Suchergebnisse

This paper investigates the link between cluster membership and performance of clustered companies. The object of the study is the Croatian Wood Cluster (CWC). The paper presents the results of a survey of 34 members of the Croatian Wood Cluster operating in wood and furniture industries. The survey was conducted in order to identify and analyse perceptions and attitudes of CWC members towards CWC objectives, activities and performance; the cooperation strength among cluster members and that with the players outside the cluster; the effects of clustering on the operational performance of the clustered SMEs; business and economic setting in Croatia, barriers for the work of the CWC and the relevancy of government policy measures. The empirical results indicate that the economic performance of the clustered companies is significantly predicted by the cooperation with public institutions, financial institutions and professional associations (such as the Agency for Investments and Competitiveness) provided by the CWC and by the access to cluster resources such as horizontal cooperation, fairs, exhibitions etc. Additionally, an access to credit, customers and competitors shows a significant positive effect on finance-based performance of the clustered companies. On the other hand, cooperation among cluster members and cooperation with scientific, high education and research institutions show no significant relationship with the company performance.

This paper investigates the link between cluster membership and performance of clustered companies. The object of the study is the Croatian Wood Cluster (CWC). The paper presents the results of a survey of 34 members of the Croatian Wood Cluster operating in wood and furniture industries. The survey was conducted in order to identify and analyse perceptions and attitudes of CWC members towards CWC objectives, activities and performance; the cooperation strength among cluster members and that with the players outside the cluster; the effects of clustering on the operational performance of the clustered SMEs; business and economic setting in Croatia, barriers for the work of the CWC and the relevancy of government policy measures. The empirical results indicate that the economic performance of the clustered companies is significantly predicted by the cooperation with public institutions, financial institutions and professional associations (such as the Agency for Investments and Competitiveness) provided by the CWC and by the access to cluster resources such as horizontal cooperation, fairs, exhibitions etc. Additionally, an access to credit, customers and competitors shows a significant positive effect on finance-based performance of the clustered companies. On the other hand, cooperation among cluster members and cooperation with scientific, high education and research institutions show no significant relationship with the company performance.

Since there is constant concern that local government heads allocate budget resources in favour of various pressure groups, the paper investigates whether local participatory budgeting can be implemented in order to better align budget allocation with citizens' needs in the Croatian context. The paper analyses the results of the citizen survey intended to question whether the citizens of Zagreb could embrace the participatory budgeting, based on their interest in the way the money of Zagreb's taxpayers is spent and willingness to participate in the budget preparation process. The main determinants of the interest, awareness and participation of citizens in local budget processes are explored as well. The results of this study indicate a moderate level of citizen awareness and interest in local budget processes, but an extremely low level of participation. Since citizen participation is crucial for democratic decision-making and ensuring transparency and accountability, the identified factors should be addressed in a planned manner. Citizens' willingness and capacity can be increased through raising awareness and implementing measures intended to encourage spontaneous participation.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the main determinants of the economic life in Croatian municipalities. For that purpose, we collected data related to the municipal budgets and business results of entrepreneurs registered in 427 municipalities during 2007-2011 period. In order to determine and study the variations in municipal economic outcomes related to the size of municipalities, their administrative status (municipalities belonging to the areas of state national concern, hill and mountain areas, and island areas), their geographic location and dominant political party in the municipality, we apply multivariate statistics methods (Levene's test of variance homogeneity, ANOVA, and Sheffe post-hoc test). The results suggest that size of the municipalities explains the variation related to municipal fiscal capacity and average net earnings of inhabitants living in municipalities. The political affiliation of a mayor is related to the differences in the relative amount of aid granted from the central government budget, fiscal capacity and indebtness, while the differences in administrative status of municipalities account for discrepancies observed in employment, average net earnings, indebtedness, central government aid, and expenditures for social protection. The basic conclusion of research is that Croatian municipalities differ significantly in the majority of the analyzed economic determinants and that current administrative status should be subject to the general local government reform, not only in special status and number of local units but also in fiscal equalization process. ; Cilj ovog članka je analizirati temeljne sastavnice ekonomskog života u hrvatskim općinama. U svrhu izrade analize prikupljena je baza podataka za 427 općine koja sadrži podatke o izvršenju proračuna općina i poslovanju poduzetnika registriranih u općinama u razdoblju od 2007. do 2011. U analizi se koriste metode multivarijantne statistike (Levenov test homogenosti varijance, ANOVA i Sheffeov post-hoc test), kako bi se utvrdile i proučile razlike u ekonomskim rezultatima koje nastaju zbog veličine općina, administrativnog statusa općine (općine koje potpadaju u područja posebne državne skrbi, brdsko planinska područja, otočna područja naspram općinama koje taj status nemaju), pripadnosti općine većim administrativnim jedinicama i regijama te stranačke pripadnosti načelnika općine. Rezultati analize sugeriraju da veličina općina objašnjava varijaciju u fiskalnom kapacitetu općina i prosječnoj plaći zaposlenih koji žive u općinama. Politička pripadnost načelnika općina povezana je s razlikama u primljenoj pomoći od središnje države, zaduženosti, i fiskalnog kapaciteta, dok posebni administrativni status općina objašnjava odstupanja u razini zaposlenosti, prosječne neto plaće, državne pomoći i rashoda za socijalnu zaštitu općina. Osnovni zaključak rada je da se hrvatske općine značajno razlikuju u većini promatranih ekonomskih pokazatelja te da bi postojeći administrativni status trebao biti predmetom opće reforme lokalne samouprave, ne samo u pogledu posebnih statusa i broja lokalnih jedinica nego i u pogledu procesa fiskalnog izravnanja.

The paper explores the existence of differences in local economic outcomes between local government units with and without entrepreneurial zone in Croatia. The analysis is based on the data related to the business results of entrepreneurs, local government budgets and local development during 2004–2016 period. Bivariate statistic methods have been used to analyse whether the differences in business results of entrepreneurs, fiscal performance and level of development at the local level have been determinate by the existence of entrepreneurial zone in the local government unit. The results of this research reveal that entrepreneurial zones are important for the local economic outcomes. The results of empirical analysis confirm that local self-government units with entrepreneurial zones are more successful than units that do not have an entrepreneurial zone. The differences are particularly pronounced when looking at fiscal performance of local government units and business results of entrepreneurs. Investment in establishment of entrepreneurial infrastructure is also positively correlated with the level of local development and level of unemployment.