Competitiveness-the engine that boosts economic growth and revives the economy

Competitiveness is a concept that shows up in all aspects of human life, both at the micro level, in personal, social, and professional life, and at the macro level, linked to organizational and national competitiveness with long-term effects on global competitiveness. In this paper, we aim to address competitiveness in Romania in the current context, before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting its role in reviving the economy. While until the onset of the pandemic Romania's competitiveness performance was growing, more recently, because of the global health crisis, it dropped a few places, according to the Global Competitiveness Index report. In order to have a clear picture of the degree of competitiveness in Romania, we have presented a series of statistical data for the most relevant macroeconomic indicators for our study for the 2017-2022 timeframe: the global competitiveness index, the minimum wage, labor productivity, the evolution of real labor productivity per employed person, the economic growth rate, the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, the European innovation index, gross domestic expenditure on research and development, export of goods and services as a share of GDP, etc. The methodology used involves the use of quantitative techniques, performing an econometric analysis, and correlating how the most important macroeconomic indicators can influence the degree of competitiveness at both the national and international level. For the post-pandemic timeframe, the analysis switches focus, just as the economic reality did, looking at energy costs and energy use as determinants of competitiveness. Since notions like circular economy and sustainable development correlate being energy-efficient with being competitive, however, at the same time, the high cost of investments necessary for individual businesses and countries to switch from polluting energies to clean energies impedes or at the very least heavily impacts their ability to compete with entities that don't make that same switch, it becomes apparent that the energy market impacts competitiveness metrics. Competitiveness promotes valuable contributors and underpins performance at group and company level, and the effects from the micro level will propagate, with an emission effect, to the entire national economy with obvious implications at the international level, through real growth in macroeconomic indicators, increased labor productivity, increased economic performance (market share, export share, return on capital), raising living standards and economic and social wellbeing (life expectancy index, human development index, poverty rate), education (skills, knowledge, abilities, managerial and marketing skills, corporate culture), competitive potential (innovation, R&D, promotion), and in raising the Global Competitiveness Index by focusing on factors of production, efficiency, and innovation, etc.

State Aid Impact on Central and Eastern Europe Economies

State aid is a fairly common phenomenon in the European Union, and, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of companies receiving state aid has even increased. However, scientific research confirms that, depending on the macroeconomic, political and social situation as well as on industry specifics, state aid can have a dual effect -positive or negative. To date, there is no clear answer to the question of what impact and under which conditions state aid has on national economies in the long run. This article contributes to filling a gap in the literature because to date researchers have focused on the cases of large, heavily populated European Union countries, but the research into the impact of state aid on the Central and Eastern EU economies, where the level of state aid as percentage of GDP is higher than the EU average, is still scarce. In addition, the mixed results obtained in previous studies caused confusion over the effects of state aid and its relevance for economic development. In our research, we applied correlation analysis, Granger causality test, ARDL, PTR models and evaluation of multipliers for the analysis of the panel data set representing 11 Central and Eastern EU countries over a 20-year period (from 2000 to 2019). We found that state aid does not promote economic development in most Central and Eastern EU countries under certain conditions in the long term. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the state aid-economic development relationship at the national level in the Central and Eastern Europe and has implications for policy makers.

Environmental Sustainability and Territorial Competitiveness: A Comparison between Italian Provinces

The emergence of globalisation and the removal of obstacles between markets have heightened rivalry between territorial areas. To have a competitive advantage, the regions have to be unique. As one of the tactics used to boost their reputation on a territorial level, territories are progressively adopting environmental policies for sustainable and shared prosperity. Indeed, effective management of urban growth depends heavily on sustainable development. In this regard, the literature occasionally refers to the "green branding” of cities, a strategy that makes use of environmental aspects to boost the allure of metropolitan environments. There is currently little consensus in the literature on the measuring of environmental performance, and no statistical study has been done to confirm the efficacy of these measures in terms of territorial competitiveness. Therefore, it is important to determine whether there is a relationship between a territory's level of sustainability and competitiveness in Italy. According to the statistical analysis of the Italian provinces, the Northeast, Northwest, Centre, and Islands are the four geographical regions with the highest average scores. This unquestionably indicates a basic comprehension and supports the notion that there is a relationship between the two variables. However, it also serves as a warning about how geographical disparities in Italy represent a major issue affecting the most diverse sectors. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic problem has drastically altered consumer demands and goals, leading consumers to seek out more sustainable travel and cities that are designed with citizens' requirements in mind. It will therefore become more and more important to research how public and private administrators, as well as policy makers, react to these changes.

