REGIONAL FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

KLAIPĖDA UNIVERSITYSOCIAL SCIENCE FACULTY

REGIONAL FORMATION AND

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Journal of Social Sciences

No. 2 (7)

Klaipėda, 2012

Regional Formation and Development Studies

Klaipėda UniversitySocial Science Faculty

Scientific EditorAssoc. Prof. Dr. Antanas Bučinskas Klaipėda University (Lithuania)Deputy of scientific editorProf. Dr. Ligita Šimanskienė Klaipėda University (Lithuania)Editorial board:Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ciprian Beniamin Benea University of Oradea (Romania)Prof. Habil. Dr. Remigijus Čiegis Vilnius University (Lithuania)Prof. Dr. Larisa Emeljanova I. Kant Federal University (Russia Federation)Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sebastian Gadal University of Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines (France)Prof. Dr. Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson University of Acureyri (Iceland)Prof. Dr. Vytautas Juščius Klaipėda University (Lithuania)Prof. Dr. Jose Manuel Lasierra Zaragoza University (Spain)Prof. Dr. Vaidutis Laurėnas Klaipėda University (Lithuania)Prof. Habil. Dr. Tadeusz Palmowski Gdansk University (Poland)Assoc. Prof. Dr. Romana Provazniková Pardubice University (Czech Republic)Prof. Habil. Dr. Bronislaw Sitek Alicide De Gasperi University (Poland)Prof. Dr. Biruta Sloka Latvia University (Latvia)Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eduardas Spiriajevas Klaipėda University (Lithuania)Prof. Dr. Rimantas Stašys Klaipėda University (Lithuania)Prof. Habil. Dr. Gerhard Strohmeier Alpen-Adria Universitat Klagenfurt (Austria)Prof. Habil. Dr. Stasys Vaitekūnas Klaipėda University (Lithuania)Prof. Habil. Dr. Povilas Zakarevičius Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania)

Lithuanian language editor: Vilma Urbonavičiūtė (Lithuania)Layout: Karolis Saukantas (Lithuania)Cover design: Vilhelmas Giedraitis (Lithuania)

The first number was published in 2007.There are 3 annual volumes in Lithuanian, English languages.The first numbers of journal were included in EBSCO Publishing Business Source Complete databases (http://www.ebscohost.com/titleLists/bth-journals.pdf.).

Address:Herkaus Manto g. 84, LT-92294 Klaipėda, Lietuva, tel. (370 46) 39 88 95, fax (370 46) 39 89 99

Internet address: http://www.ku.lt/leid

© Klaipėda University, 2012© Social Science Faculty, 2012

Every paper is revised by two reviewersISSN 2029-9370

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PREFACE

This journal seeks to invite scientist from social sciences to discuss about problems in regional develo-pment. The important direction in regional development is – social, economic and development problems in borderlines; so here a very important line is dispose of researches and frame of proposals for sustainable development in borderlines. The new scientific theme remains the same important scientific and practical di-rection – problems of regional development. Organizations management determines different regional deve-lopment, therefore corporate social responsibility and studies of small and medium – sized organizations are like the main engine of regional development, also are very important for sustainable regional development and timely. Journal is turned to change title to more clear description about basic problem in our region “Re-gional Formation and Development Studies”. This was decided at Klaipėda University Senate (2011 05 06 Nr. 11-55). We hope that these changes will encourage social sciences scientists to do more researches in this field and to have also practical value to region.

Deputy of scientific editorProf. Dr. Ligita Šimanskienė (Klaipėda University, Lithuania)

PRATARMĖ

Žurnalas siekia pakviesti socialinės srities mokslininkus diskutuoti apie problemas, kurių kyla regionuo-se. Svarbi regionų vystymosi kryptis – pasienio regionų socialinės, ekonominės ir plėtros problemos. Šia kryptimi atliekami tyrimai, pateikiama pasiūlymų, kaip darniai vystyti pasienio regionus. Nevienodą regionų išsivystymą lemia organizacijų valdymas, todėl įmonių socialinės atsakomybės, smulkaus ir vidutinio dy-džio organizacijų tyrimai, kaip pagrindinis darnaus regionų vystymo variklis, yra svarbūs ir savalaikiai. Žur-nalas siekia išgryninti tematiką, todėl keičiamas pavadinimas: „Regionų formavimo ir plėtros studijos“. Tai nuspręsta Klaipėdos universiteto Senate (2011 05 06 Nr. 11-55). Tikimės, kad šie pokyčiai paskatins sociali-nių mokslų mokslininkus atlikti daugiau tyrimų šia tematika, kartu suteiks praktinę vertę regionų vystymuisi.

Redaktoriaus pavaduotojaProf. dr. Ligita Šimanskienė (Klaipėdos universitetas, Lietuva)

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TURINYS

Ludmila Bandeviča, Agnese LīgotneHigher Education Study Programme Quality Assessment / 6(Aukštesniojo mokslo studijų programų kokybės vertinimas) / 17

Viktorija Grigaliūnaitė, Lina PilelienėVartotojų pasitenkinimo Kauno miesto picerijomis nustatymas / 19(Determination of Customer Satisfaction with Pizzerias in Kaunas) / 31

Violeta Grublienė, Eglė GotautienėRegioninio verslo jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus problemos ir perspektyvos / 33(Problems and Perspectives of Regional Sea Fishery Business) / 46

Darja Kaļiņina, Irina VoronovaRisk Management as a Tool to Improve the Reliability: Case of Insurance Company / 48(Rizikos valdymas, kaip patikimumo didinimo priemonė: draudimo bendrovės atvejo analizė) / 56

Deimena Kiyak, Daiva Labanauskaitė, Tomas ReichenbachasFinansų krizių tipai ir jų palyginamoji analizė Lietuvoje / 57(Comparative Analysis of Financial Crisis Types in Lithuania) / 72

Carolin Kuhn, Ilona Dubra, Erika SumiloInfluential Determinants of Innovation: Case Study of Latvia and Germany / 74(Svarbūs inovacijos veiksniai: Latvijos ir Vokietijos atvejų analizė) / 85

Daiva Labanauskaitė, Laura Astrauskaitė, Deimena KiyakRelationship between the Population Aging and the Supply of Services in Different Regions in Lithuania / 86(Visuomenės senėjimo ir paslaugų pasiūlos ryšys Lietuvos regionuose) / 96

Olga Ličmane, Irina VoronovaProblems and Perspectives in Pension System: Case of Baltic States / 99(Pensijų sistemos problemos ir perspektyvos: Baltijos šalių atvejo analizė) / 108

Valērijs Praude, Santa BormaneInfluence of Marketing Communications on the Processes of Consumers’ Decisions / 110(Rinkodaros komunikacijos įtaka vartotojų sprendimo priėmimo procesui) / 124

Edgaras Ribačonka, Darius BurgisKoordinavimo sistemos organizacijų tinkluose modelis / 125(Model of System for Coordination in Networks of Organizations) / 131

Roland SchmuckOperations Strategies / 133(Operacijų strategijos) / 141

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Sandra Stucere, Gunita MazureAssessment of Factors Affecting the Amount of Immovable Property Tax in Latvia / 142(Latvijos nekilnojamojo turo mokesčių dydžiui įtakos turinčių veiksnių vertinimas) / 152

Jeļena ŠalkovskaThe Features of Marketing Communications in the Conditions of Economic Crisis / 153(Rinkodaros komunikacijos ekonominės krizės laikotarpiu bruožai) / 162

Inessa Vorontchuk, Irina LandoIntensification of Knowledge Management System within the Framework of Adult Learning for Effective Regional Development / 163(Žinių valdymo sistemos suaugusiųjų mokymo procese tobulinimas, siekiant efektyvios regionų plėtros) / 171

LudmiLa Bandeviča, agnese LīgotneHIGHER EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAMME QUALITY ASSESSMENT

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H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N S T U D Y P R O G R A M M E Q U A L I T Y A S S E S S M E N T

LudmiLa Bandeviča1, agnese Līgotne2

University of Latvia (Latvia)

ABSTRACTStudy programme quality assessment provides higher education quality which in its turn is an essential precondition for the su-ccessful national economy development. At the moment the society has a lot of discussion about what is higher education quality and how to assess it. The pragmatic approach makes us set criteria for study programme quality assessment. However, before doing that one must understand what higher education quality is. Developing over the years, higher education has created different quality understandings. The different quality understandings form the necessity of different quality assessment approaches. As the foun-dation of higher education quality assessment to create the methodological basis there are taken higher education quality assessment conceptions distinguished by R. Barnett: objective, subjective and development. Each of the conceptions intends to use different approaches for higher education assessment. The research approbates the usage of The Analytic Hierarchy process (AHP) method to detect the most significant study programme quality criteria and the most suitable way of assessment for them. AHP method is based on expert surveys, which were taken part by two most important interest groups interested in higher education: higher education administrative staff and students. Higher education administrators are represented by Higher Education Council representative, LU heads of administrative departments and leadership staff who are responsible for study quality and programme accreditation. In their turn, students are represented by members of Latvian Student Association, LU student council representatives and students from different LU faculties.KEY WORDS: study programme quality, quality assessment methodology, assessment criteria, approaches for quality assessment, the Analytic Hierarchy Process method.

JEL CODES: I230, I210, D790

Introduct ion

Traditionally the notion of “quality” in higher education was integrated into academic life; it was con-sidered as self evident and accepted for everyone. Quality was connected with academic freedom and was rooted deeply into academic traditions. State regulations, for example, the necessity of having the Doctor’s degree, were set with the aim to provide the quality of academic work and knowledge. Together with that academic environment did not need the necessity of defining the notion of “quality” or discuss its significan-ce. There was an opinion that higher education can be discussed only by academicians who are professionals in this field; therefore quality provision and development in higher education were left under their mana-gement. The notion “quality” in higher education was something like untold knowledge, which included in

1 Ludmila Bandeviča – University of Latvia, Faculty of Economic and Management, Prof. Dr. habil. oec., Scientific interest: math-ematical modelling in economics and management.E-mail: [email protected].: +371 670 347 53.

2 Agnese Līgotne – University of Latvia, Faculty of Education, Psychology and Art, Doctoral student, Scientific interest: Quality of Higher Education Study Programme.E-mail: [email protected].: +371 670 343 48.

ISSN 2029-9370. Regional FoRmation and development StudieS, no. 2 (7)

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itself both what the quality is, and how to provide it. Hungarian and British erudite Polanyi characterizes it as silent knowledge: “Know more than say” (Polanyi, 1966: 22–24).

We can see two main problems which complicate the definition of “higher education quality” notion:Problem No. 1: Quality notion in higher education is a lot more specific and complicated than in other

fields, because higher education aims are different, and also its members cannot be unequivocally compared to business or state sector fields;

Problem No. 2: The differences of understanding the notion of “higher education quality” appear depen-ding on which perspective of higher education interested side to look at it. It is promoted by both different needs of interested sides and non-uniformity of higher education;

While studying the research literature about quality assessment, we can identify three main fields where are set quality standards and assessment criteria: state sector organizations, industrial and service providing companies. But higher education cannot be directly (without additional conditions) included into any of the-se fields, because its aims and tasks are different. Higher education does not have clients, but it has interested sides. The quality notion in higher education is a lot more discussed and specific than it is in other fields. In industrial and service companies the quality is oriented to client satisfaction and process. Many people asso-ciate the presumptions about higher education quality with academic values which not always are oriented to the satisfaction of students’ needs; therefore higher education is quite often reproached for insufficient quality. However, on the other side, in the author’s opinion, not only higher education establishments, but also student himself is responsible for the quality of acquired knowledge and skills.

Higher education quality can be looked at from different perspectives, which in their turn form different understanding about that. Also, Swedish researcher Giertz stresses that when defining the notion of “higher education quality” and comparing it with other people’s understanding of higher education quality, there more likely are going to be bigger or smaller differences (Giertz, 2000: 296–300). We can distinguish two way reasons for the different understanding of “quality” notion. Firstly, the interested sides in higher edu-cation quality are not only the academic staff and students, but also parents, employers, state and society on the whole. British researcher Barnett stresses the different aims and interests of the interested sides, which cannot always be combined or united, therefore each of the interested sides prefer different quality aspects (Barnett, 1992: 31–34). Secondly, a different understanding promoting factor is non-uniformity of higher education. Developing over the years, higher education has created different forms – professional and aca-demic higher education. It is implemented not only by state universities, but also by state and private higher education establishments, colleges. Also the higher education levels are different: college level, basic studies and higher level studies. We must take into account that this diversity creates different aims and purposes for higher education. As well, labour market understanding about non-uniformity of higher education creates satisfaction with higher education on the whole. It was proved by the study done by Norwegian researchers Storen and Aamodt about employment and higher education quality (Storen & Aamodt, 2010: 311–312).

Assessing the higher education quality we must take into account all the definition problems of the “higher education quality” notion mentioned above. There arises the question who has to decide, which of the aspects should be included or which should be given priority or first hand in quality concept? There is an impression that the question is about power and influence. We can agree with British academician Ball, that, when defining what higher education quality is, we have to come into contact with political aspects as well (Ball, 1985: 103).

One of the main questions of discussion is „higher education usefulness to society”, should it be included into higher education quality understanding. Swedish authors do not support the inclusion of this aspect into higher education quality definition, because he considers that academic quality is not usefulness to society. Swedish researcher and practitioner Van Vught distinguishes two ways quality of higher education: outer or inessential, and inner or essential (Vught, 1997: 80–81). The outer quality is considered by the researcher as inessential, as it characterizes the ability of higher education establishments to react to the changing society needs, taking into account, that it is a part of society. In its turn, the inner quality is considered by the author as essential, as it characterizes main values in higher education “unconnected search for truth and justice, as


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well as altruistic pursuit for knowledge”, therefore with this in this understanding “higher education useful-ness to society” becomes secondary.

The purpose for this article is to make a methodological foundation for higher education study program-me quality assessment and assess significance of higher education alternative approaches using the AHP method.

Dawn for this research created by Briška (Briška (today Līgotne), 2010: 132–133). Author used quality understandings grouped by Harvey and Green and higher education quality assessment conceptions subdivi-ded by Barnett for characterize a quality of study programme (Barnett, 1992; Harvey, Green, 1993). In this paper quality understandings and assessment concepts mentioned above transform to assessment methodo-logy for study programme quality. According to theoretical background, there are three alternative appro-aches for assessing quality of study programme: experts’ assessment, quantitative indicators and students’ assessment. Authors used expert survey and the AHP method for evaluating these alternative assessment approaches.

1. Formation of higher educat ion qual i ty assessment methodological foundat ion

British researchers Harvey and Green distinguish quality understandings, determining what? and how? should be done to ensure and assess higher education quality (Harvey, Green, 1993: 3). Researchers distin-guish five quality understanding perceptions:

y quality as exception; y quality as excellence; y quality as correspondence to aim; y quality as financial value; y quality as transformation.

Looking through L. Harvey and D. Green’s grouped quality understanding perceptions, we can state that quality understandings differ not only in their wideness, but also in their purpose. Depending on the way of quality, the aims of understandings change, that is, the inner quality understanding concentrates on higher education process quality provision, but the outer quality understanding – on result provision. This division can be proved by that for the interested sides in higher education more acceptable and understandable there seems the quality which is concerned to higher education results, that determine the inclusion of higher education usefulness to society as the characterizing indicator in higher education assessment (Vught – outer quality). Higher education quality ways and understanding perceptions mentioned above have been summa-rised in Figure 1.

The different understandings about higher education quality determine the necessity for different quality assessment approaches. British academician Barnett distinguishes three higher education quality assessment conceptions: objective, subjective and development (Barnett, 1992: 45–52). Objective and subjective quality assessment conceptions are suitable for the assessment of outer higher education assessment, as they assess the acquired result.


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Objective quality assessment conception determines mostly the usage of quantitative measure-ments in education quality assessment. Usually this quality assessment conception is used when assessing the input and results of education system. It characterizes the perception of quality as exception, where the main attention is paid to the quality of input, which is considered as a guarantee for getting qualitative re-sults. In its turn, to use study process results characterizing indicators in higher education quality assessment is intended by the perception quality as financial value. When assessing higher education quality, it is very important to ensure the objectiveness of the acquired assessments, which can be the most precisely provided by quantitative characterizing indicators. However, to compare the acquired assessments mutually, and as a result of that, to make decisions about education quality in one or another higher education establishment, or study programme, there should be carefully selected assessment criteria, as quite often the selection of criteria determines the acquirable result. The similar observation had professor Rauhvarger about university ranking indicators (Rauhvargers, 2011: 13).

Subjective quality assessment conception does not determine absolute usage of criteria, but it makes to assess higher education correspondence to aims. Anything in higher education quality is assessed in connection with aim; therefore the stress should be put on the quality assessment of different interested sides in higher education. This assessment corresponds to the perception quality as correspondence to (clients) aim, besides, when assessing higher education quality from client’s perspectives, there should definitely be used students’ assessment about study quality. Students are involved in the creation of higher education re-sults; therefore they are most closely connected with study programme quality.

To assess higher education inner quality, R. Barnett offers development conception, where there has been assessed the sustainability of higher education establishment or study programme. Its aim is to assess the opportunities of development, taking into consideration the existing situation. The main difference from the objective and subjective conceptions is concentration on the inner quality, not taking into account „higher education usefulness to society”. Assessment involves only students and university academic staff who de-termines what should be done to improve higher education quality. Development conception is suitable for higher education quality understandings which refer to the process and the provision of inner higher edu-cation provision: quality as excellence, quality as transformation and quality as correspondence to (universi-

Figure 1. Perceptions for quality in higher educationSource: created by authors


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ty) aim. The authors consider that one of the main elements of the development conception is self-assessment and SWOT analysis which provides quality improvement and sustainability.

Each of the conceptions intends to use different quality assessment alternative approaches. Objective conception determines the usage of quantitative indicators in higher education study programme quality as-sessment, but subjective conception – surveys of students and other interested sides. In its turn development conception as the most suitable one mention the self-assessment which can be compared to inner experts’ assessment.

To assess the significance of higher education quality assessment alternatives according to the three con-ceptions discussed above, there will be used the Analytic Hierarchy process method (AHP). This method is suitable for solving this kind of unique cases not only to assess the significance of the mentioned alternatives, but also to detect the most important criteria to assess study programme quality.

2 . Basic guidel ines of using the Analyt ic Hierarchy process method

Traditionally, when assessing higher education or study programme quality, there are distinguished three assessment aspects: first, input to ensure the study process or “available resources”, second, study environ-ment and process organization, and third, students’ acquired knowledge and skills or graduates’ achieved results. This point of view is suitable to do international comparisons, demonstrate higher education achie-vements to the interested sides and create strategies of political development for higher education.

However, to assess the quality of study programme it is important to stand apart from assessments, which do not refer directly to its quality. For example, it is practically impossible to assess how big study programme input is in student’s newly acquired knowledge and skills or achieved results. They are formed from the one side mutually cooperating the study programme offer and implementation, but from the other side the student himself by getting involved into study process, they are also affected by many different factors outside studies. Therefore high study results not always testify of qualitative study programme, and vice versa. Together with this the quality of students’ study results is not just the responsibility of higher edu-cation establishment; it is also students’ co-responsibility (see Figure 2). Students’ achievements in studies and outside them are not directly referred to study programme quality. Also, just after the study programme

Figure 2. Components for study programme qualitySource: created by authors


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completion the results acquired in studies the usage of them is hard to identify, because it is necessary to have real practice during several years to assess the usefulness and usability of study results. Taking into account the mentioned above, for the experts’ assessment initially there were offered 24 criteria which characterize study programme offer quality and study programme implementation quality.

The research uses AHP method which is a systematic procedure to arrange elements of any problem in hierarchy. In the research, experts compare the criteria groups, criteria and assessment approaches mentioned above in pairs, using Relative importance scale, which allows transforming verbal information into numbers (Saaty, 2006: 73). Doing the calculations intended in AHP method and summarising the acquired results of expert survey, each of elements involved into hierarchy analysis is set a relative importance coefficient, which in its turn allows making a unite system of study programme quality assessment.

Study programme quality assessment structure is shown in Figure 3. As the highest aim of the research (Level 1) is set „the evaluation of study programme quality alternative assessment approaches”. Second level includes two groups of criteria which characterize study programme quality:

y criteria of study programme offer quality, y criteria of study programme implementation quality.

Third level includes criteria of study programme quality (12 in each group), which were assessed by experts as well as the groups of criteria correspondingly to the aim set in Level one. Fourth level sets three study programme quality assessment alternatives which were assessed by experts regarding the criteria, cri-teria groups and the main aim of research.

Figure 3. Structure for the AHP methodSource: created by authors

Initially the results of data analysis about the significance of criteria in study programme quality assess-ment were published in the international conference proceeding “New Challenges of Economic and Busi-ness Development – 2012”, the publication “Investigation of the opportunities of study programme quality” (Līgotne, 2012: 382, 384–389). This article analyses in detail only the most important assessment criteria which were assessed by experts as the most significant for study programme offer and implementation qua-lity assessment.


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The quality of study programme offer is formed by study programme workout. Experts evaluated seven main criteria for quality of study programme (SP) offer:

1) clearance and accessibility of study programme aims;2) correspondence of study course offer to study programme aims, that is, coordination of study course

aims and results with study programme aims and results;3) study course contents quality;4) academic staff qualification, which is characterised by the position structure of academic staff invol-

ved in study programme, existence and correspondence of scientific degrees, length of service, as well as average age;

5) research activity of academic staff, which is characterised by publications and participation in confe-rences and projects;

6) library resources provision, which is characterised by literature sources and subscribed data bases;7) material and technical provision of lecture rooms, including laboratory provision and accessibility of

computers and internet.

Calculated relative significance for criteria of study programme offer quality is demonstrated in figure 4. There can conduct, that Study programme offer quality is mainly characterized by qualitatively worked out study courses which correspond the study programme aims and correctly selected academic staff, which not only have necessary qualifications, but also actively continue to develop their knowledge and skills. Also important is the provision of library resources and material and technical provision in lecture rooms (Līgo-tne, 2012: 389).

The quality of study programme implementation is oriented to process to organize as high as possible stu-dy result achievement for students. Its main characterizer is education effectiveness, that is, in what amount a student acquires new knowledge, skills and values during the studies. Experts evaluated seven main criteria for quality of study programme implementation:

1) study course implementation, which is characterized by study course succession and connection, as well as provision of e-courses;

2) academic staff involvement in study process – average academic staff load in study programme, their accessibility to students, as well as academic staff cooperation with students;

3) studies give good basis of theoretical and practical knowledge, including research skills;4) studies promote critical thinking;

Figure 4. Criteria for SP Offer QualitySource: created by authors


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5) studies promote development of communication and generally used skills, which includes in itself working skills of written language, presentations, discussions and teamwork, as well as foreign langu-ages, computer programming and organizational skills;

6) international experience in studies, which is characterized by students’ mobility, guest lecturers and academic staff mobility;

7) students’ satisfaction with the selected study programme.

Calculated relative significance for criteria of study programme implementation quality is demonstrated in figure 5.

Figure 5. Criteria for SP Implementation QualitySource: created by authors

There can conduct, that the most important thing in study programme implementation quality is not only to give good basis of theoretical and practical knowledge, but also to promote critical thinking and the development of communicative and generally used skills, which is not possible without qualitative study course contents and corresponding academic staff. That will promote students’ satisfaction with the selected study programme (Līgotne, 2012: 389).

As study programme quality assessment alternatives are selected: y Experts’ assessments about higher education development, strengths and weaknesses, as well as

opportunities and threats to work out suggestions in time and make decisions about the necessary im-provements. This assessment alternative refers to higher education inner quality. The aim of experts’ assessment is not to demonstrate higher education quality to the society, but to promote the continuous improvement of quality therefore providing the sustainability of higher education.

y Quantitative indicators are the most objective alternative of higher education quality assessment. Its aim is to compare and assess different higher education operation indicators, which mainly charac-terize the input and results. That way the society in clear and understandable way is shown higher education operation indicators which testify the quality.

y Students’ assessments. Students’ task is to assess if study process and its contents corresponds to their needs and aims. The aim of assessment is also to create and strengthen the feedback with one of the main interested sides in higher education therefore ensuring their involvement in quality improvement.


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Furthermore this article analyses the research results about the significance of the three quality assess-ment alternatives: experts’ assessment, quantitative indicators and students’ assessment. There are analyzed experts’ survey assessments about the most significant approach for study programme quality assessment, as well as there are detected the most suitable ways of assessment for groups of criteria and for each criterion.

3 . The analysis of resul ts acquired in research

Evaluating study programme quality assessment alternatives for study programme on the whole and groups of criteria, we can see (see Figure 6), that as the most important both groups (higher education admi-nistrators and students) of experts have evaluated students’ assessment. This way of assessment was assigned the relative importance coefficient 0.38 out of 1. As the next most important study programme quality assess-ment alternative is evaluated experts’ assessment with relative importance coefficient 0.32, but quantitative indicators have been assessed with relative importance coefficient 0.3.

However, we have to take into account that experts’ assessments are not the same if compared within groups of criteria. In study programme offer quality assessment as the most important the experts have admit-ted experts’ assessments and quantitative indicators, the relative importance coefficients being accordingly 0.37 and 0.36. In its turn, as the most suitable alternative for study programme implementation quality the experts have admitted students’ assessment, assigning it with relative importance coefficient 0.49 out of 1.

Evaluating study programme quality assessment alternatives for each criterion according to experts’ as-signed relative importance coefficients; we can state that each criterion can be appointed one or more ways which are most suitable for it. Figures 7 and 8 represent results of expert assessments for alternative appro-aches of study programme quality evaluating for every criteria. There are differences between expert assess-ments; relative importance coefficients for alternative assessment approaches are different to each criterion. In this case, it is useful to break down criteria in groups according to suitable assessment approach.

To evaluate the most suitable way of assessment for each criterion, there are evaluated experts’ assigned relative importance coefficients. The evaluation of most suitable criteria is done in two stages: the first one evaluates the significance of relative importance coefficient according to Table 1, but the second detects the most suitable way of assessment.

Figure 7. Assessments for evaluating approaches of SP offer qualitySource: created by authors


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Figure 8. Assessments for evaluating approaches of SP implementation qualitySource: created by authors

Table 1. The relative significance coefficient division in groups

Relative importance coefficient value Characteristics0,55 and more Main way of assessment, can be the only way of assessment0,45–0,54 Very important way of assessment, can be independent0,35–0,44 Important way of assessment0,25–0,34 Partly important way of assessment, cannot be independentbelow 0,25 Unimportant way of assessment, can be replaced

Source: made by authors

Study programme quality assessment criteria can be divided into seven groups according to their most suitable way of assessment, observing the following rules:

1) at least one of study programme quality assessment alternatives has got relative importance coefficient 0,35;

2) alternative assessment ways are summarized, if their relative importance coefficients are in neighbo-ring groups.

Table 2. Groups of SP quality criteria according to suitable assessment approache

Charasteristic of group Criteria of SP qualityGroup 1 experts’ assessments Correspondence of study course offer to SP aimsGroup 2 quantitative indicators –Group 3 students’ assessments Study course implementation

Academic staff involvement in study processStudents’ satisfaction with the selected SP

Group 4 experts’ assessments and quantitative indicators

Research activity of academic staffLibrary resources provision

Group 5 experts’ assessments and students’ assessments

Study course contents qualityStudies give good basis of theoretical and practical knowledgeStudies promote critical thinkingStudies promote development of communication and generally used skills


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Charasteristic of group Criteria of SP qualityGroup 6 students’ assessments and quantitative indicators

–

Group 7 experts’ and students’ assessments and quantitative indicators

Material and technical provision of lecture roomsClearance and accessibility of SP aimsAcademic staff qualificationInternational experience in studies

Source: made by authors

Evaluating study programme quality assessment alternatives for each criterion, we can conclude that to assess the study programme offer and implementation quality, it is necessary to use all three ways of assess-ment. Taking into account the research results (see Table 2), we can conclude that

y Experts’ assessment has the main meaning in study programme offer quality assessment. It can be the only way of assessment when evaluating the study course correspondence to study programme aims. It can also be combined with quantitative indicators when assessing the research achievements of aca-demic staff or library resource provision;

y Quantitative indicators cannot be independent way of assessment. They can be added to experts’ as-sessments, but not students’ assessments;

y Students’ assessments main importance is in study programme implementation quality assessment. It can be the only assessment when evaluating study course implementation, academic staff involvement in study process and students’ satisfaction with study programme on the whole.

For some assessment criteria, none of the assessment ways appeared as the main (see Group 7 in Ta-ble 2) or all three assessment ways are equally important and necessary. Such criteria are: material technical provision of rooms, clearance and attainability of study programme aims, academic staff qualification and international experience.

Basing on the results acquired in the research, we can distinguish five groups of criteria according to their approach for assessment. Although the number of groups has decreased, none of the three study programme quality assessment approaches is excluded. Therefore, to assess the study programme quality it is necessary to use both expert and student assessments and quantitative indicators. It allows concentrating not only on the aims of interested sides in higher education and good quantitative indicators, but also on inner quality provision. It is important to prove the reasonable usage of the resources invested into higher education and to ensure sustainability of higher education.

The results of this research should be taken into account when organizing study programme quality as-sessment, selecting the appropriate assessment criteria and the approaches for their assessment.

Conclusions

1. Studying the literature about higher education quality, we can identify several problems which com-plicate the definition of the notion “higher education quality”. It creates different perceptions of higher education quality which differ in wideness and purpose.

2. The higher education quality assessment methodology worked out in research intends to use as foun-dation three quality assessment conceptions distinguished by R. Barnett: objective conception, su-bjective conception and development conception. Each of these conceptions in study programme quality assessment intends to use different alternative assessment approaches: experts’ assessment, quantitative indicators and students’ assessment of study programme.

3. Approbating the worked out higher education quality assessment methodology, we can conclude that the AHP method is suitable for solving such complicated problems. Method allows evaluating study


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programme assessment alternatives, determining their significance in assessment of separate criteria, groups of criteria and study programme quality.

4. For full assessment of higher education quality we must use all R. Barnett’s higher education assess-ment conceptions. It allows concentrating not only on aims of interested sides in higher education and on good quantitative indicators, but also on inner quality provision. It is necessary to prove the reaso-nable usage of invested resources in higher education and ensure sustainability of higher education.

5. Assessing the three assessment approaches detected in research, we can conclude that for study pro-gramme quality assessment it is necessary to use all three quality assessment alternatives. However, as the most important both experts groups have admitted students’ assessment approach.

6. Assessing quality assessment alternatives within criteria groups and for separate criteria, we can state common tendencies. In study programme offer quality assessment the most important and suitable is experts’ assessment approach. For evaluation of separate SP offer criteria, experts’ assessment should be added by quantitative indicators. In its turn, the most important one for study programme imple-mentation quality criteria assessment is students’ assessment approach.

References

Ball, C. (1985). Fitness for Purpose. Essays in Higher Education. Edited by D. Urwin. Guildford. SRHE and NFER-Nelson, 143 p.

Barnet, R. (1992). Improving higher education: total quality care. SRHE and Open University Press, 238 p.Briška, A. (2010). “Quality” of study programmes in higher education. International conference. Website: http://www.

ev.lu.lv/conf2010/index.php?Conference_Proceedings. „New Socio-economic Challenges of Development in Euro-pe – 2010” proceedings. Riga: University of Latvia, p. 128–134.

Giertz, B. (2000). The Qaulity concept in Higher education. Website: http://web.blweb.it/esoe/tqmhe2/23.pdf. Sinergie Rapporti di Ricerca, No. 9, p. 295–306.

Harvey, L., Green, D. (1993). Defining quality. Website: http://www.scribd.com/doc/39175910/Defining-Quality. As-sessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 18, 26 p. London.

Līgotne, A. (2012). Investigation of the opportunities of study programme quality. Website: http://www.evf.lu.lv/conf2012/proceedings. International conference „New Challenges of Economic and Business Development – 2012” proceedings. Riga: University of Latvia, p. 377–390.

Polanyi, M. (1966). The Tacit Dimension. Doubleday & Company Inc., Garden City, New York.Rauhvargers, A. (2011). EUA Report in Rankings 2011: Global University Rankings and Their Impact. Website: http://

www.eua.be/Libraries/Publications_homepage_list/Global_University_Rankings_and_Their_Impact.sflb.ashx. European University Association, 85 p.

Saaty, T. L. (2006). Fundamentals of Decision Making and Priority Theory with the Analytic Hierarchy Process, Vol. 6 of the AHP series. USA, 478 p.

Storen, L. A., Aamodt, P. O. (2010). The Quality of Higher Education and Employability of graduates. Quality in Higher Education, Vol. 16, No. 3, November, p. 297–313.

Van Vught, F. (1997). To innovate for quality. Quality assurance as support for processes of innovation. The Swedish model in Comparative Perspective. Stockholm: Høgskoleverkets Skriftserie.

A U K Š T E S N I O J O M O K S L O S T U D I J Ų P R O G R A M Ų K O K Y B Ė S V E RT I N I M A S

LiudmiLa Bandeviča, agnese LīgotneLatvijos universitetas (Latvija)

Santrauka

Studijų programos kokybės vertinimas prisideda prie aukštesniojo mokslo studijų kokybės, kuri savo ruožtu yra viena esminių ekonomikos vystymosi prielaidų. Šiuo metu visuomenėje nemažai diskutuoja-


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ma, kas yra ta aukštesniojo mokslo kokybė ir kaip ją įvertinti. Pragmatinė prieiga skatina nustatyti studijų kokybės vertinimo kriterijus, bet pirmiausia reikia suprasti, kas yra ta aukštesniojo mokslo kokybė. Laikui bėgant susiformavo kelios aukštesniojo mokslo kokybės sampratos. Kadangi jos skiriasi, reikia ir skirtingos kokybės vertinimo prieigos.

Siekiant sukurti metodologinį aukštesniojo mokslo kokybės vertinimo pagrindą remtasi R. Barnett išskir-tomis aukštesniojo mokslo kokybės vertinimo koncepcijomis: objektyvia, subjektyvia ir plėtros. Kiekviena koncepcija siūlo skirtingas aukštesniojo mokslo kokybės vertinimo prieigas.

Atliekant tyrimą taikytas analitinės hierarchijos proceso (AHP) metodas, siekiant nustatyti svarbiausius studijų programų kokybės kriterijus ir tinkamiausius jų vertinimo būdus. AHP metodas remiasi ekspertų apklausa, kurioje dalyvavo dvi svarbiausios aukštesniojo mokslo plėtra suinteresuotos grupės: aukštesniojo mokslo administracinis personalas ir studentai. Aukštesniojo mokslo administratoriui atstovavo Aukštes-niojo mokslo komiteto atstovai, Latvijos universiteto skyrių vadovai ir vadovai, susiję su studijų programos kokybės vertinimu bei programų akreditavimu. Tuo tarpu studentams atstovavo Latvijos studentų sąjungos atstovai, Latvijos universiteto Studentų tarybos atstovai ir įvairių Latvijos universiteto fakultetų studentai.

PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: studijų programų kokybė, kokybės vertinimas, kokybės vertinimo metodolo-gija, vertinimo kriterijai, kokybės vertinimo prieigos, analitinės hierarchijos proceso metodas.

JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: I230, I210, D790


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VA RTO TO J Ų PA S I T E N K I N I M O K A U N O M I E S TO P I C E R I J O M I S N U S TAT Y M A S

Viktorija GriGaliūnaitė1, lina Pilelienė2

Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (Lietuva)

ANOTACIJAMaitinimo įstaigų populiarumo Lietuvoje didėjimas pagrindžia vartotojų pasitenkinimo šiomis įstaigomis tyrimo aktualumą. Verti-nant itališkos virtuvės atitikimą tradiciniam lietuvio skoniui, tyrimą nuspręsta atlikti picerijų sektoriuje. Tiriant siekta įvertinti varto-tojų pasitenkinimą Kauno miesto picerijomis. Tyrimo duomenys leidžia daryti išvadą, kad siekiant didesnio vartotojų pasitenkinimo picerijomis, svarbiausia suderinti vartotojų lūkesčius ir produktų bei aptarnavimo kokybę. Apibendrinus atlikto tyrimo rezultatus, sudarytas vartotojų pasitenkinimo Kauno miesto picerijomis modelis, kuris gali būti taikomas apskaičiuojant vartotojų pasitenkinimą visomis picerijomis arba konkrečia Kauno miesto picerija, taip pat adaptuotas kitų miestų picerijų ar kitų maitinimo įstaigų vartotojų pasitenkinimui matuoti.PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: ECSI, Kaunas, maitinimo paslaugos, vartotojų pasitenkinimas.

JEL KLAsIfIKAcIJA: L660, M310.

Įvadas

Tyrimo aktualumas. Maistas – pirmo būtinumo prekė, be kurios pasaulyje neapsieina nė vienas žmo-gus. Greitėjant žmonių gyvenimo tempui ir didėjant jų užimtumui atsiranda daug įvairaus tipo greito maisto restoranų. spartėjanti techninė pažanga, kai tolimos šalys pasiekiamos per kelias valandas, ir globalizacija, kai verslas neapsiriboja vienos šalies teritorija, o siekia užimti ir kitų šalių rinkas, lėmė galimybę žmonėms paragauti svetimų šalių virtuvės patiekalų ir pagal savo skonį išsirinkti mėgstamiausią maistą. Todėl atsirado daug įvairių ne nacionalinės virtuvės restoranų, kurie teikia kitų šalių tradicinius patiekalus.

Maitinimo įstaigų populiarumas neaplenkė ir Lietuvos bei antro pagal dydį Lietuvos miesto Kauno. sta-tistikos departamento duomenimis (2012), Kaune 2011 metais gyveno daugiau kaip 330 tūkstančių gyven-tojų, o įmonių, užsiimančių maitinimo ir gėrimų teikimo veikla, buvo 470 (bendras vietų skaičius – 26 200). Tai reiškia, kad maitinimo įstaigų vietų yra tik 13 kartų mažiau nei Kaune iš viso gyvena žmonių ir tai rodo maitinimo įstaigų populiarumą visuomenėje. Dažniausiai maitinimo įstaigoms priskiriami restoranai, piceri-jos, kavinės, barai, greitojo maisto restoranai, sveikojo maisto restoranai, vyninės, alaus restoranai, pakelės kavinės, valgyklos ir įvairūs šių įstaigų deriniai. Įvertinant itališkos virtuvės populiarumą Lietuvoje, tyrimą nuspręsta atlikti picerijų sektoriuje.

Tyrimo problema: ar vartotojai patenkinti Kauno miesto picerijų paslaugomis, kokie veiksniai tą pa-sitenkinimą lemia.1 Viktorija Grigaliūnaitė – Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Ekonomikos ir vadybos fakultetas, bakalaurė. Mokslinės kryptys:

vartotojų pasitenkinimas, matematikos metodai rinkotyroje. El. paštas: [email protected].: +370 37 327856.

2 Lina Pilelienė – Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Ekonomikos ir vadybos fakulteto Ekonomikos katedros docentė, daktarė (socialiniai mokslai). Mokslinės kryptys: vartotojų elgsena, vietovės rinkotyroje. El. paštas: [email protected].: +370 37 327856.

Viktorija GriGaliūnaitė, lina PilelienėVARTOTOJŲ PASITENKINIMO KAUNO MIESTO PICERIJOMIS NUSTATYMAS

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straipsnio objektas – vartotojų pasitenkinimas Kauno miesto picerijomis.straipsnio tikslas – įvertinti vartotojų pasitenkinimą Kauno miesto picerijomis.siekiant straipsnio tikslo keliami šie uždaviniai: y aptarti vartotojų pasitenkinimo sampratą ir pateikti modelius; y atlikti vartotojų pasitenkinimo Kauno miesto picerijomis tyrimą; y sudaryti vartotojų pasitenkinimo Kauno miesto picerijomis modelį.

Tyrimo metodai. siekiant atskleisti vartotojų pasitenkinimo sampratą ir sudaryti modelius, kurie bus taikomi, atliekant vartotojų pasitenkinimo Kauno miesto picerijomis tyrimą, atliekama teorinė mokslinės literatūros analizė ir sintezė. Vartotojų požiūriai ir Kauno miesto picerijų vertinimas nustatomi atliekant anketinę apklausą. statistinei apklausos duomenų analizei atlikti taikytas struktūrinių lygčių modeliavimas (sEM) mažiausių dalinių kvadratų (PLs) metodu, regresinė analizė, koreliacinė analizė, loginė analizė.

1 . Vartotojų pasi tenkinimo samprata

Vienas pirmųjų rinkotyros specialistų, tyręs vartotojų pasitenkinimą, buvo R. N. cardozo (1965). Pastarai-siais dešimtmečiais vartotojų pasitenkinimo sąvoka susilaukia vis daugiau organizacijų dėmesio. Pagrindinis veiksnys, skatinantis organizacijas skirti vis daugiau dėmesio vartotojų pasitenkinimui, – didesnis vartotojų pasitenkinimas gali lemti palankesnę konkurencinę padėtį rinkoje, todėl didėja užimama rinkos dalis ir pelnas (fornell, 1992). Vartotojų pasitenkinimas laikomas reikšmingu pakartotinių pirkimų, teigiamų atsiliepimų ir vartotojų lojalumo veiksniu. Patenkinti klientai grįžta, daugiau perka ir apie savo patirtį pasakoja kitiems žmonėms (fornell ir kt., 1996). Todėl vienas organizacijos tikslų tampa vartotojų pasitenkinimo siekis.

R. L. Day (1984) vartotojo pasitenkinimą / nepasitenkinimą apibrėžė kaip vartotojo reakciją į tam tikro produkto vartojimo patirtyje jaučiamo skirtumo tarp vartotojo lūkesčių ir įsigyto produkto neatitikimo lūkes-čiams įvertinimą. Vartotojas yra patenkintas, kai prekė tenkina jo lūkesčius, ir priešingai, jei prekė vartotojo lūkesčių netenkina, jis yra nepatenkintas. Gali būti, kad prekė vartotojo lūkesčius viršija, tada jis būna labai patenkintas (sužavėtas). Pastaraisiais metais vartotojų pasitenkinimo sąvokos esmė nepakito, daugelis auto-rių pasitenkinimą apibrėžia kaip skirtumo tarp vartotojo lūkesčių ir įsigytos prekės ar paslaugos suvokimo rezultatą (Appiah-Gyimah ir kt., 2011). Todėl, glaustai nusakant vartotojo pasitenkinimą produktu ar paslau-ga, galima teigti, kad jis bus patenkintas, kai produktas ar paslauga atitiks jo lūkesčius.

Matuojant vartotojų pasitenkinimą nustatoma, kiek organizacijos produktai ar paslaugos atitinka jų lū-kesčius (Krishan ir kt., 2011). Kai kurie autoriai (Boulding ir kt., 1993; Johnson ir kt., 1995; fornell ir kt., 1996; chan ir kt., 2003) skiria transakcinį specifinį ir sukauptą pasitenkinimą. Transakcinis specifinis pasi-tenkinimas – pasitenkinimas konkrečiu pirkiniu, atsiradęs jį vartojant, o sukauptas pasitenkinimas atsklei-džia bendrą pasitenkinimą, kuris pagrįstas produkto pirkimo ir vartojimo patirtimi per tam tikrą laiką. Išma-tuotas transakcinis specifinis pasitenkinimas gali suteikti diagnostinės informacijos apie tam tikrą produktą ar paslaugą (fornell ir kt., 1996). sukauptojo pasitenkinimo įvertinimas yra gana nauja ir naudingesnė už transakcinio specifinio pasitenkinimo matavimą idėja, prognozuojant vartotojų elgseną bei įmonės ekono-minės veiklos rezultatus (chan ir kt., 2003). Matuojant bendrą vartotojų pasitenkinimą įmonės gaminiais / paslaugomis, įmonių grupe ar visa pramonės šaka, tikslingiau matuoti sukauptą pasitenkinimą, nes taip gali-ma įvertinti ir prognozuoti ilgalaikius procesus. Todėl atliekant tyrimą vartotojų pasitenkinimas siejamas su sukauptu pasitenkinimu.

Mokslinėje literatūroje pateikiama nemažai vartotojų pasitenkinimo modelių, kurie leidžia matuoti var-totojų pasitenkinimą. Žinomiausi: Švedijos vartotojų pasitenkinimo barometras (scsB), Amerikos varto-tojų pasitenkinimo indeksas (AcsI), Vokietijos barometras, Šveicarijos vartotojų pasitenkinimo indeksas (sWIcs), Norvegijos vartotojų pasitenkinimo barometras (NcsB), Europos vartotojų pasitenkinimo indek-sas (EcsI), Korėjos vartotojų pasitenkinimo indeksas (KcsI), Malaizijos vartotojų pasitenkinimo indeksas (McsI), Honkongo vartotojų pasitenkinimo indeksas (HKcsI). Brazilija, Argentina, Meksika, Kanada, Aus-tralija, Taivanas ir kai kurie kiti regionai taip pat turi savo VPI sistemas (Yang ir kt., 2005).


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straipsnyje pateikiami vartotojų pasitenkinimo Kauno miesto picerijomis tyrimo rezultatai. Gautus tyrimo rezultatus naudinga palyginti su kitų maitinimo įstaigų vartotojų pasitenkinimo tyrimo rezultatais, kitų pramo-nės šakų Kaune pasitenkinimo tyrimų rezultatais, taip nustatant picerijų Kaune silpnąsias ir stipriąsias veiklos vietas, kurios susijusios su vartotojų pasitenkinimo, jo priežasčių bei pasekmių organizacijai aspektais.

2 . Vartotojų pasi tenkinimo model io par inkimas

Atliekant tyrimą, nuspręsta taikyti koreguotą Europos vartotojų pasitenkinimo indekso modelį (EcsI), kurį sudaro pagrindinis modelis su tradiciniais neatskleistais kintamaisiais – suvokiama kokybe (įtraukti abu kokybės aspektai: produkto ir paslaugos / aptarnavimo kokybė), lūkesčiais, suvokiama verte, pasitenki-nimo indeksu, vartotojų lojalumu ir ryšiais tarp jų bei du papildomi neatskleisti kintamieji, kuriuos prideda nacionaliniai komitetai – įvaizdis ir vartotojų skundai bei ryšiai tarp jų (Bayol ir kt., 2000). Pagal šį modelį skaičiuojant vartotojų pasitenkinimą įvertinama daugiausiai vartotojų pasitenkinimą lemiančių veiksnių ir visos tiesioginės vartotojų pasitenkinimo pasekmės organizacijai. Modelis pritaikytas kiekvieno vartoto-jo pasitenkinimą lemiančiam veiksniui ir jo pasekmių organizacijai įtakos laipsniui matuoti bei galimiems ryšiams tarp jų paaiškinti. Modelis padės nustatyti vartotojų pasitenkinimą Kauno miesto picerijomis, tam tikrą pasitenkinimą lemiančius veiksnius ir kiek kuris veiksnys lemia atitinkamą pasitenkinimą. Tai leidžia organizacijai efektyviai paskirstyti ribotus išteklius didinant vartotojų pasitenkinimą.

Pasirinktame modelyje pateikti 7 neatskleisti kintamieji. Pateikiamas vienas egzogeninis veiksnys – įvaizdis, į kurį nenukreiptos jokios rodyklės, jį veikia išoriniai, vartotojų pasitenkinimo modelyje neįvardyti veiksniai. Šeši veiksniai yra endogeniniai. Į juos nukreiptos rodyklės iš tų modelyje įvardytų veiksnių, kurie, manoma, juos lemia.

Daromos prielaidos, kad įvaizdis lemia vartotojų lūkesčius, vartotojų pasitenkinimą ir lojalumą. Vartoto-jų lūkesčiai lemia suvokiamus kokybę, vertę ir vartotojų pasitenkinimą. suvokiama kokybė lemia suvokiamą vertę ir vartotojų pasitenkinimą. suvokiama vertė lemia vartotojų pasitenkinimą. Vartotojų pasitenkinimas veikia vartotojų lojalumą ir skundus. skundai daro įtaką lojalumui. Visi išvardyti ryšiai susiję tiesiogine teigiama įtaka, išskyrus skundus, kurie veikiami pasitenkinimo ir veikia lojalumą darydami tiesioginę at-virkštinę įtaką. Modelyje šie ryšiai sudaryti remiantis įvairiomis mokslinėmis teorijomis ir tyrimais, tačiau kiekvienu vartotojų pasitenkinimo tyrimo atveju ryšių stiprumas ir net patys ryšiai yra skirtingi ir priklauso nuo šalies, kurioje tyrimas atliekamas, pramonės šakos, paslaugos ar produkto, vartotojų požiūrių ir daugelio kitų veiksnių, todėl šie ryšiai yra tik bendra nuoroda, rodanti galimus ryšius.

3 . Tyrimo metodika

3.1. Duomenų rinkimo metodas

Tyrimui atlikti pasirinktas kiekybinis pirminių duomenų rinkimo metodas, tai grindžiant tuo, kad varto-tojų pasitenkinimas gali būti išreiškiamas skaičiais ir matuojamas. Pirminiai tyrimo duomenys rinkti pasi-telkus anketas, kur pateikti iš anksto parengti klausimai. Anketa yra standartizuoto tipo: klausimai visiems respondentams yra vienodi ir nesikeičia jų pateikimo tvarka. Duomenis rinkti taikant anketas pasirinkta todėl, kad parengti standartiniai anketos klausimai, kurie užduodami respondentams skaičiuojant vartoto-jų pasitenkinimą taikant EcsI modelį. Atsižvelgiant į šalį, vartotojų požiūrį, produktą ar paslaugą, 15–25 klausimai, skirti vartotojų pasitenkinimui apskaičiuoti, gali būti modifikuojami, tačiau jų esmė lieka ta pati (Eklof ir kt., 2008).

Klausimai-teiginiai, kurie pateikiami respondentams, siekiant apskaičiuoti vartotojų pasitenkinimą, va-dinami akivaizdžiais kintamaisiais. Šie susiję kintamieji sujungiami į 7 neatskleistus kintamuosius. Tyrime


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naudojama anketa sudaryta iš 3 dalių. Pirmoji dalis (1-as ir 3-ias klausimai) – tai klausimai, atliekantys klausimo filtro funkciją, siekiant nustatyti, ar respondentas yra tinkamas. Antroji dalis (2-as klausimas) – tai klausimai, padedantys apskaičiuoti vartotojų pasitenkinimą Kauno miesto picerijomis. Trečioji dalis (4-as, 5-as, 6-as klausimai) – tai klasifikavimo klausimai, pateikiami siekiant gauti informaciją, kuri leistų grupuoti respondentus ir juos apibūdinti.

Tyrime naudojami akivaizdūs ir neatskleisti kintamieji, skirti vartotojų pasitenkinimui Kauno miesto picerijomis nustatyti, pateikiami 1 lentelėje. Tyrimo gylis, t. y. klausimų respondentams skaičius, yra 23. Anketa atitinka EcsI standartus. Tyrime laikomasi nuostatos, kad organizacijos įvaizdį atskleidžia bendra nuomonė apie organizaciją, patikimumas, profesionalumas, naujumas (Turkyilmaz, Ozkan, 2007) ir vartoto-jo nuomonė apie tai, kiek organizacija orientuota į vartotojus (O’Loughlin, coenders, 2004).

Lentelė 1. Neatskleisti ir akivaizdūs kintamieji

Neatskleisti kintamieji Akivaizdūs kintamieji Trumpinys

Įvaizdis (ξ1)

Kauno picerijų įvaizdis visuomenėje yra teigiamas IMAG1Picerijos yra naujoviškos IMAG2Picerijos orientuotos į vartotojus IMAG3Picerijose geras aptarnavimas IMAG4Picerijomis visiškai pasitikiu IMAG5

Vartotojų lūkesčiai (ξ2)Pasirinkęs Kauno miesto picerijas, tikėjausi aukštos kokybės CUEX1Tikėjausi labai geros produkto kokybės cUEX2Tikėjausi labai gero aptarnavimo cUEX3

suvokiama kokybė (ξ3)

Bendrai teikiamus Kauno miesto picerijų produktus vertinu labai gerai PERQ1Bendrai Kauno miesto picerijų aptarnavimą vertinu labai gerai PERQ2Produktų kokybė visiškai tenkina mano keliamus reikalavimus PERQ3Aptarnavimo kokybė visiškai tenkina mano keliamus reikalavimus PERQ4Produktų kokybė, lyginant su kitomis maitinimo įstaigomis, yra labai gera PERQ5

Aptarnavimo kokybė, lyginant su kitomis maitinimo įstaigomis, yra labai gera PERQ6

suvokiama vertė (ξ4) Produktų kokybė visiškai atitinka už produktus sumokėtą kainą PERV1Kaina visiškai atitinka gautą kokybę PERV2

Vartotojų pasitenkinimas (ξ5)Bendras pasitenkinimas produktu ir aptarnavimu yra labai geras cUsA1Picerijos visiškai atitiko mano lūkesčius cUsA2Kauno miesto picerijos yra netoli nuo idealo cUsA3

Vartotojų skundai (ξ6)

Jei netenkina picerijos teikiamo produkto ar aptarnavimo kokybė, skundžiatės draugams ir giminaičiams cUscO1

Jei netenkina picerijos teikiamo produkto ar aptarnavimo kokybė, skundžiatės picerijos vadovybei cUscO2

Vartotojų lojalumas (ξ7) Planuoju lankytis Kauno miesto picerijose ateityje cUsL1Kauno miesto picerijas rekomenduočiau draugams ir pažįstamiems cUsL2

1 lentelėje pateikti teiginiai apie picerijų įvaizdį visuomenėje (bendra nuomonė), naujumą, orientaciją į vartotojus, būdingą aptarnavimą (profesionalumas) ir pasitikėjimą picerijomis (patikimumas) yra susiję su įvaizdžiu, asociacijomis, kurių kyla vartotojui pagalvojus apie picerijas, todėl šie akivaizdūs kintamieji matuoja įvaizdžio neatskleistą kintamąjį. Vartotojų lūkesčius atskleidžia tai, kokios kokybės vartotojas ti-kėjosi, o suvokiama kokybė apibūdinama bendru kokybės įvertinimu, atitikimu vartotojo reikalavimams (Kristensen ir kt., 1999). Vartotojų lūkesčių neatskleistą kintamąjį matuoja akivaizdūs kintamieji, susiję su tuo, kokios bendros produkto ir aptarnavimo kokybės jie tikėjosi. Tai yra pagrindiniai aspektai, kuriuos pice-rija gali pasiūlyti, todėl būtent su jais siejami vartotojų lūkesčiai. suvokiama kokybė susideda iš suvokiamos produkto ir aptarnavimo kokybės, todėl 6 teiginiai, siejami su suvokiama kokybe, sudaryti iš 3 teiginių apie produkto ir 3 tokių pačių teiginių apie aptarnavimo kokybę. Šių teiginių dėka nustatomas bendras vartojimo


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patirties įvertinimas, atitikimas vartotojo reikalavimams ir palyginimas su konkurentais. suvokiamos ver-tės kintamasis matuojamas akivaizdžiais kintamaisiais, kurie susiję su vartotojo suvokiamu kokybės lygiu, lyginant su kaina, bei kainą lyginant su kokybe (O’Loughlin ir kt., 2004). Vartotojų pasitenkinimą matuoja trys kintamieji: bendras pasitenkinimas produktu ir aptarnavimu, picerijų atitikimas vartotojo lūkesčiams bei palyginimas su idealu (Eklof ir kt., 2008). Vartotojų skundų kintamasis padeda nustatyti, ar jie yra linkę skųstis, jei taip, tai kam skundžiasi: atitinkamiems vadovaujantiems picerijos darbuotojams ar savo gimi-nėms, draugams, nepranešdami picerijos atstovams, kad yra nepatenkinti produktu arba aptarnavimu ir taip netiesiogiai lemdami atitinkamus padarinius organizacijai (skųsdamasis draugams ar artimiesiems vartotojas gali pakeisti jų nuomonę dėl organizacijos). Lojalumą rodo teiginiai, susiję su ketinimu lankytis tose pačiose picerijose ir jas rekomenduoti draugams ar artimiesiems (ciavolino, Dahlgaard, 2007). Taigi visi akivaizdūs kintamieji priskirti tam tikram neatskleistam kintamajam. Kiekvienas kintamasis yra matuojamas, apskai-čiuojamas kintamojo reikšmės lygis, įvertinami ryšiai tarp kintamųjų. Taip užtikrinami patikimi ir tinkami rezultatai (Eklof ir kt., 2008).

Visus pateiktus teiginius respondentai vertino pagal 10 balų skalę, kur 1 reiškia visiškai neigiamą nuomo-nę dėl pateikto teiginio, 10 – visiškai teigiamą. Jei respondentas dėl pateikto teiginio nuomonės neturi, jam suteikiama nulinio atsakymo galimybė.

3.2. Tiriamųjų kontingentas

Tyrimo plotis, t. y. apklaustų respondentų skaičius, yra 250 – rekomenduojamas imties dydis, skaičiuo-jant vartotojų pasitenkinimą pagal EcsI modelį. Teigiama, kad toks respondentų skaičius yra pakankamas, kad tyrimo rezultatai būtų patikimi.

Kadangi atliekamas skersinio pjūvio aprašomasis tyrimas neturint generalinės aibės sąrašo, imties tū-rio parinkimo būdas yra netikimybinis atsitiktinis. Tyrimas atliekamas apie Kauno miesto picerijas, todėl respondentai asmeniškai apklausti Kauno mieste. Tyrimui tinkami respondentai yra tie, kurie lankosi arba lankydavosi Kauno miesto picerijose. Respondentai atrenkami ne pagal demografinius ar kitus kriterijus. Taip apklausus daugiau skirtingų pagal lytį, amžių ir gaunamas pajamas žmonių, apskaičiuotas vartotojų pasitenkinimo indeksas rodo bendrą visų Kauno miesto picerijų lankytojų pasitenkinimą.

Apklausa vykdyta 2012 metų kovo 7–21 dienomis. Tyrime dalyvavo 128 moterys (51,2 %) ir 122 vyrai (48,8 %). Pagal amžių respondentai taip pasiskirstė: nuo jaunesnių nei 18 metų iki vyresnių nei 55 metų am-žiaus. Vyraujantis respondentų amžius – 18–25 metai (47,6 % apklaustųjų). Pagal mėnesines pajamas, kurios tenka vienam šeimos nariui, respondentai pasiskirstė nuo gaunančiųjų mažiau nei minimalią mėnesinę algą iki gaunančiųjų daugiau nei vidutines mėnesines pajamas (Lietuvos statistikos departamento [2012] duome-nimis, 2011 m. 4 ketvirtį vidutinis mėnesinis bruto darbo užmokestis Lietuvoje buvo 2175 Lt, minimalioji mėnesinė alga Lietuvoje – 800 Lt), tačiau daugiausiai apklausoje dalyvavusių respondentų teigė, kad paja-mos, tenkančios vienam jų šeimos nariui, yra tarp minimalaus ir vidutinio mėnesinio atlyginimo.

3.3. Tyrimo rezultatų apdorojimo metodas

Vartotojų pasitenkinimo modelį sudaro vartotojų pasitenkinimo priežastys ir pasekmės, todėl skaičiuo-jant jų pasitenkinimą vertinamos tiek jo priežastys, tiek pasekmės bei ryšiai tarp jų. Taigi vartotojų pasiten-kinimas apskaičiuojamas taikant struktūrinių lygčių modelį (sEM). Vartotojų pasitenkinimą skaičiuojant taikant EcsI modelį, rekomenduojama naudoti PLs techniką (Eklof ir kt., 2008). Tai pagrįstas metodas, kurį galima taikyti skaičiuojant sudėtingus priežasčių ir pasekmių santykių modelius (Gudergan ir kt., 2008).


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Tyrime naudojama programinė įranga, skaičiuojanti PLs technika, vadinama SmartPLS. PLs techni-ka skaičiuojant naudoja algoritmą, kuris yra vektorių reikšmių regresijos seka. Algoritmas nusako, kokius veiksmus ir kokia tvarka turi atlikti kompiuteris, kad iš turimų pradinių duomenų gautų reikiamus teisingus rezultatus (Blonskis ir kt., 2005).

2 lentelėje pateikta EcsI modelio kintamųjų įtakos matrica, iš kurios matoma, kokie kintamieji lemia atitinkamą kintamąjį bei kokių kintamųjų koks kintamasis yra lemiamas. Pavyzdžiui, lojalumas neturi įtakos nė vienam modelio kintamajam, įvaizdžiui nedaro įtakos nė vienas modelio kintamasis (todėl pastarasis yra egzogeninis kintamasis).

Lentelė 2. EcsI modelio kintamųjų įtakos matrica

Lemiantis kintamasis

Lemiamas kintamasis

Įvaizdis Lūkesčiai Suvokiama kokybė

Suvokiama vertė

Pasiten-kinimas Skundai Lojalumas

Įvaizdis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Lūkesčiai 1 0 0 0 0 0 0suvokiama kokybė 0 1 0 0 0 0 0suvokiama vertė 0 1 1 0 0 0 0Pasitenkinimas 1 1 1 1 0 0 0skundai 0 0 0 0 1 0 0Lojalumas 1 0 0 0 1 1 0

Šaltinis: Tenenhaus ir kt., 2005

4. Tyrimo rezul ta tų anal izė

Atliekant anketinę apklausą respondentai turėjo pagal 10 balų skalę įvertinti pateiktus teiginius, kurie skirti Kauno picerijų darbui įvertinti.

1 pav. Teiginių dėl Kauno picerijų įvertinimo dažnumas


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1 paveiksle pateiktas respondentų teiginių įvertinimo dažnumas, vertinant teiginius apie Kauno picerijas. Kaip matome, reikšmės „0“, reiškiančios, kad respondentas dėl atitinkamo teiginio neturi nuomonės, nepažy-mėjo nė vienas respondentas. Galima teigti, kad respondentai turi susiformavę nuomones apie Kauno picerijas. Tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad daugiausiai reikšmių „1“ pažymėta vertinant teiginius, kurie susiję su vartotojų skundais: vartotojai nelinkę skųstis, kai jų netenkina picerijos produktų ar aptarnavimo kokybė. Reikšmę „10“ daugiausiai kartų respondentai žymėjo ties teiginiu „planuoju lankytis Kauno miesto picerijose ateityje“. Taip pat reikšmę „10“ nemažai respondentų (15–16 %) rinkosi, vertindami lūkesčius matuojančius akivaizdžius kintamuosius, todėl galima teigti, kad vartotojų lūkesčiai dėl Kauno picerijų buvo dideli. Įvertinimus „8“ ir „9“ respondentai buvo linkę gana dažnai (18–32 %) žymėti vertindami Kauno miesto picerijų įvaizdį bei lūkes-čius atskleidžiančius akivaizdžius kintamuosius, tačiau toliau vertinant suvokiamą kokybę, suvokiamą vertę ir pasitenkinimą atskleidžiančius akivaizdžius kintamuosius šių reikšmių žymėjimo dažnis gerokai sumažėjo (13–28 %). 1 paveiksle ryškiai išsiskiria reikšmės „5“ ir „7“: vertinant visus kintamuosius jos žymėtos daugiau-siai kartų, todėl galima teigti, kad respondentų nuomonė apie Kauno miesto picerijas yra vidutiniška.

Apibendrinant apklausos rezultatus, 2 paveiksle pateikti neatskleistų kintamųjų indeksai. Kaip matome, EcsI indeksas lygus 58. Galima teigti, kad vartotojų pasitenkinimas Kauno picerijomis yra mažas, nors ne daug trūksta iki vidutinio pasitenkinimo lygio, kuris pasiekiamas, kai EcsI yra lygus arba didesnis nei 60 (Pan European customer satisfaction Report, 2011).

2 pav. Neatskleistų kintamųjų indeksai

Vienas didžiausių indeksų pateiktame modelyje – vartotojų lūkesčių. Galima teigti, kad Kauno miesto picerijos skatina gana aukštus vartotojų lūkesčius, tačiau jų nepatenkina, todėl vartotojų pasitenkinimas yra mažesnis nei jų lūkesčiai. Picerijoms nereikėtų formuoti vartotojams tokių aukštų lūkesčių, tada galėtų juos pranokti, taip sukeldamos jų susižavėjimą. Tokį patį indeksą turi vartotojų lojalumo kintamasis. Taigi varto-tojų lojalumas Kauno miesto picerijoms yra vidutinio lygio.

