Economic and Social Development€¦ · 33 rd International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development – "Managerial Issues in Modern Business" Editors: Tomasz Studzieniecki,

Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency

in cooperation with

University North

Faculty of Management University of Warsaw

Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences Sale - Mohammed V University in Rabat

Economic and Social Development

33rd International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development –

"Managerial Issues in Modern Business"

Editors:

Tomasz Studzieniecki, Melita Kozina, Dunja Skalamera Alilovic

Book of Proceedings

Warsaw, 26-27 September 2018

Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency

in cooperation with

University North

Faculty of Management University of Warsaw

Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences Sale - Mohammed V University in Rabat

Editors:

Tomasz Studzieniecki, Melita Kozina, Dunja Skalamera Alilovic

Economic and Social Development 33rd International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development –

"Managerial Issues in Modern Business"

Book of Proceedings


Title n Economic and Social Development (Book of Proceedings), 33rd International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social

Development - "Managerial Issues in Modern Business"

Editors n Tomasz Studzieniecki, Melita Kozina, Dunja Skalamera Alilovic

Scientific Committee n Marijan Cingula, University of Zagreb, Croatia (President); Sandra Raquel Alves - University of Aveiro, Portugal;

Ayuba A. Aminu, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria; Anona Armstrong, Victoria University, Australia; Gouri Sankar

Bandyopadhyay, The University of Burdwan, Rajbati Bardhaman, India; Haimanti Banerji, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India;

Elisabeth de Jesus Oliveira Brito - University of Aveiro, Portugal; Alla Bobyleva, The Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia; Leonid

K. Bobrov, State University of Economics and Management, Novosibirsk, Russia; Rado Bohinc, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Zeki Atil

Bulut, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey; Adnan Celik, Selcuk University - Konya, Turkey; Angelo Maia Cister, Federal University of Rio de

Janeiro, Brasil; Mirela Cristea, University of Craiova, Romania; Sreten Cuzovic, University of Nis, Serbia; Oguz Demir, Istanbul Commerce

University, Turkey; T.S. Devaraja, University of Mysore, India; Onur Dogan, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey; Darko Dukic, University of Osijek, Croatia; Gordana Dukic, University of Osijek, Croatia; Alba Dumi, Vlora University, Vlore, Albania; Ksenija Dumicic, University of

Zagreb, Croatia; Galina Pavlovna Gagarinskaya, Samara State University, Russia; Fran Galetic, Zagreb University, Croatia; Mirjana Gligoric,

Faculty of Economics, Belgrade University, Serbia; Mehmet Emre Gorgulu, Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey; Aleksandra Grobelna,

Gdynia Maritime University, Poland; Liudmila Guzikova, Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia; Anica Hunjet,

University North, Koprivnica, Croatia; Oxana Ivanova, Ulyanovsk State University, Ulyanovsk, Russia; Irena Jankovic, Faculty of Economics,

Belgrade University, Serbia; Lara Jelenc, University of Rijeka, Croatia; Myrl Jones, Radford University, USA; Gorazd Justinek, Graduate

School of Government and European Studies, Slovenia; Hacer Simay Karaalp, Pamukkale University,Turkey; Grzegorz Karasiewicz,

University of Warsaw, Poland; Dafna Kariv, The College of Management Academic Studies, Rishon Le Zion, Israel; Salih Katircioglu, Eastern Mediterranean University, Northern Cyprus, Turkey; Hilal Yildirir Keser, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey; Martina Dragija Kostic; Sophia

Khalimova, Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Science, Novosibirsk, Russia; Marina

Klacmer Calopa, University of Zagreb, Croatia; Vladimir Kovsca, University of Zagreb, Croatia; Goran Kozina, University North, Koprivnica,

Croatia; Dzenan Kulovic, Univeristy of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Robert Lewis, Les Roches Gruyère University of Applied Sciences,

Bulle, Switzerland; Ladislav Lukas, Univ. of West Bohemia, Faculty of Economics, Czech Republic; Pascal Marty, University of La Rochelle,

France; Vaidotas Matutis, Vilnius University, Lithuania; Marjana Merkac Skok, GEA College of Entrepreneurship, Ljubljana, Slovenija;

Daniel Francois Meyer, North West University, South Africa; Marin Milkovic, Rector, University North, Koprivnica, Croatia; Zlatko Nedelko, University of Maribor, Slovenia; Gratiela Georgiana Noja, West University of Timisoara, Romania; Zsuzsanna Novak, Corvinus University

of Budapest, Hungary; Alojzy Z. Nowak, University of Warsaw, Poland; Tomasz Ochinowski, University of Warsaw, Poland; Mislav Ante

Omazic, University of Zagreb, Croatia; Vera Palea, Universita degli Studi di Torino, Italy; Dusko Pavlovic, Libertas International University,

Zagreb, Croatia; Igor Pihir – University of Zagreb, Croatia; Dinko Primorac, University North, Koprivnica, Croatia; Zeljka Primorac,