Industry-4.0-Enabled Digital Transformation: Prospects, Instruments, Challenges, and Implications for Business Strategies

Digital transformation, which significantly impacts our personal, social, and economic spheres of life, is regarded by many as the most significant development of recent decades. In an industrial context, based on a systematic literature review of 262 papers selected from the ProQuest database, using the methodology of David and Han, this paper discusses Industry 4.0 technologies as the key drivers and/or enablers of digital transformation for business practices, models, processes, and routines in the current digital age. After carrying out a systematic literature review considering key Industry 4.0 technologies, we discuss the individual and collective ways in which competitiveness in contemporary organizations and institutions is enhanced. Specifically, we discuss how these technologies contribute as antecedents, drivers, and enablers of environmental and social sustainability, corporate growth and diversification, reshoring, mass customization, B2B cooperation, supply chain integration, Lean Six Sigma, quality of governance, innovations, and knowledge related to dealing with challenges arising from global pandemics such as COVID-19. A few challenges related to the effective adoption and implementation of Industry 4.0 are also highlighted, along with some suggestions to overcome them.

Analysis of Network Security Protection Based on Digital Economy

Since the first half of 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic has continued to spread across the country. Based on this background, with the continuous promotion of a new round of technological innovation and industrial transformation, and the combined impact of the epidemic factors, the digital economy has become a new pillar of the steady development of China's macro economy. Emerging industries have provided good opportunities for the digital economy. Cyber security has risen to the height of national sovereignty, which is the direct embodiment of national competitiveness and the foundation for the healthy development of the digital economy. However, with the concentration of massive data and the progress of information technology, the data is easily and conveniently used, personal privacy security, corporate business secrets and even national security suffered serious damage, and network security protection has also become the bottleneck of the digital economy to a new level. It is particularly important to strengthen the network security governance capacity, improve the network security laws and regulations, and implement the hierarchical protection system. © 2023 SPIE.

The Use of Digital Marketing Technologies in the Commercial Activity to Increase Enterprises' Value in the COVID-19 Conditions

Under the current conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the practice of providing goods and services, as well as their availability to consumers, remains relevant and requires further scientific research. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the conceptual basis of using digital marketing technologies in the commercial activities of enterprises to increase their value, competitiveness and ensure sustainability of development in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodological basis of the study of the use of digital marketing technologies in the commercial activities of enterprises in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic is a systematic approach and principles of digital marketing management, including: goal orientation, efficiency, functionality and complexity. The feasibility of the complex application of digital marketing tools in the commercial activities of the enterprise for the implementation of the marketing strategy in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic has been proven, including: contextual advertising, SEO and SEM promotion, banner advertising, advertising windows, television advertising, radio advertising, advertising in gaming, shopping and other applications, native advertising, SMS mailing, QR codes in offline mode, viral advertising, advertising in messengers, teaser advertising, retargeting. The advantages and disadvantages of using digital marketing in the commercial activity of the enterprise in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic are highlighted. The need to apply promising innovative implementations in the field of digital marketing has been proven, which should include: the use of online testing;implementation of voice search;use of chat bots;use of video marketing;use of interactive content.

Competitiveness, Market Structure, and Energy Policies: A Case Study of the World's Largest Crude Palm Oil Exporter

Crude Palm Oil (CPO) is the mainstay of Indonesian agricultural products which is the largest CPO producing country in the world. The high market share of Indonesian CPO exports reflects the high competitiveness of Indonesian CPO in the global market. The purpose of this study is to determine the competitiveness of Indonesian CPO, the concentration of the Indonesian CPO industry, and analyze the factors that are suspected to affect the competitiveness of the CPO industry in Indonesia. The data used in this study are secondary data with a five-digit ISIC (10432) using time series data for 2001-2020 and the analytical techniques used in this study include Revealed Competitive Advantage (RCA), Gini Coefficient, and Error Correction Model (ECM). The results showed that Indonesian CPO has high competitiveness in the international market, the Indonesian CPO industry is not concentrated, in the short term the variables that affect competitiveness are CPO prices, subsidized solar prices policy, and industrial concentrations, while in the long term the influential variables are biodiesel policy, subsidized diesel oil policy and industrial concentration

A mixed-method study on the barriers of industry 4.0 adoption in the Indonesian SMEs manufacturing supply chains