Vartotojų skundų indeksas yra mažiausias modelyje, todėl dar kartą galima teigti, kad Kauno miesto vartotojai nėra linkę skųstis picerijų produktų ar aptarnavimo kokybe. susiformavęs Kauno miesto picerijų


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įvaizdis taip pat yra vidutiniškas, indikuojantis įvaizdžio gerinimo būtinybę. Tiek suvokiamos kokybės, tiek suvokiamos vertės indeksai svyruoja ties riba tarp mažo ir vidutinio lygio – tiek kokybę, tiek vertę vartotojai vertina vidutiniškai. 2010 metais bendras absoliutus Lietuvos vartotojų pasitenkinimo indeksas buvo 71 (Pan European customer satisfaction Report, 2011), tačiau nė vienas nagrinėjamo modelio indeksas šios reikš-mės nepasiekė. Tyrimo duomenys rodo, kad Kauno picerijos nėra užtikrintos, kad jų verslo ateityje laukia sėkmė. Nei vienas kintamasis nepasiekė indekso reikšmės 75, kuri reiškia aukštą atitinkamo kintamojo lygį ir prognozuoja verslo sėkmę ateityje.

3 paveiksle pateikti neatskleistų kintamųjų determinacijos ir kelio koeficientai tarp neatskleistų kintamų-jų bei tarp neatskleistų ir akivaizdžių kintamųjų.

Determinacijos koeficientas (R2) rodo, kokią dalį atitinkamo kintamojo dispersijos paaiškina kiti mo-delio kintamieji, jis gali būti matuojamas procentais (Turkyilmaz, Ozkan, 2007). Įvaizdžio kintamasis yra

3 pav. Kintamųjų kelio ir determinacijos koeficientai

egzogeninis, todėl jam determinacijos koeficientas neskaičiuojamas. Didžiausias R2 yra kintamojo „pasiten-kinimas“ – 86,7 proc. Galima teigti, kad modelis tiksliai aprašo pasitenkinimo lygtį. Kintant pasitenkinimo rodikliui, 86,7 proc. šio kitimo paaiškina įvaizdžio, lūkesčių, kokybės ir vertės kintamųjų kitimas. Regresijos tiesė taip pat gerai aprašo vertės ir lojalumo kintamuosius, paaiškindama atitinkamai 74,3 proc. ir 70,9 proc. vertės ir lojalumo kintamųjų dispersijas. Lūkesčių ir kokybės R2 atitinkamai lygūs 61,4 proc. ir 55 proc., taigi šių kintamųjų regresijos lygtys juos pakankamai aprašo. Kintamojo „skundai“ R2 yra 29,8 proc., kas nėra pakankama, kad būtų galima teigti, jog modelis tinkamai aprašo kintamojo duomenis.

Nors beveik visų kintamųjų determinacijos koeficientai yra pakankamai aukšti ir galima teigti, kad mo-delis gerai aprašo kintamųjų lygtis, tačiau tai nereiškia, kad visi kintamieji modelyje yra būtini.

Kelio koeficientai rodo tiesioginę vieno kintamojo įtaką kitam kintamajam, tačiau atitinkamą kintamąjį veikia ne tik tiesioginiai veiksniai, pavyzdžiui: visa kokybės įtaka pasitenkinimui lygi tiesioginės kokybės įtakos pasitenkinimui ir netiesioginės kokybės įtakos pasitenkinimui sumai (kokybės įtaka vertei → vertės įtaka pasitenkinimui). Tokią vieno kintamojo įtaką kitam kintamajam vadinsime bendra įtaka (žr. 3 lentelę).


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Lentelė 3. Neatskleistų kintamųjų kelio koeficientai, bendra įtaka ir T kriterijų reikšmės

Kintamieji Kelio koeficientas

T kriterijus(kelio koeficiento) Bendra įtaka T kriterijus

(bendros įtakos)Įvaizdis Lojalumas 0,403 4,998 0,661 12,803

Įvaizdis Lūkesčiai 0,783 26,840 0,783 26,840

Įvaizdis Pasitenkinimas 0,079 1,243 0,544 9,603

Kokybė Pasitenkinimas 0,606 7,554 0,904 14,858

Kokybė Vertė 1,055 25,763 1,055 25,763

Lūkesčiai Kokybė 0,742 18,526 0,742 18,526

Lūkesčiai Pasitenkinimas 0,005 0,174 0,594 8,011

Lūkesčiai Vertė 0,291 6,144 0,492 8,220

Pasitenkinimas Lojalumas 0,519 6,181 0,475 5,791

Pasitenkinimas skundai 0,546 10,148 0,546 10.148

skundai Lojalumas -0,079 -1,783 -0,079 -1,584

Vertė Pasitenkinimas 0,282 6,538 0,282 6,538

Kaip matyti 3 lentelėje, įvaizdžio įtaka lūkesčiams, remiantis kelio koeficientu, yra didelė ir sutampa su bendra įtaka, tai reiškia, kad iš visų nagrinėjamų kintamųjų vartotojų lūkesčius lemia tik organizacijos įvaiz-dis. T kriterijaus reikšmė didesnė nei 1,96, todėl tiesioginė įtaka yra reikšminga. Tiesioginė įvaizdžio įtaka lojalumui yra vidutinė, tačiau reikšminga (T > 1,96), įvaizdžio kintamajam padidėjus vienetu, lojalumas padidėja 0,403. Bendra įvaizdžio įtaka lojalumui yra didelė ir reikšminga (T > 1,96). Tiesioginė įvaizdžio įtaka pasitenkinimui yra labai maža ir nereikšminga (T < 1,96), tačiau bendra įvaizdžio įtaka pasitenkinimui yra didelė ir reikšminga (T > 1,96), todėl šį kintamąjį modelyje reikia palikti, tačiau nereikia nurodyti, kad jis tiesiogiai lemia pasitenkinimą. Tiek tiesioginė, tiek bendra kokybės įtaka pasitenkinimui yra didelės ir reikšmingos (T > 1,96). Pati didžiausia įtaka visame modelyje yra kokybės įtaka vertei, kokybės rodikliui padidėjus vienetu, vertės rodiklis padidėja 1,055 vieneto. Ši įtaka yra tiesioginė ir reikšminga (T > 1,96). Lūkesčių įtaka kokybei yra didelė, tiesioginė ir reikšminga (T > 1,96). Pasitenkinimo lūkesčiai tiesiogiai ne-lemia (kelio koeficientas apskaičiuotas 0,005, T < 1,96), bendra įtaka yra didelė ir reikšminga (T > 1,96). Tie-sioginė lūkesčių įtaka vertei yra vidutiniška ir reikšminga, bendra įtaka yra didesnė nei tiesioginė, tačiau taip pat vidutiniška ir reikšminga (T > 1,96). Vertės įtaka pasitenkinimui yra tiesioginė, vidutinė ir reikšminga (T > 1,96). Pasitenkinimo įtaka tiek lojalumui, tiek skundams yra tiesioginė, didelė ir reikšminga (T > 1,96). skundų įtaka lojalumui yra tiesioginė atvirkštinė, tačiau labai maža ir statistiškai nereikšminga (T < 1,96).

Neatskleistų kintamųjų koreliacijos koeficientai pateikiami 4 lentelėje.

Lentelė 4. Neatskleistų kintamųjų koreliacijos koeficientai

Kintamieji Įvaizdis Kokybė Lojalumas Lūkesčiai Pasitenkinimas Skundai VertėĮvaizdis 1 0 0 0 0 0 0Kokybė 0,872 1 0 0 0 0 0Lojalumas 0,796 0,854 1 0 0 0 0Lūkesčiai 0,783 0,742 0,713 1 0 0 0Pasitankinimas 0,839 0,917 0,813 0,656 1 0 0skundai 0,529 0,494 0,417 0,437 0,546 1 0Vertė 0,771 0,839 0,757 0,492 0,855 0,458 1


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Neatskleistų kintamųjų įtaka visiems akivaizdiems kintamiesiems nustatyta didelė (mažiausias kelio koe-ficientas yra 0,829) ir reikšminga (T > 1,96). Išorinio svorio koeficientai ne mažesni kaip 0,7. Tai reiškia, kad visi akivaizdūs kintamieji ir apskaičiuotos jiems daromos įtakos reikšmės yra patikimos.

4 lentelėje pateikti neatskleistų kintamųjų koreliacijos koeficientai. Koreliacija nereiškia kintamųjų tar-pusavio įtakos, o parodo jų tarpusavio ryšio stiprumą. Kaip matome, silpnos koreliacijos tarp kintamųjų nėra. Maža koreliacija yra tarp skundų ir kokybės, skundų ir lojalumo, vertės ir lūkesčių, skundų ir lūkesčių bei skundų ir vertės. Tai reiškia, kad tarp skundų ir kitų neatskleistų kintamųjų yra mažas ryšys, kas patvirtina, kad šio kintamojo regresijos lygtis jį aprašo nepakankamai gerai. Maža koreliacija taip pat pastebima tarp vertės ir lūkesčių. Vidutinė koreliacija matoma tarp skundų ir įvaizdžio, pasitenkinimo ir lūkesčių, pasiten-kinimo ir skundų. Vėlgi tie patys kintamieji – lūkesčiai ir skundai, taigi galima teigti, kad tarp skundų ir kitų modelio kintamųjų yra maža ir vidutinė koreliacija, tarp lūkesčių ir vertės bei pasitenkinimo yra atitinkamai mažas ir vidutinis ryšys. Labai stiprus ryšys yra tarp kokybės ir pasitenkinimo. Tarp likusių kintamųjų pas-tebimas stiprus ryšys.

Neatskleistų kintamųjų koreliacijos koeficientų, pakeltų kvadratu, ir 5 lentelėje pateiktų išgaunamos vi-dutinės dispersijos (AVE) reikšmių palyginimas leidžia teigti, kad duomenys pagrįsti, t. y. tie kintamieji, kurie neturi būti susiję, iš tiesų ir nėra susiję. Palyginę šiuos duomenis matome, kad visų kintamųjų AVE reikšmės yra didesnės už atitinkamų kintamųjų didžiausią kvadratu pakelto koreliacijos koeficiento reikšmę, nes pati mažiausia AVE rodiklio reikšmė (0,764) yra didesnė už pačią didžiausią koreliacijos koeficiento, pakelto kvadratu, reikšmę (0,760).

Lentelė 5. Neatskleistų kintamųjų AVE, sudėtinio patikimumo, Cronbach alfa ir bendrumo rodikliai

RodiklisKintamasis AVE Sudėtinis patikimumas Cronbach alfa Bendrumas

Įvaizdis 0,764 0,942 0,922 0,764Kokybė 0,886 0,979 0,974 0,886Lojalumas 0,930 0,964 0,925 0,930Lūkesčiai 0,925 0,974 0,959 0,925Pasitenkinimas 0,889 0,960 0,937 0,889skundai 0,777 0,875 0,714 0,777Vertė 0,955 0,997 0,953 0,955

Ištyrę 5 lentelėje pateiktus rodiklius matome, kad sudėtinio patikimumo (kiekvieno kintamojo bendras patikimumas) ir Cronbach alfa rodiklių reikšmės visiems neatskleistiems kintamiesiems yra didesnės kaip 0,7. Galima teigti, kad visi neatskleisti kintamieji yra patikimi ir homogeniški. AVE rodiklio reikšmės taip pat yra ne mažesnės kai 0,7, nors reikalaujama, kad šios reikšmės būtų ne mažesnės kaip 0,5. Paklaidų dispersija nedidelė, kintamiesiems būdinga konvergencija ir duomenys yra pagrįsti. Bendrumo rodiklis yra kvadratu pakelta koreliacija tarp akivaizdžių kintamųjų ir jais matuojamo neatskleisto kintamojo. Šis rodiklis atskleidžia atitinkamo kintamojo dispersijos procentą, kuris paaiškina akivaizdžius kintamuosius. Šiuo atve-ju mažiausia bendrumo rodiklio reikšmė yra 0,764, tai reiškia, kad vidutiniškai 76,4 % atitinkamų kintamųjų dispersijos paaiškina jais matuojamas neatskleistas kintamasis. Kitų kintamųjų bendrumo rodiklis yra aukš-tesnis. Kadangi reikalaujama, kad bendrumo rodiklis būtų ne mažesnis kaip 0,5, o šiuo atveju visi bendrumo rodiklio duomenys yra gerokai didesni, galima teigti, kad kintamieji yra patikimi.

Įrodytas modelio patikimumas ir duomenų pagrįstumas leidžia teigti, kad apskaičiuoti neatskleistų kinta-mųjų indeksai, neatskleistų kintamųjų įtakos kryptys bei įtakos stiprumai yra teisingi. Gauti tyrimo rezultatai lėmė Europos vartotojų pasitenkinimo indekso modelio korekciją (žr. 4 pav.), rekomenduojamą skaičiuojant vartotojų pasitenkinimą visomis picerijomis arba konkrečia Kauno miesto picerija.


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Visi 7 neatskleisti kintamieji, pavaizduoti 4 paveiksle, modelyje išlieka tie patys, kaip ir pateikti vartotojų pasitenkinimo modelyje, kuris naudotas atliekant tyrimą, nes bendra visų neatskleistų kintamųjų įtaka ati-tinkamiems modelio kintamiesiems yra reikšminga. Juodomis paryškintomis rodyklėmis pavaizduota tiesio-ginė vieno neatskleisto kintamojo įtaka kitam neatskleistam kintamajam rodyklės kryptimi. Šios įtakos yra tiesioginės ir reikšmingos, lemiančios atitinkamą vartotojų pasitenkinimo lygį ir jo padarinius organizacijai. Neparyškintomis rodyklėmis (rodyklės kryptimi) nurodytos tos tiesioginės neatskleistų kintamųjų įtakos atitinkamiems neatskleistiems kintamiesiems, kurios nei įrodytos, nei paneigtos. Tai reiškia, kad kartais šios įtakos gali egzistuoti, tačiau nebūtinai visais atvejais. Vartotojų lūkesčių tiesioginė įtaka vartotojų pasitenki-nimui iš šio modelio pašalinta. Šiuo atveju sutinkama su kai kurių autorių (Martensen ir kt., 2000; Johnson ir kt., 2001; O’Loughlin ir kt., 2004) nuomone, kad vartotojų lūkesčiai neturi tiesioginės įtakos vartotojų pasitenkinimui. Tyrimo rezultatų analizė rodo, kad bendra vartotojų lūkesčių įtaka vartotojų pasitenkinimui yra didelė ir reikšminga, todėl jų lūkesčių neatskleistas kintamasis modelyje paliekamas.

Išvados

Įvairūs autoriai mini daug skirtingų vartotojų pasitenkinimą lemiančių veiksnių, tačiau daugelio jų įtaka vartotojų pasitenkinimui neįrodyta. Be to, autoriai nesutaria dėl pagrindinių veiksnių, kurie lemia vartotojų pasitenkinimą, įtakos reikšmės. Apibendrinus nagrinėtų autorių nuomones, skiriami šie vartotojų pasitenki-nimą lemiantys veiksniai: organizacijos įvaizdis, vartotojų lūkesčiai, vartotojų suvokiama kokybė, vartotojų suvokiama vertė. Dėl vartotojų pasitenkinimo ilgo laikotarpio padarinių organizacijai daugelis autorių su-taria, jie teigia, kad didesnis vartotojų pasitenkinimas organizacijos produktais ar paslaugomis yra vienas veiksnių, lemiančių didesnę organizacijos vertę, tačiau dėl tiesioginių vartotojų pasitenkinimo pasekmių or-

4 pav. Vartotojų pasitenkinimo Kauno miesto picerijomis modelis


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ganizacijai kai kurie autoriai nesutaria, todėl skiriamos tokios pagrindinės pasekmės organizacijai: vartotojų lojalumas, vartotojų skundai.

Tyrimo rezultatų analize nustatyti vartotojų pasitenkinimo modelio kintamųjų indeksai ir jų apibendrini-mas leidžia teigti, kad vartotojų pasitenkinimas Kauno miesto picerijų teikiamomis paslaugomis yra mažas. Tyrimo duomenys leidžia daryti išvadą, kad siekiant didesnio vartotojų pasitenkinimo picerijomis, svarbiau-sia suderinti vartotojų lūkesčius ir produktų bei aptarnavimo kokybę.

Rengiant vartotojų pasitenkinimo Kauno miesto picerijomis modelį nustatyta, kad vartotojų lūkesčiai vartotojų pasitenkinimui Kauno miesto picerijomis tiesioginės įtakos neturi. Nepatvirtinta, bet ir nepaneigta lūkesčių tiesioginė įtaka suvokiamai vertei, įvaizdžio – pasitenkinimui, vartotojų skundų – lojalumui, todėl šios įtakos modelyje pavaizduotos. Analizuojant kintamųjų įtakas (dėl picerijų) nustatyta, kad visi modelio kintamieji yra reikšmingi, apskaičiuojant vartotojų pasitenkinimą bei jo pasekmes organizacijai.

Remiantis atlikto tyrimo rezultatais, Kauno miesto picerijoms rekomenduojama didinti ne savo vartotojų lūkesčius, bet teikiamų produktų ir paslaugų kokybę arba užtikrinti tokį kokybės ir kainos lygį, kad vartotojų pasitenkinimas pasiektų vidutinį lygį.

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D E T E R M I N AT I O N O F C U S TO M E R S AT I S FA C T I O N W I T H P I Z Z E R I A S I N K A U N A S

Viktorija GriGaliūnaitė, lina Pilelienė Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania)

summary

Relevance of the research. food can be called as a necessary good for human existence and welfa-re. Nowadays, as a speed of our life is intensifying and busyness is growing, many fast-food restaurants are establishing and getting their part in the catering service field. Due to a technical progress (people can reach foreign countries in a few hours) and globalization, businesses are not framed by a borders of a particular country any longer – they are expanding to other countries and cultures. contemporary society is facing the possibility to try and make preferences to cuisines by many different countries. consequently, many restau-rants serving other countries’ traditional meals can be found in Lithuania.

The popularity of foreign cuisine restaurants is growing in Kaunas, as well as in all the country. Accor-ding to Lithuanian Department of statistics (2012), there were more that 330’000 inhabitants in Kaunas in 2011; moreover, there were 470 registered enterprises providing catering activities and sharing 26 200 seats. The figures highlight that amount of seats in catering industry in Kaunas is only 13 times smaller than the number of inhabitants. Accordingly, it can be stated that catering is a very popular service in society. consi-dering that one of the most popular foreign cuisines in Lithuania is Italian cuisine, pizzerias were chosen un-der consideration. Accordingly, scientific problem solved in this article is: what is customer satisfaction with pizzerias’ services in Kaunas and what are the factors determining their satisfaction.

The object of the article is customer satisfaction with pizzerias in Kaunas.The aim of the article is to evaluate customer satisfaction with pizzerias in Kaunas.To meet the aim of the article following tasks were set: y To reveal the conception and models of customer satisfaction. y To perform the research on customer satisfaction with pizzerias in Kaunas. y To design the model of customer satisfaction with pizzerias in Kaunas.

Research methods. On purpose of analysing conception and models satisfaction which could be used for the research, the theoretical analysis and synthesis was provided. customers’ attitudes and evaluations to-wards pizzerias in Kaunas were determined providing the questionnaire research. structural equation model-ling (sEM) using partial least squares (PLs) path modelling methodology was applied for statistical analysis.

After the analysis of scientific literature it can be concluded that various authors highlight different custo-mer satisfaction determinants; however many of these determinants lack scientific substantiation. Moreover, there is a polemic about the impact existence of main determinants. As main determinants of customer sa-tisfaction can be named: organization’s image, customer expectations, customer perceived quality, customer perceived value. Analyzing long-term impact of customer satisfaction, many authors state that bigger custo-


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mer satisfaction is one of the factors providing organization’s value; however, some outcomes of satisfaction are being criticized and held as indirect, those are: customer loyalty, customer complaints.

The indexes of customer satisfaction variables and their interpretation made during the research, leads to a conclusion that customer satisfaction with pizzerias in Kaunas is low. Research results let us state that en-deavoring to reach greater customer satisfaction with pizzeria most important is balance between customer expectations and product or service quality.

While designing the model of customer satisfaction with pizzerias in Kaunas it was determined that customer expectations have no direct impact on customer satisfaction with pizzerias in Kaunas. The direct impact of customer expectation on perceived value, image’s impact on satisfaction, and customer’s com-plaints’ impact on loyalty were neither substantiated, nor unsubstantiated. Therefore, latter impacts were showed at the designed model. During the analysis of variables’ impacts on satisfaction (with pizzerias) it was determined that all the variables included into a model are significant for calculation of customer satis-faction and its’ outcomes for the organization.

considering research results for pizzerias in Kaunas it can be recommended to stop elevating customer expectations, herewith improving product and service quality, or to maintain balance level of quality and price which would lead customer satisfaction to at least an average level.

KEY WORDs: Catering services, Customer satisfaction, ECSI, Kaunas.

JEL cODEs: L660, M310.


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R E G I O N I N I O V E R S L O J Ū R Ų Ž U V I N I N K Y S T Ė S S E K TO R I A U S P R O B L E M O S I R P E R S P E K T Y VO S

Violeta Grublienė1, eGlė Gotautienė2

Klaipėdos universitetas (Lietuva), Klaipėdos valstybinė kolegija (Lietuva)

ANOTACIJAStraipsnyje nagrinėjamos jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus, kaip regioninio verslo, problemos ir perspektyvos. Įvertinta jūrų žuvinin-kystės sektoriaus būklė, problemos ir numatytos galimos perspektyvos. Straipsnyje apibendrinta informacija, pateikta žuvininkystės sektoriaus norminiuose aktuose ir dokumentuose, statistinė informacija, moksliniai straipsniai bei informacija iš įvairių seminarų. Pateikta siūlymų galimoms perspektyvoms įgyvendinti. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: jūrų žuvininkystė, sektorius, regionas, perspektyvos, tvari plėtra.

JEL KLASIfIKAcIJA: M100, Q22, Q56.

Įvadas

Lietuva iš visų Baltijos jūros valstybių turi trumpiausią kranto liniją (apie 90 km) ir mažiausią jūros akva-toriją (apie 7000 km²). Tai sudaro 1,5 proc. Baltijos jūros ploto. Tačiau jūros ir pajūrio reikšmė mūsų mažai šaliai yra itin svarbi ekonominiu, kultūriniu ir geopolitiniu požiūriais. Su jūriniu verslu jau šiandien yra susiję apie 18 proc. viso Lietuvoje sukuriamo BVP. Kita vertus, Lietuvos pajūryje glūdi dar daug neišnau-doto potencialo, kuris intensyviai diegiant inovacijas, skatinant mokslo ir verslo integraciją gali reikšmingai padidinti šalies ekonomikos plėtrą ir socialinę gerovę.

Lietuvos jūrinis sektorius – tai įvairių jūrinio verslo šakų (jūros transportas, uostai, žvejyba, naudingų išteklių gavyba, pramonė, rekreacija ir kt.), jūrinių fundamentinių ir taikomųjų mokslinių tyrimų bei jūrinin-kystės specialistų rengimo sistemų visuma.

Viena svarbesnių regionui jūrinio verslo sričių – žuvininkystė. Tai specifinė ūkio šaka, daugiausia nau-dojanti natūralius gyvuosius gamtos išteklius – žuvis. Žuvininkystės sektoriaus poreikiai turi atitikti jo ga-limybes, kurias lemia išteklių būklė. Žuvų ištekliai – lengvai pažeidžiami gyvieji gamtos ištekliai, todėl jų naudojimo reguliavimas ir apsauga turi būti ypač atsakinga, būtina remiantis moksliniais tyrimais ir ilgalai-kėmis tikslinėmis programomis (Green paper (...), 2001).

Jūrų žuvininkystė – viena seniausių žmonijos veiklos sričių, susijusi su tiesioginiu jūros žuvų, kaip mais-tinių gamtos išteklių, naudojimu. Didėjant pasaulyje žuvų ir jų produktų vartojimui, ilgą laiką jūrinė žu-vininkystė plėtota laikantis principo – pasiimk žuvų iš jūros tiek, kiek gali. Trumpalaikiais ekonominiais

1 Violeta Grublienė – Klaipėdos universiteto Socialinių mokslų fakulteto Vadybos katedros docentė, daktarė (socialiniai mokslai). Mokslinės kryptys: regioniniai verslai, verslo projektavimo galimybės.El. paštas: [email protected].:+370 612 546 63.

2 Eglė Gotautienė – Klaipėdos valstybinės kolegijos Vadybos katedros vedėja, lektorė. Mokslinės kryptys: verslo plėtros galimybės, regionų problemos.El. paštas: [email protected].: +370 614 036 88.

Violeta Grublienė, eGlė GotautienėREGIONINIO VERSLO JŪRŲ ŽUVININKYSTĖS SEKTORIAUS PROBLEMOS IR PERSPEKTYVOS

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prioritetais paremtas žuvininkystės sektorius susidūrė su rimta grėsme sunaikinti savo pajamų šaltinį. Tai lemia naują požiūrį ne tik į žuvininkystę, bet ir į visą ūkinę veiklą.

Atkūrus nepriklausomybę Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės ūkis išgyveno dramatišką ekonominės recesijos ir kokybinių transformacijų laikotarpį. Nesuskubus pertvarkyti stambiosios okeaninės žvejybos pramonės atsi-žvelgiant į naujas ekonomines ir politines sąlygas, dar neseniai dinamiškai plėtota Lietuvos žuvų ir kitų jūros produktų gavybos pramonė paskutiniojo dešimtmečio pirmojoje pusėje gerokai sumažino gamybos apimtis.

Norint išvengti jūrų žuvininkystės ūkio, kaip savarankiškos ūkio šakos, nunykimo, reikia numatyti moks-lo, politinių sprendimų ir pragmatinių tikslų sąveiką. Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės ūkis buvo ir turi likti svar-bia tęstine Lietuvos nacionalinės kultūros dalimi, pasireiškiančia kaip kompleksinė veikla, susieta su šakos strateginiu valdymu, tausojančiu žuvų išteklių naudojimu, jūrų žvejyba, žuvų transportavimu ir saugojimu, žvejybos uostais, prekyba žuvų produktais, jų vartojimu, atliekų perdirbimu, šios šakos ūkine ir socialine infrastruktūra.

Pagrindinės straipsnyje akcentuojamos problemos: Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus valdymo sudėtingumas, kai kurių žuvų rūšių kvotų mažėjimas, žvejybos sezono trumpėjimas, seni laivai, jaunimo nenoras susieti savo karjerą su šiuo sektoriumi.

Tyrimo objektas: Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus problemos ir perspektyvos. Tyrimo tikslas: įvertinus Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus problemas ir galimybes, numatyti jo

plėtros perspektyvas. Siekiant suformuluoto tikslo sprendžiami šie tyrimo uždaviniai: y įvertinti mokslinę literatūrą ir norminius aktus bei dokumentus, reglamentuojančius sektoriaus veiklą; y nustatyti pagrindines jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus problemas ir galimas perspektyvas; y pateikti siūlymų, kaip siekti tvarios jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus plėtros.

Tyrimo metodika. Rengiant šį straipsnį atlikta teisės aktų, reglamentuojančių žuvininkystės sektoriaus plėtros procesą Lietuvoje, bei kitų mokslinių šaltinių, analizė ir sintezė, apibendrinta informacija, seminarų medžiaga atskleidžianti jūrų žuvininkystės raidos procesą ir jo pokyčius atsižvelgiant į ekonomines ir po-litines tendencijas. Pagrindiniai nagrinėti dokumentai: Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionalinis strateginis planas (2006) ir Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų veiksmų pro-grama (2007), kurie reglamentuoja sektoriaus plėtros procesą. Taip pat nagrinėtos žuvininkystės tarnybos prie Žemės ūkio ministerijos veiklos sritys, įvairūs planavimo dokumentai, skirtingų metų žuvininkystės sektoriaus ekonominės ir socialinės būklės apžvalgos ataskaitos.

1 . Rezul ta ta i

Analizuojant jūrų žuvininkystės problemas ir perspektyvas vartojamos šios pagrindinės sąvokos: jūrų žuvininkystė, regionas, darnus (tausus) vystymasis. Šios sąvokos interpretuojamos įvairiai, bet tiksliausias žuvininkystės sampratos aiškinimas pateiktas Lietuvos Respublikos žuvininkystės įstatyme (2001). Įstatyme pažymėta, kad Lietuvos žuvininkystė – tai su žuvų išteklių valdymu, išsaugojimu ir atkūrimu, žvejyba, akva-kultūra, žuvų perdirbimu, pirminiu žuvininkystės produktų pardavimu ir supirkimu susijusi veikla. Šalyje plėtojamos 4 pagrindinės žuvininkystės sektoriaus šakos:

y jūrų žuvininkystė (žvejyba tolimuosiuose rajonuose, atviroje Baltijos jūroje ir jos priekrantėje); y žvejyba vidaus vandenyse; y akvakultūra; y žuvų perdirbimo pramonė ir rinkodara (Lietuvos Respublikos (...), 2001).

Jūrų žuvininkystės sektorius yra sudedamoji Lietuvos jūrų ūkio dalis ir realiai egzistuoja tiek, kiek Lie-tuva turi priėjimą prie Baltijos jūros, todėl analizuojant žuvininkystės sektoriaus jūrų žuvininkystės šaką, tikslinga apibrėžti regiono sąvoką (Grublienė, 2003).

Mokslinėje literatūroje dažnai vartojamos tokios sąvokos kaip: teritorija, regionas, teritorinė sistema, regioninė ekonomika, rajonas ir kt. Socialinę-ekonominę erdvę skirstant dalimis vartojami tokie teritoriniai


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vienetai: arealas, zona, rajonas, regionas, anklavas ir kt. Dažniausiai vartojamos dvi sąvokos: rajonas ir regi-onas. Rajonas apibrėžiamas kaip teritorija su jai priklausančių elementų visuma (Бильчак, Захаров, 1998).

Regiono sąvoka atsirado vėliau. Šis terminas lankstesnis, nesusijęs su teritoriniu administravimu. Ekonomikos mokslas regioną apibrėžia kaip socialinę-ekonominę visumą, kur vyksta materialinės gamybos procesai (Rutkauskas, 2001; 2008). Socialinė-ekonominė geografija apibrėžia jį kaip gamybos objektą arba kaip aplinką, kurioje žmogus ir materialinė gamyba yra tarpusavyje susiję (Vaitekūnas, 1996, 2001). Regioną, kaip gyvenamąją aplinką, kur kuriamos žmonių gyvenimo sąlygos, tiria demografija (Stepukonis, 1998). Ekologija domisi regionu kaip teritorija, kuri daro poveikį supančiai aplinkai (Toliušis, Maksimovas, 1998).

Bendro regiono apibrėžimo nėra, pats aiškiausias ir priimtiniausias teigia, kad regionas – tai visų pirma teritorija, pasižyminti tam tikromis specifinėmis gamtinėmis, demografinėmis, socialinėmis ir ekonominė-mis sąlygomis, kurios jį apibūdina ir skiria nuo gretimų teritorijų (Гладкий, Чистобаев, 1998).

Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų veiksmų programoje (2007) pažymėta, kad siekiant tvarios žuvininkystės sektoriaus plėtros ir skatinant vietos partnerystę bei iniciatyvą, laikantis principo „iš apačios į viršų“, žuvininkystės regiono gyventojams būtina suteikti galimybę rengti žuvininkystės regiono plėtros strategijas, kurios atskleis jų poreikius ir tikslus.

Ten pat pažymėta, kad gerinti žuvininkystės regionų aplinkos kokybę būtina, siekiant gerinti vietos gyventojų gyvenimo kokybę, skatinti turizmą, taip regionai taps konkurencingesni ir išliks patrauklūs bei saugūs ateities kartoms. Kad žuvininkystės regionai galėtų pasidalyti geriausia praktika ir žiniomis, būtina skatinti žuvininkystės regionų bendradarbiavimą. Šiame kontekste reikėtų paminėti ir Naująją paradigmą, kurioje pabrėžiama būtinybė ne tiek remti atsiliekančius regionus, kiek išnaudoti regiono individualumą ir siekti konkurencinio pranašumo (OEcD 2006a; 2006b).

Su žuvininkystės veikla susijęs regionas turi visas regionui būdingas savybes: teritorija, specifinės gam-tinės, demografinės, socialinės ir ekonominės sąlygos.

Žuvininkystės sektoriaus jūrų žuvininkystės šakos veikla: žvejyba atviroje Baltijos jūroje ir jos priekrantėje siejasi su Lietuvos jūrų ūkiu ir regionu, nes daugiausia žuvininkystės įmonių susitelkę Klaipėdos apskrityje (81,3 proc. visų įmonių). Daugiausiai tai jūrų ir vidaus vandenų žvejybos įmonės. Šioje apskrityje susibūru-sios stipriausios žuvininkystės regionų vietos veiklos grupės (ŽRVVG).

Lietuvos valstybės ilgalaikėje raidos strategijoje numatyta, kad regionų ekonomika bus plėtojama ir jų konkurencingumas didinamas atsižvelgiant į regiono turimus išteklius bei prioritetines plėtros kryptis, išryš-kinant regiono savitumą. Regionų institucijos bendradarbiaus tarptautiniu lygmeniu, įgyvendindamos naci-onalinius ir ES regioninės plėtros politikos tikslus (Valstybės (...), 2002).

Ten pat teigiama, kad pagrindinis regioninės plėtros politikos tikslas – užtikrinti stabilaus aukšto gyveni-mo lygio galimybes visoms šalies bendruomenėms; didinti šalies regionų sanglaudą, mažinant ekonominius, socialinius, kultūros, išsilavinimo sąlygų ir administracinių gebėjimų skirtumus tarp jų; užtikrinti darnią re-gionų ekonomikos plėtrą bei didinti jų konkurencingumą atsižvelgiant į regionų ypatumus; tolydžiai plėtoti regionų fizinę ir socialinę infrastruktūrą; užtikrinti veiksmingą regionų vietinių išteklių naudojimą, racionalų regioninės plėtros finansavimą naudojant tiek šalies, tiek užsienio finansinių šaltinių lėšas, kaimo bendruo-menių gyvybingumą ir plėtrą (Valstybės (...), 2002).

Darnus analizuojamos šakos vystymasis yra labai svarbus. R. Čiegio (2009) teigimu, ši sąvoka apima tris esminius požiūrius: ekonominį, aplinkos ir socialinį vystymąsi. Darnaus vystymosi koncepcijos pagrindą sudaro trys lygiaverčiai komponentai – aplinkos apsauga, ekonominė plėtra ir socialinis vystymasis. Kitaip tariant, darnus vystymasis – tai savotiškas kompromisas tarp aplinkosauginių, ekonominių ir socialinių vi-suomenės tikslų, leidžiantis siekti visuotinės gerovės sau ir ateinančioms kartoms.

Ten pat pažymėta, kad literatūroje gausu darnaus vystymosi sąvokos apibūdinimų, tačiau pagrindinę mintį išreiškia klasikiniu tapęs Brundtland komisijos ataskaitoje pateiktas apibrėžimas: tai vystymasis, ku-ris tenkina šiuolaikinio žmogaus poreikius, išsaugodamas galimybes būsimoms kartoms tenkinti savuosius (Čiegis, 2009).

A. V. Rutkauskas (2008) akcentuoja, kad šiandien plėtros ir tvarumo sąvokos dažnai neatsiejamos anali-zuojant tiek globalinius, tiek regioninius, tiek vietinius procesus.


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Jūrų žuvininkystė susieta su tiesioginiu jūros žuvų, kaip maistinių gamtos išteklių, naudojimu. Vertinant žuvi-ninkystės sektoriaus jūrų žuvininkystės šakos būklę ir vystymosi galimybes, būtina atsižvelgti į regiono bei šakos darnaus vystymosi aspektus, kurie turi įvertinti aplinkosauginius, ekonominius ir socialinius visuomenės tikslus.

Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystė yra: nacionalinė pagal kultūrinį reikšmingumą; regioninė pagal veiklos koncen-traciją; tarpžinybinė pagal interesų sritis; tausojanti pagal natūralių gamtos išteklių naudojimo pobūdį; socialiai orientuota, nes yra žemas pajamas gaunančių gyventojų pragyvenimo šaltinis; ekonomiškai tikslinga, kadangi nuolat didėja žuvų produktų paklausa ir išlieka nesunkiai pasiekiami žuvų ištekliai (Grublienė, 2006).

Kitas straipsnio uždavinys – įvertinti jūrų žuvininkystė sektoriaus problemas.

2. Pagrindinės jūrų žuvininkystės sektor iaus problemos

Straipsnyje šio sektoriaus problemos vertinamos analizuojant ir apibendrinant informaciją, pateiktą dvie-juose su sektoriaus veikla susijusiuose dokumentuose: Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionaliniame strateginiame plane (2006) ir Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų veiksmų programoje (2007). Nagrinėti ir sektoriaus statistiniai dokumentai: Lietuvos žuvininkystė. Dokumentai, fak-tai, skaičiai. 2006–2007 metai (2009), Rinkotyra Nr. 1(43) (2009), informacija pateikta Žuvininkystės tarny-bos prie Žemės ūkio ministerijos tinklalapyje.

Viena pagrindinių problemų – sektoriaus valdymo sudėtingumas. Žuvininkystės sektorių Lietuvos Respublikoje administruoja Žuvininkystės tarnyba prie Lietuvos Respublikos žemės ūkio ministerijos ir Aplinkos ministerija. Taikomuosius biologinius žuvininkystės tyrimus atlieka Žuvininkystės tarnyba, Vil-niaus universiteto Ekologijos institutas, Klaipėdos universitetas. Žuvininkystės tyrimų ir mokslo skyrius nuolat stebi ir tiria Baltijos jūros žuvų išteklių būklę, Vilniaus universiteto Ekologijos instituto Jūros ekolo-gijos laboratorija tiria žuvų išteklius Kuršių mariose ir Kauno vandens talpykloje. Šilavoto filiale užsiimama karpių selekcija, Žeimenos lašišinių žuvų veislyne – dirbtinai veisiamos ir auginamos įžuvinimo į valstybi-nės reikšmės vandens telkinius tikslais lašišinės žuvys (lašišos ir šlakiai), taip pat atliekami lašišinių žuvų genetinės kontrolės darbai. Žuvininkystės sektoriaus ekonominius ir socialinius tyrimus atlieka Lietuvos agrarinės ekonomikos institutas (Lietuvos žuvininkystės (...), 2006).

Pateikta informacija akivaizdžiai iliustruoja žuvininkystės sektoriaus valdymo sudėtingumą. Visos įstai-gos, administruojančios žuvininkystės sektoriaus veiklą, išsibarsčiusios po Lietuvą, jų veiksmus koordinuoti labai sudėtinga (Grublienė, 2007).

Kita akivaizdi Jūrų žuvininkystės šakos problema – nuolatos mažėjančios žvejybos kvotos (išskyrus menkių kvotą, kuri 2007–2009 metais mažėjo, 2010–2012 m. didėja).

Lentelė 1. Lietuvai skirta šprotų žvejybos kvota 2008–2012 m.

Metai 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Kvota, t 22745 20015 19015 14451 11272

Šaltinis: seminaro Žvejybos Baltijos jūroje aktualijos ir jų aptarimas, vykusio 2011 12 05 Palangoje, medžiaga.

Kvota 2012 m. sumažinta 22 proc. Lietuvai skirta 11 272 t, tai 3179 t mažiau nei 2011 m. Remiantis Tarptautinės jūrų tyrinėjimo tarybos (TJTT) 2008–2011 metų „Rekomendacijų ir patarimų“ knygose pateik-tais rodikliais, 2008–2012 metų laikotarpiu šprotų ištekliai vertinami kaip žvejojami netausojančiai.

Lentelė 2. Lietuvai skirta strimelių žvejybos kvota 2008–2012 m.

Metai 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Kvota, t 4456 4192 3689 3136 2289



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Kvota 2012 m. sumažinta 27 proc. Lietuvai skirta 2289 t, tai 847 t mažiau nei 2011 m.Remiantis Tarptautinės jūrų tyrinėjimo tarybos (TJTT) 2008–2011 metų „Rekomendacijų ir patarimų“

knygose pateiktais rodikliais, 2008–2012 metų laikotarpiu strimelių ištekliai vertinami kaip žvejojami netausojančiai.

Lentelė 3. Lietuvai skirta vakarinių menkių žvejybos kvota 2008–2012 m.

Metai 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Kvota, t 450 383 415 440 499


Kvota 2012 m. padidinta 13 proc. Lietuvai paskirta 499 t, tai 59 t daugiau nei 2011 m.Remiantis Tarptautinės jūrų tyrinėjimo tarybos (TJTT) 2008–2011 metų „Rekomendacijų ir patarimų“

knygose pateiktais rodikliais, 2008–2012 metų laikotarpiu menkių ištekliai vertinami kaip žvejojami tausojančiai.

Lentelė 4. Lietuvai skirta rytinių menkių žvejybos kvota 2008–2012 m.

Metai 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Kvota, t 2181 2509 2885 3318 3818


Kvota 2012 m. padidinta 15 proc. Lietuvai skirta 3818 t, tai 500 t daugiau nei 2011 m. Ištekliai žvejojami tausojančiai. Išteklius reikėtų vertinti kaip labai geros būklės.

Seimo Verslo ir užimtumo komisijos pirmininkas S. Lapėnas teigia, kad Lietuvoje dabar egzistuojanti žuvų sugavimo kvotų paskirstymo metodika ir proporcijos ne tik neatitinka strateginių šalies tikslų, bet ir neskatina žvejų keisti žvejybos būdų. Pažymima, kad neperspektyviai ir aplinką bei žuvų išteklius naiki-nančiai žvejybai tralais kiekvienais metais suteikiama kelis kartus didesnė kvotos dalis, palyginus su kvota, skiriama laivams, žvejojantiems ūdomis (kabliukais) ir aplinką tausojančiais tinklais. Tokia disproporcija sunkiai pagrindžiama, nes 26 tralinės žvejybos laivams skiriama 85 proc., kitiems maždaug 20-čiai laivų skiriama vos 15 proc. numatomos kvotos. Su tokiu kvotų paskirstymu, nesudarant sąlygų plėtotis moder-niems mažiesiems laivams, Lietuva gali likti ir be žuvų, ir be jas galinčių pagauti žvejų. Europos Sąjungos mokslininkai jau seniai kritikuoja ir siūlo atsisakyti Lietuvoje plačiausiai taikomo dugninės tralinės menkių žvejybos būdo. Pasak S. Lapėno (2011), Verslo ir užimtumo komisija nustatė, kad šiuo metu praktikoje vei-kianti žuvų sugavimo kvotų skirstymo metodika ir santykis neatitinka Vyriausybės patvirtintame Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionaliniame strateginiame plane keliamų plėtros tikslų ir prio-ritetų, nes neskirta dėmesio racionaliam žuvų išteklių naudojimui, neskatinama keisti žuvų gaudymo būdų, nesudaromos sąlygos modernizuotis ir plėstis mažoms įmonėms. Atsižvelgdama į tai, ar Verslo ir užimtumo komisija Seime siūlo Vyriausybei Baltijos jūros menkės gaudymo kvotas skirstyti ne pagal tradiciškai nusi-stovėjusius santykius, o atsižvelgiant į pažangesnius žvejybos būdus ūdomis ir aplinką tausojančiais tinklais; atšaukti nepagrįstą Žuvininkystės departamento generalinio direktoriaus įsakymą dėl 20 metrų gylio apri-bojimo priekrantės žvejams; numatyti skaidresnę ir konkrečios įmonės veiklai pritaikytą rodiklių procedūrą kompensacijoms už žvejybinės veiklos nutraukimą.

Remiantis informacija Europos Sąjungos oficialiame leidinyje, kaip nustatomos Baltijos jūroje atitinka-miems metams tam tikrų žuvų išteklių ir žuvų išteklių grupių žvejybos galimybės bei susijusios sąlygos, gali-ma teigti, kad nuolat trumpinamas menkių žvejybos sezonas. 2008 metais leista žvejoti 223 dienas per metus, 2009-aisiais žvejybos laikotarpis sutrumpėjo iki 201 dienos, o 2010 metais leista žvejoti tik 181 dieną, t. y.


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beveik 19 proc. mažiau nei 2008-aisiais, 2011 ir 2012 m. žvejybos laikotarpis sutrumpintas iki 163 dienų, t. y. dar maždaug 10 procentų nei 2010 metais (Tarybos reglamentas – 1404/2007, 1322/2008, 1226/2009, 1124/2010, 1256/2011).

2011 metai Lietuvos žvejams ypatingi. 2011 m. gruodžio 19 d. duomenimis, menkių žvejybos kvotos panaudotos tik 83 proc., žvejams dar liko sugauti apie 600 t menkių. Ši situacija susidarė dėl kelių priežasčių. Rytinių menkių kvota pastaruosius 3 metus didėjo po 15 proc. kasmet. Nuo 2008 m. iki 2011 m. Lietuvos menkių kvota padidėjo 1127 t. 15 proc. menkių kvota didės ir 2012 m. – iki 4317 t.

Ši situacija atskleidžia dar vieną Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus problemą: Baltijos jūroje ir jos priekrantėje žvejojama senais ir neekonomiškais laivais, kurie sunaudoja daug kuro, neaprūpinti modernia įranga tinkamai žuvų kokybei palaikyti ją gabenant, laivuose prastos sanitarijos ir higienos sąlygos (Lietuvos žuvininkystės (...), 2007).

Pasenęs Lietuvos Baltijos jūros žvejybos laivynas nebepajėgia išnaudoti visų menkių kvotų. Didžioji menkes žvejojanti laivų dalis – mažieji žvejybos traleriai, kurių varikliai yra seno modelio, mažo galingumo ir neekonomiški kuro sąnaudų požiūriu. Žemės ūkio ministerijos Žuvininkystės departamentas, matydamas susidariusią situaciją, kelis kartus kreipėsi į Europos Komisiją su prašymu, kad laivynui atnaujinti būtų galima panaudoti Žuvininkystės fondo lėšas, tačiau gautas neigiamas atsakymas. Lietuvos atstovai kėlė šį klausimą Europos Tarybos posėdžiuose, tačiau Europos institucijos nebuvo linkusios šios problemos spręsti. Kita vertus, menkių žvejybinės kvotos nepanaudojamos ir dėl kitų priežasčių: dažnai žvejoti neleidžia blogi orai, o daugiausiai įtakos turi tai, kad žvejai, taupydami menkių žvejybos kvotas, pavasarį žvejoja šprotus ir strimeles. Šių rūšių žvejybos kvotos išnaudojamos daug geriau: 97 proc. strimelių ir 99 proc. šprotų. Tokį didelį šių rūšių žvejybos kvotų panaudojimą galima laikyti išskirtiniu.

Šiuo metu ES Taryba išsiuntinėjo šalims Europos Parlamento (EP) pateiktus siūlymus dėl Europos jūrų rei-kalų ir žuvininkystės fondo (EJRŽf) steigimo bei jūrinės strategijos. Naujas dokumentas nuo 2014 metų turėtų pakeisti ankstesnius žuvininkystės reglamentus. Šie metai skirti priemonėms svarstyti ir pastaboms pateikti.

Projekte įrašyta Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriui nepalanki nuostata – iki 2020 metų neremti naujų laivų statybos, kaip to daryti neleista ir iki šiol. Naujos strategijos projekte daug kalbama apie laivų modernizavi-mo priemones, nors atnaujinti lietuvių turimus 30 metų senumo tralerius vargu ar įmanoma. Šių laivų „pavar-gęs“ net korpusų metalas. Lietuvos žuvininkystės valdininkai mano, kad atnaujinti laivyną žvejų įmonėms padės siūlomos žuvų kvotų koncesijos. Naują tvarką ketinama diegti jau nuo 2013 metų.

Iki 2012 metų Lietuvos žvejai yra gavę per 28 mln. litų laivams pjaustyti ir už pasitraukimą iš verslo. Baltijos laivynas sumažėjo trečdaliu – iki 37 laivų. Ši situacija nepalanki, siekiant išnaudoti kvotas: vieni laivai dėl senumo nepajėgūs žuvų išgaudyti, o kiti, kurių techninės galimybės yra didesnės negu skirta kvota, dėl didelių degalų sąnaudų naudojami neekonomiškai.

Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriui svarbu atnaujinti laivus. Esant nepalankioms oro sąlygoms, nuo lapkri-čio mėn. mažai kas išplaukia žvejoti, nes laivų korpusai surūdiję ir žvejai, esant 10 metrų per sekundę vėjui, bijo plaukti į jūrą.

Dar viena akcentuotina problema yra neefektyvus Klaipėdos žuvininkystės produktų aukciono valdymas. Aukcionas savo veiklą pradėjo 2007 metais. Jam statyti panaudotos Europos Sąjungos (ES) Žuvininkystės fondo lėšos, iš viso – 5,64 mln. litų. Šio aukciono steigėja ir visų akcijų savininkė yra Žemės ūkio ministerija. Žemės ūkio ministerija, būdama už 300 kilometrų, negali garantuoti efektyvaus aukciono valdymo. Klaipė-dos miesto savivaldybė turi planų perimti šio objekto valdymą savo žinion, bet jokių oficialių prašymų ir aukciono veiklos vizijos žuvininkystės tarnybai nėra pateikusi. Oficialiuose žvejų susitikimuose akcentuoja-ma, kad aukcioną reorganizavus į municipalinį liautųsi kalbos dėl jo privatizavimo. Žuvininkystės produktų gamintojų asociacijos, vienijančios 70 proc. žvejų, atstovo teigimu, savivaldybei perėmus aukcioną pagerėtų ir pačių žvejų padėtis. Pinigai už parduotą laimikį žvejus pasiektų greičiau, be to, jie žuvis galėtų pardavinėti tiesiogiai miestiečiams. Pagrindinis aukciono pajamų šaltinis – 6,5 proc. lėšų nuo parduotų žuvų. 2010 me-tais aukcionas gavo 641 tūkst. litų, veiklos sąnaudos sudarė 480 tūkst. litų.

Kita sektoriaus problema susijusi su žmonių ištekliais. Pastaraisiais metais stebima Lietuvos žvejybos laivyne dirbančių kvalifikuotų darbuotojų senėjimo tendencija. Jaunimas mažai domisi šia veikla, o žuvi-


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ninkystės sektoriaus darbuotojai ir su jais susiję asmenys labai susiskaidę, trūksta jų aktyvaus dalyvavimo, kuriant savo pačių gerovę, inicijuojant žuvininkystės sektoriaus efektyvią plėtrą.

Lietuvos regionai, priklausantys nuo žuvininkystės veiklos, pastaruoju metu patiria daug ekonominių ir socialinių sunkumų dėl vykdomos žuvų išteklių tausojimo politikos bei žvejybos pajėgumų mažinimo (Lie-tuvos žuvininkystė (...), 2009).

Jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus veikla yra problemiška, bet Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionaliniame strateginiame plane (2006) ir Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų veiks-mų programoje (2007) akcentuota, kad Lietuva turi išsaugoti ir plėtoti žuvininkystės sektorių, pertvarkyda-ma jį į ekonomiškai efektyvią ir socialiai naudingą veiklos šaką. Būtina pažymėti, kad pasaulio ekonomikos globalizacijos procesų kontekste jūrinių verslų išreikšta augimo tendencija.

3 . Jūrų žuvininkystės perspektyvos

Žuvininkystė Lietuvoje – senas tradicijas turinti veikla. Lietuvai esant Europos Sąjungos (ES) nare Že-mės ūkio ministerijos veiklą lemia nacionaliniai interesai ir vykdoma ES bendroji žuvininkystės politika, kurios tikslas – suderinti žuvų išteklius su į rinką orientuotu moderniu ir konkurencingu žuvininkystės ūkiu, švelninant jo pertvarkymo socialinius padarinius.

Įstojus į ES, vienas svarbių Žemės ūkio ministerijos uždavinių buvo įgyvendinti su ES suderintą žuvinin-kystės sektoriaus administravimo modelį, naują teisinę bazę, pasinaudoti žuvininkystės plėtrai skirta parama. Žemės ūkio ministerija nustatyta tvarka administruoja Lietuvos Respublikos valstybės biudžeto ir finansinės paramos Lietuvos žuvininkystei lėšas, skirtas žuvininkystės plėtros programoms įgyvendinti. Lietuvai, kaip ir kitoms ES valstybėms narėms, žuvininkystės plėtrai teikiama ES finansinė parama.

2007 m. pradėta vykdyti Europos žuvininkystės fondo (EŽf) programa žuvininkystės sektoriaus plėtrai suteikia naujų galimybių. fondo sudarymo tikslas – ES parama valstybių narių žuvininkystės sektoriams 2007–2013 m. Parama žuvininkystės sektoriui šiuo programavimo laikotarpiu teikiama pagal 5 prioritetines kryptis: žvejybos laivyno pajėgumų pritaikymo priemonės; akvakultūra; žvejyba vidaus vandenyse; žuvi-ninkystės ir akvakultūros produktų perdirbimas ir rinkodara; bendro intereso priemonės; tvari žuvininkys-tės regionų plėtra; techninė parama. 2007–2013 m. laikotarpiu žuvininkystės sektoriui numatyta paskirstyti 246,56 mln. Lt, iš jų 189,3 mln. Lt – iš EŽf ir 57,23 mln. Lt – Lietuvos nacionalinio biudžeto lėšų.

Bendrasis programos tikslas, kurį tikimasi pasiekti iki 2013 m., yra žuvininkystės sektoriaus plėtra ir konkurencingumo didinimas, užtikrinant ekonominį, aplinkos bei socialinį tvarumą, žuvų išteklių tausojimą ir atkūrimą.

Žuvininkystės regionai skiriasi tiek geografiniu išsidėstymu, tiek ir gamtos ar socialiniais ištekliais, skir-tinguose žuvininkystės regionuose kyla ir atitinkamos problemos. Taigi tik ŽRVVG, būdamos vietoje ir atli-kusios savo teritorijų analizę, gali įvardyti opiausias problemas, su kuriomis regionai susiduria, atitinkamai skiriasi ir problemų sprendimo būdai ar pasirinktos įgyvendinti priemonės bei veiklos sritys.

2006 metais rengtame Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionaliniame strateginiame plane pažymėta, kad Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektorius glaudžiai susijęs su jūriniais reikalais. Ten pat mini-ma, kad Lietuva 2004 metais įstojo į ES ir kartu su kitomis ES valstybėmis kuria ir įgyvendina Bendrąją žuvininkystės politiką (toliau – BŽP). Narystė ir Bendrijos finansinė parama žuvininkystei, remiantis Lie-tuvos Bendruoju programavimo dokumentu (toliau – BPD) bei jo priedu, padėjo Lietuvai pritaikyti savo žuvininkystės sektorių veikti Bendrijos rinkoje ir atitinkamai reformuoti administravimo sistemą. Ten pat suformuota žuvininkystė sektoriaus vizija 2006–2013 metams. Jos esmė: Žuvininkystės sektoriaus plėtra ir konkurencingumo didinimas, užtikrinant ekonominį, aplinkos ir socialinį tvarumą, žuvų išteklių tausojimą ir atkūrimą.

Dokumente pažymėta, kad būtina užtikrinti darnią žuvininkystės plėtrą, racionaliai derinant verslo kon-kurencingumą ir efektyvumą, racionaliai naudojant išteklius ir sprendžiant socialines problemas. Komplek-sinė žuvininkystės plėtra turi užtikrinti visų žuvų produktų judėjimo ciklo grandžių tolygią ir tarpusavyje suderintą veiklą, kuri atitinka Lietuvos ir ES strateginio valdymo tradicijas.


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Siekiant plėtoti Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektorių, nacionaliniame strateginiame plane pabrėžiama būtiny-bė daug dėmesio skirti racionaliam žuvų išteklių naudojimui, aplinkos kokybės gerinimui, sudaryti tinkamas sąlygas labai mažų ir mažų įmonių plėtrai, skatinti mokymąsi visą gyvenimą. Siekiant suderinti žvejybos pa-jėgumus su esamais žuvų ištekliais, kai kurios žvejybos įmonės, kurių veikla ekonomiškai nenaudinga, bus skatinamos palikti žvejybos verslą. Bus siekiama didinti pasiliekančių žvejybos versle įmonių konkurencin-gumą ir skatinti veiklos efektyvumą. Siekiant socialinės sanglaudos, prioritetinės sritys bus darbo sąlygų žu-vininkystės sektoriuje gerinimas, investicijų į žmogiškuosius išteklius (mokslą, naujų technologijų diegimą) didinimas, perteklinės žvejyboje užimtos darbo jėgos perėjimas į kitą, ne žuvininkystės ekonominę veiklą.

Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionaliniame strateginiame plane (2006) akcen-tuotas šio sektoriaus regioninis aspektas ir pažymėta, kad sudėtinga nustatyti regionus, kurių socialiniame-ekonominiame vystymesi svarbiausia būtų žuvininkystė, nes šis sektorius yra labai mažas. Kadangi mažos įmonės, žvejojančios priekrantėje ir vidaus vandenyse, koncentruojasi Klaipėdos ir Kauno apskrityse bei sugauna jose daugiausiai žuvų, be to, tuose regionuose labiausiai mažėja žvejybos veiklos, būtina išskirti šias apskritis kaip pagrindinius, prioritetinius žuvininkystės regionus. Šie regionai ateityje galėtų tapti eko-nominiu ir socialiniu požiūriu stipriausiais Lietuvos žuvininkystės regionais, nes juose yra didelis turizmo ir ekoturizmo plėtros, žuvininkystės sektoriaus konkurencingumo didinimo, tarpregioninio ir transnacionalinio bendradarbiavimo tarp žuvininkystės regionų vystymo, potencialas.

Per 2006–2012 metų laikotarpį, kai buvo parengtas Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionalinis strateginis planas ir 2007–2013 metų veiksmų programa, šiuose dokumentuose esanti infor-macija ir prioritetinės veiklos kryptys buvo nuolat tikslinamos, remiantis ES dokumentais ir atsižvelgiant į kintančius žuvininkystės sektoriaus poreikius.

Oficialiame Žuvininkystės tarnybos tinklalapyje akcentuotos šios pagrindinės veiklos sritys:Stiprinti žvejybos kontrolę. Svarbi Žuvininkystės tarnybos veiklos sritis yra žvejybos kontrolė Bal-

tijos jūroje ir Atlanto vandenyne. Klaipėdoje įkurtas Žvejybos Baltijos jūroje reguliavimo skyrius, kuris kontroliuoja, kaip laikomasi verslinę žvejybą Baltijos jūroje ir pirminį žuvininkystės produktų pardavimą reglamentuojančių teisės aktų, tikrina žvejybos laivus jūroje, žuvininkystės produktų iškrovimą, jų pirminį pardavimą ir supirkimą Lietuvos Respublikos teritorijoje. Žvejybą Atlanto ir Ramiajame vandenynuose kon-troliuoja Žvejybos Atlanto vandenyne kontrolės ir stebėsenos skyrius. Žuvininkystės tarnyba su palydovinio ryšio stebėjimo sistema vykdo Lietuvos žvejybos laivų stebėseną Baltijos jūroje ir Atlanto vandenyne, orga-nizuoja žuvų išteklių tyrimus, kuria bei administruoja žuvininkystės duomenų informacinę sistemą, tvarko Lietuvos žvejybos laivų rejestrą, tobulina žvejybos kontrolės teisinę bazę, kontroliuoja NAfO ir kitų tarp-tautinių organizacijų reguliuojamose akvatorijose bei užsienio valstybių išskirtinėse ekonominėse zonose žvejojančius Lietuvos laivus, dalyvauja kontrolės misijose ES žvejybos kontrolės laivuose.

Plėtoti žvejybos infrastruktūrą. Šiam uždaviniui vykdyti Klaipėdos valstybinio jūrų uosto Smiltelės upės žiotyse pastatyta Baltijos jūros žvejybos laivų prieplauka. Prieplaukoje įrengtas žuvininkystės produktų aukcionas, kuriame organizuojamas pirminis žuvininkystės produktų pardavimas, teikiamos žuvų rūšiavimo, ledo gamybos ir dėžių plovimo paslaugos.

Optimizuoti žvejybą Baltijos jūros priekrantėje. Siekiant suderinti priekrantės vandenyse žve-jojančio laivyno pajėgumus su esamais žuvų ištekliais ir organizuoti racionalią, griežčiau kontroliuojamą žvejybą bei žuvų išteklių naudojimą, numatoma riboti kai kurių rūšių žuvų žvejybą tam tikru laiku arba tam tikrose vietose, nustatyti tam tikrų žuvų rūšių sugavimo limitus, leidžiamų žvejybos įrankių skaičių ir žvejybos būdus, patikslinti priekrantės žvejybos barų ribas bei optimizuoti priekrantėje žvejojančių įmonių skaičių. Įmonėms ir žvejams, kurie visam laikui nutraukė žvejybos veiklą, numatyta kompensavimo sistema.

Skatinti žvejybos laivyno ir žuvų perdirbimo pramonės modernizavimą, didinti jų konkurencingumą tarptautinėse rinkose. Įgyvendinant ES bendrąją žuvininkystės politiką svarbu išsaugoti esamus žvejybos rajonus ir žvejybos apimtis, modernizuoti žvejybos laivyną, didinti žuvų perdirbimo pramonės efektyvumą bei konkurencingumą tarptautinėse rinkose. Tik ekonomiškai efektyvus, modernus, su žuvų ištekliais suderintas žvejybos laivynas ir ekonomiškai pajėgi pramonė galės išlikti didelės konkurencijos sąlygomis. Šiam tikslui pasiekti bus naudojamos Europos žuvininkystės fondo lėšos.


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Numatoma remti žvejybos laivų ir žuvininkystės sektoriaus įmonių modernizavimo, naujų technologijų diegimo, darbo sąlygų gerinimo projektus.

Plėtoti akvakultūrą, didinti jos konkurencingumą. Tvenkinių žuvininkystė šiuo metu yra pa-grindinė vidaus vandenų žuvininkystės sritis, kur užauginama ir sugaunama daugiau kaip 50 procentų visos vidaus vandenų žuvininkystės produkcijos. Įgyvendinus šį uždavinį padidėtų tvenkiniuose išaugintų žuvų skaičius ir pagausėtų asortimentas. Numatoma remti esamų akvakultūros įmonių modernizavimą, vandens tiekimo ir šalinimo sistemų rekonstrukciją, naujų technologijų diegimą, asortimento didinimą, ypač ekolo-giškos produkcijos gamybą, plėtoti žuvų selekcijos darbus, teikiant prioritetą lietuviškai karpių veislei. Pagal tikslines programas bus finansuojamos žuvų ligų profilaktikos priemonės akvakultūros įmonėse.

Vykdyti žuvivaisos darbus, siekiant atkurti natūralių vandens telkinių žuvų išteklius. Įgyvendinant Žuvų įveisimo į valstybinės reikšmės vandens telkinius programas, valstybiniuose vandens telkiniuose bus veisiami žuvų jaunikliai. Kad šis procesas vyktų efektyviau, būtina: modernizuoti žuvivaisos įmones, išmokti veisti vertingas, vidaus ir užsienio rinkose paklausias žuvis bei vėžius ir auginti jų jauniklius, didinti vertingų žuvų (sykų, peledžių, lynų), ypač plėšriųjų (lydekų ir starkių) bei lašišinių, veisimo mastą, vyresnių amžiaus grupių žuvų jauniklių, įskaitant ungurius, veisimą.

Įgyvendinti struktūrinę politiką. Vadovaujantis Tarybos reglamentu dėl Europos žuvininkystės fondo, parama žuvininkystės sektoriui bus teikiama penkių prioritetinių ašių pagrindu. Siekdama panaudo-ti ES paramą, Lietuva parengė strateginius programinius dokumentus – Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionalinį strateginį planą ir veiklos programą, kurie nubrėžia pagrindines žuvininkystės sektoriaus vystymo kryptis, siektinus tikslus ir priemones jiems pasiekti. Vienas svarbiausių struktūrinės pa-ramos įgyvendinimo elementų yra žvejybos pajėgumų derinimas su žuvų ištekliais. Tuo tikslu dalis žvejybos laivų bus modernizuojama, kita dalis – atiduodama į metalo laužą. Ne mažiau svarbios paramos kryptys yra akvakultūros ir perdirbimo įmonių modernizavimas, žvejybos uosto ir prieplaukų plėtra, socialinius padari-nius mažinančios priemonės. Kad kuo efektyviau būtų panaudotos ES lėšos, bus teikiama parama ugdant jas administruojančių institucijų gebėjimus ir didinant efektyvumą.

Šiuo metu pagal Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų veiksmų programos ketvirtosios prioritetinės krypties „Tvari žuvininkystės regionų plėtra“ priemonę „Žuvininkystės regionų vietos plėtros strategijų įgyvendinimas“ patvirtintos dešimties žuvininkystės regionų vietos veiklos grupių (ŽRVVG) plė-tros strategijos. Paramą strategijoms įgyvendinti gavo Klaipėdos, „Klaipėdos rajono iniciatyvų“, „Pasienio žuvų“, Kretingos, Tauragės, „Vilkaudos“, Zarasų ir Visagino, Ignalinos rajono, Utenos bei Raseinių ŽRVVG.

