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Fraud presents a serious problem and arising issue for all of society at national and global levels. According to global fraud research conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, it is estimated that the average company loses about 5% of its annual revenue due to different types of business fraud. Total estimated annual fraud losses according to global ACFE research reaches about 4.7 trillion dollars. Business frauds also present an important issue for the Croatian economy, business community and society as a whole. Thereby, considerable attention should be given to this issue with the aim of raising awareness throughout society on fraud and its negative and destructive impact on all of society. The main purpose of this paper is to examine differences in fraud characteristics between state-owned and private companies in the Republic of Croatia. Research was based on data on business frauds obtained by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Croatia which included 124 respondents. Data were related to frauds that occurred in Croatian companies in 2021 and 2020. In this paper we focused on fraud characteristics such as fraud loss, type of fraud, fraud duration and methods of fraud detection in order to determine whether fraud in privately owned companies differs significantly from fraud in state-owned companies. Research results revealed how differences in fraud characteristics among privately and state-owned companies exist. Based on a sample of Croatian companies that were victims of fraud, it is noted how fraud in state-owned companies lasts longer and creates greater loses in comparison to fraud in private owned companies. Moreover, data related to estimated fraud loss and fraud duration were statistically significant in terms of differentiating these two groups of companies. Based on data on discriminatory variables a logistic regression model correctly classified 78.46% of companies in the group of companies that are privately or state-owned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of stress in demonstrating adequate project leadership and ultimately achieving project success, while also respecting followers' expertise as the most important context factor. During 2021, the empirical research was conducted on 71 project managers in the Republic of Croatia. Results obtained via SPSS Statistics 23.0 and PROCESS macro v4.0 for SPSS indicate that demonstrated project leadership and followers' expertise positively affect the project's success. According to the results, stress, due to its inverted U-shaped nature of effect, does not affect project success, whereas it has a negative moderation effect on demonstrated project leadership by reducing its positive effects on project success. In addition to these results, this paper offers other interesting insights into the relationships between demonstrated project leadership, project manager's stress, and project success, further filling the identified gap in research. A relatively small sample of project managers and its cross-sectional nature stand out as the main limitations of the empirical research presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate ideology is perceived as a set of fundamental beliefs held by company members about how the company and its members should behave in relation to one another and the outside world. In this paper, corporate ideology is treated as the basis for creating an organization's identity and as an extremely important factor in its success. The aim of this paper is to analyze the corporate ideologies of banks operating in the Republic of Croatia, to classify different ideologies, and finally, to determine what kind of identity the surveyed banks communicate through their corporate ideologies. A comparative and content analysis are applied as qualitative methods of research of an interpretative character. The corporate ideologies of two of the analyzed banks (ZABA and Erste) are described as social institutionalism, and PBZ's ideology is labeled as social corporatism. Detected corporate ideologies do not serve to build the authenticity of banks' identities. The main novelty of this research is in the methodology of reaching corporate ideologies. Unlike previous works on corporate ideology, in this paper public messages communicated in (digital) media were the main sources for the analysis of an organization's core values and ideologies resulting from it. Also, a simple framework for the possible classification of different corporate ideologies was provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dinara Mountain massif is recognized as an area of exceptional value, which led to its recent protection as a nature park, the second largest one in Croatia. The protected area includes the territory of two counties with four cities and nine municipalities, five of which are included with over 50% of the territory. The paper explains how landscape planning methods establish potential spatial conflicts and propose a compromise between landscape conservation and spatial development. The basic method was the identification and analysis of the landscape value models in 3 categories: natural, visual-experiential, and cultural-historical values. The creation of the models is preceded by a detailed analysis of all environmental components and the collection and creation of spatial data with the help of GIS tools. By overlapping the basic models, a cumulative model of the overall landscape values of the space is produced, which clearly shows which parts of the landscape have a higher value, regarding the protection requirements. The final value model is overlapped with the planned interventions and a clear overview of the vulnerability and possible conflict zones in the area is obtained. The paper describes the impact of individual interventions on the landscape qualities that need to be preserved and suggests guidelines for spatial plan corrections for the purpose of minimal impact on existing values, thus helping to prevent unwanted changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies are becoming aware of the fact that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming the imperative of their sustainable business model despite the potential costs it could generate. Researchers are mostly focused on estimating the relationship between CSR and financial performance where most of the findings indicate their positive relationship. This paper expands existing research and focuses on the relationship between CSR and the risk of bankruptcy using the data from 102 midsize and large companies from non-financial sectors using the data for four years. Research expands existing studies on the EU level according to the fact that most of the existing studies are performed among US companies. Descriptive statistics and SEM-PLS methodology was used to compare and analyze financial data with data collected from 7 groups of stakeholders. Research results indicate that the relation between CSR and the risk of bankruptcy is negative. Conclusion: Becoming a socially responsible company is in the best interest of all stakeholders because CSR activities contribute to financial stability and maintenance of going concern assumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism represents an important determinant of global recognition and regional growth and development of the Republic of Croatia, especially the coastal part of the country. However, there is no doubt that any tourism activity has strong economic, socio-cultural, social, and environmental effects. Mass tourism brings numerous advantages. However, the growing concentration of tourists also leads to negative effects, of which residents are the most affected. Šibenik is a tourist town whose development is primarily based on tourism, and this destination, due to its centuries-old history and geographic location, is attractive to tourists. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which tourism affects the quality of life of the local population based on a preliminary survey of a sample of residents of the city of Šibenik. This paper aims to investigate in detail the practical aspects of tourism. The respondents' perceptions and tourism's real, tangible, and measurable effects will be analyzed to draw valuable conclusions. This approach enables a deeper understanding of the impact of tourism on various aspects of society and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the impact of the budget transparency of local governments on debt using a panel data analysis of all 556 Croatian cities and municipalities over the 2014-2021 period. The analysis shows that increased budget transparency is associated with lower local government debt, i.e., budget transparency enables better public control of unnecessary debt. Additionally, regarding the legal regulation according to which higher own revenues enable higher borrowing, we examine the link between budget transparency and own revenues. The results show that local governments with higher budget transparency have higher own revenues, i.e., budget transparency can help local governments better control opportunistic borrowing and simultaneously increase their own revenues. Finally, we detect political budget cycles related to local government revenues and debt. This paper constitutes the first attempt to explore the effect of budget transparency on debt and own revenues in all local governments in one young democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this paper, the focus is on the application of digital and mobile technologies as supporting tools for the implementation of gamification in the field of education of future economists. Objectives: The paper's main objective is to explore whether educators and students are motivated and willing to apply additional technologies as main gamification components in their work and education. Moreover, the paper aims to assess how their more comprehensive application affects the quality of teaching, work flexibility, new learning opportunities, and outcomes. Methods/Approach: The survey method was used to collect answers from educators and students primarily interested in accounting, finance, trade and tourism from higher and secondary education institutions in Croatia, Poland, Serbia and Germany. Afterwards, the responses were compared using statistical methods. Results: Research results confirm that educators and students are willing to use gamification in teaching. Still, they also expressed the need for better administrative support in using particular e-learning tools. Surprisingly, educators are more eager to use gamification in their work than students. Conclusions: The study's general conclusion is that educators and students are both aware of the advantages of using e-learning tools provided through digital and mobile technologies and are eager to implement more gamification in the teaching process. However, continuous education in applying new digital technologies is needed on both sides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurs often use various sources of financing to finalise an entrepreneurial idea. Crowdfunding on specialised internet platforms is an alternative method for collecting funds from several small sources for business investments and projects. The biggest difference between crowdfunding and other forms of financing is that crowdfunding uses smaller amounts of money from many investors interested in a business idea. Crowdfunding has been globally known for over a decade, and in Croatia, the interest has been growing for several years. The paper aims to demonstrate the importance and potential of crowdfunding, which, as a collective micro-investment of citizens, can serve as an alternative funding source for entrepreneurial ventures. The paper presents the research results conducted in Croatia based on the data collected through survey research. The paper investigates the knowledge and familiarity with the term and motives for investing through crowdfunding platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social spending in Croatia is mainly based on social protection, public healthcare and education policies. There are two forms of investing in children through the social spending provided by central and local governments: cash and in-kind transfers. This paper describes the impacts of such social spending on households with children in Croatia and its capital, Zagreb. Making use of a microsimulation model, the income distribution of cash and in-kind transfers and their impacts on poverty and inequality are assessed. Compared to cash transfers, in-kind transfers, including local government subsidies, are relatively evenly distributed, income independent, and thus roughly equally important for the entire population. Their value greatly exceeds that of monetary transfers. Results demonstrate the progressive effect of transfers in kind on income distribution by reducing income inequality and poverty. This research seeks to emphasise the importance of using augmented income in the analysis of income inequality and poverty, instead of solely monetary disposable income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the last two-three years, the disruptions of the GVC caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced the business sector to restructure and adjust, sometimes very costly and painful. Moreover, with the recent war in Ukraine foreseeable negative implications, it is very certain that large-scale disruptions in the global economic trade and investment flows, and ultimately in the GVC, will dictate the survival and sustainability of business in many economic sectors in the years to come. The main goal of this paper is twofold. First, to review the existing research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on global trends affecting the current reconfiguring and reshaping of the GVC. Second, to analyse the characteristics of Croatian firms that recorded a decrease in their (indirect and direct) exports in the COVID-19 period by performing a logit model and utilising the World Bank's Enterprise Survey 2019, backed up by the Enterprise Surveys Follow-Up on COVID-19 (3 rounds up to now). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present an approach to landscape evaluation, on the example of the island of Jakljan, which is a part of the Elaphiti Islands in the Dubrovnik Neretva County. Special emphasis is placed on the evaluation of natural, cultural, and visual qualities, which were identified in order to direct their protection in future development processes taking into account their role in the landscape. After determining the main qualities, the submodels of individual landscape qualities were determined. Next, the relationship between landscape quality and potential quality degradation was analysed, and a database of spatial data was prepared. Natural qualities included biodiversity valuation and perception of naturalness of the most dominant landscape patterns in this area. Cultural qualities included agricultural landscape evaluation and cultural-historic heritage. Finally, based on the evaluation of the visual units and visually attractive and authentic elements of the landscape and the analysis of visual exposure, a final model of visual landscape qualities was carried out. Evaluation maps were obtained using the GIS tools. The paper pointed out the most important values which must not be lost if the existing character of the space is to be preserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to improve empirical policy theory by examining Eastern European policymaking, using Croatia as a case for analysis. Data sources are published studies that describe 11 sectors from diverse policy areas. The whole material was coded by the rules of qualitative content analysis. The results show 15 basic features of Croatian policymaking combined into six policymaking types: administrative, analytical, economic, external, incremental, and political. All detected policymaking types were successfully connected to several policy concepts, theories, frameworks, and approaches. The analysis revealed three points of theory-practice mismatch that are fruitful for theoretical improvements: the need for mainstreaming Europeanization and policy transfer into policy theory; the need to modify rationalistic approaches for more empirical studies on obstacles and barriers to rationality in policymaking; and the need for adapting actor-centered approaches for a more broad application and empirical research of policymaking in Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In today's environment, health professionals are overwhelmed by the rapid pace of advancement in both information technology and medical practice. Objectives: This paper aims to point out the importance of developing an electronic health record system that will meet the needs of all stakeholders in healthcare, support