<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Businesses around the world are rapidly adopting digital technologies. Adoption, though, is not even, but it varies over time and differs from society to society, depending on resources in the ecosystem. This study addresses how past, present, and future digitalization is developing globally and, in each society, depending on its resources. A survey of businesses in 47 countries, conducted by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in 2021, provides national-level measures of digital technology adoption before and during the pandemic and the intention for adoption in the near future. Adoption of digital technology is found to vary significantly across both time and place. Before the pandemic, adoption was concentrated in the wealthiest societies. The pandemic was an external enabler, pushing less digitalized societies to catch up, independent of national economies, thus entailing some convergence. The early pandemic has been followed by intentions to digitalize, which differ widely, entailing some divergence. Intentions are strong in some societies that are forging ahead, but they are weaker in some less-digitalized and low-income societies that may be falling behind. The findings contribute to understanding digitalization as a global phenomenon and the pandemic as an external enabler that has promoted catching up and convergence in digitalization. Still, recovery is uneven and entailing divergence, as some societies are forging ahead while others are falling behind.
</abstract>

Past, Present, and Intended Digitalization around the World: Leading, Catching up, Forging Ahead, and Falling Behind

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) becomes one of the prerequisites for success of contemporary organizations aimed at humankind’s survival by sustainable development. As SR behavior can generate significant benefits, more and more organizations are developing SR strategic plans and implementing SR initiatives. In ISO 26000, CSR has three basic concepts: Responsibility for one’s influences over society, interdependence and holistic approach. Therefore, authors focus on systemic approach to CSR. The purpose is to demonstrate how combined use of appropriate systems theories can help dealing with CSR. Accordingly, Dialectical Systems Theory (DST) and System Dynamics (SD), as relevant systems theories, i.e. methodologies stemming from different systemic paradigms, were selected. DST helped to identify some relevant aspects and components of CSR which were empirically tested in businesses in the Republic of Serbia. Hence, the following factors, i.e. groups of SR activities are selected as relevant for improving organizational performance: General CSR activities; CSR activities towards consumers; CSR activities towards environmental protection and beneficiaries’ health, and Socially responsible after sales activities. In addition, empirical research results indicating the influence of the above factors on performance were the basis for using the tools of SD, such as stock and flow diagrams and causal loop diagrams. SD tools contribute to simulating the system’s future behavior, i.e. future performance level after improving these CSR activities. Authors introduce a new, systemic approach to conceptualizing and researching CSR by providing appropriate methodological support for exploring relevant interdependencies of CSR aspects.
</abstract>

University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business

Corporate Social Responsibility Considered With Two Systems Theories: A Case from Serbia

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Fraud is linked to economic and financial pressures that force people to commit it. Any fraud, regardless of the gender and age of the fraud perpetrators, inevitably leaves a short-term or long-term negative mark on society’s economy. Many financial frauds in the past (Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat) have left profound negative consequences on global financial markets. Such “financial strikes” on the financial markets led to financial losses of many companies (not only those in which frauds were committed), the dismissal of many workers, and even the bankruptcy of companies. Successful detection and prevention of fraud imply the harmonious and efficient operation of several factors. One of them understands people’s attitudes towards fraud. It is necessary to understand what motivates an individual to commit fraud and the conditions under which someone would commit fraud. Plenty of resources and time have been invested in understanding the motives for adult fraud, i.e., mature people. Experience has shown that it is much more challenging to educate people of that era about the harmful effects of fraud and thus convince them not to commit fraud. For these reasons, the subject of this paper is the consideration of the attitudes of the younger population towards fraud in Serbia. More precisely, the paper discusses the attitudes of young people aged 18 to 30 regarding motives, pressures, and opportunities to commit fraud, participate in corruption, or offer bribes. The main objective is to indicate the tendency of young people to participate in fraud and examine whether respondents’ gender influences their willingness to participate in fraud. The research results suggest that, according to young people, the main motive why someone would participate in fraud is financial gain and that young people would participate in fraud only if they could get medical intervention sooner. They also believe that fraud is most prevalent in public administration and that men are more prone to fraud than women, but that the influence of gender is very small.
</abstract>

Economic Motives and Willingness of Young People to Participate in Fraud

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The emergence of online university degree programs is an opportunity for Chile, struggling with low tertiary education attainment rates and a skills gap in the labor market. However, little attention has been dedicated to whether the employers in Chile perceive online and on-campus university education as equivalent. This study investigated the perceptions of a convenient sample of 38 employers from different industries, using Likert scale questions and a hypothetical hiring scenario. The survey results were then consulted with three experts who provided their interpretations. The findings indicated that the investigated sample generally does not perceive online and on-campus university education as equivalent but would not discard an online degree graduate only due to their academic background. However, when given a choice between a 100% online, 100% on-campus, and a hybrid degree holder, none of them would choose a 100% online degree graduate. Instead, 57% would hire a hybrid degree graduate and 43% a 100% on-campus graduate. There is a significant, positive correlation between the perceived equivalence in rigor, learning experience, and learning content and the willingness to hire an online degree graduate. The university’s reputation is a crucial factor influencing hiring decisions in Chile. The degree’s relevance may be insignificant compared to other factors considered by the hiring managers.
</abstract>

Employers’ Perceptions of Online University Degrees and Their Relationship with the Recruitment and Selection Practices: The Case of Chile

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The pilot research is often intended to gather preliminary information and is usually based on a small set of observations to help decide how to conduct a more extensive study. The present pilot study is intended to provide preliminary results regarding various aspects of mobile advertising perceptions for young people. The objective of this pilot study is also to conduct the initial analysis of the relationships and impact of predecessors (influencing factors) on the attitudes towards mobile advertising and further on the perceived usefulness of mobile advertising among young people. Results show that the objectives of the pilot study have been fulfilled. They are crucial for continuing the main research on the importance of factors affecting the positive perception of the usefulness of mobile advertising among students and for designers of communication channels for the younger generation.
</abstract>

A Pilot Study of Some Aspects of the Perceived Usability of Mobile Advertising Among Students

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Sports participation does not produce benefits solely on a personal level but also numerous benefits on different societal levels, as well as the level of economies. The paper represents a contribution to the exploration of factors of individuals influencing regularity in sports participation. A logistic regression model was used based on the data from the Eurobarometer special survey from 2018. According to the findings, middle-aged men are the most likely to regularly participate in sports activities and individuals with active socio-professional status are also more likely to practice regular sports activities than individuals who are passive. The same is true for individuals living in less urbanised areas and those with positive life satisfaction compared to those living in urban areas or those who are not satisfied with their life. The results of our research are important for economic policymakers both at the national and regional levels, as well as at the level of individual municipalities. They facilitate the management of sports activities of individuals but are limited to a smaller number of factors with measurement specifics. Suggestions for further research are also presented.
</abstract>

The Social and Economic Importance of Sports

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Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy

 Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy – Journal of Contemporary Issues in Economics and Business (NGOE) is a quarterly, double-blind peer reviewed international scientific journal, focusing on economics and business sciences. Scientific articles and review papers provide new insights into the research topics of both disciplines. The journal aims to provide a venue for high quality theoretical and empirical articles that significantly contribute to the disciplines of economic and business sciences.   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