146 10 3494 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/ec302add4cba457154ef4c3106824a73.pdf 4d1f5a815ba73aa25528d7e8402fd74e PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Destination Marketing Organizations’ Social Medıa Usage: A Resarch on Balkan Countries Murat Bayram Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey mbayram@pau.edu.tr Semih Arıcı Yalova University, Yalova, Turkey semiharici@yalova.edu.tr Social media has fundamentally reshaped the way tourism related information is distributed and the way people plan for and consume travel. Since social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and TripAdvisor began allowing businesses to create profiles and become active members, businesses have started incorporating these strategies into their marketing efforts. For Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) have used these sites to promote special offers, for customer service and strengthen their existing brands; however, little is known about how DMOs are taking advantage of the social media marketing popularity. The aim of this study is to explore the usage of social media among the DMOs of Balkan countries through a content analysis of Balkan countries’ official web site profiles. Also this study examines how social media is being used by the DMOs to enhance their brands and to reach potential visitors. This study confirms the growing importance of social media in the online tourism domain and mostly DMOs use only Facebook and Twitter as a social media tools. Solely having a profile will not in itself increase awareness. DMOs should use more social networking sites to communicate with their consumers and give them the ability to broadcast opinions about services. Keywords: Social Media Marketing, DMOs, Balkans. 212 � https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/7a45d640a158e0fab9b1168bcb80563e.docx 3895fbc63a7ccbf183b7174f1feb2c77 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/d34bc3fcd5dd0e967143746a7816df21.pdf 8587124f58dcd5c46a572091b202a88e PDF Text Text International Conference on EconomicandSocialStudies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Destination Marketing Organizations’ Social Media Usage: A Research on Balkan Countries Murat Bayram Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey mbayram@pau.edu.tr SemihArıcı Yalova University, Yalova, Turkey semiharici@yalova.edu.tr Abstract Social media has fundamentally reshaped the way tourism related information is distributed and the way people plan for and consume travel. Since social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Trip Advisor began allowing businesses to create profiles and become active members, businesses have started incorporating these strategies into their marketing efforts. For Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) have used these sites to promote special offers, for customer service and strengthen their existing brands; however, little is known about how DMOs are taking advantage of the social media marketing popularity. The aim of this study is to explore the usage of social media among the DMOs of Balkan countries through a content analysis of Balkan countries’ official web site profiles,. Also this study examines how social media is being used by the DMOs to enhance their brands and to reach potential visitf1ors. This study confirms the growing importance of social media in the online tourism domain and mostly DMOs use only Facebook and Twitter as a social media tools. Solely having a profile will not in itself increase awareness. DMOs should use more social networking sites to communicate with their consumers and give them the ability to broadcast opinions about services. Key words: Social Media Marketing, DMOs, Balkans Introduction Social media has reshaped the way tourism related information is distributed and the way people plan for and consume travel (Buhalis& Law, 2008). Social Media is a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Social media exist in a variety of forms and serve numerous purposes. This includes a variety of applications in the technical sense which allow consumers to ‘‘post’’, ‘‘tag’’, ‘‘digg’’, or ‘‘blog’’, and so forth, on the Internet (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010). Social media are changing the way society consumes and contributes to the creation of information. Technology now allows individuals to easily contribute their thoughts, opinions and creations to the Internet (Hays, Page and Buhalis, 2012) Social media is one of the fastest growing segments on the web, and it includes social sharing of opinions through blogs and micro blogs (i.e. Blogger and Twitter), social photo and video sharing (i.e. Flickr and YouTube), social sharing of knowledge (i.e. Wikipedia), social bookmarking (i.e. Delicious) and many other forms of user-generated content. These 1 �International Conference on EconomicandSocialStudies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo social media tools allow users to search, organize, share, annotate and contribute to contents in a collaborative way. It is of vital importance that tourism organization managers and destination policy makers understand the antecedents of the tourists’ use and adoption of social media before, during and after their trips due to the impact of these collaborative behaviors on tourists’ decisions about the choice of all the elements of the trip (destination, accommodation, activities, restaurants) (Parra-López et al., 2011). Social media websites, facilitate consumer-generated content, and are widely used by online travellers’ (Gretzel, 2006). According to Forrester (2009), 86 percent of marketers surveyed believed social media was the most popular emerging channel and would increase more than any other marketing tool over the next three years. Further supporting that claim, the research company predicts that social media will generate $935 million in 2010, and by 2014, that number will soar to over $3.1 billion.Recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising, according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 countries. Ninety percent of consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trusted consumer opinions posted online (Nielsen, 2009). Social media is becoming the primary medium by which travel information is shared (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010). Hence travellers engage in social media to satisfy any number of needs – from functional, social, hedonic, to psychological – it stands to reason that DMOs must be prepared to engage travellers (Parra-Lopez et al., 2011). Common social media applications include Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, and Youtube. There are key social media networks that DMO need to consider as they could help DMO Successfully market their business online and distinguish them from their competitors. Some of the powerful social media sites have been provided below (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Powerful Social Media Networks Name Facebook Twitter Google + YouTube TripAdvisor Blogging Flickr Pinterest Medium Mixed (text, images, video etc) www.facebook.com 140 character text & images www.twitter.com Mixed (text, images, video etc) plus.google.com Videos www.youtube.com Text reviews &rlated images www.tripadvisor.com Mixed (text, images, video etc) Images www.flickr.com Images Audience 1 billion + worldwide. Not restricted to clients or connections 500 million + worldwide. Not restricted to clients or connections 250 million + worldwide. Not restricted to clients or connections Required Account Type Business page 800 million +each month. Not restricted to clients or connections 60 million +monthly Visitors worldwide Standard account with business profile Any internet user 6 billion + images worldwide Not restricted to clients or connections 100 million visits in February 2012 Standard account Standard account Standard business account Can upgrade to paid account if preferred Part of your website or via a platform such as Blogger or Word Press Standard account Standard account www.pinterest.com Source:http://www.atdw.com.au/media/1514/Tutorial_40__Social_Media_For_Tourism.pdf 2 �International Conference on EconomicandSocialStudies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo (DMOs) use many different approaches for promoting their areas. With the growing popularity of the Internet, it is important for DMOs to understand the travel behaviors of Web site users (Siu-ian and Alastair, 2003). The integration of information technologies into the organizational fabric of the DMO is an important key to success (Gretzel, Yuan and Fesenmaier,2000). Destination marketing practices are greatly influenced by advances in information technology due to the fragmented and information intensive nature of destination products (Buhalis, 1998). The most significant trend is the accelerating speed of technological development. The consequence of this rapid change is the emergence of innovative Web-based technologies that lead to a reconfiguration of the environment in which tourism business is conducted. Understanding these changes is crucial for creating a vision in the tourism organization that things are going to evolve (Gretzel, Yuan and Fesenmaier,2000). Beside this, the effective use of Web-based marketing activities is pivotal not only for marketing and promoting destinations but also for creating a competitive advantage for them (Buhalis, 2000). People who use social media do so not only to find pertinent information, but also as a means of socializing with others and for enjoyment purposes. One of the benefits of social media from the supplier side is that DMOs can collaborate and streamline their information, adding value for consumers, while building their brand through direct interaction with the consumer, and immediate response to consumer queries and concerns. Consumers, on the other hand, benefit by receiving what they perceive as more authentic information based on the experience of other travellers, and can design their trips to reflect more closely what they are looking for by interacting with both experienced travellers and residents of a destination (Lange-Faria and Eliot, 2012). The social media tools offer travel reviews and discussion forums and facilitates tourists’ decision-making process. Consequently, internet and social media sites are getting more important for marketing of tourism destinations and organizations. Thus, the aim of this study is seeks to understand the usage of social media among the national marketing organizations of Balkan tourism countries. Methodology The Balkans, often referred to as the Balkan Peninsula, and recently also as "Southeast Europe", although none of the three exactly share borders, is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria and Serbia. The term "Balkan" is generally believed to come from Turkish balkan, meaning "a chain of wooded mountains. “The name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Mountains and the Balkan Province of Turkmenistan. The Balkans comprise the following territories; Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and Slovenia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans). Although there are many prior studies on tourism website analysis, only a few of them focused on social media tools on web site of DMOs. In the present study, information was gathered from official web sites of national DMOs which are in Balkans. The reason of choosing Balkan countries is prior studies on some Balkan countries’ tourism websites were only attempted by a few researchers. This research makes an attempt to establish a checklist of social media sites for assessing DMOs website. Each homepage was reviewed and recorded first, and then each social media sites’ link on the homepage was clicked to review and the information was recorded. In order to keep the items current, the list was revised based on careful observations of Balkan DMOs’ websites at different levels by the research team. To understand the usage of social media of Balkan DMOs’ websites, this study includes all 3 �International Conference on EconomicandSocialStudies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo their websites. Addresses of the DMOs’ websites were obtained through several searches of the İnternet using keyword searches including the names of each country (e.g. Croatia or Albania official tourism board etc.). Twelve DMOs websites were selected for all countries in Balkans. The evaluators were requested to evaluate DMO websites based on a rating scale. The scale used in this research included exists (1) and absent (0). Websites has been visited once, between 10 – 16 April 2013, as for their dynamic structure. Findings This research assesses the usage of social media tools of Balkan countries DMOs’ websites. The objective of the research is achieved by content analysis of all twelve official country tourism websites regarding the selected social media sites. Table 1. Official DMOs Web Sites of Balkan Countries No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Countries Official Web Site www.albaniantourism.com www.bhtourism.ba www.bulgariatravel.org www.croatia.hr www.visitgreece.gr www.visitkosovo.org www.exploringmacedonia.com www.montenegro.travel/en www.romaniatourism.com www.serbia.travel www.slovenia.info www.goturkey.com Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Greece Kosovo Macedonia Montenegro Romania Serbia Slovenia Turkey Balkan countries DMOs’ web sites are presented in Table 1. According to Table 1, all of twelve countries have an official national web site. The majority of DMOs are already at abeginning stage in their use of the social media for customer relationship management and marketing. Based on the detailed evaluation of DMOs web sites, the key research findings are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Social Media Sites Usage of DMOs Social