Central European Business Review

5-12

Authors: Radek Tahal

Loyalty programs rank among the most important marketing tools used for motivating customers in repeated purchases. The history is more than a hundred years old and there are many interesting points in the development. At present, programs can be built on the basis of various algorithms. In any case, it is necessary to develop such programs that are positively accepted by customers, viewed as useful, creating emotional ties to a retailer or to a brand. This study is based on primary data collected in the Czech Republic and in Great Britain, and it aims at two research targets. The first is to compare customers´ preferences in choosing loyalty programs in the two countries, to find similarities and differences. The second target is to make a comparison of customers´ willingness in disclosing their personal data for a retailer when signing up for a loyalty program.

23-34

Authors: Hana Machková, Paul-Marc Collin

In 2014, the Czech automotive industry had a record-breaking year with 1 278 000 motor vehicles manufactured. This was a result of the investment of three major carmakers, who entered into the Czech Republic, because they believed in the industrial capacity of the country and its strategic location in Central Europe. The goal of this article is to analyze the different entry strategies into the Czech market and to compare the results of different strategic approaches for both foreign private investors and the recipient country. The main research method used in this article is a case study. In our case studies, we will analyze the cases of the Volkswagen group and its acquisition of the manufacturer Škoda, the greenfield investment of Hyundai, and the strategic alliance of the French car producer PSA with Japanese Toyota who had founded the TPCA joint venture in the Czech Republic. All three case studies show examples of good practices and prove that foreign direct investment (FDI) has the potential to generate employment, raise productivity, transfer skills and technology, enhance exports and contribute to the long-term economic development of the country.

48-59

Authors: Jiří Strouhal, Natalja Gurvitš, Monika Nikitina-Kalamäe, Emilia Startseva

Despite the fact that obligations to publish reports on corporate social responsibility will come into force in the European Union from 2018, an increasing number of companies are starting to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy into their everyday business practices, and as a result the information of this activity is disclosed in CSR reports or within annual reports. As the disclosure of such information is currently voluntarily based, we believe that the growing popularity of CSR leads to a direct link between the sustainability of the company and its financial performance. The purpose of this paper is therefore to determine the linkage between CSR and financial performance within two countries in the CEE region – Czech and Estonia – using data from 2012 - 2013. We compare return on assets and normalized market value added of listed companies. Based on the results, we can state that the implementation of a standalone CSR report does not have any direct linkage with the financial performance of the tested companies.

7

Authors: Ziva Kolbl, Maja Konecnik Ruzzier, Tomaz Kolar

Brand revitalization is a process, which is often necessary when the brand’s offer of products as well as associated attention from consumers decline. Even so, the core of a brand needs to be clearly defined, in order for brand revitalization to be successfully implemented. Marketing managers need to be able to recognize the acute, as well as the latent signs of brand aging, and need to implement brand revitalization elements and strategies that are most suitable for a certain brand. The goal of the paper is presenting brand revitalization through the practical example of two Slovenian brands, which both went through the process of brand revitalization. With the review of secondary data, as well as interviews with the brand’s marketing managers, the paper proposes main steps and serves as a guideline to other managers, when going through brand revitalization.

8

Authors: Ioana Andrada Moldovan (Gavril)

This article aims at analyzing the relationship between sustainable development and the financial system, mainly focusing on the role that the financial system plays within the process of sustainable development. Theoretically, the financial system could be a very important factor to promote sustainable development, as it could foster economic growth and development, efficient resource allocation, the protection of the environment and also social responsibility. Using panel data econometrical analysis, we tested for correlations between indicators of the financial system and indicators of sustainable development in five developing Eastern European countries. We found weak or no correlation between financial indicators and sustainable development indicators. This might be explained by several facts. First, the financial systems of these five developing countries are not highly developed, so that they do not have a high capacity to foster economic growth and development. Second, even if this was the case, promoting sustainable development requires a lot more than fostering economic growth and is not a question of whether the financial companies can promote sustainability, but whether they are interested in promoting it. Even though financial companies have embraced the sustainability agenda, they haven`t done much to change their short-term orientation to profit and to shift to long-run strategies in favor of sustainable development.

10

Authors: Ovidiu Ioan Moisescu

The goal of the current research is to analyze the impact of customers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on their loyalty towards mobile telecommunication companies within the particular socio-cultural and economic context of one of the largest national markets of Central and Eastern Europe. In order to achieve this goal, a survey was conducted among a sample of 1,464 mobile telecommunication customers from the urban area of Romania. The findings point out the fact that Romanian mobile telecom customers’ loyalty is not significantly impacted by how they perceive their service suppliers’ responsibilities with regard to their employees or economic success, while their perceptions of companies’ responsibilities towards customers, public authorities, the environment, community development, and sponsorship have a significant impact on corporate brand loyalty. The findings have managerial implications in what concerns the appropriate implementation and communication of CSR policies by mobile telecommunication companies from the region in order for them to enhance their customer’s loyalty.

5-13

Authors: József Poór, Agneš Slavić, Nemanja Berber

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.

23-36

Authors: S. M. Kamrul Islam Shaon, Md. Hasebur Rahman

This paper has been devoted to theoretically examining the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) agenda which has been dominating the business world in recent years. Customer relationship management is a new competitive weapon for organizations for serving internal and external customers. Today’s organizations are focusing on conquering the minds of customers, to make them satisfied and loyal with the help of sophisticated, well-organized CRM efforts. This paper is to explore the CRM agenda in organizational interfaces and its effectiveness with regards to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The related literature demonstrates that there is a significant association among effective CRM, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

50-60

Authors: Adriana Stránská, Václav Stříteský

Social media is becoming a key part of business communication strategy. Despite all the advantages, social media also poses a threat to business reputation. Dissatisfied customers can reach a large audience and share their negative experiences with others. This paper deals with the impact of social media on the practice of public relations. The goal of the paper is to formulate a set of rules for dealing with negative contributions and generally with crisis communication in social media. It is based on two surveys. Individual interviews with social media experts are the core part of the analysis. They are complemented by questioning of consumers to get deeper insight into complaining behavior via social media. The defined set of rules provides a useful tool for the social media crisis management.

74-78

Authors: Lucie Brichová

Stephen Blanchette: What Do Companies “Say” and What They Actually “Do” – How to Close the Gap Inbetween?