Nemanja Berber

Training practices and organisational performance: A comparative analysis of domestic and international market oriented organisations in Central & Eastern Europe

The paper explores organisational level training practices in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and tests their impact on overall organisational performance. We draw upon data from the CRANET international survey of HR practices in order to provide a comparative overview of training and development in selected CEE Countries. Distinguishing between organisations focusing on the international and on the domestic market, and drawing upon data from 1147 companies in eight countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia), we examine training practices and approaches and test their impact on organisational performance. Our findings demonstrate that the use of more developed training practices contributes to better organizational performance assessed by reference to service quality, productivity, profitability and rate of innovation. The market focus of the organisation in terms of serving a domestic or an international one also appears consequential with those operating internationally recording more extensive training practices.

Management compensation systems in Central and Eastern Europe: a comparative analysis

Abstract Drawing upon a large scale comparative data-set we explore the preferred approaches to managerial compensation pursued by organizations operating in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) transition economies of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and Serbia. In order to generate insights on the state of management compensation and the extent to which these transition economies are characterized by idiosyncratic elements, relative to their Western European counterparts, we compare management compensation practices in these CEE economies (N = 1147) with approaches pursued in more developed western European economies (N = 2698). Overall, our results suggest that organizations in the CEE region share some similarities with their western counterparts, most especially in terms of the individual level of determination of pay for managers. Within the CEE region, we find that financial participation is less common than performance-related pay in the composition of the overall managerial reward package, though there are some variations between countries. National culture does appear significant as a determinant of variations in the preferred approach to management compensation.

The impact of HR development on innovative performances in central and eastern European countries

The purpose of this paper is to research the impact of one of HRM activities, employees’ development, on the level of organizational innovative performances. HR development techniques that organizations use in order to develop employee’s knowledge, skills and abilities and their impact on the perceived level of organizational innovativeness was set in the focus of research, with the intent of determining which development techniques influence organizational innovative performance.,The research is based on the data from CRANET project, which has been largely used in exploring the relation between HRM activities and other variables of organizational behavior and performances. Data for this study were collected from a sample of 1,384 organizations from 8 CEE countries (Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia) for the period 2015–2016. The correlation was used to explore the relations between variables. Ordinal logistic regression was used in order to explore the relations between the employees’ development techniques, training importance and training effectiveness and the level of organizational innovativeness.,The regression model showed that there are a statistically significant relations between the effectiveness of training expressed by systematic evaluation of training practice, and the methods of employees’ training (use of projects to stimulate learning, on-the-job training, development centers, use of international work assignments and mentoring) with the level of innovation. The importance of training practice expressed by the ratio of the annual training budget in the total payroll costs did not show statistically significant relations with the level of innovation. Also, systematic estimation of the need for training of personnel has not shown statistically significant relations with the innovation rate of the organization.,The data are derived from single source respondents, and response rates between countries do vary. At the country level, every effort is made to represent the structure of the economy in the country and at the point in which the data are being collected.,Training and international working assignments have a direct positive relation with the level of organizational performances, while teamwork and coaching and mentoring have not shown the same. Organizations and their HR managers should pay special attention to planning and implementation of HR development programs – coaching, mentoring and teamwork – in order to create space for organizational innovation enhancement.,Previous literature seeking to clarify the role of HRM and fostering organizational innovation has made its evident contribution based on theoretical papers. In order to improve the current situation in which empirical evidence is very rare, research on the significance of the employee development program and its impact on the organizational innovative performances is based on quantitative indicators of the conducted research. The relation of HRM and innovative performances in the CEE region was studied in only a few studies. In the previous period, this region has often been omitted in the field of HRM research. Therefore, an additional novelty can be derived from a research sample compiled from the CEE region countries in the conducted research.

