ABSTRACT This study is the first to examine recent migration from Bosnia and Herzegovina to China in the 21st century. It gives an overview of new Chinese geopolitical and economic circumstances, a historical analysis of migration flows between China and the rest of the world from the 19th to the 21st century, and a survey of recent emigration flows from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second part presents the results of an empirical study of labour migration from Bosnia and Herzegovina to China and the experiences of 25 migrants, which was conducted using structured interviews The research results show that most in the group plan to stay in China permanently. Some would like to move to North America or Australia. It is characteristic that there are no gender gaps in terms of qualifications or career ambitions. The measures to combat COVID-19 implemented by the Chinese government affected the respondents in different ways.

The Western Balkan region (WB) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lag behind the EU-28 counterparts in their export activities. The positive influence of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) on local business support organisations and the local businesses is identified as a contributing factor to that improvement. To investigate the EEN's role in the export of the WB SMEs in the period 2014-2017, the authors used available statistical data on export from the WB countries. The survey was conducted in three phases, with the samples of 1,463, 222, and 12 companies. Analysed results of the EEN activities in the WB show that EEN had a positive influence on the firms' performance and their international activities;67% of supported firms increased their turnover, 62% increased their market share, and the EEN services had a positive impact on the jobs in 52% of the examined firms. The survey results about the expected and actual impact of the EEN services proved a positive impact of the Network on the five indicators: market improvement, cost savings, job creation or maintenance, quality improvement, and innovation. The paper contains important practical implications for the policymakers and the SME managers alike, and the implications mentioned above are generalisable.

This paper aims to examine the links between university-industry collaboration (UIC) predictors (inputs) and the results of UIC cooperation (outputs). The focus of the research is UIC within the European Union member states and the Western Balkan countries. The analysis was conducted using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). This method enabled examining the links between variables that are not directly observable. The authors used data for the period of three years, 2015–2018. The results prove that countries investing in UIC predictors (inputs) have better UIC performance (outputs). Based on the statistical analysis, the authors identified the investments in knowledge, networking, and research and development (R&D), in general, as the most significant that impact UIC performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between ?soft? support infrastructure (SSI) and the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study encompasses European countries? economic activity and SMEs? output in 2015 and 2018. The focus of the research is SMEs in the European Union member states and the Western Balkan countries. The analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). This method enabled the examination of links between variables that are not directly observable. The results show that countries investing in SSI have better SME performance. Based on the statistical analysis, among other things, the authors identify the Human Development Index and the use of information and communication technology at the company level as the two most significant factors that impact on SMEs? performance.

The article deals with the contemporary labor migrations from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Slovenia and the other countries of European Union, specifically during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic On the basis of fieldwork among the participants in these migrations, it seeks to identify the specifics of circumstances and situations that arose suddenly with the closure of political borders and the demands of social di-stancing In these circumstances, we supposed that labor migrants found themselves to be a particularly vulnerable group of population The case study has denied that this is completely true On the other hand, labor migrations from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Central, Western and North European and some non-European countries have been a continuous process for the last century and at least migration flows must be taken as a fact which directions, volumes and character are greatly influenced by labor market regulations in each individual EU member and other states Periodically, specific political and social situations also gain importance The COVID-19 pandemic has exactly such an impact © 2020, University of Ljubljana All rights reserved