Strategic Management - International Journal of Strategic Management and Decision Support Systems in Strategic Management

Linking Decision-Making Styles and Entrepreneurial Competences: Insights from the EntreComp Framework

Radka Čopková — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Background: The increasing entrepreneurial activity among young people highlights the importance of understanding the competences and decision-making styles that influence their success. The European Union emphasizes the development of entrepreneurial competences, as outlined in the EntreComp framework, which comprises Ideas and Opportunities, Resources, and Into Action. Decision-making in entrepreneurship occurs under conditions of uncertainty, requiring adaptive cognitive approaches.

Purpose: This study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial competences and decision-making styles among university students, aiming to identify patterns that contribute to effective entrepreneurial behaviour.

Study design/methodology/approach: The research involved 245 university students (aged 19–25) who completed questionnaires assessing their perceived entrepreneurial competences and decision-making styles. EntreComp competences were measured using a validated scale, while decision-making styles were categorized as rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant, or spontaneous. Statistical analyses included Spearman correlations and multiple linear regression to explore associations and predictive relationships.

Findings/conclusions: The results demonstrate that rational and intuitive decision-making styles positively predict higher self-perceived entrepreneurial competencies. These styles align with analytical and adaptive approaches essential for recognizing opportunities and managing uncertainty. In contrast, avoidant and spontaneous decision-making styles are negatively associated with entrepreneurial competences, reflecting tendencies toward impulsivity or inaction that hinder effective entrepreneurship. Dependent styles show weaker, positive relationships with some competences.

Limitations/future research: The study relies on self-reported data, which may be influenced by social desirability or subjective biases. Future research should explore objective measures of entrepreneurial competences and investigate the role of cognitive factors, such as time orientation and perfectionism, in decision-making and entrepreneurial success.

Team effectiveness in a virtual environment: the role of trust and knowledge sharing

Naida Hodzic, Amina Efendic, Amra Kapo — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Background: In recent years, research efforts have focused on understanding virtual environments and the importance of collaboration in such environments. The spread of remote working, exacerbated by the global pandemic and changing workforce dynamics, has meant that organizations are increasingly reliant on dispersed teams. Building trust in virtual teams is paramount to fostering effective collaboration, and achieving common goals. Trust reduces uncertainty, promotes collaboration and facilitates open communication between team members. Building trust in virtual contexts is challenging due to limited face-to-face interactions. In addition, knowledge sharing plays a crucial role in improving team effectiveness by enabling information sharing and problem solving. The lack of physical proximity in virtual environments is a barrier to spontaneous knowledge sharing and highlights the critical need for a culture that encourages knowledge sharing.

Methodology: This study highlights the importance of cultivating a supportive virtual environment, ensuring psychological safety and utilizing technical platforms to facilitate information sharing. Quantitative data and survey methods are used to explore the integral impact of trust, knowledge sharing, collaboration, and team effectiveness.

Findings and Conclusions: The results of this study contribute to the existing literature on virtual teamwork by highlighting techniques and practices that improve team performance. The finding that trust and information sharing play a central role in virtual teams can help organizations develop effective virtual work policies, design appropriate training programs, and select suitable collaboration platforms.

Limitations and Future Research: While the study provides valuable insights, the generalizability of the findings to other contexts is limited by the restriction to a single sample. Replicating the study in different organizational contexts would improve the robustness of the results. Furthermore, the cross-sectional nature of the study limits the possibility of proving causality. Future research efforts could use longitudinal studies to examine the complex relationships between trust, teamwork, collaboration, and knowledge sharing over time.

Addressing Socio-Economic Drivers of Management Style Evolution: Embracing Complexity Leadership Solutions

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Background: The information age has ushered in a novel economic model known as the information economy, challenging traditional bureaucratic mechanisms that were primarily seen as tools to mitigate uncertainty. Within this context, complex leadership emerges as a paradigm that thrives on systemic interactions and intricate dynamics. Here, the onus lies on establishing the framework and conditions that empower the adaptive essence of leadership to flourish.

Purpose: The aim of this research is to establish a framework for optimal leadership management, uncovering previously unexplored factors shaping employee work behavior. By identifying and defining key components within management mechanisms that greatly enhance employee performance, the objective is to cultivate rooted and effective management practices.

Study design/methodology/approach: The research involved 480 respondents from diverse socio-demographic backgrounds and companies. Complexity leadership was assessed using the Complexity Leadership Scale, measuring Generative and Administrative leadership. Employee cooperation was evaluated with the Scala Supportive and Non-Controlling Supervision. Statistical methods included multiple regression, Pearson correlation, t-tests, and MANOVA.

