Why Eastern Europe dominates Croatian exports?

Exports are a crucial contribution to the competitiveness of post-transition countries. Accordingly, Croatia expresses a need for stronger integration into the world economy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate reasons for which Croatian exporters are most prevalent on the market of Eastern Europe. Deciding on internationalization depends on various factors which are measured by using CAGE (cultural, administrative, geographical and economic) distance framework which identifies cultural, administrative, geographical and economic differences. Two basic goals are set: (i) identify how managers of Croatian exporting companies perceive the degree of export obstacles between Eastern Europe and Croatia in relation to other markets; (ii) empirically and statistically determine the effect of export obstacles in Eastern Europe on the export results of Croatian companies. Research comprises original datasets on attitudes of Croatian managers according to distances between Croatia and Eastern Europe using the CAGE distance framework. Research models, with the export activity of the firm as a dependent variable and the above-mentioned attitudes of managers as independent variables, are created using multiple linear regressions, and a stepwise approach to selecting variables. The results indicate that cultural and geographic differences have no impact on export performance. On the other hand, some administrative differences adversely affect export performance, while economic differences have a positive effect on the share of exports. The fundamental restriction of this research is the cross-sectional approach. Additional insight can be achieved by conducting in-depth interviews which in turn could be the starting point for future research

THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN CRISIS AND THE ENERGY MARKET

The paper deals with the current crisis, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and events on the energy market. Emphasis is placed on the European Union since Russia is of strategic importance in the trade of major energy products. Namely, the majority of Russian energy exports on a daily basis is directed towards Europe. Nevertheless, Russia\u27s aggressive venture was strongly condemned by the member states of the European Union, which are also members of NATO. Guided by the purpose of a peace alliance, despite energy connectivity, the European Union introduced a series of restrictive measures. Thus, it took an economically quite hostile position. In response to the restrictions, Russia predictably manipulated the energy supply chain and threatened Europe\u27s energy survival. The European Union faced enormous challenges due to disturbed peace, social insecurity, energy uncertainty, inflation, threatened business and the gap between supply and demand. Therefore, this paper takes an analytical approach to this problem and analyses potential strategic solutions for both Europe and Russia. The end of the war is indefinite and still invisible, but what is doubtless is that the consequences in energy flows, strategic approaches and trends in the energy aspect will change forever

Privatization in Croatia: Standpoint of Croatian Citizens in 1998 and 2018

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\u27 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

UTJECAJ RUSKO-UKRAJINSKE KRIZE NA OPSKRBU EUROPE PLEMENITIM METALIMA

The paper deals with the issue of the last global crisis caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the disruptions it caused on the precious metals market. A global imbalance was caused accompanied by significant disruptions in the supply chains and inflation. Additionally, the consequences of such an event will be felt for many years even after the end of the war. Considering the fact that production of Russia and its export are crucial for the supply of the European market, special emphasizes has been placed on Europe. Through the work, a detailed analysis of the previous import of precious metals into the selected European countries was made, fluctuations in the prices of precious metals were analysed, as well as the reasons for price fluctuations. Also, projections of compensation plans for Russian imports, as the main distributor so far, are presented, along with projections of further price movements. The aforementioned war pointed to a series of failures in the organization and structure of business in European countries, which were forced to restructure after many years of inertia and inactivity. This is the crucial strategic way if they want to survive the crisis caused by the war. Certainly, in the most ungrateful position are the countries whose most important industries are largely dependent on the import of precious metals. Nevertheless, the projections are positive, and it is estimated that Europe should get out of the crisis in the short term with proper investments and carefully planned strategies.Rad se bavi problematikom posljednje globalne krize uzrokovane ruskom agresijom na Ukrajinu i poremećajima koje je ista izazvala na tržištu plemenitih metala. Globalna neravnoteža popraćena je značajnim poremećajima u opskrbnim lancima i inflacijom. Dodatno, posljedice ovakvih događaja osjećat će se dugi niz godina i nakon završetka rata. S obzirom da su ruska proizvodnja i izvoz ključni za opskrbu europskog tržišta, poseban naglasak stavljen je na Europu. Kroz rad je napravljena detaljna analiza dosadašnjeg uvoza plemenitih metala u odabrane europske zemlje, analizirana su kretanja cijena plemenitih metala, kao i razlozi oscilacija cijena. Također, prikazane su projekcije kompenzacijskih planova za ruski uvoz, kao dosadašnjeg glavnog distributera, te projekcije daljnjeg kretanja cijena. Spomenuti rat ukazao je na niz propusta u organizaciji i strukturi poslovanja europskih zemalja koje su, nakon dugogodišnje inertnosti i neaktivnosti, prisiljene na restrukturiranje. To je krucijalni strateški izbor ako žele preživjeti krizu izazvanu ratom. Svakako, u najnezahvalnijoj poziciji su zemlje čije najvažnije industrije uvelike ovise o uvozu plemenitih metala. Ipak, projekcije su pozitivne, te se procjenjuje da bi Europa, uz odgovarajuća ulaganja i pomno planirane strategije, nezadugo mogla izaći iz krize

Export Activity of Croatian Companies: Does Innovation Matter?