Media Sites Facebook Twitter Youtube / Vimeo Pinterest Foursquare Google + Tripadvisor Instagram Flickr Blog Exists Absent F % f % F % 9 9 8 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 75 75 67 25 25 25 25 17 17 8 3 3 4 9 9 9 9 10 10 11 25 25 33 75 75 75 75 83 83 92 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 4 Total �International Conference on EconomicandSocialStudies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Table 2 shows a breakdown usage of social media sites. Accordingly, DMOs represent themselves by creating a profile in social networks, mainly 75 % (9) on Facebook and 75 % (9) Twitter and then in the order of YouTube (67 %). In connection with this it is seen that DMOs prefer using Facebook and twitter mostly. Three of DMOs used Pinterst, Foursquare and Google Plus of the all social media applications. Only two of DMOs used Instagram and Flickr as photo sharing networks. However, Volo (2010) stated that blogs are frequently shared with friends and family and do influence how a travel destination is perceived, the social media sites ranged from the highest score of 9 in Facebook usage to the lowest score of 1 in blog usage. Only one of the DMOs studied were using a blog- Greece. The majority of the DMOs used their websites mainly for information-oriented features related to activities, accommodations and attractions, but offered limited social media activities through their websites. The social media linkage was the weakest. The results indicated that Balkan DMOs were making limited use of social media in their official web sites. While some countries are really good at promoting themselves with social media tool, others need some serious work. Table 3. Top Three Social Media Sites Usage of DMOs Countries Twitter Facebook Youtebe Followers Tweets Likes Talking About Subscribers Views Video A B C 21.799 * 301 14.909 745 78.642 6.042 16.045 698 3.094 634 4.284.231 376.314 125 525 D E 6.411 1768 1.443 535 813.744 113 29.282 5 1.491 - 1.315.536 - 74 - F - - - - - - - G H 527 6.611 95 146 1475 - 44 - 25 234 0 92.874 6 12 I J 875 6.003 319 6.917 2.186 33.081 49 2.756 734 521 166.463 52.206 44 25 K 260 211 3.947 2.088 - - - L - - - - - - - As can be seen, Table 3 shows breakdown of top three social media sites usage of Balkan countries national DMOs’ web sites. Beside this Table 3 summarizes the statistics of DMOs’ tweets, likes and views. One measure of a Twitter user’s effectiveness is the number of followers it has attracted. DMOs have followers between 260 and 21.799. When considering Facebook usage of DMOs, it can be seen that they have likes between 113 and 813.744. DMOs have average 6 and 525 videos on YouTube. The results indicated that national DMOs have made little progress in their adoption of social media applications and technologies. Conclusion On a global scale, social media use is growing, and the challenge is for destination marketing organizations to effectively choose not only which applications to use, but also 5 �International Conference on EconomicandSocialStudies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo to identify what consumers want from their sites and what elements to include in the site that will most effectively influence the traveller decision making process, socially, virtually, and authentically (Lange-Faria and Eliot, 2012). The main conclusion of this paper is that the official web sites of Balcan countries DMOs have been slow to respond to the social media marketing opportunities. DMOs use only a few common social media tools at the basic, experimental level. This research shows a high level of awareness concerning the customer engagement potential of social media. However, major barriers to social media adoption exist, especially in effective usage. The results supported the argument and suggested that DMOs should pay more attention to the quality of their social media marketing features. Thus, it is vital for DMOs to move to more sophisticated level of social media use to provide a deeper engagement in their websites to satisfy exist and potential visitors. This study should be of interest to researchers as well as industry professionals by applying social media tools to DMOs’ websites. The findings of the research enable managers of DMOs to understand how effective their websites from the social media usage perspective. Also the results will assist DMOs managers in assessing their website performance so that they have useful information to facilitate continuous improvement. While this study has provided important results, some of the limitations for future research are stressed. The important limitation of this study is limited to only Balkan countries. Also, data can be collected and analyzed over different time periods to understand the changing patterns of usage of social media marketing activities. However, in spite of these limitations, we hope that the present study has provided an interesting way of understanding the social media approach of DMOs. References Balkans, (2013). Retrieved May 1, 2013, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans. Buhalis, D. (2000). Marketing the competitive destination of the future. Tourism Management, 21(1), 97−116. Buhalis, D. (1998). Strategic use of information technologies in the tourism industry. Tourism Management, 19(5), 409–421. Buhalis, D. & Law, R. (2008). Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the internet: The state of e Tourism research. Tourism Management, 29(4), 609−623 Forrester Research, Inc. (2009). US Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2009 To 2014. http://www.forrester.com/US+Interactive+Marketing+Forecast+2009+To+2014/ful ltext/-/E-RES47730?docid=47730 Gretzel, U. (2006). Consumer generated content – trends and implications for branding. Ereview of Tourism Research, 4(3), 9–11. Gretzel, U., Yuan, Y. L., &Fesenmaier, D. R. (2000). Preparing for the new economy: advertising strategies and change in destination marketing organizations. Journal of travel Research, 39(2), 146-156. 6 �International Conference on EconomicandSocialStudies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Hays, S., Page, S. J., &Buhalis, D. (2012). Social media as a destination marketing tool: its use by national tourism organisations. Current Issues in Tourism, , 1-29. Kaplan, A.M., &Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53, 59–68. Lange-Faria, W & Eliot, S. (2012). Understanding The Role of Social Media in Destination Marketing. Tourismos: an International Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism. 7(1), 193-211. Nielsen Company (2009). Global Advertising: Consumers Trust Real Friends and Virtual Strangers the Most. http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/newswire/uploads/2009/07/pr _global-study_07709.pdf Parra-López, E., Bulchand-Gidumal, J., Gutiérrez-Taño, D., &Díaz-Armas, R. (2011). Intentions to use social media in organizing and taking vacation trips. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(2), 640-654. Siu-Ian, A. S., & Alastair, M. M. (2003). Destination Marketing Organizations Web Site Users and Nonusers: A Comparison of Actual Visits and Revisit Intentions. Information Technology & Tourism, 6(2), 129-139. Social Media For Tourism. (2013). Retrieved http://www.atdw.com.au/media/1514/Tutorial_40__Social_Media_For_Tourism.pdf May 1, 2013, from Volo, S. (2010). Bloggers’ reported tourist experiences: Their utility as a tourism data source and their effect on prospective tourists. Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 16, No.4, pp.297-311. Xiang, Z., &Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of social media in online travel information search. Tourism management, 31(2), 179-188. 7 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1596 Title A name given to the resource Destination Marketing Organizations’ Social Medıa Usage: A Resarch on Balkan Countries Author Author BAYRAM, Murat ARICI, Semih Abstract A summary of the resource. Social media has fundamentally reshaped the way tourism related information is distributed and the way people plan for and consume travel. Since social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and TripAdvisor began allowing businesses to create profiles and become active members, businesses have started incorporating these strategies into their marketing efforts. For Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) have used these sites to promote special offers, for customer service and strengthen their existing brands; however, little is known about how DMOs are taking advantage of the social media marketing popularity. The aim of this study is to explore the usage of social media among the DMOs of Balkan countries through a content analysis of Balkan countries’ official web site profiles. Also this study examines how social media is being used by the DMOs to enhance their brands and to reach potential visitors. This study confirms the growing importance of social media in the online tourism domain and mostly DMOs use only Facebook and Twitter as a social media tools. Solely having a profile will not in itself increase awareness. DMOs should use more social networking sites to communicate with their consumers and give them the ability to broadcast opinions about services. Keywords: Social Media Marketing, DMOs, Balkans. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 978-9958-834-23-3 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/c13cc4bbb0367ec94fdbcc07bf4bf904.pdf dc0d9eb1e30479e662289752dea6e065 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Knowledge Management Processes in Thermal Hotels: An Application in Afyonkarahisar Province, Turkey Ahmet Baytok Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyon, Turkey ahmetbaytok@aku.edu.tr Hasan Hüseyin Soybalı Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyon, Turkey hsoybali@aku.edu.tr Özcan Zorlu Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyon, Turkey ozcanzorlu@aku.edu.tr As a result of globalization and intensive competition, knowledge and knowledge management has become the main factor that determine the market value of the enterprises or organizations. With its increasing importance knowledge has become an important component in creating competitive advantage and business capital has begun to be distinguished as physical capital and intellectual capital. As a basic resource of intellectual capital, organizations have to effectively and systematically manage this knowledge in order to survive and create sustainable competitive advantage in long term. In simple terms, knowledge management refers to creation, adaptation, dissemination and usage of required knowledge within organization and among organisations through a well-planned process. Hence, knowledge management express a certain process and this process consists of certain steps such as acquiring, creating, documenting, disseminating, sharing and use of knowledge. Especially in 1990s, with the increasing attention to knowledge management (processes), it has become one of the most debated management concepts and numerous studies conducted in the scope of this emerging concept. Contrary to its popularity in business management literature, it’s seen that number of studies on knowledge management (processes) in hospitality industry is very limited. Thus, knowledge management is a relatively new concept for hospitality management literature and much more detailed studies need to be conducted in order 13 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo to understand the knowledge management and knowledge management processes in hospitality industry. In this context, this study aims to draw attention to knowledge management in hotels by evaluating knowledge management processes in thermal hotels. Within the scope of research the knowledge management processes applied in thermal hotels has been determined through conducting questionnaire surveys. Percentage and frequency tables are used to present participants’ demographic characteristics and learn participants’ views about knowledge management processes. Finally, discriminant analysis determines differences between participants’ views based on their demographic characteristics. Keywords: Knowledge, Management, Thermal Hotel, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey 14 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1461 Title A name given to the resource Knowledge Management Processes in Thermal Hotels: An Application in Afyonkarahisar Province, Turkey Author Author BAYTOK, Ahmet SOYBALI, Hasan Hüseyin ZORLU, Özcan Abstract A summary of the resource. As a result of globalization and intensive competition, knowledge and knowledge management has become the main factor that determine the market value of the enterprises or organizations. With its increasing importance knowledge has become an important component in creating competitive advantage and business capital has begun to be distinguished as physical capital and intellectual capital. As a basic resource of intellectual capital, organizations have to effectively and systematically manage this knowledge in order to survive and create sustainable competitive advantage in long term. In simple terms, knowledge management refers to creation, adaptation, dissemination and usage of required knowledge within organization and among organisations through a well-planned process. Hence, knowledge management express a certain process and this process consists of certain steps such as acquiring, creating, documenting, disseminating, sharing and use of knowledge. Especially in 1990s, with the increasing attention to knowledge management (processes), it has become one of the most debated management concepts and numerous studies conducted in the scope of this emerging concept. Contrary to its popularity in business management literature, it’s seen that number of studies on knowledge management (processes) in hospitality industry is very limited. Thus, knowledge management