The Development of Compensation System in Serbia: A Comparison of Two Successive Cranet Research Rounds

Abstract The aim of this paper is to explore the development of the compensation practice in the context of human resource management (HRM) in Serbia. The objectives are to detect the extent of the usage of different elements in the compensation packages, the level of negotiation during the determination of the basic pay, the responsibility for decision making process regarding basic pay, the extent of the usage of different types of benefits, and to explore the differences between these data in the two research periods, 2008-2010 and 2014-2016. The methodology in this paper includes the theoretical analysis of the compensation systems, as well as the comparative analysis of the data on compensation in Serbia based on the Cranet research. The sample of the study consisted of 210 organisations from Serbia, 50 organisations in the 2008-2010 period and 160 organisations in the 2014-2016 period. This paper brings new insights to the development of comparative compensation management since it points to the development/changes of the compensation practice (in years) in Serbian HRM.

The Role of Human Resource Management in Small and Medium Sized Companies in Central-Eastern Europe

Human resource management (HRM) in contemporary economics is linked to a company’s success measured through numerous organizational measures (profitability, productivity, rate of innovation, market share, environmental performances, etc.). The role of HRM in large enterprises is relatively known, especially when the competitiveness and sustainable development are in question. On the other hand, small entrepreneurial and medium sized (SME) companies have not been greatly studied in relation to the HRM in the past. Although there is a lack of literature and empirical research in this area, several studies in the past decade and recent years emphasized the importance of the HRM for the survival and success of the SMEs. The reason why more and more authors today are arguing about the success of the SMEs is the perceived advantages of SMEs in a turbulent and unpredictable business environment. SMEs are seen as the driving force for vulnerable economies, a source of innovation, employment, and flexibility. Bearing in mind SMEs and their advantages, the authors have focused their attention on the economies in the Central and Eastern Europe countries (Slovenia, Serbia, Hungary and Bulgaria) where the SMEs are recognized as potential possibilities for economic recovery and development. Since human capital is recognized as one of the most important factors of enterprise success, the aim of this work was to explore the role of HRM in SMEs in the economies of Serbia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovenia, to determine the type of linkage between HRM and the success of small and medium-sized companies that operate in the CEE region, in light of the Cranet 2008/2010 survey data. The objective in this chapter was the exploration of the existence of organizations’ business strategy and HR strategy in SMEs, as well as HR departments, and the role of HRM in the business of the SMEs. The special task in this research was the exploration of the HRM activities and trends (recruitment, selection, compensation, performance management, training and development, human resource information system, etc.) that are present in the SMEs in the CEE region. The ranking of the SMEs’ performances is also presented and the relations between the existence of HRM and the several performance measures in these companies. Descriptive statistical methods, t-test of independent samples and ANOVAs tests have been used during quantitative analysis to explore the presented relations.

Idealism and relativism in ethics: The results of empirical research in seven CEE countries & one North European country

The aim of this paper is to determine the ethical position of respondents in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Estonia, Finland and Croatia, and to this end the authors studied the relationship between ethical positions and certain variables (gender, nationality and citizenship). The paper also investigates the relationship of an ethical position to cultural dimensions with the underlying hypothesis that, due to differing national culture and history, ethical positions will differ in these countries. The results obtained may contribute to a better understanding of moral standards in the Central and East European (CEE) business context.

The Competences of HR Managers and their Impact on the Organizational Success of MNCs’ Subsidiaries in the CEE Region

Multinational companies that have settled in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) significantly contribute to the recognition of modern HRM concepts and implementation of the relevant HRM practices in the region (Lewis, 2005). To be a strategic partner, HRM managers have to possess various professional and personal competences (Orme, 2010). The aim of this paper is to analyze the main competences of HR managers and their impact on companies’ performances. The research hypothesis, based on 2012-2013 CEEIRT data, is that there is a statistically significant relationship among the HR managers’ competences and the performances of the MNCs’ subsidiaries in Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. The analyzed HR competences are: business knowledge, strategic contribution, personal credibility, HR services, HR information system and foreign language competences. The research analyzed the following organizational performances: profitability, service quality, rate of innovations and environmental matters.