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.

Healthcare providers in a dynamically changing environment are under pressure to control the rapid growth of healthcare costs, which is greatly assisted by internal audit. Healthcare organizations today face a myriad of challenges as they try to adapt to demands for better quality and reduced costs. Health service production needs methodologies based on the specific characteristics of health care. Management-based segmentation methods reveal that emergencies, continuous care, prevention and treatment have different logics of value creation, waste, demand, and finance. Healthcare operations management focuses on organising resources and flows so that given goals, costs and clinical quality and patient experience can be achieved with the available resources. In this context, the purpose of this paper is defined, which is to point out the specifics of cost management in healthcare organisations.

In this paper, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the savings of Slovenian households in banks is explored. For this purpose, an econometric model is developed and the macroeconomic variables exerting a statistically significant impact on household deposits in banks are identified. Among all the macroeconomic variables considered in the paper, the research study has shown that there are only two macroeconomic variables with a statistically significant impact. These two macroeconomic variables are the Euro Overnight Index Average (EONIA) reference interest rate used as a proxy variable for the rate of return, and the price of one Bitcoin as a yield on an alternative investment opportunity. The results of this research study are important for both the Central Government in Slovenia and for Slovenia's banks as household deposits are a source of funding for banks in the time of a crisis as well, and because of the fact that the volume of the loans granted accelerates the GDP growth, which shows the successful implementation of the economic policy.

Research Question: The observed research problem is the low productivity growth rate of Serbian entrepreneurs, which requires a forecast of the trend of this indicator in the future to take advantage of business opportunities and improve the innovative potential of entrepreneurs. Improving productivity implies defining a benchmark, herein the entrepreneurial sector of Slovenia as a country that has achieved high productivity values and, according to certain productivity parameters, achieves similar results as Serbia. Motivation: The paper aims to respond to the research gaps: what level of productivity is achieved by the entrepreneurial sector of Serbia and Slovenia, how this value moved over the years, what it will be like in the coming period, and whether appropriate measures of productivity growth of successful countries (Slovenia) can be applied to the development of productivity of Serbian entrepreneurs. Idea: The idea of the paper is to determine possible development potentials of the entrepreneurial sector of Serbia by predicting future trends in productivity as well as to define possible measures that will contribute to higher rates of growth in the productivity of Serbian entrepreneurs using the example of Slovenia. Data: The sample includes the levels of productivity achieved by the entrepreneurial sectors of Serbia and Slovenia for the period from 2010 to 2021. Tools: Data analysis is based on the prediction of future trends in the productivity of entrepreneurs. Findings: The results show that the productivity of Serbian and Slovenian entrepreneurs will increase in the future. Based on the results achieved by Slovenia, Serbia must improve external factors of productivity (institutional framework and tax system) but also internal factors (social capital of employees, business agility, and development of innovations) for productivity to grow at a higher rate. Contribution: The contribution of the paper is reflected in the analysis of indicators of the efficiency of human resources (productivity), which are of crucial importance for achieving high results for entrepreneurs. Also, the study investigates the productivity of entrepreneurs, while in previous studies the subject of analysis was the enterprises in the SME sector. The paper provides a forecast of future trends in productivity and gives recommendations on how to improve productivity following the example of Slovenian entrepreneurs.

The goals of the research are to investigate the benefits of corporate wellness (CW) for an organization as well as to investigate the implementation of CW in a chosen Slovenian organizationn. We first introduce the comprehensive concept of the balanced scorecard (BSC) and provide some literature review on the CW benefits. Next, based on the literature analysis as well as on the results of semi-structured interviews in a chosen organization, we answer research questions regarding the benefits of CW integration into BSC and use of the CW programs in a Slovenian company. One of the results is also an updated theoretical concept called corporate wellness-balanced scorecard (CW-BSC). The theoretical understanding of the BSC in relation to health and well-being has thus taken a step forward. Our research reveals that CW in a selected Slovenian company is not implemented at a strategic level. The research sets the base for a more comprehensive measurement in the organization, a more effective approach to strategic management and the development of human capital management, which in turn contribute to better business performance.

Modna industrija predstavlja pomemben gospodarski sektor, ki se vse bolj sooča z izzivi povezanimi z okoljsko in socialno odgovornostjo, kar vodi k rasti trajnostnega obnašanja. Trajnostni pristopi se osredotočajo na ohranjanje okolja in izboljšanje delovnih pogojev ter vplivajo na spremembo modnih nakupovalnih in proizvodnih praks. V prispevku raziskujemo, kako spreminjajoče se potrošniške vrednote prispevajo k preoblikovanju modnega sektorja. Naraščajoče zavedanje o vplivu mode na okolje in družbo spodbuja potrošnike, da iščejo okolju prijazne materiale, etične proizvodne prakse in zmanjšanje odpadkov. Članek analizira trenutne trende in raziskuje, kako povečana osveščenost potrošnikov vpliva na njihove modne izbire. Predstavlja, kako blagovne znamke odgovarjajo s sprejemanjem trajnostnih praks, vključno z uporabo recikliranih materialov, izboljšanjem etike dobavnih verig in uvajanjem modelov krožne mode. Prav tako obravnava izzive, povezane s temi spremembami, vključno z morebitnim greenwashingom in težavami pri doseganju popolne transparentnosti. Na koncu članek ocenjuje prihodnost trajnostne mode in poudarja, kako lahko potrošniške spremembe in regulativni ukrepi vplivajo na pospešitev trajnostnih praks. Ta raziskava prispeva k razumevanju, kako trajnostno obnašanje spreminja modno industrijo in ponuja temelje za nadaljnje raziskave o dolgoročnih učinkih teh sprememb.