University of Split, Croatia; Miroslaw Przygoda, University of Warsaw, Poland; Nicholas Recker, Metropolitan State University of Denver,

USA; Kerry Redican, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA; Humberto Ribeiro, University of Aveiro, Portugal; Robert Rybnicek, University of

Graz, Austria; Elzbieta Szymanska, Bialystok University of Technology, Poland; Katarzyna Szymanska, The State Higher School of

Vocational Education in Ciechanow, Poland; Jan Turyna, University of Warsaw, Poland; Ilaria Tutore, University of Naples Parthenope, Italy; Claudia Miranda Veloso - University of Aveiro, Portugal; Rebeka Danijela Vlahov, University of Zagreb; Ilko Vrankic, University of Zagreb,

Croatia; Thomas Will, Agnes Scott College, USA; Li Yongqiang, Victoria University, Australia; Peter Zabielskis, University of Macau, China;

Tao Zeng, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada; Snezana Zivkovic, University of Nis, Serbia.

Review Committee n Marina Klacmer Calopa (President); Ana Aleksic; Sandra Raquel Alves; Ayuba Aminu; Mihovil Andjelinovic; Josip

Arneric; Lidija Bagaric; Tomislav Bakovic; Sanja Blazevic; Leonid Bobrov; Ruzica Brecic; Anita Ceh Casni; Mirela Cristea; Oguz Demir;

Jasmina Dvorski; Stjepan Dvorski; Robert Fabac; Ivica Filipovic; Sinisa Franjic; Fran Galetic; Mirjana Gligoric; Tomislav Globan; Anita

Goltnik Urnaut; Tomislav Herceg; Irena Jankovic; Emina Jerkovic; Dafna Kariv; Oliver Kesar; Hilal Yildirir Keser; Tatjana Kovac; Vladimir Kovsca; Angelo Maia Cister; Katarina Marosevic; Vaidotas Matutis; Marjana Merkac Skok; Josip Mikulic; Ljubica Milanovic Glavan; Daniel

Francois Meyer; Natanya Meyer; Guenter Mueller; Ivana Nacinovic Braje; Zlatko Nedelko; Gratiela Georgiana Noja; Zsuzsanna Novak; Alka

Obadic; Claudia Ogrean; Igor Pihir; Najla Podrug; Vojko Potocan; Dinko Primorac; Zeljka Primorac; Sanda Renko; Humberto Ribeiro; Vlasta

Roska; Souhaila Said; Armando Javier Sanchez Diaz; Tomislav Sekur; Lorena Skuflic; Mirko Smoljic; Petar Soric; Mario Spremic; Matjaz

Stor; Tomasz Studzieniecki; Lejla Tijanic; Daniel Tomic; Boris Tusek; Rebeka Daniela Vlahov; Ilko Vrankic; Thomas Will; Zoran Wittine;

Tao Zeng; Snezana Zivkovic; Berislav Zmuk.

Organizing Committee n Domagoj Cingula (President); Marina Klacmer Calopa; Spomenko Kesina; Erlino Koscak; Miroslaw Przygoda; Michael Stefulj; Rebeka Danijela Vlahov; Sime Vucetic.

Publishing Editor n Domagoj Cingula

Publisher n Design n Print n Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency, Varazdin, Croatia / Faculty of Management University

of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland / University North, Koprivnica, Croatia / Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences Sale - Mohammed V

University in Rabat, Morocco

Printing n Online Edition

ISSN 1849-7535 The Book is open access and double-blind peer reviewed.

Our past Books are indexed and abstracted by ProQuest, EconBIZ, CPCI (WoS) and EconLit databases and available for download in a PDF

format from the Economic and Social Development Conference website: http://www.esd-conference.com

© 2018 Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency, Varazdin, Croatia; Faculty of Management University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; University North, Koprivnica, Croatia; Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences Sale - Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco. All rights reserved. Authors are responsible for the linguistic and technical accuracy of their contributions.

Authors keep their copyrights for further publishing.

CONTENTS

MANAGEMENT OF CORPORATE HUMAN CAPITAL IN THE BULGARIAN ECONOMIC UNITS AS AN OBJECT OF THE BEHAVIORAL PARADIGM .............. 1

Adelina Milanova, Pavlinka Naydenova

NEXUS BETWEEN HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN NIGERIA ................................................................................................. 9

Awe Isaac Tope

TECHNOLOGICAL QUALITY ASSESSMENT IN ONLINE COMMERCIAL SERVICES .............................................................................................................................. 21

Ireneusz Czarnowski, Monika Szyda

FAMILY VIOLENCE ........................................................................................................... 30

Dasa Panjakovic Senjic

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY IN A-ROSA HOTEL .................................................................................................................................................. 38

