The start-up sector in Romania, particularly in the North-West Development Region (NW), is experiencing rapid growth and driving innovation and economic development. Understanding this sector and its connection to Research and Development (R&D) is vital for regional progress. The NW Region has become a prominent hub for start-up activity in Romania. Examining the start-up sector in these regions is essential as it contributes significantly to economic growth. Start-ups introduce disruptive technologies, create new market opportunities, and promote regional diversification. The impact of the R&D sector on economic growth cannot be underestimated. R&D activities drive innovation, laying the groundwork for the emergence and success of start-ups. Investing in R&D fosters knowledge creation, technological advancements, and intellectual property, which are crucial for entrepreneurial ventures. By understanding the interplay between start-ups and the R&D sector, stakeholders can develop targeted strategies for fostering innovation-driven economic growth. This article aims to provide valuable insights into the start-up sector in Romania's NW Region, its relationship with R&D, and the connection between total expenditure on R&D and economic growth in both Romania and the NW Region.

To behave in a socially responsible manner and to support the concepts of sustainable development, organizations apply various processes and activities for greening their business. In addition to green marketing, supply and distribution chain, production, packaging and recycling, green human resources management (GHRM) also plays a big role. For this purpose, organizations incorporate a green component into all human resources management (HRM) phases, thereby building a green employer brand. This paper examines the extent to which organizations in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina apply GHRM activities and practices, and whether there are differences in the application of these practices depending on the size and business sector. Empirical research carried out in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina has found that green activities and HRM practices are applied to a small extent, with slightly higher results achieved by small and manufacturing organizations. The findings indicate the need for greater engagement of organizations to strengthen the awareness of the importance of GHRM, support their sustainable development and strengthen the brand in domestic and foreign markets.

The paper points out the leading role of the HR department in crisis situations, with special emphasis on the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the whole world in early 2020. Regardless of the intensity and form in which they occur, crises threaten the functioning and survival of organizations. The HR department is an important factor in the successful functioning of organizations and, in a period of crisis, this department takes a leading role in the process of crisis management and subsequent recovery. During COVID-19 pandemic, the HR department of every organization had to confront new challenges in order to protect the health of employees, while ensuring the normal functioning of organizations. In order to find out how this department dealt with crisis that occurred, empirical research with a specially designed questionnaire was conducted and filled in by 108 respondents from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia in 2020. The research results showed that HR department has taken a leading role in preserving the health and safety of employees, as well as in the process of adapting organizations to function in crisis conditions. According to results, the key activities carried out by the HR department in organizations are work from home (wherever the nature of the work allowed), flexible working hours, reorganization of the working space to achieve the required physical distance between employees, improved hygiene measures, etc. In addition, the research results showed that, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, the HR departments took an active role in providing psychological assistance to employees to adapt to new conditions and ways of working.

Now that the pandemic has entered the second phase, in which countries are adapting to the crisis, governments need to determine incentives that will contribute to the sustainability of the health system and human health. Regarding this, human resources are a significant factor, which affects the sustainability of any system, and it is important to establish a relevant motivation system that will withstand the challenges that society will face in the coming period. The aim of this paper is to analyse three dimensions of state incentives (employment program, COVID-19 bonus, training opportunities) and to examine their influence on healthcare workers’ motivation and the sustainability of the health system in the Republic of Serbia. The empirical research was conducted on a sample of 207 respondents employed in the tertiary level of healthcare. Data analysis included exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM). The research results confirmed the existence of all three incentives and indicated that state incentive “training opportunities” has the strongest effect on the motivation of health workers and the sustainability of the healthcare system.

Research about organizational justice addresses the impact of justice on the effective functioning of an organization (Colquitt et al., 2001). In the last 30 years or so, it has been extensively researched in the field of leadership and organizational behavior and has thus become an extremely popular field of research. Scientists have recognized its importance as a source of motivation at work, an essential factor in selection employees moral judgment, different leadership styles, work and organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational loyalty, work performance and responsible organizational behavior (Colquitt et al., 2001; Gilliland and Chan, 2001). Injustice carries a mechanism of stress and this idea is supported by studies showing that the perception of injustice creates stress and stress-related health problems through directly influence strain and mediating or moderating the relationship of stress and tension (Judge and Colquitt, 2004). The dimensions of organizational justice have significant connections between psychological distress and stress symptoms of depression, anxiety and emotional exhaustion (Tepper, 2000). Employees who are more stressed might be more alerted for unjust situations. Stressful situations and individual characteristics/attitudes might be more affective on the formation of justice perceptions in a highly complex work environment. Stress refers to the response of a person to the stimulus imposed on him. It is the situation where the well-being of an individual is challenged by different demands expected to be fulfilled at his end (Erkutlu & Chafra, 2006). Stress is recognized in the modern world as an important factor influencing health. Also, work stress can be increased or decreased by the impact of different leadership styles, which can also affect the employee perception of organizational justice. Leadership is a concept that has been seen as a key success factor since the first civilizations both smaller organizational units and even entire states. History tells us how leadership has been approached in different ways at different times, in accordance with which they are developed and many approaches to leadership as one of the fundamental phenomena of the organization and management field. Leadership, as the only real managerial function, is treated through a comparison of transactional and transformational styles, as two in the literature most often treated and in many ways almost opposed styles of leadership. A leadership style can also improve employee engagement, employee satisfaction, and employee enthusiasm for work (Alok & Israel, 2012). The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of leadership style and work stress on employees’ perceptions of organizational justice in higher education. The paper also examines whether there are differences in perceptions of stressors and organizational justice between genders and scientific teaching title. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests were used to analyze the primary research data.

