Suchergebnisse

The new digital economy, as an economic activity resulting from billions of online connections between people, businesses, data, devices and processes, has created extraordinary possibilities for individuals, companies and countries to improve their competitiveness strategies owing to new technologies. This paper presents the digital globalization challenges faced by the companies. It has developed the proposition that companies must adjust/change their business models by empowering their digital assets and reclassifying the items entered on the digital liabilities side. The paper also includes an analysis of Serbia's innovation ecosystem and its preparedness for digital strategy implementation. Under the assumption of more significant government investments in digital infrastructure, support for the necessary legal framework and development of entrepreneurial and digital competencies, the paper presents measures for improving the digital agenda for Serbia on the road toward its social and economic recovery.

The economic strategies aimed at improving the competitiveness of the economy currently also include the creation of systems for supporting the development of innovations and innovation-related activities. Support to the development of innovations is encouraged by the formation of an efficient innovation ecosystem. In this paper, we attempt to present the state of the innovation ecosystem in Serbia. By analyzing each of its segments and building on the conclusions drawn from the survey results, we point to the importance of specified fields and their role in the creation of competitive innovation ecosystems. We present the main results of the survey conducted among high-tech IT companies, which have contributed to the presentation of the current state of Serbia's ecosystem. Bearing in mind that innovativeness is becoming the most significant component of competitive advantage, it is crucial to improve educational and research and development institutions, related infrastructure, as well as the government's involvement at all levels with the aim of supporting the abovementioned issue. In this context, it is also important to ensure the connections of companies with external institutions, accessibility of high-quality personnel, and finance, better protection of intellectual property rights, creation of an entrepreneurial culture among experts and research and development institutions, as well as the level of internationalization and access to the global market.

This research focuses on talents and skills needed for companies' leap towards a higher level of innovativeness and competitiveness in the new digital era. We analyzed data collected through the online survey conducted among 84 companies that operate in Serbia. We did two correlation analyses. The first one observed determinant of innovation and digital transformation among surveyed companies. The results showed that R&D investments and management skills are correlated and significant for all observed digital transformation and innovativeness indicators. The analysis also showed that companies in Serbia are developing more sustaining than disruptive and radical innovations. The second correlation analysis presented the correlation between the indicator of future innovation and digital-driven growth and determinants of current skill gaps, skills in demand and an obstacle for talent development. We confirmed the correlation between the indicator and the skills gap in HR and Marketing business functions, both crucial for knowledge based-development and future business innovation-driven growth. Additionally, we confirmed correlation with analytical skills in demand and explained it through the fact that in the world where data presents new oil, skills that enable the company to transform data into useful business development information are crucial. Our results confirmed that investment in talents is important for future innovation development. We explained the lack of correlation with some skills in demand through the fact that companies in Serbia need more practical skills instead of soft skills for innovation and digital growth.

The COVID-19 crisis differs from previous ones. It disrupts global value chains, redirects business toward regional cooperation in a highly globalized world, and forces new business model development toward digitalization. This crisis affected both supplyand demand-side and all countries worldwide, regardless of their economic strength. To support economic recovery, while at the same time fighting for health system endurance through lockdowns and prevention measures, economic decision-makers all around the globe have been using expansive macroeconomic policies. One of the first measures was loosening monetary policy. Such measure was taken in 80% of the countries globally and in all emerging markets. Fiscal policy was significant in supporting demand in the short-term, simultaneously resulting in higher public debt, which is becoming one of the constraints for future development. While economists of today are discussing which letter visualizes the best the character of this crisis - V, U, L, W, we got the letter K, which indicates that recovery among countries will differ in growth rates and duration. Accordingly, we are going to live in a world where change is the only constant. To survive within these conditions, digitalization and key clusters' development are crucial for long-term competitiveness. In this paper, we analyzed the competitiveness of the Serbian economy by using the Country Competitiveness Index, emphasizing the importance of microeconomic indicators that represent a powerful tool in analyzing crucial segments for the economy's recovery. We also focused on three clusters' potential: tech, agribusiness and organic food, and tourism.