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• Competitive adavntages: Theory and corporate practice

  51-70

  Gabor Hovanyi

  Views:

  140

  The competitive advantage achieved by a company basically influences its profitability and market position. The article shows that in addition to this the evaluation has many other criteria, and the management must consider these when defining competitive adavantage. The study explains that as a result of the acceleration of technological and economic development, the globalization of economic processes, and the evaluation of networks of interdepedence, the management have to face new types of competitive advantage. To choose between these the management has to consider competitive vulnerability. Following this the article attempts to summarize the basic law of the theory of competitive advantage, before introducing the most important management techniques for the selection of competitive advantage. Finally, the study emphasizes that the key factor in  achieving a competitive edge and the success of different management techniques is the CEO, and through the model of the "CEO's personality pyramid" it explains the requirements that the manager has to meet.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: O30, O32

• Examination of Management of TESCO Hungary's sustainability and community activities

  24-48

  Judit Tessényi

  Norbert Katona

  Views:

  55

  In their fifth sustainability management case study, the authors examine the focus, organizational processes, and operation of TESCO's responsibility and community activities in Hungary. On the one hand they executed analyses of publicly available company reports and internal documents, while on the other hand, they conducted semi-structured interviews with internal and external experts who play a key role in the added CSR activities. In addition to the descriptive presentation of the activities, the authors' work points out that there are many crutial organizational conditions for the effective management of organizational processes related to sustainability and communities, furthermore they highligted the possibilities and limitations of involving external parties and service providers, as well. The value of the case study is enhanced by the fact that no comprehensive case study presenting the sustainability activities of the leading domestic food retail companies has been published recently.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes: A13, D6, F6, M14, M19, M38

• The Consistency of Charitable Behaviour and Its Fund Raising Implications

  71-86

  Eva Kuti

  Views:

  117

  This paper tries to take an initial step toward a deeper understanding of the differences and similarities between corporate, individual and 1% philanthropy. Though both corporate and individual giving have
  a huge international literature (e.g. Adam 2004; Archambault & Boumendi 1998; Burlingame 1997, 2001; Halfpenny 1999; Schervish & Haven, 1997; Wang & Graddy 2008; Zamagni,1995) and 1% philanthropy is also discussed by several, mainly Eastern European authors (e.g. Bódi 2001; Chano 2008; Gerencsér & Oprics 2007; Török & Moss 2004; Vajda & Kuti 2002), the connections between these different kinds of philanthropic activities have not yet been scrutinized. Correspondingly, very little attention has been paid to the issues of how third sector organizations could develop an efficient ‘fund raising mix’; how they should combine their efforts to solicit contributions from different kinds of donors. In order to answer these questions, the author takes an interdisciplinary approach; she uses several different types of analytical and statistical methods. The statistical analysis of the donors’ motivation is based on the results of three empirical surveys of individual giving, 1% philanthropy and corporate donations which were carried out in Hungary over the last couple of years. The third sector organizations’ fund raising behaviour is analyzed using both official statistical data (KSH 1998–2008) and information gathered through interviews (Laki & Szalai 2004; T. Puskás 2006) and case studies (Kotler & Lee 2007; Török 2005b).

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: D64, M14, L31

• Just-in-Time system in terms of real options

  Andrea Rozsa

  Views:

  111

  The value creation process in a company and the competitive position are critically influenced by corporate resource allocation and proper valuation of investment alternatives. After the Second World War, capital budgeting and strategic planning emerged as two complementary but different systems for resource allocation. The real options approach developed in the ’80s may provide a useful tool for making a connection between capital budgeting and strategic management. Real options are implicit managerial and operating flexibilities embedded in many non-financial assets and liabilities. In a wider sense: “A real option is the investment in physical assets, human competence, and organisational capabilities that provide the opportunity to respond to future contingent events” (Kogut-Kulatilaka, 2001). This paper shows that Just-in-Time (JIT) system as management philosophy can be regarded as a knowledge-based or capability-based implicit strategy rather than a simple, easy-toimitate best practice approach. Moreover, implementation of JIT can be considered as a strategic investment. The presentation focuses on how the relation among strategic investments, developed technological systems and corporate strategy can be expressed through the real options view.

• Parallel Organizational and Technology Innovation: Designing Organizations following SOA Principles

  5-19

  György Bögel

  Peter Krauth

  Views:

  168

  Technology development in general and trends and developments in infocommunication technologies in particular have a direct effect on corporate organizational processes. In information system design, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) provides a set of principles and methodologies for designing software in the form of interoperable services with defined business functionalities. These loosely coupled components can be reused for different purposes, and can be combined with services bought from outside partners and other service providers. The goal of this study is to describe how SOA principles and
  methods can be used for designing business organizations, i.e. socio-technical systems with human and machine components. Part one is a general overview of SOA as it is used in IT, part two explains how IT systems converge with corporate organizations, and part three presents a model for an organization designed and managed following SOA principles. The research project behind this article was initiated by the Hungarian Post.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classifications: L14, L22, L86, M15

• Economy of Austria

  125-148

  Kitti Vass

  Views:

  103

  In my article I examine a member state of the European Union, the open and federal Austria, which can be considered as an example of a corporate economy. During the reconstruction period following the Second World War the Austrian economy was characterized by a frantic economic expansion. After the oil crisis, an incomparably low inflation rate and low unemployment, and the more dynamic than average economic growth attracted attention to the country. Due to the intensified external economic interest, the Austrian model - namely the economic policy and establishment - was widely studied at this time. However, at the beginning of the 1980's some structural problems appearing in the economy contributed to slowdown in growth, until the political changes of the year 2000, which finally brought a new favourable turn in economic policy. I start with an examination of Austria's economic status after the Second World War, then the development, changes and role of the Austrian social partnership. I go on to analyze today's Austria from the point of view of the sustainable balanced budget, focusing on the financial circumstances of the state, such as the complex financial connections derived from federalism.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL): H62, H63

• Business Intelligence from a Strategic Perspective

  49-70

  Gyorgy Bogel

  Attila Papp

  Views:

  425

  Business Intelligence is one of the fastest growing sectors of corporate informatics today. The study describes the history of the related approaches, models and applications, starting from the beginning of the last century. The most important growth engines are highlighted and the strategic role of business intelligence is explained in detail. Both the supply and the demand side of the BI market are analysed and key developments and trends are explained. Special attention is paid to explaining and modelling the intensive acquisition activity of the recent past, and to the potential consequences of the growing need for integration. New market and technology trends changing the application landscape are analysed at the end.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: M10, M15, M40

• HR Funtion Under Changes at Subsidiaries of Foreign Multinational Firms in Light of an Empirical Study in Hungary

  98-116

  Jozsef Poor

  Views:

  423

  Following almost two decades of multinational companies (MNCs) operating in the transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) expatriate and local managers continue to ask the following question: “How can we effectively manage the available human resources from our subsidiaries or assignees from the corporate centre?” A model of human resource (HR) practices in the subsidiary units of MNC’s in Hungary was developed from a review of the literature, extensive professional experience in the region and an interview-based survey at 42 subsidiaries of large multinational companies. This model describes the evolution of different HR variables in the light of external (macro) and internal (firm specific) factors.

  Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification: M16, M51, M52 és M54