EMC REVIEW - ECONOMY AND MARKET COMMUNICATION REVIEW

MISLEADING OR BENEFICIAL? ASSESSING THE EXPLOITATION POTENTIAL OF STOCK BUYBACK ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE MALAYSIAN STOCK MARKET

He Junlin, Zhang Xiyun, Gong Ping — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

In the traditional sense, stock buyback announcements are generally perceived as advantageous news. However, with the evolution of the capital market, some scholars argue that such declarations possess the potential for exploitation as a means to artificially inflate stock prices, thereby deceiving investors. Consequently, within the framework of the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the Theory of Asymmetric Information, we employed an event study approach to empirically investigate 30 listed companies in Malaysia that announced stock buybacks in the before June 2022. To fortify the robustness of our research findings, we employed Market Model and the Fama-French Three-Factor Model to estimate Average Abnormal Returns and Cumulative Average Abnormal Returns. The outcomes indicate that stock buyback announcements are still regarded as favorable news in the Malaysian stock market, bestowing investors with significant positive average cumulative abnormal returns. Nevertheless, the Malaysian capital market may witness premature leakage of stock buyback information, thereby accentuating the existence of information asymmetry. We contend that corporate leadership can harness stock buyback announcements as a mechanism to stabilize stock prices and infuse confidence in investors. Concurrently, market regulators should augment transparency and regulatory measures to ensure fairness among all market participants.

A STUDY ON ADOPTION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE IN MOBILE BANKING

A. Selcuk Koyluoglu, Omer Emrah Acar — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The aim of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the attitudes and intentions of individual users for the use of artificial intelligence in mobile banking. The data were obtained by survey method from university students using mobile banking applications. 397 forms were accepted as valid out of a total of 418 questionnaire forms, and these data were analyzed with the structural equation modeling. It is revealed that the perceived usefulness positively affects the perceived ease of use and the attitude and intention to use artificial intelligence in mobile banking. At the same time, it was determined that the perceived ease of use and perceived security affected the attitude positively but the intention negatively. The attitude of using artificial intelligence in mobile banking affects the intention positively. It will be beneficial for banks if customers trust the use of artificial intelligence in mobile applications and engage in activities that will facilitate the use of these technologies. In this study, the effects of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived security factors on the intention to use artificial intelligence in mobile banking were investigated and it was aimed to fill the gap in the literature.

THE REASONS FOR HUMAN ERRORS IN BANKS AND EMPLOYEES’ MINDSETS

Jelena Sobanova, Marina Kudinska — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This study is devoted to operational risk management in banks. One of the factors are human errors. According to the different studies, banks face a lot of challenges in managing human errors and cultivating employee’s mindset. The aim of the paper is to identify the reasons and the frequencies of human errors in banks, to understand employees’ attitude towards mistakes and to discover the gaps in managing operational risk in banks. By collecting and analyzing the survey data from the finance sector’s employees globally and empirical evidence, the research is aimed to provide potential operational risk management solutions for banks, making the subject relevant. The qualitative method utilized in this study is based on factors influencing operational risk management. The key results are that employees’ attitude, knowledge, automation, fat finger error, process documentation, support from colleagues, and attentional issues have significant relationships with the reasons for human errors in banks and thus has the impact on operational risk management in banks. Also, the research provides deeper conclusions about the frecuencies of human errors, employees mindsets and management response towards the mistakes in banks.

KEY EMIGRATION FACTORS OF STUDENTS IN SLAVONIA & BARANJA REGION IN CROATIA

Sanja Knežević Kušljić — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The aim of this research is to examine the intention of students in Croatian region of Slavonia & Baranja about the possibility of going abroad after completing their studies and to identified push and pull factors which influence the most the decision to emigrate. The research is based on a survey conducted on a sample of 420 students in the Croatian region of Slavonia & Baranja. The study uses descriptive statistical analysis and multi-variant analysis–factor method. Research results according to respondent’s perception, showed that the majority (61%) expressed intention to stay in Croatia. Data identified unemployment, low paying job and low standard of living in Croatia as main push reasons for their intention to migrate and better standard of living and higher quality of life, better opportunities for career development and better and more stable job as main pull reasons for their intention to migrate. The results also recognized “economic and social reasons” as main push reasons and “economic and non-economic (personal) reasons as main pull reasons. The research findings confirmed the hypotheses of the paper that economic factors are the main push and pull motives for migration for students in Slavonia & Baranja.