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the adoption barriers of Industry 4.0 in the Indonesian manufacturing supply chains.Design/methodology/approachThe mixed method was deployed to validate the findings. First, the qualitative study was conducted based on the interviews. Then, the companies were approached using filter questions on the involvement in adopting industry 4.0 and its impact on the supply chain.FindingsBased on the qualitative study, nine main barriers were found in the thematic analysis. Thus, to get a consensus on the barriers in the industry, the barrier indicators were tested using a structural equation model retrieved from 173 small and medium Indonesian manufacturing firms. Results indicate that five main barriers (e.g. unclear Industry 4.0 policy, higher-risk investment, insecure data sharing, lack of expertise and lack of incentive) are confirmed as the adoption barriers.Practical implicationsThe successful adoption of supply chain integration with Industry 4.0 technology can strengthen the manufacturing sector and competitiveness. Therefore, this study can be a complimentary assessment to evaluate the Indonesia Industry 4.0 Readiness Index (INDI 4.0) and the effectiveness of the government support program.Originality/valueThe results can be used as the framework to foresee the successful implementation of smart manufacturing supply chain management and its integration. Therefore, the authors proposed the framework to foresee the successful implementation of smart manufacturing, supply chain management and integration.

Measuring the supply chain competitiveness of e-commerce industry in Indonesia

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to measure the supply chain competitiveness of the e-commerce industry in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a multi-criteria decision-making model based on the analytic hierarchy process. Four main criteria are used to measure the supply chain competitiveness, i.e. cost, differentiation, sustainability and infrastructure.FindingsThe findings of this study show that cost is the most important criterion with a degree of importance of 33.19%, followed by infrastructure of 29.40%, differentiation of 27.96% and sustainability of 9.45%. It shows that the internally controlled strategy contributes about 70% of supply chain competitiveness. The internal infrastructure criterion that consists of software and hardware contributes 65.92% to the whole infrastructure criterion. The internal infrastructure then contributes 19.38% to supply chain competitiveness. Therefore, the internally controlled strategies and internal infrastructure contribute up to 90.08% to the supply chain competitiveness of e-commerce in Indonesia. This result implies that to attain the supply chain competitiveness, the company must carry out strategies focusing on the performance such as cost, differentiation, sustainability as well as on the internal infrastructure such as software and hardware.Research limitations/implicationsIn this paper, the authors limited their study to the business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) players because these two platforms have been experiencing a very rapid growth. While e-commerce business can take many platforms besides B2B and B2C, the future research should include other platform such as consumer to consumer as well. Because the focus in this study is more the information and material flows, it will be of great interest if the future research covers the platform of mobile payment as well that guarantee the ease of cashflows within supply chains. Also, with the occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic when this paper was written, in the near future, it is then of great interest to incorporate the pandemic context into the proposed model used in this study. The further study should analyze long-term changes happened as the result of pandemic such as behavioral changes of online shopping from customer side or shift in e-commerce supply chain infrastructure and inventory practice.Practical implicationsWith this study, it is expected that it can be determined which criteria contribute the most to the supply chain competitiveness of the e-commerce industry in Indonesia that will be useful for industry player.Originality/valueE-commerce development in Indonesia is still facing serious challenges. The multi-criteria decision making approach used in this research lays a foundation of how supply chain competitiveness is determined based on the judgment of experts coming from major companies within the supply chain.

The interest in online museum experiences and the influence of uncertainty and sentiment factors on tourist arrivals: The case of EU Mediterranean countries

This study examines the determinants of tourist arrivals at hotels and short-stay accommodations for nine EU countries from January 2010 to March 2022. We identify four driving channels of foreign and domestic tourism flows: a traditional, a sentiment, a technological and a health channel. The latter comprises two novel variables: the museum search interest and the infectious disease equity market volatility tracker. The results reveal that traditional and new drivers related to market sentiments and interest in online tourism experiences affect arrivals. Notably, there is a substitution effect between online and in-presence tourism, and the larger the uncertainty, the more substantial the reduction in tourist arrivals. COVID-19 has affected especially Spain and Italy and more foreign than domestic tourists. © 2023 The Authors

Leveraging employee online reviews for improving hotel competitiveness in the great resignation.

The Great Resignation has brought significant challenges to the recovery of the hospitality industry from the depression caused by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Prior studies have revealed that the leading cause of the Great Resignation is negative employee experience. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to obtain deep insights into the negative experiences of hospitality employees. Hotel managers still lack the knowledge to help them resolve the workforce problem and maintain competitiveness during the pandemic. This study proposes a novel framework, named HENEX, that uses data-mining technologies and employees' online reviews about hotels to identify the factors that lead to hospitality employees' negative experiences and changes in these factors caused by COVID-19. We demonstrate the effectiveness of HENEX through a case study that involves major hotels in Australia. The findings could help hotel managers develop strategies to resolve the workforce problem and maintain competitiveness during the Great Resignation period.