Tikslas – gerinti žuvininkystės regionų gyvenimo kokybę.Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų veiksmų programos priemonė „Žuvininkystės regi-

onų vietos plėtros strategijų įgyvendinimas“ skirta telkti žuvininkystės regiono bendruomenę ir ugdyti jos gebėjimus veikti kartu žuvininkystės sektoriaus ir bendruomenės labui. Įgyvendinant žuvininkystės regionų plėtros strategijas siekiama ne tik gerinti ekonominę ir socialinę žuvininkystės regionų padėtį, didinti žuvi-ninkystės ir akvakultūros produktų vertę ir konkurencingumą, išlaikyti esamas darbo vietas ir sukurti naujų, remiant žuvininkystės regionų bendruomenes, kurios dėl pokyčių žuvininkystės sektoriuje patiria socialinių ir ekonominių sunkumų, bet ir skatinti pakrančių bei gyvenviečių, kuriose vykdoma žuvininkystės veikla, aplinkos tobulinimą. Minėta priemonė taip pat skatina nacionalinį ir tarpvalstybinį žuvininkystės regionų bendradarbiavimą, organizuojant žuvininkystės sektoriaus darbuotojų mokymus, kurie skirti jų kvalifikacijai kelti arba, prireikus, perkvalifikuoti.

Dar viena sektoriaus galimybė – naujas ES jūrų ir žuvininkystės politikai skirtas fondas.Europos Komisija siūlo 2014–2020 m. laikotarpiui įsteigti naują ES jūrų reikalų ir žuvininkystės politi-

kos fondą – Europos jūrų reikalų ir žuvininkystės fondą (EJRŽf). Taip siekiama palengvinti bendros žuvi-ninkystės politikos reformos plataus užmojo tikslų įgyvendinimą ir padėti žvejams pereiti prie tausios žvejy-bos, o pakrančių bendruomenėms – įvairinti ekonomiką. fondo lėšomis bus finansuojami projektai, kuriuos vykdant bus kuriamos naujos darbo vietos ir gerinama gyvenimo Europos pakrančių teritorijose kokybė. Kad paramos gavėjams būtų lengviau gauti finansavimą, bus mažinama biurokratinė našta. Už jūrų reikalus ir žuvininkystę atsakinga komisijos narė M. Damanaki akcentavo: „Šis fondas padės spartinti ekonomikos


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augimą ir šiame sektoriuje kurti darbo vietas. Pinigų dideliems laivams statyti skiriama nebebus. Bendros žuvininkystės politikos biudžetinėmis priemonėmis siekiama tausoti aplinką – tai duos naudos smulkiosios žuvininkystės ir akvakultūros sektoriams“ (Mokslinio-praktinio seminaro (...), 2011).

Šis fondas pakeis dabartinį Europos žuvininkystės fondą (EŽf) ir įvairias kitas priemones. Siūlomas 2014–2020 m. laikotarpio finansinis paketas – 6,5 mlrd. eurų.

Pažangi ir aplinkai nekenksminga žuvininkystė. Nuo praeito amžiaus paskutiniojo dešimtmečio pradžios nemažai laivų virto metalo laužu, tai kainavo 1,7 mlrd. eurų. Tačiau ES laivyno pajėgumas vis dar gerokai per didelis: nors dalis laivų išmontuota, likusieji dėl technologinės pažangos tapo pajėgesni. Taigi nuo šiol pinigai bus naudojami kitu tikslu: juos planuojama skirti tokiai veiklai, kuri būtų naudinga tiek eko-nomikai, tiek visuomenei. Ekonomikos įvairinimas – viena iš jų. Iki šiol principu „iš apačios į viršų“ grin-džiamų iniciatyvų skatinimas duoda puikių rezultatų tokiose su žvejyba susijusiose srityse kaip perdirbimas, viešasis maitinimas ir turizmas. EJRŽf skatins tokias bendruomenių iniciatyvas. Nedideli pakrančių laivynai tebėra daugelio pakrančių bendruomenių ekonomikos šerdis, todėl parama jiems bus didinama. Naujojo fon-do lėšomis bus remiami novatoriški projektai, pavyzdžiui, žvejybos tinklų keitimas selektyvesniais žvejybos įrankiais, kad atgal į jūrą būtų išmetama mažiau žuvų, kuriamos žvejybos bei žuvivaisos poveikį aplinkai padedančios mažinti technologijos.

Pažangi ir aplinkai nekenksminga akvakultūra. Žuvivaisa – puiki galimybė mažinti priklau-somumą nuo importo. Ši ūkio šaka kaimo vietovėse užtikrina darbą, ant europiečių stalų – sveiką maistą. fondo lėšomis bus siekiama tvariai plėtoti žuvivaisą ir šiuo tikslu bus skatinamos naujovės, taip pat bus remiama naujų akvakultūros krypčių, pavyzdžiui, ne maistui skirtų akvakultūros produktų gamybos, plėtotė.

Mokslininkų ir žvejų partnerystės rėmimas. Įgyvendinant bendros žuvininkystės politikos refor-mą ypač svarbu gauti tikslius žuvų išteklių ir jūrų aplinkos būklės duomenis, todėl EJRŽf skirs pakankamai lėšų duomenų rinkimui, stebėsenai ir kontrolei. Jūroje dirbantiems žvejams ir jūrą tiriantiems mokslininkams nebendradarbiauti – neracionalu, todėl EJRŽf juos ragins dirbti kartu ir ieškoti būdų, kaip tausiai naudoti gamtos ištekius.

Bendras žuvininkystės ir integruotos jūrų politikos fondas. 2007 m. ES integruota jūrų poli-tika sieja jūrų sektorius, kurie istoriškai buvo atsieti vienas nuo kito ir valdomi atskirai. EJRŽf teiks paramą tokiems projektams kaip jūrų erdvės planavimas, integruotas jūrų stebėjimas ir pažinimas. Tai pavyzdžiai, kai integracija gali padėti išvengti dvigubo darbo ir sumažinti sąnaudas, nes įvairūs sektoriai skatinami ben-dradarbiauti ir koordinuoti tarpusavio veiksmus. Jūrų politiką įtraukus į EJRŽf veiklos sritį būtų lengviau užtikrinti nuoseklumą ir siekti dviejų politikos krypčių sinergijos.

Paprastinimas. Bus suderintos EJRŽf ir kitų ES fondų veiklą reglamentuojančios taisyklės. Taip bus paprasčiau ir paramos gavėjams, ir nacionalinėms institucijoms. EJRŽf – bendros strateginės programos, kuri užtikrins, kad visi esami ES fondai savo veiklą derintų tarpusavyje ir vengtų besikartojančios ar besidu-bliuojančios veiklos, dalis.

fondo veikla. Naujojo fondo lėšomis bendrai su valstybėmis narėmis bus finansuojami tam tikri pro-jektai. Visas fondo biudžetas bus paskirstomas valstybėms narėms, atsižvelgiant į žuvininkystės sektoriaus svarbą kiekvienoje jų. Bus taikomi Komisijos ir valstybių narių pasidalijamojo valdymo principai. Kiekvie-na valstybė narė konkrečiam laikotarpiui rengs veiklos programą, kurioje nurodys, kaip ketina leisti jai skir-tus pinigus. Kai komisija programą patvirtins, valstybė narė galės pati spręsti, kuriuos konkrečius projektus gautomis lėšomis finansuoti. Veiklos atitikimą paramos skyrimo reikalavimams ir programos įgyvendinimą kontroliuos valstybės narės ir komisija (ES parama (...) veiklos grupėms, 2011).

ES siekia atsisakyti pernelyg intensyvios žuvininkystės. I. Jepsen (Mokslinio-praktinio semi-naro (...), 2011) pristatė ES Bendrosios žuvininkystės politikos (BŽP) reformos nuostatas ir paramos gali-mybes 2014–2020 m. laikotarpiu.

Reformos ašis – tausojanti žuvininkystė. I. Jepsen (Mokslinio-praktinio seminaro (...), 2011) ak-centavo, kad EK labai aktuali visų valstybių narių žuvininkystės sektoriaus atstovų nuomonė. BŽP – tai įvai-rios priemonės, kuriomis siekiama Europos žuvininkystės sektoriaus klestėjimo ir tvarumo. Įgyvendinant naująją politiką, kurioje numatyta nepereikvoti žuvų išteklių ir žvejybos galimybes nustatyti atsižvelgiant


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į mokslininkų rekomendacijas, bus sudarytos sąlygos žuvų ištekliams atsikurti iki tvaraus lygio. Reforma siekiama, kad žuvininkystės sektorius vėl suklestėtų: numatoma panaikinti jo priklausomybę nuo subsidijų ir sudaryti naujų darbo vietų kūrimo bei ekonomikos augimo pakrančių regionuose galimybes. Pasak I. Jepsen (Mokslinio-praktinio seminaro (...), 2011), žvejo profesija turi tapti pelninga. Radikalių pokyčių prireikė išryškėjus, kad žuvų sugavimų mažėja, o ES žuvininkystės rinka negali patenkinti savo poreikių. Nustatyta, kad daugiau kaip 30 proc. laivyno dirba nuostolingai. Elementarūs techniniai klausimai politizuojami ir tai labai apsunkina darbą. I. Jepsen (Mokslinio-praktinio seminaro (...), 2011) pažymėjo, kad siekiant ilgalaikės pažangos žuvininkystės reforma būtina.

Šiemet liepos mėnesį EK, įvertinusi šalių narių idėjas ir pasiūlymus, pateikė apibendrintus pasiūlymus dėl naujosios BŽP, kurioje akcentuojama, kad iki 2015 metų svarbu pasiekti didžiausią tausojančią žuvinin-kystę užtikrinantį žuvų išteklių lygį. Didelį dėmesį numatoma skirti žuvų išmetimo į jūrą problemai, ekosis-temos apsaugos gerinimui, akvakultūros plėtrai, decentralizuotam valdymui ir finansavimui.

Įgyvendinant naujosios BŽP tausojimo tikslus bus teikiama ES finansinė parama. finansinė parama bus skiriama tik laikantis griežtų taisyklių, šį principą taikant tiek valstybėms narėms, tiek veiklos vykdytojams. Dvišaliuose žuvininkystės susitarimuose su ne ES šalimis, Europos Sąjunga skatins tausoti, reguliuoti ir lai-kytis demokratijos principų, užtikrinti žmogaus teises ir vykdyti teisės normas. Dabartinius žvejybos partne-rystės susitarimus keis tausojančios žvejybos susitarimai, kurie užtikrins, kad žuvų ištekliai būtų žvejojami tik atsižvelgiant į patikimas mokslines rekomendacijas ir tik tie, kurių šalis partnerė negali ar nenori žvejoti pati (ES parama (...) veiklos grupėms, 2011).

Apibendrinus pateiktą informaciją reikia pažymėti, kad projektuojant 2014–2020 metų Lietuvos žuvinin-kystės sektoriaus gaires reikėtų rūpintis:

y ne tik išteklių išsaugojimu, bet ir žvejais, žuvų augintojais bei perdirbėjais, numatant veiksmingas priemones, kurios užtikrintų žuvininkystės sektoriaus ekonominį gyvybingumą ir socialinį patrauklumą;

y palankių teisinių ir ekonominių sąlygų sudarymu, akvakultūros vystymu ir plėtra, diegiant modernias žuvų auginimo technologijas, didinant auginamų žuvų rūšių skaičių ir mažinant Europos Sąjungos vidaus rinkos priklausomybę nuo žuvų ir jų produktų importo iš trečiųjų šalių;

y tausojančios žvejybos užtikrinimu, pirmiausia siūlant žvejams jų veiklos alternatyvų. Vykdant išorinę politiką, naujojoje bendrosios žuvininkystės politikoje turi išryškėti aiškūs įsipareigojimai, t. y. sudarant žvejybos partnerystės susitarimus su trečiosiomis šalimis ir atstovaujant valstybėms narėms regioninėse žvejybos valdymo organizacijose bei užtikrinant vienodas veiklos sąlygas Bendrijos ir trečiųjų šalių žvejams;

y bendrosios žuvininkystės produktų rinkos organizavimo modernizavimu, siekiant jo efektyvumo;

y daugiamečiais planais paremtu žuvų išteklių valdymu, kuris apimtų ne pavienius išteklius, bet susijusių išteklių grupes, o žuvų išmetimai į jūrą turėtų būti eliminuoti laipsniškai, visų pirma nu-statant ir išmėginant išmetimus mažinančias priemones.

Atlikus išsamią Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus analizę, nustačius problemas ir galimybes, įver-tinus pasaulio ir Europos Sąjungos šalių patirtį, laikantis tolydumo principo, nuspręsta, kad Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės ūkis ir ateityje turi būti vystomas vadovaujantis Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionaliniu strateginiu planu (2006) ir Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 veiksmų pro-grama (2007) bei projektuojamomis 2014–2020 metų Jūrų žuvininkystės gairėmis, kuriose atsiskleidžia šie metodologiniai principai:

1. Nacionalinės žuvininkystės kultūros plėtojimas, siekiant išsaugoti sukauptą patirtį ir toliau skatinant pažangią žuvų išteklių tausojančio naudojimo, mokslinių tyrimų, žvejybos, žuvų perdirbimo bei pre-kybos žuvų produktais veiklą, laikantis nustatytų Europos Sąjungos taisyklių.

2. Tolydi žuvininkystės plėtra, nukreipta į ūkio dalyvių ekonominio efektyvumo, socialinių klausimų sprendimo ir tausojančio gamtos išteklių naudojimo plėtimą bei racionalų derinimą pagal Jungtinių Tautų ir Europos Sąjungos metodologines nuostatas.


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3. Žuvininkystės globalizacijos plėtra, skatinant dalyvavimą pasaulio žuvininkystės organizacijų darbe, aktyvų pasaulio vandenyno žuvų išteklių naudojimą, keitimąsi žuvų kvotomis, bendrą žvejybos rajonų žuvų išteklių tausojantį naudojimą, investicijų ir inovacijų pritraukimą į Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės ūkį.

4. Žuvininkystės internacionalizacijos plėtra, siekiant sudaryti vienodas galimybes Europos Sąjungos ir kitų šalių piliečiams dalyvauti Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės ūkyje, rūpintis Lietuvos Respublikos pilie-čių, dirbančių kitų šalių žvejybos laivyne, teisėmis ir ginti jų teisėtus interesus.

5. Kompleksinis žuvininkystės ūkio plėtojimas, siekiant sutvarkyti, aprūpinti ir užtikrinti viso žuvų pro-duktų judėjimo ciklo grandžių tolygų ir tarpusavyje suderintą veikimą pagal Europos Sąjungos strate-ginės vadybos tradicijas.

6. Inovacinis žuvininkystės plėtojimas, siekiant aprūpinti ūkio dalyvius pažangia technika, skatinant diegti pažangias gamybos technologijas, kaip tai daroma ES šalyse.

7. Nuoseklus žuvininkystės ūkio pertvarkymas pagal Europos Sąjungos reikalavimus, rengiant, priimant ir įgyvendinant atitinkamus teisės aktus.

8. Finansinės paramos žuvininkystės ūkio įmonėms teikimas derinant pačių įmonių, valstybės ir Euro-pos Sąjungos fondų pastangas.

9. Demokratinės savivaldos plėtimas, numatantis žuvininkystės ūkio plėtros ir sprendimų mechanizmų efektyvumo didinimą, derinant visų šakos dalyvių pastangas ir interesus, kaip tai daroma Europos Sąjungoje.

Šie metodologiniai principai yra svarbūs, nes Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystė yra: y nacionalinė kultūrinio reikšmingumo požiūriu; y regioninė veiklos koncentracijos požiūriu, nes apie 90 % žuvų sugauna pajūryje veikiančios įmonės; y tarpžinybinė interesų sričių požiūriu, nes vienija įvairialypę veiklą žuvų produktų judėjimo ciklo gran-

dyse: žuvininkystės vadyba, tausojantis žuvų išteklių naudojimas, žvejyba, žuvų transportavimas ir saugojimas, žuvų perdirbimas, pirminė žuvų prekyba, žuvų produktų mažmeninė prekyba, vartojimas ir utilizavimas. Žuvininkystės veikla glaudžiai susijusi su daugeliu ministerijų ir žinybų: Žemės ūkio, Aplinkos, Susisiekimo, Ūkio, Sveikatos, Švietimo ir mokslo, Socialinės apsaugos ir darbo, finansų ministerijomis, Klaipėdos ir kitomis apskritimis, Klaipėdos miestu ir kitais miestais, Mokslų aka-demija, Ekologijos institutu ir kitomis mokslo bei tyrimų organizacijomis. Tiesiogiai žuvininkystės interesai susiję su žuvininkystės įmonių, jų asociacijų bei darbuotojų veikla;;

y tausojanti pagal natūralių gamtos išteklių naudojimo pobūdį. Žuvų ištekliai yra lengvai pažeidžiami gamtos ištekliai, kurių valdymas, naudojimas, apsauga ir kontrolė turi būti vykdoma ypač rūpestingai, tausojančiai, remiantis moksliniais tyrimais ir ilgalaikėmis tikslinėmis programomis;

y socialiai orientuota, kadangi yra žemas pajamas gaunančių gyventojų pragyvenimo šaltinis. Ypač ši veikla gelbsti mažai užimtus ir nedideles pajamas gaunančius kaimo gyventojus; ekonomiškai tikslin-ga, kadangi nuolat didėja žuvų produktų paklausa ir išlieka nesunkiai pasiekiami žuvų ištekliai.

Išvados

1. Nors Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės reforma vykdoma nuosekliai, išlieka aktualios šios pagrindinės pro-blemos: sektoriaus valdymo sudėtingumas, nuolatos mažėjančios šprotų ir strimelių žvejybos kvotos, trumpėjantis menkių žvejybos sezonas, žvejyba vykdoma senais ir neekonomiškais laivais, Klaipėdos žuvininkystės produktų aukciono valdymas yra neefektyvus, stebima kvalifikuotų darbuotojų senė-jimo tendencija, Lietuvos regionai, priklausantys nuo žuvininkystės veiklos, pastaruoju metu patiria daug ekonominių ir socialinių sunkumų dėl vykdomos žuvų išteklių tausojimo politikos ir žvejybos pajėgumų mažinimo.

2. Toliau aštrėjant jūrų žuvininkystės problemoms pavieniai regionai, kur darbo pasirinkimo galimybės yra ribotos, gali susidurti su rimta problema, nes žuvininkystė svarbi kaip darbo vietų šaltinis ir pripa-žįstama kaip svarbi ekonomikos šaka. Tiesiogiai ir netiesiogiai su žuvininkystės veikla susiję apie 7 %


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pajūrio žmonių. Mažėja žvejo profesijos ir tradicinių žuvininkystės verslų patrauklumas. Jaunimas iki 25 metų jau dabar žuvininkystės verslo patrauklumą vertina neigiamai ir nesieja jo su kažkada klestė-jusia žvejybos romantika.

3. Jeigu žuvininkystės verslas žlugtų, tai būtų skausminga apie 15 % arba kas septintam pajūrio gy-ventojui. Žuvininkystės verslo žlugimas mažiausiai paliestų miesto gyventojus. Labiausiai nukentėtų užimtųjų žuvų ūkyje šeimos.

4. Žuvininkystės sektorių reglamentuojančiuose dokumentuose jūrų žuvininkystė apibūdinama kaip veikla, susijusi su žuvų išteklių valdymu, saugojimu ir atkūrimu, žvejyba, akvakultūra, žuvų perdirbimu, pirminiu žuvininkystės produktų pardavimu ir supirkimu.

5. Tvarią (tausią) šakos plėtrą gali užtikrinti žuvininkystės regionų tvari plėtra ir gyvenimo kokybės juo-se gerinimas, nulemtas vietos iniciatyvų ir partnerystės. Tvaresnė šakos plėtra siejama su Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionaliniame strateginiame plane ir Lietuvos žuvinin-kystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų veiksmų programoje numatytų tikslų ir uždavinių įgyvendinimu bei projektuojamomis 2014–2020 programos gairėmis. Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus plėtra ypač svarbi įgyvendinant šalies regioninės plėtros tikslus ir patvirtinant Lietuvos, kaip jūrų valstybės, statusą.

6. Vykdant tolesnę jūrų žuvininkystės sektoriaus reformą būtina reguliuoti laivynų perteklinį pajėgumą, diegiant veiksmingus mechanizmus, kurie padėtų laivynams prisitaikyti prie turimų ištekių kiekio. Sutelkti pagrindines BŽP pajėgas ties sveikų ir tinkamų naudoti išteklių išsaugojimu. Žuvininkys-tės valdymą, kuris šiuo metu tenka Žuvininkystės tarnybos prie Žemės ūkio ministerijai, perkelti į regioninį lygmenį, taikant bendrijos valdymo principus. Įtraukti sektorių į išteklių valdymo ir BŽP įgyvendinimo veiklą, plėtojant rezultatais paremtą administravimą. Siekti, kad valstybės narės ir šio sektoriaus įmonės plėtotų organizacinę kultūrą ir taikytų BŽP priemones.

Li teratūra

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1226/2009 of 20 November 2009 fixing the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea for 2010. Prieiga internetu: <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/REcH_naturel.do> [žiūrėta 2012-02-23].



COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) No 1124/2010 of 29 November 2010 fixing for 2011 the fishing opportunities for cer-tain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea for 2011. Prieiga internetu: <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/REcH_naturel.do> [žiūrėta 2012-02-23].

cOUNcIL REGULATION (EU) No 1256/2011 of 30 November 2011 fixing for 2012 the fishing opportunities for cer-tain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea and amending Regulation (EU) No 1124/2010. Prieiga internetu: <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/REcH_naturel.do> [žiūrėta 2012-02-23].

Čiegis, R. (2009). Darnaus žemės ūkio plėtra Lietuvoje. Vadybos mokslas ir studijos, Nr. 1. Kaunas. ES parama – žuvininkystės regionų vietos veiklos grupėms. Prieiga internetu: <http://www.nma.lt/index.php/naujienos/

es-parama-zuvininkystes-regionu-vietos-veiklos-grupems/2842> [žiūrėta 2012-02-21]. Europos Komisijos pranešimas spaudai. Europos Komisija. Ateities žuvininkystės politika. Prieiga internetu: <http://

ec.europa.eu/fisheries/reform/index_lt.htm> [žiūrėta 2012-02-26]. Grublienė, V. (2003). Lietuvos jūrų žuvininkystės ūkio plėtros programa: modeliavimas ir valdymas. Daktaro diserta-

cija. Vilnius. Grublienė, V. (2006). Evaluation of changes in the Management of Lithuanian Marine fishery Economy. International

Scientific Conference. Management Theory and Studies for Rural Business and Infrastructure Development, 5–7 October. Kaunas, Kaliningrad. Institute of Economics and Social Sciences – Tartu.


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Grublienė, V. (2007). Development Possibilities of Lithuanian fishery Sector in the context of EU Methodological culture. Social Sciences in Global World: Possibilities, challenges and Perspectives. The 3nd International Scientific Conference: The recent development of the EU: challenges and experience. Klaipėda.

Grublienė, V. (2009). Lithuanian fishery Sector Development Problems and cluster formation Opportunities. Tiltai. Priedas: mokslo darbai, Nr. 39. Klaipėda.

Lietuvos Respublikos žuvininkystės įstatymas. (2001, 2004). Valstybės žinios, 2001, Nr. 56-1648; 2004, Nr. 73-2527.Lietuvos žuvininkystė. (2009). Dokumentai, faktai, skaičiai. 2006–2007 metai. Lietuvos Respublikos žemės ūkio minis-

terija. Vilnius: Lietuvos agrarinės ekonomikos institutas.Lietuvos žuvininkystės sektoriaus 2007–2013 metų nacionalinis strateginis planas. (2006). Vilnius: Žuvininkystės de-

partamentas.Mokslinio-praktinio seminaro „ES siekia atsisakyti pernelyg intensyvios žuvininkystės“, vykusio 2011 09 09 Žemės

ūkio ministerijoje, medžiaga (cituota iš M. Damanaki, S. Lapėno ir I. Japsen pranešimų). (2011). Prieiga internetu: <http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/reform/index_lt.htm> [žiūrėta 2012-03-23].

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cd/18/9/37556607.pdf [žiūrėta 2012-05-05].Rutkauskas, A. V. (2008). Apie regiono konkurencingumo plėtros tvarumą atsižvelgiant į riziką. Ūkio technologinis ir

ekonominis vystymas, Nr. 1. Vilnius: Technika.Rutkauskas, A.V. (2001). Regiono rizikos monitoringo parengimo problemos. Konferencijos medžiaga: Verslas ir va-

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internetu: http://www.zuv.lt/index.php?2928635225 [žiūrėta 2012-02-23]. Бильчак, В. С., Захаров, В. Ф. (1998). Региональная экономика. Калининград: Янтарный Сказ. Гладкий, Ю. Н., Чистобаев, А. И. (1998). Основы региональной политики. Спб.: СпбГУ.

PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES OF REGIONAL SEA FISHERY BUSINESS

Violeta Grublienė, eGlė GotautienėKlaipėda University (Lithuania), Klaipėda State college (Lithuania)

Summary

Main problems that are discussed in this article are: complexity of Lithuania’s sea fishery management, decrease of quotas for some types of fish, shortening of fishing season, old ships, reluctance of young people to pursue a career in fishery sector.

The object of the research. Problems and perspectives of Lithuania’s sea fishery sector.The goal of the research. After evaluation of the problems and opportunities of Lithuania’s sea fis-

hery sector, provide the perspectives for the development of the sector.The tasks of the research: y to evaluate the scientific literature, normative acts and documentation that regulate the activity of the

sector; y to determine the main problems and perspectives of the sea fishery sector; y to provide recommendations for sustainable development of the sea fishery sector.


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Methods of the research. Analysis and synthesis of scientific literature, normative acts and docu-ments that regulate the development of sea fishery sector in Lithuania, generalization of information and materials of seminars about the development of sea fishing process and its change considering the economic and political tendencies. Main documents that were analysed: National strategic plan of Lithuania’s fishery sector for 2007–2013 (2006) and Action program of Lithuania’s fishery sector for 2007–2013 (2007), these document regulate the development of the sector. Also the areas of activity of fishery agency of Ministry of agriculture, various planning documents and reports about economical and social condition of fishery sector from different years were analysed.

It was determined that these problems have the biggest impact on fishery sector: complexity of Lithu-ania’s sea fishing management, decrease of quotas for some types of fish, shortening of cod fishing season, fishing in Baltic Sea is conducted with old ships, management of Klaipėda’s auction of fishery products, aging workforce.

Perspectives of the sector could be defined in these main directions of activity: strengthening of fishing control, development of fishing infrastructure, optimization of fishing near the shore of the Baltic Sea, mo-dernization of fishing fleet and fish processing industry, increase of their competitiveness in the international markets, execution of fish-culture for the restitution of natural fish resources.

KEY WORDS: sea fishery, sector, region, perspectives, sustainable development.

JEL cODES: M100, Q22, Q56.

Darja Kaļiņina, irina VoronoVaRisk management as a tool to impRove the Reliability: case of insuRance company

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R i s k m a n a g e m e n t a s a to o l to i m p R o v e t h e R e l i a b i l i t y: c a s e o f i n s u R a n c e c o m pa n y

Darja Kaļiņina1, irina VoronoVa2

Riga Technical University (Latvia)

ABSTRACTRisk management is one of the most critical and important areas that affects every insurance company’s activity and development. The goal of the research is to identify and establish the most important parts of risk management with the aim to improve the insuran-ce company’s reliability with the risk self-assessment. Also risk management is one of the most significant functions under Solvency II Directive framework. The methods chosen for conducting the research are: literature exploring, comparative methods, modeling, analysis, methods of expert evaluation.KEY WORDS: risk management, risk self-assessment, Solvency II Directive.

JEL CODES: G22.

Introduct ion

Risk management is the process of identifying potential danger and undesirable cases that include risk occurring probability evaluation and risk expected harm assessment. Risk management is a very important area in insurance because of the main aim to guarantee the insured person’s safety, and to pay the promised claim sum to an insurant, beneficiary, or insured legatee in case of a risk event occurrence. Therefore, one of the risk management points is to provide the clients with a sense of protection.

The Solvency II regime sets many challenges for every insurance company’s risk management. Risk management principles should be improved under Solvency II Directive, the main purpose of which is to establish economic risk – the specified solvency requirements across all the European Union countries.

The goal of the research is to improve the reliability of every insurance company with the risk manage-ment tool. The Hypothesis of the paper is that risk factors, which affect an insurance company’s activity and development, can be assessed, managed, and improved by a risk self-assessment test.

The object of the paper is an insurance company registered in the European Union. Therefore, the subject is the improvement of the insurance company’s reliability with the risk management, according to the Sol-vency II Directive requirements. In order to achieve the stated objective the authors use a theoretical analysis of the scientific literature, analytical methods, and comparative method with the aim to study the elements and functions of the risk management and Solvency II Directive requirements elements and functions. The

1 Darja Kaļiņina – Riga Technical University, Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, the Associate member of Latvian Actuarial association. Scientific interest: risk management, risk measurement, financial analysis, Solvency II directive, Basel II.E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +371 221 466 83.

2 Irina Voronova – Riga Technical University, Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, the Fellow of Latvian Actuarial association. Scientific interest: risk management, risk measurement, financial analysis, Solvency II, Basel II.E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +371 263 303 55.

issn 2029-9370. Regional FoRmation and development StudieS, no. 2 (7)

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authors also use expert evaluation and priority chart’s methods with the purpose to improve the insurance company’s reliability.

The main problem resolved during the research was to interconnect the reliability of the insurance com-pany with the risk management improvement possibilities like the establishment of the risk self – assessment principles. The article consists of five main sections. The overview of the risk management is presented in Section II. In Section III there is a brief review of the risk management function under the Solvency II regime presented. The risk self-assessment analysis is performed in Section IV to establish the principles of possible solutions for the insurance company’s reliability improvement. The final section summarizes the findings and conclusions of the study and assesses the role and significance of the risk management.

1 . Risk Management System

Figure 1. Risk management system descriptionSource: created by the authors

Risk management is the process of organizing, planning, leading, and controlling the activities of an insu-rance company with the purpose to minimize the effect of possible risks on the insurance company’s activity, profit and development. The risk management expands all the processes to involve not only risks that are associated with possible and accidental losses but also operational, credit, underwriting, market risks.

By risk management we also mean any kind of considerations which enable businesses to detect critical developments and to take countermeasures early enough (Henschel, 2007). Therefore risk management is the process of identification, analysis, assessment, control, elimination and evasion of unacceptable risks. The concept of the risk management system is presented in Figure 1.

Effective risk management system is a base to establish strategic reliability program for every insurance company. Therefore risk management should include the following requirements:

y A documented process for developing requirements that meet customer needs: are realistic, reliable, and achievable within budget and schedule constraints.

y Actions directed at the consolidation of reliability. This includes a special form of the risk self-assess-ment development with user-friendly interface that can be performed in MS Excel program.


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y Risk management should identify and analyse every insurance company’s weak points with the purpo-se to eliminate or minimize the effect of failures and to validate the specified requirements reliability.

y Risk management should include statistical process control and periodic testing in order to ensure the reliability of all the processes.

Every insurance company’s risk management system should be promoted with the aim to control and manage the reliability of business strategy.

2. Risk Management Funct ion Under Solvency II Framework

The Solvency II Directive is based on the three-pillar approach where each pillar fulfils its own function: quantitative requirements, qualitative and supervision requirements, disclosure requirements that mean pru-dential reporting and public disclosure (EC, 2009). In fact, risk management function under Solvency II framework should be fit and proper in order to identify, measure, monitor, manage and report the risk through the strategy and process development.

Also according to Solvency II Directive requirements, every insurance company should establish better real risk coverage through more sensitive and sophisticated risk analysis. The Solvency II Directive requi-rements are presented in Figure 2.

Risk management function goes under Pillar 2 that sets out risk management and measurement objectives to ensure adoption of robust risk management processes that are carried out across the entire organization and that form the basis for informing and directing the insurer’s decision-making (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010). Risk management is about to define risk profile that goes to align with the stakeholder’s risk appetite and risk tolerance, likewise keeping risks and losses to within insurer’s risk tolerance.

Solvency II framework principles that require improvement of the risk management in order to ensure every insurance company’s reliability should be established till 31st December, 2014 therefore the authors more con-centrate on practical issues of the research. Under the Solvency II Directive requirements the notion of the risk management system should be reviewed and focused on the key areas that are presented in Figure 3.

The main idea of Solvency II framework is to place risk dimension in the heart of every insurance com-pany in order to improve business strategy and capital management reliability. The following rules are to be set in order to provide better risk framework:

Figure 2. Solvency II approachSource: PricewaterhouseCoopers 2010 with the authors’ changes


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y risk appetite requires a company to consider what its overarching attitude is to risk taking and how this attitude relates to the expectations of its stakeholders (Towers Watson, 2010);

y risk limits require a company to consider at a more granular level how much risk individual managers throughout the organization should be allowed to take within their assigned responsibilities (Towers Watson, 2010);

y risk tolerance requires a company to consider in quantitative terms exactly how much of its capital it is prepared to put at risk (Towers Watson, 2010);

y mission clarity with the term long value creation proposition; y real time risk budget that allows stress testing through different scenarios modelling.

The point is that the main idea of the risk governance is to consider the most effective way for imple-menting the best risk management practice. Moreover, the risk governance elements help to develop risk management culture that emphasizes at all levels the significance of managing risk as a part of each person’s daily activities. Risk tools allow improving an internal risk and capital models which are the heart of risk management, by customizing risk dashboards and developing improved benchmark framework.

Tower Watson Audit Company on 2010 has held the Financial Crisis Puts Spotlight on ERM study among 233 insurance companies on core risk controls during the recent financial crisis. The main results of the study are presented in Figure 4.

Figure 3. Risk management key pointsSource: created by the authors

Figure 4. Core risk controls were the most effective techniquesSource: Towers Watson with the authors’ changes


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In addition, it was discovered during the study that the insurance companies also use as a part of risk management techniques economic capital in decision-making, allowances in risk, risk governance structure, risk recourses, skills and capabilities, stress or scenario testing as planning capabilities, risk appetite state-ment, economic capital modelling, risk optimization capabilities, different risk technologies or systems and other risk models.

Insurance companies in Latvia also use different risk management techniques presented in Figure 5.The point is that Tower Watson study and the authors’ research presents useful information about the

possible ways of improving risk management system’s reliability of the insurance company. All in all, the authors can conclude that it is really important to ensure risk management integration in all

insurance company’s business processes.

3 . Risk Self-Assessment as par t of Insurance Company’s Rel iabi l i ty

The Latvian insurance market is rather narrow, therefore the development of the risk management system is a complicated process.

The main figures of the Latvian market are presented in Figure 6.

Figure 5. Latvian insurance companies’ risk management techniquesSource: Created by authors

Figure 6. Core risk controls were the most effective techniquesSource: Latvian Financial and Capital market commission with the authors’ changes


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The point is that because of the Latvian insurance market every insurance company’s reliability and activity depends on risk management system. The first step to improve every insurance company’s reliability within the risk management system development is to develop and integrate the risk self-assessment tool.

The risk self-assessment is the risk management tool that increases every insurance company’s reliability by means of risk monitoring at each business unit level. The aim of the risk self-assessment framework is to identify, assess, control and mitigate insurance company’s risks and to champion effective reporting of risk and emerging risk issues.

The risk self-assessment tool is also used to evaluate and map the most significant insurance company’s risks and their occurrence probability and possible losses.

The main company’s risk should be included in the risk self-assessment process. The main insurance company’s risks according to Solvency II framework are based on the Solvency Capital Requirements and are presented in Figure 7.

Solvency capital requirements standard formula includes the following main risk groups: y Market risk is caused by changes in values caused by market prices or volatilities of market prices

differing from their expected values (CEA and Groupe Consultatif, 2007). y Operational risk is the risk of a change in value caused by the fact that actual losses, incurred for ina-

dequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events (including legal risk), differ from the expected losses (CEA and Groupe Consultatif, 2007).

y Credit risk is the risk of a change in value due to actual credit losses deviating from expected credit losses due to the failure to meet contractual debt obligations (CEA and Groupe Consultatif, 2007).

y Life or non-life underwriting risk is caused by underwritten insurance contract.

Therefore the risk self-assessment process is an excellent opportunity for every insurance company to coordinate risk management efforts and generally improve the understanding of risk management strategy. The most convenient and cheap way is to implement risk self-assessment tool into MS Excel form. The risk – self-assessment tool is based on the main positions and principles presented in Table 1.

Figure 7. Core risk controls were the most effective techniquesSource: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) with the authors’ changes


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Table 1. Risk self-assessment principles

no. heading Description1 Number Number of the line

2 Identified main risk Description of the identified risk: situation analysis, risk factors that increase risk occurrence probability and possible looses

3 Control system Description of exiting control system to avoid risk occurrence probability

4 Assessment result of risk occurrence probability in scale 1–5

Risk probability in scale 1–5:1 – rare (less than 1 %);2 – unlikely (1.1 %–10 %);3 – moderate (10.1 %–50 %);4 – almost possible (50.1 %–80 %);5 – possible (80.1 %–100 %)

5Assessment result of risk possible losses in scale 1–5 (direct and indirect expenses)

Risk occurrence impact in scale 1–5:1 – insignificant (<1000 EUR);2 – low (1000–5000 EUR);3 – average (5 000–20 000 EUR);4 – significant (20 000–100 000 EUR);5 – maximum (> 100 000 EUR)

6 Assessment of existing risk final result in scale 1–25

Estimated risk occurrence probability multiplied by estimated risk possible losses

7 Risk trend (increasing, stable, decreasing) Give indication or compare with previous year assessments

8 Risk ranking

20–25 points – very critical risks with the necessity of the immediate actions towards managing and controlling the risks;12–19 points – critical risk with the necessity of managing and controlling;Less than 12 points – normal risk with the minimal impact on company’s activity, therefore it is necessary to pay attention to their future development

9 Evaluation of risk control system in scale 1–5

Risk control system in scale 1–5:1 – risk control system in implemented and provide maximum security;2 – risk control system is implemented but provide security at average level;3 – risk control system is implemented but provide low security level;4 – risk control system is in implementation process;5 – risk control system is not implemented

10 Assessment of exiting risk control system effectiveness in scale 1–25

Estimated risk occurrence probability multiplied by evaluation of risk control system

11 Risk control ranking

20–25 points – risk control system need to be improved immediately;12–19 points – risk control system need to be improved as soon as possible;Less than 12 points – normal risk control system but it is necessary to pay attention to future development

Source: Towers Watson, PricewaterhouseCoopers, created by authors

Risk self-assessment can be performed and reviewed for every insurance company’s business line accor-ding to organizational structure monthly, quarterly or annually. Risk self-assessment is an excellent start point for Baltic insurance companies to improve their risk management system according to the Solvency II Directive with the aim to increase reliability.


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Conclusions

Risk management according to the Solvency II Directive requirements is one of the most significant functions of every insurance company. First of all, with the effective risk management system it is possible to ensure every insurance company’s reliability, thus affecting the intent of insurance to provide the clients with a sense of protection.

The Solvency II Directive requirements should establish common risk management principles that set many challenges and offer a new vision of business strategy implementation for every insurance company within the European Union. The Solvency II Directive framework requires risk management integration in all insurance company’s business processes. The authors suggest implementing risk self - assessment tool as a start point for improving every insurance company’s reliability that is performed for every business line according to the in-surance company’s organizational structure in order to cover exiting risks according to the standard formula of Solvency capital requirements. Risks are assessed and evaluated taking into account an occurrence probability, a possible damage in case of a risk occurrence and the effectiveness of the control system.

The suggested approach of risk management improvement will enable every insurance company to control trends within its development towards the sustainability, solvency, and growth, with the purpose to increase re-liability. In the future the authors would seize the opportunity to continue the present research on the insurance company’s reliability increase by developing the possibilities of improving the risk management.

References

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Comité Européen des Assurances (CEA) and the Groupe Consultatif Actuariel Européen (Groupe Consultatif). (2007). Solvency II Glossary. Available from Internet: <http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/insurance/docs/solvency/im-pactassess/annex-c08d_en.pdf>.

Ernst & Young. (2008). Solvency-II design approach. Available from Internet: <http://www.ey .com/Publication/vwLUAssets/SolvecyII_designapproach/$FILE/EY%20Solvency%20II%20design%20approach.pdf>.

Ernst & Young. (2011). Embrace the Solvency II internal model. Available from Internet: <http://www.ey.com/Publi-cation/vwLUAssets/Embrace_the_Solvency_II_internal_model/$FILE/Embrace_the_Solvency_II_internal_mo-del.pdf>.

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European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. (2010). Slides for QIS 5. Available from Internet: <https://eiopa.europa.eu/fileadmin/tx_dam/ files/consultations/QIS/QIS5/QIS5-Seminar-10/ QIS5_August_2010_seminar.pdf>.

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). (2011). CEIOPS’ Report on its fifth Quantitative Impact Study (QIS5) for Solvency II. Available from Internet: <https://eiopa.europa.eu /fileadmin/tx_dam/files/ pu-blications/ reports/QIS5_Report_Final.pdf>.

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). (2011). CEIOPS’ Report on its forth Quantitative Impact Study (QIS4) for Solvency II. Available from Internet: <https://eiopa.europa.eu/fileadmin/tx_dam/files/con-sultations/QIS/CEIOPA-SEC-82-08%20QIS 4% 20Report.pdf>.

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). (2010). Technical specification for Quantitative impact study 5. Available from Internet: <https://eiopa.europa.eu/fileadmin/tx_dam/ files/consultations/QIS/QIS5/QIS5technical_specifications_20100706.pdf>.

Groupe Consultatif Actuariel Europeen. (2011). The Actuarial function under Solvency II: survey on the role of the actu-ary in insurance. Available from Internet: <http://www.gcactuaries. org/documents/ GC_Survey_RoA11092011_all _Countries.pdf>.

Helmane, I. (2011). Critical situation analyses. Available from Internet: <http://www.aktuars.lv/imag es/stories/Semi-nars/laaa_seminrs_kritiskas_situacijas_analize.pdf>.


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Henschel, T. (2007). Risk management practices in the main industries of German small to medium – sized enterprises an empirical investigation: An Empirical Investigation. School of Accounting, Economics and Statistics. Edin-burgh, UK.

International Actuarial Association (IAA). (2010). IAA Paper on Stress Testing and Scenario Analysis – Fourth DRAFT. Available from Internet: <http://www.actuaries.org/CTTEES_SOLV /Documents/Zagreb_item3_stress_testing.pdf>.

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Latvian Financial and Capital market commission. (2012). Latvian insurance market statistic. Available from Internet: <http://www.fktk.lv/lv/statistika/apdrosinasana/ceturksna_parskati/2012-03-16_apdrosinasanas_tirgus_20/>.

Manion, M. (2007). Introduction. Ethical issues in risk assessment and management: a critical introduction. Internatio-nal Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, Vol. 7, p. 281–298.

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Pfeifer, D., Strassburger, D. (2007). Solvency II: Stability problems with the SCR aggregation formula, Scandinavian actuarial journal, Vol. 1, p. 61–77.

PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited. (2010). Getting to grips with the shake up. Available from Internet: <http://www.pwc.co.uk/audit-assurance/publications/getting-to-grips-with-the-shake-up.jhtml>.

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PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited. (2008). Gearing up for Solvency II: Making Solvency II work for the business. Available from Internet: <http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/insurance/solvency-ii/gearing-up-to-solvency-ii-making-it-work-for-business-september-2008.jhtml>.

Towers Watson. (2010). Financial Crisis Puts Spotlight on ERM. Available from Internet: <http://www.towerswatson.com/assets/pdf/3068/TowersWatson_ERM-Survey-Rpt-NA-2010-17650.pdf>.

Towers Watson. (2010). Risk Appetite: The Foundation of Enterprise Risk Management. Available from Internet: <http://www.towerswatson.com/assets/pdf/625/ERM_Risk_Appetite_02-15-10.pdf>.

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R i z i k o s va l d y m a s , k a i p pat i k i m u m o d i d i n i m o p R i E m o n Ė : d R a u d i m o B E n d R o v Ė s at v E j o a n a l i z Ė

Darja Kaļiņina, irina VoronoVaRygos technikos universitetas (Latvija)

Santrauka

Rizikos valdymas yra viena svarbiausių ir kritinių sričių, lemiančių draudimo bendrovės veiklą ir plėtrą. Šio tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti svarbiausias rizikos valdymo dalis, siekiant padidinti draudimo bendrovės pa-tikimumą įvertinus riziką. Be to, rizikos valdymas yra viena pagrindinių Mokumo II direktyvoje numatytų funkcijų. Tyrimui atlikti pasirinkti šie metodai: literatūros analizė, lyginimas, modeliavimas, ekspertizė.

PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: rizikos valdymas, rizikos įvertinimas, Mokumo II direktyva.

JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: G22


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F I N A N S Ų K R I Z I Ų T I PA I , J Ų PA LY G I N A M O J I A N A L I Z Ė L I E T U VO J E

Deimena KiyaK1, Daiva Labanauskaitė2, Tomas Reichenbachas3

Klaipėdos universitetas (Lietuva), Vilniaus universitetas (Lietuva)

ANOTACIJAStraipsnyje nagrinėjama finansų krizių sąvoka, aptariami finansų krizių skirstymo teoriniai aspektai. Nustačius, kad finansų krizių klasifikavimas ir skirstymas pagal panašius požymius leistų jas geriau suprasti ir palengvintų jų poveikio ekonomikai analizę, su-daryta finansų krizių tipų klasifikacinė lentelė. Apibendrinamojoje finansų krizių tipų klasifikacinėje lentelėje pateikiami finansų krizių tipai, nurodomos pagrindinės jų kilimo priežastys, pristatyti pagrindiniai poveikio ekonomikai rodikliai bei išvardyti istoriniai šių finansų krizių tipų pavyzdžiai. Tyrimo metu nustatytos trys Lietuvos ekonomiką neigiamai paveikusios finansų krizės – „Bankų krizė“ (1995), „Rusijos finansų krizė“ (1998) ir „Globali finansų krizė“ (2008), apibrėžtos jų kilimo priežastys. Akcentuojant darnaus ekonominio vystymosi prielaidas Lietuvoje ir siekiant tyrimų pagrindu kurti regioninę politiką, šios finansų krizės suklasifikuotos pagal sudarytą tipologiją.PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: finansų krizė, finansų krizių klasifikavimas, finansų krizių tipai.

JEL KLASIfIKAcIJA: G000; G010.

Įvadas

Stabilus finansinis sektorius svarbus kiekvienos šalies ekonomikai. Jame kylančios problemos gali lemti šalies ekonominį nuosmukį. Pastaruosius kelis dešimtmečius pasaulyje vis daugiau pasitaiko finansinio ne-stabilumo apraiškų (bankų bankrotų, akcijų rinkų nuosmukių, valiutinių krizių ir t. t.). Dalis finansų krizių būna lokalios (Meksikos peso krizė [1995], Argentinos nemokumas ir peso devalvacija [2001]), kita dalis – regioninės (pietryčių Azijos finansų krizė [1997]), dar kitos finansų krizės peržengia šalies ir žemynų ribas ir tampa globaliomis (JAV antrarūšių būsto paskolų krizė [2007–2008]). Globalaus pasaulio šalių finansų sistemos glaudžiai susijusios, todėl finansinio sektoriaus problemos vienoje šalyje gali gerokai paveikti ir kitas šalis. Tačiau tiek vietinių, tiek regioninių, tiek globalių finansų krizių poveikis šalių ekonomikoms nėra vienodas.

Problema. Mokslininkų finansų krizės gana dažnai tiriamos, tačiau tyrimų, kur būtų pateikti tikslūs finansų krizių apibrėžimai ar apibendrintos visos finansų krizės, yra labai nedaug, nėra ir finansų krizių klasifikavimo metodologijos. Lietuvos ekonomiką paveikusios finansų krizės apibendrintai nenagrinėjamos, 1 Deimena Kiyak – daktarė (socialiniai mokslai, ekonomika), docentė, Klaipėdos universiteto Ekonomikos katedra. Mokslinės

veiklos kryptys: finansai, apskaita, kainodara, finansinė-ekonominė analizė.El. paštas: [email protected] Tel.: +370 682 202 53.

2 Daiva Labanauskaitė – daktarė (socialiniai mokslai, ekonomika), lektorė, Klaipėdos universiteto Ekonomikos katedra. Mokslinės veiklos kryptys: ekonomika, rinkodara, turizmas.El. paštas: [email protected] Tel.: +370 686 428 62.

3 Tomas Reichenbachas – ekonomikos magistrantas (socialiniai mokslai), Vilniaus universitetas. Mokslinės veiklos kryptys: ekonomika, finansai.El. paštas: [email protected] Tel.: +370 620 514 03.

Deimena KiyaK, Daiva LabanausKaitė, tomas ReichenbachasFINANSŲ KRIZIŲ TIPAI, JŲ PALYGINAMOJI ANALIZĖ LIETUVOJE

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trūksta ir bendro sutarimo, kiek ir kokių tipų finansų krizių Lietuva patyrė. Kadangi esant finansų krizei kei-čiasi užimtumas, infliacijos ir gamybos tempai, gyventojų pajamos, verslo plėtra, žmonių socialinė gerovė, svarbu krizes tirti kompleksiškai.

Tyrimo objektas – finansų krizės.Tyrimo tikslas: akcentuojant darnaus ekonominio vystymosi prielaidas Lietuvoje ir siekiant tyrimų

pagrindu kurti regioninę politiką, apibrėžti bei suklasifikuoti Lietuvoje įvykusias finansų krizes.Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1. Išnagrinėti finansų krizių sampratų pagrindinius aspektus ir sugretinus moksli-

nėje literatūroje minimus finansų krizių apibrėžimus aptarti finansų krizių esmę. 2. Palyginti mokslinėje lite-ratūroje pateikiamą finansų krizių klasifikavimą ir parengti išsamią finansų krizių tipų klasifikacinę lentelę. 3. Identifikuoti ir priskirti nustatytam tipui Lietuvoje vykusias krizes 1990–2010 metų laikotarpiu.

Tyrimo metodai: mokslinės literatūros analizė, sisteminimas, grupavimas, lyginimas, interpretavimas, apibendrinimas, sintezė, statistinių duomenų analizė, loginės išvados.

1. Finansų kriz ių sąvokos esmė i r klasif ikavimas

Ekonominių ciklų teorija akcentuoja, kad egzistuoja nuolatinė ir nuspėjama ekonominio ciklo struktūra, kurios dėka galima paaiškinti pokyčius ekonomikoje. Skirtingi autoriai (Šakinienė, Kvainauskaitė, 2005: 180; Stankevičius, 2010: 193; Urniežius, 2006: 41) ir skirtingos teorijos tokias nekintančias ekonominio ciklo fazes vadina skirtingai, tačiau jų esmė ta pati – ekonomikos ciklą sudaro 4 stadijos (smukimas, že-miausias taškas, arba depresija; pagyvėjimas ir pakilimas, arba bumas), kurios cikliškai seka viena paskui kitą. Kiekviena ciklo fazė apibūdinama atsižvelgiant į pokyčius, kurie vyksta pramonėje, darbo ir finansų rinkose, vartojimo pokyčių procesuose. R. Urniežiaus (2006: 41) teigimu, krizė yra pagrindinė ciklo fazė, o visos likusios fazės yra išvestinės iš krizės. Krizė, arba smukimas, sukelia sutrikimų daugelyje ekonomikos sektorių: mažėja gamybos ir prekybos apimtys, pajamos, gyventojų užimtumas, vartotojų perkamoji galia. Didėjantis nedarbas mažina visumines išlaidas, o tai lemia dar didesnį gamybos nuosmukį ir nedarbą.

Terminas krizė abstrakčiai gali būti apibrėžiamas kaip sistemos būsena, kuri gresia jos pačios struktū-riniam stabilumui ir gyvybingumui. Krizės gali būti visuomeninės ir asmeninės, gamtinės ir techninės-so-cialinės, ekonominės, politinės, karinės, sukeltos sausros ar liūčių, techninio susidėvėjimo ir kūrybinės ar psichologinės, įveikiamos išsprendžiant vidinius prieštaravimus ar išorinius konfliktus, vykdant struktūrines, sistemines permainas. XIX–XX amžiuje dauguma ekonominių krizių buvo susijusios su bankų panika, kuri sukeldavo ekonomikos recesiją, akcijų rinkų mažėjimą, finansinius burbulus, valiutų ir užsienio paskolų krizes, todėl dažnu atveju ekonominė krizė įvardijama kaip finansų krizė.

Anot P. Honohan (2005), finansų krizės vyksta nuolat – nuo pat bankų ir kitų finansinių institucijų atsi-radimo, jas patiria kiekviena žmonių karta. Viena iš finansų krizių kilimo priežasčių – neišmokstama anks-tesnių finansų krizių pamokų, visuomenėje dažnai vyrauja nuomonė, kad naujas ekonomikos pakilimas bus kitoks negu prieš tai buvę ir niekada nesibaigs, o tai lemia neracionalių sprendimų priėmimą. Ši nuomonė labai paplitusi, daugelio autorių teigimu, XX a. kilo daugiau nei 200 finansų krizių.

Mokslininkai (Reinhart ir kt., 2008; Harvey, 2010; Wyplosz, 1998) teigia, kad visos finansų krizės, nors ir turi panašių bruožų, yra skirtingos, t. y. kiekviena yra išskirtinė, todėl nagrinėja konkrečius jų bruožus ir skirtumus. Tačiau, nors ir pripažįsta, kad visos finansų krizės skirtingos, jas tirdami analizuoja loginius krizių susidarymo modelius, priežastis, akcentuoja finansų krizių panašumus ir teigia, kad ši analizė gali padėti suprasti, nuspėti ir sumažinti jų žalingą poveikį ekonomikai, galbūt net ir visai jo išvengti. Kadangi, mokslininkų nuomone, visos finansų krizės yra skirtingos ir akcentuotini vis kiti finansų krizių aspektai, nėra bendro, vieningo finansų krizių apibrėžimo. Vis kylančios finansų krizės įgauna naujų, savitų aspektų, todėl sukurti bendrą apibrėžimą, kuris apimtų visas buvusias ir būsimas finansų krizes, nepaprasta. Siekiant api-brėžti finansų krizės sąvoką, nagrinėti įvairių autorių (Račickas ir kt., 2010; Jickling, 2008; calhoun, 2002; Mishkin, 1992) teiginiai. Apibendrinta nuomonė pateikta 1 lentelėje. Taip pat išskiriami pateikiamų finansų krizių apibrėžimų trūkumai.


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Lentelė 1. finansų krizių apibrėžimai ir juose išskirti trūkumai

Autorius Apibrėžimas Apibrėžimo trūkumai

Račickas ir kt., 2010

finansų krizė – tai ekonominė situacija, susijusi su panika bankų sektoriuje, apimanti reikšmingus gamybos ir finansinio sektoriaus nuostolius, sukelianti sumaištį tarptautinėse finansų rinkose, akcijų rinkų nuosmukius, finansinius burbulus, valiutines krizes ar užsienio paskolų pasitraukimą, tai lemia staigų ekonomikos aktyvumo mažėjimą ir gali sukelti ekonominę recesiją

Apibrėžimas nekonkretus;Tik išvardijami finansinių krizių tipai, kurie susiejami į vieną visumą;Akcentuojama daugelis aspektų, tačiau dalies jų vienoje finansų krizėje gali ir nebūti;Iš apibrėžimo sunku vieną ar kitą ekonominį reiškinį priskirti finansų krizei, tai labiau priklauso nuo interpretacijos

calhoun, 2002

finansų krizė – tai staigus grupės finansinių rodiklių pablogėjimas: tokių kaip trumpo laikotarpio palūkanų normų kilimas ar turto kainų kritimas, galimai lydimas finansinių institucijų bankrotų

Nepateikiama, kokių konkrečių rodiklių pablogėjimas galėtų būti traktuojamas kaip finansų krizė

Jickling, 2008

finansų krizė – tai sutrikimai finansų rinkose, kai suvaržomas kredito prieinamumas namų ūkiams ir įmonėms, o tai veikia realiąją ekonomiką

Akcentuojamas tik vienas kredito prieinamumo aspektas;Neanalizuojama, kaip konkrečiai turi pasireikšti šis kredito prieinamumo mažėjimas

Mishkin, 1992

finansų krizė – tai sutrikimai finansų rinkose, kai jos negali veiksmingai nukreipti lėšų ten, kur jos geriausiai (produktyviausiai) būtų investuotos

Akcentuojamas tik vienas aspektas – investicijų efektyvumas

Wyplosz, 1998

finansų krizė (ekonominė) – ekonominė situacija, kai tam tikros finansinės institucijos ar turtas staigiai netenka didžiosios dalies savo vertės

Akcentuojamas tik vienas aspektas – vertės praradimas

Šaltinis: sudaryta autorių

Galima pastebėti, kad visi mokslininkai finansų krizes apibrėžia skirtingai, vieni apibrėžime akcentuoja tik kurį nors vieną finansų krizių kilimo apsektą ar konkretų tipą, kiti įvardija visus finansinių krizių tipus. Darytina išvada, kad finansų krizė – tai sutrikimai finansų rinkose, sukeliantys realiosios ekonomikos pro-blemas ir galintys lemti ekonominę recesiją konkrečioje šalyje arba globaliu mastu.

Analizuojant finansų krizes pastebima jų gausa ir skirtumai, kuriuos pabrėžia įvairūs autoriai (Račickas ir kt., 2010; Harvey, 2010; Kuodis ir kt., 2005; Mishkin, 1992; Krugman, 2008; Krugman, 2003). Nors, c. Wyplosz (1998) teigimu, 1973–1991 metų laikotarpiu besivystančiose šalyse įvyko 117 finansų krizių, o išsivysčiusiose – 62 (bendras skaičius – 179), vis dėlto mokslinėje literatūroje pasigendama panašių finansi-nių krizių klasifikavimo pagal jas siejančius požymius analizės.

P. Honohan (2005) teigia, kad 1976–2000 metais pasaulyje įvyko daugiau nei 400 finansų krizių ir nors jos turi panašumų, skirtumų yra per daug, taigi krizės kils nuolatos ir bus nenuspėjamos. Tačiau, autorių nuo-mone, finansinių krizių klasifikavimas ir skirstymas pagal panašius požymius leistų jas geriau suprasti bei palengvintų jų poveikio ekonomikai analizę. Todėl sudaryta finansinių krizių klasifikacinė lentelė (2 lentelė), kurioje analizuojami finansų krizių tipai, jų poveikis ekonomikai, pateikiama istorinių šių finansų krizių tipų pavyzdžių (3 lentelė).

1. finansinės panikos sukeltos krizės. Prasidėjusi panika vienoje finansinio turto klasėje, gali sukelti labai didelį šio turto kainų kritimą, kartu ir dar didesnę paniką bei visišką vienos turto klasės likvidu-mo praradimą. Problemos gali būti dar didesnės, jei šis turtas perkamas skolintomis lėšomis ir naudojamas finansinis svertas.


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Lentelė 2. finansų krizių klasifikavimas

Finansų krizės tipas Finansų krizės kilimo priežastys Pirminis finansų krizės

poveikis ekonomikaiGalimas antrinis finansų

krizės poveikis ekonomikai1. finansinės panikos sukeltos krizės

1. Nepasitikėjimas.2. „Bandos jausmas“.3. finansinis svertas įsigyjant turtą

1. Nelikvidus turtas.2. Staigus turto kainų kritimas

1. Bankų ir kitų finansinių institucijų bankrotai.2. Ekonominis nuosmukis

2. Sprogę finansų burbulai

1. Pervertintas finansinis turtas.2. finansinio sverto naudojimas perkant turtą.3. Perdėti lūkesčiai dėl turto kainos kilimo.4. Spekuliacija turtu (turto pirkimas siekiant brangiau jį parduoti)

1. Nelikvidus turtas.2. Staigus turto kainų kritimas.3. Susijusio turto kainų kritimas

1. Su atitinkamu turtu susijusių ekonominių vienetų nuostoliai ir bankrotas.2. Ekonominis nuosmukis

3. finansinių garantijų krizė

Neatsakingai suteiktos finansinės garantijos (dažniausiai valstybinės)

Institucijos ar šalies, suteikusios garantijas, nuostoliai

Institucijos ar šalies, suteikusios garantijas, nemokumas

4. Likvidumo išsekimas – pri-verstinių paskolų grąžinimo krizė

finansinių institucijų bankrotas Likvidumo mažėjimas finansų rinkose (tarp bankų arba obligacijų)

1. Kitų finansų institucijų bankrotas.2. Kitų tipų finansų krizės (pvz., bankų panika)

5. Skolos krizė 1. Per didelis skolos augimas ekonominio pakilimo metais.2. Išaugusios skolų aptarnavimo sąnaudos.3. Per daug optimistinis skolos aptarnavimo sąnaudų vertinimas

finansinės institucijos ar šalies nemokumas / bankrotas

1. Įmonių nemokumo grandinė.2. Ekonomikos nuosmukis

6. Bankų sistemos krizė

1. Nepasitikėjimas bankų sistema.2. Per didelė bankų sektoriaus ekspansija.3. Ekonomikos nuosmukis, padaugėjus „blogųjų“ paskolų.4. finansinio turto burbulai ir su tuo susijusios blogosios paskolos.5. Indeksų fondų kritimas

1. Bankų nemokumas.2. Kreditavimo mažėjimas.3. Bendro bankų paskolų portfelio mažėjimas.4. Kapitalo „išėjimas“ iš šalies.5. Panika finansų rinkose, akcijų ir obligacijų nuvertė-jimas

1. Bankų bankrotų grandinė.2. Likvidumo problemos ban-kininkystės sistemoje.3. Ekonominis nuosmukis (masinė bedarbystė, gyvento-jų pajamų ir gamybos mažė-jimas).4. Indėlininkų santaupų pra-radimas

7. Mokėjimo balanso krizė

1. fiksuotas valiutos kursas.2. Išorės kapitalo „ištekėjimas“.3. Šalies eksporto tarptautinio konkurencingumo mažėjimas.4. Investuotojų pasitraukimas iš šalies ar didelių įmonių

1. fiksuoto valiutos kurso atsisakymas.2. Valiutos kurso pasikeitimas.2. Ekonomikos nuosmukis

1. Bankų sistemos problemos dėl valiutos kurso pasikeitimo.2. Šalies nemokumas

8. Valiutos krizė 1. Valstybės biudžeto deficito finansa-vimas iš šalies tarptautinių atsargų.2. Spekuliacinės atakos prieš fiksuotą valiutos kursą.3. Dideli kapitalo srautai iš/ar į šalį.4. Einamosios sąskaitos deficitas

1. fiksuoto valiutos kurso atsisakymas.2. Valiutos kurso keitimas.3. Išsivysčiusių šalių naci-onalinės valiutos nuvertėji-mas.4. fondų indeksų mažėjimas.4. Ekonomikos nuosmukis

1. Kapitalo „ištekėjimas“ iš šalies.2. Ekonomikos nuosmukis.3. Šalies nemokumas

9. Pasaulinės krizės Vyriausybių visuotinis užsienio emitentų vertybinių popierių išpardavimas

Žlugimas visose – tiek prekybos, tiek pinigų ir fondų – pasaulio rinkose

1. Masiniai bendrovių bankrotai.2. Akcijų rinkos griūtis.3. Gamybos mažėjimas.4. Vartojimo mažėjimas5. Bedarbystė



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Lentelė 3. Tipinių finansų krizių pavyzdžiai

Finansų krizės tipas Finansų krizių pavyzdžiai

1. finansinės panikos sukeltos krizės

1. JAV 1907 m. kilusi bankų panika.2. 2007–2008 m. JAV su nekilnojamuoju turtu susijusių vertybinių popierių kainos kritimas

2. Sprogę finansų burbulai

1. „Tulpių karštligė“ (Olandija, 1593–1637 m.).2. Internetinių akcijų burbulo sprogimas JAV 2001 m.3. Japonijos nekilnojamojo turto ir akcijų kainų burbulo sprogimas 1991 m.4. 2007–2008 m. JAV su nekilnojamuoju turtu susijusių vertybinių popierių kainų kritimas

3. finansinių garantijų krizė

1. Islandija, 2008 m. bankams suteiktos garantijos2. Airija 2008–2009 m.

4. Likvidumo išsekimas – priverstinių paskolų grąžinimo krizė

1. Rizikos kapitalo investicinio fondo (angl. Long-Term Capital Management L.P.) bankrotas 1998 m.2. „Lehman brothers“ banko bankrotas 2008 m. JAV.

5. Skolos krizė Graikija, 2010 m.6. Bankų sistemos krizė 1. Skandinavijos valstybių (Danija, Norvegija, Švedija, Suomija) 1988–1992 m.