is a relatively new concept for hospitality management literature and much more detailed studies need to be conducted in order to understand the knowledge management and knowledge management processes in hospitality industry. In this context, this study aims to draw attention to knowledge management in hotels by evaluating knowledge management processes in thermal hotels. Within the scope of research the knowledge management processes applied in thermal hotels has been determined through conducting questionnaire surveys. Percentage and frequency tables are used to present participants’ demographic characteristics and learn participants’ views about knowledge management processes. Finally, discriminant analysis determines differences between participants’ views based on their demographic characteristics. Keywords: Knowledge, Management, Thermal Hotel, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/75693e49329e662bf4fa83e1e381ed74.pdf 46c0786a4a71556e3b6920b5dee974f0 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Key drivers for customer engagement on Facebook brand fan pages in Bosnia and Herzegovina Merima Bejtagic-Makic International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina merima.bejtagic@hotmail.com Facebook brand pages is a popular marketing tool and currently it is being integrated as one of the main components in the brand's marketing strategy and campaign to reach out to customers and fans. In order to have a successful social media marketing campaign, it is important to understand the behavior of customers on the brand pages and what motivates them to engage on a Facebook Brand Page which eventually should lead to purchase of the brand's products or services. It is recognized that members of Facebook Brand Pages tend to exhibit favorable brandrelated engagement and buying intentions. The purpose of this research is to examine the motivation that influences customer engagement on a Facebook brand page. The Motivations are classified according to entertainement, information, social integration, social identity, renumeration and empowerment motivations according to the User and Gratification theory. Afterwards, the relationship between user's attitudes is examined towards customer engagement on the Facebook brand pages. Customer engagement types are classified according to their level of engagement from the lowest level consumers, contributors and creators being the highest level of online brand activeness. Finally, the research will analyze how customer engagement influences buyers purchase intention of the brand's products or services. The Technology Acceptane Model (TAM) and User and gratification (U&G) model were combined in order to develop the model for this reseach. An online survey was prepared which was distributed to Facebook users online and a total of 750 surveys were collected of which 538 stated that they follow Facebook Brand pages and were therefore considered for the investigation. The relationship between the motivations, attitude, and customer engagement and buyers intention will be tested with regression analysis to test the model. Keywords: Motivation, U&G, Customer Engagement, Buying Intention, Facebook Brand Page, Attitude, Social Media Marketing. 200 � https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/c28161d9aadc97b380b6cf07357e13e1.docx 07856006717de8d99122049a56011140 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/a4d5243a00470001c3310c16978df2e8.pdf 04d27f79cd25409aa89160fc529a4408 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Key Motivational Drivers for Customer Engagement on Facebook Brand Fan Pages in Bosnia & Herzegovina Merima Bejtagic-Makic International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina merima.bejtagic@hotmail.com Teoman Duman International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina tduman@ibu.edu.ba Abstract Facebook brand pages have become a popular social media marketing tool. Currently, they are being integrated as one of the main components in any brand's marketing strategy and campaign to reach out to customers. In order to have a successful Facebook marketing campaign, it is important to understand the behavior of customers on the brand pages and what motivates them to engage on a Facebook Brand Page, which eventually should lead to purchase of the brand's products or services. The purpose of this research was to examine the motivation factors that influence customer engagement on a Facebook brand page. The motivations were classified into entertainment, information, social integration, social identity, remuneration and empowerment motivations according to the User and Gratification theories. An online survey was prepared which was distributed to Facebook users online and a total of 750 surveys were collected of which 538 use Facebook Brand pages and were considered for the survey. The relationship between the motivations, customer engagement and buyers intention were tested with regression analysis to test the model. Keywords: Motivation, Customer Engagement, Buying Intention, Facebook Brand Page Introduction 1 Facebook Brand Fan pages Social Networking Sites (SNS) is currently a big boom in online business especially for marketing purposes. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin are growing at a rapid pace and now connect millions of people who build relationships online. In addition to that, SNSs not only changed the way people interact but also the way customers interact with companies and brands. According to Wesson (2010), businesses through social networking sites are predicted to be the next large and disruptive phenomenon in business in terms of redefining the customer relationships. Although, there are many popular social networking sites, currently Facebook is the most widely used with over one billion monthly active users as of October 2012 and 552 million daily active users on average in June, 2012. According to (Socialbaker.com, 2013) social networking statistics, as of April 2013, B&H has 1,438,340Facebook users and grew by 1 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo more than 142,340 in the last 6 months. Facebook penetration in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 31.34% compared to the country's population and 73.56% in relation to number of Internet users. The largest age group is currently 18 - 24 with total of 453,600 users, followed by the users in the age of 25 - 34. There are 55% male users and 45% female users in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to alexa.com (2013), Facebook is the second most used website after Google in the world, however it is the first most used website in B&H. The remaining websites on the top 20 list have Facebook plugins or functions embedded in their sites. Facebook offers space for marketing managers to promote their brands through creating a page for a certain brand. This allows the companies to showcase their most important news on their page timeline, show their new products, post videos, images and audios related to the brand. In this way, they are able to influence fans' choices, rapidly distribute knowledge and perceptions regarding new products. The customer audience present on Facebook is powerful and more in control, they have shifted from being from passive to active users, since they are now able to share their experiences, ideas and opinions about the brands and companies in real time. Offline marketing such as print media and TV has decreased in effectiveness and business is increasingly turning into online advertising. Marketing professionals are beginning to use the opportunities that the Facebook is offering and therefore integrating it as one of the main components in their marketing strategy and campaigns to reach out to customers and fans. As a result of these social and technological changes, companies are increasingly seeking consumer engagement and participation with their brands and eventually transform them into actual buyers. 2 Purposes of the Research and Research Questions The current research has 4 main purposes for this paper given below: 1. Investigate the experience of the Bosnians with Facebook use. 2. Determine in what ways and levels do the Bosnian Facebook Brand fans engage in Facebook Brand Page. 3. Identify the main motivation factors that influence a Bosnian Fan to engage in a Facebook Brand Page. 4. Explore the relationship between customer engagement on a Facebook Brand Page and the purchase intention of the products and services of the brand. Literature Review 1 Motivation for Engagement on Facebook Brand Page using Uses and Gratifications Theory To understand the motives/ drivers behind customer engagement on a Facebook brand page, this research will be partially built upon the well-established Uses and Gratifications (U&G) model, originally developed and employed by communications researchers to understand people’s motivations for using different media (McQuail, 1987). Similar studies that have used U&G to understand user's motivations behind their use. Dholakia et al. (2004) studied motivations for virtual community participation and Muntinga, D. et al. (2011) studied motivations for web 2.0 technologies. The most cited and widely recognized U&G categorization is that of McQuail et al. (1983), who distinguish four gratification categories: entertainment, integration and social interaction, personal identity and information. Recent studies have discovered that in 2 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo addition to the common motivators for traditional media usage, remuneration and empowerment emerged as unique motivators specific to SNSs (McQuail, 2005). 1. Entertainment: The entertainment motivation are related to escaping or being diverted from problems or routine; emotional release or relief; relaxing; cultural or aesthetic enjoyment; passing time; and sexual arousal (Muntinga, D. et al, 2011). Entertainment has been mentioned by many social media U&G researchers as an overall motivation. 2. Integration and social interaction: The integration and social interaction motivation have more to do with other people who are also members of the community (Muntinga, D. et al, 2011). Social integration is concerned with identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging; connecting with friends, family and society; seeking emotional supports (McQuai, 1983, pp. 82–3). 3. Personal identity: The personal identity motivation is related to the self and addresses an individual's identity management. This includes gaining insight into one’s self; reinforcing personal values; self-expressions and identifying with and gaining recognition from friends (Muntinga, D. et al, 2011). 4. Information: Information motive is one where the user gets and shares information in the virtual community. According to McQuail (1983), it is finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world; seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices; satisfying curiosity and general interest; learning, self-education; gaining a sense of security through knowledge. 5. Remuneration: Remuneration as a motivation involves people engaging in social media use because they expect to gain some kind of future reward – be it economic incentives (e.g. coupons and promotions and job-related benefits (Muntinga, D. et al, 2011). 6. Empowerment: The final motivator distinct for social media is “empowerment” The empowerment motivation refers to people using social media to exert their influence or power on other people or companies (Muntinga, D. et al, 2011). 2 Customer Engagements Nowadays most SNS users do not just passively consume data that are served to them; instead they actively demand their preferred contents and interact, express, share and generate their own content about anything, including brands products and services leading to customer engagement. Mollen & Wilson (2009, p.923) define online customer engagement as “the cognitive and affective commitment to an active relationship with the brand as personified by website or other computer-mediated entities designed to communicate brand value. “ For the purpose of this research, (Muntinga, D. et al, 2011) Consumer Online Brand Related Activities (COBRA) typology will be used to facilitate identifying customer engagement motivations. Below, the three types will be discussed in relation to Facebook brand page community. 1. The consuming COBRA type represents the lowest level of a consumers' online brand-related activeness. In context of Facebook brand page, the user is still not even a follower of the brand fan page but only consumes posts of the page on their newsfeed through other connections, views brand-related video, listens to brandrelated audio, watched the brand related pictures that maybe their friends posted, reads comments and reviews of others in the group. 3 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo 2. The contributing COBRA type is the middle level of online brand-related activeness. In this case, the Facebook users becomes a fan of the brand page by „Liking“it. He/ she will post comments on the videos, images, audios or blogs posted by the company or other users; rating the products or posting experiences about the company and their products; post question related to the company topic or the fan page topic in general. 3. The creating COBRA type represents the highest level of online brand related activeness. In this case, Facebook brand fans, actively produce and publish brandrelated content that others consume and contribute to, it is known as User-generated Content (UGC). 3 Purchase Intention To complete the model, this research also explores the outcomes of the customer engagement in terms of their purchase intentions. Based on the research of Pöyry et al.