Accompaniment Methodology of Open Innovation in Local Universities After COVID-19

Innovation has never been as important as it is now to solve the problems caused by COVID-19 and the socioeconomic crisis. In this context, and within the framework of an economy based on knowledge and change, economic and social agents need open innovation to generate competitiveness and development. For their part, universities need to increase technological production as a source of innovation. In the literature there are models of innovation, but they do not present a method to move from basic to technological research. Aim of this work was to fill, in part, this gap. Under the qualitative approach, the Open Innovation model, the Technological Maturity Levels method and the Pedagogical Accompaniment model were selected to develop a post-COVID-19 route to intensify innovation. The article contributes to knowledge with a methodology that allows expanding the performance of researchers and raising the technological level of universities towards competitiveness. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

The Role of Digital Innovation and Its Impact on Competitiveness and Performance: The Case of Business Hotel in Indonesia: Acces la Success

This research examines the effect of digital innovation on the competitiveness and performance of hospitality businesses in Indonesia. This research was conducted with a quantitative research approach. Participants in this study are managers of hotel companies that implement online systems in Indonesia. The samples in this study were 218 respondents. Hypotheses are tested using the Structural Equation Modeling method and processed using Amos Software Version 23. The results show that there is a positive and significant effect between digital innovation on competitiveness, digital innovation and competitiveness also effect hotel business performance positively and significantly. We also found that competitiveness can mediate the effect of digital innovation on business performance. Therefore, we suggest improving business performance with enhancing competitiveness, to improve competitiveness can be done by increasing the implementation of digital innovation.

Technology transfer in e-communication for small and medium enterprises as promoters of innovation and competitiveness

Globalization, technological innovations, and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have promoted disruptive changes in buying and selling negotiation models through e-communication. As a result, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been forced to adapt to online channels. Considering market relevance, this article describes the survey results with 11 SMEs regarding their adherence to digital media. Moreover, a case study of a selected company demonstrated barriers and propulsions to digital adequacy. The aim was to promote SMEs' competitiveness through technology transfer, focusing on e-communication and strategic digital planning. The results show that the insertion of technology through digital media depends on the knowledge of the tools used in this medium. Therefore, despite being ready to use, SMEs have not yet fully leveraged digital media. Organizational barriers, such as lack of time for those responsible, lack of training and knowledge, and strategic planning, were observed. However, environmental factors such as competitive pressure and innovation-related policies are positive for insertion. Thus, there is room for companies to invest in digital strategic planning focused on improving sales, customer relations, and competitiveness. © 2022 IEEE.

Competition in american social work education during times of COVID-19: a midwestern case study

Competition to attract students for enrollment in American social work degree programs is intense. Program attributes (e.g. minimum grade point average, maximum transfer credits permitted, institutional tuition rate, and rankings) distinguish social work education programs in the United States. Determining which program attributes appeal to potential students could help increase a program's competitiveness in a crowded education marketplace. The COVID-19 pandemic is further intensifying recruitment of students to BSW programs. This research used a case study approach to compare admission attributes of 21 bachelor of social work programs (BSW) offered at 11 public and 10 private institutions located in one state that could be viewed as representative of American BSW programs. This paper compared attributes that differentiated these undergraduate social work programs, while exploring the potential impact of the pandemic on BSW student recruitment. Implications for social work education are discussed, including lessons learned that may be helpful to BSW faculty and staff responsible for student recruitment activities and related operations. Social work education program administrators and faculty could use this information to review recruitment and application processes and raise awareness of the burgeoning influence of reputational ranking services.

Impact of Direct Taxation on Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence Based on Panel Data Regression Analysis at the Level of Eu Countries

Through fiscal policy, the government can influence businesses and individuals in order to regulate their behaviour. The research used panel data from all 27 EU countries covering the period 2008–2020 to investigate the impact of direct taxation on economic growth at the level of two main clusters of countries concerning fiscal efficiency. Therefore, the analysis employed cluster methods to classify the main EU countries in both groups of countries with a high level of fiscal efficiency and those with a rather limited level of fiscal efficiency. The study employs fixed effect models and dynamic GMM methods to investigate the effect of direct taxation components (personal and corporate income taxes) on economic growth. The analysis also considers the informal economy's role in relation to the official economy. The empirical results revealed that corporate income taxes significantly negatively impact economic growth for both clusters of high- and limited fiscal efficiency countries. Additionally, personal income tax was associated with lower economic growth for countries in the limited fiscal efficiency group. Thus, from the perspective of policymakers, lowering direct taxation can increase disposable income, stimulate consumption and economic growth, encourage investment leading to job creation, increase competitiveness, and reduce tax evasion and avoidance, thereby leading to a more efficient tax system.

The implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) and environmental management system (EMS) practices and its impact on market competitiveness during COVID-19.

Despite great academic interest in global green supply chain management (GSCM) practices, its effectiveness for environmental management systems (EMS) and market competitiveness during COVID-19 remains untapped. Existing literature suggests that a fundamental link between GSCM, EMS, and market competitiveness is missing, as supply management is critical to maintain market competitiveness. To fill this gap in the literature, this study examines whether environmental management systems influence the link between GSCM practice and market competitiveness in China. We also propose the articulating role of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) and environmental visibility toward these associations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the proposed model using regression-based structural equation modeling (SEM) with primary data (n = 330). This result provides empirical evidence of the impact of GSCM on EMS and market competitiveness. Moreover, the results show that the BDA-AI and the environmental visibility enhanced the positive relationship between GSCM-EMS and EMS and market competitiveness in China. Recent research shows that supply chain professionals, policymakers, managers, and researchers are turning to formal EMS, BDA-AI, and environmental visibility to help their organizations achieve the competitiveness that the market indicates they need.

Management Problems of Innovative Business Projects and Ways of Its Improvement

Introduction. Global innovation challenges existing in the world at this current stage, activation of strategic innovation policy on gaining positions in the Global Innovation Index by the states, rapidly changing consumer demands, the struggle to maintain the advantages of leadership for competitiveness in the world market, the sudden appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic - faced the countries of the world before the complex challenges, which turned the production of innovative products and services, and the modernization of existing ones into an essential condition in a short period. Aim and tasks. The research aims to work out ways of improving the problems arising in Georgia's innovative business project management. The following objectives should be carried out to achieve the research goal: studying the characteristics of innovative business project management from the origin of an innovative business idea to its realization based on research and statistical data analysis Results. There have been reviewed problems in the management of innovative business projects-difficulties in adequately designing the business model to improve the business idea, which requires extra time, finances, and an experienced professional team. All of these hinder the startups' ability to go through the business process, turn the idea into a competitive product, carry out the correct marketing campaign, and build partnership relations at the local and international levels. Due to the urgency of the issue, the rating of Georgia has been studied regarding the innovation development of the Global Innovation Index. The positive attitude of the country towards the innovation policy has been determined, as reflected in the innovation policy carried out by the government. By analyzing the statistical data, grants and their effectiveness as issued to business projects by "Startup Georgia", "Produce in Georgia", and the European Union have been compared. Conclusions. The conclusions have been developed by analyzing the results of the research to eliminate the mentioned problems, according to which the constantly changing environment of the market economy forces companies to quickly adapt to market challenges to gain competitiveness and eliminate the problems existing in project management in parallel with the production of innovative products with the participation of professional project managers.

Msmes In Medan City During the New Normal

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has terribly affected economic conditions in Medan City. One of the most considerably affected sectors by the COVID-19 outbreak is micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This article aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on this business and provide policy recommendations to assist MSMEs in reducing business losses and surviving through the crisis. MSMEs are sectors of a significant role for regional economic growth. MSMEs contribute to the absorption of labour and the distribution of development results. In the current New Normal period, MSME business owners must have a surefire strategy for their business to survive and maintain continuity through various innovations. This research aims to develop MSME business strategies in the New Normal period to survive and maintain their business continuity. The data collection is done by identifying MSME obstacles by conducting surveys by distributing questionnaires, literature studies, and FGD with MSME observers in Medan. The final stage is concluded with the formulation of a strategy to be implemented by MSMEs to maintain the sustainability of MSMEs in Medan City in the New Normal period.

Determinants of International Tourism Inbound Receipts: The Quantile Regression Approach

Challenges in tourism arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, e.g., a decline in domestic and international travel, are forcing destinations to focus on improving tourism performance. Therefore, it is important for stakeholders to know the key determinants affecting tourism performance. This paper aims to find out whether a country's international tourism inbound receipts are determined by GDP, the number of international arrivals, and travel and tourism competitiveness. The proposed model for 125 countries is specific because we consider conditional quantiles of the dependent variable. The advantage of quantile regression is that it can determine whether individual percentiles of a dependent variable are more affected by independent variables than other percentiles of a dependent variable, which is then reflected in the change in regression coefficients. This study contributes to the existing literature that includes TTCI as an independent variable in tourism performance models.