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Religious pursuits may promote explicitly “spiritual” goods (theo-relational connectedness, character formation, etc.) and “secular” utilities including health. The purpose of this paper is to initiate investigation of this intersection for paternal religious practices in Lithuania’s dynamic post-Soviet social context. Reflecting on religio-political history, the nature of the religious field, spiritual capital, and externalities related to confessional identity, what relationships exist between institutional engagement, devotional practice, education and other predictors in the post-Soviet Lithuanian religious context?

Original data were collected in 2011 (returning 73 of 100 surveys) in Klaipėda, Lithuania. Correlation and χ² identified variables for regression analysis. Given Ordinary Least Squares heteroscedasticity (Breusch-Pagan test), weighted least squares modeling estimated coefficients for extra mural and institutional religious practice generically and differentiated by confessional identity.

Generically and by confessional identity, utility differences in institutional context appear paradoxical to secularization hypotheses. While correlated, institutional engagement and non-institutional devotional practice evidenced non-complementarity regarding educational attainment: greater education predicted higher institutional engagement but sparer devotional life. The authors suggest in explanation higher opportunity costs in individual devotional practice opposite positive offsets from secondary institutional utilities (e.g. social networking). Both were predicted by education, work hours, the non-dependent religious practice variable, self-reported health status, patterned by confessional identity, specifically Protestant opposite majority Catholic. Intergenerationally, a gender gradient was identified.

This analysis illuminates with original data divergent public institutional and private devotional religious practice utility structures in a dynamic transitional post-Soviet context.

This paper seeks to present a methodology for measuring the outcomes of public access computing as well as presenting and comparing the main results of baseline studies conducted in Lithuania and Latvia.

Both baseline studies use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods and both include multi‐perspective, longitudinal design and nation‐wide samples.

The benefits that users can gain from using PAC in public libraries include access to ICT, technology training and assistance, expanded employment opportunities, conducting commercial transactions, access to and assistance with local, state and federal government electronic services, and support for learning, communication and personal identity.

Since these are two baseline‐studies, they do not yet offer scope for comparisons over time, although these will be addressed in both countries. The main problem of impact‐focused research is that it is very tightly linked to influences on individuals, so it is difficult to trace changes and improvements back to the library. The paper shows methods that are currently being tested and used.

The paper reports on the baseline stage of systematic impact assessment programmes being conducted in Latvia and Lithuania as part of their public access computing in public libraries development work, supported by their respective governments and part‐funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the determinants of satisfaction with municipal services by local inhabitants in Lithuania. Specifically, the paper seeks to disclose the relations between the importance that citizens attribute to the objectives of a municipality, satisfaction with services, the perception of quality of life and socio-demographic characteristics of local inhabitants.

The theoretical assumptions were tested using the quantitative data of public opinion survey in Lithuania conducted in 2016. The representative sample (n=1,006) consisting respondents over the age of 18 years old was collected using the personal interview method in households from different municipalities. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was employed to specify the constructs of the model. The structural equation modeling allowed revealing the relations between the importance of municipal objectives, satisfaction with services and infrastructure, the perception of quality of life and socio-demographic characteristics of citizens.

The findings indicate that there is a weak positive relation among the importance of municipal objectives and satisfaction with municipal services and infrastructure in case of Lithuania. There is a medium positive relation between satisfaction with services and infrastructure and perception of quality of life. The authors find that citizens living in cities attribute higher importance to the objectives of a municipality. The expectations increase within the age. The authors also find that residents living in cities are less satisfied (comparing to citizens living in towns and rural areas) with municipal services. The results indicate that citizens working in the private sector are less satisfied (comparing to unemployed citizens) with municipal services. The authors also find that such variables as education, age and income has a positive influence on the perception of quality of life.

Further research may specify the connection between the importance of municipal objectives, satisfaction with services, quality of life and socio-demographic characteristics more precisely. Specifically, the construct of the importance of municipal objectives was explained best as one factor due to the selection of objectives constituting the construct in the questionnaire. More precise measurement of the construct may reveal the agenda pursued by citizens and its relation to the socio-demographic factors.