Findings/conclusions: The evaluation shows that both Generative and Administrative leadership are moderately expressed. Generative leadership positively correlates with Supportive and Non-Controlling Supervision, achieving statistically significant results. In contrast, Administrative leadership has negative correlations with these supervisory styles.

Limitations/future research: The limitations of the research are of a methodological nature and refer to the sample of employees, according to demographic characteristics and company characteristics. Also, questionnaires based on self-assessment most often imply a certain number of socially desirable answers. Future research should include a larger sample to improve external validity and ensure that the empirical evidence obtained is variable across a range of organizational settings.

Smart City 4.0 as the concept of strategically managed sustainable urbanism

Katarína Vavrová, Igor Šarlina, Yaroslava Kostiuk, Michal Konečný — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Background: Smart technologies serve as a bridge between strategic business goals and sustainable development, creating a synergy among the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of business and circular urbanism.

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of implementing smart technologies on the economic benefits for an urban centre in a Central European Union state.

Study design/methodology/approach: The research employs an econometric model to predict financial savings (30%, 40%, and 55%) resulting from the implementation of smart technologies in waste management within a selected urban centre.

Findings/conclusions: The predictions confirmed the existence of a positive and growing trend in financial savings across all analysed areas, highlighting the economic benefits of smart technology adoption.

Limitations/future research: The limitations of the research consist of inconsistencies in the implementation of smart technologies in waste management across different municipalities within the analysed country. Future research could expand the research sample to multiple urban centres and countries after the introduction of legislation that incentivises the uniform adoption of current smart technologies and the publication of up-to-date implementation data. This would facilitate the development of sustainable strategic plans and decisions that are tailored to both national level and local needs of individual urban centres, offering effective and long-term solutions for sustainable urban development.

Profitability determinants of life insurance companies in the Republic of Serbia

Miloš Pjanić, Mirela Mitrašević, Stefan Luković — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Background: Based on the results of research on the influence of certain internal and external factors on the profitability of insurance companies in the countries in Europe, America, Asia and Africa in the 21^st century which were published in a significant number of scientific and professional papers, the present study analyses insurance companies in Serbia in the period from 2015 to 2021. We chose this analysis bearing in mind the previous negative experiences and expressed distrust in the financial system, which greatly affected the readiness of policyholders to invest in life insurance products, as well as affecting significantly the development of life insurance in Serbia.

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to present the business results of the insurance companies on the Serbian market in the analysed period and to determine which business performance the management of an insurance company should pay attention to in order to ensure positive business results.

Study design/methodology/approach: We applied a fixed effects model on the nine selected variables. In the model, return on assets (ROA) is used as a dependent variable, while operating margin, expense ratio, investment ratio, growth rate of written premium of a company, company size, log (financial leverage), log (liquidity ratio), and market share are independent variables.

Findings/conclusions: The results of the research indicate that there is a statistically significant and positive impact of operating margin and liquidity ratio on ROA, and statistically significant but negative impact of expense ratio and financial leverage on ROA.

Limitations/future research: The limitation of our profitability analysis is that we were unable to analyse the impact of individual life insurance products on profitability. Bearing in mind numerous and significant social and economic changes over the last two years, the directions of our future research will be focused on their impact on the business operation of insurance companies.

Application of financial innovations in the banking sector of Serbia

Vera Zelenovic, Jelena Zelenović, Miloš Đaković, Milica Inđić — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Background: Innovations in the domain of banking services in the household sector are primarily related to easier access to a current account and new payment methods, which are practical and simple for the consumer. Financial innovation and financial development are positively related, and their impact grows over time. Constant changes in client demands, and constant pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency leave banks with no choice but to apply modern technology.
Purpose: This is to point out the importance of financial innovations and their application in the banking market of Serbia. This is all the more so, as the level and growth of real wages in Serbia, as well as the increased inflationary pressure since the time of COVID-19, make these services for bank clients in Serbia much more expensive and inaccessible, due to differences from clients in developed markets.
Methodology/approach: Materials from scientific journals and primary sources were used in the presented research, using the method of content analysis. The presented research was done on the basis of official data available on the National Bank of Serbiа’s website, which cover a time series of five years. An appropriate statistical regression method was applied.
Findings/conclusions: The conducted research showed that financial innovations have adequate application in Serbia as a developing market. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the process of digitization and the adoption of financial innovations to accelerate, and judging by the results of the research, this process is irreversible.
Limitations/future research: Future research could address the value of the transactions made in the same period. Is the increase in the value of financial transactions due to an increase in the number of users or an increase in the volume of transactions? Another question would be whether the inflation factor is noticeable in the increase in the financial value of transactions. Certain limitations may appear in future research, related to a real reduction in wages, or even job loss, and that is to what extent are bank clients ready to continue using existing financial innovations, i.e. buy new innovations, at the expense of this reduction.