We conducted the research as a case study in a selected company. The Slovenian company employs between 300 and 350 employees, of which 100 work in management. The first significant step in the Automotive industry occurred at the beginning of 2018 when the first important project was acquired, representing 1/3 of the annual turnover of EUR 30,000,000. Constant growth and, as a result, an ever-increasing number of new projects demanded the reorganisation of the company and the formation of a separate and independent project office for the needs of the Automotive industry. As part of the research, we explore the research problem: effective management of projects or project resources from the point of view of the company's business performance. Through systematic work and the vision of the company’s management, we showed the increase in efficiency of the project team's reduction of costs, which means better competitiveness in the global market for the future.

Background In recent years, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo have witnessed a notable increase in the number of skilled individuals, including healthcare professionals, seeking employment outside the country. Objective This paper’s research objective is to determine the factors influencing the brain drain of young individuals who work abroad based on the migration push and pull factors of healthcare professionals in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. Methods This paper combines a qualitative and quantitative research design. Data was generated via a questionnaire addressed to 300 young healthcare professionals. In addition, logistic regression was selected to evaluate future migration intentions. Results One of this paper’s main findings is that young healthcare professionals cannot make a sound judgment on whether remuneration in the destination country will improve their situation. Conclusions The absence of accounting literacy is one of the main factors in young professionals’ poor judgment. The negative correlation between home country opportunities and migration intentions appeals to significant reforms in the health care sector to deter brain drain from the Western Balkan region.

Purpose: This study investigates the critical role of project management in enhancing a company's operational viability, focusing on a Slovenian automotive industry company as a case study. The research scrutinises the efficiency of project and resource management and its direct correlation with the company's business performance amidst the backdrop of an ever-evolving global market. The study provides concrete evidence of how effective project management can drive business success by delving into specific project examples. Study Design/Methodology/Approach: Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the study encompasses both qualitative and quantitative analyses. A case study of a selected company, which recently embarked on significant organisational restructuring to accommodate growing project demands, forms the core of our research. The study delves into the optimisation of project resources and its impact on the company's competitiveness and market position through detailed analysis, interviews, surveys, and comparing project management models before and after reorganisation. We employ descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and content analysis to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the data. Findings: The research reveals that systematic project management significantly contributes to the company's efficiency and competitiveness. Key findings include increased project team efficiency, cost reduction, and improved global market competitiveness. Additionally, the study underscores the importance of a structured project office and robust resource management in attaining and surpassing projected business outcomes. Concrete examples from specific projects illustrate how challenges were addressed and resolved, providing practical insights for similar contexts. Originality/Value: This study contributes original insights into the strategic implementation of project management in a competitive industrial sector. By integrating theoretical knowledge with practical applications within the automotive industry, the research offers valuable perspectives on improving project management practices to enhance organisational viability and performance. Furthermore, the study's findings on resource optimisation and strategic project management provide a foundational framework for future research and practical applications in similar industrial contexts. The detailed case study examples enhance the practical relevance of the findings.

BACKGROUND: The focus of the article is on the attitudes among 8th graders in European countries on future European/EU integration and cooperation. OBJECTIVE: Our objective is to investigate to what extent different background characteristics are related with students' attitudes, opinions and expectations about sense of European identity, future of Europe (and EU), and student's endorsement of European cooperation (where part of the scale is also variable "to reduce unemployment"). And how strong is the association between student positive expectations towards Europe and other attitudes related with Europe/EU, and is there clear divide between post-communist countries (newer democracies in Europe) and the rest? METHOD: The techniques used to analyse the data are descriptive statistics, linear and binary logistic regression, Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients. Datasets are from last cycle of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS), N= 52,788 students. RESULTS: Results show important differences in perceptions, attitudes and expectations between students in newer and older democracies. These patterns may not always be clear and interpretable, but they show the differences across Europe. CONCLUSIONS: Future direct research are pointing on importance of having in mind that different background characteristics attributes to differences in attitudes' developments (and that this difers among countries), as well as on very challenging decisions when considering different regions to compare results among them, at that even post-communistic countries in Europe can not always be grouped in one "block".

The paper studies the productivity change of the commercial banks in the CEE countries over the post-crisis period 2013–2018. The productivity change is measured by the Malmquist Productivity Index and its sub-components, applying two approaches—the asset-oriented and profit-oriented intermediation approaches. The analysis uses data from a balanced panel of 181 commercial banks in 11 CEE countries. We find that commercial banks’ productivity, measured with the asset-oriented intermediation approach, decreased in most of the CEE countries over 2013–2018, with a decline ranging, on average, from 1% to 6.9%, driven mainly by a decline in technical efficiency. Nevertheless, estimates using the profit-intermediation approach point to productivity growth in commercial banks in all CEE countries, ranging, on average, from 0.5% to 6.3%. The empirical findings imply the need for the CEE commercial banks to further digital transformation and cost rationalization.

