J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor ProductivityReturn

When starting a new business, entrepreneurs used the acquired experience, skills, and competencies. The paper aims to determine opinions on the most important competencies that entrepreneurs need to start their business. The research is based on the questionnaire to survey entrepreneurs and students of economics. We try to determine the differences in their opinions. We assume that the views of entrepreneurs already running a business near reflect the competencies’ real usefulness. We used the questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. When comparing entrepreneurs and students, statistically significant differences are in most competencies. Students evaluated entrepreneurial competencies significantly less important than entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs’ opinions on competencies do not depend on enterprise size. Similarly, students’ views on competencies are not related to their gender. Our study suggests a significant discrepancy between students’ opinions on the importance of various competencies and reality.

This paper explores the question of computer skills applicability on individual occupation level in the Netherlands using two web-based data sources: the WageIndicator online survey and job vacancies posted online. The aim of this study is to explore these innovative data sources and compare the information obtained from them with the computer skill requirements inferred from the ISCO occupation classifications. Using the WageIndicator survey, we found a very high incidence of computer use reported by the holders of nearly all office occupations and a substantial degree of computer use by the holders of skilled manual occupations. With a partial exception of the unskilled work in elementary occupations, we find that Dutch job holders are very likely to use computers even in occupations, which are not associated with any relevant tasks. We were able to confirm the robustness of our finding by benchmarking our figures against the PIAAC survey. An older version of this article has been published as a dissertation chapter.

Foreign-owned firms enter foreign markets for traditional reasons (market acquisition, securing resources, and diversification), but lately they have also been seeking better economies of scale and a more rational allocation of expenditures, via shifting processes and activities to lower-cost countries. The aim of this paper is to analyse the major foreign direct investments (FDI) and impacts on Human Resource Management through seven case studies in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Multinational Corporations are considered the driving force behind the internationalization of business. The shift from a domestic to a global business perspective also has a profound impact on corporate human resources management activities. The analysis confirms the general viewpoint in literature that HR work in subsidiaries of MNCs has shifted from an administrative role to a strategic contributor role. The strategic impact is especially big when it comes to fields which need to be "culturally translated": recruitment, compensation and benefits, and talent management. However, that influence is still limited to national HR work on a national level.

The article focuses on the Age Management philosophy and the concept of Work-life balance in the selected Czech banking institutions. The objective of the article is, inter alia, to determine whether the selected Czech banking institutions are dominated by stereotypical perception of the employees and further to reflect over how the concept of the Work-life balance can affect the context of aging of the population and the Age Management philosophy. The article presents a view of some of the results of quantitative and qualitative research conducted in the selected Czech banking institutions in the Czech Republic. The research group of the questionnaire survey included in total 180 employees of banking institutions working in and responsible for the area of human resource management and 282 employees of the 50+ age category. The results of the inquiries show that these institutions are more or less not dominated by prejudices and the corporate culture is welcoming and friendly to all the employees regardless of their biological age. The satisfaction with the measures carried out in the Czech Republic in association with the 50+ employees was assessed rather negatively. The concept of Work-life balance is supported across the board, not based on the context of the Age Management philosophy.

We analyse the impact of regional and sectoral labour market characteristics as determinants of the supply of employer financed training using a unique data set on employer provided training in Vienna. According to the results labour turnover has a robust negative impact and employment density a slightly less robust but also negative impact on the probability of a firm to provide employer financed training. Policies directed at increasing employer provided training may therefore face substantial challenges in sectors and regions with high labour turnover and employment densities. These challenges are likely to be even larger when it comes to providing employer financed training for less skilled workers.