The performance of Croatian hotel companies – DEA window and Malmquist productivity index approach

The hospitality industry operates in a dynamic and competitive environment where efficiency and productivity are crucial for sustainable success. The main goal of this paper is to assess the dynamic changes in the efficiency and productivity of large and very large Croatian hotel companies and to investigate whether their location influences these factors. It also aims to determine how resilient the companies are to macroeconomic shocks and to identify the causes of inefficiency and productivity changes separately for each location. The analysis is conducted for 70 large and very large hotel companies in total and separately for those in coastal and the continental Croatia from 2017 to 2022 using the Window Data Envelopment Analysis and the Malmquist Productivity Index. The results show a slight decrease in relative efficiency in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main cause of inefficiency for coastal hotel companies throughout the period is management performance and other exogenous factors. Conversely, the main cause of inefficiency for continental hotel companies shifted from non-optimal production size to management and other exogenous factors after 2020. Productivity declined between 2019 and 2020 due to the decline in technological change for companies in both locations. Prior to 2020, coastal and continental hotel companies followed a similar trend. While coastal hotels recovered faster in 2021, continental hotels recovered more steadily and achieved higher productivity in 2022. This research provides valuable insights for hotel managers and academics seeking to navigate the ever-changing field of hotel management

RELATIVNA EFIKASNOST ISTRAŽIVANJA I RAZVOJA EUROPSKIH ZEMALJA

This paper assesses the relative efficiency of R&D in the European countries using a nonparametric DEA approach across a group of 34 European countries. R&D is important driver of economic growth and since the resources allocated for R&D are limited, their efficient usage becomes increasingly important. This is further emphasised nowadays where world is faced with global pandemic which lead to reallocation of large amount of businesses and activities online. Considering that countries do not have to be equally efficient in all aspects of R&D, overall model as well as two specialised models (patent oriented and article oriented) are presented. Results of this study indicate that more than one-half of observed countries are R&D inefficient. Additionally, countries are in general more efficient when it comes to article orientation, rather than when it comes to patent orientation. In stage 2 of the analysis, countries are clustered into three groups based on the efficiency results of two specialised models obtained in stage 1 in order to identify characteristics of selected European countries based on their R&D orientation. The findings from this research can serve policy makers from European countries in providing directions for required efforts to enhance R&D efficiency.Rad vrednuje relativnu efikasnost istraživanja i razvoja europskih zemalja koristeći analizu omeđivanja podataka na uzorku od 34 europske zemlje. Istraživanje i razvoj važan su pokretač gospodarskog rasta, a budući da su resursi koje ima na raspolaganju ograničeni, njihovo učinkovito korištenje postaje sve važnije. To se dodatno ističe u današnje vrijeme kada se svijet suočava s globalnom pandemijom koja je dovela do toga da se je veliki dio poslovanja prebacio na on-line. S obzirom na to da države ne moraju biti podjednako učinkovite u svim aspektima istraživanja i razvoja, predstavljen je cjelokupni model kao i dva specijalizirana modela (orijentirana na patente i na publikacije). Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da je više od polovice promatranih zemalja neefikasno u području istraživanja i razvoja. Uz to, države su općenito efikasnije kada je riječ o usmjerenju na publikacije, a manje kada je riječ o orijentaciji na patente. U drugoj fazi analize, zemlje su grupirane u tri skupine na temelju rezultata efikasnosti dvaju specijaliziranih modela dobivenih u fazi 1. To je napravljeno kako bi se identificirale karakteristike odabranih europskih zemalja na temelju njihove orijentacije na istraživanje i razvoj. Rezultati ovog istraživanja mogu poslužiti kreatorima politika europskih zemalja u pružanju usmjerenja za potrebne napore za povećanje efikasnosti u području istraživanja i razvoja

Factors affecting relative efficiency of higher education institutions of economic orientation

This paper investigates the factors that influence the relative efficiency of higher education institutions of economic orientation. The empirical analysis is carried out on 31 higher educational institutions of economic orientation in Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in three phases. In the first phase, relative efficiency of observed institutions is evaluated for three main areas of their activities: teaching, research and international activity. In the second phase, higher education institutions are clustered based on relative efficiency results of each individual area of their activity. In the last, third phase, key association factors of a particular cluster are determined using univariate binary logistic regression and odds for transition to a more favourable cluster are defined. The results indicate that odds for positioning in the more efficient cluster are higher in public institutions than in private ones, in institutions with more published professional papers, in those with higher expenditures per faculty, the larger number of enrolled students per faculty, as well as in those with more visiting researchers. The proposed model can serve as a design guideline for education policies and as a moderation guideline for national authorities

