The main goal of this study was to examine the effects of capital investments on firm performance, using panel-data analysis. For this purpose, financial data were gathered for 60 manufacturing firms based in Serbia, in the period from 2004 to 2016. The main research hypotheses were developed in accordance with the definition, nature, and time aspect of capital investments. Therefore, empirical expectation of this study was that the relationship between capital investments and firm performance should be positive—they probably bring losses to the firm in the short term, but they should increase firm performance in the long term. Finally, the results have indeed shown that capital investments have statistically significant negative effect on the short-term performance, but positive effect on the long-term performance of the analyzed firms, while controlling for time-fixed effects and certain internal factors.

Industrial development of the economic system of any state is directly related to the use of energy potential. China’s industrial breakthrough is no exception. Today, China is one of the largest importers–consumers of oil, whose economy is extremely dependent on the energy market. The growing production and population, as well as climatic changes that directly determine the well-being of society, have become the causal basis for the development of alternative ways of generating energy. The aim of the study is to model the implementation of the sustainable development strategy in China through the production and use of biofuels. The simulation is made taking into account the following. The production capacities of Chinese licensed producers of fuel ethanol are calculated. The efficiency of bioethanol production from various types of biological raw materials is evaluated. An economic and mathematical model of bioethanol production is built. The article forecasts the profitability of bioethanol sales from various types of biological raw materials (sugar sorghum, corn) in Chinese and European markets. The study comprehensively reveals the features of the use of biofuels in an industrial country, taking into account geopolitical factors, social and market contexts, as well as technical analysis of the raw materials and production potential of Chinese companies. The article also interprets the economic processes associated with the introduction of biofuels in the ecological and economic systems of China. The article demonstrates other concepts regarding the consequences of the energy sector’s transition to the principles of energy production from biomass. The article shows the contradictory nature of the impact of biofuel production on the food market and the agricultural sector. The article analyzes possible social, resource and macroeconomic risks, and also indicates possible vectors for further research that might be aimed at diversifying the associated negative processes.

This analysis aimed to investigate the factors influencing the behavioural intention to use Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Thailand and Pakistan. The study was geared towards exploring the MOOCs, a relatively new technology platform allowing the spread of education and learning in various areas and fields and surpassing traditional online courses. The study adopted the UTAUT model with additional two variables of perceived autonomy and absorptive capacity. A quantitative method was applied using primary data collected from a sample of 490 and 513 respondents from Thailand and Pakistan, respectively. The sample size was composed of students in institutions of higher learning who were aware of MOOCs or intended to use them in their studies. The analysis was conducted using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and multi-group structural equation modelling (SEM). The study found that four variables (social influence, absorptive capacity, facilitating conditions and perceived autonomy) significantly influence the student intention to use MOOCs in Thailand and Pakistan. However, two variables (performance expectancy and effort expectancy) did not influence the student intention to use MOOCs in Thailand and Pakistan. The results indicated that the findings between the two countries were invariant. This study extended the model by Venkatesh et al. (2003), including two additional variables, the perceived autonomy and absorptive capacity. The study indicated various aspects related to the response of students using MOOCs. This study is especially beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic for determining factors that officials of higher institutions of learning should consider when implementing MOOCs and associated online learning programs to deliver quality education to students.

The European Union’s Green Deal emphasises the importance of improving the efficiency of the energy sector in its countries, which is why the issues involved are relevant in both scientific and practical terms. The article sets out the hypothesis that conveying the state of the economic efficiency of energy development by grades does not reflect the real situation. Instead of ranks, it is proposed to form homogeneous groups of some countries based on non-linear data normalisation instead of today’s universally used linearisation. Grouping the euro area countries in the European Union on the basis of the value of the cost-effectiveness indicator for the energy development of their industrial sector confirmed the appropriateness of the proposed method-ology. In this way, three groups of countries were formed according to the level of cost-effectiveness achieved. The proposed methodology for grouping countries is universal and can be used for international comparisons of any kind.

Responsible leadership is a process of interaction with stakeholders integrating around a shared goal, taking place in the company and outside and based on values and principles of ethics. In Poland, the concept of responsible leadership began to appear only in times of political and economic transformation (after 1989), with the influx of foreign investment. In contrast to countries with about 100 years of experience in the implementation of the concept of responsible leadership, its Polish history is quite short. The purpose of this paper is to explore how responsible leadership is understood in Polish companies, to analyze how RL exists in a transitional country and region, and how organisations can develop leaders who have competencies necessary to ensure the sustainability of the company. A qualitative and quantitative methodology was used to summarize the research among entrepreneurs and businesses. Exploring the construct of social responsibility orientation among entrepreneurs, we show that executives in these businesses hold different beliefs about their responsibilities toward different stakeholders, with concomitant implications for their understanding and enactment of responsible leadership