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In this article, the authors draw-upon an extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and propose a research model involving performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), facilitating conditions (FC) and competitive pressure (CP) as potential salient factors explaining the adoption of digitalization in European SMEs. The authors also postulate that there may be cross-cultural differences, thereby leading us to include the country as a moderator in the model.

The authors validate this model with a cross-cultural sample involving 188 owner-managers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia and through the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) techniques as well as multi-group analysis.

The results using the study’s global dataset indicate that PE, FC and CP significantly affect owner-managers intentions toward digitalization in SMEs. The authors’ application of the multi-group analysis also suggests that although the two countries differ in digitalization adoption intention, the differences are statistically insignificant. In the conclusion, the authors highlight several implications these findings have for theory and practice.

The authors recommend that the providers of emerging digital technologies should improve on the performance features of those technologies and ensure they are relevant to the SMEs. By doing so, the adoption of digitalization will grow, because owner-managers of SMEs will have the confidence that adopting such technologies will improve their operations. Second, SMEs are required to provide adequate organizational and technical infrastructure to support digitalization adoption.

Aside from being among the few attempts to extend the explanatory power of UTAUT with PE, EE, FC and CP in investigating digitalization adoption in SMEs context, this study also validates its model with rigorous methodological approach as well as three datasets (global, Czech Republic and Slovakia) thereby strengthening the validity of the results.

The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of training and development (T&D) in the Visegrad countries (V4) as impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, namely, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. These countries have some political, cultural, social and economic similarities and share some common ground in the human resource development (HRD) sectors.

The authors used the HRD theory and the human capital theory to analyse the context, operations and impact of T&D in the V4 countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The research was conducted in 400 companies, 100 from each of the four countries using the computer assisted web interviewing technique. The questionnaire was in a six-point Likert scale format and addressed 12 topics related to T&D: policy, expectations, procedures of diagnosis, preparation, implementation, monitoring, trainees, trainers, investment and expenditures, evaluation, results and controlling.

The authors concluded that in the Visegrad countries, Covid-19 raised expectations on T&D. This was followed by increased levels of action in diagnosis, preparation, monitoring and implementation, following pre-existing and adjusted policies. Evaluation and control were complicated. Investment and results and the human side of the T&D (trainees and trainers) were the ones for which there were more uncertainties and perplexities.

The study has the limitation of using only a small sample in four countries. For further research, the authors suggest a larger study extended to all the European Union countries, an in-depth analysis of the current data and the kurtosis on Policy of T&D.

The results of the research can be used to improve T&D programs after the Covid-19 pandemic. They could also provide information to external trainers to improve and adjust their services according to the opinions of the respondents of the study. The research findings can also serve institutions responsible for policy provision of HRD at a national level by providing possibilities to apply for funding either within national or regional funds like the National Training Fund in Poland or within European Union money at a national level.

The study is original because even if the T&D in V4 countries during the Covid-19 pandemic had already been studied separately (e.g. Mikołajczyk, 2021; Vrabcová, Urbancová 2021; Vinichenko et al., 2021), no empirical, cross-national research analysing specifically the T&D in those countries has been carried out so far. The authors use an innovative methodology, addressing 12 topics and the people involved together with the stages in which a T&D policy is divided. That makes it innovative and very relevant.

This study aims to examine the implementation of sustainability activities in food retail chains operating in the Czech market and discusses the specific activities that influence their implementation.

Using the neo-institutional theory as a framework, the research employs qualitative content analysis with an explanatory and inductive approach based on the stratification of data collected by multiple-round, personal, face-to-face interviews by the researchers with managers of the Czech headquarters of multinational food retail chains.

There is lively development in activities in the fields of the environment and social welfare, while the activities in governance and economic resilience are more stabilised. To remain ahead of the competition, retail chains aim to implement and communicate as many activities as possible where at least some links to sustainability can be found. A lack of benchmarks and clear definitions reduce the ability to determine their degree of engagement. Thus, market actors are inundated with sustainability claims leading to inflation of the concept, while significant achievements are drowned.

This paper, based on empirical research, contributes to the current literature by showing inflation of the sustainability concept as one of the key effects of retail-chain competition. In this context, it also strengthens previous findings on the profitability motive behind sustainability activities. Moreover, we have developed our own stratification method, enabling differentiation between activities getting the most attention due to their progressive phase and those where development is in the background.

The purpose of this paper is to research the impact of digitalization on employees' future competencies and the conditional role of human resource development (HRD) in the relationship between independent and dependent variables.

Empirical research covered 1209 enterprises from all of Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. The research was conducted from 2019 to 2021. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), a theoretical model was tested and verified.

Confirmatory factor analysis has shown a good fit for the tested model. The purpose and character of our data showed a good alignment with the SEM partial least squares method, as the goal is to predict a construct. The model showed that employee-oriented digitalization positively affected the employees' future competencies, with no impact of customer-oriented digitalization treated as a control variable. Also, the moderating role of HRD has not been shown to be significant for the “digitalization – competencies” relationship.