2. Meksikos finansinė krizė 1994–1995 m.3. „Didžioji depresija“ JAV (1929–1932 m.)

7. Mokėjimo balanso krizė

1. Meksika, 1994–1995 m.2. Tailandas, 1997 m.3. 1987 m. „Juodasis penktadienis“: Dow Jones Industrial amerikietiškasis indeksas, kuris nukrito iš karto 22 %. Krito Australijos, Kanados ir Honkongo rinkos

8. Valiutos krizė 1. Rusija, 1998 m.2. 1997–1998 m. Pasaulio krizė (Honkongas, Čekija, Malaizija, Tailandas, Indonezija, Pietų Korėja, Brazilija, Argentina)

9. Pasaulinės krizės 1. Pirmoji pasaulio finansinė krizė 1857 m. JAV, Vokietijoje, Anglijoje ir Prancūzijoje. 2. 1873 m. Pasaulio krizė, prasidėjusi Austrijoje ir Vokietijoje.3. 1914 m. tarptautinė finansų krizė (Pirmasis pasaulinis karas).4. 1957 m. pokario pasaulinė finansų krizė (apėmė JAV, Didžiąją Britaniją, Belgiją, Kanadą ir kai kurias kitas šalis)


Tokiu atveju dalis turto turėtojų būna priversti parduoti šį turtą bet kokia kaina ir prisiimti finansinius nuostolius. finansų panikos sukeltos krizės poveikis šaliai labai priklauso nuo to, kurią turto klasę ta panika apėmė ir kokia šios turto klasės reikšmė ekonomikai. Be to, svarbu suprasti, ar panika gali paveikti ir kitas turto rūšis. Galima tokia situacija, kai panika, prasidėjusi vienoje turto klasėje, gali sukelti paniką visoje finansų sistemoje ir lemti nepasitikėjimą visu finansiniu turtu.

Anot A. Shleifer ir kt. (2011), šiam tipui taip pat galima priskirti 2007–2008 m. JAV su nekilnojamuoju turtu susijusių vertybinių popierių kainos kritimą. Sprogus nekilnojamojo turto burbului nekilnojamojo turto kainos pradėjo sparčiai mažėti, todėl dalis investavusiųjų į su šiuo turtu susijusius vertybinius popierius pra-dėjo šį turtą pardavinėti. Kadangi jo kaina sparčiai mažėjo, investuotojai (iš esmės bankai ir investiciniai fon-dai), investavę skolintas lėšas ir naudoję finansinį svertą, buvo priversti šį turtą parduoti ir grąžinti paskolas, neatsižvelgdami į esamą rinkos kainą. Toks staigus pasiūlos didėjimas lėmė dar didesnį kainos kritimą, kol galiausiai paklausos nebeliko ir turtas tapo nelikvidus. Todėl, L. Sinevičienės ir kt. (2009) teigimu, bankams prireikė papildomo kapitalo, o dalis investicinių fondų buvo priversti užšaldyti investuotojų lėšas, kol rin-koje bus įmanoma parduoti jų turimą turtą. Dėl finansų rinkos globalizacijos ir integracijos JAV prasidėjusi krizė peraugo į pasaulinę finansų krizę.

2. Sprogę finansų burbulai. Pirmuosius finansinių burbulų sprogimus galima pastebėti jau XVII–XVIII amžiais. M. Hirschey (1998), P. Krugman (2008) viena pirmųjų tokio tipo finansinių krizių laiko garsiąją „Tulpių karštligę“ (Olandija 1593–1637 m.), kuri prasidėjo XVII amžiuje, kai tulpės tapo paklausios


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ir madingos daugelyje Europos šalių. Atsidarė „tulpių birža“, kur buvo pardavinėjamos gėlės ir būsimo der-liaus vekseliai. Per piką vienas tulpių svogūnėlis, kainą išvertus į dabartinius JAV dolerius pagal perkamąją galią, kainavo apie 34 tūkst. JAV dolerių. Sustojo pramonė ir tai neigiamai paveikė daugelio Europos šalių ekonomikas. finansų burbulų sprogimo įtaka ekonomikai priklauso nuo turto paplitimo, jo pervertinimo lygio, investicijų dydžio.

3. finansinių garantijų krizė. Šio tipo finansų krizės susijusios su valstybės garantijomis nepatiki-moms paskoloms. Esant šioms garantijoms bankai nebesirūpina paskolų kokybe ir skolininko mokumu. Su-sidarius tokiai situacijai ir mažai prižiūrint finansinį sektorių, galima situacija, kai negrąžinamų paskolų dalis gerokai išauga ir tai sukelia finansinę krizę. Valstybė savo garantijas gali suteikti ne tik bankų paskoloms, bet ir įmonių obligacijoms, indėlininkų indėliams bankuose ir pan. Nuo to, kam ir kokio dydžio garantijos suteiktos, ir priklauso šio tipo krizės poveikis šalies ekonomikai. Anot J. Jackson (2010: 102–103), 2008 m. Islandijos bankams susidūrus su problemomis, kad išsklaidytų tvyrančią įtampą, Islandijos vyriausybė garantavo visus trijų didžiausių bankų įsipareigojimus, tačiau problemoms gilėjant ji buvo priversta nacionalizuoti bankus, o galiausiai ir pati valstybė tapo nemoki. Su panašiomis problemomis 2009 m. susidūrė ir Airija.

4. Likvidumo išsekimas – priverstinių paskolų grąžinimo krizė. Bankrutuojanti finansinė institucija gali pareikalauti grąžinti savo išduotas paskolas anksčiau laiko. Jei šalies bankų sistema labai priklauso nuo vieno taupomojo banko finansavimo, jam bankrutavus gali kilti viso bankinio sektoriaus likvi-dumo krizė. Tai gali pasireikšti ir per tarpbankinių kreditų rinką. S. f. Mishkin (2011) teigimu, JAV 2008 m. bankrutavus „Lehman Brothers“ investiciniam bankui, o „AIG“ draudimo bendrovei susidūrus su likvidumo problemomis, kadangi abi šios bendrovės yra stambūs tarpbankinės rinkos dalyviai, jų problemos sukėlė ne-pasitikėjimą kitomis finansinėmis institucijomis, o tai savo ruožtu lėmė likvidumo mažėjimą tarpbankinėje rinkoje ir tarpbankinių paskolų kainos didėjimą.

5. Skolos krizė. Tai situacija, kai šalis ar didelė finansinė institucija nebegali grąžinti skolų arba sumo-kėti palūkanų už paskolą. T. J. Harvey (2010) teigimu, taip atsitinka tik dėl to, kad ekonominio augimo lai-kotarpiu prisiimami nerealistiški įsipareigojimai ir tikimasi, kad tokią skolą bus įmanoma suvaldyti (mokėti palūkanas ir atėjus laikui refinansuoti). Ekonominiai vienetai ekonominio augimo metu mano, kad jie puikiai gali išlaikyti dabartinį skolų lygį, todėl skolinasi dar, taip mažėja jų skolų ir pajamų santykis. O pradėjus lėtėti ekonomikai dažnai šalis ar įmonė nebegali išmokėti ir suvaldyti savo skolų, o tai savo ruožtu sukelia bankrotų bangą. E. Antoni (2010) teigimu, situacija, kai ekonominis vienetas turi problemų dėl per didelio paskolų kiekio ir nebegali jų suvaldyti iš gaunamų pajamų, vadinama Minsky’io momentu.

6. Bankų sistemos krizė. Kadangi daugelis banko paskolų išduodamos iš surinktų indėlių, staigus didžiosios dalies indėlininkų reikalavimas grąžinti visus indėlius lemia banko nemokumą. Kad apsisaugo-tų nuo tokio tipo finansų krizės, daugelis šalių priima valstybinius indėlių draudimo / apsaugos įstatymus, kurie turėtų apsaugoti indėlininkus. Galimos ir kitokios bankų krizės. Dėl per didelės paskolų ekspansijos prasidėjus ekonominiam nuosmukiui dalis paskolų negrąžinama, o šioms paskoloms pasiekus kritinę ribą bankai gali tapti nemokūs. S. Atle Berg ir kt. (2009) teigimu, tokio tipo krizė ištiko Skandinavijos šalis 1988–1992 m. Esant šiai krizei galimi ir nepalankūs palūkanų normų pokyčiai: jei bankas skolinasi trumpam laikotarpiui kintamomis palūkanomis, o skolina ilgam laikotarpiui fiksuotomis palūkanomis, galima situaci-ja, kad skolinimosi sąnaudos bankui bus aukštesnės, nei jis yra paskolinęs. Jei tokia situacija rinkoje tęstųsi ilgai, bankai gali tapti nemokūs. Bankų sistemos krizės specifika priklauso nuo šalies bankų sektoriaus: jo aktyvumo, koncentracijos, priklausomybės nuo užsienio.

7. Mokėjimo balanso krizė. Vienas pirmųjų dar 1979 m. mokėjimo balanso krizes pradėjo analizuoti P. Krugman (2003). Jo nuomone, valstybė, stengdamasi išlaikyti fiksuotą savo valiutos kursą, gali kištis į valiutų rinką, riboti užsienio kapitalo srautus, keisti bankų sistemos reguliavimą (pavyzdžiui, privalomųjų rezervų dydį). Tačiau galima ir tokia situacija, kai šių priemonių neužtenka. Jei valstybė stengiasi apsaugoti savo valiutą nuo nuvertėjimo, ji gali prarasti savo užsienio atsargų rezervus. Jei valstybė nori apsaugoti savo valiutą nuo per didelio vertės augimo, ji gali susidurti su nepakeliamais infliacijos augimo tempais. Kai vals-tybė nebegali apsaugoti fiksuoto valiutos kurso mokėjimo balanso, susidaro situaciją, kurią galima vadinti krize.


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Mokėjimo balanso krizes gali sukelti ir didelė priklausomybė nuo išorės kapitalo įplaukų, A. Ghosh ir kt. (2008) teigimu, valstybė gali tapti priklausoma nuo užsienio finansavimo. Užsienio kapitalas gali būti skirtas dengti einamosios sąskaitos deficitą arba „karštas“ kapitalas gali ieškoti didesnių palūkanų normų investuojant į šalies valstybės vertybinius popierius. Nutrūkus šiam kapitalo srautui arba pasikeitus rinkos nuotaikoms ir kapitalui ištekant iš šalies ji gali susidurti su mokėjimo balanso krize. Šalį gali užgriūti ir mo-kėjimo balanso problemos, kai dėl kokių nors priežasčių pablogėja jos konkurencingumas užsienio prekybos partnerių atžvilgiu (pavyzdžiui, gretimos valstybės – svarbios prekybos partnerės – devalvuoja savo valiutą). Dalis autorių (Montes, 1998; Sachs ir kt., 1996) mano, kad mokėjimo balanso krizės glaudžiai susijusios su valiutos krizėmis.

8. Valiutos krizė. Valiutos krizės dažnai suprantamos kaip staigus valiutos kurso mažėjimas, fiksuoto valiutos kurso atsisakymas ar staigus jo pakeitimas, kai valiutos kursas sumažėja 25 % ar daugiau procentų (Deksnytė ir kt., 2010; Lakehal, 2010). Tačiau, R. Kuodžio ir kt. (2005) nuomone, valiutos krize galima lai-kyti ir stiprų spaudimą fiksuotam valiutos kursui, nes dažnai tai padaro net dar didesnę žalą nei paprastas va-liutos nuvertėjimas. Šalis, gindama savo fiksuotą valiutos kursą, gali būti priversta didinti palūkanų normas, imtis tiesioginių intervencijų valiutų rinkoje ar kapitalo kontrolės šalyje. O tai gali lemti šalies ekonominės situacijos pablogėjimą – padidėjusias palūkanas verslui bei fiziniams asmenims. Valiutų krizės gali kilti dėl daugelio priežasčių: dėl užsienio atsargų naudojimo finansuojant biudžeto deficitą, spekuliacinių atakų prieš fiksuotą valiutos kursą, mokėjimo balanso problemų, nepasitikėjimo šalies ekonomika, užsienio kapitalo pasitraukimo, didelės valdžios užsienio skolos (Kuodis, 2005; Montes, 1998). Staiga nukritus valiutos kursui ekonomika gali susidurti su problemomis: BVP kritimas, bankinio sektoriaus problemos ir kt.

Antroje lentelėje pateiktas finansų krizių tipinis suskirstymas nėra baigtinis, dalis autorių skiria ir kitų tipų finansų krizių. Dažnai literatūroje minėta finansų krizė pavadinama kompleksiniu pavadinimu, išskiriant kelis specifinius finansų krizės aspektus (pvz., Reinhart [2008] mini antrarūšių būsto paskolų krizę), tačiau tokių finansų krizių negalima laikyti finansų krizių tipu, nes tai buvusių finansų krizių suformuoti pavadi-nimai. Taip pat verta paminėti, kad dalis finansų krizių persidengia, tai yra vienu metu gali kilti dviejų ar daugiau tipų krizės, arba viena krizė gali lemti kitos finansų krizės kilimą, tačiau mokslininkai tai traktuoja kaip vieną finansų krizę. Tokias finansų krizes jie (Račickas ir kt., 2010; Honohan, 2005) vadina sisteminė-mis finansų krizėmis.

Siekiant nustatyti finansų krizių poveikį konkrečios šalies ekonomikai, tipinio finansų krizių skirstymo nepakanka. finansų krizė gali kilti šalies viduje ar gretimoje šalyje ir vis tiek neigiamai paveikti nagrinėja-mos šalies ekonomiką. Analizuojant finansų krizės kilimo vietą ir jos poveikį konkrečios šalies ekonomikai galima skirti tris galimas situacijas: 1. Išorės finansų krizė (finansų krizė kilo ne šalies viduje, bet ji neigiamai veikia šalies ekonomiką). 2. Vidaus finansų krizė (finansų krizė kilo šalies viduje). 3. Kompleksinės finansų krizės (kai daugiau nei viena finansų krizė veikia šalies ekonomiką).

Kompleksinės finansų krizės gali kilti keliais atvejais. Pirma, finansų krizė vienu arba labai panašiu laiku kyla tiek analizuojamoje šalyje, tiek tarptautinėje erdvėje (žr. 1 pav. 1 dalį). Antrasis galimas variantas, kai išorės krizė sukelia ne tik ekonomines problemas nagrinėjamos šalies ekonomikai, bet ir šalies finansų krizę („užkrato“ efektas) (žr. 1 pav. 2 dalį). Galimas ir trečiasis variantas, kai vidinė šalies finansų krizė sukelia finansų krizes kitose šalyse, o šios neigiamai veikia šalies ekonomiką (1 pav. 3 dalis).

finansų krizes galima skirstyti ir pagal jų išplitimą: 1. Šalies finansų krizė, apimanti nedidelį regioną, pa-prastai vieną šalį. 2. Regiono finansų krizė, apimanti vieną konkretų regioną (pvz., Pietryčių Azijos finansų krizė). 3. Tarptautinė (globali) finansų krizė, apimanti keletą regionų. Toks finansų krizių skirstymas leidžia suprasti, kokie regionai nepaveikti finansų krizių ir į kuriuos regionus finansų krizių paveiktiems regionams reikėtų orientuotis, ieškant problemų sprendimo (finansinių paskolų, prekybos partnerių ar pan.). Tuo tarpu finansų krizės nepaveikti regionai galėtų suprasti, kokie regionai susiduria su problemomis ir kaip šios pro-blemos galėtų paveikti finansų krizės dar nepaveiktus regionus.


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2. finansų kr izės Lietuvoje , jų t ipai

Lietuvai atgavus nepriklausomybę pasikeitė ne tik politinė santvarka, bet ir visa ekonominė sistema: atsisakyta planinės ekonomikos ir bandyta pereiti į rinkos ekonominę sistemą. Įvykę pokyčiai lėmė tai, kad Lietuvos ekonomikos struktūra ėmė panašėti į tradicinę ekonomikos struktūrą, kurios vienas pagrindinių bruožų yra cikliškas ekonomikos vystymasis. Atkūrus nepriklausomybę Lietuvai teko stiprinti valstybingu-mą, įgyvendinti valstybės valdymo reformą, kurti demokratinę teisinę sistemą. Šalyje pradėti taikyti rinkos ekonomikos principai: atsisakoma valstybinio ekonomikos planavimo, privatizuojamas turtas, taikomi lais-vos konkurencijos principai, liberalizuota ekonomika atveriama tarptautinėms rinkoms, suteikiama galimy-bė kiekvienam asmeniui imtis verslo. Vienas svarbiausių uždavinių įtvirtinant rinkos ekonomiką Lietuvoje – pereiti prie šiuolaikinės finansų sistemos: sukurti bankų sistemą, finansų rinkas, pasirinkti savo monetarinės politikos modelį. Viena problemų kuriant finansų sistemą buvo ta, kad Lietuvai atgavus nepriklausomybę, rinkos ekonomiką reikėjo kurti neturint privataus kapitalo, savininkų sluoksnio ir būdų, kaip kapitalą galima būtų investuoti. Taigi natūralu, kad kuriant rinkos ekonomiką turėjo atsirasti privatus kapitalas ir būdai, kaip jis bus nukreipiamas į investicijas. Lietuvoje vienas pagrindinių kapitalo judėjimo kanalų jau pereinamuoju laikotarpiu buvo bankai.

Nagrinėjant Lietuvos ekonomikos raidą 1990–2011 metais galima skirti tris Lietuvą paveikusias finansų krizes: Lietuvos bankų krizė 1995 m., Rusijos finansų krizė 1998 m., Globali finansų krizė 2008–2009 m.

1995 m. ekonomikai dar atsigaunant nuo struktūrinių pertvarkymų, kai pereinama prie rinkos ekono-mikos, Lietuvos finansų sistema išgyveno bankų krizę. Anot L. Šadžiaus (2004), 1994–1996 m. Lietuvoje bankrutavo net 12 (1994 m. iš viso veikė 31 komercinis bankas) komercinių bankų, dar keleto veikla buvo sustabdyta arba jie likviduoti savininkų sutarimu. Kadangi bankų krizė – tai bankų sistemos problemos, kurios sukelia finansų sistemos problemas, šį laikotarpį galima laikyti finansų krizės laikotarpiu. Šią finansų krizę galima priskirti šalies bankų sistemos krizei.

Lietuvai 1997 m. atsigaunant po bankų krizės ir pirmosios šalies finansų krizės, susidurta su Rusijos fi-nansų krize. R. Kuodžio (2008), I. Deksnytės ir kt. (2010) nuomone, devalvavus Rusijos rublį bei Rusijai pa-skelbus nemokumą, šalys, kurios turėjo užmezgusios glaudžius ekonominius ryšius su Rusija, taip pat patyrė problemų. Tai pirmiausia paveikė NVS valstybes. Kadangi Lietuva 1998 m. ekonomiškai buvo labai susijusi tiek su Rusijos, tiek su NVS valstybėmis, tai sukėlė šalyje ekonominių problemų. Šį laikotarpį galima laikyti Rusijos valiutinės krizės poveikio šaliai laikotarpiu. Nors ši finansų krizė labai paveikė šalies ekonomiką, šalies viduje finansų krizės ji nesukėlė.

1 pav. Kompleksinių finansų krizių poveikis šalies ekonomikaiŠaltinis: sudaryta autorių


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J. Stiglitz (2010), P. Krugman (2008) teigimu, 2007–2008 m. prasidėjo globali finansų krizė. Natūralu, kad ji labai paveikė ir Lietuvos ekonomiką. 2004–2007 m. Lietuvos ekonomika augo labai sparčiai, tačiau besiformuojantis nekilnojamojo turto burbulas, vyraujanti per didelė kredito ekspansija lėmė atitinkamus ekonominės krizės padarinius. Todėl 2008–2010 metus Lietuvos ekonomikoje galima vadinti kompleksinės globalios finansų krizės laikotarpiu. Šiuo atveju finansų krizė pagal tipologiją gali būti priskirta tiek išorės, tiek vidaus finansų krizėms.

2.1. Lietuvos bankų krizė ir jos kilimo priežastys

1990 m. kovo 11 d. Lietuva atkūrė savo nepriklausomybę. Jai teko stiprinti valstybingumą, įgyvendinti valsty-bės valdymo reformą, kurti demokratinę teisinę sistemą. Šalyje pradėti taikyti rinkos ekonomikos principai: atsisa-koma valstybinio ekonomikos planavimo, privatizuojamas turtas, taikomi laisvosios konkurencijos principai, libe-ralizuota ekonomika atveriama tarptautinėms rinkoms. Kiekvienam asmeniui atsirado galimybė imtis savo verslo.

Vienas svarbiausių uždavinių įtvirtinant rinkos ekonomiką Lietuvoje buvo pereiti prie šiuolaikinės fi-nansų sistemos: sukurti bankų sistemą, finansų rinkas, pasirinkti savo monetarinės politikos modelį. Viena problemų šiuo atveju – kuriant rinkos ekonomikos finansų sistemą nebuvo privataus kapitalo, savininkų sluoksnio ir būdų, kaip kapitalas galėtų būti investuojamas. Taigi natūralu, kad kuriant rinkos ekonomiką turėjo atsirasti privatus kapitalas ir būdai, kaip jis būtų nukreipiamas į investicijas.

Lietuvoje vienas pagrindinių kapitalo judėjimo kanalų jau pereinamuoju laikotarpiu buvo bankai. Komer-cinių bankų skaičius 1990–1993 m. (2 pav.) išaugo daugiau nei 4 kartus: nuo 6 (1990 m.) iki 27 (1993 m.). Tačiau nuo 1994 m. komercinių bankų skaičius sparčiai mažėjo. Apžvelgus bankrutavusių bankų statistiką (2 pav.), nepriklausomybės atkūrimo laikotarpiu (1990–2011 m.) bankrutavo 14 komercinių bankų. 1994–1996 m. iškelta 12 bankroto bylų, o tai sudaro net 44,44 % visų 1993 m. veikusių komercinių bankų. Dalis bankų uždaryta ir likviduota savininkų sutarimu bei grąžinus indėlius. 1997 m. Lietuvoje veikė tik 13 komer-cinių bankų, t. y. tik 48 % visų 1993 m. veikusių bankų. Taigi ši laikotarpį pagrįstai galima vadinti finansų krize, nes tai buvo didžiulis sukrėtimas besikuriančiai Lietuvos valstybei ir jos finansų sistemai.

2 pav. Komercinių bankų skaičius Lietuvoje ir bankams iškeltų bankroto bylų skaičius 1990–1998 m.Šaltinis: http://www.stat.gov.lt/lt/


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Ši bankų krizė kilo dėl daugelio priežasčių. Ekonomikos pereinamuoju laikotarpiu ekonominė ir politinė situacija buvo ypač nepastovi. O šalies bankų veikla ypač priklauso nuo šalies ekonominės būklės ir politi-nės padėties. Pagrindinės bankų finansinės krizės kilimo priežastys: valiutų Lietuvoje kaita 1992–2002 m. laikotarpiu; infliacija; bendrojo vidaus produkto (BVP) nestabilumas; privatizacija; kontrolės stoka. Valiutų kaita matyti 3 lentelėje.

Lentelė 3. Lietuvoje naudota valiuta 1992–2002 m. laikotarpiu

Piniginis vienetas LaikotarpisRublis Iki 1992 m. spalio 1 d.Talonai Nuo 1992 m. spalio 1 d. iki 1993 m. birželio 25 d.Litas (be valiutos valdybos) Nuo 1993 m. birželio 25 d. iki 1994 m. kovo 1 d.Litas, susietas su USD Nuo 1994 m. kovo 1 d. iki 2002 m. vasario 2 d.Litas, susietas su euru Nuo 2002 m. vasario 2 d. ir dabar


Dažna valiutos kaita lėmė nepastovumą, žmonių nepasitikėjimą finansų sistema ir sukėlė papildomų problemų bankams, keičiant valiutą.

Infliacijos lygis 1990 m. siekė 39 %, 1991 m. – 382,7 %, 1992 m. – 1163,1 % ir pasiekė hiperinfliaciją, 1993 m. – 188,7 %. Tokia didėjanti infliacija 1990–1993 m. (Kuodis, 2008; Šadžius, 2004; Vetlov, 2000) siejama su kainų liberalizavimu, pinigų kiekio pertekliumi, energijos išteklių kainų kilimu, infliacine TSRS rublio emisija ir infliacine inercija. Tik įvedus litą, nacionalinę valiutą, ir vykdant griežtą pinigų emisijos politiką infliacijos augimas sumažėjo. Nuo 1994 m. kovo 1 d. pradėtas taikyti valiutos valdybos modelis ir litas susietas su JAV dolerio kursu. 1994 m. infliacija siekė 45 %, 1995 m. – 35,7 %, 1996 m. – 13,1 %.

Infliacijos lygio svyravimai neigiamai veikė ne tik Lietuvos ekonomiką, bet ir komercinių bankų veiklą. Staigus infliacijos mažėjimas lėmė komerciniuose bankuose 1994–1995 m. didėjančią „blogųjų“ paskolų dalį. Su infliacijos kaita glaudžiai susijusios paskolų ir indėlių palūkanų bei bankų maržos kaita (3 pav.). Mažėjant infliacijai komerciniai bankai laikėsi pelningos trumpalaikių paskolų politikos: 1994 m. paskolos iki vienerių metų sudarė 84 % visų išduotų paskolų (1995 m. atitinkamai 72,3 %) (Lietuvos bankas 1996).

3 pav. Vidutinė Lietuvoje veikiančių komercinių bankų paskolų marža litais ir užsienio valiuta 1993–1996 m.Šaltinis: http://www.stat.gov.lt/lt/


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Pakitus ekonominėms sąlygoms ir nutrūkus ekonominiams ryšiams su buvusiomis rinkomis Lietuvoje, smuko gamyba, todėl komerciniai bankai šiuo laikotarpiu susidūrė su dilema – skolinti verslui su neaiškio-mis perspektyvomis bei rizika ir gauti didelį pelną ar riboti riziką, bei ūkio subjektų kreditavimą.

Atkūrus nepriklausomybę Lietuvoje prasidėjo čekinė privatizacija. Privatizavus įmones dažnai jos buvo užstatomos bankams, o už gautus pinigus privatizuojamas naujas turtas (Koncerno EBSW). Privatizuotų įmonių valdymu nesirūpinta, todėl joms kilo sunkumų realizuojant produkciją. Bankrutavus šioms įmonėms, kaip užstatas bankams atitekdavo nelikvidus turtas (nekilnojamasis turtas, kurio pasiūla rinkoje sparčiai di-dėjo, gamybos priemonės ir t. t.).

Dar viena besikuriančios bankininkystės sistemos problema – nenustatinėjama bankų klientų kokybė, jų verslo perspektyvos. Daugelis komercinių bankų klientų buvo įsteigtos naujos įmonės, todėl prognozuoti jų verslo perspektyvas tokioje nestabilioje verslo aplinkoje buvo ypač sudėtinga. Orientuotasi į užstatą ir kitų įmonių teikiamas garantijas išduodamoms paskoloms.

L. Šadžiaus (2004) teigimu, pereinamuoju laikotarpiu bankų sistema menkai reguliuota. Tik 1992 m. priimtas komercinių bankų įstatymas (LRS, 1992, iki tol bankai veikė pagal akcinių bendrovių įstatymą). Lietuvos Bankas vykdė ne tik centrinio, bet ir komercinio banko funkcijas, tai yra išduodavo paskolas ūkio subjektams. Tik 1992 m. rugsėjo 1 d. ekspertų siūlymu Lietuvos Bankas atsisakė komercinio banko funkcijų ir perdavė jas naujam Lietuvos valstybiniam komerciniam bankui.

1994 m. Lietuvos komercinių bankų raidoje įvyko esminis lūžis. Šiuos metus galima vadinti ekstensy-vios komercinių bankų plėtros pabaiga. Keičiantis šalies makroekonominei padėčiai, mažėjant infliacijai, šalies ekonomikoje prasidėjo grandininė reakcija: vienų ūkio subjektų problemos (verslo pajamų mažėjimas) sukėlė kitų ūkio subjektų problemas (vėlavimą grąžinti paskolas, „blogųjų“ paskolų didėjimą). Susidarius nepalankioms ekonominėms aplinkybėms bankų skolininkams buvo sudėtinga vykdyti savo įsipareigojimus. Daugelis šalies bankų neįvertino galimų šalies ekonominių pokyčių ir susidūrė su problemomis. 1994 m. pradėjo bankrutuoti pirmieji komerciniai bankai.

L. Šadžiaus (2004) nuomone, šalies komercinių bankų veiklai lemiamos įtakos turėjo 1995 m. gruodžio 20–22 d. Lietuvos banko paskelbtas dviejų didelių bankų moratoriumas – AB Lietuvos akcinis inovacinis bankas ir AB „Litimpeks“ veiklos stabdymas. Lietuvos bankų sistemoje šie bankai užėmė svarbią vietą. Jų bendra dalis bankų sistemoje sudarė apie 30 %. Dalies bankų gelbėjimo veiksmų ėmėsi valstybė. 1995 m. viduryje „Aurabanką“ nutarė gelbėti Vyriausybė (jame indėlius laikė dauguma valstybės įstaigų, todėl jo bankrotas galėjo sukelti dar didesnį chaosą visoje finansų sistemoje). T. Garbaravičiaus ir kt. (2002), L. Ša-džius (2004) teigia, kad bendros bankų sistemos restruktūrizavimo išlaidos sudarė maždaug 2,5 % BVP (apie 1,2 mlrd. Lt). 1996 m. veikė tik 13 komercinių bankų, tai yra 51,8 % mažiau nei jų veikė 1993 m. 1995–1996 m. pradėta reformuoti teisinė bazė, siekiant išvengti dar didesnių problemų bei galimų tokio tipo krizių pasikartojimo ateityje. 1995 m. priimtas naujas komercinių bankų įstatymas (LRS 1995).

Apibendrinant galima skirti šias pagrindines Lietuvos bankų krizės 1995 m. priežastis: sparčiai besikei-čianti makroekonominė padėtis (infliacijos mažėjimas, BVP pokyčiai); silpnas ir nepakankamas bei tęstinu-mo neturintis bankų reguliavimas (menkas Lietuvos banko vaidmuo, neaiški bankų reguliavimo koncepci-ja); banko darbuotojų kompetencijos trūkumas (išduodamos paskolos neperspektyviam verslui, orientacija į trumpalaikį pelną); sukčiavimas (indėlių iššvaistymas, beprocentės paskolos su bankų savininkais susiju-siems asmenims).

2.2. Rusijos 1998 m. finansų krizė ir jos kilimo priežastys

1998 m. Rusijoje kilusi finansų krizė turėjo didelę reikšmę su ja susijusių šalių ekonomikoms. 1998 m. rugpjūčio 17 d. devalvuotas Rusijos rublis. finansų krizę dar apsunkino Rusijos federacijos nemokumas (atsisakymas vykdyti savo įsipareigojimus – išpirkti valstybės vertybinius popierius).


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J. Stiglitz (2010) teigimu, Rusijos krizė buvo 1997–1998 m. vykusios globalios finansų krizės dalis (fi-nansų krizė, prasidėjusi Tailande, išplito į kitas Pietryčių Azijos valstybės, vėliau – ir į Lotynų Amerikos šalis [Argentiną] bei Rusiją). 1998 m. Rusijos skola užsieniui, padidėjusi dėl Azijos ekonomikų griūties, jau buvo „raudonoje zonoje“. Prasidėjo likvidumo krizė. Pagrindinę Rusijos eksporto dalį sudarė žaliavos, kurių kainos gerokai krito. Visa tai tapo pagrindinėmis Rusijos ekonomikos griūties priežastimis.

Kiti autoriai (Barro, 2001; corsetti ir kt., 2001) šios krizės globalia nevadina, ją traktuoja tiesiog kaip finansų krizę ir teigia, kad minėtos krizės menkai susijusios. I. Deksnytė ir kt. (2010), N. Šmeliov (1998) ak-centuoja vidinės Rusijos finansų krizės kilimo priežastis ir užkrato efektą, nulemtą Pietryčių Azijos finansų krizės. Ją laiko tik viena, bet ne pagrindine finansų krizės Rusijoje priežastimi.

Mokslinės literatūros analizė (Deksnytė ir kt., 2010; Šmeliov, 1998; Geralavičius, 1998; Popov, 1999) leidžia išskirti šias finansų krizės Rusijoje priežastis:

y Dirbtinai padidintas Rusijos rublio kursas (mažėjo šalies eksporto perspektyvos). y Kapitalo pasitraukimas dėl Pietryčių Azijos finansų krizės 1997 m. (nuo 1997 m. spalio iki 1998 m.

rugpjūčio mėnesio Rusijos akcijos nukrito daugiau kaip 10 kartų). y Ekonominės politikos klaidos (didelis biudžeto deficitas 1995–1998 m.). y 1997–1998 m. naftos kainų kritimas (iš naftos pardavimo gautos pajamos užsienio valiuta buvo labai

svarbios išlaikant stabilų Rusijos rublio kursą). y Trumpalaikių valstybės vertybinių popierių „piramidė“ (siekiant sumažinti pinigų kiekį rinkoje, taip

mažinant infliaciją ir subalansuojant biudžetą, leisti trumpalaikiai valstybės vertybiniai popieriai). 1998 m. gegužės mėnesį šių vertybinių popierių refinansavimo norma pasiekė 150 %, metinei šalies infliacijai nesiekiant net 10 %. Neatsakinga skolinimosi politika ir užsienio kapitalo pasitraukimas 1998 m. lėmė šalies nemokumą – atsisakymą išpirkti savo išleistus valstybės vertybinius popierius.

y Komercinių bankų, kurie buvo vieni pagrindinių trumpalaikių vertybinių popierių pirkėjų, panika. Pa-skelbus šalies nemokumą, jiems kilo likvidumo problemų, kurias dar paaštrino prasidėjusi indėlininkų panika ir masiniai indėlių atsiėmimai bankuose.

y Maži užsienio valiutų rezervai (1997 m. jie siekė tik apie 6 % BVP, 1998 m. – tik 3 % BVP).

Neatlaikiusi „ištekančio“ kapitalo spaudimo bei sparčiai mažėjant užsienio rezervams (1998 m. liepos mėnesį Rusija gavo 4 mlrd. JAV dolerių Tarptautinio valiutos fondo paskolą, skirtą tarptautinėms užsienio atsargoms papildyti, tačiau jos užteko tik trims savaitėms) Rusija buvo priversta devalvuoti rublį. 1998 m. rugsėjį Rusijos rublio kursas siekė 6,2 rublio už 1 JAV dolerį, tuo tarpu 1998 m. gruodžio mėnesį šis kursas jau siekė 20 rublių už 1 JAV dolerį. Pasak N. Šmeliovo (1998), dėl Rusijos rublio devalvavimo Rusijos gy-ventojų pajamos sumažėjo trečdaliu, santaupos taip pat nuvertėjo, o dėl bankuose kilusios likvidumo krizės atsiimti bankuose laikytas santaupas buvo nebeįmanoma. Daugelis autorių (Deksnytė ir kt., 2010; Šmeliov, 1998; Geralavičius, 1998; Popov, 1999) sutaria, kad Rusijos finansų krizė – tai valiutinė krizė, tačiau jos pasekmė – tiek bankų, tiek valstybės skolų finansų krizės.

1998 m. Rusijos finansų krizė turėjo neigiamos įtakos aplinkinėms šalims, ypač toms, kurios buvo už-mezgusios glaudžius prekybinius ryšius su Rusija (bei kitomis NVS valstybėmis, kurias labai paveikė Rusi-jos problemos). Devalvavus Rusijos rublį sumažėjo Lietuvos (ir kitų šalių) prekių konkurencingumas Rusi-joje, tai buvo netikėta tiek Lietuvos eksportuotojams, tiek valdžios institucijoms. Natūralu, kad gana didelis ekonomikos nuosmukis ir finansinė suirutė Rusijoje paveikė ir Lietuvos ekonomiką, kuri su Rusija (bei kitomis NVS valstybėmis) buvo glaudžiai susijusi prekybiniais saitais. Kadangi su kitomis problemomis Lietuvos ekonomika 1998–1999 m. nesusidūrė, galima daryti išvadą, kad visą neigiamą efektą ekonomikoje sukėlė Rusijos finansų krizė.

Tačiau Rusijos finansų krizė lėmė struktūrinius Lietuvos tarptautinės prekybos pokyčius. Eksportuotojai pradėjo orientuotis į Vakarų rinkas, o priklausomybė nuo NVS šalių pradėjo mažėti. Akcentuotina tai, kad Rusijos finansų krizė nepaveikė Lietuvos finansų sistemos ir nesukėlė bankų sistemos krizės Lietuvoje. fi-nansinis sektorius nepatyrė sukrėtimų.


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2.3. Globali 2008 m. finansų krizė Lietuvoje, jos kilimo priežastys

2007 m. pradėjusios kristi nekilnojamojo turto kainos JAV sukėlė globalią finansų krizę visame pasau-lyje. Susidurta su Amerikos, Europos, Azijos šalių nemokumu, bankų krizėmis, kreditavimo mažėjimu, ne-pasitikėjimu finansinėmis institucijomis. 2008–2009 m. pasaulio ekonominė krizė labiausiai pasireiškė BVP mažėjimu, pagrindinės priežastys – ilgalaikiai pokyčiai naftos rinkos kainodaroje ir su ja susijusiose srityse (nesklandumai, kilę benzino, maisto produktų kainodaros, nekilnojamojo turto ir vertybinių popierių rinkų, bankininkystės sektoriuose).

Anot J. Stiglitz (2010), šios globalios finansų krizės mastai įvertinti tik 2009 m. pradžioje, kai ekonomika jau išgyveno ilgiausią ir giliausią recesiją nuo „Didžiosios depresijos“ 1930 m. laikų.

O. G. Rakauskienė ir kt. (2009: 117–118) teigia, kad būtų galima skirti tris pagrindines globalios finan-sų krizės priežasčių grupes. Pirmoji – pasaulio ekonomikos ir išsivysčiusių šalių nacionalinių ekonomikų ciklinis vystymasis. Akivaizdu, kad globalizacijos procesai trumpina ciklą ir globalinio ekonominio bumo bei stabilumo fazių trukmę. Antroji – susidariusi globalinė finansinė sistema neatitinka šiuolaikinių reikala-vimų, bet atitinka esamas realijas. Globalizacija yra vienas sudėtingiausių pasaulinės ekonomikos reiškinių, menkai ištirta kaip finansų naujovė. Globalizacija pasitiki viena dominuojančia valiuta, t. y. JAV doleriu. Tai archajiška, nes ignoruojami net kardinalūs finansų sferos pakeitimai, nesugebama nei sutrukdyti didėjančiam finansų neproporcingumui ir asimetrijai, nei valdyti nuolat didėjančio spekuliatyvių (virtualių) operacijų pavojaus. Manoma, kad egzistuojanti finansinė sistema turi defektų, nes finansiniai procesai neatitinka eko-nominių išteklių naudojimo. Trečia priežasčių grupė apima socialinius veiksnius, tokius kaip socialinės poli-arizacijos, socialinės ekonominės nelygybės ir moralės, etikos ir dvasinių verčių krizės augimas. Daugelyje šalių liberalus požiūris į verslą lėmė socialinės nelygybės ir beprecedentės stratifikacijos net išsivysčiusiose šalyse didėjimą. Socialinė-ekonominė nelygybė lemia krizę. Europos Sąjungoje tai pastebėta anksčiau, todėl ji pasiskelbė esanti atsakinga už socialinę politiką globalizacijos procese.

2008 m. globaliai finansų krizei peraugus į realiojo sektoriaus krizę, pasaulio ekonomikai buvo vieni sudėtingiausių per keletą praėjusių dešimtmečių. Gilėjanti krizė pakirto tiek verslo, tiek ir vartotojų pasitikė-jimą, griežtėjant finansavimo sąlygoms mažėjo vartojimas ir investicijos, gerokai sumenko tarptautinės pre-kybos apimtys, toliau prastėjo situacija būsto rinkoje, menko daugelio ekonomikos sektorių, ypač pramonės, aktyvumas ir didėjo nedarbas.

Lietuvos ekonomika 2002–2007 m. augo labai sparčiai, tačiau šio augimo negalima laikyti tvariu, nes buvo nulemtas privataus sektoriaus skolos didėjimo ir nekilnojamojo turto burbulo kilimo. Todėl ekonomi-ka tapo labai priklausoma nuo paskolų sektoriaus. 2008 m. Lietuvos ekonomikos augimas pradėjo lėtėti ir 2008 m. ketvirtąjį ketvirtį gerokai krito (tai tęsėsi net 6 ketvirčius iš eilės).

Taigi 2008 m. galima laikyti kompleksine Lietuvos finansų krize. Lietuvos ekonomiką veikė ne tik glo-bali finansų krizė, bet ir Lietuvoje prasidėjusi finansų krizė (nekilnojamojo turto burbulas, didelė kredito ekspansija, nuo bankinių kreditų priklausomas šalies ekonominis augimas). Visų šių neigiamų veiksnių re-zultatas – BVP smukimas 2009 m. net 14,7 %, nedarbas išaugo iki 17,8 %. Tai didžiausi šių rodiklių svyra-vimai per dvidešimt metų.

Išvados

1. Išnagrinėjus pagrindinius finansų krizių sampratų teorinius aspektus ir palyginus mokslinėje literatū-roje minimus finansų krizių apibrėžimus pastebėta, kad mokslininkai finansų krizes apibrėžia skirtin-gai. Vieni akcentuoja tik vieną kurį nors finansų krizių kilimo apsektą ar atskirą tipą, kiti pateikdami apibrėžimą stengiasi įvardyti visus finansinių krizių tipus. Darytina išvada, kad finansų krizė – tai sutrikimai finansų rinkose, sukeliantys realiosios ekonomikos problemas ir galintys lemti ekonominę recesiją konkrečioje šalyje arba globaliu mastu. Nors šis apibrėžimas nėra labai konkretus, jis gali apimti visų finansų krizių tipus. Autorių nuomone, apibrėžime akcentuoti finansinių krizių kilimo


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priežasčių neverta, nes jų yra labai daug, o vis kylančios naujos finansų krizės turi specifinių bruožų ir savybių.

2. Palyginus mokslinėje literatūroje pateikiamą finansų krizių klasifikavimą, sudaryta išsami finansų kri-zių tipų klasifikacinė lentelė. Joje pateikti devyni finansinių krizių tipai, jų pagrindinės kilimo prie-žastys, apibendrintas pirminis ir galimas antrinis poveikis šalies ekonomikai bei pateikta pavyzdžių. Atkreiptinas dėmesys, kad mokslinėje literatūroje autoriai bendro skirstymo nepateikia. Analizuojant finansų krizių tipus pastebėta, kad jas galima ir būtina skirstyti ne tik pagal tipologiją, nes tipologinio skirstymo joms palyginti ne visada pakanka. finansų krizes dar galima ir reikėtų skirstyti pagal jų kilimo vietą bei poveikį šalies ekonominiams rodikliams į išorės, vidaus ir kompleksines; pagal išpli-timą – šalies, regiono ir globalias.

3. Nagrinėjant Lietuvos ekonomikos raidą 1990–2011 m. laikotarpiu, nustatyta, kad Lietuvos ekonomiką veikė trys finansų krizės: Lietuvos bankų krizė 1994–1996 m.; Rusijos krizė 1998 m.; Globali finansų krizė 2008–2010 m. Kiekviena šių krizių priskirtina skirtingam tipui. 1994–1996 m. vykusi finansų krizė priskirtina vidinei šalies bankų sistemos krizei. 1998 m. Lietuvos ekonomiką veikė Rusijos ru-blio (valiutinė) išorės finansų krizė. 2008–2010 m. Lietuvos ekonomika išgyveno kompleksinę finan-sų krizę, kuri veikė tiek šalies viduje (nekilnojamojo turto burbulo sprogimas), tiek išorėje (vykstanti globali finansų krizė).

4. Akcentuotina, kad mokslinėje literatūroje nepateikiamas bendras metodas, kuris leistų palyginti tarpu-savyje skirtingus finansinių krizių, vykusių skirtinguose regionuose, šalyse ar skirtingais laiko tarpais, poveikio ekonominiams rodikliams modelio tipus. Jeigu finansų krizė apėmė dvi šalis, galima nustaty-ti, kuriai šaliai jos poveikis buvo didesnis (labiau sumažėjęs BVP, išaugęs nedarbas ir pan.). Tačiau jei finansų krizės poveikio duomenys prieštaringi (pavyzdžiui, vienoje šalyje labai sumažėjo BVP, tačiau nedarbas beveik nepakito, tuo tarpu kitoje šalyje gerokai pakilo nedarbo lygis, tačiau BVP beveik nesumažėjo), kyla finansų krizės poveikio įvertinimo ir palyginamumo problemų. Ši problema tampa dar aktualesnė, jei nagrinėjame daugiau ekonominių rodiklių. Kitas palyginamumo trūkumas išryškėja tarpusavyje lyginant besivystančių šalių ekonominius rodiklius, esant finansų krizei, su išsivysčiusių šalių ekonominiais rodikliais. Augant šalies ekonomikai BVP gali ne mažėti, o tiesiog sulėtėti augimo tempai, o kitoje šalyje (išsivysčiusioje) BVP gali mažėti, tada kyla šio BVP kitimo palyginamumo problema. Todėl finansų krizės poveikiui įvertinti reikia visas neigiamas poveikio „dalis“ sujungti į vieną visumą.

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C O M PA R AT I V E A N A LY S I S O F F I N A N C I A L C R I S I S T Y P E S I N L I T H U A N I A

Deimena kiyak, Daiva Labanauskaitė, tomas Reichenbachas Klaipėda University (Lithuania)

Summary

Scientific aspects of the financial crisis is often studied, but researches with summarized types of finan-cial crises are just few, there is a methodology for the classification of financial crises. Examination of the basic concepts of financial crises, the theoretical aspects and the comparison of the literature mentioned in the definition of financial crises are identified during the investigation, presented in terms of financial crises inaccuracies: definitions vague, usually only shall list the types and the financial crisis into a unified whole, the definition highlights many aspects, but some they may not be in a financial crisis, by definition, difficult to one or another phenomenon attributed to the economic and financial crisis is more dependent on the interpretation, not what specific indicators might be considered as a worsening financial crisis. It may be noted that all the scientists define the financial crisis in different ways, some emphasize only one definition of financial crises in the isolated country programming, or a separate type, the other follows the definition of the naming of types of financial crises. It follows that the financial crisis – the problems in financial markets, causing real economic problems and can lead to economic recession in a particular country or global level. The comparison of the literature contained in the typology of financial crises, it was found that differences exist only in a typical distribution of financial crises. However, analysis of financial crises on the economy of such a distribution is not enough. A crisis should be classified according to their site of origin, and the country’s economy (external, internal, complex), and according to their incidence (country, regional, global). Therefore, a comprehensive financial crises types of classification table. Synthesis financial crisis classifi-catory table contains the following types of financial crises: financial panic caused by the crisis, financial bubbles exploded, financial security crisis, a liquidity exhaustion – forced loans crisis, debt crisis, the ban-king system crisis, the balance of payments crisis, currency crisis. It was found that often one of the financial crisis is very similar to several types and it is difficult to assign it to one or another type. Also, there may be cases when the country faces a number of different types of financial crises at once, or one of the country’s financial crisis spreads to another country or the neighboring region. concluded classificatory financial crisis typological table also identifies the main reasons for the rise, presenting the main indicators of the economic impact of these historic and listed in the Examples of the types of financial crises. Examining the economic development of Lithuania provides that the independent Lithuania there were three financial (economic) crisis. The first – the internal nature of the crisis caused by the collapse of the financial sector, took place in 1996, the second – the 1999 crisis, seen as a consequence of the crisis in Russia took place and finally in 2007 the financial system since the crisis began in the global economic crisis has affected the Lithuanian economy (the economic recession in Lithuania started in 2008 year). Since all the related crisis in the financial sector, they are called the frequent financial crises. Identification in Lithuania 1990–2010 period there were three Li-thuanian economy negatively affected the financial crisis – the banking crisis (1995), “the Russian financial crisis (1998) and the Global financial crisis” (2008) found that generally they are not considered, there is no consensus on how many and what types of financial crises, Lithuania has experienced. The measures identi-fied in 1995 “Banking crisis” causes: rapidly changing macro-economic situation (inflation decline, changes


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in GDP) is weak and the lack of continuity and no regulation of banks (Bank of Lithuania, the role of a weak, vague concept of banking regulation), the bank workers’ skills shortage (viable loans issued to businesses, the orientation the short-term profits) fraud (embezzlement of deposits, interest-free loans to owners of bank-related entities). “Russia’s financial crisis” (1998) causes of Lithuania can be regarded as originating in Russia’s currency and financial crisis to accompany the Russian debt crisis. Effect of this crisis, the Russian ruble fell, the income of the citizens fell, Russia’s GDP declined, the state refused to redeem their securities. This had a negative impact on the surrounding countries, especially those who had close trade relations with Russia. Russia devalued the ruble decreased competitiveness of Lithuanian goods in Russia. Granted, that a substantial economic downturn and financial turmoil in Russia and Lithuania hit the economy, which with Russia (and other cIS countries) were closely related trading links. It should be emphasized that the Russian financial crisis affected Lithuania’s financial system, banking and financial crisis did not result in Lithuania. The financial sector has suffered a loss. Lithuanian economy in 2002–2007 has grown very rapidly, but this growth cannot be sustained because it was destined to rise in private sector debt and property bubble in the carpet. Therefore, the economy has become heavily dependent on government loans. In 2008, Lithuania’s economic growth began to slow in 2008 and dropped sharply in the fourth quarter (a total of GDP figures declined for 6 consecutive quarters). So the year 2008 can be regarded as a complex system of Lithuania’s financial crisis. Lithuania’s economy had not only the global financial crisis in the world and in Lithuania but in the event of financial crisis. Real estate bubble, a large expansion of credit, bank credit depends on the country’s economic growth – all of which resulted in the formation of global financial crisis. The emphasis on sustainable economic development in Lithuania and assumptions in order to research the formation of re-gional policy in Lithuania took place in the financial crisis are grouped as follows: the banking crisis, which took place in 1995, placed inside the country’s financial crisis type, the Russian financial crisis, which took place in 1998 that currency crisis that affected the surrounding region; Global financial crisis, which took place in 2008 – a complex financial crisis at the same time as the financial crisis originated in Lithuania and the world (is the global financial crisis had a negative impact on the economy of Lithuania).

KEY WORDS: financial crisis, financial crisis classification, types of financial crises.

JEL cODES: G000; G010.

Carolin Kuhn, ilona Dubra, EriKa SumiloINFLUENTIAL DETERMINANTS OF INNOVATION: CASE STUDY OF LATVIA AND GERMANY

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I N F L U E N T I A L D E T E R M I N A N T S O F I N N O VAT I O N : C A S E S T U D Y O F L AT V I A A N D G E R M A N Y

Carolin Kuhn1, ilona Dubra2, EriKa Sumilo3


ABSTRACTInnovation is often recognized as a vital source of competitive advantage for business. Taking into account the conditions of incre-asing globalization at a high level of intensity as well as a rapidly changing technological landscape and also continuous customer demands for new products and services on the modern market, it is needed to assume that businesses have to innovate in order to survive and prosper in the contemporary environment. In the context of the paper at hand the main attention is given to the analysis of the theoretical and empirical aspects of the concept of innovation. There were applied such economic science research methods as monographic, grouping, reference, generalization, graphical analysis and content analysis. KEY WORDS: innovation, growth, Germany, Latvia, competitiveness, enterprise.

JEL CODES: A11; A12; A13; H52; M21; O16; O31; O32; O34; O38; O52

Introduct ion

Unfortunately, there is a lack of innovative entrepreneurial activity in the context of the Latvian economic sector. According to Eurostat latest data, Latvia counts with the poorest ratio of the innovative enterprises and this fact may result in low business environment at all and for sure in dramatic threats and hard national eco-nomic sector stroke. Taking into account Germany’s successful innovation policy and state leader positions in the sphere of innovation, it is useful to organize a deep research of German enterprises innovation experience in order to bring to light influential determinants on innovation creation and, in consequence, to apply these factors and make use of the research in order to foster innovative activities in Latvian enterprises. The object of the paper is the influencing factors of enterprise innovation in Germany and in Latvia. The purpose of this paper therefore is to determine these in general and then to compare the specific situation in Germany and Latvia.

The main tasks of the paper are stated as follows: y to investigate the key theoretical aspects of the concept of innovation; y to provide a review of the empirical findings of factors impacting on innovation; y to examine innovation determinants in Germany; y to examine innovation determinants in Latvia.

1 Carolin Kuhn – University of Latvia, Economics and management faculty, PhD student, Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Scientistic interests: Organizational culture, organization theory, innovation management, marketing.E-mail: [email protected].: +49 177 8747249.

2 Ilona Dubra – University of Latvia, Economics and management faculty, PhD student, Mg. oec. Scientistic interests: human capital, organizational culture university industry linkages, innovation economics.E-mail: [email protected].: +371 264 079 72.

3 Erika Sumilo – University of Latvia, Economics and management faculty, Dr. oec. Prof. Scientistic interests: Human development, economic history, international economics, international business, cross-cultural business relations.E-mail: [email protected]


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In the context of the paper there were applied such economic science research methods as monographic, grouping, reference, generalization, graphical analysis and content analysis. In the first part, the paper reveals the wide range of a definition of innovation and why it is so important. Secondly, it stresses out the impor-tance of an analysis of key factors that may have a high impact on the creation of enterprise innovation in general. In this section many different internal and external drivers for innovations in industrial organizations are explained based on a deep literature research. In the final two parts, this paper reveals the very different situations about innovation in Germany and Latvia. Whereas more than 2/3 of annual funding invested in research in Germany comes from the private sector and these funds are spent on the companies’ own rese-arch as well as on joint projects with partners from science, there is not any appropriate national innovation system in Latvia. Total government budget appropriations or outlays on R&D and expenditures on R&D as a per cent of GDP in Latvia stand at a dramatically low level. There is a lack of scientists in entrepreneurial activities in Latvia. Besides, there is a systematic lack of support actions and financial support for innovation development in Latvia. In Germany, on the other hand, the high standard of technical expertise is the most important driver for innovation. To sum up, this paper helps to get a deeper understanding of the differences between the two countries investigated. However, it is designed be an inspiration of how to improve inno-vation power for both countries and finally, of course, suggests further research on the topic of innovation.

1. Innovat ion – what i t i s and why i t mat ters

In many terms innovation is a very commonly used word today. You can find it in the news on TV, in the papers, or even on the radio, quite regularly. However, it is not always clear what this term really means. This certainly needs clarification, because not every new idea or product is naturally an innovation. On the contrary, out of 100 ideas only 13 make it to a fully developed product that is launched on the market and only 6 actually become a product success here as 0 shows.

“One of the problems in innovation is the variation in what people understand by the term, often confu-sing it with invention” (Tidd, Bessant, 2009: 16). The word innovation originates in the Latin vocabulary “innovare” – to make something new (Langenscheidt, 2001: 653). Invention on the other hand goes back to “invenire”, also Latin – to discover something (Langenscheidt, 2001: 684). Still, this does not clearly explain the difference between the two. As Thomas A. Edison (1847–1931), the US-American inventor of the light bulb, once put it: “Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success” (Tidd, Bessant, 2009: 20). Only a successfully marketed invention can be defined as an innovation. It has to be successful on the market and money must be gained from it. Innovation is the “process of turning opportunity into new ideas and of putting these into widely used practice” (Tidd, Bessant, 2009: 16). There-

Figure 1. Percentage of ideas becoming a product successSource: Kerka &Kriegesmann, 2010: 3


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fore, for profit-oriented organizations it is innovation, not only invention that helps them to gain economic growth. Being a good inventor is never a guarantee of commercial success (Tidd, Bessant, 2009: 17). Ho-wever, innovation is not only about products. It may also be found in the means for creating or delivering it (Amabile, 1996: 3) and basically describes the implantation of creative ideas within an organization.

Innovation is a fundamental element of long-term success (Davila et al., 2006: 16). Today, it matters not only at the level of the individual enterprise but also increasingly as the origin for national economic growth (Tidd, Bessant, 2009: 5). There are enough analyses that prove a mutual dependency between innovation and success of companies. Statistics Canada for example identified in 2006 that innovation is consistently found to be the most important characteristic associated with success in companies. Besides, innovative enterprises typi-cally achieve stronger growth or are more successful than those that do not innovate (Statistics Canada, 2006). In fact, innovation has become a core driver of growth, performance, and valuation (Barsh et al., 2008: 37).

70 % of organizations with a positive attitude towards innovation declare that they outperform their competitors and it is those companies that have seen an increase in profits over the past years (Von Stamm, 2008: 480). Furthermore, you can find analyses revealing that there is a clear connection between the tech-nological position of a business area, its market position, its earnings and the extent to which it can safeguard jobs and even expand its workforce (Eberl, Puma, 2007: 15). Therefore, it goes without doubt that the ability to continuously innovate is of critical importance to the long-term success of any organization (Terziovski, 2007: 19). The need to innovate in order to keep competitive advantages is already known to be crucial for sustainable success in many companies. In the future, the only reliable security for any company is the ability to innovate better and longer than competitors. And, “organizations (…) cannot expect to survive without innovation” (Davila et al., 2006: 28).

2 . External and internal dr ivers for innovat ion power of industr ia l companies

Depending on the industries, of course, there are a number of different sources where innovative ideas can come from. In general, companies need to be able to see connections, to spot opportunities and to take advantage of them (Tidd, Bessant, 2009: 3). Nevertheless, customers, competitors, partners, and even new governmental or environmental regulations can bring inspiration. New regulations or users who become in-novators can be as much of an inspiration and therefore the beginning of an innovation as a knowledge push in the research and development department or as challenging competition. A 2010 research for Wirtschafts-woche found that companies themselves admit getting their best ideas for innovation up to 40 % from their customers as 0 shows. According to this, the internal innovation management plays only a minor role (13 %).

Figure 2. Where companies get their best ideas fromSource: Engeser, 2010: 96


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Wentz confirms this by stating that even though it is a lot of work to search for consumer insights in de-tail, it is what makes innovation successful in the end. Innovation projects with regular customer input have a success probability that is twice as high and a market share that is 70 % higher than projects with insuffi-cient market input (Wentz, 2008: 111). Besides, the most successful companies in the market work together with customers much more closely to get to know their needs and problems than those companies being less successful (Wentz, 2008: 112). 0 shows the results of a study regarding the proximity to customers. It reveals that the best performing company works together with customers very closely in every aspect and phase of the innovation process.

Probably this is the biggest challenge about innovation: It is essentially about learning and an open-min-ded attitude (Tidd, Bessant, 2009: 101). It cannot be forced. For every innovation, there is a right time and a right place, and companies need patience on the one hand and vigilance on the other (Eberl, Puma, 2007: 102), to make value out of opportunities. It does not work by pushing a button. Ideas are generated and for-med through inspiration – a little bit like music (Eberl, Puma, 2007: 237).

Another very important key characteristic of innovative organizations is their willingness to experiment and to challenge the status quo (Von Stamm, 2008: 476). It requires curiosity and openness to change (Des-champs, 2008: 9), even though this might be risky, costly and success cannot be promised in the beginning. So, apart from many external drivers that this part has explained, there still seems to be much more about a company’s philosophy, strategy and state of mind to make innovation work. This brings us to the internal influences on innovation, which will be discussed in the following section.

The Boston Consulting Group annually publishes a list of the most innovative companies which shows that they come from all branches, sizes, and backgrounds (McGregor, 2007: 3). Besides, every country has a lot of very small, local companies that live on innovation, too. Therefore, you can probably not suggest the one and only organizational model for a company to be innovative. What seems to be much more important is that a company is flexible and fast in reaction to changed market needs. Most importantly, companies need to be able to learn very quickly and to manage their processes according to customers’ and employees’ needs (Wildemann, 2010: 12). A constantly learning organization that rewards innovation and gives free space for developing ideas and being creative must be the vision for today’s companies (Wildemann, 2010: 12).

Since innovation becomes more and more a corporate-wide task, involving production, marketing, admi-nistration, purchasing and many other functions, this does provide pressure to set up more organic models

Figure 3. Proximity to customers of companies with different market performanceSource: Wentz, 2008: 112


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(Tidd, Bessant, 2009: 107). Generally, a flexible organizational structure can be a successful stimulus to the development of innovation capability because it allows different work practices (Terziovski, 2007: 206).

Innovative companies are committed to their course of innovation (Von Stamm, 2008: 480) and believe in the long-term success and sustainability that will make it pay-off.

“The difference between success and failure in innovation is leadership.”Marc Benioff, CEO salesforce.com4 (Davila et al., 2006: 259)

This quote alone states the important role that leadership and management play in innovative compa-nies. Even though discovery and creative thought cannot be planned by a leader (Klemm, 2001: 452), there is scientific proof that innovation management depends on the leadership at the top. The team at the top must want it to happen and trust their people to make it happen (Davila et al., 2006: 13). As always, the way leaders behave sends strong signals to employees. The McKinsey survey from 2007 found that the top two motivators of behaviour to promote innovation are strong leaders who encourage and protect it and top executives who spend their time actively managing and driving it (Barsh et al., 2008: 39). Besides, the orien-tation toward innovation must come, primarily, from the highest level of management (Amabile, 1996: 8), because every innovation requires the support of a manager to survive (Davila et al., 2006: 114). There are cases enough, showing that ideas which challenge the status quo, face an uphill struggle to gain acceptance (Tidd, Bessant, 2009: 99) – sometimes just because they are new and things have never been done like this before in the organization. What is done and how it is done in an organization is strongly influenced by lea-ders and managers (Terziovski, 2007: 31).

Another important und controversial point in innovation is the issue of rewards and incentives. Whereas Klemm points out that workers will try to generate new ideas when they know that management rewards them (Klemm, 2001: 455), Barsh et al. clearly state that an environment where people understand that their ideas are valued, trust that it is safe to express those ideas, and oversee risks collectively, together with their managers, can be much more effective than monetary incentives in sustaining innovation (Barsh et al., 2008: 37–47).

Another important issue, in the authors’ point of view, is satisfaction and emotional engagement at work. In 2010, a study for Gallup Inc. in Germany revealed that only 14 % of German employees feel highly com-mitted to their companies. 63 % have a low commitment and another 23 % feel they have no commitment at all to their employer (Nink, 2012: 10). The study estimates that the so-called “inner notice” of so many employees doing work-to-rule only, causes an economic damage in Germany of around 124 billion Euros per year (Nink, 2012: 11). According to the study, the emotional engagement of employees also has a very high impact on innovation power. As 0 shows, employees with a high commitment to their company bring in many more new ideas to discuss with their leader than employees who do not really feel committed. Their contribution to innovation power, in fact, is 197.8 % higher than the one of employees with no emotional engagement. So, it must be in the interest of innovative companies to make their employees emotionally involved and ensure high commitment at work.

Furthermore, topics such as environmental responsibility, sustainability in company success, growing internationality even of small and mid-sized companies, and corporate social responsibility might influence a company’s innovation power. In the end, it is hard to limit the innovation influencers to special, concrete aspects. They all seem to be linked to each other somehow and can hardly be prioritized.

Studies have shown that innovation is extremely complex and involves the effective management of a variety of different activities (Trott, 2008: 25). The key findings of a survey from 2006 by Business Week and Boston Consulting Group of over 1.000 senior managers in 0 reveal how different the explanations for a company to be innovative can be.

4 Salesforce.com is a cloud computing enterprise established only in 2004. It offers sales and marketing business appli-cations for companies of any size and provides these via a server. The customers therefore only pay a monthly fee for downloads and do not need any software installations. Salesforce.com serves approximately two million users today.


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Table 1. Explanation for innovative capability

Innovative firm Explanation for innovative capabilityApple Innovative chief executiveGoogle Scientific freedom for employeesSamsung Speed of product developmentProcter & Gamble Utilisation of external sources of technologyIBM Share patents with collaboratorsBMW DesignStarbucks In-depth understanding of customers and their culturesToyota Close cooperation with suppliers

Source: Trott, 2008: 25

Having shown this, it still does not become obvious what a company has to do to increase innovation power. However, there is scientific research showing that, in general, there are many different influencing factors. While some studies claim a certain group of factors being crucial, other studies ignore the very same factors and claim very different factors to be decisive (Van der Panne et al., 2003: 310).

