The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant changes to business operations, particularly addressing human resources and their role within the firm. This study aims to assess the sustainability of human capital efficiency in the hotel industry, including the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In accordance with the value-based approach, the human capital efficiency (HCE) coefficient was calculated on a sample of 157 hotels in a five-year period, including the year in which the pandemic was declared. We employed a quantitative methodology based on the VAIC^TM method of assessing human capital efficiency and Annual Compounded Growth Rate (ACGR) to evaluate the trend of human capital efficiency. The research results showed a change in the trend of human capital efficiency in the hotel industry in 2020, as well as a change in the mean value of the HCE coefficient. Hotels with a higher category demonstrated a better ability to create value using human capital. The contribution of this work is represented in the quantification of the sustainability of human capital efficiency in the observed period and the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the value-added efficiency of human capital in the hotel industry.

Purpose: The employer brand is a crucial intangible asset for companies as it enhances the employer–employee relationship, leading to improved employee performance and overall company outcomes. This paper aims to investigate the contribution of the employer brand to the financial results of companies in southern Europe.Design/methodology/approach: The sample consists of 266 companies operating in southern European countries during the year 2020. Secondary data on employer brand attributes, assessed from the perspective of current employees, were collected from the Glassdoor platform. Financial indicators were obtained from the companies' annual financial reports. The research hypotheses were tested using regression analysis.Findings: The results of the regression analysis support the notion that the employer brand contributes to profitability indicators and management effectiveness indicators of southern European companies. However, the study did not find evidence supporting the contribution of the employer brand to market indicators and financial structure indicators of the observed companies.Originality/value: This study is one of the first empirical investigations to assess the role of the employer brand as a human capital tool for enhancing the financial performance of companies in southern Europe. The study examines employer brand attributes from the perspective of current employees, who actively participate in shaping the employer brand and the company's image. In contrast to prior research, this study incorporates a more extensive set of financial indicators, categorized into four groups: profitability indicators, management effectiveness indicators, market indicators and financial structure indicators.

This paper aims to emphasize the quantification of intellectual capital, not disclosed on the assets side of the balance sheet in the smart and knowledge-based enterprise, because it is very important for the more precise quantification of the profitability ratio, such as the return on assets (ROA). For this purpose, the paper suggests the EIC (efficiency of intellectual capital) methodology. It points out the necessity for the new profitability formula, gives methodological solutions for it, and investigates the impacts of intellectual capital (IC) efficiency indicators on traditional and new formulas of profitability in the case of knowledge-intensive and smart companies. The research confirms the importance of improving the profitability measurement in the knowledge economy era, where exists the dominance of intangible assets. It emphasizes the need for the correction of the denominator of the traditional ROA indicator. The comprehensive measurement of the total intellectual capital, especially its non-disclosed component in the balance sheet, provides information for more precise and accurate profitability measurements. The paper points out the issue of improving the traditional financial ratio, such as the ROA. This can be achieved by incorporating the value of intellectual resources, which are undisclosed in the balance sheet, in its denominator. This solution results in creating a new profitability indicator—return on total employed resources (EOR). This EOR indicator is more successful in capturing the enterprise’s intellectual performance compared with traditional profitability ROA indicators. This fact leads to the conclusion that EOR is better profitability indicator especially for smart and knowledge-intensive companies.

Employer brand represents an intangible asset which is the result of successful implementation of employer branding strategy that promotes the company as exceptional employer, provides the candidates with realistic expectations and fulfills the promises made to all employees. The main aim of the research is to prove that hotel companies should be strongly encouraged to develop employer brand, since this is one of the best ways to increase workforce performance. In terms of business operations, employer brand is monitored by means of appropriate dimensions (training and development, employer reputation, work/life balance, corporate social responsibility, business culture). Testing of research hypotheses was performed using regression analysis and ANOVA test. Results indicate statistically significant impact of employer brand on workforce performance and statistically significant difference in the level of accomplished average workforce performance among different category hotels.

As an important topic in the field of corporate governance, the influence of the board of directors’ characteristics on the profitability of corporations is examined here. This paper examines the influence of the board of directors’ and chief executive officers’ (CEO) characteristics on the profitability of banks in Serbia. In this study, the characteristics of boards of directors were examined in terms of size and the participation of women, and the characteristics of CEOs were examined similarly in terms of women’s participation. The research was conducted on a sample of 23 commercial banks from Serbia in the period from 2017 to 2021. Profitability was measured by the rate of return on operating assets (ROA) and the rate of return on equity (ROE). The results of the panel regression analysis indicate that the size of the board of directors had a positive impact on bank profitability during the COVID-19 pandemic period, while this impact was not statistically significant before the pandemic. The participation of women on the board of directors did not have a statistically significant impact on bank profitability before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been found that the participation of women as CEOs had a negative impact on bank profitability before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.