health professionals' work, and enable continuous quality improvement at all levels and in all healthcare segments. Methods/Approach: Non-systematic literature review has been used to develop a discussion on the healthcare systems' usage. Results: Close cooperation of participants at all levels is essential for the quality implementation and application of digital solutions in healthcare. Conclusions: The paper highlights the factors that contribute to the acceptance of the public healthcare information system in the Republic of Croatia, which is being developed according to the EU regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of our study is to investigate the current state of research regarding Ius Valachicum in Romanian and foreign historiography. After presenting Romanian history, palaeography and the legal history of the Carpatho-Danubian space, we turn to the Polish historiography of the North Vlachs, and to the Serbo-Croatian historiography of the South Vlachs. Finally, we use case studies to illustrate two enacted customary laws of the Vlachs from Croatia. The methods used in this paper include description, analysis, and comparison, as well as exploratory and applied research. The article is a historiographical survey of Ius Valachicum among the Romanians and Vlachs. The medieval and premodern consuetudinary laws of the Romanians and Vlachs are reflected both in primary and secondary sources, from 14thcentury historical documents to historiographical preoccupations dedicated to Ius Vlachicum from the 18thand 19th centuries. First, we refer to the special literature explaining both ethnonyms and the historical-geographical spread of the Romanians and Vlachs. Then we present the Romanian historiography investigating the manifestations and features of Ius Valachicum in the geographical area belonging to the present-day Romanian state. Turning to the Czech and Polish historiography, the occurrence of Ius Valachicum is revealed among the North Vlachs from medieval and premodern Poland, Ruthenia, and Hungary. We also review the Serbo-Croatian historiography of the Ius Valachicum specific to the South Vlachs from Croatia and Serbia. Finally, two enacted customary laws of the Vlachs from Croatia (1436, 1630) are analysed from the point of view of legal history. These codifications of Ius Valachicum prove the juridical power and importance acquired by the Croatian Vlachs during the Middle Ages. The historiographical pros and cons, as well as the critical remarks presented at the end of this study, at the same time, offer a few methodological solutions for future investigations of Romanian and Vlach Ius Valachicum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examined the financial attitude and financial behavior of students and determined their level of financial literacy through a survey. We found that female students report less interest in finance, have less confidence in their financial abilities, and have a lower financial literacy score than male students. On average, we can conclude that students have a low level of financial literacy. In this study we found factors that influence financial literacy which are age, student's GPA, whether they already took some form of personal finance course, a proxy for numeracy, and place of birth in terms of a capital city. Furthermore, based on controlled experimental field research, we conducted financial training, and investigated causal evidence of the effectiveness of financial education. A training intervention to increase financial literacy was effective and improved financial attitude but increasing financial literacy through means of education was insufficient for making better financial decisions since students did not report a lower frequency of impulsive buying or a higher hypothetical savings rate. We found no evidence that female students were affected by this training any differently than male students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the procedures and indicators of systematic inventorisation and analysis of the existing vegetation of urban landscapes are presented and applied. The analysis of the vitality of existing trees was performed using the Visual Tree Assessment (VTA) method on the location of Park in Stari Mikanovci, Croatia. The results of these analyses were used as a basis for the protection and care of existing vegetation, but also their implementation in the design. For this purpose, four different conceptual solutions for the park design were formed. The process of generating different concepts tried to answer the questions: whether the maximum preservation of vegetation elements is a limiting factor in the creative phase of the design process, and whether consistent preservation of vegetation elements will generate similarities of design solutions. Four conceptual solutions were developed by four different authors who were given the same project task: (a) maximum possible preservation on the basis of analysis of the determined values of existing vegetation, and (b) uniform basic residential and recreational content of the park. All other components and features of the landscape are left as variable, arbitrary and author-determined parameters. Multi-criteria descriptive analysis of the proposed design solutions showed that the existing vegetation is not a limiting factor for the typology, diversity, disposition and degree of intervention in the creative phase of the design process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern approach to teaching in schools is based on encouraging pupils' activity in learning about the natural and social phenomena; the pupil is an active participant in the teaching process. The "Nature and Society" subject curriculum emphasizes the use of ICT technologies and various teaching methods. The teacher, their practice, emotions, personality, and competencies play an important role in achieving the learning outcomes in school subjects, as well as in cross-curricular topics, such as is the Sustainable Development Curriculum. This paper presents a study that examined teachers' Love and Care for nature as an important component of promotion of ESD and the practice of using modern approaches in teaching of the subject "Nature and Society". The results of the study show that there is a statistically significant relationship between teachers' Love and Care for nature and modern approaches to learning and teaching the subject "Nature and Society" and the implementation of ESD in primary schools in Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration of higher-educated individuals from Croatia is damaging the long-term perspective of the Croatian economy as lower levels of the participation rate in the Croatian economy may endanger the feasibility of the social, healthcare and pension systems. With Croatia's accession to the EU, a wave of migration was facilitated as a result of easier access to foreign labour markets. The paper focuses on the causes of migration from Croatia given the relatively limited research devoted to this topic. While there is robust evidence of corruption being one of the main causes of migration globally, this paper questions this assertion specifically in the case of Croatia. The paper analyses information from a survey with a random sampling approach of 223 respondents from the Varaždin County. The data is analysed by implementing different logit regression models. The paper conceptualizes economic and political factors that may cause migration as different variables in order to conduct a robustness check. The main finding of the paper is that monetary causes and a belief that individuals could earn more income abroad are the primary motivator of migration from Croatia. This is contrary to much of the existing literature that identifies corruption as the driving force of migration. Knowing individuals who have migrated abroad also makes it more likely for an individual to migrate from Croatia. While the paper found a significant degree of lacking faith in public institutions, this was common to participants regardless of whether or not they considered migrating from Croatia. As such, the paper considers monetary conditions rather than corruption to be the key driving force behind migration from Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper presents a machine learning approach to forecast Croatia's international bilateral trade. Objectives: The goal of this paper is to evaluate the performance of machine learning