2026-06-29
Pedro Gil-García, Arturo Haro-de-Rosario, Carmen Caba-Perez
Research background: This paper contributes to the emerging literature on carbon neutrality by addressing the gap in empirical evidence regarding the long-term financial implications of voluntary environmental commitments. While the adoption of carbon offset policies is increasing globally, the relationship between these voluntary climate actions and corporate profitability remains under-explored, particularly in the context of Mediterranean markets like Spain where disclosure has transitioned from voluntary to mandatory. Purpose of the article: The article pursues two primary objectives: first, to map the adoption patterns and strategic trends of corporative voluntary carbon offset policies; and second, to empirically assess whether such environmental engagement translates into measurable improvements in financial performance, specifically analysing if carbon responsibility acts as a driver for corporate value creation. Methods: We conduct a longitudinal study covering a sample of Spanish companies over the 2019–2022 period, a timeframe characterized by voluntary carbon footprint disclosure. The methodology employs panel data and multiple regression analysis to examine the link between voluntary engagement in carbon markets and firm profitability. Financial performance is proxied by Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) to ensure a robust measure of efficiency. Findings & value added: Our findings indicate that companies pursuing voluntary carbon offset strategies exhibit higher ROIC, suggesting that environmental responsibility and financial performance are mutually reinforcing. The study provides critical value by informing policymakers on the benefits of incentivizing voluntary offsetting. Furthermore, it offers investors and managers empirical evidence that sustainability strategies can simultaneously enhance profitability and climate performance, moving beyond the traditional trade-off perspective.
2026-06-29
Lubica Gajanova, Eva Kicova, Jakub Michulek, Juraj Fabus
Research background: Employee performance is a central variable in organizational research that directly influences the competitiveness and sustainability of organisations. The Visegrád Group (V4), comprising Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary, shares a common post-socialist institutional heritage that has transformed employment relations and organizational management, yet remains largely unexplored from a comparative structural equation modelling perspective. Existing studies on perceived organisational support, job satisfaction and employee performance predominantly concern single-country or single-sector settings, leaving a notable geographical and methodological gap. Purpose: This study aims to identify the determinants of employee performance in V4 countries, with a focus on the role of perceived organisational support and job satisfaction. Specifically, it examines the mediating function of job satisfaction in the relationship between organisational support and employee performance. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional comparative design was employed. Data were collected via a structured online questionnaire from 1,089 respondents from all four V4 countries between January and March 2026. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was applied as the primary analytical tool, with measurement invariance assessed via Measurement Invariance of Composite Models (MICOM) and multi-group analysis for cross-country comparisons. Findings & value added: Organisational support positively influenced both employee performance and job satisfaction, while job satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between organisational support and employee performance (indirect effect) and independently predicted performance. MGA reveals that the direct effect of organisational support on employee performance was significantly stronger in Slovakia and the Czech Republic than in Poland and Hungary, whereas the mediating mechanism through job satisfaction was homogeneous. This study is the first systematic comparative structural equation modelling analysis of the organisational support → job satisfaction → employee performance model in the entire V4 region. It has empirically grounded implications for management in post-socialist organisational contexts, where the depth of institutional transformation conditions the strength of support–performance relationships and extends the boundary conditions of social exchange theory and organisational support theory beyond their original Western institutional context.
2026-06-29
Raquel Caro-Carretero
Research background: Music festivals represent a pivotal arena for socio-economic structural transformation, transitioning from traditional mass tourism toward sustainable cultural economies characterized by diversified local revenue streams, green employment opportunities, and a reduced dependence on extractive sectors. As sustainability emerges as a core expectation among festival attendees worldwide, assessing their willingness to pay (WTP) for environmentally friendly initiatives becomes critical for organizers seeking to contribute to this economic shift. Purpose of the article: This study examines how demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal factors influence WTP among music festival attendees, using a multinomial decision framework. The model captures willingness, refusal, and uncertainty toward carbon-neutral initiatives, providing a more nuanced perspective than traditional binary approaches. By incorporating decision uncertainty, the study extends current knowledge of sustainability-related consumer behavior. It also provides insights that may inform the design of eco-conscious events aimed at supporting local economic resilience in a changing global context. Methods: Survey data from 1,012 festival-goers were analyzed through multinomial logistic regression with a three-option WTP scale (“Yes”, “Maybe”, and “No”), capturing decision-making uncertainty beyond traditional binary approaches while testing predictors of financial contributions to carbon-neutral initiatives. Findings & value added: The analyses revealed significant overall effects of age, festival attendance regularity, perceived importance of sustainability measures, willingness to volunteer for sustainability activities, prior carbon footprint knowledge, and received festival carbon footprint information. In contrast, gender, financial independence, festivals’ awareness promotion, and highest carbon footprint festival aspect identification showed no significance. The three-choice structure uncovers nuanced behavioral patterns, highlighting consumer complexity in sustainability contexts that binary models overlook. Furthermore, this study contributes to the festival sustainability literature by linking individual environmental preferences to broader processes of economic transformation, highlighting the potential of music festivals to support sustainable local development and responsible tourism. By showing that attendees’ environmental engagement can facilitate support for carbon-neutral initiatives, the findings advance understanding of sustainability financing preferences. They also offer valuable insights into festival attendee heterogeneity, enabling organizers to develop more targeted and effective sustainability strategies, while being relevant in the context of UN SDGs 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action).
