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Although small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are highly important for producing highvalue-added innovative and intermediary goods and play a crucial role in being suppliers of large enterprises, their financial restraints cause them to encounter problems regarding their internationalization process and financial performance. As a dynamic capability of Resourcebased View theory (RBV), the usage of marketing communication tools (MCTs) by SMEs, such as social media (SM), websites, telemarketing, direct mail, SMS campaigns, and Google Adwords, increases the competitiveness of SMEs and might enable them to reduce their financial performance and export concerns. However, the usage of these tools can differ depending on the firm's country of origin since countries have various socio-economic and cultural conditions that affect the competitiveness of firms and their marketing communication approaches to their export and financial performance. In this regard, this paper aims to find international differences in the impact of the usage of MCTs on export and financial performance. This paper examines 1221 SMEs from Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary for this aim. The researchers created an online questionnaire to collect data from randomly selected respondents in the research sample. The researchers also ran Binary Logistic Regression analyses for analysis purposes. Although this paper confirms international differences in the impact of MCTs on the export of SMEs, the effect of SM usage on the financial performance of SMEs does not differ depending on the SMEs' country of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Heated tobacco products along with electronic cigarettes represent the current trend in nicotine use. These novel products are appealing to teenagers and young adults especially. Generation Z representatives are characterized as native digital and internet users who are exposed to online marketing intensively including tobacco and nicotine products marketing. AIM: The purpose of this study was to explore how Generation Z perceives the promotional techniques of HTP products (IQOS and glo) in the Czech Republic. METHODS: We conducted qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with Generation Z representatives (n = 12) having previous experience with heated tobacco products. Open coding method was used for qualitative data analysis. RESULTS: Our study shows that participants of Generation Z are highly influenced by modern marketing techniques of tobacco industry. According to respondents, fashion and lifestyle events and influencer marketing were the main communication channels associated with heated tobacco promotion. Practical, stylish, innovative, odorless and healthier were the most frequently associated words with heated tobacco products from the respondents' point of view. Most of the respondents use loyalty programs, benefits and discounts. CONCLUSION: Marketing communication of heated tobacco reflects the lifestyle demand of young adults. Perception of this products as innovative, stylish and healthier may contribute to normalization of tobacco and nicotine use. Advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of novel tobacco and nicotine products should be comprehensively banned to prevent their influence on children, adolescents and non-smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Czech Republic is in the first place in the consumption of beer in the world, in 2022 this consumption was 140 l / person, beer culture and tradition is very deeply rooted here. Since 2010, there has been a significant increase in the number of mini-breweries in the Czech Republic and an expansion of domestic beer brewing. Production of mini-breweries represents for about two and a half percent of the total production of the Czech Republic. As the number of microbreweries grows, so does the competitive pressure in this segment. What marketing communication tools used at the point of sale are most important for owners of mini-breweries in connection with competitiveness is the area covered in this paper. The research took place in 2022, the data were obtained by the method of a questionnaire survey, using electronic questioning within the entire research sample, 504 mini-breweries as of 31 December 2021. The return of the questionnaire was 56%, surveyed sample consists of 282 mini-breweries. According to the research results, the most important tools of marketing communication in connection with the competitiveness of mini-breweries are glasses, labels, a signboard and excursions. On the contrary, sales, tablecloths and paid tastings are the least important for owners of mini-breweries in connection with their competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of corporate social responsibility is not new in the banking sector, but nowadays, it becomes highly topical since the crisis has significantly highlighted the need for integration of moral principles in the banking business. Knowledge of business practice indicates the fact that the acceptance of moral principles in business is not integrated into management decisions of companies. It also cannot be accepted that self-regulatory instruments of companies such as CSR will be effective. The existing experience with the implementation of CSR and ethical principles in the banking sector leads to the opinion that the social responsibility of banks and ethics in banking sector are perceived as an appropriate marketing tool for public communication and are not integrated into policies of individual commercial banks. Experience with the crisis demonstrated that there is a lack of moral principles of managers' decisions. The aim of this article is to introduce theoretical aspects of CSR in commercial banking and measure the level of CSR in selected Czech commercial banks. In the article, the CSR index was calculated for Česká spořitelna, Československá obchodní banka, Komerční banka and GE Money Bank. Results of our research confirmed that the CSR index of selected Czech commercial banks achieves only an average level. There is a significant lack of transparent information in the context of CSR areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to compare the number of tweets from Vodafone Company against a group of user, who speak about Vodafone in order to determine whether there is a link between the number of tweets published by Vodafone and communication volume (buzz) on Vodafone via Twitter - online social networking and microblogging service. After the initial definition of the conceptual framework of this project, where the issue of Twitter as a tool for (marketing) communication is presented and its use in the world with a focus on the Czech Republic, the results of author's quantitative research are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides selected information about the performance of the Czech medical spa industry, as well as the various types of stay available and their respective costs. It reveals the specific ways of how medical spa care is financed in the Czech Republic and resumes that financing methods diverge from using the public finance sources towards the private ones. In this article is developed a special model to enable easy categorization, which allows the reader to quickly ascertain fundamental information on relative attributes of spa industry. The created model is usable for marketing communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Products of organic agriculture have gained a significant attention among consumers. It creates a visible impact also on the products of conventional agriculture. This leads to the necessity to apply target marketing at the food resp. organic food markets. The objective of this article is to explore the possible approaches to the process of market segmentation at these consumer markets. The data of the Market & Media & Lifestyle were used. Variables of food consumer behaviour and lifestyle were especially selected. Three lines of market segmentation were inferred from the basic conceptual approaches: a priori segmentation, post hoc segmentation and forward segmentation. The data were analysed in several steps using multidimensional analyses. The results indicate a different marketing potential of the investigated approaches. A priori segmentation seems to be more proper for the purpose of the sales management. A broadly based post hoc segmentation should be useful when the concept of marketing communication is to be created. The elaborated forward segmentation approach will take place when the marketing strategy is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]