Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between the three components of intellectual capital (IC) (human, structural, and relational), and contextual factors relating to organisational climate (OC) and innovation culture, together with their influence on business performance (BP).Design/methodology/approach: This empirical research is based on an online questionnaire, which collected data from a non-probability quota sample consisting of 253 Croatian SMEs. The scales for IC, OC, and innovation culture were constructed to test the relationship between these dimensions and assess the BP of the SMEs.Findings: Based on a survey on 253 SMEs in Croatia, the analysis shows that the key dimensions of IC, innovation culture, and OC are vital to a company’s success and are strongly inter-correlated. Higher BP is positively related to higher levels of both IC and innovation culture.Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of the research is the subjective aspect of the study. The data used in the study were self-reported where respondents in a survey gave their assessment of firm performance. Although this was necessary because of the absence of other data, it is an issue that must be taken into account when interpreting the findings in the study.Practical implications: Understanding the role of IC, OC, and innovation culture in relation to BP, particularly in former transition countries, can have important implications for managers and enterprise owners, as well as policy makers and the academic community.Social implications: The findings emphasise the important role of tacit knowledge in the innovation process, of which IC and OC are good examples.Originality/value: This empirical study brings evidence from the understudied country of Croatia. Croatia is a post-transitional country and the last accessed member of the EU, on the dividing line between a modest and a moderate innovator. This is the first empirical study conducted in Croatia that explores the association between three concepts that are typically investigated separately (IC, OC, and innovation culture).

Purpose: The main purpose of this research is to analyse the efficiency of the main European monitoring frameworks to estimate the transition of the countries within the European Union (EU) towards circular economy (CE) using the example of Croatia.Design/methodology/approach: Assessment methods with reliable data and appropriate indicators are essential when it comes to measuring transition and progress towards CE. The methodology employed in this research is a systematic and critical analysis of the seven European measurement frameworks employed to assess Croatia's progress towards CE.Findings: The analysis revealed how EU's monitoring frameworks have developed over time and how useful they are in evaluating country's progress towards CE. The measurement tools and indicators proved, in the case of Croatia, insufficient for clarifying and understanding its progress towards CE. Selection of indicators within monitoring frameworks is arbitrary while their interpretation is highly contextual, dependent on policy targets and local conditions. These results can be extrapolated to other EU member states.Practical implications: Policy recommendations for more efficient CE transitions are provided.Originality/value: This research sheds light on the CE development in Croatia – an understudied European country in this context – and discusses the country's goals towards sustainability. The limited success of developed CE indicators is discussed.

Vlada Republike Hrvatske provela je 2013. godine niz reformi znanstvenoistraživačkog sustava s ciljem povećanja njegove izvrsnosti i međunarodne konkurentnosti. Želeći analizirati dosege spomenutih reformi, 2017. godine provedeno je istraživanje o tome kako znanstvenici, nakon četiri godine rada u novom sustavu, percipiraju promjene u strukturi znanstvenoistraživačkog rada. Empirijsko istraživanje provedeno je dvoetapno, kvalitativnom i kvantitativnom metodom, na namjernom kvotnom uzorku prema znanstvenim disciplinama, institucijama i zvanjima. Rezultati pokazuju da su reforme dovele do određenih organizacijskih unapređenja te do uvođenja veće kompetitivnosti u istraživačkoj zajednici, ali da su istovremeno proizvele i niz neželjenih posljedica, ugrozivši među ostalim materijalnu osnovu znanstvenog rada te transparentnost i javnost djelovanja znanstvenog sustava. Zbog toga je opravdano postaviti pitanje: je li potreban novi zaokret u hrvatskoj znanstvenoj politici.

The paper discusses results of empirical research focused on the barriers to cooperation of Western Balkan countries and Turkey (WBC&T) in EU Framework Programmes (EU FP). ¹ 1. The study is carried out within the large-scale WBC.INCO-NET project that is currently in progress under the Seventh Framework Programme. View all notes It reveals that WBC&T and member states of EU share a very similar pattern of barriers dominated by ‘Project managing weaknesses’ and ‘Bureaucratic barriers of the European Commission’. However, same barriers present much greater difficulties to researchers from WBC&T due to low intensity in international research cooperation, weak mobility and specific socio-political factors like political instability and scientific inferiority. The weak participation of WBC&T in FP is an obstacle not only to integration of WBC&T into the ERA but also slows down overall cohesion process that is nowadays dependent on human capital and innovation capacities supported by research. Therefore, the balance between social cohesion policy and scientific-merit research policy should be put in place.

The aim of the paper is to identify the cross-national differences and similarities in policy-making trends on science in society (SiS) based on the comparative analysis of national reports from FP7 project “Monitoring Policy and Research Activities Related to Science in Society in Europe”. Science in society in EU is characterized by two parallel processes: Europeanization and diversity of science and innovation policies. The focus of the analysis is to explore the possible indications of Europeanization as well as diversities and find elements of certain elements of core–periphery model. The focus of the analysis is to explore the existence of common issues of SiS and on the other side different policy actions and national priorities. Although the analysis reveals the presence of Europeanization process diversities and divides are still present which draws attention to a core–periphery model. While common trends can be recognized on the theoretical and contextual level mainly coming from the various processes of Europeanization, the core–periphery model is simultaneously present on the practical level of governance and policy-making.