2026-06-29
Shahab Sharfaei, Tereza Němečková, Jakkrit Thavorn
Research background: The deepening integration of global value chains (GVCs) has provided developing economies with critical pathways to industrialisation and export-led growth. However, this model is under increasing pressure as climate policy emerges as a powerful form of economic governance. The European Union (EU) has positioned itself as a global leader in climate regulation, deploying instruments such as carbon pricing and emissions trading. A prevailing assumption holds that such measures advance decarbonisation by shortening carbon-intensive supply chains, yet this assumption has not been systematically tested alongside automation-driven production reconfiguration. Purpose of the article: This study examines three interrelated mechanisms: whether stricter EU climate policies increase domestic robot adoption; whether higher robot adoption is associated with reduced reliance on offshore production, proxied by declining manufacturing exports from developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific; and whether such production restructuring translates into measurable reductions in CO₂ emissions. Methods: The analysis employs panel data covering EU member states and developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific over the period 2005–2021. An event-study approach centred on the 2009 EU Climate and Energy Package is used to identify the effect of climate policy on robot adoption. Panel least squares regressions with country and time fixed effects are subsequently estimated to examine the links between robot adoption, trade flows and CO₂ emissions. Findings & value added: Stricter EU climate policies are associated with accelerated robot adoption, which in turn is linked to declining manufacturing exports from East Asia and the Pacific. Contrary to theoretical expectations, these shifts are not associated with reductions in CO₂ emissions. The paper contributes a novel empirical framework linking climate regulation to automation-led GVC reconfiguration and provides the first evidence that climate policy may be associated with export-flow adjustments that do not automatically translate into lower emissions.
2026-03-29
Olesya Petrenko, Marcin Błażejowski, Jacek Kwiatkowski, Jan Čadil
<p><strong>Research background:</strong><strong> </strong>The gender pay gap (GPG) remains a persistent issue across the EU, with structural factors such as horizontal segregation—particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) industries—contributing to labour market disparities. Despite women increasingly attaining tertiary education, their underrepresentation in STEM careers persists, raising questions about how higher education pathways intersect with the GPG. Specifically, we examine the structural linkages between educational pathways and occupational sorting in STEM-intensive sectors, where it is widely observed that women with STEM degrees do not work in these fields as frequently as men.</p> <p><strong>Purpose of the article:</strong><strong> </strong>This article aims to identify key determinants of the GPG linked to higher education, with a specific focus on STEM university majors. By analysing the relationship between tertiary education trends and wage gaps, the study seeks to clarify how educational pathways systematically shape occupational segregation and, consequently, the GPG. We examine these dynamics across 27 EU Member States, emphasizing the role of higher educational attainment and gender dynamics in STEM fields as part of broader institutional patterns rather than isolated national cases.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong><strong> </strong>We employ the Bayesian model averaging (BMA) method as an effective approach for modelling uncertainty across a large model space and providing a reliable measure of the importance of the considered determinants. This method is applied to assess the impact of variables such as gender-specific STEM graduation rates on the GPG, ensuring reliable identification of key drivers.</p> <p><strong>Findings & value added:</strong><strong> </strong>We conclude that STEM tertiary education plays an important role in shaping the GPG, not only through participation rates but through its interaction with labour market structures. Our results suggest that gendered asymmetries in advanced qualifications and early-career entry points may reinforce persistent wage inequalities, even among highly educated cohorts. These findings contribute new insights by demonstrating that educational expansion alone is insufficient to ensure wage convergence if educational trajectories remain horizontally segregated. By highlighting the structural role of higher education in shaping occupational sorting, this study advances current debates on the institutional roots of gender pay inequality and offers implications relevant to a broad set of advanced and emerging economies.</p>
