Economic Mechanisms of Regulation of Innovative Industrial Technologies in the Post-COVID Age

This chapter, "Economic Mechanisms of Regulation of Innovative Industrial Technologies in the Post-COVID Age, " is devoted to new technological reality, where the main competitive advantages are based on advanced technologies, human and artificial intelligence, data management and effective management. But reality has made its own adjustments and the crisis associated with the spread of coronavirus infection has slowed down many mechanisms for the introduction of innovative industrial technologies. The authors consider the uneven process of technology implementation in the post-COVID age. In particular, the associated different approaches to decision-making at the level of existing economic actors. The authors reveal the principles of economic evaluation of measures to support industrial production during the spread of coronavirus infection. It is concluded that the current reality has not only worsened the economic situation of many technological industries, but also, due to the emergence of threats to the life of the population, has called into question their further activities. After analyzing the main macro-indicators, the authors came to the conclusion that the economic recovery is based on the stable operation of the industrial sector and it is necessary to restructure the economic system in order to find new sources of economic growth. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Corporate communication on social media: a case study before and during pandemic COVID-19

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how hotel brands communicate on social media before and during the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in relation to the tourism season. Design/methodology/approach: To gain insights into the communication of Italian hotel brands on social media, this study applies a qualitative methodology. Using the text mining technique, topic modelling was conducted on a sample of 5,032 posts from Italian 5-star hotel brands shared on the hotels' official Facebook pages. Findings: The results show that hotel brands used essentially the same communication strategy in the tourism seasons before and after the pandemic outbreak, but with a particular focus on trust, safety and cordiality during the pandemic. Hotel brands focussed intensively on brand awareness, customer engagement and special activities that promote memorable and authentic experiences as well as luxury service quality. Originality/value: This study contributes to the theoretical and empirical sense by bridging the concepts of tourism and hospitality, social media and corporate communication. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Challenges and Sources of Advertising in Agritourism during the Covid-19 Pandemic

With the emergence of the COV1D-19 pandemic, the tourism market faces many challenges, including the Agritourism business. Because of the necessary measures introduced to reduce the spread of the virus, travel and tourist movements have been reduced. Therefore, agritourism is forced to focus its advertising methods on online sources to attract tourist demand for its facilities, products, and services. This paper explores the challenges agritourism has faced in promoting and advertising and how they have adapted to new digital and online advertising opportunities. The paper aims to identify new advertising challenges during the pandemic and analyze the importance of internet sales and security as the most significant attractive factor caused by the pandemic outbreak. The survey was conducted on a sample of 83 holders/owners of Agritourism in the Republic of Croatia. Through empirical research, respondents were offered questions in three thematic units: general data of objects, advertising methods, and content of posts. In order to meet the objectives of the paper, three hypotheses were given. The validation of hypotheses is processed using the statistical method of measurement known as the McNemar's test and descriptive statistics and analysis. The research results indicate the presence of advertising challenges in the new business conditions, the weaker representation of the use of traditional sources of advertising (while online advertising remains without significant changes), the under-representation of internet sales, and security, whose importance is recognized but under-promoted. The contribution of the work is reflected in the presentation of the trend of online advertising as an indispensable tool for attracting more visitors and tourists. At the same time, this topic notices the emergence of new requirements and ways of communication with tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT AND ONLINE SHOPPING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

The traditional way of doing business and communicating with consumers is changing with the help of digital transformation. Companies have seen the benefits of e-business such as increased interactivity, lower costs, and better communication with consumers, and increasingly offer their products and services online. Customers can make their purchases via smartphone online and avoiding crowds. This research paper aims to explain the importance of developing relationships with consumers in digital marketing. Consequently, the term Online Shopping is gaining importance nowadays when facing the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of epidemiological measures and the reduction of risks to themselves and their families, people are more inclined to shop online. The primary goal of this research paper is to analyze consumer behavior during online shopping in the Republic of Croatia. The research aims to find out how often people shop online and which products, why they choose to buy in such a way, what they consider to be the biggest risk of online shopping, what can attract them to choose to buy online, and whether their online shopping increased at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodology used in this research paper consists of secondary research, analysis, and synthesis as well as primary quantitative research with the questionnaire survey as an instrument, conducted on a representative sample of 285 respondents. Research results show that there is still a certain level of uncertainty and mistrust when shopping online, which is why the consumers in Croatia still prefer the method of payment on delivery when picking up goods. Furthermore, the main reason for online shopping for consumers is the variety of offers that allow them to buy products or services that were not previously available.

CSR FOCUS OF HIGHLY RATED INTERNATIONAL HOTELS OPERATING IN RUSSIA AND CROATIA AS REPRESENTED ON THEIR WEB-SITES IN THE PERIOD OF COVID-19 PANDEMIA

The main purpose of this study was to illustrate how highly rated hotels operating in Russia and Croatia are positioning their CSR practices on their web sites with the special emphasis on their CSR measures, related toCOVID-19 crisis. The conclusion is based on the analysis of the web-sites of 62 hotels attributed to of upscale to luxury class international hotel brands [17], located in major destinations in Russia: Moscow, St, Petersburg, Sochi, Zagreb and Dubrovnik as well as in-depth analysis of the information, regarding 8 representative hotels of the class investigated in the mentioned cities. The results show that CSR is actively developed in all hotel chains investigated, but there is an information problem with the placement of this information at specific websites of Russian and Croatian representative hotels, which do not apply to the measures related to COVID-19 prevention, which is positioned clearly and in detail by the hotels represented.