internal and external collaborations to introduce digital solutions, which in turn leads to a reduction in the impact of digital risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates a sample of 25 European systemically important banks, in terms of performance in fulfilling their financial intermediation function. Performance has been measured by relying on a Malmquist productivity index with panel data, to account for productivity changes over time and to decompose the main sources of changes into the catch-up effect and technological progress. As the database covered the 2007-2016 timeframe, we were able to investigate if the impact of the financial crisis appears in the data. The findings obtained for each year confirmed that the financial crisis exerted a significant influence on banks' productivity which witnessed a decline for most banks in the sample in 2009 relative to 2008. Some systemic banks detached themselves as they exhibited increases of productivity during most time periods considered. The 10-year average levels recorded by the Malmquist index and its two components show that technical efficiency improvements slightly outperformed technological changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The parallel development of the digital society and the ideas for sustainable development provokes courier companies to seek innovative solutions based on ecofriendly practices that correspond to the technological changes that take place in the major players in the realization of products, which are the merchants. The aim of this paper is to reveal the place of the courier companies as the main logistics intermediaries in the context of the omnichannel commercial strategy and to outline the trends in the sector faced by courier service providers in Bulgaria in the context of trade digitization and sustainable development of society. This paper made theoretical overview for the place of courier companies as the main logistics intermediaries in the conditions of omnichannel trade, analysis of market share of courier service providers and expected worldwide courier services revenues by 2025 has been made, as well as greenhouse gases and air pollutants, accumulated in the provision of postal and courier services within the EU-28. In conclusion, the tendencies in the courier service industry, which support the omnichannel strategy of traders, are summarized, as well as conclusions on the implementation of modern digital solutions with a strategic character in the business activities of the courier companies, which correspond to the ideas for sustainable development of the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with innovations and its potential influence, respectively importance for regional development. Author analyses innovation performance of particular regions in Slovak republic at the NUTS 2 level. Slovak republic is administratively divided into 8 regions, but for the investigation of regional innovation performance it is divided only into 4 regions at the NUTS 2 level. In this study we use methodology of European commission for measurement of innovation performance of the regions based on regional innovation index. Analyse is based on investigation of 8 particular indicators which are aggregated in 3 groups. All the data used in this study are available from the years 2007 - 2013 and its main source is regional statistical data. Particular regions of Slovakia are markedly behind in the innovation performance in comparison with the most developed regions of Europe. According to the analyse factors which influence development of region on the base of innovations are formulated. Author formulated 8 basic factors which directly influence innovation performance of the region and also indirectly competitiveness of regional economy. The paper stresses the thesis that development of a region needs to be formalized top down (from the region), provided requirements of entrepreneurs are deliberated. This kind of controlled regional development became a base for competitive regional economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition of the Russian economy to innovation strategies of development has set conditions for the development of the infrastructure of innovative entrepreneurship, project environment and project management. By introducing innovations, small-sized innovative companies and heavy players aim at providing national and global competitiveness. Various investment sources are used to develop and promote new technological solutions and innovation services. Their choice depends on the content and size of a project, a company's strategy and other factors. Currently, experts observe a sufficient amount of available investment resources on the Russian innovation market. However, an inefficient implementation of investments still remains a vital problem. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the main causes of this problem and to propose its possible solutions based on the research done. The paper systematizes the types of investors and sources of innovative companies financing depending on the stage of their development. The peculiarities of large projects, in particular projects of creating territorial innovation clusters in Russian regions, are revealed in the paper. Small-sized innovative companies should choose a source of financing by balancing the concepts of the "innovation lift" and the "investment lift" taking into account the degree of risks. In this connection the paper proposes a company's investment strategy matrix. Since large innovation projects in Russia are mainly financed by the government, the paper pays special attention to the investment strategy based on the state-private partnership. The main task in effecting government investments is to provide their efficiency. The effectiveness of investments can be seen in economic and social indicators of the development of industry, society and the region as a whole. The paper expresses the author's view on the government investment effectiveness, a possibility of using benchmarking to analyze the efficiency of territorial innovation clusters. The study of the state-of-the-art foreign experience facilitates searching for effective investment strategies and stimulates investment project commercialization. The author has analyzed the best foreign practices and presents the conclusions that are based on them. The following research methods are used: observation, expert evaluation, generalization, benchmarking, comparative analysis and data visualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working conditions are permanently changing across all European countries, and this is mainly due to the development of technology. It is well-known that nowadays workplaces and work practices go through constant changes under the influence of new technology and of shifting economic and social conditions. Given the great variations that are registered from year to year in the very same member state, the harmonisation of the working conditions at the level of the European Union seems to be an objective almost impossible to be reached. The protection of health and safety at work has always been a fundamental preoccupation of the EU labour law-related legislation. Alongside other psychosocial risks, such as stress and violence at work, moral harassment has become one of the main concerns in the field of health and safety at work. The manner in which this phenomenon and the effects such might have on working conditions can be prevented remains however an unanswered key question. This paper aims to outline the levels to which protection could be granted and the measures to be taken to that effect. Specifically, the paper shall first reveal the incidence of moral harassment at work, based on the relevant data collected at the European Union level, following to discuss the necessity of proper, complex and thorough legislative protection against various types of acts of moral harassment at work, both at European and national level. A brief analysis of the existing relevant legislation enacted at the level of the European states outlines that there are countries which had considered upfront this phenomenon and, as a result thereof, conceived a thorough and complex legislative protection against various types of acts of moral harassment at work, while other countries have no dedicated piece of legislation dealing with this matter. Furthermore, the effectiveness of developing an organisational culture with standards and values against this phenomenon shall be assessed. A special attention shall be attributed on the specific means by which such effectiveness could be achieved (awareness trainings for the personnel, implementation of a company policy with clear guidelines for social interaction etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practice of project management is continually changing in the contemporary business. Working with the small teams and often with the limited budgets, while facing frequent changes in the business requirements, project managers are under continuous pressure to deliver fast turnarounds. Following the demands of new trends in the business management, leaders