PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE CITY OF ZAGREB

The pandemic caused by the coronavirus has shaken the entire world. It has, like no pandemic before, deeply impacted the mobility of the population on a global scale. Almost all the member states, including the Republic of Croatia, had public transport services put on hold and the mobility of the people who travel abroad was possible only under specific conditions. Public transport represents an extremely important segment of each society, and its role has been gaining importance in recent years since sustainable transport is in everybody’s best interest. Even in these difficult times, decision-makers need to be aware of the fact that an efficient system of public transport is of great importance, and they need to find a solution to the problem that arose because many have lost trust in the public transport system for fear of their health. The findings of the studies so far have confirmed that there have been changes happening in the transport behavior and that it is crucial to revise the existing strategies of public transport development to regain trust and to ensure the conditions for sustainable transport. In Croatia’s capital, a drop of the number of passengers in all segments of urban transit has been recorded, but the encouraging fact is that it is smaller than in other EU member states. To be able to operate at levels from before the pandemic, the authorities in the City of Zagreb will have to continue with the precautionary measures for minimizing the risk of transmission of the virus and with informing the public on a high level of safety. Moreover, the crucial action would have to be encouraging the tourists to return because they represent an extremely important factor in using the funicular

S-COMMERCE: HOW TO TURN # INTO $

First it was brick and mortar, then it came Internet and retail went online. Just as retailers became accustomed to possibilities of e-commerce, customers switched to their smartphones and m-commerce was commenced. With web advancement into web 2.0, social media gained new dimension thus enabling the emergence of social commerce or s-commerce. Nowadays, more and more consumers utilize social media in purchasing process, from recognizing the need to actual purchase and post purchase evaluation. Retailer who quickly adopts social media can gain multiple benefits. Moreover, if their target customers are young consumers, s-commerce is no longer an option but a must in order to strengthen their brand, tighten the relationship with customers and enhance sales. The purpose of the paper is to present major opportunities of social media for retailers, introduce the new trend in retailing and outline major drivers of s-commerce. The value of paper lies in numerous managerial implications that contribute to better understanding of the way today’s young consumers shop

Empirical research on user satisfaction with the transport and the supporting services at Croatian airports

Air traffic is a very important traffic branch, since it provides the possibility of fast travelling long distances between countries and contributes to the development of economy, trade and tourism. The number of long-distance travels has been increasing, people have started to travel more and therein, the importance of air traffic has been growing. The Republic of Croatia has to take advantage of its favourable geographical position at the crossroads of West and East Europe, which facilitates the development of air traffic. Airports have major significance for the development of air traffic, and it is of great importance that they provide high quality services, i.e. that their users are satisfied. With the aim of establishing the level of user satisfaction with transportation and the supporting services in Croatian airports, an empirical research via an online survey has been conducted, where the respondents were asked about how often they used the airports in the Republic of Croatia, their supporting services, the importance of the factors influencing the decision-making on buying the ticket for the specific airline and overall satisfaction with the services in Croatian airports. The results of the primary research suggest that the users, when deciding on buying the ticket, put the price and safety first. The users are not entirely satisfied with the price-quality ratio and are not content with the prices of the parking in airports and with the airport facilities that provide hospitality services. Furthermore, it has been established that user satisfaction with transportation and the supporting services can be perceived through three factors: 1) additional services; 2) user satisfaction with additional services; 3) satisfaction with the staff and prices of additional services. The paper also analysed user satisfaction with transportation and the supporting services considering socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. The key limitation of the research paper is the impossibility of conducting the research on site, at Croatian airports, where the users have “contact with the service”, especially the supporting services. It is highly plausible that conducting research at the airports would contribute to more representative research findings and recommendations for the management

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH SERVICES OF LOW-COST CARRIERS AT PULA AND ZADAR AIRPORTS

Air transport is the newest form of traffic branch and, in today’s modern conditions, it advances very quickly. Basically, air transport provides passenger transportation, especially to far-away destinations, because of its greatest advantage - speed of travel. Due to globalization, the air transport market is characterized by strong competition, and the liberalization of the Croatian air transport industry has contributed to the increased utilization of international passenger transport. Precisely as a result of the aforementioned influences, air transport requirements in Croatia are experiencing higher growth. The dependence on air transport and tourism is increasingly necessary and of great economic importance. With the emergence of low-fare airlines on the Croatian market, passengers have more choices and opportunities than ever before. With their presence on the market, low-cost carriers have greatly influenced the air transport market and contributed to the growth of passenger traffic. This paper aims to explore passengers’ satisfaction with low-cost carriers. The results of primary research show that passengers who travel with low-cost carriers place high importance on pricing, ticket availability and destination availability, and are satisfied with the service they receive in comparison to the ticket price. Passengers place importance on how quickly they can buy tickets online and the availability of various payment options

