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Growth and venture capital investment potential for university spin-offs in Hungary
31-38Views:354Venture backed spin-offs represent a low proportion of companies, even of innovative companies. The research question was, whether these companies have an important role in innovation and economic growth. I present the most important indicators of innovation in connection with entrepreneurship, the measures of start-ups, mainly the high-tech ones. I describe the position of venture capital industry nowadays, detailing the classical venture capital investments, targeting high-growth potential small firms, even university spin-offs. The study presents the results of a survey made as a counterpart of an academic research team, examining spin-offs, entrepreneurs and technology transfer in the most important Hungarian universities. I found that the most important obstacles of venture capital investments in high-tech spin-offs are the information gap between demand and supply side, the lack of entrepreneurs’ willingness to give up freedom in decision making, despite of low managerial skills. The low quality of financial environment is also an obstacle of the segment.
JEL Codes: G24, M13
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Ecological aspects of increasing intensity in pepper forcing with prime attention to the type of the growing equipment
81-87Views:331Significant amount of profit can be generated in forcing technologies by the efficient use of different elements in growing technologies, however, improving production intensity is on the agenda in the sector. Pepper forcing, as the most significant class of vegetable forcing, practically takes place under all the growing equipment widespread in our country, but there is a considerable difference in context of profitability and efficiency. This paper wonders whether the most intensive technology in pepper forcing is efficient regarding the use of forcing equipment, namely modern greenhouses, or growing under greenhouses with significantly lower investment cost is more efficient. The analysis represents cost-income factors and efficiency assessed on a long-term basis of different technologies via a deterministic model based on producers’ data collections. As a result of the research, economic indicators are calculated based on exact results which will help to conduct a comparative assessment of economic features in technological varieties.
JEL code: Q12
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Fresh Produce Retail Price Comparisons in Trinidad and Tobago
29-34Views:300As the competitive landscape of the food and grocery retailing sector in Trinidad and Tobago is being transformed and consumers are separated from producers, shoppers are more reliant on price/quality cues in making their purchase decisions. The purpose of this study is to identify the retail outlet with the lowest and or highest price for a selected number of fresh produce items, in an effort to direct shoppers to relatively cheap nutritious sources of fresh produce. ANOVA and the Games-Howell test were the analytical procedures used. The ANOVA results indicated that there is statistical difference for all the items at the different retail outlets – farmers’ markets, roadside markets, public markets and supermarkets.
The Games-Howell results obtained indicated that the supermarket mean prices were the highest for all items. Shoppers who purchased pineapple at the farmer’s market instead of the supermarket in 2016 could have potentially achieved the greatest savings of $6.52/kg.
JEL Classification: C12, Q13, M31
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POSITIVE EFFECTS OF CULTIVATION TECHNOLOGIES BASED ON GEOREFERENCED DATA ON THE ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF WINTER WHEAT PRODUCTION
Views:345Elements of precision farming, such as auto-steer navigation, section control and variable rate application, can have a positive impact on farming performance, yet the uptake of these technologies has been slow and farmers are not convinced that they can achieve ad- ditional benefits by switching to them. Therefore, the authors considered it important to examine the impact of precision farming on winter wheat yields based on data from Hungarian farms. Yield data from farms with a yield map in the MyJohnDeere database from 2018-2022 and yield and cost data from 48 farms with Variable Rate Application (VRA) from 2018-2022 were evaluated and compared to the national average. MyJohnDeere and VRA farms had significantly higher yields in all years. Despite the cost saving from the introduction of precision farming, such as non-overlapping input application, the total costs of the examined VRA farms were higher, which can be explained by more intensive production beyond precision farming. It can also be argued that the additional inputs of the VRA farms were outweighed by the additional production value, with their specific incomes being higher than the national average in all years. In conclusion, the profitability of winter wheat production - and thus its resilience to a changing economic environment - can be increased at farm scale by adapting preci- sion farming. Technological change by farmers, in particular the widespread adoption of variable rate application, could also increase the sustainability of winter wheat production at the farm scale.