Evaluation of efficiency and effectiveness of higher education institutions for quality enhancement

Ispred visokoobrazovnih institucija, kako svijeta, tako i Europske unije stavljaju se sve veći zahtjevi po pitanju kvalitete kojima Republika Hrvatska, kao članica EU također mora udovoljiti. Iako se kvaliteta stavlja na središnje mjesto, ona je sa znanstvenog aspekta na području Hrvatske i zemalja u regiji nedovoljno istražena. U ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji kvaliteta je istražena vrednovanjem efikasnosti i efektivnosti kao njezine dvije temeljne odrednice, a istraživanje je provedeno putem dva postavljena modela, empirijskog za određivanje efikasnosti i teorijskog za određivanje efektivnosti. U doktorskoj disertaciji empirijskim modelom vrednuje se relativna efikasnost visokoobrazovnih institucija ekonomskog usmjerenja. Rezultatima modela dobio se uvid u rezultate relativne efikasnosti promatranih institucija po specifičnim područjima njihova djelovanja te bitne čimbenike koji na nju djeluju. Subjekti vrednovanja su 31 javna i privatna visokoobrazovna institucija ekonomskog usmjerenja (fakulteti, odjeli sveučilišta, odjeli veleučilišta i visoke škole) s područja Hrvatske, Slovenije i Bosne i Hercegovine. Temeljem spoznaja dobivenih iz analize moći će se djelovati na izvore neefikasnosti svake pojedine institucije, kao što će se moći utvrditi i čimbenici bitni za pripadnost pojedinom klasteru formiranom temeljem ostvarenih rezultata relativne efikasnosti. Analiza je provedena u tri međusobno povezane faze. U prvoj fazi su postavljena i testirana četiri modela za koja se analizom omeđivanja podataka utvrdio rezultat relativne efikasnosti visokoobrazovnih institucija ekonomskog usmjerenja. Tri modela vrednuju relativnu efikasnost promatranih institucija kroz tri temeljna područja njihova djelovanja (nastavna, znanstvena i međunarodna djelatnost), a četvrti model vrednuje relativnu efikasnost ukupnog poslovanja. Utvrđeni su izvori neefikasnosti za svaki pojedini model i predložene smjernice za potencijalna poboljšanja kojima bi se isti otklonili. Nakon prve faze provedena je druga faza u kojoj su klaster analizom, temeljem rezultata relativne efikasnosti svakog pojedinog područja, visokoobrazovne institucije podijeljene u dvije skupine, odnosno klastere. Nakon druge faze pristupilo se trećoj fazi u kojoj su univarijantnom binarnom logističkom regresijom identificirani ključni čimbenici pripadnosti pojedinom klasteru te su temeljem istih utvrđene vjerojatnosti prelaska u povoljniji klaster. Na ovaj način postavljen model pruža odmak od standardnih modela jer omogućuje sveobuhvatan i generalan uvid u identificiranje čimbenika bitnih za pripadnost određenom klasteru formiranom temeljem rezultata relativne efikasnosti svakog područja djelovanja visokoobrazovnih institucija. Pored empirijskog modela postavljen je i teorijski okvir za vrednovanje efektivnosti visokoobrazovnih institucija. Efektivnost institucije predstavlja proces kojim institucija definira koliko uspješno je ostvarila zadanu misiju. Pritom je ispravno definiranje misije kao i samih ishoda koje je potrebno ostvariti ključno za ostvarivanje više razine efektivnosti. Ukoliko se koncept institucionalne efektivnosti primijeni na primjeru visokoobrazovnih institucija, važno je prije svega utvrditi što je bitno, definirati ishode, pratiti ih i koristiti rezultate za ostvarivanje efektivnijeg poslovanja. S obzirom da je nužan preduvjet ostvarivanja efektivnosti ostvarivanje efikasnosti iz razdoblja u razdoblje, pri definiranju ciljeva i provođenju radnji za njihovo ostvarenje treba u obzir uzeti rezultate relativne efikasnosti dobivene empirijskim modelom vrednovanja, kao i prijedloge za njezino poboljšanje. Iako su modeli konstruirani i primijenjeni konkretno na visokoobrazovnim institucijama ekonomskog usmjerenja, uz određene modifikacije, mogli bi se primijeniti i na visokoobrazovnim institucijama drugih usmjerenja, kako u Hrvatskoj, tako i šire.The higher education institutions in the European Union are facing more and more challenging demands regarding quality achievement. Croatia, as a EU member state, must comply to this demands. Although quality is crucial for higher education institutions, it is not sufficiently studied in Croatia and countries of the region, from a scientific point of view. In this doctoral thesis, quality of higher education is studied through the evaluation of its two basic principles: efficiency and effectiveness. The research is carried out with two models: empirical to assess the efficiency and theoretical to assess the effectiveness. The empirical model evaluates the relative efficiency of higher education institutions of economic orientation. The model results offered an overview about the relative efficiency of the observed institutions according to their areas of activities and factors affecting it. The subjects of evaluation are 31 public and private higher education institutions of economic affiliation (faculties, university departments, departments of polytechnics and private colleges) from Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based on the obtained results it will be possible to influence the sources of inefficiency in each of the observed institution. Also, from results of relative efficiency, it will be possible to identify the factors that determine the position of the institutions in the cluster. The analysis was carried out through three phases. In the first phase, four models are tested using data envelopment analysis. The results of the first phase are relative efficiency scores for higher education institutions of economic orientation. In the first phase, three models evaluate the relative efficiency of the observed institutions within three main areas of their activities (teaching, research and international activity), while the fourth model evaluates the relative efficiency of the overall business. Sources of inefficiency are identified for each model and guidelines for the potential improvement are suggested. In the second phase, cluster analysis was used. Based on the results of relative efficiency for each area of activity, higher education institutions are divided into two clusters. In the third phase, univariate binary logistic regression was used to determine the key association factors of a particular cluster. Based on these factors, the probability of transition to a more favorable cluster was defined. Unlike standard models, the empirical model gives different points of view as it offers both, a comprehensive and a general insight into identifying the essential factors for positioning inside a specific cluster. The clusters are based on results of relative efficiency for different areas of activities of the observed higher education institutions. In addition to the empirical model, a theoretical framework for evaluating the effectiveness of higher education institutions was presented. The effectiveness of an institution is the process of determining how successfully the institution was in achieving its mission. To achieve a higher level of effectiveness, it is important to properly define the mission and the outcomes. If the concept of institutional effectiveness is applied on higher education institutions, it is important to decide what is important, to define the outcomes, to monitor them and to use the results to achieve a more effective activity. Given that the prerequisite for achieving effectiveness is having an efficient activity over an observed period, the results of relative efficiency should be taken into account when defining the objectives and the actions for its achievement. Although the empirical and the theoretical model are designed and applied specifically to higher education institutions of economic orientation, with certain modifications, they could be applied to higher education institutions of different orientation, both in Croatia and in other countries