FREIGHT VOLATILITY IN CONTAINER MARITIME TRANSPORT DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

pritisaka. Iako se disrupcije u opskrbnim lancima u pravilu javljaju povremeno, imaju velik utjecaj na porast troškova te stvaranje snažnih poremećaja u poslovanju. Pandemija COVID-19 uzdrmala je svjetski opskrbni lanac kako ranije nije viđeno. Na tako iznenadan šok adekvatno nisu mogla odgovoriti čak ni poduzeća s uspostavljenim visoko kvalitetnim sustavima upravljanja rizikom. Godinama se najveći dio svjetske robne razmjene odvija pomorskim putem ponajprije zbog učinkovitosti te ekonomičnosti koju isti nudi. Uslijed pandemije COVID-19 došlo je do značajnijih promjena na tržištu što je rezultiralo ranije nezabilježenim rastom vozarina u kontejnerskom pomorskom prometu. Rast vozarina na ovom tržištu predstavlja globalni problem jer će se isti, razmjerno o uključenosti pojedinih potrošačkih dobara u opskrbne lance, odraziti i na njihove cijene. Oporavak cjelokupnog svjetskog gospodarstva je ugrožen ovako visokim vozarinama u kontejnerskom pomorskom prometu, a i dodatno ugrožava stabilnost opskrbnih lanaca. Stoga je u fokusu ovog rada volatilnost vozarina na kontejnerskom pomorskom tržištu koja se javila uslijed pandemije COVID-19.dangers. Although the supply chain disruptions happen to occur from time to time, they deeply impact the increase of costs and create strong disturbances in business activities. The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the global supply chain like nothing has before. Not even those companies with highly advanced systems for risk management could not respond adequately to such a sudden blow. For years, the majority of world trade has been carried out via the sea, mostly due to the efficiency and cost-effectiveness this mode of transport offers. The market has been affected with a great deal of changes prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the maritime shipping rates growing to unprecedented levels. The growth of the freight rates on this market represents a global issue, because it is influencing the prices of different consumer goods, relative to their inclusion in the supply chains. Such high rates in maritime shipping calls the recovery of the entire global economy into question and additionally, endangers the stability of the supply chains. In line with this, the focus of this paper is the volatility of the shipping rates in maritime container freight market that has occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The Interdependence of Institutional Framework and Business Success of Internationally Oriented Croatian Road Freight Transporters

The road freight industry is a structurally competitive sector which is oriented towards distribution, logistics and basic physical transport. Road freight transport represents the leading transport branch in the European Union, and the same situation is on Croatian transport market. The activities of the Croatian road freight transporters on the foreign market have been continually increasing. This paper aimed to analyse the need for the influence of the institutional framework on the business success of Croatian road freight transporters. Special attention in conducted primary research has been given to examining the relationship between the distribution of the CEMT permits and business success. The results have confirmed that institutional conditions are essential for interpreting the changes in the business success of Croatian road freight transporters. The companies that stated how the CEMT permits and bilateral distribution system negatively influences their business have the lowest average values of the profit (loss) in relation to the assets and the capital. It is crucial to provide more CEMT and bilateral permits for Croatian road freight transporters in the future. It is necessary to coordinate the legislators with the practice to ensure that the amendments that will be adopted in the future also ensure sufficient conditions for successful business

Characteristics and the Overview of Air Traffic in the Republic of Croatia

As one of the largest and most important industries in the world, the air industry’s impact on economic development, living standard and productivity in the Republic of Croatia has been significant. Air transport is of high significance for the economic development of the Republic of Croatia because its tremendous importance in the development of one of the most important economic branches in Croatia – tourism. Due to the liberalization of the air transportation market in the European Union the growth of low-cost carriers has been noteworthy. The aforementioned liberalization has had a significant impact on the Croatian air transportation market, especially on the presence of low-cost carriers in the coastal Croatian airports. Based on the secondary data analysis, the purpose of this paper is to underline the characteristics of the Croatian air transportation market, and as well to analyse the importance and the role of low-cost carriers in the traffic of all Croatian airports. Due to this development, a significant increase has been noted in the passenger air traffic and as well in the number of low-cost carriers that are offering their services on the Croatian market