Youth attitudes and behavior in tourism activities are crucial for sustainable tourism development. This study aims to identify the statistical types of youth according to their expressed behavior in sustainability and attitudes toward sustainable tourism development. Survey data were collected from 1085 respondents representing different Baltic Sea countries—Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia. A unique research instrument, constructed by the authors, was developed for the empirical research, responding to the latest theoretical insights and models and was empirically validated by statistical methods (the factor validity of the scales was tested with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, etc.). Attitudes towards sustainable tourism development were measured with the SUS-TAS scale. The factor clustering method used in the study identified the statistical types of the youth included, according to the expression of sustainable behavior and the attitudes toward sustainable tourism development. The results indicated that the majority of youth belong to the “oriented toward sustainable behavior” type (50.6%), while the analysis of youth attitudes showed that 71.5% belong to the socioeconomic type, indicating that young people prioritize the long-term socioeconomic wellbeing of the region, which can be achieved through efficient management, tourism planning, and active public participation in the implementation of tourism policies.

The article analyses the relationship between citizens’ trust in local government institutions and participation in local governance. The research results have revealed that citizens’ trust in local government is still low and participation lacks activeness. Civic participation is more active than political participation. According to the research results, the main reasons of absence of participation in local governance are lack of information and knowledge about public participation, lack of information about participation opportunities, lack of communication and response to expressed opinion and suggestions. The results of quantitative research showed that participation and trust dimensions are related. Absence of clear communication and response to citizens expressed opinion and suggestions causes distrust and lower participation. However, the research revealed the weak relationship between the trust in local government and participation in local governance. This fact requires further research.

Introduction and objective: Healthcare professionals most often encounter occupational stress. The aim of the study was to investigate the working environment of health care professionals with the focus on expression of occupational stress, and oversee the possibilities of stress management and...

Vitality of a smart region depends on the network of closely interconnected actors (individuals and institutions) seeking common goals of development and their capacities to ensure effective knowledge creation and exploitation. This network (a regional innovation system (RIS)) empowers processes of absorptive capacity—knowledge access, anchoring and diffusion, contributing to regional innovativeness and competitiveness. Absorptive capacity is considered an important object of scientific research. However, there is still a lack of research providing specific tools that are adaptable for assessing the regional absorptive capacity in a small country. Existing differences among countries and even regions inside a small country require adjusted and modified methods and instruments. Consequently, the goal of this research is to present and substantiate the methodological approach of assessing the RIS's absorptive capacity giving evidence from a smart region (Kaunas County) of a small country (Lithuania). The mixed-method approach of the research (combining qualitative and quantitative research strategies) was used to substantiate the presented methodological approach. A smart region of a small country can be characterized by a denser institutional infrastructure and higher results (outcomes) of innovative activities. Smartness of the region can be understood as a consequence of the higher level of absorptive capacity.

Contemporary challenges require public sector institutions to adapt the changing environment and to ensure an appropriate internal management processes, including the leadership. Leaders are expected to inspire and create a vision, and advocate for that vision throughout the periods of growth, disruption or uncertainty. In recent years of pandemic the importance of change leadership increases in local self-government. The aim of this article is to examine the change leadership in Lithuanian municipal administration in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and on the basis of research results to form the assumptions of strengthening of change leadership in local self-government organisations. Analysis of theoretical aspects revealed main features of change leadership and its connection with transformational leadership in the context of public administration institutions focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. The scientific methods such as document analysis and qualitative semi-structured interview have been used for the empirical research, based on the case study of selected Lithuanian municipal administration as the field of research. The research results revealed that during the period of changes assumed by the COVID-19 pandemic the managers of Lithuanian municipal administration act like leaders of change, resolving problems in teams and flexibly reacting to current issues.

Seeking good governance at local self-government, ethics management is a significant function in a public administration organization, in line with transparency, accountability, responsibility, openness and efficiency. Leadership is a key factor in driving organization towards ethical culture. Given this fact, the aim of this article is to disclose the role of leaders of the municipality in the formation and implementation of the integral ethics management system. The integral system of ethics management in the municipality is measured through the ethics management measures, processes and structures from the perspective of leaders at the political and administrative level, taking Lithuania as a case for the study. Quantitative research in the form of a structured and standardized questionnaire was used. Research sample includes 274 respondents from Lithuanian municipalities. The findings of the research show that the political leader– the mayor of the municipality– is more symbolic one, more as supporter of the ethics management in a municipality, while the administrative leader – the director of the administration (head of the division) – is considered as the main figure in ethics management processes, as well the initiator and the personal example of ethical behavior.