(2013), this study also explores purchase intention for the same reasons because simply understanding motivations that effect customer engagement is not enough for the success of the brands and marketing practitioners are interested in the economic value of their marketing initiatives. it appears that engaging to the Facebook brand page may imply of the member’s affective commitment and loyalty to the brand. Such emotional ties have been found to have a positive effect on the intentions to purchase and use the hostcompany’s products (Bagozzi & Dholakia 2006). Methodology 1 Survey Design The survey was originally written in English language but as the target group of respondents was local citizens, the survey was translated into Bosnian language by the researcher which was then edited by an official translator. The survey developed for this research consisted of three sections. The first section of the survey was general experience questions about internet and Facebook use. The second and longest section of the survey has 3 main parts: 1. motivation, 2. engagement and 3.purchase intention. The respondents were able to evaluate statements using the “Likert Scale” from 1-5 where 1 represents (strongly disagree) and 5 represents (strongly agree) while 3 represent (neutral) for those who didn’t have any opinion about this. The third section of the survey contained demographic questions related to the respondents. In this part, age, nationality, employment, education level and monthly expenses level were identified about the respondents. 2 Sampling and Data Collection 3 The survey was conducted over a 2 week period on the Social Networking Site: Facebook. The researcher created a group dedicated for this survey explaining the objectives of the survey and welcoming everyone to answer the survey. A hyperlink to the survey was posted which was accompanied by a letter explaining the purpose of the survey. The users were asked to click on a hyperlink which immediately led to the online questionnaire which was developed in Google docs. A hyperlink to the survey was also sent by private message to all the fan pages in the top industry. Most of the pages refused such action as it is not part of their strategy, surprisingly some agreed and shared the survey on their pages 4 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo to all their fans. This might be the reason why most of the respondents chose the news/media and clothes/jewelry industries. This is the reason that the sampling technique used is snowball sampling in which an initial group of respondents is selected randomly. Research Results 1 Demographic analysis Table 4.1 presents demographic analysis of respondents. As shown in the table, the gender distribution of the respondents was biased towards female population representing (75.1%) while (23.6%) only represented the male population. The dominant age range of the respondents was between the 22- 26 years old (42.4%). In terms of level of education, more than half of the respondents (55%) had a bachelors’ degree. Concerning the employment of the respondents, it was revealed that most of the respondents (37% were still students) and (29.6%) are full time employees. Finally, regarding the monthly expenses of the respondents, approximately 40% stated that their monthly expenses range between 300-599 Bosnian Mark per month. Table: 4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents (N=538) Variable N % Gender Male Female Missing Total 127 404 7 538 23.6 75.1 1.3 100 Nationality Bosnia Other Missing Total 484 48 6 538 90 8.9 1.1 100 Education Elementary High school Bachelor Master PHD Missing Total 2 107 296 124 4 5 538 0.4 19.9 55 23 0.7 0.9 100 Variable Age 18-22 22-26 26-30 30-100 Missing Total Employment Fulltime Partime Not working Student Missing Total Montlhy expenses Less than 299 300-599 KM 600-899 KM 900-1199 Above 1200 KM Missing Total N % 127 228 91 61 31 538 23.6 42.4 16.9 11.3 5.8 100.0 159 55 119 200 5 538 29.6 10.2 22.1 37.2 0.9 100 149 166 85 55 63 20 538 27.7 30.9 15.8 10.2 11.7 3.7 100 2 Facebook Use Experience analysis Table 4.2represents findings of the experiences of respondents regarding internet and Facebook use. Approximately (46%) of the respondents stated that they use internet in the range of 1 to 3 hours per day while (76.3%) stated that they use Facebook for the same number of hours. Approximately (29%) of the respondents stated they use internet for education purposes and (28%) stated that they use internet for entertainment. Regarding the purpose for Facebook use, (26%) of the respondents in the sample stated that they use Facebook for Information purposes and for keeping in touch with family and friends. Most 5 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo of the respondents check their Facebook everday (86.8%), and more than half (52.2%) check their Facebook account less than five times a day. More than half of the respondents (53.5%) have their Facebook account before year 2008. Table: 4.2 Facebook Use Experience of the respondents(N=538) Variables Internet use per day 1 - 3 hours a day 4-6 hours a day N % Variables N % 410 97 76.3 18.1 248 211 46.1 39.3 Facebook use per day 1-3 hours per day 4-6 hours per day 79 14.7 more than 7 hours per day 31 5.8 Total 538 Internet Use mostly for 100 Total Facebook used mostly for 538 100 Work 85 15.8 Socialization 91 16.9 Education 155 28.8 Keeping in touch with friends and family 140 26.0 Entertainment 150 27.9 be updated with new information 140 26.0 Shopping Socialization Other Total 27 113 8 538 5.0 21.0 1.5 100 Following brands 33 6.1 Entertainment 38 7.1 Expressing oneself 16 3.0 Relaxing 70 13.0 Other 10 1.9 Total 538 100 Number of times respondents check their facebook per day less than 5 times 281 52.2 (6-10 times) 153 28.4 (11-15 times) 44 8.2 (16-20 times 20 3.7 21 and more 40 7.4 Total 538 100 Follow Brands on Facebook More than 7 hours a day Year of Facebook membership Before 2008 2009-2010 After 2011 Total 288 208 42 538 53.5 38.6 7.8 100 Check Facebook on weekly basis one day- six days a week everday 54 9.9 Yes 538 71.7 467 86.8 No 212 28.3 every day except for weekends 17 3.2 Total 750 100 Total 538 100 3 Mean Values Mean values used in this analysis shows respondents’ perception on importance of five searched economic sectors and their performance. According to Table 4.3 (below), where minimum value is 1 and maximum value is 5, in terms of Motivation Factors, 16 item scale was prepared based on the User and gratification theory based on 6 motivating factors respondents viewed Information as the most important with mean value of (3.89), Second 6 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo most important sector according to respondents is Remuneration with mean value of (3,56) followed by Entertainment (3,19), and Empowerment (2.85). Social Interactivity and personal identity arevalued as less important with mean value of (2.70) and (2.46) respectively. The mean for purchase intention is (2.88). Regarding the level of engagement, Respondents were asked to rate the items according to the frequency, (1) representing Never and (5) representing Always. The findings show the engagement level of Bosnians on Facebook scored mostly on the lowest level of engagement „Consumer“ followed by the second level „Contributor“ and the least scores received the highest level of engagement“ the creator“ type. Table 4.3 Descriptive for Motivation Factors, Customer Engagement and Purchase Intentions Motivation Factors N Min. Max. Mean Std. Dev. Information 515 1 5 3.89 .85 Renumeration 510 1 5 3.56 .91 Entertainment 515 1 5 3.19 .95 Empowerment Social integration and interactivity 505 507 1 1 5 5 2.85 2.70 1.02 .98 Personal Identity 507 1 5 2.46 1.00 Consumer COBRA type Contributor COBRA type 518 509 1 1 5 5 3.2 2.5 0.93 0.935 Creator COBRA type 508 1 5 1.9 0.9 Purchase Intention 521 1 5 2.88 1.00 Customer Engagement Types 4 Regression analysis In order to examine the relationships between the factors in the research model scale indexes were composed based on the general arithmetic means of scales items. A significant relationship is shown between the independent variable and dependent variable at less than α 0.5. The standardized beta values presented in the tables show the relative importance of the independent variables with depended variables. It is observed that the strongest relationships in variable which are affecting customer engagement are respectively personal identity (t=5.94), empowerment (t=4.33), entertainment (t=3.49), information (t=3.39), social integration and interactivity shows that there is no significant relationship for customer engagement (t=2.75). Finally, the relationship between customer engagement and purchase intention was examined. According to the results proved that customer engagement is significant factor which affects purchase intention of consumers with (.000 p-value. T=12.371). Park et al (2007) also found in their study that this relationship is positively related. 7 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Table 4.4 Multiple Regression Analysis related to customer engagement towards motivating factors Model Unstandardized Coefficients B 1 2 Standardize d Coefficients Std. Error .132 .033 .031 1.349 Sig. Beta (Constant) .335 Entertainment .115 Social .084 Integration &Interactivity Personal Identity .196 .033 Information .137 .040 Remuneration .037 .043 Empowerment .158 .036 Dependentvariable: Customer Engagement (Constant) t Tolera nce VIF .142 .107 2.537 3.489 2.746 .011 .001* .006* .677 .734 1.477 1.362 .256 .152 .043 .209 5.936 3.388 .864 4.334 .000* .001* .388 .000* .602 .557 .445 .482 1.662 1.795 2.250 2.073 .130 Customer .604 .049 engagement Dependent variable: Purchase Intention Collinearity Statistics .479 10.39 2 12.37 1 .000 .000 1.000 1.000 Discussion and Conclusion The purpose of this research was to determine which motivation factors mostly affect customer engagement on a Facebook Brand page and to explore the relationship between customer engagement on a Facebook Brand Page and their purchase intention of the products and services of the brand. The relationship between the motivation factors towards customer engagement was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. It was observed that 5 out of the 6 factors were confirmed to have a significant relationship. As observed, remuneration factor was highly important when descriptive analysis was performed however proved to have no significance on customer engagement when performed multiple regression analysis. This may due to the fact that people did not see these types of remuneration benefits in their fan pages but would like to see them more as they are influential to their engagement level. Although, this research has provided some useful implication, it also has several limitations that lead to suggestions for future research. Firstly, the implications are from a single study with samples in only in B&H; the results should not be generalized and may not apply to other countries and cultures. Second, this study employed a quantitative statistics research model and collected data by means of an online questionnaire; future studies should incorporate qualitative methods such as in-depth interview, focus group, or on-line participant observation which could help provide more in-depth analysis of motivations that lead to customer engagement. References Alexa - Top Sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2013. Alexa - Top Sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alexa.com [RETRIEVED] 21 March 2013 [from]:http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries;1/BA. 8 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Bagozzi, R. P & Dholakia U. M., (2006), “Antecedents and Purchase Consequences of Customer Participation in Small Group Brand Communities,” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 23, 1, 45–61. Bosnia and Herzegovina Facebook Statistics by Countries - Socialbakers. 2013. Bosnia, SocialBakers.com [RETRIEVED] 21 March 2013 [from] http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/bosnia-and-herzegovina. Dholakia, U. M., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2004). Motivational antecedents, constituents and consequents of virtual community identity. In S. Godar, & S. Pixie-Ferris (Eds.), Virtual and collaborative teams: Process, technologies, and practice (pp. 252– 267). London7 IDEA Group. McQuail, D. (1987). Mass communication theory: An introduction. (2nd ed.), London7 SAGE. McQuail, D. (1987). McQuail’s Mass communication theory. (5th ed.), London SAGE. Mollen A, Wilson H. (2010). Engagement, telepresence and interactivity in online consumer experience: reconciling scholastic and managerial perspectives. Journal of Business Research; 63:919–25. Muntinga, D. Moorman, M. & Smit E,(2011). Introducing COBRAs: Exploring motivations for brand-related social media use. International Journal of Advertising, 30(1), pp. 13–46 Park, N., Kee, K., & Valenzuela, S. (2009). Being immersed in social networking environment: Facebook groups, uses and gratifications, and social outcomes. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 12 (6), 729-733 Pöyry, E., et al. (2013) Can we get from liking to buying? Behavioral differences in hedonic and utilitarian Facebook usage. