Exploring the Serbian consumer attitude towards agro-food products with ethical values: organic, fair-trade and typical/traditional products

The new Millennium has seen a renewed and intensified interest in issues of business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR). This has been partly driven by a wave of concern about conduct and governance of business and partly reflects a growing interest amongst consumers, policy makers and businesses, in forms of production and consumption that are more sustainable and more ethically oriented. This is typified by growth in demand of products encompassing ethical values such as organic and Fair Trade products. However, research knowledge base about consumers and their behaviour and attitude from an ethical perspective is relatively weak. Consumer attitude to foods is mainly influenced by concerns (e.g. food safety, human health, environmental impact) and commodity attributes (e.g. quality, taste, freshness and packaging). The objective of this paper is to get an insight on Serbian consumer attitude towards agro-food products with ethical values (AFPEV) namely organic, Fair Trade and typical/traditional products. This paper is based on the literature and an online self-administered questionnaire, carried out from December 2010 through June 2011 with 104 Serbian adult consumers, dealing with understanding of and knowledge about AFP and relationships with ethical values; AFPEV buying frequency; main criteria and reasons for buying AFPEV; opinion about AFPEV price and consumer willingness to pay; potential impacts on animal health and welfare as well environmental, economic social and civic impacts of buying AFPEV; purchasing channels; and main sources of information about AFPEV. Serbian consumers have a good knowledge about AFPEV that are bought by 98% of the sample. Most of the respondents relate ethical values to the respect of environment (73.5%) and organic production (49.0%). The main reasons for buying AFPEV are quality (35%), organic certification (17%), and taste (15%). Price seems less important. The main sources of information about AFPEV are mass media, newspapers and magazines (summing up 46%). However, the majority of Serbian consumers prefer to get information directly from the supply chain actors mainly sellers and/or producers. AFPEV are bought mainly from the specialized shops (34%) and supermarkets (26%) to achieve personal satisfaction, for health, safety, natural resources conservation, and environment protection. Consumers do not always buy sustainable products as consequences of environmental concern or to benefit the community or due to personal beliefs but mainly to give priority to health. Ethical factors are important in some cases, but they may be overstated. Results indicated that most Serbian consumers perceived that AFPEV as healthier and portray a positive attitude towards AFPEV thus showing a high willingness to pay higher prices. Serbian consumers seem to have a positive attitude towards organic, fair trade and typical products due to the sustainable benefits that they can bring about. Therefore, institutional and domestic market conditions should be improved for insuring long-term market development and information campaigns should be organised to increase Serbian consumers’ awareness and consciousness and to strengthen their positive attitude towards AFPEV

Contemporary Business Issues in Malaysia: How does this “Tiger Cub” feel today?

Malaysia has played an important role in the economy of South-East Asia in last decades and is among the most successful economies in developing countries of the region. Of course, there are some concerns on the speed of growth, change and economic share of competing economies in this vital economic region. Malaysia has started new initiatives to speed up the process of growth both in economic and human capital dimensions. This is why there is a need to know more about the current status of the business ecosystem of this country. Getting a better and more comprehensive view of the business ecosystem in Malaysia guided us to a broader scope for this special issue. In this special issue, all researchers are invited to submit their research articles in different aspects of Malaysia’s business environment mainly investigating cases in Malaysia. Research paper  Keywords: Entrepreneurship; New Venture Creation; Psychology; Competencies; E-Commerce Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Salamzadeh, Y., Radovic Markovic, M., & Khajeheian, D. (2019). Contemporary Business Issues in Malaysia: How does this “Tiger Cub” feel today?, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 7(2s), 1–6.  &nbsp

Contemporary Business Issues in Malaysia: How does this “Tiger Cub” feel today?

Malaysia has played an important role in the economy of South-East Asia in last decades and is among the most successful economies in developing countries of the region. Of course, there are some concerns on the speed of growth, change and economic share of competing economies in this vital economic region. Malaysia has started new initiatives to speed up the process of growth both in economic and human capital dimensions. This is why there is a need to know more about the current status of the business ecosystem of this country. Getting a better and more comprehensive view of the business ecosystem in Malaysia guided us to a broader scope for this special issue. In this special issue, all researchers are invited to submit their research articles in different aspects of Malaysia’s business environment mainly investigating cases in Malaysia. Research paper  Keywords: Entrepreneurship; New Venture Creation; Psychology; Competencies; E-Commerce Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Salamzadeh, Y., Radovic Markovic, M., & Khajeheian, D. (2019). Contemporary Business Issues in Malaysia: How does this “Tiger Cub” feel today?, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 7(2s), 1–6.  &nbsp

