Branko Mihailovic

Correlation between the state of cluster development and national competitiveness in the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum 2012–2013

This paper explores the correlation between state of cluster development in a country and its national competitiveness. Our research hypothesis is that high positive correlation exists between cluster development and national competiveness, meaning that the countries in which clusters are deep and well-developed are at the same time countries that have a high national competitiveness in certain segments of industry and vice versa. The source of the data analysed in this paper is the Competitiveness report of the World Economic Forum 2012–2013 (hereinafter WEF), which includes 144 economies. Linear correlation, including confidence intervals, was used in data analysis. Research hypothesis is accepted by the data. Developing countries cannot follow the direction from building high competitiveness to the development of clusters, but national competitiveness can significantly be improved by development of clusters and encouraging innovation and productivity within the framework of cluster-directed economy.

The role of international marketing in the process of increasing competitiveness of agricultural and food products

Countries, which have problems in the field of economic relations with aboard, usually misapply basic postulates and concepts of international marketing, as modern conceptions for achieving competitive advantage on international scale. Accordingly, this paper work researches the role of international marketing in the process of raising competitiveness of the agricultural and food products. Global marketing is facing a stronger and more complex challenge that needs faster and more subtle strategic responses. Namely, it must expect rapid changes, complex strategic situations, stricter and more unpredictable competition and changing mental maps of management, especially in regard to the affirmation of social awareness about the importance of respecting the environmental, social, political, cultural, and other components of the local market. Because the tastes, needs and consumer habits differ significantly, there is also justification for market segmentation of agri-food products.

Analiza performansi primarne poljoprivredne proizvodnje i prehrambene industrije Srbije

Poljoprivreda je jedan od stubova ekonomskog razvoja Republike Srbije, a njen znacaj za nacionalnu ekonomiju, pored ekonomske ima i socijalnu i ekolosku komponentu. Međutim, pored velikog potencijala u sektoru poljoprivredne proizvodnje koji je rezultat povoljnih klimatskih uslova, prirodnih karakteristika zemljista i raspoloživih vodnih resursa, on nije optimalno iskoriscen. Upravo zbog ovakvog potencijala poljoprivreda u Srbiji ne predstavlja obicnu privrednu granu, buduci da je u svim opstinskim ili regionalnim strategijama definisana kao jedan od strateskih pravaca razvoja. Međutim, uspesno ukljucivanje u međunarodno tržiste ogranicava nedovoljan asortiman prehrambenih proizvoda u odnosu na aktuelnu ponudu u razvijenom svetu, pri cemu je zapostavljeno istraživanje za vece iskoriscenje postojecih kapaciteta kroz uvođenja novih linija i proizvoda. Kao ogranicavajuci faktor istice se osciliranje kvaliteta tržisnih proizvoda kako zbog nepostojanja standarda tako i zbog nepostovanja i nedovoljne kontrole postojecih standarda. Takođe, sporo je prilagođavanje tržisnim kriterijumima poslovanja koji se baziraju na uvođenju savremenih sistema menadžmenta i marketinga. Nedovoljna predvidivost u poslovanju prehrambene industrije uslovljena je nepostojanjem dugorocnih ugovornih odnosa između prehrambene industrije i proizvođaca sirovina, kao i nepostojanjem tržisne integrisanosti, primarne poljoprivredne proizvodnje i industrije koja za svoj input koristi upravo poljoprivredne proizvode.