Značaj preduzetništva za ruralni razvoj Republike Srbije

For a number of years there has been an ongoing process of migration from rural areas to urban industrial centers. A large and strategically important areas remain uncovered with population, and their resources unused. At the same time, development of urban centers leads to excessive concentration of population and industry, which produces negative consequences in the economic, social, spatial and ecological spheres. Therefore, Serbia’s economic policy should focus on developing rural areas and on encouraging better use of its natural resources. Agriculture and rural tourism should be the pillars of economic development and the main source of its competitiveness in domestic and international markets. The establishment of institutions, rules and policies that guarantee equal access to knowledge, capital, technology and other services is a prerequisite for efficient and sustainable transformation of rural areas. Clustering of small and medium enterprises and the establishment of cooperation based on trust and good business practices would increase food production, its quality and competitiveness of exports. Moreover, additional activities such as marketing, distribution, transport, etc. would also develop and that would have a huge impact on employment growth. Because of all these advantages for society, enterpreneurship should become the key factor for better rural development

SPACE Analysis as a Tool for Internal Development Factors Measurement within Companies

This paper presents the analysis of internal development factors in manufacturing and services companies from the selected SEE countries, by using strategic planning model - modified SPACE (Strategic Position and ACtion Evaluation) analysis. The advantage of the SPACE model, as A. Rowe defined it, is a possibility to apply it with the excellent results when analysing companies in highly developed countries as well as in developing countries. The structure of the differences among manufacturing and service companies was performed using canonical discriminative analysis. The most significant development factors were chosen from the modified SPACE strategic planning model and correlated with companies’ internal development factors. Research results indicate that service companies perceive internal development factors more importantly for the market successes than manufacturing ones. At the same time, they experienced more aggressive strategic posture

The Challenges While Measuring Enterprise Innovative Activities - the Case from a Developing Country

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME sector) carry a significant component of an overall economy performance in both developed and developing countries. This paper presents the results of innovation activities analysis on a given sample of SMEs from the Republic of Serbia. By implementing a complex questionnaire for assessing innovation activities authors investigate what innovation activities are conducted in sampled enterprises. Results are processed with Cochran Q, McNemar and statistical significance tests and indicate what particular innovation activities measures enterprises focus on, as well as what measures are considered as relevant by enterprises but are not used. At the same time, the factor analysis was performed to test the quality and structure of the questionnaire itself, namely whether measures of achieved innovation performances of enterprises are properly divided into categories. Additionally, specific innovation activities were analyzed and their implementation modalities by the sampled enterprises. The results contribute in the domain of better understanding of innovation activities measurement within SMEs coming from developing countries. Based on the research results, we got the insight into specific innovation activities SMEs perform, as well as key innovation performance indicators SMEs use

The importance of academic new ventures for sustainable regional development

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The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction in the Relationship between FWAs and Turnover Intentions

The problem of employee turnover has been investigated in recent years because more and more countries and organizations are faced with the lack of an adequate labor force. The new generation of employees (Y and Z generations), contemporary political, social, and economic challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic have raised new issues in human resource management (HRM), especially concerning turnover intentions. In such situations, companies need to create working conditions that will attract, motivate, and retain employees. One possible response is the usage of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) as a more flexible way of organizing traditional jobs and working positions; these arrangements allow employees more possibilities to maintain work–life balance. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between FWAs and turnover intentions of employees, and the mediating effect of job satisfaction. The theoretical research is based on the literature review. The empirical part of the paper is based on the analysis of a sample of 219 employees from organizations in Serbia. The authors used descriptive statistics and the PLS-SEM method to investigate proposed relations. The results pointed to the positive effects of FWAs and job satisfaction on turnover intentions. In addition, there is an indirect effect of FWAs on turnover intentions through job satisfaction. FWAs may contribute to increasing job satisfaction and, in turn, job satisfaction contributes to decreasing turnover intentions. Job satisfaction mediates this relationship, and employees that are offered FWAs may experience a lower level of turnover intentions when they are satisfied on the job

Entrepreneurial Orientation of Public Universities in Republic of Serbia-Empirical Study

This study explores the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on the activities of state universities in the Republic of Serbia. Using the ENTRE-U scale, the researchers have graded the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of the employees at state universities in the Republic of Serbia. In the theoretical part, the detailed literature review is provided, which contributes to a better understanding of terms like entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial university. Using data from 282 respondents who work at the state universities in the Republic of Serbia, the researchers validate the ENTRE-U questionnaire in a specific context. With this, it is proven that the ENTRE-U scale is applicable not only for developed countries but also for the developing countries, such as the Republic of Serbia. The general conclusion is that with using the ENTRE-U scale, it is possible to predict the level of innovativeness, as well as the nature of innovative activities that are conducted at state universities in the Republic of Serbia. The entrepreneurially oriented universities differ from those which lack entrepreneurial orientation by the extent of their research mobilization, unconventional approaches, the level of cooperation with industries, and the way university policies are implemented

Fostering Alliances with Customers for the Sustainable Product Creation

Our paper analyzes close collaboration between a manufacturer of domestic appliances and consumer electronics and its customers. It reflects on the inclusion of open innovation by users that is presented in the paper on the case of the development of the refrigerator door handle, with an emphasis on design and functionality. The main research question we wanted to answer was whether a buyer (customer/consumer) might actively participate in the process of a new product development. It was interesting to test it in a highly dynamic industry setup since white goods are becoming an integral part of consumers’ life style and not just a mere home appliances used for routine housekeeping tasks. Research sample includes 146 respondents. We applied the conjoint analysis and quality function deployment (QFD) in order to test and understand how customers perceive the different attributes of a new product development process

Entrepreneurial Strategic Orientation: Prerequisite for SMEs Success in IoT and Digital Transformation Sphere?

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a multidimensional construct that reflects a firm’s tendency to be innovative, proactive, and risk-taking. Previous research has demonstrated that companies with a strong EO possess a competitive advantage in the market when compared to those with a conservative approach to management. The objective of this study is to analyse the entrepreneurial orientation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using the ENTRE-U scale and to identify the dimensions of EO that are critical for achieving business success in the context of digital transformation and IoT implementation. The identification of these dimensions is facilitated through a survey method and exploratory factor analysis. After administering the ENTRE-U scale to a representative sample of SMEs that use modern technologies, such as IoT, four distinct dimensions of EO emerged. Each dimension of EO has a significant impact on firm performance. By adhering to the established EO dimensions and using the proposed methodology, managers can develop an efficient business model that aligns with the current digital market demands, enhances SMEs (survival, resilience, and sustainability), and addresses the high uncertainty prevalent in today’s business environment