Číslo 3

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Assessing the impact of exchange rates on international trade in the manufacturing sector of CEE countries: A specific focus on SMEs
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Simakova, Jana; Prazak, Tomas; Ekonomická fakulta
This paper aims to analyze the impact of exchange rates on international trade in the manufacturing sector in selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. To accomplish this, a distinctive combination of econometric techniques is employed, enabling an assessment of both macro- and micro-level perspectives concerning the mutual relationship between foreign exchange rates and international trade. At the macroeconomic level, the examination employs the J-curve methodology, utilizing Johansen cointegration and vector error correction models to assess the influence of currency exchange rate dynamics on international trade within the manufacturing industry in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. At the micro level, the generalized method of moments is applied to company data from the manufacturing industry in each respective country. The research period encompasses data spanning from 2011 to 2021. The research findings highlight a significant disjunction between macroeconomic and microeconomic perspectives on the impact of exchange rates within the manufacturing industry. While macroeconomic analysis indicates a general trend towards expected outcomes, such as increased exports and improved trade balance following domestic currency depreciation, miecroeconomic regression analysis reveals a more nuanced picture. Contrary to macroeconomic assumptions, the microeconomic perspective, particularly in the case of Romania and Hungary, suggests that exchange rate effects may have opposite impacts on return on assets (ROA) in the manufacturing sector in tested small- and medium-sized companies. This discrepancy underscores the complexity of exchange rate dynamics and emphasizes the need for nuanced, context-specific analyses when assessing the influence of exchange rate fluctuations on international trade and financial performance.
The essence and barriers to the use of controlling in the practice of manufacturing enterprises
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Potkany, Marek; Musa, Hussam; Schmidtova, Jarmila; Gejdos, Pavol; Grofcikova, Janka; Ekonomická fakulta
The theory, but also examples from practice confirm the fact that the use of controlling in economic practice differs significantly in the context of understanding its essence. The ambiguity of the definition of controlling, two different thought concepts, the diversity of tools and approaches, but also other barriers prevent its use to a greater extent than this managerial approach would deserve. The current research is based on the understanding of the essence of controlling in German-speaking countries and is oriented towards a coordinated predictive management approach based on precise cost reports. The research question was aimed at identifying current use and barriers of controlling in manufacturing enterprises in relation to the understanding of its essence and impact of performance through a questionnaire survey and structured interviews with managers from 2021 to 2022. A population of 2,504 enterprises was addressed by means of stratified sampling. The chi-square goodness- of-fit test was used to test how well the characteristics of the research sample fit the final population. A total of 352 manufacturing enterprises formed the resulting sample representative – enterprise size and type of industry designated according to the European standard industry classification system. Methods of contingency analysis and interval estimates of the population proportion were used to test the stated hypotheses. The testing confirmed a dependence between the practical use of a broader scale of controlling tools and the performance of enterprises measured by the return on sales (ROS) indicator, as well as the difference in the perception of barriers to the implementation of controlling depending on the size of enterprises. Controlling with the assistance of software support of the management information system, with a detailed implementation process and precisely defined competencies of employees and controllable KPI, creates the potential to increase the complexity of management and performance of enterprises as well as the elimination of potential risks.
Existing and forthcoming obstacles in adopting technological advances in vulnerable supply chains
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Raj, Rohit; Kumar, Vimal; Ranjana, Jyoti; Anirvinna, C.; Ekonomická fakulta
The study on supply chain vulnerabilities presented in this research intends to uncover key indicators influencing the adoption of new technological advancements to enhance supply chain operations. This work used the GRA (grey relational analysis) method to conduct semi-structured interviews with the PQR company’s automotive lead design engineer, manufacturing process engineer, and optical process engineer in order to enhance the supply chain process and develop a comprehensive structural relationship to rank them to streamline the supply chain vulnerability (SCV) indicators. From the data analysis and results, cost of implementation (CI), skills gap (SG), and cultural shift (CS) are identified as the top three key indicators. However, environmental concerns (EC), regulatory compliance (RC), and supply chain complexity (SCC) have been identified as the bottom three key indicators, respectively. The study’s conclusion assists the company’s supply chain vulnerability decision-makers (DMs) in identifying critical signs impeding the uptake of new technology. As a market leader, it constantly seeks to enhance the value of its goods through supply chain management (SCM), strong management teams, and expert decision-making that will boost business performance. This study is innovative in that it uses the GRA approach to rank the important indicators of supply chain vulnerability. Managers and practitioners will benefit from this work as the organization will be able to adapt to new developments in their supply chain process and offer superior services.
