Central Europeans Research Articles

Small smart cities – vision or reality?

Purpose This paper aims to focus on analysing the prerequisites that small cities need to create smart governance, namely, the conditions for establishing smart government, the stakeholder engagement and the tools used in smart governance. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents research results from a questionnaire survey conducted in 2021 among a representative sample of 51 small cities (5,000–49,999 inhabitants) in the Slovak Republic. From an international perspective, they are seen as small cities and cities with a rural feel. The survey’s main objectives are to assess the conditions that must be met in order for smart governance to be developed, as well as to identify stakeholders and provide tools for their engagement. Findings This study shows that the adoption of smart governance in small cities is not greatly affected by the citýs size. Although larger cities may use more smart governance tools, the overall quality of governance remains consistent across cities of different sizes. Moreover, the proximity to a regional capital does not have a significant impact on the implementation of smart governance. This study underscores the need for small cities to focus on internal capabilities, innovative use of existing resources and stakeholder engagement to effectively implement smart governance. Research limitations/implications This paper develops the knowledge on smart governance in small cities, namely, the specifics of smart governance, the stakeholder engagement and the tools used. The research findings may also serve as an inspiration for study conducted elsewhere because the institutional and social environments are comparable in Central and Eastern European nations. Practical implications This study suggests that small cities should prioritise the innovative use of their current resources to implement smart governance. This may involve using strong community networks, focusing on internal capabilities and using low-cost tools. Social implications This paper identifies barriers and formulates recommendations for further development of smart governance in small cities. The research results indicate that even small cities can adopt smart governance practices, despite having fewer resources compared to larger cities. To facilitate this process, political commitment, strategic management support, active community participation and the steady development of the professional, financial and technical infrastructure required to generate smart solutions are all important. Small cities should put more effort into implementing co-creation and co-production techniques to be more creative and effective in allocating resources and responsibilities. Originality/value This paper presents the results of a pilot study and critically compares and discusses them with theoretical assumptions related to the implementation and development of smart governance in small cities.

The Teaching About De Facto States in Times of Crises: The Case of Transnistria

In this article, I share my personal experience of teaching about the de facto state of Transnistria during times of crises and within Central and East European and multicultural contexts. I begin by explaining where and when I teach about Transnistria, which may not be so obvious because it is a narrow topic. Next, I focus on how I approach classes devoted to Transnistria as a controversial and sensitive issue that requires specific teaching strategies. Finally, I discuss the outcomes of implementing these strategies and share my personal feelings about instruction concerning Transnistria. This article may be valuable to junior scholars who have recently started covering the subject of Transnistria and other de facto states and are seeking guidance. It may also benefit experienced senior scholars by offering them an opportunity to compare their teaching strategies.

Paths (not) taken: promoting R&D in Central and Eastern Europe

ABSTRACT Central and East European countries are “dependent market economies,” aiming to escape the “middle income trap.” Developing R&D is one of the potential solutions to this challenge. Although overall the CEE countries are not considered exceptionally innovative, they still exhibit variation in terms of their R&D deliverables. Through fuzzy-set QCA, this paper aims to explain which combination of causal factors accounts for this variation. Innovation promotion in the region is tied to securing financial support, while the lack of R&D development is connected to both the absence of international financial resources as well as weak links between academia and business. Our results offer support to the idea that the hub of innovation within the CEE has remained the automotive sector connected to the German market. The paper stresses the necessity to explore the national coordination mechanisms of R&D promotion as some countries failed to deliver even in the presence of ample financial resources.

A gazdasági átalakulás tapasztalatai Csehországban, Szlovákiában, Lengyelországban és az egykori Német Demokratikus Köztársaságban (1990-2000)

During the period from 1989 to 1990, economic and political transition in Central and Eastern Europe was accompanied by the general liberalisation and opening up of markets to foreign investors. This process started at the end of the 80s, which coincided with the general crisis of “state socialism” in the region. It is worth mentioning that there were substantial differences in the creation of a free market economy among the Central and Eastern European countries. Whereas Poland applied shock treatment based on the general principles of the Washington Consensus, Czechoslovakia followed a double policy by pursuing the concept of neoliberal economic policy and the road of “gradualism” to avoid the negative impacts of the transformation process such as the emergence of mass unemployment and bankruptcy of state-owned companies. As a result of the Treaty Establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union, the German Democratic Republic became an organic part of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990, which required the introduction of liberalisation measures. Although the Central and Eastern European countries followed a different road in the creation of a free enterprise market economy in the 1990s, but by the turn of the millennium due to the privatisation of state-owned assets, privately held companies accounted for 70 per cent of GDP, whilst the share of the state sector was 30 per cent. The objective of the paper is to highlight the experiences of economic transition in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) by comparing its main characteristics and stages. Besides macroeconomic stabilisation, emphasis will be placed on evaluating the achievements of privatisation and its main consequences. Due to length constraints, the essay will not focus on the social impacts of the transformation process in Central and Eastern Europe.