Pomološke osobine ploda nekih sorti trešnje

Pomological properties of five sweet cherry cultivars, grafted on Colt rootstock, were studies in Brcko District, during 2014. year. Studies have included time of flowering and maturing, the physical properties of fruits, and susceptibility cultivars to cracking of fruits. Cultivar Sweet Heart had the greatest abundance of flowering, and, at the same time the lowest weight of fruit. The highest weight of fruit was found in cultivar Burlat, and, at the same time the earliest time of maturing. The lowest value of cracking of fruits was in cultivar Napoleon, while the highest value of cracking of fruit was in cultivar Burlat.U radu su prikazane pomološke osobine pet visokokvalitetnih sorti trešnje okalemljenih na vegetativnoj podlozi Kolt u uslovima Brčko Distrikta u toku vegetacije, 2014. godine. Od pomoloških osobina proučavane su fenološke osobine (cvetanje i zrenje), fizičke osobine ploda, kao i osetljivost proučavanih sorti prema pucanju plodova. Sorta Svit Hart je imala najobilnije cvetanje, a ujedno i najmanju masu ploda. Najveća masa ploda je zabeležena kod sorte Burlat, koja je ujedno imala i najranije vreme zrenja ploda. Najmanju vrednost indeksa pucanja ploda pokazala je sorta Napoleon, dok je najveća vrednost evidentirana kod sorte Burlat

El efecto de la convergencia de los medios de comunicación en el aprovechamiento de oportunidades empresariales

This paper sheds light on specific aspect of Media Convergence which is not only about convergence and similarity, but about divergence in different aspects and opportunities which bring up for entrepreneurial activities. Problem area of this study is to understand how media convergence provides new business opportunities in media markets and how media entrepreneurs can exploit those opportunities for proposing value to target customers. This paper follows a quantitative research design. Therefore, 119 cofounders of small and medium media firms answered an online questionnaire, and the data was analyzed by SPSS. Regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that four types of divergence, including media distribution channels, media content producers, audiences, and advertisers, affect exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities in small and medium sized media firms.Este documento arroja luz sobre aspectos específicos de la convergencia de los medios de comunicación, que se trata solamente de convergencia y similitud, sino de divergencia en diferentes aspectos y oportunidades que se presentan en las actividades empresariales. El área problemática de este estudio es comprender cómo la convergencia de los medios de comunicación brinda nuevas oportunidades de negocio en los mercados de los medios de comunicación y cómo los empresarios de los medios pueden aprovechar esas oportunidades para proponer valor a sus clientes objetivo. Este trabajo realiza un diseño de investigación cuantitativa. Por lo tanto, 119 cofundadores de pequeñas y medianas empresas de medios respondieron un cuestionario en línea, y los datos fueron analizados a través del programa estadístico SPSS. El análisis de regresión se utilizó para analizar los datos. Los hallazgos revelan que cuatro tipos de divergencias, que incluyen los canales de distribución de medios, los productores de contenido de medios, las audiencias y los anunciantes, afectan el aprovechamiento de oportunidades empresariales en pequeñas y medianas empresas de medios

