Year 2025, Issue 1
Date published24.3.2025
CONTENTS
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Tatjana Spaseska, Ilija Hristoski, Dragica Odzaklieska
PROFITABILITY PUZZLES: INSIGHTS FROM NORTH MACEDONIAN BANKSKeywords: banks, profitability, bank-specific determinants, macroeconomic determinants, ARDL methodology, North MacedoniaAbstract: The profitability of banks, as an indicator of financial performance, reflects their ability to generate substantial revenues. Bank profits are essential for their survival, solvency, and growth in a highly competitive environment.... The profitability of banks, as an indicator of financial performance, reflects their ability to generate substantial revenues. Bank profits are essential for their survival, solvency, and growth in a highly competitive environment. Moreover, even if solvency is high, poor profitability undermines a bank’s capacity to absorb negative shocks, which can eventually impact its solvency. Consequently, profitability has a vital role in maintaining the stability of the banking and financial system as a whole. Hence, the primary goal of this research is to analyze several important bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants of bank profitability in the Republic of North Macedonia. More specifically, the paper investigates how the Return on Average Assets (ROAA) is influenced by the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Credit Risk (CR), Cost to Income Ratio (CIR), Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR), Inflation Rate (IR), and Gross Domestic Product Rate (GDPR). Using secondary data from trustworthy sources, covering quarterly time series from 2005:Q1 to 2023:Q4, we employ correlation analysis, Granger causality tests, as well as the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to examine both short- and long-run dependencies among the variables. The results confirm the statistically significant impact of the regressors on the dependent variable and provide a solid foundation for the successful management and enhancement of banks’ profitability. -
Danh Luu Xuan, Nguyen Thanh Long
THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND MARKET ORIENTATION ON FIRM PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM VIETNAMESE COMMERCIAL BANKSAbstract: Digital Transformation (DT) has become a critical factor for maintaining competitiveness in the financial sector. However, the interplay between Market Orientation (MO), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), DT, and their combined... Digital Transformation (DT) has become a critical factor for maintaining competitiveness in the financial sector. However, the interplay between Market Orientation (MO), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), DT, and their combined impact on Firm Performance (FP) remains underexplored, particularly in emerging markets such as Vietnam. This study addresses this gap by examining the relationships in Vietnam's financial industry. The structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was applied to analyze 250 valid responses collected from 2,411 commercial bank branches in Southeast Vietnam. Stratified sampling and snowball sampling methods ensured regional representation. The findings reveal that DT directly enhances FP and acts as a key mediator, strengthening the effects of MO and CSR. DT facilitates real-time responsiveness, enhances transparency, and integrates technological advances with market and social strategies. The study highlights the strategic importance of embedding DT into CSR and MO frameworks to optimize efficiency, achieve sustainable development, and create competitive advantages in an increasingly digitized financial sector. -
Vesselin Blagoev, Elena Shustova, Alexandr Koichubayev
PERCEPTIONS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF SERVICE ROBOTS IN HOSPITALITY BUSINESSES IN KAZAKHSTAN AND RUSSIA - COMPARATIVE ANALYSISAbstract: Our goal is to assess the understanding and acceptance of robotization in hospitality, based on research done in the two countries. This research applies a survey method to collect respondents’ opinion of hospitality employees vs... Our goal is to assess the understanding and acceptance of robotization in hospitality, based on research done in the two countries. This research applies a survey method to collect respondents’ opinion of hospitality employees vs hospitality customers. The main sampling frames are formed by employees of hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses. Five hypotheses are studied and tested for the two categories of respondents in each country. The results from the statistical analysis differ for the studied countries, and between the two studied categories of respondents. The study confirms the expectations of improving the quality and increasing the effectiveness of robotizing the hospitality businesses. This research adds knowledge and understanding of how the hospitality employees and customers in Kazakhstan and Russia consider the implementation of service robots. The statistics show that the findings have value and can be used by hospitality managers when they consider possible robotization. -
Nataliia Kurovska, Dmytro Dema, Oleksandr Vilenchuk, Larysa Nedilska, Olga Vikarchuk