Elizabeta Mitreva, Elena Lazarovska, Oliver Filiposki

THE FUTURE OF MANAGERIAL EDUCATION ........................................................... 48

Grazyna Wieczorkowska Wierzbinska

FROM EL BOUAZIZI TO ISIS: PAST SEEDS AND PRESENT HARVEST (TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSES OF THE SHIFT FROM CLAIMS FOR FREEDOM TO VIOLENCE) .................................................................................................................... 55

Housni Hamid, Maliki Sadik, Biad Tayeb

IMPACT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF COMPANIES ON THE ECONOMY OF ITS PARTICIPANTS ...................................................................... 61

Eva Vitkova, Vit Hromadka, Jiri Kusak

INNOVATIONS AND SAFETY IN PASSENGER RAILWAY TRANSPORT - THE TRAVELERS’ PERSPECTIVE ........................................................................................... 71

Joanna Hernik, Rafal Mazur

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS EXCELLENCE MODELS ................... 82

Andzela Veselova

DECISION ENGINEERING: SETTLING A LEAN DECISION MODELING APPROACH ........................................................................................................................... 93

Vanja Bevanda

METHODICAL APPROACH FOR THE ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF SPECIFIC PROJECTS ON WATERWAYS ........................................................................................ 103

Vit Hromadka, Eva Vitkova, Jana Korytarova

THE INFLUENCE OF FEMALE CEOS ON PERFORMANCE AND INDEBTEDNESS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF SPANISH HOTEL COMPANIES ........................... 109

Belen Arnao-Nieto, Joanna Hernik, Antonio Minguez-Vera

DETERMINANTS OF INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE: AN INVESTIGATION WITH BMA FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION .............................................................................. 118

Krzysztof Beck

THE ROLE OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS TOOLS IN BUILDING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUPPLIERS AND INDUSTRIAL CLIENTS ............... 127

Maciej Urbaniak

THE STRATEGY OF NOSTALGIC BRAND – EXPERTS’ STUDY ........................... 135

Magdalena Grebosz-Krawczyk, Jean Marc Pointet

GLOBL BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY MARKET ANALYSIS – CURRENT SITUATIONS AND FORECAST ....................................................................................... 143

Alexey Chernov, Victoria Chernova

CONDITIONS AND DIRECTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT OF BOOK FAIRS - PERSPECTIVE OF THE POLISH MARKET ................................................................. 153

Anita Proszowska

INVESTMENT PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS IN THE KOREAN RECONSTRUCTION MARKET ....................................................................................... 160

Chang-Wook Park, Seong-Hoon Jeong

CRYPTOCURRENCY: GENERAL CHALLENGES OF LEGAL REGULATION AND THE SWISS MODEL OF REGULATION ....................................................................... 168

Dragan Zelic, Nenad Baros

THE EVOLUTION OF ROMANIAN MACROECONOMY POST-CRISIS ................ 177

Dragos Ion Smedescu

RESEARCH ON ACCESSING EUROPEAN FUNDS FOR YOUNG FARMERS IN ROMANIA UNDER THE TWO NATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS ................................................................................................................................................ 184

Marius Mihai Micu

THE PECKING ORDER THEORY (POT) AND START-UP FINANCING OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMES): INSIGHT INTO AVAILABLE LITERATURE IN THE LIBYAN CONTEXT ................................................................. 191

Nassr Saleh Mohamad Ahmad, Ramadan Ahmed A Atniesha

MULTI-CRITERIA HIERARCHY OF DEVELOPMENT REGIONS FROM THE TOURISM PERSPECTIVE – ROMANIA ........................................................................ 201

Nela Steliac, Dumitru Steliac

FUNCTION AND IMPORTANCE OF INTERNAL AUDIT IN HOTEL GROUP „BUDVANSKA RIVIJERA“ .............................................................................................. 212

Olivera Simovic, Djurdjica Perovic

EFFICIENT MARKETING METHODS AIMING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF MODERN CLIENTS ................................................................... 224

Ioan Iulian Alecu

GRI REPORTING FRAMEWORK AS A TOOL OF SOCIAL ACCOUNTING ........ 230

Grazyna Michalczuk, Urszula Konarzewska

THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATIONAL AMBIDEXTERITY AS AN EXAMPLE OF PARADOXICAL STRATEGY ........................................................................................... 241

Marta Kozakowska-Kedzierska

’QUESTIONS BANK’ IN TERMS OF WŁADYSŁAW JACHNIAK AS A MANAGERIAL TOOL OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION ............................................... 250

Michal Kozlowski, Danuta Jachniak

A POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS OF THE CHINESE SYSTEM OF SOCIALIST MARKET ECONOMY ........................................................................................................ 260

Nenad Rancic, Ying Zhang, Ozren Pilipovic

CONTEMPORARY INNOVATION PROCESSES AND MANAGERIAL ISSUES ... 269

Andrzej H. Jasinski

ROMANIAN WINES - PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE ...................................................... 279

Petrica Stefan

R&D EFFECTIVENESS IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY ........................ 287

Lukasz Konopielko, Anastasiia Trechubova

BETWEEN CONSUMERISM AND DECONSUMPTION - ATTITUDES OF YOUNG POLES AS A CHALLENGE FOR MARKETERS .......................................................... 297

