RePec

As economic instability grows and the risk of global threats increases – including pandemics, wars, climate crises, and sudden migration flows – conventional indicators of progress, such as gross domestic product (GDP), are increasingly recognised as insufficient to assess socio-economic development, societal resilience, and a country’s capacity to recover from crises. This article highlights the role of culture in evaluating the socio-economic development of European Union member states under conditions of uncertainty. Culture is understood as a factor shaping long-term development trajectories, influencing not only economic outcomes but also institutional quality, social trust, and societies’ ability to adapt to shocks. From a methodological perspective, the article applies criteria for assessing the cultural sector in line with the EU's "Beyond GDP" approach, focusing on cultural employment, the business environment of the cultural sector, and public expenditure on culture across EU countries. These indicators are analysed alongside levels of trust in public institutions and the Human Development Index (HDI), as well as their correlations, to identify key factors that may significantly impact societal resilience, sustainability, and long-term growth. Using descriptive and comparative methods, the study seeks to identify recurring patterns and structural imbalances across countries, particularly when high GDP levels are not reflected in social well-being or national stability. The empirical findings suggest that cultural indicators are more closely associated with long-term development outcomes than with short-term economic performance. The results indicate that the vitality of the cultural sector and consistent public support contribute to strengthening social cohesion and resilience, while their impact on economic growth is indirect and materialises through longer-term institutional and value-based transformations. The article concludes that culture should be regarded as a strategic resource for long-term development rather than a secondary component of economic policy, especially in contexts of global crisis and uncertainty.

Financial technology is quickly developing, making the financial industry more accessible and encouraging individual investor engagement in the investing process. Generation Z, characterised by a high level of digital literacy, curiosity, and receptivity to innovation, tends to very quickly make decisions and rapidly consume. Since 2007, there has been an increase in the number of articles analysing investor behaviour, drawing on insights from financial and psychological theories. The purpose of this exploratory study is to categorise the behaviour of students surveyed by the type of their investments, while at the same time assessing their willingness to choose green investments. The survey used in the analysis not only aims at collecting data but also educates students on the importance of critical self-awareness and the identification of their emotions to make rational, responsible investment decisions and, at the same time, to form a responsible investor who understands that investing is not only a way to earn a return but also can make a positive impact on the world when green investments are chosen. This study shows that studying students tend to be very rational and interested in contributing to greening the world; however, they are still hesitant to put their theoretical skills into practise and are more likely to provide theoretical support for green investments rather than actually invest. Respondents are grouped according to their potential investment behaviour. The proportions of groups are assessed using statistical inference with a precision of 95% that allowed to propose the method of deriving confidence intervals for each group estimation and, thus, making estimates both reliable and available as statistical estimations.

The multifaceted challenges posed by globalization, medical advancements, conflicts and crises necessitate a critical examination of social and organizational inclusion. Despite the acknowledged advantages of inclusive leadership (IL), there remains a significant research gap concerning the perceptions of IL among diverse employee groups, particularly within heterogeneous organizations. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the perceptions of IL across various sociodemographic groups within fintech companies in Lithuania. By concentrating on this rapidly evolving sector, this research enhances the understanding of IL by assessing how sociodemographic variables influence perceptions of inclusive leadership practices. A total of 236 responses were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests, supplemented by the Bonferroni correction to ensure statistical robustness. The findings elucidate the dynamics of IL within the fast-paced fintech environment, revealing unique challenges and opportunities to foster organizational inclusivity. The implications of this research provide actionable insights for industry leaders striving to implement IL strategies that empower minority groups and enhance overall organizational performance. Although the results indicate that fintech organizations have made strides in embedding IL principles, these advancements are not uniformly experienced across diverse employee demographics. Specifically, this study identifies significant disparities in IL perceptions between employees of other genders and those with health-related impairments. Acknowledging certain limitations, particularly the small sample sizes of some examined employee subgroups, this study advocates for further research to yield generalizable findings that can inform and improve inclusive organizational practices.

