Organizations In Slovenia Research Articles

E-invoicing: A Catalyst for Digitalization and Sustainability

AbstractBackground and PurposeDigitalization brings a wide range of opportunities for both digital and sustainable transformation. One of the first steps on this journey is the digitization of business documents and digitalization of business processes. The European Commission has recognised the advantages of digitalization, particularly in the context of e-invoicing, which can contribute significantly to economic prosperity and align with public policy goals such as deficit reduction and sustainable development. Despite the successful adoption of e-invoicing in the public sector, the uptake of e-invoicing in business-to-business (B2B) transactions is surprisingly low. This research focuses on Slovenia, a small European country that imple-mented e-invoicing as mandatory between enterprises and the public sector in 2015.MethodsTo investigate e-invoicing adoption in the wider population, we designed an online survey, which was conducted among 284 organizations in Slovenia. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 28 software. One sample t-test was used to evaluate the importance of identified advantages, barriers and incentives for e-invoicing usage. Further, we ran an inde-pendent sample t-test to identify statistically important differences in the importance of ad-vantages, barriers, and incentives between organizations with lower and higher levels of e-invoicing usage.ResultsThe results showed that organizations recognize the benefits of e-invoicing well and perceive them as important. The most important barriers to e-invoicing adoption are related to the business environment, unawareness and lack of knowledge about how to implement e-invoicing. Desired incentives for wider e-invoicing adoption are related to easier and lower costs of technical implementation, provided training and education, including best practices, as well as the availability of government grants and other support measures on the state level, including legislation, public directory of business entities using electronic document exchange and service providers.ConclusionThe paper provides important information for decision-makers and public ad-min-istrations to take appropriate measures and incentives to further support wider adoption of e-invoicing and exchange of other e-documents to exploit opportunities of digitalization better.

Intergenerational Differences and Knowledge Transfer Among Slovenian Engineers

Abstract Background and Purpose: The study investigated the impact of intergenerational differences on knowledge transfer among engineers in large Slovenian production organizations. Method: Using the Delphi method, experts answered open-ended questions. The process concluded with a consensus reached in the third round. The resulting questionnaire was then administered to engineers of all ages working in large production organizations. Results: The experts’ responses indicated that intergenerational differences are most prominent in the workplace in terms of computer literacy and the use of information and communications technology. Effective employee engagement, including exemplary leadership, a system of mentoring and reverse mentoring, and a supportive organizational culture, was found to enhance the flow of knowledge transfer. Statistical analysis revealed that there are statistically significance intergenerational differences in knowledge transfer among engineers in large production organizations (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The study’s findings suggest that recognizing intergenerational differences and fostering the abilities of employees can contribute to organizational success. However, the study is limited to engineers in large production organizations in Slovenia. Future research should explore organizations in a wider geographical area and across different sectors.

Assessment the Internal Control System of Banks

This research attempt to explore to determine and investigate the main roles of auditing in corporate governance around the world especially in Slovenia, A large number of studies concerned with auditing and corporate governance have been conducted using US and UK data. The objective of this research is to contribute to understanding the auditing and roles of auditing in corporate governance. Determine the nature of the Audit Committee and the dimensions of their role in promoting corporate governance and implementation mechanisms. The study recommended that the role of corporate governance must be adopted in all organizations in Slovenia.

Knowledge Management in Social Work: Management Support, Incentives, Knowledge Implementation, and Employee Empowerment

In this article, we build on the current research about knowledge management in social work settings to demonstrate that knowledge management has the potential to enable social work organizations to influence public policies and improve the quality of their services. By increasing awareness and information about knowledge management in the field of social work, our goal is to examine a direct positive relationship between management support and incentives and knowledge implementation. In addition, as we wanted to explore the moderating effect of employee empowerment on knowledge implementation, we define and test several hypotheses in order to discover how management support, incentives and employee empowerment impact knowledge implementation in social work settings. We use moderation regression to test our hypotheses with a sample of 98 managers and employees of social work organizations in Slovenia who completed a questionnaire specifically prepared for the study. The study results support the existence of a significant and positive relationship between management support and incentives with knowledge implementation. Employee empowerment also acts as a moderator in the relationship between incentives and knowledge implementation, however, the interaction term is negative. In any case, the highest levels of knowledge implementation occur when employee empowerment is high as well. In the conclusion of the paper, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications derived from the research study.