Factors influencing career sustainability in Saudi Arabian banks: A PLS-SEM analysis
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Parveen, Musrrat; Alshehri, Amal Awadh Hadi; Ekonomická fakulta
This research delves into the correlation between organizational career growth and its impact on career sustainability among employees in the Saudi Arabian banking sector. It also explores the mediating influence of task performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Utilizing self-reported online questionnaires, data was collected from employees in Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, working in both private and public banks. Approximately 255 surveys were gathered, and thorough scrutiny of the data was conducted to identify any instances of common bias, duplication, or missing values. Following this data cleaning process, a sample size of 200 was retained for subsequent analysis. The survey, conducted over a month from December 2022 to January 2023, targeted four key factors: organizational career growth (OCG), organizational citizenship behavior, task performance, and career sustainability. The study utilized partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and path analysis, a combination that allows observed variables to represent latent variables while elucidating causal relationships between them. The findings showed that organizational career growth has a positive and significant influence on organizational citizenship behavior, task performance, and career sustainability. The SRMR value of 0.078 indicates a good fit between the observed data and the model; while the normed fit index (NFI) score of 0.957 shows that the model fits the data well. In addition, the study utilized the blindfolding technique to evaluate the model’s predictive validity. The results show that organizational career growth exerts a moderate effect on both task performance (Q2 = 0.218, Q2 = medium effect) and career sustainability (Q2 = 0.281, Q2 = medium effect) and has a limited impact on organizational citizenship behavior (Q2 = 0.136, Q2 = small effect). Expanded career opportunities within the organization led to better task performance and organizational citizenship behavior, indirectly boosting employees’ career sustainability in banking sector. Detailed managerial insights are also provided.
The impact of chatbots on the buying behaviors of Generation Z toward brands
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Holendova, Julie; Svoboda, David; Seric, Neven; Ekonomická fakulta
As society develops, so do the needs and wishes of customers, the market situation, and especially the competition. The procedures and essential tools of traditional marketing that worked before are gradually losing their effectiveness and are no longer able to ensure a competitive advantage. If businesses want to have a competitive advantage, they must be prepared for these changes and be able to respond to them appropriately. There is currently a generational change in household spending; thus, the customer’s preferences have changed significantly. If a brand wants to remain relevant in the future market, which will be shaped by the new generation of customers, it is appropriate to focus on the Generation Z customer segment. Generation Z is the youngest generation targeted within marketing strategies and at the same time the generation with a lot of changes in product/service perception. Generation Z will be the biggest future challenge for marketing. This paper is dedicated to Generation Z in the market of the Czech Republic. Providing insights from in-depth interviews with Generation Z individuals, this research reveals their expectations, behaviors, and preferences when engaging with brands’ chatbots. The findings shed light on essential factors that influence customer satisfaction and loyalty, such as the availability of human agent transfer, clear robot interaction differentiation, and seamless problem-resolution processes. The paper aims to identify the preferences of Generation Z brands’ interaction via chatbots. The paper will, therefore, provide an understanding of how a brand can build strong relationships with Generation Z customers through an innovative marketing approach that uses chatbots to communicate with customers 24/7/365.