in the R&D sector are optimizing and adopting different and new styles and strategies more effectively. Waterfall models are suitable for projects with very clear product requirements and where the requirements will not change dynamically during the course of the project completion. Currently, agile is the most popular model used in the IT industry. Customer's interaction is the backbone of the agile methodology, and open communication with minimum documentation are the typical features of an agile environment. This paper proposes a new hybrid way of managing innovation projects, flexibly combining the traditional (TPM) and the agile (APM) methods that is particularly dedicated to the new product development (NPD). We have described the attributes of some traditional and agile methodologies that can be far and widely used in the new product development. We have also provided the challenges associated with implementation of the agile processes in NPD. The proposed hybrid method is completely flexible and adaptable to the unique characteristics of the innovation project. Also, this paper investigates what is the necessary organizational transition in the manufacturing enterprises, required before converting from the traditional to the proposed new hybrid model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents results of studies devoted to assess the role of social capital and its relation to innovations, including social innovations, and development, particularly in rural areas. As an example of an indicator or category of social capital and innovation, the development of cooperatives in rural areas has been evaluated. Moreover, the benefits (i.e. for farmers, consumers and society) of rural, especially agricultural, cooperatives are estimated. Besides, the nature and impact of state support for agricultural cooperatives via Common Agriculture Program are also estimated. Furthermore, cooperation activities among cooperatives are characterized. It is concluded that creation of social capital can support various innovations in several ways; and the different dimensions of social capital might influence innovative activity. Moreover, the innovation is an important source, which benefits rural areas' well-being and economic growth. Findings show the statistically significant growth of cooperatives' net turnover, as well as growth of local food chains and innovative forms of food supply to the consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regions focused on primary industry and raw materials extraction and processing have specific innovative and investment development. The paper presents the analyses of the world experience in applying rating system for innovative development assessment. As the result, the authors devised a new original method for the assessment of innovative development of the regions focused on primary industry and raw materials extraction and processing in terms of investment flows provision for the regions. The index for investment support of innovation development of the regions focused on primary industry is calculated, its threshold being identified. A matrix for classifying of the regions, focused on primary industry, in terms of the level of innovative development and investment support is constructed. The considered regions of the Russian Federation are ranked based on the newly suggested assessment method. The method presented in the paper is recommended to use by regional authorities for monitoring of innovative and investment regional development with consideration of the raw materials specifics. This method has proved its efficiency in research of correlation interdependence of innovative development and investment flows on the regional level. The corrective tools and techniques for investment and innovative policy implementation are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past twenty-thirty years, innovations have received increasing attention. The complication and fast progress of the current innovation-driven economy requires national governments to develop new directions for innovation governance. Global trend demonstrates that developing nations are no longer lagging in their efforts to improve innovation performance, but have become leaders. The aim of this paper is to provide an integrative framework for the comprehensive understanding of the innovation governance in Russia, its status, main challenges and opportunities, considered coherent analysis of the complex and dynamic character of modern innovation and its input in economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to point out some of the mosaic monuments in the Czech Republic as a casuistry of rescue actions and restoration treatments as a response to frequent ignorance or in utmost cases the demolition of mosaic art. Despite a slowly increasing interest in mosaic heritage in recent years the full recognition of mosaics, including the ones from the communist era, as a valuable legacy of the past, still has not taken place. For this purpose the association Art a Craft Mozaika was founded in 2012. Within its existence the association managed to save and conserve dozens of mosaics (from the 19th century to more modern pieces). This article presents an elementary compendium of the history of mosaic art in the Czech Republic from the first (and for a long time the only) medieval mosaic work with the theme of the Last Judgment at the Cathedral of St. Vitus, to the transformation of mosaics and innovations throughout the 20th century with a simple evaluation of the current situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the rationale for using the Data Envelopment Analysis method for assessing innovation sustainability at the regional level. The theoretical basis for the paper is based on results of the study of foreign experience gained and the current Russian practice on evaluation of innovative development at the federal and regional levels. Focusing on the examined approaches, the authors propose an algorithm of regional innovative resistance estimation using the method of comparative analysis of the data with set thresholds values as well as Data Envelopment Analysis method. The results of the study can be used by regional government bodies to monitor the state of the regional innovation sphere, as well as to adjust the existing instruments of the implemented innovation policy. The proposed approach to assessing the level of innovation sustainability can be transmitted to the so-called innovation ecosystems of various types (regional, local, corporate) taking into account the determination of an appropriate system of criteria and indicators, their differentiation to input and output, as well as the formation of threshold values, if necessary, to ensure that the parameters comply with the basic principles of the methods proposed for use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper actualizes the theme of social reality construction amidst the development of innovative technologies forming the techno-social space, in which technological and social aspects are closely intertwined in the context of mutually conditioned changes. Based on conceptual ideas of phenomenology, the mental bases of the social world exploration are accentuated and the inclusion of modern technologies in the processes of the social distribution of knowledge, transfer, and assimilation of information, in everyday practices of communication and new forms of social interaction is considered. The thesaurus approach problematizes the changing content of knowledge, reveals the thesaurus worldviews formed in the context of virtual and augmented reality. It is shown that the strengthening of the role of information technologies capable of performing certain cognitive functions deepens the functional relationship between technology and human beings in the process of knowledge production. This demonstrates new aspects of constructing social reality. The separation of knowledge and methods of its obtaining from the social subject as a result of the application of new analytical methods for big data processing is analyzed separately. The increasing role of innovative technologies in the implementation of socio-cultural subjectivity reflecting the ability of an individual or a social group, or society as a whole to act as a creative and transformative principle in the construction of social reality, is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper tries to analyze the issue of human capital development on the performance of the organization at national and regional level, to identify and analyze, through the proposed conceptual model, the factors of the human resource development that lead to increasing the organization competitiveness by ensuring the connection between the specialized human capital and the organization performance, which will generate a competitive advantage over the selected organizations. The overall objective of the research focuses on the analysis of the existing links between the specialized human capital and the performance of the organization, the study and evaluation of the investment factors in the human capital within the industrial clusters, respectively