Agnieszka Wilczak

SELECTED PROBLEMS OF THE CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF GLOBALIZATION 306

Anna Janiga-Cmiel

THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................................................ 316

Dorina Nicoleta Mocuta

THE EFFECT OF OVERFLOW AT WORKPLACE ON EMPLOYEES PRODUCTIVITY AND WELL BEING ............................................................................ 322

Krzysztof Nowak, Anna Olga Kuzminska, Katarzyna Kinga Kowalczyk

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM FOR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: A PILOT IMPLEMENTATION STUDY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW ....................... 332

Maria Cywinska, Konrad Zawadzki

THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF INSOLVENCY OF THE ENTERPRISE (SELECTED ISSUES) ................................................................................................................................. 341

Monika Smusz - Kulesza

THE INFLUENCE OF THE TYPE OF CUSTOMER (INDIVIDUAL VS INSTITUTIONAL) ON THE PRINCIPLES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION OF A LARGE ORGANIZATION ................................................................................................ 351

Grazyna Rosa, Izabela Ostrowska, Kamila Slupinska, Leszek Gracz

CHANGE OF THE PREVIOUS PATH OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE ACTIVATION OF PERIPHERAL AREAS OF WEST POMERANIA IN POLAND ............................ 361

Piotr Nowaczyk

USING THE APPARATUS OF SIMULATION MODELING IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING ADVERTISING STRATEGIES OF ENTERPRISES .......................... 372

Zoya Sokolovska, Alexey Alyohin, Iryna Kapustyan

COMMUNICATION WITH EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL PUBLIC ACCORDING TO STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES: EXAMPLE OF SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS ............................................................................................................. 383

Goran Pavelin, Nikolina Lucic

ANALYSIS OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND THE ECONOMIC-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF THE ECONOMIC ENTITIES ............................................................................................................................. 394

Raluca Florentina Cretu

ANALYSIS OF THE ECOTOURIST PROFILE IN ROMANIA, HUNGARY AND BULGARIA .......................................................................................................................... 404

Romeo Catalin Cretu

TOURISM NETWORK: KRAPINA – ZAGORJE COUNTY CASE ............................ 414

Sinisa Hajdas Doncic, Ivan Pavelic, Mihael Zmajlovic

ANALYSIS OF CROSS-BORDER ACQUISITIONS OF FAMILY-OWNED COMPANIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA......................................................... 424

Karla Grgic, Davor Filipovic, Najla Podrug

ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF VIRTUAL SERVICES ....................................................... 434

Stanislaw Walukiewicz

THE INFLUENCE OF AN EXCESSIVE PUBLIC DEBT ON THE ECONOMIC TRENDS IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA ................................................................. 449

Zeljko Sudaric, Mateja Glavota

SELECTED METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION IN THE MARKETING OF FINANCIAL SERVICES ................................................................... 460

Sylwia Lach

CASE STUDY METHOD AND ITS USEFULNESS IN BRANDING ACTIVITIES - RESULTS OF RESEARCH ................................................................................................ 468

Beata Tarczydlo

BUSINESS PROCESS MATURITY MODELS RESEARCH – A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 476

T. Bartosz Kalinowski

THE ANALYSIS OF THE CHOSEN METHODS OF THE EVALUATION OF START-UPS ON THE SPECIFIC CASE ......................................................................................... 484

Daniela Majercakova, Alexandra Mittelman

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION IN VISEGRÁD GROUP COUNTRIES ............................................ 491

Tomasz Madras

PERIPHERAL ANTECEDENTS OF THE PROSUMER CULTURE AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR HUMANISTIC MANAGEMENT ................................................. 500

Tomasz Ochinowski, Edyta Rosinska-Wielec

ANALYSIS OF THE VALUATION ACTIVITY ON VEGETABLES AND FRUITS CHAINS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT ......................................................................... 508

Valentina Constanta Tudor

THE ROLE OF ICT IN THE ZADAR CITY MUSEUMS AS A CHALLENGE FOR CULTURAL TOURISM ..................................................................................................... 515

Sime Vucetic, Domagoj Cingula, Djani Bunja

THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA OF BANKING APPLICATION IN POLAND ............................................................................................. 526

Witold Chmielarz, Konrad Luczak

THE SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT – THE CASE OF A RUSSIAN PETROCHEMICAL COMPANY ...................................................................................... 536

Yulia Fomina, Svetlana Apenko

SOFT LAW ACTS AND THE PRINCIPLE OF LEGAL CERTAINTY ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE POLISH FINANCIAL SUPERVISION AUTHORITY AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE OFFICE OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS ......................................................................................................... 544

Tomasz Klemt, Michalina Szpyrka

QUALITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS USED IN THE FUNCTION FAILURE DESIGN METHOD .............................................................................................................................. 552

