Regional Formation and Development Studies

Social enterprises are crucial for Europe and its economy. These enterprises significantly contribute to job creation (especially for socially sensitive groups) and accounts for about 6 % of GDP across the European Union. In Latvia the role of social entrepreneurship is underestimated. The research aim is: based on the international experiences regarding social entrepreneurship, to determine economic gains of social businesses in Latvia. During the first year of developing social enterprises (2015) in Latvia, it is envisaged to establish 250 social enterprises, in which in total 1250 people will be employed, of which 50 % will be individuals from socially sensitive groups. Thus, the social benefit burden in municipalities will decrease by EUR 61 thousand, while almost EUR 222 thousand will be collected by the national government. The total gain from social entrepreneurship will amount to EUR 1.5 million over a six year period (2015–2020).

Tyrimo tikslas – išnagrinėjus pajamų nelygybės poveikio ekonomikos augimui aplinkos kanalu teorines interpretacijas, įvertinti pajamų nelygybės poveikį ekonomikos augimui skirtingose šalių grupėse. Rezultatai pagrįsti 28-ių ES šalių paneliniais duomenimis 1995–2017 m. laikotarpiu. Pirmoje straipsnio dalyje apibendrintos pajamų nelygybės poveikio ekonomikos augimui aplinkos kanalu teorijos. Antroje – sutelkti pajamų nelygybės poveikio ekonomikos augimui aplinkos kanalu vertinimo modeliai, pagrįsta vertinimo metodika ir aptariami empiriniame tyrime taikomi kintamieji. Trečioje dalyje nustatyta, kad didėjanti pajamų nelygybė daro nevienareikšmį poveikį ekonomikos augimui aplinkos kanalu. Nustatyta, kad pajamų nelygybė skatino ekonomikos augimą aplinkos kanalą atskleidžiant sieros oksidų atžvilgiu ir atsinaujinančios energijos dalimi, vertinant bendrą galutinį energijos suvartojimą.

Organizational learning is evaluated as issue of essential importance in modern organizations performing in contemporary society of knowledge. It is claimed that organizational learning is a very appropriate tool for adapting to the changing environment and for integration of various innovations into organizational activities. Different authors emphasize that learning in organizations occurs in individual, group or collective and organizational levels. But only learning formalized and documented in official organization legislation is named as organizational learning and is meant to be necessary for an organization for gaining its new knowledge.

Straipsnyje pateiktas naujas požiūris į ekonominių procesų valdymą, akcentuojant grįžtamąjį ryšį ekonomikoje. Požiūris grindžiamas nauja holistine bendrųjų procentų idėja ir iš jos kylančiu soties (užpildymo) fenomenu. Parodoma, kad viena silpniausių vietų ekonomikoje yra neteisingas finansinio burbulo supratimas, teigiamo grįžtamojo ryšio nepakankamas ištyrimas ar netinkamas jo taikymas. Nustatyta, kad neigiamas grįžtamasis ryšys virsta teigiamu esant soties efektui, kurį lemia rinkos finansinis prisotinimas. Parodoma, kad atsiradus teigiamam grįžtamajam ryšiui formuojasi ekonominis burbulas. Pateikiamas patikslintas finansinio burbulo apibrėžimas. Taikant fenomenologinį metodą daroma prielaida, kad minios efektą gali paaiškinti susiformavęs soties efektas ir teigiamas grįžtamasis ryšys. Atliktas tyrimas atskleidė, kad ekonominių procesų valdymo analizėje, orientuojantis į bendruosius procentus (bendrąsias palūkanas), atsiskleidė nauji jo aspektai, leidę geriau paaiškinti teigiamą grįžtamąjį ryšį, prisotinimą, soties paradoksą, finansinius burbulus, infliaciją ir kitus ekonominius reiškinius. Darbe taikyta sisteminė ir lyginamoji mokslinių šaltinių analizė, modeliavimas, ekonominė logistinė analizė ir sintezė, fenomenologinis tyrimų metodas.

This article briefly presents the history of digitization of public administration in Poland. Statistical data of GUS and Eurostat (especially from 2012 to 2016) is used, based on which the profile of the Internet user and his/her expectations for the authorities and experience with e-government are described. The author attempts to understand why citizens–internet users (including the unemployed) do not use the Internet. The author points out three IT projects that were implemented in the citizen services sector under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. However, the first attempts at computerization of the administration were not effective enough and – as it could be expected – they were not cheap either. The situation changed in April of 2016 when the family assistance program “Family 500 Plus” was introduced. It turned out that with 2 million applications submitted, almost 0.5 million were received electronically, 95% of which were sent via the Internet banking system. The author concludes that the simplest way to popularise e-government is to combine Internet banking systems with state administration systems.

Pagrindiniai tradicinių biudžetų trūkumai mažina įmonės veiklos efektyvumą, todėl siekiant išspręsti tradicinių biudžetų sistemoje

There are 33 rural, 18 semi-rural and 9 urban municipalities in Lithuania according to three criterias: 1) part of population living in rural areas; 2) population density and 3) distance of municipality from large towns/cities. Šilutė district municipality together with Rusnė ward has been studied in detail to search the main problems of sustainable development of these rural territories of Klaipėda region. System analysis approach and method of integrated sustainability index were applied with suplement of social inquiry fulfiled in Rusnė ward. The indices selected for calculations and comparison of rural and semi-rural municipalities, including Šilutė district, were social, economic and environmental: for Šilutė 4 different indices in each group were selected, for Rusnė ward – 3 indices. The integrated sustainability index was calculated for all rural municipalities of Lithuania and Rusnė ward. The research period for Šilutė and other municipalities was 2006-2012, and for Rusnė ward 2008-2012. Research has revealed that the main problems with sustainability in the studied territories are of social character. According to the Integrated sustainability index, Šilutė district municipality was somehow lower than other rural municipalities of Lithuania, and even in Rusnė ward this index was a little higher during 2011–2012, than in Šilutė district municipality.K

Consumers are willing to buy more from companies that share their values and principles. Increasingly and rapidly consumer values are shifting towards sustainable development. This rapid shift in values has created the need for marketing communications to become anchored in appropriate sustainable marketing principles. So, it follows that appropriate sustainability marketing creates higher and longer value-based relationships with consumers. The article analyses consumer values and principles related to sustainability and its linkage with integrated marketing communications. Even though the marketing of sustainability is a heavily covered topic by scholars, it is still perceived as an alternative or “niche” solution for certain consumer segments. Considering this information, the aim of this article is to uncover the mainstream consumer values and principles and identify how they are reflected in the mainstream brands’ marketing communications. The study is based on the analysis of general and special literature, scientific papers and periodicals published by Lithuanian and foreign scholars. The retail food sector was chosen for the study due to its significant contribution to the economy. Content analysis of the sector’s integrated marketing communications was conducted. Yet the analysis of food retailers operating in Lithuania shows that consumer values and principles are only partially reflected. The biggest gap is that no brand appears to position itself as a market leader in sustainability or focuses on sustainability development within the organization. This gap shows opportunities as well as lack of commitment from the industry.

This article analyses the opinion of pre-school teachers on the peculiarities of the development of language skills of pre-school

The role of cross-border cooperation of Kaliningrad region’s of Russian Federation border municipalities in its development strategies are observed. Significance of cross-border cooperation of small and semi-medium cities for its socio-economic development is analysed. The main spheres of cooperation between small and semi-medium border settlements of Kaliningrad region, Poland and Lithuania have been defined. The theoretical base on cross-border cooperation (Russian and foreign researchers) was analysed, and five geographical methods were used on preparation the article.