Department of Economics

The presented paper deals with chosen aspects of the shadow economy in the world and in Slovakia. The shadow economy is a worldwide phenomenon and shadow-economic activities may generate different effects and problems. It is generally known that it involves legal or illegal economic activities of any economic entity, which are performed outside the reach and control of government authorities. The aim of the article is to present chosen information on the shadow economy from the global aspect, subsequently to describe and analyse shadow-economic activities that are typical for the Slovak economy. In the context of the paper's aim, the authors divided the paper in two main parts. The introduction part is devoted to the theoretical aspects of the discussed issue with emphasize on defining of the shadow economy and determining main aspects that are analysed in connection with the shadow economy. In the second part, the authors mainly deal with the issue of measuring of the shadow economy. In this part, inter alia, the authors present chosen information on the shadow economy from the global perspective by summarizing already existing findings. An important part of this section constitutes findings of different analyses of the shadow economy and shadow-economic activities in Slovakia. The authors present findings from already existing analyses as well as their own findings to get a comprehensive view on the discussed issue. Based on the findings, in the last part, authors will present proposals how to solve and fight against shadow-economic activities.

The paper analyses the possibility of applying chosen fraudulent detection technique in the condition of Slovakia and then evaluates its explanatory power. The authors based on the idea that in addition to positive effects of globalization, negative effects on the activity of economic entities are also manifestations of this process. As the society has become more dependent on information technologies, increased globalisation and greater interconnectedness, certain exposure to negatives has expanded right along with them. One of this negative effect is clearly a financial crime of various type, including fraudulent financial reporting. The financial statements should "describe" factually and truthfully the financial and economic health of a company because it is the main sources of information for various type of stakeholders. Handling of it (considering in the context of financial crime) is primary the responsibility of owners or managers (provided the separation of the ownership structure from the management structure). Reasons for doing so are different. Their common denominator is the artificial creation of information asymmetry to obtain different "benefits". It is therefore logical that the need for constructing techniques that would reveal an unacceptable legal action by a company in a financial reporting process is at the forefront.

Graduate Practice is in Slovakia one of the measures of active labour market policy aimed at decreasing the unemployment rate of young graduates. It is one of the most frequently used interventions by young jobseekers under the age of 26; similar measures are used in other European Union (EU) member states. The specific objective of this intervention is to provide young jobseekers to gain the first contact with the labour market, first work experience and work habits that may be attractive to potential employers. The intervention is financed from the European Social Fund (within the Operational Program-Human Resources and the priority axis-Youth Employment Initiative) and the state budget. This fact requires ad 1) to evaluate the eligibility of drawing these resources and ad 2) to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of resources in terms of employability and sustainability of participants of the intervention in the labour market, the second of which is the primary objective of this study. The European Commission has increasingly required the member states of the EU to carry out impact evaluations of funded interventions and to develop evidence-based policies that will implement the results of such evaluations. The aim of this study is, therefore, to evaluate and review the effects of the Graduate Practice on the employability of young jobseekers in conditions of Slovakia. This evaluation is carried out using a counterfactual approach by comparing the results of treated and non-treated individuals by applying the three most used methods: regression adjustment, instrumental variable, and propensity score matching method. The results indicate significant effects of the Graduate Practice on the employability of young jobseekers and their sustainability in employment. The results of the evaluation are valuable mainly for policymakers, i.e. in setting the rules of the intervention and its eligibility to make the measure more effective or potentially in preparing other measures aimed at youth unemployment. Implications for Central European audience: The findings of the evaluation may inspire policymakers in other countries than Slovakia to introduce similar or new programs for the

The presented paper deals with chosen aspects of the shadow economy in the world and in Slovakia. The shadow economy is a worldwide phenomenon and shadow-economic activities may generate different effects and problems. It is generally known that it involves legal or illegal economic activities of any economic entity, which are performed outside the reach and control of government authorities. The aim of the article is to present chosen information on the shadow economy from the global aspect, subsequently to describe and analyse shadow-economic activities that are typical for the Slovak economy. In the context of the paper’s aim, the authors divided the paper in two main parts. The introduction part is devoted to the theoretical aspects of the discussed issue with emphasize on defining of the shadow economy and determining main aspects that are analysed in connection with the shadow economy. In the second part, the authors mainly deal with the issue of measuring of the shadow econom...

The development of the national economy of any country is (besides others) highly addicted to the economic success of its business entities. However, due to the process of trade globalization and market liberalization, the business environment has become more competitive that requires companies to build up own competitiveness not only in the domestic, but as well in the international measure. If we take into account the fact that approximately 99% of Slovak businesses are formed by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), next that our economy has character of opened one (in the meaning of export and import transaction), to compete with rival multinational companies is a question of their daily survival. The way how to support the development and competitiveness of such kind companies (that the practice has proved as well), consequently the regional and national economic development, the concept of business clusters is considered. ?Business clusters are a striking and common feature in ...