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications Wesson. Social Commerce – The Case for Redesigning the Shopping Experience! David Wesson’s Digital Culture – Blog, [RETRIEVED] 30 April 2013 [from] http://davidwesson.typepad.com/david_wessons_digital_cul/2010/11/socia l-commerce-strategythe-case-for-redesigning-the-shopping-experience-.html 9 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1623 Title A name given to the resource Key drivers for customer engagement on Facebook brand fan pages in Bosnia and Herzegovina Author Author BEJTAGIĆ-MAKIĆ, Merima Abstract A summary of the resource. Facebook brand pages is a popular marketing tool and currently it is being integrated as one of the main components in the brand's marketing strategy and campaign to reach out to customers and fans. In order to have a successful social media marketing campaign, it is important to understand the behavior of customers on the brand pages and what motivates them to engage on a Facebook Brand Page which eventually should lead to purchase of the brand's products or services. It is recognized that members of Facebook Brand Pages tend to exhibit favorable brandrelated engagement and buying intentions. The purpose of this research is to examine the motivation that influences customer engagement on a Facebook brand page. The Motivations are classified according to entertainement, information, social integration, social identity, renumeration and empowerment motivations according to the User and Gratification theory. Afterwards, the relationship between user's attitudes is examined towards customer engagement on the Facebook brand pages. Customer engagement types are classified according to their level of engagement from the lowest level consumers, contributors and creators being the highest level of online brand activeness. Finally, the research will analyze how customer engagement influences buyers purchase intention of the brand's products or services. The Technology Acceptane Model (TAM) and User and gratification (U&G) model were combined in order to develop the model for this reseach. An online survey was prepared which was distributed to Facebook users online and a total of 750 surveys were collected of which 538 stated that they follow Facebook Brand pages and were therefore considered for the investigation. The relationship between the motivations, attitude, and customer engagement and buyers intention will be tested with regression analysis to test the model. Keywords: Motivation, U&G, Customer Engagement, Buying Intention, Facebook Brand Page, Attitude, Social Media Marketing. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 978-9958-834-23-3 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/c8d6caeb6db5d2be417bde1f04f6062b.pdf 27ce9e2e138625a278a7ccc366bb3772 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Strategies for Curbing Unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Lessons from Ireland and Netherlands Azra Bičo International University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina azrabico@hotmail.com Narela Bajram International University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina narela7@yahoo.com Over the past three decades European countries have been coping with problems of high unemployment, and they need rigid labor market improvements. Countries tried to find strategies to decrease unemployment by using different methods, such as wage moderation, income tax cuts, tightening of unemployment benefits, reduction in barriers to part time work, and education programs. This paper examines methods which have been proven to be successful in Ireland and Netherlands. By looking at its implications it tries to give strategic solutions to countries as Bosnia and Herzegovina, since it is coping with the same problem. This paper analyzes problems of unemployment with special focus on the youth unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Keywords: Strategy, Curbing, Unemployment, Ireland, Netherland, Bosnia and Herzegovina 50 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1500 Title A name given to the resource Strategies for Curbing Unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Lessons from Ireland and Netherlands Author Author BIČO, Azra BAJRAM, Narela Abstract A summary of the resource. Over the past three decades European countries have been coping with problems of high unemployment, and they need rigid labor market improvements. Countries tried to find strategies to decrease unemployment by using different methods, such as wage moderation, income tax cuts, tightening of unemployment benefits, reduction in barriers to part time work, and education programs. This paper examines methods which have been proven to be successful in Ireland and Netherlands. By looking at its implications it tries to give strategic solutions to countries as Bosnia and Herzegovina, since it is coping with the same problem. This paper analyzes problems of unemployment with special focus on the youth unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Keywords: Strategy, Curbing, Unemployment, Ireland, Netherland, Bosnia and Herzegovina Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/f12aba0afea60f19ec57d77000c69f0b.pdf 37b2854819202f22f6710beeeb0d9db5 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Auditor Independence: The Case of Arthur Andersen and Enron Yiğit Bora Şenyiğit Zirve University, Gaziantep, Turkey bora.senyigit@zirve.edu.tr The financial statement audit is of vital importance to the stability, growth, and healthy development of financial markets. Investors, creditors, and other users of financial statements need reliable financial information. Auditor independence provides financial statement users confidence in audited financial statements. Arthur Andersen and Enron have been chosen as a case study to show how auditor independence influences the quality of information in audited financial statements. Enron, a leading energy commodities and service company in the United States of America, declared bankruptcy in 2001 after it announced it was reducing net income for current year and previous years due to accounting misstatements. Then its auditor, Arthur Andersen, failed in 2002. As of the end of May 2002, Enron’s financial statements were misleading, the effect of these shortcomings on the dramatic decrease in the price of Enron’s stock. Arthur Andersen as an auditor of Enron has an important role and responsibility for misleading numbers presented in Enron’s financial statements. Enron’s collapse is a significant event in the accountancy profession because its auditor, Arthur Andersen, was one of the big 5 audit firms. This scandal due to impairment of auditor independence and fraudulent financial reporting raises questions of the role of the auditors in alerting investors, employees, suppliers, customers and the public. The case study shows that there is a link between non-audit services and audit independence. Since fees generated by non-audit services greater than audit fees, providing non-audit services to audit clients violates auditor independence. The results of this study make suggestions about how auditor independence should be regulated by policy makers, governments and professional accounting bodies to ensure adequate regulation of the capital market. Keywords: Auditor Independence, Enron, Arthur Andersen, Non-Audit Services, Financial Statement Audit. 275 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1681 Title A name given to the resource Auditor Independence: The Case of Arthur Andersen and Enron Author Author BORA SENYIGIT, Yigit Abstract A summary of the resource. The financial statement audit is of vital importance to the stability, growth, and healthy development of financial markets. Investors, creditors, and other users of financial statements need reliable financial information. Auditor independence provides financial statement users confidence in audited financial statements. Arthur Andersen and Enron have been chosen as a case study to show how auditor independence influences the quality of information in audited financial statements. Enron, a leading energy commodities and service company in the United States of America, declared bankruptcy in 2001 after it announced it was reducing net income for current year and previous years due to accounting misstatements. Then its auditor, Arthur Andersen, failed in 2002. As of the end of May 2002, Enron’s financial statements were misleading, the effect of these shortcomings on the dramatic decrease in the price of Enron’s stock. Arthur Andersen as an auditor of Enron has an important role and responsibility for misleading numbers presented in Enron’s financial statements. Enron’s collapse is a significant event in the accountancy profession because its auditor, Arthur Andersen, was one of the big 5 audit firms. This scandal due to impairment of auditor independence and fraudulent financial reporting raises questions of the role of the auditors in alerting investors, employees, suppliers, customers and the public. The case study shows that there is a link between non-audit services and audit independence. Since fees generated by non-audit services greater than audit fees, providing non-audit services to audit clients violates auditor independence. The results of this study make suggestions about how auditor independence should be regulated by policy makers, governments and professional accounting bodies to ensure adequate regulation of the capital market. Keywords: Auditor Independence, Enron, Arthur Andersen, Non-Audit Services, Financial Statement Audit. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/f248e1c2ac714543b1049b08ebe3e786.pdf bb505260c8653f864973c16c2f77c66a PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Managers' Power Distance in Bosnia and Herzegovina Azra Brankovic International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina azrabrankovic@yahoo.com Power distance is a cultural dimension developed by Dutch scientist, Geert Hofstede and determines how different societies handle inequality. Inequality is a fact that exist in the family, school, organization and society. The Gini index shows that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a very unequal country, just behind the poor African countries such as Namibia, Botswana and Sierra Leone. Bosnia and Herzegovina is also the most unequal country in the region. The paper will present Gini index for selected countries and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper will explain characteristics of cultures with high and low power distance and present index of power distance for selected countries based on secondary research. Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to these dates, has a high index of power distance. The paper will try to explain the reasons for high power distance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inequality is present in organization in manager-subordinate relation. The power is concentrated in the hands of the boss and different opinions and critics can be dangerous. Not agreeing with the decisions of the chiefs, or public criticism or exposing irregularities can lead not only to problems in the work, but also to loss of job. Primary research has been done on the sample of 50 managers from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Managers participating in research belong to the different ethnic groups. Managers are genders, approximately half of managers included in the research are men and the other half is women. Managers have different jobs. Half of the targeted managers work as civil servants for the ministries, parliaments and government agencies. The other half of managers work for international organizations, business or business related to international clients. The purpose of this research is to determine if there is difference in power distance related to gender, ethnicity or job of managers. The purpose of the research is to determine if there is a difference in power distance between managers and average citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Date was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Keywords: Managers, Culture, Power Distance, Inequality, Bosnia And Herzegovina 51 � https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/c7a67723a8fd6ffd9fc51434425c8962.docx 1707ab013675c2acbf3a358e1e0e60e7 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/c662b3c6cbf6595e2466c5614bd38e6c.pdf 760e14e6e317336386e896577e3c6c57 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Managers' Power Distance in Bosnia and Herzegovina Azra Brankovic International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina azrabrankovic@yahoo.com Abstract Power distance is a cultural dimension developed by Dutch scientist, Geert Hofstede and it determines how different societies handle inequality. Inequality is a fact that exists in the family, school, organization and society. The Gini index shows that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a very unequal country, just behind the poor African countries such as Namibia, Botswana and Sierra Leone. Bosnia and Herzegovina is also the most unequal country in the region. The paper will present the Gini index for selected countries and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper will explain characteristics of cultures with high and low power distance and present the index of power distance for selected countries based on secondary research. Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to these dates, has a high index of power distance. The paper will try to explain the reasons for high power distance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inequality is present in organizations in manager-subordinate relation. The power is concentrated in the hands of the boss and different opinions and critics can be dangerous. Not agreeing with the decisions of the chiefs, or public criticism or exposing irregularities can lead not only to problems in the work, but also to loss of job. Primary research has been done on the sample of 51 managers from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Managers participating in research belong to the different ethnic groups. Managers are of different genders, approximately half of the managers included in the research are men and the other half is women. Managers have different jobs. Half of the targeted managers work as civil servants for the ministries, parliaments and government agencies. The other half of managers work for international organizations, international business or business related to international clients. The purpose of this research is to determine if there is difference in power distance related to gender, ethnicity or jobs of managers. The purpose of the research is to determine if there is a difference in power distance between managers and average citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Key words: Managers, Culture, Power Distance, Inequality, Bosnia And Herzegovina Introduction Power distance determines how different societies handle inequality.It is a cultural dimension developed by Dutch scientist, Geert Hofstede, who conducted a study in IBM subsidiaries in over 70 countries around the world between 1967 and 1973. He empirically 80 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo demonstrated the existence of differences in national cultures and the power of distance, as one of the cultural dimensions.1 Primary research has been done on the sample of 51 managers from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011 and 2012. The purpose of the primary research is to determine the degree of power distance of managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The purpose of the research is also to determine if there is a difference in power distance between managers and average citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The purpose of this research is also to determine if there is difference in power distance related to gender, ethnicity or jobs of managers. The survey was sent by e-mail, however due to the lack of responses, in many cases managers answered questions in direct interviews. Thus the managers had the opportunity to discuss questions and give their comments, explanations and objections. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) has been applied to analyze the surveys. Power distance as a measure of inequality Inequality exists in every society. “Globalwealthpyramidhas abroad baseanda very narrowandsharp peak. The richest1% of the population controls43% ofthe world's wealth, the richest10% has83% ofthe world's wealth. 50% at thebottom of the pyramidhas only2%. The richest10% controls theworld capital and they choose where toestablishnewjobs, whichpoliticians will be electedandto which charities money willbe given. “ 2 Different societies have different attitudes toward inequality. Some societies think that it is an acceptable and even good thing. Other societies think that inequality is an inevitable fact of life, however, it is a bad thing and should be minimized as much as possible. This attitude depends on national culture and the cultural dimension called power distance. Power distance is the measure to which members of the national culture approve and expect that power is distributed unequally in society. Thus, power distance indicates which degree of inequality between people can be tolerated in this society. Inequality is a very complex and interdisciplinary phenomenon, which is the focus of anthropologists, sociologists, historians, and those who deal with management and organization. The legal system states that all people are equal in front of the law. The UN resolution on human right declares that all people are born free and equal. However, inequality exists in all societies, institution and relations. Inequalityexistsin all institutions andsocial relations.Inequalityexists in thefamily, schools, organizations and countries.In the family,parentshavepower overchildren; teachershave power over students in the schools.Inequalityis reflected in theexistenceof differentsocial classesin society. In the organization, jobs thatrequirethe minimaleducationandthe 1 See Hofstede, G., Hofstede G.J., and Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind. 3rd edition. New York: McGraw Hill Companies, page 53-89 and Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions and Organizations across Nations. Thousand Oaks, Ca : Sage publications, Inc., page 79-137 2 See The Economist (2011). More millionaires than Australians, A special report on global leaders. January 22nd-28th, 2011, page 6-7 81 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo loweststatus,asunqualified workers,have a large power distance. Jobswith the greateststatus andeducational level,like managersandprofessionalworkers, havea small power distance. Power distance in the organization Inequality is present in the organization in manager-subordinate relation.In the countries with high powerdistance,inequalityis seenas the basisfor the functioning ofsocietyand organizations.There is a hierarchyin an organization thatreflectsinequalitybetweensubordinatesandsuperiors.The idealmanagerisan autocrat, who makes all decisions. Decision-making iscentralized; there is a highconcentrationof authority.Power isconcentrated inthe fewest possiblehands. Managersrely onformal rules. Subordinatesexpectto be toldwhattodo.The organizationalpyramidis high;there are manysuperiors anda lot of reporting oneachother.Access to informationisrestrictive. Managers are seen assuperiorpersonswhose decisionsmust be respectedwithout question. Subordinatesquickly learnthat it is dangerousto oppose thedecision of the manager and he/she neveropenlyopposes the decisions ofthe superior. There is noprotectionfrom superior’s harassment. Managersare seen asmorevaluablethanthesubordinates and it is normal for them to haveexpensive homes, cars,privileges andtodemonstrate it publicly. It is also considered normalthat managers use thepowerfor theirenrichment. The distribution of income is unequal. There is a high differenceinsalariesamongthose at the topandbottom of theorganizationalpyramid.The range isbiggerif thepowerdistanceis bigger. In countrieswith smalldistance,it is considered thatall people haveequal rights. There are nosignificant differencesbetween superiors and subordinates. Superiorsandsubordinatesare considered equal, the position in the hierarchyis unevenbecause ofthe job requirements,buttheroles maychange, if someone is the manager today,he/shemay not betomorrow. The organizationis decentralized, the organizationalpyramidis flat, and the number of supervisorsissmall.There is a lowconcentrationof authority. The decision making structure is decentralized. Information is shared. Differences insalariesbetween the top andbottom of the pyramidare small. Managers should not have any privileges because they have power in organization. Managers should not especially show that power. In countries with small power distance those whoarein higher positionsdo not havethe privileges, all use the samerestaurant, parking, and toilets. Employeeswill relatenegativelyto themanagerwhohas theexpensivecaror shows his/hers position in any otherway.Supervisorsare availableto subordinates. The idealmanageris ademocrat, whoconsultsthe subordinatesbeforemaking a final decision. If the employeebelieves thatthe manager violates his/hers rights, there are ways toappealthat are alreadyembeddedin theorganization. 82 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo A survey3 that was conductedamong managersinnineWestern European countries, the United States andthree Asiancountries(Indonesia, Japan and China) showsthe differences inpowerdistance. When asked whetherthe main reasonfor the existence ofa hierarchy is the needto knowwho has the authorityover whom, American managers haverespondednegatively.Americanmanagersbelieve ina flatorganizationwithout a lot ofhierarchical levels, where all behave ascolleaguesrather than assubordinates andsuperiors. Hierarchy for American managers exists only in order to organize the workand to solve the problem. UnlikeAmericans,83% ofIndonesia'smanagershaveagreedwith this statement. It is the most important for them toknow whoreports to whom. It is the most importantto determinewho willbe the managerand who willbe the subordinate; everything else comes later. Different cultureshave alsoshowndifferences in responseto the question whetherit is necessary tobypasshierarchical linesin order to achieveeffectiveworking relationship, and whether themanager mustknow theprecise answerto allthe questions thatemployees mayask.Swedishmanagersdid not seeanyprobleminbypasshierarchicallines.They believethat it is normalto referto the person whoknows the answerto the question, not his/hers manager,regardless ofhierarchy.Swedishmanagers do notbelievethat there is amanager whoknows everything. Therefore, they see bypassinghierarchical lines as natural,logical, and the only real wayfor employeesto worksuccessfullyintoday's world ofconstantchange.Similaranswerswere givenby the Americans. However, theIndonesians, the French and theItaliansbelieve thatbypassing thehierarchy isinsubordinationanda bad thingin an organization. They strongly believe that all the questions have to be addressedto the manager who hasall the answers. There are a lotof researches in theory of management andorganization that prove that small power distance leads thehigher efficiencyof the organization. Participationof workersin managementwas very popularin themanagementliteraturein the 1970’s. Manyresearchers have shownthat the participationof workersin the management isbeneficial from the economicpoint of view,and that thegreater participation ofworkersin managementis positively correlatedwith the growthof the gross domesticproduct. The ranks of countries in the world according to power distance index for selected countries are shown below. 4 3 See Adler, N. J. (2002). International Dimension of Organization Behavior. 4th edition. Cincinnati,OH: South Western Thomas Learning, page 48 -51. 4 See Hofstede, G., G.J.Hofstede, and M. Minkov, (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind, 3rd edition, McGraw Hill Companies, USA, page 57-59 83 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Table 1. Rank and power distance index for selected countries Country Index Rank (out of 76 countries) Malaysia 104 1-2 Guatemala 95 3-4 Russia 93 6 Arab countries 80 12-14 China 80 12-14 India 77 17-18 Turkey 66 32-33 Italy 51 50 Germany 35 65-67 Sweden 31 69-70 New Zealand 22 73 Denmark 18 74 Israel 13 75 Austria 11 76 Source: Hofstede, G., G.J.Hofstede, and M. Minkov. (2010). Small power distance countries are rich countries, as Scandinavian countries, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Power distance in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina has a high power distance. There is no power distance index value for Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, there is data for former Yugoslavia, which Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of in the time when this research was done. InHofstede's calculations, Yugoslavia was locatedveryhigh,at19th position with an index of 76,which meansthat YugoslaviaandBosnia and Herzegovina, aspart of it, belong to the countrieswhere thepowerdistance is quitehigh.5 Data onneighboring countries, Serbia, Croatiaand Slovenia, which was recalculatedbased onthe originalresearch,also suggeststhatall these countrieshave a highpower distance, which, based on the principleof correlation,can be claimedforBosnia and Herzegovina. Country Table 2. Power Distance Index Value for ex-Yugoslav countries6 Index Rank (out of 76 countries) Serbia 86 8 Croatia 73 20 Slovenia 71 21 Source: Hofstede, G., G.J.Hofstede, and M. Minkov (2010). 5 See Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions and Organizations across Nations. Thousand Oaks, Ca : Sage publications, Inc., page 500 6 See Hofstede, G., G.J.Hofstede, and M. Minkov, (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind, 3rd edition, McGraw Hill Companies, USA, page 57-59 84 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo It is easy to notice high power distance in Bosnia and Herzegovina in everyday life and media. Parents take care ofchildren, try toprotect themand make decisionsfor them.Childrenin turntake care oftheir parentsas long astheylive. Big part in the structureof the gross domesticproductof Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to remittances, which Diasporas send in order to helptheir parents.Remittancesamounted to11.9% of gross domesticproduct in the year 2004.7This informationapplies only toformalbankingtransfers;the amountisprobablyhigher due toinformalmethodsof transferringmoneythrough friends, relatives, etc. Obedience is afeaturethat parentsand teachersexpect from the children, managers from the subordinateand politiciansfrom citizens. Opposition orpubliccriticismis not desirable. Thismay not only causeinconvenience,but can have also more serious consequences, as the lossof jobs. In Bosniaand Herzegovina, as well asin all societieswith highpowerdistance, people who have the power have rights.It is normalfor those whoarein powerand for thecitizens. Everybody is equal before the law, but those who have the power,getthe case in the court. Or they canlegallypayto avoidjail.Newspapersreportedthe changesof the CriminalCode of the Federationof Bosnia and Herzegovina, which enteredinto force on 21July2010. Changes in the lawsallowthose who aresentenced toup to one yearto payandgain freedom. The priceis36,000marksa year. It is normal forpeople whohave power to make scandals, but it is always covered.Ifthings go wrong, the blame is on theone who isat the bottom. In thesecultures, the people who have powertry tokeep itat any cost.They usethis powertomaximize theirwealth. Taxesandsocial policies do not favorredistribution of incomeasin the Scandinavian countries, but they are designedsothat the richbecome richerand the poorpoorer.World Bank researchshows that4% of the gross domesticproduct is spent onsocial benefits in Bosniaand Herzegovina. It ismorethanany other countryin Europe and CentralAsia.However, theimpact of thesebenefitson poverty reductionisalmost nonexistent, becausethey are merit based instead of need based. Three-quartersof thesebenefitsgo topeople who have hadcreditin the last war, and the bearersof variousmedals.8 There are big differences inthe distribution of incomein Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are afewrich peopleand a lot ofpoor people. The Giniindexshowsthat Bosnia and Herzegovinais one of themostunequalcountries; it is immediately behindpoorAfrican countriessuch asNamibia, BotswanaandSierraLeone. 