Mogućnost primene okare kao sekundarne sirovine u proizvodnji hraniva za ribe

Poslednjih godina istraživanju soje poklanja se velika pažnja zbog povoljnih zdravstvenih efekata. Mnoge studije su utvrdile u zrnu soje prisustvo komponenti poput proteina, dijetalnih vlakana, masnih kiselina, izoflavona i drugih fitohemikalija, koje povoljno deluju na organizam. Sirova okara, poznata i kao "sojina pulpa", je nusprodukt u priozvodnji sojinog mleka. To je belo-žućkasta materija koja se sastoji od nerastvorljivih delova semena soje (uglavnom semenjače) koji ostaju na filteru pri filtriranju usitnjenog kuvanog zrna soje pri proizvodnji sojinog mleka (Jimenez-Escrig et al., 2008). Cilj ovog rada je bio da se proceni uticaj metoda polupogonskog postrojenja koje koristi hidrotermičku obradu sojinog zrna u proizvodnji sojinog mleka (HTC obrada; visoka temperatura i povišen pritisak/kratko vreme) na sadržaj i aktivnost hranljivih komponenti okare, pripremane od šest različitih genotipova soje, kao i da se proceni mogućnost korišćenja okare u pripremi hrane za ribe. Može se pretpostaviti da će primenjeni HTC postupak, koji je sličan procesu ekstrudiranja, koji se najčešće koriste u proizvodnji hrane za ribe (visoka temperatura/kratako vreme), dati okaru povoljnih svojstava, pogodna za ishranu riba. Pored toga, obzirom da je optimalna pH vrednost vode za uzgoj riba od 7.0 do 8.0 (Zhanga et al., 2011), različita od izoelektrične tačke (Ip) glavnih proteina okare može se pretpostaviti da se proteini okare neće taložiti u mulju, već će ostati da plutaju u vodi. Glavne komponente okare dobijene primenjenim HTC postupkom su ugljeni hidrati (51.25-59.25%) i proteini (31.81-40.36%). Mateos-Aparicio et al. (2010b) ističu veoma povoljnu antioksidativnu aktivnost okare, koju uglavnom pripisuju polisharidima semenjače sojinog zrna, pre svega pektinima, iako ističu da se ne može isključiti ni doprinos belančevina. Ovakva istraživanja ukazuju na mogućnost delovanja okare kao komponete u ishrani riba u smislu odbrane od antioksidativnog stresa. Visok sadržaj proteina, čini okaru potencijalno dobrim izvorom biljnih proteina, niske cene, za ishranu ljudi i životinja. Visok sadržaj i vrlo dobre funkcionalne karakteristike proteina okare (Mateos-Aparicio et al., 2010a), ukazuju na to da mogu biti pogodni kao dopuna hrane za ribu u smislu vezivnog medijuma za druge aktivne i hranljive komponente u proizvodu, pri čemu doprinose nutritivnoj vrednosti hraniva. Štaviše, odnos esencijalnih amino kiselina u ukupnom aminokiselinskom sastavu proteina okare je sličan kao u sojinom mleku i tofuu (Vang i Cavins, 1989). Glavni proteini okare su bazni, 7S globulin (Bg7S; 24.61-28.37%) i glicinin (11S globulin; 28.49-33.11%). Poznato je da je Bg7S glikoprotein bogat cisteinom (Omi et al., 1996) što povećava nutritivnu vrednost proizvoda. Proteini soje nisu nutritivno idealni proteini, obzirom da ispoljavaju neželjeni efekat na metabolizam nakon konzumiranja sirove sojine sačme, što se pripisuje prisustvu tripsin inhibitora (TI) i lektina. Tripsin inhibitorska aktivnost ispitivanih uzoraka je veoma mala (4.82-7.99%) što ukazuje da okara ne bi ispoljavala antinutritivni efekat na organizam, tim pre što se veruje da postizanje zadovoljavajućeg nivoa TIA dovoljno smanjuje aktivnost lektina, obzirom da su inhibitori termički stabilniji nego lektini (Friedman i Brendon, 2001)

Fizičko-hemijske karakteristike ploda značajnijih autohtonih sorti jabuke sa područja Majevice

The task of the study was to examine the more significant physical-chemical properties of the fruits of the autochthonous cultivars of apple from Majevica area. Determination found that it was the fruit of next cultivars: Petrovaca, Bjelicnik, Zelenika, Bobovec, Ljepocvjetka i Sampanjka. Physical and chemical analyzes have determined that the cultivars of apple differed significantly according to the investigated properties. The morphometric characteristics of fruit show statistically significant significant difference between the studied cultivars. Cultivar of Petrovaca had the lowest weight of fruit, while cultivar of Sampanjka had the highest weight of fruit. Cultivar of Petrovaca had the lowest lenght of fruit, while cultivar of Bobovec had the highest lenght of fruit. Cultivar of Petrovaca had the lowest width of fruit, while cultivars of Bobovec and Šampanjka had the highest width of fruit. The chemical composition of the fruit varied considerably depending on the cultivar, location and numerous abiotic factors, such as ecological conditions and agrochemical properties of the soil. The fruits of the largest number of cultivars in our research had between 14 and 16% of soluble dry matter, which are cultivars of medium to high content of soluble dry matter. The total acid content in the cultivars was from 0.43% in cultivar of Petrovaca to 0.71% in cultivar of Sampanjka, while the cultivar of Petrovaca had the highest content of total sugars. The analyzed autochthonous cultivars of apple from the Majevica area can be of great importance for integral and organic production, but also as a hybridization starting material for the production of new, better cultivar resistant to certain pathogens of plant diseases and pests.Zadatak proučavanja je bio da se ispitaju značajnija fizičko–hemijska svojstva plodova zastupljenijih tradicionalnih sorati jabuke sa šireg područja Majevice. Determinacijom je utvrđeno da se radilo o plodovima sorti: Petrovača, Bjeličnik, Zelenika, Bobovec, Ljepocvjetka i Šampanjka Nakon sprovedenih fizičkih i hemijskih analiza, utvrđeno je da su se sorte značajno razlikovale po istraživanim svojstvima. Morfometrijske osobine ploda pokazuju statistički veoma značajne do značajne razlike između proučavanih sorti. Najmanju masu ploda imala je sorta Petrovača, dok je najveća bila kod sorte Šampanjka. Sorta Petrovača imala je i najmanju dužinu ploda, a najveću sorta Bobovec. Najmanja širina ploda bila je takođe kod sorte Petrovača, dok je najveća visina izmjerena kod sorti Bobovec i Šampanjka. Hemijski sastav ploda je značajno varirao u zavisnosti od sorte. Plodovi najvećeg broja sorata u našim istraživanjima imali su između 14 i 16% rastvorljivih suvih materija, što ih svrstava u sorte sa srednje visokim do visokim sadržajem RSM. Sadržaj ukupnih kiselina kod ispitivanih sorti kretao se od 0,43% kod sorte Petrovača do 0,71% kod sorte Šampanjka, dok je najveći sadržaj ukupnih šećera imala sorta Petrovača. Analizirane autohtone sorte jabuke sa šireg područja Majevice mogu biti od izuzetnog značaja za integralnu i organsku proizvodnju, ali i kao početni materijal u hibridizaciji za stvaranje novih kvalitetnijih sorti otpornih na pojedine prouzrokovače biljnih bolesti i štetočina