A few months in, it is still hard to grasp the scale and scope of COVID-19’s global impact. A third of the world population is under some sort of “lockdown.” All the while, a second crisis, in the form of an economic recession, is underway (Schwab and Vanham, 2020). During the recession, European Union (EU) members did not use fiscal policies to ease the recession, while the reinsurance system in the case of unemployment would achieve exactly this, as it acts as an automatic stabilizer. The response to unemployment in the great recession and subsequent events related to the European debt crisis has been very heterogeneous across Europe and in population groups. This study examines stabilizing power and efficiency of presented unemployment reinsurance systems (URS EU). We find that the statutory contribution rate for unemployment insurance is sufficiently high only in a small part of the EU. Only certain insurance systems are sustainable. This paper demonstrates that the need for an automatic stabilizer, such as the reinsurance in the case of unemployment, has shown even more necessary. Through this paper and these recommendations, this study hopes to encourage institutional reforms, especially in the euro area, as the monetary union reduces macroeconomic stabilization policies at national level. We believe that the URS EU would represent a possible solution to the problems outlined in the paper.

1 Politehnica University of Timisoara (ROMANIA)2 SoWiBeFo e.V. (GERMANY)3 International School for Social and Business Studies (SLOVENIA)

Volunteers are perceived as an important link in the inclusion of migrant students in schools, when institutions cannot take care of this on their own. For the theoretical part of the article systematic literature review, it was done by starting with 15,826 initial results, systematically reduced to 15 sources included in the theoretical part. The article discusses the role of volunteering in the inclusion of migrant students in schools and pay special attention on the results (reasons/need to volunteer) within the RoMigSc project. While the results show that volunteers expect personal benefit (e.g., career advancement), most of them are also internally (e.g., concerned for the disadvantaged ones) and externally (e.g., people close to them also volunteer) motivated. Future research and special practice shall consider recruiting internally motivated volunteers to work with migrant students. Although personal benefits can also increase volunteering, internal motivation is one of the leading factors.

Internet usage data from around the globe show that adolescents are the most frequent Internet users, but mostly for leisure activities and maintaining social contacts. In the present study, we focused on Internet use for e-services, which could improve youth efficiency in the financial domain (responsible consumer behaviour) and bridge the online divide in youth. Specifically, we explored how societal constructs (namely, institutional trust and personal values) influence the use of the Internet for online shopping, e-banking and communication with providers of goods and services online. We used a representative sample of adolescents (N = 10.902) from 10 countries of Southeast Europe where a great variability in Internet use is present, and where the use of e-services is generally lower than the EU average. This also allowed for meaningful cross-country comparisons. We tested a structural equation model of values predicting the use of the Internet through institutional trust (including some relevant demographic variables such as settlement size, SES and Internet use frequency) which was grounded in social capital theory, cultural theory and Schwartz human values model. The model exhibited a good fit to the data but the strengths of regressional paths were rather modest. Looking into the cross-country stability of the model, however, revealed some notable differences: while the relationship between trust and use of the Internet for e-services was modest in some countries, the relationship was insignificant in other countries, where Internet usage is lower in general. This suggests that strategies aimed at leveraging e-services and digital technology potential in youth should also account for cultural specificities in the transitional economies and cultural settings with sub-optimal adoption of digital services.

The paper deals with the suitability of the introduction of unemployment reinsurance in the countries of the European Union (URS EU) in terms of maintaining the level of consumption of the unemployed and promoting economic efficiency. Based on the literature review, the analysis of the us reinsurance system and the analysis of existing unemployment insurance in the EU, a model of the reinsurance system for unemployment in the EU is developed. The model simulation, based on the data of existing EU-20 unemployment insurance systems in the period 2003–2019, is used to determine the amount of reinsurance payments to countries and the level of contributions needed, while employing various ways of defining payment triggers. We have demonstrated that the urs EU would contribute to better income protection by having a direct impact on the income of the unemployed and at the same time acting as an automatic stabilizer of the economy.

The paper analyses the productivity change of a balanced panel of 1915 European banks during the 2013–2018 post-crisis period. To study productivity changes, the paper applies the non-parametric output-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach and the Malmquist productivity index (MPI). The total productivity change estimated by the MPI is further decomposed into technical efficiency change and technological change. The overall MPI estimates show a modest increase in the productivity of banks in half of the EU countries. Further decomposition of the MPI indicates that the productivity growth was mainly a result of technological improvement, which was particularly high among the new EU member states, whereas there was a significant drop in technical efficiency. The productivity growth was higher among banks in the non-euro area and among savings banks. The practical implications drawn from the paper are that European banks should further develop their business models to rationalize the costs and increase their operational efficiency and stimulate the adoption of fintech solutions and technological development so as to enhance their productivity.