2026-03-29
Tomasz Żądło, Alicja Wolny-Dominiak, Monika Hadaś-Dyduch, Marek Zinecker, Tomasz Stachurski, Adam Chwila, Małgorzata Krzciuk, Michał Bernard Pietrzak, Israa Lewaaaelhamd
<p><strong>Research background:</strong><strong> </strong>Traditional socio-economic indicators, such as the Gini coefficient, may suffer from significant data lags and fail to capture the long-term dynamics of capital accumulation and wealth-based inequality. Furthermore, real estate forecasting predominantly focuses on predicting price levels rather than price dispersion, typically relying on ex post accuracy assessments that cannot account for unexpected future market disruptions.</p> <p><strong>Purpose of the article:</strong> This study introduces a novel methodological framework to predict wealth-based inequality by leveraging real estate price dispersion as a timely proxy for economic welfare. The primary novelty of the approach lies in: (a) the construction of a Regional Inequality and Volatility (RIV) vector, which simultaneously tracks relative stratification and absolute financial barriers; (b) the development of a parametric bootstrap procedure for ex ante prediction assessment; (c) the implementation of stochastic, unexpected shock simulations (green policy, regulatory, macroeconomic, and climate events) to evaluate model robustness beyond historical data.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong><strong> </strong>The framework is applied to a longitudinal dataset of U.S. prefabricated housing transactions (2015–2023) using log-linear Mixed Models and plug-in predictors. This segment is chosen for its critical role in affordable homeownership.</p> <p><strong>Findings & value added:</strong><strong> </strong>The analysis reveals a significant structural shift toward ‘wealth exclusion’, where surging absolute costs create an economic blockade for lower-income households even when relative inequality appears stable. A critical implication is the identification of 'blind spots' in official metrics. For instance, the study uncovers a 'paradox of prosperity' where economic growth may reduce income-based poverty while intensifying wealth-based exclusion due to rising price volatility. These results suggest that a comprehensive policy framework must monitor both income and asset-based indicators to fully address socioeconomic polarization and the broken ladder of wealth accumulation.</p>
2026-03-29
Sonata Staniulienė, Inga Kurienė
<p><strong>Research background:</strong><strong> </strong>After the lessons of supply chain disruptions caused by environmental changes such as the pandemic, political and commercial restrictions, and natural disasters, companies make strategic decisions to design more sustainable, resilient, and flexible supply chains able to reduce the effect of uncertainty. Nevertheless, most companies lack the skills and understanding of how to systematically develop a network of sustainable supply chain partners that would take advantage of new technological capabilities to meet changing consumer expectations and exploit market opportunities. Therefore, the problem this research addresses is how to develop sustainable supply chain networks in conditions of global uncertainty.</p> <p><strong>Purpose of the article:</strong><strong> </strong>Based on an analysis of recent scientific literature on sustainable supply chain management, to assess the corporate practices used to develop sustainable supply chain networks in conditions of global uncertainty.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong><strong> </strong>Scientific literature analysis; quantitative empirical research of a survey among managers of companies from seven European countries.</p> <p><strong>Findings & value added:</strong><strong> </strong>This study moves beyond general sustainability concepts to pinpoint the specific networking drivers—namely the supplier, customer, and internal integration—that determine resilience under conditions of global uncertainty. The results reveal a critical weak link in supplier integration and a value–action gap in social sustainability. To ensure long-term viability, managers must pivot from transactional procurement to deep, technologically enabled supplier integration, as robust networking ties are the primary engine for translating aspirations for high sustainability into measurable operational resilience.</p>
2026-03-29
Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene, Vida Davidaviciene, Olga Iurasova, Arturas Jakubavicius