The development and digitalization of retail trade have resulted in increased competition and the erasure of geographical boundaries. The COVID-19 pandemic has further changed customer behavior, giving rise to new competitors, particularly from the Asian market. These new fashion brands not only offer attractive prices and acceptable quality, but also constantly update their collections in online shops, offer various promotions, discounts, and excellent customer service, which pique buyers' interest and encourage them to try their clothes. The objective of this paper is to analyze modern customer service solutions in the fashion industry in Lithuania with the aim of enhancing customer satisfaction in Zara stores. To assess the situation in Zara stores in Lithuania, a quantitative research method utilizing a questionnaire was employed to gather data from 109 respondents. The analysis and discussion of the survey data from Zara store customers revealed the main customer service issues, including moderate satisfaction with the product range and quality, low satisfaction with Zara's" pricing strategies, loyalty programs, and online store. While respondents expressed satisfaction with the physical store environment, they were dissatisfied with the lack of rest-waiting areas in shopping halls. There is a high demand for modern customer service solutions in both digital and physical environments.

In recent decades, humanity has had a significant negative impact on the environment. This problem can be solved only by establishing a rational environmental management policy and ensuring an effective financial policy in the context of balancing emissions and expenditures on environmental protection measures. The purpose of this article is to analyze the efficiency of financing environmental protection measures by determining the dependence of pollutant emissions on environmental protection expenditures in Ukraine and the European Union. The following methods were used for the study: analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison, specification, and statistical and graphical methods. The statistical information was systematized on the basis of open data from the Open Budget web portal, the State Statistics Service, and Eurostat. This study identified the dynamics of revenues from environmental taxes in Ukraine; taxes on air emissions prevail. Most of the expenditures are made from the state budget. According to the functional classification, environmental expenditures are mainly aimed at preventing and eliminating environmental pollution. The dynamics of capital investments in environmental protection were also studied. To assess the effectiveness of the state policy in the field of environmental protection, we analyzed the dependence of pollutant emissions in Ukraine, Poland, and Romania on the amount of environmental expenditures and investments in this area and revenues from environmental tax. In Ukraine, the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere depends mostly on investments in this area; in Poland—on revenues from environmental taxes; and in Romania—on expenditures on environmental protection. It has been established that the obtained models are adequate and can be used to build future forecasts of pollutant emissions. Directions for the development of financial and environmental policy are proposed. Post-war restoration of the environmental situation should be carried out on the basis of sustainable development, focusing on the European Green Deal A triple-task approach should be implemented, including environmental restoration, the minimization of negative climate change and balanced use of resources, and the expansion of powers of the relevant ministry with a focus on the strategic goals of the state policy. It is necessary to develop methodological recommendations according to international standards to assess the real state of the environment.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the rates of anxiety have been constantly increasing worldwide in recent years. To understand this phenomenon, based on the complemented cognitive model TVAPA of anxiety, the hybrid method of modeling and simulating the dynamics of anxiety in the population is proposed. The suggested method combines agent-based modeling, dynamic systems modeling with differential equations, and machine learning methods. The four-level STAI methodology is applied to assess anxiety in the proposed models. Sentiment analysis of social media content is used to identify the parameters of triggering stimuli flow. The proposed models were implemented and verified using open access data sets. Created models are characterized by simplicity, and the parameters used in them have a clear socio-informational meaning. The developed models can be calibrated by applying statistical methods according to indicators of anxiety measured at discrete sets of time intervals by associating them with parameters of the threat stimuli flow taken from statistical data and/or Internet content tracking data.

Research background: Tourism sector is considered as a driving force of economic develop-ment and understanding factors that deter the flow of tourists and hinder its development, which is essential for all actors involved in this industry. Oeconomia Copernicana,14(3), 1009–10351010 Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article is to investigate the impact of rule of law, corruption, and terrorism on tourism in 14 coastal states of the Mediterranean Sea based on the United Nations classification. Methods: The short and long-run relationships among the rule of law, corruption, terrorism and tourism are respectively analyzed through Dumitrescu and Hurlin causality test and LM bootstrap cointegration test taking notice of the presence of heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. Findings & value added: The causality analysis reveals that control of corruption has a signif-icant influence on tourism only in the short run. The cointegration analysis uncovers that terrorism negatively affects the tourism in Albania, Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia, but im-provements in corruption also positively affect the tourism in Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece and Italy. Last, the rule of law has a positive impact on tourism in Egypt, Greece, and Israel. In this context, the rule of law can also be a key factor for tourism devel-opment via combat with corruption and terrorism. Based on some unique characteristics, the Mediterranean region has consolidated its position as the world's leading tourist destination, but to maintain this competitive position, it is crucial to recognize and adopt strategies that respond to all key challenges faced by this sector