Information and communication technology diffusion, supply chain performance, health care and human development: A case of the South Asian region
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Akbar, Minhas; Hussain, Ammar; Nazir, Marina; Poulova, Petra; Huang, Jiashun; Ekonomická fakulta
South Asian countries have shown tremendous progress in information and communication technology (ICT) and have become one of the fastest-growing regions in technology, innovation, and business competitiveness. The pivotal role of ICT diffusion in the economic growth of both developed and developing countries is a well-established fact. Therefore, this research aims to examine the impact of ICT diffusion (especially the evaluation of ICT indicators) on three core outcomes, namely supply chain performance, health-care expenditures, and the Human Development Index in the context of South Asian economies. To measure ICT, we used three core ICT indicators (i.e., fixed broadband subscriptions, mobile phone subscribers, and internet users) individually as well as in the form of an index developed through principal component analysis (PCA). Panel data of South Asian economies ranging from 2007 to 2021 were used to estimate the equations. The outcomes revealed that all the variables were integrated at order one (1). Second, ICT had a long-run/equilibrium relationship with supply chain performance, health-care expenditures, and human development index. Third, the response of all individual ICT indicators as well as the ICT index on supply chain performance was positive and significant in estimated coefficients. Fourth, the ICT index and all ICT indicators had a positive influence on health-care expenditures. Finally, the ICT index and two out of three individual ICT indicators had a positive and significant influence on HDI. Interestingly, among all the three indicators of ICT, internet users were found to have more pronounced effects on the promotion of supply chain performance, health-care expenditure, and HDI. The more pronounced effect of internet users implied that policymakers should consider devising policies to promote ICT penetration with a core focus on internet penetration.
Integrity management of e-commerce enterprises from the perspective of co-governance supervision
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Chen, Jinlong; Hu, Jiayi; Ekonomická fakulta
The integrity challenges facing e-commerce enterprises are increasingly provoking significant reactions from society. To analyze the dynamic evolution and influence factors of strategies made by the government, e-commerce enterprises, and consumers in different situations, the co-governance supervision of government-e-commerce enterprises-consumers was introduced in this study based on the theory of daily activities. A tripartite evolutionary game model comprising the government, e-commerce enterprises, and consumers was constructed using Matlab for analysis and verification. Results indicate that (1) e-commerce enterprises engage in dishonest practices mainly for additional gains. If the potential benefits obtained are outweighed by the costs of potential sanctions, compensation to consumers, and tarnished reputations under strict government supervision, then e-commerce enterprises are likely to adopt stable integrity management strategies. (2) enhancing government regulation effectiveness and encouraging consumer complaints can significantly reduce the probability of dishonest practices among e-commerce enterprises. (3) increasing government penalties for dishonest practices of e-commerce enterprises, improving government regulations, and engaging in consumers in co- governance by voicing complaints can effectively reduce their motivation for dishonest practices. The conclusions of this study not only enrich the research on integrity management of e-commerce enterprises from the perspective of co-governance supervision, but also provide guidance for curbing dishonest practices by e-commerce enterprises and protecting consumer right.
Multiscale non-linear tale risk spillover effect from oil to stocks – The case of East European emerging markets
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Zivkov, Dejan; Kuzman, Boris; Papic-Blagojevic, Natasa; Ekonomická fakulta
This paper investigates the multiscale non-linear risk transmission effect from Brent oil to eleven European emerging stock markets. Dynamic extreme risk time series are created using the FIAPARCH-CVaR approach. The MODWT transformation is applied to make three wavelet details that represent different time horizons. In the final step, the MODWT time series are fitted into the Markov switching model to examine the spillover phenomenon. The results indicate that the Czech and Hungarian stock markets endure the spillover effect in crisis regime in the short term, probably because these markets are among the most efficient emerging European markets. On the other hand, a relatively high spillover effect is found in a peaceful rather than a crisis regime in the case of Poland. This is probably because the Polish index lists almost 300 stocks, which means that oil shocks disperse to a large number of different industry sectors. In small and less developed markets, such as Estonia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Croatia, a high spillover effect exists in a tranquil regime because these countries have high oil consumption per capita. Lithuania and Latvia do not report the spillover effect in the short run, while this is true for all time horizons in the case of Slovakia.