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Development of leisure and sports consumption and sports motivation among children with disabilities
Views:505The number of studies on the leisure and sporting habits of people with disabilities as well as the background of sports motivation is far from the focus of research on intact research. Thus, the assessment of physical habits and sports motivation factors determining the quality of life of persons with disabilities can be considered as a less researched deficit area in Hungary and internationally.
In our research, we examine the recreational and sporting habits of the 8-18 year-olds, as well as the motivational background, and the results of this research are presented in this paper. The importance of this issue is confirmed by the fact that, according to a UN survey, 650 million people have some kind of disability, 50 million of them in Europe and nearly half a million in Hungary, 5% of the population. The questionnaire (N = 639) was filled by children with disabilities living in the North Great Plain region with the help of a teacher. We used both closed and open questions in the questionnaire, and we helped and orient children with response categories for some questions.
Data were processed using SPSS software, averaged, standard deviation, median, mode, and Chi2 probe was used to examine relationships in addition to basic statistics.
Our results showed that it is a problem for young people with disabilities that they prefer passive leisure activities, which is similar to the results of studies on intact research. Boys and girls have different sports, boys are more active than girls.
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Some aspects of accounting and management accounting during economic downturns
33-35Views:360Economic slowdown and downturn creates new situation for every organisation, no one can avoid facing to new situation created by the global financial-, and economic crisis.All of the organisational function should reconsider its own role within the company due to the new circumstances, Accounting and Mangement Accounting can not be exception, but they have more complex and emphasized role in these difficult times. In the following paper I can not avoid to mention some general statement about importance of accounting and accounting principles, while there are a number of criticalaccounting and financial reporting issues that accountants and auditors should consider.In the framework of the paper I can not face with all relevant issues of the topic, but after some general statement I would like to highlight some special area regarding to management accounting, which can be more important during these challenging time for decision makers and accountants.Regarding to balance sheet analysis its important to mention current debate about fair value comparing with historical cost from accounting point of view, on the other hand from the view of management reporting system I would like to highlight the importance of working-capital indicators. More practical topic is the crucial role of budgeting and forecasting during economic downturns, and at the end I would like to show why it is more important monitoring price variance and indirect cost allocation in these uncertain business circumstances.
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The climate change and agriculture – dimensions and correlations
33-38Views:280Global climate changes are taking place and its impacts on economy are already occurring in fields like tourism, agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, insurance industry or capital market. Specialists draw attention that climate change has negative effects and positive effects. For example, in some parts of Europe, especially in north, the agricultural may benefit from temperature rise increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. The most important part of these changes is due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activity. Between greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) is the largest contributor with a weight around of 80% of total GHG emissions. The agriculture is the most affected sector by the climate change, but agricultural activities have many negative implications on environment through emissions of methane and nitrous oxide that result from changes in land use. Besides the negative impact, the agriculture may play a positive role to environment protection through the production of bio fuels. Because of the huge implications of climate change on human activities, the public authorities have made important steps in order to control this phenomenon, to reduce and prevent the negative impact.
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Rural resilience and the role of social capital among farmers in Kirundo province, Northern Burundi
121-125Views:323In Burundi, more than 90% of the active population is engaged in family agriculture, which plays a vital role in food production and constitutes more than 50% of the GDP. Before the civil war of 1993, Kirundo was deemed the “breadbasket of the country”, as the region fed many parts of Burundi through growing particular foods such as legumes and cereals. Family farming was market-oriented. Kirundo alone includes 8 lakes which offer opportunities for field irrigation. Today, this region is the first province in Burundi which shows a high rate of malnutrition, as poverty has increased and a sharp 53.9 % decline in agricultural production has been witnessed between 1996 and 2009. The aim of this article is to analyse the role of social capital through the local association network in improving family agriculture and the resilience to climate change and conflict crisis. In this study, 73 farmers were surveyed in Kirundo province through means of a questionnaire, and the study was completed by collecting secondary data. Analysis of the data reveals that, despite recurrent droughts in that region which caused deaths due to famines and displacement of people to neighbouring countries such as Rwanda and Tanzania, 44% of the farmers who were surveyed were shown to have resilience to climate change. The analysis of data shows that these farmers were members of well organised local associations, and had learned about specific topics such as financial management, processing and storage of agricultural products and livestock. The social capital network positively influences their income and their resilience to climate change and conflict crisis.
