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Abstract: Purpose: This paper endorses the claim that in transitional societies the line between business and crime is elusive because weak states foster a legal order that is formalistic, bureaucratic, politically biased and prone to corruption. Design/Methods/Approach: Three elements are discussed in the paper. First, the paper briefly analyses legal and institutional state of affairs in transitional Western Balkans societies that condone organised crime. Secondly, it investigates the phenomenology of the (corruptive) crime behaviour, explaining how it managed to integrate into society in the context of a weak state. Thirdly, the paper investigates why state policies and measures fail to fight crime as the business. In this part the paper contests a traditional definition of criminal organisation as a hierarchical one, claiming that mafias are not organizations in a traditional sense. Findings: The paper emphasizes that the fight against organised crime is not just a fight against individuals or individual criminal behaviour; but a fight to increase the efficiency of the government. The paper furthermore asserts that better understand of the organised crime problem can occur only if its fighting and addressing happens from the point of view of a good governance. Namely, the precondition to fight against organised crime or parallel activity requires increased efficiency and capacity of governmental institutions. Originality/Value: This paper adds to the academic and practical understanding of the organised crime in the post-transitional settings. Apart from being instructive and up-todated source of information for the regional setting it deals with, the paper sheds a new light on understanding of organised crime.
Keywords: organised crime, organisation, transition, money laundering, corruption, good governance, South-Eastern Europe
Published in DKUM: 12.05.2020; Views: 666; Downloads: 60
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Abstract: The aims of this dissertation are to analyse the interdependence between C-B M&As and the quality of the institutional setting and observe the economic effects of that nexus at the macroeconomic level in 22 European transition countries between 2000-2014. Our underlying hypothesis is that the progress and durability of institutional reforms are factors that have a crucial influence on the economic performance of C-B M&As in transition countries. The dynamic relationship between the economic effects of C-B M&As and institutional quality is investigated by using the system Generalized Method of Moments estimator. Since the potential benefits of foreign direct investment are determined by the institutional setup, we used different governance indicators in our calculations, both individually and in terms of their interaction with C-B M&As. With the help of our empirical analysis, we established which aspects of institutional setting have contributed most to causing the economic effects of C-B M&As, using their interaction terms with this type of FDI, so we could focus most attention on these areas. Our results indicate that C-B M&As have a negative effect on GDP per capita in the initial period. This negative impact in the year of merger and acquisition could be explained by the rise in unemployment and the crowding-out of less efficient domestic companies which are not able to withstand the competitive pressure in the domestic market. The influence of one-year lagged C-B M&As is positive and significant, suggesting that this form of FDI might have a delayed effect. However, this type of FDI does not have a positive economic impact on host transition countries in the long-run because it might be motivated by rent-seeking interests. We show that the overall quality of the institutional setting (measured with the help of the EBRD indices of structural reforms and World Bank’s Governance Indicators) is important for GDP per capita in the short and long term. On the other hand, its interaction terms with C-B M&As are negative but not significant in current period. All governance dimensions stimulate GDP per capita of host transition countries. Our findings indicate that the higher level of C-B M&As with a negative impact offsets the positive effect of the control of corruption and the rule of law on economic growth both in short and long run. Voice and accountability were found to be important for explaining an FDI’s influence on GDP per capita. In terms of the influence on domestic investment, we have found that contemporaneous M&As have a crowding-out effect, while the influence of their lagged level has a crowding-in effect. Their long term impact is also negative and significant (when controlling for overall institutional quality index and separate governance indicators), suggesting that foreign investors reduce the competition on the domestic market over time. We show that foreign investors may be motivated by rent-seeking interests based on the fact that the interdependence of C-B M&As and the overall quality of the institutional setting had a negative effect on domestic investment. We have not found evidence to support our hypothesis that overall institutional reform (as well as the speed of implementation) and its interaction with C-B M&As encourages domestic investment in European transition countries. We have found that political stability has a positive effect on domestic investment and is the only significant variable of all the institutional factors. This means this governance indicator is a crucial determinant of domestic investment in transition countries. The only significant interaction terms with a negative effect on domestic investment, are between C-B M&As and the Rule of Law and overall institutional quality. Political Stability (positive coefficient) and the interaction terms between C-B M&As and Rule of Law and overall institutional quality (both negative coefficients) have a significant impact on domestic i
Keywords: the quality of the institutional setting, C-B M&As, transition countries, economic effects, governance
Published in DKUM: 28.06.2018; Views: 1500; Downloads: 101
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Abstract: Managers and leaders are different figures within an organization but are also alike. During different stages of the organizational life cycle we sometimes need more manager-oriented people and at other times more leader-oriented people. However most of the time we need them both in order to achieve a balance within the organization. Slovenia is a post-transition economy, facing new challenges and opportunities therefore the need for leader-oriented people is expected to be huge. Nevertheless our research showed that in Slovenian profit and non-profit organizations, upper management positions have been occupied by manager-oriented people but at the same time a balance exists between the two roles. We also found out that managers and leaders perceive the success of their organisations in quite a similar way. An adapted Hickman's questionnaire together with a content analysis of subordinates' comments about how they perceive their organization was used to ascertain the differences between them and their superiors. By knowing how employees perceive their managers and how the latter perceive themselves and their organizations we can develop better approaches to management development in post-transition economies.
Keywords: manager, leader, post-transition economy, Slovenia
Published in DKUM: 04.12.2017; Views: 793; Downloads: 289
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Abstract: We use an institutional approach to analyze differences and similarities between competition policy regimes in Slovenia and Germany. We first indicate differences that exist in the implementation of EU competition law at the national level, given the unified framework of EU competition policy. In a next step, we discuss recent cases in both countries and indicate how historical developments and economic factors influence decision making and case law. We also discuss recent developments of the national competition policy regimes and indicate how the digital economy might shape competition policy in the future.
Keywords: competition policy, competition cases, competition law, transition countries
Published in DKUM: 09.08.2017; Views: 866; Downloads: 152
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Abstract: Important questions that concern the notion of good corporate governance focus on what good corporate governance is, who benefits from good corporate governance, and how corporate governance quality can be measured. The aim of our study was to broaden our understanding of the role of standards and codes of good corporate governance in improving governance practices. We found that not only formal regulations, standards, and governance codes, but also corporate governance indices - which make the assessment of companies’ governance practices possible - are important in measuring and improving governance quality. The results of the research based on the SEECGAN Index methodology indicated that mandatory requirements and voluntary recommendations of high governance standards had a positive impact on the corporate governance practice in Slovenia.
Keywords: corporate governance, index, quality, transition country, companies, management, corporate culture, Slovenia
Published in DKUM: 13.07.2017; Views: 965; Downloads: 112
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