To sum up, there is no general definition of success factors for innovation power that all experts would agree on. Although this makes the topic hard to grasp there is a common consent in scientific research that in-novation culture is a very important factor. Company culture is undisputedly considered crucial to the firm’s technological capabilities in the long term (Van der Panne et al., 2003: 312). Other authors can also recon-firm this. Von Stamm, for example, states that creating an innovative organization requires a people-centred approach; after all, it is people who come up with new ideas and transform them into innovative products or services, not processes (Von Stamm, 2008: 329). Davila explains that innovation needs to be an integral part of the way a company operates every day and of the whole business mentality (Davila et al., 2006: 11). A McKinsey Quarterly study from 2008 found that senior executives almost unanimously – 94 per cent – say that people and corporate culture are the most important drivers for innovation (Barsh et al., 2008: 38). After all, a culture of innovation is the fertile ground in which tomorrow’s innovations will bear rich fruit and make the company grow sustainably in the end (Eberl & Puma, 2007: 6). Thus, the capability of an organization to create value out of innovation heavily depends on a strong innovation culture (Terziovski, 2007: 213). Von Stamm reconfirms that creating the right culture is key to innovation (Von Stamm, 2008: 475). The literature on organizational innovation, both anecdotal and empirical, emphasizes the importance of culture as a major determinant (Prajogo, Ahmed, 2006: 501).

Figure 4. Number of ideas that employees explicitly brought to discussion with their leaders in the last 6 months Source: Nink, 2012: 18


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3. Innovat ion determinants in Germany

In Germany, innovation has a very long history. It is a land of ideas where education, science and research play a central role (German Center for Research and Innovation, 2012). In addition to that, research and in-novation are among the German government’s highest priorities, and there are a variety of public and private institutions conducting research (German Center for Research and Innovation, 2012). The Max-Planck-Ge-sellschaft or the Fraunhofer Institute for example gain acceptance worldwide. Moreover, the industry plays a very important role in the German research landscape. More than two-thirds of annual funding invested in research in Germany comes from the private sector and these funds are spent on the companies’ own research as well as on joint projects with partners from science (German Center for Research and Innovation, 2012). In German companies, engineering excellence is still the best way to get ahead in a career (Knowledge @ Wharton, 2009: 2). Maybe that is why, historically, the high standard of technical expertise is the most important driver of German innovation. Germany actually registers more patents per capita than any other nation (Knowledge @ Wharton, 2009: 1).

However, a survey for the Centre for European Economic Research in 2005 found out that there is no cle-ar overall trend in innovation. Even though the expenditure on innovation rose strongly, by 2 %, the propor-tion of all firms that implemented innovations did not increase (Aschhoff et al., 2006: 2). Besides, the share of revenue from new products also remained constant on average across all sectors. Germany has a very high level of innovation though: In 2004, 60 % of manufacturing firms successfully brought new products to the market or introduced new processes (Aschhoff et al., 2006: 2).

Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan, member of the German Bundestag and Federal Minister of Education and Re-search announced in 2009 that further investments in education, science and research are necessary to make a commitment to a path of growth and economic success after the crisis for Germany (Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 2009: foreword). A report for the very same Ministry claims that the financial and economic crisis of 2009 will not stop the global race for knowledge from re-accelerating. International com-petition for talent, technology superiority and market leadership will continue to grow. In countries relatively poor in natural resources, such as Germany, enhanced innovation will provide the decisive basis for growth, new jobs and prosperity (Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 2009: 4). Therefore, innovation was the key to a rapid recovery in Germany and both, politics and industries, understood that at the time. Porter and Stern reconfirm this in their report on global competitiveness. Especially advanced nations, with relati-vely high labour costs and equal access to global markets, such as Germany, will not sustain competitive if they produce standard products and use standard methods only. Instead, advantage must come from the abili-ty to create and then commercialize new products and processes (Porter & Stern, 2001b: 2). Thus, innovation in Germany, is not only historically natural – today, it is much more a necessity to survive! Furthermore, Porter and Stern state that competitiveness advances when the public and private sectors together promote a favorable environment for innovation (Porter, Stern, 2001b: 2). Germany ranks 3rd in Porter’s and Stern’s overall innovative capacity index (Latvia: 41st) with rank 7 regarding the innovation policy subindex (La-tvia: rank 51) (Porter, Stern, 2001b: 4). The report firstly indicates that there are very different preconditions depending on geographic locations. The findings reveal the striking degree to which the national environ-ment matters for success in innovative activity, indeed. Actually, building innovative capacity has a strong relationship to a country’s overall competitiveness and level of prosperity and it must be seen as one of the biggest challenges for many countries in Latin America, Southern and Eastern Europe for the years to come (Porter, Stern, 2001b: 15).

In another article about the topic, the authors state that even though the United States and Switzerland maintain the top positions regarding innovative capacity of the OECD countries, other nations such as Japan and Germany have invested heavily in the conditions underpinning national innovative capacity and impro-ved their relative standing as innovators (Porter, Stern, 2001a: 32). So, regardless the already impressive innovation performance Germany has, it is known for improvement. On the global innovation index 2011, Germany ranked 12th (Dutta, 2011: xviii). Considering that very small countries, such as Iceland for exam-


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ple, overtake Germany here it goes without saying that there actually is room for improvement in Germany. However, a score of 88 out of 100 indicates that the political environment is very innovation friendly (Dutta, 2011b: 103).

4 . Innovat ion determinants in Latvia

The Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia worked out and Latvia investment and development agency managed a wide range of EU structural funds co-financing innovation support programs. In the context of such programs firms would have a chance to receive financial support on all stages of innovation development, namely, from idea to new product and theology creation and implementation in the production processes (Ministry of Economics of Republic of Latvia, 2011). Innovation support activities carried out through popularization of the concept of innovation among young and experienced entrepreneurs, through education and motivation to start innovative entrepreneurship. The Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia announced that support activities are devoted to the private sector and science sector in order to promote collaboration activities between the academic society and industry representatives in the context of joint project implementation. In addition to this, the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia argues that support activities are also devoted to creation of new technologies and products, and its implementation into production processes.

Support activities are devoted to huge projects of production facility creation with the purpose to simu-late local entrepreneurs to invest in science and technology projects as well as to attract foreign investments to the high added value sector. Plenty of activities were undertaken in order to provide entrepreneurs with access to finance for the implementation of innovative projects. On the parallel basis the Ministry of Eco-nomics in cooperation with the Latvia investment and development agency develop new support tools for innovation promotion in Latvia. The Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia summarises main innovation support programs within which projects are being implemented: Technology transformation con-tact points; competence centres – promotion of joint scientists; business incubators; creation of new products and technologies; creation of new products and technologies; high added value investments. Never the less, according to the latest Eurostat data the lowest hare of innovative enterprises, meaning enterprises with innovation activity (product, process, ongoing or abandoned, organisational and marketing innovation),was recorded in Latvia (Eurostat, 2012: 74). According to the latest data provided by Central Statistical Bureau it must be admitted that the number of innovatively active enterprises in industry in total in Latvia increased since the period of 2004–2006 from 379 (or 14.6 % of all enterprises in Latvia) enterprises to 707 (26.9 % of all enterprises in Latvia) innovative enterprises in the time period of 2006–2008 (Tab. 2).

Table 2. Number of innovative enterprises by kind of activity

Innovatively active enterprises Innovatively active enterprises as per cent of the total number of enterprises

2004–2006 2006–2008 2004–2006 2006–2008Industry – totalTotal 379 707 14.6 26.910–49 184 457 9.8 23.550–249 155 201 24.3 33.4>250 40 49 44.0 64.5…manufacturingTotal 366 658 15.0 28.110–49 180 427 10.3 24.450–249 152 189 25.4 35.7>250 34 42 41.0 66.7

Source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, Innovation data, accessed on 01.05.2012


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The highest share of innovative enterprises was depicted especially in small enterprises with the number of employees from 10 to 49: 184 (or 9.8 % of all enterprises in Latvia) innovative enterprises in time period of 2004–2006 and 457 (or 23.5 % of all enterprises in Latvia) in 2006–2008 respectively. The lowest share of innovative enterprises was depicted especially in large enterprises with the number of employees from 250: 40 (or 44.0 % of all enterprises in Latvia) innovative enterprises in time period of 2004–2006 and 49 (or 64.5 % of all enterprises in Latvia) in 2006–2008 respectively. However, it must be admitted that there were few large enterprises in Latvia at all in the industry in total. The number of innovatively active enterprises in manufacturing in total in Latvia increased since the period of 2004–2006 from 366 (or 15.0 % of all en-terprises in Latvia) enterprises to 658 (28.1 % of all enterprises in Latvia) innovative enterprises in the time period of 2006–2008. As well as in the industry, the highest share of innovative enterprises in manufacturing was depicted especially in small enterprises with the number of employees from 10 till 49: 180 (or 10.3 % of all enterprises in Latvia) innovative enterprises in time period of 2004–2006 and 427 (or 24.4 % of all enterprises in Latvia) in 2006–2008 respectively. The lowest share of innovative enterprises was depicted especially in large enterprises with the number of employees from 250: 34 (or 44.1 % of all enterprises in Latvia) innovative enterprises in time period of 2004–2006 and 42 (or 66.7 % of all enterprises in Latvia) in 2006–2008 respectively. Actually, there were few large enterprises in Latvia at all in manufacture in total.

Latvian experts from the high education sector, entrepreneurship sector, economics and finance sector, research institutions, governmental and non-governmental sector as well as policy makers took part in an expert discussion on “Education. Innovation. Entrepreneurship”. In the context of the expert discussion there were announced key issues related with innovation, education and state competitiveness. The experts admit-ted that there is no actual innovation state policy in Latvia.

The experts admitted that there is a lack of understanding about the creation capabilities of effective in-novation system. These facts have a high negative impact on education sector, science and entrepreneurship activities. Respectively, coherent and targeted efforts are missing in the context of achieving sustainable public welfare and stable economy development. There are no specific institutions in Latvia which main responsibility area relies on innovation policy creation as well as effective innovation system creation and development.

Also there is scarce cooperation between enterprises and the academic society, which results in a delay of innovation creation. There is a lack not only of information but also of interest about a probable cooperation with researchers in the sphere of innovation. However, plenty of documents are created in order to force Latvian innovation policy but, in fact, the realization of the plan goes on quite slowly (Dubra, 2011: 101).

According to the latest innovation related data provided by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (see tab. 3) it must be announced that there was depicted a positive trend in expenditure on research and develo-pment by business enterprise sector. Namely, business enterprise sector expenditure on research and develo-pment increased from 24.9 million till 28.5 million during the period of 2008–2010. Expenditure on research and development by higher education sector decreased from 47.2 million till 30.8 million during the period of 2008–2010. Gross domestic expenditure on R&D decreased from 99.5 million till 77.0 million during the period of 2008–2010. As a positive trend, it should be announced that total enterprise funding for research and development increased a little bit and reached 29.9 million in 2010. It is a pity to announce that the total state funding for research and development decreased dramatically from 47.1 million till 20.3 during the period of 2008–2010.

The R&D expenditure as per cent of GDP slightly decreased from 0.62 % till 0.60 % during the period of 2008–2010. Although the business enterprises’ funds in the government sector as expenditure on rese-arch and development increased from 2.7 million to 4.0 million, nevertheless, whole the government sector expenditure on research and development decreased from 27.4 million to 17.7 million during the period of 2008–2010. Public funding for science and research run behind other developed countries of the European Union. There is a poor and insufficient state financing of scientific-research institutions that result in poor invention commercialization, lack of motivation to build an adequate infrastructure for technological inno-vation creation and difficulties in attraction of EU funds in the context of project developments.


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Table 3. Expenditure on research and development by sector and its financing (mln LVL)

2008 2009 2010BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SECTOR 24.9 21.8 28.5Business enterprises’ funds in business enterprise sector 20.4 18.2 23.5Government funds in business enterprise sector 0.8 0.8 1.0Foreign funds in business enterprise sector 3.7 2.8 4.0GOVERNMENT SECTOR 27.4 14.8 17.7Business enterprises‘ funds in government sector 2.7 3.2 4.0Government funds in government sector 15.9 8.5 6.4Foreign funds in government sector 8.8 3.1 7.3HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR 47.2 23.3 30.8Business enterprises’ funds in higher education sector 3.8 0.7 2.4Subtotal government funds in higher education sector 30.4 17.5 12.9Funding of higher education 2.5 1.8 1.1Foreign funds in higher education funds 10.5 3.3 14.4GROSS DOMESTIC EXPENDITURE ON R&D (GERD) 99.5 59.9 77.0Total enterprise funding for research and development 26.9 22.1 29.9Total state funding for research and development 47.1 26.8 20.3Total higher education funding for research and development 2.5 1.8 1.1Total funding for research and development by foreign countries 23.0 9.2 25.7R&D EXPENDITURE AS PER CENT OF GDP 0.62 0.46 0.60

Source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, Innovation data, accessed on 01.05.2012

Conclusions

Firstly, and as a key theoretical aspect of the concept on innovation this paper reveals that innovation is a fundamental element of long-term success. It matters not only at the level of the individual enterprise but also at industry level and finally at the national economic level.

Secondly, this paper provides different findings of factors that have a high impact on innovation. Custo-mers, R&D department, employees, competitors, business partners, external developers and even new go-vernmental, environmental regulations inspire enterprises to be more innovative. Another key prerequisite of innovation relies on enterprise willingness to experiment and to adopt itself to the modern challenging environment. Leadership intensity, innovation oriented organization culture, management style as well as re-wards and incentives lead to the increase of enterprise innovation power through employee’s satisfaction and emotional engagement at work. Environmental responsibility, sustainability in company success, growing internationality even of small and mid-sized companies, and corporate social responsibility might influence a company’s innovation power.

Then, as a third point of this paper, the situation about innovation determinants in Germany is high-lighted. Of course, Germany does have a high level of innovation already, but, taking into account the inno-vation activities of India and China for example, the challenge to continuously innovate will not become any easier in the years to come. Therefore, it must be stated as a conclusion that there is room for improvement in Germany as well. However, the German situation can be valuable for broadening the innovation theory and improving innovation-related practices in Latvia.

Innovation activities of Latvian enterprises are not on a satisfactory level, as the fourth part of this paper reveals when examining the innovation determinants for Latvia. Never the less, plenty of documents were worked out in order to force the Latvian innovation policy but in fact, and the realization of the plan goes on quite slowly. It must be admitted that an R&D expenditure rate of 0,60 % of the GDP is still below the Lisboan strategy of 3 %.There is a specific need to ensure the growth of Latvia’s national economy through the creation of added value products/services and increase of work efficiency throughout the whole innova-tion process promotion. Therefore, gaining insights on factors that have supported or unfortunately have not


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supported enterprises’ innovation activities in transition economies of Central Europe like Germany can be an inspiration.

Finally and to sum up, for both countries the authors state that innovation is most important to survive and grow sustainably. Further research should explore other modes of analysis of influential factors on inno-vation creation that reflects on the enterprise capacity to achieve competitive advantage. Also it is needed to extend the methodology of evaluation of influential factors on the creation of innovation. Research in other industries will probably contribute to validation of the relationships explored in this research.

References

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Aschhoff, B. et al. (2006). Results of the German innovation survey 2005. Mannheim. Available at: www.zew.de.Barsh, J., Capozzi, M. M., Davidson, J. (2008). Leadership and innovation. McKinsey Quarterly, Vol. 1, p. 37–47.Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, Innovation data. Available from: http://www.csb.gov.lv/statistikas-temas/inovaci-

jas-galvenie-raditaji-30336.html [Accessed 1st May 2012].Davila, T., Epstein, M. J., Shelton, R. (2006). Making innovation work. New Jersey: Wharton School PublishingDe-

schamps.J. P. (2008). Innovation leaders: How senior executives stimulate, steer, and sustain innovation. West Sussex: John

Wiley & Sons Ltd.Dubra, I. (2011). Mobilization of human capital in science and technology for innovation creation. Scientific papers

University of Latvia, Vol. 771, p. 100–113.Dutta, S. (2011). The Global Innovation Index 2011. Fontainebleau.Eberl, U., Puma, J. (2007). Innovative minds – A look into Siemens’ idea machine. Erlangen: Publics Corporate Publi-

shing.Engeser, M. (2010). Aufbrechen, bevor das Denken zementiert. Wirtschaftswoche, Vol. 47, p. 96–100.Eurostat Pocketbooks, Science, technology and innovation in Europe. (2012). European Commission. Luxembourg:

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.Federal Ministry of Education and Research. (2009). Research and Innovation for Germany. Berlin. Available at: http://

www.bmbf.de.German Center for Research and Innovation. (2012). Resources for graduates and doctoral students. http://www.ger-

maninnovation.org. Available at: http://www.germaninnovation.org [Accessed April 23, 1BC].Kerka, F., Kriegesmann, B. (2010). Big Ideas erkennen und Flops vermeiden – Wie Sie die Innovationsperformance

Ihres Unternehmens erhöhen. Institut für angewandte Innovationsforschung e.V.Klemm, W. R. (2001). Leadership: Creativity and Innovation. In: R. I. Lester, A. G. Morton (eds.). Concepts of Air

Force Leadership. Alabama: Air University Press, p. 449–461.Knowledge @ Wharton. (2009). Innovation thrives among german firms, though hurdles persist. http://knowledge.

wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2199, p. 1–4. Available at: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2199.

Langenscheidt. (2001). Großes Schulwörterbuch Lateinisch-Deutsch. Berlin & München: Langenscheidt Verlag.Ministry of Economics of Republic of Latvia, Innovation Support Activities, EU Structural Funds for Innovation. (2011).

Available at: http://www.em.gov.lv/em/2nd/?lng=lv&cat=30281[Accessed 1st May 2012].McGregor, J. (2007). This way to innovation. Business Week & Boston Consulting Group, p. 4–9.Nink, M. (2012). Engagement Index Deutschland 2011. Berlin.Porter, M. E., Stern, S. (2001a). Innovation: Location matters. MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 42(4), p. 28–36.Porter, M. E., Stern, S. (2001b). National Innovative Capacity. Available at: http://www.isc.hbs.edu/Innov_9211.pdf.Prajogo, D. I., Ahmed, P. K. (2006). Relationships between innovation stimulus, innovation capacity, and innovation

performance. R&D Management, Vol. 36/5, p. 499–516.Scarbrough, H. (2003). Knowledge management, HRM and the innovation process. International Journal of Manpow-

er, Vol. 24(5), p. 501–516.Statistics Canada. (2006). Labour Force Survey. Ottawa.Terziovski, M. (2007). Building innovation capability in organizations. London: Imperial College Press.Tidd, J., Bessant, J. (2009). Managing innovation. 4th editio. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Trott, P. (2008). Innovation management and new product development. 4th editio. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.Van der Panne, G., Van Beers, C., Kleinknecht, A. (2003). Success and failure of innovation: a literarure review. Inter-

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Von Stamm, B. (2008). Managing innovation, design, and creativity. 2nd editio. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Wentz, R. C. (2008). Die Innovationsmaschine – Wie die weltbesten Unternehmen Innovationen managen. Berlin &

Heidelberg: Springer Verlag.Wildemann, H. (2010). Unternehmen müssen schneller lernen. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH, p. 12.

S va r b ū S I n o va c I j o S v E I K S n I a I : l at v I j o S I r vo K I E t I j o S at v E j ų a n a l I z ė

Carolin Kuhn, ilonaDubra, EriKa SumiloLatvijos universitetas (Latvija)

Santrauka

Straipsnyje aptariami veiksniai, darantys įtaką organizacijų inovacinei veiklai. Straipsnio tikslas – nu-statyti svarbius inovacinę veiklą lemiančius veiksnius Vokietijoje ir Latvijoje. Pateikiama lyginamoji inova-cinės galios Vokietijoje ir Latvijoje analizė. Pirmoje straipsnio dalyje nagrinėjami teoriniai inovacijos kon-cepcijos aspektai. Antroje dalyje atskleidžiama svarbių inovacijos veiksnių gamybos organizacijose esmė. Trečioje ir ketvirtoje dalyse pateikiama empirinė Latvijos ir Vokietijos atvejų analizė. Palyginę naujausius abiejų šalių statistinius duomenis autoriai padarė išvadą, kad inovacinė veikla Latvijos organizacijose yra nepakankamo lygio. Teigiama, kad Latvijoje nėra tinkamos inovacinės veiklos politikos. Tuo tarpu Vokie-tijoje inovacinė veikla buvo viena esminių priežasčių, lėmusių greitą Vokietijos ekonomikos atsigavimą po ekonominės krizės, valstybė ir verslas bendradarbiavo siekdami šio tikslo. Inovacija Vokietijoje turi istorinį pagrindą, Vokietija nemažai investavo siekdama sudaryti sąlygas, kurios nulėmė šalies inovacinius pajėgu-mus, ir taip sustiprino savo, kaip inovatoriaus, reputaciją. Todėl Latvijai, tokiai pat Europos Sąjungos nariai kaip ir Vokietija, ypač svarbu pasinaudoti sėkminga Vokietijos patirtimi inovacijų srityje.

PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: inovacija, augimas, Vokietija, Latvija, konkurencingumas, organizacija.

JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: A11; A12; A13; H52; M21; O16; O31; O32; O34; O38; O52

Daiva Labanauskaitė, Laura astrauskaitė, Deimena kiyakRELATIONSHIPSHIP BETWEEN THE POPULATION AGING AND THE SUPPLY OF SERVICES IN DIFFERENT REGIONS IN LITHUANIA

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R E L AT I O N S H I P S H I P B E T W E E N T H E P O P U L AT I O N A G I N G A N D T H E S U P P LY O F S E RV I C E S I N D I F F E R E N T R E G I O N S

I N L I T H U A N I A

Daiva Labanauskaitė1, Laura astrauskaitė2, Deimena KiyaK3

Klaipėda University (Lithuania)

ABSTRACTAn aging population is defined in the scientific literature as changes in the structural age composition of the population, which leads to growth in the population of those who are 60 years and older. The aging of population is a social and economic problem that needs to be understood and addressed. Aging of the population has a significant impact on national economies, as well as within individual regions of the country. The old age index has a significant impact on regional supply of services. It is worth stressing that in order to improve a community’s quality of life and reduce disparities between regions, it is necessary to continually assess the level of development and regional development opportunities. Evaluation of the regional socio-economic situation should be performed periodically, so that regional policy measures can be directed to the areas of greatest need.KEY WORDS: population aging, regional development, supply of services.

JEL cODES: R11, R12

Introduct ion

An aging population is one of the most relevant phenomena that have caused a lot of problems in recent years. The aging of population has had a significant impact on national economies, particularly the growth of the economic recession: the growing number of retired older people increases the cost of their maintenance, while the well-employed people have to indirectly maintain these retired people more and more. There is no doubt that the aging of society has an influence in many different ways, not only on individual countries, but also on each country’s different regions.

The problem of the research: the aging of a population and its impact for regional development in Lithuania has not been widely researched. P. Dicken (2007) analyzed the changes of society’s structure in the global economy. A. Ignasiak-Szulc, W. Kosiedowski (2007) discussed the state’s role in the solution of problems caused by population aging in the research “Meaning of the cohesion Policy of European Union in the development of countries and regions of central and Eastern Europe”. V. Podvezko and R. Ginevičius (2007) analyzed the changes in the Evaluating of economic and social development of Lithuanian counties by multiple criteria methods.

1 Daiva Labanauskaitė – Klaipėda University, Social Science Faculty, Department of Economics, associate professor, social scien-ces, economy. Scientific interests: economics, marketing, turismE-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +370 686 428 62.

2 Laura Astrauskaitė – Klaipėda University, Social Science Faculty, Department of Economics, master student. Scientific interests: economics, marketing.

3 Deimena Kiyak – Klaipėda University, Social Science Faculty, Department of Economics, associate professor. Scientific inte-rests: finance, accounting, pricing, financial and economic analysis.E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +370 682 202 53.


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T. Medaiskis, B. Gruževskis and S. Mikulionienė (2007) analyzed the aging process and its consequences for Lithuania, especially for the labor market in the research “The effects of an aging population on the labor market and enterprises: Trends and challenges”. This study was carried out without a separate research of each individual region in Lithuania, so it did not compare which regions have the most rapidly aging socie-ties, and what had the biggest impact. Meanwhile, the aging of society is changing its social power and incre-asing the demand for health and social services. This trend means that the health insurance and other social security institutions will have higher costs, which in turn creates conditions that require the need to revise and adapt to these new needs for public resources in the areas of the economy (the possibility to participate in the labor market, plus income and savings rates), politics (power in political and public organizations), social security (social security), health (meeting the requirements for service development) and human ecology (meeting the needs of housing, the environment, village infrastructure, transport and so on).

The object of the research: the relationship between the aging population and the supply of services in Lithuanian regions.

The aim of the research: to analyze the relationship between the aging population and the supply of services in Lithuanian regions.

The tasks of the research: y to define the concept of aging; y to determine the factors that have contributed to the aging of the population; y to analyze the relationship between the aging population and the supply of services within Lithuania; y to make a forecast of changes in society aging and service supply in Lithuanian regions.

Methods of the research: the article has been prepared by structuring and generalizing the content of studies carried out by different authors and scholars, by analysis of documents to codify a synthesis of des-criptive statistical methods, time series analysis, correlationship analysis, and the conclusions arising from the generation thereof.

1 . The concept of aging and i ts causes

The aging of population is one of major processes occurring in Europe. The aging of population has a profound impact on European economies, welfare and development, including prosperity and well-being, so it is necessary to gather and deepen the knowledge about how to promote older people’s health and quality of life, and how to avoid the costly consequences of this process, which affect the entire population (Švedijos visuomenės sveikatos institutas, 2007). L. Kligytė (2008: 9) adds that the aging population is one of the most important problems of our century, which has a significant impact on our economy and social policy. The author (ibid.) argues that a person can treat his/her aging differently, because it depends on the individual’s character and ability to continue an active, fulfilling style of life.

According to O. G. Rakauskienė (2006: 19), the current process of aging is becoming a problem. The progress in addressing the aging process has had medical breakthroughs and is the result of wealth increases, but it is also one of the major public concerns. The search for a balance of social benefits and taxes is one of priorities in the government’s policy.

In this article, only one aspect of this problem will be analyzed – the influence of an aging population on the development of regions in Lithuania. In order to clarify the meaning of this phenomenon, it is necessary to understand the concept of aging value.

In particular, one should separate the two concepts – the old-age population and the aging population le-vel (public). In essence, both cases refer to the same phenomenon, but the first term only refers to a temporal snapshot of the population age structure of the state, while the second term requires at least two points of time comparisons of measurements, it presents the dynamics of the phenomenon (Mikulionienė, 2002: 45).

The aging of society is understood as structural population changes; the increasing number of older peo-ple and their percentage of the total population (Čepinskis, Kanišiauskienė, 2009: 20). However, A. Jurgelė-


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nas, A. Juozulynas, M. Butikis and K. Greičiūtė (2007: 94) say that aging is a complex process, consisting of elderly people in their relationship with society and the trend of an increase in life expectancy. According to the authors (ibid.), aging is a social phenomenon, but in this article this phenomenon can be seen as a social, economic or marketing phenomenon.

From an economics point of view, the aging of the population can be explained as structural population changes with the increase in the retirement age and declining working-age population. As such, it has a nega-tive impact on the social insurance budget, where the percentage of citizens making payments is decreasing while that percentage receiving allowances is increasing.

S. Mikulionienė (2002: 45) distinguishes four basic old-age population-level indices: y the level of old age – ratio of old people to the population; y the average age of the population; y age of the population – sex pyramid; y the index age – old and young population ratio.

The author (ibid.) highlights that in order to find the pace of population aging, it is sufficient to perform any of the above age-level indices for measuring at least two different time points or a relatively older po-pulation and the population growth over a period of time. An increasing value of the indicator suggests that the present society is facing or will soon face the process of aging. Of course, it is necessary to accurately define the age increase in the number of people regarded as an aging population. Various sources identify the concept of an elderly man in different ways. V. Kanopienė and S. Mikulionienė (2006: 189) argue that an old age limit is negotiable, and is selected depending on the purpose of analysis. The most common are:

y The United Nations (UN) recommendation – 60 years old and older people; y World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation – 65 years old and older people.

It is important to note the demographics of a society considered as being old, which is one-fifth of elderly people to a quarter (20 to 25 percent.) of the population.

In conclusion, it should be emphasized that for people who have reached 60 or 65 years, the threshold of falling within the old category is conditional and based largely on economic factors such as those identified with the upper and lower limit of the working age.

No phenomenon happens for no reason – no exceptions, including aging. J. Bagdanavičius (2008: 168) considers that the population age structure is related to the basic demographic processes – fertility, mortality, family formation and composition.

A group of authors (Medaiskis, Gruževskis, Mikulionienė, 2007: 243) have distinguished two basic de-terminants of aging:

y the expected increase in life expectancy; y the decline in fertility.

Recently, an increasing number of researchers have drawn attention to another important factor leading to the aging of a population – emigration. Emigration accelerates aging. This is especially important for smaller nations such as Lithuania (younger compatriots dispersed throughout the world, resulting in a substantial change in the relative composition of the population in Lithuania). Of course, immigration has the opposite meaning: it slows the aging of a population, since immigrants are generally younger and have more children (Balsevičienė, 2008: 37).

S. Mikulionienė (2002: 48), in discussing the causes of aging, emphasizes that the greatest influence on this phenomenon is seen with a decline in fertility and mortality, while with the other two factors – mi-gration and population age structure, their effects on an aging population are characterized by a relatively modest and short period of time. It is worth highlighting that the author does not mention their effects on life expectancy and aging, but instead, the language of the previous century on the population structure in play at that time. The author (ibid.) argues that the earlier age structure affects the formation of the demographic impact caused by the waves of migration


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It is interesting that in Lithuania, this aging has mainly been due to a significant decline in the birth rate and the emigration of the younger population (Grabauskas, Gaižauskienė et al., 2007: 10). In accordance with the information provided, it can be said that the main factors affecting the aging of population are the demographics of mortality, declining birth rates and emigration. Of course, there has been some influence by scientific and technological achievements in the fields of health and medicine.

2. Aging effects on the country and i ts regions

The aging of a society is a complex phenomenon, which leads to various social and economic impacts for each region, no matter what size it is. R. Suzmanas from the National Institute of Gerontology says that aging affects every country in every part of the world. Although there are important differences between developed and developing countries, global aging changes the social and economic nature of the planet and provides a serious challenge (Pasaulis sparčiai sensta, 2009: 3). S. Mikulionienė (2002: 49) points out that demographers first drew attention to the implications of aging. It is agreed that in scale and irreversibility, it changes the demographics of a society and the social structure of production, distribution and consumption systems, and also has an impact on practically all the social groups and layers of social interaction.

According to the authors (Čepinskis, Kanišauskienė, 2009: 29) aging affects different sectors of society, therefore, this must be taken into account when addressing the need to create old-age policies, setting targets and creating measures for this area:

y Social impacts of the concept of old age and aging, performance status of old people, relationships between generations, households and families including their formation / break-up cycles, income, savings, consumption and distribution, education, village infrastructure, housing requirements, and the requirements for the pension system.

y Economic impact areas of social protection, the labor market and employment, and health care.

Of course, the impact areas are closely related and mutually influence each other. It should be emphasized that the impacts that the authors identified of the aging process are not the only ones, and this model could still be complemented by other ones that authors have mentioned in the impact areas.

L. Žalimienė (2002: 247) argues that with old age and social risk factors giving rise to the need for social protection, that social protection policies need to ensure income and compensation for withdrawing from the labor market due to old age, as well as the specific services needed for personal and social needs (housing, home help, transport facilities, etc.).

Lithuania, like the other EU Member States, has an increasing proportion of elderly each year, 60 years of age and older people (Lietuvos apskritys, 2008: 4). All of this means that a decreasing proportion of working age people will be able to withdraw to retirement. If the number of people who cease to work exceeds the number of those entering the work market, a shortage of skilled workers will emerge (the Swedish National Institute of Public Health, 2007). For this reason, many European countries are faced with the challenge of financing a pension system for an aging and shrinking labor force.

Other authors (Jurgelėnas, Juozulynas, Butikis, Greičiūtė, 2007: 92) identify one more problematic cha-racter of an aging population: an aging society is changing in its social power, with its increasing demand for health and social services. This feature means that the health insurance and other social security institutions will have higher costs because chronic heart disease and cancer remain the leading causes of death, particu-larly among older people. This will lead to huge costs for health systems.

S. Mikulionienė (2002: 50) says that the number of older people is forcing an increase in time to review and adapt to the new needs of public resources in areas such as the economy (the possibility to participate in the labor market, plus income and savings rates), politics (power in political and public organizations), social security (social security), health (meeting the needs of service development) and human ecology (meeting the needs of housing, the environment, village infrastructure, transport and so on).


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With this point of view, and according to a group of authors (Medaiskis, Gruževskis, Mikulionienė, 2007: 249), it may be argued that in an aging society facing labor, consumption and investment savings through structural change, there will be new requirements for the pension system, the need to develop and optimize the social services system, to modernize health care, and for older people take part in their own spiritual and psychological welfare.

An aging population will increase pension and health care spending, and this will increase public expen-ditures. In 2006, the European commission announced that the member states will greatly increase spending on pensions, health care and long-term care, and that this will slow gross domestic product (GDP) growth. If policies remain unchanged, the potential of the European Union’s economic growth rate will decrease by half by 2030 (Pasaulis sparčiai sensta, 2009). It is worthwhile to emphasize that the increase in public spending is leading to a higher cost level in different regions, and that slowing the country’s GDP growth is leading to a slowing regional GDP growth.

The ruling of the National Science program “Social challenges to national security” funded by the Research council of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybė, 2009) briefly and clearly states that the aging popu-lation increases the strain on the social security system and puts new demands on the labor market and labor resources, including personnel management. The older (60 years old and over) population has more impact on the functioning of society, but this factor was underestimated for the work environment and the public.

Summing up the analyses of the scientific literature, it’s noted that most authors argue that the aging of society has the greatest influence on the labor market and the regional budget expenditures: with the incre-asing number of people who need to be paid pensions and other benefits increasing the state budget expen-ditures. Another area that may be affected by the increasing number of older people is the need to expand social services. The aging population has a strong influence on the tax system and to the country’s economic performance. It should be noted that with the aging of society, one of the main challenges is the need to pro-vide a comprehensive solution to the problems arising.

3. Stat is t ical re la t ionship between indices of res ident aging and service sector

In order to find out the influence of a growing total number and a part between all 60 year old and older residents on the economic entities (especially in the field of services) operating in Lithuanian districts, a correlationship analysis was carried out and a method of a total of places of multicriteria assessment was applied, both of which reveal the interrelationship between indices of old age and the number of service companies operating in the regions, as well as assess in which districts the influence of society aging is the biggest. The possible trends of old age level and the number of economic entities operating in districts in the future are provided while applying regression analysis.

Aging of society has distinct consequences on economic and social system of every country and region. One of the ways to assess the influence of this process on the distribution of service companies in Lithuanian districts – is to carry out a correlationship analysis, which assesses interrelationship between the two phe-nomena. Author (Stumbrys, 2006: 14) emphasizes, that the method of correlationship analysis measures the strength of relationship only quantitatively and doesn’t determine their reasons.

According to the performed calculations, the obtained results (see table 1) show, that there is a strong or a very strong direct relationship between the level of aging and the number of companies supplying electri-city, gas and water in Lithuanian regions, only in Marijampolė district the interface between these indices is average. It is interesting that the same correlationship meanings link the level of aging with business entities engaged in real estate, rent and other business activity, i.e. the relationshipship in all regions is direct strong or very strong and in Marijampolė – average.

It should be emphasized that a relationship between level of old age and the number of business entities operating in construction field is direct in all districts, and the level of unity slightly fluctuates, i.e. from ave-rage in Marijampolė, Šiauliai, Tauragė and Utena districts to strong in the rest regions. The same meanings of correlationship coefficient are between level of old age and the subjects of post and telecommunication: a direct strong or average relationship predominates.


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Table 1. correlationship coefficient between the number of service companies and the level of old age

Relationship of old age with:

Ele

ctri

city

, ga

s and

w

ater

su

pply

Con

stru

c-tio

n

Who

lesa

le

and

reta

il an

d et

c.

Hot

els a

nd

rest

aura

nts

Tran

spor

t, w

areh

ous-

ing

Post

and

te

leco

mm

u-ni

catio

ns

Alytus district 0,9017 0,7840 -0,9982 0,9086 -0,4562 0,7965Kaunas district 0,9499 0,8674 -0,9634 0,0247 0,6666 0,8802Klaipėda district 0,9266 0,7490 -0,3873 0,4563 0,3672 0,8030Marijampolė district 0,5396 0,4963 -0,9294 -0,8700 0,2619 0,6742Panevėžys district 0,9334 0,7843 -0,9706 -0,2494 0,5091 0,8671Šiauliai district 0,8453 0,6879 -0,8960 0,2140 0,6778 0,8472Tauragė district 0,8899 0,6692 -0,2096 -0,6822 0,8892 0,6876Telšiai district 0,8124 0,7708 -0,8924 0,1457 0,4867 0,8281Utena district 0,9220 0,5729 -0,8874 -0,1760 -0,9182 0,7626Vilnius district 0,8423 0,8066 0,1813 -0,0658 0,4207 0,8518Lithuania 0,8928 0,7971 -0,7319 -0,0718 0,4801 0,8549

Relationship of old age with:

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Alytus district -0,8857 0,8619 -0,8857 -0,7794 0,3964

Kaunas district -0,9194 0,9084 -0,9192 -0,6485 0,8396Klaipėda district -0,9649 0,8482 -0,8375 -0,7373 0,6767Marijampolė district -0,7444 0,5945 -0,4368 -0,6283 -0,2202Panevėžys district -0,9703 0,8837 -0,8886 -0,8143 0,1199Šiauliai district -0,7123 0,8571 -0,9236 -0,7513 0,5849Tauragė district -0,9602 0,8605 -0,8642 -0,7330 0,4225Telšiai district -0,8421 0,8319 -0,8527 -0,8041 0,6170Utena district -0,9906 0,8283 -0,8802 -0,7990 0,0508Vilnius district 0,0048 0,8694 -0,8573 -0,7552 0,7507Lithuania -0,9690 0,8725 -0,8995 -0,7549 0,6951

While analyzing data (see table 1) it is noticeable, that the number of business entities in wholesale and retail trade, financial mediation, public administration and other type of activity is related to the level of aging in a negative, i.e. reverse relationship. Relationship of unity between these indices is also similar: it fluctuates everywhere from strong to very strong, only the relationship between the level of old age and bu-siness entities of other type of activity is slightly weaker, i.e. strong or average. However, several exceptions are noticeable: there is a direct very weak relationship between the level of aging and the number of finan-cial mediation companies in Vilnius district; correlationship relationship unity is weak between the level of old age and retail and wholesale trade in Klaipėda and Tauragė districts, and in Vilnius district not only the strength of unity is different, but direction as well – here the relationship is very weak and direct.

According to the data provided above (see table 1) it can be seen that there is no equal relationship between the level of old age and the number of business entities of hotels and restaurants, transport and warehousing. The relationship between these indices fluctuates from very weak to very strong, from direct


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to reverse. It is worth noticing that all districts (except Marijampolė) have a direct relationship between the level of old age and the total number of business entities operating in the district. However the unity of re-lationship is different: these indices in Kaunas and Vilnius districts have a strong unity, in Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Tauragė and Telšiai districts – average, in Alytus and Marijampolė – weak, Panevėžys and Utena – very weak. Summarizing the results of relationships of this group indices a conclusion can be made that the aging society (according to the level of old age) has a different influence on the distribution of service companies in separate regions.

It is worth emphasizing that the level of reliability of most above mentioned correlation coefficients is lower than 5 per cent. Reliability which is higher than 70 per cent is: in Vilnius district determining the re-lationship between the level of old age and the number of business entities in financial mediation, in Kaunas, Telšiai and Vilnius district and generally in Lithuania – between the level of old age and the number of hotels and restaurants, in Panevėžys and Utena districts when correlation is calculated between the level of old age and the created value of GDP, and Marijampolė district – between the level of old age and the total number of operating business entities. It should be emphasized that correlation link between the previously mentioned index groups is weak or very weak therefore reliability coefficient is high, i.e. the obtained correlation link is unreliable. Nevertheless, there is a noticeable trend that mostly reliability is low, therefore correlation link is reliable.

4 . Assessment of the inf luence of aging on the dis t r ibut ion of service companies

Having found, that the aging society is quite closely related to the distribution of service companies in Lithuanian regions, it is important to assess in which field the influence of aging is the highest. A method of the total of places of multicriteria assessment helps to carry out this assessment, which according to all correlation meanings helps to rank Lithuanian districts based on the size of the aging influence starting with the region where the influence is the biggest and to the region where the influence of society aging is the smallest. It should be emphasized, that while assigning one or another place to each region, the trend of relationship (direct or indirect relationship) is not taken into account because it is not very important. While dividing Lithuanian districts according to the size of the impact of aging, the most important is the strength of correlation coefficient.

The table 2 below gives places of districts according to the meanings of correlation coefficient among the number of service companies and the level of aging as well as index of old age. Seeking general results while using the same method of total of places, the obtained results are connected into one final ranking of districts where in the first place is a district, where society aging has the strongest influence and in the tenth – the one having the weakest.

According to the provided data (see table 2) it can be seen, that according to the correlation coefficient, which was calculated between the level of aging and the number of service companies which operated in the districts, the aging society has the strongest influence in Panevėžys district and the smallest – in that of Marijampolė. According to correlation, which was calculated between the index of old age and the number of service companies, which operated in the districts, Kaunas district appears in the first place and Vilnius – in the last place. It is necessary to emphasize that according to different indices of aging, the places taken by districts are quite similar. The biggest difference of places is that of Marijampolė district: according to the level of aging Marijampolė district is in the tenth place and according to the index of old age – in the second. The difference of places taken by other districts in accordance with different indices of aging are only places from 2 to 4.


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Table 2. Places of Lithuanian districts based on the method of multicriteria assessment of the total of places

According to the level of

agingAccording to the index of

old age Total

Alytus district 3 4–6 3Kaunas district 2 1 1Klaipėda district 6 3 4–5Marijampolė district 10 2 6Panevėžys district 1 4–6 2Šiauliai district 4 4–6 4–5Tauragė district 7 9 8Telšiai district 9 7–8 9Utena district 5 7–8 7Vilnius district 8 10 10

The final places of Lithuanian districts according to the assessment of the influence of society aging on the distribution of service companies in regions are provided above (see table 2). Having combined all cal-culations it was obtained that: Kaunas district is in the first place and that of Vilnius – in the tenth. It is worth emphasizing that the first places are taken by the districts which are in the central part of the country, districts of eastern Lithuania are at the bottom of the list, and the districts of the western part are in the middle. It should be stressed that there is no relationship between the place occupied and whether there is one of the cities of Lithuania in that district, e.g. Vilnius district takes only the tenth place, though the country’s capi-tal belongs to the district, however Kaunas district with the second biggest Lithuanian city (Kaunas) takes the first place. Nevertheless we can see a small relationship between the place taken and the level of aging, because districts, where the level of aging is low, take the last places, and those where the level of aging is high – the first places.

While summarizing the obtained results we can state that the strength of influence of society aging on region partly depends on the level of aging, which is in that region. For this reason it should be emphasized that in those regions where the level of aging is extremely big, businessmen (or their marketers) should pay a lot of attention to the satisfaction of the needs of persons over 60 years old.

5 . The t rends of a change of aging process and the number of operat ing business ent i t ies in the future

While forecasting the level of aging (see picture 6), determination coefficient equals 75.8 percent, i.e. the model sufficiently describes the event, though doing bigger research it is recommended to revise the model. Trends of the level of aging are equivalent, but they are not good: presently still “young” districts will soon surpass the 20 % limit. The level of aging in Klaipėda district already in 2012 will be 20.07 percent, and Vilnius and Telšiai districts will cross the limit of “an old” society in 2020 and will reach the level of aging respectively 21.02 percent and 20.92 percent. Nevertheless, Klaipėda, Telšiai and Vilnius districts will re-main the youngest and the oldest societies will continue to be in Alytus, Panevėžys and Utena districts. It is forecasted that in 2020 the level of aging in Alytus and Utena districts will exceed the limit of 25 percent and will respectively be 25.18 percent and 25.59 percent.

Having reviewed the forecasted trends of the level of society aging and old age coefficient, it was noticed that this negative phenomenon of a society will also take place in the future and its pace will not be slow. For this reason it is necessary to find out how will the number of business entities operating in Lithuanian districts change with the aging of society.

It is worth emphasizing that though in 2010 if compared to 2009 the number of operating business entities decreased in all districts, according to forecasts (see table 3) in 2011, 2012 and 2020 the number of operating


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business entities will increase in all regions. It should be stressed that every year the number of business entities will increase only slightly, but in ten years time the total number of business entities operating all over Lithuania should increase by even 30 percent., similar trends are noticeable in separate regions as well. While forecasting, a determination coefficient was calculated and its obtained meaning equals 69.6 percent, therefore it can be stated that regression equation for forecasts is reliable.

Table 3. The number of business entities operating in Lithuania and its regions in 2009–2020 m.

2009 2010 2011* 2012* 2020*Alytus district 3234 3130 3247 3291 3643Kaunas district 16989 16846 17565 18024 21693Klaipėda district 10403 10254 10803 11128 13732Marijampolė district 3004 2964 3014 3034 3192Panevėžys district 6227 5952 6105 6127 6299Šiauliai district 6825 6665 6898 7010 7904Tauragė district 2037 1973 2060 2097 2396Telšiai district 3312 3260 3397 3473 4088Utena district 2873 2811 2871 2891 3047Vilnius district 29670 29347 31273 32483 42169Lithuania 84574 83202 87231 89557 108161

Summarizing the forecasts of the indices of regions it should be emphasized that the growing coefficient of old age and the level of aging can strongly influence the number of business entities operating in districts. Of course, it cannot be forgotten that the number of business entities is influenced not only by aging society, but also by other criteria, which can distort the forecasts obtained in this work.

Having carried out correlation analysis the data obtained revealed that aging of residents is closely related to the number of service companies operating in Lithuanian districts. While performing calculations with both indices of aging, an average, strong or very strong relationship predominates in all districts. While per-forming calculations with indices of both the level of aging and the index of old age, the results are obtained that a reverse relationship connects these indices with the number of the type of companies of wholesale and retail trade, financial mediation, public administration and other activity. The number of the companies of other activities is directly influenced by the aging of society, therefore with the growth in the number of people of old age, the number of companies of these activities should grow.

The calculations of the method of the amount of places of multicriteria assessment has revealed, that the aging society has the strongest influence on the distribution of service companies in Kaunas, Panevėžys and Alytus districts, and the smallest influence of the analyzed process is in Vilnius, Telšiai and Tauragė districts.

Regression analysis has revealed pessimistic forecasts: the number of 60 year olds and older persons will grow markedly in the future, which has a negative influence on the country and on every region separately. A positive forecast is only for the number of jointly operating business entities, because the forecasts show that the number of companies should grow in the future. The growing number of companies means more workplaces, better living conditions and other positive economic processes.

conclusions

1. The aging of society is the changes of the structure of inhabitants which determines the increase of 60 years and older people. The aging of society is both social and economical problem and it is necessary to understand and solve it. Misunderstanding or wrong understanding of a problem may be one of the reasons why nation (and regions) experience negative consequences.


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2. The aging of society determines many factors. A birthrate and mortality, growing number of elder pe-ople and their part in a total population, emigration, the growing relationship between old people and children under 15-year-old are the main factors.

3. Having assessed the influence of the aging of society on the economics of Lithuanian regions accor-ding to two indices of aging – level of old age and index (coefficient) of old age – it was noticed: y The relationship of the level of old age with indices of service companies is quite various. The

strength of relationship fluctuates very strongly though mostly closeness of relationship is strong or very strong. Also it is revealed that the strongest relationship of this index of most Lithuanian regions is with the number of operating electricity, gas and water supply as well as financial medi-ation companies. It is important to emphasize that the level of old age and the number of wholesale and retail trade, financial mediation, public administration companies and those of other types of activity is joined by an adverse relationship.

y The relationship of the coefficient of old age with the number of operating business entities based on a district – is quite similar to the relationship of the level of old age with the analyzed indices. Index (coefficient) of old age has a considerable influence on the number of service companies in all regions. The weakest relationship is between the coefficient of old age and the number of hotels and restaurants. It is important to emphasize that index of old age is reversely related to the same groups of service companies as the level of old age.

3. The method of the total of places of a multicriteria assessment has revealed that the aging society has the biggest influence in Kaunas district and the least – in Vilnius district. The obtained results showed that there is a relationship between the level of aging and the influence of society aging: the higher the level of aging in a region, the bigger influence on the business activity of that region the aging society has.

4. Results of regression analysis have shown that aging of society in both Lithuania and in separate districts will take place in the future (at least the next 10 years) as well. In the near future the districts which haven’t yet reached the limit of “an old” society, will cross it, i.e. the level of aging will exceed the limit of 20 percent in all districts. contrary to the indices of society aging, forecasts for the number of operating business entities are positive. Based on the results of regression equation it is noticeable, that the number of companies operating in all districts and generally in all Lithuania will only grow in the future. For this reason in the future, businessmen (or persons working in business field) before taking new activities or continuing the already started ones, have to assess the changing needs of a changing society: the process of aging influences such fields as requirements for housing, settlement infrastructure, distribution and usage of income and savings, health security and etc. In front of the structure of a changing society when the number of old people increases there must be an inevitable change in the availability, uniqueness of the supplied services, methods of supplying and other actions of marketing.

References

Bagdanavičius, J. (2008). Regioniniai gyvenimo kokybės ir gyventojų kokybės skirtumai. Ekonominės ir socialinės studijos. Visuomenės darni plėtra: problemos ir perspektyvos. Mokslinių straipsnių rinkinys (V). Vilnius: Vilniaus pedagoginio universiteto leidykla, p. 165–178.

Balsevičienė, I. (2008). Vyresniosios ir jaunesniosios kartos santykių įtampos laukas bei jo mažinimas švietimo veikla [interaktyvus]. Vilniaus pedagoginis universitetas. Prieiga internetu: http://vddb.laba.lt/fedora/get/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2008~D_20080924_180854-41519/DS.005.0.02.ETD [žiūrėta 2010-02-22].

Čepinskis, J., Kanišiauskienė, V. (2009). Visuomenės senėjimo iššūkių valdymo prielaidos. Organizacijų vadyba: siste-miniai tyrimai, Nr. 49, p. 19–35. Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto leidykla.

Dicken, P. (2003). Global shift: reshaping the global economic map in the 21st century. London: SAGE Publications.Grabauskas, V., Gaižauskienė, A. ir kt. (2007). Lietuvos gyventojų sveikatos rodikliai ir jų pokyčių raida [interaktyvus].

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Ignasiak-Szulc, A., Kosiedowski, W. (2007). The meaning of cohesion policy of European Union in the development of countries and regions of central and Eastern Europe. The recent development of the EU: challenges and experience. The 3rd scientific volume, p. 79–87. Klaipėda.

Jurgelėnas, A., Juozulynas, A., Butikis, M., Greičiūtė, K. (2007). Senėjimas ir gyvenimo kokybė. Gerontologija [in-teraktyvus]. Prieiga internetu: <http://www.gerontologija.lt/files/edit_files//File/pdf/2007/nr_2/2007_92_96.pdf> [žiūrėta 2010-02-22].

Kanopienė, V., Mikulionienė, S. (2006). Gyventojų senėjimas ir jo iššūkiai sveikatos apsaugos sistemai. Gerontologija, Nr. 7 (4), p. 188–200. Vilnius: Lietuvos gerontologų ir geriatrų draugija.

Kligytė, L. (2008). Senų ir pagyvenusių asmenų socialinių ryšių kaita: senelių vaidmenys [interaktyvus]. Vilnius: Mykolo Romerio universitetas Prieiga internetu: <http://vddb.library.lt/fedora/get/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2009~D_20090129_153956-54529/DS.005.0.02.ETD> [žiūrėta 2010-02-22].

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Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybė. (2009). Nutarimas Dėl Nacionalinės mokslo programos „Socialiniai iššūkiai nacio-naliniam saugumui“ patvirtinimo, Nr. 1424. Vilnius.

Medaiskis, T., Gruževskis, B., Mikulionienė, S. (2007). Visuomenės senėjimo padariniai darbo rinkai ir įmonėms: tendencijos ir iššūkiai. Lietuvos ekonomika Europoje ir globalioje erdvėje. Straipsnių rinkinys. Vilnius: VšĮ „Ekonominių tyrimų centras“, p. 241–266.

Mikulionienė, S. (2002). Senėjimo demografija. Socialinė gerontologija: ištakos ir perspektyvos. Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto leidykla, p. 42–60.

Pareigis, R., Dorofejeva, O. (2004). Lietuvos nacionalinė regioninė politika ir jos įgyvendinimo prielaidos. Ekonomika, Nr. 67 (2), p. 61–72. Vilniaus universiteto leidykla.

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netu: http://www.butastau.lt/gallery/paveiksleliai/statistine_analize/statistine_analize.pdf [žiūrėta 2012-04-05].Švedijos nacionalinis visuomenės sveikatos institutas. (2007). Sveikas senėjimas Europos siekis. Sutrumpinta versija

[interaktyvus]. Švedija. Prieiga internetu: <http://www.healthyaging.nu/upload/Short%20version/lithuanian_short-HA_web070712.pdf> [žiūrėta 2010-02-22].

Žalimienė, L. (2002). Socialinė politika ir pagyvenusių žmonių socialinė apsauga. Socialinė gerontologija: ištakos ir perspektyvos. Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto leidykla, p. 240–257.

V I S U O M E N Ė S S E N Ė J I M O I R PA S L A U G Ų PA S I Ū L O S RY Š Y S L I E T U VO S R E G I O N U O S E

Daiva Labanauskaitė, Laura astrauskaitė, Deimena kiyakKlaipėdos universitetas (Lietuva)

Santrauka

Visuomenės senėjimas yra vienas aktualiausių reiškinių, pastaraisiais metais keliančių nemažai proble-mų. Didėjantis pagyvenusių žmonių skaičius veikia šalių ekonomiką, ypač augant ekonomikos recesijai: augantis senyvo amžiaus žmonių skaičius didina valstybių išlaidas jiems išlaikyti, dirbantys asmenys netie-siogiai turi išlaikyti vis daugiau į užtarnautą poilsį išėjusių žmonių. Neabejojama, kad visuomenės senėjimas skirtingai veikia ne tik konkrečias valstybes, bet ir kiekvienos šalies konkrečius regionus.

Tyrimo problema: mažai ištirtas visuomenės senėjimo procesas Lietuvos regionuose ir šio proceso įtaka regionams. T. Medaiskis, B. Gruževskis ir S. Mikulionienė 2007 metų tyrime „Visuomenės senėjimo padariniai darbo rinkai ir įmonėms: tendencijos ir iššūkiai“ analizavo visuomenės senėjimo procesą ir pa-


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darinius visai Lietuvai, ypač darbo rinkai. Šis tyrimas atliktas netiriant atskirai kiekvieno Lietuvos regiono, todėl neleidžia palyginti, kuriuose regionuose visuomenės senėjimas vyksta sparčiausiai ir kur stebima di-džiausia minėto proceso įtaka ekonominei raidai. Tuo tarpu senstant visuomenei, keičiasi jos socialinė galia, didėja sveikatos ir socialinių paslaugų poreikis. Tai reiškia, kad valstybių ligonių kasos ir kitos socialinio draudimo įstaigos turės daugiau išlaidų, tai savo ruožtu lems būtinybę peržiūrėti ir naujiems poreikiams pritaikyti visuomenės išteklius ekonomikos (galimybės dalyvauti darbo rinkoje, pajamų ir santaupų lygis), politikos (galia politinėse ir visuomeninėse organizacijose), socialinio saugumo (socialinės garantijos), svei-katos apsaugos (poreikius atitinkančių paslaugų plėtra) ir žmogaus ekologijos (poreikius atitinkantys būstai, aplinka, gyvenvietės infrastruktūra, susisiekimas ir pan.) srityse.

Tyrimo objektas: visuomenės senėjimo įtaka Lietuvos regionų plėtrai.Tyrimo tikslas: išanalizuoti visuomenės senėjimo įtaką Lietuvos regionams. Tikslui pasiekti išsikelti šie uždaviniai: y apibrėžti visuomenės senėjimo sampratą; y nustatyti veiksnius, kurie lemia visuomenės senėjimą; y nustatyti visuomenės senėjimo įtakos regionams sritis; y išanalizuoti senstančios visuomenės įtaką Lietuvos regionų plėtrai.

Atliekant visuomenės senėjimo poveikio regionų plėtrai tyrimą taikyti mokslinės literatūros ir teisinių dokumentų analizės, sisteminės analizės, sintezės, aprašomosios statistikos metodai, laiko eilučių ir korelia-cinė analizė.

Apibendrinus įvairių autorių nuomones, visuomenės senėjimas gali būti apibūdinamas kaip gyventojų struktūros pokyčiai, kurie lemia 60 metų ir vyresnių gyventojų skaičiaus augimą. Visuomenės senėjimas – tiek socialinė, tiek ekonominė problema, kurią būtina suprasti ir spręsti. Nesupratimas ar blogas problemos supratimas gali būti viena priežasčių, kodėl valstybė (ir regionai) patiria su regionų plėtra susijusių sunkumų.

Visuomenės senėjimą lemia daugelis veiksnių. Pagrindiniai jų: gimstamumas ir mirtingumas, didėjantis senyvo amžiaus žmonių skaičius ir jų dalis bendrame gyventojų skaičiuje, emigracija, senyvo amžiaus ir vaikų iki 15 metų santykio didėjimas. Senstanti visuomenė labiausiai veikia regionų biudžeto išlaidas, nes didina išlaidas socialinei apsaugai: pensijoms, sveikatos apsaugai ir pan. Mokslinės literatūros apžvalga at-skleidė, kad visuomenės senėjimas nemažai įtakos turi darbo rinkai (užimtumui ir nedarbui), BVP ir regionų plėtros rodikliams.

Visame pasaulyje vyrauja netolygumai tarp regionų. Akcentuotina, kad regionų skirtumai lemia ne tik nevienareikšmę sąvokos regionas prasmę, bet ir skirtingus regionų plėtros, augimo bei vystymosi tempus. Regionų išsivystymas suprantamas kaip vientisas bendruomenės gyvenimo lygis socialiniu, ekonominiu, aplinkosaugos, sveikatos apsaugos, technologijos, kultūros ir rekreacijos aspektais tam tikroje teritorijoje tam tikru momentu.

Verta pabrėžti, kad siekiant gerinti bendruomenės gyvenimo kokybę ir mažinti skirtumus tarp regionų, būtina nuolat vertinti regionų išsivystymo lygį bei plėtros galimybes. Regionų socialinė-ekonominė padėtis turėtų būti vertinama periodiškai, kad regioninės politikos priemones būtų galima nukreipti į tuos regionus, kuriems jų labiausiai reikia. Periodiškai atliekamas esamos situacijos vertinimas leidžia kontroliuoti lėšas, kurios skiriamos regionų ekonominei ir kitų sričių darniai plėtrai.

Regionų išsivystymo lygiui ar plėtrai įvertinti įvairūs autoriai pateikia skirtingas metodikas, t. y. skirtin-gus rodiklių rinkinius. Reikia paminėti, kad nė vienoje regionų plėtrą ir išsivystymą vertinančių metodikų neišskiriami rodikliai / rodiklių grupė, pagal kurią būtų galima palyginti regionus visuomenės senėjimo aspektu, taip pat nesukurta metodika (rodiklių rinkinys), kurią pasitelkus būtų galima įvertinti šio reiškinio poveikį regionams.

Įvertinus visuomenės senėjimo įtaką Lietuvos regionų ekonomikai pagal du senėjimo rodiklius – sena-tvės lygį ir senatvės koeficientą – pastebėta: senatvės lygis su regionų ekonomikos rodikliais susijęs skirtin-gai, o senatvės koeficientas pagal apskritis ganėtinai panašus. Senatvės indeksas (koeficientas) daro didelę įtaką visų regionų užimtumo ir nedarbo lygiams, biudžetų pajamoms ir išlaidoms, silpnas ryšys yra tarp


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regionų sukuriamos BVP vertės, BVP, tenkančio vienam gyventojui, bei užimtųjų skaičiaus. Taigi daroma išvada, kad demografinis gyventojų senėjimas didžiausią poveikį turi darbo rinkai ir apskričių biudžetams. Svarbu pabrėžti, kad senėjimo procesas atvirkščiai susijęs su užimtųjų skaičiumi, užimtumo lygiu ir išlaido-mis socialinei apsaugai, o su kitais analizuojamais rodikliais ryšys yra tiesioginis.

PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: visuomenės senėjimas, regionų plėtra, socialiniai ir ekonominiai visuome-nės senėjimo padariniai.

JEL KODAI: R11, R12


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P R O B L E M S A N D P E R S P E C T I V E S I N P E N S I O N S Y S T E M : C A S E O F B A LT I C S TAT E S

Olga ličmane1, irina VOrOnOVa2

Riga Technical University (Latvia)

ABSTRACTIn all states of European Union reforms in pension system are being made, likewise in Latvia. Demographic and economic problems that are occurred forces pension reforms to be made. New developed pension reform includes different processes, like – formation of financial equilibrium between incomes and costs, limit performance in going early in pension, increasing of age of going in pension, rebalancing between men and women. Simultaneous formation of state and private pension systems could prevent some of the major drawback in system of pension that undermines the pension system of nowadays. Unfortunately the high social security contributions of state sector persons lacks of money, for deposit in private pension funds. Using method of logic synthesis, as the target authors nominated to examine problems of pension systems in the Baltic States, as well as similarities and divergences in problems and perspectives, with the status of private pension funds in accumulating pension system.KEY WORDS: labour market, pension system, pension funds, the Baltic States.

JEL CODES: G230, H750, H550, J260, J320.

Introduct ion

Pension is most important income source within aging. Working for long years, human hopes he is going to enjoy worthy and economical independent life in time of pension, but unfortunately it does not happen so often. Receiving only pension from state, man receives only 50 % from previous income. But complemen-ting it with accumulation of private pension fund, man can reach 70 – 80 % from previous income while being in labor market. Respectively, in order to receive higher income, it would be worth to invest in private pension funds. In conclusion of previously said it can be taken into account that the aim of pension system is to obtain adequate and sustainable pension.

The aim of the research is to study establishment of the pension system in the Baltic States, as well as show the problems in pension system existing in constitution. Identify possible actions in order to prevent existing problems. Summarize the number of people in age of pension, dividing it in the groups according to age, as well as measure the interest of young people in investing their funds in pension they will reach in aging, according to practice of Latvia.

Hypothesis of the article is that private pension funds could become a compulsory investment element in pension system. In the first part of research Estonia’s, Lithuania’s and Latvia’s pension systems are overloo-ked. Problems existing in pension system nowadays in the Baltic States are being defined, for instance, aging 1 Olga Ličmane – Riga Technical University, Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, master’s degree in Economics.

Scientific interests: investment and financial management.E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +371 267 395 91.

2 Irina Voronova – Riga Technical University, Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, Dr. oec, Assoc. professor. Scientific interests: investment and financial management.E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +371 263 303 55.

Olga ličmane, irina VOrOnOVaPROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES IN PENSION SYSTEM: CASE OF BALTIC STATES

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of society and high unemployment rates. In the second part the structural allocation, according to age, in private pension funds are being analyzed and interest in new generation in investment in their pension funds are being overlooked, under the statutes of Republic of Latvia. Further the conclusions of analyze was made.

Research was made under the methods of quality and quantity – graphical analyses and comparison.

1. Chal lenges in exis t ing pension system in the Bal t ic States

Since the end of 2009 economic systems of the Baltic States begun to recover after the rapid impact of the crisis. It is more common to behold positive tendencies after the downfall in each sector of economy. Along with the growth of activities in economic sector situation in labor market got better 2011 became the most successful of the Baltic States. There are positive changes in GDP – the growth of rate in GDP of Latvia is 5.5 %, in Estonia – for 7.6 % and in Lithuania – for 5.9 %. In 2011 more rapid growth in GDP was noted in Latvia. But not all sectors in economy grow as fast. It comes as – there are sectors in economy that will take years to recover in many states of the EU.

It is sure that positive tendencies can also been seen in the pension system, but under the demographic and economic circumstances, sustainability of it is endangered. That is why European Commission is deve-loping reforms in pension system that anticipate in – limit performance in going early in pension, increasing of age of going in pension, rebalancing between men and women, adjustment people in aging period to the conditions of labor market, as well as supplementary support for the establishment of savings.

Speaking about the aging pensions, the meaning of significance can be measured. Firstly, aging pension is the main income source that is being guaranteed to people in aging, which is why it has essential role in every human’s life. Reaching the age of pension the rest of life is being planned under this income. Unfortunately, youngsters are not keen on investing in their pensions and tax paying. Main part of then either supports ille-gal receiving of salaries, or goes for profit to foreign countries. For example, significant reduction of inha-bitants can be seen in Latvia. In the time period between two censuses, the number of inhabitants decreased for 309 thousand or 13 % (Vegis, 2012).

