Issue 4, 2020

The assessment of the strength and direction of the link between foreign direct investments (FDIs) and economic growth has long been the focus of research activities, but empirical findings remain mixed. Most results, however, show that the overall effect of FDIs is positively related to growth and vice versa. At the same time, it is widely argued that the impact of FDIs is closely related to the so-called 'absorptive capacity' of the host economy, with the highest weight being the quantity and quality of the workforce; the degree of trade openness and economic freedom; the fiscal policy pursued and the degree of financial development. These are key factors for the effectiveness of foreign direct investment, which in turn further stimulate economic growth. The present study provides an overview of the basic theoretical concepts and empirical assessment of the impact of FDIs on the rate of economic growth in Bulgaria, taking into account other factors of growth as well. Quarterly data for the period 1990 Q1-2019 Q3 were used for this purpose. Relevant conclusions and recommendations are made regarding the economic policy pursued.
JEL: F21; F23

The article describes various methods of tax optimization in the implementation of corporate tax management of a business entity, in particular mechanisms for reducing the tax base, using tax breaks, and a special tax regime, changing the place of registration of taxpayers.
The methodology of economic and mathematical modelling was used to optimize the tax burden of a business entity by balancing between the part of corporate income tax (investment tax credit), that an enterprise should use for investing, and the part paid to the budget.
The developed economic-mathematical model of determining the proportion of «investment tax credit» entity has two objective functions – maximum value of the entity's profit and maximum of the accrued taxes sum. The offered economic-mathematical model will allow to define effective strategies of management of enterprise's profit and demonstrate advantages of preferential taxation for activation of investment activity of the enterprise.
JEL: C02; H25; H32; G30

This paper presents a research on the concept of the “fixed establishment” (FE) regarding the European and the Bulgarian tax practice. The term determines the place of supply of services in the field of indirect taxation which reflects the fair taxation. The aim of this study is to examine the key features of the FE both from practical and theoretical aspect and to draw a conclusion on the future of the concept. The comparison between the European and the domestic legislation outlines the significance of the FE and provides a more detailed survey on its legal nature.
JEL: K2; K33; K34

This paper expands the existing informational and analytical opportunities of application of the results of business tendency surveys which solve the problem of the loss of valuable statistical information in its traditional aggregation into simple and composite indicators. Based on methods of multidimensional classification, we develop and discuss an algorithm of statistical analysis that significantly raises the analytical opportunities for the more wide measurement of trajectories of development and short-term fluctuations of the information technology (IT) industry. This allows the construction of behavioural models of business tendency data which improve the understanding of the business cycle in more detail. Furthermore, the empirical results confirm the possibility of receiving various information which increases the analytical potential of business tendency surveys.
JEL: C1; C81; C38; C83; Е32; Е39; L26; L1; О10; О11; О19; М2

The purpose of this study is to present the relationship that exists between the Corporate Social Responsibility concept and the innovations realised by companies. The connection is determined by corporate culture and is linked to overall organisational performance. The fundamental theoretical statements of the above constructs are outlined, as well as the relationship that exists between them. The importance of the CSR –innovation relationship is formulated. The theory is exemplified by a case study of a real Bulgarian company, VB Studio Ltd.
The conclusion is that understanding the essential importance of the two-way link between the implementation of innovation in the context of CSR leads to an increased overall organisational performance by meeting specific public needs, and current general needs encourage the generation and introduction of innovation.
JEL: M14; O30

The key segments of Macedonian National Innovation System: business sector, research sector, technology transfer system and in its institutional policy framework are analysed in the paper. The results of the performed analyses point the numerous weaknesses in its key segments, particularly detected in the domain of financial and human resources, intellectual property rights, implementation of the key strategic documents and efficiency of the institutions. This paper results in a series of recommendations for innovation policy intervention that can be considered for the National Innovation System improvement.
JEL: O38; O32; O52

During the period from 1975 to 1986, Vietnam had to face a serious economic crisis. Difficulties and problems came from poverty, war consequences, unfavourable changes of the international situation and especially the outmodedness of the economic model of centralized bureaucratic planning. Therefore, Vietnam had to undertake a program of economic innovation, known as "Doi Moi" (Innovation) in 1986. Up to now, after 34 years, Economic Innovation has brought many achievements in terms of growth rate, the scale of the economy, the shifting of the economic structure toward modernization, institutional innovation and extended international integration… However, at the same time, there remain problematic issues such as quality of growth, productivity and sustainable development…., to be tackled with. In fact, this is the first economic innovation (1986-2019). These contents will be analyzed and evaluated by the article on the basis of the model of economic innovation through a process of change and continuity in the market economy thinking in Vietnam.
JEL: N00

At almost every moment of our lives, we are in contact with organizations. Our daily actions are greatly influenced by organizations around us, from school and non-profit organizations to workplaces. In our study, we deal with the particular case of non-profit organizations.
The current study provides a deeper insight into the factors of effective leadership of non-profit organizations. The research conducted in the period from 2018 to 2019, made it possible to establish that the leaders of Hungarian non-profit organizations mostly belong to the transformational leadership style. Our purpose with this study is to provide an understanding of the leader's characteristics which has an impact on non-profit organizations' operating.
JEL: M10; M12; M13

Global population ageing forces governments to transfer pension risks to individuals and employers by introducing voluntary private components into national pension systems. Diffusion theories in combination with behavioural economics can help to understand the nature of developmental patterns of voluntary pensions. This paper modifies the Bass Diffusion Model by introducing hypotheses regarding the information cascade when joining a voluntary pension schemes, a variance of participants' growth and its moderation effect on the information cascade. We trace the diffusion of voluntary pensions in four CEE countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Ukraine), and show that the modified model delivers better overall performance than previous models both in terms of model fit and understanding this process. In addition, we demonstrate that the modified model allows us to correctly describe the wave-like nature of the evolution of voluntary pension provision caused by pension transformations.
JEL: C52; G23; P36