Fabis-Domagala Joanna, Filo Grzegorz, Domagala Mariusz, Momeni Hassan

REDEFINING THE ROLE OF THE CONSUMER IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING MARKETING INNOVATIONS ......................................................................................... 561

Katarzyna Liczmanska-Kopcewicz

DESIGN OF RESILIENT SUPPLY CHAINS .................................................................. 571

Grazyna Wieteska

REVITALIZATION OF DEGRADED PORT AREAS AS A CHANCE FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE EXAMPLE OF KOŁOBRZEG MUNICIPALITY .......... 579

Piotr Nowaczyk, Arkadiusz Malkowski

CHANGE AREAS IN BIG INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES AND THEIR EVALUATION ................................................................................................................................................ 589

Jerzy Paszkowski

CHANGES IN THE USE OF WEBSITES IN E-COMMERCE IN 2017 -2018 ............ 597

Witold Chmielarz, Tomasz Parys

33rd International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development – ”Managerial Issues in Modern Business” –


414

TOURISM NETWORK: KRAPINA – ZAGORJE COUNTY CASE

Sinisa Hajdas Doncic Libertas International University, Zagreb, Trg J. F. Kennedy 6b

[email protected]

Ivan Pavelic Libertas International University, Zagreb, Trg J. F. Kennedy 6b

[email protected]

Mihael Zmajlovic

Hrvatski Sabor, Zagreb, TrgSv. Marka 6

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

Tourism networks may be defined as social structures that enable business entities to build the

level of mutual trust in order to create and develop jointly local tourist product. They are

imaginary organizations, both formal and informal, which present social construct of people,

activities and ideas. Complex or better said structured nature of tourism includes a number of

stakeholders into building networks: entrepreneurs, public organizations, NGOs. The survey

was used to question 148 stakeholders who participate in creating joint tourist product in

NUTS3 region of Krapina-Zagorje County, Republic of Croatia. They are enterprises,

craftwork, small family agriculture businesses, public institutions and bodies, NGOs and

individuals who participate and contribute to creating and implementing tourist product, which

do not have formal business linkages, but function as informal tourism network. The survey

questioned their level of cooperation in 9 areas, divided into 3 benefits. Results, further checked

by T-test, show that within informal network public sector better understands cooperation and

higher valuates benefit i.e. the test proves correlation in attitudes of public sector examinees in

comparison to private sector examinees.

Keywords: tourism networks, Krapina-Zagorje County, community involvement and

participation, building linkages

1. INTRODUCTION This paper researches how different actors at the regional level, the NUTS3 region, assess the

benefits of informal tourism network led by the public sector. Tourist network is focused on

linking the tourism resources in a huge number of small interconnected localities and marketing

them as a single destination. That involves facilities such as accommodation, spa resorts, farms,

restaurants, sites and craft centres. Its goal is to increase the flow of tourists and create new

jobs. The network is centralised, organised by the public sector agencies at a local and regional

level, but also opened to non-members. Case is considered to illustrate type of network seek to

build some understanding of the nature of the local community as part of how they can be

regarded as a tourism destination. Tourism is connected to geographical place and communities

with a social and cultural history of the county. One of the most precious elements in the study

of community networks is the vital role that entrepreneurs in the private, public or voluntary

sector play in starting up and working with those networks.

2. TOURISM NETWORKS The problem of small and medium-sized private enterprises in tourism in rural destinations is

primarily the problem of lack of competences in organizational forms and the lack of basic

knowledge and sources of funding (Morrison and Thomas, 1999, Androitis, 2002, Hajdaš,



415

Horvat and Šmid 2007.). One way of handling such situation is the establishment of networks (Copp and Ivy, 2001) as part of a clustering process associated with a value chain established

as a lateral or vertical network (OECD, 1999.). Networks can be defined as social structures

that enable small and medium-sized businesses to build a level of mutual trust and to jointly

create and develop a local tourist product. Perhaps the best explanation of what the networks

are, was given by Gummesson, who used the expression of an imaginary organization, referring

to the fact that the networks are not tangible objects, but a social construction that contains

people, activities and ideas that need not be limited to a spatial location (Gummesson, 1994.).

The term networking can therefore be seen as a process already used in networks for mobilizing

relationships and the postulate of learning of each other. Networks can be observed in several

ways. In this paper, examples of Conwey will be used, as shown in Table 1., which has designed

a network classification method.

Table 1. Network classifications (Adapted from Conway, 1998. Shaw and Conway 2000.)