7 See Branković, A. (2005). Economic reality and vision ofBiH. Sarajevo: Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, page 3 8 World Bank (2009). Social safety nets and Employment support project in Bosnia and Hercegovina. Retrived 25.04.2013. URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/92676C6642CB2F5A492576D6001944AFFull_Report.pdf 85 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Table 3. List of the most unequal countries in the world9 Country Gini index Namibia 70.7 South Africa 65 Lesotho 63.2 Botswana 63 Sierra Leone 62.9 Bosnia and Herzegovina 56.2 United States of America 45 Russia 42.2 China 41.5 Source: world Bank and CIA The Giniindexshows thatthe mostunequalcountries in theworld arepoorAfrican countries. The United States, although it is a veryrich country is an unequal country.Russia, China andIndiaare alsounequalcountries.Bosnia and Herzegovinais a very unequalcountryanditis similar toAfrican countries. The most equal countries are Scandinavian countries and other rich European countries. Powerdistanceisrelated to thewealthof the country.Bosnia and Herzegovinais a poor country, and poorercountry means the bigger powerdistance.Bosnia and Herzegovina is together withAlbaniathepoorest countriesin the Europe. 10 Highpowerdistancemay be alsoexplained with thehistory. Bosnia and Herzegovinahas been in thelargestpart of itshistoryundervarious conquerors, which contributed to creating amentalityin whicheveryone whohas the power must be respected. Primary research on managers’ power distance in Bosnia and Herzegovina Primary research has been done on the sample of 51 managers from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the purpose to determine the degree of power distance of managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina; to determine further if there is difference in power distance related to gender, ethnicity or job of managers; to determine finally if there is a difference in power distance between managers and average citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The degree of power distance has been measured by managers’ decision making style, managers’ attitude towards employees’ participation in decision making, managers’ attitude toward expressing disagreement with managers’ decisions, managers’ attitude toward differences in salaries and status, managers’ attitude toward asking for salary increase and benefits. The results of primary research showthat theBosnianmanagers have amedium degreeof power distance. Managers’ answers to certain questions show that managers belong to a 9 The World bank (2013). Gini index. Retrived 25.04.2013. URL: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI & Central Inteligence Agency (2013). The World Factbook. Retrived 25.04.2013. URL: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2172rank.html 10 The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (2012). Wiiw Handbook of Statistics, page 10. 86 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo high power distance culture, as all other citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of these questions is related to expressing disagreement with the boss. Managersagree thatin Bosnia and Herzegovinaemployeesare often afraidto express theirdisagreementwith the boss, which is a characteristicof highpowerdistance cultures. Chart 1. Employees are afraid to express disagreement with managers 60.0% Employees are afraid to express their disagreement with the boss 52.9% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% Frequency 19.6% 17.6% 9.8% 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% Strongly agree Agree Undicided Disagree Strongly disagree Source: Author’s primary research Managers also think that they should have higher salaries, privileges and status in comparison with subordinates, what is a characteristic of high power distance. It is interesting to note that manager answered that managers are employees as others. However, other answers demonstrate a different picture. This is especially the case with questions related to employees’ participation in management and democratic decision making. Managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina appreciate employees’ participation in management. They think that the ideal manager is a democrat, who consults with subordinates before making any decision. They also think that an autocratic manager who makes all the decision by himself is not good for business. They think that employees’ participation in management leads to better business results. All these answers relate to small power distance cultures. 87 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Chart 2. Ideal manager is democrat Ideal manager is democrat 80.0% 66.7% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% Frequency 30.0% 20.0% 19.6% 9.8% 10.0% 3.9% 0.0% 0.0% Strongly agree Agree Undicided Disagree Strongly disagree Source: Author’s primary research The third group of questions indicates that managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina have a medium power distance. Managers are undecided about the statement that most employees do not like the work and will avoid it if they can. Managers are also undecided in the regard that employee should not ask for salary increase, even if they think that they deserve it. Based onall of the above,we can conclude thatthere is a differencein the power distance between managersand the citizens ofBosnia and Herzegovina.The resultsof primaryresearch showthat managershave smaller power distancecompared to the averagein Bosnia and Herzegovina. There could be severalexplanations for this difference. The research thatwas carried out inthree countries(France,Germany, Great Britain), among38 differentoccupationsin IBM'ssubsidiaries, confirm thatoccupations thatrequirethe leasteducationandthe loweststatusasunskilledorsemi-skilledworkershave a bigger powerdistance. In contrast, theoccupationswith the higheststatus andeducational level, such as managersandprofessionals likeengineersandscientists,have a small power distance. 11 Managersin Bosnia and Herzegovinahavemore educationandhigherstatusthan does theaveragecitizen ofBosnia and Herzegovina,and therefore, as well astheir counterpartsfrom France, Germanyand Great Britainhave a lowerpowerdistance. Managersin Bosnia and Herzegovinahavehigher incomesthan theaveragecitizen ofBosnia and Herzegovina.Thisculturalcharacteristic isclosely associatedwith wealth; more moneymeans lesspowerdistance. The questions thatputBosnia and Herzegovina’s managers in a culturewith lowpowerdistancearerelated to theparticipationof workersin management.Yugoslavia was 11 Hofstede, G., Hofstede G.J., and Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind. 3rd edition. New York: McGraw Hill Companies, page 65 88 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo asuccessfulexample of a countrywithparticipationof workersin management and it was studiedas amodelaround the world,andits achievementshave beencopiedin muchricher and moreeconomicallydeveloped countries. A consortiumof researchers from12mostlyEuropeancountries hasformeda researchgroupIDE(IndustrialDemocratizationof Europe) to study participation of workers in management. The projectbegan in 1981and lastedsix years. Data was collectedfrom134organizationsfrom allareas here and of all sizes.The questionnaire wasfilledby 1000managers and8000employeesandofficers. In 1981 the IDE has shown that themost successful countrywas Yugoslavia. Academicliteraturestates thatit remainsa puzzle anda question forfuture researchershow such a successfulcountryin terms ofindustrial democracycould collapseshortlythereafterin a bloody war. 12 Theprimaryresearch included men and womenmanagersin Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sinceboth women and men are the childrenof their culture, one might assume thatthey bothhave the sameculturalcharacteristics.However,some studiesshow thatwomen in business are softerand havemore understandingfor others,as opposed tomenwhoare hard,aggressive andcompetitive. Results ofthe statistical analysis found nodifferences inculturalcharacteristicsbetween men and womenmanagersin Bosnia and Herzegovina. This study aimed toresearch whetherthere are differences in power distance between managersin businessand thosein state administration. According toculturaltheorieswe are allchildrenof our culture and we all carryvalues,patterns, andbehaviors ofour cultures.However,otherstudies have confirmedthat there arecultural differenceswithin the same country, depending on education and thework that we do. Results of statistical analysisshowthat there were nodifferences in power distancebetween managerswho workin public administration andthose who workin the business. BosniaandHerzegovinahas a specificethnicstructure composedofBosniaks(44%), Serbs(31%), Croats(17%) andothers(8%).13Results of statistical analysisshowedthat there were nodifferences in power distanceamong managers in these three ethnic groups. Historically, Bosnia and Herzegovina wasalways a mixture ofdifferent nations and cultures, which have been living together. Fromthe earliest times, the population accepted theachievements of otherculturesin technology,building,architecture, art, cuisine,and lifestyle.Based on all of the above,the results of the primary researchconfirmed whatwas obviousthroughouthistory. Conclusion Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the most unequal countries in the world, close to poor African countries. Secondary research puts Bosnia and Herzegovina amongst countries with high power distance. The high power distance index can be explained with poverty, as Bosnia is the poorest country in Europe. An explanation can be also found in the long history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovinahas been during thelargestpart of itshistoryundervarious conquerors, which contributed to creating amentalityin whicheveryone whohas the power deserves respect. Primary research has not found any differences in power distance between genders, ethnicity and jobs that managers performed. However, primary research shows that 12 See Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions and Organizations across Nations. Thousand Oaks, Ca : Sage publications, Inc., page 110. 13 See European Commission (2011). Multi-annual indicative planning document 2009-2011 for Bosnia and Hercegovina. 89 �International Conference on Economic and Social Studies (ICESoS’13), 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina have smaller power distance. It can be explained with better education, economic position and valuable network that managers acquired. References 1. Adler, N. J. (2002). International Dimension of Organization Behavior. 4th edition. Cincinnati,OH: South Western Thomas Learning 2. Branković, A. (2005). Ekonomska stvarnost i vizija BiH. Sarajevo: Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina 3. Central Intelligence Agency (2013). The World Factbook. Retrieved 25.04.2013. URL: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/rankorder/2172rank.html 4. The Economist (2011). More millionaires than Australians, A special report on global leaders. January 22nd-28th 5. European Commission (2011). Multi-annual indicative planning document 2009.2011. for Bosnia and Herzegovina 6. Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. 7. Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions and Organizations across Nations. Thousand Oaks, Ca : Sage publications, Inc 8. Hofstede, G., Hofstede G.J., and Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind. 3rd edition. New York: McGraw Hill Companies 9. The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (2012). Wiiw Handbook of Statistics 10. World Bank (2009). Social safety nets and Employment support project in Bosnia and Hercegovina. Retrieved 25.04.2013. URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/92676C6642CB2F5A492576 D6001944AF-Full_Report.pdf 11. The World bank (2013). Gini index. Retrieved 25.04.2013. URL: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI 90 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1496 Title A name given to the resource Managers' Power Distance in Bosnia and Herzegovina Author Author BRANKOVIC, AZRA Abstract A summary of the resource. Power distance is a cultural dimension developed by Dutch scientist, Geert Hofstede and determines how different societies handle inequality. Inequality is a fact that exist in the family, school, organization and society. The Gini index shows that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a very unequal country, just behind the poor African countries such as Namibia, Botswana and Sierra Leone. Bosnia and Herzegovina is also the most unequal country in the region. The paper will present Gini index for selected countries and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper will explain characteristics of cultures with high and low power distance and present index of power distance for selected countries based on secondary research. Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to these dates, has a high index of power distance. The paper will try to explain the reasons for high power distance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inequality is present in organization in manager-subordinate relation. The power is concentrated in the hands of the boss and different opinions and critics can be dangerous. Not agreeing with the decisions of the chiefs, or public criticism or exposing irregularities can lead not only to problems in the work, but also to loss of job. Primary research has been done on the sample of 50 managers from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Managers participating in research belong to the different ethnic groups. Managers are genders, approximately half of managers included in the research are men and the other half is women. Managers have different jobs. Half of the targeted managers work as civil servants for the ministries, parliaments and government agencies. The other half of managers work for international organizations, business or business related to international clients. The purpose of this research is to determine if there is difference in power distance related to gender, ethnicity or job of managers. The purpose of the research is to determine if there is a difference in power distance between managers and average citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Date was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Keywords: Managers, Culture, Power Distance, Inequality, Bosnia And Herzegovina Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 978-9958-834-23-3 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/e510aabab52cafcad84a7186cff72ff2.pdf e27290be231f4f81958b868bfa5ab345 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo The Social Constructivist Approach as an Instrument for Understanding the “Identity” Dimension of the EU Enlargement Process Begüm Burak Fatih University, İstanbul, Turkey bburak@fatih.edu.tr This study deals with the emergence of European Union (EU) enlargement process as a kind of common political identity formation. It can be said that, the case of EU points to the need to re-conceptualize the relationship between self and other in the international relations literature. The central argument of the study is that fundamental structures of international politics are social rather than strictly material and these structures shape actors’ identities and interests, rather than just their behavior. In this context the enlargement process of the EU can well be analyzed from a social constructivist perspective. Keywords: Social Constructivism, European Union, EU Enlargement, Identity, European Identity, National Interest. 54 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1501 Title A name given to the resource The Social Constructivist Approach as an Instrument for Understanding the “Identity” Dimension of the EU Enlargement Process Author Author BURAK, Begum Abstract A summary of the resource. This study deals with the emergence of European Union (EU) enlargement process as a kind of common political identity formation. It can be said that, the case of EU points to the need to re-conceptualize the relationship between self and other in the international relations literature. The central argument of the study is that fundamental structures of international politics are social rather than strictly material and these structures shape actors’ identities and interests, rather than just their behavior. In this context the enlargement process of the EU can well be analyzed from a social constructivist perspective. Keywords: Social Constructivism, European Union, EU Enlargement, Identity, European Identity, National Interest. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/b35ae5e6d163dbd6415cbc75a14b5ef2.pdf ea74c509186659052937fd1812cda53a PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Experimental Analysis of Organizational Commitment within the Scope of Downsizing Threat and Empowerment Opportunity Celal Cahit Ağar Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey celalcahitagar@selcuk.edu.tr Aykut Beduk Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey abeduk@hotmail.com Murat Sezgin Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey msezgin@selcuk.edu.tr The main aim of this study is to analyze the impact of downsizing threat and empowerment opportunity on organizational commitment at the beginning phase of the implementation process. This aim occurs because of lack of knowledge in related literature, which only concentrates on during/after phases and situations of downsizing and empowerment implementations. In this research, the field experiment and survey method were selected in order to collect the data of study, and applied in two experimental stages on 126 (n=252) subjects in an international textile company. The results demonstrate that organizational commitment is increased at the beginning of both downsizing and empowerment processes. This finding contains a significant distinction from the existing literature, especially which asserts a negative relation between downsizing and organizational commitment. Practical implications and directions for the future research are also discussed in this paper. Keywords: Organizational Commitment, Downsizing, Empowerment 74 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1527 Title A name given to the resource Experimental Analysis of Organizational Commitment within the Scope of Downsizing Threat and Empowerment Opportunity Author Author CAHIT AGAR, Celal BEDUK, Aykut SEZGIN, Murat Abstract A summary of the resource. The main aim of this study is to analyze the impact of downsizing threat and empowerment opportunity on organizational commitment at the beginning phase of the implementation process. This aim occurs because of lack of knowledge in related literature, which only concentrates on during/after phases and situations of downsizing and empowerment implementations. In this research, the field experiment and survey method were selected in order to collect the data of study, and applied in two experimental stages on 126 (n=252) subjects in an international textile company. The results demonstrate that organizational commitment is increased at the beginning of both downsizing and empowerment processes. This finding contains a significant distinction from the existing literature, especially which asserts a negative relation between downsizing and organizational commitment. Practical implications and directions for the future research are also discussed in this paper. Keywords: Organizational Commitment, Downsizing, Empowerment Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/7021bf78a36c6a65dffc56962daee74a.pdf bca2949eca1a4cf12602335ba6cc22bb PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo Do Migrant Transfers cause Dutch Disease in Albania? Cakrani Edmira University of Vlora “Ismail Qemali”, Vlora, Albania edmira.cakrani@gmail.com Resulaj Pranvera University of Vlora “Ismail Qemali”, Vlora, Albania pranveraresulaj@yahoo.com Koprencka Luciana University of Vlora “Ismail Qemali”, Vlora, Albania lucianakoprencka@yahoo.it Dutch Disease is the model, which tries to explain the contradictory relationship between the greater exploitation of natural resources and a decline in the sector of natural resources. Theory suggests that an increase in foreign inflows currency from export of natural resources is associated with overvaluation of the real exchange rate, which makes tradable sector less competitive, resulting in less competitive country and even reduced exports in natural resources sector. The purpose of this article is to study the possibility of occurrence of Dutch Disease phenomenon in Albania, as a result of increased foreign currency inflows, not from increased resource exports, but from migrant transfers. Almost 30% of Albanian population is living and working abroad, most of them in Europe. Due to high trade balance deficit, migrant transfers in Albania are important source of ease pressures on the domestic currency lek. Recently, migrant transfers from abroad accounted for 10% to 20% of GDP and constitute the largest influx of foreign finance, even more than foreign direct investment and official development assistance. In the empirical model, real exchange rate is the dependent variable and migrant transfers, real GDP per capita, government consumption and trade openness are explanatory variables. All the variables are tested for stationary through Augmented Dickey-Fuller test. The results of test showed that are not stationary in the level, but become stationary in First Difference I(I), so they are included in model in First Difference. Johansen Cointegration test results showed that there is a long-run relationship between real exchange rate and the variables included in the model. Results suggest that migrant transfers have a significant impact on the real exchange rate in Albania and an increase in their flows lead to the overvaluation of the real exchange rate in the country, causing the Dutch Disease phenomenon to occur. Keywords: Dutch Disease, Real Exchange Overvaluation, Unit Root, Cointegration. 73 Rate, Migrant Transfers, � https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/052f54494e9f34a93ed119e5d297ab29.docx c34e6a1e30fdc5e31e2e7a5f0208fc3a https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/187cf4f023645beb906ae367a8d6b0f5.pdf 654ff26458db7c8d2b85490b9c632b6e https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/6ea3a08f099e1f6d3c20031e1a7cdad5.pdf 74a6ed3db667fc8ccf43d9d6fffab5b7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1516 Title A name given to the resource Do Migrant Transfers cause Dutch Disease in Albania? Author Author CAKRANI, Edmira PRANVERA, Resulaj LUCIANA, Koprencka Abstract A summary of the resource. Dutch Disease is the model, which tries to explain the contradictory relationship between the greater exploitation of natural resources and a decline in the sector of natural resources. Theory suggests that an increase in foreign inflows currency from export of natural resources is associated with overvaluation of the real exchange rate, which makes tradable sector less competitive, resulting in less competitive country and even reduced exports in natural resources sector. The purpose of this article is to study the possibility of occurrence of Dutch Disease phenomenon in Albania, as a result of increased foreign currency inflows, not from increased resource exports, but from migrant transfers. Almost 30% of Albanian population is living and working abroad, most of them in Europe. Due to high trade balance deficit, migrant transfers in Albania are important source of ease pressures on the domestic currency lek. Recently, migrant transfers from abroad accounted for 10% to 20% of GDP and constitute the largest influx of foreign finance, even more than foreign direct investment and official development assistance. In the empirical model, real exchange rate is the dependent variable and migrant transfers, real GDP per capita, government consumption and trade openness are explanatory variables. All the variables are tested for stationary through Augmented Dickey-Fuller test. The results of test showed that are not stationary in the level, but become stationary in First Difference I(I), so they are included in model in First Difference. Johansen Cointegration test results showed that there is a long-run relationship between real exchange rate and the variables included in the model. Results suggest that migrant transfers have a significant impact on the real exchange rate in Albania and an increase in their flows lead to the overvaluation of the real exchange rate in the country, causing the Dutch Disease phenomenon to occur. Keywords: Dutch Disease, Real Exchange Rate, Migrant Transfers, Overvaluation, Unit Root, Cointegration. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 978-9958-834-23-3 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/08e418189988748b84616f00e7b12648.pdf 8ea9ce77cd3a8fa3200c734ea62ee880 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo The Effects of Knowledge and Information Technology on the Performance of Workers and Also Power of Competition: Example of Yalova University Cihat Çetin Yalova University, Yalova, Turkey cihatcetin@gmail.com Ayşegül Karagöz Private Lider Şişli College, İstanbul, Turkey aysegulkaragoz00@gmail.com For to continue their lives businesses must have accommodate to the changing and developing technology and must have own knowledge in the same time too. These two factors are the key elements which can redound competitive power of the strategic decisions. Technological developments have influenced and still continue to affect all functions of enterprises. Nowadays, the knowledge and information technology are critical success factors for organizational strategic decisions which related with innovation and competitiveness. When considering how knowledge development is related with personal characteristics and personal development, this study provides useful insights to understand relationship between innovation and competitiveness. This approach point out the importance knowledge development and the role of knowledge management in order to be competitive. In this study, the effect of knowledge information on professional productivity examined. Keywords: Knowledge, Productivity, Information Technology, Innovation, Competitiveness, Management. 82 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1559 Title A name given to the resource The Effects of Knowledge and Information Technology on the Performance of Workers and Also Power of Competition: Example of Yalova University Author Author CETIN, Cihat KARAGOZ, Aysegul Abstract A summary of the resource. For to continue their lives businesses must have accommodate to the changing and developing technology and must have own knowledge in the same time too. These two factors are the key elements which can redound competitive power of the strategic decisions. Technological developments have influenced and still continue to affect all functions of enterprises. Nowadays, the knowledge and information technology are critical success factors for organizational strategic decisions which related with innovation and competitiveness. When considering how knowledge development is related with personal characteristics and personal development, this study provides useful insights to understand relationship between innovation and competitiveness. This approach point out the importance knowledge development and the role of knowledge management in order to be competitive. In this study, the effect of knowledge information on professional productivity examined. Keywords: Knowledge, Productivity, Information Technology, Innovation, Competitiveness, Management. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564