Increasing concern about environmental and social issues in food production and consumption has been spreading rapidly in Europe. From the corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspective, food and agribusiness companies are frequently subject to broad interests and there is an increasing need for them to respond to the sustainability challenges. Companies in the food sector are facing rapid changes due to the growing concern and raising awareness among consumers of traceability in the food supply chain, the origin of raw materials and food safety, environmental impacts of products and processes, as well as other social issues, such as animal welfare. As customers, governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), media and wider society are all demanding from companies to provide an open and well-substantiated account on how they operate, what their impact on society is, and how they are minimizing negative impacts and saving scarce natural resources. More recently, retailers have also increasingly begun to address environmental concerns on the store level, as well as in the supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to identify and provide an overview of environmental practices among food retailers, the ones which they are pursuing on the store level, as well as in the supply chain.
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.
Razvoj informacijskih i komunikacijskih tehnologija uzrokuje velike promjene na maloprodajnom tržištu. Kako bi išli u korak sa konkurencijom, maloprodavači su prisiljeni uvoditi inovacije, kako u asortiman tako i u način posluživanja, dostavu i naplatu kupovine. Tu se javlja prostor, a i potreba za uvođenjem tehnoloških inovacija poput samoposlužne tehnologije u maloprodajni poslovni proces. Zbog užurbanog načina života, potrošači danas imaju sve manje vremena za kupovinu, a tijekom kupovine zahtijevaju sve više informacija o proizvodima koje kupuju te su voljni što manje čekati na blagajnama. Upravo stoga glavni su motivi za uvođenje samoposlužne tehnologije u prodavaonice pružiti kupcima veći izbor usluga te omogućiti jednostavniju i bržu kupovinu. Najrasprostranjeniji oblik samoposlužne tehnologije unutar prodavaonice su samoposlužne blagajne. Samoposlužna blagajna je blagajna na kojoj potrošači sami skeniraju proizvode koje su izabrali, spreme ih u vrećice te sami plate račun. Svrha je rada istražiti prihvaćenost samoposlužnih blagajni prilikom kupovine robe široke potrošnje među mladim potrošačima u Hrvatskoj. S ciljem otkrivanja prihvaćenosti samoposlužnih blagajni prilikom kupovine od strane mladih hrvatskih potrošača, razloga (ne)korištenja samoposlužnih blagajni te prikupljanja ideja za moguća unaprjeđenja samoposlužnih blagajni na hrvatskom maloprodajnom tržištu provedeno je istraživanje metodom fokus grupe. Radi bolje usporedbe i analize podataka ispitanici su bili podijeljeni u dvije fokus grupe – prvu su činili korisnici samoposlužne blagajne, dok su drugu fokus grupu činili nekorisnici samoposlužne blagajne. Pitanja oko kojih se raspravljalo na fokus grupi odnosila su se na: (1) osobnost i tehnološku spremnost korisnika i nekorisnika samoposlužne blagajne; (2) učestalost kupovine samoposlužnom blagajnom i način plaćanja; (3) sigurnost osobnih podataka; (4) tehničke pogreške; (5) percipirani utjecaj samoposlužnih blagajni na smanjenje prodajnog osoblja; (6) mogućnosti unaprjeđenja samoposlužne blagajne i (7) poznavanje i korištenje ostalih samoposlužnih tehnologija u maloprodaji. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju da samoposlužna blagajna još uvijek nije u potpunosti prihvaćena od strane mladih hrvatskih potrošača te da se na nju gleda isključivo kao na pomoćnu blagajnu. Jedan od glavnih razloga neprihvaćenosti samoposlužne blagajne su učestale tehničke pogreške koje se javljaju prilikom njezina korištenja te se zaključuje da postoji veliki potencijal za unaprjeđenje rada samoposlužnih blagajni s ciljem povećanja prihvaćenosti maloprodajnih inovacija od strane potrošača. Glavno ograničenje provedenog istraživanja je ograničenje same istraživačke metode. S ciljem potpunijeg razumijevanja i ostvarivanja istraživačkih ciljeva, predlaže se u budućnosti provođenje kvantitativnog istraživanja u samim prodavaonicama koje imaju samoposlužne blagajne. Znanstveni doprinos i vrijednost rada ogleda se u dubinskom istraživanju i analizi prihvaćenosti samoposlužnih blagajni prilikom kupovine robe široke potrošnje među mladim potrošačima u Hrvatskoj.
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.
PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has challenged supply chains (SCs) around the globe unprecedentedly. This study aims to gain insights on the impacts of the pandemic on SCs and their management under consideration of different regional contexts on a global scale.Design/methodology/approachA Delphi study collects the expertise of global SC academics on the SC vulnerabilities and the measures for responding to disruptions, improving resilience, and restoring operations. Data from three polls are systematically analyzed by content, frequency, and cluster analysis.FindingsThe study identifies and ranks ten major issues related to SC vulnerabilities and management strategies for specific SC processes and geographical regions. Detected differences among the considered geographical regions point towards particular challenges and call for specific measures to integrate regional contingencies into SC management. In a regional comparison, China and Iran as well as Africa clearly stand out, but also Europe/North America, India/Pakistan, and Brazil show geographical particularities.Research limitations/implicationsThe responses are collected against the COVID-19 pandemic, while the findings show differences among the regions thereby arguing for taking regional contingencies into account in managing SCs.Practical implicationsSC resilience is a core aim, which was emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings provide insights and challenges that managers would have to meet in the different regions covered.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to existing knowledge on SC risks and SC resilience in context to extreme situations. Given that events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, will become more frequent in the future due to climate change and geopolitical tensions, insights into how to manage SCs under extreme conditions and into regional differences are crucial.