CONSUMER INNOVATIVENESS AND FASHION PURCHASING BEFORE AND DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Karolina Perčić, Milica Slijepčević, Ivana Radojević — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The subject of this paper is the analysis of the fashion products consumers’ innovativeness and consideration of fashion purchasing, before and during COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the paper is to examine the speed of adoption of new fashion products, as well as to learn how consumers of different degrees of innovativeness behave when buying fashion products, before and during the pandemic, in Serbia, considering the frequency of purchases and the factors that influence fashion purchasing. The results of empirical research, conducted in Serbia between March and June 2021, prove that a significant percentage of consumers are innovators (5%) and laggards (44%). The frequency of ordering fashion products has been in decline during the pandemic among all categories of consumers. Innovators most often ordered fashion clothing items before and during the pandemic, while early adopters most often ordered footwear and fashion accessories before the pandemic. During the pandemic early adopters share the first place with innovators. Before the pandemic, influencers were the most important factor for innovators, and during the pandemic for early adopters. During the pandemic, the geographic origin of a fashion product has become more important to innovators, early adopters and early majority.

PROBLEMS OF UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING METHODOLOGY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Ostoja Barašin — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The research in social sciences is still very much present in the academic world. This paper is another effort that tries to shed light on the methodology of research in social sciences with the detection of obstacles that interfere with its use, especially regarding values. This paper will explain the nature of research practice in social sciences as well as the difficulties regarding the research method, which would define the objective holding that a researcher has to implement. Furthering from the subject of study is, for that matter, needed especially regarding the values, because very little research in this field is of so-called “pure nature”. For that matter, very few people explore the methodology by itself because most of the research is applied research, which is widely used in multiple disciplines. Each science uses different research methods in the areas of its research. They use the methods and procedures that were developed by the research methodologists with the goal of increment of understanding of their own sciences and further development of the base of social knowledge, as well as strengthening and improving their own science. This callback on the methodology of research is focused, primarily on, the aspect of scientific research, and that is the very methodology the scientific research follows with the goal of eliminating mistakes that quite a few researchers make, disregarding the difference between the method and the methodology. A great number of definitions of methodology confirm its complex nature but also state the fact that methodology can be observed with theoretical, technical, and organizational aspects. The theoretical aspect implies the questioning of laid-out hypotheses, theories, comprehensions, styles, terminology, etc. Technical aspects relate to the process of gathering, observing, arranging, and measuring the data, while the organizational aspect relates to securing the rational technology in implementing scientific research.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF THE RISKS OF ATTRACTING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS - NEW FINANCIAL CHALLENGES

Dragana Vujičić Stefanović, Vesna Novaković, Dragan Milovanović — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

At the time of the coronavirus pandemic COVID 19, many economies, including the Serbian economy, are facing an unknown cause of many problems, which is bringing many companies into crisis. In such conditions, the strategic approach and way of thinking becomes crucial for the survival or recovery of companies and even the economy of a country. This is especially the case with small underdeveloped and developing economies, which are particularly affected by the pandemic. In such conditions, foreign direct investments are a decisive factor in the survival and recovery of the economy, and decisions of this type are strategic. Especially in the conditions of a pandemic, investors are sensitive when making strategic investment decisions, and economic freedoms are an important factor in that. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of economic freedoms in Serbia on making strategic decisions on foreign direct investment, and thus the development of Serbia. The results of the research show the existence of a positive correlation between these factors on the development of Serbia. The econometric model of Pearson Correlation and Greene’s multiple correlation analysis model was used in the analysis.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ON THE EXAMPLE OF KOZARA NATIONAL PARK