BACKGROUND: Today, multiculturalism is present in all spheres of life. Teachers are at the forefront to first formally encounter children from different cultures, and as the first ones, children from different cultures will face it in their social life. Teachers are supposed to prepare students to meet and live with people from cultures different from their own. Hence, it is necessary to identify the competencies teachers need to work in an intercultural environment, given the globalising world where different cultures meet more often, coexist, and exchange values and ways of living. OBJECTIVE: This paper discusses the teachers’ competencies to work in an intercultural environment and presents the results from data collected within the RoMigSc project. These data are analysed to identify the competencies teachers need to work in a multicultural environment. METHODS: In the study, data from the RoMigSc survey were used, where information on the inclusion of migrant students was collected using the survey questionnaire method. All analyses in this paper are on a descriptive level with exploratory purpose. RESULTS: The results show that teachers don’t feel well prepared to support learning or teach human rights, emigration and immigration, shared values and discrimination. They also need more support in teaching in an intercultural and multicultural environment, especially out-of-school support. CONCLUSIONS: In general, teachers find their school and own practices inclusive for migrant and Roma students, but not in all aspects. None of the teachers has participated in a project to raise awareness of Roma issues.

It is still hard to grasp the scale and scope of COVID-19’s global impact. A third of the world population was under some sort of “lockdown”. Many economists argue that a second crisis, in the form of an economic recession, is underway. Countries took different measures to assure a minimum stability. For example, during the recession, EU members did not use fiscal policies to ease the recession, while the reinsurance system in the case of unemployment would achieve exactly this, as it acts as an automatic stabilizer. The response to unemployment in the great recession and subsequent events related to the European debt crisis has been very heterogeneous across Europe and in population groups.

Drawing on social identity theory, this study aims to examine the impact of antecedents of eWOM on the online purchase intention (OPI) of fashion-related products. In addition, social media usage moderates the relationship between eWOM and OPI. A structured questionnaire was completed by a sample of 477 Chinese WeChat users. An online survey was conducted in two metropolitan cities (Beijing and Shanghai). The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) generated by AMOS 22. The findings of this study found that all five antecedents of eWOM, such as fashion involvement, sense of belonging, trust, tie strength, and informational influence, positively related to the OPI of fashion products in China. Furthermore, eWOM significantly mediates the relationship between fashion involvement, sense of belonging, trust, informational influence, and OPI. The current study is considered the first to examine the role of eWOM in stimulating OPI through social media usage for fashion-oriented products in China. As such, it enriches the online buying literature by exploring the OPI mechanism through eWOM antecedents and validating the importance of social media factors in the development of online buying intention compared to previous studies. Furthermore, it provides several theoretical and practical implications, along with future opportunities.

A. Draghici1, N. Mirea1, N. Trunk Širca2, V. Dermol3, S. Espinosa4, A. Rutelione5, V. Kreci6, L. Ivascu1, A. Trunk3, M. Metzler1, D. Fatol1 1Politehnica University of Timisoara (ROMANIA) 2International School for Social and Business Studies / University of Primorska, Faculty of management Koper (SLOVENIA) 3International School for Social and Business Studies (SLOVENIA) 4University of Alicante (SPAIN) 5Kaunas University of Technical (LITHUANIA) 6South East European University (MACEDONIA)

This contribution addresses the importance of volunteering in the integration of migrants into schools. Volunteering is something that has been gaining the recognition and value over the last decade. It is recognized as one of the positive tools for the integration of migrants into schools, as it works well for people who need help, as well as for those who provide assistance, because of the feeling that they have done a good job. Volunteers are perceived as an important actor in inclusion when institutions cannot take this role by themselves. First, we defined the basic concepts and research in volunteering based on the relevant literature. The purpose of the contribution was to explore the importance of volunteering. We pay particular attention to the results of the RoMigSc project. In the survey conducted in Slovenia, Italy, Spain and Northern Macedonia in 2019, we wanted to gather opinions on volunteering. We were interested in assessing the importance of volunteering and the need for volunteering. We found that the majority of respondents believe that volunteering enables them to acquire new skills and abilities, demonstrate their humanitarian values, enable them to develop their careers, develop and strengthen social bonds, learn through direct experience and personal growth.Only the small share of reposndent thought, that volunteering allows them protection. Respondents' views showed that volunteering in schools is an effective way of showing all students that they need to care for others and that more volunteering will be needed for vulnerable groups in the future. Also in the CiSoTRA project (which addresses the support system for unaccompanied migrant minors and the competence of professionals to work) we came to the similar findings regarding the positive effects of volunteering in schools on young migrants, educational institutions and volunteers. In doing so, the importance of involving young migrants in volunteering at schools should be emphasized, as migrant pupils are more likely to trust someone witnh migrant background; this is also good oprotunity for enhancement of social inclusion of young migrant volunteers.