the innovation and the entrepreneurial attitude in the industrial sectors of the North-West development region of Romania the context of increasing competitiveness. This requires an in-depth study of the impact of the human resources development on the achievement of increased performance within the clusters in Romania, as well as the influence of the cluster relations on the human capital within them. In Romania clusters have spontaneously formed as a result of international projects, as there has been no policy to stimulate the formation of competitive productive agglomerations. Cluster research focuses on the connection between the specialized human capital (training, education, qualification and training), cluster relationships (management, procurement, technology, innovation) performance of the organization (productivity, low costs, quality, innovation).Clusters in the North-West region of Romania capitalize on the interconnections between knowledge, resources, motivation, and relationships as central pillars of local development, providing information, specialized training, research, education and technical support. The factors of human resource development influence within clusters will need to be correlated with performance based on quantitative supplemental information that influences human capital efficiency, multivariate analysis of human captivity, resources, competitive advantage and relationship between them. The research is based on the assumption that human resource efficiency influences cluster performance. In this context, one can identify a conceptual level, which refers to the way we address the efficiency of human capital and performance, and an operational level, which refers to the concrete way in which we highlight them through measurement values. It was deemed necessary to select this factor in human capital development activities because the human resource is the essential element of a trading company, it is the central mechanism of any company, a financially stimulated element, which will implicitly lead to performance and high qualification of service / product achieved, aș well as strengthning the organization and its prestige. Within this human resources factor, labor force elements have been addressed as this is the main element of any internal "engine" of an organization that drives its activity and performance. The processing analysis of the data obtained and the interpretation of the research results were made using the programs SPSS 20.0 (Statistical Packages for Social Sciences) and Microsoft Office Excel, with which we obtained and produced graphs, correlations, analysis. Thus, for testing internal consistency, the measurement and fidelity of the 60 questions assigned to the components of knowledge management, human capital efficiency and competitiveness, investment in human capital, cluster relationships, and performance based on the Likert scale, the Croncbach Alpha(α) coefficient. Following the internal consistency test, a Croncbach Alpha coefficient of .916 resulted, indicating a high internal consistency of the quationnaire, which leads to its validity and will yield conclusive results. The association of the variables in order to highlight the correlation between them was based on the calculation of the correlation coefficient using the Pearson or Kendall tests. It is found that there is a good correlation between knowledge management and capital investment of .806, followed by performance .796, and with weaker relationship relationships within the clusters of .629. We can say that there is a strong link between investment in human capital and knowledge management, which leads to the interest in human capital development în the organizations, with the aim of achieving performance and increasing the competitiveness of the analyzed clusters. The analysis points out that the areas of human capital efficiency and competitiveness increase are correlated, having a coefficient of Sig. to <0.01, all of which are found to have average scores, ± 0.50 and ± 1, data showing that there is a strong correlation between them, the data being normally distributed. Different clusters of indicators were used and cluster comparisons were made by activity sectors, cluster members, catalysts, training institutions. The results indicate some progress towards a better competitive positioning, but participation in the human resource training has led to a qualitative leap in the development of organizations, especially in the furniture, IT and agro sectors. They also highlight some systemic weaknesses in the process of human resource development, driven by national training, R & D,and business, which require sustained efforts at multiple levels (entrepreneurial, institutional, economic, social, and political) to overcome the current stage and develop an open minded education of human capital in the near future. In the process of predicting the evolution of the factors for increasing the human capital efficiency, based on econometric methods models, it is assumed that the investment in human capital will continue to have a growing trend, within a foreseeable period of time, with the involvement of organizations, cluster members and correlated with the national and European legislative framework in force. In order to be relevant in establishing the organization's development strategy, the study of the implementation of knowledge management under analysis should be compared to market dynamics, activity and performance. If the market is more dynamic than the company, it will be noticed that the company will have a certain gap in terms of competition on the market. The role of statistical and econometric methods and models is considerably amplified in the context of market mechanisms as the complexity of the economic and financial activity of the organization increases, with profound implications in the management process, which cannot be achieved only on the basis of experience and routine, further requiring relevant studies and analyses to underpin operative and strategic decisions. In conclusion, the present study will provide, in an overall view, the image of identifying and outlining the relationships between knowledge management and human capital factors that lead to performance within the existing industrial clusters in the North-West region of Romania, whose connection leads to competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The telecommunications industry is a sector that is developing at a fast pace, in a particularly strong competitive environment. Innovation is a key process in this sector being one of the most important factors ensuring the competitiveness of companies. The analysis of the components that are evaluating the performances of the telecommunication companies as a result of the adoption of the innovations enables the creation of strategic models that can lead to important competitive advantages with the effect of increasing their competitiveness. The paper aims to analyze the correlation between the factors that determine the innovation process in the telecommunication companies with the effect of increasing their performance. As a case study, the analysis was carried out in a telecommunication company from Romania. The data were collected through the application of questionnaires to 30 managers of the studied company. The research methodology used multifactorial analysis tools. The results of the analysis confirmed positive correlations between the factors that determine the innovation process and the performance of the telecommunication companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accounting profession is facing a critical turning point, on the background of global rapid pace technological changes. At the same time young accountants and employers, as well as accountants’ professional body are aware of witnessing challenging, dynamic times which greatly redesign future career patterns and pathways. Accountant’s role moved from a static one into a key advisor of the business, due to the broad range of skills to be continuously acquired, learning and digitization opportunities. The paper attempts to provide an insight into these specific challenges, to shape the future patterns of the accounting landscape and the specific skills and knowledge to be held by accountants. First, it has been synthesized the latest trends in the accountancy profession, in terms of digital technologies, automation of manual processes and personal skills requested from young accountants. Then it has been performed a desk-research, in a comparative fashion, meant to analyze the career ambitions and work preferences of young professionals, in parallel with employers’ specific requirements and needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of effective and efficient foreign language teaching is relevant in today's global world. More and more frequently specialized computer programs for foreign vocabulary training are used. They are not expensive and simple to create and use in comparison with published analogues and not less efficient. The paper considers systemic aspects of information base development for multilingual adaptive training technology, specifically