Insight into students’ perception of teaching: Case of economic higher education institution

The aim of this paper is to analyse students’ perceptions of teaching from three different perspectives: students’ interest, teacher and course assessment. We use ordinal logistic model to quantify the effects of grade, pass rate and class size on results of evaluation of undergraduate and graduate courses held during the summer and winter semesters in the academic year 2016/2017. The data were collected using a standardised online questionnaire. Research results indicate that on the observed economic HEI, both teacher and course assessment is positively and significantly affected by student’s achieved grade, and by class size. Moreover, we find large and significant difference between students’ interest in study programmes delivered in Croatian and those delivered in English. Students enrolled in English study programme value pass rate over grade, as opposed to students enrolled in Croatian study programme. We attribute this to the different motivation of students, that is, students enrolled in English programme are more prone to participation in student mobility programmes

Relevant areas and indicators of quality in higher education institutions: Evaluating the system of higher education in economics

The main goal of this research is to define the relevant areas of activities for teachers and other stakeholders involved in assuring quality in higher education of the Republic of Croatia and to establish the relevance of their inclusion into the research model. Individual areas of activity have been confirmed based on the opinions expressed by experts from relevant institutions in the Republic of Croatia. The authors used the budget allocation method to aggregate expert opinion, assign weights to variables and define the aggregate index. Bootstrap testing of the hypothesis of arithmetic mean justified the inclusion of relevant areas of HEI quality into the model: teaching (X1), scientific research (X2), professional engagement (X3), participation in faculty and university bodies (X4) and support service activities (X5). Expert opinions have generated the following weights for individual quality areas: w1= 0.42; w2=0.27; w3=0.14; w4=0.08; w5=0.09. Given the specific characteristics of different institutions within a university community, this paper focuses on institutions of higher economic education of the Republic of Croatia. Nevertheless, it is expected that, with appropriate changes in certain default attributes, the model could be widely applied in higher education institutions of other orientations

The Drivers Behind Household and Corporate Non-performing Loans Ratio: The Case of Croatia