<p><strong>Research background</strong>: European economies are increasingly differentiated not only by traditional macroeconomic indicators but also by their position in digital trade, artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystems, and high-technology value chains. While prior research has examined innovation, ICT integration, and cluster dynamics separately, there remains a need for an integrated empirical framework that explains how AI-related human capital, digital trade intensity, and innovation capacity jointly shape structural development gaps across Europe.</p> <p><strong>Purpose of the article:</strong><strong> </strong>This paper examines how high-technology factors, innovation capacity, information and communication technologies (ICT) trade integration, and artificial intelligence-driven digital transformation impact economic development disparities across European countries and shape distinct development pathways.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong><strong> </strong>A panel dataset of 16 European countries for the years 2019–2022 is analyzed using a three-stage framework. First, indicators from three domains (economic performance, innovation and technological capacity, and AI and digital transformation) are min-max normalised. Second, k-means clustering is applied to group countries, with the optimal number of clusters selected using the Silhouette coefficient. Third, XGBoost is used to identify the variables that most strongly differentiate between clusters, and multinomial logistic regression is employed to interpret the direction and magnitude of the key determinants of cluster membership.</p> <p><strong>Findings & value added:</strong><strong> </strong>The analysis identifies three distinct development clusters in Europe: advanced AI-intensive economies, ICT trade-driven digitalisers with weaker AI talent bases, and structurally lagging countries with limited digital integration. AI-related human capital, especially AI labour migration and talent concentration, together with ICT trade intensity, emerge as the strongest empirical differentiators of development pathways. Methodologically, the study contributes an integrated framework combining clustering, explainable machine learning, and econometric modelling that can be replicated in other regional contexts. Practically, the results highlight that long-term competitiveness increasingly depends on AI talent ecosystems and digital trade specialization rather than on traditional macroeconomic growth factors alone.</p>
2026-03-01
Raghu Raman, Santanu Mandal, Lóránt Dénes Dávid
Research background: Tourism accounts for a substantial share of global greenhouse gas emissions, positioning the sector at critical crossroads between remaining a climate liability and contributing meaningfully to global net-zero transitions. Although research on tourism decarbonization has expanded rapidly, existing systematic reviews remain fragmented, typically privileging isolated technological solutions, behavioral interventions, or governance mechanisms. Consequently, there is limited integrative understanding of how technological, ecological, behavioral, and institutional levers interact across contexts to enable scalable, SDG-aligned net-zero tourism pathways. Purpose of the article: The objective of this article is to synthesize and systematize the net-zero tourism literature by identifying dominant decarbonization themes, examining how geographic and institutional contexts shape transition outcomes, and clarifying how tourism's contribution to sustainable development goals (SDGs) can be operationalized. The study advances existing net-zero tourism reviews by offering a multidimensional, SDG-oriented synthesis rather than a single-lens or sector-specific assessment. Methods: This study adopts an integrated mixed-methods review design combining a PRISMA-guided systematic literature review of Scopus-indexed publications (2015–2024), machine learning–based topic modeling using BERTopic to identify latent thematic structures, and a comparative synthesis of empirically grounded case studies across diverse geographic and governance contexts. SDG mapping is embedded throughout the review to enhance analytical coherence and policy relevance. Findings & value added: Five thematic clusters emerge: zero-emission transport and renewable energy, consumer climate engagement, governance integration, ecosystem-based mitigation, and circular economy digitalization. Technological solutions reduce emissions but face infrastructure and institutional constraints, whereas nature-based approaches offer durable sequestration yet remain weakly embedded in policy and accounting. Behavioral initiatives are limited by trust and fairness concerns, and governance fragmentation restricts scaling. The study integrates fragmented research via the ADO lens and demonstrates methodological novelty through PRISMA, BERTopic, and comparative case synthesis, offering actionable guidance for scalable, SDG-aligned net-zero tourism transitions.