Strategies for Training and Developing the Students’ Transformative Skills

Globalization, the economic condition and the international financial crisis have resulted in systemic changes in a variety of fields, including physical education and sports. Nationally, demographic changes and migration contributed to a large decline in the number of pupils/students in educational institutions. The current concerns facing the Republic of Moldova's sustainable growth and the European Union integration are the desired ones, requiring active participation of the school/academic communities in effecting change and achieving national/international competitiveness. According to national statistical data and the Legatum Institute's global prosperity index for 2021, "the Republic of Moldova ranks the 60th out of 167 states in the chapter "Education at a higher level than Romania (64th place), but significantly ahead of other Central and Eastern European countries" (Ministry of Justice, 2022). Management and leadership technologies, organization and personnel, methods and tactics used in (initial and ongoing) specialist training require constant improvement aimed at performance and competitiveness. In this context, the development of transformative and perspective skills in the physical education and sports systems will help to lay the groundwork for a knowledge-based society, with citizens' help in order to achieve these long-term responsibility skills, integration into society and contribution to its development. The article's strategies for teaching and developing transformative skills in students are confirmed by educational theories that give a scientific foundation for these processes.

“Formalism, Tradition, Folk Music”: The Vocal and Dance Ensemble of the Hungarian People's Army in Poland in 1952

AbstractAfter the Second World War, the Soviet Union did not simply squeeze the countries of the Central and Eastern European region into its sphere of interest and under its economic, political and cultural control, but also isolated them from each other in order to secure its dominance. The Kremlin's control was also reflected in weakening the established diplomatic relations. Politicians of the so-called people's democracies communicated with one another through Moscow, and the importance of the embassies was reduced by appointing mostly incompetent persons to diplomatic posts. In this light, the revival of Hungarian-Polish cultural relations at the end of the 1940s, including the exchange of artists between the two countries, deserves special attention. In addition to their diplomatic importance, the guest performances also provided an opportunity to discuss Soviet musical aesthetics. Based on archival press sources, my paper focuses on the two-week guest appearance of the Vocal and Dance Ensemble of the Hungarian People's Army in Poland. I wish to explore the ways in which leading representatives of the musical life of the two countries interpreted Soviet artistic decisions in 1952, and also their differing strategies of living up to the conceptually ambiguous ideal of Socialist Realist art.

Impact of Digital Technology on Traditional Banking: A Case From the Credit Market in the European Union

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to investigate whether digital technologies affect the credit market in the European Union (EU). The impact of digital technology on three types of bank loans (residential mortgage loans, consumer loans and corporate loans) is analysed separately for two groups of EU countries: Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe. A dynamic panel regression model is employed based on yearly data on the individual bank level. The sample panel data cover the period 2010–2019. The results show that digital technology affects the growth of loans for households, mortgages and consumer loans. We also find heterogeneity between the Central and Eastern European and Western European banking sectors. Furthermore, the impact of digital technology on bank loan development is significantly stronger in foreign banks. Finally, the findings confirm the dominant role of digital technologies in loans for households during the analysed period. This is the first comprehensive study on the determinants of different loan types in the context of digital technology use in the EU.

Dynamics and Convergence of Labour Productivity in Bulgaria towards the Euro Area: A Comparative Analysis with Other Central and Eastern European Countries

Dynamics and Convergence of Labour Productivity in Bulgaria towards the Euro Area: A Comparative Analysis with Other Central and Eastern European Countries

Political Parties and Electoral Volatility: How (un)stable is the Albanian Electorate?