Fizičko–hemijska svojstva ploda nekih sorti kruške (Pyrus communis L.) na području Sarajevske regije

The paper presents the results of two-year study of the important physical-chemical properties some cultivars of pear (Pyrus communis L.) in the region of Sarajevo. During the research on a sample of 30 fruits of each cultivar of pears physical characteristics were analyzed: weight of fruit, length and width of fruit, length of stem, number and weight of normally developed seeds. From the chemical properties of the fruit is determined by the content of soluble solids, total acid content, the content of total, invert sugar, sucrose content and pH value.U radu su prikazani rezulati dvogodišnjih proučavanja važnijih fizičko–hemijskih svojstva ploda nekih sorti kruške (Pyrus communis L.) na području sarajevske regije. Tokom sprovedenih istraživanja na uzorku od 30 plodova od svake sorte kruške od fizičkih osobina analizirane su: masa ploda, dužina i širina ploda, dužina peteljke, broj normalno razvijenih sjemenki i masa normalno razvijenih sjemenki. Od hemijskih osobina ploda određen je sadržaj rastvorljivih suvih materija, sadržaj ukupnih kiselina, sadržaj ukupnih, invertnih šećera, sadržaj saharoze i pH vrijednost

THE ECONOMIC RESILIENCE-ENTREPRENEURSHIP NEXUS

Resilience is an emerging concept used to examine economic performance and responses to exogenous shocks such as the financial crisis and recession. Relying on a review of the literature on emerging academic articles in this field, the article explores how entrepreneurship is key to maintaining a dynamic economy and shows that it stands out in expert debates as a key aspect in creating more resilient economies. Namely, through the development of a conceptual framework we considered the links between economic resilience and entrepreneurship. In line with this economic resilience is analyzed at different levels. As a final result of this analysis, we came to the conclusion that the entrepreneur plays a decisive role in achieving the firm's resilience and economic systems

Stanje i problemi u proizvodnji kabaste stočne hrane u zapadnoj Srbiji

In order to improve forage production, through more efficient use of agricultural land, conducted a study of fertility and soil acidity, and the manner of its use in hilly and mountainous areas of the Municipality of Kosjerić. The largest number of sampled soil is acidic chemical reaction, very low the level of provision easily accessible phosphorus, which is a limiting factor in successful growing legume. Depending on the results and the production potential of the sampled area and the needs of local farmers, were applied technologies that will contribute to increased yield or biomass and changing botanical composition in terms of increased participation of legumes.U cilju unapređenja proizvodnje stočne hrane, kroz efikasnije korišćenje poljoprivrednog zemljišta, vršeno je ispitivanje plodnosti i kiselosti zemljišta, kao i načina njegovog korišćenja u brdskim i planinskim područjima Opštine Kosjerić. Najveći broj uzorkovanih zemljišta je kisele hemijske reakcije, veoma niske obezbeđenosti lako pristupačnim fosforom, što predstavlja ograničavajući faktor pre svega uspešnom gajenju leguminoznih biljnih vrsta. U zavisnosti od dobijenih rezultata i proizvodnog potencijala uzorkovanih zemljišta kao i potreba lokalnih farmera, primenjene su tehnologije koje će doprineti povećanju prinosa biomase ali i promeni botaničkog sastava u smislu povećanog učešća višegodišnjih krmnih leguminoza