Classification DESCRIPTION

Network membership Diversity of actors (professional, user, social)

Nature of linkages Formal versus informal

Type of exchange or transaction Information, goods, friendship or power

Network function or role Problem solving or idea generation

Network morphology Size, diversity, density, stability of links

Geographical distribution of

network

Balance between local, national and international

members

CYBER network forums, Internet, Facebook

Conceptualizing the Networks through Social Identity (Michell, 1969, O Dannel, 2001, Van

Laere and Heene, 2003) and describing them as social networks that contain set morphological

dimensions of patterns and structures, their social dimension and a complex combination of

social parameters which depends on the functioning of the network are emphasized. In small

rural communities, such social connectivity is even more pronounced through the integration

of small tourist entities with the local community and the significant interconnection between

local economic and non-economic factors. That is why networks are observed as social

phenomena. The main issue remains the level of intensity of social inclusion in different

structures. Szarka speaks of three categories of economic and social determinants of inclusion:

1. Network of exchanges - include economic entities and organizations with which small

business entities have commercial transactions;

2. Communication networks - include a set of organizations and individuals with whom small

businesses have non-commercial transactions, such as development agencies, chambers of

commerce, consultants, local and regional self-government. The relationship is

characterized as official and / or semi-functional;

3. Social networks - include links between family, friends and acquaintances of the network

and have two components; a personal and a deeper cultural dimension. (Szarka 1990).

Being a part of the network often causes frustration, sacrifice and compromise. For network

members, participation in the network often means assessing their social contributions and

creating new tools to facilitate local tourism development. If benefits of networks are observed

in building a prominent tourist destination, then one can talk about the process of learning and

exchange, business activities and communion. Through learning and sharing knowledge within

a network, participants gain benefits that have been translated into positive business activity

and community outcomes. The value of the existing networks has only the lack of real

measurement of that value and many of them are socially difficult to quantify. (Nilsson, Peteren



416

and Wanhill, 2005.). There are two key reasons for an emphasis on community networking.

The first is that tourism is linked to a geographic place or community with social and cultural

history that must be included in any development tourism project as well as the development

of the entire destination (Hall 2000.). The second is the complexity and multiplication of

tourism, which is quite different from other industries (Urry, 1990.). A complex or fairly

complex nature of tourism involves several stakeholders: private entrepreneurs, public

organizations, civil society associations. Tourist links within the community are therefore seen

primarily as a stakeholder group whose actors are involved in tourism at different stages and

levels. Michael defines them as groups whose identity can be identified with common goals

and values that come in formal or informal organizations and have an impact on particular

economic and social processes (Michael 2006., 109).

Table 2. Benefits of networks for building profitable tourism destination (Source: adapted

from Lynch, 2000, Gibson, Lynch 2007.)

Benefit category Identified network benefits

Learning and exchange Knowledge transfer, Tourism education

process, Communication, Development of

new cultural values, Accelerating speed of

implementation of support agency

initiatives, Facilitation of development stage

of small enterprises

Business activity Cooperative activities, for example,

marketing, purchasing, production

Enhanced cross referral, Encouraging needs-

based approaches, increased visitors

numbers, extension to visitor season,

increased entrepreneurial activity, internal

trading within network.

Community Fostering common purpose and focus,

Community support for destination

development,

Increases or reinvests a sense of community

Engagement of small enterprises in

destination development

More income staying locally

Successful networks in tourism are conceived as groups that play a full role in all the benefits

as explained in Table 2., which generate vital contribution, or better said, contribution of the

development in tourism in a particular community. Examples of such networks are Guldriet in

Sweden, Leith in Scotland and Yukkasjarava in Sweden. (Gibson, Lynch, 111).

2.1. Krapina-Zagorje County Krapina-Zagorje County is a county situated in north of Croatia with an area of 1,229 km2.

Krapina-Zagorje County encompasses 25 municipalities and 7 cities. There are around 132 900

inhabitants. The area contains the excavation site of a 100,000-year-old Neanderthal man in

caves near the central town of Krapina. Tourism is an important industry for Krapina-Zagorje

County. The county attracts tourists, with the spa resorts, medieval castles and agro-tourism

offers. Rural tourism and recreation close to nature is popular in county. Many agro-tourism

farms offer attractive locations, interesting features and additional services. In many of them

you can both sleep comfortably and eat tasty and healthy food.



417

County has launched a project called "fairy tale at hand”, which serves as the framework of a

number of tourism activities that have already been carried out. After creating brand and

platforms based on the county history, beautiful scenery, the warmth and hospitality of the

people and the magical, fairy-tale impression that this place leaves its appearance and emotion

and slogan fairy tale supports visual identity. Project branding has already brought positive

changes and this project in long term fostered the network common purpose and focus,

engaging support for enterprises in the destination development. Krapina-Zagorje County as a

public entity has established public sector led tourism network that encourage business entities

to build the level of mutual trust in order to create and develop jointly local tourist product.

3. RESEARCH GOALS The main goal of the research is to show how different actors evaluate the efficiency of the

network, i.e. what is the need for the tourist network. Furthermore, the paper researches the

benefit of the tourist network in accordance with the Lynch & Gibson division of benefits, and

what is the deviation of private from public sector actors. Two hypotheses can be set out from

the research goals:

· H1: The public sector higher valuates benefits of the network

· H2: Informal network members who generate revenue through the sale of tourist services

recognize the lower benefit of that network, while members of the informal network who

support those who generate revenue through the sale of tourist services within that network

recognize greater benefit from the network.