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF AGRIBUSINESS AS A DETERMINANT FOR ENSURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS OF UKRAINEAbstract: The growth of scientific and practical interest in the problems of corporate social responsibility relates to the public demand for value orientations of modern life, which are based on the principles of democracy, objectivity and... The growth of scientific and practical interest in the problems of corporate social responsibility relates to the public demand for value orientations of modern life, which are based on the principles of democracy, objectivity and justice. The basis of multifunctional rural development should be recognized as the social responsibility of all stakeholders interested in improving the quality of rural residents’ lives. The purpose of the study is to conceptually reveal and substantiate the activation processes of corporate social responsibility in the rural development of Ukraine in the conditions of European integration. The methodological basis of the study is based on the use of various methods of scientific knowledge, in particular: abstract-logical, structural-functional, induction and deduction, concretization, and graphic methods. During the conducted research, an assessment of the level of corporate social responsibility was carried out based on the parameters of the increase in the volume of social expenses and their structure among business entities in the agricultural sector of Ukraine for 2014-2022. Using consolidated reporting (financial and non-financial) of the leading producers of agricultural products in Ukraine, a correlation-regression model was formed. An assessment of the impact on the social costs’ quantity of agricultural holdings of factors such as capital profitability, land profitability and the volume of net income per 1 ha of agricultural land was carried out. Based on the modelling results, it was established that the mentioned agricultural producers have the necessary financial resources to strengthen social activity in rural areas, primarily thanks to the rational use of land capital. The main results of the study are aimed at integrating the corporate social responsibility of agribusiness into all areas of life in rural areas, ensuring a combination of moral and ethical, and socio-economic foundations of rural development. -
Lyubka Ilieva, Mariyana Bozhinova, Lyubomira Todorova, Pavlin Pavlov
MEASURING THE INNOVATION ACTIVITY OF TOURISM BUSINESSES IN BULGARIAAbstract: The implementation of innovations in tourism enterprises is a key factor in increasing their competitiveness. A challenge for the tourism businesses in Bulgaria is to develop innovative solutions that will diversify their tourism... The implementation of innovations in tourism enterprises is a key factor in increasing their competitiveness. A challenge for the tourism businesses in Bulgaria is to develop innovative solutions that will diversify their tourism products, optimize business operations and improve the overall efficiency of the tourism industry. The aim of this research is to systematize and interpret theoretical and empirical statements of innovations in tourism in order to propose and test a model for measuring the innovation activity of tourist enterprises in Bulgaria and, based on this, to formulate conclusions and recommendations. This paper examines the scope of innovation activity of tourism enterprises and measures their innovation activity by means of a proposed model that has been tested in organizations providing tourism-related services. Research methodology includes induction and deduction, method of analysis and synthesis, analogy, content analysis, comparative analysis, survey, etc. As a result of the research, an innovation index is calculated, using the developed Model for measuring innovation activity in tourist enterprises, based on the evaluation of seven groups of qualitative indicators, and conclusions and recommendations are formulated for the promotion of innovation activity in the tourism sector. The tested model shows that it is possible to measure the innovation activity in the tourism sector by covering all enterprises offering the main tourism services. -
Irena Markova
SPACE INSURANCE – INNOVATIONS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE INSURANCE BUSINESSJEL: G22.Keywords: space insurance, insurance products, space industry, space risks, environmental pollution liability insuranceAbstract: The study focuses on the theoretical and applied aspects of insurance in the aerospace industry. The author's aspiration is to substantiate the role of space insurance as one of the main methods of increasing corporate security in... The study focuses on the theoretical and applied aspects of insurance in the aerospace industry. The author's aspiration is to substantiate the role of space insurance as one of the main methods of increasing corporate security in space companies. The increased insurance needs and interests in the space sector in recent years have stimulated innovations in insurance activity and posed new challenges for insurers. The harmonious combination of insurance with the prevention and limitation of the impact of space risks is a prerequisite for effective corporate risk management in the space sector. The article proposes a model of the space insurance market, which analyses the relationships between its entities and substantiates the interrelationships between the space industry and the insurance business.