Apart from the high rates of unemployment in the EU, the reduction of unemployment rates was seen in eight EU counties, including the Baltic States. The biggest fall in unemployment sector in 20 years was seen in Estonia. Comparing with 2010 the rate of unemployment fall for 4.4 % and compiled in 12.5 % in 2011, as well as the rate approached to the acceptable level. The rate of unemployment in Lithuania and Latvia was similar – 15.4 % from economically active residents (CSB 2012; Statistic Estonia, 2012: 95; Statistics Lithuania, 2012).

The highest rates in unemployment in the Baltic States are in the age of youngsters – ageing from 15 to 25. Under the system that pension system is based on principles of solidarity of generation, it means – em-ployees provide aging residents with pensions. People in young age must be employed to ensure the pensions for aging people now and in the future.

It results that the main problem is aging society that impacts the pension system nowadays. Furthermore it can impact the stability of financial system, because it draws up big part from public expenditures. Under the growth of aging people, that will be guaranteed from aging society, knowing the high rates of unemploy-ment the lack of funds in pension system could occur. In the existing pension system the balance on incomes and revenues should be in balance, in other words – between employed part society and number of aging people. That leads to the fact if people will go in pension age under the rules being in force nowadays state will not be able to ensure pensions from earned sums.

Unfortunately the planned pension system will not be able to disclose all existing problems. All innova-tions have their own plusses and minuses, let’s try to analyze them. In this time period demographic and eco-nomic system could improve and this problem may lose its importance. But taking into account that average life span in Latvia for men is 67.3 and 77.7 for women, in Lithuania – 67.5 for men and 78.3 for women, in Estonia – 65.9 for men and 76.8 for women (Eurostat, 2011). While the pension age limit in Lithuania is 60 for women and 62 years and 6 month for men, in Latvia – 62 for women and men, in Estonia – 60.5 for


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women and 63 for men. In comparison the middle life span and the pension aging it may be concluded that main part of men being residents of the Baltic States does not live till pension aging, and it sounds rather sad.

The restrictions of pre aging going in pension that is included in the new reform can be overview from different points of view. In the last ten years the tendency of pre aging going in pension grew in EU that is why the restrictions in pension system could have significant role. It could result in that the elder people would take part in labor market for longer period of time if it was motivated. But the working abilities and health conditions that specifies for each individual must be taken into account.

The balance in aging could give some impact. People will not receive their earned pension but they will be able to preserve their work. But the youngsters, under the unemployment rates within age category of young people, will not be able to gain work place that would free in situation when elder people would go into pension. That could promote departure in order to look for a job abroad.

Since regaining of independence several reforms in the Baltic States in pension system have occurred in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Nowadays three pillar pension systems are in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Latvia was first to introduce it, followed by Lithuania and Estonia. More similarities than differences are in the pension systems in the Baltic States. Pension systems of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania will be overlooked further on.

Three pillar pension systems in Estonia are being in force since 2002. It is compiled by – I pillar state pensions, II pillar mandatory pension and III pillar supplementary pension. In 2012 social contributions draws up 33 %, from which 20 % are involved in budget of pension system and 13 % – in budget for spe-cial social security. From 20 % involved in budget of pension system, 18 % are diverted into pensions of nowadays and 2 % – in II pension level. Summing with 4 % of state it sums up 6 % per year that is diverted into second pension level. Since the world’s economic crisis, payments in II pension level were stopped in time period from June of 2009 till the end of 2010. Although starting from 2010 people were able to make payments voluntarily. Since 2011 payments in the second pension level were divided by half summing up 1 % and 2 % from the state. In this year payments are being made in the level before the stopping. As well as 1 % of parenting benefit is being offset in one of the parent’s second pension funds for each child. All capital saved up in second pension fund can be inherited. In order to receive I pension level that is guaranteed by the state one is needed to have minimum insurance record of 15 years. All information can be found in the website of CSD (Central Depository). Second pension level in Estonia are provided by 6 intuitions that offers 23 pension plans with four risk strategies – conservative, balanced, progressive and aggressive. But the third pension level is provided by 7 institutions that offers 13 different pension plans.

Latvia’s pension system is the oldest and is being in force since 2001. It is being made from three pillar pension system – 1st trier mandatory stated non funded pension scheme, 2nd trier mandatory stated funded pension scheme and 3rd trier private voluntary pension scheme. The level of social contributions in 2012 is 35.09 %, from which 20 % sums up into budget of pension system and the rest – in other insurance budgets. Division between first and second level pensions in Latvia is similar to Estonia – 18 % sums up into pensions of nowadays and 2 % into second pension level, but no extra payments are being made in it. Minimum insu-rance record for aging pension is 10 years. Progress of levels can be seen in home pages of FCMC (Financial and Capital Market Commission) and ACBL (Association of Commercial Banks of Latvia). The second pension level in Latvia is provided by 9 institutions that provides 26 investment plans with three strategies – conservative, active and balanced. Third pension level is provided in 7 private pension funds – 6 public and 1 closed. Private pension funds provide 21 pension plans. Government under the influence of economic crisis overlooked the draft law in order to stop depositing in second pension fund, but it was not accepted, although the indexation of pension is stopped till 2013. In authors view the stopping of depositing was not possible due to that it could endanger the future of people in age 30 to 40 years. Mostly these residents do not have work experience before 1996 and that would lead to fact their pensions would be based on only capitals sa-ved up in first and second pension level.

Three pillar pension systems in Lithuania is the youngest between the Baltic States, it is being in force since 2004. Pension levels are – I pillar statutory mandatory social insurance, II pillar quasi/mandatory fun-


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ded pension scheme, III pillar voluntary funded pension scheme. Social contributions level in 2012 compiles 26.3 %. Deposit in second pension level in 2012 compile 1.5 %. Capital saved up in second pension level can be inherited. One must have minimum insurance record of 15 years to receive aging pension. Second and third pension level provides 9 institutions.

From the information above one can identify the main similarities and differences. From the overview of Latvia’s and Estonia’s the essences of pension systems are similar. First level is provided by the state, second – is provided by the state through fund manager and third – is voluntary saved up by recipient with mediation of private pension funds. But the pension system of Lithuania slightly differs from Latvia’s and Estonia’s; first level is provided by the state, second and third – is voluntary saved up by recipient with me-diation of private pension funds. The second biggest difference is the distinction between levels of social contributions in first and second pension levels. In second pension level in Latvia 2 % are offset, in Lithu-ania – 1.5 %, and in Estonia – 6 %. As the third comes, as it had been said before, the age in which resident can go into aging pension differs in all states. As well as the minimum insurance record that provides one with aging pension differs, in Estonia and Lithuania it is similar and compiles 15 years, although in Latvia it is in minimum level of 10 years. As the forth difference is that the capital saved up in the second pension level can be inherited, but it is not allowed in Latvia so far. One more similar feature is the relief on income tax that is being applied within investing in private pension funds. That means if one is making a deposit in private pension fund once a year one can fill in declaration and receive relief on income tax.

Several books, articles and publications are connected with the pension systems and their reforms. Pro-blems and the results of reforms carried out in Estonia are being studied by many authors, including Leppik and Vork, Paas, Hinnosaar, Masso and Szirko. Leppik and Vork (2006) have deepened their publications with studying reforms made in pension system since 1990’s and showing success of second pension level as it was in the beginning. Some authors also mention reforms carried out in pension system and have studied three pillar pension systems. T. Paas et al. (2004) have made comparison between pension systems levels within those being in force in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.

After economic downfall the main reforms in pension systems in Lithuania were made in 1995 and 2003. The latest reform in pension system in Lithuania will be carried out in 2012 and this issue is being researched by A. Bitinas (2011). In his publications he defined and evaluated occurring social changes that developed under the force of economic crisis, as well as evaluated the perspectives of new pension system.

In the scientific literature of Latvia in field of pension sphere there can be found qualitative works, in-cluding works from V. Voļskis (2004, 2011), I. Voronova (2011) and J. Jakubāne (2004). V. Voļskis (2011) researched the basic principles of the structure of the pension system, its importance and its place in social security system. This book gives opportunity to get acquainted with reformed pension system, as well as practical examples of pension calculation. In the article of I. Voronova analysis of many benchmarks of pension funds in Latvia can be overlooked. But in the article of J. Jakubāne one can get acquainted with the analysis and indexes of work of the pension funds that are being in force in Latvia.

Very pessimistic opinion of the future of pension system occurred in the society, for instance, according to Ķīlis in time period of five years there will be no pension system in Latvia. “In the future there will be renunciation of pension system, and the skip to the benefit of poverty will emerge, that is that people starting from some age limit will be said – “we doubt there will be any possibility for us to ensure pension for you”, in that place only benefit of poverty will be ensured,” says R. Ķīlis (2011).

But there also are one not so pessimistic opinion where D. Smirnovs does not agree with R. Ķīlis argu-ments and forecasts about the nearest future of pension system of Latvia. He is considering the possibility of economic growth realization and introduced the product in growth of the economy; he also considers the further development of pension system. He has also concluded that the main reasons of budget deficit are the growth of unemployment and reduction of minimum wage. But in 2007 there was surplus of budget when it was redirected to other needs of the state. Authors combined comments of the article “Why there will not be any pensions in Latvia?” (Smirnovs, 2011), in total they were 112 and under them made the conclusion of societies view to this situation. In overall readers are divided in – about one third of readers thinks that the ar-


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ticle is good, fair and full with arguments, but rest of the readers does not support the opinion of D. Smirnovs and thinks that the pension system will be abolished and there will be no pensions or it does not exist even now and that relying on the state pension funding is no longer possible. Mainly supporters are in one thought with D. Smirnovs in the subject of growth in productivity of labor and not automatized but with attracting new labor forces that would facilitate the growth of social contributions.

In the nearest future the Saeima will evaluate the possibility of inheriting saved up interests in the second pension funds (Delfi, 2012).

2. Pr ivate pension funds as an instrument for improving of savings: case Latvia

Every economical active person deserves aging pension. This amount grows every year in Latvia but the extent of it shrunken in some of the cases failing to meet even half of the previous incomes. In 2011 the average paid in pension reached 178.18 LVL in month, in comparison with 2010 it grew for 2.30 LVL, from 175.88 LVL. In comparison with 2006 and 2003 the growth was even significant under fact that the average paid in pension in 2006 was 95.95 LVL but in 2003 it reached only 64.34 LVL (Latvijas Centrālais Depo-zitārijs, 2012). Despite these positive tendencies, in nowadays one must make additional provisions. One of the possible ways is private pension funds where people can make contributions in time of tears and after reaching age of 55 one can receive additional pension.

First licensed private pension funds emerged in Latvia in 1998. Under the unfavorable economic cir-cumstances in that tie as well as the fact of distrust to commercial bank, the evolution of private pension funds was very slow. But in 2004 already four private pension funds had been in work – 3 opened and one closed pension fund. Those were – BAS “Opened pension fund of Parekss, BAS Opened pension fund Bal-tikums”, that was founded in 1998, JSC [Joint Stock Company] “Closed pension fund”, that was founded in 1999, and JSC “Unipension” – founded in 2000. These pension funds offered 9 pension plans.

Nowadays 7 private pension funds are working in Latvia – 6 opened and 1 closed pension funds. Those are – Nordea Latvia opened pension fund, Ge-Money opened pension fund, Swedbank opened pension fund, Citadele opened pension fund, Finasta opened pension fund, SEB opened pension fund and first closed pen-sion fund that provides 21 pension plans. In general 198575 inhabitants have acceded to determined plan of pension funds in 2011 that is 3.8 % more comparing to last year. As well as total contributions in 2011 reached 18.3 million LVL, this made 15.9 % growth comparing with 2010. In the same time 6.6 million LVL were paid out in pensions under the reach of pension or death of the inhabitant. Under this fact we can con-clude that work of pension funds are developing.

In view of the fact that in second pension level in 2011 was registered 1 156 743 inhabitants or 100 % of economical active inhabitants and 878.4 million LVL were saved up, including 17 % of them in private pension funds. Measures saved up in private pension funds at the end of 2011 draw up 120.4 million LVL, overreaching index of 2010 by 7 %.

In analysis of general information authors concluded that the biggest concurrent of Latvia’s private pen-sion funds are SEB opened pension fund (P1), Swedbank opened pension fund (P3) and Citadele opened pension fund (P3) (shown in figure 1). The largest in comparison within number of participants is SEB ope-ned pension fund. Number of participants in this pension fund in 2011 was 73633 overreaching the number of 2010 by 1192.

SEB opened pension fund is being in lead for years. The amount of deposits in biggest private pension funds compiles 96.9 % of all members of private pension funds, meanwhile compiling 98.30 % of capital in field of private pension fund system. The second biggest private pension fund in Latvia is divided between Citadele opened pension fund and Swedbank opened pension fund. Till 2010 second place belonged to Ci-tadele opened pension fund but since 2010 Swedbank opened pension fund has taken this place. In 2011 in Swedbank opened pension fund were registered 56 488 members, in Citadele opened pension fund – 50797 as well as 5795 members were in others funds.


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Figure 2. Saved up capital of private pension funds in 2011Source: Association of Commercial Banks of Latvia

In SEB opened pension fund together with Citadele opened pension fund and Swedbank opened pension fund in 2011 there was a capital in amount of 85737 thousand LVL (see figure 2), in comparison with 2010 there was growth in amount of 3390 thousand LVL or 7.07 %. Capitals saved up in Citadele opened pension fund and Swedbank opened pension fund are significantly lower. In 2011 saved up capital in Citadele opened pension fund was in amount of 17411 thousand lats making downfall of 716 thousand LVL in comparison with last period. Capital saved up in Swedbank opened pension fund in 2011 was in amount of 19751 thou-sand LVL making growth of 2475 thousand LVL in comparison with 2010.

Since the lack of publically available information, authors overlooked only age structure within Swed-bank opened pension plan. In this pension plan there are 10 age groups; starting from group over 20 years and ending with the group of members over 61 (see figure3).

Figure 1. Members of biggest private pension fundsSource: Association of Commercial Banks of Latvia


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Figure 3. Structure of members by age groups in 2011Source: Swedbank opened pension fund

The most active groups are those in the age from 31 to 50 years. The biggest group of member amount was in the age from 41 to 45 years, in the end of 2011 the member amount in this group’s was 10564. It may be elu-cidated with the fact that members of this group has only 10 to 15 years till they legally can go into aging pen-sion, that starts from age of 55. And this age period is the right moment to make bigger investments in order to serve in better gaining. In 2011 the second most active group was in the ages between 46 to 55 compiling 9887 members. But also inactive and not interested inhabitants are. In 2011 there were only 76 members in the age group to 21 year. That indicates of the fact that youngsters are still not interested or they have not got enough financial possibilities to make deposits. In the view of authors the slow development of private pension funds is due to financial problems of inhabitants, as well as ambiguity of members of the private pension fund system in ensuring stabilization. Inhabitants of Latvia in age period of 20 to 40 years are ones to be most hurt in situation nowadays, because in this time’s solidatory pension system they need to pay tax to provide aging pensions to people in aging pension, as well as accumulate in new insurance system to provide aging pension to themselves.

Sure that members, capital saved up and incurred costs are the main things describing pension system. But it is also to analyze all features of pension system before investing in one of the pension plans. Impor-tant factor showing growth of investments is yield. In the study authors compared yields of second and third pension levels in biggest pension funds (see table 1).

Pension system funded by the state in Latvia offers pension plans with active and balanced strategy of investments, but voluntarily private pension scheme – with conservative, active and balanced strategies of investments. In 2011 the yield of second pension level varied from -3.12 % to 4.51 %.

Since its founding Citadele active pension plan of second level pension has showed the biggest yield in amount of 5.50 %. Pension plan with the highest yield in 2011 was “Swedbank” pension plan “Stability” [“Stabilitāte”]. Pension system funded by the state in Latvia in third level of pension offers pension plans with active and balanced strategy of investment, but voluntarily private scheme – with conservative, active and balanced strategies of investments. Choosing pension plans and strategies of investments pension funds offers two strategies. First strategy intends sticking to the plan of investment that has been intended in the beginning and do not make any significant changes. This pension fund is based on historically made stra-tegy – average particular stock yield and lays one’s account on maximum incomes. The second strategy is based on pursuance of changes in market and changing strategy of investments. It does not attain maximum of profit but in the case of losses it will not be big and will be merited in no time.


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Table 1. Yield of plans of first and second pension pillars

Funded pension scheme or second pillar Private voluntary pension scheme or third pillarPension plans Yield, % Pension plans Yield, %

2011 From the begin of working

2011 From the begin of working

Citadele opened pension fund Citadele opened pension fundCitadele Universal PP 3.80% 4.70% Citadele Balanced -2.75% 5.72%Citadele Active PP 1.24% 5.50% Citadele Active -4.35% 5.18%

Citadele Active USD -3.06% 4.49%Citadele Active EUR -3.60% 1.81%

SEB opened pension fund SEB opened pension fundSEB Latvian plan 4.21% 5.03% SEB – Balanced -2.18% 3.70%SEB balanced plan 1.17% 4.29% SEB – Eiropension -5.08% 0.93%SEB active plan -0.60% 4.10% SEB – Active -4.35% 2.40%SEB Eiropas plan -3.12% 3.73%Swedbank opened pension fund Swedbank opened pension fundSwedbank pension IP “Stability”

4.51% 3.80% Swedbank pension plan Stability +25

-0.95% 2.40%

Swedbank pension IP “Dinamika”

1.60% 3.16% Swedbank pension plan Dinamika +60

-5.12% 2.82%

Swedbank pension plan Dinamika +100

-12.99% -9.38%

Swedbank pension plan Dinamika +(USD)

-2.79% 2.24%

Source: Association of Commercial Banks of Latvia, Central Depository

In 2011 the yield of second pension level varied from -3.12 % to 4.51 %. Since its founding Citadele active pension plan of second level pension has showed the biggest yield in amount of 5.50 %. Pension plan with the highest yield in 2011 was “Swedbank” pension plan “Stability”. But the yield of third level pension in 2011 was negative varying from -12.99 % to -0.95 %. But since foundation the level of yield for pension level varies from -9.38% to 5.72%. Leading position in third level pension belongs to Citadele active pension fund’s pension plan with yield level of 5.72 %, 5.18 %, 4.49 % and 1.81 %.

Under the yield levels of second and third pension level it can be concluded that second pension plan has bigger level of yields. It can be based of successful experience on strategy of investments. Third pension level this far cannot satisfy accumulations, due to its investment plans are still in process of development. Authors are not capable in verify their hypothesis, due to the fact that third level pension this far cannot supply the aimed result.

Conclusions

Pension reforms are being made in all Baltic States. Lithuania is planning to divide solidarity pensions and other social securities, work out strategies for attracting new labor and enlarge the efficiency of accumu-lative system, including improving efficiency of adjustment of pension system and integration in state. Re-form of pension system has already started in Lithuania, meanwhile Latvia and Estonia sticks to the strategy actions developed by European Union and have not still worked out their own.

Pension reform developed by European Union commission in order to preclude the problems in existing pension system, including elevation of age within one is possible to gain aging pension, as well as balancing in ages, deposits and costs within males and females, that is one of the crucial point in nowadays.

Pension system of Latvia is going through hard times, it is being ensured by several points. High unem-ployment rates between young people, making deficit in social budget, is the main point that does not allow


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aging society to go into aging pension. Youngsters are not interested and cannot afford to pay deposits into pension funds; it can be based on the lack of perspectives. Under this circumstance stability pension will not be able to exist further and will be closed unless some important changes will be made. Prognosis shows that maybe solidarity pension will be able to transform into accrual pension system. According to authors thoughts one of the main arguments that could develop operation of pension system would be motivation of labor, for instance, possibilities of interest inheritance from capital in second pension level.

Notwithstanding that second pension levels are more profitable in Latvia; final conclusions of third pensi-on level cannot be made. Strategies of profitability of investments in third pension level are being developed, that is why expected results have not been reached.

Accumulation life insurance companies are alternatives for private pension funds. Life insurance should be more detailed examined in order to determine and get more detailed view to pension systems position. In 2011 life insurance was the most popular insurance pattern, with and without accumulation possibilities, that in Latvia is provided by 7 life insurance enterprises. Under the pension system in Latvia authors examined existing problems and potential perspectives, considering private pension funds as an instrument of pension accumulation.

References

Atklāto privāto pensiju fondu darbības rezultāti uz 31.12.2011. (2012). Latvijas Komercbank asociācija. Available from internet: <http://www.bankasoc.lv/lv/statistika/pensiju_fondi.html>

Bitinas, A. (2011). Modern pension system reforms in Lithuania: Impact of crisis and ageing. Mykolas Rome-ris University. Available from internet: <http://www.mruni.eu/lt/mokslo_darbai /jurisprudencija/archyvas/dwn.php?id=298015>

BALTĀ GRĀMATA. Atbilstīgu, drošu un noturīgu pensiju programma. (2012). Eiropas Komisija. Available from inter-net: <ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7341&langId=lv>

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Ekonomiskas aktivitātes, nodarbinātības līmenis, darba meklētāju īpatsvars (2011). Centrālās statistikas pārvaldes datu bāzes. Available from internet: <http://data.csb.gov.lv/Dialog/varval.asp?ma= NB0020&ti=NBG02%2E+EKONOMISK%C2S+AKTIVIT%C2TES%2C+NODARBIN%C2T%CEBAS+L%CEMENIS%2C+DARBA+MEKL%C7T%C2JU+%CEPATSVARS++%28%25%29&path=../DATABASE/Iedzsoc/Ikgad%E7jie%20statistikas%20dati/Nodarbin%E2t%EEba/&lang=16>

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Leppik, L., Võrk, A. (2006). Pension reform in Estonia. E. Fultz (Ed.). Pension Reform in the Baltic States (17–141). Budapest: International Labour Office.

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Pārskats par valsts fondēto pensiju shēmas ieguldījumu plāniem. (2012). Latvijas Centrālais Depozitārijs. Available from internet: <http://www.manapensija.lv/plans/ip00000.php>

Pensiju sistēmas 3 līmeņi. (2011). Valsts Sociālās Apdrošināšanas Aģentūra. Available from internet: <http://www.vsaa.lv/lv/pakalpojumi/pensionariem/pensiju-sistemas-3-limeni>

Pension system in Lithuania. (2011). Ministry of Social Security and Labour. Available from internet: <http://www.pensijusistema.lt/index.php?-1539787636>

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Shiff, A., Hobdari, N., Schimmelpfennig, A., Zytek, R. (2000). Pension reform in the Baltics. International Monetary Fund. Available from internet: <http://books.google.lv/books?id=rx IqRq6BfiUC&printsec=frontcover&hl=lv&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>

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Valsts fondēto pensiju shēmas darbība 2011. gadā. (2012). Valsts sociālās apdrošināšanas aģentūra. Available from in-ternet: <http://www.vsaa.lv/media/uploads/UserFiles/pakalpojumi /stradajosajiem/2_pensiju_limenis/2011_gada_rezultati__majas_lapai.doc>

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Voļskis, V. (2011). Pensiju sistēmas darbības pamatnostādnes. Apgāds Zvaigzne ABC.Voļskis, V. (2004). Impact of Society Aging Process and Political Regulations to the Growing Global Pension Crisis.

Available from internet: <http://www.lu.lv/materiali/apgads/raksti/677.pdf>Voronova, I. (2011). Latvian Pension Funds: Multi-Criteria Analysis and Consumer Assessment. Mykolo Romerio

Universitetas. Available from internet: <http://www.mruni.eu/en/mokslo_darbai/ie/ archyvas/?l=116195>Ziņojums par Latvijas tautsaimniecības attīstību. (2011). Latvijas Republikas Ekonomikas ministrija. Available from

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P E N S I J Ų S I S T E M O S P R O B L E M O S I R P E R S P E K T Y VO S : B A LT I J O S Š A L I Ų AT V E J O A N A L I Z Ė

Olga ličmane, irina VOrOnOVaRygos technikos universitetas (Latvija)

Santrauka

Latvijoje, kaip ir kitose Europos Sąjungos šalyse, atliekama pensijų sistemos reforma, tai nulemia de-mografinės ir ekonominės problemos, su kuriomis susiduria šios šalys. Pensijos reforma apima įvairius pro-cesus: pajamų ir išlaidų derinimas, ankstyvo išėjimo į pensiją ribojimas, pensinio amžiaus ilginimas, vyrų ir moterų pensinio amžiaus vienodinimas. Valstybinės ir privačios pensijų sistemos derinimas gali padėti išspręsti daugumą dabartinę pensijų sistemą kamuojančių problemų. Deja, dėl didelės valstybinio sektoriaus


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dalies pensijų sistemoje trūksta pinigų pervesti į privačius pensijų fondus. Taikydami loginės sintezės me-todą autoriai išsikėlė tikslą ištirti Baltijos šalių pensijų sistemos problemas ir perspektyvas, jų panašumus ir skirtumus, privačių pensijų fondų statusą bendroje pensijų sistemoje.

PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: darbo rinka, pensijų sistema, pensijų fondai, Baltijos šalys.

JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: G230, H750, H550, J260, J320.

Valērijs Praude, santa BormaneInfluence of MarketIng coMMunIcatIons on the Processes of consuMers’ DecIsIons

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I n f l u e n c e o f M a r k e t I n g c o M M u n I c at I o n s o n t h e P r o c e s s e s o f c o n s u M e r s ’ D e c I s I o n s

Valērijs Praude1, santa Bormane2


ABSTRACTThe article covers the essence and the key role of marketing communications in the market and business of nowadays, the trends of development of marketing communications – the growing popularity of the Internet, changes in the consumers’ communications, the increased importance of direct marketing, as well as the selection of marketing communications based on the stages of product life cycle. Attention is devoted to the types of marketing communications at a particular stage of buyers’ behaviour. The authors availed of the results of their piece of research of 2011 where they used data of companies, polled consumers with the sample totality of 417 respondents, as well as performed an examination.key woRdS: marketing communications, current trends of development, buyers’ behaviour in the market.

JeL Code: M310

Introduct ion

One of the key problems in selling goods and services is efficient marketing communications with the buyers and the society in general to entail interaction with all participants involved in the process of selling and buying, thus promoting feedback.

The goal of marketing communications at the first stage is to attract the buyers’ attention by stirring in-terest in the products offered and the company, whereas at the second stage marketing communications are supposed to help the company achieve that the buyers make a repeated purchase and become regular consu-mers of the product or loyal customers of the particular company.

In order for the company to build its image and promote its products in the market, a variety of types of marketing communications – advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling and direct marketing – are engaged. These days, companies frequently implement marketing communications inconsi-derately, without prior market research and analysis of the target audience and its needs. due to not analysing the efficiency of marketing communications they make mistakes in selecting the type of marketing commu-nications with the buyers, which result in a reduced competitiveness, a negative public attitude towards the company and losses in the long term. Such a situation in the market stems not only from the lack of funds, but also from poor professional knowledge and skills of the management of marketing specialists. The pur-pose of the article is to explore the development of marketing communications and to assess the influence of marketing communications on the buyers’ behaviour in the market. The authors investigated a variety of objects of marketing communications – advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling and

1 Valērijs Praude – University of Latvia, Head of Marketing Department. Scientific interests: marketing, management.e-mail: [email protected].: +371 672 223 25.

2 Santa Bormane – University of Latvia, Mg. oec. Scientific interests: marketing, management.e-mail: [email protected].: +371 265 824 23.

Issn 2029-9370. Regional FoRmation and development StudieS, no. 2 (7)

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direct marketing – as methods of promoting products in the market. The tasks of research were to analyse and assess the trends of development of marketing communications, to draw up a questionnaire for polling respondents and evaluating the influence of marketing communications on the stages of buyers’ behaviour in the market using common quantitative and qualitative research methods of economics – survey, compa-rison, grouping. The study is based on scientific papers by Latvian and foreign scholars, general and special literature and periodicals. The authors conducted evaluation, market research, comparative analysis, survey and used SPSS and MS Excel for the processing and analysis of data.

1. Current t rends of development of market ing communicat ions

Marketing communications can be defined as: “Means for directly and indirectly notifying, persuading and/or reminding people” (Praude, 2011: 188). There are multiple types of marketing communications or methods of product promotion in the market, namely advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling and direct marketing.

In order for the process of marketing communications to be efficient, it is crucial to determine the desi-red target audience, i. e., whom to address the message or, from the market point of view, who the potential buyers will be. In order to succeed, it is important to understand what the company expects from the potential buyers after communication with them. when selecting the communication channel, an analysis of media efficiency and target audience is recommended. It should be kept in mind that not every channel of informa-tion delivery is available to the target audience.

The objective of marketing communications is to attract the potential buyers’ attention by arousing inte-rest in the product offered. If the communication has been comprehensible and the idea has been perceived, it should arouse a need for the product, and the potential buyer will most probably act and purchase it. After the first time of purchase, the next step must be taken – to achieve via marketing communications that the buyer makes a repeated purchase of the product and becomes a regular consumer or loyal customer. For that purpo-se, all the afore-mentioned types of marketing communications are used. The types are not interchangeable, hence it is important to know that, for instance, “the tasks of direct selling cannot be fulfilled via advertising, just as public relations cannot be replaced by sales promotion. Promoting a product in the market means conveying information on the product to the buyer and consumer as efficiently as possible” (Blaits, 2004: 175). Thus, when it comes to promoting products in the market, all types of marketing communications are used by joining them in a variety of combinations and practically applying them as a complex of marketing communications.

Based on an analysis of scientific literature, the authors concluded that the following trends of develo-pment are present in marketing communications:

1. The rise in popularity of the Internet as marketing communication environment.2. extensive communication possibilities among consumers.3. The increasing role of direct marketing.4. The selection of marketing communications based on the stages of product life cycle.5. The strengthening of link between marketing communications and the stages of buyers’ behaviour in

the market (Praude, 2011: 192–194; Egan, 2007: 150; Smith, Zook, 2011: 175).

1.1. The rise in popularity of the Internet as marketing communication environment.

One of the most popular types of marketing communications is advertising. It is: “A paid and non-per-sonalized way of marketing communications, implemented by identified advertisers by using various tech-niques of development and means of distribution to influence the buyers’ behaviour in the market and reach the goals of communications” (Praude, 2005: 20).


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Currently there is a lot of ways of placing advertisement in the media. The question is which of them is the most efficient, as the medium chosen by the company for conveying their advertising message will be a key condition of its success or failure (see Table 1). As shown, over the period from 2006 thru 2011, the share of Internet advertising in the total advertising costs grew from 4.3 % to 13.3 %.

This is most probably due to the Internet being a cheaper way of communication distribution than televi-sion or newspapers and magazines. Moreover, in the circumstances of economic globalization, with e-com-merce and other services having become a prominent branch of business, the Internet is an integral part of business rather than merely a way to spend one’s spare time.

Table 1. Shares of media groups in the Latvian advertising market by years (turnover ths, %, LVL)

Medium2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

amnt. % amnt. % amnt. % amnt. % amnt. % amnt. %

Newspapers 18 927 24.9 20 669 22.0 17 654 18.2 7 542 14.3 5 154 11.2 5 154 10.8

Magazines 11 189 14.7 16 264 17.3 15 557 16.0 5 809 11.0 4 078 8.9 4 078 9.9TV 27 112 35.7 32 783 34.9 34 684 35.7 20 752 39.2 20 536 44.7 20 536 45.9Radio 8 531 11.2 9 764 10.4 10 606 10.9 6 520 12.3 5 294 11.5 5 294 10.9outdoors 6 535 8.6 8 076 8.6 9 470 9.8 5 881 11.1 4 607 10.0 4 607 8.7Internet* 3 263 4.3 5 889 6.3 8 491 8.7 6 019 11.4 5 906 12.9 5 906 13.3Cinema 453 0.6 494 0.5 635 0.7 355 0.7 317 0.7 317 0.5total 76 010 100 93 939 100 97 097 100 52 878 100 45 892 100 45 892 100

*Includes advertising data of foreign internet resources

Source: created by the authors according to data of Mediju reklāmas tirgus dati (online). Accessed on 08.05.2012. Available from http://www.lra.lv/main.php?item=134

Not only mass advertising, but also other types of marketing communications are developing on the Internet. For instance, many new websites designed to offer various coupons have emerged. This is most probably due to the economic situation and the importance of price nowadays, as well as the idea that “Latvia follows the european trends, as in europe the collective bargaining sites saw an audience increase by 162 % in 2010” (Bērziņš, 2011). Considering the overall decline of consumers’ purchasing power, the price or an opportunity to get more for the same money becomes the primary factor during the buying decision. There already exist groups of consumers who regularly shop on the Internet and follow the news about discounts and coupons on the specialised websites with a view to save as much as possible on all their needs. However, it should be noted that such websites are unlikely to make the buyers loyal to a particular product. The dis-tribution of coupons implies a high risk that the buyer will take advantage of the special offer and then keep looking for coupons offered by other companies.

1.2. extensive communication possibilities among consumers

Taking into account the development of information technologies and the Internet as a mass commu-nication medium, there is an increasing popularity of such social websites as facebook.com, twitter.com, draugiem.lv etc. in public relations. These are virtual communication networks where members can exchan-ge with both information and experience, and, with the growing public interest, companies also pay more attention to communication with the society via these means. They provide information on products, events,


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campaigns etc. in a brief form for the site users to be able to notify their friends, relatives and acquaintances, and the information is by all means passed further as recommendations to other people resulting in an exact delivery to the desired target audience. It enables the company to save resources and time and build a positive image, whereas the buyer can learn and follow any relevant information from anywhere in the world, discuss it with friends, seek for opinions, comments, complaints.

Figure 1 reveals the communication between a company (the message sender) and customers through an opinion leader in a classic variant where companies choose a publicly known person, adviser etc. as the opinion leader. Figure 2, for its part, demonstrates the stage of communications among consumers when they communicate with each other rather than rely only on an opinion leader.

Figure 1. Communication of company with customer through opinion leaderSource: Smith, Zook, 2011: 175–176

Figure 2. Communication among consu-mers regarding company’s products

Source: Smith, Zook, 2011: 175–176

Comparing the Figures 1 and 2, the authors conclude that: y when communicating with the consumers, the companies should reckon with the fact that the consu-

mers will communicate among themselves, so both successes and failures of the companies will be discussed. Information should be unambiguous, with no room for varied interpretations;

y the consumers are able to establish interest groups, while the companies should know that insiders, interested persons or competitors may comment on a company’s failure or offer and distribute the news further;

y the companies should be aware that information regarding them and their products will quickly spread over large masses of consumers. Incorrect product or service information provided by a company may affect its image and reputation.

The authors agree with the well-known communications researcher D. Watts that “influential opinion leaders do not manage communication. we all do it” (Gleizde, 2012: 27).

1.3. The increasing role of direct marketing

In literature, direct marketing is defined as: “Direct connections with carefully targeted individual consu-mers to both obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting costumer relationships” (Armstrong, kotler,


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2009: 447), Direct marketing means sending messages to a customer (direct mail, telemarketing, interactive marketing) and impelling for action, including the use of positive customer feedback in marketing activities. This means that any technology used in business nowadays – the Internet, e-mail, mobile phone, mail etc. – can be used as a channel for conveying information. In order to communicate with the buyer, it is necessary to segment the market and arrange buyers by target groups, thus facilitating a positive influence on a parti-cular consumer.

“Direct marketing is beneficial to customers in multiple ways: y shopping at home can be pleasant, convenient and care-free; y it saves time and acquaints consumers with a broader assortment; y consumers can do comparative shopping by exploring mail-in catalogues and online shopping sites; y consumers can order goods for themselves or other persons; y business customers benefit from obtaining information on the available products without spending

time on communication with sales personnel” (kotler, 2006: 604).

Apart from the advantages mentioned, companies benefit from direct marketing with the possibility to compile lists and databases of customers, sorting them by various criteria, for instance, the level of income, gender, education etc., thus automatically composing target audiences. Consequently, it is possible to work with particular customers individually. Moreover, direct marketing activities are less apparent to competi-tors, thus enabling companies to be individual in their operation as far as sale is concerned.

The authors conclude that direct marketing techniques are of good use when a company already posses-ses information on the range of buyers because it is necessary to conduct a market study and compile a mar-keting database where the buyers would be sorted by certain criteria, thus composing the target audience. on that basis it becomes possible to attract buyers and work with them in a personalized way. For instance, if a company develops databases of customer service and relation management, it is possible not only to serve a particular target audience, but also to attract loyal buyers by offering a system of volume discounts, flexible terms of delivery etc.

1.4. The selection of marketing communications based on the stages of product life cycle

In literature, marketing communications are frequently related to the product life cycle. Therefore, diffe-rent stages of product life cycle require different types of marketing communications. Figure 3 is an illustra-tion with a relevant example.

Figure 3 shows that at the first stage of life cycle of a product it is necessary to inform the potential buyer via advertising in the media. At the second stage when the objective is to remind the buyer of the product, its features and quality, personal selling is a good choice, whereas at the stage of maturity advertising should be used to remind the buyers of the product’s existence and sometimes the product should be sold, e. g., for a lower price, as if to attract both the consumers’ and the potential buyers’ attention. At the last stage of the product’s life cycle, it is useful to opt for sales promotion techniques. The authors would like to stress the importance of selecting marketing communications depending on the stage of product life cycle since there is a vast assortment of products and many alternatives in the market, with new products and services entering the market every year.


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1.5. The strengthening of link between marketing communications and the stages of buyers’ behaviour in the market

when planning and implementing marketing communications, companies should take into account at what stage of behaviour in the market the target audience currently is. Figure 4 presents the level of effici-ency of various marketing communications depending on the buyers’ behaviour in the process of purchase.

As shown in Figure 4, each stage of buyers’ behaviour has a different order of priority of marketing com-munications, but there is a persistent tendency of direct marketing being the most universal at all stages of buyers’ behaviour, reaching high efficiency. Although advertising is also effective at every stage of buyers’ behaviour (except for buying), its role has become less prominent, as it follows from Figure 4 that adver-tising reaches a high level of efficiency only at the stage of emergence of need when a lot of information regarding the product is necessary.

Figure 3. Company’s marketing communications at the stages of product life cycleSource: Berkowitz, Kerin, Rudelius, 1989: 442


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2. Study of market ing communicat ions at the s tages of buyers’ behaviour in the market

essentially agreeing with the conclusions on the peculiarities of marketing communications in the pre-sent conditions, the authors proposed a hypothesis that the peculiarities show as a tendency, but in a particu-lar situation one must reckon with the factors of external environment and the specific character of commu-nication objects – the industry, the company, the product. In order to either approve or reject the hypothesis, the authors researched marketing communications in the market of construction supplies in Latvia.

In order to evaluate the influence of marketing communications on the behaviour of buyers in the mar-ket – the emergence of need for construction supplies, the search of information on construction supplies and assessment of alternatives, the making of decision upon buying construction supplies and the purchase – a questionnaire for consumers was drawn up. The usage of products as a stage of buyers’ behaviour in the market was not researched because it is considered a post-purchase action and would thus require a different target audience. The questionnaire was distributed to consumers on the Internet by sending invitations to participate in the poll. The inquiry took place in december 2011, and people from all major cities of Latvia were invited. overall, 417 respondents – 183 women and 234 men of different ages, education levels and occupations – were polled. Such computer software as MS Excel and SPSS was used in the summarization and analysis of poll data. The goal of the survey was to explore marketing communications in particular stages of buyers’ behaviour.

The respondents’ assessment of the influence of marketing communications on different stages of buyers’ behaviour has been summarized in Tables 2 to 5, with the numbers of types of MC representing the follo-wing: 1 – advertisement on television, 2 – advertisement in newspapers and magazines, 3 – advertisement on the Internet, 4 – advertisement on radio, 5 – environment advertisement, 6 – direct marketing, 7 – advertise-ment stands, 8 – competitions and lotteries, 9 – price discounts, 10 – coupons, 11 – souvenirs, 12 – personal selling, 13 – sponsorship and support in public events.

Figure 4. Efficiency of marketing communications depending on the stage of buyers’ behaviour in the purchase processSource: egan, 2007: 150


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Table 2. Consumers’ evaluation of marketing communications upon emergence of need for construction supplies

number of respondents, %

type of Mc Significantly influences Influences Indifferent Does not

influencenegatively influences

1 15.5 42.0 21.1 15.8 5.72 8.8 45.4 30.3 13.2 2.23 12.6 41.6 28.4 13.2 4.14 12.3 32.5 31.2 18.9 5.05 9.8 41.6 31.2 14.5 2.86 12.6 46.4 26.2 12.3 2.57 10.1 38.5 36.9 12.3 2.28 22.7 33.8 26.8 14.5 2.29 56.5 35.6 5.0 1.6 1.310 36.6 34.1 21.8 6.0 1.611 25.2 24.3 34.1 14.2 2.212 40.1 39.1 14.2 6.0 0.613 25.2 28.4 31.9 13.2 1.3

Source: created by the authors

As shown in Table 2.92 % (the aggregate percentage of both ratings) of the people polled have admitted being influenced and positively influenced by price discounts at the moment of emergence of a need for construction supplies. 5 % are indifferent to price discounts, and as little as 2.9 % of the respondents consider there is no or negative influence of price discounts during the emergence of a need for construction supplies. Price discounts as a factor is the most influential upon the need for construction supplies.

Coupons also show good indices upon the emergence of a need for construction supplies, as 70 % of the respondents have admitted being influenced or significantly influenced by coupons. 20 % are indifferent to coupons, while 7.6 % of the people polled are either not influenced or negatively influenced. This mostly likely stems from the fact that coupons are informative materials that need to be read, reviewed and studied, but consumers frequently do not wish to spend time on it, hence, for instance, price discounts are rated higher due to not requiring time, reading and searching. According to Table 2.79.2 % of the respondents believe that personal selling either influences or significantly influences them when there is a need for construction sup-plies. 14.2 % have marked that they are indifferent to personal selling. Consumers are not always interested in the opinions or knowledge of vendors regarding certain products. Such consumers choose construction supplies on their own and search for relevant information themselves.

The summary of results indicates that direct marketing has a positive influence during the emergence of a need for construction supplies, as 59 % of the respondents have admitted this. A relatively small number of people consider direct marketing being of no influence, hence the authors conclude that direct marketing is important right at the moment of emergence of a need for construction supplies.

Competitions and lotteries either influence of significantly influence 56.5 % of the respondents (the ag-gregate percentage of both ratings). only 16.7 % of the respondents consider that competitions and lotteries have no or negative influence during the emergence of a need for construction supplies. 26.8 %, i.e., less than a third of the respondents, are indifferent to competitions and lotteries. This stems from the fact that the essence of competitions and lotteries is the possibility for consumers to obtain additional benefit from what they as if intend to buy.

Table 2 shows that advertisements on television, in newspapers and magazines still have a prominent role. Companies trading construction supplies still use specialized magazines and newspapers to discuss new products, new technologies and topical issues.


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Table 2 also shows that 54.2 % are influenced by advertisements on the Internet during the emergence of a need for construction supplies. Indifference is probably the case with those respondents who note at the beginning of the survey that they have neither seen nor heard advertisements on construction supplies merchants and the products offered in the market, and have not purchased construction supplies this year.

Radio advertisements are less influential on the people than other types of advertisement during the emergence of a need for construction supplies. This probably relates to the fact that a radio advertisement is limited to hearing, whereas a televised advertisement is both heard and seen, thus reinforcing emotions and the message the advertiser intends to convey. Hence, the importance of radio is lower than that of television upon the emergence of a need for construction supplies.

31.9 % of the people polled are indifferent to sponsorship, while 14.5 % believe it has no or even negative influence. This is probably linked to the way a company communicates with the society and renders support to publicly significant events. Such kind of marketing activity will only promote a positive attitude towards and remembrance of construction supplies merchants, but will not necessarily arouse a need for construction supplies.

overall, the results of the poll suggest that sales promotion measures (price discounts, coupons etc.), personal selling, direct marketing and advertisements on television, the Internet and in press have the most influence on consumers during the emergence of a need for construction supplies.

The next stage of buyers’ behaviour in the market involves the search of information and the assessment of alternatives. The study is conducted with a view to find out which of the marketing communication is the most influential upon buyers at the moment when they already have a need for construction supplies and it is necessary to choose a particular product and obtain additional information thereon.

Table 3. Consumers’ evaluation of marketing communications upon searching information and assessing alternatives


type of Mc Significantly influences Influences Indifferent Does not influence negatively

influences1 15.8 38.2 26.8 15.8 3.52 11.0 39.4 31.2 15.5 2.83 15.8 46.4 24.3 10.7 2.84 11.0 30.9 33.4 21.5 3.25 9.8 35.0 37.9 14.8 2.56 17.0 47.9 24.0 8.8 2.27 13.2 38.2 32.5 14.8 1.38 22.7 33.4 26.2 16.1 1.69 55.8 34.7 6.0 2.8 0.610 35.0 34.4 18.6 10.7 1.311 21.8 25.2 32.8 18.3 1.912 39.4 40.1 14.5 5.7 0.313 22.7 30.3 30.6 15.5 0.9


The data of Table 3 show that 53.9 % of the respondents are influenced or significantly influenced by advertisements on television while searching information on products and assessing alternatives (calculated by summing up the percentages of both evaluations). 15.8 % are not influenced by televised advertisements, and 3.5 % of the respondents admit negative influence during the search of information on products and the weighing of alternatives. 26.8 %, for their part, are indifferent to television advertisements when looking for information. This might be related to the tendency of consumers searching information on the products of interest in the market themselves, on the Internet or in catalogues.


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For 50.5 % of the respondents, advertisements in newspapers and magazines have influence or significant influence on their behaviour while searching information on construction supplies and assessing alternatives. The percentage is slightly lower than in the case of television, which is indicative of the reduced popularity of newspapers and magazines. The authors addressed this popularity rating among the trends of development of marketing communications.

The data suggest that one can opt for cheaper means of marketing communications to inform consumers of products and features, giving them sufficient information to compare the product alternatives available in the market. For instance, various product descriptions in specialized magazines might cost for the company much less than an advertisement on television, besides the target audience of such magazines is direct and unambiguous as those are only read by people for whom the issue is topical because the specialized maga-zines are relatively expensive.

62.1 % of the people polled have marked the Internet as a means of communication with influence or significant influence on their behaviour in the market (the aggregate percentage of both ratings). This stems from the increased popularity of the Internet among consumers over the recent years as far as searching for information is concerned. For companies it means a much cheaper means of communication to inform con-sumers of products, merchants etc. 10.7 % who have marked that the Internet does not influence them in the search of information on products are probably those without regular access to the Internet as such. 24.3 % of the respondents have stated indifference to the Internet. The authors would attribute the latter group to either infrequent access to the Internet, insufficient skills or the lack of resources, for instance, computers. It is also possible that these respondents have not had a need for construction supplies and are unlikely to have one soon, therefore they do not look for information on this matter.

According to Table 3, the popularity of radio advertisements as far as searching for product informa-tion is concerned is much lower than, for instance, that of the Internet. It is equal to the respective indices concerning the emergence of a need for construction supplies. This suggests that radio is behind other mass media in terms of popularity. 33 % of indifferent respondents is the higher percentage so far with regard to the importance of mass media in the search of product information.

As can be seen in Table 3.65 % of the respondents are influenced (47.9 %) and significantly influenced (17 %) by direct marketing while searching information on products. The result is higher than for the Inter-net suggesting that the role of direct marketing in providing information on products is prominent and event necessary for consumers.

Price discounts, just as at the stage of emergence of a need for construction supplies, have substantial influence on the buyers’ behaviour in the market, as 34.7 % are influenced and 55.8 % are significantly influ-enced by price discounts when weighing alternatives, resulting in a total of 90.5 %. This suggests that sales promotion would be efficient in the cases when the buyer already has a need for construction supplies and is looking for options in terms of products, pricing and quality.

Coupons are also popular and influential on searching alternatives and product information, still they are slightly behind price discounts, as 34.4 % of the respondents have admitted influence and 35 % have admit-ted significant influence of coupons. Curiously, there are three times more indifferent respondents than in the case of price discounts, amounting to 18.6 %. This illustrates the trend that only certain groups of consumers use coupons, although the influence is considerable against the background of other means of marketing communications.

Competitions and lotteries influence or significantly influence 56.2 % of the respondents when informa-tion is sought for and alternatives are assessed. Both price and gain are important factors for consumers, and competitions and lotteries may affect their selection among alternatives. At this stage of buyers’ behaviour, there are almost twice less indifferent respondents that upon emergence of a need for construction supplies, approving the conclusion that, when looking for alternatives, consumers need an incentive, for instance, a competition or lottery.

A relatively large share of respondents (32.8 %) are indifferent to souvenirs in the search of products and assessment of alternatives. 18.3% consider that there is no influence, which is the second highest percentage


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behind radio among mass media for product information searches. Consequently, the use of souvenirs would be less efficient if consumers only searched product information or assessed alternatives.

As shown in Table 3, personal selling influences the majority of respondents upon searching product information and assessing alternatives. 40.1 % have selected influence and 39.4 % have selected significant influence, resulting in a total of 79.5 %. This indicates that personal selling, which includes consultations by salesmen, is the second most important means of communication behind price discounts. Consequently, companies should pay attention to how salesmen communicate with buyers, how much and how professio-nally they can tell about the products offered and how to present their company in general.

Sponsorship and public relations influence and significantly influence 53 % or the respondents (calculated as the aggregate percentage of both ratings), while 30.6 % are indifferent. 15.5 % of the respondents consider that sponsorship and public relations are of no influence and 0.9 % – that they are of negative influence. The indifferent and those with no influence and negative influence together make 47 %, i.e., for almost half of the people polled sponsorship or support of public events does not affect the process of product assessment.

overall, we can conclude that at the stage of buyers’ behaviour featuring the search of information and the assessment of alternatives the major marketing communications are price discounts, personal selling, direct marketing and advertising on the Internet.

Further we will analyse how the same marketing communications affect the buyers’ behaviour when they make decisions of buying construction supplies.

Table 4. Consumers’ evaluation of marketing communications upon buying decision




1 11.4 32.2 30.9 22.4 3.22 8.2 30.9 35.3 23.7 1.93 12.9 36.3 28.7 19.6 2.54 9.1 26.8 37.2 24.3 2.55 7.6 27.1 39.7 23.7 1.96 13.2 41.6 28.7 15.5 0.97 10.1 30.6 37.2 20.5 1.68 19.9 30.6 29.7 18.3 1.69 51.1 34.7 8.2 5.4 0.610 30.9 35.3 19.9 12.9 0.911 17.0 24.6 35.0 22.4 0.912 36.6 39.1 13.9 9.8 0.613 19.6 24.0 31.5 23.7 1.3


Televised advertisements influence or significantly influence 43.5 % of the respondents upon buying decision, whereas almost twice less or 22.4 % feel they are not influenced by advertisements on television. Since 56.5 % of the respondents are indifferent to or unaffected by televised advertisements, we can conclu-de that the influence of television as a mass medium on making the decision of purchase is less substantial than, for instance, on the search of information and the assessment of alternatives.

The same trend at this stage of buyers’ behaviour applies to advertisements in newspapers and magazines. Only 39.1 % of the people polled admit possible influence of advertisements in newspapers and magazines on their decision of a purchase of construction supplies. Accordingly, for 60.9 % the buying decision is unaffected by advertisements in these media. Consequently, there is not much sense for companies to spend funds on advertising unless it is designed to simply inform consumers.


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As indicated by Table 4, the influence of advertisements on the Internet is merely by 10% higher than that of newspaper and magazine advertisements and does not even reach a half of the respondents. 37.2 % are indifferent to radio advertisements at this stage. These indices again suggest that radio, television, newspa-pers and the Internet are useful for a general notification of consumers, the promotion of recognisability, the building of attitude, confidence and a company’s image, whereas, in order for the consumers to decide upon a purchase of construction supplies, other means of marketing communications are required.

The influence of environment advertisements on buying decisions is not higher than that of adverti-sements in other media analysed afore. 65.3 % of the respondents (the aggregate percentage of the three ratings) are indifferent to, not influenced or negatively influenced by environment advertisements, and such a high percentage testifies to the low popularity of this type of marketing communications among buyers. Thus, companies should be cautious as to the significance of environment advertisements, as those were not rated high at the previous stages of buyers’ behaviour either.

In comparison with the earlier analysed types of marketing communications, direct marketing shows a positive tendency, as 54.9 % (the aggregate percentage of both ratings) have been influenced or significantly influenced by this type of marketing communications during the buying decision.

Advertisement stands, just as advertisements in mass media, are not very popular at this stage of buyers’ behaviour, as 59.3 % of the respondents are either indifferent to, not influenced or negatively influenced by this means of marketing communications when it comes to a buying decision. Since at the previous stage of buyers’ behaviour 51.4 % of the respondents considered advertisement stands influential, this type of marketing communications is obviously more efficient on those buyers who are yet only searching product information and analysing the alternatives available in the market.

Competitions and lotteries have influence for 30.6 % and significant influence for 19.9 % of the people polled as to their buying decisions, thus can be considered rather influential. Price discounts, for their part, retain their prominent role gained at the previous stages of buyers’ behaviour, as 34.7 % of the respondents have marked influence and 51.1 % have marked significant influence, resulting in an aggregate of 85.8 %, which makes price discounts the main factor of influence on the buyers’ behaviour at this stage.

According to Table 4, coupons are more influential than, for instance, advertisements in mass media. The total percentage of respondents admitting the influence of coupons upon their buying decisions is 66.2 %, surpassing that of competitions and lotteries even though coupons are usually valid for a limited period of time. For companies it suggests that, considering the popularity of this means of marketing communications, the number of buyers within a certain timeframe can be predicted.

Souvenirs enjoy less acknowledgment than other types of sales promotion, as the percentages of influen-ced and significantly influenced respondents are 24.6 % and 17 % respectively.

There is a persistent tendency, with Table 4 indicating the significance of personal selling at this stage of buyers’ behaviour – it has influenced or significantly influenced 75.7 % of the people polled (the aggregate percentage of both ratings). Only 13.9 % of the respondents are indifferent to personal selling, and 10.4 % believe it is of no or negative influence on their decision of buying construction supplies. At the previous stage of buyers’ behaviour, less than 10% rated personal selling as non-influential. Hence, personal selling tends to be substantial at almost all stages of buyers’ behaviour.

Sponsorship and support for public events, just as environment advertisements and advertisement stands, are less influential as far as buying decisions are concerned. Less than 43.5% of the respondents admitted influence or significant influence of sponsorship and support for public events, most probably due to the fact that public relations are single events and might not be memorized by buyers at the time of buying decision. The role of public relations, as note before, is the promotion of communications and positive attitude rat-her than influence on the buyers’ behaviour. However, public relations could be one among several factors influencing buyers, therefore companies should consider joining public relations with some other means of marketing communications to reach their goals in communicating with the audience.

overall, following the trend of the previously analysed stages of buyers’ behaviour, such types of marke-ting communications as sales promotion, including price discounts and coupons, personal selling, including


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consultations by salesmen, and direct marketing take the leading roles. These types of marketing communi-cations can be used both individually and jointly.

Further we will analyse the influence of means of marketing communications on the next stage of buyers’ behaviour – the purchase at the place of sale.

Table 5. Consumers’ evaluation of marketing communications upon the stage of purchase




1 12.9 30.6 27.1 25.6 3.82 7.9 32.5 30.6 26.5 2.53 11.7 34.7 26.2 24.9 2.54 10.1 24.6 33.1 29.3 2.85 7.3 27.8 34.1 28.7 2.26 13.2 42.6 23.3 19.6 1.37 11.0 29.3 33.1 24.6 1.98 18.9 27.1 26.5 25.6 1.99 34.7 34.1 12.9 17.7 17.710 22.1 31.9 21.8 23.0 1.311 15.8 22.1 29.3 30.9 1.912 34.7 39.4 12.6 12.3 0.913 19.2 23.7 30.0 25.2 1.9


The data of Table 5 show that 30.6 % of the respondents are influenced and 12.9 % are significantly influenced by televised advertisements during the process of product purchase. However, overall less than half (43.5 %) feel influenced by television advertisements upon product purchases. There is only 2 % of difference between those who are not influenced by television advertisements and those who are indifferent.

A similar trend of not much influence applies to advertisement in newspapers and magazines. While tele-vised advertisements significantly influenced 12.9 % of the people polled, newspaper and magazine adverti-sements have significant influence on as little as 7.9 %, i.e., less than a tenth of the respondents.

Advertisements on the Internet influence 46.4 % of the respondents, surpassing the percentages of tele-vision and radio by 3 % and 6 % respectively. However, these indices do not deserve very much attention as they are relevant to less than a half to the people polled.

Radio advertisements have less influence on consumers than the other types of advertisements in the mass media, with the total percentage reaching 34.7 % or barely above one third of the respondents. This once again testifies to the reduced popularity of radio as mass medium.

Direct marketing influences the product purchase for 42.6 % of the respondents and significantly influ-ences for 13.2 %. overall, direct marketing could be regarded as a substantial means of communication at this stage of buyers’ behaviour, as 55.8 % or more than a half of the respondents admitted being influenced by direct marketing. This suggests that a marketing data base is useful as assistance for home-based buyers and has become relatively popular.

Advertisement stands, similarly to mass media advertisements, have had less influence on buyers during product purchases. Competitions and lotteries have influenced less than a half of the people polled, i.e., 46.1 %. Thus, at this stage of buyers’ behaviour the analysed means of marketing communications split into groups, and they do not yield the expected efficiency at all stages of buyers’ behaviour. Quite logically, 68.8 % of the res-pondents have admitted having been influenced by price discounts in product purchases. The role of coupons,


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according to Table 5, is also prominent. The authors conclude that, just as with price discounts previously, it is a result of positive contentment, with the buyer thinking that he/she has purchased products for a good price. Perhaps coupons have enabled the respondents to buy more products for the price of single or obtain other bo-nuses resulting in positive emotions upon purchase. Hence, more than a half of the respondents (53.9 %) admit that coupons have influenced them in the process of purchase of construction supplies.

Personal selling has influenced 39.4 % of the people polled and their behaviour upon purchase, and 34.7 % admit significant influence. These indices prove that personal selling is highly important at all stages of buyers’ behaviour in the market and affects the vast majority of buyers.

Sponsorship and souvenirs have relatively little influence on product purchases, which means that spon-sorship, just as any advertisement, is a substantial means of communication to a certain extent and the buil-ding of dialogue between the buyer and the seller, but not at this stage of buyers’ behaviour. Thus, as the author’s have previously concluded, sponsorship serves for building mutual relationship rather than solving technical issues concerning the purchase of a particular product.

overall, the results of the authors’ study approve the proposed hypothesis that the peculiarities of marke-ting communications show as trends and their development is influenced by factors of external environment and particular communication objects – the industry, the company, the products etc.

At the first stage of buyers’ behaviour – the emergence of need – the highest influence is essentially that of advertising, direct marketing and public relations (see Figure 4). According to the authors’ research, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing and certain types of advertising stand out.

At the second stage of buyers’ behaviour – the search of information and the assessment of alternatives – the highest influence is essentially that of direct marketing, advertising and public relations (see Figure 4). According to the authors’ research, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing and certain types of advertising stand out.

At the third stage of buyers’ behaviour – the buying decision – the highest influence is essentially that of direct marketing, advertising and public relations (see Figure 4). According to the authors’ research, sales promotion, personal selling and direct marketing stand out.

At the fourth stage of buyers’ behaviour – the purchase – the highest influence is essentially that of perso-nal selling, direct marketing and sales promotion (see Figure 4). The authors’ research emphasizes the same types of marketing communications.

As it can be seen, the defined trends of development of marketing communications were essentially approved by the authors’ research, but there were such distinctions as the significant role of product sales promotion and the weak role of public relations.

In the authors’ opinion, the influence of sales promotion measures (incl. price discounts) on the buyers’ behaviour can be explained with external environment factors – the relatively low purchasing power of people and the fierce competition in the construction supplies market. The weak influence of public relations (incl. sponsorship) on the buyers’ behaviour in the market stems from the specific character of construction supplies market, the lack of knowledge in the preparation of public events and the high implementation costs thereof.

By using each type of marketing communications separately, it is possible to achieve a goal in short term, whereas by using different types in combination and by integrating them it is possible to attain long-term efficiency – increase the sales amounts, the number of customers and loyal purchasers, improve the commu-nicative efficiency in the company’s dialogue and relationship with the customers and society. If a company uses a complex of marketing communications or integrated marketing communications in communication with consumers and product promotion, it can work with the existing and potential buyer continuously rather than in campaigns. without doubt, there are peculiarities of product selling and service provision in each industry, but there are also common market trends that apply to all industries.

Conclusions / Recommendat ions

1. The trends of development of marketing communications nowadays are the rise in popularity of the Internet as an advertising medium; extensive communication possibilities among consumers; the in-


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crease of importance of direct marketing; the strengthening of link between marketing communi-cations and the stages of buyers’ behaviour in the market; the selection of marketing communications based on the stages of product life cycle.

2. The said peculiarities of development of marketing communications show as tendencies are subject to the influence of factors of external environment, objects of communication, the specific character of industry, companies and products.

3. The research conducted in the construction suppliers market confirmed both the objective trends of de-velopment of marketing communications and the influence of external environment and other factors.

4. The companies should increase the part of marketing communications budget related to direct marke-ting and personal selling, thus enhancing the role of personalized communications.

5. when planning communication with the buyers, their behaviour in the market at the relevant stage should be taken into account.

References

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P. (2009). Marketing: an introduction. 9th edition. USA: Prentice Hall, 656 p.Berkowitz, E. N., Kerin, R., Rudelius, W. (1989). Marketing. 2nd edition. USA: Irwin, 752 p.Bērziņš, D. (2011). Pārdoto kuponu skaits (online). G. Marta kolektīvā iepirkšanās – Atlaizuklubs dominē pēc kupona

skaita, bet Perkamkopa audzē ieņēmumus 05.04.2011 (accessed on 07.05.2012). Available from: http://www.digi-talaisbizness.lv/tag/kuponi/

Blaits, Dž. (2004). Mārketings, Rokasgrāmata. Rīga: Apgāds Zvaigzne ABC, 284 p.egan, J. (2007). Marketing Communications. London: Thomson Learning, 467 p.Gleizde, G. (2012). Viedokļu līderi – nenovērtēti vai pārvērtēti. Lietišķā diena, No. 17(258), 38 p.kotlers, F. (2006). Mārketinga pamati. Rīga: Jumava, 647 p.Latvijas reklāmas asociācija – Mediju reklāmas tirgus dati (online). Accessed on 08.05.2012. Available from http://

www.lra.lv/main.php?item=134Praude, V. (2011). Mārketings, 2. grāmata, 3. izdevums. Rīga: Burtene, 340 p.Praude, V., Šalkovska, J. (2005). Mārketinga komunikācijas, 1.sēj. Rīga: Vaidelote, 485 p.Smith, P. R., Zook Ze. (2011). Marketing Communications (integrating offline and online with social media). Phila-

delphia, PA: Kogan Page, 483 p.

R I N K O D A R O S K O m u N I K A c I j O S į tA K A vA RtO tO j ų S p R e N D I m O p R I ė m I m O p R O c e S u I

Valērijs Praude, santa BormaneLatvijos universitetas (Latvija)

Santrauka

Straipsnyje apžvelgiama rinkodaros komunikacijos esmė ir svarba šiuolaikinėje rinkoje bei versle, rin-kodaros komunikacijos vystymosi tendencijos: didėjantis interneto populiarumas, vartotojų komunikacijos pokyčiai, tiesioginės rinkodaros svarba, rinkodaros komunikacijos priklausomumas nuo produkto gyvavimo ciklo. Atkreipiamas dėmesys į rinkodaros komunikacijos rūšis, taikomas skirtingose pirkėjo elgsenos sta-dijose. Autoriai pateikia savo tyrimo, kuris atliktas 2011 metais, rezultatus. Šiame tyrime autoriai naudojo organizacijų duomenis, apklausė 417 respondentų ir išanalizavo gautus rezultatus.

PAGRINDINIAI žODžIAI: rinkodaros komunikacija, vystymosi tendencijos, pirkėjo elgsena rinkoje.