The Republic of Croatia is geographically part of Eastern Europe. On this market, Croatia has accomplished the best results in export. The structure and the amount of foreign trade of the national economy depend on technological achievements, organizational superiority and managerial skills, and on that basis, lower costs, with an emphasis on high quality and differentiation of products and services. Following the aforementioned, in the modern economy, innovation often represents the key competence of a company. However, the complex nature of innovation is evident in the theoretical approach to innovation, contradictory results of studies and distinctive analyses of the impact of innovation on certain economic aspects. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to examine the innovations of goods and services in service of increasing the export in Eastern Europe on the sample of Croatian companies engaged in export activities. Results of the survey showed that innovation activities of companies, directed at the Eastern European market, have a negative impact on export activities in these markets. This result indicates actually that Croatian companies participate in foreign markets with already tested, wellestablished and well-known products. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

EXPORT AS A SUBJECT OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN REPUBLIC OF CROATIA: 2007-2017

Izvoz je posljedica međunarodne podjele rada i specijalizacije zemalja u proizvodnji dobara i usluga koja omogućuje poslovnim entitetima generiranje financijskih sredstava i kompetentnog ljudskog kapitala. Kretanje izvoza uvelike se objašnjava načelom komparativnih prednosti. Naime, svako nacionalno gospodarstvo teži izvozu proizvoda u čijoj je proizvodnji učinkovitije od svog vanjskotrgovinskog partnera. Ovisno o tehničkom napretku, strukturi i brzini rasta pojedinih zemalja, mijenjaju se i njihove komparativne prednosti što ukazuje na nestabilnost međunarodne dinamike i trenutačne hijerarhijske raspodjele. Upravo zato, izvoz predstavlja vrlo važan čimbenik gospodarskog razvoja kojem se i sa znanstvenog aspekta pridaje visoka razina pozornosti. Autori u radu obrađuju tematiku izvoznih aktivnosti Republike Hrvatske u posljednjem desetljeću, tj. u razdoblju od 2007. do 2017. Studijskom analizom, uočen je značajan interes domaćih znanstvenika za proučavanjem izvoza s različitih aspekata kao i kontinuitet u objavljivanju radova kojima izvoz predstavlja okosnicu analitike.Export is the result of the international division of labour and countries’ specialization in production of goods and services that enable business entities to generate financial resources and competent human capital. Trends in export are usually explained by the principles of comparative advantages. Namely, every national economy strives to export products whose production is more efficient than its foreign trade partner. Depending on the technical progress, structure and growth of individual countries, their comparative advantages are also amended. That indicates the instability of international dynamics and the current hierarchical distribution. That is precisely why exports represent a very important factor in economic development, which is also highly regarded from a scientific point of view. The authors discuss the issue of export activities of the Republic of Croatia in the last decade, in the period 2007-2017. The study analyses the significant interest of domestic scientists for studying exports from different aspects as well as continuity in publishing works that export is the backbone of analytics

Dizajn maltera za konzervaciju - Rimska granica na Dunavu 2000 godina kasnije

Dizajn maltera za konzervaciju – Rimska granica na Dunavu 2000 godina kasnije (Mortar Design for Conservation – Danu be Roman Fron ti er 2000 Years After: MoDeCo2000) je naučnoistraživački projekat u čijem su fokusu istraživanja rimskih maltera koji potiču iz građevina vojnih utvrđenja i naselja na području dunavskog limesa na teritoriji današnje Republike Srbije. Nosilac projekta je Arheološki institut (dr Emilija Nikolić – rukovodilac projekta i dr Mladen Jovičić) a sprovodi ga zajedno sa Tehnološkim fakultetom Univerziteta u Novom Sadu (dr Snežana Vučetić i dr Jonjaua Ranogajec) i Institutom za ispitivanje materijala, Beograd (Ljiljana Miličić i Ivana Delić Nikolić). Projekat traje od 2020. do 2022. godine i finansira se iz programa PROMIS, Fonda za nauku Republike Srbije

Investigation of Mortars Technology Applied at the Borders of the Roman Empire

The results of Roman mortars' characterisation of the former Danube Limes in Serbia are reported in this paper. The following procedures were used: detailed diagnosis of the defined archaeological sites, in situ characterisation of the building materials, sampling, laboratory analyses, interpretation and utilisation of the obtained results as well as up-to-date literature review of other research groups in the field. These procedures were defined and presented based on the results of the scientific project MoDeCo2000: Mortar Design for Conservation – Danube Roman Frontier 2000 Years after, financed through the programme PROMI

Muscle loss in aging population

Sarcopenia is a generic term for the loss of skeletal muscle mass, quality and performance associated with normal aging that can lead to frailty in the elderly. It cannot be considered a disease or a condition that has a clear diagnostic marker. However, the clearly is a decline in the average muscle mass and performance associated with senescence. Because of the great increase in the proportion of the population living long enough that frailty becomes a significant problem, there is much interest in achieving a better scientific understanding of sarcopenia. The ageing of the European population is a major public health problem for most of the industrialized western countries, and represents both a social and an economic burden for the European population