Overview of Social Entrepreneurship Development in Slovenia

The aim of the article is to analyze public policies of social entrepreneurship in Slovenia and their developmental phases, the characteristics of social economy organizations, and to assess the framework conditions for social entrepreneurship by social enterprises. Since social entrepreneurship follows mainly social objectives, it needs the support of the ecosystem to develop properly. The EU allows the Member States to regulate social entrepreneurship itself, so Slovenia has formalized the social entrepreneurship domain through national-level legislation. In the article, a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods is applied, using primary data on social enterprises and a case study approach. The results of the analysis of social economy organizations in Slovenia indicate that the formal status of social enterprises covers a wide range of organizations and their share is low in the national context. The analysis of the case study organizations indicates that the legislation is considered as the main factor hindering the development of social entrepreneurship. Moreover, their assessment of public policies is rather judgmental and disapproving. In general, the results reveal that although the area of social entrepreneurship in Slovenia is developing, a vision and long-term strategy is still lacking and the implementation of supportive environment incentives is insufficient.

Safety Culture at Primary Healthcare Level: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Employees with a Leadership Role.

IntroductionAn effective leadership is critical to the development of a safety culture within an organization. With this study, the authors wanted to assess the self-perceived level of safety culture among the employees with a leadership function in the Ljubljana Community Health Centre.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study in the largest community health centre in Slovenia. We sent an invitation to all employees with a leadership role (N=211). The Slovenian version of the SAQ – Short Form as a measurement of a safety culture was used. The data on demographic characteristics (gender, age, role, work experience, working hours, and location of work) were also collected. An electronic survey was used.ResultsThe final sample consisted of 154 (69.7%) participants, out of which 136 (88.3%) were women. The mean age and standard deviation of the sample was 46.2±10.5 years. The average scores for the safety culture domains on a scale from 1 to 5 were 4.1±0.6 for Teamwork Climate, Safety Climate, and Working Conditions and Satisfaction, 3.7±0.5 for Perception of Management, 3.6±0.4 for Communication, and 3.5±0.6 for Stress Recognition.ConclusionThe safety culture among leaders in primary healthcare organizations in Slovenia is perceived as positive. There is also a strong organizational culture. Certain improvements are needed, especially in the field of communication and stress recognition with regards to safety culture.

Intuitive decision-making inside public utility organizations in Slovenia

Intuitive decision-making inside public utility organizations in Slovenia

Mobbing in a Non-Profit Organisation

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyse mobbing in a large, non-profit, state-owned organization in order to find out to what extent mobbing is present and in what way it takes place. In addition, the purpose of the research is to analyse whether the extent of mobbing is connected to employee’s age, gender and position. Methodology: In this quantitative research, a total of 355 opinions were collected using a random selection procedure within the selected large size, state-owned organization (between 1000 and 2000 employees). The results of the employees’ experiences of mobbing were statistically analysed and tested. Results: Similar to other researches, a third of all respondents stated they have been affected by mobbing in the last three years. Additionally, we found out that younger employees are not affected more than older. Interestingly, there are also no gender differences as both genders seem to be affected similarly. Also, a management position does not mean a person is less exposed to mobbing. Finally, we confirmed that the most frequent type of mobbing is vertical mobbing (carried out by an employer / manager on employees or vice versa). Originality / value: The study fills a current gap in the research and understanding of mobbing in non-profit organizations in Slovenia as it presents the magnitude of mobbing experiences as well as the relations between the attackers and victims. The study also provides a good starting point for further research on this sensitive subject. Research limitations / conclusions: Since the research was limited to one non-profit organization, it makes sense to explore the phenomenon in different individual profit companies as well as non-profit organisations in order to create plans for preventing and limiting mobbing.

