Growing environmental problems and increasing requirements of green jobs force universities around the world not only to transform their curricula but also to enrich existing ones with contents related to the promotion of sustainable development. This paper aims to show the importance of measuring and monitoring the share of green contents in all university activities, as only in that way it is possible to monitor trends and give realistic assessments of their effect and importance. The paper presents a comparative analysis of different types of methodologies for assessing sustainable activities at universities as well as research conducted at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia and its comparison with the University of Gothenburg (Sweden). This research aims to point out the importance of increasing competitiveness in higher education through assessment of green content in a curriculum and its promotion. In this way, through eco-labeling methodology, it would be easier to identify those contents that, in a certain share, contribute to the promotion of sustainable development. Furthermore, this methodology can easily be extended across the country and the region, which would bring positive effects to all stakeholders in higher education.

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a multidimensional construct that reflects a firm’s tendency to be innovative, proactive, and risk-taking. Previous research has demonstrated that companies with a strong EO possess a competitive advantage in the market when compared to those with a conservative approach to management. The objective of this study is to analyse the entrepreneurial orientation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using the ENTRE-U scale and to identify the dimensions of EO that are critical for achieving business success in the context of digital transformation and IoT implementation. The identification of these dimensions is facilitated through a survey method and exploratory factor analysis. After administering the ENTRE-U scale to a representative sample of SMEs that use modern technologies, such as IoT, four distinct dimensions of EO emerged. Each dimension of EO has a significant impact on firm performance. By adhering to the established EO dimensions and using the proposed methodology, managers can develop an efficient business model that aligns with the current digital market demands, enhances SMEs (survival, resilience, and sustainability), and addresses the high uncertainty prevalent in today’s business environment.

Taking into account the current trends and opportunities in the financial markets of developing countries, the subject of the research is to analyse, test and quantify the impact of the holiday effect on the daily return rates from investing activities for the observed financial markets of Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary. The aim of the research is to gain a concrete, empirically tested and quantified knowledge of the capabilities and effectiveness of autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (A.R.C.H.) and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (G.A.R.C.H.) models, in order to quantify the impact of the holiday effect on the rates of return from investing activities in the observed financial markets. The time period covered by the research is 2003–2016, where the length of the research time horizon makes possible model effectiveness testing in the periods before, during and after the global financial crisis. The methodology also includes S.I.C.–A.I.C. (Schwarz and Akaike) model selection criteria and a number of tests suitable for or adapted to the specific characteristics of financial markets in developing countries. The research results confirm the role and importance of the application of econometric models in order to quantify the risks of investing activities in the financial markets of developing countries.

This paper investigates the validity of the random walk theory in the Euro-Serbian dinar exchange rate market. We apply Andrew Lo and Archie MacKinlay's (1988) conventional variance ratio test and Jonathan Wright's (2000) non-parametric ranks and signs based variance ratio tests to the daily Euro/Serbian dinar exchange rate returns using the data from January 2005 - December 2008. Both types of variance ratio tests overwhelmingly reject the random walk hypothesis over the data span. To assess the robustness of our findings, we examine the forecasting performance of a non-linear, nonparametric model in the spirit of Francis Diebold and James Nason (1990) and find that it is able to significantly improve upon the random walk model, thus confirming the existence of foreign exchange market imperfections in a small transition economy such as Serbia. In the last part of the paper, we conduct a comparative study on how our results relate to those of other transition economies in the region.

Econophysics is a new and growing discipline that strives to connect and establish the interdependence between natural phenomena and human economic activities. A growing number of studies attempts to prove empirical correlation and cause-effect interdependence between sunspots and the behaviour of stock market indices. This relationship is theoretically based on the fact that sunspots cause enhanced geomagnetic activity of the Earth, and it changes human psychology and behaviour, inducing waves of optimism and pessimism, which affect investment intensity in stock markets, stock prices and return size. Therefore, the article explores the empirical correlation between sunspot activity and behaviour of stock indices in four growing stock markets in former transition countries (Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia). The period of seven years (2005 to 2012) is analyzed since it coincides with the outbreak of the global economic crisis (late 2008). The research results indicate that there exist empirical correlation and causality, in accordance with theoretical expectations.

The subject of the research is to analyze and to define the place, role and significance of the new concepts of standardisation in function of commodity exchange evolution. The objective of the research is to provide concrete information, tested in practice, about possibilities for improving commodity exchange trading, that is, making conditions for further commodity exchanges evolution, with special focus on conditions and circumstances at the domestic market of the Republic of Serbia. Methodology used in the research comprises methods of analysis, synthesis, explorative and inductive-deductive techniques. The results of the research will be useful both for academic sector for further exploration in the area, and also for policy makers in function of creation and implementation instruments for further commodity exchanges and commodity exchange trading development.