Navigating the human element: Unveiling insights into workforce dynamics in supply chain automation through smart bibliometric analysis
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Angielsky, Melanie; Copus, Lukas; Madzik, Peter; Falat, Lukas; Ekonomická fakulta
This study aims to create a scientific map of supply chain automation research focusing on human resources management, which will be applicable in practice and widen the knowledge in theory. It introduces the scientific articles, subject areas and dominant research topics related to supply chain automation, focusing on human resources management. In this study, 509 publications retrieved from the Scopus database were analyzed by a novel methodological approach – a smart bibliometric literature review using Latent Dirichlet Allocation with Gibbs sampling. The study processes scientific articles with automated tools. It uses a novel machine-learning-based methodological approach to identify latent topics from many scientific articles. This approach creates the possibility of comprehensively capturing the areas of supply chain automation focusing on human resources management and offers a science map of this rapidly developing area. This kind of smart literature review based on a machine learning approach can process a large number of documents. Simultaneously, it can find topics that a standard bibliometric analysis would not show. The authors of the study identified six topics related to supply chain automation, focusing on human resources management, specifically (1) network design, (2) sustainable performance and practices, (3) efficient production, (4) technology-based innovations and changes, (5) management of business and operations, and (6) global company strategies. The study’s results offer key insights for decision-makers, illuminating essential themes related to automation integration in the supply chain and the vital role of human resources in this transformation. The limitations of this study are the qualitative level of results provided by the machine learning approach, which does not contain manual analysis of documents and the subjectivity of the expert process to set the appropriate number of topics.
Navigating the Industry 4.0 frontier: Unveiling perceived risk and cost moderators in technology adoption
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Jum’a, Luay; Alkhodary, Dina; Ekonomická fakulta
The advent of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) brought about significant transformations within the realm of business management. Industries are increasingly adopting innovative practices and implementing smart supply chain operations through the adoption of I4.0 technologies. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of I4.0 in supply chain operations. To accomplish this, an extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model was applied, with perceived risk and cost acting as moderators in the context of the manufacturing sector. The study used a quantitative research methodology, with a sample size of 276 participants who held managerial positions at various levels within the sector. The data were obtained through the use of a structured questionnaire employing a judgmental sampling technique. The findings of the study revealed that both social influence and facilitating conditions had a significant impact on the adoption of I4.0. However, the relationship between social influence and I4.0 adoption was only moderated by perceived risk and cost. The aforementioned findings indicate that it is imperative that firms give precedence to the establishment of a conducive environment and culture that nurture innovation and promote the assimilation of cutting-edge technologies. Furthermore, it is essential for individuals to prioritize the establishment of strong networks and collaborations in order to effectively leverage the advantages offered by the I4.0. The implications of this study offer valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in the field of I4.0 and technology adoption. These insights pertain to the significant factors that influence the decision to adopt I4.0 and the anticipated applications of I4.0 within the supply chain.
Navigating urban logistics challenges: An optimized approach to parcel distribution in the Prague city center
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Andar, Jakub; Huskova, Katerina; Dyntar, Jakub; Ekonomická fakulta
In this paper, we focus on metropolitan transport logistics that has always been difficult due to the need to transport goods through a complex urban infrastructure, heavy traffic, and dense populations. The goal of this paper is to describe a micro hub location in the neighborhood of the historic center of the city of Prague, the Czech Republic in a situation where the municipalities consider prohibiting the entry of trucks with combustion engines that currently provide cargo transportation for B2B partners operating in this area. Micro hubs represent the efficient last mile consolidation and distribution facilities located in or near urban neighborhoods and serving a spatially limited, densely populated delivery area. We propose a solution combining facility location problem, vehicle routing problem and balancing with the horizontal and vertical cooperation in supply chains to locate the micro hub in the area with extremely low availability of suitable space while respecting the necessity to connect this facility to an existing network of regional terminals operated by 3PLs to ensure the distribution of cargo across the board according to the requirements of customers. For the collection and distribution of parcels within the area, we suggest to use of cargo bikes and electric vans to provide environmentally sustainable service and minimize the harmful consequences of excessive traffic for residents. We also discuss the economic implications of adopting such innovative sustainable supply chain solutions for involved horizontal and vertical supply chain partners emphasizing different motivation aspects to convince these partners to cooperate and share scarce resources.
