This paper aims to examine attitudes of hospitality and tourism students, as future professionals, towards willingness to implement service robots. The study proposes a new theoretical conceptual model that includes new constructs and items, differentiating it from the others. The model was formed based on the extensive literature review and the interview with an eight-member focus group (hotel managers and academic researchers). Data collection was performed in two stages, pilot research based on 82 respondents and the main study, with the final number of respondents being 236. The initial results of the exploratory factor analysis were further tested using the confirmatory factor analysis. After the exclusion of several items due to low factor loadings and in order to improve model validity, analyses further suggested a nine-dimensional solution with 45 items. The study findings reveal a positive relationship between seven constructs and students’ willingness to implement service robots, with the expected business outcome being the most influencing one. On the other hand, positive relation was not found for empathy and social influence constructs. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed in the paper. In conclusion, study limitations and future research suggestions are provided.

By using the balanced scorecard model, a company is able to identify its advantages, as well as its deficiencies, and thus improve its business. The introduction of innovations and the implementation of innovative activities in companies are key for gaining a competitive advantage. There is no ideal model that would measure the non-financial, non-tangible perspectives of a company (such as customer perspective, the perspective of research and innovation, and the perspective of internal processes). The main goal of this paper is researching the applicability of the balanced scorecard model in small- and medium-sized companies as the basis for a model for assessing innovative activities in the Republic of Slovakia and the Republic of Serbia. First, a hypothetical model was created based on theoretical data from world scientific articles. Then, the structural equation model (SEM model) was created, based on the conducted research in 223 companies and the obtained results.

In this article, monthly and yearly electricity consumption predictions for the German power market were calculated using the multiple variable regression model. This model accounts for several factors that are often neglected when forecasting electricity demand in practice, in particular the role of the higher efficiency of electricity usage from year to year. The analysis performed in this paper helps to explain why no growth in power consumption has been observed in Germany during the last decade. It shows that the electricity efficiency usage dataset is a relevant input for the model, which mitigates the combined impact of other factors on the final electricity consumption. The electricity demand forecasting model presented in this article was built in the year 2013 with forecasts for the future years’ electricity demand in Germany provided until 2020. These forecasts and related findings are also evaluated in this article.

Tradition of beer industry in Slovakia takes origin in 19th century, when production of beer primarily appeared in this country. Slovaks love beer, which is confirmed by gradually increasing number of beer producing facilities. Production of beer has significant impact on development of Slovak economy, direct foreign investments, creation of new jobs, technology modernization etc. There are also many significant multinational corporations operating in Slovakia such as Heineken International, Topvar, Steiner and others. Significant revolution is going on also in the sector of small independent craft breweries in Slovakia. The objective of this paper is to emphasize the importance and impact of beer industry on Slovakian economy and to analyze advantages and disadvantages of the sector in this area.