This paper offers an in-depth analysis of electoral volatility in Albania from 1991 to 2021, a transformative period from a communist regime to a democratic multi-party system. It diverges from Central and Eastern European trends by examining Albania's unique political dynamics and the factors influencing electoral behavior and volatility. Utilizing the Pedersen Index, the study methodically evaluates various determinants impacting party electoral volatility in Albania. The research underscores the significance of high membership rates and robust ground organization within major political parties as key contributors to low volatility levels in Albania's party system, thus providing insight into the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of Albania's political landscape.

A Quantitative Analysis of University Admission Results for Hungarian Ethnic Minority Students in the Carpathian Basin

This study analyses the higher education admission results of Hungarian ethnic minority students in Hungary originating from Central and Eastern European countries (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Romania) by secondary education background (national system vs. foreign system) and school-leaving qualification background (advanced and intermediate levels in Hungary and their native country). Students (n = 759) take (or have taken) part in undivided (5-year) and bachelor (3-year) programs at universities in Hungary and, for historical reasons, live as ethnic minorities in their home countries in the Carpathian Basin. There are significant differences in the number of students according to their secondary education background. Of the admitted students, 83.7% graduated from a national system secondary school and 16.3% from a foreign system secondary school before entering higher education. Using a Mann–Whitney U-test, we confirmed that the admission scores of students from the national secondary education system are significantly different from the scores of students who graduated from a foreign secondary education system (p < 0.001). The results of the Jonckheere–Terpstra test demonstrated that students with advanced-level exam results performed significantly better than those who entered higher education with intermediate-level or native country examination results (p < 0.001). However, there is no detectable difference (p > 0.05) between students who graduate at the intermediate level and students who graduate with a native country certificate. A regression model, based on the median admission scores, exhibited a trend of improving results for foreign students. The R2 quadratic determination coefficient is 0.705. This study provides insights into the educational pathways and decisions of Hungarian students residing abroad, underlining the influence of the national context and public education systems on their educational trajectories.

The Impact of E-HRM Tools on Employee Engagement

The examination of the impact of digital innovations on employee motivation and engagement is crucial given the rapid technological advancements. This study focused on digital HRM practices, such as digital interaction platforms. The results indicated that respondents generally had positive to neutral views on these practices, with big data analytics receiving the highest rating for its potential to enhance organizational performance and employee engagement. The study revealed a moderately strong positive correlation between the use of digital platforms and big data analytics, suggesting a holistic approach to digital transformation in HRM. However, a weak correlation between digital innovations and engagement suggests that the direct impact of digital tools on employee engagement is limited by other factors. Larger companies tend to implement advanced digital HRM practices more due to their greater resources. The study’s limitations include a restricted sample from the Central and Eastern European region and reliance on self-assessed data. Future studies should include more diverse regions and long-term studies, combining quantitative data with qualitative insights. Digital innovations in HRM offer promises for process improvement and data-driven decision-making, but their impact on employee engagement is complex and requires an integrated approach of technological and managerial practices.

Exploring the Motives Behind the Adoption of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies among Farmers in the Czech Republic

Climate change threatens agriculture in the EU and is a primary issue discussed in the European Green Deal within the Common Agricultural Policy. Central and Eastern European countries are particularly prone to climate change effects, such as droughts and extreme weather. Therefore, agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe is expected to be increasingly affected by shifting climatic patterns. This study examines the motivation for adopting adaptation strategies derived from climate-smart agriculture among farmers in the Czech Republic. We drew particular attention to analyzing the influence of farm-level and information source variables on the adaptation behavior of Czech farmers. The dataset comprises 358 respondents who were asked about climate change adaptation through a quantitative survey. We analyzed the collected data via descriptive statistics and binary logit regression models. The analysis results reveal a high degree of awareness and a diversified usage of climate change adaptation strategies among the respondents. The close linkage between perceived profitability and the willingness to adapt to climate change requires policymakers to communicate economic benefits within this context further. Information sources, such as topic-specific journals, research institutions, and field training, positively influenced the adaptation rates among the sample. Therefore, we recommend focusing on these media channels to communicate targets set within the European Green Deal.

How can energy resilience be strengthened in Central and Eastern European states?