The influence of a sustained multifaceted approach to improve antibiotic prescribing in Slovenia during the past decade: findings and implications

Introduction: Rising antibiotic resistance has become an increasing public health problem. There is a well-established correlation between antibiotic consumption and antimicrobial resistance. Consequently, measures to rationalize the prescribing of antibiotics should reduce the resistant strains. Following a 24% increase in antibiotic consumption at the end of the 1990s, multiple activities were designed and introduced by the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia (ZZZS) and other organizations in Slovenia at the end of 1999. These activities reduced the antibiotic consumption by 18.7% by 2002. These measures have continued. Objective: To study changes in antibiotic utilization from 1995 to 2012 alongside the multiple interventions and their consequences, including changes in resistance patterns. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study involving all patients dispensed at least one ZZZS prescription for an antibiotic in Slovenia. Utilization was expressed in defined daily doses per thousand inhabitants per day. Multifaceted interventions were conducted over time involving all key stakeholder groups, that is, the Ministry of Health, ZZZS, physician groups and patients. These included comprehensive communication programs as well as prescribing restrictions for a number of antibiotics and classes. Results: From 1999 to 2012, antibiotic consumption decreased by 2–9% per year, with an overall decrease of 31%. There were also appreciable structural changes. Overall antibiotic utilization and the utilization of 7 out of 10 antibiotics significantly decreased after multiple interventions. The resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin decreased in line with decreased utilization. However, its resistance to macrolides increased from 5.4 to 21% despite halving of its utilization. The resistance of Escherichia coli to fluoroquinolones doubled from 10 to 21% despite utilization decreasing by a third. Expenditures on antibiotics decreased by 53%. Conclusion: Multiple demand-side measures introduced following increased utilization significantly decreased subsequent antibiotic utilization and associated costs. However, there was variable impact on antibiotic resistance. Additional targeted activities are planned to further reduce antibiotic prescribing and resistance.

The impact of the global economic crisis on the finances of non-governmental sport organizations in Slovenia remains to be seen

This paper examines the impact of the global economic crisis on revenues on all non-governmental sport organizations (sport NGOs) in Slovenia, as a small European economy. Five types of operating revenues of all sport NGOs from 2007 to 2010 have been analyzed. We found that the overall trend of sport NGOs revenues does not correspond exactly to the trends of the Slovenian economy. The greatest financial impacts were experienced in grassroots sport, while professional sport NGOs have increased their operating revenues, mostly due to increases of public revenues. The findings suggest that the true impact of the recession on Slovenian sport NGOs remains to be seen. We conclude that the ongoing recession will affect grassroots sport the least, while semi-professional and professional sport NGOs will be under financial threat. Because of the synergistic effects of different types of NGOs, this could affect the sustainability of Slovenian sport.

Employees in Slovenia and Their Psychological Well-Being Based on Ryff’s Model of Psychological Well-Being

The aim of this article is to provide information about using Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being in Slovenia. Based on the initial presentation of the concept of psychological well-being (PWB), this article subsequently presents the results of empirical research in the PWB of employees in organizations in Slovenia. The main goal of this research is to present the procedure of building a PWB model based on the Ryff and Keyes multidimensional model of well-being, which was adapted to the studied population. By using factor analysis, both the exploratory and the confirmatory one, we confirmed that the PWB model is multidimensional. We made a selection of constructs and indicators that best describe PWB. The results of the final PWB model can let us report that the relationship between PWB and “autonomy” is stronger than the relationship between PWB and “positive relations with others”, and between PWB and “self-acceptance”. For the human resource management activities in Slovenian organizations it is also important that employees want to learn and grow. The results provide the basis for the future actions, necessary to raise awareness of stakeholders.

