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- ItemEconomic value of ecosystem services in the eastern Ore mountains(Technical university of Liberec, Czech Republic, 2017-10-02) Vojáček, Ondřej; Louda, Jiří; Ekonomická fakultaThe paper presents the results of a research project aiming at determining the economic value of selected ecosystem services in the Eastern Ore Mountains. The use of the dynamically evolving concept of economic services, used to identify economically utilisable services provided by undamaged ecosystems, can thus contribute to dealing with the issues of optimum landscape management. The primary data collection took place in the summer of 2013; a total of 216 questionnaires were collected. The research focused on three ecosystems, namely montane meadows, clearance cairns and quasi-natural mountain streams. The paper presents and discusses primarily the results of a choice experiment that was used to determine the willingness to pay for defined changes in the ecosystems examined. The research showed that visitors to the Eastern Ore Mountains unambiguously prefer a natural (authentic) or quasi-natural condition of the landscape and that people are able to distinguish among the different situations well (e.g., different appearance of montane meadows, mountain streams, clearance cairns, etc.). People prefer montane meadows scythed without farm animals, clearance cairns not overgrown, and streams with a quasi-natural character. The authors point out the finding that the research results indicate a strong connection of the local population to the local landscape and ecosystems, the potential of which in relation to nature protection and landscape management is totally unutilised at the moment. Special attention is paid to a specific ecosystem, not studied yet in the Czech Republic – the clearance cairns, which showed (contrary to expectations) a noticeably higher willingness to pay for their good management compared to the other ecosystems examined.
- ItemThe perception of selected aspects of investment attractiveness by businesses making investments in the Czech Republic(Technical university of Liberec, Czech Republic, 2017-10-02) Jáč, Ivan; Vondráčková, Marie; Ekonomická fakultaInvestment attractiveness refers to the interest of the territory, area and region. Investment attractiveness refers to the competitiveness of a country within the investment environment, and investment decisions that are made by a business regarding the localization of its investments. Investment attractiveness may be defined as the set of factors that influence a business entity when making its investment decisions. Investment attractiveness reflects how interesting the relevant territory, area or region is to businesses. The set of factors influencing the level of investment attractiveness are both factors that are fixed (geographic location, deposits of iron ore, large water flows) and, secondly, the factors that from the perspective of state policy influenced (educated population, a policy of investment incentives, labor costs, tax rate, macroeconomic indicators – inflation, GDP and labor productivity). There are many indicators showing the strengths and weaknesses of a country and its economy, and whether the business environment is suitable for investors or if the business environment is risky and problematic. This issue is dealt with using the theory of localization. This article interprets the results of a survey carried out that looked at the effects of selected investment factors on decisions taken by businesses making FDI – which means on the investment attractiveness of countries striving for FDI. First, based on a theoretical search, we selected specific factors for the inquiry that have an impact on investment decisions taken by businesses. The factors were subsequently verified through a questionnaire sent to the investors. They were further verified through a regression analysis.
- ItemThe impact of sovereign wealth fund ownership on the financial performance of firms: the evidence from emerging markets(Technical university of Liberec, Czech Republic, 2017-10-02) Urban, Dariusz; Ekonomická fakultaSovereign Wealth Funds have been regarded as investment vehicles established in order to manage, in a rational and profit-oriented way, pools of national wealth for future generations. SWFs are among the most important financial institutions in global financial markets, and constitute a solid element in the architecture of the international financial safety net. Similarly to other institutional investors, Sovereign Wealth Funds possess huge amounts of capital. What distinguishes them the most from other financial institutions is the fact that they are owned, managed and controlled by sovereign states, have limited liquidity needs, a lower-than-market-average-level of redemption risk, a long-term, intergenerational investment horizon and relatively high risk tolerance. The question of whether investment from Sovereign Wealth Funds determines changes in corporate financial performance of a targeted firm is still unanswered question in the literature. This study tests empirically the impact of Sovereign Wealth Funds’ ownership on the financial performance of targeted companies. Using the data of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, we employ regression to analyze the relationship between the funds’ investment and accounting, as well as the market outcomes of the firm. The empirical findings of this research suggest that Sovereign Wealth Funds’ ownership has a positive influence on the price to book value of the firm. This article contributes to ongoing research in the field of studies related to financial aspects of SWF’s investment behavior. The empirical findings of this research can also serve as a useful reference for companies and academics concerning themselves with investment decision making in emerging markets, as well as the role of institutional investors.
- ItemInnovations among people. How positive relationships at work can trigger innovation creation(Technical university of Liberec, Czech Republic, 2017-10-02) Glińska-Neweś, Aldona; Sudolska, Agata; Karwacki, Arkadiusz; Górka, Joanna; Ekonomická fakultaInnovations are the essence of the successful organization. The process of their creation is strongly based on individual and team commitment to create improvements in every organizational area. This commitment is triggered by innovation climate including employee positive relationships (PRW) and supporting internal communication facets. The aim of the paper is to define causal relations among the aforementioned variables. We hypothesize that positive relationships at work are a prerequisite of the innovation creation process, i.e. they stimulate employee commitment to innovation creation regardless of the employee position in an organization as well as influence internal communication facets that support innovativeness. Notably, among internal communication elements we analyze open communication of both good and bad information and employee informal meetings. The analyses are based on the quantitative survey conducted on the sample of 200 Polish companies representing various sectors and selected from rankings of the most dynamically developing organizations in Central Europe. In each company we obtained information from a person involved in leading a team creating innovations, i.e. representing different functional departments. In the course of data analyses we used the hierarchical regression and the linear regression analysis. The results support the hypotheses of PRW key role in the innovativeness process, and the effect appeared to be linear. Specifically, positive relationships at work stimulate both employee individual commitment to innovations and internal communication supporting innovativeness. These findings contribute to the research stream connected with the Positive Organizational Scholarship umbrella concept. Practical implications of the survey point to the need of positive relationships at work stimulation in organizations.
- ItemThe marketing-entrepreneurship paradox: A frequency-domain analysis(Technical university of Liberec, Czech Republic, 2017-10-02) Nikolić, Slavka T.; Gradojević, Nikola; Đaković, Vladimir; Mladenović, Valentina; Stanković, Jelena; Ekonomická fakultaThe areas of overlap between the disciplines of marketing and entrepreneurship are substantial and they provide a wide variety of opportunities for multidisciplinary research. This paper lays out multidisciplinary foundations for the formal theoretical and practical treatment of the interaction between marketing, entrepreneurship and profitability in an organization. The focus of this research is on a company’s success as a function of organizational changes and the level of acceptable risk, measured by its profitability. The contribution to the literature on the relationship between entrepreneurship and marketing is reflected in a new approach that relies on the multi-scale (i.e., frequency-dependent) approach or the so-called “spiral of success”. In addition, this paper highlights the necessity for dynamic abilities and innovative character in an organization. More broadly, it explains an important theoretical paradox that organizations always face high risk, but, in order to survive in business, they need to enter new cycles of entrepreneurial activities (innovation and diversification) that involve even more risk. The novelty of this study lies in its application of the causality tests in the frequency domain for the bivariate system in order to demonstrate the marketing-entrepreneurship paradox. This is, to the authors’ best knowledge, the first paper that uses such a methodology in marketing and entrepreneurship. The paper’s principal hypothesis is tested on a well-diversified company (Amazon.com) where it is shown that marketing drives changes in net income at both medium and long horizons, but not vice-versa. The findings and related discussions can be useful to academics and practitioners, as well as to public policy-makers.
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