2025-12-29
Paweł Piotr Śliwiński
Research background: The majority of research on equity crowdfunding concerns its evolution in developed countries. There are still relatively few works devoted to equity crowdfunding in developing regions, including Poland. Taking this into account and the lack of research on the effectiveness of ECF-based IPOs, there is a research gap that this article is trying to fill. This paper also contributes to the extensive literature dealing with the occurrence of the IPO underpricing phenomenon and focuses on a regional study on IPO underpricing in the still niche ECF-based IPOs. Purpose of the article: The article aims to show the development of equity crowdfunding in Poland. The article also aims to (i) evaluate the effectiveness of debuts of companies that raised funds (and thus carried out their IPOs) using ECF platforms, and (ii) find the determinants of ECF-based IPOs performance. Methods: The model for testing the potential determinants of ECF-based IPO performance is based on univariate linear regressions measuring the relationship between a dependent variable which stands for ECF-based IPO underpricing and one independent variable (chosen from a set of potential explanatory variables. Findings & value added: The article shows that since 2020 ECF has become an important source of financing for listed SMEs in Poland. Based on the stylized fact on the risk-return tradeoff, it is assumed that ECF-based IPOs are more underpriced than IPOs of other companies to attract investors. The paper revealed that the effectiveness of ECF-based IPOs has mainly the cyclical nature and it depends on the stock price cycle. ECF-based IPOs are more underpriced then other IPOs only in the bull market while in the bear market they are more overpriced. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first study to explore the performance of ECF-based IPOs. Although this paper focuses on Poland, it opens the potential for broader global research in this area. The article can also hold significant practical value for all participants of the ECF market.
2025-12-29
Aeshna Kharbanda, Gagan Deep Sharma, Elżbieta Roszko-Wójtowicz, Jaya Singh Parihar, Dariusz Cichon
Research background: Tourism plays a central role in global economic development and cross-cultural exchange. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a growing focus on integrating sustainability, innovation, and equity into tourism practices. Traditional models have often overlooked the complex interplay of social, environmental, and economic challenges faced by destinations. This has spurred a rethinking of tourism development, driven by community empowerment, climate concerns, and technological advances. Purpose of the article: The study aims to explore how a transformative approach to tourism can be achieved by centering community participation, embracing sustainability, and incorporating innovative social practices. It focuses on the intersections of social innovation, rural-luxury travel, heritage preservation, and inclusive governance. The authors seek to construct a conceptual framework that captures emerging themes and sub-themes within sustainable tourism, offering practical insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders. Methods: An integrative review approach was applied, guided by PRISMA methodology. Following keyword extraction, topic modeling was conducted using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a widely used technique for discovering hidden topics in text data. Over 12,000 academic sources from the Scopus database were synthesized. A conceptual model was developed through inductive analysis to identify interrelationships between tourism-related themes. Findings & value added: The key findings highlight the transformative potential of strategies that align tourism practices with environmental stewardship, local empowerment, and innovative management approaches. The study underscores actionable implications such as the establishment of innovation hubs, and cross-sector partnerships, offering pathways to foster a tourism sector that not only supports global sustainable development goals, but also ensures long-term community resilience and equitable development.
2025-12-29
Raghu Raman, Payel Das, Prema Nedungadi, Lóránt Dénes Dávid
Research background: Responsible consumption and production, articulated in Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12), has heightened global expectations for credible sustainability disclosure. Despite this, firms across sectors continue to use selective, vague, or unverifiable environmental claims that contribute to greenwashing. Although research on greenwashing has expanded, consolidated knowledge on how misrepresentation patterns vary across industries and how these practices undermine SDG 12 objectives remains limited. A clearer understanding of sector-specific disclosure behaviors is essential for strengthening accountability and supporting responsible production–consumption transitions. Purpose of the article: This study aims to provide a cross-sectoral synthesis of greenwashing mechanisms and sustainability misrepresentation, examining how disclosure tactics differ across the manufacturing, energy, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, technology, and service sectors. The objective is to map these practices against SDG 12 expectations and highlight how they hinder progress toward responsible production and consumption. Methods: Using a PRISMA-based systematic review of Scopus-indexed studies, the analysis applies thematic coding and comparative sectoral assessment to identify patterns of misrepresentation. The review integrates evidence across multiple industries to highlight differences in performance-based, claim-based, symbolic, and impression-management tactics. Findings & value added: The results show that manufacturing and energy firms predominantly engage in performance-related sustainability misrepresentation, whereas FMCG and service firms more frequently employ claim-based, symbolic, and impression-management approaches. Across all sectors, recurring practices include overstated certifications, selective reporting, and ambiguous SDG commitments, which collectively impede transparency and weaken the achievement of SDG 12. By offering one of the first comprehensive cross-industry evaluations of greenwashing within an SDG framework, the study advances the theoretical understanding of sustainability misrepresentation and identifies sector-specific risks relevant for regulators and policymakers. It also provides actionable insights into enhancing reporting integrity and accountability aligned with SDG 12.
