Relationships among components of insurance companies and services’ quality
Urban Šebjan, Polona Tominc
Quality registers in professional health care educations; knowledge gaps and proposed actions
Annika M. M. Nordin, Torie Palm Ernsäter, Bo Bergman
Users’ perceptions on Internet financial reporting
Tatjana Dolinšek, Polona Tominc, Andreja Lutar Skerbinjek
Outline of Implemented Eco-innovation Activities – the Case of Clusters of South Eastern European Region
Jana Hojnik, Mitja Ruzzier, Aleš Lipnik
Organizational and Managerial Challenges of Reforming Slovenian Public Agencies
Polonca Kovač
Supplement
Reviewers in 2014
Jože Zupančič
The Prospects for Consumer-Oriented Social Media
Roger Clarke
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, Canberra, Australia, and Australian National University, Canberra, and University of New South Wales, Sydney
Abstract
Background/Purpose: The term ‘social media’ refers to a cluster of applications and online services that support human interaction and content broadcasting and sharing. Current services are isolated islands or ‘walled gardens’, and are based on a business model that is highly exploitative of individuals and their data. Design/Methodology/Approach: Surveys of the refereed literature have been undertaken on several occasions during the period 2012-13. Reviews were conducted of social media services that are reasonably described as ‘consumer-oriented’. Media reports on those services were uncovered. The available information was then subjected to analysis, including reflection based on prior research conducted by the author. Results: Required characteristics of consumer-oriented social media, and barriers to emergence and adoption of such services were identified. That provided a basis for proposing means to overcome those barriers. Key impediments to the emergence of such services were identified, and means of overcoming the impediments outlined. Conclusion: An alternative, consumer-oriented approach is feasible, involving open architecture, inter-operability and portability features, fair terms and privacy-sensitivity.
Relationships among components of insurance companies and services’ quality
Urban Šebjan
University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Razlagova 14, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Polona Tominc
University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Razlagova 14, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Abstract
Background/Purpose: An increasing number of insurance companies and the intensity of competition in this field require research on customer perceptions of the components of insurance services and insurance company. The objective of this study was to examine the conceptual model and to study the relationships between customer perceptions of the innovation, reputation, adequacy of premium, and adequacy of information about the coverage of insurance services. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research model was tested with structural equation modelling (SEM) with a sample of 200 Slovenian users of insurance services. Results: The results indicated that higher perceived innovation of insurance company was associated with higher perceived reputation of insurance company. In addition, higher perceived reputation of insurance company was associated with higher perceived adequacy of information about the coverage and the premium for insurance services. The study also found that higher perceived adequacy of premium was associated with higher perceived adequacy of information about the coverage of insurance services. Conclusion: The original contribution of this article is also the highlighting of relationship between perceived reputation of insurance company, perceived adequacy of information about the insurance premium and perceived adequacy of information about the coverage of insurance services.
Quality registers in professional health care educations; knowledge gaps and proposed actions
Annika M. M. Nordin
School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University
Torie Palm Ernsäter
Swedish Society of Nursing
Bo Bergman
Quality Sciences, Centre for Healthcare Improvement. Chalmers University of Technology
Abstract
Background/Purpose: The use of quality registers has increased rapidly in Sweden and they are identified as beneficial for health care competitiveness. A quality register is a structured gathering of patient information, to improve health care. However, the introduction of quality registers in health care organisations presupposes that employees know how to use them in quality improvement. Disconnections, or knowledge gaps, concerning quality registers hamper the possibilities to take advantage of them. Taking departure in professional health care educations, the purpose with the paper is to identify and explore knowledge gaps concerning quality registers. A second purpose is to propose actions to bridge the gaps. Methodology/Approach: In 2012 50 semi-structured telephone interviews were completed and the material analysed in the search for knowledge gaps. Results: Five knowledge gaps were found. Some professional health care educations teach improvement knowledge, but they have difficulties integrating quality registers as a resource in teaching. Quality registers do not sufficiently cooperate with professional health care educations and county councils do not generally include learning of quality registers in clinical placements/practicums. Conclusion: Professional health care educations need forums where they can collaborate with others to jointly explore how learning of quality registers can be integrated. There are promising approaches.