The research reveals that satisfaction with municipal services and infrastructure is an important predictor of perceived quality of life for Lithuanians citizens on the local level. It sends an important signal to policymakers indicating that citizens that are living in cities, working in private sector feel less satisfied compared to other groups of inhabitants in rural areas. It also provides evidence that different profiles of socio-demographic characteristics should also be considered more carefully while designing responsive service provision systems in municipalities.

The paper provides a theoretical and methodological perspective that relates importance of municipal objectives, satisfaction with municipal services, infrastructure and perceived quality of life of local inhabitants. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of socio-demographic characteristics of for municipal agenda and design of provision of public services.

Employment law reform enforced in Estonia in mid-2009 provides a good opportunity to examine the outcomes of employment protection legislation (EPL). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of the reduction in EPL on labour reallocation.

The author exploits the micro-data of the Labour Force Survey to estimate the probabilities of one-year worker flows with probit models, and uses a difference in differences (DID) approach to identify the effects of the EPL reform.

The author finds that the reduction in EPL seems to have increased the probability of transitions out of employment. At the same time, she does not find any significant effect of this reform on the probability of flows into employment. The evaluation also gives evidence of a lowered probability of job-to-job transitions resulting from the reduction in EPL.

In this paper, the DID estimation is conducted by using Lithuanians as the control group for Estonians. However, it should be noted that this approach assumes strong similarities between these countries in order to obtain reliable estimates.

The findings of this paper raise the possibility that the reduction in EPL alone may not have been sufficient for achieving a better reallocation of labour and this is important to consider in the context of further developments in other labour market institutions.

The new programming period of 2021–2027 of the European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy requires reconsidering the policy measures. In the new period, the European Commission is to allow each member state (MS) developing eco-schemes to support and/or incentivise farmers to observe agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment beyond their mandatory requirements. The purpose of this paper is to compare the performance of organic and conventional family farms.

Organic farming under the organic farming measure of the Rural Development Programme is one of the most widely applied sustainable farming practices in the EU as well as in Lithuania. By assessing the ex post economic impact of the organic farming measure on farm performance indicators, the authors seek to reveal possibilities and obstacles for the implementation of sustainable farming practices. A counterfactual ex post impact assessment method – propensity score matching (PSM) analysis – was used to evaluate ex post economic impact of the organic farming measure on the performance of farming indicators.

The application of the PSM allowed assessing both the effectiveness of the implemented measure and possibilities for applying this measure in the future. The research has revealed that organic farming is less profitable and the gap between farm income in organic and conventional farms has increased during the period of 2007–2013.

The most comprehensive economic information about the farm activities from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) was used for the ex post economic impact evaluation of the organic farming measure in Lithuania. The matched groups of Lithuanian family farms (organic and conventional) were compared. The results of the research provide a new knowledge about the effectiveness of the organic farming measure in Lithuania and suggest the ways of their improvement in the future. The results can also be generalised to other countries with similar agricultural structure.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the culture dimensions of young Latvians and Lithuanians in accordance with Geert Hofstede's indices. These culture characteristics are discussed from the perspective of their similarity with Estonia and the Scandinavian countries.

The research is part of the Hofstede national culture studies. The survey is based on more than 800 questionnaires, which were handed out to students in Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden. The Swedish scores were used to calibrate the Lithuanian and Latvian values to the existing Hofstede database.

The study shows that respondents of both countries score very similar for all five dimensions of the Hofstede model: power distance moderate low, moderate for uncertainty avoidance, very low for masculinity, individualism moderate‐high, and very low in long‐term orientation.

The empirical research was limited to participants who classified themselves as belonging to the dominating ethnic class. Ethnical minorities were excluded – however they might have a considerable influence in daily business life. A second weakness might be that the students sample represents the values of young Lithuanians and Latvians – the future society of the countries. An examination of the majority of population who grew up with communist ideology might have shown different results.

The results of the study have shown that the three Baltic countries score pretty uniformly and much more similar to Scandinavia than Russia and/or Poland. International business actors should therefore include the Baltics in their Nordic strategy – rather than adding them to central and eastern Europe.

