The paper is focused to the variability of costs, cost behaviour and discusses the issues of sticky costs. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the issue of the author´s project targeted at the topic of cost behaviour and its projection to the costing systems and confront it with the current state of knowledge in the field. Special attention is paid to the phenomenon of the sticky cost It highlights the importance of this topic at this time of adverse economic developments. The first part of the paper analyzes the general historical changes in the enterprise's cost structures. There is also analyzed the cost behaviour and variability of costs due to the standard view of company performance. Attention is also paid to current view on the issue of costing systems and costing methods. In the second part there are presented findings of completed surveys as proof of the relevance of this issue. From the researches it was found that in recent years there has been a rise in the share of indirect costs up to 40% (till 2009), while almost half of the companies shows steady growth in the portion of these costs. Discussion then follows of this section, in which special attention is paid to area of sticky costs. The author further provides additional research hypotheses and research questions which underlines the need for further exploration of this issue.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper aims to make contributions to the debate on “performance measurement in practice” focussing on how organisational participants respond to the “new regime” of key performance indicators (KPIs) and whether KPIs materialise as intended in a transitional economy.Design/methodology/approachInspired by the epistemological instruction of Schatzki's practice theory, this paper draws on qualitative data collected through face-to-face interviews, observations and documentary analysis of a single organisation.FindingsKPIs were introduced at PK (a manufacturing concern in Czech Republic) but widely seen as contradictory, inconsequential, top-down and unrealistic. These lead organisational participants to adopt a pragmatic approach towards PM embracing KPIs' subjective assessment and manipulation, common sense or doing the job as given, and superficial compliance (symbolism).Research limitations/implicationsThe paper would be interesting to researchers because of its explanation of performance measurement practice in a distinct empirical setting, for its application of a practice theory inspired by Schatzki, and for inspiring new research agendas in transitional economies.Practical implicationsThe paper recommends the mobilisation of artefacts, such as various forms of bottom-up discussions, to encourage interactions between organisational members and influence individual beliefs and practical understandings of the intended managerial projects.Originality/valueThe paper has focussed on “organisations of practice” to unravel the “doings” of organisational participants to explore the micro-processes of PM which otherwise would have been ignored. These “doings” and “sayings”, linked by pools of understanding, rules or instructions, and a teleoaffective structure, enabled the authors to unmask inherent tensions and contradictions in a new regime of performance measures such as KPIs.

The aim of the study was to analyse and evaluate the determinants influencing the overall satisfaction of patients with inpatient healthcare in the conditions of the Czech Republic. A total of the 1425 patients, who experienced hospitalisation and agreed to participate, were questioned in the study. A research questionnaire was used to obtain data on satisfaction with hospitalisation. The subject of the research consisted of the indicators related to the following factors: (i) satisfaction with the hospital, clinic, room and meals; (ii) satisfaction with medical staff—nurses, physician expertise and other staff; (iii) the quality of the treatment provided; (iv) satisfaction with leaving the hospital. The formulated statistical hypotheses were evaluated through structural equation modelling. The results of the analyses brought interesting findings. Satisfaction with medical staff is the most significant factor which has a positive effect on satisfaction with hospitalisation. Physician expertise (with trust and good communication skills) is more important for patients than satisfaction with nurses or other staff. The results obtained from the study represent valuable information for policymakers, regional healthcare plans, as well as for managers of hospitals.

The export orientation of small and medium enterprises represents an important attribute of the enterprises' competitive ability. In this context, the area of export financing becomes a very important field of company management. The aim of this study is to define and quantify relevant approaches of entrepreneurs to the export activities and export financing, with regard to the impact of the selected socio-economic factors (gender, level of education and age). The study is based on the research of Slovak business environment carried out in 2016, which was evaluated by the tools of descriptive statistics, including percentages and averages, pivot tables, the methods of comparison and deduction, Pearson´s chi-square statistics at 5% significance level. Our results suggest that Slovak entrepreneurs primarily supply their products and services on the domestic market, while their export potential is limited. The assessment of the state support of export activities is rather negative. An alarming finding is that Slovak entrepreneurs in the SME segment do not use even basic tools of financial risk reduction to a higher extent, and that the usage of services of the state export bank Eximbank is negligible.

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