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International passanger survey at the Airport Debrecen – Main characteristics of departure visitors from AD
43-49Views:312The main reason of the research is to make a survey of the habits of foreign visitors arriving in Debrecen by air and their satisfaction. What was experienced in 2013 regarding low foreign proportion is also noticable in 2014. In the examined two months, of the whole passenger traffic between London and Debrecen only 10-15% is tourism by foreign visitors. There was not any information before about consumption of tourists arriving in Debrecen by air. In the course of my research I was examining the main elements of consumptions. From the gathered infromation from the questionaires it can be ascertained that on many occasions service providers failed to accomplish satisfying levels, quality. Underachievement occured and the experience of the visitors was worse than their expectations. This gives reasons for the indicators detailed analysis. The results of the satisfaction test might be an essential basis to further develop the city’s tourist products and services in the future. Personal experience of either visitors satisfaction or dissatisfaction, gets stored as a memory which influences future decisions on travelling. Because of this the city has to make an effort to provide higher standards of quality to people travelling into Debrecen by air from the first moment of arrival till the last moment of departure and leave satisffied.
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Economics of fairness within the food supply chain in context of the EU
107-116Views:473The paper broaches the issue of unfair trading practices (UTPs) at the expense of, economically spoken, weaker actors among the food supply chain in context of the EU. For illustrating the concept of UTPs and delivering a theoretical basis for scrutinizing the term of fairness in respective trading practices the paper suggests the three variables 1) bargaining power, 2) market power/anti competitive practices and 3) unequal gain distribution. Subsequently the article presents selected national food-specific legislative based reactions towards UTPs evolved in context of the three variables. Ultimately the paper presents a qualitatively generated hypothesis which presumes that legislative food-specific measurements focussing on protecting suppliers lead to a beneficial monetary share for farmers, by means of influencing the producer price to a monetarily advantageous extent. The hypothesis was generated unprejudiced in the run-up to the paper. The research design which led to the hypothesis mentioned will be presented.
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TRENDS IN HONEY CONSUMPTION AND PURCHASING HABITS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
Views:821Honey is a staple food of animal origin, with many beneficial properties, so the study of consumption and purchasing habits is an important issue. The main aim of our research is to present the market situation and conditions of the domestic beekeeping sector from the consumer's point of view. We considered it appropriate to present the beekeeping market because the European Union is the second largest honey producer in the world and Hungary is the largest honey producer in the EU. Thus, global and EU trade changes, market trends and changes in consumer habits are significant factors influencing the domestic situation. The market situation is presented through a review of the relevant domestic and foreign literature, and statistical databases (EU Member States' honey programmes, KSH, OMME, Statista databases and reports) are analysed. The research aims to find out the direction of honey consumption and purchasing patterns and trends in European honey consumption. We chose an online questionnaire survey method to assess consumption and purchasing habits in Hungary and present the results in comparison with similar Hungarian studies. To analyse the situation in Europe, we have collected and analysed relevant research reports, primary and secondary studies from several EU countries. Finally, the data from each country are compared, highlighting similarities and differences.
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Relationships between coping strategies and psychoactive substance use
102-108Views:464The study examines the relationship between coping strategies and smoking and alcohol consumption among athletes, recreational athletes and non-athlete individuals.
The factors examined were measured by a validated questionnaire version of Folkman-Lazarus (1980) (Ways of coping) (16 items) and asked about the smoking and alcohol consumption patterns of the respondents. The total sample number was 813 people, of whom 341 were athletes, 292 were recreational and 180 were non-athletes. 54.4% of the sample is female and 45.6% is male. In my research, I focused on mapping intrapersonal coping strategies among athletes, recreational athletes, and the non-athlete individuals, and explored gender differences. Furthermore, how smoking and alcohol consumption appear as a negative coping strategy in the measured sample.
As a method besides descriptive statistics the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to verify normality, and the hypotheses were tested with non-parameterized test (Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney).
For coping strategies I found a significant difference among the non-, recreational and competitive athletes, and there is a significant difference between genders as well.
In the case of cognitive restructurings, there was a significant difference in favor of sports and recreational athletes versus non-athletes, while in problem analysis and passive coping I found a significant difference in favor of women compared to men.
