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Background and Purpose: Data mining techniques are intensely used in various industries for the purpose of fraud prevention and detection. Research that focuses on the leasing industry is scarce, although frauds in the field of leasing occur rather often. First, we identify clusters of business clients in one leasing company by using the method of self-organising maps based on leasing contract attributes. Second, we compare clusters based on the presence of fraudulent clients, in order to develop fraudsters’ profiles.

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Information sources are considered a catalyst for innovation improvement, and because of this it is particularly important to learn more regarding their impact on innovation performance. Therefore, the goal of this research is to investigate to what extent the usage of different information sources influences internal and external R&D activities in three countries, Croatia, France and the Netherlands, by employing CIS data, which covers the period from 2006 to 2008. These countries were chosen because of the different levels of their country competitiveness (measured by the Global Competitiveness Index), which permits us to investigate if the usage of information sources has varying impact on their innovation performance. Our results reveal that internal sources, customers, suppliers and universities are important information sources for both internal and external R&D activities in all three countries. However, significant differences are also found. Firms from the Netherlands (which has the highest country competitiveness) use information sources differently, relying on competitors as one of their most important sources of innovation. On the other hand, the government did not have any impact on firms in Croatia (which has the lowest country competitiveness), indicating that this may be the reason for similar countries lagging behind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telecommunication markets are a valuable factor that contributes to the economic growth and development. The development of the telecommunication markets and services was slower in the countries in transition than in developed European countries, although after the fall of communism countries in transition implemented a big progress in spreading and modernizing of their telecommunication network. The paper analysis the level of concentration of telecommunication industry in Croatia from 2003 to 2008. The data used in the analysis consider 50 Croatian largest IT firms that are operating on telecommunication market and specific telecommunication sectors: producers of telecommunication equipment, distributers of telecommunication services and implementers of telecommunication solutions. The main two conclusions of this article are: (I) degree of concentration on the telecommunication market in Croatia changed differently in different market shares, (2) degree of concentration on the telecommunication market in Croatia is influenced by different barriers to enter the market. The analysis finds that Croatian telecommunication industry is in a good position even a few steps ahead of some other transition countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the way strategic approach to business process management (BPM) impacts organizational performance, both its financial and non-financial aspects, using empirical data from Croatian firms. The impact of strategic approach to BPM on process performance measurement (PPM) is examined as well. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted on a sample of 194 manufacturing and service firms in Croatia and propositions were tested using a structural equation model with SAS software. Findings – The results suggest that PPM practice is positively related to strategic approach to BPM. The impact of PPM on non-financial performance has been found, as well as the impact of non-financial performance on financial performance, thus indicating an indirect influence of PPM on financial performance. Originality/value – The paper extends the previous research that exclusively investigated impact of BPM to organizational performance. The authors extended results of previous research and found that strategic approach to BPM is an important push factor for implementation of PPM, and that PPM is an important link between BPM and improved organizational performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]