Users’ perceptions on Internet financial reporting
Tatjana Dolinšek
Faculty of Commercial and Business Sciences, Lava 7, 3000 Celje, Slovenia
Polona Tominc
University of Maribor, Faculty of Economic and Business, Razlagova 14, 2000 Maribor
Andreja Lutar Skerbinjek
University of Maribor, Faculty of Economic and Business, Razlagova 14, 2000 Maribor
Abstract
Background/Purpose: The objective of this research was to explore the perceptions of the users regarding Internet financial reporting practices in Slovenia. With this research, we wanted to determine what the perceptions of the users are regarding the reliability, credibility, usefulness and sufficiency of online accounting information and how their expectations regarding the content of accounting information differ from the actual situation. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: This research has two parts: in the first part, we summarised the actual situation regarding publishing of internet financial reporting on a sample of large companies in Slovenia (n=110) while, in the second part, we conducted a survey with which we assessed the expectations of users as regards of accounting information (n=127). We then compared users’ expectations with the actual situation, analysed by evaluation of 110 websites of Slovene companies. Results: In the research we found that 52.6% of companies publish their accounting information on their websites and that on average 40.2% of users actually make use of this information We found that users have evaluated all four of characteristics: reliability, credibility, usefulness and sufficiency above average, whereby they evaluated usefulness with the highest grade and sufficiency with the lowest. Conclusion: The results of this research can offer companies a feedback on users’ expectations, particularly in cases where these expectations are greater than the actual situation. We have determined that users generally want information that indicates the financial status of a company (such as the Rating Report and data on the company’s liquidity), as these information are currently expected by users but available information do not meet their need in full.
Outline of Implemented Eco-innovation Activities – the Case of Clusters of South Eastern European Region
Jana Hojnik
Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Cankarjeva 5, 6000 Koper, Slovenia
Mitja Ruzzier
Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Cankarjeva 5, 6000 Koper, Slovenia
Aleš Lipnik
University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre of Koper, Garibaldijeva 1, 6000 Koper, Slovenia
Abstract
Background/Purpose: Providing a win-win situation for enterprises and the environment is raising the importance of eco-innovation. This article sheds light on the eco-innovation activities implemented within the clusters of the South Eastern European region (hereafter the SEE region). The main objective of this paper is to provide an outline of the situation pertaining to the implementation of eco-innovation activities in analyzed clusters. Methodology: Empirical evidence is provided through the performance of survey research with a sample of 52 clusters, encompassing 11 countries of the SEE region. The basic research method used in this research was a questionnaire developed for cluster organizations, with which we gathered the data and afterwards conducted descriptive statistics. Results: The findings demonstrate that the majority of analyzed clusters implement eco-innovation activities. The results indicate that 40 clusters out of 52 in all have set objectives with regard to eco-innovation support in their national or regional programs, followed by 35 clusters, which include objectives related to eco-innovation in their cluster strategies, and lastly, only 15 clusters are primarily focused on eco-innovation. Hence, our study depicting the current situation regarding the implementation of eco-innovation activities in analyzed clusters and clusters’ orientation towards eco-innovation leads to us the discussion of why such differences in clusters occur. Conclusion: The huge differences related to the implementation of eco-innovation activities in clusters of the SEE region, can also reflect the level of the national/regional development in terms of economic indicators such as GDP and, at the same time, offer room for a lot of improvement, and an exchange of best practice.
Organizational and Managerial Challenges of Reforming Slovenian Public Agencies
Polonca Kovač
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Administration, Gosarjeva ulica 5, SI-1000 Ljubljana
Abstract
Background/Purpose: Agencies are among the key contemporary public organizations, prospering within reforms carried out worldwide to increase professionalism and rationalism in public administration (PA). Hence, countries have been establishing agencies and delegating them public tasks in order to achieve expertise-based instead of politically-driven and thus more efficient public policies. In such context, the present article addresses the most important strategic documents related to public administration reform (PAR) in Slovenia, analyzing their goals in terms of agencification and the main implementation results and gaps. Research Design: The research is dedicated to exploring the governmental approach to agencification as a key aspect of PAR. It analyzes (1) the main PAR strategic documents on public agencies in Slovenia since the mid-90s, and (2) the perceived implementation of structural and managerial autonomy as the declared goal of agencification. Combined research methods are applied, including descriptive analysis, regional comparisons, structural interviews among representatives of public agencies and their parent ministries, and selected statistical data analysis. Results: As proven by different research methods, the hypothesis whereby agencification goals in Slovenia are largely achieved as part of PAR documents in terms of autonomous organizational structure was confirmed. A more elaborated agencification in PAR documents relates to higher implementation of autonomy. Conclusion: Nevertheless, the professionalism of Slovenian agencies is still an on-going process, particularly as regards the efficiency implementation gap. As for the future, a more consistent PAR incorporating cross-sectoral policy on agencies is required to pursue the development of a democratic and efficient PA.