Previous studies on the development of personnel competencies treated these competencies as antecedents of digital transformation and examined the formal role of HRD in building the competencies. The novelty of this study lies in exploring the pattern of interactions among the impact of an environment built by innovative technologies and HRD on the competencies of the future. Also, the research embedded in the environment of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia has contributed to the complex understanding of the transition to digitalization, as this region has often been omitted in the field of human resource management (HRM) research focused on exploring digital transformation.

This study aims to enhance merging of additive manufacturing (AM) techniques with powder injection molding (PIM). In this way, the prototypes could be 3D-printed and mass production implemented using PIM. Thus, the surface properties and mechanical performance of parts produced using powder/polymer binder feedstocks [material extrusion (MEX) and PIM] were investigated and compared with powder manufacturing based on direct metal laser sintering (DMLS).

PIM parts were manufactured from 17-4PH stainless steel PIM-quality powder and powder intended for powder bed fusion compounded with a recently developed environmentally benign binder. Rheological data obtained at the relevant temperatures were used to set up the process parameters of injection molding. The tensile and yield strengths as well as the strain at break were determined for PIM sintered parts and compared to those produced using MEX and DMLS. Surface properties were evaluated through a 3D scanner and analyzed with advanced statistical tools.

Advanced statistical analyses of the surface properties showed the proximity between the surfaces created via PIM and MEX. The tensile and yield strengths, as well as the strain at break, suggested that DMLS provides sintered samples with the highest strength and ductility; however, PIM parts made from environmentally benign feedstock may successfully compete with this manufacturing route.

This study addresses the issues connected to the merging of two environmentally efficient processing routes. The literature survey included has shown that there is so far no study comparing AM and PIM techniques systematically on the fixed part shape and dimensions using advanced statistical tools to derive the proximity of the investigated processing routes.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative picture of the state of the art of the literature on digitalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as an enabler for their internationalisation process and as a comprehensive view of the specific domains impacted by digital technologies as well as their repercussions on the international outreach.

A systematic review which leverages a descriptive analysis of extant literature and an axial coding technique has been conducted to shed light on the current knowledge and to identify primary research areas and future research lines.

The research indicates that digitalisation impacts the internationalisation of SMEs in three specific domains: (1) internationalisation through the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) technologies and e-commerce platforms; (2) international expansion through the digitalisation of value chain activities and (3) international outreach through knowledge acquisition on digital platforms.

The value of this study is threefold. First, the authors attempt to systematically review the literature on SMEs digitalisation and internationalisation and provide a holistic perspective on the intertwining of these two research streams. Second, the authors propose a novel conceptualisation on the dimensions of SMEs digitalisation as enablers to internationalisation. Third, the authors put forward promising future lines of research.

1. Digitalisation represents a pivotal strategy that allows companies to build new strategic capabilities and is a propeller for SMEs internationalisation.

2. Through e-commerce, SMEs could compete at the same level of multinational companies but enduring lower costs of expansion.

3. Digital platforms allow SMEs to enhance the learning processes about international markets through an immediate access to relevant information.

4. Digital entrepreneurship has enabled SMEs to develop new configurations of value chain activities, evolving their business model or reaching new markets.

5. SMEs are changing the “business as usual” paradigm offering digital tools to build modular architectures that are scalable and agile in their evolution ability.

Digitalisation represents a pivotal strategy that allows companies to build new strategic capabilities and is a propeller for SMEs internationalisation.

Through e-commerce, SMEs could compete at the same level of multinational companies but enduring lower costs of expansion.

Digital platforms allow SMEs to enhance the learning processes about international markets through an immediate access to relevant information.

Digital entrepreneurship has enabled SMEs to develop new configurations of value chain activities, evolving their business model or reaching new markets.

SMEs are changing the “business as usual” paradigm offering digital tools to build modular architectures that are scalable and agile in their evolution ability.

Large supermarket chains are adopting customer-service robots to improve service delivery in physical stores. Successful deployment of these robots depends on shoppers' willingness to interact with them, requiring an understanding of influencing factors. This study, grounded in the Cognitive-Affective-Normative (CAN) theory, seeks to systematically explore the factors influencing Gen Z shoppers' willingness to interact with customer-service robots.

A hybrid approach combining Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) was employed to analyze survey data collected from 945 Gen Zs in the Czech Republic.

The results from SEM highlight significant cognitive, normative, and affective factors that influence the intention of Gen Z shoppers to interact with a customer-service robot. Specifically, cognitive factors such as effort and performance expectancy, along with normative factors like subjective norms, emerged as critical determinants. Furthermore, affective factors such as technology anxiety and positive emotions significantly influence users' readiness to use customer-service robots for service requests. The study also underscores that positive emotions, effort expectancy, performance expectancy, and subjective norms are vital prerequisites for interacting with customer-service robots.

The originality of this work lies in its two significant contributions to the burgeoning field of SRs in retail literature. First, it extends the CAN theory to the context of SRs among Gen Z shoppers in Czechia, thereby enriching the existing literature on SRs in retail. Second, by employing a hybrid analytical approach, our research offers both empirical and methodological advancements, providing rigorous insights crucial for enhancing the understanding of the pivotal factors influencing shoppers' interactions with SRs in physical store environments.