2025-09-29
Beata Gavurova, Volodymyr Polishchuk
Research background: Although knowledge management has become one of the most discussed concepts in management, its application in tourism—both at the organizational and destination levels—remains limited. Existing literature highlights potential benefits of knowledge management for improving tourist experiences, yet empirical evidence in the tourism sector is scarce compared to other industries. Purpose of the article: The main goal of this study is to develop a fuzzy assessment model and derive the level of the possibility of repeated visits to the region by participants of the tourist movement in the Visegrad Group countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia). Methods: A fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic-based model was applied to evaluate tourist satisfaction, regional infrastructure, and digital popularity, which allowed deriving quantitative and linguistic predictions of repeated visits. Findings & value added: The research provides a novel, data-driven method for evaluating tourism performance from the perspective of tourist satisfaction and regional attractiveness. It highlights the interplay between infrastructure, accessibility, and digital visibility in shaping repeated visit behaviour. This approach offers actionable insights for policymakers, destination managers, and tourism organizations seeking to optimize strategies for sustainable tourism growth. The study contributes to the broader knowledge management discourse by demonstrating how fuzzy logic models can capture complex human perceptions and decision-making processes in tourism.
2025-07-22
Piotr Gabrielczak, Tomasz Serwach, Justyna Wieloch
Research background: Recent events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, raise important questions about the stability of supply chains and their resilience to supply shocks. Purpose of the article: This paper investigates convergence clubs in global value chains, focusing on supply concentration measured with the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. Methods: Using country-sector pairs from the OECD’s ICIO database, we employed the Phillips-Sul (2007) algorithm with the Schnurbus-Haupt-Meier (2017) augmentation to distinguish convergence clubs in the global trade network. Findings & value added: Our main policy-related finding is that there are two main convergence clubs — one covering roughly 80% of all units and the other one close to 20% (the number of divergent sectors is practically negligible). The dominant club is characterised by high and growing concentration, which poses a risk to the trade network, as, over time, it makes trading partners more susceptible to supply-side shocks. Since the global economy has proven to be surprisingly homogenous in terms of concentration patterns, it seems justified that growing concentration could be considered a systemic feature for future theoretical international trade models. Our main methodological finding is that the WIOD database, which is still used as a standard for such analyses, may be misleading due to its limitations. While the results based on the ICIO and WIOD databases do not align, ICIO seems to be superior in terms of coverage.
2025-06-29
Ladislav Mura, Beáta Stehlíková
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2025-06-29
Aleksandra Matuszewska-Janica, Gema Fernández-Avilés
Research background: Reducing the gender employment gap (GEG) is a key challenge in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the area of decent work and equal opportunities (SDG8, decent work and economic growth and SDG5, gender equality). This multidimensional problem plays a critical role in regional policy, which is reflected in the legislative and executive measures taken at the level of the European Union (EU). Purpose of the article: The aim of this article is to analyse the relationship between the employment gap and selected socio-economic factors in the regions of the EU at NUTS 2 level, with a particular focus on spatial interactions. This is particularly important for regional policy and the creation of a sustainable labour market. Methods: The analysis is based on aggregated Eurostat data at NUTS 2 level. The statistical and spatial econometric tools used for the empirical part are the spatial correlation coefficients of Moran’s I and Geary’s C, local Moran’s I, and two spatial econometric models (Spatial Durbin Model, SDM, and Spatial Durbin Error Model, SDEM). Findings & value added: Using spatial regression models, the study identifies key labour market factors affecting GEG. A higher share of part-time workers and longer working hours per employee are linked to increased GEG, while a greater share of women with higher education and a higher old-age dependency ratio (ODR) correlate with a reduction in this gap. In turn, industrialisation impacts GEG indirectly, influencing neighbouring regions. These findings highlight the systemic nature of the GEG, emphasising its economic, educational, and demographic drivers. The study underscores the need for regionally coordinated policies to address gender disparities in the labour market and support the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDG4, SDG5, SDG8).