A Proposed Approach to the Assessment of Psychological Well-being in Organizations

The assessment of psychological well-being (PWB) in organizations requires relevant, requisitely holistic factors and indicators. We focus in particular on the Ryff and Keyes multidimensional model of well-being, which has strongly influenced our own model. This article introduces the results of our empirical research about PWB in organizations in Slovenia, which aimed to develop a measuring instrument for this multidimensional problem and use exploratory factor analysis to explore the multiple-criteria model for the assessment of PWB in organizations. Chosen factors and indicators were structured in the multiple-criteria model, which enabled us to assess the aggregate level of PWB measure for different groups of employees; in particle, this article focuses on their workplace, as this research topic has not been studied in the recognized literature so far. Results can be used as the basis for the interventions to attain or increase the PWB in organizations among different groups of employees. Based on our findings, we can establish that operational heads record the highest level of PWB and contractors the lowest level of PWB.

THE MEDIATING ROLE OF CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE

A model is proposed that tests the antecedents and the mediating effect of corporate entrepreneurship on the external environment-performance relationship within private and public sector organizations. Hypotheses were tested using data from a sample of chief executive officers in 51 private sector organizations in the United States, 141 private sector organizations in Slovenia and 134 public sector state and semi-state enterprises in Ireland. Data was analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. The results show that dynamism and munificence effects on performance are mediated by an organization's corporate entrepreneurship in the private sector and munificence effects on performance are mediated by an organization's renewal in the public sector and that renewal must be in place to maximize the effect of munificence on performance. The results support a model that incorporates an extensive and diverse literature into a single model and helps illuminate similarities and differences of corporate entrepreneurship between the private sector and the public sector. The study shows that an integrative model and the interplay among the constructs yields new insights unavailable to single and focused approaches. It offers new insights about corporate entrepreneurship, not only as a discrete pursuit, but also as a construct that shapes and extends organizational performance.

Measurement of Employees Subjective Well-Being as an Aim of Social Responsibility

Social responsibility (SR) includes well-being of all. Improving of SR depends also on measurement of well-being. In organizations it requires a hierarchy/network of requisitely holistic factors and indicators. We regarded several definitions of subjective well-being that take into account multiple dimensions and selected factors to be structured in the multi-criteria model: positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. The article presents results of empirical research of subjective well-being in organizations in Slovenia. The factor analysis and theoretical foundations of the characteristics of subjective well-being factors, determined the importance of the criteria—multiple dimensions of subjective well-being. Data about positive and negative affection were obtained with the ‘Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale’; data about life satisfaction were obtained through the ‘Satisfaction with Life Scale’; thus the local values of alternatives—types of organizations in Slovenia—were measured by using value functions. The level of well-being—the aggregate value of well-being measure was assessed with multi-criteria decision-making methods. One can thus benchmark the well-being performance of organizations, determine the key success and failure factors and benefit from good examples. Results offer information for the interventions to increase the subjective well-being in organizations and thus to attain more SR in organization-internal relations.

The impact of organizational virtuality on financial effectiveness

Purpose – The research focused on the question how the authors could assess the impact of organizational virtuality on financial efficiency using primary data from company accounting records. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The implemented model was based on the assumption that the authors could define virtuality with the joint effects of outsourcing and IT utilization. The authors also assumed that they could define virtuality with available financial indicators. The authors tested the model on a sample of tourist organizations in Slovenia. The main methodological challenges were hidden by diverse methods in calculating and keeping financial records in individual organizations. In some cases, the authors had to recalculate and adjust individual indicators in the particular company to make them methodologically comparable with others. As the modeling and testing tool the authors used structural equation modeling with two latent variables: organization virtuality and financial effectiveness. Findings – The authors confirmed the basic research hypothesis that higher organizational virtuality leads to higher financial effectiveness in studied organizations. The authors also confirmed that they could develop a functional model of organizational virtuality on financial data only. However, the authors concluded that accuracy of the model could be improved if the authors would include also nonfinancial data that would provide a more holistic model of virtual organization. Practical implications – The authors recognized that general concepts of organizational virtuality were often too academic and unpractical for managers in the real business. Therefore, the authors argued that financial indicators would provide managers with more convenient and management-like tools for assessing the level and the impact of virtuality. Originality/value – Modeling organizational virtuality with financial indicators only extended the perception of virtuality and provided some original research and practical guidelines.