algorithms in predicting international bilateral trade flows related to imports and exports in the case of Croatia. Methods/Approach: The dataset on Croatian bilateral trade with over 180 countries worldwide from 2001 to 2019 is assembled using main variables from the gravity trade model. To forecast values of Croatian bilateral exports and imports for a horizon of one year (the year 2020), machine learning algorithms (Gaussian processes, Linear regression, and Multilayer perceptron) have been used. Each forecasting algorithm is evaluated by calculating mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE). Results: It was found that machine learning algorithms have a very good predicting ability in forecasting Croatian bilateral trade, with neural network Multilayer perceptron having the best performance among the other machine learning algorithms. Conclusions Main findings from this paper can be important for economic policymakers and other subjects in this field of research. Timely information about the changes in trends and projections of future trade flows can significantly affect decision-making related to international bilateral trade flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The pandemic of Covid-19 brought significant changes to the education system and forcibly accelerated the process of digitizing teaching. Students and educators had to adapt to the new way of education, facing challenges such as technical problems and a lack of technical skills and social contact. Objectives: The purpose of the paper was to explore the attitudes of the university and high school educators and students towards the pandemic's impact on digitization in teaching. Methods/Approach: Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to university and high school educators and students in Croatia, Poland, Serbia and Germany in the field of accounting, finance, trade, tourism, and other areas of interest, resulting in 2,897 responses. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Results: The research showed that: 1) high school students were less optimistic about the positive impact of the pandemic on applying digital tools in teaching than university students, 2) educators generally prefer traditional exams, while students generally prefer e-exams, 3) a higher proportion of university respondents believe that e-learning should be used as an important addition to traditional teaching when compared to high school respondents. Conclusions: The pandemic has changed how the teaching process will be performed, but we should learn from experience and address the issues with e-learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social supermarkets were developed in Europe after the economic crisis 2008-2014. Their purpose is to decrease food waste that occurs in traditional food supply chains and to ensure access to food to socially endangered citizens. Objectives: This paper analyses the general perception of consumers regarding the mission and purpose of social supermarkets in four Central Eastern European (CEE) countries: Croatia, Poland, Lithuania, and Serbia. Methods/Approach: The paper brings the results of the survey research conducted in the observed CEE countries measuring attitudes towards the relevance and the role of social supermarkets. Results: There is a positive attitude regarding the existence of social supermarkets in all the analysed CEE countries. Less than 10% of respondents claim that there is no need for such organizations. In Croatia, Lithuania, and Poland examinees claim that reduction of food waste rather than reduction of poverty should be emphasized as a mission of social supermarkets. Conclusions: Social supermarkets require improvement of a legal framework, welfare system integration, and implementation of state monitoring. Moreover, larger involvement of religious communities, national and local governments, as supporting institutions is observed as a necessity in all the countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since external auditors possess the expertise necessary for detecting manipulations in financial statements, they should also take into account earnings management that could lead to it. In that context, auditor's independence, which can be affected by auditor's rotation, is of utmost importance. Objectives: This paper aims to examine the moderating effect of auditor rotation on the relationship between the extent of financial manipulation and the type of auditor's opinion for companies listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange in the Republic of Croatia. Methods/Approach: A panel analysis with logistic regression is conducted to test the research hypothesis. The sample consists of 210 observations during the three years from 2015 to 2017. Results: Results show a significant positive relationship between auditor rotation in a current financial year and auditor's opinion. Furthermore, there is a negative, but the statistically insignificant moderating effect of auditor rotation in a current financial year on the relationship between financial manipulation and auditor's opinion, as well as the statistically insignificant moderating effect of auditor rotation frequency over five years on the relationship between financial manipulation and auditor's opinion. Conclusions: It is not likely that auditors take earnings management into account when generating their opinion on financial statements, and auditor rotation is not proven to be an adequate stimulus in that context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Innovativeness and new product commercialization are highly important for companies. Therefore, a deep understanding of the impact of all potentially influential drivers of success is critical. The purpose of the paper is to explore the impact of internal knowledge sharing on new product selling and sales innovativeness as well as the impact of empowerment on internal knowledge sharing and, indirectly, on new product selling and sales innovativeness. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research encompassed 101 salespeople working at the top 1000 value added creators in Croatia. The questionnaire was developed and adapted using four scales, to assess internal knowledge sharing, new product selling, sales innovativeness, and empowerment. The data was analyzed by using the PLS-SEM method to examine the relationships between constructs. Results: As evidenced by the survey results, internal knowledge sharing positively impacts new product selling and sales department's innovativeness, and empowerment is positively linked to internal knowledge sharing and, indirectly, to new product selling and sales department's innovativeness. Conclusion: Managers should underpin different activities in order to enhance empowerment and internal knowledge sharing with the aim to affect companies' performance in commercialization of a new product and sales department's innovativeness. Future research could include moderator variables between the empowerment construct and the internal knowledge sharing construct and deepen the insight into the type of information shared, the dynamics of sharing and the barriers in the process, and other factors that positively affect knowledge sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows are unevenly distributed around the world and determined by different factors. The literature points out to economic and non-economic determinants of FDI flows, while the latter have shown to generate ambiguous effects across regions. Objectives: The primary goal of this paper is to examine the relationship between non-economic determinants and the FDI inflow in Croatia from 1996 to 2017, thus capturing different periods of the economic cycle. The importance of non-economic institutional determinants of FDI is analysed in parallel with the economic determinants. Methods/Approach: This study uses available data on FDI per capita and a set of non-economic (institutional) and economic determinants. We employed the OLS regression analysis to determine the significance of FDI inflow determinants and compare the relevance of non-economic to economic factors. Results: Results of this exploratory study show that institutional quality variables included in the model (regulatory quality, political stability, and government effectiveness, the rule of law and control of corruption) could not be pointed out as important determinants of the FDI inflow in Croatia. Economic variables GDP per