Saša Milinković, Vanja Sredojević, Živana Kljajić — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The sustainable development of tourism represents a positive approach in development, its intentions are to reduce the discrepancies that arise in the relations between the tourism industry, local communities, the environment and tourists. Protected areas, and especially national parks, are important tourist destinations. The principles of sustainable tourism help managers to organize and improve the areas they manage. In this sense, the strategic approach of sustainable development of tourism represents the aspiration of management structures to launch initiatives that will not degrade natural resources. Of particular importance in the development of tourist destinations are their elements and attractive factors, on the basis of which their further development and organization is directed. The concept of sustainable development, as the most important challenge and task at the beginning of the 21st century, should be based on an integral holistic approach, which implies the mutual connection of all factors that participate in the development of tourism. In modern business conditions, it is necessary to improve the management of tourist areas, with the aim of preserving them, as well as improving the quality of development. This implies the definition of indicators that ensure the measurement of various economic, physical and sociocultural impacts, which originate from tourism. The success of the operation of the “Kozara” National Park depends on quality strategic management, i.e., formation of strategic harmony between the destination’s resources, on the one hand, and threats and opportunities, on the other. The aim of this paper is to point out the need to apply strategic management of sustainable development of tourism in the National Park “Kozara”, and to define an adequate strategy to ensure the effectiveness of the National Park “Kozara” as a protected tourist destination.

THE IMPACT OF MICROTRANSACTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER GAME BUSINESS MODELS

Vladimir Kovšca, Zrinka Lacković Vincek, Tkalčec Antun — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The paper deals with the impact of microtransactions on the development of new business models in the field of computer games, caused by various monetized offerings within computer games, as well as other platforms such as gaming consoles and smartphones. The paper also examines the reasons for the emergence of business models based on microtransactions in the video game industry and the influence of the industry’s transition towards a consumer-oriented model. The central hypothesis of the paper is that microtransactions have a strong impact on the development of business models in the entire video game industry, and that over time, the value of products monetized in this way increases, despite consumers’ efforts to prevent this development direction of the industry. The paper conducted research on a population of consumers of video game content, mainly students of the Faculty of Organization and Informatics at the University of Zagreb, as well as respondents from other EU countries. The conclusion is that the number of microtransactions and the number of business models based on microtransactions will continue to grow in the future, but there are ways to combat those forms of microtransactions that have negative effects on consumers, especially minors, and, in some situations, even illegal.

CORRUPTION IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Selma Delalić, Senka Sojkić — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Corruption is a devastating phenomenon that negatively affects the work of democratic institutions at all levels, questions the rule of law, jeopardizes economic growth and prosperity, and deepens inequality and poverty. Corruption is so widespread that even the sector that should be the bearer of activities in the fight against corruption - the police, have not remained immune, which is also the case in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Given the complexity of the corruption, the aims of the research are multifaceted: to determine the causes, consequences and the perception of active police officers employed in SIPA, Republika Srpska MoI, and the Sarajevo Canton MoI of corruption committed by fellow police officers, and what type of corruption is involved in most cases; to discover the factors that prevent BiH police officers from reporting acts of corruption to competent institutions and to determine the number of reported and prosecuted criminal acts of corruption committed by police officers in the mentioned law enforcement agencies in the last five years. The method used to achieve the stated goals is both qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative method includes desk, archival, and content analysis of relevant scholarly and expert sources as well as the analysis of the reports by the Prosecutor’s Offices of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Sarajevo Canton with regards to the number of reported and prosecuted cases of corruption committed by police officers. Primary data was collected through semi-structured questionnaire, composed of relevant questions related to the presence of corruption in law enforcement agencies. The 300 respondents include police officers in all ranks employed in the mentioned law enforcement agencies. The conducted research has proven the presence of corruption, its poor reporting and prosecution, established its causes and consequences and proposed the methods of eradication.

PROMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION AND HUMOR - PERSPECTIVE OF POTENTIAL CONSUMERS

Ivona Marenić, Krešimir Dabo — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

In today’s age, the average consumer is too exposed to marketing materials to pay attention to each one, and billboards can be an expensive investment for companies and can easily go unnoticed. The average consumer uses tools that would reduce his exposure to advertising materials, but the results of this research indicate that even though consumers are overexposed to advertisements, they still believe that humor on billboards is not present enough and that they would like to see it more precisely for the reason that research has shown that the use of humor is rated as likable by consumers. Starting from the basic definition that humor is a form of communication whose goal is to make the interlocutors laugh and cheer up, the aim of this paper was to investigate the opinion of different publics about humorous billboard advertising solutions and to determine the connection between the use of humor as a tool in billboard advertising, the intention to purchase the advertised product /services and raising awareness about the organization and the advertised product/service. The chosen research method is a survey, and it was conducted with an online survey questionnaire, which enabled the quick and easy collection of a larger number of respondents needed for the implementation of the research task. A wide and heterogeneous sample enabled an insight into the opinions of different members of the population, given that they are all exposed to the advertising (humorous) appeal that is the subject of this research. The obtained results indicated a positive effect of using humor in advertising through billboards, more precisely in increasing the visibility of the brand, i.e. the memory of the advertised product, as well as a generally positive opinion about the use of humor in advertising. Most of the respondents confirmed that humor is a good method of attracting their attention and that they like the humorous approach to advertising through billboards. What are the humor preferences of different groups of people, what is the correlation between humorous advertising and brand building, what type of humor attracts the most attention for a certain brand or economic niche, are just some of the possible research topics and directions. Considering the few and scarce literature in this area, the results of this and similar research can bring useful and practical guidelines to professionals in practice for more precise and effective management of advertising campaigns in the future, and to the scientific community a better understanding of the phenomenon of consumer thinking, i.e. a clearer insight into the connection messages and consumer behaviors of the product or service. This work was created as part of the research for the diploma thesis at the university graduate study of Communication Studies, student Ivona Marenić at the Catholic University of Croatia, 2023.

ECONOMIC CRIME: A THREAT TO SOCIETY, COMPANIES AND MANAGEMENT

Nina Uremović, Goran Matijević, Maja Jovanović — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0100

In addition to numerous international and national criminal and preventive acts and regulations, strict prohibited sanctions, despite the defined business norms, the economy as an activity by which they are acquired and acquired, and disposes of numerous assets, including material ones, is unfortunately not exempt from criminal offenses in which individuals or groups, they want to gain an extraneous benefit. We classify these crimes in the group of economic crimes, and damages from them are caused in private companies, public companies and state and local administration, and the perpetrators can come from among employees or from outside business entities, and a special problem is internationalization and globalization, which this criminal makes the works even more complex. In addition to measurable damage in amounts, these criminal acts are also a danger to the community because they disrupt the system and values. Due to the large amounts of damage to the budget of the European Union, it established a separate prosecutor’s office – EPPO. In the introduction, the paper defines what criminal acts of economic crime are, their problems, and briefly their causes and consequences at the EU level. The search methodology for sources uses the legal acquis of the EU and the legislation of the Republic of Croatia, which define the legal framework for the fight against economic crime. Then, based on the indicators of the Ministry of the Interior, an analysis of the trend of economic crime for the level of the Republic of Croatia is made. In the period from 2013 to 2022, the largest number of these criminal offenses was recorded in 2016, (7111), and observed in the period from 2019 to 2022, there is an increase in the number of these criminal offenses (2019-4137, 2022 -4956), while the most common criminal offenses are Forgery of official or business documents, Abuse of position and authority, etc. In addition to individual criminal offenses, organized groups, internationalization, and the level of perpetrators and their social position are a big problem. The establishment of the European Prosecutor’s Office therefore proved to be justified both in other countries and for the territory of the Republic of Croatia. Namely, numerous damages were prevented by the action of this institution. Based on the research and the author’s personal experiences, recommendations are given for the prevention and suppression of these crimes, which should have a broad social framework. Even with just one criminal act, it is possible to threaten the survival of the company and numerous employees, which managers must keep in mind. In addition to the scope for other research, this points to the consideration of the necessary education and training of management and economics students on the prevention of these criminal acts, as a common good.