Značka v súčasnosti plní veľmi široký okruh úloh a má veľký význam nielen pre vlastníka značky, ale pre každý subjekt trhu. To, čo vytvára hodnotu určitého produktu nie je len jeho kvalita, vzhľad či funkčné vlastnosti. Značka tvorí pridanú hodnotu produktu. Zákazníkom uľahčuje rozhodovanie o kúpe a môže vyjadrovať sľub producenta, že výrobok alebo služba uspokojí zákazníkovu potrebu a naplní jeho očakávania v takej kvalite, v akej to o produkte deklaruje. Silná značka patrí medzi tie najcennejšie aktíva, ktoré podnik vlastní. Predstavuje veľmi účinný nástroj v konkurenčnom súboji. Z toho dôvodu je potrebné značku správne na trhu umiestniť, riadiť a marketingovými aktivitami posilňovať. Od toho závisí, aké asociácie bude značka v mysli verejnosti vytvárať a s akými vlastnosťami, kvalitou či hodnotami bude spájaná v praxi.

VEGA-Výskum možnosti aplikácie fuzzy-stochastického prístupu a Corporate Matrics ako nástrojov kvantifikácie a diverzifikácie podnikových rizik (Research on the possibility of applying fuzzy-stochastic approach and Corporate Matrics as tools of quantification and diversification of business risk). Oborové zaměření: AH-Ekonomie © GRANT Journal, MAGNANIMITAS Assn. Abstrakt Investičná činnosť podniku je už dlhodobo považovaná za nevyhnutnú súčasť podnikateľských stratégií rozvoja podniku, zvyšovania konkurencieschopnosti, dosahovania zisku a zvyšovania jeho trhovej hodnoty ako základného cieľa jeho samotnej existencie. Ak chce byť podnik úspešný, mal by byť schopný tieto príležitosti identifikovať a samozrejme z potenciálnych investičných príležitostí vybrať tú, ktorá spomínaný cieľ podporí. Výberu investičného variantu predchádza určenie jeho potenciálnej ekonomickej efektívnosti prostredníctvom rôzneho spektra metód hodnotenia investičných projektov. S ohľadom na súčasnú nestálosť trhových štruktúr vplyvom zmien makro a mikroprostredia sa do popredia dostáva neistota a flexibilita investičných rozhodnutí a fakt zohľadnenia jej hodnoty pri investičnej činnosti podniku. Jednou z možností, ako túto flexibilitu pretransformovať do hodnotenia investičných projektov, je práve využitie reálnych opcií.

Research background: The way of pricing intra-group transactions (controlled transactions in the terms of transfer pricing) should be in line with the arm´s length principle, whether we consider nationally or transnationally related business entities. If this is not the case, these operations are a tool for earnings management between the companies. It is known that income tax is perceived by businesses as an unproductive withdrawal of own funds without obvious consideration, and therefore managing economic transactions at the level of related-party entities in order to minimize the tax liability is obvious and even expected. Purpose of the article: The aim of the paper is to find out if controlled transactions are used in connection with earnings management and tax avoidance in the selected Slovak company using proxies, which may carry this detection capability (ratios of related party transactions, book-tax differences ratio, and discretionary accruals ratio). Methods: The analyti...

This study aims to evaluate the impact of a selected active labour market policy measure that has been applied in Slovakia—Allowance for school graduate practice performance—on the employability of young jobseekers and their sustainability in the labour market, and thus, it will also empirically contribute to the field of relevant literature. The policy targets unemployed school graduates, and it enables them to acquire professional skills and practical experience that corresponds with their level of education, work habits, and possible direct contact with potential employers. At the same time, this measure addresses a long-standing gap in the Slovakian education system, namely, the insufficient linkages between the educational process, the practices in the field, and the requirements of the labour market. Using fiscal resources to finance this policy, it provides a natural and logical platform to investigate the relevance of the outcome of this measure in the context of its proclai...

The intervention Allowance for school-leaver practice performance is in Slovakia one of the active labour market policy instruments aimed at unemployed young school-leavers. It was put into practice to enable young jobseekers to gain their first contact with the labour market and first work experience and habits. As the state budget and EU social funds are used to finance this intervention, there is a natural need to evaluate its outcomes. In this study, the evaluation is carried out by a counterfactual approach. To cope with the problem of selection bias, the method of an instrumental variable is used. The results show that the intervention has a short to medium-term impact on the employability and a significant positive impact on wages. The results of this study have the potential to be used by the policymakers to create the conditions for the effective functioning of the measure and eligibility of the participants.

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) play an important role in society. Nowadays, many companies apply the phenomenon—corporate social responsibility (CSR) which supports sustainable development and cooperation between the for-profit and non-profit sector. These companies are careful to cooperate with organizations and make decisions based on many factors, such as financial stability and independence of non-profit organizations. These attributes are assessed by predictive models. The models are a common tool in the for-profit sector compared to the non-profit sector. In our case, the main aim of the research is to propose a prediction model to estimate financial status of Slovak non-profit organizations using discriminant analysis. The overall sample consists of 351 NPOs dividing into training and testing sub-samples. We find that model classifies correctly almost 91% of NPOs in the training sample, respectively less than 80% in the testing sample. However, the results show that all vuln...