capita and average gross wage prove to be important in determining the FDI inflow in Croatia. Conclusions: The research results point to a variety of FDI determinants among countries and economic cycle periods. Given the evidence from Croatia, variations, especially in institutional determinants, might be caused by the diverse FDI inflow characteristics and specificities of receiving economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using maps is inevitable in many human activities as well as in mountaineering. Until recently, most of the spatial and attribute data of the mountaineer's interest could have been found only in analog form. With the development of information technology, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), easily accessible measuring sensors and digital cameras, it is easier to collect, store, visualize, share, and update spatial data. The web GIS with its associated applications assumes dominance in browsing and dissemination of spatial data, and is applied in areas where there is a need for processing, analysis and visualization of various data that contain a spatial component, including mountaineering. When planning hiking, mountaineers need both spatial and attribute information on mountaineering facilities, checkpoints, and hiking trails in the form of GNSS traces. Through the interactive web application interface, it is possible to connect all these data, enabling easy viewing, browsing and analysis, or performing various spatial queries, which greatly facilitates the planning of hiking excursions. This paper presents a review and comparison of four most visited Croatian mountaineering portals: HPS's Interactive Mountaineering Map of Croatia, Mountaineering portal and Geodetic mountaineering portal developed at the Faculty of Geodesy of the University of Zagreb and planinarenje.hr portal developed by the group of mountain enthusiasts. Numerous data on Croatian mountains and peaks, mountain facilities, huts and hiking trails are now accessible through portals to anyone with Internet connection, either with the computers, tablets or smartphones. All users can browse, filter and download data from the portal, and there are additional options for authorized users such as commenting on portal content. Several thematic portals of neighboring countries were also analyzed (portal of the Slovenian Mountaineering Association, Slovak mountaineering portal and one Swiss mountaineering portal) and compared with Croatian portals. Finally, the importance of the web GIS portals for the development of mountaineering tourism was emphasized, as well as the ecological culture and the sustainability of the mountaineering environment (preservation of mountain trails and facilities, protection of endemic plants, karst and geological features, etc.). Highlights for public administration, management and planning: • The presented web GIS represent an effective and efficient tool for planning and conducting trips in mountain areas as it allows better organization and management of mountain content for the tourists and other hikers. • Registered users can participate in the portal update (e.g. peak or hill endonyms) and this can be used by State Geodetic Administration for their register of geographical names (http://rgi.dgu.hr/pretrazivanje) • The Web GIS can also be used as a support in the tourism development of local mountain areas with respect to the ecological culture and sustainability of the mountain environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine performance of pension funds in Croatia, or more precisely, to measure the technical efficiency of mandatory pension funds. The main role of the pension funds is to collect and invest the money contributed by the employer or the employee during working years until retirement. Therefore, development of pension funds as institutional investors is especially important for capital markets as well as for the whole economy. By applying the methodology of data envelopment analysis on a sample of 12 DMUs, i.e. four mandatory pension funds divided into three categories (A, B or C) for 2015-2018 period, we provide further evidence on their efficiency level. The results have shown very small differences among relative inefficient pension funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between working capital management and the profitability of Croatian manufacturing enterprises and to provide empirical evidence on the effects of working capital management on the level of profitability of manufacturing enterprises in the Republic of Croatia in the period from 2018 to 2021. The collected data were analyzed through multiple regression analysis, using a panel regression model with random effects. By analyzing panel data, the impact of receivables from customers, inventories, liabilities to suppliers, sales growth and GDP growth on the profitability of Croatian manufacturing companies was examined. The analysis of panel data examined the impact of trade receivables, inventories, payables, sales growth and GDP growth on the profitability of Croatian manufacturing enterprises. The obtained results also suggest that the variables the days sales outstanding, the days inventory outstanding and GDP growth are not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: The issue of graduates' competencies is not a new one, but was brought back into the spotlight after the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis and the ensuing disturbances in the labour market. These disturbances were manifested through an increased unemployment rate, with a significant share of highly educated people. Objectives: This paper provides an insight into employers' assessment of the importance and sufficiency of the competencies acquired by business and economics university bachelor graduates in Croatia. Methods/Approach: The methodology applied in this research includes the importance-performance analysis (IPA) that provides a two-dimensional importance-satisfaction grid. Data for the IPA analysis were collected by the structured questionnaire. Results: Results indicated that employers are satisfied with specific competencies (business and economic) and that the emphasis of business and economics higher education institutions (HEI) should be placed on generic competencies. Conclusions: Findings imply that mobility of highly educated people could be caused by the level and quality of specific competencies of bachelors with a degree from Croatian economics higher education institutions. Additionally, the conclusion of the conducted study indicates a need for implementation of student-oriented teaching methods, the introduction of obligatory internship, and introduction of courses oriented towards the development of generic competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The situation in the field of gambling is changing due to the rise of Internet and Mobile gambling. In general gambling consumption is increasing every year, but the distribution of consumption has radically changed from Land Based gambling to Remote gambling. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the world gambling industry and a specific overview in Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia in order to find some main similarities and differences in observed period. Design/Methodology/Approach - The main research question is How important is gambling for the involved countries and what proportion of the national GDP does the gambling revenue account for? This paper presents the analysis of five statistical databases for the last sixteen years in order to find out some patterns, cyclical or seasonal features or other significant information that allows us to do forecasting of the future revenue with a certain degree of accuracy. We have systematically searched and collected data from the World Bank and the National Statistical Offices websites of the given countries. Statistical methods were used for benchmark analysis, while Box and Jenkins approach and ARIMA modelling were used for forecasting. Findings - The smallest increase was recorded in Slovenia and the largest in Italy. The same effects were also observed in the GDP of these countries. Thus, the state budgets of Croatia and Italy are increasingly dependent on gambling taxes. It also has negative wages. The gambling addictions among the locals have become more frequent as well. Originality of the research - The article shows the forecasts of the gambling revenue and its share