The nexus between logistics competitiveness, logistics carbon emission efficiency and industrial structure upgrading: Evidence from China
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Zhou, Guanglan; Fei, Yulian; Feng, Chengkai; Ekonomická fakulta
The rapid development of the logistics industry has made considerable contributions to China’s industrial transformation and economy soaring. However, the improvement of logistics competitiveness often leads to high carbon emissions. Understanding the dynamic relationship between logistics competitiveness, logistics carbon emission efficiency, and industrial structure upgrading is of great significance for promoting the high-quality development of regional logistics under the context of the carbon-neutrality target. This study employed the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model to analyse the relationship between logistics competitiveness, logistics carbon emission efficiency, and industrial structure upgrading based on the data from 30 provincial – regions in China for the period of 2007–2021. Meanwhile, the impulse response function was used to reflect the dynamic relationship between the variables of the model, and using variance decomposition to display the percentage change of one variable affected by another variable. The results show that there are self-adjustment effects in logistics competitiveness, logistics carbon emission efficiency, and industrial structure upgrading. Besides, a U-shaped effect is observed from the effect of logistics competitiveness on logistics carbon emission efficiency. It shows a negative impact in the short term and a positive impact in the long term. And it is the same as the effect of logistics carbon emission efficiency on logistics competitiveness, indicating the existence of the time-lag effect. Moreover, upgrading industrial structures has a positive promoting effect on both logistics carbon emission efficiency and logistics competitiveness. Thus, this research provides a unique perspective by exploring how to improve the development of the logistics industry by discussing the nexus between logistics competitiveness, logistics carbon emission efficiency, and industrial structure upgrading.
Socio-demographic factors’ influence on the energy-saving behaviour of residential consumers: Evidence from Romania
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Stancu, Stelian; Hristea, Anca Maria; Kailani, Camelia; Bala, Denisa Elena; Pernici, Andreea; Ekonomická fakulta
In the context of various attempts to regulate energy consumption and educate consumers in the spirit of sustainable behavior, this paper aims to identify the role of the main socio-demographic factors on the decision to adopt measures to reduce consumption and save energy. Many studies have approached similar topics, but correlating their conclusions, it can be deduced that psycho-socio-demographic factors interact differently from one country to another, depending on the economic and political context of the moment. From the fact that in the former communist countries, the severe political regime subjected the population to very restrictive living conditions, based on deprivations that led to the formation of a traditional saving behavior and, on the other hand, considering the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that shape the young generation in the spirit of sustainable society, the authors aimed to study the correlation between socio-demographic factors (age, gender, education, professional status, income) and consumption and energy saving behavior at residential level, in an ex-communist state, Romania. For this purpose, quantitative research was carried out based on the answers of 865 subjects to the questionnaire distributed at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest and in the immediate environment to the members of the university community, using convenience sampling. Using descriptive statistical indicators and linear regression techniques, the intensity of correlation between selected variables was determined and the degree of differentiation of the purchasing and use behavior of green-label household appliances was analysed, as well as the population’s availability to adopt some energy-saving methods. Although the sample is not representative, the conclusions are that measures to reduce energy consumption must be voluntary and stratified, depending on the nature of social and demographic factors.
Till death do us part. Do customers cheat on brands?
(Technická Univerzita v Liberci, ) Klepek, Martin; Toth, Lukas; Ekonomická fakulta
Some companies, based on the beliefs of their managers, aim to obtain solely loyal customers in the hope that these customers will always buy only one brand and never cheat by buying a competitor’s brand. However, a growing body of empirical research suggests that this may be an overly positive expectation and that this marketing strategy can run counter to the nature of the consumer. To scrutinize the sole loyal buyer idea, this study empirically examines the phenomenon of duplication of purchase, which suggests that customers not only buy from repertoire but also that brands share customers in proportion to their market share. Data were drawn from two consumer packaged goods categories: beer (10 brands), soft drinks (6 brands), and eight NUTS2 regions. Using a robust sample of 3,488 customers from a consumer panel and many sets of data approach, the research replicated significant patterns of duplication of purchase in both categories studied and across all regions. The findings support the notion that while consumers are likely to repurchase a brand previously purchased, they also frequently diversify their choices between competing brands. Therefore, the study confirms the generalisability of duplication of purchase behaviour in different categories and geographies, providing critical information for marketing strategy and brand management. It is a strategy that goes against the principles of how buying behaviour works to try to persuade customers to buy from one single brand for the rest of their lives. A great deal of corporate resources will be wasted in the pursuit of sole loyalty.

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