JeL kLASIFIkACIJA: M310


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K O O R D I N AV I M O S I S T E M O S O R G A N I Z A C I J Ų T I N K L U O S E M O D E L I S

Edgaras ribačonka1, Darius Burgis2

Klaipėdos universitetas (Lietuva)

ANOTACIJAStraipsnyje susieti autorių pateikti organizacijų, turinčių tinklines struktūras, suvokimo lygiai ir pagrindiniai tinklinių struktūrų tipai. Pastebėta, kad ne kiekvieną tinklinę organizaciją galima pavadinti organizacijų tinklu. Tai lemia du skirtingus požiūrius į tinklines struktūras. Organizacijų tinklas vienareikšmiškai susieja kelias juridiškai nepriklausomas organizacijas, kurios siekia sudaryti nau-dingą sąjungą, užtikrinančią sėkmingą organizacijos veiklą greitai kintančiomis sąlygomis. Šių tinklų, kaip verslo organizavimo for-mų, koordinavimo sistema gali iš esmės skirtis. Straipsnyje parodoma koordinavimo sistemos organizacijų tinkle svarba, užtikrinant organizacijos veiklos efektyvumą, išnagrinėtas koordinavimo sistemos CPFR modelis ir priemonės, būtinos užtikrinti šio modelio funkcionavimą. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: tinklinė organizacija, organizacijų tinklas, koordinavimas.

JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: L14, M10.

Įvadas

Pastaraisiais dešimtmečiais pastebima vertikalių, biurokratinių organizacijų krizė, siekiama kurti lanks-tesnes tinklines struktūras. Šiuolaikinėje ekonomikoje vyksta globalizacijos procesai, kuriuos lydi didėjantys informacijos srautai ir besiplečiantys ūkio ryšiai. Šiomis sąlygomis atsiranda objektyvus poreikis sujungti organizacijų išteklius, siekiant sustiprinti konkurencines pozicijas rinkose ir efektyviai išnaudoti investici-nius išteklius. Tad savaime suprantama, kad išauga tinklinių organizacijų, kaip realių galimybių garantijos, skatinančios investicijų pritraukimą ir efektyvų jų naudojimą ūkio procesuose, vaidmuo. Vykstant poky-čiams verslo subjektai, remdamiesi tam tikrais kriterijais, buria aplink save panašių subjektų „bendriją“. Visa tai galima paaiškinti, kaip organizacijos norą ginti savo interesus ir padidinti savų išteklių efektyvumą. Taip susikuria tvarios ekonomikos subjektų grupės, sujungtos pačiais įvairiausiais tinklais. Pagrindiniai tinklo dalyvius siejantys elementai: istoriškai susiklostę įsipareigojimai ir abipusis suinteresuotumas, galimybės dalyvauti bendrovės veikloje ir naudotis jos ištekliais, rinkos ir technologijų priklausomybė, administravimo išteklių prieiga ir t. t. Organizacijų tinklas – tai vertės kūrimo sistema, kurioje kelios organizacijos, pasižy-minčios viena kitą papildančiomis stiprybėmis, sudaro visiems dalyviams naudingą sąjungą, kuri užtikrina sėkmingą organizacijos veiklą sparčiai kintančiomis sąlygomis (Castells, 2005; Issakson, 2010; Staniulie-

1 Edgaras Ribačonka – asistentas, Klaipėdos universiteto Socialinių mokslų fakulteto Vadybos katedra; doktorantas, Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Ekonomikos ir vadybos fakulteto Vadybos katedra. Mokslinės veiklos kryptys: gamybos valdymas, derybų technika, vadyba.El. paštas: [email protected].: +370 698 131 61.

2 Darius Burgis – asistentas, Klaipėdos universiteto Socialinių mokslų fakulteto Vadybos katedra; doktorantas, Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Ekonomikos ir vadybos fakulteto Vadybos katedra. Mokslinės veiklos kryptys: krizinių situacijų valdymas, informacinių technologijų taikymas valdyme.El. paštas: [email protected].: +370 46 398 666.

Edgaras ribačonka, darius burgisKOORDINAVIMO SISTEMOS ORGANIZACIJŲ TINKLUOSE MODELIS

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nė, 2006; Zakarevičius, 2002). Organizacijų tinkluose vienas svarbiausių darbų – koordinavimo sistemos tarp jos narių sukūrimas, kurios paskirtis – suderinti ir sinchronizuoti tinklą sudarančių organizacijų veiks-mus. Tinklinių struktūrų koordinavimo sistemos funkcionavimo problemas tyrė nemažai mokslininkų (Кущ, 2006; Danese, 2006 Kumar, 2001; Seifert, 2003; Rudberg, 2009).

Problema – sunkumai, kylantys koordinuojant tinklo narių veiklą siekiant bendro tikslo.Tyrimo objektas: koordinavimo sistema organizacijų tinkluose. Tyrimo tikslas: pateikti koordinavimo sistemą organizacijų tinkluose iliustruojantį modelį. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1. Pateikti požiūrius į tinklines struktūras 2. Nustatyti koordinavimo sistemos

organizacijų tinkluose sandarą. 3. Pateikti koordinavimo sistemos organizacijų tinkluose modelį.Tyrimo metodai: straipsnis parašytas taikant mokslinės literatūros analizės, sintezės ir apibendrinimo

metodus. Išanalizuota ir apibendrinta tinklinių organizacijų (Castells, 2005; Issakson ir kt., 2010; Staniulie-nė, 2006; Zakarevičius, 2002) bei koordinavimo procesų (Кущ, 2006; Danese, 2006; Kumar, 2001; Seifert, 2003; Rudberg, 2009) mokslinė literatūra. Taikant sintezės metodą, sukurtas koordinavimo sistemą organi-zacijų tinkluose iliustruojantis modelis.

1 . Požiūr ių į t inkl ines s t ruktūras anal izė

Didėjanti konkurencija pasaulinėse rinkose ir revoliuciniai pokyčiai informacinėse technologijose nu-lėmė diskretinių santykių tarp organizacijų transformavimąsi į daug glaudesnius ilgalaikius tarpusavio san-tykius (Кущ, 2006). Galima kalbėti apie organizacinių sienų skaidrėjimą ir tinklinių strukūrų formavimąsi. Anot M. Castells (2005), tinklinė organizacija – tai specifinė organizacijos forma, kurios priemonių sistemą sudaro savarankiškų tikslų sistemų segmentų sankirta. Taigi tinklo sudedamosios dalys yra ir savarankiškos jo atžvilgiu ir nuo jo priklausomos, jos taip pat gali būti kitų tinklų, orientuotų į kitus tikslus, dalis.

D. Bukantaitė, apibendrindama mokslininkų pateiktus tinklinės organizacijos apibrėžimus, teigia, kad „įvairūs autoriai skirtingai apibrėžia tinklines organizacijas, akcentuodami kelių organizacijų valdymą, ben-drą strategiją ar veiklą tam tikroje srityje ar sferoje bei įtakos turėjimą, atskirų narių resursų ir gebėjimų svarbą, abipusį bendradarbiavimą ir mainus, nehierarchines struktūras, bendro tikslo ir naudos siekį, ryšius, ilgalaikiškumo ir konkurencingumo užtikrinimą, saugumą ir socialinius santykius“ (Bukantaitė, 2006: 27). Kaip teigia R. Haggins (2000), tinkline struktūra vadinama struktūra, apimanti dvi ir daugiau organizacijų, kurios kelia tuos pačius tikslus ir veikia spręsdamos bendras problemas, bendradarbiaudamos ilgą laiką.

F. Webster (1995) tinklinę struktūrą įvardija kaip laisvą ir lanksčią koaliciją, valdomą iš vieningo centro, kuris imasi tokių svarbių funkcijų, kaip aljansų sudarymas ir jų valdymas, technologijų ir finansinių išteklių koordinavimas, kompetencijų ir strategijos ribų nustatymas, taip pat sprendžia klausimus, kurie susiję su informacijos išteklių sutelkimu vientisoje sistemoje.

Kaip teigia S. Staniulienė (2006), organizacijas, kurios turi tinklinę struktūrą, galima suvokti skirtingais lygiais:

y organizacijos lygis (kai vienos organizacijos valdymo struktūra yra tinklinė); y tarporganizacinio tinklo lygis (kai kelios ar daugiau organizacijų susijusios tinkliniais ryšiais, tuo tar-

pu pačios gali būti valdomos įvairaus tipo hierarchinių struktūrų); y globalaus tinklo lygis (kai visa iš organizacijų susidedanti visuomenė yra globalus tinklas, kuriame

kiekviena organizacija, turėdama tinklinę struktūrą, su kitomis yra susijusi tinkliniais ryšiai ir sunku atskirti, kur baigiasi vienos organizacijos tinklinė struktūra ir prasideda globalus organizacijų tinklas).

Mokslininkai C. C. Snow, R. E. Miles, H. J. Coleman (1992) pirmieji pasiūlė tinklinių struktūrų klasifi-kaciją ir aprašė jų veikimo mechanizmą, jie skyrė tris pagrindinius tinklinių struktūrų tipus: vidinis, stabilus ir dinaminis.

Vidinis tinklas nesiejamas su esminiu veiklų iškėlimu už organizacijos ribų, bet čia būtinos rinkos są-lygos. Vidinio tinklo logika tokia: jeigu organizacijos padaliniai dirbs pagal nustatytus (esamus) rinkos įkai-nius (kainas), o ne orientuosis tik į užduotis, planus bei juose nurodomą planinę savikainą, jie nuolat sieks


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didinti savo darbo efektyvumą. Puikus pavyzdys – automobilius gaminanti kompanija „General Motors“ ir Švedijos koncernas „ABB“.

Stabilus tinklas laikosi struktūrinių principų ir vadovaujasi funkcine operacijų valdymo logika. Tokio tipo tinklo tikslas – konkurencinio pranašumo įgijimas naudojant retus išteklius, nuoseklus vystymasis ir apsikeitimas vadybiniais bei technologiniais „žinau, kaip“. Stabilus tinklas iš dalies naudojasi paslaugomis ir/ar užsako prekes išorėje, taip suteikiama lankstumo vertės kūrimo grandinei. Tokio organizacijų tinklo aktyvai dažniausiai priklauso kelioms organizacijoms, kurios specializuojasi vienoje veiklos srityje. Dažnai veiklos partneriai „susitelkia“ ties viena iš dominuojančių organizacijų, teikdami jai savo išteklius arba tap-dami jos gaminamos produkcijos atstovais. Kaip tokio tinklo pavyzdį galime nurodyti automobilių gamin-tojus „Toyota“, „BMW“, kurių gaminamos produkcijos vertę sudaro net 70 procentų šalies įsigytų dalių ar mazgų. Didžioji dalis „BMW“ įmonės veiklos gali būti pakeista užsakymais iš išorės. Įmonė kontroliuoja tik keturias savo veiklos sritis: naujų medžiagų kūrimą, naujas gamybos technologijas, elektroniką ir naujus mokslinius tyrimus kai kuriose susijusiose srityse. Prie stabilaus tinklo privalumų galima būtų priskirti tieki-mo ir distribucijos stabilumą, glaudžių gamybos grafikų, siekiant kuo geriau išnaudoti įrenginius ir kokybės kontrolės kooperacijos ryšį, sudarymą. Trūkumas – didelė priklausomybė.

Dinaminiai tinklai artimi divizinei valdymo struktūrai, siekiantys prisitaikyti verslo aplinkoje su-telkdami veiklą savarankiškai valdomuose padaliniuose įvairiose rinkose. Dinaminiai tinklai plačiai išplito siuvimo pramonėje, žaislų gamybos, biotechnologijų pramonėje ir kompiuterių versle. Čia dominuojanti (centrinė) tinklo organizacija surenka į visumą reikalingus aktyvus, kurie priklauso kitoms organizacijoms. Paprastai šio tinklo branduolys yra tik verslo idėjos (supratimo, kaip viskas turi vykti) šerdis. Dinaminiai tinklai yra palankūs tiek specializacijai, tiek lankstumui, ypač ten, kur nepriklausomos organizacijos siekia įgyvendinti vienetinius ar trumpalaikius investicinius projektus su mažiausiomis operacinio laiko ir išteklių sąnaudomis.

Pateikta tinklinių organizacijų klasifikacija padeda įvertinti dalyvavimo vienoje iš tinklo struktūrų eko-nominę naudą organizacijai, kuo ypatingas gamybos organizacijų tinklų valdymas, nustatyti dalyvių ben-dradarbiavimo ekonominių ir socialinių aspektų santykį tinklo veikimo mechanizme, įvertinti konkurenciją organizacijų tinklo viduje, nustatyti globalių, vertikaliai integruotų korporacijų vietą pasaulinėje rinkoje, tinklų išplitimo priklausomybę nuo nacionalinės socialinės-ekonominės aplinkos.

Išanalizavus autorių pateiktus organizacijų, turinčių tinklinių struktūrų, suvokimo lygius ir pagrindinius tinklinių struktūrų tipus, galima pastebėti, kad ne kiekvieną tinklinę organizaciją galime vadinti organizacijų tinklu (1 pav.). Organizacijų tinklas vienareikšmiškai apima kelias juridiškai nepriklausomas organizacijas. Šių tinklų, kaip verslo organizavimo formų, koordinavimo sistema gali iš esmės skirtis.

1 POŽIŪRIS TINKLINĖ ORGANIZACIJATINKLO LYGIAI ORGANIZACIJOS LYGIS TARPORGANIZACINIS LYGISTINKLŲ TIPAI VIDINIS STABILUS DINAMINIS2 POŽIŪRIS TINKLINĖ ORGANIZACIJA ORGANIZACIJŲ TINKLAS

1 pav. Požiūriai į tinklines struktūrasŠaltinis: sudaryta autorių

Nagrinėdami koordinavimo sistemos sandarą ir kurdami koordinavimo sistemos modelį remsimės pa-teiktu antruoju požiūriu, prioritetą teikdami organizacijų tinklams.

2. Koordinavimo sis temos organizaci jų t inkluose sandara

Organizacijų tinklo valdymo problema sulaukia vis didesnio mokslininkų dėmesio. Organizacijų tinklo valdymas suprantamas dvejopai. Ekonominės sociologijos atstovai į tinklus žvelgia kaip į saviorganizuojan-čias sistemas, kurios kyla „iš apačios“, vietinės (lokalios) sąveikos lygyje (Hakansson, Ford, 2002; Hakans-son, Snehota, 1989). Strateginio valdymo atstovai (jų dauguma) pripažįsta sąmoningai sukurtus strateginius


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tinklus (angl. strategic networks) arba vertybių kūrimo tinklus (angl. value nets). Šie tinklai sutelkia jų daly-vius iš anksto nustatant jų vaidmenį (Jarillo, 1988; Moller, Svahn, 2003; Parolini, 1999).

Kaip reikėtų organizacijų tinklą valdyti? Nagrinėdami konkrečią organizaciją, kelsime tokius klausimus: kokie jos vystymosi dėsningumai, valdymo ypatumai, atsižvelgiant į esamą vidinę aplinką ir organizacijos gebėjimą ją keisti? Nagrinėjant sąveikaujančių organizacijų tinklą pagrindiniu klausimu tampa sąveikos tarp jų dėsningumai, kitaip tariant, visų dalyvių veiksmų koordinavimas, o ne pavienio tinklo dalyvio valdymas.

Organizacijos procesų koordinavimas yra viena svarbių vadybos mokslo nagrinėjamų temų. Koordinavi-mo tyrimų vadybos moksle kryptys pateikiamos 1 lentelėje.

1 lentelė. Procesų koordinavimo tyrimų vadybos moksle kryptys

RodikliaiKoordinavimo tipas

Procesų koordinavimas organizacijos viduje

Tarporganizacinis procesų koordinavimas

Koordinavimo objektai

Verslo vienetaiSkyriaiĮvairūs valdymo lygiaiOrganizacijų susijungimo ir susiliejimo tyrimas

Savarankiškos organizacijosDidelių organizacijų padaliniai (veiklos vienetai, skyriai)Organizacijų grupėsValstybės valdymo institucijos

Koordinavimo būdai ir „technologijos“

Organizacijos išteklių planavimas (angl. Enterprise Resurce Planning – ERP) Visuotinė kokybės vadyba (angl. Total Quality management – TQM)

Tiekimas laiku (angl. Just in time – JIT)Efektyvus atsakymas į užsakovų užklausimus (angl. Efficient Consumer Response – ECR)Bendras planavimas, prognozavimas ir atsargų papildymas (angl. Collaborative Planning, Forescasting and Replenishment – CPFR)


Anot T. Choi ir Y. Hong (2002), valdymas tinklinėse struktūrose lemia tam tikrą koordinavimo sistemą, kurios paskirtis – suderinti ir sinchronizuoti tinklą sudarančių organizacijų veiksmus. Reikia pažymėti, kad tarporganizacinis koordinavimas apima du vienas kitam iš esmės priešingus mechanizmus – rinkos (nema-toma rinkos „ranka“) ir hierarchinį (panašų į organizacijos vidaus valdymo mechanizmą). Paprastai tinklinę koordinavimo formą priskiriame prie hibridinių (mišrių), ji užima tarpinę vietą tarp rinkos ir hierarchinės formų, paremtų interaktyvia koordinacija. Tačiau tai nepaaiškina koordinavimo sampratos, juolab kad verslo praktikoje gausu įvairių koordinavimo formų ir metodų, skiriasi ir koordinavimo proceso dalyvių tikslai. Be to, mokslininkų skiriami idealūs koordinavimo tipai (rinkos, hierarchinis ir interaktyvus) verslo praktikoje yra sumišę (Bradch, Eccles, 1989). Manytina, kad paprastesnis yra rinkos koordinavimo tipas, paremtas rinkos santykiais, kurie natūraliai susiklosto tarp verslo partnerių. Hierarchinis koordinavimo tipas domi-nuoja tinklinėse organizacijose, kurios pavaldumo struktūra jau susiformavusi, tuo tarpu organizacijų tinklai, kuriuos sudarančios organizacijos yra juridiškai nepriklausomos, dažniausiai priverstos remtis kitais koor-dinavimo mechanizmais. Valdymo požiūriu įdomiausias yra interaktyvus koordinavimo tipas, kurį taikant bandoma suderinti hierarchiškai nepriklausomų tinklo narių veiksmus ir pasiekti didesnį efektyvumą, nei leistų vien kliovimasis rinkos mechanizmu.

P. Danese (2006) kaip koordinavimo mechanizmą įvardija visų tinklo narių veiksmų derinimą visuose tarp šių organizacijų vykstančiuose veiklos procesuose. T. Malone (1987) tarporganizacinį koordinavimą supranta kaip sprendimų priėmimo ir komunikacijos principų, siekiant bendrų tinklo tikslų, nustatymą. Mūsų supratimu, koordinavimo sistema tinklinėje organizacijoje yra veiksmų, priemonių ir komunikacijos kanalų visuma, leidžianti suderinti visų tinklo elementų tarpusavio santykius, struktūras, procesus ir kompleksiškai juos valdyti, siekiant iš anksto suderintų tikslų.

Siekiant detaliau išanalizuoti koordinavimo sistemos taikymą organizacijų tinkluose, tikslinga remtis Bendro planavimo, prognozavimo ir užsakymų formavimo modeliu (angl. Collaborative Planning, Forecas-


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ting and Replenishment, toliau – CPFR), kuris sietinas su interaktyviu koordinavimo tipu. CPFR – tai ben-dradarbiavimas dviejų ar daugiau tinklo narių, kurie siekia kurti bendrus planus, remdamiesi sinchronizuoto-mis prognozėmis, kurių pagrindu nustatomi gamybos ir atsargų papildymo principai (Danese, 2006). CPFR modelis siekia suderinti tarporganizacinius veiksmus ir padidinti jų efektyvumą, jį sudaro trys posistemiai, kiekvienas kurių apima visą kompleksą veiksmų (2 pav.).

2 pav. Bendro planavimo, prognozavimo ir užsakymų formavimo modelisŠaltinis: Danese, 2006

Realiai CPFR gali įgauti keletą formų, tai priklauso nuo IKT (informacinių, komunikacinių technologi-jų), veiksmingų koordinavimo priemonių ir tinklo integracijos laipsnio. Taikant skirtingas priemones, įgy-vendinant modelį, gaunami skirtingi rezultatai, tačiau kiekvienu atveju vadovai turėtų nuspręsti, ar verta investuoti į pažangias koordinavimo priemones, siekiant pagerinti koordinavimo procesą, ar užtenka naudoti paprastas priemones (faksas, elektroninis paštas, susitikimai „akis į akį“). Reikėtų atkreipti dėmesį, kad net ir kai kurios pažangiomis technologijomis besiremiančios priemonės, tokios kaip tradicinis organizacijos ište-klių planavimas (angl. Enterprise Resource Planning – ERP), orientuotos į verslo procesų koordinavimą or-ganizacijos viduje, ne visada gali būti sėkmingai pritaikytos koordinuojant tinklinės organizacijos procesus.

Anot D. Seifert (2003), visapusiškai išplėtota koordinavimo sistema tinklinėje organizacijoje turėtų pa-sižymėti šiomis galimybėmis:

y internetinis bendradarbiavimas, skirtas dalijimuisi informacija (atsargų planai, transporto poreikis, pakeitimai ir kt.) tarp tinklo partnerių;

y išimčių valdymas ir analizė: nustačius netikėtų nukrypimų, priemonė automatiškai išsiunčia praneši-mą atitinkamam tinklo nariui, kad jis galėtų prisijungti prie sistemos, įvertinti išimtį ir priimti atitin-kamus sprendimus;

y priežiūra ir ataskaitos suteikia galimybę analizuoti veiklos rezultatus pagal pasirinktus esminius rodi-klius, rengti valdymui būtinas ataskaitas.

Šiuo metu tinklinėse organizacijose siekiant didesnio efektyvumo paprastai diegiamos pažangios plana-vimo sistemos (angl. Advanced Planning System – APS) priemonės, kurios atitinka visus D. Seifert (2003) suformuluotus koordinavimo sistemos reikalavimus ir yra viena esminių priemonių norint užtikrinti efekty-vų CPFR modelio taikymą sudėtingose tinklinėse organizacijose.

Priešingai nei ERP, APS nedaroma prielaida, kad pajėgumai yra begaliniai, visi klientai, produktai ir žaliavos yra vienodai svarbūs, o gamybos laikas – nekintamas (Rudberg, Thulin, 2009). APS sutelkta ties paklausos netikrumo valdymu, atsargų lygio, transportavimo sąnaudų mažinimu ir/ar gamybos ciklo trumpi-nimu taikant optimizavimo priemones. APS teikia paramą priimant sprendimus, padeda analizuoti ir optimi-zuoti informacijos ir vertybių srautus tinklinėje organizacijoje. Tam APS naudoja prognozavimą, optimiza-vimo algoritmus, rengia scenarijus ir simuliacijas (Kumar, 2001). APS padeda parengti realų ir kuo artimesnį optimaliam planą visai tinklinei organizacijai, įvertinus „butelio kakliukus“ (angl. Bottleneck) konkrečiose tinklo vietose, bei koordinuoti tinklo partnerių veiksmus įgyvendinant patvirtintą ir suderintą planą (Rud-berg, 2009). Taigi APS galima laikyti CPFR koordinavimo centru, kuris susieja koordinavimo mazguose veikiančias ERP ir kitas priemones į vieningą tinklinės organizacijos koordinavimo sistemą.


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Apibendrinant galima teigti, kad APS leidžia pagerinti paslaugų kokybę, sumažinti atsargų kiekį visuose vertės grandinės lygiuose, pateikia tinklo vaizdą ir užtikrina efektyvesnį ribotų išteklių naudojimą. Taigi APS yra vienas svarbiausių koordinavimo sistemos elementų, lemiančių šios sistemos, kartu ir visos tinklinės organizacijos veiklos efektyvumą (3 pav.).

3 pav. Koordinavimo sistemos organizacijų tinkluose modelisŠaltinis: sudaryta autorių

Šiame modelyje apskritimas (APS) vaizduoja organizacijų tinklo koordinavimo sistemos centrą, komu-nikaciniais ryšiais susietą su koordinavimo mazgais (ERP), kurie kartu sudaro organizacijų tinklo koordina-vimo sistemą, sukurtą taikant CPFR modelį.

Išvados

Išanalizavus autorių pateiktus organizacijų, turinčių tinklinių struktūrų, suvokimo lygius ir pagrindinius tinklinių struktūrų tipus, galima pastebėti, kad ne kiekvieną tinklinę organizaciją galime vadinti organizacijų tinklu. Organizacijų tinklas vienareikšmiškai sujungia kelias juridiškai nepriklausomas organizacijas. Šių tinklų, kaip verslo organizavimo formų, koordinavimo sistema gali iš esmės skirtis.

Koordinavimo sistemą tinklinėje organizacijoje sudaro veiksmų (procesų, struktūrų, tikslų derinimas), priemonių (ERP, APS) ir komunikacinių kanalų visuma, leidžianti suderinti visų tinklo elementų tarpusa-vio santykius. Organizacijų tinklo koordinavimo sistemoje naudojant pažangias koordinavimo priemones galima sumažinti atsargų kiekį visuose vertės grandinės lygiuose, veiklos sąnaudas, pagerinti paslaugų ir/ar produkcijos kokybę, užtikrinti efektyvesnį ribotų išteklių naudojimą.

Pateiktas modelis iliustruoja organizacijų tinklo koordinavimo sistemą, kurią sudaro koordinavimo cen-tras ir koordinavimo mazgai, susieti komunikaciniais ryšiais ir paremti CPFR modeliu, kuris padeda derinti veiksmus tarp organizacijų. Reikėtų atkreipti dėmesį, kad net ir kai kurios pažangiomis technologijomis be-


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siremiančios priemonės, tokios kaip tradicinis organizacijos išteklių planavimas, orientuotos į verslo procesų koordinavimą organizacijos viduje, ne visada gali būti sėkmingai pritaikytos koordinuojant organizacijų tinkle vykstančius procesus.

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The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Vol. 4(1), p. 31–42.Zakarevičius, P. (2002). Vadyba: genezė dabartis tendencijos. Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas. Кущ, С. П. (2006). Подходы к разработке механизма координации управления взаимоотношениями

промышленной компании с партнерами. Prieiga internetu: http://vestnikmanagement.pu.ru/archive/pdf/264.pdf [žiūrėta 2011 02 20].

M O D E L O F S Y S T E M F O R C O O R D I N AT I O N I N N E T W O R K S O F O R G A N I Z AT I O N S

Edgaras ribačonka, darius burgisKlaipėda University (Lithuania)

During the last decades the crisis of bureaucratic organizations became evident, we can see the movement towards more flexible network structures. Modern economy is dominated by the process of globalization that is followed by the increase of informational flows and economic relations. In these circumstances the need for organizations to pool resources for the strengthening of competitive position in the market becomes


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essential. Evidently the importance of network organizations as a means for attraction of investment and its effective use can only grow. In the face of these changes various subjects of business create a certain “community” around them that is shaped by selected criteria. This process could be explained by the need of the organization to protect its interest and to increase the effectiveness of the use of its resources. In such a way sustainable groups of business subjects are formed, they become interlinked by a variety of networks. The key elements that unite the participants of the network are historically formed commitments and mutual interest, the opportunity to participate in the activities of the company and use its resources, markets and technology, accessibility of administrative resource and so on. A network of organizations is a system of va-lue creation, in which several organizations that have complementary strengths form an alliance that is bene-ficial to all of the participants; this alliance allows organizations to be successful in the environment of rapid change (Castells, 2003; Issakson, 2010; Staniulienė, 2006; Zakarevičius, 2002). One of the most important activities in a network is the creation of coordination system that would regulate the relations and activities between the member organizations (Кущ, 2006; Danese, 2005; Kumar, 2001; Seifert, 2003; Rudberg, 2008).

The problem of this article is the difficulty of coordination of the activities of members or the network of organizations.

The object of the article is the coordination system in the network of organizations.The goal of the article is to provide the model for coordination in the network of organizations.The tasks of the research are: 1. To analyse the approaches to the network structures; 2. To determine the

structure of the system of coordination in the network of organizations; 3. To provide a model of coordina-tion system in the network of organizations.

The article is written using the methods of analysis and synthesis of scientific literature. The literature regarding network organizations and organizational networks (Castells, 2003; Issakson ir kt., 2010; Staniu-lienė, 2006; Zakarevičius, 2002), the processes of coordination (Кущ, 2006; Danese, 2005; Kumar, 2001; Seifert, 2003; Rudberg, 2008) was analysed, and synthesis method was used to create the model of coordi-nation system in network of organizations.

We came to conclusion that there are two dominant views on network structures, one holds that a network inside of organization, and that connects several organizations should be considered a network organization; another view separates network organization from the network of organizations. We think that the network of organizations is comprised by de jure independent organizations that are collaborating in the achievement of a common goal. The coordination system in these networks of organizations is different and more straight-forward than in a network organization.

The system of coordination in network of organizations is comprised by totality of actions (adjustment of processes, structures and goals), means (ERP, APS) and canals of communication that allows adjusting all of the relations between elements of the network. The use of advanced coordination systems in the network of organizations could lead to the improvement of quality of production or services, reduction of inventory in all of the levels of value chain, could reduce the cost of activity and ensure more effective use of limited resources.

We provided a model that illustrates the coordination system in the network of organizations, this sys-tem is formed by the coordination centre and coordination nods that are linked by the communication links an is based on the model of Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), that is meant for the adjustment of inter-organizational activities. We also note that even advanced technological means such as ERP that are oriented to the coordination of processes inside of organization, could not always be successfully adapted for the coordination of networks of organizations.

KEY WORDS: Network organization, network of organizations, coordination.

JEL CODES: L14, M10.


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O P E R AT I O N S S T R AT E G I E S

Roland Schmuck1

University of Pécs (Hungary)

ABSTRACTStrategic management and operations management are widely used concepts. The role of operations management in planning and implemen-tation the strategy is shown in this article. After a deep literature review the author presents those ideas which are crucial for the long-term planning of a modern company. Next to the change of the external environment the time factor is also considered as an important issue. The goal of companies within the framework of these conditions is to gain competitive advantage. The author shows ideas how to achieve this.KEY WORDS: strategy, operations, management.

JEL CODES: L100, M110, O320

Introduct ion

The purpose of this paper is to search for the answer what kind of operational strategies successful companies may follow.

The object of the research is to clarify which operational strategies can be useful in today’s complex en-vironment and what strategies successful companies may use. It is a current topic nowadays. During the 20th century there were several shifts in the focus of operational management (Barakonyi, 2000) which outlines the main problem why this article was borned. The paper aims to discuss the current trends in the topic.

The objectives of the current research are to distinguish current working operations management met-hods from outdated solutions and to give ideas of what a successful company should use or not use from the common solutions of operations management.

The tasks done in this paper are the following. The author first overviews what strategy and operations strategy is, than discusses the mainstream opinions of the topic. Finally, as a conclusion, answers the ques-tion what moderns companies should consider when planning their operations strategy.

The research methods are based on deep literature review of those articles and books that are considered relevant on the topic by mainstream economists. The articles and books were systematically chosen to cover the most important issues of current operations management including the following: strategic management, aggregate planning, inventory management, just-in-time, TQM, competing through manufacturing, service management and supply chain management.

1 . Strategies

In the 21st century the environment changes faster than ever. New technologies evolves day-by-day, which grow extremely fast or disappear. The organizations are uncertain in this world. Multinational compa-

1 Roland Schmuck – University of Pécs, Faculty of Economics, Strategic Studies Department, assistant professor. Scientific inte-rests: management and economics.E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +36 72 501 599 / 23265.

Roland SchmuckOPERATIONS STRATEGIES

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nies collapse and disappear in short time. In this globalized world new competitors may appear at any time. The role of strategy is more important than ever before.

Strategy is to plan and reach the long-term goals of the organization. Nokia is going toward mobile infor-mation techniques from mobile phones, Disney from cartoons to the entertainment industry (Johnson et al., 2011). For both companies to reach their goals they need their own strategies. By another concept, strategy is a behaviour of a series of decisions (Mintzberg, 2007). Strategy is to define the long-term goals, adapt the appropriate methods to do this and ensure the necessary resources (Chandler, 1963). J. Vörös (2010) claims that strategy is to use core competencies in order to create sustainable competitive advantage.

Figure 1. The hierarchy of corporate objectives and management levels in an ordinary viewSource: Bartek-Lesi et al., 2007: 45.

Today’s successful companies use integrated strategies, which means various functional strategies are consistent; strategic planning for each department are parallel of each other (Vörös, 2010).

In order for companies to remain in the leading positions, they have to quickly respond to market chan-ges, gain access to the newest and best technologies, be efficient and continuously improve their key compe-tencies (Porter, 1996). The company meets five forces2 in the market; all of them affect its competitiveness (Porter, 2008).

Competitive strategy is based on differentiation, which may happen with unique operations or distinctive offers giving individual values. Gaining strategic position can rely on three areas. Variety-based positioning is based on the choice of product or service varieties. It can be used when a company produces particular products or services using distinctive sets of activities. The needs-based positioning is about targeting a customer segment and to serve them fully. It can be used if a customer group has the same needs or customers have different needs in different situations. The goal of the access-based positioning is to serve customers who are accessible in the same way (Porter, 1996)

The generic strategies defined by M. E. Porter (1980) determine the possible strategic alternatives based on competitive advantage. Porter distinguishes cost leadership and differentiation strategies, both types of strategies can be focused on market segmentation. A company following the cost leadership strategy tries to operate at low costs and use the advantages of economies of scale. The differentiation strategy means that the company tries to outperform its competitors by better product features and quality, so it can use higher profit margins. The segmentation strategy focuses on a specific group of customers and attempts to better meet their needs (Porter, 1980).

2 The five forces are the following: bargaining power of customers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of substitute products, threat of new entrants, competitive rivalry within an industry (Porter, 2008).


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2. Operat ions s t ra tegies

The operations strategy is all actions aimed at creating a production system that serves the implementa-tion of business strategy (Vörös, 2010: 40). The connection of operations strategy and business strategy can be illustrated by the case of the first laptops. The laptop product development, the necessary research and the development of the manufacturing process were carried out in parallel by Toshiba (Vörös, 2010). Operations strategy is a series of decisions. At the strategic level the operations managers are interested in developing new skills and better use of the existing capabilities to better serve the needs of the customers (Krajewsky et al., 2010).

Companies react the changes in the environment differently; the related operation strategy can be de-termined by the production task and the available competencies. Miller and Roth (1994) distinguish three different operations strategies:

y Caretakers, who do not care about the development of their competencies, they rather focus on price. y Marketers, who are mainly focused on the customer requirements and satisfying them. y Innovators, whose competitive advantage comes from the fast that they can quickly develop new pro-

ducts and launch them fast (Miller, Roth, 1994).

M. Hammer (2004) claims that it is not enough to focus on the innovative products. Important area of the innovation is the functional innovation, improving internal operations resulting in competitive advantage. Toyota gained competitive advantage in this way (Hammer, 2004).

The modern conception of the operations management is to interpret a company as an open system which is highly dependent on its environment. Organizations have to be open enough to allow their strategies to be affected by customer requirements (Dawar-Frost, 1999). In the 1990s inter-company relations became the focus of the operations management next to the company operation. World Class Manufacturing (Flynn et al., 1999), lean thinking and agile manufacturing systems each focused on coordinating external and internal processes and operations networks management. A number of strategies emerged, such as outsourcing or the effective management of production networks. These have to be in accordance with the internal operations management systems such as the just-in-time or TQM (Brown et al., 2001).

L. J. Krajewski et al. (2010) distinguish three operations and inventory strategies. Make-to-order strate-gy can be used in case of unique, small series products. The assemble-to-order strategy is useful to quickly assemble products from the same raw materials or components. Products do not have to be the same, for example a sawmill makes different, sometimes even unique furniture from the same raw materials. This stra-tegy can be the base of mass customization as well. When using the make-to-stock strategy the manufacturer produces into inventory, from which the product may be sold at any time. This strategy can be used for such standardized products as soft drinks or garden equipment (Krajewski et al., 2010).

In the 1980s the role of time as a factor of competitive advantage increased which appeared in many form of economic activity. Cycles, development, lead, waiting periods and other capabilities that can be expressed in time bring competitive advantages to companies. However, time became a trap as well: companies using the even faster, market dictated development pattern did not get in better positions compared to their com-petitors (Stalk, Weber, 1993).

Next to time, companies have to focus on developing capabilities as well nowadays. Using its capabilities Wal-Mart defeated the previously market-leader Kmart in the United States of America (Stalk et al., 1992). Developing core competencies can cause such a competitive advantage that is hard to replicate (Ellis and Williams, 1995). In the rapidly changing markets it is not enough to make and follow strategic plans. New approaches came to light which connect the company performance to its resources. This is called the resour-ce-based approach (Collis, Montgomery, 1995).

The operation strategy itself does not cause competitive advantage, because some companies can use them better, some worse. Operational efficiency is when a company realizes higher performance with the same activity (Porter, 1996). With operational innovation the company can operate more efficient with lower


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costs, which may lead to higher market share (Hammer, 2004). Japanese companies like Toyota owed their operational efficiency that they could have high-quality products at lower prices in the 1980s. If a company improves its operational efficiency, it moves to the upper limit of marginal productivity which is the ma-ximal possible value produced at a given cost level. Improving efficiency is needed to be competitive but not enough; the ever-faster imitation by the competitors causes that they continuously become closer and closer to the market position of the company (Porter, 1996). By extending the efficiency to cross-company processes the company can reach the level of super-efficiency. Hewlett-Packard integrated its whole monitor production supply chain into a computer system which caused lower costs and faster lead times (Hammer, 2001). With this method they could solve the problems caused by the lack of information and unknown partner operations which were the most important issues in the production network (Narayanan et al., 2004).

3 . Implementat ion of operat ions s t ra tegies

There are two groups of products, functional and innovative products (Fisher, 1997). Operation network have physical and market intermediary role. The market of functional products is well estimable, the demand is predictable, production can be well-scheduled. The goal in case of these products is usually to decrease costs. In contrast, the demand of innovative products is hardly predictable so emphasis is put on the market mediator role of the production network. The network should be built accordingly. Sport Obermeyer laun-ches a new, fashionable skiwear on the market, demands estimations can show 200 % error in some cases. In contrast, functional products manufacturer Campbell Soup Company has much more reliable forecasts (Fisher, 1997).

Any products can be customized within certain limits, even products made in mass production. Mass customization is an efficient distinction of a customer allowed by the production network as much as possible (Chase, 2006). Based on R. S. Kaplan and M. Haenlein (2006) this is such a value-creating strategy that is based on the connection of the company and the customer. More value is created through the manufacturing and assembling processes at the same price level than a usual product (Kaplan, Haenlein, 2006). Several companies tried to take advantage of this method in the 1990s including major car manufacturers (Nissan, Toyota, etc.) without success. Costs and inventory increased, customers were confused by the huge range of options. Nissan offered 87 different steering wheels for its cars, but customers wanted only a fraction of these (Pine, 1993). Despite the failure the method is still used in many industries.

R. Wise and P. Baumgartner (1999) claims that a broader horizon should be applied, so the company should not only take care of production and sales, but it has to move into the direction of downstream. In many industries customers spend much more money during the use of the products than the original price of them. For example, the average American family spends only 20 % of the total price of the car to buy it; the remaining is spent during the usage. Strategy based on this can be implemented in various ways: integra-ting value-added services into the product, offering full service, offering integrated services which focus on customer requirements. A good example for integration value-added services is the iTunes online software in Apple products from where users can add new functions to their device. Volkswagen Group offers financial services to its customers in Hungary through Porsche Bank, which is a way to offer an integrated service. The fourth method is the distribution control, which can be considered as a shift in the value chain. Coca-Cola used this method in the 1990s when it started directing its bottling plants, which resulted in a significant profit improvement (Wise, Baumgartner, 1999).

During services the most contribution is provided by those workers who are directly in connection with the customers. For service-sector companies their market share and profit are not the most important things; but their investment in human capital. This new philosophy requires new management principles and tech-niques which should use new measurement methods, for example employee satisfaction, loyalty or producti-vity. If the indicators are appropriate, customer loyalty and satisfaction will be good as well. By management expression, instead of hard factors, soft factors become emphasized (Heskett et al., 1994). Globalization has a huge effect not only on traditional manufacturing but providing services as well. Standardized services are


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increasingly outsourced to countries with cheaper labour force. There is a growing demand for end-to-end services. Companies should focus on selling service chains rather than individual services. Virgin Atlantic airline company acts like this, it offers limousine service to passengers with business class tickets.

For successful strategy implementation we should know the relationship of strategy and the instruments used (Kaplan, Norton, 2008). There is a very wide range of instruments. R. H. Hayes and S. C. Wheelwright (1984) defined six instruments3; B. B. Flynn et al. (1999) added quality management and just-in-time to even more increase the efficiency. Furthermore, operations network management became a major competitive factor in the 2000s (Vörös, 2010).

After the Second World War big US companies did not really deal with quality issues as long as the Japanese companies entered the US market with their high quality products. While a product is considered high quality in a manufacturer’s view if it meets the designed parameters, customers rather think the product needs to perform well the functions given to it (Vörös, 2010). D. A. Garvin (1987) defined eight dimensions which must comply with a quality product. The eight dimensions are the following: performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics, perceived quality (Garvin, 1987). TQM is a method to improve the operations and the quality. Implementing TQM may improve the efficiency of compa-nies, reduce their costs and increase their incomes. Companies using TQM grow faster (Hendricks, Singha, 1997). With the emergence of new technologies the competition increases. Due to the high customer require-ments companies should have competitive advantage based on their strategies. Quality inflates with time, so continuous quality improvement activities must be carried out in order to retain the competitive advantage independent from the pricing policy (Vörös, 2002).

S. Sakakibara et al. (1997) claim that competitive advantage e.g. level of flexibility, delivery time, quality and cost performance are based on the manufacturing performance which consists of inventory turnover, on-time delivery, lead time and cycle time. Manufacturing performance is based on infrastructure practices and

3 (1) competencies and capabilities of the workforce, (2) professional competence of the management, (3) competitive advantage based on quality, (4) participation of the workers, (5) redesigning the manufacturing process, (6) incremental improvements

Figure 2. Methods of going downstream with some examplesSource: own edition


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just-in-time practices. The first consists of quality management, work force management, manufacturing stra-tegy, organizational characteristics and product design. The later consists of set-up time reduction, schedule flexibility, maintenance, equipment layout, kanban and just-in-time supplier relationship. The introduction of just-in-time is often considered difficult and problematic, but R. Walleigh (1986) clearly demonstrates that the issues can be eliminated. The introduction process is time and energy consuming; however the real value lies in the fact that it is not only a production system, but an operating philosophy (Walleigh, 1986).

The accelerated competition makes even subsistence a hard thing, but companies may gain competitive advantage with simple changes, e.g. better planning, marketing or changing the financial background. Un-fortunately beside these factors companies often neglect production facilities where most of the employees work. Production needs to be converted into the strength of the company; all production function should work well-oiled. In the four-level system of S. Wheelwright and R. Hayes (1985) there are long-term deve-lopment programs to increase the competitiveness, so the company can move up in the four-level model. The majority of companies move from one level to another by external pressure, because they feel comfortable and safe to maintain the lower levels where there is not so much need for high knowledge and managerial skills as on the more advanced levels. In the fourth and most advanced stage there is continuous process im-provement, and high care that the product development and the process design are in accordance with each other (Wheelwright, Hayes, 1985).

The ever-increasing product variety and shortening product life cycles increase the uncertainty of the estimations. In the accurate response method the costs of lack of products are calculated, the products are di-vided into estimable and not estimable demanded categories. It is recommended to manufacture products in the first category earlier and later with more available information those products where it is hard to estimate the exact demand. Sport Obermayer skiwear manufacturing company could reduce cost from inaccurate forecast by half with this method.

Conclusions

During the 20th century there were several shifts in the most important success factors. It can be seen that all factors are still important, but the basic of competitive advantage changes from time to time.

Figure 3. Changes in the operational management focus since the beginning of the 1900sSource: own edition

The author claims that all of the above competitiveness factors are still important nowadays except one. The mass customization theory did not fulfil the expectations so it is not used widely nowadays. Compa-nies are in a tough competition nowadays. Operations are becoming more and more complex and time also became an issue. In today’s world a successful company should take into account during strategic planning the continuing strengthening of the global competition, the constantly changing environment, shortening life-cycles and the growth of risks. The author suggests as an answer to these questions is to build core com-


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petencies which are hard to copy for the competitors. One other possible solution of this is to join strategic alliances and to increase the size of the company with acquisitions or internal growth. As time factor is very important, successful companies should rather make acquisitions to save time. Acquisitions are cheaper as well in the long-term.

Successful companies should not only be efficient with the complex use of operations management met-hods, but they should always continuously improve the effectiveness as well, including the use of new technologies and methods. This is the only way to maintain competitive advantage because competitors are doing the same way. If the company can not increase its efficiency, it will lag behind from the competitors and eventually may even disappear from the market. Its products, services and operations should be impro-ved, have to be innovative in these fields and also in the internal operation ways. Furthermore it needs to be cost effective as well. The author’s opinion is that there is no best solution, a complex view is needed. The following table shows some real world solutions to the operational issues.

Table 1. Case study examples mentioned in this paper with related success factors

Company Success factorApple Offering value-added servicesCoca-Cola Distribution controlDisney Long-term planning of strategyHewlett-Packard Supply chain integration with IT solutionsSport Obermeyer Accurate response methodToshiba Connecting operations strategy with business strategyToyota Operational efficiency (just-in-time)Virgin Atlantic Offering full serviceVolkswagen Offering integrated servicesWal-Mart Developing capabilities

Source: own edition

Environment should be taken into consideration as well. The age when a company could be successful only by efficient working methods without considering external factors is over. Good relations with the partners is utmost important. The company has to be able to manage its operation network well; the entire system must operate smoothly and quickly.

To succeed an appropriate corporate culture should be developed, as well as hard to copy core compe-tencies, which can bring competitive advantage to the company. These competencies should be utilized and maintained; furthermore they should be available to all departments of the company.

Lately, but not lastly companies should be able to assess and meet the potential needs of customers and make them loyal. The really successful companies can even influence consumers’ needs and find and serve latent needs. In order to achieve higher profits, all needs should be covered with products or services inclu-ding the needs during the whole lifetime of the product.

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O P E R A C I J Ų S T R AT E G I J O S

Roland SchmuckPécs universitetas (Vengrija)

Santrauka

Strateginis valdymas ir operacijų valdymas yra plačiai vartojamos sąvokos. Straipsnyje atskleistas opera-cijų valdymo vaidmuo kuriant ir įgyvendinant strategiją. Atlikęs literatūros apžvalgą, autorius aptaria ilgalai-kį šiuolaikinės bendrovės veiklos planavimą. Be šorinės aplinkos pokyčių, kaip svarbus veiksnys skiriamas laikas. Dabartinėmis sąlygomis veikiančių organizacijų tikslas – įgyti konkurencinį pranašumą, todėl straips-nio autorius aptaria, kaip tai galima būtų pasiekti.

PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: strategija, operacijos, valdymas.

JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: L100, M110, O320

Sandra Stucere, Gunita MazureASSESSMENT OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE AMOUNT OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTY TAX IN LATVIA

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A S S E S S M E N T O F FA C TO R S A F F E C T I N G T H E A M O U N T O F I M M O VA B L E P R O P E RT Y TA X I N L AT V I A

Sandra Stucere1, Gunita Mazure2

Latvia University of Agriculture (Latvia)

ABSTRACTThe research aim is to analyse the peculiarities for application of immovable property tax in Latvia and to assess the main factors affecting the amount of immovable property tax and contradicting the basic principles for imposing taxes. It is essential to review the methods how the State Land Service determines cadastral values for real estate, since the cadastral value is the base for calculation of immovable property tax. The revision is required as the establishment of a fair tax system is impossible without adequate and com-parable cadastral values. In the future, land shall be valued pursuant to lease and not to expropriation transactions in Latvia, while the cadastral valuation of buildings might be done consistent with the method of expenses by determining construction expenses of buildings. The issue on mass inspection of physical condition of buildings and data updating shall be solved in Latvia. In addition, an issue on possibilities to apply the most fair procedure for tax calculation shall be solved on the governmental level, i.e. to calculate taxes consistent with procedure for the use of immovable property registered in the Land Register as well as to cancel the limitation for increase of immovable property tax stated by the municipality and to regulate the tax burden through tax rates.KEY WORDS: immovable property tax, limitation for the tax increase, property structure, cadastral value.

JEL CODES: H29

Introduct ion

Tax administration efficiency is one of the key factors influencing successful development of the state economy, since the implementation of governmental functions greatly depends on the state tax policy and the amount of collected taxes. Regular and sufficient tax collection ensures financing of the governmental expenditure and economic development in the short- and long-term.

Issues on the role of immovable property tax and the alignment and development perspectives of im-movable property tax sphere have been frequently discussed in Latvia within the past years. Much larger attention has been paid to the regulating function of taxes – to promote efficient use of immovable property to gain maximum benefit from the immovable property item for the entire society.

Research object is immovable property tax in Latvia. Topicality of the research theme is based on the wish to study problems and to analyse the main factors

affecting the amount of immovable property tax in Latvia as well as to provide solutions in the sphere of immovable tax development.

1 Sandra Stucere – Latvia University of Agriculture, Faculty of Economics, Mg. oec., PhD student; Riga City Council, Municipal Revenue Administration, Head of taxpayers service department. Scientific interests: municipal tax, regions economics.E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +371 292 639 24.

2 Gunita Mazūre – Latvia University of Agriculture, Faculty of Economics, Dr. oec., assoc. professor. Scientific interest: financial support, crediting, investments, rural development.E-mail: [email protected].: +371 298 446 28.


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The research is done based on the hypothesis that in Latvia, individual factors affecting the amount of immovable property tax contradict the basic principles for imposing taxes.

To verify the hypothesis, the following research aim is set: to analyse the peculiarities for application of immovable property tax and to assess the main factors affecting the amount of immovable property tax in Latvia.

The following tasks are advanced to achieve the set aim: y to analyse the application of immovable property tax and tax revenues in Latvia; y to study the main factors affecting the amount of immovable property tax in Latvia and to provide

possible solutions in the sphere of immovable tax development.

The monographic descriptive method as well as the methods of economic analysis and statistical data analysis is applied to achieve the set research aim.

Legal and regulatory enactments of the Republic of Latvia and documents related with immovable pro-perty tax as well as data of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia on tax revenues for the period of 2006–2011 are used for the research purposes to analyse the application of immovable property tax and tax revenues in Latvia.

Personal experience of one of the authors (S. Štucere) and data of the information system of Immovable Property Tax Administration of Riga City Council are used to analyse factors affecting the amount of immo-vable property tax.

1. Applicat ion of immovable property tax in Latvia

At present, the tax system of Latvia is not sufficiently directed towards ensuring a sustainable develo-pment of the state socio-economic development. The tax system of Latvia may be characterised as unstable as it is essentially changed on a relatively frequent basis. The tax system of Latvia is mainly directed towards employment taxes, i.e. taxes that are paid from work payment by employees and their employers and not towards consumption taxes or capital taxes. It is also shown by the breakdown of the general government consolidated tax revenues by types of taxes in 2011. According to the data of Figure 1, the majority or 52.9 % of tax revenues are constituted of employment taxes, 27.2 % – consumption taxes, 12.2 % – resource taxes, and only 7.7 % – capital taxes. Immovable property tax is included into the group of capital taxes and its share equals to 2.8 % (Kopsavilkums par budžeta ieņēmumu daļas izpildi, 2011).

Figure 1. Breakdown of the general government consolidated budget tax revenues by types of taxes in 2011Source: Kopsavilkums par budžeta ieņēmumu daļas izpildi, 2011


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Immovable property tax is administered by municipalities and it is the only tax, which is paid to the mu-nicipal budget for 100 %. Immovable property tax, which is more neutral towards the general economic sys-tem compared with other taxes, is most directly related with the territorial management and socio-economic development of particular local government. Its items – land and buildings are localised, relatively stable, and explorable, thus, facilitating the tax administration.

Items taxable by immovable property tax and tax rates in Latvia are outlined in Table 1. In Latvia, the cadastral value serves as the basis for immovable property tax. Latvia has a large set of taxable objects and different tax rates. Land, buildings, and engineering constructions are levied at 1.5 % of the property ca-dastral value, while a proportional rate within 0.2 %–0.6 % is imposed on residential buildings. Immovable property tax is imposed on unutilised agricultural areas and ruinous environment degrading constructions at a rate of 3 % of the cadastral value (Likums Par nekustamā īpašuma nodokli, 2011).

Table 1. Application of immovable property tax in Latvia in 2012

Tax base Taxable item Tax rate

Cadastral value

LandBuildings Engineering constructionsResidential buildingsUnutilised agricultural area* Ruinous environment degrading constructions **

1.5 %1.5 %1.5 %0.2–0.6 %3 %3 %

* excluding land, the area of which does not exceed one hectare or which has restrictions for agricultural activities stated by regulatory enactments** Binding Regulations issued by every municipality prescribe procedure for the calculation of immovable property tax

Source: Likums par nekustamā īpašuma nodokli, 2011

An essential novelty in the administration process of immovable property tax has been introduced in La-tvia from 2012. Local governments have the rights to issue Binding Regulations, which prescribe the rights to apply the increase of tax rate limitation in 2012 or retain the amount of tax at the rate of 2011 as well as to state whether the immovable property tax is imposed on auxiliary buildings and environment degrading constructions (Likums par nekustamā īpašuma nodokli, 2011).

Immovable property tax has a significant share in municipal budgets, since it is the second largest tax in terms of revenues. The analysis of immovable property tax revenues (Figure 2) for the period of 2006–2011 shows that they have an increasing tendency. In 2011, immovable property tax revenues have increased by LVL 43.8 million or 66 % compared with 2006.

Figure 2. Immovable property tax revenues from 2006 to 2011, million LVLSource: Par tautsaimniecības attīstību un kopbudžeta izpildes gaitu, 2007; Kopsavilkums par

budžeta ieņēmumu daļas izpildi, 2010; Makroekonomikas un budžeta apskats, 2011


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The increase of immovable property tax base (cadastral value) as well as changes in tax rates and expan-sion of the set of items taxable by immovable property tax may explain the growth of immovable property tax revenues. The immovable property tax rate was raised from 2010 for land and non-residential buildings to 1.5 % of the cadastral value (instead of a 1 % rate set earlier). Taxation of engineering constructions (1.5 % of the cadastral value) and residential buildings within the range of 0.1 %–0.3 % of the cadastral value was started at the same time. Immovable property tax rate for residential buildings was doubled to 0.2–0.6 % from 2011. Hence, in 2011, these changes resulted in the largest immovable property tax revenues in Latvia amounting to LVL 110.2 million.

Lately, the possibility to increase exactly the immovable property tax rate is being emphasised in Latvia. The expansion of items taxable by the immovable property tax and increase of tax rates are based on simpler and easier administration of this tax compared with other taxes. The government of Latvia prefers those types of taxes, which reduce the possibility to avoid paying of taxes, thus, reducing the share of shadow economy.

The government of Latvia has envisaged supporting changes in the sphere of immovable property tax also in 2013. Therefore, the government will ensure greater participation of municipalities in the determi-nation of tax rates (within the range of 0.2 %–3 % set by the central government), more precise compliance of tax burden with the property value and additional revenues (Likumprojekta “Grozījumi likumā Par ne-kustamā īpašuma nodokli”, 2012).

2. Factors affect ing the amount of immovable property tax in Latvia

Contemporary economic literature earmarks the following basic principles of tax policy:1) economic efficiency – tax system shall not distort efficient distribution of resources in the national

economy;2) simple administration – tax system shall be as much as possible easy and cheap to administer. It is

required to assess the procedure and mechanism of administration by evaluating the necessary expen-ses for tax collection;

3) flexibility – tax system shall react fast on the changes of economic conditions. Tax system shall be established so that tax revenues increase simultaneously with the improvement of economic develo-pment without increasing tax rates, tax base or changing other conditions in tax legislation;

4) uniformity and justice – tax system shall be properly related to different taxpayers. It shall be fair and equally cover all the taxpayers (Ketners, Titova, 2009: 34).

Based on the key principles of tax imposition, the research studies and analyses the main factors affecting the amount of immovable property tax in Latvia, and provides solutions in the sphere of immovable property tax development.

2.1. Impact of the limitation for increase of immovable property tax on the tax amount

In Latvia, the law “On Immovable Property Tax” prescribes the norm that the amount of immovable property tax is limited from 2008 upon the condition that after updating of the cadastral value of immovable property tax, the amount of immovable property tax shall not exceed the amount of tax calculated for the previous taxation year (not taking into account the abatements) by more than 25 % for each unit of land and each building separately (condition that the purpose for use of the immovable property does not change was in force till 2011) (Likuma “Par nekustamā īpašuma nodokli” normu piemērošanas kārtība”, 2011).

At present, this principle contradicts the following principle of tax imposition – uniformity and justice. At the end of 2007, the mentioned condition was stipulated for the situation when cadastral values of im-movable property sharply increased in 2008 and considerable changes were not envisaged in the real estate


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market. However, the situation has changed from 2010 – activity of the real estate market and prices has fallen dramatically, thus, essentially affecting cadastral values of properties (Fridriksone, 2009: 5).

To provide an insight in the changes of cadastral values and specificity for calculation of immovable property tax, the authors will analyse (Table 2) a sample for the calculation of immovable property tax for the land area behoving to the shop building on Gobas iela 14 in Riga for the period of 2007–2012. The data of Table 2 show that in 2008 (cadastral value – LVL 67646) the cadastral value has increased by LVL 57698 or almost six times compared with 2007 (cadastral value – LVL 9948). A considerable growth in the amount of immovable property tax (in 2008 – LVL 676.46) was also forecasted due to these changes. However, ap-plying limitation for the tax increase the amount of immovable property tax grew by 25 % compared with 2007 and equalled to LVL 186.53. In 2009, it grew by 25 % compared with 2008 and comprised LVL 233.16. Therefore, in 2008 and 2009, limitation for the tax increase adopted by the government of Latvia substan-tially protected taxpayers from the fast increase of immovable property tax. On the contrary, the cadastral value had an annual tendency to decrease for the period of 2010–2012, while the amount of tax continued to increase annually by 25 % compared with the previous year and comprised LVL 455.39 in 2012. However, the amount of tax would be LVL 746.10, if the tax were calculated according to the cadastral value (without applying the limitation for the tax increase).

Table 2. The calculation of immovable property tax applying limitation for the increase in 2007–2012

YearShop building (Gobas iela 14, Riga) behoving land area 2487 m2

Calculation of immovable property tax by the cadastral value

Calculation of immovable property tax applying limitation for the tax increase

Real tax rate

2007 LVL 9948 (cadastral value) x 1.5 % (tax rate) = LVL 149.22

_ 1.5 %

2008 LVL 67646 (cadastral value) x 1 % (tax rate) = LVL 676.46

LVL 149.22 (tax amount in 2007) +25 % (limitation for the increase, 25 % of LVL 149.22) = LVL 186.53

0.3 %

2009 LVL 67646 (cadastral value) x 1 % (tax rate) = LVL 676.46


0.4 %

2010 LVL 62175 (cadastral value) X 1.5% (tax rate) = LVL 932.63


0.5 %

2011 LVL 54714 (cadastral value) x 1.5 %( tax rate) = LVL 820.71


0.7 %

2012 LVL 49740 (cadastral value) x 1.5 % (tax rate) = LVL 746.10

LVL 364.31(tax amount in 2011) +25 % (limitation for the increase, 25 % of LVL 364.31) = LVL 455.39

0.9 %

Source: authors’ construction based on data of the Immovable Property Tax Administration Program of Riga City Council

The sample shows that calculating the amount of immovable property tax by applying the limitation of the tax increase, the amount of tax is substantially reduced and the real tax rate ranges from 0.3 % (in 2008) to 0.9 % (in 2012). Therefore, the decision of the Latvian government to increase the immovable property tax rate to 1.5 % of cadastral value (instead of the previous 1 %) in 2010 is incomprehensible. The rate is useless, if the limitation for the tax increase is retained, since the tax increases by 25 % compared with the previous year. Similarly, taxpayers are confused in the situation when the cadastral value of immovable property de-creases from 2010 but the amount of immovable property tax continues to increase.

The analysed sample allows concluding that it was more efficient to regulate tax burden in Latvia through tax rates (from 2010) – reducing immovable property tax rates and calculating the amount of immovable pro-


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perty tax pursuant to the cadastral values. It would facilitate work for tax administration and tax calculation would be more understandable for taxpayers. Thus, the basic principle for the imposition of taxes – simple administration – would be observed thanks to these changes and simultaneously ensuring the response to economic changes in the country consistent with the basic principle for the imposition of taxes (flexibility).

2.2. Impact of tax structure on the amount of tax

The administration of immovable property tax has revealed material shortcomings in the legal and regu-latory enactments of Latvia regulating the registration of immovable property data in the Immovable Pro-perty State Cadastre Information System and the Land Register. Hence, persons having the joint ownership on immovable property, which includes both residential premises and premises used for economic activity but having only residential premises under the use, are forced to pay disproportionately large immovable property tax due to these shortcomings.

At present, Section 44 of the National Real Estate Cadastre Law does not prescribe registering the infor-mation on the procedure for use of immovable property, which is determined pursuant to the civil agreement of joint owners (Nekustamā īpašuma valsts kadastra likums, 2011). On the contrary, the procedure for use registered in the Land Register is not related with the structure of immovable property registered in the Ca-dastre Register – groups of premises, as it is not stipulated by the regulatory enactments. Hence, it is impos-sible to identify properly premises used by each joint owner (Zemesgrāmatu likums, 2011).

Therefore, municipalities presently have no access to the data necessary for the tax calculations to calcu-late taxes consistent with the procedure registered in the Land Register.

At present, different immovable property tax rates are determined in Latvia for residential buildings (0.2–0.6 %) and buildings and their parts used for economic activity (1.5 %). Thereby, applying the mentioned rates of the regulatory enactments in cases when a building simultaneously has residential premises and pre-mises used for economic activity leads to the situation when joint owners, who use only residential premises proportionally ideal units of property they have ownership rights on, are forced to pay tax for both the owned unit of residential premises and unit of premises used for economic activity for which, as already mentioned, owners have to pay an increased tax rate. The immovable property tax calculated in the aforementioned way is considerably higher for the joint owner who has ownership rights for use only to residential premises than in case the building is split into apartment properties consistent with the procedure stipulated by the law “On Apartment Property” when each owner has individual ownership rights on apartment property (Dzīvokļa īpašuma likums, 2011).

To have an idea on the difference in the amount of immovable property tax, the authors will analyse a sample for the calculation of immovable property tax (Table 3) for an immovable property with the area of 1451 m2 located on Krišjāņa Barona iela 28/28a in Riga. The property consists of one 6-storeyed building on Krišjāņa Barona iela 28 and one 4-storeyed building on Krišjāņa Barona iela 28a. Pursuant to the data of the Cadastre Register, a natural entity possesses 1/36 undivided shares, while a legal entity possesses 2/36 dun-divided shares of the immovable property with the area of 1451 m2 located on Krišjāņa Barona iela 28/28A in Riga. However, pursuant to the procedure for use prescribed by the Land Register, the natural entity has in use an apartment in the 4-storeyed building on Krišjāņa Barona iela 28a, while the legal entity has in use shop premises in the 6-storeyed building on Krišjāņa Barona iela 28. Considering the fact that two buildings are located on the analysed land area and the building has both residential and non-residential (used for eco-nomic activity) premises, the tax is calculated proportionally to the possessed undivided shares of residential and non-residential premises. The calculation of immovable property tax ignores really possessed residential or non-residential area. According to the data of Table 3, the amount of immovable property tax for the owner possessing the apartment in this case equals LVL 145.44, while for the owner possessing shop premises – LVL 290.88. Yet, if the immovable property tax is calculated consistent with the procedure for use registered


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in the Land Register, the amount of immovable property tax for the owner possessing the apartment would be only LVL 37.87, which is LVL 107.57 or 65.8 % less. In contrast, the owner possessing shop premises should pay LVL 568.04, which is LVL 277.16 or 48.8 % more.

Table 3. The calculation of immovable property tax consistent with the data registered in the Cadastre Register and the procedure for use registered in the Land Register

Taxable itemTax calculation consistent

with the data registered in the Cadastre Register

Tax calculation consistent with the procedure for

use registered in the Land Register

Owner possesses an apartment

Owner possesses

shop premises

Owner possesses an apartment

Owner possesses shop

premisesBuilding on Krišjāņa Barona iela 28 (6-storeys)Residential area (tax rate 0.2 %)Non-residential area (tax rate 1.5 %)

LVL 6.69LVL 30.45

LVL 13.38LVL 60.9

––

–LVL 568.04

Building on Krišjāņa Barona iela 28a (4-storeys)Residential area (tax rate 0.2 %)Non-residential area (tax rate 1.5 %)

LVL 14.63LVL 93.67

LVL 29.26LVL 187.34

LVL 37.87–

––

TOTAL Ls 145.44 Ls 290.88 Ls 37.87 Ls 568.04


This allows concluding that the basic principle for tax imposition – uniformity and justice – is materially violated when calculating immovable property tax consistent with the possessed undivided shares (propor-tionally to behoving residential and non-residential premises) and ignoring the actual procedure for use of immovable property. For taxpayers who actually use only residential premises, the immovable property tax is calculated proportionally also to the undivided share behooving to non-residential premises, thus, significantly increasing the amount of immovable property tax (tax rate 1.5 %). In contrast, for taxpayers who actually use only non-residential premises, the amount of immovable property tax is considerably reduced, since the tax is calculated proportionally also to the undivided share behooving to residential premises (tax rate 0.2–0.6 %).