in the GDP by 2027. We want to alert decision makers to adopt appropriate policies. States need to rethink their views on gambling and the excessive dependence of the state budget on gambling taxes. This is the first time a single comparative analysis of these countries and the above mentioned forecast has been conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-indigenous parasite fauna of freshwater fish has not been studied extensively in Croatia, despite the long history of introductions and translocations of alien fish species into inland waters. Negative implications for aquaculture production and wild native fish species have been frequently associated with the introduction of non-native parasite species. Hence, the present paper attempts to lay out a historical overview of the suspected localities, time frames and pathways of introduction for nonindigenous fish parasites into inland waters of Croatia, therefore producing a list of species. In total, 16 non-native fish parasites have been recorded in inland waters of Croatia, aquaculture establishments being identified as initial points of introduction. However, a paucity of information exists on the overall prevalence of infection as well as the economic impact on aquaculture production. In addition, limited information is available about the presence and potential ecological impact of non-indigenous parasites on endemic fish fauna in areas of high biodiversity, such as the water bodies of the Adriatic Sea Basin. Therefore, there is an urgent need and opportunity for multidisciplinary cooperation between different stakeholders, including government, scientists, in both biological and veterinary disciplines, and the industry, with the aim of extensive surveys to determine the potential impact on aquaculture production and wild fish population of high conservation value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hedging against inflation assumes instruments such as gold, stocks, fixed income securities, and real estate. There still exists a lack of appropriate strategy to hedge against inflation. Objectives: This paper examines the possibilities for hedging against inflation in Croatia offered by the Zagreb Stock Exchange indices. Methods/Approach: Based on monthly data from January 2000 to September 2019 and using a wavelet coherence approach, this paper brings the results across time and frequency domains. Results: Empirical results suggest that inflation was a leading variable in a statistically significant positive correlation between the inflation rate and Crobex returns in 2007-2011. The relationship between Crobex10, Crobis, and Crobistr returns on one side, and the inflation rate on the other side has statistically significant correlations only in specific and different periods, in which respective returns are a leading variable. Conclusions: The results imply that hedging against inflation is rather problematic under current Croatian capital markets conditions. Zagreb Stock Exchange indices could serve as a hedge against inflation for some periods but not during the whole observation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior studies have revealed a disclosure problem in financial statements, primarily in narrative reports. Three main problem areas have been identified: insufficient relevant information, too much irrelevant information, and low-level communication. Micro and small entities face the most difficulties. Objectives: The main objective of this research is to propose a solution to existing disclosure problems to contribute towards improving the quality of financial reporting of smaller entities. Methods/Approach: To improve the reporting model for smaller entities, a survey has been conducted using a structured questionnaire on a sample of non-financial entities registered in Croatia. Based on results interpretations, standardized notes have been proposed. Results: 167 respondents have shared their thoughts about current disclosure issues and possible improvements, showing their awareness of disclosure problems and willingness for change. Given their opinions, the proposal has been made. Conclusions: The main contribution of the paper is the creation of a proposal for standardized, integrated, and digitalized notes to the financial statements based on the principle of materiality, primarily addressed to micro but also small entities from the non-financial sector. The paper extends previous proposals which did not focus on their structure and digitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary function of the rural resort is to renovate and put into function existing, old, abandoned buildings/constructions, giving them a new purpose for tourism services. At the same time, construction of new buildings/structures, which can distort the authentic rural environment, is reduced. This paper intends to identify and analyse the elements of the tourism market in the Republic of Croatia which affect the process of revitalisation of the historic settlements through tourism products and services, while these elements are maintained, and popularise traditional culture and create an additional source of income in the countryside. The aim is to explore the place and role of rural resorts to enhance the distribution of tourism products and services, and the relevance of the application/use of tourist valorisation potentials of rural areas in the continuous efforts of improving tourism in the Republic of Croatia. The above is presented through a marketing policy and destination and space management, with a focus on limiting administrative, organisational and financial factors that influence the prosperity growth and substantial investment cycles in this segment in the Republic of Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the effect of a self-employment grant scheme for unemployed individuals—designed to ease the first 12 months of business operation—on firm growth, survival, and labor market reintegration in Croatia in the 2010–2017 period. Grants offered a moderate amount of finances (up to 50% of average annual gross salary) and absorbed only 5% of funds allocated to active labor market policies (ALMPs), but accounted for 10% of new firms opened throughout the years. We contribute to the literature on self-employment grants with several novel findings. Exploiting the longitudinal structure of the unemployment episodes dataset, we find that individuals who finish their spell with a grant have a significantly lower probability of returning to unemployment. The policy is particularly effective for individuals who would have otherwise had labor market opportunities (men, more educated, prime-age workers, previously employed), individuals who became unemployed after inactivity and lost their job due to a firm's closure—which demonstrates that self-employment subsidies can be effective in ameliorating unemployment. However, the policy was not effective for longer unemployed individuals. At the firm level, we find descriptive evidence that limited liability firms opened via a grant have lower growth potential and worse survival profile, while unlimited liability firms—even though a sizable portion of them closes after a required 12-month grant period—have a more favorable survival profile. Finally, we also find that the effectiveness of these grants has increased throughout the years, indicating toward the direction of institutional learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music is an important element of a destination's integrated tourism product, especially in rural regions. This fact raises a variety of issues, in particular with regard to the tourism management of rural destinations. Answers are sought to questions on how music can be valorised to help create a distinctive tourism product, making it necessary to analyse the current state of the music offering before objectives can be set and concrete solutions, devised, to accomplish them. This paper explores the music offering of the rural regions of eastern Croatia and presents the results of a survey of the attitudes of destination managers (managers of tourist boards) in rural regions of eastern Croatia, with special emphasis on traditional music that is increasingly present and contributes to creating distinctive rural destinations (the valorisation of sound and music in the offering should also enhance the inclusion of music in promotion). The studied rural destinations of eastern Croatia are not developed in terms of