E-commerce is growing faster than traditional forms of commerce. The expansion of the internet, mobile networks and the use of smartphones have increasingly driven consumers to online shopping. The convenience of buying from home and possibilities to compare products are key benefits for consumers. Changes in consumer behavior have implications for traders and their business models. They are switching the entire business to e-commerce. The relatively lower costs of doing business and promotional activities are key reasons for such business transitions. For traditional traders (Brick and mortar), the greater challenge is that big players in this sector become those who do not have physical stores. The implementation and expansion of e-commerce are of varying intensity in the economies of the world. E-commerce can significantly increase competitiveness and strengthen the position of BiH companies in a wider market. This paper deals with the current and future trends of e-commerce in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper forecasts e-commerce trends for the period from 2019 to 2021. Based on available data for the period from 2015 to 2018, by the trend extrapolation method, the forecast for the next three years is given. A trend represents the movement of a process or occurrence that prevails over some time. The business activity under code 47.91 was analyzed, that is, retail trade via mail or internet. Business activity under code 47.91 is compared with the same at global and Europian level. Besides, basic business performance was analyzed both at the level of activity 47.91 and at the level of five domestic e-commerce companies (Pik d.o.o., E-kupi d.o.o., Kupi tehniku d.o.o., Fact cool d.o.o. i Dopi grupa d.o.o.). The following indicators were used in the analysis of business performance: sales revenue, net profit, number of employees and return on total assets. The paper aims to identify the growth rates of e-commerce in the period 2015-2018 in this market, to determine what this trend is relative to the trend of e-commerce development in the world and the region. Further, the aim is to extrapolate the trends of the analyzed indicators to predict the growth of e-commerce in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the next three years.Based on an extrapolation of trends in sales revenue, net income, and headcount, it was concluded that the growth rate of e-commerce in BiH will be significantly lower compared to the global level, but should also be higher than the growth at the level of European Union. Research has shown that e-commerce is very profitable and that an increasing number of companies are joining it.

Crises are an inevitable part of the life cycle of any organisation, regardless of its location, size, market, and sector. At the beginning of 2020, all organisations faced a new crisis caused by a COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid spread of the disease and its consequences to human health required a quick reaction of organisations to protect the health and safety of employees through physical distancing. Organisations had to reorganise their way of doing business and adapt to new circumstances. The first response to the crisis is to activate or form a crisis management team. The main goal of the crisis management team is to prepare the organisation for a new way of functioning by using all its opportunities and strengths to minimise the negative effects of the crisis. The success of crisis management and the recovery of an organisation depend on the quality of functioning of the crisis management team. The results of a survey conducted during April and May 2020 which included 108 members of crisis management teams showed that the respective teams responded adequately to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Research results showed that team members reacted quickly to the first signs of the crisis. They made real-time decisions by using a holistic approach due to their different knowledge, skills and experience, clear team roles, commitment to a common goal, open, honest and effective communication, and mutual trust.

The demographic changes and trends notable in the Balkan countries hit Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. Migration of the population is the result of economic stagnation and living standards far below the EU average. For this reason, the number of the working-age population seeking to move to Western Europe countries is raising. The first aim of the research is to predict the demographic trends expected by the year 2050, using demographic data from the last thirteen years. In addition to this, the aim is to analyze how demographic changes affect higher education and training, labor market efficiency, and innovation. Comparing these variables with population trends, this paper identifies if there is a correlation between them. The research is based on hypothesis that there is a correlation between the country’s competitiveness pillars and demographic trends. The hypotesis is tested using statistical methods. Current demographic trends, along with other factors, have an impact on the weakening of the competitiveness of Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of the reasons could be that demographic changes are mainly related to the young and working-age population, as valuable human capital of the country.

This paper aims to contribute to the theoretical model of managing intellectual capital with an emphasis on the relational capital. Relational capital is especially relevant in the service sector, where differentiation is mostly based on non-price competition. Development of relational capital which strengthens the image through satisfaction of internal and external users encourages innovation and allows each process to be enriched with new knowledge. To illustrate this concept, the paper presents an empirical study of the participants of international students’ conference, coming from nine faculties from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia. Paper intends to define the steps to follow in developing a model of relational capital management at universities, taking in consideration the interaction between students' needs, defined through five levels and relationships with higher education institutions. The aim of research is also to encourage innovative processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and region, which are not always needed to be directly connected to curricular activities, but are derived from them. The results indicate the motives and motivation of both students and professors at fifth level of interaction. It also presents possible ways to expand cooperation in the fifth stage of interaction between students and higher education institutions. As the image of the company and its employees and clients is interconnected, this research points to elements that can be improved in further interaction, in order to achieve effects on each side.

This paper aims to contribute to the theoretical model of managing intellectual capital with an emphasis on the relational capital. Relational capital is especially relevant in the service sector, where differentiation is mostly based on non-price competition. Development of relational capital which strengthens the image through satisfaction of internal and external users encourages innovation and allows each process to be enriched with new knowledge. To illustrate this concept, the paper presents an empirical study of the participants of international students’ conference, coming from nine faculties from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia. Paper intends to define the steps to follow in developing a model of relational capital management at universities, taking in consideration the interaction between students' needs, defined through five levels and relationships with higher education institutions. The aim of research is also to encourage innovative processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and region, which are not always needed to be directly connected to curricular activities, but are derived from them. The results indicate the motives and motivation of both students and professors at fifth level of interaction. It also presents possible ways to expand cooperation in the fifth stage of interaction between students and higher education institutions. As the image of the company and its employees and clients is interconnected, this research points to elements that can be improved in further interaction, in order to achieve effects on each side.