the process of information collection of latent lexical relations and its employment in information terminological basis. The authors offer the system of primary text processing, its algorithms and structure of output data. Creations of computer system aimed at training foreign vocabulary is presented in the consequence of steps, based on the Markov processes theory. Employment of text processing subsystems, created by integration of subsystem of frequency dictionary generation and subsystem of latent vocabulary relations search is a successful solution in building of information technological basis. Using latent lexical relations increases the efficiency of training system of foreign vocabulary in general. The developed structure and algorithm are nor resource consuming, thus making them economical. . The developed structure of output data for preliminary text processing subsystem provides information flexibility and integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations of the 21st century are facing a business environment characterized by expansion dynamism and dramatic crises hard to imagine decades before. The main resource of the organizations in the present and the next future proves to be, inevitably, the human resource. The paper presents research results revealing the need to focus on the major resource of the company - the human resource, bearer of the knowledge, creativity and power of the company. The most important threats of present economical context were intended to be identified and proved to origin in government attitude and strategies. Prior to contouring conclusions, an image of the new managers expected to reach success in the Romanian economy is presented, as it is shown by a survey conducted in Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu. The paper presents some of the results of a wider survey conducted in business area, based on questionnaires answered by 75 managers and specialists in business administration and by management students - Lucian Blaga University, Faculty of Economic Sciences (50 students). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Russia, the quality and quantity of multimedia components used in content production vary across the regions. According to Friedman's core-periphery model, these differences are caused by the discrepancies in regional development. The purpose of this study was to assess the quality and quantity of multimedia materials produced by the regional mass media in the Ural Federal District. In this paper, multimedia production is understood as content creation by using texts, photos, video and audio materials, graphics and hyperlinks. We developed a five-point scale for assessment of multimedia materials and analyzed the publications of eighteen media holdings operating within the Ural Federal District. We also conducted structured interviews with regional journalists. In total, we analyzed more than a thousand media texts produced in 2017 and the same number in 2018. It was found that in 2017, only 5% and in 2018, 7% of texts could qualify as multimedia products (each received 2-3 points out of 5). Interestingly enough, most multimedia texts were created by private media while state-owned and state-controlled media seemed reluctant to do so. According to our interviewees, the regional state media are more focused on delivering the 'message 'from the government to the people rather than developing new technologies in journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge economy requires that the process of building of competitive economy involves scientific achievements as a source of new knowledge. At the same time effective management of the innovation processes taking place within European regions is fundamental for European economy to establish its good position in the world. Regional innovation strategies are actually responsible for directing innovation processes. As some time has gone by and first experiences with regard to the functioning of those tools becomes visible, one can say that when implementing the tools one has had to dealt with some problems. It can be emphasized that activities undertaken by actors of innovation system are too limited. That is why building regional innovation system that is expected to ensure that knowledge flows within region in a rational way is the most important challenge. Now it is quite clear that innovativeness depends on linkages among entities that generate and/or absorb knowledge. Due to the fact that this process can be still perceived as far from being optimal the need to carry research on the topic appears to be unquestionable. Regional innovation system actually consists of two main types of actors and interactions among them. First type refers to companies that utilize innovations and finally create value. Second type refers to organizations that build infrastructure necessary for innovations. They support innovation processes in region because of possessed key competences. Although knowledge brokers have appeared one can say that hitherto gained experiences indicate on some problems concerning knowledge flows. As a consequence, those facts form the point of departure to the conducting research on type of knowledge intermediaries as well as types of their activities undertaken within innovation ecosystem of Silesian Voivodeship. The paper aims to investigate types of activities of knowledge intermediaries in the light of efforts put in an intensification of the cooperation between science and business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic activity through its correlative system is under the direct influence of human capital as a determinant. Tourism as an economic activity has great potential for transformation. This potential is due to the upward trend, together with other economic activities, to the attention of the specialists, who are dealing with the irreparable destruction of the environment. In this sense, tourism and the environment have been a matter of discussion for the scientists of the past two decades, which led to the formulation of the concept of sustainable tourism. Tourism activity, through its complexity, has a major impact on the environment, due to the impact it has generates human capital, both from the point of view of the tourist and the tourist worker. Ecoinnovation represents a viable solution for the sustainability problems facing the contemporary society. The aim of the paper is to achieve a research on human capital capacity within the tourism company by generating innovative ideas to support the realization of a balance between the dynamics of economic systems and eco-systems from the South-East region of Romania. The actual stage of the innovative capacity of human capital within the tourism sector is determined through the use of five factors determining the innovative capacity. The results are based on descriptive statistics. The results indicate that the staff involved in the guest house activity together with the managers have the innovative capacity for sustainable tourism development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cluster approach as an instrument of consolidation of the existing advantages of economic entities is designed to solve several existing problems of the Russian economy. These are equalization of the existing imbalance of regional economic development, giving additional impetus to the development of the innovation sector, etc. The decision of the working group on the development of public-private partnership in the field of innovation at the Government Commission on high technologies and innovations of 22.02.2012 was the starting point for Russia in the development of such a popular in many countries of the world economic instrument as clusters. 25 pilot innovative territorial clusters, selected in the same year, had time to demonstrate the first results of their work. However, we should not forget about the negative aspects of the clusters. The widespread use of management tools borrowed from foreign practice in the national economy of Russia is often carried out without a critical analysis of such tools, without taking into account their possible negative aspects. As a result of the study of the implementation of cluster initiatives, the authors identified and described a set of problems and pitfalls that can significantly worsen the expected positive results of clustering. Among the identified "threats" of the cluster, risk implications are of particular importance, in the opinion of the authors. The team of authors hypothesized that the cluster is a special case of a portfolio of assets as a set of real and (or) financial investments. The synergetic effect of the cluster acts as a particular case of diversification of asset risks in the portfolio. It seems fair to say that a cluster is a special case of a portfolio with a number of assumptions and limitations. Particular attention needs to be paid to the limitations and assumptions of portfolio theory and how they are combined with the concept of cluster. The paper presents the application of the classical limitations of the theory of portfolio investment to the organization of the cluster. Clusters