The aim of the research is to assess convergence processes of a social-economic security indicator in Latvian municipalities and its components in the period 2011–2015, calculated as an integral indicator on the basis of primary statistical indicators. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that social-economic security establishes not only the sustainable economic development of the country as a whole, but also the state of protection from internal and external threats. Municipalities, implementing their autonomous functions, are primary guarantors of social-economic security of the people. The convergence of social-economic security of municipalities implies the process of their convergence in time according to the values of the level of social-economic security.
The paper is devoted to the empiric assessment of social-economic security of administrative areas in Latvian municipalities. A generalized integral index of social-economic development of the territory of municipalities has been elaborated. This index was used to carry out the assessment of the level of social-economic security of Latvian municipalities in 2011 and in 2015 in order to identify priorities for the strategy of social-economic security.
The issue of attracting investments is one of the key issues in modern society. The global experience shows that sustainable economic development and growth are determined by the volume and structure of investments. Therefore, the study into the investment environment where the investment activity happens – the investment climate, is becoming increasingly relevant. The prerequisites for the study into the investment climate have been formed since the Keynesian economic theory; studies into the investment climate have become widely spread in modern economic theories. Starting with the Keynesian economic theory and until modern theories of investments, the factors that influence the investment climate can be divided into two groups: investment potential and investment security of the region. According to the outcomes of the factor analysis of Latvia’s regions (Riga, Pieriga, Vidzeme, Kurzeme, Zemgale, and Latgale regions), Lithuania’s regions (Vilnius, Alytus, Utena, Panevezys, Kaunas, Klaipeda, Marijampole, Taurage, Telsiai, Sauliai counties), and Belarus’ regions (Vitebsk, Grodno, Mogilev, Minsk, Gomel, and Brest oblasts, and Minsk city), the factor of socioeconomic security is adeterminant of regional differences in the investment climate.
Global crises of the end of the XX – beginning of the XXI century have additionally contributed to the search for new market opportunities and made it obvious that on the modern market efforts of one particular company are not enough to do business efficiently. Thus, companies choose a survival strategy in times of growing uncertainty and together with small-scale and medium-scale companies form unified structures which allow competing successfully with large companies. These structures also reveal and enhance their advantages which lie in flexibility and adaptability to the market demands. The article examines basic models of the intercompany networks which meet the requirements of transition to sustainable economic growth in the cross-border region (Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus).
Human Resources Management (HRM) is still regarded as an unexplored area from the perspective of performance, andtherefore many unanswered questions arise from this topic.The key link is the manager in HRM who is responsible for the co-implementation of HRM practices. From this specific perspective, managerial practices are an important assumption for a successful employees’ management and mainly their work performance. People management cannot exist without the existence of social competence that is inevitably influenced to a considerable degree by social intelligence of the manager.The relationship between social intelligence and performance motivation was examined on a sample of interviewees as well as the impact of social intelligence on handling demanding situations that a manager encounters in everyday work situations. The results of the research have showed the discrepancies in the age groups as well as work placement that has proved the fact that managers are more socially intelligent than non-managers. Further results of the research and the conclusions take us beyond in this area which requires increasingly bigger attention from academia. Clearly, both the impact of a manager’s personality on HRM and the possibilities of influencing organizational performance are topics that require further research.
This article analyses the concept of tax system in terms of entrepreneurship promotion given the fact that more and more attention is recently paid to entrepreneurship and promotion of it precisely through the national tax system. This article seeks to prove that: tax system is one of the economic entities’ operating conditions enabling to promote or suppress entrepreneurship in the country; both self-employed persons and companies can be entrepreneurial entities; in any case, a state, in promoting or suppressing their entrepreneurship, thus, influences the national economy and its changes.
The present article is to examine benefits of social capital for innovation capabilities in the modern business world. First of all, the concept of social capital and its role are defined referring to a set of scientists’ interpretations on social capital and economic/ social development. This chapter allows an ingenious acknowledgement of the added-value of social capital to companies. The main patterns of innovation capabilities are revealed, followed by the methodology and research results presented. The paper emphasizes social capital as a driving factor for organizations while conducting innovations. In line with such elements of social capital as trust, social networks and norms that emerge as the driving factors within the literature review, the research, based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) methodology, mainly focuses on three elements of social capital: trust, norms and networks in Lithuanian companies. The research question: how such social capital elements as trust, norms and networks help organizations to innovate sustainably.