tourism and their tourist accommodation capacities are very small. Music offering management, together with the valorisation and preservation of traditional values, could help them enhance their distinctiveness in the tourism market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is: 1) to determine the key changes in the evolution process of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the Croatia's fisheries policy and 2) to describe the structure and dynamics of macroeconomic and budget performance related to Croatian fisheries in the period 2007-2016. Two methods were used: the historical method and the descriptive analysis of macroeconomic performance and budget structure. The CFP was officially introduced in 1983, bringing the management of fisheries in all EU member states under one system. Its aims were: to resolve sea conflicts between member states, to provide stability to the fisheries sector, to prevent a total collapse of fish stocks and to provide higher quality of life to the fishermen. However, the CFP has constantly been criticized for poor enforcement of environmental measures and scientific recommendations, and for the lack of a common language between the EU institutions and local stakeholders. Both the European and Croatian fisheries sector faced many problems, especially during the transition period in the 1990s. Some of them included a serious decrease of catches, outdated technology and fisheries fleet, depletion of demersal species, lack of developmental trends in mariculture, absence of measures of rational exploitation and protection of economically significant species. The negotiation period was an opportunity for the fisheries sector in Croatia to adapt its goals, measures and stakeholders in order to achieve a more sustainable and internationally competitive fisheries sector in the future. The membership facilitates trade in the EU area, along with providing significant funding and technical assistance. The budget support structure and the existing policy framework point out an increase in the implementation of structural measures which should assist in an overall improvement of social, economic and environmental aspects of fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper brings releationship between real effective exchange rate and industry production in Croatia. Research sample consists of monthly data from January 2000 up to June 2019. Following wavelet coherence approach, empirical results reveal the relationship across time and frequency domain. The empirical obtained from wavelet coherence analysis and confirmed with conventional correlation analysis suggested positive relationship between industrial productivity and real effective exchange rate in Croatia, with depreciation as a factor of positive influence on industrial productivity. Research results provided in the paper also contributes to the debate on exchange rate policy in Croatia, extending the discussion on national exchange rate policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating an external context that will have nourishing effect on the entrepreneurial activities seems to be timely, path and location dependent process. The systemic explorations of the national entrepreneurial context (environment) are still relatively underrepresented. The paper explores strengths and weaknesses of the national entrepreneurship conditions in Croatia and how stable these conditions are in the longer time frame. The aim of the study is to provide more detailed insight on the differences in perceptions among experts engaged in Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and along the time. Findings indicate deterioration of the national entrepreneurial conditions in Croatia. Experts' perceptions of national entrepreneurial conditions diverge between experts who have and those who do not have prior entrepreneurial experiences. The time also matters – perceptual difference in evaluating the quality of national entrepreneurship conditions is observed across 2015–2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The break-up of Yugoslavia has led to a transition from planned to the market economy. The main task of transition is privatization, which implies transferring most of the former social ownership to private individuals. The privatization process has marked the end of the twentieth century in Croatia and still carries many unanswered questions that have arisen because of the persistent need for privatization in the former, unconsolidated state. Objectives: The main objective of the paper is to make a comparison of respondents' perception of Croatian privatization in 2018 compared to 1998. The aim is to investigate the similarities and changes in the attitudes of the Croats regarding the privatization processes that Croatia has engulfed in several stages. Methods/Approach: The survey was conducted on a sample of one hundred Croatian citizens about their perception of the privatization process in Croatia in 2018. Results of the survey in 1998 and 2018 were compared using the chi-square test. Results: The respondents in 2018 are convinced that the main goals of privatization have not been realized. Citizens' distrust towards the system and institutions conducting the privatization process is greater in 2018 compared to 1998. Conclusions: Respondents perception of privatization has not changed significantly concerning the 20-year gap. Dissatisfaction due to the unfulfilled fundamental goals is still present, as is the need for revision of privatization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of environmental radioactivity much relies on radionuclide content in soil. This stems from the significant contribution of soil to both external and internal exposure to ionising radiation via direct emission of gamma radiation and soil-to-plant radionuclide transfer, respectively. This motivated us to carry out a systematic research on the radioactivity of soil in Croatia to obtain relevant data that can be used as a basis for understanding the related effects of geomorphological, biogeographical, and climatological properties of the environment. We collected samples of the surface layer of uncultivated soil (0–10 cm) at 138 sites from all over the country and measured them for radionuclide activity concentrations by means of high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry. This resulted in radioactivity maps containing data on activity concentrations of representative radionuclides in the environment. In this paper, which is the first in our two-part presentation, we focus on the naturally occurring 232Th and 238U decay chains and their correlations with the diversity of Croatian regions. For both of the chains, activity concentrations were the highest in the Dinaric region, the lowest in the Pannonian region, and intermediate in the Adriatic region. Relatively high concentrations of 226Ra in the soil of the Dinaric region implied a possibility of an enhanced emanation of its progeny 222Rn into the air. Activity concentrations of 210Pb were additionally elevated in areas with dense vegetation, most probably due to an atmospheric deposition of airborne 210Pb onto the surface of plants and their eventual decomposition on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly aims to provide in-depth research on how Croatian franchisors utilise the possibilities of the digital environment in terms of their digital presence. The main focus of digital presence analysis is set on franchisors' official website and supporting communication channels. For research, this paper focused on creating and testing a specialised evaluation model. The proposed model is dominantly based on three applicable models (Martinez & Gauchi, 2010; Rao & Frazer, 2005; Stefanović & Stanković, 2014) and revised according to the situational factors. A redesigned model was used to evaluate websites of Croatian franchisors, mainly focusing on the provided information, website usability, communication possibilities, and promotional activities. This research paper offers two main outcomes. The first outcome is the redesigned evaluation model, which was applied and tested with several provided improvement guidelines. The second outcome is the comparative analysis of the selected Croatian franchisors in terms of their digital presence and its relationship to several market-related indicators. The paper presents a literature review on franchising e-presence worldwide. The research results presented in