U radu se analizira odnos između udjela problematičnih kredita u ukupnim kreditima i makroekonomskih varijabli u razdoblju od 2001. do 2014. godine, na primjeru Hrvatske. Kako bi se ispitale međusobne sličnosti i razlike, primjenom modela vektorske korekcije pogreške (VECM) provedena je odvojena empirijska analiza za dvije različite kategorije korisnika kredita (kućanstva i gospodarski subjekti). Rezultati pokazuju da na udio problematičnih kredita u ukupnim kreditima snažno utječe pad gospodarstva mjeren kretanjem realnog BDP-a i indeksa industrijske proizvodnje. Time se potvrđuje značajan utjecaj ekonomskih ciklusa na sposobnost kućanstava i gospodarskih subjekata da servisiraju svoje obveze, osobito tijekom recesije. Nezaposlenost se pokazala kao signifikantna varijabla za gospodarske subjekte, čije je kretanje istosmjerno s udjelom problematičnih kredita u ukupnim kredima. Utjecaj kamatnih stopa na udio problematičnih kredita u ukupnim kreditima za obje kategorije korisnika kredita različit je u odnosu na duljinu promatranog razdoblja. U dugom roku postoji istosmjerna povezanost s obzirom na to da više kamatne stope pogoršavaju sposobnost dužnika za otplatu kredita i uvjete refinanciranja. Za razliku od dugoročnog učinka, kratkoročan je utjecaj kamatnih stopa suprotan jer više kamatne stope destimuliraju ulaganja u rizične i manje profitabilne pothvate.We analyze the relationship between non-performing loans (NPL) ratio and Croatia’s macroeconomic performance in the 4Q2001-1Q2014 period. Analysis is performed separately for two different loan categories (households and corporate) in order to examine their similarities and differences. Our results show that the NPL ratio for both categories is strongly affected by the economic slowdown measured by the real GDP and industrial production index. This confirms the significant effect of economic cycles on households’ and companies’ ability to service their liabilities, especially during recession. Unemployment rate is found to be significant for corporate sector and is positively related to corporate NPL ratio. Interest rates have mixed implications on the NPL for both categories depending on the duration of the observation period. In the long run we find a positive relationship between interest rates and NPL ratio, meaning that in the long run higher interest rates worsen the debtors’ loan repayment capacity and refinancing terms. In the short run we find a negative relationship between interest rates and NPL ratio which can be explained by the fact that higher interest rates discourage investments in risky and less profitable ventures

THE PARADIGM OF PATIENT-CENTERED CARE IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH DECISION-MAKING

Equitable provision of health care has been a longstanding goal in many European countries. Provision of such universal coverage comes with the problem of growing health expenditures that is recognized globally. This article argues that patient-centered care (PCC), which has become a new promising paradigm for cost-effective provision of health care, should also become the new paradigm in the public health decision-making. PCC relates to the notion that patients’ preferences, objectives and values should be considered in the process of decision-making and delivery of health care. If we apply the PCC paradigm to the public health issue, it can be argued that any public health program or health policy should be created and evaluated considering patients’ preferences. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to elaborate the importance of preference elicitation in health care decision-making as a part of PCC

THE PARADIGM OF PATIENT-CENTERED CARE IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH DECISION-MAKING

Equitable provision of health care has been a longstanding goal in many European countries. Provision of such universal coverage comes with the problem of growing health expenditures that is recognized globally. This article argues that patient-centered care (PCC), which has become a new promising paradigm for cost-effective provision of health care, should also become the new paradigm in the public health decision-making. PCC relates to the notion that patients’ preferences, objectives and values should be considered in the process of decision-making and delivery of health care. If we apply the PCC paradigm to the public health issue, it can be argued that any public health program or health policy should be created and evaluated considering patients’ preferences. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to elaborate the importance of preference elicitation in health care decision-making as a part of PCC

THE PARADIGM OF PATIENT-CENTERED CARE IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH DECISION-MAKING

Equitable provision of health care has been a longstanding goal in many European countries. Provision of such universal coverage comes with the problem of growing health expenditures that is recognized globally. This article argues that patient-centered care (PCC), which has become a new promising paradigm for cost-effective provision of health care, should also become the new paradigm in the public health decision-making. PCC relates to the notion that patients’ preferences, objectives and values should be considered in the process of decision-making and delivery of health care. If we apply the PCC paradigm to the public health issue, it can be argued that any public health program or health policy should be created and evaluated considering patients’ preferences. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to elaborate the importance of preference elicitation in health care decision-making as a part of PCC