A few months in, it is still hard to grasp the scale and scope of COVID-19's global impact. A third of the world population is under some sort of 'lockdown.' Over 200 countries are affected, and the number of new cases and deaths in many places are still growing exponentially. All the while, a second crisis, in the form of an economic recession, is underway (Schwab and Vanham 2020). During the recession, EU members did not use fiscal policies to ease the recession, while the reinsurance system in the case of unemployment would achieve exactly this as it acts as an automatic stabilizer. We believe that the need for an automatic stabilizer, such as, for example, reinsurance in the case of unemployment, has shown even more so precisely because of the recession (Trunk and Stubelj, 2019). searches has already been conducted in the area; since 2008, there has been an increase in the level of unemployment among EU countries and by age groups. Boeri and Jimeno (2016) argue that the reason for these differences is related to labor market institutions, even if their interaction with the scale and nature of the shocks of the major recession and debt crisis in the euro area are taken into account. They present macro- and microdoxes that emphasize the importance of these interactions in explaining the differences between countries in adapting the labor market to the aforementioned shocks. Following the definition of labor market institutions that are responsible for this increase in the unemployment gap, they discuss what can be done at EU level to promote institutional convergence. In particular, they examined the positive conditioning approach, which could work well in good times, and not only during the period of recession, when conditionality is strong. At the same time, they warn of the adverse effects that can be caused by these reforms. gular exchanges of labor market information between EMU members can lead to the existence of reinsurance in the event of unemployment. The general problem of unemployment insurance is moral hazard - in the form of less intensive job search and receiving compensation in informal employment (Tatsiramos and van Ours 2014). In addition, the functioning of the labor market and related institutions within the EU is very diverse (heterogeneous). As a solution for the regular exchange of information between EMU members, Boeri and Jimena (2016) propose the introduction of unemployment reinsurance at EU level and the introduction of individual accounts that could transfer compensation within the EMU (aggregation of the EMU employment period) and which would act as complement the already existing forms of unemployment insurance in individual countries. e attractiveness of reinsurance for EMU unemployment would be its simplicity. Unemployment reinsurance would be modeled on the model of public unemployment systems that are known to citizens in most countries. The reinsurance system for unemployment would have a real character of reinsurance. The contributions would be determined on the basis of the current income with a certain threshold, after an individual contributing the reinsurance contributions for a sufficient number of months, he would be entitled to compensation in proportion to the amount of contributions previously paid.

The paper focuses on EU integration and EU monetary union. In the view of the ongoing unprecedented crisis, monetary policies in the EU have become one of the most important topics in Europe and are on the agenda of many EU countries, including Slovenia. European youth are at the core of Europe's future dynamism and prosperity, being an enormous potential for the European integration project. However, 57% of young Europeans feel that they have been marginalised and excluded (Youth Eurobarometer April 2014). Moreover, OECD PISA financial literacy research (2014) shows that financial literacy in many countries is low (Slovenia ranking 29th out of 44 countries). It comes therefore as mandatory to share the spirit of the European project with them through a broad debate and ensure that they are aware of the basic EU policies (including financial ones) and their impact on their everyday lives, in order to create a responsible and informed new generation of EU citizens. Through our project €U-iMoP, students will learn general knowledge of the EU and its institutions, social market economy, monetary policies and financial integration, as well as the importance of the European stability mechanism. The main purpose is not only to contribute to achieve success in their academic studies, but ultimately to prepare them for an active EU citizenship in their everyday lives.

Most recently, in 2018 the European Commission in its Communication on Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture, proposed as one of the actions towards the creation of a European Education Area an adoption of a Recommendation on the mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education diplomas and study periods abroad. The Commission considers this as “the first step in removing obstacles to the mobility of higher education students and secondary school pupils across the EU”, as it suggests that: • a higher education qualification gained in one Member State is automatically recognised, for the purpose of granting access to further studies, in the others; • an upper secondary qualification giving access to higher education (including those in VET) in one Member State is automatically recognised, for the purpose of granting access to higher education, in the others; • the outcomes from a learning period abroad in secondary and higher education should be recognised and allow enrolment in the next year of school or study, when appropriately documented. But until the above suggestions are enshrined in a legal text, if you are a student, or a worker of EU citizenship, and wish to study or work in another Member State, it is still worth checking comparability of your degrees and qualifications.