2025-06-29
Jakub Holúbek, Lukáš Durda, Radim Maňák, Zoltán Rózsa
Research background: The tourism sector is facing ever-increasing demands for quality from customers. Therefore, tourism businesses such as hotels, hospitality, restaurants and others are introducing new approaches based on job redesign, which are referred to in the literature as job crafting. Job crafting enables employees to increase their job performance, promote their commitment and cope with stressful situations. Despite the numerous research studies examining the impact of job crafting on various aspects of job performance and engagement, there is still a lack of a systematic literature review that consolidates key trends. Purpose of the article: The aim of this study is to map key trends in research on job crafting in the tourism sector and to identify overlooked opportunities that can guide future research in this area. Methods: The study employs a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA rigor. Subsequently, through bibliometric analysis, key trends were identified, namely job performance, work engagement and management context. Findings & value added: A systematic literature review provides a comprehensive overview of job crafting in the tourism sector, clearly highlighting the key role of the managerial context. From a more specific perspective, it addresses the impact of different leadership styles and, in particular, the organizational climate regarding error management on the extent and effectiveness of job crafting in enhancing employee engagement and job performance. The study also identifies critical gaps in current research, such as the need to examine the direct impact of job crafting on employees’ long-term mental well-being and job satisfaction, especially in the context of the global implementation of artificial intelligence, thus opening avenues for future research.
2025-06-29
Marcin Żemigala, Agnieszka Wiśniewska, Katarzyna Liczmańska-Kopcewicz, Zoritza Kiresiewa, Hannamaija Tuovila
Research background: Research on Green Consumer Purchasing Behavior (GCPB) has been conducted in many product contexts. However, even though the role of green non-food products and the bioeconomy is significant and continuously expanding with the growing demand for non-food (nF), bio-based products, GCPB analyses in these sectors remain fragmented and require systematization to effectively utilize existing knowledge. The COM-B (capability, opportunity, and motivation) model provides an interesting framework for such research. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this paper is to map research tendencies and systematically analyze and synthesize existing research on the factors influencing GCPB-nF to provide a comprehensive understanding of the drivers of sustainable consumption and to offer foundation for building conceptual structural model as well multi-research - grounded justification for practical implications. Methods: A systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis were conducted on 199 peer-reviewed articles sourced from the Scopus database. The selection followed rigorous criteria, including article quality, relevance, and methodological clarity. The Antecedents-Decisions-Outcomes (ADO) and COM-B model were utilized as frameworks. Findings & value added: The study offers a comprehensive synthesis of green consumer purchasing behavior (GCPB) in the non-food sector (nF), revealing that psychological capabilities, particularly environmental knowledge or reflective motivation including green attitude are well-established predictors, whereas physical capabilities and automatic motivations remain underexplored. Importantly, the analysis underscores that external opportunities, such as social norms, green branding, and credible communication substantially influence consumer decision-making. The proposed integrated structural model, grounded in the COM-B and ADO frameworks, systematically maps key behavioral drivers and their interrelations. This framework not only contributes to theory-building by unifying fragmented insights, but also provides a robust theoretical foundation for future structural modeling, hypothesis formulation, and necessary condition analysis (NCA). The findings generate actionable implications for marketers aiming to promote sustainable consumption and enable researchers to test causal mechanisms driving green behavior in the bio-based non-food product domain.
2025-06-29
Elżbieta Roszko-Wójtowicz, Gagan Deep Sharma, Barbara Dańska-Borsiak, Maria M. Grzelak
Research background: E-commerce is a key driver of global economic growth, influenced by technological, economic, and social factors. While prior research has focused on economic and technological determinants, the macroeconomic role of social capital—defined by trust, norms, and networks—remains underexplored. Social capital reduces transaction uncertainty, strengthens consumer trust, and facilitates business expansion, yet its cross-national impact on e-commerce adoption requires further investigation. Purpose of the article: This study examines how social capital influences e-commerce development in European countries, exploring whether higher levels of social capital contribute to greater e-commerce adoption and transaction intensity while accounting for economic factors such as GDP per capita and disposable income. Methods: The study analyses panel data from 28 European countries (2015–2023) using the Social Capital Index (SCI) to measure national trust and networks. E-commerce activity is assessed based on online purchase participation and business turnover from digital sales. Panel data models with fixed and random effects are applied to examine the relationship between social capital and e-commerce adoption. Findings & value added: The results confirm that social capital significantly influences e-commerce adoption. Countries with stronger trust networks and social cohesion see higher participation in digital commerce. Economic conditions, including GDP per capita and disposable income, moderate this effect, with wealthier nations benefiting more from trust-driven e-commerce expansion. The study underscores the importance of fostering social capital to enhance consumer confidence, lower transaction costs, and promote sustainable digital market growth, offering policy recommendations to strengthen trust mechanisms and support e-commerce ecosystems.