and portfolios are certainly not identical concepts. However, their significant similarity allows us to use the mathematical apparatus of portfolio theory in the organization and evaluation of the functioning of clusters. The traditional approach to investing, which prevailed before the advent of modern portfolio theory, had two significant drawbacks. First, it focused on the analysis of the behaviour of individual assets. Secondly, the main characteristic of the assets in it was exclusively profitability, while the other factor --risk --did not receive a clear assessment. Obviously, the same methodological shortcomings exist now in the cluster theory and practice. The risk aspect is almost not considered in the works devoted to the organization and assessment of activity of clusters in Russia. As the result of the analysis of pilot innovative territorial clusters the conclusion about the need to improve the mechanism of cluster organization is made. Based on portfolio theory approaches, the authors introduce the concepts of cluster profitability and cluster risk, and accept that these categories can be numerically measured. The main result of the study is the proposed algorithm for including participants in the currently forming nuclear industry cluster in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The developed algorithm represents a set of iterations, during each of which the profitability and risk of the cluster are estimated and the resulting indicator - the amount of synergy is determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clusters through their structure (the "four-leaf clover" model: members of the Business and Research-Development-Innovation areas, Authorities and Catalysts) play an important role in the innovation eco-system as accelerators for innovation and competitive value chains development of value in the smart specialization priorities. The services provided to the cluster members, especially aimed at creating synergies between science and research through the collaboration between the business environment and the RDI based mainly on demand and supply, are a real support for SMEs in order to increase their competitiveness through the implementation of advanced technologies, digitization, industry 4.0, new business models, open innovation 2.0 principles and circular economy. All of this creates the premises for the creation / development of competitive industrial value chains, based on innovation. Collaboration between and within clusters, especially the interdisciplinary and intersectoral one, is one of the keys to success on the global market. The paper also analyses the role of clusters at European level in the innovation ecosystem. Good practices are highlighted in the strategic areas of cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration. The potential of clusters as drivers of regional innovation is highlighted and the role of clusters in developing specific policy tools (such as innovation policy, cluster policy, industrial policy, value chains) is analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, it is widely accepted that the innovation represents the engine for the economic development, increasing the quality of life and building a sustainable future for humanity. Innovation exists from the beginning of mankind, in various forms, but only during the last century, its role increased continuously and became a fundamental element in the development process. European Union started to assess the performance in innovation from 2001 with European Innovation Scoreboard, a composite indicator that covers the multiple aspects of innovation in each EU country and, also, at the level at whole union. In the same time, every year, the EU performance in innovation is compared with the achievements of the major international competitors, in order to see what is the position of EU in international competition and which are the possibilities to enhance its innovation performance. The tool used for this international comparison is similar with European Innovation Scoreboard, but uses less indicators, only the ones available for all countries considered for the analysis, named Global Innovation Index. The paper presents the method of evaluation with European Innovation Scoreboard, the tool for international assessment and the results of the comparative analysis between European Union and its major international competitors for the period 2010 - 2016. The results show that EU was overtaken by South Korea, Japan and USA, but the trends are positive and there are perspectives to recover the gap in the future, if the innovation rate will be maintained or increased. European Union has some strength points which must be used in the international competition, combined with a strong policy to support innovation in all member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative financial strategies are transforming the pace and stakes of business and accelerate emerging market changes supporting the principal strategic factors that can undertake successful progressive advances, therefore the importance of innovative financial strategies have a central position and are responsible for the corporations' business excellence. The top pioneering companies prioritise and emphasise years of organizational performance and are uniquely qualified to inspire and enhance innovation because innovation is central to strategy. The objective of this paper is to underline the prominence of innovative financial strategies as a principal strategic scheme in order to support the hypothesis that these strategies have vital impacts on the business excellence of a competitive corporation. Innovation management is profoundly established in the revolutionary organization of global competitiveness, thus organisational merit will be achieved by companies which can react quickly to new market conditions and customer needs, and which constantly look for creative and original solutions. Overall, the principal accomplishments for distinctive financial sustainability in achieving and improving business excellence are novel innovative mind-sets and state-of-the-art research & design disbursement. The methodology used encompasses empirical research based on qualitative methods, outlining the significant innovative strategies towards more effective procedures and business excellence. All gathered data are analysed in a case study to imply excellent business models and determine the necessity for financial strategies. The results show which the strongest and weakest factors can be when devising innovative variabilities and emphasise the role of strategic innovations that are flexible and adaptable to dynamic sustainability and business excellence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia is making efforts to reconsider its policy and achieve leadership in innovation and technology sector. A mechanism that is called to fulfill these ideas is the National Technology Initiative (NTI), that seeks to identify the most perspective technologies and implement necessary administrative and legislative changes. This project is concerned with creating new businesses and technological agendas, concurrently transforming and modernizing public opinions and attitudes about the future of the country and society in connection with technological change. The proposed article will analyze the specificities of public discourse and public opinion shaped around the initiative in social media and news coverage. This question is tied to the mechanisms of public science and technology communication (B. Trench, M. Bucchi) and the problem of translation of scientific information into public sphere, as well as making it relevant to citizen culture. The paper will analyze the sign field around NTI through a range of approaches including semiotics (U. Eco, J. Baudrillard, M. Epstein), framework of sociotechnical imaginaries and national identity construction (S. Jasanoff), media packages (W. Gamson, A. Modigliani). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, companies are confronted with the need to respond to technological and economic changes. Companies are aware of this fact and have started a number of change projects. Internal communication plays a key role, affects attitudes and employees performance and therefore the performance of the entire organisation. The aim of the paper is to describe the state of internal communication in enterprises in the Czech Republic. An online structured questionnaire was the tool for query. Questions were divided into four areas: 13 questions on internal communication, 4 questions on strategic work with line managers, 3 questions related to lean management and 3 issues characterising the Czech respondent. The main finding is that respondents perceive internal communication as an important factor for overall business cooperation. Internal business communication contributes to the co-operation of individual teams within the company, also to the awareness among workers and to the creation of good relationships in the workplace. The biggest barriers to internal communication and its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, one of the factors determining the success of the Russian economy includes the establishment of high-technology production, which involves the use of innovation, research and development. On the other hand, most developers of such innovations are often not interested in further commercial use of their R&D results and scientific developments, therefore, are not introduced in the economic turnover and do not reach potential consumers. The paper analyzes the situation on the today's market of new technical developments and technology innovations, identifies issues that hamper the efficient commercial use of innovations and suggest solutions to address these obstacles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If companies want to succeed and achieve sustainable competitive advantage, especially on the contemporary global market, they have to pay attention on competitors' behaviour and global best practice. The same requisite applies on trends in technology, product development, innovations, but also in adopting and mastering managerial practices. With the aim to investigate trends in organization of information system in firms, in this research, different instruments and systems of data gathering and analysis (with an idea to use it in decision making and business administration process), regardless of its source or purpose (i.e. communicating with stakeholders or designing organization), are referred to as business management tools. We conducted a research regarding the practice of using business management tools in the Croatian firms. In this paper, we explore the preference of using globally popular management concepts, methods and techniques, in one word - tools, in organizing business and preparing information databases for evidence based decisionmaking. For identifying global popularity as well as for easier comparison of domestic and foreign business practices, the questionnaire included the tools that appear in Bain management practice surveys. The analysis of trends in the use of business management tools aimed to determine the situation in the Croatian business practices regarding appropriateness and integration of implemented tools, level of management awareness of current global trends and their attitude towards the prospective use of business management tools. Research findings indicate that Croatian firms are late acquirers of worldwide prevailing solutions for managing businesses, which means that implementation of business management tools in Croatian companies is lagging behind the global trends. The results of analysis can be used for selection of business management tools, as well as for (re)thinking appropriateness and implications of specific tool implementation on the business performance of the firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the implications of a new method for managing the development of a region. This method employs the «smart specialization» concept and results in the formation new booming sectors in the economy of region. The formation of these sectors is based on integration of «breakthrough» and intellectual technologies into the processes of production and management, both in traditional regional sectors of specialization and new sectors. We consider a transition to multi-sectoral model to be a primary objective of regional development. This model includes the basic sectors of regional specialization (resource, infrastructure, and manufacturing sectors) as well as new booming sectors such as «knowledge economy» and «high tech». We explore possible ways of constructing strategies and scenarios of region technological development. We believe it is possible by combining different sources of new knowledge (borrowing and adaptation of technologies, developing parent technologies) and sectors of regional economy (the basic sectors of regional specialization, booming sectors). In order to determine the types of region economic development we propose using the matrix «Economic sectors - Sources of new knowledge and technologies». Using the matrix we can distinguish the types of scenarios according the extent of technological leadership («leadership in a niche», «local technological competitiveness», «international technological competitiveness»). The feasibility of scenarios of technological development depends on the structure and potential of innovative technological system of a region. This system will allow evaluating the possibility of creating their own parent technologies and form innovative professional competencies in the region or reasonability of technology and professional skills import. Krasnoyarsk Krai is used as an example of a resource region to evaluate the possibility of creating new economic sectors considering the features and limitations caused by its resource specialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last twenty-thirty years, innovation topic has received increasing focus. This is a policy domain that has changed radically as understanding of the correspondence between economic performance, innovation and technological transformation has grown. The ongoing process of globalization provides persistent reasons for increasing national contest for the "localization" of innovations: as business becomes transnational, the attractiveness of countries innovation systems and technological capacities become a strong national competitive advantage. The innovation development is declared to be one of the top priorities for the Russian Federation. One of the key objectives of the Concept of Long-Term Social and Economic Development of the Russian Federation Until 2020 was defined as the transition to the innovation model of economic growth capable to improve competitiveness of the Russian products and services on the domestic and world markets. The paper focuses on recent Russian government initiatives, determining future specialization of Russia in the global economy, and specifies major pillars of national innovation strategy in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations are the drivers of economic development. This thesis is commonly accepted and has been discussing in many theoretical papers. However, there seems to be a lack of empirical evidence that innovations are affecting socio-economic performance. The aim of this article is to provide arguments for this effect using econometric approach. To characterise innovation activity, we use the Summary Innovation Index of EU and consider several indicators of economic, social and energy effectiveness, using the approach of the EU working group. The connection between innovation and economic performance is strong for all European countries, and the economic crisis has made this relationship even more strong. However if we divide countries into groups according to their innovation performance, the most substantial relationship turns out to be the one between metrics of innovation activity and state wealth and not the labour productivity, at least in the case of the Innovation leaders. It is shown that innovation performance can be regarded as Granger cause for GDP per capita, the unemployment rate, energy effectiveness, but not labour productivity or income inequality. Quantile regressions have been used to consider the impact of innovation activity on socio-economic performance in different countries. It is shown that the effect of innovation performance is considerably stronger for countries less efficient concerning socio-economic performance, but not environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peculiarity of modern scientific research of innovative activity in Russia is focusing on the development of technological innovation. However, in recent years there has been a steady trend of increasing the role of non-technological innovation in the successful functioning of economic entities of the economy, which include marketing and organizational innovation. Objectives of the study: analysis of the innovative activity of total, technological and non-technological innovations in Russia, carrying out international comparisons in the field of research, evaluation of the impact of the level of development of non-technological innovation on the socio-economic development of the state and the dynamics of GDP. Methods. In this paper we used a variety of theoretical and empirical research methods, including a literature review, economic and mathematical, economic and statistical analysis methods. Conclusions. A result of research we evaluated the level of non-technological innovative development of modern Russia, we have identified the most innovative development spheres of non-technological innovation, and have assessed their impact on the dynamics of GDP. The study will determine the future strategic orientation of innovative development of the state in the field of non-technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitiveness and innovation performance are two interrelated economic categories being reflected by their synergistic effect in various areas of economic and social life. Their examination and evaluation can be assessed at different levels such as business, regional, national and international level. National competitiveness and innovation performance