Background: The tourism cluster-approach is considered to be an appropriate strategy in emerging economies and less developed areas. Due to scarce resources and a great number of structural problems of rural areas in Montenegro, uniting all stakeholders and attractions into a competitive tourism cluster would ensure that the area could operate and become an effective and efficient rural tourism destination. Objectives: The objective of this paper is to highlight the key challenges of rural tourism clustering and provide new data and a wider understanding of the tourism-cluster approach in Montenegrin rural areas. Methods: Using the extensive literature, available secondary data from government bodies, NGOs, foreign development agencies, relevant international organisations and primary data collected from rural tourism operators in Montenegro, the paper investigates key challenges and factors associated with (in)efficiency of Montenegrin theme trails. Results: Several management and marketing issues are identified regarding the cluster approach implementation. Special importance and significance of information technologies and intelligent systems have been recognized in sense of cost-effective marketing implementation. Most Montenegrin trails are still in the first phase of cluster development, whereas just two of them have experienced a significant improvement in cooperative behaviour. Conclusions: Key benefits of the cluster approach are noted and clearly defined, but in the case of the Montenegrin rural tourism sector, these potentials are still, to a large extent, underused.
Although a substantial body of literature has analysed the potential benefits of the circular economy, empirical evidence on the relationship between circular economy-related activities and firm performance is scarce. Rather than analysing only the effect of the circular economy on firm performance, we empirically examine the effects of the different phases of the adoption process of the circular economy on firm performance. Therefore, in this paper, a multiphase framework of circular economy adoption is developed. Employing a propensity-score-matching model on the sample of more than 4000 European SMEs, we show that the adoption of circular economy activities improves firm performance as measured by productivity. In addition, our findings reveal that the impact of circular economy activities on firm performance is dependent on the different phases of the adoption process. Taken together, this study enriches current research on the circular economy by contributing to a more nuanced understanding on the relationship between the different phases of the adoption process and firm performance.
Purpose Contemporary tourism product, in terms of its systemic understanding, consists of tangible and intangible elements. These two elements lead to the increase of tourist satisfaction in a way to provide tourism products and services that match tourist expectations. Finally, tourist satisfaction is considered as a key factor influencing repeat visit intention. In line with mentioned, this study aims to empirically test a model linking tangible and intangible elements, tourist satisfaction and revisit intention. Design/methodology/approach Using data from the Montenegrin survey called Guest Survey 2010, structural equations modelling has been used to determine the impact of tangible and intangible constructs on tourist satisfaction and tourist repeat visit intention in Montenegro. Findings Working on a sample of 740 tourists, the results reveal that both tangible and intangible elements improve tourist satisfaction that influences tourist repeat visit intention. Noteworthy, the findings indicate that intangible elements have a stronger impact on tourist satisfaction than tangible elements have. Practical implications Tangible and intangible elements as factors of satisfaction are analysed and evaluated so that they could be improved in a way that provides superior experience to tourists, which hopefully could result in repeat visitation that is considered as a tool for boosting destination competitiveness, thus indicating the need for the systemic approach to tourism management. Originality/value This paper extends earlier tourism research by empirically analysing separately both tangible and intangible elements and their association with repeat visitation that is mediated by the tourist satisfaction. Therefore, a more holistic approach relating the antecedents of tourist repeat visit intention is proposed.
Purpose Although temporary work arrangements play a strategically important role in contemporary economic development, its influence on firm performance has remained elusive. In our work we measure firm performance from the systematic perspective, including both innovation and financial performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to test a model that specifies the influence of temporary work arrangements on the two indicators of firm performance, namely, innovation and sales. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS, 2009) created by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. As the relationship between temporary workers and firm performance could be contingent on institutional setting, we divide our sample in three country groups: European Union (EU), European countries outside the European Union (non-EU) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. Furthermore, we analyze the actual question on all three groups of countries separately. Findings Findings provide support for the positive relationship between the percentage of temporary workers and innovation performance. On the other hand, the evidence reveals a negative link between the percentage of temporary workers and financial performance measured by sales. Taking into account country-specific effects, the results remain negative when examining the influence of the percentage of temporary workers on the financial performance measured by sales for all three country groups (EU, non-EU and CIS countries). However, the positive and significant effect of the share of temporary workers on innovation performance holds only for non-EU and CIS countries but is not observed for EU countries. Practical implications Given the importance of temporary work arrangements in terms of a systematic approach in contemporary business, policymakers should continue to work on improving their status to overcome potential negative outcomes related to the temporary workers’ engagement. In addition, managers of the firms should be aware that temporary workers could be a valuable source of innovation; however, they could hamper other aspects of firm performance. Therefore, they should be cautious when hiring temporary workers and find the “best balance” between permanent and temporary workers. Originality/value The obtained findings highlight the importance of performance context systematic approach in studying the impact of temporary workers and firm performance. Based on the obtained findings, we may suggest that knowledge and creativity accumulation through temporary workers’ engagement is beneficial for innovation performance improvement. Conversely, long-lasting labour engagement is necessary for financial performance improvement.
Background : The present study extends understanding of digital health literacy by exploring issues that clarify how and when sport-physical activities enhance digital health literacy measured by four types of health-related information searched on the Internet i.e., general health information, information on a specific injury or condition, specific information on a medical treatment or procedure and information regarding second opinion after visiting a doctor. Methods: We employ Tobit model on the large European data (N=5,318). Results: We find support for direct relation between sport-physical activities and digital health literacy. In addition, we find that the effect of sport-physical activities on digital health literacy is reversed when interacted with age. Conclusion: This evidence is consistent with the view that sport-physical activities can be considered as an important tool for digital health literacy improvement but only under certain socio-demographic characteristics.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.