Sustainable tourism should maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction, so identifying components of tourism destination image plays an important role in destination management and marketing. This study aims to explore issues related to the image of a rural tourism destination, with the focus on the cognitive component. It also aims to analyze three dimensions of the cognitive component: functional, mixed, and psychological. Furthermore, this study gives the answer to the question of which dimension of the cognitive component makes the most significant impact on the general image of a rural tourism destination. The sample comprised 562 respondents. Data analysis included exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate the existence of three dimensions of the cognitive component, and it can be concluded that the psychological dimension of the cognitive component has the most significant impact on the general image of a rural tourism destination.

To increase the entrepreneurial intention, it is necessary to understand the main drivers that are driving students, as carriers of future economic development, towards starting a personal business venture. With regards to that, the main aim of this research was to analyze the entrepreneurial intention among students (managers in training) in the field of tourism and hospitality management. Particular attention was paid to the influence of their socio-demographic characteristics, as well as their parents on entrepreneurial intention. The research was conducted in survey form on a sample of 310 students in Serbia in 2020. The main findings indicated that entrepreneurial intention is higher among the male students, as well as among those students whose parents are entrepreneurs or whose fathers are retired. Besides theoretical contribution, the research results might contribute to scientific and research organizations and institutions in providing the guidelines for forming study programs that will raise the students’ entrepreneurial intention.

The subject of research in the paper is the capital structure of companies in the Republic of Serbia. The research sample consists of companies that operated in the manufacturing industry in the Republic of Serbia in the period 2006–2020. The aim of the research is to identify firm-specific variables that have significant influence on the capital structure of the analyzed companies. Using a panel data methodology, three leverage models were estimated: long-term leverage, short-term leverage, and total leverage. The research results confirm the importance of company size, profitability, tangibility, and risk in determining the capital structure of companies in the Republic of Serbia. However, the research results show that size, profitability, and tangibility of assets have the opposite effect on long-term leverage compared to short-term and total leverage. That is, the behavior of companies in the Republic of Serbia in the case of long-term leverage is in accordance with the predictions of the trade-off theory, while in the case of short-term and total leverage, the behavior of companies can be explained by the pecking order theory.

Capital structure refers to the combination of debt and equity that the company uses to finance overall operations and growth. One of the most common problems of small enterprises is difficult access to various sources of financing, which is certainly reflected in their capital structure. Deciding on capital structure is one of the most important activities in the company, given that it significantly determines the performance of the company, but also the competitiveness and sustainability of the business. The aim of the study was to investigate whether there is a significant difference in financial performance between enterprises belonging to different leverage levels. Financial leverage was calculated by dividing total debts to total assets and based on leverage the companies are divided into 3 groups. Using ANOVA analysis, we found that the only difference in financial performance indicators was observed with NPM (but with a small effect size: eta square = 0.0470), whereas no statistically significant difference was observed between the groups in the ROE and ROA indicators.

This paper examines the impact of debt in the capital structure on agency costs and therefore on the performance of a company. The efficiency of companies was estimated using two parametric techniques: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) methods and a Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). The estimated efficiency represents a measure of (inverse) agency costs. Agency costs cause a lower level of efficiency compared to companies that have minimized these costs, and companies that reach the efficiency frontier, in the observed context of this research, are viewed as those that have minimized agency costs. A panel regression model was applied in order to determine the direction and intensity of the influence of leverage and control variables on the initially estimated efficiency of the company. The results of this research on Serbian manufacturing companies show the expected positive effect of capital structure (leverage) on the efficiency of the company, which is in accordance with the predictions of the agency cost theory. The contribution of this research is reflected in the application of efficiency as a performance indicator in the observed context of examining the theory of agency costs, bearing in mind that the measure of efficiency is closer to the theoretical view of these costs.

This study investigated the intersection of healthy and sustainable human settlement, and land use for spa tourism in rural areas. Recognizing the crucial role of youth in shaping the future of tourism, this research aimed to provide an insight into the young local rural community representatives’ perception of sustainable spa tourism development and to identify whether these attitudes are shaped by their socio-demographic characteristics. The applied methodology was the Sustainable Tourism Attitude Scale (SUS-TAS). A total of 254 respondents took part in this research. Using SPSS 30.0.0, the gathered data were subjected to additional analyses based on factor analysis, descriptive statistics, and the general linear model. The results showed a general positive attitude of local community members towards the further development of spa tourism in their communities. The especially important factors were the following: long-term planning of development, environmental protection, negative attitudes towards spa tourism development, economic benefits, as well as community participation. By providing an empirical analysis based on the use of robust tools for measuring youth attitudes, this research offers valuable insights for policymakers, planners, and community leaders into how they can design and implement tourism strategies that align with sustainability principles while fostering local economic development and environmental stewardship. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the broader discussion on developing healthy, sustainable human settlements that balance economic benefits with ecological and social well-being. Synergy/harmony between communities and their natural surroundings is essential for the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of rural human settlements. Mineral springs and spas facilitate sensory experiences for individuals (both tourists and residents) through the utilization of natural resources and the environment.