are results of integral action of stakeholders at business and regional levels. The subject of this paper is to explore the innovative performance at regional level, i.e. at the level of Slovak particular regions on the basis of selected results of innovation processes in the field of science, research and development. Results of innovation performance assessment show strong differences in regions being assessed what is also reflected in their economic performance and competitiveness differences. To execute the analysis of relevant issues the more criterial scoring method has been used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in technology have resulted in an increase in the number of internet users among students. They use social networks for different aims. This study was aimed at exploring the impact of social networks on students' English language proficiency, whether it affects their language knowledge negatively or positively. The survey was implemented by conducting quantitative research with bachelor degree students studying at Khazar University, Azerbaijan, where all the minor and major subjects are taught in the English language. In total 104 students (48 male, 56 female) from the schools of Human and Social Sciences, Education, Economics and Management, Engineering and Applied Sciences agreed to take part in this study. The research was conducted within the spring semester 2015-2016. A paper based close-ended questionnaire was tendered for adopting the study. The descriptive statistical method was used to analyze the questionnaire. The study focused on grammar, vocabulary, and 4 key language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Primary results show that 47% of respondents try to follow grammar rules while writing any text on the net, and more than half of the respondents (56 %) results indicate that their grammar gets worse because of social network usage. 31.73% of answers pointed out that using internet abbreviations sometimes affects their writing in a negative way. Still there exist positive effects too, like vocabulary enlargement, pronunciation improvement, scanning ability development while reading the text on the net, etc. Based on the findings of the present study, it can confidently be stated that social networks impact students' writing mostly compared to the other skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of today's business environment is influenced by the emergence of new technologies and the associated the rule changes of competition and social development accompanied by changes of preferences in the file of socially-accepted values. Individual businesses (in order to maintain their current competitive position and business performance) must quickly and flexibly react to this turbulent development by adequate changes (innovations) in their social behavior. It is necessary to create conditions within the internal environment of today's organizations to make the continuous as well as substantial innovations to become a permanent part of their business activities. While the level of their competitiveness and their long-terms prosperity is largely based on the ability to innovate the organizations' business model, i.e. the ability to create substantial innovations. Managers at all levels of the organization must therefore be able to set rules of conduct for all employees to support the development of their professional competence as well as the willingness to use them in creating innovations. With thanks to that an organization is then able to respond appropriately to the development in the area. This paper aims to present the main conditions, methods and means that support workers' creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with factors influencing business performance and their effect size detection by Canonical Correlation and Regression Analysis. The paper has come to a very interesting conclusion concerning a significant positive impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) implementation on a business performance. Implementation of CSR has been believed to have a negative or neutral impact. What makes this discovery even more outstanding is the fact that this has been mined from the data related to the Czech businesses, i.e. in a former communist country. Business financial performance has been measured by Return on Assets (ROA) and Asset growth. Other statistically significant factors e.g. innovating activity size, ethical or another code adoption and number of management levels have been evinced as well. Contrary to modern management theory, growing number of management levels has turned out to be improving financial results. The data have been provided by the Research Centre for the Competitiveness of the Czech Economy at Masaryk University, Brno. The financial data have been provided by CreditInfo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green innovations are now very often inflected term. The company is aware of the necessity of their implementation, customers are calling for greener products, and companies are trying to implement environmentally friendly activities. Enterprises uphold the principles of environmentally suitable behavior, some of them are trying to use these approaches in production, others in most of their activities. Concept of innovation raises in many of us the idea of technological inventions that are the result of long efforts, activities and research work of scientists. However, innovation can be the result of operations of any enterprise, which was implemented in order to succeed in the market. These innovations can be oriented to products or business processes, or procedures, as well as marketing practices. The area of innovation is developed quite extensive, whether in Slovakia or abroad. The reason is the need for innovation in today's industry, and in all spheres of human activity, as well as customer requirements. The cooperation between enterprises of different industries is important in developing eco-innovations and may produce new, interesting and creative solutions. The partnership between companies from different industries allows access to new knowledge and its transmission creates fertile ground for innovation. Green innovations can take different forms; the main idea is, however, according to most authors, positive change for the environment. This change, whether in terms of products, processes or different business processes is now sorely needed. The paper deals with the innovation process and the implementation of innovative projects that focusing on eco-innovative products should meet certain criteria specific to green products. Whether it is the innovation of products, services or methods or processes, there is a need for the inclusion of specific requirements in the form of environmental benefits but implementation must be profitable for the companies to undertake this eco-innovation. Various approaches of eco-innovative projects can yield different results. The research carried out in Slovakia showed us a positive approach of Slovak SMEs to green innovations but the results show a relatively small percentage of the implementation of these innovations, despite many efforts. The reasons are mostly financial, personnel, legislative or resulting from the factors of the external environment that in Slovakia negatively affect businesses. Innovation as a stimulus of current economy and positive change in our society is that the economy needs, but conditions for SMEs are not appropriate and sufficient in order the innovative processes to be implemented in necessary and sufficient way. Another barrier in the development and implementation of innovations or green innovations is the lack of cooperation of subjects such as scientific and research institutions, universities with the business sector. Contribution seeks to outline possible solutions to these problems, which would strengthen the implementation success of eco-innovation processes in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Company innovation is conditioned, among others, by top management: their mental focus on the development of innovative activities, the ability to allocate appropriate resources to this activity, the ability to identify and use external impulses, as well as the acceptance of many, even controversial points of view. The literature highlights the existence of a close relationship between education of executives and their innovation awareness. Few studies conducted in SMEs confirm the link and the impact of competence development on their competitiveness. Innovation plays a key role in building the competitiveness of SMEs, which is conditioned by the competence, especially the competences of management staff. The purpose of the research was to identify relationship between managerial competencies and innovation processes in SMEs. Research methods were theoretical analysis of scientific literature and a direct survey (the instrument of data collection was questionnaires). The quantitative sample of analysing contains 174 managers - representatives of companies (SMEs) located in the Province of Silesia in Poland. A questionnaire consisting of 19 questions with a mixture of