Blaženka Knežević

Environmental responsibility of the Croatian retailing

As the population as well as their consumption continues to increase, the increasing stress has been made on environmental responsibility of companies at the local and global level. Therefore, severe stress is putting on the limited available resource base and it is resulting in mounting waste discharges to the environment. As the most crucial link between suppliers and consumers, retailing could contribute in effecting the global shift to corporate environmental responsibility. Retailers can control and manage their own environmental and social impacts through implementing environmental management systems for energy/water conservation, waste management, logistics, recycling programs, etc. They can influence their suppliers to produce in a more sustainable manner and encourage them to develop eco-friendly products. Additionally, they can encourage consumers to purchase eco-friendly products as well as provide advice on the use and disposal of the products and offer facilities and services such as take-back systems for batteries, reusable bags, etc. Retail companies have realized the importance of the environment, as increasingly reflected in their strategies and daily business operations. Therefore, an increasing number of retailers are publishing Sustainability Reports in addition to their annual reports. The main purpose of the paper is to explore aspects of environmental responsibility in the Croatian retail industry. These include reducing energy consumption, waste management and recycling, carbon dioxide emissions, etc. As there is a lack of literature on the environmental performance in the Croatian retailing, the goals of the paper are also to bridge a gap in the research literature about the environmental issues and to give a brief description of the situation in the Croatian retailing. The research is based on secondary (desk) and primary (field) research. Within the framework of secondary research, the relevant domestic and foreign literature with the topic of environmental responsibility was used. Within the framework of primary research, the study on the sample of 60 retailing managers was conducted. Statistical data analysis was done using SPSS 13.0. The research instrument was a questionnaire containing questions related to the environmental area focused on recycling programs, energy consumption and emissions, water consumption, waste, health and safety of children, genetically modified food, packaging, etc. The findings of the papers suggest that some retail companies have made significant improvements in environmental responsibility, but others still demonstrate mediocre environmental responsibility. They acknowledge that they are indirectly responsible for the environmental impacts of the produce and products in which they trade. For this reason all of them implement HACCP system of Food security management which provides health food across all supply chain. Also, they have waste management strategies in place. The findings reveal that the process of retailing internationalization and media coverage increased efforts of retail companies operating on the Croatian market to demonstrate environmental responsible behaviours. The results indicate that retailers are concerned about investigated aspects of environmental performance but there is still room for improvement.

The Importance of Internal Sources of Knowledge for the Competitiveness of the HORECA Channel: The Case of Croatia

HoReCa market – the abbreviation for the market of hotels, restaurants and cafe bars – in the context of tourism and hotel industry is recognized as the basis for the economic development strategy of the Croatian economy. Although this sector has still not been well analyzed, its potential has been recognized by Croatian producers and distribution companies. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze internal sources of knowledge - technology, human resources and the communication on all levels of the company – as the competitive advantages for Croatian companies operating in HoReCa sector. The research instrument was a questionnaire containing questions concerning respondents perceptions about different aspects of technology, education, knowledge and the communication/cooperation between all levels of the company. The study was conducted on the group of 39 Croatian companies (hotels, restaurants and snack bars) operating in HoReCa sector.