Retaining Older Workers: Fields Of Action – Constituting A Comprehensive Age Management Model

The need to improve labor market participation of older people has gained heightened attention in recent years, especially in view of the significant demographic changes the European Union will undergo due to population aging. Besides the macroeconomic level, the implications of this trend are very present on the company level, especially through managing the aging workforce. Companies are thus introducing new approaches, policies and instruments which are supposed to foster higher employment rates of elderly through implementing active aging concept into business and HRM practice. The aim of this paper is to highlight the development of active aging initiatives within Slovenian companies where the practice of age management is still in its early stage. However, we expect that due to the aging population and the shortages on the labor market one can expect that those practices will receive more and more attention in the future. Because of age discrimination, and a longstanding culture of early exit from employment, many organizations in Slovenia, both the workplace and the community, have no experience in positively targeting older workers. Therefore, those looking to respond to workforce aging usually start from a low or non-existent base. Moreover, Slovenian employers are still often reluctant to employ older workers, either because of age stereotypes or because of some very reasonable dilemmas concerning personnel economics. With the aim to help beginners, we have developed a conceptual model, thus providing a useful base for further development of company-specific age management model that suits to the company needs the most. A key message of this paper is that when it comes to good practice, even very small changes can have a positive impact. The paper concludes with some recommendations for the future development of active aging practice, with an emphasize on new HRM approaches, policies and instruments which seem to be of extreme importance when striving to prolong working life.

Framework for Performance Measurement in Hospitality Industry – Case Study Slovenia

Hotel organizations in transition economies must create effective competitive methods for survival, since they exist in an environment where both customer and investor are demanding more from every organization. In search of solutions they should use performance measurement system that meets the requirements of a changed environment.The aim of this paper is to present how developed is performance measurement in hotel organizations in Slovenia. The article is based on the research carried out in Slovenia in hotels with over 100 rooms. First the necessary information for various decision-making levels will be introduced together with the criteria for efficiency measurement and then the basic hypothesis will be tested by relevant statistical methods.

Using cellular automata to simulate electronic commerce receptivity in small organisations

The focus of the research is to study the dynamics of electronic commerce propagation caused by organisational characteristics in small organisations. A model of opinion dynamics and verbalisation process for studying the receptivity of electronic commerce in small organisations in Slovenia is proposed. The methodology is based on cellular automata approach, diffusion theory, small organisations characteristics and studies on factors affecting electronic commerce introduction and usage in small organisations. The decision of an organisation whether to adopt electronic commerce or not is based on its attitude towards electronic commerce and impressions gathered from interactions with other organisations. Different characteristics of organisations were defined according to the data gathered by interviews and a survey. Several types of electronic commerce diffusion dynamics are evident from the data gathered. The most likely scenario of electronic commerce diffusion among small organizations in Slovenia predicts a decrease in organizations that are less mature in e-commerce and the increase in more mature organizations by 6–8% by the end of year 2006.

Being Acquainted with the Employer in Slovenia: Yes-For Employment, No-For Promotion

The fundamental question which we deal with in this paper is: from which sources do organizations in Slovenia most frequently obtain new staff. We questioned 1,075 people who are employed. We discovered that more than 40 % of them became employed through personal contacts. This means that they know someone at the organization they are employed in. This type of employment procedure is not typical in the contemporary world. It was established that those who became employed because of personal contacts are not promoted any faster than those who became employed by normal application procedures. Therefore, the method of recruiting does not influence promotion.