The study aims to assess military procurement strategy in NATO countries labelled as emerging markets (Czechia, Slovakia and Lithuania) and capitalist Norway, which vary in national culture as indicated by the Hofstede Culture Compass.

This comparative case study analyses the procurement of a simple, mass-produced, off-the-shelf military product (FN Herstal MINIMI gun) in four small but very economically free countries from 2008 to 2023. The study answers the research question of how the unit price of MINIMI guns varies across post-communist and historical NATO countries distinguished by the variables operationalising national culture.

The general disability of the government to control corruption deviates the strategy of military procurement in post-communist defence institutions from an effective strategy of liberal capitalism, minimising the unit price and risks (Norway), to an odd strategy maximising the unit price and risks by preferring middlemen as agent of hidden agenda (Czechia).

Some defence institutions in post-communist countries may be burdened by legislature capture, and detailed research is needed to determine this.

The authors argue that national culture may contribute to significant goal displacement in the procurement strategy adopted by the government in an economically liberal state.

Without perfecting the control of corruption in post-communist defence institutions, the NATO burden-sharing debate on 2% of GDP will remain controversial.

With variables characterising national culture and the government’s ability to control corruption, the study elucidates a slow pace of convergence of post-communist countries to NATÓs values and procedures.

This study assesses the probability of an OECD member country exhibiting high persistence in unemployment duration, considering income inequality, productivity, accumulation of human capital and labor income share in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between the years 2013–2019.

To achieve the purpose of the study, a probabilistic analysis with panel data is employed, focusing on 20 OECD countries segmented into two groups: those with high persistence and low persistence in unemployment duration. Probit and Logit models are estimated, marginal changes are analyzed and the models are evaluated in terms of their classification accuracy. Finally, trends in probabilities over time are examined.

This paper exhibits that countries with higher human capital index, greater labor income share in GDP, and more relevant productivity for well-being reduce their probabilities of experiencing high persistence in unemployment duration. It is observed that Mexico (MEX), Greece (GRC), Italy (ITA), and Turkey (TUR) have elevated probabilities of experiencing high persistence in unemployment duration in the future, while Costa Rica (CRI), Estonia (EST), Slovakia (SVK), Czech Republic (CZE), Lithuania (LTU), Poland (POL), and Israel (ISR) show a marked downward trend in these probabilities. Lastly, countries like the United Kingdom (GBR), Denmark (DNK), Sweden (SWE), Norway (NOR), Netherlands (NLD), Germany (DEU), United States (USA), and Canada (CAN) present minimal risk of experiencing high persistence in unemployment duration in the future.

The measurement of the relationship between development outcomes and persistence in unemployment duration has been scarce. Generally, the literature has focused on the analysis of development and unemployment without delving into the duration of unemployment, let alone persistence in duration.

This paper provides a solid foundation for the formulation of policies aimed at promoting sustainable employment and inclusive economic growth.

Based on the findings of the study, two key development policies are proposed. Firstly, the implementation of investment programs in Human Capital to increase productivity is recommended. Resources should be directed towards initiatives that improve the necessary skills and competencies in the labor markets of OECD countries, especially in strategic economic sectors with higher production linkages. Additionally, incentivizing the application of active labor policies is proposed. This entails prioritizing policies aimed at increasing the labor income share in GDP through progressive fiscal reforms that strengthen social safety nets and ensure fair labor standards. Implementing employment programs targeted at vulnerable groups, such as long-term unemployed individuals, youth, female heads of households and marginalized communities, is also recommended to eliminate structural barriers to labor market participation and reduce disparities in unemployment persistence. Adopting these policies can help mitigate the risk of high unemployment duration persistence and foster sustainable and inclusive long-term economic growth.

This is the first study to analyze the probabilities of both developing and developed countries experiencing high persistence in unemployment duration. It specifically evaluates these probabilities over a period of time and also estimates potential outcomes if real investments were made to enhance their human capital, productivity and employability.

The study aims to understand the way metaverse might revolutionize the governance format – precisely the e-government concept – besides underlining the challenges leaving suggestive contours for further research in this realm.

An inductive research approach included the content analysis of relevant literature to identify patterns and generalize them into areas and approaches. Developing a conceptual framework seeks to systematically organize knowledge on metaverse government and provide an understanding of its contributions to enhancing the e-government maturity models.

The authors identified three general areas and approaches – content and data lifecycle management; platforms, tools and services; and infrastructure and computing resources – that shape how challenges of enterprise architecture layers should be resolved in a future research agenda. Integration of these government metaverse areas and approaches is linked with four enterprise architecture layers (technology, applications, data and business) that advance a new e-government meta stage of e-government maturity and the related challenges.

Hitherto, metaverse literature has hinged itself on the benefits and challenges of metaverse in the private sector. However, the exact dimensions have not been probed in the public sector and its e-government domain – the present study seeks to plug this gap.