Sustainable tourism should maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction, so identifying components of tourism destination image plays an important role in destination management and marketing. This study aims to explore issues related to the image of a rural tourism destination, with the focus on the cognitive component. It also aims to analyze three dimensions of the cognitive component: functional, mixed, and psychological. Furthermore, this study gives the answer to the question of which dimension of the cognitive component makes the most significant impact on the general image of a rural tourism destination. The sample comprised 562 respondents. Data analysis included exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate the existence of three dimensions of the cognitive component, and it can be concluded that the psychological dimension of the cognitive component has the most significant impact on the general image of a rural tourism destination.

Current sustainability challenges require businesses to develop their relations with customers and markets through relationship marketing and jointly create added value of their services responsive to environmental, social and economic requirements at the same time. This article also supports the gender equality within the SDGs (fifth goal). As (SMEs Report, 2018) micro companies make 89.137, small enterprises make 11.219, entrepreneurs in shops and services sectors make 272.969 and cooperatives in agriculture and food trade make 1.196, they comprise most of the SMEs sector in Serbia, while Medium-sized firms make 2.517, and large enterprises make 540. Female entrepreneurs, which represent 32% of all SMEs and 22% from cooperatives were selected for the research sample with the aim to primarily represent the sectors their businesses operate within. The empirical research was provided in Serbia in 2021 on the sample of 220 female enterprises, shops and cooperatives, most of which operate in service sectors. The aim is to indicate the importance of the institutional factors (IF, government support) and customer relationship marketing (CRM) and their influence on the sustainability of the women’s enterprises (WES). Findings show that CRM significantly impacts the WES, showing that the market and customer loyalty are the most important for the sustainability and resilience of the business. At the same time, results show the importance of the IF government measures’ and policies’ influence and reveal that insufficient attention that has been dedicated to (WES) and SDGs goals of gender equality in feminist economics.

This paper examines the impact of debt in the capital structure on agency costs and therefore on the performance of a company. The efficiency of companies was estimated using two parametric techniques: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) methods and a Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). The estimated efficiency represents a measure of (inverse) agency costs. Agency costs cause a lower level of efficiency compared to companies that have minimized these costs, and companies that reach the efficiency frontier, in the observed context of this research, are viewed as those that have minimized agency costs. A panel regression model was applied in order to determine the direction and intensity of the influence of leverage and control variables on the initially estimated efficiency of the company. The results of this research on Serbian manufacturing companies show the expected positive effect of capital structure (leverage) on the efficiency of the company, which is in accordance with the predictions of the agency cost theory. The contribution of this research is reflected in the application of efficiency as a performance indicator in the observed context of examining the theory of agency costs, bearing in mind that the measure of efficiency is closer to the theoretical view of these costs.

The analysis of the possibilities of creating the sustainable competitiveness of an enterprise from the point of view of the functional uniformity of economic and ecological sustainability, as well as the production of products in compliance with the international standards for business operations, is the subject matter of the research conducted in this paper. The achievement of a higher level of competitiveness is a strategic goal of every enterprise, while the competitiveness of a product implies an appropriate standardization of quality. The starting assumption is that in order for enterprises to become competitive not only on the domestic market, but on the international market as well, it is necessary that they should standardize their business operations by improving the quality system. The goal is to gain an insight into how much significance domestic enterprises give to the standardization of quality, apart from the other needed factors, how interested they are in investing in the implementation of the ISO 9000:2000 standards, which are primarily oriented towards the satisfaction of client requirements, thus improving their own business operations. In this research study, the hypothetical-deductive methods, analytical-deductive and comparative methods, historical and statistical-descriptive methods, as well as the comparative statistical methods (ch2 Test, ANOVA), are used.

The aim of the research in this paper is the process of selling insurance services, as the most important business area of every insurance company. This process is viewed from the marketing and distribution angle in classic insurance sales through traditional sales channels. The insured must be at the center of all future insurance activities of the insurance company. Satisfying the needs of the insured is a basic precondition for the successful sale of insurance services, so for every insurance company it is necessary to implement this in its strategy through business policy and business culture. The insurance service can be distributed by different sales channels. It is important that these sales channels ensure the availability of the insurance service at the right time, in the right place and in the appropriate quantities. The paper deals with classical marketing and traditional distribution channels in the function of insurance sales.

AI technologies have significantly transformed various sectors, including travel and airport operations. This research aims to investigate the implications of implementing artificial intelligence (AI) in airport services on passenger satisfaction and overall travel experiences, as well as how AI technology shapes the way airports support passengers throughout their journey. The study conducted empirical research at Serbian airports with a sample size of 668 passengers. Participants provided their attitudes and satisfaction ratings on 10 statements regarding the impact of AI technology implementation in airport services. The findings from regression analysis reveal a high level of AI implementation in airport services, particularly concerning passenger experience and security. However, passengers express less satisfaction with the implementation of chatbots and virtual assistants, AI algorithms, and certain AI tools that do not meet their expectations. Specifically, passengers feel they do not always receive sufficient instant responses, real-time flight information in the case of delays, or effective issue resolution at the analyzed airports. These results contribute valuable insights to the AI literature and offer implications for future implementations of these technologies in industry, marketing, and technology development. Moreover, they can guide managerial practices and investments in future digital technologies aimed at enhancing passenger experience.