this paper offer a better insight into the use of websites by Croatian franchisors. Based on their use, certain conclusions can be made. Consequently, a contribution is made to theoretical research about franchising in Croatia and can serve as a framework for further research in the region. Based on the findings of this paper and the information provided by Croatian franchisors about their products and/or services to current and potential buyers, investments in websites result in wider franchising networks and greater success in the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with issues, which may arise during the preparation of line infrastructure projects in the public interest such as airports, railways or highways. We focused mainly on the issue of expropriation of land in the public interest and related problems in Slovakia and Croatia but also in other states. Few case studies complement the theoretical part of the study. The paper is focused on comparison of selected national legislation especially Slovak and Croatian in this field and individual State's approaches and tries to find the necessary changes in legislation whose could be usefully for the future. Slovakia and Croatia were chosen for comparison because not only they have a similar population and number of public airports, but they also have a common history and had common legal framework where, after the Austro-Hungarian settlement in 1867, Croatia itself belonged to Zalitavsko within Austria-Hungary together with Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pelagic fisheries in the area of the eastern part of the Adriatic Sea, more precisely in the Croatian fishing grounds, are one of the most important types of fisheries in Croatia. In this paper, the quantitative and qualitative structure of catches obtained by the „ciplara" purse seine in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea was analysed between 2013 and 2018. According to the data collected, the largest catches by this fishing gear were made in the coastal area, precisely in the fishing zones/sub-zones A/A4, E/E2, F/F2, C/C4 and G/G1. 70% of the catches consisted of targeted species, which indicates that the studied „ciplara" purse seine is a selective fishing gear. Biological analyses are given for four target species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between financial development and international trade in Croatia over the period from the first quarter of 1997 and the last quarter of 2015. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration is applied to examine the long-run and short-run relationships among the series. The research hypothesis is accepted and the relationship between financial development and international trade in Croatia is established and confirmed. The research results reveal unidirectional Granger causality from financial development to international trade at the 10% significance level, and negative long-run and the positive short-run relationships between financial developments and international trade in Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the influence of gender diversity in the boardroom of Croatian banks on their performance. Specifically, we deal with both management and supervisory boards. Moreover, based on critical mass theory, the authors try to find out what constitutes critical mass. Using a static panel analysis on a sample of all commercial banks that operated in the period 2002-2014, three models were estimated with return on assets (ROMA), return on equity (ROE) and net interest margin (NM) as dependent variables. Board structure variables include gender of the chairperson, size of the board, share of women on the board and four dummy variables constructed on critical mass theory, specifically uniform group, skewed group, tilted group and balanced group. Other controls employed in the model include capital adequacy, the growth rate of assets at the bank level, ownership, age and a crisis dummy. The main finding is that when a critical mass of 20%-40% of women on the management board has been reached, bank performance improves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IT HAS BEEN WIDELY RECOGNIZED THAT ACTIVITIES PRACTICED BY HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (HRM) SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF ANY COMPANY. However, quantification of that relationship has not been researched enough to provide a tool for practitioners by which they could increase their business result. Therefore additional scientific contribution on the subject would be valuable and that is the very purpose of this paper. Authors of this paper have researched what is the impact of HRM activities in construction industry in Croatia. After an insight into a theoretical background about influence of HRM activities on business performance, this paper presents results from their own study. The research was conducted over actual financial results realised before and during the period of recent economic crisis, from 2007-2010. Data was collected using financial data base Poslovna.hr and the opinion poll conducted in more than 30% of middle-size construction companies in Croatia. Data was analysed using frequency analysis, analysis of correlation coefficients and finally by construction of multiple linear regression models. Results of the research suggest that people working in construction have reached the subsistence level income. Constructed multiple linear regression models indicate that, among other human resources activities, the material motivation activities have the most significant positive impact on business result. Professional selection of candidates, life long learning, supportive organizational culture and other non-material measures remain for the benefit of some future times [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The inflation dynamics of Croatia is studied in the paper, with the review of applicable marginal cost proxies for the hybrid New Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC), and estimation of three specifications of the hybrid NKPC for Croatia. Objectives: The goal of this research is to examine the effect of labor's share of income, the price of energy, and the price of imports and other open economy factors in driving inflation in Croatia from the first quarter of 2000 to the fourth quarter of 2011. Methods/Approach: We use the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator to empirically estimate three NKPC specifications. The J-stat and Cragg-Donald F-test are used to test for overidentification and for weak instruments, respectively. Results: We find that the marginal cost proxy for the energy-augmented specification is statistically significant and quantitatively the largest, whereas those for the other two are statistically significant, but quantitatively negligible. Conclusions: The results provide an empirical contribution both to the literature on inflation in Croatia and the literature of the NKPC in a small open economy. We can conclude that the price of energy has been the strongest driver of inflation, whereas the open economy factors we tested have had very little influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The project manager choice is one of the most important, complicated and multi-layered decisions in project management. Although the competence of a project manager is the subject of numerous studies, mostly in the field of economic sciences, there are still relatively few studies dealing with project manager selection. Objectives: The aim of this paper is to provide a useful overview of research on approaches, models, techniques, and competencies during the process of selecting project managers, in order to improve understanding an effective process of selecting project managers from academic researchers and practitioners' point of view. Methods/Approach: This article is a scientific review of previously published studies that are linked to competencies of a project manager and the process of project manager selection according to the traditional and the modern approach. Results: The process of selecting project managers is not sufficiently investigated in Croatia, while most of the research is focused to traditional approach. Conclusions: In this work, we propose a combination of the traditional and the modern approach to the selection of project managers, which would be based on the multicriteria decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]