Likert-scale and closed-ended questions with one answer was developed. The data was collected in April and May 2014. Data analysis was accomplished using IBM SPSS Statistics 21. In the paper, a theoretical model of managerial competences was built, covering selected areas of knowledge, skills, traits, attitudes and behaviours significant to company innovation. Then, in the empirical research, using this model of managerial competences, it was tested whether the level of company innovation is correlated with the level of managers' competence. Studies on the competences are conducted primarily in large organizations. However, the researchers argue that it is necessary to look at the development of competencies of SMEs differently than in large organizations. In SMEs, it takes a different form and conditions. The presented research filled the gap in knowledge of the importance of managerial competences in the innovation processes in SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper reflects the concept of cross-functional management, with its multiple theoretical and practical approaches. Cross-functionality is an actual issue, many enterprises trying to encourage this organization form in order to support their innovation and development activities. Although the cross-functional management has specific features, many people are identifying it with the project management or with the hierarchical revised management. However, the cross-functional management implies to take into account the opinions of all persons that could offer a correct solution for the enterprise development. The purpose of the present study is to show the complexity of the cross-functional management concept, to describe specific situations for its application and to emphasize its effectiveness for modern enterprises' positive evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confirming the importance of marketing communication while building a brand value in the case of KRAFT in the 90s caused a strong increase in its use. While in 1996 the money inserted into the communication was counted as an expense after this year many companies started to consider them as an „investment”. On the other hand the interest of companies to communicate with their customers caused information blindness by flooding the media with commercial messages. Last 10-15 years produced a large number of innovations in the field of marketing communication. Product placement, guerilla marketing, viral marketing have been known tools for marketers already for decades, their increased use, however, came with Internet development. The need for new approaches brought as well changes in communication technologies and consumption of media. Smart phones with Internet access, expanding use of social media and multitasking reduced the effectiveness of traditional media perception. One possible way of attractive product connection with customers brought new technologies and the experiential marketing in computer games. There is a wide range of using the advergaming within the process of communication strategy and it brings many advantages to brand. This paper deals with the analysis of games that have been developed for Slovak market and with perception of individuals from target group of researched projects done through focus groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to provide some insights about entrepreneurship education in Russia and to explore Russian student's entrepreneurial intentions. Understanding Russian youth's attitude towards entrepreneurship and factors hindering young people from creating their own business are highlighted. The study is based on data collected in Sverdlovsk region (one of the regions of Russia). The research is based on information received during a survey of 347 people from Sverdlovsk region and 1164 students from Ural Federal University. Empirical evidence shows that people aged from 16 to 23 years tend to have higher entrepreneurial motivation and are more likely to become entrepreneurs. Youth's attitude towards entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial intentions, and factors hindering young people from creating own business affect the concept of entrepreneurial education. The study extends insights into specifics of the Russian entrepreneurial education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the main trends in leadership development based on changing world environment. There are summarized trends of world development that will be projected into the new needs of leadership development, so that the future leaders will be able to lead companies sustainable successfully. The main challenges for the future are globalization, development of technologies, especially IT, innovation and flexibility, turbulent environment and demographical changes. Globalization brings new approach to the management especially associated with diversity. With international activities is necessary to take into consideration the national, cultural and linguistic differences. This requires greater flexibility and adaptation of the managers to these new conditions. In managerial style appears a new need of competences: managing virtual teams. Equally important is also managing the age and personal diversity. These changes bring also different approach the leadership development. As important as the knowledge of languages is the knowledge of new communication technologies and new trends in technology development. The leaders see the new era as very challenging and demanding. The importance of lifetime learning is rapidly increasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper suggests and tests the methodology for quantitative evaluation of sustainability of a regional socio-economic system development. More precise attention is paid to the role that ICT and innovation dynamic factors play in the process of regional development. The research hypothesis: there is a significant probability of the Russian regional economic systems' shift to the knowledge-based economy mode, that stands on several social development determinants, mainly human capital and innovation. The task of quantitative valuation of sustainability is proposed to be resolved using the calculation of generalized integral index entailing the following components: 1) economic relations; 2) social situation; 3) institutional environment; 4) potential for innovation. The index structure was adopted from UNDP HDI calculation frameworks. Basic indicators' selection procedure, subject to integration within the generalized sustainability index, employed internationally recognized practices and multifactor regression analysis techniques that allow to determine correlations between factors that influence HDI as well as to derive quantitative measures of their interrelation density. The methodology was applied to the Russian regions' sustainability valuation and key factors identification in terms of regional development in Russia. The analysis of sustainability indices indicates that the majority of Russian regions cannot be recognized as sustainable. Calculations prove the conclusion about low interrelation between innovation dynamics and economic development in Russia, thus indicating the misbalance between demand and supply-side factors of innovation in favor of the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The search the reasons for a manufacturing development is very important for Russia. Nowadays the extractive enterprises are the most important part of Russians economy. For example, in 2013 year the part of mineral products in common Russian export was 76,1% (data of Russians Federal State Statistics Service). But to be competitive in the global economy the country needs in production of more complex products. Methods. The method of this research is a production function which was constructed for the Russian manufacturing. The most known production functions which are used for used in the regional economics are the Cobb-Douglas function and the CES function. In spite of long life of the Cobb-Douglas production function and availability of large amount of new functions, we can say, that this instrument is still applicable today. Many scientists use this production function in their research. So in our article we used the Cobb-Douglas function and the factors were labour, capital, transport infrastructure and innovations. The coefficients for the selected function were obtained using the correlation-regression analysis approach. Results. The result is that transport infrastructure doesn't matter for Russian manufacturing. The coefficient of innovation in logarithmic production function is 0,15 and it's significant on the 1% level. It's means that innovations play an important role in manufacturing production increasing. Conclusions. The first conclusion is regarding the possibility of using the Cobb- Douglas function to research the Russian industry and regarding factors, which influence the development production. The main factor except labor and capital is innovations that means that to increase manufacturing production in Russia the government should improve innovation infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]