This actually means that informal networks are more in function of those who support the

network, i.e. that informal networks do not increase the quality of tourist services.

4. METODOLOGY A total of 148 surveys were submitted (16 spas / hotels / boarding houses, 29 restaurants, 2

special hospitals, 27 agrotourism-vineyards, 8 supporting institutions, 9 travel agencies, 23

organizers of tourist events, 27 food and beverage producers and 7 traditional crafts). Out of

the total number of respondents, the survey was completed by 46, where their interrelationships

either do not exist or are informal, through a network of cooperation. Out of these 46

respondents, 25 are privately owned (only one with foreign owners, while 24 are owned by

domestic companies or private persons) and 21 are either NGOs or owned by local government

and self-government or state-owned. The survey, presented in Table 3., consisted of 9 questions

about cooperation with other stakeholders within the county, and the responses were valuated

at grades 1 to 5; 1 meant no cooperation, while 5 meant that cooperation is very intense.

Table following on the next page



418

Table 3. Survey questions

Rate how much you work with other actors in Krapina-Zagorje County

PARTICIPANTS – subjects in Krapina-Zagorje County (local community). These are

companies, crafts, family farms, institutes, institutions, cooperatives, associations,

independent professions, supporting institutions and individuals involved in the creation

and realization of a common tourist product. COMMON TOURIST PRODUCT (CTP) – a set of tangible and intangible services

and goods created by multiple actors based on their creativity and willingness to work

together.

not-at-all little medium muchvery-much

a) commercial cooperation (I buy raw

materials and products from others

and sell own raw materials and

products to others)

1 2 3 4 5

b) cooperation through the exchange of

information on production of goods

and services, market trends,

production technologies, new ideas,

products and services, labour force,

management, investment, financing,

regulations,

1 2 3 4 5

c) cooperation in planning the production

of goods and services for CTP, (in

planning investments for new products

and services, quality raising,

promotion and sales)

1 2 3 4 5

d) Production cooperation (producing

part of a joint product or service, with

a partner/s).

1 2 3 4 5

e) development cooperation (together

with others I invest in research to

improve the existing ones and create

new products and services /

innovations / and buy new

technologies.)

1 2 3 4 5

f) cooperation in human resource

management (joint education and

training of employees, employee

exchange, joint search for employees

in the labour market)

1 2 3 4 5

g) cooperation with local community

associations

1 2 3 4 5

h) cooperation with the local and county

administration in Krapina-Zagorje

County in the identification and

implementation of development

projects (planning and investment in

communal infrastructure, education,

employment, incentive programs)

1 2 3 4 5

i) cooperation with other supporting

institutions (educational, public

institutions, development agencies)

1 2 3 4 5



419

The data analysis is divided into two parts:

· Descriptive statistics (structure of respondents by area of activity, number ofemployees,

average salaries and types of ownership)

· Tests of significance (T-test for small independent samples - less than 50 respondents,

separated by private and public participants - less than 30 respondents)

5. RESEARCH RESULTS In the survey, besides answering questionnaires, the respondents asked for data on ownership,

number of employees, average wage level, and data on the activity of the respondent, with all

the data being divided by categories. The reason why these data are requested is to see according

to which categories there are significant differences in the assessment of mutual cooperation

with actors in the Krapina-Zagorje County. Thus, ownership was divided into two categories;

private property and the public sector (all that was not privately owned), while still being

checked whether the owners were from R Croatia or from abroad. As only one respondent is in

foreign ownership, no statistically significant deviation could be obtained compared to the level

of respondents in domestic or foreign ownership.

Chart 1. Distribution of respondents by number of employees

Distribution by number of employees is given in Chart 1., and the respondents are divided into

5 categories, as the vast majority of small businesses (family farms, crafts and small

businesses), while only 2 respondents have over 100 employees (one has 135, while others have

765 employees). Those to whom networks are most important and needing to join this type are

small businesses because they do not have enough staff to structure their organization and can’t hire a larger number because they do not earn enough income. Salaries are divided into 4

categories, which can be seen in Chart 2., with the highest wage category the one with wages

greater than the average wages in the Republic of Croatia. With this data, reality can’t be reliably considered, as family farms and crafts are usually reported at a minimum wage as well

as small businesses with one owner because it is simpler and cheaper to take personal income

through cost to companies. For large companies this is not possible because they are structured

with clear business rules, and the ownership structure is not on the way that owner is in the

same time and employee (in the most of the cases general manager).

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, N=46

0-5 (59%) 6-10 (17%) 11-50 (13%) 51-100 (75) 101 + (4%)



420

Chart 2. Distribution of respondents according to average salary level

Chart 3. shows the distribution of respondents in the area of activity (core business) or activity

of enterprises, divided into 6 categories, with the largest number of supporting institutions

(41%) and all supporting institutions represent public sector (not private property). The field of

action could be grouped in even more detail, however, then a sample is obtained for which it is

generally difficult to look for statistical significance. Therefore, only 6 categories remained.