The main value of this study is that the Hofstede methodology was for the first time applied for Latvia. The results for Latvia and Lithuania were meanwhile reviewed by Prof. Hofstede and included into his database.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of knowledge management (KM) in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lithuania by looking at information and knowledge resources, the development of information technology (IT) which supports the business process and the main processes of KM inside companies.

Questionnaires and some interviews within Lithuanian SMEs helped reveal what the present situation is in terms of KM processes and the use of IT.

There appears to be a strong awareness of KM already. However, the development of adequate methods to make information management (IM) and KM fully effective appears to be lacking or only partially realized. There is some evidence to suggest that Lithuanian SME managers are becoming more psychologically prepared to work within KM but there is much less evidence to show that this is leading to effective innovation in practice at present.

There is great interest in the smaller emergent European economies in particular, and in SMEs in general. Lithuania inherited a stronger asset base than some ex‐Soviet republics and is positioning itself amongst the Baltic economies. With few natural resources, “knowledge” is a key area for growth, but SMEs and other sectors still need to engage strongly in development. SMEs have yet to drive the economy forward.

The purpose of this paper is to present a methodological framework and practical application of the sustainable development assessment in Lithuania.

The assessment was performed by deriving composite economic, social and environmental indexes and combining them into the integrated sustainable development index. Each composite index aggregates number of selected indicators, which were essential for the assessment of the country's development during the last decade. Having in mind that sustainable development is the development in consistency, the authors have used equal weights for calculation of economic, social and environmental indexes.

The composite indexes indicate rapid economical growth and environmental state; however, social development was comparatively slow. The economical decline in 2008 has influenced also environmental and social development and revealed new trends of sustainable development in Lithuania. The analysis results demonstrate that goals brought forward in the Strategy for Sustainable Development of Lithuania were not achieved.

The paper provides a methodology of integrated sustainable development index and its application for the Lithuanian case. The greatest advantage of a proposed calculation methodology is its flexibility, because it can be applied for any period of sustainable development evaluation, with a possibility to select a desired number of sustainability aspects that reflect an evolution of a country the best.

This chapter aims to advance the debate on enterprise risk management (ERM) frameworks within different contexts. We discuss the economic, business and regulatory environments that set the framework for company risk management practices in Lithuania while contrasting ERM features at the company level. ERM practices are examined using two company cases – a private business company and a state-owned enterprise (SOE), and evidence is based on interviews with their management, as well as their documentation. The findings indicate the co-existence of a functional vs systematic approach to risk management. Moreover, evidence supports the notion of the shifting of risk management from a functional risk management approach to a systematic approach within risk portfolio management. We assume that risk management is a conceptualized subject of management and research, with a rather weak connection with enterprise goals and operations.

Every citizen can be financially and economically active in certain circumstances if he or she has competencies, such as financial literacy. Current academic research suggests that financial literacy may be more important than income level and professional qualifications, as the decisive factor in the future will not be the amount of financial resources available to a person but the ability to manage them effectively and achieve their goals. Financial literacy competencies help different social groups to achieve private financial stability, acquire skills such as private financial planning, savings (including the third pillar of pensions), and their diversification, private capital multiplication, and openness to new business initiatives. The study aims to find out how financial literacy has developed in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Particular attention is paid to factors influencing the level of financial literacy. Research methods used are analysis of scientific publications and previously conducted research, analysis of surveys’ data on financial literacy and their factors, comparative time-scale analysis using regression trendline calculations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The research results proved the impact and interconnection of main financial inclusion aspects such as account ownership, use of the Internet, availability of ATMs, and bank offices on financial literacy level. The main factor influencing the demand side of financial services is numeracy knowledge; a strong correlation has been found between PISA mathematics average scores for countries and their literacy level. The analyzed savings factor (voluntary savings for pension, life insurance, and investments in mutual funds) showed a heterogeneous situation – the ranks of countries differed from the financial literacy levels. It draws the attention of government policy-makers to attract citizens to these long-term investment and social security products by strengthening the supply side of the financial services.