Significant differences were also found in the case of psychoactive substance use. Among the three groups, as the intensity of sport increases, the number of smokers decreases. In the case of smoking, a significant difference was found in the coping strategies referring to reduction of the stress in the whole sample. In the case of alcohol consumption, in coping strategies were found significant differences between stress reduction, problem analysis and passive coping.
JEL CODE: M21, O21
ARTICLE IN PRESS!
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Competitiveness of Polish regional Agro-clusters
35-40Views:397The present paper concerns the analysis and evaluation of the performance of regional agro-clusters in Poland and also the examination of the significant basic factors which have influence on it. The objective of the paper is both to rank the 16 Polish regions according to their competitive position in the agrocomplex and to present their economic and social position, show differences and regional contrasts. Also, we compare the outcomes with the overall Polish regional competitive index, which was created in accordance with the Huggins Institute approach.
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The choice between conventional and organic farming. A Hungarian example
55-58Views:338The paper deals with organic produce in one of the largest and, concerning organic production one of the most diffused counties in Hungary, Pest County located in the north-central part of the country. Factors influencing farmers’decision on adopting or not e.g. farm size, farm type, location, structure, market for organic products, existence of organic AEM were analysed. Hypotheses based on previous empirical literature were tested by a model explicitly accounting for the effects of farm-specific variables like age, education, size of farms and share of rented land. Logit model was estimated on a cross-section data set of Hungarian farmers for the period 2007. It appears that education has a positive impact on the choice between conventional and organic farming, and, the size of the farm in hectares has a negative effect on this choice.Age and some general considerations on environmental friendly technologies do not have a significant effect on choice between conventional and organic farming.
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Moral hazard problem for poor under joint forest management programme evidence from West Bengal in Indian context
61-71Views:237This study explores policy framework on current JFM programme, which secures traditional right of local need subject to the carrying capacity of forest, but face moral hazard problem in which Government cannot legally monitor actions against JFM householdswhich live below poverty line and that extract TFPs for their livelihood, and thereby threatening to sustainability of forest, whereas the incentive work opportunities that Government provides them is insufficient for their subsistence. A good incentive fee dependent on their work plus a lump sum fee (subsidy) are required for their livelihood sustenance and sustainability of forest resources.
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Structured commodity finance
77-83Views:414Over the past years, the financial stock market – providing the capital demand that is the result of stockpiling and the characteristic strong seasonality observed in the agricultural sector – has increasingly grown and become more “used” by market participants. Its size had reached an annual value of 200 billion HUF, of which agricultural products had received the largest proportion through the various market participants (producers, integrators, traders, feed producers, mills). In the meantime, this market had become part of the competition between the commercial banks that are the largest financers of the sector, due to which the financing credit institutions had undertaken increasing risk levels, with respect to both degree of financing and the VAT financing related to stockholding. The practice of commodity financing by banks display a rather varied picture at present. Considering the exceptional degree of fall in prices and the actions of companies totally disregarding business ethics in 2008, it seems necessary to reveal the full scope of risks inherent in commodity financing. The primary aim of such an exercise is to ensure the prudent operation of refinancing activities for commercial banks. The inherent risks in trade financing – as has been proven by the experiences of previous years – are not found primarily in the goods themselves, but rather at the actual storage facility and also emerge in relation to clients, as well as the inadequate and ineffective risk management of price volatility by the financers. Therefore, the establishment of banking risk management and risk prevention techniques, including the development of new financing procedures become indispensable, minimizing all types of risks that had emerged in previous years.
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Reporting companies’ performance – in respect of the international financial reporting standards (IFRS)
107-112Views:359The role of information became more important due to rapidly changing technical conditions, market and economic regulations in our globalizing world. Several regulations tend to provide the framework for reporting performance and income of the companies, but in different statements performance is inconsistently presented and many kind of evaluation method exist in the practice. These facts led to the demand of properly assess the financial health of an organization, and created a commonly accepted rule-system, which name was International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In this paper I tend to present the statements, definitions and factors, which can have great influence in representing the performance, income of the company in the frame of the IFRS, and reveal the differences between the other accounting regulations (EU directives, Hungarian Accounting Act) in this field.