It shall be noted that there are many such properties in Latvia, especially in Riga. Predominantly such joint properties are established in cases when a house owner has not actually separated his/her denationalised property but s/he has expropriated its undivided shares through the agreement of the procedure for use, thus, avoiding additional expenses necessary for separation of property into apartments. At present, many develo-pers of new projects continue to follow this practice, thus, causing the mentioned problems for purchasers of undivided property shares in the future.

The solution might be the recommendation to separate immovable property into apartment properties, which is the competence of owners themselves. However, most frequently the properties are not being sepa-rated due to the fact that property separation expenses shall be covered by the owners themselves and diffi-culties of joint owners to agree upon the separation of the joint property into apartments properties.

To solve this problem on the state level, state and municipal institutions should be invited to start a dis-cussion on the possible solutions and legal regulation with the aim to ensure municipalities with the neces-sary data allowing to apply the most fair procedure for tax calculation, i.e. to calculate tax consistent with the procedure for use registered in the Land Register. Certainly, it shall be taken into account that state and municipal institutions should perform a voluminous preparation work to ensure the appropriate registers with the necessary data and to modify software. This means that the procedure for property use registered in the Land Register shall be appropriately registered also in the Cadastre Register, from which the data on the pro-


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perty composition are used for the tax calculation. Therefore, one should take account of material additional resources and required time for the implementation of the possible changes. However, these difficulties may not be justified by the system when unfair and incomprehensible to taxpayers procedure for the calculation of immovable property tax should be maintained in Latvia due to non-existent mutual tieback between two institutions and information systems subjected to one ministry.

2.3. Impact of the cadastral value on the tax amount

In Latvia, the cadastral value is the base for immovable property tax. The cadastral value is the value of land and constructions, which is calculated consistent with internationally recognised, unified, and state approved criteria in the entire country, considering the place of property location, registered data on qualitati-ve condition of property, type of use, encumbrances, and other criteria. Formulae for calculating the cadastral value are made so that the cadastral value of every property would be to the utmost close to its market value without an individual evaluation of each property (Viss par kadastrālo vērtību, 2012).

Considering that the cadastral value is the base for immovable property tax leading to the tax calculation, it is very essentially to review ways how the State Land Service determines the cadastral values of properties, since it is impossible to establish a fair tax system without adequate and inter-comparable cadastral values. Cadastral valuation may not be based only on real estate market information on the cases of expropriation, as they are affected by many additional factors – investment of cash of unknown origin, availability of lo-ans, speculative transactions etc. (Štucere, 2010:136). The present determination of cadastral value mainly applying the market price of individual sold objects in a region leads to the situation that the amount of ca-dastral value considerably increases in individual regions (Jūrmala), while it decreases in other regions. The practice of some highly developed countries to use the price of market transactions for the determination of cadastral value is not applicable in Latvia. This method is suited for closed economies, basically, in large countries, which have established stable society and real estate purchasers are mainly the state residents.

Nevertheless, land lease or revenues gained from the use of immovable property are the classically reco-gnised source of immovable property tax, the cadastral value in Latvia is never related with these revenues. Therefore, the value of immovable property in the future shall be determined by analysing revenues that might be gained from the lease of immovable property. This method for the determination of cadastral value would be fairer and it would characterise the real value of immovable property. At present, the property value depends on the place of location and the number of transactions in particular territory, thus, causing an artifi-cial increase of cadastral value in the regions experiencing high demand for properties (Jūrmala, Mežaparks).

The system of cadastral valuation should be revised in the future: land should be evaluated by expropria-tion and not lease transactions. The method of capitalisation might be applied for the cadastral evaluation of land. It analyses and determines the income, which the owner may gain from property lease or rent within a year. This approach is widespread in the Western countries (Sweden, Denmark), since these countries have strictly determined procedure for accounting of lease income (Štucere, 2010: 136).

Latvia should address an issue on the establishment of mechanism for accrual of immovable property lease data. A single register could be one of the possibilities; the register could contain information on lease transactions performed by natural and legal entities. The cadastral value of buildings should be derived from the renovation costs and not the cadastral value of land. The method of costs could be applied for the cadas-tral evaluation of buildings simultaneously calculating the construction costs of buildings. At present, the Construction Information System is under the process of development in Latvia and it is envisaged to include information on construction costs into this system (Štucere, 2010: 136).

Latvia should also address the issue of impact of physical condition and age of buildings on the cadastral value, since very many concrete examples show a considerable mutual discrepancy among cadastral values,


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i.e. adjacent buildings have similar cadastral values irrespective of the age and physical depreciation of buildings.

Samples summarised in Table 4 outline that 5-storeyed residential buildings located in one zone differ by the years of construction and physical depreciation. However, cadastral values of one bedroom apartments located in these buildings and hence, the amount of immovable property tax differ only slightly. For example, the cadastral value of one bedroom apartment located in the building (built in 1962) on Brīvības gatve 367 in Riga is LVL 9734. Though, the cadastral value of one bedroom apartment located in the building (built in 2006) on Brīvības gatve 386 in Riga is LVL 12392, which is only LVL 2658 or 27 % more. The cadastral value for apartments is determined irrespective of the fact that the State Land Service has fixed a depreciation of 35 % for the building constructed in 1962 and the building on Brīvības gatve 367 is built 44 years earlier than the building on Brīvības gatve 386. Yet, it should be mentioned that multi-storeyed buildings construc-ted earlier were inspected at the time when buildings were privatised and inventory or cadastral survey of apartments was done. The table shows that the building on Brīvības iela 386 in Riga is inspected in 2000. The inspection of physical condition of buildings shall be required by an owner and the owner has to pay the inspection price stated by the State Land Service. At present, the government of Latvia has not envisaged to cover expenses of mass inspection of buildings and updating of data.

Table 4. The comparison of cadastral value and amount of immovable property tax for residential buildings in 2012

Address of building Year of construction

Latest inspection of

building

Cadastral value of one bedroom apartment, LVL

Amount of immovable

property tax, LVL

Depreciation of building

Brīvības gatve 386, Riga 2006 2006 12392 24.78 –Brīvības gatve 367, Riga 1962 2000 9734 19.47 35%


The analysis of the calculated immovable property tax in 2012 (Table 4) outlines that the amount of im-movable property tax (LVL 24.78) for one bedroom apartment in the building located on Brīvības gatve 386 is only LVL Ls 5.31 more than the amount of immovable property tax (LVL 19.47) for one bedroom apar-tment in the building located on Brīvības gatve 367. The analysed sample allows concluding that it is almost impossible to ensure a fair tax calculation applying such cadastral values for the calculation of immovable property tax. Therefore, the process for determination of cadastral value in Latvia needs changes, as tax de-termination should be based on the principles of legal confidence and commensurability.

In addition, the procedure for revaluation of immovable property and forecasting of changes in cadastral values on the beginning of the taxation period should be revised in Latvia. At present, there is a problem that the annual changes of the base of cadastral value force a payer of immovable property tax to consider also annual changes in cadastral values and taxes, thus, hindering planning of expenses in the medium term and causing a tension in the society. Similarly, the regulatory enactments do not prescribe the time and the society has no knowledge on the time when the cadastral values should correspond to the market situation; thus, al-lowing the way for interpretation on the compliance in different periods – on the moment of approval, or the beginning or end of the taxation period. On the conditions of downward market, the regulatory enactments prescribe to determine the base indicators of values on the moment when the base of values becomes ef-ficient (to evaluate the price drop forecast one year ahead). Unfortunately, forecasts done one year ahead not always allow precise evaluation, thus, causing necessity to make corrections in the following year and causing dissatisfaction and incomprehension of the society, especially in case of increasing cadastral values. Here, the possible solution could be mass revaluation once in two years if the data describing the item have not changed and determining a fixed reporting date for the base of cadastral values (concrete situation on


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the real estate market) without forecasting of the real estate market on the beginning of the taxation period. Simultaneously, the necessity for forecasting in cases of extremely radical decline in the values of real estate market should be envisaged in Latvia. Therefore, the State Land Service would have the possibility to prepa-re a qualitative and extended report on the changes in the base of cadastral values and payers of immovable property tax will have certain stability in planning of tax payments.

Conclusions

1. The tax system of Latvia may be described as unstable due to its frequent and considerable changes and expressed direction towards employment taxes (52.9 % of the total tax revenues in 2011). The immova-ble property tax is included into capital taxes and its share equalled 2.8 % of total tax revenues in 2011.

2. Lately, the set of items taxable with immovable property tax has been expanded in Latvia – taxation of residential buildings with immovable property tax has been started from 2010 and tax rates have been increased from 2011, thus, the largest immovable property tax revenues amounting to LVL 110.2 mil-lion were collected in Latvia. It is envisaged to ensure the rights to local governments to determine the immovable property tax rates from 2013 within the range of 0.2 %–3 % set by the central government.

3. Since the real estate market activities and prices have rapidly declined from 2010 considerably affec-ting the cadastral values of properties, it would be more efficient to cancel the limitation set by the state for the tax increase and regulate tax burden through tax rates. It would facilitate work for tax administration and tax calculation would be more understandable to taxpayers.

4. The state and municipal institutions should be invited to start a discussion on the possible solutions and legal regulation with the aim to ensure municipalities with the necessary data allowing to apply the most fair procedure for tax calculation, i.e. to calculate tax consistent with the procedure for use registered in the Land Register. It should be done on the state level.

5. The system of cadastral valuation should be revised in Latvia: land should be evaluated by expropria-tion and not lease transactions. The method of costs could be applied for the cadastral evaluation of buildings simultaneously calculating the construction costs of buildings. The issue of mass inspection of buildings and updating of data should be addressed in Latvia.

6. Mass revaluation of the cadastral value should be ensured in Latvia once in two years if the data describing the item have not changed and determining a fixed reporting date for the base of cadastral values. Therefore, the State Land Service would have the possibility to prepare a qualitative and exten-ded report on the changes in the base of cadastral values and payers of immovable property tax will have certain stability in planning of tax payments.

References

Dzīvokļa īpašuma likums (Law on Apartment Property): LR likums. (2011). Available at: http://www.likumi.lv/doc.php?id=221382.

Fridriksone, M. (2009). Kadastrālās vērtības ir ievērojami kritušās (Cadastral Values have Considerably Decreased). Dienas bizness, Saldo Nr. 13, gada augusts, p. 4–8.

Ketners, K., Titova, S. (2009). Nodokļu politika Eiropas Savienības vidē (Tax Policy in the European Union Environ-ment). Banku augstskola, Biznesa un finanšu pētniecības centrs, p. 127.

Kopsavilkums par budžeta ieņēmumu daļas izpildi 2011.gada 12 mēnešos (Summary on the Performance of Budget Revenues in 2011). Available at: http://www.vid.gov.lv/dokumenti/noderigi/statistika/nodoklu%20ienemumi/kop-savilkums_ien_2011g.pdf.

Kopsavilkums par budžeta ieņēmumu daļas izpildi 2010.gada 12 mēnešos (Summary on the Performance of Budget Revenues in 12 Months of 2010). Available at: http://www.vid.gov.lv/dokumenti/noderigi/statistika/nodoklu%20ienemumi/ien_12_2010.pdf.

Likuma „Par nekustamā īpašuma nodokli” normu piemērošanas kārtība (Procedure for Applications of Norms Stipu-lated by the Law on Immovable Property Tax), MK noteikumi Nr.495. (2011). Available at: http://www.likumi.lv/doc.php?id=138366.


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Likumprojekta „Grozījumi likumā „Par nekustamā īpašuma nodokli” sākotnējās ietekmes novērtējuma ziņojums (Re-port on Initial Impact Assessment of the draft Law “Amendments to the Law on Immovable Property Tax”). (2012). Available at: www.mk.gov.lv/doc/2005/FManot_150312_NIN_2013.303.doc.

Makroekonomikas un budžeta apskats (Survey on Macroeconomics and Budget). (2011). LR Finanšu ministrija. Avai-lable at: http://fm.gov.lv/files/files/4C05BC220873001328083638827981.pdf.

Nekustamā īpašuma valsts kadastra likums (Law on Immovable Property State Cadastre): LR likums. (2011). Available at: http://www.likumi.lv/doc.php?id=124247.

Par nekustamā īpašuma nodokli (On Immovable Property Tax): LR likums. (2011). Available at: http://www.likumi.lv/doc.php?id=43913.

Par tautsaimniecības attīstību un kopbudžeta izpildes gaitu (On Progress of Economic Development and Performance of Consolidated Budget). (2007). LR Finanšu ministrija. Available at: http://www.fm.gov.lv/files/files/2007_IV.pdf.

Rīgas domes Nekustamā īpašuma nodokļa administrēšanas sistēmas dati (Data of the Immovable Property Tax Admi-nistration System of Riga City Council).

Štucere, S. (2010). Samērīga nekustamā īpašuma nodokļa piemērošanas problēmas Latvijā (Problems for Application of Commensurate Immovable Property Tax in Latvia). RTU Zinātniskie raksti. Ekonomika un uzņēmējdarbība, Sērija 3, Sējums 20, p. 133–139.

Viss par kadastrālo vērtību (Everything on Cadastral Value). (2012). Valsts Zemes dienests. Available at: http://kadas-tralavertiba.lv/vienkarsi-par-kadastralo-vertibu/.

Zemesgrāmatu likums (Law on Land Register): LR likums. (2011). Available at: http://www.likumi.lv/doc.php?id=60460.

L AT V I J O S N E K I L N O J A M O J O T U R O M O K E S Č I Ų D Y D Ž I U I Į TA K O S T U R I N Č I Ų V E I K S N I Ų V E RT I N I M A S

Sandra Stucere, Gunita MazureLatvijos žemės ūkio universitetas (Latvija)

Santrauka

Šiuo tyrimu siekta išanalizuoti Latvijos nekilnojamojo turto mokesčio ypatumus ir įvertinti veiksnius, kurie daro įtaką jų dydžiui, pagrindinius mokesčių skyrimo principus. Svarbu aptarti metodus, kuriais rem-damasi Valstybinė žemės tarnyba nustato kadastrinę nekilnojamojo turto vertę, kuri yra nekilnojamojo turto mokesčio apskaičiavimo pagrindas. Būtina revizija, nes neįmanoma be tinkamų ir palyginamų kadastrinių verčių sukurti sąžiningos mokesčių sistemos.

Ateityje žemė bus vertinama remiantis nuomos, o ne pirkimo sandoriais Latvijoje, tuo tarpu statinių ka-dastrinė vertė gali būti nustatoma panašiais metodais, kuriais nustatomos statinių statybos sąnaudos. Latvijo-je būtina masinė statinių fizinės būklės inspekcija ir duomenų atnaujinimas. Valstybiniu lygmeniu siekiama nustatyti sąžiningą mokesčių skaičiavimo procedūrą (mokesčiai skaičiuojami remiantis nekilnojamojo turto panaudojimo procedūra Žemės registre), panaikinti vietinių savivaldybių nustatytus apribojimus nekilnoja-mojo turto mokesčio didėjimui, reguliuoti mokesčių naštą keičiant jų dydį.

PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: nekilnojamojo turto mokestis, mokesčio didėjimui ribojimai, nuosavybės struktūra, kadastrinė vertė.

JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: H29


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T H E F E AT U R E S O F M A R K E T I N G C O M M U N I C AT I O N S I N T H E C O N D I T I O N S O F E C O N O M I C C R I S I S

Jeļena Šalkovska1


ABSTRACTThe article contains the analysis of features of marketing communications of companies in the conditions of economic crisis, when, from one side, the financial capabilities of companies are limited, but, from the other side, this is also the period when the necessity of retaining the market share and changing the strategies of companies’ marketing communication increases. The article contains the analysis of the changes in consumers’ behaviour in the conditions of crisis. The results of interrogation of representatives of Latvian companies, conducted under the guidance of the author of the article in order to reveal the directions of changes in their marketing strategies in the conditions of crisis, are also analysed in the article.KEY WORDS: marketing communications, marketing communications strategy, integrated approach, crisis, consumers’ behaviour.

JEL CODES: M31.

Introduct ion

In the conditions of economic crisis the companies, operating in the market, need to continue to maintain interrelations with the consumers in order to reveal changes in their demands and their behaviour, as only based on information about these changes it is possible to develop company’s marketing communication strategy, corresponding to the changeable marketing environment. In the conditions of economic crisis not only economic factors of consumers’ behaviour, but also social, psychological and other factors are exposed to significant changes. Most of consumers start to follow a more rational behaviour stereotype that lead to making more efficient, from consumers’ point of view, purchases, i.e., the purchases that enable to maximize consumer’s benefit and to minimize his or her expenses that, as a result, lead to the increase of consumer va-lue of purchases. In the condition of crisis consumers tend to minimize the risk, related to the decisions, taken about the purchase, i.e., informational role of marketing communications, as well as the role of credibility of the brand and the company increase. The strategy and content of marketing communications should corres-pond to the new conditions of consumers’ behavior. Nearly in all companies, operating in the market, both planned and forced changes in marketing communications strategy, related to economic crisis, take place.

Research problem, novelty and relevance. The research problem is related to the determina-tion of the features of marketing communications of companies in the conditions of economic crisis, when both consumers’ behaviour and the financial capabilities of most of companies change. In this situation the companies face difficulties in determining the directions of adjusting marketing communications to the changeable marketing environment. The novelty of this research is the determination of factual direction of marketing communications strategy of companies – the subjects of Latvian market as well as the analysis of

1 Jeļena Šalkovska – University of Latvia, Economics and Management Faculty (Latvia), M. oec., lecturer. Scientistic interests: marketing.E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Tel.: +371 296 159 33.

Jeļena ŠalkovskaTHE FEATURES OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS IN THE CONDITIONS OF ECONOMIC CRISIS

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correspondence of these changes to the market situation, that is nowadays a very topical issue not only for the Latvian market, but also for the markets of other countries that to a greater or lesser extent experience economic problems.

Research object: marketing communications of Latvian companies in the conditions of crisis.Research purpose: to analyse the features of marketing communications of Latvian companies in the

conditions of crisis, to evaluate the correspondence of their strategy to marketing environment and to develop recommendations, aimed at the improvement of marketing communications in modern economic conditions.

Research tasks: 1. To analyse the changes in consumers’ behaviour in the conditions of crisis and to ground the necessity

of changes in marketing communications strategy of companies; 2. To analyse the necessary changes in marketing communications strategy in the conditions of crisis that

would contribute to the maintenance of company’s market position; 3. To ground the methodology and to interrogate marketing specialists of Latvian companies in order

to reveal the directions of changes in their marketing communication strategies and to evaluate the correspondence of these changes to economic situation;

4. To develop recommendations for companies, aimed at the improvement of marketing communications in modern economic conditions.

Research methods: abstractive analysis of literature, interrogation.

1. The Change of Consumers’ Behaviour in the Condit ions of Cris is as the Most Important Factor of Improvement of Market ing Communicat ions of Companies

Nowadays economic situation is the factor that determines the development of marketing communi-cations. However, the influence of the other factors of marketing communications remains significant. The following factors can be emphasized amongst them: the development of science and techniques, the develo-pment of new means of marketing communications, globalization processes. Overall marketing environment of companies today is unstable as the result of impact of various factors that impedes marketing communi-cations management, as the consumer constantly corrects his or her behavior, adjusting it to the new condi-tions. In economic crisis situation the family budget of most of consumers decreases, but, at the same time, their requirements to the quality of goods and services and the content of marketing communications remain high; moreover, the consumers try to make even more efficient purchases.

In the buying process consumer’s behaviour is always oriented on getting the maximum consumption value (Kaynama, Smith, 1994; Berger, Nasr, 1998; Bolton, 1998; Rust, Lemon, Zeithaml, 2004). This value is the difference between the consumption benefits and total consumption costs.

Consumption benefits include (Vankatesen, Kumar, 2004): y Product quality (technical characteristics, design, package etc.); y Quality of service (guarantees, supply etc.); y Brand value (placement in the market, prestige etc.); y Company image in the society (reputation, guarantee of quality etc.).

Total consumption costs include: y Product purchase price; y Service price; y The time, spent for the purchase; y Product supply costs; y Other costs (moral, consumption risk etc.).


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Let us assume that a consumer, when choosing a product that he or she needs, compares the alternatives by quality, level of service, brand prestige and company reputation, that shows product recognition by the society. It relates to consumption benefits. However, at the same time the consumer evaluates also possible consumption costs, including the product price, supply costs, the time to be spent for search and evaluation of the product etc. and compares it to his or her budget. This process takes place both in consumption market and business market, taking into account the particularities of consumption benefits and total consumption costs of both markets.

Each company can increase the consumption value, offered in the market, using the following methods: y First, it can increase consumption benefits, that is, to improve the quality of goods and services, to

enhance the brand value and/or company reputation, for example, by offering attractive marketing events in the target market;

y Second, it can reduce total consumption costs, that is, to offer discounts, free supply, to develop and realize the methods of saving consumers’ time (Praude, Shalkovska, 2009).

The model of influence of consumers’ behaviour to marketing communications strategy of companies is shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1. The Model of Influence of Consumers’ Behaviour to Marketing Communications Strategy of Companies Source: author.

In the conditions of crisis the following changes of consumers’ behavior take place: 1. Tendency to save the family budget even in case the level of incomes of the family members remained

the same; 2. The decrease of quantity of the purchased goods and services that influences the aggregated demand

in the market; 3. The decrease of frequency of purchase of durable goods and services; 4. Changes in the structure of households’ consumption; 5. The decrease of value of each purchase; 6. More grounded choice of goods and services, i.e., the reduction of the number of impulsive;


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7. Purchases and the increase of depth and length of collection of preliminary information on the availa-ble alternatives of the goods and services;

8. Changes in the choice of mass media that serve as means of marketing communications, for example, the refuse to purchase some prints and a more frequent use of Internet as a source of information.

Economic crisis is the factor that determines financial capabilities of companies and the ones of the households; consequently, as the result of crisis, changes will occur both in consumers’ behaviour and in competitors’ marketing strategy. In order to develop marketing communications strategy, the company needs to make appropriate marketing researches that would enable to make an optimal choice of the means of dis-tribution of marketing communications as well as to determine their frequency, budget and content.

In the conditions of crisis the consumers prefer marketing communications that help them to make an efficient choice of a good or service, i.e., provide sufficient information on consumption value. Therefore the companies should change their marketing communications strategy, putting accent on the consumption bene-fits that are important for the consumer in the conditions of crisis that would enable to maintain and even to enhance the efficiency of marketing communications. The possibility to enhance the efficiency of marketing communications is explained by the fact that the total intensity of marketing communications declines, i.e., the consumers have a less frequent contact with advertisements and other types of marketing communications. In these conditions any marketing message has a higher probability of feedback. The main directions of improve-ment of companies’ marketing communications in the conditions of crisis will be considered below.

2. The Direct ions of Improvement of Market ing Communicat ions of Companies in the Condit ions of Cris is

In the conditions of crisis, in spite of limited financial capabilities, the companies should not only to continue to realize communications with the consumers, but also to provide the correspondence of marketing communications to the changes in consumers’ behaviour. Therefore the improvement of market communi-cations in the conditions of crisis should meet the following two requirements:

1. Optimality and effective spending of marketing communications budget; 2. Correspondence of the content, frequency and the means of distribution of marketing communications

to the new model of consumers’ behaviour in the conditions of crisis.

In scope of these requirements the following directions of improvement of marketing communications of companies in the conditions of crisis could be recommended:

y The use of integrated approach to marketing communications (Burnett, 2001; Smith, 2004; Belch, Belch, 2007; Shalkovska, 2008);

y The use of the major and auxiliary means of marketing communications in order to cover different consumers’ segments and to minimize expenses as well as the replacement of the main means with cheaper auxiliary means;

y Activation of the use of Internet as a means of distribution of marketing communications (Hanson, 2000; Hanson, Kalyanam 2007);

y Calculation of the minimal efficient frequency of contact with the target audience; y Emphasizing of cost effectiveness, efficiency and other consumption benefits in the contents of mar-

keting communications.

Integrated marketing communications can be defined as the use of all kinds of marketing communi-cations, coordinating and adjusting them with the other marketing (marketing mix activities) and particip-ants of the market (Praude, Shalkovska, 2005: 44). Integrated approach to marketing communications can be used in order to achieve synergy effect (Ansoff, 1987: 18–72; Novikov, Ribchenko, 2006; Arshinov, Budanov, 2007: 84) from the combination of different types of marketing communications, from carrying


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out mutual marketing campaigns, from the combination of different means of distribution of marketing com-munications, that would enable to enhance the total final effect of marketing communications and to reduce marketing communications budget per one consumer.

In the process of development and distribution of marketing communications usually 1–2 major means that about one-half of the total budget is spent for are used, as well as a number of auxiliary means, the number of which depend on the coverage of the target audience and the total budget, are applied (Praude, Shalkovska, 2010). The major means of marketing communications can independently and efficiently achieve the objectives of communications and the desired consumers’ behaviour. The auxiliary means of marketing communications supplement the major means to enhance the efficiency of communications (Praude, Shalkovska, 2006: 258). In the conditions of crisis it makes sense to put accent on primary use of auxiliary marketing communications, as they enable to save marketing communications budget. However, the analysis of possibility to replace the major means with auxiliary means is mandatory. For example, such replacement will be efficient if a considerable part of the target audience are Internet users (not obligatory active ones), in this case Internet could be well used as an auxiliary means of distribution of communications. The use of auxiliary means is especially efficient in the beginning and in the end of marketing communications campaign before and after the use of major means of distribution of communications (Pelsmacker, Geuens, Bergh, 2007: 73–92).

One more direction of improvement of marketing communications in the conditions of crisis is related to the use of minimal efficient frequency of contact with the target audience. The efficient frequency of marke-ting communications can be defined as a sufficient number of marketing communication messages to inform each member of the target audience and to cause a feedback (Praude, Shalkovska, 2006: 286). To determine the efficient frequency of marketing communications one should calculate the minimal and maximal neces-sary frequency. It makes sense to determine the minimal necessary frequency as not all representatives of the target audience will see the first message at once. It is possible that the first marketing communication messa-ge they see will be actually the fourth one. The importance of maximal efficient frequency is as follows: if a certain frequency of contacts is exceeded, their efficiency will not only stop exceeding, it will even cause an opposite action. As the result, marketing communications budget is exceeded, but the efficiency of marketing communications declines that is unacceptable in the conditions of crisis.

Activation of the use of Internet as a means of distribution of marketing communications is fully groun-ded in the conditions of crisis as it enables to reduce marketing communications budget. Marketing commu-nications in Internet have the following advantages:

y Unlimited working time (they are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week). y It is possible to provide extended information on the product as well as to demonstrate the product’s

appearance at the same time. y Easy and fast to replace, it is also possible to have an automated replacement (for example, one banner

in the morning and the other one in the evening). y It enables to reach the target audience that do not use other medias – young people. y It is possible to aim at some certain target audience (for example, by placing an advertisement in some parts

of a homepage, or to show to the registered users only the advertisements that correspond to their interests). y Appropriate for advertising of trademarks of internationally spread goods. y Enables to implement widely new communications, messages, ideas, games etc. y Is suitable for companies’ market as it reaches the managers in the middle of the day, when they take

decisions, related to the purchase of necessary goods. y Advertisers can follow the marketing campaign on-line and make changes in case of necessity (Prau-

de, Shalkovska, 2006: 222).

The choice of the specific directions of changes in marketing communications strategy of a company in the conditions of crisis depend on the following factors:

1) The intensity and efficiency of company’s marketing communications in pre-crisis period, as the final effect of marketing communications can appear with a delay;


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2) Elasticity of demand for the good, as the demand for prime necessity goods in the conditions of crisis practically remains the same, only the structure of consumption of these goods changes;

3) The correspondence of the elements of company’s marketing mix to each other, as in the conditions of crisis any discrepancies of these elements can appear very fast while being passive in pre-crisis peri-od. The consumers change their behaviour in the conditions of crisis, reacting to the conformities and discrepancies of marketing mix elements as they tend to a more efficient choice of goods and services. The elements of marketing mix, corresponding to crisis situation, should be accented in the content of marketing communications.

Further the author of the article will ground the methodology and analyse the results of interrogation of marketing specialists of Latvian companies in order to reveal the directions of changes in their marketing communications strategies ant to evaluate the correspondence of these changes to economic situation.

3. Research methodology

In March–April 2011 an interrogation of marketing specialists of Latvian companies was carried out under the guidance of the author in order to reveal the directions of changes in their marketing communications strategies ant to evaluate the correspondence of these changes to economic situation. To make a selection, the quota method was used. The quotation was carried out on the base of company’s size, location and sphere of activity. Interrogation was carried out both in big and small companies in 6 Latvian cities: Riga, Jelgava, Liepaja, Ventspils, Valmiera and Daugavpils. The selection scope included 426 companies, functioning in Latvian market. Based on the methodolo-gy of Elizabeth Noel, with probability 0.954 we can affirm that the selection is representative. The dependence of selection scope on the general multitude, based on Noel’s methodology, is shown in Table 1:

Table 1. Dependence of Selection Scope on the General Multitude

Volume of general multitude500 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 10000 100000

8

Selection scope 222 286 333 350 360 370 385 398 400

Source: Noel, 1993: 94.

As we can see in the table, a selection scope of 222 respondents is sufficient for the general multitude of 500 units etc. If we have an endless general multitude then a selection scope of 400 respondents would be sufficient. Therefore we can conclude that after the volume of general multitude achieves a certain level, its further increase does not have any significant impact on the increase of the selection scope.

4. The Resul ts of Research of Latvian Companies on the Direct ions of Changes in their Market ing Communicat ion Strategies in the Condit ions of Cris is

Nearly all interrogated marketing specialists (95 %) mentioned that the behavior of the consumers of their target audience had changed: 54 % of consumers absolutely changed their behaviour and habits while 27 % of consumers changed their behaviour significantly. Marketing specialists explain it with the changes in consumers’ incomes and their thinking stereotypes. Due to such significant changes in behaviour of the target audience the companies need to make extended researches of the new demands of the consumers, their preferences and other consumers’ characteristics, however, limited financial resources of the companies do not enable to create an appropriate information basis.


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Due to limited financial capabilities 84 % of Latvian companies cut their marketing communications budget in connection with economic crisis: 19 % of companies cut their budget by 75 % and more, 25 % of companies cut their budget by 30–40 % and 40 % of companies cut their budget by 50 % and more. We can conclude that most of Latvian companies in the conditions of crisis are forced to cut their expenses on the account of marketing communications, however, in real life it is realized simply by cutting marketing communications budget while the major approach remains the same, not by enhancing the efficiency of the reduced communications budget that would be more expedient.

A comparative evaluation of the frequency of use of different types of marketing communications by Latvian companies before economic crisis and in economic crisis situation is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Comparative Evaluation of the Frequency of Use of Different Types of Marketing Communications by Lat-vian Companies before Economic Crisis and in Economic Crisis Situation

Types of marketing communications

Frequency of use of marketing communications before economic

crisis

Frequency of use of marketing communications in economic crisis

situation

Very

of

ten

Rat

her

ofte

n

From

tim

e to

tim

e

Rat

her

seld

om

Nev

er

Very

of

ten

Rat

her

ofte

n

From

tim

e to

tim

e

Rat

her

seld

om

Nev

er

Advertisement 5 % 74 % 21 % 39 % 57 % 4 %

Sales stimulation methods 18 % 20 % 50 % 12 % 16 % 49 % 27 % 8 %

Public relations 22 % 19 % 11 % 25 % 23 % 9 % 18 % 13 % 29 % 31 %

Direct communications 29 % 23 % 18 % 12 % 18 % 45 % 24 % 19 % 12 %

As we can see in Table 2, in economic crisis situation the frequency of use of advertisement considerably decreased (before crisis 79 % of companies often used advertisements, but at the time of crisis 61 % of com-panies started to use advertisement seldom or even never); the frequency of use of public relations as a type of marketing communications also decreased (instead of 41 % of companies that often used public relations before, now only 27 % of companies use public relations often). The growth of the frequency of use in the con-ditions of crisis is typical for such types of marketing communications as sales stimulation methods (instead of 38 % of companies that often used sales stimulation methods before, nowadays 65 % of companies often use sa-les stimulation methods) and direct communications (instead of 52 % of companies that often used direct com-munications earlier, nowadays 69 % of companies often use direct communications). Such dynamics of change in frequency of use of different types of marketing communications is explained with the fact that companies choose less expensive types of communications. The accent on sales stimulation methods is connected with the features of consumers’ behavior in the conditions of crisis as they started to react even more to discounts and other sales stimulation methods. Such dynamics conforms to the present economic situation in the country.

Amongst the means of distribution of marketing communications the following ones are the most popular in the conditions of crisis:

1. Internet – 69 % of companies (before crisis 45 % of companies preferred this means of distribution of marketing communications).

2. Outdoor advertisement – 56 % of companies (before crisis 39 % of companies preferred this means of distribution of marketing communications).

3. Newspapers – 41 % of companies (before crisis 37 % of companies preferred this means of distribu-tion of marketing communications).


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4. Radio – 37 % of companies (before crisis 32 % of companies preferred this means of distribution of marketing communications).

5. TV – 18 % of companies (before crisis 34 % of companies preferred this means of distribution of marketing communications).

Most frequent use of Internet, outdoor advertisement and newspapers is explained with the tendency of companies to save marketing communications budget. 24 % of companies noted that in the conditions of crisis they could even abandon marketing communications at all. Based on the results of interrogation, the rating of criteria of choice of the means of marketing communications by Latvian companies in the condi-tions of crisis has been made:

1. Minimal total distribution costs – 7.8 scores from 10 possible.2. Maximal coverage of target audience – 6.9 scores from 10 possible.3. Minimal distribution costs per one covered potential buyer – 6.2 scores from 10 possible.

From the point of view of the author of the article, even in the conditions of crisis the criterion “minimal distribution costs per one covered potential buyer” should be the most significant one, as this is the case when the most efficient expenditure of marketing communications budget is provided.

In the opinion of the interrogated marketing specialists of Latvian companies, there are the following op-tions to save marketing communications budget while keeping the efficiency of marketing communications in the conditions of economic crisis:

1. To combine different means of marketing communications – 37 % of companies.2. To cooperate with manufacturers and sellers by carrying out joint mutually beneficial marketing cam-

paigns – 19 % of companies.3. To cooperate with the competitors by carrying out joint mutually beneficial marketing campaigns –

17 % of companies.4. To combine different types of marketing communications – 15 % of companies.5. It is impossible – 12 % of companies.

Negative fact is that 12 % of all companies underestimate opportunities to enhance the efficiency of market-ing communications by realizing integrated approach and 15 % of companies underestimate the opportunities to enhance the efficiency of marketing communications by combining different types of marketing communications.

One more factor that has a negative impact on the efficiency of marketing communications is the reduc-tion of frequency of pursuance of marketing researches by Latvian companies in the conditions of crisis:

1. Once in a 2-year period – 29 % of companies (before economic crisis – 19 % of companies).2. Once a year – 53 % of companies (before economic crisis – 48 % of companies).3. 2–3 times a year – 8 % of companies (before economic crisis – 33 % of companies).4. Do not conduct marketing researches at all – 10 % of companies (there were no such companies before

economic crisis).

The feature of crisis situation is the contradiction: from one side, marketing researches are necessary as consumers’ behavior changed and the companies need to investigate it, but from the other side, the compa-nies lack financial resources to conduct researches. It impedes the development of companies’ marketing communications strategy.

The forced overall reduction of marketing activity is also a negative factor for the development of com-panies. For example, the interrogated marketing specialists of Latvian companies think that:

1. Marketing activities considerably decreased in economic crisis situation – 61 %.2. Marketing activities remained on the same level in economic crisis situation – 34 %.3. The use of marketing measures became even more important for the development o4. Companies in economic crisis situation and, therefore, marketing activities increased – 5 %.


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In the conditions of overall decrease of marketing activity of the most of companies the intensity of marketing communications also declines, but marketing communications strategy becomes not sufficiently grounded due to the absence of necessary information basis and limited marketing communications budget. Therefore nowadays the existing environment is negative for the development of marketing communications of Latvian companies, however, the companies that are trying to maintain their position in the market, cannot achieve it without marketing communications with the consumers.

Conclusions

As the result of the conducted research, the following conclusions have been made: 1. Nowadays economic situation is the factor that determines the development of marketing communications.

In the conditions of economic crisis the consumers try to make more efficient purchases by trying to increase consumption benefits and to minimize the expenses on consumption of goods and services.

2. In the conditions of crisis the consumers reduce the quantity of purchased goods and services, reduce the frequency of consumption of durable goods and services, change the structure of households’ consump-tion, reduce the value of each purchase as well as make a more grounded choice of goods and services.

3. In the conditions of crisis the consumers prefer marketing communications that help to make an effi-cient choice of a good or service, i.e., provide sufficient information on consumption value.

4. Nearly all Latvian companies note considerable changes in the behaviour of the consumers of their target audience and acknowledge the importance of conducting marketing researches of the new de-mands of the consumers; however, they are forced to reduce the intensity of their marketing activity due to limited financial resources.

5. 84% of Latvian companies cut their marketing communications budget by considerably reducing their expenses on advertisements and public relations and preferring such means of distribution of marke-ting communications as Internet and outdoor advertisement.

6. Latvian companies use minimization of total expenses on distribution of marketing communications as the main criterion of choice of the means of marketing communications in the conditions of crisis instead the more efficient criterion – minimization of distribution expenses per one potential consumer.

7. Latvian companies underestimate opportunities to use integrated approach to marketing communi-cations as the means to enhance their efficiency and to reduce expenses per one covered representative of the target audience.

8. The choice of the specific direction of changes in company’s marketing communications strategy in the conditions of crisis depends on the intensity and efficiency of company’s marketing communi-cations in pre-crisis period, on the elasticity of demand for the good and on the correspondence of company’s marketing mix elements to each other.

Therefore, nowadays the companies need to put accent on the use of integrated approach to marketing communications, on activation of the use of auxiliary marketing communications, on activation on the use of Internet as a means of distribution of marketing communications and on determination of minimal effi-cient frequency of contact with the target audience when planning marketing communications. The compa-nies need to change their marketing communications strategy, emphasizing the consumption benefits that are significant for the consumer in the conditions of crisis. These directions of improvement of marketing communications in the conditions of crisis will enable the company to keep its position in the market and to continue its development.

References

Ansoff, H. I. (1987). Corporate Strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.Arshinov, V., Budanov, V. (2007). Synergetics at the turn of the 20-21 centuries. Moscow: RSA INION.


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p. 21–24.Noel, E. (1993). Mass Survey. Moscow: АVА-Estra, 195 p.Novikov, D., Ribchenko, N. (2006). Synergistic effect in the models of distributed control. Available from Internet:

<http://econ.asu.ru/lib/sborn/model2006/pdf/17.pdf>.Pelsmacker, P., Geuens, M., Bergh J. (2007). Marketing communications: a European perspective. Harlow [etc.]: Pren-

tice-Hall/Financial Times.Praude, V., Šalkovska, J. (2005). Mārketinga komunikācijas (Teorija un prakse), 1.sējums. Rīga: Vaidelote, 485 p. Praude, V., Šalkovska, J. (2006). Mārketinga komunikācijas (Teorija un prakse), 2.sējums. Rīga: Vaidelote, 456 p. Praude, V., Shalkovska, E. (2009). Marketing factors of formation of company’s customer equity. 10th International

Conference: Management Horizons in Changing Economic Environment: visions and challenges. Conference Pro-ceedings. Kaunas: European Management Association, Baltic Management Foundation and Vytautas Magnus Uni-versity, p. 655–667.

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R I N K O D A R O S K O m u N I K A c I j O S e K O N O m I N ė S K R I z ė S L A I K O TA R P I u b R u O ž A I

Jeļena ŠalkovskaLatvijos universitetas (Latvija)

Santrauka

Straipsnyje analizuojami organizacijų, veikiančių ekonominės krizės sąlygomis, rinkodaros komunika-cijos bruožai, kai, viena vertus, finansiniai organizacijos pajėgumai yra apriboti, kita vertus, šiuo laikotar-piu padidėja poreikis išlaikyti turimą rinkos dalį ir keisti organizacijos rinkodaros komunikacijos strategiją. Straipsnyje pateikiama vartotojų elgsenos ekonominės krizės laikotarpiu pokyčių analizė. Pateikiami auto-riaus vykdytos Latvijos organizacijų atstovų apklausos rezultatai, kuriais siekiama parodyti šių bendrovių rinkodaros strategijų pokyčių kryptis esant ekonominei krizei.

PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: rinkodaros komunikacija, rinkodaros komunikacijos strategija, integruota prieiga, krizė, vartotojų elgsena.

JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: M31.


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I N T E N S I F I C ATO N O F K N O W L E D G E M A N A G E M E N T S Y S T E M W I T H I N T H E F R A M E W O R K O F A D U LT L E A R N I N G

F O R E F F E C T I V E R E G I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T

Inessa Vorontchuk1, IrIna Lando2


ABSTRACTThe article analyzes the possibilities of use of innovative methods of instruction for adult learning in the regions with the purpose to intensify the knowledge management system and ensure the principle of equal opportunity for the inhabitants of the regions. The data were acquired in the course of implementation of the national programme Support for Vocational Education with the Aim to De-velop Professional Skills and Competences of People Involved in Agriculture and Forestry within the project Vocational Education 2005–2006. The project was being implemented in the time period from 2006 to 2008 inclusive. In the course of project implemen-tation, trainings in 21 regions of the Republic of Latvia had been carried out. All in all, 2,562 people in 119 groups had been trained. KEY WORDS: adult learning, knowledge management, regional development.

JEL CODES: H250, O110.

Introduct ion

The modern knowledge-based economy established the human capital as the key factor for the successful development and increased competitiveness not only for the organizations, but also for countries. For exam-ple, the Latvia’s Sustainable Development Strategy 2030 states that “Our main capital is people – their skills, knowledge and talents”. Development of adults through training can reduce the gaps in knowledge distribu-tion and speed of knowledge delivery between regions and cities.

Development of regions is one of the key priorities of the republic of Latvia. Thus, development of hu-man capital in regions requires introduction of innovative training approaches targeted at processing newly acquired knowledge.

During the past decades, considerable changes occurred in the sphere of the adult training. These chan-ges are mostly caused by a few new tendencies: globalization, migration, creation of the common European labour market, consequences of the global economic crisis, ageing of the nations in Europe. During an in-formal meeting among the heads of the EU member states in Hampton Court (UK) in October 2005 it has been noted that ageing of the nations has become one of the major problems that should be resolved in the nearest future. The negative demographic tendencies related to ageing of population and, consequently, to the labour market, will inevitably affect quality of workers and will require more robust trainings aimed at

1 InessaVorontchuk–Prof.dr.oec.,UniversityofLatvia,FacultyofEconomicsandManagement.Scientificinterest:publicad-ministration.E-mail: [email protected].: +371 670 347 40.

2 IrinaLando–theUniversityofLatvia,FacultyofEconomicsandManagement.Theapplicantforscientificdegree.Scientificinterest: Innovative training methods for personnel, speed reading.E-mail: [email protected].: +371 294 335 53.

Inessa Vorontchuk, IrIna LandoINTENSIFICATON OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF ADULT LEARNING FOR EFFECTIVE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

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improvementoftheprofessionalabilitiesandskills,aswellasprofessionalqualificationswhicharewidelyavailable in the cities, but not the regions.

As a result, new approaches and tendencies are required for educational activities conducted in the regi-ons.Thesenewapproachesshouldbefocusedonimprovementofprofessionalqualificationsinlinewiththeconcept of lifelong learning.

The EU member states have established state policies identifying knowledge as a basis of development in the society and highlighting importance of the concept of lifelong learning. The lifelong learning concept reflectsthepotentialandkeytasksoftheinformaltrainingapproaches.Thesearetheinformaltrainingappro-aches that actively use new forms and methods of training. Mostly, these are numerous methods of active trainings.

The object of the research is training and development of adults in the regions. Thepaperaimstodetermineandevaluatethepossibilitiesofintensificationoftheknowledgemanage-

ment system using adult training in Latvia for regional development. The objectives set for the research are: y To investigate characteristic features of the knowledge management system in the regions; y To investigate the possibilities for intensification of knowledgemanagement through training and

development of adults.

Theresearchmethodsappliedare:scientificliteratureanalysis,anexperimentcarriedoutwiththeaimto provide trainings to adults in the regions, the data collected in the course of training that were then statis-tically processed.

After trainings ineachgroup, the traineesfilledoutquestionnaires toevaluate theresultsobtained inthe course of such instruction as well as to express their points of view on the organization of said trainings and the topicality of the themes covered and also assessed the possibility to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. The obtained data were then collected and analyzed after which the comparison of the results oftrainingsacrossregionswasconducted,and,finally,commonfeatureswererevealedanddifferencesde-termined. In this article, the results are given in abridged form, since special features of development of 21 regions are of interest only to the domestic market taking into account the small area of Latvia. In this article, the authors present the general results which may be of interest to the wider public and can be used for the assessment of regional development.

1 . Research Topical i ty

In the European Union, increasingly more attention is given to regional development. From the point of viewoftheauthors,itisnecessarytopaymoreattentiontothespecificnatureofregionaldevelopmentineach individual country taking into account cultural and national peculiarities. For instance, people living in theoldEUcountrieswouldfinditdifficulttoimaginethatinthenewmemberstatesoftheEuropeanUnionthere are regions in which the Internet is not available, that there are regions in which people do not have rudimentary knowledge of how to learn, search for and work with information. In fact, information becomes knowledge only after it has been processed by a person.

Growth and emergence of new technologies requires steady development of new competences in people, since any strategic development which assigns an independent part even to the most contemporary technolo-gies will be doomed to failure if labour potential development is not taken into consideration (Lundvall and Tomlinson, 2001).

In this day and age, it is worth considering not only human capital, but also social capital as an integral part thereof (Corredoira and Rosenkopf, 2010), since an important part of knowledge exists in the con-nections between people (Blackler, 1995).

Flexiblethinking,therateofadaptationtonewconditionsandflexibility,i.e.skillswhichcanhelpwiththe transfer of knowledge from one context to another, become even more popular (Argote and Ingram,


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2000). In the regions, people are known to hold quite conservative points of view, and the degree to which people are prepared to change limits the introduction of innovations and changes (Fisher and Torbert, 2000). Today,peoplemustlearnfasterthantheenvironmentchangesandshouldconstantlysearchfornewfieldsofstudy (Joy-Matthews and others, 2004).

Peoplemustknowhowtobeoriented in the informationflowand introduce innovativechanges intobehavior facilitating steady spread of knowledge. The question of increase in the capacity of acquisition of new knowledge becomes topical (Uhlaner and others, 2007).

2 . Descr ipt ion of the issue

AsnotedintheEU2020–theLisbonCouncilreport,itisnecessarytodefineskillsthatadultsshouldpossess to increase their competitiveness. The core skills are those that can be demanded for a long period of time and abilities of analytical thinking, not the routine work skills (Hofheinz, 2009).

The European Commission has been actively involved in the development of the Smart Growth concept in order to increase employees’ motivation towards acquiring new skills and improvement of professional abilities. The European Commission has also been developing the Inclusive Growth strategy aimed to incre-asethenumberofefficientandtrainedemployeesthatwillensureeconomic,socialandterritorialdevelo-pment and growth.

In Latvia, the program of training of adult people with objective of increase in the competitiveness of adult people in regions has been completed in 2006–2008. The program was developed and put into practice within the scope of the “Vocational Education 2005–2006” project. In total, over 2,562 people in 119 groups in 21 regions of Latvia have been trained within the scope of this program.

All project materials gave been recorded and made available to government bodies and the bodies of the European Union within the Lifelong Learning program.

3. Novel ty

Duringimplementationofthisproject,theapproachwasusedforthefirsttimewhich,insteadofcon-forming to the project regulations, attempted to make this project actually useful for those who complete training. In this case, trainers were selected with great care and considerable attention was paid to preparation of materials.

Such approach allowed building a good reputation of the facilitator and, as a result, at the end of project implementation strong relationships with the regions were established.

The European Union implements excellent initiatives in the sphere of regional development. But at pla-ces these initiatives are often given a cautious welcome. The basic obstacles are alerted attitude to external trainers, lack of skills necessary for learning, incomprehension of the need to learn and develop, and inability to apply the acquired skills in practice.

In the course of implementation of this project, the attempts to eliminate these non-conformities and obs-taclesbymeansofintensificationoftheknowledgemanagementsystemwereundertaken.

4. Resul ts

For implementation of the national programme Support for Vocational Education with the Aim to De-velop Professional Skills and Competences of People Involved in Agriculture and Forestry, the project Vo-cational Education 2005–2006 was implemented. In the course of project implementation, the availability of on-site trainings and uniform distribution of the training programmes on the territory of the Republic of Latvia was a must in order to ensure the principle of equal opportunities for people from different regions, which facilitated the reduction in the differences in information accessibility for people from the regions in comparison with people from the cities. For implementation of the project, groups were formed on a vo-


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luntary basis in 21 regions of Latvia. Groups were formed under the principle of openness and accessibility to all comers. For this purpose, the opportunity to pass free education was advertised in local newspapers, on the Internet portals and in rural service centres. At the initial stage of project implementation one of the authors of this article – Irina Lando – personally organized and conducted trainings on Project Management, Company Management, and Contemporary Ways of Working with Information. In the course of instruction offirstgroups,correctionsweremadetotheprocessesofinstruction.

In the course of project implementation training modules were used for the instruction of adults. After trainings in each group, questionnaire of all the adults who completed training was conducted as well as a random sample of people who participated in trainings were surveyed.

It is important to note that during implementation of the project there was a prerequisite that in each group thequantityofwomenwhocompletedtrainingwouldbenotlessthan50%.Sincetheprojectwasco-financedby the EU funds, the principle of equal opportunity for the least protected population strata was thus ensured.

Intrainingsconductedintheregionsinsufficientlyqualifiedtrainersarequiteofteninvolved.Therefore,people in the regions do not trust trainings conducted by external trainers. In the course of project implemen-tation,considerableattentionwaspaidtothequalificationoftrainersandpreparationofhandoutssothattheskills acquired in the course of training could be reinforced and repeated after the end of training (see Table 1).

The majority of the trainees assessed the quality of training as high (see Figure 1). It made organizing further on-site training possible. Since people in the regions unwillingly attend even free trainings, maintai-ning a reputation which guarantees the quality of training is essential to make implementation of long-term projects in the regions possible.

As a rule, people living in the regions quite often make a decision to start learning based on the opinions and recommendations of their acquaintances or neighbours.

Table 1. Project Assessment “Vocational education 2005–2006”

Assessment Criteria

Number of trainees answered “good” or “very good”

% out of the total number of trainees

Overall training assessment 2 353 92Facilitator’s assessment Ability to explain complex concepts / tasks 2 341 91Use of practical examples 2 117 85Work with trainees 2 098 82Training MaterialsContent 2 128 83Quality of Handouts 2 094 82Practical Use of Handouts 2 345 92Learning Environment 2 315 90Key “A-Ha!” MomentsNew knowledge and skills 2 472 97Training materials can be used for self-study 1 896 74

Source: authors research, 2008, n = 2562

For implementation of the Bologna process, the quality of teaching must ensure interest in the process oflearning.Inthiscontext,thetrainermustnotonlyactasanexpert,butshouldalsoknowhowtoflexiblyreact to the need of the audience.


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Figure 1. Overall Training AssessmentSource: authors research, 2008, n = 2562

One and the same theme had to be explained differently in different regions using the examples which corresponded to the localspecifics.Judgingby theopinions, thisprinciplewassuccessfullyapplied (seeFigure 2).

Figure 2. Facilitator’s AssessmentSource: authors research, 2008, n = 2562

The most complicated in this context is adhering to the programme described in the project. The project has a clear structure and the trainer must follow it; at the same time, people in the regions are simple and open-heartedandiftheyfindathemeunnecessary,theywillsimplynotlearnit.

The project strictly regulated the requirements for the handouts, the design and information content the-reof. It was important for the trainees in the regions that after trainings they could keep the materials using which they can repeat the material covered during their training. Material preparation involved solving a number of tasks which seemed mutually excluding. On the one hand, all the materials had to be brief and informative, and, on the other hand, people in the regions often do not have the faintest idea of the discipli-neswhichothersmayfindelementary.Toensurethattheentiregroupcoulduseidenticalterminologyandemploythesamedefinitions,itwasnecessarytoprepareadditionalmaterialsthatwerenotpaidforbytheproject.

At the places where trainings were conducted, trainees often complained about rather formal approach to teachingintheregions,thatthetrainersfromthecitiesdidnotunderstandthespecificsofworkintheruralarea and thus were telling about some book-learned things.

In the course of project implementation this problem was successfully solved by means of the knowledge managementsystemwhichmadeitpossibletoreacttothespecificcharacteroftrainingineachgroupasquickaspossible.Ifinthecourseofthefirsthourofinstructionitwasapparentthatthetraineesneededaneasiermodeofdeliveryofthematerial,thetrainerduringthefirstbreakinformedtheprojectmanagerofitand the latter made sure that all the necessary changes were made and on the next day the trainees could get the materials meeting their demands (see Figure 3).


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1 – Content; 2 – Quality of Handouts; 3 – Practical Use of Handouts

Figure 3. Assessment of Training Materials Source: authors research, 2008, n=2562

Instruction in the regions strongly differs from instruction in the capital. For many people it is not only an opportunity to acquire new knowledge, but also a possibility to meet their acquaintances, to socialize; for many people it is a real holiday. Therefore, considerable attention should be paid to the Learning Environ-ment(seeFigure4).Creationofaspecificenvironmentcontributestotheprocessofknowledgetransmissionandcanhelpintheintensificationofthisprocessandmakeitmoreeffective.

Figure 4. Learning EnvironmentSource: authors research, 2008, n = 2562

Organizing trainings in the regions, not only the disciplines stated in the project should be explained to people, but also the need for the very process of learning and self-development should be emphasized. Peo-ple who do not know what they do not know will not search for the information about the existence of which they simply do not know. It widens the gap between the regions and the centre (see Figure 5). Therefore, it is important that a trainer is also an inspirer for those who learn.


169

Figure 5. Key “A-ha!” Moments Source: authors research, 2008, n = 2562

Instructionintheregionsrequiresthetrainerstobemoreflexible,sincetheyaretherepresentativesofthe facilitating organization and people associate such training with the EU funds which ensure its on-site implementation.

At the end of trainings, questioning of every adult who completed the instruction was conducted. In addition, expert surveys about the quality of instruction were conducted every day of trainings and neces-sary changes in the process of instruction were introduced on the basis of feedback. Sometimes it caused difficulties,sincealltheprojectsco-financedbytheEUfundshaveaveryrigidformalstructureanditwascomplicated for the facilitators to introduce changes in the already adopted procedures of instruction. On the other hand, it is worthwhile to remember that working with people implies commitment to the result, i.e. the opinion of the trainees must be taken into account. Besides, the project aims at giving the trainees the knowledge which they can then apply in their work.

5 . Discussion

According to the Pan-European Strategy 2020 and the Bologna process, it is necessary to ensure equal access to knowledge in the regions.

From the point of view of the authors, considerable attention should be paid to preparedness of the trai-nees to the very process of learning.

People in the regions are not always ready to stand constant strain during learning. The rigidity of thin-king and inability to use knowledge in different contexts is frequently observed.

Theverycrucial aspectwhichwasnotedduring thework in the regionswas strong influenceof thehuman factor. People in the regions rely on the opinion of their neighbours or acquaintances much more willingly than on the opinion of experts or trainers.

Due to lack of information, adults in the regions often do not know about the existence of new trends in the management science, frequently do not know how to connect theory to practice, and cannot trace logical connections between formal requirements for learning and implementation of such learning in practice.

It is possible that during implementation of training in the regions it is necessary to approach the needs oftraineeslivingintheregionsmoreflexibly,discovertheirneedsandplaninstructionbeingorientedonthepossibility of applying the acquired knowledge in practice.

Conclusions and Proposals

In the regions, instruction should involve wider strata of society. Such instruction allows broadening one’s outlook, determine the directions in which new information should be searched for and organize the knowledge management system. For the information taught by outside trainers to be perceived, it is neces-


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sary to prepare thoroughly and think through everything down to the smallest detail. In terms of teaching in the regions, the human factor becomes especially important. The ability of a trainer to establish contact with the trainees has a direct effect on the result of learning. In the regions, knowledge management can be spo-ken about not as the system inside an organization, but as acquisition, mastering, renewal and exchange of knowledge between separate economies, adjacent farms, and acquaintances. Such formations appear accor-ding to the rule of geographical distribution, and in this case it seems appropriate to recall clusters described by Porter (Porter, 2000). But in this context, similar clusters not only protect their own interests, but also prevent new external information from being disseminated. Absence of information about everything new in thefieldofmanagementorknowledgemanagementdoesnotcontributetoshapingofdemandforsearchforsuch information and, thus, impedes regional development.

Organizing training at the high level and involving experienced trainers as well as serious attitude to preparation of handouts can change the attitude in the regions to the process of learning and create culture oriented towards the exchange of knowledge.

Of considerable importance is the experience of a trainer who can not only explain the theoretical bases of his/her subject, such as project management, management or marketing, but who, on the examples clear to the trainees, can show the practical value of these theories.

Qualitative on-site training can change in the regions the long-standing vision of learning as something book-learnedhavingnopracticalbenefit.

Planning such instruction, it is necessary to take into consideration that the level of educational attainment of people in groups will be completely different. Also, the fact that people are not accustomed to studying for a long time and are not able to perceive a lot of information at a time should be taken into consideration.

This work has been supported by the European Social Fund within the project “Support for Doctoral Studies at University of Latvia”.

References

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Drucker, P. F. (1999). Management Challenges for the 21st Century. Harper Business, p. 207.Corredoira, R. A., Rosenkopf, L. (2010). Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot? The Reverse Transfer of Knowledge

through Mobility Ties. Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 31, No. 2, p. 159–181. The Lisbon Council. EU 2020: Why Skills are Key for Europe’s Future By Paul Hofheinz. (2009). Website: http://www.

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zation MCB University Press, Vol. 8, No. 3, p. 125–133.Argote, L., Ingram, P. (2000). Knowledge transfer: A Basis for Competitive Advantage in Firms. Organizational Beha-

vior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 82, No. 1, p. 150–169. Harrington, H. J., Voehl, F. (2008). Knowledge Management Excellence. The Art of Excelling in Knowledge Manage-

ment, p. 269.Joy-Matthews, J., Megginson, D., Surtees, M. (2004). Human resource development. 3-rd ed. London: Kogan Page,

p. 565.Uhlaner, L., Van Stel, A., Meijaard, J., Folkeringa, M. (2007). The relationship between knowledge management, inno-

vation and firm performance: evidence from Dutch SMEs.Lundvall,B.A.,Tomlinson,M. (2001).Learningby comparing: reflectiononuse and abuseofbenchmarking. In:

G. Sweeney (ed.). Innovation, Economic Progress and Quality of Life. London: Edward Elgar.Blackler, F. (1995). Knowledge, Knowledge Work and Organizations: An Overview and Interpretation. Organization

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ž i n i ų va l d y m o s i s t e m o s s u a u g u s i ų j ų m o k y m o P R o C e s e to B u l i n i m a s , s i e k i a n t e f e k t y v i o s R e g i o n ų P l Ė t R o s

Inessa Vorontchuk, IrIna LandoLatvijos universitetas (Latvija)

Santrauka

Pirmąkartąžmonijosistorijojeišgyvenamesituaciją,kaidėllabaiišaugusioinformacijoskiekiožmonėsnebesugeba jos apdoroti, be to, nebesugebapaversti šios informacijos žiniomis.Nevisa informacijayravertinga,faktųkaupimasnevisadayražinios.Norėdaminepasimestiinformacijossraute,turimegautinaujųžiniųirįgytiįgūdžių,t.y.kompetencijų,kuriospadėtųsusivoktiinformacijossrauteirišvengtiinformacinėsperkrovos.

Panašiproblemakylairdarbuotojamsjųdarbovietosedėlgreitaisenstančiosįrangos.Norskompiuteriaiatrodėdidžiausiastechninėsmintieslaimėjimas,jiesenstaneįsivaizduojamaigreitai.Kasdarneseniaiatrodėkaipnaujastechninissprendimas,tampastandartiniuvosperšešismėnesius,opotrejųmetųjaunebelaiko-masmoderniu.Kądarytisupasenusiaiskompiuteriaisarkitaįranga,kurinebepajėgiapdorotidarbuibūtinoinformacijoskiekio?Pirmiausiabūtinająatnaujinti,vėliaupaprasčiausiaipakeisti.Betkądaryti,jeižmogus,kurisyrasvarbiausiasžiniųkūrimo,perdavimoiratnaujinimoveiksnys,nebegalisusidorotisušiaužduo-timi?SenėjančiosEuroposkontekste, ilgėjant pensiniamamžiui, ši problemavis aktualėja, nespokyčiaiverčiažmonesprisitaikytinepaisantjųamžiaus.

Siekiantišspręstišiąproblemą,autoriaisiūlomokymosistemąžmonėms,kurienoripadidintiinforma-cijos apdorojimogreitį. Pavyzdžiui, greito įsiminimougdymas, greitasis skaitymas ir teksto formavimasleidžia greičiau prisitaikyti prie kintančios aplinkos reikalavimų ir sparčiau apdoroti didelį informacijoskiekį.Taiypačsvarburegionųvystymuisi,kuržmonėsdažnaigaunajaupasenusiąinformaciją,todėlbūtinaužtikrintilygiųgalimybiųprincipotaikymąregionųirmiestųgyventojams.

PAGRINDINIAIŽODŽIAI: suaugusiųjų mokymas, žinių valdymas, regionų vystymasis.

JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: H250, O110.

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The example of table:

Table 1. Technical requirements [Time New Roman 11 pt; centred; befor: 6pt, after: 6 pt]

Name Letter Letter size Letter typeAuthor (name/surname) Times New Roman 10 BoldOrganization Times New Roman 10 Leaning (italic)Name of article Times New Roman 10 Bold (in capital letters)Name of section Times New Roman 10 Bold

Source: SIPRI 2009: 25 [Time New Roman, 10 pt; centered; italic]

The example of the figure

Firgure 1. The biggest EU countries in area (in thousands of square metres) [Time New Roman, 11 pt; centered; bold; befor: 6pt, after: 6 pt]

Source: Eurostat yearbook 2008: 38 [Time New Roman, 10 pt; centred; italic]

NOTE: Please make sure that all your tables and pictures are the same when you converting text to PDF format.

Conclusions [Times New Roman, 12 pt. before 12 pt; after: 6 pt]. Text: Times New Roman, 12 pt. After main text goes – conclusions/recommendations. There are main

ideas about solved research tasks.References [Time New Roman, 11 pt; before: 12 pt; after: 6]:

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References should be ranged by alphabet. The names of the source must be leaning. The list of references should be no less 20. Some examples [Time New Roman; 11 pt]:

Beamish, P. W., Morrison, A. J., Inkpen, A. C., Rosenzweig, P. M. (2003). International Management. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

EU Enlargement – 20 Myths and Facts about Enlargement. (2006). European Commission. Luxem-bourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

Nugent, N. (2006). Introduction: Does Size Matter in the European Union? European Integration, Vol. 28, No. 1, p. 14–20.

Name Surname [Times New Roman; 11 pt.; bold; before: 12pt; after: 6 pt.; justified by left]Organization/ University (Country) [Times New Roman; 11 pt.; italic; before: 6 pt; after: 6 pt; justified

by left; in the brackets – country]TITLE OF ARTICLE [Times New Roman; 11 pt.; bold; justified by left; capital letters]Summary [11 pt]All text should be in English or Lithuanian no less then 400 words.KEY WORDS [11 pt; capital letters]: one, two, three [11 pt; italic; after; 11 pt] Not more than 5 key

words. JEL codes: [11 pt]

ALL ARTICLES SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN CLEAR (CORRECT) ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla

REGIONAL FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Journal of Social Sciences No. 2 (7)

Klaipėda, 2012

SL 1335. 2012 07 13. Apimtis 22 sąl. sp. l. Tiražas 90 egz. Išleido ir spausdino Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla, Herkaus Manto g. 84, 92294 Klaipėda Tel. (8 46) 398 891, el. paštas: [email protected]; interneto adresas: http://www.ku.lt/leidykla/

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ku.lt/leidykla/

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