The energy crisis resulting from Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine in 2022 is seen by the European Union as an opportunity to accelerate the energy transition and strengthen energy resilience. Energy resilience is particularly important for Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, which are highly dependent on imports of energy resources and which possess significant potential for the development of energy based on renewable sources. The article presents an analysis of the energy resilience of CEE countries in the context of the challenges related to the energy crisis, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the EU’s ambitious climate goals. The aim of the analysis is to identify the factors that contribute to strengthening or weakening the energy resilience of these countries. The results of the study confirm the thesis that the process of strengthening the energy resilience of CEE countries is progressing, but too slowly and unevenly. The most serious problems for these countries are the increase in the share of energy from renewable sources, the modernisation and expansion of the old electricity grid, the lack of decentralisation of the energy system, and insufficient cross-border cooperation in the field of energy exchange. The findings can help to understand the political, technological and economic challenges faced by CEE countries in their energy systems.

Investigating the Influence of Gender Diversity and Management Practices on the Introduction of Innovation in CEE countries

The role of management in any organizational context is to identify and exploit positive influences and opportunities that lead to the achievement of business objectives and competitive advantage. Those involved in effective management should be able to define the factors that have a decisive influence on the innovative activity of the enterprise. The identification of these influences is a key source of knowledge for defining or adjusting corporate strategies, resulting in long-term benefits and effective business development. As the market is constantly evolving, businesses must adapt to it. In recent years, researchers and experts have paid considerable attention to the study of gender issues in various areas of management. Much of the existing research has shown a positive correlation between gender diversity and innovation in developed countries. However, empirical studies in transition or developing countries remain limited. Therefore, we focus on Central and Eastern European countries. Based on regression analysis of data from the large-scale WBES survey, the aim of the study is to identify the relationships between gender structure of management, management practices and innovation. Unlike previous studies, this study uses a management practices index that combines data from eight indicators of management practices and assesses how well they are structured. This study thus enriches the ongoing research on the impact of gender and the structure of management practices on innovation in the EU member states of Central and Eastern Europe. The contribution of this study lies in the analysis of several different types of gender diversity and a composite index of managerial practices in relation to firms' innovation performance, and the specific context of the analysis in Central and Eastern Europe countries may provide new insights, as different factors affect innovation performance in these countries than in their Western counterparts. The results of this research provide a deeper understanding of the dynamics between gender diversity in management and innovation, which could provide a basis for the development of policies and corporate strategies to promote diversity and innovation in the business environment of Central and Eastern Europe countries.

Wheat price dynamics in Hungary: Resilience to shocks

This study investigates the impact of recent global disruptions, focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, on Hungary's wheat-flour supply chain, with a focus on price transmission and market integration. While much research has explored food supply chain disruptions and rising prices globally, there has been limited analysis of their effects on Central and Eastern European agricultural markets, particularly Hungary. This study fills that gap by using linear and non-linear cointegration approaches to examine price relationships along the wheat supply chain. Causality tests indicate a strong bidirectional relationship between producer and consumer prices, demonstrating a tightly integrated market. Cointegration analysis reveals a long-term equilibrium between these prices, with no significant structural breaks during either the pandemic or the Ukraine war. Despite short-term price asymmetries, the study finds that producer-level price changes are ultimately transmitted to consumer prices in the long run, offering insights into Hungary's unique agricultural market dynamics.

Infants adapt their pointing frequency to experimentally manipulated parent responsiveness but not parent pointing

AbstractInfant pointing is predictive of later language development, but little is known about factors enhancing the development of pointing. The current study investigated two possible social learning mechanisms in the development of pointing. Given that infants observe their caregivers' pointing gestures from early on, one possibility is learning via imitation. A second possibility is that caregivers' contingent reactions to infant communication promote communicative exchange, including pointing. To test which of these behaviours influences infants' pointing frequency, we manipulated parents' pointing frequency and their responsive behaviour via instructions in a cross‐sectional 2 × 3 design. We randomly assigned 12‐months‐old infants (N = 131, 65 females) and one of their parents to six different experimental groups. Participants were predominantly central Europeans from middle to high socioeconomic backgrounds. Data were collected with an online remote adaption of the decorated‐room paradigm. Parents successfully adapted their behaviours to the instructions. Parents' increased responsiveness, but not their increased pointing in general, significantly enhanced infants' pointing frequency (d = 0.36). Regression results further revealed that parents' responsive pointing positively predicted infants' pointing frequency. Findings question direct imitation accounts of pointing and identify responsive social interactions, including responsive pointing, as factors enhancing the occurrence of pointing in infancy.Highlights Imitation and responsive social interaction are possible social learning mechanisms in the development of pointing. Experimental manipulation of parental behaviours reveals that infant pointing increases when parents are particularly responsive, but not when parents point a lot in general. Parents' responsiveness through pointing gestures may be especially suited to enhance infants' pointing frequencies.