The non-profit sector plays an important role in the American and European continents, as non-profit organizations support the development of civil society and help people in need. However, most non-profit organizations (NPO) are financially dependent on various donors from the private sector. Nowadays, non-profit organizations focus on improving their non-profit financial management. This research aims to assess the financial status of Slovak non-profit organizations, using binary logistic regression. The initial sample includes 351 Slovak NPOs, which are divided into a training and test sub-sample. The data were obtained from Amadeus, FinStat, the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, and the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic. The logit model shows that the significant variables are equity ratio, debt ratio, operating margin, and type of NPO using the statistical–analytical program IBM SPSS 25. The model also implies that non-profit organizations should focus on th...

For a long time, game elements were used in economics. It has already been proven that the use of gamification in marketing is a regular and successful technique with a future to create a brand experience and involve not only customers but also stakeholders in the field of corporate social responsibility. However, gamification began to enter the educational environment, mainly due to the effort to motivate students as well as customers of companies. The aim of the paper is to focus on the concept of gamification only in the didactic educational context, to summarize the benefits and disadvantages of this attribute as a whole. The paper presents a summary and analysis of various secondary data of scientific as well as practical nature.

Online marketing communication covers a wide area and thus promotes an extensive reach of advertising to a broad audience. Hotels can achieve certain goals through online communication, mainly an increase of hotel awareness; an improvement of their image; and an increase in the level of customer satisfaction and trust, or brand loyalty. Measurement of the effectiveness of communication tools in the online environment is still a challenge, whether in the academic world or in the business world, mainly due to the complexity of this process. The main objective of this paper is to propose a methodology for implementing an indicator suitable for the evaluation of the effectiveness of online communication activities in the Slovak hotel industry. It uses analysis of the current usage of online marketing communication activities from the perspective of hotel service providers. The methodology should be applicable to support decision-making and actively support the sustainable development of...

According to statistics, the number of Slovaks who shop over the Internet is increasing year by year. Compared to the surrounding countries, Slovaks are clearly the leaders in online shopping. Increasing popularity of customers in online shopping leads to a significant decline in number of retail stores. This is a consequence of global technological change. However, businesses and especially retailers themselves can benefit from technological advances in this case as well. All you have to do is choose the right marketing tool. Such tools are undoubtedly the tools of proximity marketing that are used as a communication channel in retail stores. In this paper, we focus on proximity marketing tools that provide a means of creating a personal relationship between a customer and a vendor at the time of physical purchase by a customer in a store. Its aim is to support and increase sales in retail stores, increase consumer satisfaction and build a positive brand image. The aim of the paper...

Sustainability of food production and consumption has become one of the most discussed topics of sustainable development in global context. Thus, traditional managerial patterns have to be revised according to the social request. The revisions that have been done so far are based on relevant specifics of production and have mostly general character. Moreover, traditional managerial postulates do not change; only their way of implementation is modified. These two facts are possible reason of the practical fails in sustainable management of alimentary goods. One of these traditional managerial concepts is brand. Within this context, it has been considered as a facilitator of CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities. But the situation has changed, and the suspicion that brand loyalty is not a facilitator but an obstacle to the sustainable management is high. Thus, the importance of research of brand loyalty in scope of sustainable management of alimentary goods is indisputable....

The main objective of the contribution is to create the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) level and performance measurement model. It is almost impossible to create an absolutely universal model. On the other hand, we can develop a model in a particular sector based on the most advanced CRACK method with nine key areas such as Brand management, Offer management, Classic marketing, Sales activities, Service and support activities, Logistics operations, Compliance with promised terms, Internet activities, Customer Support, and Complex indicators. The monitored criteria in the key areas were determined on the basis of an objective questionnaire survey conducted by the pharmaceutical industry on the B2B market in the Slovak Republic. One of the primary requirements for the construction of the model was to obtain information to help predict the future development of performance because only in this way can the company correct CRM activities. Based on the data acquisition methodology...

A brand is one way to distinguish products from each other, while simplifying consumers’ decisions in choosing an appropriate product. Brand building is not just about design but also strategy, which is even more important in the process. The result of brand building is the potential to represent a certain value for the company. However, sustaining and improving a brand’s position in the market is not a simple process in the current competitive environment. Therefore, there is scope for application of new marketing strategies such as sensory marketing. Sensory marketing represents a way for companies to influence consumers’ senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste) and evoke the emotions affecting their buying behaviour and perceptions of the product or brand. The aim of the article is to provide a literature review on the issue from several foreign and domestic authors. It discusses the essence of a brand, brand value, sensory marketing and also analyses its use as a support too...