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ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS BEHAVIOR AS PART IN COMPANIES
Views:447This research estimates public perceptions of corporate environmental responsibility and the use of clean energy in terms of how businesses exhibit environmentally sensitive behaviour through their operations and how clean energy is used within daily business operations. It carries out a large-scale survey among 100 participants, analyzing responses across various dimensions of corporate social responsibility, especially those relevant to environmental practices. The findings show that there is a high public expectation of business environmental responsibility, as 82% of the respondents regard it as very important for companies to undertake social responsibility activities. The same percentage (80%) feel it is essential that companies be liable for environmental damage. The same study also firmly focused on carbon emission reduction since 91% rated it somewhat or very important for companies to reduce their carbon emissions.
On the other hand, a perception gap was indicated since 52% of the respondents strongly believed that companies genuinely care about their social and environmental impact. This contrasts with the 77% of participants publicly declaring support for corporations promising to reduce environmental degradation. On the use of clean energy, while the research does not give an explicit quantitative status of the practice by corporate entities, it generally creates a good case demonstrating popular support for such corporate initiatives. A 72% rated a firm's effort to reduce its carbon footprint as essential, representing a clear expectation of adopting clean energy within corporate operations. The study finds considerable public mandate for companies to engage in environmentally sensitive business practices, including using clean energy. It also calls for improving business environmental responsibility programs, better communication transparency, prioritizing clean energy, and using environmental initiatives to gain market advantage. The findings and recommendations carry significant implications for corporate strategy, public policy, and future research in corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability.
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Hungarian traditional clothing, as on- and offline marketing
Views:582Several experts have already formulated the fact, that this time is the fourth industrial revolution, which affects our lives and it results in a change affecting all areas of life. It is not an exaggeration, that the new procedures and tools change as well – establishing working methods and consumption habits but also affecting our mentality greatly too. We can get the information in different way than a few decades ago, and we can also process more easily information. The development of technology, internet and marketing is getting faster and faster, and many effects of these changes can be felt in all areas of our lives.
There are new trends, which can give new marketing related solutions for companies. These companies have to recognize the fact, that the marketing activity has to be integrated, most importantly, well thought out and also well versed in the case of traditional marketing tools and also online and social media tools. People spend most of their time online whit checking their social media sites.
How important is Hungarian tradition and the preservation of these traditions in the 21th century? Do traditions have any role in the life of the modern man today? What is the social, cultural and economic importance of tradition? This study presents the research result of the company, which started before the pandemic in 2019, furthermore it introduces with the help of the products of the company, and assists people in getting to know the Hungarian tradition and folk costumes too.
Can a company work without online presence nowadays? The internet and the social media sites give new possibilities, which can help to build the reputation, but they also contain risks.
How can a company work effectively on social media? The consistency and the definition of the targeted groups are important in online marketing. What is needed for excellent communication? The company has to know the purpose of the communication: whether it would like to keep contact with the existing partners or would like to make new connections?
JEL CODE: M31
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A note on the Dutch disease
34-38Views:419Many resource rich countries are poor, where many resource poor countries are rich. One of the possible explanations of this paradox called the ‘resource curse’ is the Dutch Disease. This paper aims to analyse this phenomenon with the help of a simple macroeconomic trade model. It presents a number of Dutch Disease Cases of which the ‘Norwegian Case’ provides an example containing an effective policy against the negative impact of Dutch Disease on the national economy.
JEL Classification: O11, O24, Q33
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Green house gas mitigation and headline targets of Europe 2020 strategy
109-117Views:347Climate change is considered as one of the biggest challenges of XXI century and global action is needed to mitigate greenhouse gases (GHG) and adapt to changing water levels and temperatures, which affect food supply and ecosystem integrity. Climate change will have significant economic and social impacts in many regions of EU and sectors like agriculture is considered to bear greater adverse affects. Less developed regions and certain sections of society (the elderly and/or low-income households) are expected to suffer more from climate change. Climate change policy of EU, adopted in December 2008, includes ambitious targets for 2020. The policy is focused on a sustainable future with an energy-efficient economy by (i) cutting greenhouse gases by 20% (30% if international agreement is reached), (ii) reducing energy consumption by 20% through increased energy efficiency and iii) meeting 20% of energy needs from renewable sources. In the frame of the headline targets of Europe 2020 Strategy, this paper discusses most important greenhouse gas-emitting activities in agriculture, emphasizes the importance structural changes through the modernisation of infrastructure particularly in developing regions of EU and calls for enhancing the competitiveness of economy to promote energy efficiency.