Outside the Western bubble: Explaining anti‐immigrant attitudes in 28 post‐communist countries

AbstractMost studies on anti‐immigrant attitudes have been conducted within the US or in Western European countries. As a result, the theoretical frameworks utilised to comprehend these attitudes are often based on a limited subset of the global population. Hence, it remains uncertain how these theories apply to regions beyond the Western context. Based on the Life in Transition Survey, we explore whether the theories and factors discussed in Western contexts can be applied to understanding anti‐immigrant attitudes in 28 post‐communist countries. We find that the impact of macroeconomic variables in the post‐communist region differs from what would be expected based on existing theoretical frameworks. The study adds complexity to the debates surrounding the positive impacts of modernisation, economic development and democratisation on anti‐immigrant attitudes. Our research suggests that intolerance levels are notably highest in Central and Eastern European EU countries. Interestingly, these levels are higher than those found in less developed and less democratic post‐communist countries outside the EU. This study highlights the difficulty of deploying a comprehensive theoretical framework that can account for the complexities of attitudes across a broad range of countries.

How Does the Nexus Between Digitalization and Banking Performance Drive Digital Transformation in Central and Eastern European Countries?

The aim of this paper is to create a digitalization index for banking sectors using a set of indicators based on World Bank data for the period of 2010–2021, which will allow us to rank the sectors of Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). The digitalization index is built based on how ready banks are for digitalization, the potential customers available for digital banking, and the level of digital infrastructure, with each of these aspects representing one pillar. Based on the calculation of the digitalization index, we emphasize that Romania is the leader, followed by Latvia and Lithuania, while Hungary and Estonia are at the opposite pole. Furthermore, we applied the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) method to measure the impact of digitalization on banking performance. This study reveals that Romania, Latvia, and Lithuania lead in digital banking transformation due to significant investments in infrastructure and customer engagement, while Hungary and Poland lag in terms of digital readiness. The results indicate that digitalization has a significant positive effect on banking performance (ROE), although countries experiencing market saturation had the potential to see a decline post-2018, necessitating further innovation to sustain growth. In the digitalization context, the results are relevant for policymakers, showing that investing more in digitalization is important and that there is a need to help people have greater access to banking services due to a lack of willingness and financial education, factors which prevent them from embracing digital changes. The results show that improving banking digitalization positively influences banking performances. This study provides an innovative and complex index for assessing banking digitalization in Central and Eastern Europe, with valuable implications for policymakers. We highlight the need to align digitalization policies with the specific level of digital development of each country in order to optimize the integration of digital technologies and enhance economic competitiveness.

Persistence of PPP Deviations in Central and Eastern European Economies

ABSTRACT This paper studies the persistence of PPP deviations in terms of half-life (HL) for eleven Central and Eastern European countries. We identify three different shapes of impulse responses; 1) smoothly downward sloping, 2) smoothly falling with a small hitch, and 3) smoothly decaying with a small hump in the beginning. Estimated half-lives do not conform well with the consensus view of three to five years of PPP deviations. The relative appropriateness of the overestimation argument and the underestimation argument for the persistence of PPP deviation is not decisive.

THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN INFLUENCING CAPITAL MARKETS' LIQUIDITY IN THE CEE COUNTRIES

Capital markets serve an essential role in the efficient allocation of resources in an economy, with their liquidity and stability being critical indicators of operational efficiency. The influence of education in cultivating financial literacy, shaping investment behaviours, and thereby promoting market efficiency, financial development, and sustainable economic growth, is increasingly becoming the focus of research in this field. This study specifically explores the relationship between education levels and capital market liquidity in the Central and Eastern European countries across the period 2013-2021 via a panel regression methodology. Our findings show a significant relationship between education and enhanced capital market liquidity, highlighting the importance of investing in both primary and secondary education to improve market efficiency. Primary education enrollment seems to exert a negative impact on market spread and illiquidity, while secondary enrollment is associated with a diminishing effect on market spread. These patterns persist for both male and female enrollment alike. By furthering the understanding of the association between education and capital market activity, this research paper extends the current studies in this domain and reinforces the idea that education plays an instrumental role in capital market liquidity. This adds to the body of knowledge on the role of education in influencing capital market activity and offers a nuanced view of its impact on market liquidity in the CEE region.