Acceleration of scientific and technical progress, speeding up of technological changes, IT process globalisation and integration of OT processes invoked new challenges in preparing cyber strategies. Issues with adapting strategy for a particular specificity, region and specific cyber-attacks are not applicable. Therefore, a natural need arises to adjust the process for future cyber-attacks. It should be noted that the vast majority of organisations still need to possess a strategy that has been developed in correlation with future cyber-attacks. A part of organisations, irrespective of the lack of methodology and necessary infrastructure at the initial stage, commenced applying strategic management methods as a more dynamic environment demanded adequate changes in the cyber security within the organisation itself. The organisation started to plan such changes because, at the initial stage of the strategic management theory development, the strategy was understood as a plan drawn up to achieve the set objectives, regardless of the future need. Implementing such strategic procedures is grounded on something other than scientific calculations and is often associated with excessive use of funds. Therefore, the main goal of this article is to determine how much the r-Interdiction Median Problem with Fortification (RIMF) module can be used as a model for deciding methods for protecting critical infrastructure systems.

Research background: Nowadays, traditional business models are becoming less and less efficient, so the transformation of models is inevitable, reflecting the aspi-rations of the European strategy, pandemic or geopolitical challenges. Companies need to find ways to innovate with digital technology to create business strategies that add value to customers and improve performance. This paper analyzed the improvement of cluster business models in order to achieve maximum efficiency in the conditions of digital transformation in Lithua-nia. Purpose of the article: to identify the causes of business models efficiency in the context of digital transformation in Lithuanian clusters. Methods: Comparative and systematic analysis of scientific literature. The follow-ing methods are planned to include literature analysis method, survey results. Findings & Value added: - 93 percent of cluster coordinators indicated that they plan to digitize their busi-ness processes within five years, only 7 percent clusters do not plan business digit-ization due to too small company and production volumes and the lack of addition-al need for companies that have already implemented digitalization to do it again; - Digital technologies for the vast majority of clusters mean a competitive ad-vantage in the sector in which the cluster organization operates. - The sectors of the most popular digital technologies that will most affect cluster organizations are named: aircraft-based systems, artificial intelligence, continuous data exchange and collection, business management systems, automation and intel-ligent production, robotics.

The rapid growth of the sharing economy attracts attention from scientists, businesses, and governments. The European Commission acknowledges the benefits of the sharing economy and emphasises that European countries should be open to the new opportunities that the sharing economy brings. The sharing economy makes an essential contribution to job creation and growth in the European Union. The sharing economy creates new markets and expands existing ones. It makes the use of resources more efficient due to the extensive sharing of assets. Sharing improves resource conservation and efficiency of use, reformats consumption patterns, raises the spirit of entrepreneurship and responsibility of every capital owner, and improves social trust among people worldwide. Despite the focus of researchers on the sharing economy, there is still a lack of research on conditions that stimulate the sharing economy’s growth. The article lays the foundation for creating a more comprehensive methodology for assessing the growth of the sharing economy. The authors apply multi-criterion decision-making methods for research purposes, such as EDAS and PROMETHEE II, and recently developed CILOS and IDOCRIW for criteria weight calculation. A hierarchy structure of criteria for evaluating sharing economy growth was created and presented in the paper. The resulting weights of criteria of performance of sharing economy growth were obtained. The prominent features of hierarchy structures and the methodology for calculating ultimate weights are described and demonstrated. The results reveal that the environment is more favourable for sharing economy growth in the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden among the chosen European countries.