Chart 3. Distribution of respondents by core business

Data analysis showed that there are statistically significant deviations in the evaluation of

cooperation between private sector actors and public sector actors, so T-tests have been

conducted for this data and all conclusions will be made in comparing the public and private

sector.

AVERAGE SALARY (Kn), N=46

3.000 - 4.000 (61%) 4.000 - 5.000 (20%) 5.000 - 6.000 (4%) 6.000 + (15%)

CORE BUSINESS, N=46

SPAS AND HOSPITALS (4%) CIVIL ASSOCIATIONS AND OTHER (9%)

RESTAURANTS I RURAL TOURISM (11%) HOTELS I PENSIONS (13%)

GOODS PRODUCERS (22%) SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS (41%)



421

If sum of all 9 ratings is compared in the private sector and the public sector, then the following

data is obtained:

T-test (SUM) PRIVATE SECTOR

PUBLIC

SECTOR

MEAN 25,24 28,52

VAR 35,77 17,56

df 44 24 20

s 5,243606703

t -2,068436194

t5 2,02

t1 2,69

t10 1,68

So, the result is such that with a probability of error of less than 5% it can be argued that there

is a statistically significant difference in the sum of the ratings of the private and public sector.

Furthermore, as it is apparent that the average sum of the public sector rating is 28,52, which is

higher than the average private sector rating (25,24), it can be concluded that more ratings are

given by the public sector (better valuate the cooperation). If the first question from the survey

was to be excluded, as commercial cooperation is generally "reserved" for the private sector,

then we have more significant data, so with a probability of error of less than 1% it can be

argued that the public sector (26,67) statistically significantly better evaluates the informal

network system than the private sector (22,08). Thus, as a result of the analysis carried out

above, H1 results, and that is, as in informal networks, private participants in the network

weaker evaluate the efficiency (benefits) of the network than are evaluated by the public sector

participants. If the questions are divided in accordance with the benefits of Table 2., then the

questions e) and f) belong to“LEARNING AND EXCHANGE”, the questions under a), b) and d) belongto “BUSINESS ACTIVITIES” and questions under c), g), h) and i) belong to the

“COMMUNITY”. If the average rating of each respondent is taken, separately for the private sector, and for the public sector, then with a probability of error of less than 1% it can be argued

that the public sector (3,19) is statistically significantly better evaluated by an informal network

than private sector (2,34) for benefits related to LEARNING AND EXCHANGE. If the same

would be done for benefits related to BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, then it could not claim that the

private sector (2,91) would higher valuates benefit from the public sector (2,44), because the

likelihood of error of such a claim would be greater than 5% the public sector has negligible

benefits for business activities. But, still less then 10%. For community-related benefits, the

public sector, with a probability of error of significantly less than 1%, argues that the public

sector (3,70) is statistically significantly better rated by the informal network than the private

sector (2,96).



422

T-test G&L-LEARNING

PRIVATE

(AVERAGE)

PUBLIC

(AVERAGE)

MEAN 2,34 3,19

VAR 1,02 0,812

df 44 24 20

s 0,96056441

t -2,924354

t5 2,02

t1 2,69

T10 1,68

Thus, as a result of this part of the analysis comes H2, namely that members of the informal

network that generate revenues through the sale of tourist services recognize lesser benefits of

that network, while those members of the informal network who support those who generate

revenue by selling tourist services within that network, see greater benefit from such a network.

When in all these categories the difference in assessment was considered with regard to the

breakdowns within the salary category (social aspect), no statistically significant difference in

assessment could be observed.

6. CONCLUSION Managing tourist networks is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which

individuals, working together in groups, efficiently realize the chosen goals. If applied to the

management of a tourist destination, then it is clear that management needs the community,

work in groups, what actually represents tourist network. Tourism as an amalgam of business

branches involves many stakeholders of society: private entrepreneurs, public organizations,

civil society associations. Tourist links within the community are visible through stakeholder

interests, whose actors are involved at different levels either through commercial cooperation,

either through information sharing, production cooperation, or human resource management

cooperation, as well as different degrees of cooperation. Participants are defined through groups

whose identity can be identified and which have common goals and values, but each of them

independently generates revenue through the sale of tourist services. The network should give

them added value they are not able to accomplish independently, whether due to insufficient

revenue, insufficient number of employees, or insufficient knowledge. However, this paper

shows that informal networks in the case of Krapina-Zagorje County do not give the expected

value added to those who sell tourism services and because of which the network actually exists.

It is to be expected that the networks will be formalized with clearly defined goals and defined

interconnections within the network or if the revenues of those within the network (public

sector) depend on the results of private actors within the network to assess the usefulness of

public and private network participants less statistically significantly different, that is, to make

such a network more useful for tourism commercial activity.



423

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Economic and Social Development€¦ · 33 rd International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development – "Managerial Issues in Modern Business" Editors: Tomasz Studzieniecki,