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Differences in the Hungarian households’ sport expenditures
91-96Views:294The paper searches the differences between the groups of Hungarian households regarding the sport expenditures’ presence in household budget and determining factors. I used the latest Household Budget Survey (HBS) of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office from 2008 which contains data of more than 7000 households. My methods were logit and probit models, where the presence of sport expenditures were explained in households’ budget. The increase of the following indicators has a positive effect onto the possibility of the sport expenditures: income status, level of education, number of the children in the household, size of settlement. The region of the household is determining the presence of the sport expenditures too, however sex of the household’s head does not play a significant role.
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Demographic and lifestyle attributes with a fundamental role in food supplement consumption (exploratory research)
181-185Views:346The worldwide proportion of food supplement consumers has been steadily increasing, more than 50% of the Hungarian population tends to buy at least one type of dietary supplement. In most cases, the purchase and consumption of food supplements are not based on medical indications but depends on consumers’ individual decisions. The study of consumer groups enables the investigation of typicalities which have an impact on attitudes related to the consumption of food additives. The present study explores the demographical factors determining the global consumption of dietary supplements by secondary research. It sought to explore the typical features of consumer lifestyles in line with the research findings, based on previously specified criteria, through qualitative focus group examinations. My study focused on subjects who bought and purchased at least one type of food supplement in the previous year and placed a high emphasis on healthy diet and lifestyle in their everyday lives. The consumption of dietary supplements indicates growth with age and it is more common among women. Consumers with higher qualifications and incomes tend to buy products with vitamins and minerals in a greater proportion. The identification of nutrition factors revealed that the proportion of those who do not need extra nutrient intake is high among food supplement consumers. It is primarily true of women having a healthy lifestyle (they typically consume high amounts of vegetables and fruits, they are physically active, non-smokers and do not use alcohol); moreover, their socio-economic status is typically high. The findings of my quantitative research suggest that the purchase and consumption of dietary supplements are most characteristic of the “Successful”, “Quality oriented- successful” and “Loyal to the brand - modest” groups in the lifestyle-based consumer segments. The investigated sample showed ambiguous attitudes towards product quality and willingness to pay in all the three batches. Nevertheless, it can be established, when consumers buy food supplements, brand sensitivity proves to be a dominant factor in addition to - typically Hungarian - price sensitivity. Based on lifestyle factors, the current research may bring us closer to the exploration of the motivational and attitude patterns of consumers’ food supplement purchases.
JEL Code: I12, M31
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Agribusiness higher education development – training needs analysis
107-120Views:377With the tremendous changes in political and economic systems of the Republic of Croatia after independence, new challenges have been put to the higher education system as well. The system used to be structured to serve a centrally planed economy with predominantly state ownership. Universities were producing graduates to be employed on statefarms,inagri-foodsystems(socalled„kombinats“),the state owned processing industry or cooperatives. The graduates were specialised in particular branches, such as crop production, vegetable production or livestock husbandry. Therefore, they were not educated to understand the whole system of a company or the agri-food system. In one word, they were not prepared to run firms as managers, although they were highly educated. Small and medium size entrepreneurs in agri-food business have been rather an exception than a rule, and prior to the transition there was not to much experience in managing, financing or marketing for such a firms.
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The role of the time factor in the manager functions
101-108Views:301The role of the time factor in management is increasing. Change directs attention to the time factor from the point of view of the organisation,and management does the same from that of the person. I examined the time management practice of managers of organisations related to agribusiness, and the reaction time characterising the adaption ability of the organisations through a questionnaire survey. I analysed the collected data with scientifically established statistical methods. During studying resources, managing tasks, change, reaction time and effect I explored the features of time as resource, the significance of the time factor, the improvability of time efficiency in the different managing functions, the factors supporting and hindering the quick reaction of organisations, and what rearrangements can be seen in management work nowadays.
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